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Matthew 16:6. “Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:7. “They thought within themselves and said: this means that we did not take the loaves.” Matthew 16:8. “Realizing this, Jesus said to them, “Why do you think within yourselves, you of little faith, that you have not taken the loaves?” Matthew 16:9. “Do you still not understand and remember about the five loaves of bread for five thousand people, and how many baskets you collected?” Matthew 16:10. “not about seven loaves for four thousand, and how many baskets did you pick up?” Matthew 16:11. “How do you not understand that I did not tell you about bread: beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?” Matthew 16:12. “Then they understood that He was telling them not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” "Ch. 16, [Art. 6–11]. Jesus said to them (the disciples): Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They thought within themselves and said: this means that we did not take the loaves. Having realized this, Jesus said to them: Why do you think within yourselves, you of little faith, that you did not take the loaves? Do you still not understand and remember about the five loaves of bread for five thousand people, and how many boxes you collected? nor about seven loaves for four thousand, and how many baskets did you pick up? How do you not understand that I did not tell you about bread: beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? (Matthew 16:6–11) It is not without reason that the Lord turns with anger to the disciples, who thought that He was telling them about the loaves, why did they not take them. It is strange to imagine how the apostles themselves, before the descent of the Holy Spirit on them, were of little faith - so much so that even the most amazing, most obvious miracles did not make them free from unbelief. With what sorrow the Lord looked upon their unbelief! How He wanted them to believe in His omnipotence without the slightest doubt! Why was there a miracle of being fed with five loaves and two fish, why did the apostles themselves distribute miraculous loaves to the people, if not primarily to assure them of His Divine omnipotence” [1, 76]. “And among the disciples of the Lord, before they were renewed by the Holy Spirit, hope prevailed more in food and drink, and not in the almighty Lord. One day they forgot to take the loaves, and, it should be noted, soon after their miraculous multiplication, feeding four thousand people with them, they had nothing but one loaf with them in the boat. The Lord said to them: look, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (hypocrisy), and they, reasoning among themselves, said: this is said because we have no bread (cf. Matthew 16:6-7). Notice that they care about the corruptible loaves with the Animal Bread that came down from heaven (cf. John 6:41), which is Jesus Christ, who can turn stones into loaves with a word, or multiply one loaf into thousands. Behold the weakness and blindness of the natural man! Being at the very Source of life, he hopes not for this ever-flowing and eternal Source, but for a corruptible, weak, carnal, fleeting way of maintaining the one corruptible life of his body. Jesus, having understood, said to them: Why do you argue that you have no loaves? Do you still not understand and understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, don't you see? Having ears, don't you hear? and don't remember? When I broke five loaves for five thousand people, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up? They say to Him: twelve. And when there are seven for four thousand, how many baskets did you pick up of the remaining pieces? They said seven. And he said to them: How come you don’t understand? (Mark 8:17–21.) – Here the Lord exposes their lack of faith and false hope for food. - However, these words also apply to us. After all, we are Christ’s disciples, and He is with us just as He was with the apostles” [8, 529]. “I will point to one example of the simplicity of character and direct and living faith of the Apostle Peter. When the contemporaries of the Lord Jesus Christ thought differently about Him and did not believe in Him as the Son of God: some thought that He was John the Baptist, and others that He was Elijah the prophet, others that He was Jeremiah, or one of the ancient prophets who had risen from the dead - the Apostle Peter answered the question of Jesus Christ to the disciples: Who do you say that I am? - He answered directly: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God (cf. Matthew 16:15, 16). And this faith in Peter was so sincere and firm even before the renewal of the Holy Spirit that the Lord called him blessed: blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 16:17). And this means that Peter was worthy of such a revelation from the Heavenly Father about His Son for his simplicity, alien to all guile and doubt, as the Lord testified to this, saying: Father, Lord of heaven and earth, confess that you hid this, that is, the secret of the incarnation of the Son of God, from the wise and prudent and revealed it as a child (Matthew 11:25 ), that is, ordinary people. That is why Jesus Christ, continuing His speech to Peter, calls him by this new name, that is, Peter, which means “stone,” foreseeing his firm faith and firm confession of him as the Son of God until his last breath, and promises on this stone, that is, on the firm confession of Christ by God, to create His Church or a society of believers in Him, which will not be overcome by all the powers of hell, and to give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven - to open and close it for people (See: Matt. 16:18–19), for with faith all things are possible: it is the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. “The Apostle Peter fully justified the trust of his divine Teacher: having only once had the weakness to renounce his Lord in difficult circumstances, until the end of his life he remained faithful to the Lord who called him, and he sealed his faith and apostolic deeds with the death of a martyr: he was crucified on the cross upside down” [9, 186]. Matthew 16:18. “And I say to you: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it;” “The Lord said about His Church: I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it [Matt. 16:18]. This is said both about the shepherds of the Church, or the church hierarchy, and about all true believers, and about all the sacraments, about all the dogmas, commandments of St. Orthodox faith, and about all the rites of the sacraments, for example, liturgy, priesthood, marriage, baptism, confirmation, consecration of oil, which are established for all centuries and have passed for many centuries and millennia unchanged. This is how strong the Church founded by the Lord is! Remember these words of the Lord and do not hesitate at all when performing any sacrament. Be as strong as adamant” [5, vol. 2, 308]. “From the misunderstanding by Catholics of the words of the Savior: you are Peter, and on this stone (on Christ, whom Peter confessed to be the Son of God) I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18), all the errors of Catholics and popes depend, and especially the imaginary primacy of the pope in the church and the viceroy of the popes. They are only ministers, co-workers with the apostles” [6, 39]. “The core of Catholic pride and Catholic deceit in dogma, in government and moral teaching is the primacy of the pope, an imaginary and incorrect understanding of the Savior’s saying: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). All the holy fathers of the first and subsequent centuries, and the very first Orthodox popes, recognized that by the main Stone we must understand Jesus Christ Himself - the Stone was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). As proof of this truth, the truest and most obvious, I cite a word that has a similar turn in the Gospel of John: destroy this church (John 2:19). (By church we mean the church of the Body of the Lord not made with hands, and not the Temple of Jerusalem; this is clear from the flow of speech.) By church the Lord means His most pure Body, just as by the Foundation Stone we must mean Christ Himself, and not the successors of Peter the Apostle or Peter himself. This is clear. And the popes imagined themselves to be the heads of the church and its foundation, and even the vicars of Christ, which is absurd and incompatible with anything. And hence all the arrogance of the popes and their long-standing claim to supremacy and unauthorized control of the entire universal church. Well, the popes have done various tricks in their papal church, various false dogmas leading to falsehood both in faith and in life. This is a completely heretical church” [4, 52]. Matthew 16:23. “And he turned and said to Peter: Get away from Me, Satan! you are a temptation to me! because you think not about what is God, but about what is human.” “July 23. I thank the Lord, who saved me from an internal secret fall during the celebration of the Liturgy in its most important part (before and after “I Believe”), when Father Priest Michael covered the sacred chalice with a handkerchief, and I, out of willfulness, took it off and left the vessel open; I wanted to make a small protest against him with this, because it seemed that he was too helpful and literal (according to the template). The peace of God has left me; I soon apologized to him, because he began to shy away a little from serving me for fear of a reprimand. Things went smoothly: peace returned to my soul, and I celebrated the Liturgy peacefully, just as I had received communion. But I was irritable in the morning; my heart was unprepared for God (cf. Ps. 56:8) due to long sleep and unpreparedness in prayer. We must get up earlier and prepare more diligently for the Liturgy. He took communion without condemnation. He spoke improvisation graciously, indescribably passionately. About the argument of the Apostle Peter to the Savior and the Lord’s answer to him: follow me, Satan, you are a temptation to me, for you think not about what is God, but about what is human... (Wed: Matt. 16:23). Then about self-sacrifice. Whoever wants to follow Me, let him deny himself and follow Me (cf. Matthew 16:24)” [4, 33]. Matthew 16:24. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” “Christ on earth, be lifted up [1 Ir. on Birthday Chron.], it is said. This means that a believer in the coming of Christ to earth, in His incarnation and in all His humane views about our salvation does not cleave to the earth, but is constantly lifted up mentally and heartily; his will constantly strives for God, for heavenly blessings, and is not seduced by earthly sweets, earthly splendor, wealth, honors. Unfortunately, we have little faith in Christ, and we want to combine love for the world with love for Christ, worldly passions with love for God. Incompatible! If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself [Matt. 16:24 ], everything he loved in the world to the point of partiality, and let him hate his sin-loving soul. (December 24, 1869)” [5, vol. 2, 401]. “Loving God with all your heart means not having attachments to anything in the world and giving your whole heart to the Lord God, doing His will in everything, and not your own; with all my soul, i.e. always have your whole mind in God, affirm your whole heart in Him and surrender all your will to His will in all circumstances of life, joyful and sad; with all our strength, i.e. to love so that no opposing force could tear us away from the love of God, no circumstances of life: neither oppression, nor persecution, nor height and depth, nor the sword [Cf.: Rom. 8:35, 38, 39 ]; with all thought, i.e. always think about God, about His goodness, long-suffering, holiness, wisdom, omnipotence, about His deeds and avoid vain thoughts and evil memories in every possible way. To love God means to love truth with all your soul and hate lawlessness, as it is said: you loved righteousness and hated lawlessness [Ps. 44:8 ]; loving God means hating yourself, i.e. his old man: if anyone wants to follow Me and does not hate his own soul, he cannot be My disciple [Matt. 16:24; OK. 14:26]. In us, in our thoughts, in our heart and in our will there is an evil force, extremely tenacious and effective, which always, daily, every minute, is forced to remove us from God, instilling vain thoughts, desires, worries, intentions, enterprises, words, deeds, exciting passions and inciting them with force, namely, malice, envy, covetousness, pride and ambition, vanity, idleness, disobedience, stubbornness, deception, intemperance. Loving God means fulfilling His commandments. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. He who does not love Me does not keep My words [Jn. 14:23, 24]" [5, vol. 2, 356]. “The Christian hope is our hope for union with God in the next century. In our present Christian situation, everything corresponds and is directed towards this union: both material and spiritual goods: the grace of God in the Church, Divine services, the sacraments, conscience, God’s inner testing and purification, prayers, the fruits of prayers, sorrows that cleanse the heart, illnesses (he will take up his cross [Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34]). The present union in fervent prayer, in the sacrament of communion prepares for heavenly union: the pledge of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of Christians assures us of this. For the same reason, any other connection of the heart, except for God and not for God, is strictly forbidden to us. For the same reason, we must be protected from carnal lusts, from all sin” [5, vol. 2, 515]. “Insatiably, joyfully and unceasingly, the heavenly angels, countless in multitude, and holy men also glorify the Lord All-Creator, but we, earthly and earthly, stout, are so lazy in prayer, praise and thanksgiving! Because they are addicted to the earth, to the voluptuous and lazy flesh, to earthly acquisitions, to various sensual pleasures. In order to worthily glorify and love the Creator, one must eradicate sinful pride, selfishness, and selfishness. Whoever wants to come after Me, deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Me (Matthew 16:24)” [6, 131]. Matthew 16:25. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it;” "Whoever desires to save his soul will destroy it (Matthew 16:25), that is, whoever desires to save his old, carnal, sinful man will destroy his life: for true life consists in crucifying and putting to death the old man with his deeds and putting on the new one, renewed in the image of Him who created him (Col. 3:9-10). Without mortification There is no true life for the carnal old man, there is no eternal bliss. The stronger and more painful the mortification of the old man, the more perfect his renewal and rebirth, the higher his purification, the more perfect his life, and the higher his bliss in the next century. Mortify yourself and you will come to life. God, then my flesh has possession of me, and the devil with the flesh” [5, vol. 2, 583]. “If anyone does not hate his own life... he cannot be My disciple (Matthew 16:25, Luke 14:26). Indeed, you must hate your soul, for it is full of all sorts of passions that alienate you from God, the Eternal Life, it is an instrument of the devil, it is your irreconcilable enemy” [6, 84]. “What have I come to, a great sinner? Contrary to the words of my Savior, I loved my soul in this world (See: Matt. 16:25): caressing my flesh with a good, satisfying, tasty table, long sleep, avoiding the work that should have been undertaken and performed for the benefit of the Church. “From now on, change your life according to the words of the Savior” [10, 429]. Matthew 16:26. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? or what ransom will a man give for his soul?” “What did not the apostles of Christ sacrifice for the faithful service of God and the salvation of man? The Holy Apostle has not yet expressed everything, of course, that happened to him, but there is also a lot of what has been said. Trying to faithfully and diligently serve the Lord, the apostles at the same time took every measure to ensure that they would not cause anyone to stumble in anything, so that their service would be completely blameless. Like ladders, and truth. About Jesus Christ, the incarnate Truth, the Pharisees said that He flatters the nations; Of course, people said the same thing about the apostles, seeing the fascinating pleasantness and power of their teaching; Meanwhile, apparently, flatterers, they were extremely true. As we do not know, we are known. As simple, humble people, the apostles were not distinguished by worldly fame, but as apostles of Christ the Savior, the Living God, as miracle workers and preachers of a wonderful faith, they were known everywhere and by everyone, so that their names became known over time in all corners of the universe. And most importantly, they were known by God, who wrote their names in heaven in the Book of Eternal Life. As if we were dying, and behold, we live. The circumstances of the external life of the apostles were, as the Apostle just said, so cramped that they, one might say, died several times, and the Apostle himself says that he suffered many deaths (2 Cor. 11:23). However, despite all the cramped conditions, God’s Providence also supported the external life of the apostles; allowing them to suffer, He did not allow them to die: so that they, as if killed, still remained alive; Mainly, they remained alive and life-giving in the soul by the power of grace and faith, which dwelt abundantly in the chosen vessels of God. As if we are punished, not killed. The Apostle Paul in another letter says about himself that he was beaten with three clubs, he was scourged with a single stone (2 Cor. 11:25) and much more. The Lord allowed the earthly authorities and people to punish His apostles, but never to kill them ahead of time. As one who mourns, yet one who rejoices always (2 Cor. 6:10). What a combination, a community of sorrow and joy! The apostles were in great patience, in sorrows, in troubles, in distress, in wounds, in prisons, and yet what? They rejoiced constantly: as though we mourn, we rejoice always (2 Cor. 6:10). This is how good it is to grieve and suffer for and for Christ. But look at secular people: they seem to be having fun, living in every open space - and yet, what? They are constantly dissatisfied with themselves and are often bored during the pleasures themselves: in general, one might say, they are constantly grieving internally: for they are poor, but the many become rich (2 Cor. 6:10). People looked at the apostles as beggars, and indeed, following the example of their Teacher and Lord, they had no place to lay their heads; but poor, beggars according to the concept of the world, they were extremely rich according to the concept of heaven, while the rich and glorious of the world were mere poor according to the same concept. Apparently having nothing, because they hid their treasure in their souls, the apostles enriched very many with their spiritual treasure, so that those enriched by them were considered worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. For he has nothing, but contains everything (2 Cor. 6:10). Apparently having nothing, the apostles had everything, one might say: heaven and earth. According to the concepts of the world, those who have a lot or all have a lot of money, land, and various property that serve not only the conveniences and benefits of earthly life, but also its various pleasures. For money they can get everything and have everything. According to the concept of heaven, such people have nothing, because what good is it to a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul (Matthew 16:26). And the rich of the world inevitably always neglect their souls, for which no ransom can be given. The apostles in the worldly sense had nothing, but in the true sense they had everything: they acquired for themselves forever their soul, all heavenly and eternal blessings; they had the whole earth in their hands, because they could move its mountains from place to place and command its elements. Glory to Your power, Lord! Glory to you, holy apostles, faithful servants of Christ our God! Grant me, O Lord, ignorance, sorrow, poverty and the impartiality of Your apostles to the world, so that I too may have their fame, their joy, their wealth, their possession of everything necessary for my happiness, temporary and eternal salvation” [1, 112]. “Where will I find a true Christian who would teach by his very deeds to despise the flesh as fleeting and to be diligent about the immortal soul? Where can I find such an uplifting husband? On earth, among the living, it is difficult to find, although there are, of course, such men, but in the church of the firstborn in heaven, written in heaven, in the heavenly church, there are many such men, like stars in the sky. Rejecting themselves as an old, corrupt, pernicious person, like a broken vessel unable to contain water, they took up their cross and followed Christ and gave up their whole life to Him, despising the flesh and the fleeting world. They heard him saying: What good is it to a man, if the world gains the whole and loses its soul [Matt. 16:26 ] and they knew that the flesh and the world would pass away and be no more, that our soul, among other things, is priceless because it, being the image of God, is immortal and because the whole world means nothing in comparison with the soul, because it is transitory, for heaven and earth will pass away [Mk. 13:31 ], according to the word of the Savior. Yes, and at every step with our own eyes we are convinced of the passage of the world, for everything in the world walks and spins, and the elements are all in motion; the seasons revolve as if in a round dance; people, some are born, others die; some get married, others lose their wives; some are being built, others are losing their homes and property; Some cities are built and beautified, others are consumed by fire and turned to ashes. Everything on earth passes, which means that the earth itself will never pass away. If everything in the house catches fire, then the house itself will burn down. Heaven and earth are on fire. The first world was drowned and destroyed by water. But the present heavens and earth... are destined for fire for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men [2 Pet. 3:7]. Where can I find true Christians who would despise everything earthly as transitory and strive with all their might to please God, their immortal King, and to save their souls! Where can I find such an exalted man who, like a king or like some kind of god, would despise the earth and everything earthly for the sake of God (and not out of contempt) and courageously submit to his mind or the law of God all the passions and addictions of life? who would be zealous with God's zeal for the salvation of the souls of his brothers, fellow humans, and would take care of their enlightenment, purification, strengthening in faith and virtue? God! erect such lamps on the candlestick of this world, on the candlestick of Your Church, may they preach Your glory, may they be zealous for Your glory and for the salvation of Your people! Lord, everything is possible for You! How long, Lord, will the vanity of this world surround us? How long will we turn away from You, our Creator and Savior? As you wish, Lord, arrange a thing for us” [5, vol. 2, 452]. “One of us is busy with the earth, with earthly things, for example, with earthly perishable wealth, and spends his whole life collecting wealth, spends his whole life worrying about collecting more of this land, and he has no time to concern himself with saving his soul; and yet the poor soul cries out to him every day: take care of me; I’m the only one with you; I am dearer to you than the whole world, and if you destroy me, you cannot redeem me with anything: for what will a man give in ransom for his soul (cf. Matthew 16:26)? What good will it do you if you gain the whole world, if you become the world's richest man, but lose or destroy your soul? Take care of my endless bliss, purchased for me by the merits of the Only Begotten Son of God; do not despise such a dear price given to the Heavenly Father as a ransom for me, do not sell me for money to the devil - into eternal bondage and the eternal torment prepared for him. So the soul cries out, but passion for earthly things drowns out the voice of the soul, and the rich man sells it every day, exchanges his priceless soul for perishable wealth. To whom they preach: give up the addiction to wealth; How long will you forever bind yourself to the care of the ashes; prepare for the eternal Supper of the Kingdom of Heaven; and he says: I bought land and I need to go look at it; I ask You, forgive me (Luke 14:18), and he looks and looks at his land, at his earthly treasures. That's right, you bought the land: you're telling the truth. Why do you need so much of this land? After all, it burdens your soul? After all, it removes it from the Source of your life - from God? After all, your life does not depend on the abundance of your possessions, as Christ said, Your Life. Oh! You yourself will soon become earth, and then you will need no more earth than to fill you up and level you with this common mother of all. So go to the Supper of the Kingdom of Heaven while you have time: everything is ready for you there. There you will have a great Supper, a great, endless consolation” [9, 340]. “If you envy rich people or high-ranking rulers, or counts, princes, landowners - that they have enormous wealth, large, beautiful, wooded, picturesque dachas and palaces, then you can envy God Himself, the All-Creator and Ruler of the World, who lives in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16) and eternal bliss. - How proud you are! You forgot about yourself, who you are, what a nonentity; what are you worth; what you were before and what you have become now by the sole grace of God. “You see the well-being of a few who are higher than you and envy them, but you do not see the misfortune of countless people who are lower than you.” You see how many are above you, but you don’t see how many are below you. Be humble, dear one, and be pleased with the fact that God has given you much not according to your merits; It must also be said that such envy exposes the earth-loving soul in you. You would be ready, it seems, to acquire the whole world, but to lose your soul (cf. Matthew 16:26), reducing it to nothing, all its heavenly needs and aspirations. Envy is generally a low, devilish quality, but envy of people in material goods is even lower, showing in a person, if he is educated, a deliberate withdrawal from true goods, spiritual, heavenly. For all our good is God. It is good for me to cleave to God (Ps. 73:28)” [11,89]. Matthew 16:27. “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward everyone according to his deeds.” “Our life is a child’s game, only not innocent, but sinful, because with a mature mind and knowledge of the purpose of our life, we neglect this goal, but are engaged in empty, aimless things. So, our life is a child’s, unapologetic game: we amuse ourselves with food and drink, feasting on it, instead of using it only for the necessary nutrition of the body and maintaining bodily life; We play around with clothes, instead of just covering our bodies with them decently and to protect ourselves from the elements. We amuse ourselves with silver and gold, admiring it in treasuries or using it for luxury items and pleasures, instead of using it for needs and sharing surpluses with those in need. We amuse ourselves with our homes and the many different utensils in them, decorating them richly and exquisitely, instead of having only a solid and decent shelter that protects us from the harmful effects of the elements and things necessary and decent for home use; we amuse ourselves with our spiritual gifts - the mind, the imagination, in a word, using them only to serve sin and the vanity of this world, to serve the earthly and corruptible, instead of using them to serve God, to know Him, the All-Wise Creator of every creature, to pray, supplicate, petition, give thanks (1 Tim. 2:1) and doxology and to show mutual love and respect, and only partly - to serve this world, which has no time to completely pass away (cf. Mark 13:31); We amuse ourselves with our knowledge of worldly vanity and waste the most precious time given to prepare for eternity in acquiring it. We often amuse ourselves with our position, our duties, frivolously and carelessly and unjustly fulfilling them and using them for our own selfish, earthly purposes. We amuse ourselves with good human faces or the fair and weaker sex and often use them to play with our passions; we amuse ourselves with time, which should have been used wisely to redeem eternity, using it for games and various pleasures; Finally, we amuse ourselves with ourselves, making some kind of idols out of ourselves, before which we ourselves bow and for which we seek the worship of others. – Who will sufficiently describe and mourn our wretchedness, our great, enormous vanity, our great disaster into which we voluntarily plunge ourselves? - What answer will we give to the Immortal King - Christ our God, who comes in the glory of His Father (cf. Matt. 16:27) to judge the living and the dead: He will declare the counsels of the heart (1 Cor. 4:5) and accept an answer from us about every word and deed? Oh woe! Woe! Woe to us who bear the name of Christ and do not have the Spirit of Christ in us, who bear the name of Christ and do not follow the teaching of the Gospel! Woe to us who do not care about the great salvation (cf. Heb. 2:3)! Woe to us who do not have Christian faith, hope and Christian love! “Woe to us who have loved the present age, feigned, temporary, and not caring about the improvement” of that age that follows the death of our corruptible body, behind this fleshly veil” [10, 304]. You might be interested in: