Беседа 74

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, and say: If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their accomplices in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.” (Matthew 23:29–30) Why does Christ condemn the Pharisees for building the tombs of the prophets. – The Pharisees feigned condemnation of their fathers and surpassed them in wickedness. “Those who do not understand by punishing others suffer the heaviest punishment. – Christ’s love for the Jews and execution for rejecting it. “The later repentance of the Jews will not benefit them. – An exhortation to take care of the soul and treat mental illnesses – in particular the love of money – from spiritual doctors. 1. Christ says: “Woe” to the scribes and Pharisees - not because they build tombs and condemn their fathers, but because, both in the first case and in the feigned condemnation of their fathers, they act worse than them. And that their condemnation was feigned, this is stated in Luke, where they are called accomplices of the fathers, because they build tombs. “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets whom your fathers killed: by this you testify to the works of your fathers and agree with them, for they killed the prophets, and you build tombs for them” (Luke 11:47–48). Here Christ condemns their intention with which they built; It was they who built the tombs not in honor of the murdered, but as if boasting of the murder, and out of fear that the testimony and memory of such their audacity, over time, would not perish along with the destroyed monuments; they built tombs, erecting magnificent buildings, like trophies, and thus showed that they were seeking glory for themselves in the crime of their fathers. Indeed, as Christ says, your truly daring actions show that you do this with the same intention. Although you, He says, under the pretext of accusing your fathers, say the opposite - that is, that we would not have been their accomplices if we had lived in those days - it is clear with what thought you say this. That is why Christ, revealing this intention, explains it this way. Having said: “Say: if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their accomplices in [shedding] the blood of the prophets,” he added: “Thus you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets” (Matthew 23:30-31). But what crime is it to be the son of a murderer if this son does not participate in the father’s intention? None. From here it is obvious that Christ tells them this in order to let them know about their participation in the atrocity of their fathers. This is proven by the following words that He added: “Serpents, brood of vipers!” (Matthew 23:33). Just as vipers, in their deadly poison, are like those who gave birth to them, so you are like your fathers in murder. Further, having discovered their intention, unknown to many, He confirms His words with their future daring actions, which everyone will know about. Having said: “Thus you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who beat the prophets,” and thereby making it known that He was speaking about their participation in the atrocity and that they were falsely saying: “then you would not have been their accomplices,” he added: “Complete the measure of your fathers” (Matthew 23:32), without giving a command, but only foreshadowing the future, namely the murder of Himself. Having thus denounced them and shown the falsity of the words that they spoke in defense of themselves - namely, that we would not have been their accomplices (indeed, those who could not resist killing the Lord, how would they have spared the slaves?) - after this he strengthens His speech, calling them serpents and brood of vipers, and continues: “How will you escape from condemnation to Gehenna?” , daring to such daring actions, and renouncing them and hiding your intention? Further, denouncing them with even greater force in a different way, He says: “I am sending to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some you will kill and crucify, and others you will scourge in your synagogues” (Matthew 23:34). And so that they would not say that although we crucified the Lord, we would have refrained from killing slaves if we had lived at that time, he says: behold, I am sending slaves to you, and the prophets themselves, but you will not spare them either. Christ says this in order to show that there is nothing strange if He is killed by sons who exceed their fathers in murder, deceit, deceit and daring deeds. In addition, He shows that they are excessively vain; when they say that if we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their accomplices, they say this out of vanity, and they only philosophize in words, but in reality they do exactly the opposite. “Snakes, brood of vipers!” , - that is: evil children of evil fathers, and even more evil than them. Christ shows that they dare to commit much greater atrocities, and surpass even their fathers in cruelty, although they boast that they would not have done so in such a case. And indeed, they end and complete the atrocities. They killed those who came to the vineyard, and these killed both the Son himself and those who invited him to the marriage. Christ also says this in order to distance them from their kinship with Abraham and to show that this is of no benefit to them if they do not imitate his deeds. That’s why he adds: “How will you escape from condemnation to Gehenna?” , imitating their fathers in such daring actions? Here He brought to their memory the accusatory sermon of John, because he also called them that, and reminded them of the future judgment. Further, since neither judgment nor Gehenna frightened them at all, partly because they did not believe, and partly because it seemed to be in the distant future, He denounces them with real cases, and says: “Therefore, behold, I am sending to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some you will kill and crucify, and others you will beat in your synagogues...; May all the righteous blood shed on earth come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Barachi, whom you killed between the church and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation” (Matthew 23:34–36). 2. Look how much Christ warned them! He said: You condemn your fathers, saying that you would not have been their accomplices; and this did not a little shame them. He further said: by condemning them, you are doing even worse than them, and this was also enough to shame them. Finally he says: this will not go unpunished, and thereby instills the greatest fear in them, reminding them of Gehenna. But since Gehenna was far away, Christ presents them with real disasters, and says: “that all these things will come upon this generation” (Matthew 23:36). Christ also connected the greatest disasters with punishment, saying that they would suffer the most severe punishment; but nothing made them better. But if anyone asks: why do they suffer the most severe punishment, I would say: because they act more cruelly and worse than everyone else, and are not brought to their senses by anything that happened before. Have you not heard the words of Lamech: “[If Cain is] avenged [seven times, then] Lamech will be avenged seventy times seven times” (Gen. 4:24), that is: I am worthy of greater punishments than Cain. For what? He didn't kill his brother, did he? For not being enlightened by that example. God says the same thing in another place: “He will not leave unpunished... [punishing] the children for the iniquity of the fathers to the third and fourth [generation] of those who hate Me” (Ex. 20:7,5) - not because any of them was punished for the misdeeds of others, but because after many sinners, and moreover, punished, they did not become better, but like them they indulged in sin, and therefore deserve to endure the same punishments. But look how opportunely Christ reminded them of Abel, showing that this murder was also done out of envy. So what can you say now? Or do you not know what Cain suffered? Did God ignore what happened? Did He not subject him to the most severe punishment? Have you not heard what your fathers suffered when they killed the prophets? Were they not given over to countless torments and punishments? How come you didn't become the best? But why should I talk about the punishments of your fathers and what they suffered? You, who condemn your fathers, why do you act worse than them? You yourself pronounced the sentence that “he will put these evildoers to an evil death” (Matthew 21:41). What excuse will you have for daring to commit such daring offenses after such a verdict? But who is this Zechariah? Some consider him to be Father John, others to a prophet, and others to another priest with two names, whom the Scripture also calls Ioddaeus. Pay attention to the fact that this was a complete crime. They not only killed saints, but also in sacred places. And by pronouncing these words, Christ not only frightened them, but also comforted the disciples, showing that the righteous had endured the same thing even before them. He frightened them with the prediction that just as they were punished, they too would suffer severe punishment. That is why He calls His disciples prophets, wise men and scribes, again taking away from the Jews any pretext for justification. Now, He says, you cannot say that I sent from the Gentiles, and therefore you fell into temptation; What brought you to this point is that you are murderers and thirsty for blood. That is why He said before that I would send prophets and scribes. And all the prophets accused them of the same thing, saying that they mix blood with blood, and that they are men of blood (Hos. 4:2). That is why God demanded the sacrifice of blood to Himself, showing that if blood is so precious in a dumb person, then even more so in a person. That is why He says to Noah: “Whoever sheds human blood, his blood will be shed by the hand of man” (Chrysostom: “I will avenge all blood that is shed”) (Gen. 9:6). Countless other evidence can be found that God forbids killing. That is why God did not command us to eat anything choked. Oh, how great is the mercy of God, who, although he knew that the Jews would not receive any benefit, nevertheless carried out His work! “I am sending,” He says, “even though I know that they will be killed. Thus, the Jews here too were convicted of the fact that they said in vain: we would not have been accomplices of our fathers. And these killed the prophets in the synagogues, and did not respect either the place itself or the dignity of the persons. They did not kill ordinary people, but prophets and wise men, so as not to be convicted by them. By the name of prophets, Christ means the apostles and their successors, because many prophesied. Then, wanting to increase the fear, he says: “Truly I tell you that all these things will come upon this generation,” that is, I will turn all this on your heads and take revenge in a cruel way, because the one who saw many sinners and did not come to his senses, but himself did the same, and not only in the same way, but also much worse, must undergo a much more severe punishment than those. Just as if he had wanted, he would have received enormous benefit for himself and would have become better, thanks to many examples in others - in the same way, without correcting himself, he becomes worthy of greater punishment for the fact that he had many opportunities to admonish himself from people who had sinned before and had already been punished, but without any benefit for himself. 3. Following this, Christ turns his speech to the city, thus wanting to enlighten the listeners, and says: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” (Matthew 23:37)! What does this profound appeal mean? This is the voice of mercy, compassion and great love. As if before a beloved woman, who was constantly loved, but who despised the one who loved her, and thus deserved punishment, He justifies himself when he already intended to strike with execution. He does the same through the prophets when he says: “I said: “Return to Me”; but she did not return” (Jer. 3:7). Having made such an appeal to Jerusalem, Christ calculates the murders he committed: “He who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to you! how often have I wanted to gather your children... and you did not want to!” (Matthew 23:37)? Defending against crimes against Him, He says that with all this you did not turn Me away from yourself, and did not reject My great favor towards you; on the contrary, I wanted, and not once or twice, but many times, to attract you. “How many times,” He says, “I wanted to gather your children together, as a bird gathers its chicks under its wings, and you did not want”? With these words He wants to show that they always moved away from Him because of their sins; comparison expresses His love, because this bird passionately loves its chicks. This comparison of prophets with wings everywhere, both in the songs of Moses and in the psalms, means special monitoring and care. “You didn’t want to,” He continues. “Behold, your house is left to you empty” (Matthew 23:38), that is, alien to My protection. So, He Himself first patronized them, supported them, protected them, and He Himself always punishes them. And now He threatens with punishment, which they always feared extremely, since it indicated a complete violation of their civil life. “For I say to you, you will not see Me from now on until you cry, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 23:39). And this is the voice of fiery love, strongly attracting them not only with past, but also with future events, since here He speaks of the future day of His second coming. But what? Have they really not seen Him since that time? Saying: “from now on,” He points not to this very hour, but to all the time that has passed before His suffering. And since they always accused Him of being an opponent of God and an enemy of God, He convinces them to love Himself by showing His like-mindedness with the Father and His presence in the prophets, and therefore uses the same words as the prophet. With these same words He foreshadowed both the resurrection and His second coming, making it clear even to the unbelievers themselves that then they would undoubtedly worship Him. But how did He indicate this? Predicting many things about the future, namely: that he will send prophets; that they will be killed, even in the synagogues themselves; that they themselves will suffer extreme misfortunes; that the house will remain empty; that they will be subjected to terrible misfortunes such as have never happened before. All this, for the most senseless and stubborn, could be a clear indication of His second coming. Let us ask them: did He not send prophets and wise men to them? Didn't they kill them in the synagogues? Is their house left empty? Has not this generation suffered all the punishments? All this is obvious, and no one will argue. And just as all this came true, so His last prediction will come true, and then, without a doubt, they will submit to Him; but this will not at all serve as an excuse for them, as well as for everyone who will then repent in view of the destruction of their state. Therefore, while there is time, we will do good. Just as the Jews would then have no benefit from insight, so our repentance for wickedness would then not benefit us. So the helmsman has nothing left to do when, due to his negligence, the ship plunges into the sea, and the doctor after the death of the patient, but each of them must first think about everything and do it so as not to be exposed to any danger or shame; after that everything is useless. So, when we are sick, we will call for doctors, spend money and make every effort so that, having been freed from illness, we will then be healthy. And what kind of care we show for our servants when they are physically ill, we will also find the same for ourselves during the illness of our soul. We are closer to ourselves than slaves, and our souls are better than their bodies; but, despite this, we hardly take the same care of the soul. If we do not do this now, then after death we will not be able to justify ourselves with anything. 4. And who would be so pitiful, you say, that he would not take the same care of his soul? This is what is surprising, that we are so inattentive to ourselves that we neglect ourselves more than our slaves. When slaves are sick with fever, we call doctors, separate a special room and force them to obey the prescriptions of medical science; and if they do not take care of themselves, we take stricter measures, and assign guards who would not allow them to do what they would like, and if those caring for them say that it is necessary to prepare an expensive medicine, we agree; if they order something, we obey and pay them money for their orders. When we ourselves are sick - and we are always sick - we do not call for a doctor or spend money, but we are as careless about the soul as if we were about some kind of enemy. I say this not as a reproach for caring for slaves, but wanting to show that, at least, we should make the same effort about our souls. But how to do this, someone will say? Show your sick woman to Paul, call Matthew, send for John. Find out from them what should be done with such a patient: without any doubt, they will say and will not hide anything; After all, they have not died, but are alive and can speak. But does your soul not feel that it is possessed by fever? You force her and awaken reason in her. Call the prophets to her. These doctors do not need to be paid money, they do not require rewards either for their work or for the medicines they prepare; except for acts of mercy, they do not force you to incur any costs; in many ways they even help you; So, when they force you to observe abstinence, they save you from unnecessary and inappropriate costs; when they teach sobriety, they enrich you. Do you see the art of doctors who deliver money along with health? So resort to them, and learn from them the nature of your illness. So, do you love money, thirst for wealth, like those with a fever thirst for cold water? Listen to what they advise. Just as the doctor tells you: if you satisfy your desire, you will destroy yourself, both this and that will happen to you, so Paul: “Those who desire to get rich fall into temptation and into a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which plunge people into disaster and destruction” (1 Tim. 6:9). But are you impatient? Listen to what he says: “For yet a little while, a very little time, and the Coming One will come and will not tarry” (Heb. 10:37); “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything” (Phil. 4:5–6); and again: “The image of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31). With this he not only commands, but also consoles, like a doctor. And just as these latter come up with something else to give instead of cold water, so Paul gives another direction to desire. Do you, he says, want to get rich? Be enriched by good deeds. Are you looking to collect treasures? I don't forbid it; just gather them in heaven. And just as the doctor says that cold water is harmful to teeth, nerves, bones, so Paul more briefly - he loves brevity - but for that he said much more clearly and forcefully: “The root of all evil is the love of money” (1 Tim. 6:10). What should you use? He talks about this too: contentment instead of covetousness. “It is a great gain,” he says, “to be godly and content” (1 Tim. 6:6). If you are impatient and thirst for more, and do not dare to leave all the excesses, then he tells such a sick person how to use them: so that those who “rejoice” in acquisitions may be “like those who do not rejoice; and those who buy, as if they did not acquire; and those who use this world as if they do not use it” (1 Cor. 7:30–31). Do you see what he prescribes? Would you like me to introduce you to another doctor? I'm ready. These doctors are not like physical doctors, who often destroy the patient through their mutual disputes. They are not like that. They care about the health of the sick, and not about their own glory. So, do not be afraid that there are many of them; Teacher Christ alone speaks in all. 5. Look, another one comes and speaks sharply about your illness, or better, the Teacher himself says through his lips: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). They will say: so be it; but how can this be? How can we give up our desire? And you can learn this here. How? Listen to what He says: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Do you see how He, by pointing to the place and the destroyers, turns you away from this earthly passion and directs you to heaven, where nothing is destroyed? If, as if He were saying so, you collect wealth where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in and steal, then you will ward off this disease and deliver the greatest wealth to the soul. Having said this, He also provides an example to admonish you. And just as a doctor, frightening a sick person, says: “So-and-so, by drinking cold water, destroyed himself,” so He brings a rich man who, being sick and wanting life and health, could not get it due to his passion for covetousness, but went away with nothing. Then another evangelist points to another rich man, burning in flames and not having even a drop of water (Luke 16:24). Then, showing that these commandments are easy, Christ said: “Look at the birds of the air” (Matthew 6:26). But being lenient, He does not allow the rich to despair. “What is impossible with men,” He says, “is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). Although you are rich, this Physician can still heal you. However, He does not forbid getting rich, but He does not order you to be a slave to money and indulge in covetousness. How can a rich man be saved? – Making all his acquisitions common to those in need, as Job did, driving away from his soul the addiction to more, and in no case exceeding the limits of what is necessary. After this, he introduces you to the publican, who, despite the fact that he was possessed by a strong fever of covetousness, soon got rid of this illness (Luke 5:27). Who is more greedy than the publican? But he also became a non-covetous man, obeying the Doctor’s orders. Such were His disciples who, being overcome by the same illnesses as we are, soon recovered. And He presents each of them as an example to us, so that we do not fall into despair. Look at this publican. Pay attention also to another, the chief of publicans: he promised to give away four times more than all the property he forcibly acquired, and half of his own, in order to accept Jesus (Luke 19:8). But are you too passionate about money? Consider what belongs to everyone as your own. More than you seek, He says, I give you, opening for you the houses of the rich throughout the universe: “Whoever leaves houses,... or father, or mother,... or lands, for My name’s sake will receive a hundredfold” (Matthew 19:29). Thus, you will not only receive a lot, but you will also completely quench this strong thirst, and you will endure everything easily, not only not caring about what is unnecessary, but often denying yourself what is necessary. So Paul hungered, and was more pleased with it than when he ate (Phil. 4:11). And the ascetic, having received a crown for his exploits, will not dare to indulge in inaction and idleness, just as a merchant who has received profit from trade at sea will no longer want to remain inactive. Likewise, if we properly taste the spiritual fruits, we will consider everything present as nothing, being carried away, as it were, by some sweet intoxication - the desire for the future. So let us taste, in order to free ourselves from the vanity of present blessings, and to achieve future ones, through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: