А. Первая часть Евангельской Истории

1. The Son of God is incarnate and remains hidden until He reveals Himself to the world 4. An angel announces the birth of the Forerunner. Conceiving him. OK. 1, 5–25. In the days of Herod, king of Judah, there was a priest from the order of Abius, whose name was Zechariah, and his wife from the family of Aaron, her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, walking according to all the commandments and statutes of the Lord blamelessly. They had no children, for Elizabeth was barren, and both were already advanced in years. One day, when he served in the order of his turn before God, by lot, as was usual with priests, he got to enter the church of the Lord for incense, and the whole multitude of people prayed outside during the incense. Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Zechariah, seeing him, was embarrassed, and fear attacked him. The angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great before the Lord; He will not drink wine or strong drink, and will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to restore the hearts of the fathers to the children, and to the disobedient to the minds of the righteous, to present to the Lord a prepared people. And Zechariah said to the angel: By what will I know this? for I am old, and my wife is advanced in years. The angel answered him: I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and was sent to speak with you and bring this good news to you; and behold, you will remain silent and will not be able to speak until the day this comes true, because you did not believe my words, which will come true in due time. Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he was delaying in the church. When he came out, he could not speak to them; and they understood that he had seen a vision in the church; and he communicated with them by signs, and remained mute. And when his days of service were ended, he returned to his home. After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself for five months, and said: Thus did the Lord do for me in these days, in which he looked upon me, to remove from me the reproach of men. 5. An angel preaches to the Virgin about the birth of the Son of God from Her. OK. 1, 26–38. In the sixth month, after the conception of John the Baptist, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a Virgin betrothed to a husband named Joseph, from the house of David; The name of the Virgin is: Mary. The angel came to Her and said: Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women. When she saw him, she was embarrassed by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this would be. And the Angel said to Her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for You have found favor with God; and behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end. Mary said to the Angel: How will this be when I don’t know my husband? The angel answered Her: The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Here is Elizabeth, Your relative, who is called barren, and she conceived a son in her old age, and she is already in her sixth month; for with God no word will be powerless. Then Mary said: Behold, the Servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word. 6. The Blessed Virgin visits Elizabeth. OK. 1, 39–56. And Mary arose in those days and went with haste to the hill country, to the city of Judah. And she entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of Your womb! And where does it come from for me that the Mother of my Lord came to me? For when the voice of Your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped joyfully in my womb. And blessed is she who believed, because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled. And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because He has looked upon the lowliness of His Servant; for from now on all generations will call Me blessed; that the Mighty One has done great things for Me, and holy is His name; and His mercy from generation to generation is upon those who fear Him: He has shown the strength of His arm; He scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the humble; He filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich with nothing; He took Israel, His chosen one, His beloved, remembering mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, towards Abraham and his seed forever. Mary stayed with her for about three months and returned to her home. 7. Birth and circumcision of the Forerunner. OK. 1, 57–80. The time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had magnified His mercy over her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the baby and wanted to name him, after his father’s name, Zechariah. To this his mother said: no; and call him John. And they said to her: There is no one in your family who is called by this name. And they asked his father by signs what he would like to call him. He demanded a tablet and wrote: John is his name. And everyone was surprised. And immediately his mouth and his tongue loosened, and he began to speak, blessing God. And there was fear on all those living around them; and they told about all this throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard it laid it on their hearts and said: What will happen to this child? And the hand of the Lord was with him. And Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that He hath visited His people, and wrought deliverance for them, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He declared by the mouth of His holy prophets from the ages, that He would save us from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us; He will show mercy to our fathers and remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father, to give us, without fear, after being delivered from the hand of our enemies, to serve Him in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. And you, baby, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will come before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to make His people understand salvation in the forgiveness of their sins, according to the gracious mercy of our God, through which the East from above visited us, to enlighten those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet on the path of peace. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his appearance to Israel. 8. Revelation to Joseph of the secret of the incarnation of the Son of God. Matt. 1, 18–25. After the betrothal of the Mother of the Lord Jesus Mary to Joseph, before they were united, it turned out that She was pregnant with the Holy Spirit. Joseph, Her husband, being righteous and not wanting to make Her public, wanted to secretly let Her go. But when he thought this, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: Joseph, son of David! Do not be afraid to accept Mary your wife; for that which is born in Her is of the Holy Spirit; she will give birth to a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. And all this happened, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, who says: Behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means: God is with us (Isaiah 7:14). Rising from sleep, Joseph did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him, and received his wife, and did not know her. [How] at last she gave birth to her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. 9. Christmas. Matt. 1, 18, Lk. 2, 1–7. The birth of Jesus Christ was like this: In those days, Caesar Augustus issued an order to take a census of the entire earth. This census was the first during the reign of Quirinius in Syria. And everyone went to sign up, each to his own city. Joseph also went from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family of David, to enroll with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for Her to give birth. And She gave birth to Her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 10. Doxology of Angels; worship of shepherds. OK. 2, 8–20. In that country there were shepherds in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Suddenly an Angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were afraid with great fear. And the Angel said to them: Do not be afraid; I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people: for today a Savior has been born to you in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord; and here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly a large army of heaven appeared with the Angel, glorifying God and crying: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men! When the Angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said to each other: let's go to Bethlehem and see what happened there, which the Lord told us about. And they hastened and came and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger. Having seen it, they told about what had been announced to them about this Child. And all who heard were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these words, putting them in Her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, as they had been told. 11. Circumcision and the Meeting of the Lord. OK. 2, 21–39. After eight days had passed, when the Child should have been circumcised, He was circumcised and given the name Jesus, which the Angel had named before He was conceived in the womb. And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present him before the Lord, as it is prescribed in the law of the Lord, that every male child who opens his womb should be dedicated to the Lord (Exod. 13:2), and to sacrifice, according to what is said in the law of the Lord, two turtle doves or two chicks of doves. Then there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was a righteous and pious man, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. He was predicted by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he saw Christ the Lord. And he came by inspiration to the church. And when the parents brought the Baby Jesus to perform the legal rite over Him, he took Him in his arms, blessed God and said: Now do You let Your servant go, O Master, according to Your word, in peace; For mine eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all nations, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel. Joseph and His Mother marveled at what was said about Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His Mother: Behold, this One is destined for the fall and the uprising of many in Israel and for the subject of controversy - and a weapon will pierce Your own soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. There was also Anna the prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher, who had reached a very old age, having lived with her husband for seven years from her virginity, a widow of eighty-four years old, who did not leave the church, serving God day and night with fasting and prayer. And at that time she came up, glorified the Lord and spoke about Him to everyone who was waiting for deliverance in Jerusalem. And when they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they decided to return to Galilee, to their city of Nazareth. (But the worship of the Magi, and then the flight to Egypt, prevented them from fulfilling this at this time) 12. Adoration of the Magi. Matt. 2, 1–12. When the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod; Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and said, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” for we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him. Hearing this, King Herod became alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. And, having gathered all the high priests and scribes of the people, he asked them: where should Christ be born? They said to him: In Bethlehem of Judah, for thus it is written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way less than the provinces of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel (Micah 5:2). Then Herod, secretly calling the wise men, found out from them the time of the appearance of the star and, sending them to Bethlehem, said: go, carefully investigate about the Child and, when you find it, notify me, so that I too can go and worship Him. After listening to the king, they left. [And] behold, the star that they saw in the east was walking before them, when it finally came and stood over the place where the Child was. Having seen the star, they rejoiced with very great joy, and, entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary, His Mother, and, falling, they worshiped Him; and having opened their treasures, they brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having received a revelation in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their country by a different route. 13. Flight to Egypt and return from there. Matt. 2, 13–23. When the wise men went to their country, behold, the Angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and says: get up, take the Child and His Mother and flee to Egypt, and be there until I tell you, for Herod wants to look for the Child in order to destroy Him. He got up, took the Child and His Mother at night and went to Egypt. And he was there until the death of Herod, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying: Out of Egypt I called My Son (Hos. 11:1). Then Herod, seeing himself ridiculed by the Magi, became very angry and sent to kill all the babies in Bethlehem and throughout its borders, from two years old and below, according to the time that he found out from the Magi. Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, saying: A voice was heard in Rama, weeping and mourning and a great cry; Rachel cries for her children and does not want to be consoled, for they are not there (Jer. 31:15). After the death of Herod, behold, the Angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in Egypt in a dream and says: Arise, take the Child and His Mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the soul of the Child are dead. He stood up, took the Child and His Mother and came to the land of Israel. Having heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea instead of Herod, his father, he was afraid to go there; but, having received a revelation in a dream, he went to the borders of Galilee and, having come, settled in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, that He would be called a Nazarite (Judges 13:5). 14. Lord Jesus, 12 years old, in the Temple of Jerusalem. OK. 2, 40–52. The child Lord Jesus grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him. Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover holiday. And when He was twelve years old, they also came, according to custom, to Jerusalem for the feast. When, at the end of the days of the holiday, they returned, the Child Jesus remained in Jerusalem; And Joseph and His Mother did not notice this, but thought that He was going with others. Having walked a day's journey, they began to look for Him among relatives and acquaintances and, not finding Him, returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. After three days they found Him in the church, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and answers. And when they saw Him, they were surprised; and His Mother said to Him: Child! what have you done to us? Behold, Your father and I have been looking for You with great sorrow. He said to them: Why did you seek Me? or did you not know that I must be concerned with the things that belong to My Father? But they did not understand the words He spoke. And He went with them and came to Nazareth; and was in obedience to them. And His Mother kept all these words in Her heart. The Lord Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. 2. The Lord incarnate reveals himself to the world 15. The Holy Forerunner goes to work and baptizes. Matt. 3, 1–5; OK. 3, 1–6. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was in charge of Judea, Herod was tetrarch in Galilee, Philip his brother was tetrarch in Ituraea and the Trachonite region, and Lysanias was tetrarch in Abilene, under the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God was to John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert. He came and appeared, and passed through the entire surrounding country of Jordan and in the desert of Judea, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and saying: repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. And lo, the beginning of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in the prophets; Behold, I send My angel before You, who will prepare Your way before You (Mal. 3:1). For he is the one about whom the prophet Isaiah spoke, as it is written in the book of the words of this prophet: the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight; Let every valley be filled, and every mountain and hill be made low, the crooked places made straight, and the rough paths made smooth; and all flesh will see the salvation of God (Is. 40:3-5). John wore clothes made of camel's hair and a leather belt around his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem, the entire country of Judea and the entire Jordanian region came out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 16. The Holy Forerunner gives instructions. Matt. 3, 7–10; OK. 3, 7–14. Seeing many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, Saint John said to them: brood of vipers! who inspired you to flee from future wrath? Produce fruits worthy of repentance and do not think of saying within yourself, “We have Abraham as our father,” for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. Already the ax lies at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And the people asked him: what should we do? He answered and said to them, “Whoever has two coats, give to the poor, and whoever has food, do the same.” The publicans also came to be baptized, and said to him: Teacher! what should we do? He answered them: do not demand anything more specific to you. The soldiers also asked him: what should we do? And he said to them: do not offend anyone, do not slander and be content with your salary. 17. Saint John foretells about Christ the Lord. Matt. 3, 11–12; Mk. 1, 7; OK. 3, 15–18. When the people were waiting, and everyone was thinking in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ, John answered everyone: I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is mightier than me is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry, whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire; His shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, and He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. John preached many other things to the people, teaching them. 18. Baptism of the Lord. Matt. 3, 13–17; Mk. 1, 9–11; OK. 3, 21–23. And it came to pass in those days, that when all the people were baptized by John, the Lord Jesus came from Galilee, from Nazareth of Galilee, to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John restrained Him and said: I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me? But the Lord Jesus answered him: Leave it now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then John admits Him. And the Lord Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. When He was baptized and prayed, behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove. And John immediately saw the heavens opening and the Spirit of God descending like a dove and descending on Him. And behold, from heaven there was a voice saying to the One who was being baptized: You are My beloved Son; My favor is in You! and to the Baptist: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased! Having been baptized in this way, Christ the Lord immediately came out of the water. He was then about thirty years old. 19. Forty days fast. Matt. 4, 1, 2; Mk. 1, 12, 13; OK. 4, 1, 2. Immediately after this, the Lord Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, was led by this Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And He was there in the desert for forty days tempted by Satan, and was with the beasts. He did not eat anything these days; and after they had passed, having fasted forty days and forty nights, at last he became hungry. 20. Temptation from the devil and his defeat. Matt. 4, 3–11; Mk. 1, 13; OK. 4, 3–13. Then the devil-tempter came to Him and said to Him: If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread; at least command this stone to become bread. But the Lord Jesus answered him: It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3). Then the devil takes Him to the holy city of Jerusalem and places Him on the wing of the church, and says to Him: if You are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: The Lord God will command His angels concerning You to keep You; and they will carry You in their hands, lest You dash Your foot against a stone (Ps. 90:11-12). The Lord Jesus answered him: It is also written: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Deut. 6:16). Again the devil takes Him to a very high mountain, shows Him in a moment all the kingdoms of the universe and their glory and says to Him: I will give all this to You if, having fallen, you will worship me. Then I will give you power over all these kingdoms and their glory; for she is devoted to me, and I give her to whomever I want. So, if You worship me, then everything will be Yours. The Lord Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan; for it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone (Deut. 6:13). Then, having finished all the temptation, the devil left Him and departed from Him for the time being. And behold, the Angels came and served Him. 21. Testimony of St. John about Christ the Lord. John 1:19–34. And this is the testimony that John gave when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him: Who are you? He declared, and did not deny, and declared that I am not the Christ. And they asked Him: what then? are you Elijah? He said no. Prophet? He answered: no. They said to him: who are you? so that we can give an answer to those who sent us: what do you say about yourself? He said: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: straighten the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said (Isaiah 40:3). And the messengers were from the Pharisees, and they asked him: why are you baptizing if you are not Christ, nor Elijah, nor a prophet? John answered and said to them, “I baptize with water; but there is Someone standing among you whom you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, but who stands in front of me. I am not worthy to untie the thong of His sandals. This happened in Bethabara, by the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John sees the Lord Jesus coming to Him and says: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is the one of whom I said: A man comes after me, who stood before me, because He was before me. I did not know Him, but for this reason I came to baptize in water, so that He would be revealed to Israel. And John testified, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and remaining on Him.” I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me: On whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I saw and testified that this is the Son of God. 22. Outlining some students. In. 1, 35–51. The next day John and two of his disciples stood again. And when he saw the Lord Jesus coming, he said: Behold, the Lamb of God! Having heard these words from him, both disciples followed Jesus the Lord. The Lord Jesus turned and saw them coming, and said to them, “What do you need?” They said to him: Rabbi, which means teacher, where do you live? He says to them: go and see. They went and saw where He lived, and stayed with Him that day. It was about ten o'clock. One of the two disciples who heard from John about the Lord Jesus and followed Him was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He first finds his brother Simon and says to him: we have found the Messiah, which means: Christ. And he brought him to the Lord Jesus. The Lord, looking at him, said: You are Simon, son of Jonah; you will be called Cephas, which means stone (Peter). The next day the Lord Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and he found Philip and said to him: follow me. Philip was from Bethsaida, from the same city as Andrew and Peter. Philip finds Nathanael and tells him: we have found the One about whom Moses wrote in the law (Deut. 18:15) and the prophets - Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth. But Nathanael said to him: Can anything good come from Nazareth? Philip says to him: come and see. The Lord Jesus, seeing Nathanael coming to Him, said of him: Behold, truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile. Nathanael says to Him: Why do You know me? The Lord Jesus answered and said to him: Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered Him: Rabbi! You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel. The Lord Jesus answered and said to him: You believe because I said to you: I saw you under the fig tree; you will see more of this. And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, from now on you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” 23. Miracle at Cana. In. 2, 1–11. On the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the Mother of the Lord Jesus was there. The Lord Jesus and His disciples were also invited to a wedding. And because there was a shortage of wine, the Mother of the Lord Jesus said to Him: They have no wine. The Lord Jesus says to Her: What do I and You have, Woman? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants: whatever He tells you, do it. There were six stone waterpots, standing according to the custom of Jewish purification, containing two or three measures. The Lord Jesus says to them: Fill the vessels with water. And they filled them to the top. And he says to them: Now draw some and bring it to the master of the feast. And they carried it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, he did not know where this wine came from; only the servants who drew the water knew - then the steward calls the groom and says to him: every person first serves good wine, and when they get drunk, then the worst; and you have saved good wine until now. Thus the Lord Jesus began miracles in Cana of Galilee and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. 24. Short stay in Capernaum. In. 2, 12. After this miracle in Cana, He, Christ the Lord, came to Capernaum, Himself and His Mother, and His brothers, and His disciples; and they stayed there for a few days. 25. First Easter; cleansing the church from traffickers. In. 2, 13–22. The Passover of the Jews was approaching, and the Lord Jesus came to Jerusalem and found that oxen, sheep and doves were being sold in the church, and money changers were sitting. And, making a scourge of ropes, he drove everyone out of the church, including the sheep and oxen; and he scattered the money from the money changers and overturned their tables. And he said to those who sold doves: Take this from here, and do not make My Father’s house a house of trade. At the same time, His disciples remembered that it was written: Zeal for Your house consumes Me (Ps 68:10). The Jews said to this: by what sign will you prove to us that you have the power to do this? The Lord Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this church, and in three days I will raise it up. To this the Jews said: This church took forty-six years to build, and will You raise it up in three days? And He spoke about the church of His Body. When He rose from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said these things, and they believed the Scripture and the word that the Lord Jesus had spoken. 26. The beginnings of faith in Jerusalem. In. 2, 23–25. And when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover holiday, many, seeing the miracles that He performed, believed in Him. But the Lord Jesus Himself did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew everyone and did not need anyone to testify about the person; for He Himself knew what was in man. 27. Conversation with Nicodemus. In. 3, 1–21. Among the Pharisees there was someone named Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jews. He came to the Lord Jesus at night and said to Him: Rabbi! we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do such miracles as You do unless God is with him. The Lord Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he really enter his mother’s womb another time and be born? The Lord Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised at what I said to you: you must be born again. The Spirit breathes where it wants, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes: this is what happens to everyone born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered Him: How can this be? The Lord Jesus answered and said to him: You are the teacher of Israel, and do you not know this? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and we testify of what we have seen; but you do not accept our testimony. If I told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man who came down from heaven and who is in heaven. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God. The judgment is that light has come into the world; but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil, for everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed, because they are evil, but he who does righteousness comes to the light, so that his deeds may be revealed, because they are done in God. 28. The last testimony of the Lord of St. John. In. 3, 22–36. After this, the Lord Jesus came with His disciples to the land of Judea and lived there with them and baptized. And John also baptized in Aenon, near Salem, because there was a lot of water there; and they came there and were baptized. For John was not yet imprisoned. Then John's disciples had a dispute with the Jews about cleansing. And they came to him and said to him: Rabbi! The One who was with you at the Jordan and about whom you testified, behold He baptizes, and everyone comes to Him. John answered: a man cannot take upon himself anything unless it is given to him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said: I am not the Christ, but I was sent before Him. He who has a bride is a groom; and the groom’s friend, standing and listening to him, rejoices with joy, hearing the groom’s voice. This is my joy fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; but he who is from the earth is and speaks as he who is from the earth; He who comes from heaven is above all, and what He saw and heard, he testifies to; and no one accepts His testimony. He who accepted His testimony has thus sealed that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the Words of God; For God does not give (Him) the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has given everything into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. 29. Imprisonment of St. John in prison. Matt. 14, 3–5; Mk. 6, 17–20; OK. 3, 19–20. Herod the tetrarch, rebuked by John the Baptist for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for everything that Herod had done that was bad, added to everything else that he imprisoned John. For this Herod, having sent, took John, bound him and put him in prison for Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he married her; for John said to Herod, “You must not have her, your brother’s wife.” Herodias, angry at him for this, wanted to kill him, but could not. And Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people, because they revered him as a prophet. Herod was afraid of John himself, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man; and took care of him and, obeying him, did a lot and listened to him with pleasure. 30. Departure of the Lord to Galilee. Matt. 4, 12; Mk. 4, 14; OK. 4, 1–3. After John was put into custody, the Lord Jesus, hearing about this, and also learning about the rumor that had reached the Pharisees that He was gaining more disciples and baptizing than John - although the Lord Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples - left Judea and went again to Galilee. 31. Stay in Samaria. In. 4, 4–43. The Lord Jesus had to pass through Samaria. He comes to the city of Samaria, called Sychar, near a piece of land given by Jacob to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. The Lord Jesus, weary from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about six o'clock. A woman comes from Samaria to draw water. The Lord Jesus said to her: Give Me something to drink (His disciples went into the city to buy food). The Samaritan woman said to Him: How can You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink? for Jews do not communicate with Samaritans. The Lord Jesus answered her: if you knew the gift of God and Who says to you: Give Me a drink, then you yourself would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. The woman says to Him: Master! you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: where do you get living water from? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, and his children, and his cattle? The Lord Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. The woman says to Him: Master! give me this water so that I won’t be thirsty and won’t have to come here to draw. The Lord Jesus says to her: Go, call your husband and come here. The woman answered: I have no husband. The Lord Jesus says to her: You said the truth that you have no husband. You have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband; That's right what you said. The woman says to Him: Lord! I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that the place where one should worship is in Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus says to her: Believe Me, that the time is coming when you will worship the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You do not know what you are bowing to; but we know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. But the time will come and has already come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. The woman says to Him: I know that the Messiah will come, that is, Christ; when He comes, He will tell us everything. The Lord Jesus says to her: It is I who speak to you. At this time His disciples came and were surprised that He was talking to a woman; however, not one said: what do you require? or: what are you talking to her about? Then the woman left her waterpot and went into the city, and said to the people, “Come, see a man, who told me all things that I have done: is not this the Christ?” They left the city and went to Him. Meanwhile, the disciples asked Him, saying: Rabbi! eat. But He said to them: I have food that you do not know. Therefore the disciples said among themselves: Who brought Him anything to eat? The Lord Jesus says to them: My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. Don't you say that there are still four months and the harvest will come? But I say to you: lift up your eyes and look at the fields, how they are white and ripe for harvest. He who reaps receives his reward and gathers fruit into Eternal Life, so that both he who sows and he who reaps will rejoice together, for in this case the saying is true: one sows, and the other reaps. I sent you to reap what you did not labor for: others labored, but you entered into their labor. And many Samaritans from that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman, who testified that He told her everything that she had done. And therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And an even greater number believed at His word. And they said to that woman: We no longer believe because of your words, for we ourselves have heard and learned that He is truly the Savior of the world, Christ. After two days He left there and went to Galilee. 32. Arrival in Galilee and passing Nazareth. Matt. 4, 13; OK. 4, 14; In. 4, 44, 45. And the Lord Jesus returned in strength of spirit to Galilee. When He came into it, the Galileans received Him with honor, having seen everything that He did in Jerusalem on the feast, for they also went to the feast. Having entered Galilee, the Lord left his native city of Nazareth and, having passed it, headed to Capernaum to settle there forever. For the Lord Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. (Cana lay on the way; the Lord entered it, which is why the courtier came here from Capernaum.) 33. Second miracle at Cana. In. 4, 46–54. So the Lord Jesus again came to Cana of Galilee, where he turned water into wine. There was a certain courtier in Capernaum whose son was sick. When he heard that the Lord Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he came to Him and asked Him to come and heal his son, who was dying. The Lord Jesus said to him: You will not believe unless you see signs and wonders. The courtier says to Him: Lord! come before my son dies. The Lord Jesus says to him: Go, your son is well. He believed the word that the Lord Jesus spoke to him and went. His servants met him on the road and said, “Your son is well.” He asked them: at what time did he feel better? They told him: yesterday at seven o'clock the fever left him. From which the father knew that this was the hour at which the Lord Jesus said to him, “Your son is well.” And he and his whole house believed. This second miracle was performed by the Lord Jesus, returning from Judea to Galilee. 34. Settlement in Capernaum. Matt. 4, 13–17; Mk. 1, 14, 15; OK. 4, 15. From Cana the Lord came and settled in Capernaum by the sea, within the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, who says: the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, on the seaside way, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the pagans, the people sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned (Is. 9, 1–2). From that time on, the Lord Jesus began to preach the Gospel about the Kingdom of God and say: repent, for the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God, the Heavenly, is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel. He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone. You might be interested in: