Беседа 10

“In those days John the Baptist comes and preaches in the wilderness of Judea and says: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:1–2) What time is meant by the expression “in those days.” – Why Christ was baptized at thirty years old. – The difference between the baptism of John and that given by Christ. – The purpose of John’s coming. – The appearance and activity of John were predicted in advance by the prophets. - John's lifestyle. - An exhortation to imitate John. – The proximity of judgment and the need for repentance. – Repentance consists not only in abandoning bad deeds, but also in replacing them with good deeds. - Why does God not quickly fulfill our requests? - The benefits of temptation. 1. What days are these? According to the testimony of St. Luke, John did not come in the days when Jesus was still a boy and returned to Nazareth, but after thirty years. How does it say here: “In those days”? In Scripture, this way of speech is very often used when it speaks not only of such incidents that immediately followed each other, but also of those that occurred after many years. So, when the disciples approached Jesus, who was sitting on the Mount of Olives, and wanted to learn from Him both about His coming and about the destruction of Jerusalem (and you know what the distance of time is between these two events), then He, having finished speaking about the destruction of the Jewish capital and moving on to the end of the world, added: “then this too will happen.” With the word “then” He did not confuse times, but meant only the time at which the end of the world would occur. The words are used here in exactly the same way: “In those days.” The evangelist points with these words not to those days that immediately followed, but to those in which what he intended to talk about was about to happen. But why, you say, did Jesus come to be baptized thirty years later? Because after this baptism He should have abolished the law. Lest anyone say that He abolished the law because He could not fulfill it, He fulfilled it with all accuracy throughout the entire duration of that age, which is usually capable of all kinds of sins. Not all passions act in us at all times; but at an early age there is usually more unreason and cowardice, later lust acts more strongly, and then, at the next age, covetousness. That is why Christ, having passed through all these ages and fulfilled the law in all of them, then comes to baptism, thereby concluding the fulfillment of all the commandments. And that baptism was the last of the legal works, listen to His words: “For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). The meaning of these words is this: we have fulfilled everything prescribed by the law, we have not broken a single commandment; and since only one baptism remains, we must add this too, and in this way we will fulfill all righteousness. By “righteousness” He means here the fulfillment of all the commandments. This shows why Christ began baptism. But why did John decide to baptize? According to Ev. Luke, the son of Zechariah did not proceed to baptism of his own accord, but at the instigation of God: “The word of God came” to him (Luke 3:2), i.e., the command of God to him. And John himself says: “He who sent me to baptize in water said to me: on whom you see the Spirit descending” like a dove, “and remaining on Him, he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). Why was he sent to perform baptism? And this again the Baptist himself explains to us, saying: “I did not know Him; but for this reason He came to baptize in water, so that He might be revealed to Israel” (John 1:31). But if this is one reason, then what about the Evang. Luke says: “He went through all the surrounding country of Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3)? John's baptism did not provide forgiveness of sins. This last was the gift of baptism given to us. In it we were buried with Christ; in it our old man was crucified with Christ; and before the cross of Christ, remission of sins is nowhere to be seen: it is everywhere attributed to His blood. And the Apostle Paul says: “But you were washed, but you were sanctified” not by the baptism of John, but “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). And in another place: “John baptized with the baptism of repentance,” no absolution was said, “so that they might believe in Him who would come after him” (Acts 19:4). And how could there be remission of sins when no sacrifice had yet been made, no Spirit (Holy) had descended, no sins had been atoned for, no enmity had been stopped, no curse had been destroyed? 2. So, what does it mean “for the forgiveness of sins”? The Jews were unrepentant and never felt their sins, but being subject to extreme vices, they always considered themselves righteous, and this especially destroyed them and alienated them from the faith. The Apostle Paul, reproaching them for this, said: “Not understanding the righteousness of God, trying to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3). And again: “What shall we say? The pagans, who did not seek righteousness, received righteousness [from faith]. But Israel, who sought the law of righteousness, did not achieve the law of righteousness. Why? because they [sought] not by faith, but by works of the law” (Rom. 9:30–32). Since this was the cause of their evils, John comes to bring them to the consciousness of their sins. This was expressed in his very appearance; which disposed them to repentance and confession of sins, his sermon showed the same thing, because he only said: “Produce fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). So, since ignorance of their sins, as the Apostle Paul says, removed them from Christ (while, on the contrary, from the thought of their sins comes the desire to seek the Redeemer and forgiveness), then the purpose of John’s coming was to dispose them to the knowledge of their sins and to incline them to repentance; not so that they would be punished, but so that through repentance they would become more humble, condemn themselves and resort to receiving forgiveness. Look with what precision the evangelist pointed this out. Having said that John “comes... and preaches in the desert of Judea... a baptism of repentance,” he added “for forgiveness,” as if saying to those: he convinced them to consciousness and repentance of their sins, not to punish them, but so that they could more conveniently receive the remission that would come later. If they had not condemned themselves, they would not have sought mercy; and without seeking it, they would not have been awarded remission of sins. So, John's baptism paved the way for another. That is why it is said: “So that they may believe in the One who comes after him.” These words, in addition to what we have indicated, also indicate a new reason for baptism. It was indecent for John to go around houses and, taking Christ by the hand, lead him everywhere, saying: believe in Him; It was also indecent to raise this blessed voice in front of everyone passing by, and to do everything else. That's why he came to baptize. Both respect for the Baptist and the purpose of the action itself attracted and called all the inhabitants to the Jordan, so that there was a great gathering of the people here. That is why he humbles those who come to him and convinces them not to think much about themselves, showing that they will be subjected to the greatest disasters if they do not repent - he convinces them to stop boasting about their ancestors and accept the future. At this time, the appearance of Christ was still hidden, and many, due to the beating that took place in Bethlehem, considered Him dead. True, He, while still twelve years old, discovered Himself, but soon became unknown again. That is why His appearance at the very beginning should have been especially famous and high. That is why John, for the first time, loudly preaches to the Jewish people what they had not heard from the prophets or anyone else - he reminds them of heaven and the heavenly kingdom, and no longer speaks of anything earthly. By the kingdom he meant the coming of Christ, both the first and the last. But why, you say, did he say this to the Jews when they did not understand his words? I say this for this reason, he will say, so that they, being excited by the mystery of the words, will begin to look for what is being preached. And indeed, John so inspired those who came to him with good hopes that even many publicans and soldiers asked: what should they do, and how to arrange their lives? - and this was a sign that they, having abandoned their everyday affairs, began to turn their gaze to other most important things, and, as if in a dream, imagine the future. Everything they saw and heard gave rise to lofty thoughts in them. 3. In fact, imagine what it was like to see a man coming out of the wilderness, after thirty years, the son of one of the high priests, one who never needed the things of men, was worthy of respect in every way, and, moreover, had the prophet Isaiah behind him, since this latter proclaimed about him, saying: “This is the one about whom I foretold that he would come crying in the wilderness, and preach with a loud voice about everything.” And indeed, the prophets were so caring in this case that they foretold long ago not only about their Master, but also about who would be His servant; and they foretold not only his face, but also the place where he would preach, and the manner of preaching that he would use for teaching, and what good consequences would come from his preaching. Look how both of them, that is, the prophet and the baptist, agree on one thought, although they do not express it in just words. Isaiah says that this will be the preaching of John: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make... His paths straight” (Is. 40:3); the baptizer himself, upon his coming, says: “Create fruits worthy of repentance” - this means the same thing as the words: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” Do you see that both the words spoken by the prophet and the preaching of John himself mean only that he came to prepare and prepare the way to Christ? He came not to give a gift, that is, remission of sins, but to prepare the souls of those who were about to receive the God of all. Luke adds something else; he gives not only the beginning of the prophecy, but conveys it in its entirety: “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” (Luke 3:5–6; Isa. 40:4). Do you see how he speaks? The prophet predicted everything long ago: the gathering of the people, and the change in things for the better, and the success of the sermon, and the cause of all these events - although all this was expressed figuratively, since these were prophetic words. When the prophet says: “Let every valley be filled, and every mountain and hill be made low... and the rough paths will become smooth,” he means by this that the humble will be exalted and the proud will humble themselves, and the difficulty of the law will change into the ease of faith. There will be no more labor and sweat, he says, but grace and forgiveness of sins will come, making the path of salvation easier. Then he indicates the reason for this, saying: “all flesh will see the salvation of God,” that is, not only the Jews and those who accepted their faith, but the whole earth and sea, and all human nature. Through obstinate he meant every corrupt life, meaning tax collectors, fornicators, robbers, wise men, and in general all those who previously lived corruptly, and then took the right path, as Christ himself said: “Publicans and harlots go ahead of you into the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 21:31), since they believed. The prophet expressed the same thing in other words: “Then the wolf will live together with the lamb” (Is. 11:6), “The wolf and the lamb will graze together” (Is. 65:25). Just as there, under the image of hills and wilds, he indicates the union of different morals into one consonant way of thinking, so here, in the properties of various animals, depicting the different morals of people, he says that they will also unite and agree with each other in piety; and here again, he presents the reason for this: “And it will come to pass,” he says, “in that day, that the Gentiles will turn to the root of Jesse, which will become like a banner for the nations, and its rest will be glory” (Is. 11:10). He gave the same reason there, saying: “And all flesh will see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6). In both cases, he indicates that the power and knowledge of the Gospel will spread to all ends of the earth, and the human race will move from brutal morals and from a rude way of thinking to meekness and gentleness. “John himself had clothing made of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist” (Matthew 3:4). Do you see how the prophets foretold some things, and left others to the evangelists? Why does Matthew give both prophecies and add them from himself, not considering it superfluous to say about the clothing of the righteous. 4. Indeed, it was strange and surprising to see such patience in the human body: this was what especially attracted the Jews. They saw in him the great Elijah; the spectacle they witnessed reminded them of this holy man, and even more amazed them. Indeed, he ate in cities and houses, but this one constantly lived in the desert from the very cradle. The Forerunner of the One who had to abolish everything ancient, such as work, curse, sorrow and sweat, had to himself have some signs of such a gift and be above the ancient condemnation. That's what he was. He neither tilled the land, nor cut the reins, nor ate bread by the sweat of his brow; but he had a table ready, found clothes lighter than a table, and cared even less about housing than about clothes. He had no need for a house, or a bed, or a table, or anything else like that, but, wearing flesh, he led some kind of angelic life. This is why he wore hair-hair clothing, so that through the clothing itself he could teach us to withdraw from humanity and have nothing to do with the earth, but to return to the former nobility in which Adam once was before he needed clothing and clothing. Thus, John’s very clothes served as a sign of both royal dignity and repentance. Don’t ask me where, living in the desert, he could get a hair shirt and a belt? If you ask about this, you will find many other questions, for example: how did he live in the desert during winter and during the heat of the sun, especially at an immature age and with a weak, not yet strengthened body? How could his child’s body endure such changes in weather, with such an unusual table and other disadvantages of desert life? Where are now those Greek philosophers who were vainly jealous of cynical shamelessness? What was the use of locking yourself in a barrel and then indulging in such vileness? Where are these philosophers who, neglecting all propriety, meanwhile had a multitude of rings, cups, servants and maidservants, and surrounded themselves with other pomp, thus going to two extremes? But John was not like that; he lived in the desert as in heaven, strictly following all the rules of philosophy, and from there, like an angel from heaven, he descended into cities - an ascetic of piety, crowned by the entire universe, and a philosopher of philosophy worthy of heaven. Moreover, he was such when sin had not yet been resolved, the law had not yet ceased, death had not yet been bound, the bronze gates had not yet been broken down, but when the Old Testament was still in force. Such is the courageous and strong soul: it goes everywhere and conquers all obstacles. Such was Paul in the new covenant. But why, you say, did John wear a belt along with his clothes? This was the custom of the ancients before soft and bloated clothing came into use. This is how Peter girded himself, as did Paul: “A man,” they say, “whose girdle is this” (Acts 21:11). Elijah was dressed the same way; Each of the saints dressed in the same way, because they were constantly at work: either traveling, or doing something else necessary and working. However, it was not for this reason alone that they dressed in this way, but also because they disdained all decorations and loved a strict and austere life; and Christ places this in the greatest praise of virtue: “What,” he says, “did you go to see? a person dressed in soft clothes? Those who wear soft garments are in the palaces of kings” (Matthew 11:8). 5. If John, this so pure man, the brightest of heaven and the highest of all the prophets, greater than whom there was no one and who had such boldness, if he led such a harsh life, completely neglecting all unnecessary pleasures, then what kind of justification will we have, who, after the great benefits shown to us, and despite the countless sins that burden us, do not show even the slightest part of his repentance, but are drunk, are we satiated, anointed with perfumes, live no better than theatrical harlots, indulge in every possible way, and thus make ourselves easy prey for the devil? “Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the surrounding Jordan came out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:5–6). Do you see how powerfully the appearance of the prophet had an effect, how it made all the people perk up, how it brought them to a sense of their sins? And truly, it was a wonderful sight for the Jews when they saw that John in human form manifested such deeds, spoke with such boldness, stood up to everyone as if they were children, and shone with special grace in his face. Their surprise increased even more from the fact that the prophet’s appearance followed after a long time (after all, the prophetic grace became scarce among them and returned to them after a long time). And the very way of preaching was somehow strange and special. In fact, they did not hear anything ordinary from John: neither about earthly wars, battles and victories, nor about the disasters of famine and pestilence, nor about the Babylonians and Persians, nor about the capture of the city, nor about anything else ordinary, but about heaven, the kingdom of heaven and torment in Gehenna. That is why the Jews, despite the fact that shortly before that time the accomplices of the rebels Judas and Theudas were all beaten in the Jordanian desert, were not at all afraid to go there. John did not call them with the same intention as these troublemakers, i.e. to incline them to the restoration of the kingdom, rebellion and innovation, but to guide them to the kingdom of heaven. That is why he did not keep them in the desert in order to lead them with him, but released them, teaching them baptism and the rules of strict life; He tried by all means to instill in them to despise everything earthly, and to ascend and constantly strive for the future. Let us also imitate John, and leaving lust and drunkenness, we will begin a life of abstinence. Now is the time of repentance for both the unbaptized and the baptized, so that some, having repented, become partakers of the holy sacrament, and others, having washed away the filth acquired after baptism, begin the meal with a clear conscience. Let us leave this voluptuous and depraved life. It’s impossible, it’s absolutely impossible to both repent and indulge in voluptuousness at the same time. And let John’s clothing, food, and dwelling assure you of this. Well, you say, will you order us to lead such a harsh life? I don’t order, but I advise and ask. If this is impossible for you, then at least while remaining in the cities, we will perform repentance. The court is already at the door. Yes, even if he were not so close, nevertheless, we should not be careless, because the end of everyone’s life has the same power for the one recalled to the future life as the end of the world. And that judgment is already at the door, listen to how Paul says about it: “The night is past, but the day is near” (Rom. 13:12); and elsewhere: “He who comes will come and will not tarry” (Heb. 10:37). And the very signs announcing the day of judgment have already been revealed, because it is said: “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). 6. Notice especially these words. The Savior did not say: when all people believe, but: when it is preached to everyone. That is why He added: “as a testimony to all nations,” thereby making it known that He will not delay His coming until everyone believes. “For testimony” here means: for accusation, for denunciation, for condemnation of those who did not believe. And we, hearing and seeing this, sleep and see dreams, as if immersed in the deepest midnight sleep. And indeed, what is happening now in reality, whether joyful or sad, is no better than dreams. That is why I beg you to finally awaken and look towards the Sun of Truth. A sleepy person cannot see the sun and delight his gaze with the beauty of its rays. If he sees anything, then everything is as if in a dream. So, we now need deep repentance and abundant tears, both because we sin and remain insensitive, and because our sins are great and exceed forgiveness. And that I am not lying is witnessed by most of the listeners. However, although our sins exceed forgiveness, let us still turn to repentance, and we will be rewarded with crowns. I call repentance not only to lag behind previous bad deeds, but also to show great good deeds. “Create,” it says, “these fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). How can we create them? Doing the opposite. For example, did you steal someone else's property? Go ahead and give yours. Have you been fornicating for a long time? Now abstain from your wife on certain days; get used to abstinence. Did he insult and even beat anyone he met? Forward, bless those who offend you and do good to those who beat you. To heal us, it is not enough just to remove the arrow, but we also need to apply medicine to the wound. Have you indulged in voluptuousness and drunkenness before? Now fast and drink water; try to destroy the evil that came from your previous life. Have you ever looked with voluptuous eyes at someone else's beauty? To be on the safe side, don't look at women at all. “Avoid,” it is said, “from evil and do good” (Ps. 33:15), and also: “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful words” (Ps. 33:14). And I demand that you still say good things. “Seek peace and follow it” (Ps. 33:15) not only with people, but also with God. It is beautifully said: “follow”. Truly the world was rejected and expelled, and, leaving the earth, it went to heaven. But we can bring it back again, if only, leaving behind pride, arrogance and everything that hinders it, we want to lead a modest and meek life. In fact, there is nothing worse than brazen arrogance. It is this that makes us pompous and at the same time servile, and therefore in the first case funny, in the second disgusting, and thus simultaneously produces two opposite vices: pride and vile flattery. If we eradicate this insatiable passion, then we will be truly humble and high without any danger to ourselves. From excess, after all, damage to the juices in our bodies occurs, and when the constituent parts of our body, due to excess, go beyond their boundaries, then countless diseases and terrible cases of death are born. The same thing happens with the soul. 7. So, let us cut off all immensity and, having accepted the saving medicine of moderation, we will live decently, as we should, and we will be diligent in prayer. Even if we do not receive what we ask for, we will pray that we may receive it; If we receive it, we will not stop praying even after we receive what we ask for. God does not delay the fulfillment of our petitions for anything else, but in order to delay us to arouse us to vigilant prayers. This is why He postpones the fulfillment of our requests and often allows us to fall into temptation, so that we constantly run to Him and do not leave Him. This is what loving fathers and child-loving mothers do: seeing that their children cease to caress them and leave them to play with their peers, they often order their servants to frighten them in order to force them to run to their mother’s arms through fear. Likewise, God often threatens us, not because He is ready to fulfill His threats over us, but in order to attract us to Himself. That is why, when we turn to Him, He immediately ceases to be formidable. If we were the same both in prosperity and in temptations, then there would be no need for temptations. And what should we say about ourselves? And the holy men themselves were often admonished by temptations. That is why the prophet says: “It is good for me that I have suffered” (Ps. 119:71). And Christ himself says to the apostles: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). Paul also means the same thing when he says: “A thorn was given to me in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to afflict me” (2 Cor. 12:7). That is why, although he asked to get rid of this temptation, he did not receive what he asked for, because it was of great benefit to him. If we go through David’s entire life, we will find that he, too, was brighter during the tribulations. And not only him, but also all others like him. Thus Job shone most during the tribulations; It was then that Joseph became most famous; also Jacob, and his father and his father's father, and all who ever shone and received the most brilliant crowns, were crowned and glorified from sorrows and temptations. Knowing all this, let us not, in the words of the wise, “be embarrassed during the visit” (Sir. 2:2), and let us learn the only thing to endure everything courageously, and, no matter what happens to us, not to be curious about anything and not to worry. Knowing when our sorrows should end belongs to God, who allows them, and to endure these sorrows with all gratitude is a matter of our gratitude. If this happens, then everything will be fine with us. And for this to really happen, for us to be more glorious here on earth and more brilliant in heaven, let us accept everything that befalls us with gratitude to the One who knows better than we what is good for us, and who loves us more than our parents themselves. Remembering these two thoughts to ourselves with every disaster that befalls us, we will tame our sorrow and glorify God, who in all cases creates and arranges everything in our favor. In this way, we will easily repel all slander and receive incorruptible crowns, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: