In those days He went up to the mountain to pray and remained all night in prayer to God. And when the day came, He called His disciples, and chose twelve of them, whom He called Apostles: Simon, whom He called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James of Alpheus, and Simon called the Zealot, Judas of James, and Judas Iscariot, who afterwards became a traitor. And having come down with them, he stood on a level place, and a multitude of his disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea, and Jerusalem, and from the seaside places of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases, and also those who were afflicted by unclean spirits; and were healed. And all the people sought to touch Him, because power came from Him and healed everyone.

The Lord creates all things for our teaching, so that we also do as He does. For example, He intends to pray. He ascends the mountain. For one should pray after resting oneself from one's work and not in the face of many, and pray all night long, and not in such a way as to stand up for prayer and immediately cease. He chooses disciples after prayer, wishing to teach that when we have the opportunity to appoint someone to spiritual service, we too should take up this task with prayer, seek guidance from God, and ask Him to show us the worthy one. Having chosen the twelve, he comes down from the mountain to heal those who have come from the cities and to do double good, namely, in soul and body. For listen: "Come to hear Him" is the healing of souls; "and to be healed of their diseases" – this is the healing of the body. "From Him proceeded power and healed all." The prophets and other saints did not have power coming from them, for they were not themselves the sources of strength. And the Lord had power coming from Him, for He Himself was the source of strength, while the prophets and saints received special power from above.

And He lifted up His eyes upon His disciples, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are they that hunger now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed are they that mourn now, for ye shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they excommunicate you, and revile you, and carry out your name as dishonorable for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven. Thus did their fathers deal with the prophets. On the contrary, woe to you, you who are rich! for you have already received your consolation. Woe to you, you who are satiated now! for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now! for you will weep and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you! for thus did their fathers deal with false prophets.

The Lord, having ordained the disciples, through the beatitudes and teaching, brings them to a more spiritual state. For He speaks to them. And, first, it blesses the poor; if you want, understand by them the humble-minded, if you want, those who lead a life that does not love money. In general, all the beatitudes teach us moderation, humility, humiliation, and the endurance of reproach. Just as "sorrow" is assigned to those who are rich in the present age (of whom it says that they receive consolation, that is, here, in the present age, they taste joy, rejoice, enjoy pleasures, and receive praise). Let us be afraid, brethren, for woe to those who have praise from men. For one must earn praise from men, but first from God.

But to you who hear, I say, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you. To him who smote you on the cheek, offer the other also, and to him who takes away your outer garment, do not hinder him from taking your shirt also. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not demand back from him who has taken what is yours. And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. And if you love those who love you, what gratitude do you have for that? for even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what gratitude do you have for that? for sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what gratitude do you have for that? for sinners also lend to sinners in order to get back as much. But you love your enemies, and do good, and lend without expecting anything; and you will have a great reward, and you will be the sons of the Most High; for He is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, therefore, even as your Father is merciful.

The Apostles were to be sent to preach, and therefore they expected many persecutors and libelers. Thus, if the apostles, burdened by persecution, and then wishing to take revenge on the offenders, had fallen silent and ceased to teach, then the sun of the Gospel would have been extinguished. That is why the Lord first urges the Apostles not to take revenge on their enemies, but to endure everything that happens courageously, whether anyone offends them, or unjustly plots against them. This is what He Himself did on the Cross, saying: "Father! forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Then, lest the Apostles should say that such a commandment – to love one's enemies – is impossible, He says: "What thou wilt for thyself, do also to others, and be in relation to others as thou wouldst have others in relation to thyself." If you want your enemies to be harsh, uncompassionate, and wrathful to you, then be so you. If, on the contrary, you wish them to be kind and compassionate, and unforgiving, then do not consider it impossible to be so yourself. Do you see the innate law written in our hearts? Thus the Lord said: "I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (Jeremiah 31:33). Then he offers them another motive, namely: if you love those who love you, then you are like sinners and pagans; but if you love those who are angry with you, then you are like God, who is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. What do you desire, then, to be like sinners, or to be like God? Do you see the Divine teaching? At first He urged you by the natural law: "What you want for yourself, do to others; then he convinces you with both death and reward, for as a reward he promises you that you will be like God.

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given unto you: with a good measure, shaken, pressed, and overflowing, they shall pour it into your bosom; for with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you also. He also told them a parable: Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will not both fall into the pit? A disciple is never higher than his teacher; but even when he is perfected, everyone will be like his teacher.

The Lord cuts off from our souls the most difficult illness, I mean, the root of arrogance. For whoever does not watch over himself, but only spies on his neighbor and wishes to defame him, he, obviously, captivated by arrogance, has forgotten himself. He certainly thinks of himself that he does not sin, and therefore condemns others when they sin. Therefore, if you do not want to be condemned, do not condemn others. For tell me, perhaps, why do you condemn another as a transgressor of the Divine Laws in all things? And do you not transgress the Divine Law (not to mention other sins) by condemning others? For the Law of God decisively commands you not to condemn your brother. It means that you also transgress the Law. And being a criminal yourself, you should not condemn another as a criminal; for the Judge must be above nature, which falls into sin. Therefore let go, and it shall be forgiven thee; Come on, and it will be given to you. For a good measure, pressed, shaken, and full will be given into your bowels. For the Lord will measure not sparingly, but richly. As you, intending to measure some flour, if you wish to measure without miserliness, press it, shake it, and apply it in abundance, so the Lord will give you a greater and full measure. Perhaps some witty person will ask: How does He say that they will give you a full measure in your bowels, when He said that He will be measured to you by the same measure as you measure, for if it overflows over the top, it is not the same? We answer that the Lord did not say: "He will be measured to you by "the same" measure, but "by the same." If He had said, "By the same measure," then the speech would have been difficult and contradictory; and now, by saying, "In the same way," He resolves the contradiction, for it is possible to measure by one measure, but not in the same way. The Lord says: if you do good, they will do good to you too. This is the same measure. It is called full because for one of your good deeds you will be repaid innumerable. The same is true of condemnation. For he who condemns receives the same measure when he is subsequently condemned; but since he is condemned more as one who has condemned his neighbor, this measure is full. The Lord, having said this and forbidden us to condemn, presents us with a parable, that is, an example. He says: he who condemns another and commits the same sins himself! Tell me, perhaps, are you not like a blind man who guides a blind man? For if you condemn another, and you yourself fall into the same sins, then you are both blind. Though you think that through condemnation you lead him to good, you do not lead. For how will he be guided by you to do good, when you yourself fall? A student is never higher than a teacher. If, therefore, you, the alleged teacher and guide, fall, then, without a doubt, so does the disciple you lead. For even the prepared disciple, that is, the perfect one, will be like his teacher. Having said this, that we should not condemn our weakest and apparently sinners, He adds something else on the same subject.

Why do you look at the mote in your brother's eye, and do not feel the beam in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother! Let me take the mote out of your eye, when you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see how to take the mote out of your brother's eye. There is no good tree that bears bad fruit; And there is no bad tree that bears good fruit, for every tree is known by its fruit, because they do not gather figs from thorns, nor take grapes from bushes. A good man brings forth good things out of the good treasure of his heart, but an evil man brings forth evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart, for out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks.

What, he says, do you see the mote, that is, the small sin of your brother, and do not notice the beam – your great sin? This can also apply to everyone, and especially to teachers and superiors, who punish even the small errors of their subordinates, and leave their own, no matter how great, unpunished. That is why the Lord calls them hypocrites, because they seem to be different (for by punishing the faults of others, they seem righteous), and the other is in fact, because they themselves sin, and even worse. Then He confirms His speech by example. As a good tree, he says, does not bear rotten fruit, and a rotten tree does not bear good fruit, so he who intends to make others chaste, to correct and bring them to a better condition, should not be evil himself; but if he himself is evil, he will not make others better. For everyone's heart is a treasury. If it contains good, then man is good, and speaks good; but if the heart is full of evil, then the man is also evil, and speaks evil. All this speech can be understood about the Pharisees. For He, turning to them, said: "Cast the beam out of your own eye first, and then the mote out of your brother's eye," just as in another place He said: "Those who strain out the gnat, but devour the camel" (Matt. 23:24). How, he says, can you, Pharisees, being rotten trees, bring forth good fruit? For as your doctrine is rotten, so is your life, for you speak out of the abundance of your heart. How then will you correct others and punish the crimes of others, when you yourselves sin more?

Why do you call Me, "Lord! Lord!" and do not do what I say? Whosoever cometh unto me, and heareth my words, and doeth them, I will tell you to whom he is like. He is like a man building a house, who has dug and deepened and laid a foundation on a rock; Why, when there was a flood and the water fell on this house, it could not shake it, because it was founded on a rock. But he who hears and does not obey is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, which, when the water fell on it, immediately collapsed; and the destruction of this house was great.

This necessarily applies to us, who confess Him to be Lord with our lips, but deny Him with our deeds (Titus 1:16). If, he says, I am the Lord, then in all things you must walk as slaves. And the duty of slaves is to do what the Lord commands. Then He tells us what benefit it is to him who hears Him and not only listens to Him, but also fulfills Him in practice. Such a man is like a man who builds a house, who has built it on a rock. The stone, as the Apostle testifies (1 Corinthians 10:4), is Christ. The one who digs and deepens is the one who does not receive the words of Scripture superficially, but seeks their depths in the spirit. Such a one founds on a stone; Then, when there is a flood, that is, persecution or temptation, the river will come up to this house, that is, the tempter, whether it be a demon or a man, and yet he cannot shake it. A tempting person can very justly be compared to the flooding of a river. For as the flood of the river is produced by the water that falls from above, so the tempting man is raised up by Satan, who has fallen from heaven. The house of those who do not keep the words of the Lord falls, and the destruction of this house is great. For the failures of those who hear but do not do are great, because he who does not hear and does not do sins more easily, but he who hears and yet does not do sins more severely.

Chapter Seven

When He had finished all His words to the people who were listening, He entered Capernaum. A certain centurion's servant, whom he cherished, was sick at the point of death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent the Jewish elders to Him to ask Him to come heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy that you should do this for him, for he loves our people and has built us a synagogue." Jesus went with them. And when He was not far from home, the centurion sent friends to Him to say to Him, "Do not labor, O Lord! for I am not worthy that you should come under my roof; therefore I did not consider myself worthy to come to Thee; but speak the word, and my servant shall recover. For I am also a subject man, but having soldiers under me, I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and come; And to my servant, Do this, and he does. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turned and said to the people who were coming after him, "I say to you, even in Israel I have not found such faith." The messengers, returning to the house, found the sick servant recovered.