This centurion is one and the same as the one mentioned in the Evangelist Matthew (ch. 8). Although Matthew does not say that the centurion sent the Jews to beg and beseech Jesus, what of it? For it is very probable that he first sent the Jews, and then he himself went. So what Matthew omitted, Luke says. It may also be that the Jews, consumed with envy, would not have allowed the centurion to come to the feet of Jesus, for this would have brought glory to Jesus, if he, compelled by extremity, had himself come to Jesus. To this it can be said that there is nothing special in sending others, or coming to say it yourself, that is, asking not to come. But the faith of the man, who called himself unworthy of Jesus' visitation, is worthy of wonder. That is why the Lord says: I have not found such faith even in the people of Israel. For the centurion was a pagan, perhaps from the Roman troops. A centurion is also every mind, which, having many things to do in life, prevails over many evils, but has a sick servant – the foolish part of the soul, I mean anger and lust; for these are appointed to be slaves. He calls upon Jesus, sending to Him the Jews as mediators, that is, thoughts and words of confession; for Judas means confession. For do not confession and humility express the words: I am not worthy that Thou should go under my roof, and so forth? Therefore, when he believes in Jesus, he will soon heal his servant, that is, anger and lust.

After this, Jesus went to a city called Nain; and many of his disciples and a multitude of the people went with him. When He approached the city gates, they were carrying out the dead, the only son of the mother, and she was a widow; and many people went with her from the city. Seeing her, the Lord had compassion on her and said to her, "Weep not." And approaching, he touched the bed; Those who carried it stopped, and He said, "Young man! I tell you, get up. The dead man got up, sat down and began to speak; and Jesus gave him to his mother. And fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has risen among us, and God has visited his people.

Having restored the centurion's health even in absentia, the Lord performed another miracle. Lest anyone say, "What has he done new to the servant?" perhaps the slave would not have died? – for this purpose the Lord resurrects the dead, who has already been carried out. Not only does the Lord perform a miracle with a word, but He also touches the bed, so that we may know that His Body is the Body of life. Since His Flesh was His own Flesh of the Word, Who gives life to all things, therefore He Himself gives life and destroys death and corruption. "The dead man got up, sat down, and began to speak," so that no one would think that he had been resurrected in a ghostly way. And the fact that he sat down and began to speak was a sign of the true resurrection. For the body without the soul can neither sit nor speak. By widow you can also understand a soul that has lost its husband, that is, the Word of God, who sowed good seeds. Her son is a mind that has died and is carried away outside the city, the highest Jerusalem, which is the land of the living. Then the Lord, moved with compassion, touches the bed. The bed of the mind is the body. For the body is truly a bed, a sepulchre. The Lord, touching the body, resurrects the mind, making it young and courageous. The young man, that is, this mind, sits down and, having been resurrected from the tomb of sin, begins to speak, that is, to teach others, because as long as he is possessed by sin, he cannot teach and speak. For who will believe him?

This opinion of Him spread throughout Judea and throughout the surrounding area. And his disciples told John all these things. John, having called two of his disciples, sent to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we waiting for another?" And they came to Jesus, and said, John the Baptist has sent us to thee to ask, Are thou the one who is to come, or are we waiting for another? And at this time He healed many from illnesses and infirmities and from evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor preach the gospel; and blessed is he who is not offended in me! And after the departure of those sent by John, he began to speak to the people about John: "Why did you go into the wilderness to see? Is it a reed shaken by the wind? What did you go to see? Is it a man clothed in soft garments? But those who dress magnificently and live luxuriously are in the royal courts. What did you go to see? Is it a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is one, of whom it is written: "Behold, I send My angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee." For I say to you, Of those born of women, there is no prophet greater than John the Baptist; but the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people who heard Him, and the publicans, gave glory to God, being baptized with the baptism of John; but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected God's will for themselves without being baptized by him.

The rumor of the miracle performed in Nain spread throughout all Judea and the surrounding country. It also reached the disciples of John. Wherefore John, wishing to show them the greatness of Christ and how far he (John) is from Him (Christ), arranges as follows: he does not make any mention of Jesus to the disciples, but, pretending to be ignorant, sends them so that, having seen the miracles, they may believe from their very deeds that the distance between the Lord Jesus and the servant John is very great. For do not think that John really did not know about Christ, and therefore sent his disciples with a question. Even before His birth, in his mother's womb, He leaped up as one who knew Him, and on the Jordan testified of Him as the Son of God. For the prophets are called "sent," and John himself, as the Evangelist says, was a man "sent" from God (John 1:6). And the Lord is the Coming One, for He came with authority, and not against His will. And thus saith He: Art Thou Whose coming into the world is awaited? Others understand by the words: "To whom it must come" the descent into hell, as if it were said: Do you have to come also to hell? What about the Lord? Knowing with what intention John sent the disciples, namely, that they might see His works, and from them come to faith, He said to the messengers, "Declare what you see." Then he enumerates the miraculous actions, which were also foretold by the prophets. For the words: "Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened. Then the lame shall leap up like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing" is also found in Isaiah (35:5-6). Then he says, "And blessed is he who is not offended in me," as if to say to them, "Blessed are ye also, if ye are not offended in me." Since many could easily be offended about John, as he had previously testified so much about Christ, and now sent with the question: "Are you the one to whom he is to come?" – therefore Christ says to the people: "Do not suspect anything of the kind about John." He is not a reed to lean to this side and then to the other, and to bear witness to Me at one time, and not to know Me at another. For if it were so, then why would you go out into the wilderness to see it? He has by no means corrupted his mind with sensual pleasures, for his clothes show that he is above all pleasure; moreover, he would live in chambers if he loved pleasure. But do you yourself consider him a prophet? Verily I say unto you, that he is greater than the prophet. For the other prophets only foretold about Christ, but he saw Him and pointed Him out, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God"; moreover, other prophets prophesied after they had already come out of their mothers' wombs, and he recognized the Lord and leaped out even before he came out of the womb. Then he gives testimony: "Behold, I send My angel" (Mal. 3:1). John is called an "Angel," perhaps because his life is almost bodiless and angelic, or perhaps because he announced the coming of the Savior. "I say to you, of those born of women, there is no prophet greater than John." He places the Forerunner above all others. Then, as if someone would say: "And Thou Thyself, Christ, John is greater"? He adds: but I, who is the least of him, am greater in the Kingdom of Heaven; for though I am considered to be inferior to him in nobility, age, and glory, yet in the kingdom of heaven, that is, in all that is divine and spiritual, I am greater than he. Thus, all the people who listened to John justified God, that is, honored God by accepting His prophet. And the Pharisees did not honor God because they did not accept John. Some understood the words differently: "of those born of women"; namely, the Lord said well, "Of those born of women," thus excluding Himself. For He was born of a virgin, and not of a woman, that is, not of a married woman. The expression "the least in the Kingdom of God" was also understood differently; namely, the lesser in the Christian life is greater than the righteous according to the Law. For example, John is blameless in the righteousness of the law. But if someone is baptized and has not yet done anything either good or evil, then although he is very small in the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, in Christian preaching, he is nevertheless greater than the unbaptized, even if he is righteous according to the Law. And in other words: since John, although almost incorporeal and immaterial, is still in the flesh, the least in the resurrection, which he calls the Kingdom of Heaven, is greater than he. For then, having received perfect incorruption, we will no longer walk in the flesh, and then the little one will be greater than the righteous now, but still bearing the flesh.

Then the Lord said, "With whom shall I compare the people of this generation?" And to whom are they like? They are like children who sit in the street, calling to each other and saying: We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; We sang lamentable songs to you, and you did not cry. For John the Baptist came, eating neither bread nor drinking wine; and say, 'A demon is in him.' The Son of Man came: He eats and drinks; And say, Behold, a man who loves to eat and drink wine, a friend to publicans and sinners. And wisdom is justified by all her children.

Among the Jews there was a kind of game in the following way: a large number of children were divided into two parts, and, as if in mockery of life, some on one side wept, and others on the other played the pipe, and neither the players agreed with the weeping, nor the weeping with the playing. The Lord also represents the Pharisees as doing something similar. For neither with John, who leads a sorrowful life and introduces repentance, did they grieve or imitate him, nor did they obey or agree with Jesus, who shows a pleasant life, but they did not distance themselves from both, showing no sympathy either for John weeping, or for Jesus playing and letting go. And finally, the wisdom of God was justified, that is, it was honored not by the Pharisees, but by her children, that is, by those who accepted the teaching of John and Jesus.

One of the Pharisees asked Him to partake of food with him; and he entered into the house of the Pharisee, and sat down. And behold, the woman of that city, who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the house of the Pharisee, brought an alabaster vessel of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, began to pour tears on his feet, and to wipe her head with the hair, and kissed his feet, and anointed him with ointment. Seeing this, the Pharisee who invited Him said to himself: "If He were a prophet, He would know who and what kind of woman touches Him, for she is a sinner." Turning to him, Jesus said, "Simon! I have something to say to you. He said, "Tell me, Master." Jesus said, "A certain lender had two debtors, one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty, but because they had nothing with which to pay, he forgave both of them. Tell me, which of them will love him more? Simon answered, I think he to whom he has forgiven more. He said to him, "You have judged rightly."

This Pharisee, who called on the Lord, seems to have been of wrong thoughts, but cunning and full of hypocrisy. He says, "If He were a prophet"; evidently he did not believe when he said that. The Lord, although He knows his indirectness, nevertheless goes to him and dines with him, of course, teaching us to behave simply and directly even with those who are insidious towards us. Many are interested in the question: how many women were there who anointed the Lord with myrrh? Some say that there were two of them: one – the sister of Lazarus mentioned in the Gospel of John (John 12:3), and the other – the one mentioned by the Evangelists Matthew (26:2, 6-7) and Mark (14:1, 3), and in the present place Luke. But I believe those who say that there were three of them (the women who anointed the Lord with myrrh): one was the sister of Lazarus, mentioned in John, who anointed the Lord six days before the Passover, the other mentioned in Matthew and Mark, who anointed the Lord two days before the Passover, and the third is this one, now mentioned by Luke, who anointed the Lord in the middle of the Gospel preaching. And there is nothing strange that she did this even before the time of suffering came, and they did the same near the time of suffering, from imitation of her or from another motive. If the Pharisee mentioned in Matthew, who called the Lord, is called Simon, as in Luke, then what is surprising in the coincidence of names? For the one of whom Matthew speaks was a leper, but this one (Luke) was not; he, after being healed of leprosy, invited the Lord as a sign of gratitude, but this one was not a leper and did not express gratitude; this one says nothing, but this one murmurs and condemns Jesus and this woman at the same time as a sinner, and Him as a lover of mankind. Oh, madness! Man is truly a Pharisee. But the Lord, asking him in parables and bringing him into the midst of the two debtors, imperceptibly expresses that he, too, is a debtor, although he considers himself less due, but still a debtor. Therefore neither thou, who owe the lesser, can repay the debt (for, possessed by pride, thou hast no confession), nor can the wife. Therefore, both will be released. And who will love more? Without a doubt, the one who is given a lot. Having said this, He stops the mouth of the proud man.

And turning to the woman, he said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I came to thy house, and thou didst not give me water on my feet, but she poured tears on my feet, and wiped the hair of her head; thou hast not kissed me, but she, since I came, has not ceased to kiss my feet; thou didst not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with myrrh. Wherefore I say unto thee, Many of her sins are forgiven, because she has loved much, but to him who is not forgiven much, he loves little. And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." And those who sat at table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this that forgives sins? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace.

The Lord reveals in Simon a proud man and a madman: a proud man, because he, being a man himself, condemned man for sins; madman, because he did not understand that a wife who showed such signs of faith and love should have been accepted, and not rejected. That is why the Lord rebukes him for having wrongly condemned his wife, who had done so much that he himself had not done, had not done even much lower in comparison with her. You, for example, did not give water to their feet, which is the most common thing, and she washed them with tears; thou didst not kiss Me in the face, but she kissed My feet; Thou hast not poured out any oil, but she has poured out myrrh. Since you have said that I am not a prophet, because I have not discerned that she is a sinner, behold, I rebuke the thoughts of your heart, that you may know that I know what is hidden in you, and I know still more what pertains to her, as many others know. Therefore her sins are forgiven, because she has loved much, that is, she has manifested great faith. Those who sat at table with Him, and moreover those who murmured, did not understand that what He said to Simon was very appropriate for them as well. The Lord, calming their murmuring and wishing to show them that everyone is saved by his faith, did not say, "Woman, I save you," so that they would not boil with greater envy, but: "Your faith." He said this, as I have already remarked, partly to appease their envy, and partly to lead them into faith, by letting them know that faith, which is what saves. "Go in peace," that is, in righteousness. For righteousness is peace with God, just as sin is enmity against God. Look: having forgiven her sins, the Lord did not leave her only with the remission of sins, but also gave her the productive power of good. For the words: "Go in peace" you must understand in this way: go, do that which will restore you peace with God.

Chapter Eight

After this, He went through the cities and villages, preaching and preaching the Kingdom of God, and with Him the twelve, and certain women, whom He healed from evil spirits and diseases: Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom came seven demons, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, who served Him with their possessions.

Having descended from heaven in order to present to us in all things His model and predestination, the Lord teaches us not to be lazy in teaching, but to go to all places and preach; for whatever he did, he did for our instruction. He went through all the cities and villages, and led with Him twelve disciples, who did not teach or preach, but learned from Him and were edified by His works and His words. The Lord preached not about earthly goods, but about the Kingdom of Heaven. For who else was more fitting to preach about heavenly things than Him who comes from heaven? That is why none of the prophets preached about the Kingdom of Heaven. For how could they preach about what they did not see? That is why the Forerunner said: "He that is of the earth, and speaketh as he that is of the earth, but he that cometh from heaven, that which he hath seen, beareth witness to" (John 3:31-32). Women also followed the Lord, so that we would know that even the female sex is not hindered by weakness from following Christ. See also how they, being rich, despised, and yet all chose poverty for Christ's sake and with Christ. And that they were rich, know from the fact that they served the Lord with their own possessions, and not with someone else's or unjustly acquired property, as many do. In the words, "from which seven demons proceeded," a certain number "seven" is taken indefinitely, instead of "many," for in Scripture the number seven is often taken instead of "many." Another, perhaps, will say: just as there are seven spirits of virtue, so, on the contrary, there are seven spirits of malice, for example: there is a spirit of the fear of God, there is, on the other hand, a spirit of God's fearlessness; there is the spirit of understanding, there is, on the other hand, the spirit of foolishness, and so on. If these seven spirits of wickedness are not driven away from the heart, no one can follow Christ. For first Satan must be cast out, and then Christ must be instilled.