Отдел шестой. Последние дни земной жизни Господа Иисуса Христа

XXV. The entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and the actions that followed it, parables and conversations. Answers to the crafty co-questioning of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes The last decisive moment was approaching in the Life of Christ. The anger of the enemies grew and sought means to undermine His influence over the people and even kill Him. Now was no longer the time to refrain from openly proclaiming messiahship. Hitherto Christ had declared Himself as the promised Messiah mostly in private and to individuals; now the time has come to announce this publicly, and in the most solemn manner to declare that He is the true King Messiah, the true Son of David. And the Savior made this statement with His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Before major holidays, crowds of pilgrims who gathered from everywhere had the custom of entering the holy city solemnly and with all kinds of expressions of joy. Christ also wanted to make such an entrance, who, as a prophet and glorious teacher generally recognized by the people, necessarily had to occupy a prominent position; and He took advantage of this circumstance to reveal His glory for the last time. Hitherto He usually entered Jerusalem on foot; Now He wanted to enter into it as His ancestor David had entered more than once, namely sitting on a donkey. This peaceful and useful animal was highly valued in the east, and for the Jews quite a few historical memories were associated with it, which made it even more noble and beloved in their eyes than the proud horses obtained from Egypt. The significance of the donkey was even more elevated in their eyes due to the solemn statement of the prophet that it was on a donkey that the Messiah, the King, would enter Jerusalem (Zech. 9:9). And therefore this is exactly the entrance of the Savior into St. the city could serve as the best and most visible proclamation of His messiahship. Early on the morning of the ninth Nissan, the Savior left His peaceful and hospitable shelter in Bethany and, as usual, walked with His disciples to Jerusalem. Having descended into a small valley, completely covered with fig trees and olives, they approached the village of Bethphage, which, like Bethany, was located at such a close distance from Jerusalem that, according to rabbinic law, it was considered part of it. Secret disciples and followers of Christ lived in many places at this time, and (probably) to one of them, who lived in Bethphage, He sent two disciples to take a donkey from him for the ceremonial entry into Jerusalem. The disciples carried out the command exactly and brought a donkey with a young colt. Meanwhile, rumors had already reached Jerusalem about Christ’s intention to enter the holy city, and crowds of Galilean admirers stationed near the city, with an understandable feeling of joy and complacency, rushed to the mountain to meet Him, for which purpose along the way they cut off young, newly opened branches of palm trees and other roadside trees in order to show Him special honor. The disciples, excited by this circumstance, spread their cloaks and covered the donkey on which their teacher sat, and the people began to cover the path with branches, as was the custom in the east. Thus, the Jews once covered the path of Mordecai with fig and palm branches as he rode from the royal palace, and the Persian army also expressed their delight at Xerxes before crossing the Hellespont. And so the procession moved on. Three roads led through the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, but since two of them were nothing more than paths, the Savior chose the most difficult long road - namely the southern one, which is now considered the best. And as soon as the procession began, uncontrollable delight gripped both the students and the entire surrounding crowd of people. In a fit of ecstatic joy for their Teacher, the Apostles exclaimed: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! (Matthew 21:9). The people took up this joyful cry, and rumors spread through the crowd about how He raised Lazarus from the dead. The road here gradually climbs the Mount of Olives, through green fields and under shady trees, and at the top it turns sharply to the north. At this very turn, a view of Jerusalem opens up for the first time, which until then was hidden behind the spur of the mountain. There, in the transparent air, rising from the surrounding deep valley, stood before Him a city famous for historical memories, and the morning sun, sparkling on the marble towers and gilded roofs of the church buildings, was reflected in a sea of ​​\u200b\u200bdazzling brilliance, before which the viewer had to close his eyes. This view of the famous city truly amazed with its magnificence, and many Jewish and pagan travelers stopped their horses here and looked at this wondrous spectacle with silent amazement. Jerusalem at that time, bordered by a number of proud towers, was considered one of the wonders of the world and presented a magnificent spectacle, of which modern Jerusalem cannot give even an approximate idea. And now this city in all its grandeur opened before the eyes of Christ, its true King! Anyone else could be delighted by this majestic spectacle; but the true King looked not at the external splendor of the city, but at the inner dignity of its inhabitants, and such a terrible abyss of unbelief and vice, already ripe for the commission of the greatest and most vile crime on earth, opened before His eyes that this magnificent view struck the infinitely compassionate heart of Christ with unbearable pain. He cried and shed tears more than once over human insensibility and sinfulness, but now He began to sob loudly. All the shame of the mockery and all the unbearable pain of His suffering, after five days, were powerless to wrest even one groan from His chest or bring even one tear to His weary eyelids; here His inner sorrow overpowered His Human spirit, and He not only wept, but sobbed uncontrollably, so that the suppressed voice could hardly utter words. “Oh, if only you”! He exclaimed, when the people looked in amazement and did not know what to think or say, “Oh, if you, even on this day of yours, knew what serves to bring about your peace!” (Luke 19:42). Grief interrupted His words, and when the voice, stifled by sobs, recovered somewhat again, He could only add: “But this is now hidden from your eyes; for the days will come upon you when your enemies will surround you with trenches and surround you, and press you in on every side, and destroy you, and kill your children within you, and will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:42–44). This was the last call from the Messiah to the criminal city, which was beating the prophets, to repentance, but since it did not heed this call, it had to suffer the fate predicted for it. And indeed, forty years later, Christ’s prophecy was fulfilled in all its accuracy. When Jesus mourned the city and pronounced His prophecy over it, the procession stopped. But now the people who were in the Kidron Valley and near the walls of Jerusalem, as well as all the worshipers, located in huts and tents, densely colorful on the green slopes below, saw the approach of the mass of people on the mountain and, hearing the echoes of joyful cries, understood what it all meant. Tearing green branches from the trees, the people rushed along the road to the mountain to meet the approaching Prophet. And when these two waves of people met, one accompanying Him from Bethany and the other coming to meet Him from Jerusalem, He found himself in the midst of the mass of people, who walked both in front and behind, shouting “Hosanna” and waving branches - all the way to the gates of Jerusalem. There were several Pharisees among the crowd, and the delight of the people was sharper than a sword for them. What do these messianic cries and royal titles mean? Aren't they dangerous, aren't they decent? Why does He allow them? “Teacher, rebuke your disciples” (Luke 19:39). But He didn't want to stop them. “If they remain silent, He answered, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). And the Pharisees, with all their embitterment, involuntarily felt that they were powerless to stop the tide of popular enthusiasm. When the procession approached the city walls, the entire city was enveloped in extraordinary excitement and anxiety. "Who is this"? residents asked, looking at the procession from behind bars and roofs, standing in the bazaars and streets along which it moved; and the people enthusiastically and together innocently answered: “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee” (Matthew 21:10–11). Inside the city, the people scattered, and Christ headed towards the church. The enthusiastic cries of the people found echoes here too. Even the children, probably from the church choir, shouted to Him: “Hosanna to the Son of David” (Matthew 21:15), and when the scribes and Pharisees with hidden malice drew His attention to this, He answered them: “Have you never read: from the mouths of babes and sucklings have You ordained praise?” (Matthew 21:16). By evening the Savior returned to Bethany. The next day, early in the morning, He again headed to Jerusalem - to preach in the church, and along the way an event occurred that clearly exposed the hypocrisy and sterility of that people who had once been chosen by God and did not justify their election. Hastening to the sermon and not wanting to keep Himself waiting for the people who “in the morning came to Him in the church to listen to Him” (Luke 21:38), the Savior left Bethany before breakfast and, feeling hungry, looked with his eyes for some fig tree, the fruits of which could be refreshed. In the distance one could see a fig tree, luxurious in its foliage, promising to give what one wanted; but when Christ approached her, she turned out to be completely barren. This deceptive appearance strikingly depicted the sterility and deceptive appearance of the Jewish people and especially their leaders, all of whose religiosity and piety had degenerated into a sterile exhibition of external ritualism, and in order to show His disciples what fate awaited for this, He cursed it, saying: “Let there be no fruit from you henceforth forever. And the fig tree immediately withered” (Matthew 21:19). When the disciples expressed surprise at the effectiveness of their Teacher’s words, He added teachings to them regarding the power of faith. Faith is so omnipotent that even if the mountain says to the one who has it, “Rise up and be cast into the sea,” then this too will happen. “And whatever you ask in prayer in faith, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22). Arriving at the church and looking around, the Savior saw with grief that ordinary Jewish greed had again forgotten the lesson He had once taught and, on the occasion of the gathering of people, had again turned the church of God into a market place. All the church courtyards were again filled with oxen and sheep, dove sellers and moneylenders; the magnificent portico was littered with driven cattle and was deafened by the roar of bargaining voices and the clinking of coins. Christ did not want to preach in such a desecrated place. Once again, with mingled feelings of grief and anger, He drove everyone out of here, and no one dared to resist His crushing jealousy. He did not even tolerate the people disturbing the silence of the sanctuary by passing through it with vessels and making it a place of ordinary passage. The huge mass of Jews, sometimes reaching two and even three million and flooding the holy city during the week of the holiday, undoubtedly made the court of the pagans an even more ugly and noisy spectacle than at any other time, especially since on that day, according to the law, the Passover lamb was chosen and bought by all the admirers. But nothing could justify the fact that the house of the Heavenly Father, which was a house of prayer for all nations, should be turned into a place - most of all similar to those dirty and gloomy dens where robbers divide their ill-gotten booty. He began his usual preaching no earlier than after the church had been brought to a state of decency and silence. This work was undoubtedly easier now, because it had already been done once. When the ugly bustle of trade stopped, the church again took on its usual appearance. The suffering came to Christ and He healed them. Hundreds of listeners crowded around Him, marveled at His teaching, eagerly hung on every word from His lips. Among the other listeners, the attention was drawn to the Greeks, who, interested in the conversation and stories about the extraordinary Preacher, even wanted to talk with Him personally, which they reported through the apostle. Andrey. According to legend, these were sent from Abgar V, king of Edessa, who, having heard about the extraordinary deeds of Christ and the danger threatening Him from the leaders of the Jewish people, offered Him refuge in his possessions. The appearance of these strangers showed that the hour had come for the glorification of the Son of Man among the nations, and He exclaimed: “Father, glorify Your name!” And in response to this, a voice was heard from heaven: “And I glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (John 12:28). This voice was not heard equally by everyone. To many it seemed like a simple clap of thunder, but others said that it was “an angel speaking to Him” (John 12:29), and only a few heard it separately. Meanwhile, rumors about the new expulsion of the traders from the Church reached the Sanhedrin, and its members, having recovered a little from their embarrassment, came to the church in order to demand from the Preacher an answer to the questions “By what authority are You doing this? and who gave you such power! (Matthew 21:23). By these questions it was obviously meant to challenge Him to make some kind of statement, which, as happened before, would give them grounds to accuse him of blasphemy and stone him. But this deceit fell on their own heads. Foreseeing their evil thought, Christ with Divine wisdom told them that He would answer them if only they themselves would first answer His question, namely: “Where did the baptism of John come from - from heaven, or from men?” (Matthew 21:25). This question immediately confused the co-questioners, and instant silence reigned. “Answer Me” (Mark 11:29), the Savior insisted, interrupting their whispered negotiations. But there was no answer: they fully understood the meaning and purpose of the question. There was no way to dismiss it as irrelevant. John openly and expressively testified about Jesus, recognizing Him, before those most authorized by the Sanhedrin, not only as a Prophet, but as a Prophet much greater than Himself, even the greatest Prophet, the Messiah. Did they accept this evidence or not? It is clear that Christ had a right to demand an answer from them to this question before answering them. But they could not, or rather did not want to answer it. He put them in a hopeless situation. They didn't want to say "from heaven" because they rejected it; they did not dare to say “from men,” because faith in John (as can be seen even from Josephus) was so strong and unanimous that to openly reject him would be to endanger one’s personal safety. Therefore, they - the teachers of Israel - were placed in the shameful necessity of saying: “We do not know” (Matthew 21:27). Such an answer on the part of those whose duty it was to study the law and religion and explain them to the people was a complete disgrace for them, all the more shameful because it was given in the presence of a multitude of people. But Christ, but to his infinite mercy, did not insist on further questioning, but simply answered them: “And I will not tell you by what authority I do these things” (Matthew 21:27), and then again continued to teach the people. But since the learned leaders of the people were also present, He told several parables that were closely related to them and to the Jewish people in general. So He told a parable about two sons, of whom the first, having first refused to fulfill his father’s request, then repented and fulfilled it, and the other flatteringly made a promise, but never fulfilled it, and then asked them: “Which of the two fulfilled the will of the father?” (Matthew 21:31). Of course, they could only answer “first”. Then He showed them the clear and great meaning of their own answer. It consisted in the fact that the publicans and harlots themselves, despite their open and shameful violation of the law, showed them - they, the learned and highly respected lawyers of the sacred people - the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. These sinners, whom they hated and despised, entered these gates before them, while they were not yet closed. John came to these Jews “the way of righteousness” (Matthew 21:32), that is, preaching their accepted law and customs of life, and they only verbally say that they accepted it, but in fact rejected it; The tax collectors and harlots repented at his call. Despite their apparent piety, they, these leaders, the rabbis of their people, in the eyes of God were worse than those sinners whom they considered even to touch with a finger defilement. He then invited them to “listen to another parable” (Matthew 21:33), the parable of the disobedient vinedressers who would not give up the fruit of the vineyard. This vineyard of the Lord of hosts was the house of Israel, the people of Judah were His beloved planting. The leaders and teachers, to whom the people were entrusted, naturally had to give the lord the produce of the vineyard. But despite everything He did for his vineyard, there was no fruit from it, or perhaps only wild fruit. Since the vinedressers could not present the fruit and did not dare to reveal their unproductiveness, for which they were responsible, they insulted, beat, wounded and killed one messenger after another, whom the lord of the vineyard sent to them. Finally he sent his son, but this son, whom they recognized and could not help but recognize, they also beat, drove out and killed. “So when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these vinedressers?” (Matthew 21:40). The listeners from the people, in their sincere conviction, or the Pharisees present, in order to show their contempt for everything that this parable could mean, answered that “he will put these evildoers to an evil death, and will give the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him the fruit in their seasons” (Matthew 21:41). The second time, in this way, they were forced to give an answer that fatally condemned themselves: they admitted with their own lips that the justice of God required that their exclusive advantages be taken away from them and transferred to the pagans. Now the meaning and purpose of these parables became even clearer to them, and they thirsted for revenge. But fear held them back, because for the people Christ was still a great Prophet. And He continued the conversation and expressed another warning in the parable about the “wedding feast of the king’s son” (Matthew 22:2). This parable is very similar to the one told earlier, in the house of the Pharisee, namely the parable of the great supper, but differs from it in many details and the entire conclusion. The invited guests not only did not pay attention to the invitation, but some of them even insulted and killed the royal servants sent with the invitation to them, and for this they were subjected to extermination, and their city was burned by the angry king. Others were invited to the feast; good and evil gathered against him. The king enters and notices that one of the guests entered the feast not wearing wedding clothes, thereby showing his disrespect for the king and his son. For this he was expelled by the king's servants and entrusted into utter darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13). And Christ concluded this story with the remark made more than once that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). The parables, so obvious in their meaning and purpose, embittered the Jewish leaders and Pharisees more and more. Their rage was so great that they would have been ready to grab Him right away. Only the fear of the people held them back, and therefore He could retire unharmed to His calm refuge. But that very night, or early in the morning of the next day, His enemies held a new conference (they now apparently held conferences almost daily) to discuss whether they could somehow catch Him in words and challenge Him to such a statement as would give them every right to accuse Him of rebellion and betray Him to the civil power of the Romans. The next morning, Christ went with His disciples for the last time to the vestibule of the church, and as soon as He began His usual sermon, His enemies appeared with their insidious plans. This time the Pharisees appeared together with their opponents, the Herodians, i.e., a party whose main goal was to support the house of Herod by maintaining good relations with the Roman imperial court, for which purpose it was necessary to suppress all national and patriotic movements among the Jews. Such an alliance between the Pharisees and the Herodians made it clear that they decided to put the cause of Christ on a political basis and wanted to accuse Him of political unreliability. They knew well how the Romans feared messianic movements among the Jewish people - movements that they had to spend a lot of effort and money to suppress. Christ recently declared Himself the Messiah openly before the people; but since at that time this announcement did not lead to any popular rebellion and therefore did not provide legal grounds for His accusation, now they tried to obtain these grounds by deceit. Hiding their deceit with outward respect and politeness, the Pharisees approached the Savior and asked Him to resolve their bewilderment. “Teacher,” they said with flattering pretense, we know that You are just, and You teach truly the way of God, and do not care about pleasing anyone, for You do not look at any person” (Matthew 22:16). By this they seemed to ask Him to fearlessly and impartially express His personal opinion to them, as if they really needed His opinion for their guidance in a moral issue of practical importance and were absolutely sure that only He alone could resolve the bewilderment that depressed them. But all these crafty approaches and twists of serpentine flattery were in vain. A sharp sting and poisonous teeth were immediately revealed. “So tell us: what do you think? Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar or not?” (Matthew 22:17). He must, they thought, answer yes or no. If He answers yes, then this alone will be enough for the people to turn away from Him as a person who recognizes the hated yoke of the pagans and, therefore, has no right to the dignity of the Messiah. If He, on the other hand, in order to maintain His influence over the people, answers: “No, it is not permissible,” then they will immediately catch Him red-handed and hand him over to the procurator as an open rebel, and Pilate will immediately and severely deal with Him, as he recently dealt with other Galileans, whose blood he mixed with the blood of the victims they made. With bated breath they waited for an answer, but from the lips of Christ came a word that immediately broke all their evil fetters. “Why do you tempt Me, you hypocrites,” the Savior answered them, “show Me the coin with which the tax is paid” (Matthew 22:18–19). He was given a denarius, on the front side of which were embossed the arrogant and beautiful features of Emperor Tiberius, and on the back side his title - Pontific Maximus. “Whose image and inscription is this?” (Matthew 22:20) Christ asked. “Caesarean,” answered the co-questionnaires. Then their insidious question was resolved by itself. “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). If they had already lost their political independence so much that they used Caesar’s coin, then by this they recognized themselves as obligated to pay taxes to Caesar, just as, having received their existence and various benefits from God, they had to give this to God. Thus, this plan also scattered into dust before the Divines. by the wisdom of Christ, and the interrogators had to fall silent. But despite such an answer, they subsequently accused Christ with blatant deceit that He “forbade giving tribute to Caesar” (Luke 23:2). Until now, the main interrogators of Christ were the Pharisees. Another strong party, the Sadducees, consisting of the rich classes and hierarchs, had hitherto taken little part in this whole matter and treated Christ with the arrogant contempt that it generally bestowed on the ignorant, in its opinion, Galileans. But since now the rumor about the Galilean Teacher thundered throughout Jerusalem and they became aware of the extraordinary answers with which He amazed the Pharisees, the Sadducees decided to get to know the Preacher better and test Him in the knowledge of the law and Jewish theology. To do this, they came up with one of the most casuistic questions, which concerned the area in which they openly expressed their disbelief, namely the afterlife and resurrection. For this purpose, they chose from the field of rabbinical casuistry the case that one woman successively married seven brothers, each of whom died childless, and they wanted to know which of them would belong to her after the resurrection. Although imaginary, this case was nevertheless possible, since the law decreed that if a husband died childless, then in order to restore his seed and continue his name, his brother had to marry his widow, and the firstborn son from this second brother was recorded as the son of the deceased. Not believing in the afterlife and resurrection themselves, and supposing that Jesus, whom they had heard taught about the resurrection and held the same views on it as their opponents the Pharisees, they anticipated the pleasure of putting Him in a difficult position with these confusing questions and thus ridiculing Him and the very teaching of the resurrection. Some of the rabbis had, it is true, more lofty concepts about the afterlife, but the majority held the crudest ideas in this regard. According to them, the resurrection will be the restoration of people not only in their former bodies, but also with their former tastes and passions; the resurrected ones will not only eat, drink and marry, but will arise in the same clothes in which they walked, even with the same physical marks and defects, “so that people may recognize that these are the same persons whom they knew in life.” Even the very question proposed by the Sadducees already found its solution among the rabbis in the precise sense that “a woman who was married to two husbands in this world will be given to the first in the world to come.” Having in mind all these grossly sensory ideas and generally denying the resurrection (the teachings of which, in their opinion, were not contained in the Pentateuch of Moses, which they recognized), they approached the Savior with their question. But their arrogant scholarship had to suffer a well-deserved defeat. With usual calmness, Christ answered them that their concepts about the resurrection and the afterlife were false, and precisely because of their incorrect understanding of Holy Scripture. The children of this world marry and are given in marriage because they are mortal and marriage is necessary for procreation. But those who have entered the Kingdom of Heaven and after their resurrection will no longer marry, since they will be immortal like the Angels, and they will not need to worry about maintaining the family. As for the resurrection itself, their opinion that Moses does not teach about it is completely erroneous. So he calls God the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But God cannot be the God of non-existent persons, and therefore the patriarchs, although their bodies were dead, were obviously still alive in the afterlife and awaited the resurrection. Thus, for God, all the dead are still alive, and therefore how easy it is for Him to resurrect them later! This answer was so divinely wise that even some of the scribes could not refrain from expressing their delight and openly declared their approval to Him: “Teacher, you have spoken well!” (Luke 20:39). In turn, the Pharisees, rejoicing at the defeat of their opponents, wanted to test Him again with a question, and one of them, a lawyer, asked Him: “Teacher! What is the greatest commandment in the law?” (Matthew 22:36). In this matter, there was already some recognition of the authority of the teaching for Him, and the lawyer could actually turn to Him for a solution to the question that was troubling him. Among the lawyers there were constant disputes about which exactly was the greatest commandment, the fulfillment of which was most consistent with the concept of righteousness, and according to custom, this issue became entangled in endless casuistry, dealing with meaningless trifles, such as dividing commandments into heavy and light, primary and secondary, inferential and additional, and so on. Christ, seeing the sincerity of the lawyer, taught him true teaching in this regard, saying that the main and greatest commandment is to love God and the second is similar to it: “Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:39–40). The lawyer fully agreed with this definition, and the Savior remarked to him: “you are not far from the Kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). All he lacked was faith in Christ as the Messiah. “After that no one dared to ask Him any more” (Matthew 22:46). And then Christ Himself turned to the commanded co-questioners with a question, the answer to which was supposed to enlighten them regarding the true dignity of the Messiah. In their blindness, they lost sight of His true dignity and expected to see in Him a political conqueror who would conquer for them the whole world with all its treasures, and since Christ did not live up to these expectations, they declared Him a deceiver, a seducer of the people. To lead them to the truth, Christ asked them: “What do you think about Christ? Whose son is He? They answered Him that “the son of David.” But sonship was determined only by the external carnal relationship of Christ to David, meanwhile, from the well-known psalm (Ps. 109:1) it is clear that David also calls Him his Lord, sitting at the right hand of God. Thus, the Kingdom of Christ is not earthly, but heavenly; Not understanding this, the learned scribes and lawyers obviously did not know at all the true dignity of the Messiah. If they understood this, they would see that the signs of the Messiah find complete correspondence in the person of Jesus the Nazarene, whom they persecuted. “The people listened to this conversation with delight, but the Pharisees and scribes remained stubbornly silent, angry at their defeat and powerlessness to do anything with the hated Preacher. XXVI. Jesus Christ's final denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. Praise to the widow's diligence. Conversation with students about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, the end of the world and the second coming. Parables about the ten virgins and talents. Image of the Last Judgment After everything that happened, it became obvious to everyone that there could be nothing in common between the ruling and leading classes of the Jewish people and Christ. And since the Pharisees and scribes from that time decided to destroy Christ at all costs, it was impossible to treat them with condescending patience, as had been the case until then. It was necessary to finally expose them before the people, and the Savior did this in His last great exposure. Surrounded, as usual, by a crowd of people, among whom were scribes and Pharisees, the Savior directly addressed the latter, and from His lips thundered words of reproof that could not awaken except a dead conscience. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" (Matthew 23:13) He began His accusatory speech, and then, as if thunderclaps, menacing and irresistible denunciations were heard over them, how they, being the guardians of the Mosaic Law, with their lives represent an example of its most blatant violation; they impose heavy and unbearable burdens on others, but they themselves do not want to move them; they love external honors and do everything for show, while their life is full of vice and predation; they try to acquire proselytes of the faith, but make them twice as bad as before; they wash and clean the outer vessels, while within themselves they are full of all filth and unrighteousness; the leaders are blind, they strain out a mosquito and swallow a camel; their hypocrisy made them completely similar to coffins, which were carefully decorated on the outside, but contained a decaying mass inside. “So you too, on the outside, seem righteous to people, but on the inside you are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:28). Woe to them for the feigned repentance with which they condemned their fathers for beating the prophets and at the same time carried within themselves this bloodthirsty spirit of their ancestors, and even overwhelmed and exceeded the measure of their crimes with an even more terrible crime. All the righteous blood shed on earth was to fall on this generation, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, whom they killed between the church and the altar. The threat of retribution was already gathering over them and was ready to burst with all the horrors over their criminal heads. But then this voice, thundering with righteous anger, was suddenly touched by the most tender, loving pity for the ill-fated city: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to you! How often have I wanted to gather your children together, as a bird gathers its chicks under its wings, and you did not want to! Behold, your house is left to you empty. 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” (Matt. 23:37–39), that is, you will cry out as the crowd cried at the entrance to Jerusalem, but it will be too late. And this prophecy was fulfilled in all its terrible accuracy during the siege and capture of Jerusalem, when indeed “the house of the Jews remained empty” and became a heap of ruins and rotting corpses. Burning with righteous anger and at the same time compassion, Christ left the church, and this was the last time. But His heart was sad, and He sat down in the women’s courtyard to rest His soul. In this courtyard there were several mugs into which pilgrims put their donations. And so, among the rich donors, smugly dropping gold and silver into their mugs, one poor widow timidly dropped her small offering. The faces of the rich donors were distorted with contempt for the insignificant offering, less than which could no longer be brought to the church. She lowered two rods, the smallest of the current coins, so that lowering one was no longer allowed by law, even for the poorest. A mite or rod was an eighth of an asa and was worth a little more than half a penny, so that its entire offering amounted to a little more than a piece of money. Giving such an insignificant gift, she could have been ashamed of her poverty when all around her the rich were showering her with gold. But Christ was pleased with her faith and self-sacrifice. Her sacrifice was that “cup of cold water,” which, given with love, will not remain in His Kingdom without due reward. As a result of this, He wanted to teach forever that every good deed is assessed according to the degree of self-denial performed with it; and the self-denial of this widow in her poverty was much greater than that of the richest Pharisee who brought gold. “For they all contributed out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she contributed all that she had, all her food” (Mark 12:44). Finally, the Savior left the boundaries of the church; but the disciples still did not want to tear themselves away from the Old Testament church and, not clearly understanding the prophecy just expressed, although involuntarily feeling its menacing truth, with a feeling of pity they dared once again to draw the attention of their Teacher to the abandoned church, as if wanting to once again check the prophecy about its fate. But Christ briefly answered the disciple who addressed Him: “Do you see these great buildings? All this will be destroyed, so that there will not be left one stone upon another” (Mark 13:2). After such a clear statement there could be no more misunderstandings regarding the spoken prophecy, and the disciples, following their Teacher, with heavy thoughts in their hearts, withdrew from the confines of the church. Having crossed the Kidron Valley, they followed a steep path leading through the Mount of Olives to Bethany. At the top of the mountain they stopped, and Christ sat down to rest, perhaps under the green branches of two magnificent cedars that once adorned the top of the mountain. The sight that opened up from here was capable of inspiring the most sublime thoughts. On the one hand, deep below Him lay the sacred city, which had long since become a harlot, and even now on this day, the last day of Christ's public ministry, finally proved that it had not known the time of its visit. The slopes of the mountain and the Garden of Gethsemane lay beneath His feet. On the opposite slope rose the city walls and in the middle of them was a wide square, crowned with marble colonnades and gilded roofs of the church. To the east, beyond the bare, rocky hills of the Judean desert, one could see the purple ridge of the Moab Mountains, which at sunset sparkle like a chain of precious stones. The gloomy waters of the Dead Sea swayed in a deep sun-burnt basin. And thus, looking from the top of the mountain, the Savior saw everywhere traces of the wrath of God and the sin of man. On one side shone gloomily the Dead Sea, the resinous and stupefying waves of which constitute a constant testimony of God's punishment for carnal corruption, and under our feet was the famous but criminal city, which shed the blood of all the prophets and was condemned to fall into even more terrible retribution for an even more vile crime. Christ was sad and immersed in deep thoughts. Not without a feeling of fear, the closest and most beloved of the Apostles, Peter, James, John and Andrew, approached Him and, seeing that His gaze was fixed on the church, asked Him privately: “Tell us, when will this be, and what is the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). Their question apparently proceeded from the assumption that the destruction of Jerusalem and the church would coincide with the end of the world. Then Christ outlined before them in a prophetic picture the development and course of the Kingdom of God on earth, and especially focused on the two most important events - the death of Jerusalem and together the Jewish people, as an independent political body, and the end of the world. The destruction of Jerusalem will be only the beginning of all this and it should serve as a prototype of what is to happen at the Last Judgment of the living and the dead. When the last terrible event takes place, this constitutes the secret of the Divine, into which even the Angels cannot penetrate; But even before the next event, a lot of time will pass, and many temptations will appear that need to be guarded against. False Messiahs will appear and will win over to their side with flattery and fear; but let them unshakably hold on to faith in their Teacher and Lord; they will endure everything for Him, and those who endure to the end will be saved. Although the coming of the Lord and the end of the world are unknown even to the Angels, there are still some signs by which one can judge the proximity of these great events. By that time the sun and moon will be darkened, the stars will fall like leaves, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. There will be a general upheaval of the world order, and then Christ will send Angels with a trumpet to loudly gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from end to end. The Savior instructed His disciples at all times to observe these signs and interpret them in the same way as they interpret the signs of the approach of summer by the blossoming of leaves on the fig tree. But that day will come suddenly, and since it will be a day of reward for all faithful slaves, it will at the same time be a day of punishment for all those who find themselves not at the height of their destiny and unprepared for the great day. In order to further impress in their souls this instruction about vigilance and fidelity and to warn them even more expressively against the danger of a careless life and extinguishing the lamp of vigilance, He told them two parables, striking in their simplicity and at the same time rich in edification, about the “ten virgins” and “talents” and painted for them a picture of the great day of the Last Judgment, when the King of Heaven will separate both nations and individuals. from others, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. On that day, those who have shown even the slightest kindness to the least of His brothers will be considered to have shown this kindness to Him personally. All those who have done evil will go into eternal punishment, and the righteous into eternal life. But so that these sayings would not give rise to any old erroneous messianic views, He ended them with a sad, but already familiar to them, prediction that first of all this would follow His suffering and death. Now, with complete clarity and simplicity, He revealed to them the very reason, method and day: “You know that in two days there will be Easter; and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified" (Matt. 26:2). Thus ended this great conversation on the Mount of Olives. The sun had already set, and He rose and walked with His Apostles along the road to Bethany. This was the last time He walked along this road on earth, and after the trials, fatigue, sublime preaching and terrible excitement of this day rich in incidents, how delightfully pleasant these hours of quiet twilight and evening peace must have seemed to Him; how refreshing was the peace and love that surrounded Him in that quiet village and blessed home! It is worth noting that Jesus Christ did not like cities at all and hardly ever spent the night within them. Their herd wickedness, their restless publicity, their feverish fussiness, their noisy monotony and colorlessness - all this repelled and outraged the gentle, pure soul of Christ. The eastern city is always dirty; sewage is thrown into the streets; there are no pavements; stray dogs were the only ones picking up sewage; animals and people mill about in the narrow streets and passages. Therefore, although the duty of His ministry the Savior had to often visit Jerusalem and preach to huge crowds of people who gathered for annual holidays from all regions and countries of the world, but at every opportunity He retired beyond the city gates - partly for safety, partly out of poverty, partly because He loved this blessed house in Bethany, and partly also because He felt more peace and joy in his soul when he walked on the grass growing on the mountains than on the hard stones of the city, and the highest bliss for He had communion with the Heavenly Father under the shade of the olive trees, where, far from human noise and outrageous sights, He could peacefully enjoy the wonderful beauty of the setting sun and the healthy freshness of the evening dew. XXVII. The Sanhedrin's ruling on the capture of Christ by cunning; betrayal of Judas. Washing the feet, the last supper and farewell conversation with the disciples. The prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane and His capture by soldiers While the righteous were sleeping, the wicked were plotting evil. On the night of Great Wednesday, members of the Sanhedrin gathered in the house of the high priest Caiaphas for a meeting, and heatedly discussed the question of what to do with the Galilean who was dangerous to them. All plans to seize Him in the church, to arouse the rage of the people against Him or the suspicion of the Roman government turned out to be in vain and were frustrated by themselves - both due to the fear of the people devoted to Him, and as a result of His own wisdom, which destroyed all their most insidious plans. Probably, voices were also raised for granting Him freedom of action until the essence of His work and teaching was revealed by itself. But the opposing party triumphed; at the council it was decided to kill Him - if not openly, then by cunning violence and deceit. But how to achieve this? While they were discussing this, they were informed that one of the closest disciples and heirs of Jesus of Nazareth wanted to give them an important message. A red-haired man, according to legend, a Jew, who in his slyly sparkling eyes revealed criminal anxiety and greed, was brought into the chamber of the evil council. This was Judas Iscariot, the only Jew in the proper sense of the word in the Apostolic Face, a man from Kariot, a town in the region of Judea. He represents the only person in Holy Scripture doomed by the Lord Himself to destruction. And he came to this through his criminal love for the world. He was the most prominent representative of those false disciples who joined Christ in anticipation of the earthly kingdom. But when the Savior repeatedly announced the suffering and death that lay ahead of Him, he saw that his expectations were not justified; Instead of the royal throne, he faced all kinds of hardships and persecutions. Then he decided to simply betray his Teacher to His enemies, hoping that at least with this he would earn some money and reward himself for his disappointed expectations. Greed was his second nature. He had long since begun to satisfy it from the community treasury of the Apostles, which they entrusted to his care, and this passion now took possession of him so much that he did not restrain himself in expressing it in front of his disciples, who clearly saw that he was a “thief” (John 12:6). When, at a supper in the house of Simon (Lazarus), he received a reproach from the Savior for his crafty remark about Mary’s noble deed, this completely embittered him, Satan entered into him, and he decided to become a traitor. And now, in the dead of night, he crept into Jerusalem and appeared before the Sanhedrin. That’s all the high-ranking criminals needed, and when Judas asked them for a service, a large sum for himself, but an insignificant amount for them, of thirty pieces of silver, the deal was ready, the condition was concluded, and the Sanhedrin parted with the consciousness of success in the planned business, and Judas, calling on all the forces of hell for help, began to think about how he could achieve his goal. Wednesday passed, which the Savior spent in solitude, and the day approached “on which the Passover lamb had to be slain” (Luke 22:7). The law designated the day for the slaughter of the Passover lamb on the 14th of Nisan, the time “between the evenings” or around sunset. But regarding the meaning of this expression, scribes and lawyers argued and were divided in opinion. According to some, this expression should be understood in the sense of the interval between sunset and twilight; according to others, in the sense of the gap between the obvious inclination of the sun towards the sky and the actual sunset. The latter opinion seems to be more correct, and the lamb was probably slaughtered soon after the evening sacrifice (at the ninth hour), so that after all the preparations for the slain lamb, the Passover supper could be celebrated at the usual hour of supper and thus still within the 14th of Nisan. This whole day passed in Jerusalem and the surrounding area with extreme noise and trouble, because not only local residents, but all the countless pilgrims were busy purchasing and slaughtering a lamb, so that on this day more than two hundred thousand lambs were sometimes killed. The disciples also took care of the same thing, and on Thursday morning, Nisan 13, they asked their Teacher where He would like to eat Passover. The Savior ordered the Apostles Peter and John to go to Jerusalem and, indicating a mysterious sign for them, told them that at the entrance to the gate they would meet a servant with a jug of water drawn from one of the springs for evening use; following him, they will come to a house, the owner of which they must convey about the Teacher’s intention to eat Easter in this house with His disciples; and this owner (according to the assumption of some, Joseph of Arimathea) will immediately put at their complete disposal a ready-made, cleaned upper room, equipped with the necessary tables and couches. They found everything, as Jesus Christ told them, and apparently on the same day they “prepared the Passover” (Luke 22:13). When Christ and the rest of the disciples arrived at this house, the supper was already ready, the table was set and the usual triclinium with reclining was located. The custom of eating Easter while standing was abandoned long ago. Reclining was considered the most appropriate and comfortable position, especially since it was recognized as the position of free people. Each guest reclined at his full length, leaning on his left arm, so that the right could be free. On the right side of Jesus Christ reclined the beloved disciple, whose head could therefore at any time be bowed on the chest of his Teacher and Lord. In the east, in every house, the middle part of the floor is usually covered with carpets or mats, and when entering a room, everyone takes off his sandals at the threshold, so as not to pollute the white and clean mats with dust and uncleanness from the road or street. All the students did so, and then began to take their places at the table; but at the same time another pleasant custom was omitted, which was not little valued by Christ. Their feet were probably covered with dust from walking along the hot and rocky road from Bethany to Jerusalem, and in that case it would have been nice to freshen up for the evening by washing them after taking off their sandals. But washing feet was the work of slaves, and since no one volunteered to perform this good work, the Lord Jesus Himself, in His infinite humility and self-denial, rose from the table to perform a slave service, which none of His disciples offered to do for Him. He took off His outer robe, took a vessel of water and a towel, and silently began to wash his feet with them. Embarrassment and shame plunged them into deep silence until He reached Peter, whose uncontrollable excitement was expressed in an astonished question: “Lord! Should you wash my feet? (John 13:6). You, Son of God, King of Israel, who has the word of eternal life, will you wash the feet of unworthy Peter? - But Christ answered him: “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me” (John 13:8). And this remark was enough for the ardent student to exclaim: “Lord! not only my feet (wash), but also my hands and my head” (John 13:9). And Christ continued the washing, declaring at the same time that they, as washed by the water of spiritual teaching from the source of life, are clean; but, He added with sadness, “not all” (John 13:11), and at that moment His holy hands were perhaps washing the dirty feet of the traitor, who had just returned from his vile bargaining. The disciples did not pay due attention to this instruction and, after finishing their ablutions, took their places at supper. The middle and main place was occupied by the Teacher, John reclined on the right, and on the left side of the Savior apparently reclined Judas Iscariot, who himself impudently took this place, arrogating to himself, as the keeper of the common circle, some advantage over other students. Peter's place apparently was on the edge of the next couch - to the left of Judas. When the supper began, the Savior began to explain to them the meaning of His action, precisely as an object lesson in the humility with which they should treat each other. But His gaze fell on Judas, and His spirit was saddened. Seeing that the disciples did not pay attention to the hint made earlier, Christ now directly announced to them publicly: “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me” (John 13:21). How this statement struck them like a thunderbolt; fear gripped them, and they, each feeling some self-doubt, turned to the Teacher with questions: “Isn’t it me, Lord?” (Matthew 26:22). In order not to reveal his guilt before his brothers, Iscariot also reluctantly asked: “Isn’t it I, Teacher,” and received the answer: “You said” (Matthew 26:25). But this clear answer was again not noticed by the Apostles, and Peter, with his usual impatience, wanted to know more precisely who exactly the traitor was, and prompted John, bowing his head to the very chest of the Savior, to ask Him who exactly would betray Him. And to this Christ answered: “the one to whom I will dip a piece of bread and give it” (John 13:26). And then, indeed, “having dipped a piece, he gave it to Judas Simon Iscariot” (John 13:26). This discovery bound John's tongue with horror, and he did not tell anyone about it. Since the presence of Judas at the supper after all this became impossible, Christ, making the last appeal to his conscience, told him: “whatever you do, do it quickly” (John 13:27). And Judas, as if burned by this remark, hastily left the table and, hiding in the darkness of the night, went to do his vile deed, and many of the simple-minded disciples still did not guess what this deed was; some even thought that the Teacher had sent him to do holiday shopping or to distribute alms to the poor. As soon as the traitor left, the spirit of Christ seemed to rise up from the sorrow that aggravated Him, and He exclaimed with a lightened heart: “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him” (John 13:31). The hour of this glorification has already come, that glorification, which had to be achieved through humiliation and torment. He did not have long to be with them, and as He had previously told the Jews, so now He told them that where He was going, they could not come. At the same time, He gave them a new commandment, by fulfilling which they would form a society completely different from the people of this world, namely, the commandment that they love each other. But Peter was not content with this and certainly wanted to go where the Teacher was going, and when the obstinate disciple with self-confidence began to insist that there were no obstacles that could prevent him from following his Teacher, that he would “lay down his life for Him” (John 13:37), the Savior reproached this self-confidence with the prediction that before the rooster crows three times will deny Him. Having revealed even more clearly to the disciples about the horrors ahead of Him, the Savior predicted to them that they would all leave Him that night and be scattered, but He would meet them in Galilee after the resurrection. To support their spirit, He continued to reveal to them His Divine essence and His relationship to the Heavenly Father. “I am,” He said, “the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. If you knew Me, you would also know My Father. And from now on you know Him, and have seen Him” (John 14:6–7). The Apostle Philip interrupted this Divine conversation with a simple-minded question, showing how little the disciples even now understood the essence of their Divine Teacher. “Lord,” he said, “show us the Father” (John 14:8), and to this Christ answered him with a well-deserved reproach: “How long have I been with you, and you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say: show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me?” (In. 14:9–10) And then, referring to His teaching and His deeds, which is possible only through the co-presence of the Father in Him, He began to reveal to them that the Holy Spirit would come, and this Comforter, dwelling in them, would make them one with Him and with the Heavenly Father. The Comforter Spirit, who will be sent to them from the Father and will remember to them everything that He told them, will teach them more fully about the truths He set forth. And now He leaves them the blessing of peace, since He does not have the opportunity to teach them much and must enter into a terrible struggle with the prince of this world. The most important event during the Last Supper was the establishment by Christ of the sacrament of the Eucharist, as a grace-filled means of uniting believers with Christ. The disciples already understood that their beloved Teacher was leaving them, and they were sad. Then the Savior, to console them, established the sacrament of Communion of His Body and Blood as a true Lamb, taking away the sins of the world. During the supper, He “took bread and, having blessed it, broke it and, giving it to the disciples, said: Take, eat; this is My Body. And he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, and said, “Drink of it, all of you: for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26–28). And having communed with them His most pure Body and all-honorable Blood, He commanded them to always perform this Sacrament in His remembrance, as the Holy Church still does, having in this Sacrament a grace-filled means of even greater unity with Christ than what the disciples enjoyed before the establishment of the Sacrament, which forever replaced the Old Testament Easter. But then the supper and farewell conversation ended, and Christ said to the disciples: “Get up, let us go from here” (John 14:31). They stood up and, together with their Divine Teacher, sang one of the psalms of the sweet singer of Israel, and the sounds of this sacred song resounded solemnly through the silent silence of the dark eastern night. After singing, He once again addressed His disciples with words of edification and consolation. He told them about the need for the closest unity between Him and them in love, and this love must have its source in Him, since He is “the true vine. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it is in the vine, so neither can you unless you are in Me” (John 15:1,4). They, as the heralds of new truths that contradict what ancient humanity considered to be true, will have to be subjected to hatred and persecution from the sons of this world; but let not their spirit be troubled. In union with Christ they will find the courage to endure all this and triumph. “In the world you will have tribulation: but take heart; for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Having finished the teaching, the Savior raised his eyes to heaven and said the great high priestly prayer, in which he asked His Heavenly Father to glorify His Son, who had now completed the work entrusted to Him; then, to preserve His beloved disciples, who were to continue His work on earth, and finally prayed to God the Father to sanctify and make perfect in reason and truth all who believe in Him. “That they all may be one: as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so may they also be one in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me” (John 17:21). After this, Christ moved with His disciples outside the city, and, going down into the hollow of the Kidron Stream, entered the Garden of Gethsemane. Part of this garden exists to this day - between the stream and the Mount of Olives, and its place is marked by several olive trees, of which eight are at least attributed to venerable antiquity - at least two thousand years, so that they witnessed the greatest moment in the spiritual life of Christ. Now the entire garden takes no more than fifty steps, but in ancient times it was much larger, and was so famous for the abundance of Maslenitsa fruits (olives) that it got its name from them (Gethsemane - a press or winepress for extracting olive oil). The trees at this time were in tender, spring, recently blossoming foliage, and the moonlight made its way through them with its flickering rays. Everything was solemnly quiet and peaceful all around; even the birds slept carelessly on the fluffy branches, under the cover of the starry sky, where the Heavenly Father took care of them. Behind, Mount Moriah rose with its artificial terraces leading to the majestic vestibule of the church, and in front, beyond the garden fence, began the slopes of the Mount of Olives, with its peak covering the blessed house in Bethany from view. The Spirit of Christ was filled with great thoughts about what was to come, and He desired solitude in order to pour out His heart in prayer to God the Father. Leaving most of the disciples at the entrance to the garden, He led the three most chosen of them with Him into the depths of Gethsemane, namely Peter, James and John, who, as witnesses of the glory of His transfiguration, were to be the closest witnesses of His greatest spiritual torment. But their presence was also difficult at this terrible hour. “My soul,” He said, “is mortally sorrowful” (Mark 14:34, Matt. 26:38), and, commanding them to stay awake, He moved away from them even further into the thicket of the garden, to the flight of a thrown stone, and there began to pray to strengthen His spirit, overwhelmed with horror at the weight of the sins of mankind, which He now had to take upon Himself. His Human nature was terrified of the coming burden that He was about to bear. In painful prayer, Christ even for a moment imagined the possibility of canceling the terrible redemptive work and cried out to the Father: “Abba Father! everything is possible for You; carry this cup past Me" ; but then He immediately submitted everything to the will of the Sender: “but not what I want, but what You want” (Mark 14:36). Never before had the unity of His Divine and human nature appeared in Him with such clarity as at this very moment. If at first glance human nature here seems to take precedence over the Divine, then we must keep in mind that this moment was the moment of Christ’s greatest self-abasement, when it was “He humbled Himself and became obedient even to death” (Phil. 2:8), completely surrendering Himself to the Father as a representative of sinful humanity. But the very ability to do this, close communication with the Father regarding will and advice and the most perfect triumph of self-sacrifice over human weakness serve as clear evidence of His Divinity. And in this terrible struggle the Savior was not left without help. Just as during the initial temptation from the devil in the desert, so now an Angel from heaven strengthened Him. But people, even His closest followers and disciples, did not even think of providing Him with any consolation or reinforcement. When the Savior returned from the depths of the thicket to His disciples, they were sleeping! Even Peter was asleep, and the Savior especially addressed him with a gentle reproach: “Simon! are you sleeping? couldn't you stay awake for one hour? Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into temptation." And then, as if in apology for this human weakness, Christ added with gracious condescension: “The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:37–38). Twice more He went into the thicket and repeated the same prayer, and twice upon his return he again found his disciples immersed in such deep sleep that they did not even know how to answer His questions and reproaches. But for the third time He already awakened them with a clear indication of the approaching danger: “Are you still sleeping and resting? it is over, the hour has come: behold, the Son of Man is given over into the hands of sinners. Get up, let's go; Behold, he who betrays Me has drawn near” (Mark 14:41–42). And at that very time, lights shone through the thicket of trees and a whole crowd of church and high priestly servants appeared, who, armed with swords and stakes, quietly crept up to the garden, where, as the traitor who led this crowd pointed out to them, Christ was supposed to be. Such precautions were completely unnecessary, since Christ was now ready to surrender himself to them. But this very spirit of boundless self-sacrifice was such a terrible accuser of the conscience of the wicked that from the simple statement of Christ that it was He whom they were looking for, the entire armed crowd scattered in horror and fell, especially since the traitor himself twice turned out to be unable to give the sign he had agreed upon and became numb in all his vile being. Only for the third time Satan armed him with hellish courage, and Judas imprinted a treacherous kiss with his vile lips. Then an armed crowd surrounded Jesus Christ and began to tie His hands. There was general confusion, and Peter, drawing a sword, wanted to protect his Teacher with it, but with an inept hand he only cut off the ear of one high priestly servant, Malchus. Christ, however, reproached him for his unreasonable ardor and healed the minister’s ear, turning at the same time to the entire armed crowd with reproachful words: “It’s as if you came out against a robber with swords and staves to take Me. Every day I was with you in the church and taught; and you did not take Me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled” (Mark 14:48–49). Then the last courage left the disciples, and they “all fled” (Mark 14:50). Only Peter and John followed the crowd from afar, and another young man ran anxiously among the crowd, wrapped in a blanket. But this courageous follower of Christ, apparently awakened by the noise of the street, followed the Teacher only while no attention was paid to him. When one of the servants, in order to verify his identity, grabbed him by the edge of the blanket, he rushed out of the servant’s hands in fear and, leaving the blanket in his hands, disappeared naked into the darkness. According to legend, it was St. Mark, who alone talks about this event. XXVIII. The trial of Christ by the high priests Annas and Caiaphas. Peter's renunciation and repentance. Jesus Christ at the trial of Pilate and Herod; His scourging and condemnation by Pilate to death. The death of Judas, as well as other perpetrators of the crime While Christ was being taken into custody, the high-ranking criminals were sitting at a night meeting, awaiting a sacrifice, in the house of the main leader of the entire conspiracy - the high priest Caiaphas. But the Divine Prisoner was first taken to the high priest Annas, as the eldest hierarch, in the hope that, having personally seen Jesus, he would, with his tested wisdom, help his son-in-law Caiaphas, how best to act in the present case in order to condemn the Prisoner and at the same time not arouse the indignation of the people. The high priest's house in Jerusalem, like the houses of noble persons in the east in general, was a whole series of buildings arranged in a quadrangle, inside of which there was a paved courtyard, with one or two entrances to it. These buildings not only housed both high priests, but also various chambers for meetings, as well as all kinds of services necessary in the house of such noble dignitaries. Christ was brought to such a courtyard by an armed crowd, who directed Him first of all to Anna. This elderly supernumerary high priest, seeing the Prisoner, began the interrogation with malicious joy and first of all “asked Jesus about His disciples and about His teaching” (John 18:19). The question was unnecessary and insidious, and therefore the Prisoner answered him with right and dignity: “I spoke clearly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews meet, and I did not say anything secretly. Why are you asking Me? ask those who heard what I said to them; behold, they know that I have spoken” (John 18:20–21). With such an answer, Christ reminded the unrighteous judge of his blatant violation of judicial laws, which required a trial in the open, daytime and in front of witnesses, and not at night, secretly and in front of an armed crowd, and that is why this answer infuriated the surrounding ministers so much that one of them boldly hit Christ on the cheek, shouting at Him: “Is this the answer you give to the high priest?” (John 18:22). Such wild arbitrariness of the minister made the high priest himself feel remorse, especially when he heard the infinitely meek remark of Christ: “If I said bad, show that it is bad; What if it’s good that you beat Me?” (John 18:23). Realizing the failure of the first interrogation, Annas sent Him bound to the high priest Caiaphas. This was the Caiaphas who had previously “given advice to the Jews that it was better for one man to die for the people” (John 18:14). The council met in his house. There everything was already prepared for the condemnation of the Divine Prisoner. The Sanhedrin was generally distinguished as a court of justice by its gentleness and love of mankind, to the extent that it reflected the spirit of the generally humane Mosaic legislation. As a result of this, there was even a rule that “the Sanhedrin has its task to save, and not to destroy, life,” and according to established legal proceedings, the accused was given all kinds of means to justify himself. When the accused was brought to trial, it was the duty of the presiding officer to address the witnesses with an admonition so that they remember the high importance of human life and take every possible care not to somehow forget in their testimony anything that could serve in favor of the accused. In criminal cases, proceedings should not take place at night and on the eve of Saturdays and great holidays, and in case of conviction, the sentence could not be carried out on the same day, but only on the next. All these rules served to ensure a fair trial; but now the Sanhedrin, meeting in the house of Caiaphas, was too depressed by the desire to destroy the Galilean, hated by the people's elders, to be guided by such humane rules, and he violated them in all respects and represented an illegal gathering of malefactors, and not conscientious judges. Yes, they had no opportunity to act legally, because they could not bring a single legal charge against the Prisoner they had treacherously taken. In all the actions and teachings of Christ, they absolutely could not find anything for which they could subject Him to the death penalty, and for this they needed to find at all costs an indictment that, at a certain stretch, could be interpreted as a state crime, and which would give them the opportunity to hand him over to the Romans for trial as a dangerous rebel. Such a point could only be His messiahship, and it was to this that all the thoughts of the judges were directed. Caiaphas, having probably heard about what happened in Anna's house, considered it necessary to resort to interrogation of witnesses. And so witnesses were called, but not those whom Christ pointed out as “knowing what He said,” but false witnesses, selected in advance, with the goal of finding evidence of accusation against the prisoner at all costs. Yes, and they were difficult to find at first, and “although many false witnesses came,” they all did not meet the purpose, since they could not say anything compelling against the prisoner. “Finally two false witnesses came” (Matthew 26:60), who showed more hope. They “bear false witness against Him and said: We heard Him say: I will destroy this church made with hands, and in three days I will build another not made with hands” (Matthew 26:61). Although this testimony was a clear distortion of the words actually spoken by Christ, it would still be possible to base on it the accusation of the Prisoner of disrespect for the greatest Jewish shrine and of encroaching on the integrity of the people's and state property. Unfortunately for the unjust judges, these false witnesses conveyed this accusation so differently and contradicted themselves so much that even the unjust court did not have the courage to dwell on it. And the blatant falsity of these testimonies became all the brighter and more shameful because the Prisoner remained silent. This eloquent silence, which was in such striking contrast to the surrounding noise of false testimony and slander, infuriated the high priest, and he, jumping up from his presiding seat and standing in the middle of the semicircular chamber, right before Christ, passionately asked Him: “Why don’t you answer anything? What do they testify against You?” (Matt. 26:62) - “But He was silent and did not answer anything” (Mk. 14:61). This completely infuriated the high priest, and he himself turned to the Prisoner with solemn words: “I adjure You by the living God, tell us, Are You the Christ, the Son of God?” (Matthew 26:63). The question was posed directly and solemnly, and Christ answered it with a terrible Self-Revelation, which should have plunged all those present into awe of awe. “You said” (Matt. 26:64), Christ answered, using the well-known Greek phrase, meaning a solemn confirmation of the question, equivalent to the expression: “yes, you spoke the truth, it is I.” “I even tell you,” Christ added: “from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64). The hardened heart of the high priest and the elders did not tremble even before this terrible Self-Revelation, which, on the contrary, only increased their rage. With the air of a frantic zealot for the law, “then the high priest tore his clothes and said: He is blaspheming; What more need do we need witnesses? now you have heard His blasphemy. What do you think? They answered: “I am guilty of death” (Matthew 26:65–66), and with these bloodthirsty cries the meeting ended. While this lawless trial of the holiest of men was taking place, in the high priestly courtyard an armed crowd of servants and servants, seated around a blazing fire, were engaged in their own discussion of everything that had happened. All these servants were naturally hostile to Christ, in whom they saw only the rebellious Galilean and mocked Him and His disciples, who fled from fear. However, not all of them fled. In this very courtyard there were two of them who had enough courage to penetrate into the very midst of the enemies of their Teacher. One of them was John, the beloved disciple, who, like a fisherman unknown in the high priest’s house, could enter the courtyard without much difficulty, and the other was Peter, who could only enter secretly, fearing for his freedom and even life. With a trembling heart, he approached the fire and began to warm his limbs, numb from cold and horror. From among the crowd, one maid, paying attention to the stranger, suddenly asked him: “And were you with Jesus the Galilean?” (Matthew 26:69). This question was so unexpected for Peter that his sense of self-preservation did not give him time to discuss his situation, and he answered gloomily and reluctantly: “I don’t know what you are saying” (Matthew 26:70). However, this forced him to move away from the fire and head towards the exit; but another maid met him there and began to tell those around him that “this one also was with Jesus the Nazarene” (Matthew 26:71). Even more embarrassed by this, Peter began to swear that he “did not know this man” (Matthew 26:72). Meanwhile, a crowd surrounded him, and many began to say to him: “Surely you are one of them; for your speech also convicts you” (Matthew 26:73). And one of the high priestly servants, a relative of Malchus, even directly stated: “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?” (John 18:26). Then Peter, overcome with horror, began to “swear and swear that he did not know this man.” And suddenly the rooster crowed (Matthew 26:74), announcing the onset of dawn. Peter was thunderstruck by this ordinary singing. He immediately remembered what Christ had told him in response to his self-confident declaration of devotion to his Teacher, and he, struck by the horror of self-accusation, rushed headlong from the high priest's courtyard and “wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75). After pronouncing the death sentence over Christ, He was transferred to the custody of the courtyard servants, and at their rude hands He suffered the first reproach. The rude mob mocked Him in every possible way, as if they wanted to please their dignitary masters. Meanwhile, the latter drew up a plan for further action. According to common Jewish practice, a person on whom the death sentence was pronounced had to be taken out of the city and stoned to death. But as a result of the subjugation of Judea to the Romans, the right of life and death was taken away from the supreme Jewish court, so the verdict had to be approved by the Roman procurator. The procurator at that time was Pontius Pilate, a man who suffered a lot from Jewish fanaticism and who from the depths of his soul hated and despised the Jews. In ordinary times, he lived in Caesarea Philippi, but on great holidays he usually moved to Jerusalem in order to protect public peace with his armed force from any attempt to disturb the festive crowd, and there his main apartment, the so-called praetorium, was in one of Herod’s magnificent palaces. Early the next morning, a huge procession of high priests and elders headed to this praetorium, leading the bound Christ with them, in order to obtain approval of the verdict they had drawn up that night. Alarmed at an unusually early hour by such a noisy procession and anticipating some serious Easter disturbance, Pilate hastily went out into the courtroom and took his judge's chair to investigate what was the matter. But since the Jewish elders refused to enter the pagan chamber, so as not to be defiled and thereby lose the right to eat the Passover and participate in the upcoming services and sacrifices, Pilate was forced to come out to them from the praetorium. Having looked around the gathering with his penetrating gaze and noticing the infinitely meek Sufferer among the crowd, he sternly and briefly asked: “What do you accuse this man of?” (John 18:29). This question puzzled them and showed them that they must be prepared for open opposition to their intentions. Pilate obviously wanted a judicial investigation, but they only expected simple permission to put to death, and not in the Jewish way of execution, but in the way that they considered the most terrible and damned. “If He had not been an evildoer,” they answered vaguely and boldly, we would not have handed Him over to you” (John 18:30). But Pilate, with his purely Roman knowledge of the law and purely Roman contempt for their bloodthirsty fanaticism, could not decide to act on the basis of such a completely vague accusation and give his government approval to their dark, disorderly decision. He did not want to be a executor in a case in which he was not a judge. Well, he answered with proud contempt, “Take Him, and judge Him according to your law” (John 18:31). But by this he only forced them to the humiliating admission that, being deprived of the right to put anyone to death, they could not do without the Roman procurator. Therefore, they had to present the accusation before him, and then Caiaphas tried to give a political character to the whole matter in order to incite the Roman governor against the Prisoner. They began to accuse Him of allegedly corrupting the people, forbidding them to pay taxes to Caesar, and calling Himself a king. All these accusations were indeed of a political nature, but the very appearance of Christ, which Pilate had probably heard about before, made him doubt the truth of these testimonies, especially since the witnesses did not confirm them. Pilate paid special attention to the third accusation, and finding it completely contradictory to the entire appearance of the Prisoner, he wanted to personally interrogate Him, and for this he took Him inside the praetorium. Looking at God in surprise. Prisoner in His terrible humiliation, Pilate asked Him: “Are you the King of the Jews?” (John 18:33). Knowing that Pilate himself had nothing against Him, Christ meekly and with dignity answered that His Kingdom is not of this world, as is proven by all His activities and the behavior of His disciples and followers, who do not rise up with weapons in their hands for their King. “So, You are the King?” (John 18:37) Pilate asked with even greater amazement. Jesus answered: “You say that I am a King. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I came into the world, to testify to the truth; everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37). The last remark finally convinced Pilate that the Prisoner was by no means a rebel of the usual kind, but simply some completely harmless dreamer who, like the Greek philosophers, was entirely occupied with solving questions about truth and similar sublime subjects that were completely unrelated to Roman power. Therefore, asking ironically: “what is truth?” Pilate turned and, leaving the praetorium, publicly pronounced his verdict of acquittal: “I find no guilt in Him” (John 18:38). But this open justification of the Prisoner, hated by the elders, for whose capture so much effort had been spent and so many sleepless nights spent, only infuriated His enemies even more. In response to Pilate’s acquittal, they furiously shouted that it was impossible to justify such a Man, since He was a deceiver, “revolting the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place” (Luke 23:5). Hearing that Galilee was the main place of Jesus’ activity, Pilate decided to send Him to the local ruler Herod Antipas, who was also in Jerusalem on the occasion of the holiday, hoping to please the ambitious king and get away with a very difficult matter. Herod rejoiced at this opportunity - to see the Man whom he had long wanted to see. Interested in rumors about His miracles, he now turned to Him with questions about His activities, suggesting that the Prisoner, to please the king, might perform some amazing miracle in his presence. But Christ, knowing the base nature of this king, whom He had previously branded with the shameful name of a fox, “answered him nothing” (Luke 23:9), and the irritated Herod handed the Prisoner over to his court mob to be mocked and then again sent Him to Pilate (which, by the way, served as a means of reconciling these two rulers, who had previously been at enmity with each other), declaring, however, that he had found nothing criminal in Prisoner. Faced with the need to again solve a matter that was unpleasant to him and wanting to somehow save the Innocent Man, in his opinion, and also to maintain the dignity of his first acquittal, Pilate tried to appeal to the feeling of compassion and nobility of the people. According to established custom, the Roman ruler, on the occasion of Easter, released a prisoner, at the request and choice of the people. Knowing that the whole accusation against Jesus was the work of the chief priests and elders and that the people had recently shown an enthusiastic affection for Christ, he proposed to appoint two prisoners for the festive release, namely Christ and the inveterate thief and murderer - Barabbas, in the hope that the people would prefer the One whom they had recently enthusiastically hailed as the son of David. But this plan was also frustrated by the treachery of the leaders, who had already managed to win the people over to their side, convincing them that it was better to ask Barabbas, who had already declared himself with bold uprisings against the foreign yoke, than Jesus, who apparently was not able to justify the hopes of restoring the kingdom of David. Therefore, when Pilate asked who to free them, the mob shouted: “Death to Him, but release Barabbas to us!” (Luke 23:18). Struck by such frantic anger, Pilate wanted to drag out the matter and asked: “What do you want me to do with the King of the Jews?” (Mark 15:12). Then for the first time a frantic cry was heard: “Crucify, crucify Him!” (Luke 23:21). In vain Pilate, taking advantage of every lull in confusion, insisted on his own, insisted, indeed, stubbornly, but with each moment weakening more and more. “What evil did He do?” Pilate asks again. “I found nothing worthy of death in Him. And so, having punished Him, I will release Him” (Luke 23:22). Such half-hearted opposition was completely useless. It only revealed to the Jews the internal fears of their procurator and practically the whole matter was placed in their hands. More and more they filled the air with their frantic disgusting cries: “Death to Him!” Crucify Him, crucify Him! release Barabbas to us” (Luke 23:18). When this terrible fate was taking place, which represented the struggle of Roman justice with Jewish fury and fanaticism, Pilate received a notification from his wife Prokla that she had seen a terrible and significant dream about This Righteous One and asked him to be extremely careful in His work. Then Pilate made a last attempt to save God. Prisoner. In order to at least somewhat satisfy the bloodthirstiness of his accusers, he scourged Him, and then, hoping to awaken compassion for Him, he brought Him out again to the people and, appealing to simple human compassion, said: “Behold, a Man” (John 19:5). But the crowd turned into wild beasts, filling the air with a monotonous roar: “Crucify, crucify Him” (John 19:5). Pilate once again stopped in utter bewilderment as to what exactly could have hardened the people against Him so much. He again took Christ inside the praetorium and again subjected him to personal interrogation. But now everything was in vain, and Christ did not answer him. “Aren’t you answering me? asked the Roman dignitary passionately. Do you not know that I have the power to crucify You, and I have the power to release You? "(John 19:10). But this was an obvious error on his part, especially in the present state of affairs, when Pilate was obviously aware of his complete powerlessness, and Christ answered him: “You would not have any power over Me if it had not been given to you from above; Therefore, he who delivered Me to you has greater sin” (John 19:11). Such an insightful answer tied the Roman ruler even more to the mysterious Prisoner, and he tried even more diligently to save Him. Having tried all means and once again subjected Him to humiliation at the hands of Roman soldiers, Pilate resorted to yet another means, making an attempt to influence the patriotism of the Jewish people. Having dressed Christ in royal attire, he again brought Him out to the people and solemnly said: “Behold, your King” (John 19:14). But the appearance of God. The sufferer was again met with frantic cries: “Crucify Him!” and when Pilate, who had already begun to completely lose ground under himself, asked: “Shall I crucify your king?” (John 19:15) as the highest malefactors, and after them the whole people, shouted: “We have no king except Caesar (John 19:15). If you let Him go, you are no friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king is adversary to Caesar" (John 19:12). Pilate did not expect such a turn, since he did not expect that the notorious haters of Roman rule would reach such vile hypocrisy, declared so publicly. And he was seized with horror, since from the crowd informers could easily come to Rome, and this could cost Pilate not only his place, but also his life. Then he completely lost his head and, now caring more about himself and his position than about justice, decided to give in to the cries of the people he hated, and made up for his retreat only with formal statements of his non-involvement in this matter. He ordered water to be brought and, washing his hands, said to the people: “I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One; look you” (Matthew 27:24). But this statement of his was instantly drowned out by the cries of the mob, mad with gloating: “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). Then Pilate, in despair, gave the order to the soldiers to prepare a cross and crucify the “King of the Jews” on it. This terrible order of Pilate in its very simplicity was heard by thousands of people present, and Judas Iscariot undoubtedly heard it too. His whole vile business was thus crowned with complete success, but this success did not make him happy. Pilate's last order sounded to him like a terrible sentence against himself. Judas was in full power of the forces of malice and satanic blindness only until the moment of committing the betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane. Even then, the Savior’s calm reproach: “Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48) pierced his heart with the sharp edge of a sudden moral awakening and formidable self-reproof, and he fled in horror from the scene of his satanic atrocity. The blinding spirit of greed could, even after this, partially maintain his vigor with self-invented assurances that everything he had started would be accomplished for his – Judas’s – well-being, but the awakened voice of conscience began to resound in his soul more and more strongly, to the point of a menacing and unbearable alarm bell. Judas was probably present at all the vicissitudes of the trial and mockery of Christ; he heard the curses of the mob over the Sufferer, and the squeals of whips, and the echoes of strangulation, and insane, frantic cries: “Crucify, crucify Him!” But you can be sure that he himself was far from any participation in these brutal furies, and on the contrary, every squeal of the scourge seemed to be heard over his own back, every strangulation resonated painfully on his own, deathly pale cheeks, and the cries: “Crucify, crucify Him” seemed to refer to no one else but himself - Judas Iscariot. And oh, if all this really happened to him - the ill-fated Judas, and not to that Sufferer over there, whose meek gaze he now feared more than Satan can fear the menacing lightning of heaven! And memories of the last three and a half years of his life flashed through his soul in a bright succession. Endowed by nature with the seed of evil, he was one of those people who, in the conditions of their humble existence, endure their unenviable lot with a hidden murmur and are ready to take the first opportunity to throw off the yoke of poverty and low status in order to get rich and rise - even if it means committing a terrible crime. Chance brought him together with the great Teacher. Isn't He the Messiah? - a secret thought flashed in Judas; Isn’t he the expected King - the Messiah, who, according to popular belief, was supposed to appear at the fulfillment of times, who would lead the Jews out of their miserable subordinate position to the pagans, conquer the whole world for them, collect all earthly treasures for their enrichment, dress the very last Jew in a scarlet robe, studded with pearls and precious stones, and feed them with the finest dishes he could deliver earthly nature? If so, then joining the chosen society of such a Teacher is obviously an extremely profitable and promising matter, and Judas, joining the ranks of the followers of Christ, by the very essence of his nature, had earthly benefits in the foreground. Christ, of course, foresaw his low, evil, self-seeking nature; but his acceptance into the company of the Apostles was one of those experiments of Divine mercy which are often made for the purpose of bringing evil into contact with the very source of good and giving the free will of man the opportunity, with the help of this good, to overcome the evil nesting in him. But the evil will of Judas did not succumb to the charm of the very source of good. Judas dreamed of power, wealth and pleasure, and God. The teacher preached about humility, poverty and suffering. He could not help but feel the infinite holiness and goodness of his Divine Teacher, but His preaching seemed to him not to correspond to the greatness of the Messiah. If the entire task of the Messiah will be exactly the same as it was from the sermon of the Prophet of Nazareth, then Judas obviously made a mistake in his calculations; his dreams of earthly blessings crumbled into dust; he even lost what his former modest lot had given him, and in return received only a guarantee of inevitable persecution, contempt and all sorts of disasters. It’s better, a sly thought flashed through him, to take advantage of at least something, and he began to satisfy his greed by stealing from the community circle of the Apostles. But this soon seemed not enough to him, because the Apostolic mug was too poor, and often completely empty. Is it therefore impossible to immediately make some larger twist? The spirit of greed is resourceful, and circumstances were favorable. Judas clearly saw with what hatred the Jewish leaders looked at the Prophet, who was dangerous for their hypocrisy, and decided to simply sell them his Teacher while there was still an opportunity. But such a crime, taken in all its nakedness, would have been unbearably terrible even for Judas, and he, like many other greatest criminals and villains, could have invented more or less plausible pretexts for this. Oscillating between the spirit of greed and the voice of conscience, he could justify his villainous step with some plausible considerations. Will this step not prompt Jesus to abandon his preaching of poverty and self-abasement and to show before His enemies all His messianic greatness, which would be more likely to be able to win the people to Him? If so, then Judas will obviously only be doing a service to his too kind and humble Teacher and thus will have the right to count on participation in his messianic kingdom. If not, if the Teacher dies, then He would have died anyway; but then this death would be completely useless for Judas, and now he will receive thirty pieces of silver from the faithful - an amount sufficient to buy himself a plot of land, and later he may receive as a reward another bribe in order to conceal the crime before the people. Such twists of satanic logic could maintain a greedy excitement in him until the very commission of the vile deed. But then everything changed immediately. The crime he committed illuminated his dark soul with lightning speed and revealed to him all the falsity of his logic. Pale from the internal torment of an indignant conscience, he followed the progress of the case in feverish excitement and trepidation, wanted to believe and hope - despite any possibility of this - that all this would lead to something completely different from what it was in reality; I was looking forward to some miraculous wave from the Sufferer, which would shake the very foundations of hell. But all this was just one assumption of the spirit of Judas, outraged by his own crime. Now it’s all over, and Pilate pronounced the fatal sentence. If the gates of hell were immediately opened wide, then only a picture of what was happening in it could provide sufficient color to depict the mental state of the unfortunate traitor at that moment. In any case, Judas could not stand this moment. He hastily rushed towards the church with his pitiful booty, because of which he forever lost his glorious inheritance of the Apostolic title, in order to return to his high-ranking customers that wallet, in which now for him no longer the sweet sounds of silver coins were heard, but as if the hiss of a whole nest of deadly poisonous snakes. But those who were not afraid to buy innocent blood now considered it a violation of the law to take back the money they had paid for a criminal service. They were afraid of blood stains on these pieces of silver, although they did not at all think about blood stains on their own black hearts. Judas had done the service they needed, and now he had lost all meaning to them. In the horror of his painful frenzy, he entered the very door of the priests, where no one dared to enter among the uninitiated, and with a trembling hand he thrust back the wallet with the price of the blood of an innocent man, babbling incoherent reproaches and pleas. But he would rather awaken an echo of compassion in the granite pavement of the church than in these hearts rigid in their fanatical bitterness. “What do we care about that? See for yourself” (Matthew 27:4), he received an answer that was satanic in its heartlessness. Then there was nothing left for Judas except unbearable despair. In a fit of desperate frenzy, Judas threw away the ill-fated wallet and himself threw himself into the abyss of non-existence, which now, even with all the horrors of hell, became for him a more desirable refuge than life on earth. He hanged himself on the first tree he came across, but the tree did not want to hold his criminal body: the branch broke off under him, and it “fell down,” from the fall “his belly split open, and all his entrails fell out” (Acts 1:18). With the money he threw in, a potter's field was bought outside the city, which became a burial place for wanderers and was called Akeldama (fields of blood), thus serving as a visual monument to the terrible event. Thus died the ill-fated traitor. But God’s judgment was not slow to manifest itself over the other perpetrators of this terrible crime. The chief leader of the whole heinous crime of deicide, the Roman protege Caiaphas, was deposed the following year. Herod died in shame and exile. Pilate, very soon then deprived of the procuratorate on the very charge which he wanted to avoid with a criminal concession, driven by misfortunes, died in exile from suicide, leaving behind only a cursed name. Anna's house, a generation later, was destroyed by the enraged mob, who, with beatings and scourgings, dragged his son through the streets, to the very place of the murder. Some of those who were participants and witnesses of the terrible spectacle of that day, and thousands of their children, were witnesses and victims of the prolonged horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, which is unparalleled in history in its bloodthirsty brutality. The Jews shouted: “We have no king except Caesar!” and they really no longer had a king except Caesar. For a time, only leaving behind them the ghostly shadow of local, despised rule, the Caesars, one after another, insulted, robbed and oppressed them, until finally they violently rebelled against the very Caesar whom they only wanted to consider their king, and Caesar drowned the ruins and ashes of their desecrated church in the blood of the bravest defenders. They forced the Romans to crucify their Christ, considering this punishment to be the most terrible, but they themselves and their children were crucified in thousands by the Romans outside the camps of their city, so that there was already a lack of space and forest, and the soldiers refined their ingenuity in cruelty, inventing new methods of capital punishment for them. They gave thirty pieces of silver for the blood of their Savior, and were themselves sold by the thousands for even less. They chose Barabbas preferentially over their Messiah, and for them there was no longer a Messiah. They took upon themselves the guilt of blood, and the last pages of their history are filled with rivers of their blood, and this blood has since been continuously shed with insane cruelty from century to century. From that time on, Jerusalem and its surroundings became, as it were, one vast cemetery, Akeldama, a field of blood, a potter's field for the burial of wanderers. XXIX. Crucifixion, suffering on the cross, death and burial of Jesus Christ Crucifixion was the most terrible and shameful form of capital punishment in antiquity - so shameful that its very name, as Cicero says, “should never approach the thoughts, eyes or ears of a Roman citizen, much less his person.” It was of eastern origin and long before its penetration into Europe it was used by the Persians, Phoenicians and Carthaginians. In Palestine, it was first introduced by Alexander the Great, when, after taking Tire, which stubbornly defended itself, he used this native form of execution to exemplarily punish its rebellious inhabitants, and crucified two thousand Tyrians. In Rome, it was introduced by Crassus, who made a terrible use of it in punishing slaves who rebelled under the leadership of Spartacus, when it was he who lined the crucified rebel slaves with crosses all the way from Rome to Capua, and then it was finally adopted into the system of punishments under Augustus, and was used on an extensive scale in punishing various rebels and major villains, violators of state law and order. For the Jews, this type of death penalty was all the more terrible because it was exclusively pagan. In the Old Testament, if there are indications of “hanging on a tree,” then this hanging was usually performed over a dead body, or was generally an exceptional phenomenon, permitted by some kings under the influence of the surrounding pagan peoples. In any case, for the Jews, crucifying a Jew would, in the normal state of things, be a decisive impossibility, since the national feeling of the people would be indignant against this. And if now the high priests, Jewish leaders and the mob frantically demanded the crucifixion for Christ of Nazareth, then this shows to what incredible degree of malice and hatred the “chosen people” were brought by the king of this world, who wanted to prove by this the complete triumph of the dark principle on earth. But now the sentence began to be carried out. The soldiers knocked together a cross, placed it on the shoulders of the man sentenced to death, and the terrible procession moved out of the city, to the place of execution, to Golgotha ​​or the place of execution, so named for its convex shape. According to custom, a crowd of people followed the condemned man, and now it was all the greater because the very personality of the Prisoner and all the circumstances of His trial excited the entire city with its numerous pilgrims. Along the way, the weight of the cross, on which hung the sins of the whole world, broke the body of Christ, exhausted by all previous spiritual and physical torments, and He fell under his burden. In order not to slow down the execution, the soldiers accompanying the Prisoner piled a cross on a certain Simon of Cyrene who they met along the way, who was thus awarded the great honor of participating in the carrying of the atoning cross. The whole atmosphere of this terrible procession was soul-wrenching, and many women, unable to bear all its horrors, cried bitterly. God The sufferer drew attention to them and exhorted them to cry not for Him, but for themselves and for the horrors that awaited the entire Jewish people and the Promised Land. Next to Christ, two more robbers were led to execution; by crucifixing them, in the current terrible situation, Pilate wanted to instill fear in the other robbers and thereby at least partially undermine the robbery that was very widespread at that time, which often turned into political revolts. Upon arrival at the place of execution, all three crosses were laid on the ground, and the cross of Jesus, as the main prisoner, was placed in the middle for greater mockery. After this, all His clothes were removed and the most terrible moment of execution followed - nailing to the cross. Christ was placed on the instrument of execution, his arms were stretched along the crossbar and a huge iron nail was placed in the middle of his palms, which were driven into the tree with blows of a hammer. The same nail was driven into the legs, and then the soldiers, with great effort, began to lift the cross, with its nailed living burden, in order to install it in the prepared hole. And at this terrible moment of unimaginable suffering, the voice of the Savior of mankind was heard with an all-forgiving prayer for his brutal and merciless killers: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). It is clear what unbearable torment those crucified could experience; but these torments were all the more terrible because the unfortunate victims could languish on the cross for a long time, and the sufferers themselves screamed and asked those around them to put them to death, which they considered the deliverer. Such was the death to which Christ was condemned; and although for Him it happily accelerated from everything He had previously endured, He still languished on the cross from midday until almost sunset before “giving up the ghost” (Luke 23:46). When the cross was already raised, the leaders of the Jews for the first time clearly noticed the mortal insult to themselves from Pilate. In their blind fury they imagined that the manner of the crucifixion was a reproach directed at Jesus; but now, when they saw Him hanging between two thieves, but on a higher cross, it immediately became clear to them that this execution was a public reproach for themselves. On the white wooden board coated with plaster, which stood out so clearly above the head of Jesus, on the cross was visible a black inscription in the three civilized languages ​​of the ancient world - in those three languages, at least one of which was probably familiar to everyone in the crowd gathered here - namely, official Latin, common Greek and native Aramaic. The inscription said that This Man, who thus suffered a shameful death as a slave, This Man, crucified in the eyes of the whole world between two evildoers, was the “King of the Jews” (Mark 15:26). The inscription read: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:37). When the Jews realized what evil ridicule Pilate had subjected them to, it completely poisoned the pleasure of their malicious triumph, and they sent a deputation to Pilate with a request to change the inscription that outraged them. “Do not write, they said, the King of the Jews, but what He said: I am the King of the Jews” (John 19:21). But Pilate’s courage, which had so quickly disappeared at the name of Caesar, now came to life again. He was glad in any way to annoy and act contrary to the people whose rebellious cries forced him in the morning to act against his desire and conscience. Not many could express their arrogant contempt with such force as the Romans. Not even deigning to justify his action, Pilate immediately released the proud hierarchs with a short and contemptuous answer: “What I wrote, I wrote” (John 19:22). To prevent the possibility of any attempt to remove them from the cross (there were known cases when criminals were removed and brought back to life), a guard of four soldiers (quaternion) with a centurion was placed near the crosses. The clothes of the victims were always taken as spoils by those who had to bear this difficult and unpleasant duty. Therefore, the soldiers, not suspecting at all how accurately they were fulfilling the mysterious predictions of the ancient prophecy, began to divide the clothes of Jesus Christ among themselves. They tore the cloak into four pieces, probably ripping it apart at the seams; the tunic was made of one continuous fabric, and tearing it apart would only mean spoiling it. Therefore, they decided to give it ownership to the one who would fall by lot. Having finished dividing, the soldiers sat down and guarded the crucified, whileing away the boring hours with food and drink, conversation and playing dice. The spectacle was outrageous. Most of the people apparently stood silently and looked at the crosses; but some of those who passed by the cross, perhaps some of the false witnesses and other attackers of the previous night, still mocked Jesus with insulting cries and ridicule, especially inviting Him to come down from the cross and save Himself, if He was so omnipotent that He could destroy the church and build it in three days. And the high priests themselves, scribes and elders, less embarrassed, less compassionate than the mass of the people, were not ashamed to disgrace their gray hair and dignity, and with their mockery to aggravate the already unbearable torment of the Divine Sufferer. Right before the cross, they mockingly talked to each other: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself. Let Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:31–32). The mob and warriors echoed these mockeries, and a wild triumph of bloodthirstiness and heartlessness seemed to take place around the Sufferer. But Christ now stood above all pitiful humanity, madly celebrating the execution of their Savior, and remained silent. And this Divine silence was for some hearts more eloquent than any sermon. It especially struck one of the robbers, and he not only stopped the gross mockery with which both unfortunate villains treated the Crucified One among them, but also began to reproach his comrade for inappropriate swearing. A radical revolution took place in his soul. According to legend, this “good thief” once saved the lives of the Holy Child and the Ever-Virgin during their flight to Egypt, and he probably heard a lot about the Prophet of Galilee, who called all sinners and tax collectors to Himself. At the sight of the infinitely meek and all-forgiving face of the Crucified One, everything that remained best in his heart was resurrected in him, and he, turning to Jesus, tenderly exclaimed: “Remember me, Lord, when you come into Your Kingdom” (Luke 23:42). And to this humble prayer of the repentant villain, Christ, who had been silent until then, immediately answered: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). But near the cross there were not only enemies of the Crucified One. There were also people here whose hearts suffered for the Deities. Sufferer. In the distance stood several women who looked at Him with agonizing horror and compassion. Most of them were women who served Him in Galilee and came from there to the holiday with other Galilean pilgrims. The most prominent of all in this horror-stricken group were His Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the wife of Cleopas, the mother of James and Josiah, and Salome, the wife of Zebedee. Some of them moved closer and closer to the cross, and the languid gaze of the Savior fell on His Most Holy One. Mother, when She, with the weapon of sorrow piercing Her heart, stood with the disciple whom He loved. Her current orphan situation struck His tender filial heart with sorrow, and He even showed concern for Her on the cross. After the resurrection, She was destined to be with the Apostles, and the Apostle whom He loved most, who was closest to Him in heart and life, was best entrusted with the care of Her. Therefore, to him, John, whom He loved more than his brothers, John, whose head at the Last Supper bowed to His chest, He gave Her into his care. “Woman,” He said to Her in few words, but breathing deep tenderness, “Behold, Your son” (John 19:26), and turning to John: “Behold, your Mother” (John 19:27). He couldn't make any movement with his nailed hands, but he could show by tilting his head. In silent excitement they listened to these words, and from that time, leading Her away from the sight, which only tormented Her soul with fruitless torment, “that disciple took Her to himself” (John 19:27). It was already midday, and in the holy city the sun should have illuminated the terrible spectacle with the scorching rays of our summer. But instead the sky was dark, and the midday sun on this great and terrible day of the Lord “turned into darkness” (Luke 23:45). This could not have been a natural eclipse, because there was a full moon during the Passover: but it was one of those “signs” that the Pharisees sought in vain during the earthly ministry of Christ. The very air seemed to be full of omens, and the earth trembled and shook underfoot. All this involuntarily had to bring the craziest to reason, and the bullying stopped, because everyone, both the guilty and the innocent, was overwhelmed with horror and trembling. But even more terrible than this external darkness was the horror that enveloped the soul of Christ, who now bore on Himself the entire burden of the sins of mankind, and He, at the ninth hour of the day, loudly exclaimed in the popular language: “Eli, Eli, Lama Savahvani!” i.e. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Among the muffled movement of the crowd, many did not hear the entire exclamation and, catching the word: “Or,” imagined that He was calling Elijah, and waited in fear whether this formidable avenger for the truth would really come. Meanwhile, Christ was experiencing unimaginable torment, and at that moment, weakened from suffering, He said in a dull, suffering voice: “I thirst” (John 19:28). One of those present filled a sponge from a nearby vessel with a mixture of sour wine and water, which was the usual drink of Roman soldiers, and, putting it on a stalk of hyssop, brought it to the sore lips of the Sufferer, mockingly noting at the same time: “let's see if Elijah will come to save Him” (Matthew 27:49). But now the end of the suffering of the Son of God is approaching. Feeling the onset of death, He cried out in a loud voice: “Father! I commit My spirit into Your hands!” (Luke 23:46). Then, making a final effort, He uttered the last word: “It is finished!” (John 19:30) and instantly gave up the ghost, with His head falling lifelessly onto His chest. Thus ended the earthly life of the God-Man, who came to save the world. In order to redeem sinful humanity from the original curse and death, He took upon Himself the entire immense burden of world sin and, in atonement for it, endured all the physical and moral suffering that can befall a person. But the infinite depth of the moral torment He endured in view of the fact that He had to endure all this from that very people who for entire millennia was raised and cherished by God as a chosen and beloved people among all other peoples - a people on whom all the hopes of the future rested, like a torch in the midst of deep religious and moral darkness, is indicated by one remarkable circumstance that determines the physiological cause of the death of Christ. As is known, He died on the cross before the robbers, so the Romans did not need to apply the barbaric custom of breaking His legs to Him, and in general death followed sooner than was usual. There were cases when the crucified lived on the cross for two or three days; Meanwhile, Christ gave up the ghost six hours later (from 3 to 9) after being nailed to the cross, and this circumstance, especially in view of the fact that He was in the full bloom of years and enjoyed blessed health throughout His earthly life, already seemed extraordinary to Christian antiquity, and it attributed it to a supernatural cause. But there was also an immediate reason. When a soldier, in order to verify the reality of the death of the crucified Christ, thrust a spear into His ribs, blood and water flowed from the resulting wound, and this strongly indicates that the immediate cause of death was a rupture of the heart, which occurred as a result of immeasurable mental shock. An excess of joy or grief, as is known, often causes rupture of some tissues of the heart, resulting in the penetration of blood into the so-called pericardium or sac filled with a colorless watery liquid in which the heart is suspended. Under ordinary circumstances, only research carried out after death makes it possible to discover this fact; but in relation to Christ, the blow of the spear made by the warrior fully confirms this to us. Then, when dying from a broken heart, there is a constant phenomenon that the dying person suddenly convulsively raises his hand to his chest and emits a sharp, piercing cry. The Savior could not make such a movement with his hand, since His hands were nailed, but the Evangelists clearly testify to the last loud cry, followed by instant death. Thus, the Savior of the world literally died of a broken heart. This infinitely loving heart could not withstand the shameful self-blinding to which people succumbed, who, out of frenzied anger, did not know what they were doing; it could not withstand that boundless madness that forced people to betray to the cruelest torment of death the One who came to deliver them from the slavery of death, to snatch them from the disastrous power of hell and show them the path to eternal life and eternal bliss. Truly, great is the dark power of evil, which forced humanity to cut down its own tree of life with its own hands and with violent fury, to tyrannize and execute its greatest Benefactor and Savior with its own hands. At the sight of this, not only such a tender, endlessly loving heart as was the heart of Christ, but even the granite heart of the mountains could burst. It was not for nothing that at the moment of Christ’s death the rocks crumbled and the sun darkened. The perfect crime outraged even soulless nature. The death of Christ was indeed accompanied by extraordinary signs. The priest, entering the sanctuary at that very hour to offer the evening sacrifice, saw to his horror that the church curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. This veil was a special symbol of the body of Christ, as the church of the Divine, and by its tearing it testified that a new and free path was now opened for entering the sanctuary, which Christ “opened for us through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Heb. 10:19). At the same time the earth shook and the rocks disintegrated; the huge stones that had been rolled over the tombs rolled away from their places, “and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were resurrected and, coming out of the tombs, after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:52–53). These amazing circumstances, together with everything that was noticed in the Crucified One, confused even the cruel and carefree indifference of the Roman soldiers. The centurion who commanded them was especially deeply impressed by this whole spectacle. Standing before the cross and seeing the dying Savior, he glorified God and exclaimed: “Truly this man was a righteous man” (Luke 23:47), no, even more than that, “This man was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54). Even the people, already completely sobered up from the intoxication of rage, began to realize in their criminal conscience that the spectacle they had seen was more terrible than could be expected, and, returning to Jerusalem, beating their chests (Luke 23:48), they screamed. And you had to scream! This was the last straw in the overflowing cup of iniquity; it was the beginning of the end for the city and for the people. The day was drawing to a close, and as the sun set, Saturday began: “And that Saturday was a great day” (John 19:31), because Easter also coincided with Saturday. It was necessary to take care of removing them from the crosses so as not to leave traces of the terrible event for the bright holiday. Therefore, the elders of the Jews turned to Pilate with a request to remove the crucified, and he, finding it unnecessary to further irritate his dangerous enemies, deigned to this request and sent soldiers to examine the crucified and, if they were alive, to break their legs to hasten death, so that they could then be buried. The soldiers broke the legs of only two robbers, and Christ was already lifeless, and the reality of His death was confirmed by the warrior only by piercing His ribs with his spear, as a result of which blood and water flowed from his side, clearly indicating the onset of death. Thus the prophetic word of Scripture was fulfilled over Christ: “Let not His bone be broken” (John 19:36) The elders did not care about the actual burial of the crucified criminals, leaving friends and relatives, if any, to bury the executed in their unknown graves. But one important person took care of the burial of Christ, who asked Pilate for permission to bury Him according to his zeal and desire. This was Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man of high soul and impeccable life, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin. He was one of those secret disciples of Christ who, sympathizing with Him in their souls, did not, due to their social position, have enough courage to openly confess their faith in Him. Only now the terrible death of the Teacher drove away all fear in him, and he turned to Pilate with a request for permission to bury the body of Christ. Pilate, out of respect for the high-ranking petitioner, agreed to his request, having first ascertained the reality of the death of the Crucified One, and the handsome Joseph quickly got down to business. His courage infused courage into another similar follower of Christ - Nicodemus, who, as a rich man, took care of the most magnificent funeral - with all kinds of suits, as was done at the burial of the kings of the Jews. The approach of Saturday, however, did not make it possible to perform all funeral rites. They took the body from the cross and, hastily wrapping it in expensive white shrouds, placed it in a newly carved tomb, which Joseph had prepared for himself in a nearby garden and now yielded to his adored Teacher. Mary Magdalene and Mary of Joseph were present at the burial, who, at the end of the burial and after rolling a huge stone at the entrance to the tomb, sat in sad thought at the tomb, went home to prepare ointments and incense for the body of their beloved Teacher and Lord. There they were met by other students and female students who, having recovered from the horror of the previous day, gradually gathered together in order to celebrate the upcoming great holiday in fraternal unity and communication, which was for them a holiday of deep sorrow, hopeless grief and inconsolable tears. Meanwhile, the extraordinary circumstances of Christ’s death did not go unnoticed by His enemies, and an incomprehensible fear began to creep into their evil hearts. On the next day after the crucifixion, that is, on Saturday, a council of elders was convened against all custom and law, at which apparently the members of the Sanhedrin congratulated each other on the success of achieving the important goal for them of destroying the hated and dangerous Galilean and discussed how to finally destroy all traces of the Crucified One. They obviously feared that the crucifixion of Jesus was not the end. Some of them recalled that “That deceiver” (Matthew 27:63) predicted His resurrection on the third day, and therefore considered it necessary to take precautions “so that His disciples, coming at night, would not steal Him and say to the people: He has risen from the dead.” And the last deception will be worse than the first” (Matthew 27:64). In these forms, they turned to Pilate with a request to assign guards to the tomb, but Pilate rejected this new concern and left them to take care of it themselves, “as they know” (Matthew 27:65). Having received this permission, they, despite the sanctity of the Great Saturday, for the slightest violation of which they so furiously persecuted the Teacher they had now crucified, “went and set a guard at the tomb, and put a seal on the stone” (Matthew 27:66). XXX. Resurrection of Christ. The appearance of the risen Christ. Ascension to Heaven Having placed a guard at the tomb and attached a seal to the stone, the leaders of the Jewish people, with the consciousness of the achieved goal, went home and, at nightfall, indulged in a calm and sweet sleep, rewarding themselves for all the sleepless nights of the previous days. And then night came, but no one yet knew what great and joyful day was to dawn behind it. The whole world was plunged into deep sleep. Only the disciples and disciples of Christ did not sleep all night; They spent it, like the previous day, in inconsolable sobs, and now, as soon as morning had broken, the disciples were the first to rush into the garden to the tomb of the crucified Teacher. A deep, solemn silence reigned all around, broken only by the measured steps of the guards stationed at the coffin. Two nights had already passed since the crucifixion of Jesus the Nazarene, and the guards had nothing to think about attacking the tomb of His followers. The imprisoned coffin is silent, its seal is intact. Suddenly, the earth shook terribly, as if awakening a carelessly sleeping world, and young men, brilliant as lightning, and in clothes as white as snow, descended into the garden from a heavenly height. One of them approaches the cave, touches the coffin rock: instantly the seal breaks, the heavy stone falls off, and the Life-Giver, surrounded by heavenly radiance, rises from the coffin. The guards froze in fear. Having recovered from the first horror, she rushed to Jerusalem to report what had happened. What excitement she would have plunged the whole city into with her news, if the morning, sound sleep had not yet weighed heavily on it. The soldiers knock vigorously on the doors of the elders of the people, and the latter, having awakened and recovered from the surprise of the event, immediately hold a meeting and take measures to immediately hush up and extinguish the brought news. But all the lies with which they wanted to kill the Life-Giver again were now deserted. Even if they managed to silence all living witnesses to the miracle of the Resurrection, then the dead would act as witnesses. Many of the dead, whose bodies already at the moment of Christ’s death on the cross felt the current of new life within themselves, rose from their graves along with the Chief of Life, entered the city and appeared to many. The greatest miracle took place, all the circumstances of which testified with irresistible force to its truth. But no miracle could break the inveterate unbelief of the Jewish leaders. Having received the terrible news, they immediately gathered for a meeting on how best to destroy the very rumor about the miracle and prevent it from spreading among the people. What could they do? It was impossible to fight the truth with truthful means, and so they resorted to false ones. As during the secret interrogation on the night of Good Friday, so now they first of all seized on bribery, which apparently had served them well more than once. They “gave enough money to the soldiers and said: say that His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were sleeping. And if rumors about this reach the ruler, we will convince him and save you from trouble” (Matthew 28:13–14). The soldiers took the money and did as they were taught. Gold has triumphed over conscience. The soldiers began to spread a false suggestion, and “this word spread among the Jews even to this day” (Matthew 28:15), notes the Evangelist. It was not difficult for a false suggestion to spread. The news that Christ has really risen is such great, such gracious, joyful news that one may not even believe it out of joy, as was the case with some disciples. And yet it is impossible to deny its truth without becoming in blatant contradiction with all of history, without rebelling against the most convincing evidence, without abandoning common human sense and without generally drowning out the last remnants of the instinct of historical truth. If it is certain that the Roman Emperor Tiberius never lived, or that the Jewish people existed, who, after nailing Christ to the cross, were scattered like dust over the entire face of the earth, or that before the gospel of fishermen, publicans and carpenters, the powerful and graceful gods of Greece and Rome fell from their altars; then it is even more reliable and beyond all doubt that every year, every week the best part of humanity now solemnly glorifies precisely the miracle of the resurrection of Christ. Christ more than once predicted His Resurrection to His disciples, and yet it was a surprise for them too. According to the testimony of the Evangelists, the disciples of Christ, having spent the night weeping, in the morning, when the city had not yet awakened from sleep, went to the tomb of their beloved Teacher. They walked in silence. Sorrow closed their lips. But when they approached the garden, a new mournful performance forced them to speak. “Who will roll away the stone from our tomb?” (Mark 16:3) they said in bewilderment. Obviously, the Teacher, in the circle of their unclear ideas about Him, was still dead, lifeless, and all the sorrow of their love was limited to only one thing: how, with such an obstacle, they would anoint Him with peace for eternal rest in the bowels of the earth. However, before the myrrh-bearing wives had time to discuss their new grief, an unexpected, astonishing picture was presented to their eyes: the stone had been rolled away and the coffin was open! But this sight plunges them into new bewilderment and horror. For their lack of faith, this is seen not as a joyful event of the Resurrection, but as a villainous theft of the Body. They anxiously approach the cave itself, but suddenly rays of light burst out of it, and two bright, joyful young men appear before them. The wives had barely recovered from their unexpected embarrassment when one of these messengers of joy said to them: “Do not be afraid! Are you looking for Jesus the Nazarene? Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He has risen. He's not here! Go and see the place where they laid Him” (Luke 24:5–6, Matt. 28:5–6, Mark 16:6–7). “Wives hear this joyful voice of the heavenly messenger and at the same time, from an excess of happiness, cannot understand it. They stand in a daze at the coffin. The Heavenly Messenger brought them out of this state, saying: “Go, tell His disciples!” (Mark 16:7). Hearing this command, they “ran from the tomb, trembling and horror seized them” (Mark 16:8), so that, running into the company of the disciples, at first they could not say anything. But joy nevertheless opened their mouths, and one before the other they began to convey what they had seen and heard - about the appearance of the Angels and about the words that they said to them. The students hear and can hardly believe their ears. Angels at the Teacher's tomb? Do they assure that the Teacher has risen? - Oh, if all this did not happen under the cover of the still-dawning day and if this news did not come from the mouths of excited and gullible women! This is what the disciples thought and did not believe, and even rebelled against the faith. “And the words of the women seemed empty to them,” says the Evangelist Luke, “and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11). But not all students were indifferent and distrustful of the women’s stories. Two of them, Peter and John, immediately ran to personally verify what had happened, and ran with such speed that they overtook each other, and John ran to the tomb before Peter. The stone was rolled away and the cave was opened. Stronger in legs than in courage, John only bent down to the tomb, but did not enter it until Peter also came running. The latter immediately entered the cave and saw only the shrouds lying, and the cloth that was on the head of the Teacher, not lying with the shrouds, but especially twisted in another place. After this, John also entered, looked and believed, and both ran to tell the rest of the disciples what they had seen. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene, who in her faith was distinguished by the impatience of Peter, not trusting what she herself saw and heard on her first visit to the tomb with the other wives, now ran alone to look at the tomb with her own eyes again. The rising sun had already begun to spread golden rays across the tops of the surrounding mountains. A beautiful spring day was approaching in nature. But Mary’s soul was gloomy. Having carefully examined the cave and the coffin, and not finding in it any explanation for her bewilderment, she stood at the coffin and cried. “Wife, why are you crying?” – suddenly someone’s voice rang out. Startled, she again bent down to the cave and saw two young men in white robes, sitting one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus lay. Not knowing who they are, she explains to them the reason for her crying: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him” (John 20:13), she said and began to sob again. But behind her she hears approaching steps. She quickly turns her tear-stained gaze in this direction and sees a man in front of her - who else if not the gardener? This imaginary gardener turns to her with the question: “wife, why are you crying? Who are you looking for? But Mary did not immediately understand the full loving power of these words. Busy with her sad thoughts, she saw in this address an idle, if not offensive, question, and answered it innocently: “Sir, if you carried Him out, tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him” (John 20:15). “The teacher can no longer hide.” From the depths of His loving mercy He cried, “Mary!” , - exclaimed in that familiar, authoritative voice that attracted thousands of people’s hearts to Him. The amazed student quickly fixes her gaze, blurred by tears, and from her chest, against her will, a joyful cry breaks out: “my Lord and Teacher!” (John 20:16). Then she threw herself at His feet and wanted to wash His feet with tears of joy, but with this sensual outburst of joy, the transfigured Teacher said to her: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; But go to My brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and to your God” (John 20:17). And the joyful Mary, having found her Teacher, ran into the city and announced to the perplexed disciples that Christ had indeed risen. And her word spread with a thunderous echo throughout the whole world, and since then has been repeated by millions of believing lips to this day, and will be repeated in all centuries. The testimony of Mary Magdalene was soon confirmed by the new appearance of Christ to other female disciples. Having met other women, the risen Christ said to them: “Rejoice!” (Matthew 28:9) Overcome with fear and excitement, they fell at His feet. “Do not be afraid,” He told them; go, tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Matthew 28:10). The third appearance of Christ was Apostle. Peter, and Ap testifies to him. Paul, saying that “He appeared to Cephas” (1 Cor. 15:5) before the rest of the Apostles. But on the same day there was a fourth apparition, which took place under very significant circumstances. Two disciples were going to the village of Emmaus, located not far from Jerusalem. They were talking with sadness and anxiety about the amazing events of the last two days, when suddenly an unknown Stranger joined them and asked them about the reason for their sad mood and anxious conversation. They stopped and, looking at the Stranger, treated Him suspiciously and unfriendly, and when one of them, namely Cleopas, answered Him, there was a tinge of surprise and suspicion in his answer. “Are You really one of those who came to Jerusalem and do not know about what has happened in it these days?” "About what?" (Luke 24:18–19) He asked them. Then they told Him how all their hopes that Jesus was a great Prophet who would deliver His people were scattered into dust and how all His great deeds before God and before people ended two days ago on the shameful cross. They described the feeling of amazement with which on this third day they heard the women talking about the vision of angels and the reliable testimony of some of their brethren that the tomb was empty. “But,” the narrator added with a sigh of disbelief and sorrow, “they did not see Him” (Luke 24:24). Then, reproaching them for “foolishness and slowness of heart” (Luke 24:25), the Stranger showed them how through the entire Old Testament, starting from Moses, there was one continuous prophecy about both the suffering and the glory of Christ. In such sublime conversation they arrived at Emmaus. The stranger wanted to go further, but they begged Him to stay with them. When they sat down to their simple meal, and He took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them, then their eyes were instantly opened, and despite their changed appearance, they recognized that their Lord was with them. But as soon as they recognized Him, He became invisible to them. “Didn’t our heart burn within us,” they said to each other, when He spoke to us on the road and when He explained the Scripture to us? "(Luke 24:32). Immediately getting up, they returned to Jerusalem with their wonderful and joyful news. Now no one doubted the truth of these stories. They themselves were greeted with joyful assurances that “the Lord has truly risen and appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:34). On the same ever-memorable day of Easter, Jesus Christ revealed Himself to all His disciples for the fifth time. Ten disciples sat together behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. As they conveyed to each other and discussed their joyful news, Christ himself stood in their midst and said to them: “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36). The unusual appearance of His glorified body, the terrible significance of the very fact of resurrection from the dead, confused and frightened them. The Lord was present with them physically, but in a changed form. They even thought they saw a spirit. “Why are you embarrassed?” He asked, “and why do such thoughts enter your hearts? Look at My hands and at My feet; it is I Myself; touch Me and look at Me; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. And having said this, he showed them his hands and feet” (Luke 24:38–40). When joy, amazement and disbelief warred within them, He asked if they had any food, and to further assure them, He ate a piece of baked fish in their presence. Then, once again telling them: “Peace be with you! As the Father sent Me, so I send you” (John 20:21), He breathed on them and added: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; on whomever you leave it, it will remain on him” (John 20:22–23). Only one student was missing - Thomas the Twin. He was a man of sympathetic, but gloomy character and tight of faith. For him, this news seemed too good to be believed. In vain the other disciples assured him: “we have seen the Lord” (John 20:25). He insisted that he would not believe it until he himself put his own finger into the wounds from the nails and his own hand into His side. A week passed and the Apostle’s doubts remained unrefuted. On the first day of the next week (Sunday had already become the first day of the week, and it had become sacred to the hearts of the Apostles), all eleven disciples again gathered together behind locked doors. Christ appeared to them again and after the usual greeting and blessing, he called Thomas and told him to give his finger and put it in the wounds from the nails, to stretch out his hand and put it in His side and not to be “unbeliever, but to believe” (John 20:27). - “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28), the incredulous Apostle then exclaimed with fervor of conviction. “You believed,” Christ said to him, because you saw Me; Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). The next appearance of the risen Savior was to the seven Apostles at the Sea of ​​Galilee - Simon, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee and two others - probably Philip and Andrew, not named in the narrative (John 21:1-24). There was a gap in the appearances of Christ and, before returning to Jerusalem on the feast of Pentecost to receive the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, Simon said that he would temporarily take up his old trade - fishing. Now they no longer had a common fund, and since other sources of subsistence had dried up, the old trade remained the only way to obtain a means of honest food. Others decided to join him, and they all set sail in the evening, because night is the best time for fishing. They worked all night in vain. At early dawn, in the gloomy darkness, a Man whom they did not recognize appeared on the shore. He asked them if they had caught anything. “No” (John 21:5), came the dejected answer. “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will catch it” (John 21:6). They cast and could hardly pull out the net from the multitude of fish. This incident with irresistible force revived in them the memory of the past. “This is the Lord” (John 21:7), John whispers to Peter, and immediately this ardent-hearted Apostle, throwing on himself a fishing shirt, threw himself into the sea, swam across the space that separated him from Jesus Christ, and fell all wet at His feet. Others followed him, dragging a terribly stretched but not breaking net with one hundred and fifty large fish. A fire was lit on the shore, bread was taken out, and fish was being baked on burning coals - a picture that can now often be seen on the shores of Lake Galilee. Christ standing nearby ordered them to bring more fish - from the one they had caught now. Simon immediately went and helped pull the net ashore. And He, in whom everyone recognized the Lord, although His voice and appearance so overwhelmed them with fear and reverence that they did not dare to ask Him, said to them: “Come, dine” (John 21:12), and distributed to them, as once in Galilee, fish and bread. During this blessed meal, Christ turned to Peter three times with the question of whether he loved Him? And to the trembling answer of Peter, for whom in every question of Christ there seemed to be a hint of his threefold renunciation, the Savior answered three times: “Feed My sheep” (John 21:15–17), thus restoring him to his former dignity of the Apostleship. To this Christ added a prediction about the martyrdom awaiting him for the cause of the Gospel, when it was He who said to him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself, and went wherever you wanted; and when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). Then Christ, in order to confirm His Resurrection not only to the Apostles, but also to His other disciples and followers, appointed them to meet with one of the mountains in Galilee, the place where most of His public ministry took place. And not only all eleven Apostles gathered there, but also five hundred disciples and disciples. All of them joyfully, but together and not without trepidation, awaited the promised appearance. The being of their Teacher was incomprehensible to them. How many times He appeared to them, ate with them, allowed them to touch His wounds, but His unexpected appearances to them still confused them. They did not yet have that Spirit who would teach them everything. And now, having gathered on a deserted mountain, they joyfully awaited Him, but their joy was not without hesitation. The reflection was interrupted by the appearance of the Teacher. “When the disciples saw Him, they worshiped Him; but others doubted” (Matthew 28:17). The latter were embarrassed by the surprise with which the Teacher appeared before them. Not understanding the spirituality of the being of their Teacher, transformed by the Resurrection, they still assumed to see in Him the former Jesus, clothed in the rough flesh. But then the Teacher approached the disciples, and they heard from His lips the great words of an imperious testament: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” He said. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18–20). The disciples listened with reverent awe to the great testament of their Teacher. They had never heard such words before. Previously, they heard from the Teacher that “all things were handed over to Him by His Father” (Matthew 11:27, Luke 10:22), but they understood these words in the sense of His power on earth, which was manifested in signs and wonders that served to alleviate the earthly sufferings and disasters of people, and had, according to their concept, manifested in the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. Now they heard that the power of their Teacher extended to heaven, and much became clear to them from what the Teacher had told them and taught them in the past, but which they vaguely understood, often giving a completely opposite interpretation. But the command to “go and teach all nations” could not help but plunge them into confusion again. After all, the Teacher all the time preached His teaching to only one people and even declared that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and now commands them to go throughout the whole world, preach to all nations... Who are they, they are poor fishermen, so that they should go throughout the whole world, when they barely have a vague concept of the existence of some other peoples and when all their geographical knowledge is limited to a vague idea of \u200b\u200bthe limits of their native country, beyond which they go an unknown, terrifying world of beast-like “tongues?” It never even occurred to them that they would have to go and teach all nations. Even in their native country, in their native language, they hardly conveyed the teachings of their Teacher, constantly turning to His help for clarification - and now how will they go to preach throughout the world, to all nations, and, moreover, alone, without a Teacher who leaves them forever? - The loving Teacher, seeing the embarrassment of his disciples, said to them a great encouraging word: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age!” (Matthew 28:20). And the disciples rejoiced at the comforting word, and they felt a new surge of courage in their hearts. The mental horizons of fishermen have expanded. The prospect of the entire world of that time opened before them. Before them, in the overseas blue, stood Greece, drowned in the idolization of nature and intoxicated by the charms of beauty; Iron Rome with its world dominion opened before them; - Egypt, with its still proud and magnificent priests and eternal pyramids - and the poor fishermen were no longer embarrassed to go and teach the people of these enlightened countries. With “Him”, with their Teacher, they will go all over the world. And indeed, later, when they received the Comforter promised to them, they flew around the whole world like winged eagles (in the words of a church song), and the surprised peoples bowed before the banner of the cross. Appearing after this to the Apostle James, Christ then commanded the disciples to gather for the last meeting, appointing Jerusalem for this. The noisy, crowded city was completely immersed in the bustle of everyday life. He completely calmed down on the false news spread by the soldiers that Jesus the Nazarene was stolen dead from the tomb by His disciples - only his superiors, with their criminal conscience, timidly looked around, listening to popular rumors, trying to suppress glimmers of truth in it and confusing it with new fabrications. Among this noisy whirlpool of the city bustle, the disciples of Christ gathered in one modest upper room, and all their thoughts were focused on waiting for the Teacher. “Peace be with you,” came the loving voice of the Teacher, who suddenly stood in their midst. Now the students were no longer disturbed by any doubt - their whole being was occupied with boundless love for their Teacher and sadness from the upcoming separation. The last farewell conversation began. The content of such conversations is clear. They set forth the essence of the entire teaching; the Teacher puts His soul into the soul of His disciples, on whom His entire hope is that His teaching will not die, but will live in His living successors. The Divine Teacher gave a brief overview of all His former teaching. “This is what I told you about while I was still with you,” He reminded His disciples, and then reproduced before them the Old Testament prophecies about Him in an unbroken chain, what was written about Him “in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms” (Luke 24:44). Much here was still incomprehensible to the disciples, so the Teacher “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them: Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this. And I will send the promise of My Father upon you” (Luke 24:45–49). The disciples listened to the Divine speech and the sadness of separation was covered with joy about the enlightenment of the mind, before which the mysterious realm of God’s economy was opening up more and more, and with joy about the promise that the Teacher was giving them. Meanwhile, the hour of separation approached. The teacher led the disciples out of the city towards Bethany, to the Mount of Olives. The bloodthirsty, lawless city was not worthy to witness a great event. No one noticed how a small group of disciples, led by their Teacher, left the city and, passing through one of the eastern gates, descended into the valley of Joasaphat, through which the Kidron stream, already thin at that time, meandered. How many times did the Divine Teacher walk along this path with His disciples! This is the path of both His glory and His suffering. Along the sides of the road and along the shore of Kidron, olive and palm trees nodded their branches sadly: from these very trees the treacherous people tore off branches to lay them on the path of the solemn entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, and from the surrounding trees they made a cross in order to nail the same Christ to it. Having crossed the bridge spanning the stream and passing by the Garden of Gethsemane, the travelers began to climb the mountain. But here they are at the top. Rising above the entire surrounding area, Eleon offers a distant, enchanting view. Just under the mountain lies a populous city with its majestic church, with a noisy square - Haram; beyond it in the west one can see the distant blue of the Mediterranean Sea; in the southeast, the Dead Sea sways as if in a tomb in the surrounding low-lying basin, lying much below the level of the Mediterranean Sea; Bethany nestled on the eastern slope of the mountain, where Martha and Mary lived with their resurrected brother Lazarus; To the north stretch the boundless hills of Galilee, between which the fast-water Jordan meanders like a blue ribbon, to the south - Bethlehem... How many memories, how many thoughts this picture still excites! For the disciples with their Divine Teacher, this picture breathed with the life they had just experienced; on all the details of this picture there were still traces of their activity, their feelings, their joys and tears. Their gaze involuntarily ran over all the surroundings: near Bethlehem, shepherds were still guarding their flock - perhaps these were the same shepherds who were the first to worship the Divine Infant; and here are the native Galilean hills, among which the childhood of both the Teacher and most of His disciples passed; a lawless city rustles underfoot, deaf to goodness, beating up the prophets... “Jerusalem, Jerusalem!..” Over there beyond Bethany the naked branches of a barren fig tree stick out: such, Jerusalem, will be your fate!.. But the city is deaf, it is completely immersed in its vanity, and does not want to know that soon there will be no stone left in it!.. The disciples did not often see such a picture, and struck by its greatness, they, forgetting the touchingness of the farewell moment, turned to the Teacher with a question from which it was clear how little they still understood the purpose of Christ’s ministry: “Are you not at this time, Lord, restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) they asked. Until now, they were still more sons of the “kingdom of Israel” than sons of the “kingdom of Christ”!.. “It is not your business,” the Teacher answered them, to know the times or dates that the Father has set in his power. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7–8). Having repeated to them this promise of the Holy Spirit, who would give them strength and teach them everything, the Teacher, crossing his arms, blessed them, and when he blessed them, he began to move away from them and ascend to heaven. The disciples looked up to watch the beginning of the ascension of Jesus Christ, but suddenly a cloud appeared and “took Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). Already from the very Resurrection, Jesus Christ was not constantly with the disciples, but appeared to them at different times, and moreover, so unexpectedly that sometimes it led them to doubt; Just as unexpectedly, He moved away from them. From such phenomena, the disciples should have understood that the being of their Teacher was free from the plumpness and heaviness of gross materiality. But only now did they fully understand that their Teacher no longer belonged to the mortal earth and the glorified One ascended to heaven, where he had been since the beginning of time. In silent awe, the disciples stood motionless on the mountain, fixing their gaze on the receding cloud. And the disciples would have stood here for a long time in the oblivion of emotion, if the voice of the heavenly Messengers had not brought them out of this state. "Men of Galilee!" they heard a voice addressed to them. The disciples perked up, and two men in white clothes appeared before their eyes. “Why are you standing and looking at the sky?” – continued the heavenly Messengers. “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11). And the disciples bowed to the Ascended One, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, where they remained inseparably until they received the Comforter of the Spirit promised to them and were clothed with power from above. Thus ended the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the story presented is only a brief sketch of it, like a drop from an immense sea. According to the testimony of the beloved disciple, “Jesus did many other things; but if we were to write about this in detail, then the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). You might be interested in: