CONVERSATION 15

The Works of Our Holy Father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Commentary on St. Matthew the Evangelist

DISCOURSE XV.

And when Jesus saw the nations, he went up into the mountain, and sat down with him, and his disciples came to him. And He opened His mouth, teaching them to say, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them is the kingdom of heaven (Matt. V, 1-3).

1. See how far Christ was from ambition and pride! He did not lead the people after Him, but when it was necessary to heal, He Himself went everywhere, visiting cities and villages. And when a great multitude has gathered, he sits down in one place, not in the city, not in the middle of the square, but on a mountain, in the desert, teaching us not to do anything for show, to keep away from noise, especially when it is necessary to be curious and to reason about important things. When He ascended and sat down, the disciples approached. Do you see how they progress in virtue, and how soon they became the best? The people looked at the miracles, and the disciples wanted to hear something high and great. This is what prompted Christ to offer a doctrine and begin preaching. He not only healed bodies, but also healed souls, and again passed from the care of souls to the care of bodies, diversifying the benefits, and combining with verbal teaching the manifestation of signs. With this care, both for the soul and for the body, he stops the shameless mouths of heretics, showing that He is the author of the whole life. That is why He took great care of the body and soul, healing now the first, then the last. And so He did now. He opened His mouth, says the Evangelist, and taught them. Why is this added: "He opened His mouth"? That thou mayest know that He taught even when He was silent, not only when He spoke; He taught, now opening His mouth, now speaking by His works. But when you hear the words, "Teach them," do not think that He speaks only to His disciples, but that through the disciples He speaks also to all. But since the crowd was uneducated, consisting of people who were still crawling in the valley, He, having gathered His disciples before Him, addressed His speech to them, and in conversation with them He spoke in such a way that the teaching of wisdom becomes entertaining even for all the others, who were almost completely incapable of listening to Him. Hinting at this, Luke also said; that He addressed His speech to His disciples. And Matthew, showing this, wrote, "His disciples came to Him, and taught them." In view of this, the others should have listened more attentively than when He had addressed His speech to all. So, where does Christ begin, and what are the foundations of a new life for us? Let us listen carefully to His words. It was spoken to the disciples, and it was written for all who would come after them. That is why Christ, although He addresses His disciples with a sermon, does not address His words to them, but speaks of all the Beatitudes vaguely. He did not say, "Blessed are ye if ye be poor," but blessed are the poor. Even if He had spoken to them alone, then His preaching would have applied to all. In fact, when He says, "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. XXVIII, 20), he does not speak to them alone, but through them to the whole universe. In the same way, when He blesses them for enduring persecution, persecution, and cruel suffering, He weaves a crown not only for them, but also for all those who live in this way. But in order that this may be clearer, and that you may know that His words have great relevance both to you and to the whole human race, if anyone is attentive, listen to how He begins His wondrous word: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them is the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean: poor in spirit? Humble and brokenhearted. He called the soul and disposition of a person by the Spirit. Since there are many who are humble not by their disposition, but by the necessity of circumstances, He, keeping silent about such (because there is not great glory in this), calls first of all blessed those who humble themselves and humble themselves of their own free will. Why did He not say, "Humble," but said, "Poor"? Because the latter is more expressive than the former; Poor here He calls those who fear and tremble at the commandments of God, whom God calls acceptable to Himself through the prophet Isaiah, saying: "On whom will I look, but on him who is meek and silent, and trembling at My words" (Isa. LXVI, 2)?

2. There are many degrees of humility: some are moderately humble, and others are excessive. The blessed prophet also praises the latter kind of humility when, describing to us not just a humble, but a very contrite heart, he says: "Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a contrite heart, and God will not despise a humble heart" (Psalm 1:10). L, 19). And the three youths, instead of a great sacrifice, offer this humility to God, saying: "But let us receive with a contrite soul and a humble spirit" (Dan. III, 39). Such humility is also blessed by Christ here. All the greatest calamities that depress the entire universe have come from pride. In the same way, the devil, who had not been such before, became the devil through pride, to which Paul also pointed out, "Let not the devil fall into judgment with pride" (1 Tim. III, 6). In the same way, the first man, deceived by the devil's pernicious hope, fell and became mortal; He hoped to become a god, but he lost what he had. For this reason God, reproaching him and as if laughing at his foolishness, said: "Behold, Adam was as one of us" (Gen. 2:10). III, 22). In the same way, everyone after Adam, dreaming of his equality with God, fell into impiety. Since, consequently, pride is the height of evil, the root and source of all impiety, the Saviour also prepares a cure corresponding to the disease, laying down this first law as a strong and safe foundation. On this basis, everything else can be built with security. On the contrary, if this foundation does not exist, then even if one is exalted to the heavens by life, all this will easily collapse and will have a bad end. Even if you are distinguished by fasting, prayer, almsgiving, chastity, or any other virtue, all this will be destroyed and perish without humility. This is what happened to the Pharisee. Having ascended to the very summit of virtue, he fell from it and lost everything because he did not have humility, the mother of all virtues. As pride is the source of all wickedness, so humility is the beginning of all godliness. That is why Christ begins with humility, wishing to uproot pride from the soul of his listeners. What does this have to do with the disciples, who have always been humble? They had no reason to be proud, being fishermen, poor, ignoble, not learned. But if this did not apply to the disciples, it applied to those who were there, and who afterwards had to receive the disciples, so that the latter would not be despised on account of their poverty. However, Christ's words also applied to the disciples. If at that time they had no need of this useful instruction, they could have had it later, after the performance of signs and wonders, after such glory in the whole world, and after such boldness to God. Truly, neither wealth, nor power, nor royal dignity itself could inspire so much pride as all that the apostles had. However, even before the signs were performed, they could become proud, they could succumb to human weakness, when they saw a large assembly of people surrounding their Teacher. That is why Christ humbles their thoughts beforehand. Christ expounds the teaching not in the form of exhortations or commandments, but in the form of blessedness, thus making His preaching more entertaining, and opening the field of teaching to all. He did not say, "So-and-so is blessed," but all those who do so are blessed, so that even though you are a slave, a poor man, a beggar, a homeless person, an uneducated one, there is no obstacle to you being blessed, if you have this virtue. Having begun with what he should have begun with, Christ passes on to another commandment, which seems to contradict the opinion of the whole universe. For while all consider those who rejoice blessed, and those who mourn, the poor, and those who weep miserable, He calls the latter blessed instead of the former, saying, Blessed are they that mourn, though all consider them miserable, v. 4. But Christ did signs beforehand, so that, prescribing such rules, he would have more confidence in Himself. And here again he does not simply mean those who weep, but those who weep for their sins, since there is another lamentation, which is not at all permissible - lamentation for worldly things, to which Paul also pointed out, saying: "Sorrow maketh death in this world, but sorrow according to God unrepentant repentance worketh unto salvation" (2 Cor. VII, 10).

3. It is these who are sorrowful that Christ here calls blessed; and not just those who grieve, but those who give way to great sorrow. Wherefore he did not say, "Sorrowful," but, "Weeping." Indeed, this commandment also teaches all piety.

Tell me, where will they be comforted? Both here and there. Since this commandment was too heavy and difficult, He promises that which could most facilitate it. So, if you want to have consolation, weep. And do not consider these words allegorical. Truly, when God comforts, then even if a thousand sorrows happen to you, you will overcome everything, because God always rewards labor in abundance. He did the same here, when He said that those who mourn are blessed, not because the weeping itself is worth it, but because of His love for mankind (that is, the reward is promised not according to the importance of the action, but according to His love for people). In fact, those who weep weep over their sins, and for such it is enough only to receive forgiveness and justification. But since Christ is very loving to mankind, He does not limit His reward to the abolition of punishment and the forgiveness of sins, but also makes such people blessed, and gives great consolation. And He commands us to weep not only for our own sins, but also for the sins of others. This is what the saints did, such as: Moses, Paul, David; all of them often mourned the sins of others. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth, v. 5. Tell me, what kind of land will they inherit? Some say that they will inherit the spiritual land. But this is unfair. Nowhere in the Scriptures is there any mention of the spiritual earth. What do these words mean? Christ here means a sensual reward, just as Paul does, when, after the words, "Honor thy father and thy mother," he adds, "Thou shalt live long on the earth" (Eph. VI, 2, 3). In the same way, the Lord Himself said to the thief: "Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise" (Luke 2:10). XXIII, 43). Applying Himself to those hearers who are more devoted to the sensual and seek the present rather than the future, Christ does not encourage them only with future blessings, but also with present ones. Wherefore further in His discourse, having said, "Be thou admonished with thy adversary," he determines the reward for such a prudent deed, saying, "Let not the adversary betray thee to the judge, nor the judge to speak" (Matt. V, 25). See where He got the threats! From sensual objects, from the most ordinary phenomena. And again, "If he says to his brother, 'Cancer,' he is guilty of the assembly" (v. 22). In the same way, Paul very often points to sensual rewards, and borrows motives from present things, for example, when he discusses virginity: here he does not mention heaven at all, but motivates with present goods, saying: "For the present need," and "I have mercy on you, and I desire you to be without sorrow" (1 Cor. VII, 36, 28, 32). In the same way, Christ combined sensual rewards with spiritual ones. Since a meek man may think that he loses all his possessions, Christ promises the opposite, saying that he is safe and possesses his possessions: he is neither impudent nor vain; whoever, on the contrary, is such, may lose his hereditary estate, and even destroy his very soul. However, since in the Old Testament the prophet often said: "The meek shall inherit the earth" (Ps. XXXVI, 11), then Christ therefore expresses His thought in words already known to them, so as not to use new expressions everywhere. In His words, however, He does not limit rewards to present blessings, but also offers future ones. When He speaks of something spiritual, He does not deny the benefits of the present life; in the same way, when He promises anything in this life, He does not limit His promise thereto. Seek, He says, the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you (Matt. VI, 33). And again: "Whosoever shall forsake his house or brethren shall receive a hundredfold in this world, and shall inherit eternal life to come" (XIX:29). Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness (V, 6). What truth? Does He speak of virtue in general, or does He mean that kind of righteousness which is the opposite of covetousness? Since He intended to offer the commandment of mercy, He also teaches how it should be exercised; namely, he calls blessed those who strive for righteousness, which forbids theft and covetousness.

4. Consider also the power with which He expressed His commandment! He did not say: Blessed are those who seek righteousness, but blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, suggesting that we should strive for it not in any way, but with full love. And since the lovers of money have full love, that is, they are not so much concerned with satisfying hunger and thirst as with having and acquiring more and more, Christ commands that such love be turned to non-covetousness. Then He again presents a sensual reward, saying: "For they shall be satisfied." Since many think that the love of money makes us rich, He says that it is the opposite, that is, that righteousness makes us rich. Therefore, when you do what is right, do not be afraid of poverty, and do not be afraid of hunger. Indeed, it is those who are especially deprived of everything who steal what is not theirs, and he who loves justice possesses everything safely. But if those who do not steal another's possessions enjoy such prosperity, then much more so are those who give away their own. Blessed are the merciful, v. 7. Here, it seems to me, He speaks not so much of those who show their mercy with money, but also of those who show it by their works. There are many different types of charity, and this commandment is extensive. What is the reward for mercy? For they shall have mercy. Such a reward seems to be equivalent to virtue; but in fact it far surpasses virtue. For the merciful are as merciful as men; but they themselves receive mercy from God of all kinds. The mercy of man and God are not equal to each other, but differ from one another in the same way as evil from good. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (v. 8). Here is the spiritual reward again! Here He calls pure those who have acquired complete virtue and are not aware of any guile, or those who lead a life in chastity, because in order to see God, we have no need of anything so much as this virtue. For this reason Paul also said: "Have peace and holiness with all, but none shall see the Lord" (Heb. XII, 14). Vision here means such as is possible for man. Since many are merciful, do not steal what is not theirs, do not love money, and yet commit fornication and give themselves over to lust, Christ, showing that the former is not enough, adds this commandment as well. Paul, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, confirmed the same thing by the example of the Macedonians, who were rich not only in charity, but also in other virtues: pointing there to their generosity in the distribution of possessions, he says that they "gave themselves over to the Lord and to us" (2 Cor. VIII, 5). Blessed are the peacemakers, v. 9. Here Christ not only condemns the mutual disagreement and hatred of people among themselves, but demands even more, namely, that we reconcile the disagreements of others; and again it also presents a spiritual reward. Which one? For they shall be called the sons of God, since the work of the Only-begotten Son of God was to unite the divided and to reconcile the warring. Then, lest you should think that peace is everywhere a praiseworthy thing, Christ added this commandment: Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake" (v. 10), that is, persecuted for virtue, for protection of others, for godliness, since He usually calls righteousness the full wisdom of the soul. Blessed art thou, when they reproach you, and despise you, and say all manner of evil words, lying against you for my sake, v. 11. Rejoice and be glad, v. 12. It is as if Christ said this: even if you are called deceivers, flatterers, evildoers, or by any other name, you are still blessed. What seems stranger than such instruction is to call desirable to a person that which, in the opinion of others, should be avoided, that is: poverty, tears, persecution, reproach. And yet He not only pronounced these commandments, but also inspired faith in them, and convinced not two, not ten, not twenty, not a hundred, or a thousand people, but the whole universe. And the crowds of people, listening to such difficult, difficult, and contrary to the general concept of instructions, were amazed. Such was the power of the words of the heavenly Teacher!

5. However, lest you think that reproaches of any kind alone make people blessed, Christ defines these reproaches in two ways, namely, when we endure them for His sake, and when they are false. But if there is neither one nor the other, then the reviled one is not only not blessed, but also unhappy. See what a reward again: for your reward is much in heaven. If you hear that the kingdom of heaven is not given to every kind of blessedness, do not lose heart. Although Christ describes the rewards in different ways, He leads everyone into the kingdom. And when He says that those who mourn will be comforted, and the merciful will have mercy, and the pure in heart will see God, and peacemakers will be called the sons of God, all this means nothing else than the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives those blessings will certainly receive the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, do not think that only the poor in spirit will be honored with this reward; it will be received by those who thirst for righteousness, and by the meek, and by all others. For this reason He mentioned blessedness at each commandment, so that you would not expect anything sensual. He cannot be blessed who is rewarded by that which in the present life is destroyed and disappears more than a shadow. Having said, "Your reward is many," Christ added another consolation: "For thus have we cast out the prophets, who were before you." Since the kingdom was approaching, and was expected, He presented them with consolation in fellowship with those who had suffered before them. Do not think, He says, that you suffer because you speak and prescribe contrary to justice, or that you will be persecuted as preachers of ungodly doctrines. You will be exposed to slanders and dangers, not because you teach wrongly, but because of the malice of those who hear. Therefore, slanders will not fall on you, the sufferers, but on those who act so badly. This is evidenced by all the previous time. And the prophets were not accused of iniquity, or ungodly teaching, when some of them were stoned, others were expelled, and others were subjected to other innumerable calamities. Therefore, do not let this frighten you. For the same reasons, everything is being done today. Do you see how he encourages them, placing them on a par with Moses and Elijah? Thus the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Thessalonians says: "For ye are like the churches of God which are in Judea." For you also will suffer from your own people, as you also will suffer from the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus, and His prophets, and drove us out, and did not please God, and resisted all men (1 Thess. II, 14, 15). Christ did the same here. Though in other beatitudes He said: Blessed are the poor, blessed are the merciful; but here He speaks definitely, and directly addresses His speech to His disciples: "Blessed are you, when they revile you, and wait for you, and say all kinds of evil words, showing that this applies primarily to them, and is characteristic of all other teachers." At the same time, here He shows His dignity and equality with the Father. He says, "As the prophets suffered for the Father's sake, so shall ye suffer for my sake." But when He says, "Prophets, who were before you," He shows that they themselves were already prophets. Then, wishing to show that suffering is especially useful to them and serves their glory, He did not say that you would be reviled and persecuted, but I would prevent this. He wants to protect them, not so that they do not hear anything bad about themselves, but so that they bear evil rumors generously, and justify themselves with deeds, because the latter is much better than the former, and not to lose heart during suffering is much more important than not to suffer at all. That is why He says here: "Your reward is many in heaven." According to the narration of the Evangelist Luke, Christ pronounced this even more powerfully and comfortingly. He not only calls blessed those who suffer reproach for the Lord's sake, but also calls those unhappy about whom all speak good. He says: "Woe to you, when all men say good to you" (Luke 1:11). VI, 26). And they said good things about the apostles, but not all. That is why He did not say, "When men speak good things about you; but he adds the word - everything. Indeed, it is impossible that the virtuous should be praised by all. And again he says, "When your name is brought forth as evil, rejoice and be glad" (ibid., vv. 22, 23). He determined the reward not only for the dangers to which they were exposed, but also for the reproach. Therefore He did not say, "When they cast you out and kill you; but when they revile you and curse you in every way. Truly, backbiting hurts much more than the deeds themselves. There are many things in dangers that alleviate sorrow, for example. when everyone is encouraged, many approve, praise, and glorify. But here, in backbiting, consolation itself is taken away. To endure backbiting is not considered a great feat, although in fact backbiting hurts the ascetic more than the dangers themselves. Many lay hands on themselves, unable to endure the evil rumors about themselves. And what is there to marvel at others, when it is this very reason that most of all induced that shameless and vile traitor to hang himself, who has completely lost his shame in everything. And Job, this adamant, harder than the stone itself, when he lost his possessions, endured unbearable torments, suddenly lost all his children, when he saw his body full of worms, reproaching his wife, he easily endured everything. When he saw his friends, who reproached him, mocked him and slandered him, saying that he endured this for his sins, and was punished for his vices, then this courageous and great ascetic also wavered and was thrown into confusion.