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When our Lord taught about the beatitudes, He looked at the disciples: “Jesus lifted up His eyes on them and began to say: Blessed are the poor in their spirit” (cf. Luke 6:20, Matt. 5:1-3), that is, the poor because they reject everything from themselves. And so as not to renounce poverty itself, he adds: “Blessed are the meek” (Matthew 5:5). “The meekest man... was Moses... of all the sons of his people” (cf. Num. 12:3), and: “Whom... will I look upon and in whom will I dwell, if not the meek and... lowly in heart” (cf. Is. 66:2). Also, “remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness” (Ps. 131:1), and: “learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29), “Blessed is he who hungers and thirsts for righteousness” (cf. Matt. 5:6), as (and elsewhere) says (Scripture): “does not hunger for bread or thirst for water, but hungers and... thirsts to hear the word of the Lord” (cf. Is. 49:10, Ps. 41:3, 62:2). “Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God” (cf. Matt. 5:8), as the prophet asked in his prayer, saying: “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps. 50:12). The heart of the righteous is pure, and they, like Moses (Ex. 33:18–23), will see God. “Blessed are those who are pure in heart” (cf. Matt. 5:8), because the heart is a respiratory organ and does not stop beating as long as a person is alive, and when the heart is holy, it communicates its holiness to all members. “In the heart,” he says, “all thoughts... are evil” (cf. Mark 7:21, Matthew 15:18). “Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted” (cf. Matt. 5:4), as well as there: “if... we endure with Him, (with Him) we are also glorified” (cf. Rom. 8:17). “Blessed are the peacemakers, for... they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9), - since the Angels, when they preached the gospel, said: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace” (Luke 2:14). “And he made peace,” says (the apostle), “by the blood of His Cross between what is in heaven and what is on earth” (cf. Col. 1:20). And when (the Lord) sent His disciples, He said to them: “Whatever house you enter, first say: peace to this house” (Luke 10:5). So, he calls peacemakers sons of God, as he says: “Whoever walk in the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (cf. Rom. 8:14). “Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness” (cf. Matt. 5:10), as he says (in another place): “they will persecute you and betray you” (cf. Luke 21:12), and: “and those who want to live in the righteousness of Jesus...Christ will suffer persecution” (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12). Therefore, the apostles, when they were subjected to reproach, rejoiced, for “they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor... for His name’s sake” (cf. Acts 5:41), as the Lord commanded them: “rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward... in heaven...” (Matthew 5:12), and: “in that day... you will rejoice” (cf. Luke 6:23). “Woe to you who are rich” (Luke 6:24). Note that the Lord did not end (His speech) with this word 103, so that this (saying) would not be applied to all the rich. Just as, having said: “blessed are the poor in their spirit” (cf. Matt. 5:3), with the addition “in their spirit,” he indicated that this word should not be extended to everyone (the poor); but by saying: “Woe to you who are rich” (Luke 6:24), he designated those who seek nothing else but wealth. So, beatitudes are not promised so that in their name, as if with a beautiful cover, they cover up evil, but they go (promised) to those who (perfectly) fulfill what is contained in them. Anyone can appropriate names (for themselves) under any pretext, but the deed indicated by the name is characteristic of someone who does not want to appropriate for himself the name of a virtue that he does not have. So, special bliss is promised for special deeds, and special gifts are promised to special people who are preparing a reward for themselves through heroism. Both the reward that follows good deeds and the punishment that follows crime are foreshadowed. Just as through the assistance of the sun and the eye everything visible that is in heaven and on earth is contemplated, so God the Life-Creator is the light of the living, and when he communicates with the mind (of man), he directs him to the knowledge of the mysteries, leads him to the abyss of wisdom, and reveals to him the hidden. Because: “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), and: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). He said to the scribes and Pharisees who were present and looking for a reason to accuse Him: “I did not come to destroy the law or the prophets... but to fulfill them” (cf. Matt. 5:17). But execution is needed where there is a lack. And what kind of fulfillment should be, (this) shows, saying: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about Me will be fulfilled” (cf. Luke 18:31). And about the shortcomings he said: “The old things have passed away” (2 Cor. 5:17). To those who have been baptized into that which is perfect, and have been immersed in that which is more excellent, and renewed by that which is more abundant, he says: “It is sooner for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to perish” (Luke 16:17), and: “Whoever breaks one of the commandments...” (cf. Matt. 5:19), that is, of the New Testament. “Whoever strikes you on (one) cheek...turn to him the other also” (cf. Matt. 5:39). By this he asserts that the saying (spoken by the ancients) “blow for blow” (cf. Ex. 21:23–25) is imperfect, since he established what is perfect and true in the days of grace, saying: “unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, then you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven” (cf. Matt. 5:20). So, to those it was said: “Do not kill” (Ex. 20:13), but to you: “There is no anger” (cf. Matt. 5:22); to those: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14), and to you: “Thou shalt not lust” (cf. Matt. 5:28); there: “tooth for tooth” (Ex. 21:24, Lev. 24:20, Deut. 19:21), - and here: “whoever strikes you on... your cheek,... turn to him the other also” (cf. Matt. 5:39). And in another way he teaches the same thing: “if you want to bring your gift to your altar, then... leave... your gift... and go... be reconciled” (cf. Matt. 5:23-24), which he said so that no one would doubt whether it is fair or not to neglect the Divine sacrifice and leave the criminals without vengeance. “If your righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” (Matthew 5:20). Because if the law commands: “You shall not gather ears of corn after your harvest, and do not knock down your olives twice, and do not glean grapes from your vineyard, but let it remain for the poor” (cf. Lev. 19:9-10), - if this is said to those who live under the law, then what is commanded to Christians, to whom the Lord said: “If your righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees...then you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (cf. Matthew 5:20)! “You have heard that it was said... do not kill, for whoever kills will be subject to judgment. But I say to you: whoever says to his brother is foolish” (cf. Matt. 5:21–22). Because this name (mad) also insults a person due to the disdain it expresses. A man, although simple, understands the flow of time, but a wise man understands the flow of thoughts 104. So, I wanted to bring the perfect to the perfect, that is, the perfect to the Angels. With the Lord, the righteous are guilty, so that they themselves acknowledge themselves guilty to each other. God gave freedom to man, whom he created in His own image, to rule over desire, just as God has (this) by His very nature. And he will accept, like God, although he already owned everything by nature, but freely subjected Himself to the variability of human life. “You have heard that it was said: ... do not commit adultery. But I say to you: ... whoever looks and lusts commits adultery” (cf. Matt. 5:27-28). And since there were those who loved wealth, luxury, pleasures and words that incite evil, the Lord said: “if... your hand or your foot causes you to stumble...” (cf. Matt. 5:29-30). For if this commands you regarding the members themselves, then why do you spare wealth, or pleasures, or bad words, which (everything) can easily be removed (from yourself?) 105 . After all, if by cutting off a member you remove quarrels, slander and enmity from yourself, then why don’t you cut off your tongue, since by cutting off this one member, you necessarily achieve peace from all evils? Either you did something bad, or you misunderstood, or you failed to cut off a member, or you accepted the commandment foolishly. It is precisely because you did not mutilate yourself that you are exposed for having done something bad, for you did not cut off a member because you were afraid of suffering and wanted to break a commandment rather than destroy a member. Let us see whether the blasphemy ceases when the tongue is cut out. If they stop, then those who do not cut off do evil. If they do not stop, then those who cut off understood (the commandment) poorly. Or how would the Lord command to cut off members that perish when they are cut off, if the very attraction to evil is not destroyed (by this)? So, what should be cut off is not the members that the Divine will has united, but the evil thoughts that freedom weaves together. Further, with these words, the Lord teaches us how much we must fight so as not to be defeated, as in another place (he says): “Rend your hearts, not your garments” (Joel 2:13). For for the rich young man mentioned in the Gospel (Matthew 19:16, Mark 10:21, Luke 18:22), wealth was his “right eye” (cf. Matt. 5:29), which tempted him, and which he did not snatch or throw away from himself. And for Herod, his “right hand” was Herodias, but it did not happen that he would cut off and throw away this vile hand, so (instead of this hand) he cut off and threw away the holy head (Matthew 14:10, Mark 6:28, Luke 9:9) 106. Simon cut off and threw away all the members of the old man, so that they would not offend him. “Behold,” he says, “we have left everything” (Matthew 19:27). So, when you hear everything, know that they did not leave behind the eyes, ears, or nose of the “old man” (Rom. 6:6), which they did not tear out or throw away from them. The eye (cf. Matthew 5:29) (the Lord) calls lust, which occurs with the help of the eye, ears - slander, and so on separately. And the apostle says in a similar way: “Therefore put to death your bodies: that is, fornication,” etc. (cf. Col. 3:5). The right eye also means love, since a person is inflamed with love for a woman when he sees her, and therefore these words are in common use. Further, he called care for food by hand, and haste (to evil) by foot. But the Merciful One kept silent about the tongue, no doubt because there are not two tongues in the body. In addition, the tongue itself did not want to talk about cutting off the tongue, although this silence already speaks against the tongue and about the tongue 107. “Whoever says to his brother is empty or foolish” (cf. Matt. 5:22). Notice that you are not rewarded as much as you share. For if you say to an adulterer, “Adulterer,” then there is no reward for you, and he will not tolerate more punishment than he deserves. If the adulterer pays attention to what is said about him, then he will inherit double, instead of what was before; But what the Scripture says will come to you: “let it be done to him (as) he wanted to do to his brother.” For the truth, according to which you hasten to give him what he deserves, does not hesitate and will not be lazy in giving you what you deserve 109. Thus, the murder of one who is falsely censured for murder falls on the one who blames, just as the adultery of one slandered falls on the slanderer. The idolatry of the people is called adultery. Therefore, it would not be inappropriate to call this slander 110 adultery, since he also departed from the truth. Investigate this and understand that (all this) is in all respects the same and equal. So, there is a time when Satan leads a person into wickedness 111 through one of his members and incites him (to evil), and there is a time when through the mouth of others he falsely throws one of the shameful names at a person and defiles him: thus he incites the one (who slandered) to reproaches, and the listeners (he disposes) to believe them. “You have heard that it was said: an eye for an eye... But I say to you: do not resist evil at all” (cf. Matthew 5:38–39). That is, when the time appointed for feeding with milk was fulfilled (ended), then solid food was announced (1 Cor. 3:1, Heb. 5:12–14). For at first the times of vengeance were instituted, since first it was necessary to separate them from evil, but when righteousness has fulfilled its duty, then mercy and grace also show their work. “An eye for an eye” (Lev.24:20) is a matter of righteousness, and “whoever strikes you on... (one) cheek...turn to him the other also” (cf. Matt.5:39) is a matter of grace. And since both 112 in what they offered for consumption formed one continuous whole, then through both covenants they were poured out on us. The first covenant killed animals for propitiation, since the truth did not allow one (man) to die for another; the second covenant was established by the Blood of That Man, Who, by His grace, gave Himself for all. So one was the beginning and the other was the end, since that which has a beginning and an end is perfect. To those who lack the understanding of wisdom, the beginning and the end seem different and separated from each other, but for the one who examines correctly they are one. Therefore, that cheek is attached to the perfect cheek 113. “Whoever strikes you on... (one) cheek...turn to him the other also” (cf. Matt. 5:39). We recognize the former covenant in its essence as water, but if we keep this: “who will strike you on the cheek,” then we drink like wine. So, one (covenant) is offered to us so that we, through oblivion, do not introduce what is alien to it, the other (the same) serves for our success, so that we, through error, do not do what has passed (was), and through what has been added, it has received, as it were, a new color and freshness, like water turned into wine. Therefore, leaving aside the shortcomings of other people, let us take care of our own (spiritual) prosperity every day 114. Let us not think that we have done anything, but we will believe that everything was created for our sake, for we received the commandment to love our enemies for our own sake, and not for their sake. Our Lord came into the world as an unarmed youth, and did not inflict on them any of the wounds with which the ancients weakened the people, but after He attracted them to Himself, having conquered them with visible healing, He began to apply spiritual healing to them, saying: “If you believe” (Acts 8:37). Since he surpassed all teachers, (therefore) what was given in measure increased in measure, and what was transmitted by his predecessors reached Him; He divided (everything) like a ripe fruit, (leaving parts) with the taste that He Himself gave to it. When he suffered on His cheek, he showed the deed along with the commandment, and taught what is written: “Whoever strikes you on... (one) cheek...turn to him the other also” (cf. Matt. 5:39) Moses brought them down from the level of circumcision and placed them on the level of righteousness. Do not hit, he says, your neighbor unjustly, because if he hits you, then you will seek vengeance righteously. The Lord elevated them from the level of righteousness and placed them on the level of grace, saying: do not seek revenge on the one who hits you on the cheek, but turn the other to him. So, whoever still wants to hit the Mosaic truth destroys the truth that taught him: do not strike unjustly. The Israelite who resorted to vengeance, of course, received a reward, since then the debts were subject to collection, 115 and was not worthy of blame, because he did not do injustice. Don't you think that the one who adds interest on this commandment of our Lord to the fixed capital, by forgiveness destroys what he did not collect 116? No way. Now, the reward for the first blow is preserved for him out of necessity, since as a result of it he suffered suffering, but the reward for the second blow also belongs to him, because he doomed himself to it, although he did not suffer suffering because of it. So, the Lord freed from unrighteousness, like Moses, and added much to what this (last) one gave. Therefore, whoever resorts to revenge will undoubtedly destroy 117. Since he did not want to secretly expose the selfish people, he taught them through His patience how great glory patience would gain. And there were many who avenged Him, since He Himself did not avenge Himself. When He was nailed to the nails of the Cross, even the lights, through their darkness, became His avengers and defenders. Therefore, note that the words, although they seem mutually contradictory, nevertheless acquire a crown of rewards. So, let's start with the first step. There is great benefit for the one who does not unjustly strike his neighbor, and a great reward for the one who does not seek the vengeance that rightfully belongs to the offender, and a great victory for the one who in grace repays blow for blow 118 . He did not act unjustly, therefore he did not sin, and did not receive vengeance, therefore he accepted retribution, and gave even more abundantly, therefore he is crowned. “And you, when you fast... wash your face... and anoint your head” (Matthew 6:17). By this the Lord teaches you, firstly, not to be so concerned about pleasing people that your fasts do not take place for the sake of glory before people, and, secondly, so that, by fasting in secret fasts, you gain the favor of the Rewarder for secret fasts. “Lest... you should appear fasting before men” (cf. Matt. 6:18), so that the praise of those who know about your fasts does not deprive you of the reward for fasting. “Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:18). The divine words: “wash your face... and anoint your head” (Matthew 6:17) call you to the mysterious. He who becomes fat with the knowledge of God anoints his head, and he who cleanses the face of his spiritual faculties from impurity washes his face. Therefore, receive this commandment concerning the inner members, and wash the face of your spirit from the filthiness of unrighteousness, and anoint your head with holiness, so that you may be revealed to be a partaker of Christ. “If the light that is in you is darkness” (Matthew 6:23), that is, if you sin in almsgiving, which illuminates, that is, justifies, how much more do you sin in sins that darken. Adultery and blasphemy can only be considered from one point of view, since they represent nothing else but the causes of crimes; almsgiving has two sides, namely: if it is given for the sake of human glory, it leads to crime, but if the hands of the giver are extended to a needy brother out of mercy, then it also extends its thoughts to God, who rewards, as the Scripture says: “Where your treasures are, there will your hearts be” (cf. Matt. 6:21). “Do not judge,” that is, unrighteously, “so that you will not be judged” (Matthew 7:1), that is, for unrighteousness. “Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37), that is, if a person judges with truth, then he forgives with mercy, so that he may be worthy of the mercy of forgiveness when he himself is judged with truth. Or for the sake of judges who take revenge on themselves, he said: “do not punish,” that is, do not seek punishment in your own case; or: do not judge on religious grounds and on (personal) opinions and do not immediately punish, but prove and exhort. “Whoever has, to him will be given, and whoever does not have, we will take away from him and what he thinks he has” (cf. Luke 8:18), as well as the following: “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13, etc.), that is, whoever had spiritual ears in their bodily ears to hear His spiritual word, to them he gave teaching and instruction more abundant than they had before. But from those who thought they had it, he took away what they had, as it is said: “They will look with their eyes and will not see” (cf. Matt. 13:14, Is. 6:9-10, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, etc.). “Whoever has, to him will be given, and whoever does not have, we will take away from him this and that” (cf. Luke 8:18). How can one who is unworthy of what he possesses hope to acquire for himself what he does not have? So, whoever is worthy of what he has, what he does not have will be given to him; from the one who is unworthy, even what he has will be taken away. As much as a person can accept, (this) is given to him by grace, which, together with the promise of further similar (same) mercy, descends on the recipient and rests in him. Whoever has, more will be given to him, so that by grace within himself he may abound in all riches. So, at the present time, what is given to us is given to us, otherwise it would not have been given, as the Scripture says. Thus, the spirit of wisdom is not given to the foolish person, so that he does not suffer damage from this lamp. But the Holy Spirit, the revealer of the sacraments, is given to the wise and understanding man, so that wisdom, the source of joys, may flourish in him, and the word of joy may be with him. We received a loan, so we will repay. Therefore, if we confess the One who lent to us, He will give us more than what we have received. If we reject Him, then we should not doubt that with Him is what we received. Although everything that we received would be with us, however, if we reject it, (in fact) it is with Him; if we give thanks and believe, then (everything) that He has, we also have. “Whoever has, to him will be given” (Luke 8:18). Paul, who had legal truth, was given life-giving faith; and whoever does not have such righteousness as to fulfill the law, even what he has will be taken away from him, for the path of the law extends even to John the Baptist. The same thing happens to those who think that their sins have been forgiven. “Do not give what is holy to dogs” (Matthew 7:6). Just as the one who does not proclaim His Gospel commits a sin because he does not keep its commandments, so (the same) is the one who gives what is holy to dogs. Although dogs would not have devoured the holy things and pigs would not have trampled the pearls, yet the one who does this turns out to be an accomplice and assistant to his master who hides the money (Matthew 25:14-29). This (last) one did not multiply, he did not save. “He came with the elders of the people and asked Him not to disdain to come and save his... servant. And when He gave a sign to go, He said to Him: Lord... do not labor... but just say the word and you will be healed. And when He heard this, He was surprised” (cf. Luke 7:2–9, Matthew 8:5–10). God was surprised at the man. And he said: “I have not found in anyone in Israel... such faith” (cf. Matt. 8:10, Luke 7:9) - in order to shame the Israelites, for they did not believe in Him (like) that stranger. This one took the Jews with him so that they would serve as intercessors for him, but the Jews turned out to be worthy of blame, because there was no one among them who believed in Him. Therefore, “they will go into outer darkness” (cf. Matt. 8:12). The son of the Virgin came out to meet the widow's son (Luke 7:11-12), and for the widow's tears he was like a wiper, 119 and for the son's death - his life. Death retreated to its place, turning back before the victor. “Foxes have their dwellings, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head” (cf. Matt. 8:20), that is, in that man there was neither the rest of the head nor the dwelling of the Divine 120. “On whom... will I look,” he says, “and in whom will I dwell, except in the meek,” etc. (cf. Is. 66:2). Or: since he 121 I saw that the dead were rising and the dumb were speaking, then I thought to myself that the One who does such things also has a lot of silver, and therefore he said: “I will go... and follow You” (cf. Matthew 8:19) As a result of this, I received the answer: foxes have their own dwellings, but He does not have what foxes have, that is, dwellings. He who was sleeping stood up and put the sea to sleep, so that on the sea, which he had put to sleep in a storm, he could clearly reveal the power of the Divine Who does not sleep (Matthew 8:23–27, Luke 8:24, Mark 4:39). “I forbade the wind and... stopped.” What kind of power is this? Or what is the mercy of Jesus? For by force and command he subjugated the sea to himself. So, through what did not belong to Him, that is, through the storm of the sea and those demons whom He made mute, He showed Himself to be the Son of the Creator 122. The Gergesinians decided not to go out (towards) and not to see the sign of the Lord (Matthew 8:28–34, Mark 5:1–20, Luke 8:26–39). Therefore, He drowned their herd of pigs, so that they would come out (to Him) against their will. The legion that was pacified is the image of the world that turned to meekness and virtue, and whose fury was tamed and restrained by Him who gives life to all. If demons could not enter pigs until they received permission, then how much less can they enter the image of God 123. Let the infidels hear that Christ can cast out demons from one (person) and send (them) into others, and they will fear God. For who delivered them from demons operating in secret, if not the same One who commanded them to enter into pigs, and not into people? About Whom they said: “Of course, by the power of... Beelzebub... He casts out demons” (cf. Matthew 9:34, 12:24, Mark 3:22, Luke 11:15), He (in fact) fought with Satan on the mountain, and here with the legion led by him. “And as soon as they entered into the swine, they immediately drank them” (Luke 8:33), so that the merciful nature of the Lord would be revealed, which saved this man. “And the demons began to ask him not to drive them out of this place and not to send them to Gehenna before their time” (cf. Matthew 8:31, Luke 8:31). Who said: “go... into the eternal fire prepared for Satan and his angels” (cf. Matt. 25:41), - how does he expel Beelzebub here and assign Gehenna to him? 124. That this was so is evidenced by the word: “so as not to send them ahead of time to Gehenna” (Mark 5:10, Matt. 8:29, Luke 8:31). The Gergesinians expelled from their city the One who had the power to cast out demons from their country. And since the inhabitants of that land were afraid that He would not command the demons to enter into them, He sent a (healed) man, saying: “Go, preach” that evil is approaching them, because the demons, which were cast out from everywhere, are preparing to enter into them. Since the Exorcist of demons was not allowed to enter their place, their sorrows intensified (for they prevented the coming of their Doctor). And if the Merciful One is the Son of another God, then how did he drown the pigs, which are considered the unclean work of the Creator, and did to the demons what they wanted, but caused a lot of (loss) to the owner of the herd, and why did the devils recognize their Exorcist? This refers to the further words of the Lord: “for you have already received your consolation” (Luke 6:24). If simple or uneducated people know how to observe the passage of time, then the wise understand the passage of thoughts, and therefore can moderate and suppress movements of anger and words that cause offense. These and the following words of Saint Ephraim denounce those sectarians who, roughly understanding the commandments of Christ, literally fulfilled them on themselves. The meaning of the reasoning of the holy father, apparently, is this: if I, says the Lord, commanded you to cut off your very members, as you think, then why don’t you renounce wealth, pleasures and other things, although it is much easier to reject this than to cut off your very members? Those. chapter of John the Baptist. By keeping silent about the tongue, the Lord thereby gave people an example of silence, that is, he spoke about the tongue and against its abuse. Those. exposed adulterer. The idea of ​​this obscure passage seems to be this: if you say “adulterer” to an unrepentant adulterer (without intending to correct him), then neither you will receive a reward for it, nor will the adulterer suffer more punishment than he deserves. If you continue to say this about the adulterer, who, as a result of your censures, has already turned to better things, then he will not only be freed from the punishment that he previously deserved, but will also achieve a reward, and you, who are persecuting him with slander, will receive the punishment that you wanted for him. For the guilt of the slandered person falls on the head of the slanderer. Therefore, slander in adultery deserves the name of adultery, just like idolatry That is falsely accused of adultery. Literally: “puts the work of wickedness into a person.” Truth and grace. In this and the following thoughts, Saint Ephraim denounces the heretics who considered the Old and New Testaments to be opposite and therefore incompatible The Old Testament is connected to the New as one cheek is connected to the other. The Old Testament was preserved for us in Scripture so that we would not forget about the events described in it and would not consider the Old Testament revelation to be different from the New Testament revelation. The New Testament was given so that, leaving behind what was imperfect and transitory in the Old Testament, we strive for the highest perfection That is in the kingdom of righteousness under the law, and not forgiven, as in the Kingdom of grace. This beautiful comparison of the reward of righteousness with capital, and the reward of grace with interest, clearly shows that the commandments of the New Testament by no means exclude the commandments of the Old Testament That is reward of law and grace. Those. who repays the offender with good deeds (Rom. 12:20). The meaning of this place, apparently, is this: in that stingy and proud scribe who expressed a desire to follow Christ, the head, that is, the main thing in a person, (or soul), did not have true peace and was not the abode of the Divine, because God dwells in the meek in heart That is the scribe spoken of (Matthew 8:19–20). This refers to heretics who considered the material world to be the creation of an evil god. Those. if He works miracles with the help of Beelzebub. You might be interested in: