What is especially worthy of note is that in each of the above petitions He mentioned all the virtues, and with this last petition He also includes rancor. And the fact that the name of God is sanctified through us is an undoubted proof of a perfect life; and the fact that His will is done shows the same thing; and the fact that we call God the Father is a sign of an immaculate life. All this already implies that we should leave anger at those who insult us; however, the Savior was not satisfied with this, but, wanting to show how much concern He has for eradicating rancor among us, he especially speaks about this and after prayer he recalls not another commandment, but the commandment of forgiveness, saying: For if you forgive people their sins, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you (Matthew 6:14).
Thus, this absolution initially depends on us, and the judgment pronounced on us lies in our power. So that none of the unreasonable, being condemned for a great or small crime, has the right to complain about the court, the Savior makes you, the guilty one, a judge over yourself and, as it were, says: what judgment you yourself pronounce about yourself, the same judgment I will pronounce about you; if you forgive your brother, then you will receive the same benefit from Me - although this latter is actually much more important than the first. You forgive another because you yourself need forgiveness, and God forgives, without needing anything; you forgive your fellow servant, and God forgives your slave; you are guilty of countless sins, but God is sinless.
On the other hand, the Lord shows His love for mankind by the fact that even though He could forgive you all your sins without your doing, He wants to do you good in this too, in everything to give you occasions and incentives to meekness and love of mankind - he drives out bestiality from you, quenches your anger and in every possible way wants to unite you with your members. What do you say to this? Is it that you have unjustly suffered some kind of evil from your neighbor? If so, then, of course, your neighbor has sinned against you; and if you have suffered justly, then this does not constitute sin in him. But you also approach God with the intention of receiving forgiveness for similar and even much greater sins. Moreover, even before forgiveness, how much have you received, when you have already learned to preserve the human soul within yourself and have been taught meekness? Moreover, a great reward will await you in the next century, because then you will not be required to account for any of your sins. So, what kind of punishment will we deserve if, even after receiving such rights, we ignore our salvation?
Will the Lord listen to our requests when we ourselves do not spare ourselves where everything is in our power?
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Here the Savior clearly shows our insignificance and overthrows pride, teaching us not to abandon exploits and not to arbitrarily rush to them; in this way, for us, victory will be more brilliant, and for the devil, defeat will be more painful. As soon as we are involved in a struggle, we must stand courageously; and if there is no call to it, then we must calmly wait for the time of exploits in order to show ourselves both unconceited and courageous. Here Christ calls the devil evil, commanding us to wage irreconcilable warfare against him and showing that he is not like that by nature. Evil does not depend on nature, but on freedom. And the fact that the devil is primarily called the evil one is because of the extraordinary amount of evil that is found in him, and because he, without being offended by anything from us, wages an irreconcilable battle against us.
Therefore, the Savior did not say: “Deliver us from the evil ones,” but from the evil one, and thereby teaches us never to be angry with our neighbors for the insults that we sometimes suffer from them, but to turn all our enmity against the devil as the culprit of all evils.
By reminding us of the enemy, making us more cautious and stopping all our carelessness, He further inspires us, presenting to us that King under whose authority we fight, and showing that He is more powerful than all: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen, says the Savior. So, if His is the Kingdom, then one should not be afraid of anyone, since no one resists Him and no one shares power with Him.
When the Savior says: Thine is the Kingdom, he shows that our enemy is also subordinate to God, although, apparently, he still resists by God’s permission. And he is from among the slaves, although condemned and rejected, and therefore does not dare to attack any of the slaves without first receiving power from above. And what do I say: not one of the slaves? He did not even dare to attack pigs until the Savior himself commanded; nor over the herds of sheep and oxen, until he received power from above.
And strength, says Christ. So, even though you were very weak, you must nevertheless dare, having such a King who can easily accomplish all glorious deeds through you. And glory forever. Amen.
(Interpretation of St. Matthew the Evangelist).
Creations. T. 7. Book. 1. St. Petersburg, 1901. Reprint: M., 1993. P. 221-226