Беседа 66

John 12:9. Many of the Jews knew that He was there and came not only for Jesus, but to see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. 1. The Pharisees' plan to kill Lazarus. – Entering Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecy and transformed the conversion of the pagans. – Ignorance of the disciples until the death of Jesus Christ. – 2. The pagans who came to the holiday want to see Jesus Christ. – 3. The inexcusability of those who do not believe in the resurrection of the body. – The meaning and significance of the resurrection. - Morals and customs of pagan philosophers. – A book written by a pagan philosopher against Christians. 1. Just as wealth usually destroys unwary people, so does power. The former leads to covetousness, and the latter to madness. Look: the subordinates of the Jewish people judge soundly, but the superiors judge wrongly. That the people believed in Christ, the evangelists often say about this - that “many of the people believed in Him” (John 7:31). And some of the leaders did not believe. The leaders themselves, and not the people, say: “Did any of the leaders believe in Him?” (John 7:48). But who? “A people that does not know God is cursed” (John 7:49). Believers were called damned; and themselves, the murderers, - prudent. So now, having seen the miracle, many believed, and the leaders were not only not satisfied with their atrocities, but also attempted to kill Lazarus. Let it be Christ because He violated the Sabbath, because He created Himself equal to the Father, because of the Romans, as you say; but what can you blame Lazarus for? Why do you want to kill? Is it really his fault that he received a benefit? Do you see how murderous they are? (Christ) performed many miracles, but not a single one hardened them to such an extent - neither a miracle over the paralytic, nor a miracle over the blind. This is because the miracle over Lazarus was, by its very nature, more amazing, and was performed after many miracles. And it was amazing to see that a four-day dead man was walking and talking. But it’s a wonderful thing for a holiday, isn’t it, to add murder to the celebration! Moreover, in those cases they thought to accuse Christ of violating the Sabbath and thereby distract the people from Him; but here they could not accuse Him of anything, and therefore they are plotting against the one whom He raised. Here they could not even say that He was opposing the Father, because His prayer blocked their lips. And since the usual pretext for accusation was now taken away from them, and meanwhile the miracle was obvious, they decide to kill. Of course, they would have done the same with the blind man if they had no reason to accuse him of violating the Sabbath. And besides, the blind man was ignorant, and they kicked him out of the church; and this (Lazarus) was a famous man, as can be seen from the fact that many gathered to console his sisters. And the miracle was performed in the sight of everyone and in the most extraordinary way, which is why everyone rushed to see it. This is what tormented them, that at the onset of the holiday, everyone, leaving the celebration, went to Bethany. So, they planned to kill Lazarus, not even thinking that this was a crime: they were so inclined to murder! That is why the original law begins with the commandment: “You shall not kill” (Ex. 20:13). And the prophet accuses them of this: “your hands are full of blood” (Is. 1:15). But how does Christ, who did not walk openly in Judea and withdrew into the wilderness, now boldly enter again? By His departure He quenched their rage and returns to them only after they have calmed down. On the other hand, they had to fear the people who preceded and accompanied Him, because not a single miracle attracted the people to Him like the miracle over Lazarus. Another evangelist also notes that the people spread “their garments” under His feet (Luke 19:36) and that “the whole city began to move” (Matthew 21:10): He entered with such honor! And He entered in this way in order to foreshadow one prophecy and fulfill another - so that one and the same event served as the beginning of one and the end of the other. The words: Rejoice, “behold, your meek King is coming to you” (Matthew 21:5) mean the fulfillment of prophecy; and that He sat on a donkey, this prefigures a future event, namely, that He had to subdue the unclean tribe of the pagans to His power. But how do others (evangelists) say that He sent disciples and told them: untie “the donkey and the colt” (Matthew 21:2), and (John) does not say anything like that, but that He “found a colt and sat on it” (John 12:14)? Probably, it was both: while the disciples, having released the donkey, were leading her to Him, He probably found a young donkey and sat on it. Meanwhile, the people took branches of date and olive trees and spread their clothes, showing that they already had a higher understanding of Him than of the prophet, and said: “Hosanna! blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13). Do you see how most of all they were hurt by the universal conviction that He was not the enemy of God? What divided the people most of all was the fact that He said about Himself that He came from God? What does it mean: “Fear not, daughter of Zion” (John 12:15)? Since all their kings were for the most part unjust and selfish, betrayed them to their enemies, corrupted the people and subjugated them to their enemies, he says: “do not be afraid”; this (king) is not like that, but is meek and gentle, as the donkey shows. He did not enter surrounded by an army, but having one donkey with Him. “His disciples... did not understand this... that these things were written about Him” (John 12:16). Do you see that the disciples did not understand many things when He himself did not reveal it to them? So when He said: “Destroy this church, and I will raise it up in three days” (John 2:19), the disciples also did not understand. And another evangelist says that His word was hidden from them (Luke 18:34) and that they did not know that He must rise from the dead. But this was rightly hidden from them, which is why another evangelist says that every time they heard about it, they grieved and were sad, because they did not understand the mystery of the resurrection. This, I say, was rightly hidden from them, since it exceeded their understanding. But why wasn’t the sign of the donkey revealed to them? Because this was a great thing. 2. Notice the wisdom of the evangelist: he is not ashamed to expose their previous ignorance. What was written, they knew, but what was written related to Christ, they did not know. They would be tempted by the fact that He, as a king, had to endure so much and be subjected to such betrayal. On the other hand, they would not suddenly understand the teaching about the kingdom that He spoke about. According to another evangelist, they thought He was talking about this kingdom. “The people... testified” (John 12:17) that He raised Lazarus (John 12:17–18). The people, he says, would not have suddenly converted in such numbers if they had not believed in a miracle. “The Pharisees said to each other: Do you see that you do not have time to do anything? the whole world follows Him” (John 12:19). It seems to me that these words belong to those who reasoned sensibly, but did not dare to speak openly, and therefore, by pointing to events, they wanted to deter others from their undertaking, as from a useless undertaking. And by the name of peace they mean here the same people. Scripture usually calls both creation and people living in vices the world; in the first sense (he uses this word) when he says: “carry your utensils according to the number” (Is. 40:26), and in the last sense, when he expresses: “the world cannot hate you, but it hates Me” (John 7:7). You need to know this well in order not to give the heretics a reason to arm themselves against us through the wrong understanding of words. “Of those who came to worship at the feast were some Greeks” (John 12:20). Being already close to becoming proselytes, they came to the holiday and, when the rumor about Christ reached them, they said: “We want to see Jesus” (John 12:21). Philip comes to Andrey, as the eldest, and informs him about this. But Andrei himself does not decide this, since he has already heard: “Do not go into the way of the pagans” (Matthew 10:5). Therefore, after talking with Philip, he and he bring the matter to the Teacher; they both told Him about it. What does Christ say? “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified... Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone” (John 12:23–24). What does it mean: “the hour has come”? Previously, He said: “Do not go into the path of the pagans,” and thereby restrained the disciples in order to take away from the Jews any pretext for ingratitude. But since the Jews continued to persist, and the pagans wanted to come to Him, He says: it is time to go to suffering, since everything has already been fulfilled. If we continue to take care of the Jews, despite their stubbornness, and do not allow the pagans to come to us, no matter how much they desire, then this will be unworthy of our industry. And so, since He intended to send His disciples to the pagans after the cross, and meanwhile sees that the pagans themselves were coming to Him, he said: it’s time to go to the cross. He did not send them first so that it would serve as a testimony against the Jews. Until (the Jews) actually rejected Him, until they handed Him over to crucifixion, He did not say: “Go and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19), but on the contrary: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles” (Matthew 10:5), and: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and: “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” ( Matthew 15:24, 26). But when they hated Him and hated Him to the point that they betrayed Him to death, it was no longer useful to continue to deal with them while they rejected Him. But they really denied Him, saying: “We have no king except Caesar” (John 19:15). Then He left them when they left Him. That is why He says: “How often did I want to gather your children, ... and you did not want” (Matthew 23:37). What does it mean, “if a grain of wheat falls into the ground and does not die”? It is He who speaks of the cross. So that (the disciples) would not be embarrassed by the thought that He was killed at the very time when the pagans began to come to Him, He says that this very thing in particular will contribute to the conversion of the pagans and the spread of His preaching. But just as words did not convince them so much, He assures them of the same thing by actual experience, saying that the same thing happens with wheat - it bears more fruit when it dies. If this happens with seeds, then much more with Me. But the disciples did not understand His words. The evangelist constantly puts this on display, wanting to excuse their flight later in time. Paul made the same speech when discussing the resurrection. 3. After this, what justification will those who do not believe in the resurrection have, when it is presented daily in seeds, and in plants, and at our birth? After all, the seed must first decay, and then birth occurs. However, generally speaking, where God acts, there is no need for speculation. How did He create us out of nothing? This I say to Christians who say about themselves that they believe the Scriptures. But I will say something based on human speculation. Some people live viciously, others virtuously; But among the vicious, many live to a ripe old age, enjoying happiness, but the opposite happens to virtuous people. When will each of them get what they deserve? What time? This is true, they say, but there will be no resurrection of bodies. But don’t they hear what Paul said: “This corruptible must put on incorruptibility” (1 Cor. 15:53)? Here we are not talking about the soul, because the soul is not subject to corruption. And rebellion is characteristic of what has fallen; and the body fell. And why do you not want to (allow) the resurrection of bodies? Is this impossible for God? But to say so is a matter of extreme madness. Or indecent? Why is it indecent for a corruptible being, who participated in labor and death, to take part in crowns? If it were indecent, then it would not have been created in the beginning and Christ would not have taken on flesh. And that He accepted and resurrected her - listen to how He says: “Place your fingers and see... for a spirit has not bones or veins” (John 20:27; Luke 24:39). Why also did He resurrect Lazarus, if it is better to be resurrected without a body? Why puts this among miracles and blessings? Why did he give food at all? No, beloved, do not be deceived by heretics. There is, truly, both resurrection and judgment; they are rejected only by those who do not want to give an account of their affairs. And moreover, the resurrection must be the same as the resurrection of Christ was, because Christ is “the firstfruits, the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18). But if resurrection consists of cleansing the soul and liberation from sins, and Christ did not sin, then how did we get rid of the oath? And how does He say: “The prince of this world comes and has nothing in Me” (John 14:30)? After all, this means that He is sinless. So, in their opinion, Christ either did not rise, or, if he rose, then he sinned before the resurrection. But He rose again and did not create sin; therefore he was resurrected in body. And that ungodly teaching is nothing more than a product of vanity. Let us avoid this disease, for it is said “bad associations corrupt good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33). This is not the teaching of the apostles; Marcion and Valentinus are the ones who came up with it. Let us escape from this, beloved. After all, with wrong dogmas there is no benefit from a good life, just as vice versa - sound dogmas are useless with a vicious life. The Hellenes gave birth to this, and they (the heretics) spread it, borrowing from pagan philosophers and asserting that matter is uncreated, and much like that. Thus, as they said that if there were no uncreated substance, then there would be no Creator, so they rejected the resurrection. But let us not heed them, knowing the almighty power of God, we will not heed them. This I tell you; for our part, we will not refuse to enter into a fight with them. An unarmed and defenseless person can easily be captured, even if he enters into a fight with the weak, even if he is stronger than him. If you would listen to the Scriptures and practice them daily, I would not urge you to avoid fighting them, but on the contrary, I would even advise you to fight them, because the truth is strong. But since you do not know how to use the Scriptures, I am afraid for this struggle, lest they, finding you unarmed, depose you. In fact, there is nothing weaker than them, because they are deprived of help from the Spirit. If they use pagan wisdom, then this should not be surprising, but on the contrary, it is worth laughing that they are guided by stupid mentors. Indeed, these mentors could not reach anything true either about God or about creation; but what every widow now knows among us, Pythagoras himself did not know. They said, for example, that the soul is sometimes a plant, sometimes a fish, sometimes a dog. Tell me, are these really the kind of people we should listen to? What is the basis for this? They are great on the streets, grow beautiful hair and dress in cloaks - this is where their wisdom ends. And if you look inside, everything is dust and ashes, there is nothing healthy, but “their throat is an open grave” (Ps. 5:10), everything is full of uncleanness and corruption, and all their dogmas are filled with worms. So the first among them worshiped water as god, the next after him - fire, the third - air; still they thought they would find it in the bodies. So, tell me, should we be surprised at those who did not even have a concept of an incorporeal God? If they finally acquired (the concept), it was after they entered into intercourse with ours in Egypt. But in order not to create a big fuss between you, I will finish my words here. If I began to explain in detail their opinions, how they reasoned about God, how about matter, how about the soul, how about bodies, then great laughter would follow. Moreover, they do not need our refutation - they themselves refuted each other. Thus, the one who wrote a book about the substance against us refuted himself. Therefore, in order not to bother you in vain and not to develop a labyrinth of words in front of you, instead of all this I will tell you that you need to listen to the Divine Scripture and not enter into useless verbal disputes. Paul also instills this in Timothy (2 Timothy 2:14), despite the fact that the latter was filled with great wisdom and had the power to work miracles. Let us follow his suggestion and, abandoning idle talk, let us engage in business, that is, brotherly love and love of humanity, and let us especially take care of almsgiving in order to achieve the promised benefits through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: