1. Then, when is it? After the descent of the Holy Spirit, after a voice descending from above and declaring: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased! And here is what is surprising: Jesus, as the Evangelist says, was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. Since Christ did and endured everything for our teaching, He now also allows Himself to be led into the wilderness and put into battle with the devil, so that none of those who have been baptized, if he happened to endure even greater temptations after baptism, would not be troubled by them, as something unexpected, but would bravely endure every temptation, as an ordinary thing. Not for this reason that you have received weapons to be idle, but to fight. That is why God does not prevent temptations from visiting you.

In fact, the devil would not approach you if he did not see you in the highest degree of honor. For this reason he himself and in the beginning rebelled against Adam, because he saw him adorned with high dignity. Wherefore he also took up arms against Job, when he saw him crowned and glorified by the Lord of all. Why, you will object, it is said: pray, that ye may not enter into the attack (Matt. XXVI, 41)? But this is why the Evangelist tells you that Jesus did not come himself, but was led into the wilderness by divine providence, which shows that we ourselves should not enter into temptations, but when we are drawn into them, we must stand courageously. And see where the Spirit has led Him; not to the city, not to the square, but to the desert. It was as if he wanted to attract the devil by giving him the opportunity to tempt not only with hunger, but also with the very solitary place, because the devil especially attacks us when he sees that we are in solitude - only with ourselves. So in the beginning he approached his wife, finding her alone, without a husband. But when he sees us in company with others, he is not so bold, and does not dare to attack. And for this reason, therefore, we all need to gather together more often, so that the devil cannot conveniently ensnare us. Thus, the devil found Christ in the wilderness, and in an impassable wilderness (that such was the wilderness, Mark testifies, saying: "Be with the beasts, Mark. I, 13). See with what cunning, with what cunning he approaches, and with what time he waited. He does not come when Jesus is fasting, but when He is hungry. From this know how great a blessing and what a powerful weapon against the devil is fasting; Know and learn that, having been washed by the waters of baptism, one should not give oneself up to pleasures, drunkenness, and abundant foods, but observe the fast. That is why Christ Himself fasted, not because He needed fasting, but for our learning. Service to the belly was the guilt of sins that occurred before baptism. Therefore, just as a doctor, having healed a sick person, forbids him to do what caused the disease, so here Christ established a fast after baptism. And Gluttony drove Adam out of Paradise; it was also the cause of the flood in the time of Noah; it also brought down fire on the Sodomites. Though their crime was voluptuousness, yet the root of both plagues came from gluttony, to which Ezekiel also points out, saying, "For this is the iniquity of the Sodomites, that they are in pride, and in the satiety of bread, and in the abundance of wine, the love of pleasure" (Ezek. XVI, 49). In the same way, the Jews, having begun with drunkenness and gluttony, gave themselves over to iniquity and committed the greatest crimes.

2. That is why Christ also fasted for forty days, showing us the saving medicine. He does not extend beyond this, lest the excessive greatness of the miracle make the very truth of the Incarnation doubtful. Now this cannot be the case, because even before Him, Moses and Elijah, strengthened by divine power, were able to endure the same long fast. And if Christ had fasted longer, then this could have served as a reason for many to doubt the truth of the Incarnation. And so, having fasted forty days and nights, follow the hunger (v. 2), thus giving the devil an opportunity to approach him, in order to show him by his struggle with him how to overcome and conquer. The wrestlers do the same, wishing to teach their pupils to overcome and conquer those who fight against them; they deliberately grapple with others in the palestra [1] so that the students may notice the movements of the fighters, and learn the art of victory. The same was done there. Wishing to draw the devil to the struggle, Christ revealed His hunger before him, and when he approached, He took him, and then once, twice, and a third time He overthrew him with His usual ease. But in order not to diminish your usefulness by too quick a glance at these victories, let us examine in detail each struggle, beginning with the first. When, it is said, Jesus hungered, the tempter came and said to him, "If thou art the Son of God, let this stone be bread" (v. 3). After he had already heard a voice descending from heaven and testifying: "This is My beloved Son" (Matt. III, 17), having heard the equally glorious testimony of John, the tempter suddenly sees Him hungering. This leads him to bewilderment: remembering what was said about Jesus, he cannot believe that he was a simple man; on the other hand, seeing Him hungering, he cannot allow this to be the Son of God. Being in such perplexity, he approaches Him with words of doubt. And just as once, when he approached Adam, he invented something that did not exist at all, in order to know the truth, so now, not clearly knowing the ineffable mystery of the Incarnation, and the one who is before him, insidiously weaves new nets, in order to know the hidden and the unknown. What does he say? If thou art the Son of God, let this stone be bread. He did not say, "If you hunger"; but, "If thou art the Son of God, thinking to deceive Him with praise." He is silent about hunger, so that it does not seem that he is exposing it to Him and wants to humiliate Him. Not comprehending the greatness of the actions pertaining to the economy of salvation, he considered it shameful for Jesus. Therefore, he flatters Him and insidiously reminds Him only of His dignity. What about Christ? By overthrowing the arrogance of the devil and showing that what has happened is not in the least shameful or unworthy of His wisdom, He Himself expresses and reveals what the tempter kept silent about out of flattery, and says: "Man shall not live on bread alone." Thus the tempter begins with the need for the womb. Look at the cunning of the evil spirit, with which he begins the struggle, and how he remains faithful to his deceit: with what he drove the first man out of paradise, and subjected him to innumerable calamities, he begins his deception here, that is, by the intemperance of the belly. And now from many fools you will hear that the belly was the cause of countless evils for them. But Christ, wishing to show that even the most cruel violence cannot compel a virtuous person to do anything unseemly, hungers, and yet does not obey the suggestion of the devil, teaching us also not to obey him in anything. Since the first man, having listened to the devil, angered God and transgressed the law, the Lord in every possible way admonishes you not to listen to the devil even when what he requires will not be a transgression of the law. But what do I say - a crime? Even if the demons suggested something useful, then the Lord forbids listening to them. Thus he commanded the demons to be silent even when they proclaimed that He was the Son of God. In the same way Paul forbade them to shout, although what they said was profitable; but in order to put them to shame completely, and to stop all their evil intentions against us, notwithstanding that they preached salvific truths, He drove them away, shut their mouths, and commanded them to be silent. XVI, 18). That is why even now Christ did not agree to the words of the devil, but what did He say? He answered him with the words of the Old Testament: "Man shall not live on bread alone." These words mean that God can feed the hungry with a word. In this way Christ teaches us, in spite of hunger or any other suffering, never to depart from the Lord.

3. But if anyone says that the Saviour ought to show His power, then I ask him: For what purpose and why? The devil said this not in order to believe himself, but in order, as he thought, to convict Christ of unbelief, since he deceived his forefathers in the same way, and found that they had little faith in God. By promising them the exact opposite of what God said, and puffing them up with vain hopes, he plunged them into unbelief, and thereby deprived them of the blessings that they possessed. But Christ does not express His consent to him, just as He did afterwards to the Jews, who, led by His spirit, asked for signs, in both cases teaching us that, if we could do anything, we should do nothing in vain and without reason, and even in cases of extreme need should not obey the devil. What does this vile seducer begin to do now? Defeated by Jesus and unable to persuade Him, despite His great hunger, to agree to his demand, the devil proceeds to another means and says: If thou art the Son of God, turn down from below: for it is written, that by His angel he shall speak of Thee, and in their arms they shall bear Thee, v. 6. Why does he add to every temptation: "Are you the Son of God?" As he did with his forefathers, so he does now. Just as then with the words, "In this day ye shall bear, your eyes shall be opened" (Gen. 2:10). III, 5) he slandered God, wishing thereby to show that they were deceived, deceived and not in the least beneficial, so now he tries to instill the same thing, and as if to say: "In vain did God call You His Son, He led You into deception with this gift, but if this is not so, then show us Your divine power." And since the Lord spoke to him with the words of the Holy Spirit. He also cites the testimony of the prophet.

What about Christ? He was not indignant at this, nor was he angry, but with great meekness he answered him again with the words of the Holy Scriptures: "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God" (Matt. IV, 7). By this Christ teaches us that the devil must be conquered not by signs, but by kindness and longsuffering, and that nothing must be done only out of ambition, in order to show oneself. Further, see how the foolishness of the tempter is seen in the very presentation of the testimony. Both testimonies cited by the Lord are given as opportunely as possible, and those offered by Him were taken indiscriminately, as they happened to be, and were not at all relevant, because the words: "By His angel to tell about Thee" do not prescribe us to throw ourselves into the abyss; moreover, this is not said about the Lord. But the Lord did not denounce his folly, although the devil quoted the words of the Scriptures with offense to Him, and in a completely perverse sense. No one will demand such a deed from the Son of God; it is characteristic only of the devil and demons to throw themselves down, but it is characteristic of God to restore those who are lying down. If it were necessary for the Son of God to show His power, it would certainly not be in throwing himself recklessly from a height, but in saving others. And to throw oneself into abysses and rapids is characteristic of the devil's horde; so always does the seducer who governs them. However, even after these words, Christ does not reveal Himself, but still speaks to him as a man; The words, Man shall not live by bread alone, and Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, have not yet clearly revealed who He is, but have shown in Him a simple man. Do not be surprised that the devil, speaking to Christ, rushes in one direction or another. Just as fighters, having received a mortal wound, and bleeding, rush in all directions in unconsciousness, so he, already struck by the first and second blows, begins to speak indiscriminately what comes to mind, and thus begins to fight for the third time. And having brought Him up to a high mountain, she showed Him all the kingdoms, and said, "I will give Thee all this, if we fall down and worship Thee." Then Jesus said to him, "Follow me, Satan; For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (vv. 8-10). Since the devil had now sinned against God the Father, calling the universe that belongs to Him his own, and dared to pretend to be God, as if he were the founder of the world, Christ finally rebuked him, but even then not with anger, but simply: go, Satan. And this was more of a command than a prohibition, because as soon as Christ said to him, "Go, devil," he immediately fled and no longer dared to tempt Him.

4. How then does Luke say that the devil has finished all temptation (Luke. IV, 13)? It seems to me that after mentioning the main temptations, he said: all, because in these temptations all the others are contained. In fact, the sources of all innumerable evils are the following three vices: service to the belly, vanity, excessive addiction to wealth. Knowing this, the vile tempter also saved the strongest temptation, that is, the desire for more, to the end. He had a painful desire to express this temptation from the very beginning; but, as stronger than the others, he preserved it for the end. Such is the law of his struggle: to use after everything that, in his opinion, can more conveniently overthrow the enemy. He did the same with Job; The same is true here. Having begun with what he considered less important and weaker, he comes to the strongest. How should he be defeated? Just as Christ taught: to run to God, not to lose heart even in hunger, believing in Him Who can feed us even with a word; and if we receive any blessings, we should not tempt Him Who gave them to us, but, being content with the glory of heaven, we should not care in the least about human things, and in all things we should shun excesses. Truly, nothing exposes us to the power of the devil so much as the desire for more and covetousness. This can be seen even from what is happening now. And now there are those who say: "All these things will be given to you, if you fall down and worship us"; although they are people by nature, they have become instruments of the devil. So even then he not only attacked Christ himself, but also used others to help, as the Evangelist Luke also shows, saying: "Depart from Him until the time comes" (Luke 2:10). IV, 13); With these words he makes it clear that the devil attacked Christ with his weapons afterwards. And behold, the angels came near, and served Him (Matt. IV, 11). While the battle was going on, Christ did not allow the angels to appear, so as not to drive away the one who was to be caught. But when He has exposed the devil in everything and forced him to flee, then the angels also appear. From this know that after victories over the devil, the angels will receive you with applause and will protect you in all cases. Thus they received and carried Lazarus to the bosom of Abraham, tempted in the furnace of poverty, hunger and all kinds of sorrows. Christ, as I have said before, has revealed many things here that must happen to us. Therefore, since all this has been done for you, then be zealous and imitate the victory of the Saviour. If one of the demon's servants or like-minded people approaches you, and mocking you, says: "Move the mountain, if you are a miracle-worker and a great man!" - do not be indignant at this, do not express indignation, but with meekness answer, as your Lord answered: "Do not tempt the Lord your God." If he offers you glory, power, and innumerable treasures, and demands worship in return, stand bravely again. The devil has done this not only to the Lord of all of us, but also against each of His servants he daily builds the same snares, not only in the mountains and deserts, but also in the cities, in the squares and in the courts, not only by himself, but also through people, our brethren. So, what should we do? Do not believe him at all, stop your ears, hate him when he flatters, and the more he promises, the more you turn away from him. For he also deposed Eve and subjected her to the greatest calamities by puffing her spirit with too high hopes. He is our implacable enemy, and wages an irreconcilable battle with us. We are not so much concerned with our own salvation as we are with our destruction. Therefore, let us turn away from him not only in words, but in fact, not only in thought, but also in deeds, and let us not do anything pleasing to him. By doing so, we will do all that is pleasing to God. The devil promises us a lot, but not to give, but to take from us. He promises to bring wealth by stealing, in order to deprive us of the kingdom and righteousness; he spreads treasures over the earth, as if a snare and a snare, in order to deprive both these treasures and those of heaven; wants to make us rich here, so that we don't have wealth there. But when he cannot deprive us of our heavenly inheritance by means of riches, he chooses another path for this, the path of poverty, as he did with Job. When he saw that wealth had done no harm to Job, he tied his nets out of poverty, hoping in this way to gain victory over him. What could be crazier than that? He who knew how to use wealth wisely will bravely endure poverty. Whoever did not have an addiction to wealth when he possessed it will not seek it when it is not, just as the blessed Job did not really seek it, on the contrary, in poverty he became even more glorious. Although the evil demon could deprive him of his wealth, he not only did not deprive him of his love for God, but even strengthened it even more, and, having taken away everything from him, he did so that Job was enriched with even greater blessings, so that the devil did not even know what else to do. The more he struck him, the more he saw strength in him. And when, having tried all means, he did not receive any success, he finally resorted to the ancient weapon of his wife, and, putting on the mask of compassion, very vividly and touchingly depicts his misfortunes, and, as if anxious to deliver him from misfortunes, gives disastrous advice. But in this way he did not defeat Job; This wonderful husband noticed his cunning, and with great prudence stopped the mouth of his wife, who, under the inspiration of the devil, offered advice.

5. So should we do. Though in the person of a brother, or a sincere friend, or a wife, or any one of the people closest to us, the devil has inspired us with something unseemly, we should not judge words and accept advice by their faces, but we should also conclude from pernicious advice who offers advice, and turn away from it. For even now the devil often acts in this way: he assumes the guise of compassion, and pretending to be benevolent, he gives us advice more pernicious and harmful than any poison. His business is to flatter us, to our harm; and the work of God is to punish us, for our good. Therefore, let us not be deceived, let us not earnestly seek a quiet life: for the Lord loves him, chastises him (Prov. III, 12), says the Scriptures. If we enjoy prosperity by living wickedly, how much more should we be broken. In the service of sin, we must always be afraid, but especially when we do not suffer any misfortune. When God sends us punishments, so to speak, in parts, He facilitates the punishment for sins; on the contrary, when He suffers long for all our sins, He preserves us for greater punishment if we remain in sins. If suffering is necessary for the righteous, how much more so for sinners. See how great God's patience Pharaoh experienced and finally how cruelly he was punished for all his crimes! How many crimes did Nebuchadnezzar commit, until at last he was put to death for everything! In the same way, the rich man of the Gospel, for the very fact that he did not suffer any calamity here, later became the most miserable. Having enjoyed the pleasures of this life, he passed into the other world to be executed for everything, and there he could no longer find any consolation in his suffering. In spite of this, there are such cold and insane people who always seek only the present and say such ridiculous words: "I will now enjoy all the present blessings, and then I will think about what is unknown; I will please the belly, I will be a slave to pleasures, I will not value the present life much: give me this day, and take tomorrow for yourself!" What is the difference between such people and goats and pigs (Jer. V, 8)? If the prophet does not want to consider people who rage against their neighbor's wife, then who will condemn you when we say that those people are madder than goats, and pigs, and donkeys, people who consider unknown what is clearer than obvious? If you no longer believe anything else, then look at the torment of the demons, who try to harm us in everything both in word and deed. Thou shalt not contradict that they use all means to increase our carelessness, to destroy in us the fear of hell, and to prevent us from believing in the judgment to come; but for all this, they often shout and cry out about the torments of hell. Why then do they say the opposite of what they desire? Of course, they are forced to do so by the cruelty of the torments they endure. Voluntarily they would never confess that they are tormented by dead people, or that they endure any kind of torment. Why did I say this? In order to show that the demons also bear witness to hell, although they do not want people to believe hell; but you, having been honored with such a high honor, and having partaken of the ineffable mysteries, do not imitate the demons, but have also become more insane. You will say: Who came out of hell and announced the torments there? But I ask, Who also came from heaven and proclaimed that there is a God who created all things? In the same way, how do we know that we have a soul? If you want to believe only what you see, then you will doubt God, and the angels, and the mind, and the soul, and thus all the teaching of truth will disappear from you. However, if you want to believe only what is clear, you must believe the invisible rather than the visible. Though this is strange, it is nevertheless true and recognized as indubitable by all men who have understanding. And, indeed, the eyes are often deceived, not only in the invisible (which they do not know at all), but even in those things which we seem to see, because distance, and air, and the fixture of thought on another object, and anger, and care, and a thousand other causes, hinder them from seeing rightly. But the reflection of the soul, enlightened by the light of the Divine Scriptures, is the truest and most undeceiving judgment about things. And so, let us not deceive ourselves in vain, lest, in the carelessness of life arising from such a teaching, we gather for ourselves the fiercest fire for the teaching itself. If there is no judgment, if we do not give an account of our deeds, and do not receive a reward for our labors, then see where your blasphemy leads you, when you say that a righteous, humane and merciful God will despise such labors and feats. And is it possible?

If nothing else enlightens you, then look at your home life, and you will see all the absurdity of your thoughts.

However, even in this case, it is not the same. Suppose you think that after death they will be in the same state, but here some of them have spent all their time in peace, and others in suffering.

And if anyone asks you, Who came from the other world and declared what was done there? - answer him thus: none of the people (and even if someone came from there, most of the people would not believe him, thinking that he boasts and exaggerates what he tells about); but the Lord of the angels has announced all these things to us with full assurance. And so, what need do we have of human witness, when He Himself, Who will demand an answer from us, preaches daily that He has prepared both hell and the kingdom, and gives us clear proofs of all this? In fact, if He did not have to judge us, He would not have sent punishments here either. Further, how can we explain the fact that some of the evil people are punished here, and others are not? If God is no respecter of persons, as He really is, then why does He punish one and allow another to die without punishment? This is even more incomprehensible than what has been said before. But if you kindly wish to listen to me, then I will resolve this perplexity as well. How? God does not punish everyone here, so that you do not despair of the resurrection, and do not cease to await judgment, since everyone has already received recompense here; nor does he leave everyone unpunished, lest you again think that the universe is not governed by Providence. He both punishes and does not punish. When He punishes, He gives it to be understood that from those who have not been punished here, He will demand an account there; but when He does not punish, He makes you believe that after your departure from this life there will be a Last Judgment. If He did not want to give everyone his own at all, then here He would not punish or reward anyone. And now you see. that He has stretched out the heavens for you, and kindled the sun, and founded the earth, poured out the sea and the air, established the course of the moon, ordained immutable laws for the seasons, and causes all other things to flow unswervingly with His waves.

This is clearer than the very rays of the sun; and if we remain silent, the stones will cry out for it.

Amen.

[1] In gymnastics schools.