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Matthew 21:1. “And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,” “Let us listen to how the holy evangelist Matthew describes the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. When Christ, His disciples and the people approached Jerusalem and came to Bethany to the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them: go to the village that is right in front of you; and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; having untied them, bring them to Me, and if anyone says anything to you, answer that the Lord needs them; and he will send them forthwith. Nevertheless, this happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, who says: Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and saving, meek, riding on a donkey and on the colt of a donkey who has been yoked. The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought a donkey and a colt and put their clothes on them, and He sat on top of them. Many people spread their clothes along the road, while others cut branches from trees and spread them along the road. The people preceding and accompanying exclaimed: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And when He entered Jerusalem, the whole city began to stir and said: Who is this? And the people said, This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus entered the church of God... and the lame and the blind came to Him, and He healed them. When the high priests and scribes saw the miracles that He performed, and the children shouting in the church and saying: Hosanna to the Son of David! - They were indignant and said to Him: Do you hear what they say? Jesus says to them: Yes! Have you never read: from the mouths of babes and sucklings You have ordained praise; leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there (cf. Matthew 21:1-17). Here is a description of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem. Why, contrary to all custom, did Jesus Christ enter Jerusalem not on a horse, but on a donkey and a colt? – The mind of God is visible here. The Lord teaches us not only with words, but also with animate and inanimate objects. Thus, He cursed the barren fig tree to expose the barrenness of the Jews and Judas the traitor; here He sits on a donkey and a colt as a sign that He will bring the pagan peoples, who did not know the yoke of the law of Moses, into the knowledge of His power and His eternal Kingdom, instead of the Jewish people who had fallen away from God, and when the full number of pagans enters the Church of Christ, then the Jews will turn to Christ. So, entering Jerusalem on a donkey and colt had a mysterious meaning - namely the conversion of the pagans, among whom we, the Russians, were called. As for the rejoicing of the people and children, who greeted with joy the Lord coming on a donkey, this common joy came from the delight that filled their hearts on the occasion of the resurrection of the four-day-old Lazarus from the tomb and surprise at the Divine Wonderworker; and through the mouths of gentle children praising the Lord, the Holy Spirit spoke. The Lord’s entry into Jerusalem had a completely opposite effect on the proud and envious Pharisees, giving them a feeling of extreme envy and malice, and they decided to kill Him. It seems that from that time on, all hell descended upon them. Passions blind a person, and he himself does not know what he is doing - the most absurd and reckless deeds, as He Himself Crucified by them on the Cross said about this: Father, let them go: for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). Christ came, as the immortal God, to kill the death that was devouring the human race and to grant us immortality by His victory over death - and His enemies killed Him Himself according to the flesh, delivering through this, without knowing, without knowing, the greatest good to the human race - and, without a doubt, they too would have been forgiven by the Lamb of God, who took upon Himself the sins of the world, if they had repented of their deicide" [9, 100]. Matthew 21:3. “And if anyone says anything to you, answer that the Lord needs them, and He will send them immediately.” "Ch. 21, [Art. 3]. Answer that the Lord needs them: and He will send them immediately. (Matthew 21:3) So strong and effective is the word of the Lord as the Lord of all creation - verbal and wordless. The verbal creature belongs to the dumb animal - the donkey. The Lord needed a donkey: the Lord sees him, although he is far from Him and no one can see him, and sends his disciples to untie him from the pillar to which he is tied and bring him to Him. The disciples do the will of the Lord, go, find the donkey, and ununtie it. The owner asks: why are you untying him? They answer that the Lord demands it - and the owner, without saying a word, gives his donkey, not knowing to whom and for what. The simple words of the disciples were so convincing to him: the Lord demands him. The rational creature - man - secretly but clearly heard and felt in the words of the disciples the words of the Lord of all creation and could not answer anything against them; the dumb creature was taken to satisfy the needs of the One who needs nothing” [1, 129]. Matthew 21:9. “The people who preceded and accompanied exclaimed: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” “There were several more solemn meetings or meetings of Christ God, besides Simeon’s, during the life of Christ on earth. So, He was met by the Magi, the eastern sages with gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh; He was met and proclaimed loudly by the Jordan River by John the Baptist, who baptized the sinless Master of creation, who sanctified the waters for us with His Baptism. He was solemnly met at the entrance to Jerusalem with fronds and tree branches by the Jewish people, singing: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord (Matthew 21:9). We also meet Him daily during the Liturgy, when at the end of it the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ appear in the open Royal doors, and the choir sings: blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, God the Lord and appearing to us” [9, 33]. Matthew 21:12. “And Jesus entered into the church of God and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the church, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves,” Matthew 21:13. “And he said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; and you made it a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:14. “And the blind and the lame came to Him in the church, and He healed them.” "St. 14 [Verse] 14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the church, and He healed them. Everywhere I see the benefits and miracles of the Sweetest Jesus” [1, 129]. “They say: there is no need to punish physically trained youth. The thought is diabolical: this bodily impunity leads youth to laziness, pride and arrogance and to every evil known in youth. How not to punish corporally? The body, the flesh, that is, the carnal man, represented by the flesh and carnal passions, is guilty, but do not punish him, do not scourge him, caress him, smooth him, caress him. What demonic wisdom! What, truly, hellish humanity! - So the devil pats his favorites on the head, and he himself thinks about how to drag his favorites into the eternal fire into his company. Brethren! Tell me, how do you look at that action of the Savior when, remember, He created a scourge of ropes and with it drove out all the shameless and fearless traders from the church and overturned the tables of the money changers and scattered the money (cf. Matthew 21:12; Mark 11:15; John 2:15)? – Isn’t this corporal punishment? Doesn't it also authorize us to punish carnal people? Isn’t that why the government and good parents use whips on the guilty? Remember, another saying of the wise: love your son without sparing the rod (Cf.: Proverbs 13:25). How does the Lord punish His chosen ones in this life? How many internal and external scourges! Shouldn't we imitate the Lord in this too? The Lord loves him and punishes him: he beats every son who he accepts (Heb. 12:6; Proverbs 3:12)” [10, 29]. Matthew 21:16. “And they said to Him: Do you hear what they say? Jesus says to them: Yes! Have you never read: from the mouths of babes and sucklings You have ordained praise?” "Verse 16. From the mouths of babes and sucklings You have made praise. God can bring praise to Himself through stones: if they are silent, the stones will cry out. [Luke 19:40]. Can the glory of the Creator of all not burst forth in the voice of creatures? Can the light of the Divine, a thousand times brighter than the sun, hide under the veil of a material or even rational creature? Never, never. Then the creature would be greater and stronger than the Creator. The creature means nothing to Him when He wants to do His will... The abysses of heaven with peace and the abysses of the sea then disappear before Him” [1, 129]. Matthew 21:18. “And in the morning, returning to the city, he became hungry;” Matthew 21:19. “And seeing a fig tree along the road, he approached it and, finding nothing on it except some leaves, said to it: Let there be no fruit from you henceforth forever. And the fig tree immediately withered.” Matthew 21:20. “When the disciples saw this, they were surprised and said, “How is it that the fig tree immediately withered?” Matthew 21:21. “Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen.” “Verse 19. Seeing a fig tree along the road, he approached it and, finding nothing on it except some leaves, said to it: Let there be no fruit from you forever. And the fig tree immediately withered. Your word is strong. But why did you curse the innocent fig tree? So that we, guilty of our infertility, could give a lesson” [1, 129]. “If you have faith and do not doubt (Matthew 21:21), says the Lord, then you can move mountains. Look: be strong, faithful one, and fear a single moment of doubt; for a moment of doubt you will pay with many hours of heartache” [2, 42]. “The Lord says that if you have faith and do not doubt (Matthew 21:21), then you will move a mountain from its place; and I, who have little faith, often doubt, despite my efforts to strengthen myself in faith: my heart stands so weakly in the truth. The spirit of unbelief often attacks me and, attacking me, hurts me and torments me for a long time. God! Grant me undoubted faith" [2, 145]. Matthew 21:22. “And whatever you ask in prayer in faith, you will receive.” “Prayers! Is it not enough for you to give labor as a man, and how much labor do you give to the Lord [Isa. 7:13 ]? Is it not enough for you to see powerlessness in people: how do you still want to see powerlessness in God Himself and secretly think that God will not fulfill your request? – Even though many things are difficult for people, many things are impossible, but how do you consider anything difficult for God? Is there anything difficult or impossible for Him? Everything is possible and easy for Him. All things are possible with God [Mk. 10:27]. So, when you pray, be firmly confident that everything is easy for the Lord, He can do everything in an instant. Do not attribute your own inability to do anything, to help yourself or your neighbor in any way, to God. Almost everything is difficult for you, as for weak, insignificant creatures: you have experienced this on yourself and on others a thousand times, but is it not enough for you to give (attribute) labor to people, that you also give the work of the Lord - to the Lord, Who created everything with thought and word? For Him, remember, nothing is difficult: ask for everything boldly; hope to get everything. – Whatever you ask in prayer, accept it as a believer [Matt. 21:22]" [5, vol. 2, 518]. “Whoever has ardent love for God and neighbor has in his soul other fruits, numbered by the Apostle, joy in the Holy Spirit, peace, long-suffering, kindness, mercy, faith (Cf. Rom. 14:17; Gal. 5:22): for in love, as in a seed, are all the virtues: for where there is love, there is God, all-perfect perfection, imprecise kindness, infinite goodness, infinite omnipotence. He who has ardent love for God also has faith such that he can move mountains, as the Lord said: and whatever he asks in prayer with faith, he will receive (cf. Matthew 21:22). So, if we do not want to dry up like the fig tree cursed by the Lord or like the grass and be thrown into eternal fire, let us try, beloved brethren, to bring the fruits of good deeds to the Planter of our lives while we have time, strength, means, and opportunity. Perhaps the time will come when you would like to do good, but it will be impossible. Now is the time, imams, let us do good to everyone, especially to those close to us in the faith (Gal. 6:10). Amen" [9, 106]. Matthew 21:28. “What do you think? One man had two sons; and he, approaching the first, said: son! Go and work in my vineyard today.” Matthew 21:29. “But he answered: I don’t want to; and then, repenting, he left.” Matthew 21:30. “And going to the other, he said the same thing. This one said in response: I’m going, sir, but I didn’t go.” “Today, beloved brethren, at the morning service three parables were read: the first is about the barren fig tree, the second is about a father who had two sons; one, to his father’s request: “child, go today, work in my vineyard,” answered: “I don’t want to,” and then changed his mind and went; another, in response to the same request, said: “I’m going,” and did not go (See: Matt. 21:28–30); and, finally, the third parable about a homely man who, having a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, gave it to the workers and left, and then, when the time came for harvesting the fruits, he sent his servants to the workers of the vineyard to receive the fruits. The workers, in their bitterness, beat some of the slaves, killed others, and finally killed His Only Begotten Son (See: Matt. 21:33–39). Let's talk this time about the first parable. Having spent the night in the village of Bethany, in the morning the Lord, says the Evangelist Matthew, returning to the city of Jerusalem, became hungry; and seeing a fig tree along the road, he approached it and, finding nothing on it except some leaves, said to it: Let there be no more fruit from you forever, and the fig tree immediately withered. Seeing this, the disciples were surprised and said: how did the fig tree suddenly wither? Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but if you also say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen. and whatever you ask in prayer in faith, you will receive (Matthew 21:18–22). A barren fig tree by the road with only leaves is me and you, beloved brother and sister. The Planter of our life, the Lord Jesus Christ, hungry for our salvation, often comes to you and me, early and late, to satisfy the hunger of our soul, to become the bread of life for it. And - alas, almost always finds in us only worries about everyday things - only leaves; The fruits of faith, all-powerful care for the salvation of our souls are not in us. Meanwhile, each of us was planted on earth to bear spiritual fruit. What are these, in particular, fruits that every person, especially a Christian, should bear? The holy apostle answers this as follows: spiritual fruit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control (cf. Gal. 5:22–23). Here, brother and sister, are the fruits we must certainly bring to the Planter of our lives, the Lord Jesus Christ, every day. Now look, everyone: are you a fruitful fig tree or a barren one? If you are fruitful, good, continue to bear fruit, so that He may feed you with them in eternity; if you are barren, tremble: you are threatened by the curse of the Lord of your life and, perhaps, very soon He will say to you: let there be no fruit from you forever (Matthew 21:19). And you will immediately dry up; all your spiritual powers will die out; Your faith, hope and love will completely dry up, and every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into eternal fire (cf. Matthew 3:10). These words are true and clear as day. They will be fulfilled immutably, for heaven and earth will pass away, just as days, months, years pass by, but the words of the Lord will not pass away (cf. Mark 13:31)” [9, 103]. Matthew 21:33. “Listen to another parable: there was a certain owner of a house who planted a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, and, having given it to vinedressers, went away.” Matthew 21:34. “When the time for fruit approached, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to take their fruit;” Matthew 21:35. “The vinedressers seized his servants, beat some, killed others, and stoned others.” Matthew 21:36. “Again he sent other servants, more than before; and they did the same to them.” Matthew 21:37. “Finally, he sent his son to them, saying: They will be ashamed of my son.” Matthew 21:38. “But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said to one another, “This is the heir; Let's go, kill him and take possession of his inheritance. » Matthew 21:39. “And they seized him, and brought him out of the vineyard and killed him.” “On this Sunday, my beloved brethren, the Church is ordered to read from the Gospel a parable about a certain householder who planted a vineyard, and about the winegrowers to whom the householder entrusted his vineyard. The vineyard was built magnificently, with all the accessories, with a vice, on beautiful land, surrounded by a fence, but the winegrowers turned out to be extremely crafty and evil, and not only did not give fruit to the owner at the appointed time, but also beat the servants sent by the owner or killed them completely and stoned them, and finally they killed the owner’s only son (See: Matt. 21:33-39). By householder we mean God the Father; under the vineyard is the Jewish Church; under the vinedressers are the high priests, priests and rulers, to whom the Jewish Church was entrusted; by servants we mean the prophets whom God often sent to the Jewish people, and who were mostly beaten by the Jews; By the son of the householder we mean the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But this parable, brethren, does not apply to the Jews alone, but also applies to us, concerns us too. The vineyard of the Lord can and should also mean every Christian soul; under the fence is the law of God, by which every soul is protected or should be protected from sins; the winepress or vice in the vineyard is our heart or our womb, with which we receive the most pure Blood of the Lamb of God, who was slain for us; by the pillar or upper room we mean the Church of Christ or the grace of the Holy Spirit, acting in the Church, confirming our hearts in faith and love and good deeds and elevating us from earth to heaven, as it is said: think about things above, and not about earthly things (Col. 3:2)” [9, 237]. Matthew 21:40. “So when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these vinedressers?” Matthew 21:41. “They say to Him: He will put these evildoers to an evil death, and he will give the vineyard to other vinedressers, who will give him the fruit in their seasons.” “Going on a free, world-saving passion to Jerusalem, the Lord wanted to visit His sick friend Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary along the way, and since by Divine omniscience he foresaw his death, to perform his glorious resurrection from the dead as an assurance of the general resurrection of the entire human race. The miracle of the resurrection of a four-day-old dead man, who had already given himself over to decomposition, most of all miracles glorified Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the Conqueror of the universal death of men and was the reason for His enthusiastic meeting by the inhabitants and strangers of Jerusalem who had gathered for the holiday of the Jewish Passover. But in the high priests, scribes and Pharisees it aroused terrible envy and malice, and they decided to finally put to death the One who exposed their vices and who came to put to death our very death. The crucifiers did not know that they were crucifying their Benefactor, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (cf. John 1:29) and the sins of themselves - who prayed to the Father: Father, let them go: for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). And all the blasphemers of today, like Leo Tolstoy and his comrades, know the Savior of the world, preached and accepted by faith throughout the world, but in their pride they want to laugh at the common belief and blaspheme Him, and if they do not believe and are not converted, then all evil will perish (cf. Matthew 21:41). Since today the Holy Church solemnly and commemoratively celebrates the Entry of the Savior on a young donkey, who did not wear any yoke, into the holy city of Jerusalem, with the joyful rejoicing of the people and especially children, let us talk about what this extraordinary and, apparently, strange entry of Him into Jerusalem on a donkey and colt, and not on a horse, as was customary among Eastern kings and victors, meant. this joy and rejoicing of the people and especially of the gentle children who glorified the Lord - and how the all-evil hell prompted wicked people to kill the Life-Giver and the Lord, not foreseeing that Christ, killed by him in the flesh, would thrust His wooden copy, that is, His Cross, into his hellish belly and perforate it with mortal, eternal perforation, and the souls absorbed by it would deliver from its all-consuming belly.” [9, 98]. “So, the vineyard of God is all of us, brothers. And the vineyard must bear abundant fruit; Do we bring to the Lord, our supreme Husbandman, the fruits of good deeds, the fruits of repentance, faith, love, humility, meekness, goodness, mercy, self-control, purity, patience and long-suffering and other virtues? We bring very, very little, and sometimes not at all, but we bring the fruits of wild grapes, the grapes of Sodom and Gomorrah, that is, all sorts of bad deeds: pride, malice, envy, greed, fornication, adultery, drunkenness, unbelief, atheism, murder and suicide. The Lord expects from us the fruits of repentance, correction, virtue, and often waits in vain: we remain the same sinners, the same barren, dry trees that we were. Many Christians rape and kill their conscience, this servant of God in our soul, and indulge in lawlessness without fear; many justify their sins or excuse themselves by the weakness of nature or the need of a fallen sinful nature, without distinguishing their whims or lusts from actual needs. Many are not even ashamed to slander the Gospel and say that it demands the impossible, and live completely contrary to it and, thus, like the Jewish high priests and scribes, crucify the Son of God within themselves for the second time. But why say vaguely: many crucify the Son of God? – You and I often crucify the Son of God within ourselves – with our lack of faith, our malice, envy, intemperance, overeating, drunkenness, uncleanness of our hearts, negligence, unrepentance, laziness and other vices. What will the owner of our vineyard, neglected and wild through our negligence, do when He comes to take account of our deeds, of all our uncleanness and evil? The answer to this is the same that the high priests and scribes uttered to themselves: he will put these evildoers to an evil death, and he will give the vineyard to other vinedressers (See: Matt. 21:40-41), that is, he will give the greatest gift of faith, grace, to other people who will give him the fruits in their own time, that is, with the help of grace, they will succeed in every virtue constantly, throughout their entire lives. So, brethren, as long as the Lord gives us time, until the soul in the body and our vineyard is taken away from us, let us carefully look after it, cultivate it, water it with tearful rain, cleanse it with repentance, so that it bears more fruit. Amen" [9, 239]. Matthew 21:42. “Jesus said to them: Have you never read in the Scripture: the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner? Is this from the Lord, and is it wonderful in our eyes?” “When we pray for the first time, or even often, for something great, according to our concepts, or according to the recognition of the Word of God Himself and the entire Ecumenical Church, then the enemy strongly strengthens to pierce the heart with unbelief in the possibility of fulfilling our prayer and thereby constrains and wounds our heart, and does not allow us, through unbelief, to receive what we ask from God. But that this lack of belief in the possibility of fulfilling our prayer is a lie, a dream of the devil - this is obvious, firstly, from the clear testimony of the Word of God that everything is possible with God (Mark 10:27), secondly, from the countless number of works of the Lord, natural and supernatural, proving that for Him throughout the existence of the world, everything has been possible until now and everything will be possible, because He is the only infinitely existing (Exodus 3:14), who created everything and the creator, creating and transforming, and finally, thirdly, from the fact that in our very consciousness the impossible becomes possible when we pray more diligently for it day by day and when we defeat the machinations of the enemy in us with our diligent faith. We ourselves will then see that only this is impossible for those who do not believe in the possibility of the Lord fulfilling anything, but for those who believe, everything is possible. All things are possible to the believer, says the Lord Himself (Mark 9:23). – The greatest miracle in the Christian Orthodox Church is the transformation of bread and wine into the true, deified Body and Blood of Christ - performed daily by the Lord through the mediation of a servant of Christ - into the True, Whole Christ, the Son of God. Every mass the devil tricks the priest, instilling in him that bread is not the Body, wine is not the Blood of Christ, that is, instilling in his thoughts and heart thoughts of unbelief in the possibility of the transformation of bread and wine. – But isn’t it every time that his machinations dissipate like smoke with the help of the grace of God, and the priest accepts them as the true Body and true Blood of the Lord, receiving the most striking evidence of this within himself? Isn’t it every time that the devil’s dreamy impossibility remains the most blessed possibility and not only a possibility, but also a reality? Glory to the omnipotence and goodness of the Lord! Satanic doubt and unbelief be damned! - So, after this, what will we consider as impossible, when in our eyes (Matthew 21:42) such a miracle takes place every day, what is the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ? - Oh God of miracles! God Almighty! Confirm unshakably our faith in Your omnipotence through the prayers of the Mother of God and all the saints who have pleased You from the ages. – April 18, 1862” [10, 98]. “By the confusion and violence beginning in your soul, recognize Belial and immediately oppose him to the Stone - Christ (Matthew 21:42, 43; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:6, 7; Rom. 9:33; 1 Cor. 10:4): Belial will break his teeth on Him, but it will not reach you. “But be careful, love everyone as yourself” [11, 353]. You might be interested in: