Some interpreters believe that if the healed man had not immediately gone to Jerusalem to the priest, but had begun to divulge everywhere about the miracle performed on him, then the rumor of the healing could have reached Jerusalem before his arrival, and then the priests, who were hostile to the Lord, would have been they would assert that the healed man was never sick.

The Healing of the Servant of the Capernaum Centurion

After this, the Lord went to Capernaum, where He once again performed the miracle of healing in absentia the servant of a Roman centurion, who apparently stood at the head of the Roman military garrison of a hundred soldiers. The military garrisons of the Romans were then on guard in some cities of Palestine, subject to the Roman Empire. This centurion was a pagan by birth, but he was disposed to the Jewish religion, as evidenced by the synagogue he built. His servant, according to St. Matthew, suffered cruelly from paralysis, and according to St. Luke, was even on the verge of death. St. Luke tells about this incident in more detail.The centurion first sent Jewish elders to Jesus with a request to come and heal his servant. Then he sent his friends, after which, as St. Matthew describes, he himself went out to meet the Lord who was approaching his house. In his words, "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 you; but speak the word, and my servant shall recover" (Luke 7:6-7) sounds so unusual for a pagan faith and humility that the Lord, as both Evangelists relate, "was amazed" and considered it necessary to emphasize this faith in front of all those around them, that He did not find such faith even among the representatives of God's chosen people, the Israelites. Further, as St. Matthew alone relates, the Lord, refuting the opinion of the Jews that they alone can be members of the Kingdom of the Messiah, prophesies that many of the pagans "from the East and the West" will prove worthy, together with the Old Testament forefathers, to inherit this Kingdom, while the "sons of the kingdom," that is, the Jews, for their disbelief in the coming Messiah, will be cast out into utter darkness, where "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 8:12). In these words of the Lord, as in many of His other speeches and parables, the Kingdom of Heaven is presented in the image of a supper, or feast, at which in the East people did not sit, but reclined. The guilty guests were led out of the room where the supper was held, into the outer (pitch-black) darkness, into the cold, which is contrasted with the warm and bright room, and the expelled gnashed their teeth from cold and vexation; This image, understandable to all, was taken in order to more clearly represent the eternal torment of sinners in hell. The centurion's faith and humility were immediately rewarded: his servant recovered in that hour, as soon as the Lord said: "Go, and as thou hast believed, let it be done unto thee" (Matt. 8:13)

Resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain

Only the Evangelist Luke tells about this event, putting it in connection with the subsequent dispatch of John the Baptist of his disciples to Jesus Christ.From Capernaum the Lord went to the city of Nain, located near the southern border of Galilee, on the northern slope of Mount Little Hermon, in the former tribe of Issachar. Nain (pleasant) received its name, probably, because of its location in the magnificent and rich in pastures valley of Esdraelon. The Lord was accompanied by His disciples and a multitude of people. In ancient times, cities were often surrounded by solid walls to protect against enemies, so that it was possible to enter and exit only through one gate. And at such a city gate, the Lord met a funeral procession: a dead young man, the only son of a widow, was being carried out of the city. Seeing the grief-stricken woman, the Lord took pity on her and said: "Do not weep" and touched the bed on which the deceased lay, thereby signaling to stop, and resurrected the young man with the words: "Young man! Everyone was seized with fear, but still none of the witnesses of the miracle recognized Jesus as the Miracle Worker Messiah, He was considered only a "great prophet", and this opinion about Him was spread throughout Judea and the surrounding area.

Embassy from John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist could not doubt the divine dignity of the Lord Jesus Christ (see John 1:32-34). Nevertheless, being already in prison, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus Christ with the question: "Are you the one who is to come, or do we expect another?" (Matt. 11:3; Luke 7:19) The answer to this question was needed not by John himself, but by his disciples, who, hearing so much about the Lord's miracles, wondered why He did not openly proclaim Himself to be the Messiah, if He really was. But the Lord does not give a direct answer, since the name of the Messiah was associated with the hopes of the Jews for earthly glory and greatness. Only the one whose soul is cleansed by the teaching of Christ from all earthly things could be worthy to hear and know that Jesus is truly the Messiah-Christ. That is why, instead of a direct answer, the Lord, referring to the prophecy of Isaiah (35:2-6), draws the attention of John's disciples to the miracles performed by Him, as proof of His Divine messengership, and adds: "Blessed is he who is not offended in Me!" (Matt. 11:6; Luke 7:23), or, in other words: "Blessed is he who does not doubt Me, seeing My humiliated appearance." And lest anyone should think that John himself doubted the Divine greatness of the Lord, after the departure of John's disciples, He began to speak to the people about the high dignity and ministry of John, as the highest of all prophets: "Of those born of women there arose not greater than John the Baptist, but the least in the kingdom of heaven greater than he" (Matt. 11:11; cf. Luke 7:28) — these words indicate the superiority of Christianity over the highest righteousness of the Old Testament." From the days of John the Baptist to this day the kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away; for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John" (Matt. 11:12-13). Here the law and the prophets, that is, the Old Testament Church, are contrasted with the Church of Christ, the New Testament. With John, who stood on the border of the two testaments, the Old Testament, which had only a temporary, preparatory significance, ended, and the Kingdom of Christ was opened, which includes all who have made an effort for this. Based on the prophecy of Malachi (4:5), which undoubtedly refers to the second coming of Christ, the Jews waited for the prophet Elijah before the coming of the Messiah. But Malachi prophesied of John only as an angel who would prepare the way for the Lord (3:1). And the angel who foretold the birth of John to Zechariah said, "He shall come before him in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17); but it will not be Elijah himself. John himself, when asked by the Jews whether he was Elijah, answered in the negative. The meaning of the Lord's words, "And if ye will receive, he is Elijah, to whom he must come" (Matt. 11:14) is this: if you take Malachi's prophecy about the coming of Elijah before the coming of the Messiah literally, then know that the one to whom he was to appear before the Messiah has already come: this is John; pay special attention to My testimony of John, and "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 11:15)Saying, "To whom shall I liken this generation?" (Matt. 11:16; cf. Luke 7:31), the Lord is referring to the scribes and Pharisees. They are like capricious and wayward children whom their comrades cannot please in any way. To them, the Pharisees and scribes, who were waiting for the Messiah as a great conquering king, the great faster, John, could not please them in any way, calling them to sorrow and contrition for their sins; neither could Jesus Christ, who, unlike John, refused to share a meal with sinners in the hope of saving them. The words of the Lord: "Wisdom is justified by her children" (Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:35) are beautifully interpreted by Bl. Theophylact: "When, says Christ, neither the life of John nor Mine please you, and you reject all ways of salvation, then I, the Wisdom of God, prove to be right not before the Pharisees, but before His children." These "children of wisdom" are the simple Jewish people, repentant tax collectors and sinners, who believed in Christ and accepted His Divine teaching with all their hearts; it was they who "justified" God and His wisdom, that is, they showed that the Lord arranged the salvation of people both faithfully and wisely. And it was to them that the wisdom of God was revealed, inaccessible to the proud Pharisees.

Denunciation of the Wicked Cities

With heartfelt sorrow, Christ pronounces "woe" to the cities of Chorazin (north of Capernaum) and Bethsaida (south of it) for not repenting, although they saw many miracles performed by Christ. The Lord compares these cities with the pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon in neighboring Phoenicia and asserts that the situation at the Last Judgment of the latter will be better than that of the Jews, who were given the opportunity to be saved, but who did not want to repent, as Nineveh repented after the preaching of Jonah: in sackcloth (a coarse sackcloth that causes pain to the body), sprinkling ashes on the head and sitting on the ashes as a sign of deep contrition. The Lord also prophesies the destruction of Capernaum for its extreme degree of exaltation in pride and as a result of outward well-being and well-being. The Lord compares Capernaum with the Greek Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed by God for their wickedness with sulfur rain and fire. All these cities, indeed, soon suffered the punishment of God: they were razed to the ground by the Romans in the same war as Jerusalem. Proud of their imaginary wisdom and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, the Pharisees and scribes did not understand the Lord Jesus Christ and His teaching due to their spiritual blindness, and the Lord glorifies His Heavenly Father by the fact that the truth of His teaching, hidden from these "wise and prudent ones", was revealed to "babes", that is, simple and guileless people, such as the Apostles and His closest disciples and followers, who have felt not in their minds, but in their hearts, that Jesus is truly the Messiah-Christ." All things have been delivered to Me by My Father" (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22), says the Lord, meaning the following: everything is given over to His power: both the visible bodily world and the invisible spiritual world — all this is given not to the Son of God, Who always possesses such power, but as the God-Man and Savior of men, so that He could turn all this to the salvation of mankind. "And no man knoweth the Son but the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom the Son wants to reveal it" (Matt. 11:27; cf. Luke 10:22)—these words of the Lord imply that no man is able to comprehend all the greatness and goodness of the Son as well as the greatness and goodness of the Father. Only the Son in Himself reveals the Father to those who come to Him, and He, in turn, calls everyone to Himself: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden" (i.e., those who are weary and barren under the yoke of sinful passions arising from pride and self-love), "and I will give you rest" (i.e., I will give you peace and rest from the passions) (Matt. 11:28). Offering to take upon you His "yoke," the Lord implies the yoke of the Gospel law in comparison with the yoke of the passions: "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me meekness and humility" (Matt. 11:29), "for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matt. 11:30). The Lord Himself gives strength to bear His burden in the form of the goodness of the Holy Spirit, and by His own example inspires us to bear His yoke.

Forgiveness of a Sinner in the House of Simon the Pharisee

A certain Pharisee named Simon, who apparently had a love for the Lord, but did not have firm faith in Him, invited the Lord to his meal in order, perhaps, to enter into closer communion with Him. The woman, known in the city as a great sinner, came in unexpectedly, stood humbly behind the Lord, bent down at His feet, and, seeing that they had not yet been washed of the dust of the road, shed torrents of tears, thus washing the Lord's feet with her tears instead of water, and wiping them with her hair instead of a towel. Then, kissing His feet, she began to anoint them with the precious myrrh she had brought. According to the Pharisees, the touch of a sinner defiles a person, and therefore Simon, not in the least touched by the moral revolution that took place in the soul of this harlot, only condemns the Lord for accepting honors, thinking to himself that He cannot be a prophet, since then He would have to know "who and what kind of woman touches Him," and would reject her. The Lord told him a parable about two debtors. One of them owed the lender 500 denarii (about 125 rubles), and the other 50. As both of them had nothing with which to pay, the lender forgave them both. It is easy to answer the Lord's question: Which of the debtors loved the lender more? Of course, the one who is forgiven more. And confirming the correctness of the answer, the Lord added: "To whom little is forgiven, he loves little." Judging from the context, these words were directed against Simon, who had little love for Christ and was poor in works of love; although he invited Christ into his house, he did not show worthy signs of attention to the Lord: washing the feet and kissing. And from the parable, Simon should have understood that the Lord morally places the repentant sinful woman higher than Simon the Pharisee himself, since she showed more love for the Lord than he did; And for this love, her sins are forgiven. And in the words "to whom it is not enough to forgive"... contains an indirect indication to Simon that for his disposition towards the Lord, he is also forgiven some debts to God, but much less than to this sinful wife.The guests who sat with Simon (probably also Pharisees) did not understand the Lord's words and began to be indignant in their hearts, so Christ sent the woman away, saying: "Go in peace!"

The Healing of the Demoniac and the Rebuke of the Pharisees

The Lord heals a demoniac in whom the dwelling of an unclean spirit was accompanied by muteness and blindness, and all the people marvel at this miracle. The Pharisees, wishing to stop the talk among the people about Jesus as Christ (that is, about the Messiah), began to spread the rumor that He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that He Himself has in Himself an unclean spirit (Mark 3:30), and even called Him Beelzebub (Matt. 10:25). To these rumors, the Lord replied that it was possible to assume that Satan would destroy his kingdom himself? "Every kingdom divided against itself will be desolate" (Matt. 12:25; Luke 11:17; cf. Mark 3:24). In the kingdom of the devil, there must be a unity of power and action, and therefore Satan cannot act against himself. "And if I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, by whose power do your sons cast out?" says the Lord (Matt. 12:27; Luke 11:19). By sons we can understand here the Apostles, who received from the Lord the authority to cast out demons, and the disciples of the Pharisees, who practiced conjuring evil spirits, and the man about whom the Apostles told the Lord that he casts out demons in the name of Christ, but does not walk with Christ himself (Mark 9:38; Luke 9:49). "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come to you" (Matt. 12:28; cf. Luke 11:20); here the Lord means that the Kingdom of God has come in place of the kingdom of Satan, who is fleeing from the world, persecuted by Christ: by casting out demons, the Lord thereby proves that He has "bound" the "strongest" – Satan. Immediately the Lord adds the following thought: "He who is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters" (Matt. 12:30; Luke 11:23). In the Kingdom of Christ: whoever is not with Christ is already hostile to Him, for he brings division into one "house" under one authority. It is another matter when a person is still outside the Kingdom of Christ, has not yet been called there; then, if only he would not be against Christ, would not be in union with the world hostile to Christ. Such a person, who already belongs to Christ in part, can become one with Him and enter His Kingdom. But whoever is not with Christ in His struggle with Satan for the gathering of all people into the Kingdom of God is against Him, since anyone who, hearing and understanding the teaching of Christ, does not take His side, is already an enemy, and even more so is the enemy who opposes. if any man speak a word against the Son of man, he shall be forgiven; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this world or in the world to come" (Matt. 12:31-32; cf. Mark 3:28-29). God's mercy is infinite, and there is no sin that can overcome it; but anyone who stubbornly rejects this mercy itself, who stubbornly resists the very saving grace of God, there is no mercy for him, and his sin remains unforgiven, and such a person perishes. This deliberate opposition to the saving grace of God, which is the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Lord calls blasphemy against the Spirit. This was clearly expressed in the fact that the Pharisees dared to call the works of God's omnipotence the works of the devil. Why is there no forgiveness for this sin "neither in this world nor in the world to come?" Because if a person rejects the obvious actions of the saving grace of the Holy Spirit, then there is nowhere to come from repentance, without which there is no salvation. If anyone blasphemes Christ when he sees His humiliation, that sin will be forgiven, because it is a simple error, easily washed away by repentance. The Lord explains the slander of the Pharisees against His deeds by the malice in their hearts: "Offspring of vipers! How can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). The Lord threatens the Pharisees that they will have to answer for every idle word on the day of the Last Judgment, since their malicious remarks testify to the presence in them of an evil, atheistic will.

The Lord's Answer to Those Who Sought His Sign