And they all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the words of grace that proceeded out of His mouth, and said, Is this not Joseph's son? He said to them, "Surely you will say to Me the proverb, 'Physician!' heal Thyself; do here in Thy homeland what we have heard in Capernaum. And he said, "Verily I say to you, no prophet is received in his own country." Verily I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up for three years and six months, so that there was a great famine in all the land, and Elijah was not sent to any of them, but only to the widow in Zarephath of Sidon. and there were many lepers in Israel under Elisha the prophet, and not one of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian. When all in the synagogue heard this, they were filled with rage, and arose, and drove him out of the city, and led him to the top of the mountain on which their city was built, to overthrow him; but he passed through the midst of them and departed. The people, listening to the speech of Christ, were amazed at the words of grace; and being amazed, he mocked Him, saying, "Is this not the carpenter's son?" Meanwhile, what prevented Him from being worthy of wonder and worship? Do you not see what works He does? Do you not hear what words He speaks? In spite of this, do you mock His father? Of them, it could not be more justly said: "A foolish and foolish people, who have eyes and do not see, who have ears and do not hear" (Jeremiah 5:21). What then does the Lord say to them? Of course, you will say to Me: Do in Your homeland the same miracles that You did in Capernaum. For this means: "Physician! heal thyself." This was a common saying among the Jews, which they addressed to sick doctors. But I say to you that I would do many signs among you, My countrymen, but I know the common passion that happens to all, to despise even the most excellent works, as soon as they cease to be rare, but become common and common, and when everyone can freely enjoy them. For it is always the custom of men to take care of the rare and strange and to marvel at it, and to despise the general and common. Therefore no prophet is valued in his own country, but if he comes from any other country, he is surprised. In the same way, the widows of Judah did not receive Elijah, but the Zarephath woman did. And Elisha cleansed the foreigner from leprosy, because he showed faith in him, while his fellow countrymen did not believe him, and therefore were not cleansed. In the same way, you, My countrymen, consider Me worthy not of wonder, but of contempt, and therefore I do not do signs. But the inhabitants of Capernaum consider Me worthy of wonder, and I do signs, and I am accepted by them. Those who heard this in the synagogue were filled with rage, which is worthy of wonder, and thought to throw Him off the cliff. But He, having passed through the midst of them, departed, not because He was fleeing from suffering, but because He was waiting for a certain time. For He came to suffer for us; and now, when His preaching was still beginning, He was not to give Himself over to death, but to die when He had already taught enough. From this it is clear that when He was crucified, He was not crucified against His will, but voluntarily gave Himself up to death. "Know that the homeland of the prophets is the synagogue of the Jews, where they are in disgrace." The prophets are not received by her, but we, strangers, have received them. For the widow, that is, the church of the Gentiles, received Elijah, that is, the prophetic word, when there was a spiritual famine in Judea, that is, a hunger for hearing the word of God (Amos 8:11). Of this widow the prophet says: "She who is forsaken has many more children than she who has a husband" (Isaiah 54:1), and in another place: "Even she who is barren gives birth seven times, but she who has many children faints" (1 Samuel 2:5).

And he came to Capernaum, the city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days. And they marveled at His teaching, for His word was with authority. There was a man in the synagogue who had an unclean spirit of demons, and he cried out with a loud voice, "Leave it alone; what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Thou hast come to destroy us; I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God. Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent and come out of him." And the demon, having cast him down in the midst of the synagogue, came out of him without harming him in the least. And terror fell upon all, and they reasoned among themselves: What does it mean that He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they go out? And the rumor of Him spread throughout all the surrounding places. Since neither reason nor teaching attracts the unbelievers to faith, the Lord adds miracles as the most effective means. And so, he works miracles in Capernaum, for the inhabitants of this city were the most unfaithful and needed many miracles for faith. And so, when He has sufficiently taught, and moreover as having authority (for He did not say, "This saith the Lord," but, "I say unto you," because He was not one of the prophets, but the true Son of God), then He adds a miracle, namely, He heals him who is tormented by a demon. The demon first reveals enmity, so that his testimony would be more reliable, then he gives testimony: "I know Thee, who Thou art Thou that art the Holy One of God." First He reproaches Him: "Why hast Thou come here to destroy us?" Then he caresses Him, thinking that the Lord, carried away by the caress, will leave him. But the Lord, teaching not to use the testimony and representation of the demon, says: "Be silent and come out of it." However, it allows the demon to overthrow a person, so that those present will know that he truly has a demon, to whom the words belonged, although the man's tongue was the tool. And they all said to one another, marveling at what had happened, and saying, What is this word, that is, what is this commandment, which he commands, come out of it, and be silent? - Know that even now many have demons, namely those who fulfill the wishes of demons; For example, he who is angry has the demon of wrath. But when Jesus comes to the synagogue, that is, when the mind is concentrated and not scattered, then He will say to the demon of wrath, hitherto uncontrollable: "Be silent"; and immediately he will come out of the man, throwing him into the middle. What does it mean to throw into the middle, know this: a man must not be completely angry and irritable, for this is characteristic of beasts, nor completely angerless, for this is characteristic of an insensible person, but walk the middle path and have anger against malice. Therefore, when the evil spirit throws someone into the middle, it departs from him.

And he went out of the synagogue, and went into the house of Simon; Simonov's mother-in-law was possessed by a strong fever; and they asked Him for it. Approaching her, He rebuked the fever; and left her. At sunset all those who had been sick with various diseases brought them to Him, and He, laying His hands on each of them, healed them. And the demons also came out of many with a cry and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of God." And He forbade them to say that they knew that He was the Christ. And when the day came, he went out of the house, and went into the wilderness, and the people sought him, and came to him, and restrained him, that he should not depart from them. But he said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for this I have been sent." And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee. The Lord of all was nourished by the hospitality of the disciples, just as now He is received by Peter and heals his mother-in-law, so that He may teach you not to refuse the favor of the poor. Not only does it heal her of her illness, but gives her good health and strength for service. If we also accept Him, He will quench our fever, the fever of anger and unwillingness, and raise us up so that we will be able to serve Him, that is, to do what pleases Him. "Look, I beseech thee, at the faith of the people, how even at sunset they brought the sick and were not restrained by time. - He does not allow the demons to speak in this way because he does not need praise from the unclean, for "praise is unpleasant in the mouth of a sinner" (Sir. 15:9), and because he does not want to kindle envy in the Jews when everyone praises Him. The people are looking for Him, though He has gone into an empty place and is holding Him. But He does not limit Himself to one place, but says that I must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities as well. Therefore, we should not be lazy, not be satisfied with one place of imprisonment, but go everywhere in order to benefit someone.

Chapter Five

Once, when the people were crowding to Him to hear the word of God, and He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, He saw two boats standing on the lake; and the fishermen came out of them and washed their nets. Entering one boat, which was Simon's, He asked him to sail a little from the shore and, sitting down, taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased teaching, he said to Simon, Sail out into the depths, and cast your nets for fishing. Simon answered and said to him; Mentor! we labored all night and caught nothing, but according to Thy word I will cast a net. When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and even their nets were broken. And they signaled to the comrades who were in the other boat to come to help them; And they came, and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down on the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, O Lord! Because I am a sinful man. For terror seized him and all who were with him, from this fishing of the fish they caught; and also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's associates. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; From now on you will catch men. And having pulled both boats ashore, they left everything and followed Him. The Lord flees from glory, and it pursues Him all the more. When the people crowded around Him, He went on board the ship to teach those standing on the seashore from the ship, so that all were before Him, and no one went behind His back. And because He taught from the ship, He did not leave its owner unrewarded. He even favored him doubly: He endowed him with a multitude of fish and made him His disciple. Marvel at the Lord's providence, how He attracts everyone through a means peculiar and akin to him, for example: the Magi by means of a star, and the fishermen by means of fishes. Notice also the meekness of Christ, how He beseeches Peter to sail away from the earth, for he "asked," meaning instead of "begged," and how humble Peter was: the man whom he had not seen, he received on his ship, and in all things obeyed him. When He told him to sail into the depths, he was not burdened, nor did he say, "All night I have labored, and have gained nothing, and shall I now listen to Thee, and give myself up to new labors?" He said nothing of the sort, but on the contrary: "At Thy word I will cast a net." So Peter was lukewarm in faith even before faith! For this reason he caught so many fish that he could not pull them out alone, and by signs he invited his accomplices, that is, the companions who were on the other ship. He invited them by signs because, amazed by the extraordinary fishing, he could not speak. Further, Peter in deep reverence asks Jesus to disembark from the ship, saying of himself that he is a sinner and unworthy to be with Him. If you want, understand it figuratively. The ship is the synagogue of the Jews. Peter represents the image of the teachers of the Law. The teachers who were before Christ labored all night (for the time before the coming of Christ is night) and achieved nothing. And when Christ came, and the day came (Romans 13:12), the apostles, placed in the place of teachers of the law, according to the word, that is, according to His commandment, cast the net of the Gospel and catch a multitude of people. But the apostles alone cannot pull out the net with fishes, but invite both their accomplices and accomplices, and drag them along with them. These are the pastors and teachers of the churches of all times; they, teaching and explaining the apostolic teaching, help the apostles to catch people. Pay attention to the expression: "cast a net". For the Gospel is a snare, which has a humble exposition of speech, simple and close to the simplicity of the hearers; That is why it is said that it is abandoned. If someone says that by casting a net the depth of thoughts is signified, then one can agree with this. Thus the word of the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "Behold, I will send a multitude of fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall catch them; and then I will send a multitude of hunters, and they shall drive them out of every mountain, and every hill, and out of the ravines of the rocks" (Jeremiah 16:16). He called the holy apostles fishermen, and the fishers of the rulers and teachers of the church of subsequent times.

When Jesus was in a certain city, a man came covered with leprosy, and when he saw Jesus, he fell down on his face, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord! If you want, you can cleanse me. He stretched out his hand, touched it, and said, "I will, be cleansed." And immediately the leprosy went away from him. And he commanded him not to tell anyone, but to go and show himself to the priest, and offer a sacrifice for his purification, as Moses had commanded, for a witness to them. But He went into the wilderness and prayed. This leper is worthy of wonder, because he has a thought in the Lord worthy of God, and says: "If you will, you can cleanse me." This shows that he thinks of Christ as God. For he came not as to a physician (for leprosy is incurable by the hands of physicians), but as to God; for He alone is able to heal from such diseases. The Lord "touches" him for a reason.

He commands the leper not to tell anyone about Him, in order to teach us not to seek praise from those to whom we do good; For the law was that the priest should examine the lepers and determine whether they were cleansed, and if the leper was cleansed in seven days, he remained inside the city, but if not, he was cast out, Lev. 13. That is why the Lord said: go, show yourself to the priest and bring a gift. What was the gift? Two birds (Lev. 14). What does it mean, "for a witness to them"? That is, in their rebuke and condemnation; so that if they accuse Me as a transgressor of the Law, they may be convinced that I do not transgress it, they may be persuaded by the command to you to bring the gift commanded by Moses. By the way, we can also say how these two birds were brought to God. One bird was slaughtered, and its blood was taken into a new earthen vessel; then both wings of the other bird were dipped in blood and thus released the bird alive. This depicted what was to come true in Christ. The two wings are the two natures of Christ, the divine and the human, of which one was slain, that is, the human, and the other remained alive. For the Divine nature remained impassible, anointed with the blood of the suffering nature and taking upon itself suffering. The blood of the Lord was received by a new earthen vessel, that is, a new nation of Gentiles capable of receiving the New Testament. Look: when someone has already been cleansed of leprosy, then he is worthy to bring this gift, that is, to bury Christ and perform the sacraments. For the leper and unclean in soul cannot be vouchsafed to offer such gifts, that is, to offer the Body and Blood of the Lord, united to the Divine nature. Take heed also to what an unspeakable advantage the Lord has over Moses. Moses, when his sister was stricken with leprosy, could not heal her, although he prayed much (Num. 12:10-15), but the Lord cleansed the leper with one word. Notice also the humility of the Lord, how, when the people wanted to touch Him, He was especially willing to spend time in the deserts and pray. Thus He set us an example in all things, to pray alone and to shy away from glory.

One day, while He was teaching, and there were setting the Pharisees and teachers of the law setting there, who had come from all parts of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was manifested in the healing of the sick, behold, some brought a man on the bed that was paralyzed, and tried to bring him into the house and lay him before Jesus; and not finding where to carry him because of the multitude, they climbed up to the top of the house, and through the roof they lowered him with his bed into the middle before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said to the man, Thy sins are forgiven thee.

And straightway he stood up before them, took what he was lying on, and went to his house, glorifying God. And terror seized them all, and they glorified God, and being filled with fear, they said, "We have seen wonderful things this day."

Before the gathering of the enemies, the Lord had to perform some new sign. Therefore, He heals a person who is sick with an incurable disease, so that through the healing of such a disease He can also heal the incurable madness of the Pharisees. First He heals the sickness of the soul, saying: "Thy sins are forgiven thee," so that we may know that many diseases are born of sins; then He heals the infirmity of the body, seeing the faith of those who brought it. For He often saves others by faith of some. And the Pharisees say, "Why does He utter blasphemy?" Who can forgive sins except God alone? They say this, condemning Him to death. For the Law commanded to punish with death the one who speaks blasphemy against God (Lev. 24:16). The Lord, in order to show them that He is the true God and does not pretend to be God out of vanity, convinces them with another sign. He himself will find out what they were thinking about in themselves. From this it is quite evident that He is God, for it is proper for God to know the heart (1 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 6:30). And so, He says: What seems more convenient to you - to forgive sins or to give health to the body? Of course, in your opinion, the absolution of sins seems more convenient, as an invisible and unrebuked matter, although it is more difficult, and the recovery of the body seems more difficult, as a visible matter, although in essence it is more convenient. However, I will do both, and through the healing of the body, which seems most difficult to you, I will also assure you of the healing of the soul, which, although difficult, seems convenient to you, as invisible. Look: sins are left on the earth. For while we are on earth, we can atone for our sins, but after we have migrated from the earth, we can no longer atone for our sins by confession: for the door is shut. But we have spoken about this subject more extensively in the explanation of the other Evangelists (see Matt. 9; Mk. 2).

And Jesus went out, and saw a publican, whose name was Levi, sitting at the collection of taxes, and said to him, Follow me. And he, leaving everything, arose and followed Him. And Levi made a great feast for him in his house; and there was a multitude of publicans and others who were sitting with them. And the scribes and Pharisees murmured, and said unto his disciples, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew does not conceal, but directly declares his name, saying: "Jesus saw a man sitting at the collection of taxes, whose name was Matthew" (Matt. 9:9). But Luke and Mark, out of respect for the Evangelist, put forward another name for him, namely Levi. Marvel at God's love for mankind, how He steals away the vessels of the evil one. For the publican is the vessel of the evil one, and the evil beast. Those who have experienced the cruelties of the collectors know this. For the publicans are those who redeem the taxes of the people, in order thereby to gain profit and pay their dues for their own souls. The Lord not only acquired Matthew, but also tried to gain other publicans, with whom He dined. For then He was pleased to eat with them, in order to attract them also. See what the Pharisees hear, who accused Him. "I," he says, "have not come to call the righteous, that is, you who make yourselves righteous, but have come to call sinners, not that they should remain in sin, but that they might repent. And in other words: "I have not come to call the righteous, because I do not find them, for all have sinned" (Psalm 13:1-3); if the righteous could be found, I would not come. And there is a publican and everyone who works for the peacekeeper and pays tribute to the flesh. A glutton pays to the flesh with viands, a fornicator with unclean ties, another with others. When the Lord, that is, the Word of the Gospel, sees him "sitting" at the collection of taxes, that is, not prosperous, not going forward, and not striving for greater evil, but as if inactive, He will raise him up from evil, and he will follow Jesus and receive the Lord into the house of his soul. And the Pharisees, haughty and cut off demons (for Pharisee means cut off from others), murmur that He eats with sinners.

And they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often, and pray often, and also the Pharisees, while Thine eat and drink? He said to them, "Can you make the sons of the bridal chamber fast when the bridegroom is with them?" But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. And he told them a parable: "No one puts patches on old clothes, having torn them from new clothes; Otherwise, the new one will be torn apart, and the patch from the new one will not fit the old one. And no one pours new wine into old skins; otherwise the new wine will tear the skins, and flow out of their own accord, and the skins will be lost; but new wine must be poured into new skins; then both will be preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, will immediately want a new one, for he says: the old is better. We have spoken about this in the explanation of the Gospel of Matthew (see Chapter 9 and Mark 2), and now we will say briefly that He calls the Apostles sons of marriage. The coming of the Lord is likened to marriage, because He accepted the Church as His Bride. Therefore, the apostles no longer need to fast. John's disciples must fast, since their teacher performed virtue with difficulty and illness. For it is said: "John came, neither eating nor drinking" (Matt. 11:18). And My disciples, as those who abide with Me – God the Word, now do not need the benefit of fasting, because they have benefited from this very thing (being with Me) and are preserved by Me. But when I am taken, and they are sent out to preach, then they will fast and pray, as those who are prepared for great feats. And it is otherwise: now, being weak and not yet renewed by the Spirit, they are like old skins and old clothes. Therefore, they should not be burdened with any very difficult way of life, just as a new patch is not sewn to a dilapidated garment. Thus, you can accept that the apostles are likened to old wineskins as still weak, or you can understand that the Pharisees are likened to them.

Chapter Six

Once, when the people were crowding to Him to hear the word of God, and He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, He saw two boats standing on the lake; and the fishermen came out of them and washed their nets. Entering one boat, which was Simon's, He asked him to sail a little from the shore and, sitting down, taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased teaching, he said to Simon, Sail out into the depths, and cast your nets for fishing. Simon answered and said to him; Mentor! we labored all night and caught nothing, but according to Thy word I will cast a net. When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and even their nets were broken. And they signaled to the comrades who were in the other boat to come to help them; And they came, and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down on the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, O Lord! Because I am a sinful man. For terror seized him and all who were with him, from this fishing of the fish they caught; and also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's associates. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; From now on you will catch men. And having pulled both boats ashore, they left everything and followed Him. The Lord flees from glory, and it pursues Him all the more. When the people crowded around Him, He went on board the ship to teach those standing on the seashore from the ship, so that all were before Him, and no one went behind His back. And because He taught from the ship, He did not leave its owner unrewarded. He even favored him doubly: He endowed him with a multitude of fish and made him His disciple. Marvel at the Lord's providence, how He attracts everyone through a means peculiar and akin to him, for example: the Magi by means of a star, and the fishermen by means of fishes. Notice also the meekness of Christ, how He beseeches Peter to sail away from the earth, for he "asked," meaning instead of "begged," and how humble Peter was: the man whom he had not seen, he received on his ship, and in all things obeyed him. When He told him to sail into the depths, he was not burdened, nor did he say, "All night I have labored, and have gained nothing, and shall I now listen to Thee, and give myself up to new labors?" He said nothing of the sort, but on the contrary: "At Thy word I will cast a net." So Peter was lukewarm in faith even before faith! For this reason he caught so many fish that he could not pull them out alone, and by signs he invited his accomplices, that is, the companions who were on the other ship. He invited them by signs because, amazed by the extraordinary fishing, he could not speak. Further, Peter in deep reverence asks Jesus to disembark from the ship, saying of himself that he is a sinner and unworthy to be with Him. If you want, understand it figuratively. The ship is the synagogue of the Jews. Peter represents the image of the teachers of the Law. The teachers who were before Christ labored all night (for the time before the coming of Christ is night) and achieved nothing. And when Christ came, and the day came (Romans 13:12), the apostles, placed in the place of teachers of the law, according to the word, that is, according to His commandment, cast the net of the Gospel and catch a multitude of people. But the apostles alone cannot pull out the net with fishes, but invite both their accomplices and accomplices, and drag them along with them. These are the pastors and teachers of the churches of all times; they, teaching and explaining the apostolic teaching, help the apostles to catch people. Pay attention to the expression: "cast a net". For the Gospel is a snare, which has a humble exposition of speech, simple and close to the simplicity of the hearers; That is why it is said that it is abandoned. If someone says that by casting a net the depth of thoughts is signified, then one can agree with this. Thus the word of the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "Behold, I will send a multitude of fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall catch them; and then I will send a multitude of hunters, and they shall drive them out of every mountain, and every hill, and out of the ravines of the rocks" (Jeremiah 16:16). He called the holy apostles fishermen, and the fishers of the rulers and teachers of the church of subsequent times.