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 Seven

On Saturday, the first day after the second day of the Passover, it happened that He was passing through the sown fields, and His disciples plucked the ears of grain and ate, rubbing them with their hands. And some of the Pharisees said to them; Why do you do things that you ought not to do on the Sabbath? Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he hungered and those who were with him? How did he enter into the house of God, and take the showbread, which was not to be eaten by any man but the priests, and did he eat it, and gave it to those who were with him? And he said to them, The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. The Jews called every holiday the Sabbath, for the Sabbath means rest. Often the holiday was celebrated on Friday, and this Friday, for the sake of the holiday, was called Saturday. Later, Saturday proper was called the second one, as the second after the previous other holiday and Saturday. A similar thing happened then, and this Sabbath is called the second one. To the Pharisees, who accuse the disciples of eating on the Sabbath, "plucking," that is, plucking, the ears of corn and crumbling, that is, rubbing with their hands, the Lord points to David, who hungered and ate the showbread. For he, fleeing from Saul, came to the high priest Abiathar and deceived him, saying that the king had sent him for a certain necessary work, and in hunger he took from the priest the showbread, of which twelve were offered every day at the sacred table, six from the right hand, and six from the left hand (Lev. 24:5, 6). He also received the sword of Goliath (1 Samuel 21:1-9). The Lord, reminding them of this story, shames them by David's act. If you," he says, "revere David, how then do you condemn My disciples? And in other words: the Son of Man, that is, I, the Lord of the Sabbath, and as Creator and Creator and Master and Lawgiver, have the power to destroy the Sabbath. "The Son of Man" could be called none other than Christ, Who, being the Son of God, for the sake of men miraculously deigned to be and be called the Son of Man. For there is nothing new in the fact that you and I are called the Son of Man, and it is remarkable that He, miraculously incarnate, is called the Son of Man.

And it happened that on the next Sabbath He went into the synagogue and taught Him. There was a man who had a dry right hand. And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him to see if He would heal Him on the Sabbath, in order to find an accusation against Him. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to the man who had a withered hand, "Get up and come out into the middle." And he stood up and spoke. Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you, What shall you do on the Sabbath?" Good or evil? To save the soul, or to destroy it? They were silent. And having looked at them all, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so; and his hand was as healthy as another. And they were furious, and said among themselves what they should do with Jesus. What we said in the explanation of the Gospel of Matthew is known (see Chapter 11; Mark 3). And now let us say that he has a dry hand who does not perform any works of piety. For the hand is an instrument of activity, and whoever has it withered is undoubtedly idle. Therefore, whoever wants to heal his hand will heal it on the Sabbath. Explain. He cannot perform works of piety who does not first calm down from malice. Turn away first from evil, and then do good (Psalm 36:27). Therefore, when you keep the Sabbath, that is, rest from evil deeds, then you will stretch out your hand to the works of godliness, and it will be restored to you. It is fitting to say, "His hand is made whole." For there was a time when human nature had good activity and a hand, that is, an active force, healthy; then it lost it, and by the grace of Christ gained it again, and returned to its former goodness.

In those days He went up to the mountain to pray and remained all night in prayer to God. And when the day came, He called His disciples, and chose twelve of them, whom He called Apostles: Simon, whom He called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James of Alpheus, and Simon called the Zealot, Judas of James, and Judas Iscariot, who afterwards became a traitor. And having come down with them, he stood on a level place, and a multitude of his disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea, and Jerusalem, and from the seaside places of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases, and also those who were afflicted by unclean spirits; and were healed. And all the people sought to touch Him, because power came from Him and healed everyone. The Lord creates all things for our teaching, so that we also do as He does. For example, He intends to pray. He ascends the mountain. For one should pray after resting oneself from one's work and not in the face of many, and pray all night long, and not in such a way as to stand up for prayer and immediately cease. - He chooses his disciples after prayer, desiring to teach that we, too, when we have the opportunity to appoint someone to spiritual service, take up this task with prayer, seek guidance from God, and ask Him to show us the worthy one. - Having chosen the twelve, he comes down from the mountain to heal those who have come from the cities and to do double good, namely, in soul and body. For listen: "Come to hear Him" is the healing of souls; "And to be healed of their diseases" - this is the healing of bodies. - "From Him proceeded power and healed all." The prophets and other saints did not have power coming from them, for they were not themselves the sources of strength. And the Lord had power coming from Him, for He Himself was the source of strength, while the prophets and saints received special power from above.

And He lifted up His eyes upon His disciples, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are they that hunger now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed are they that mourn now, for ye shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they excommunicate you, and revile you, and carry out your name as dishonorable for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven. Thus did their fathers deal with the prophets. On the contrary, woe to you, you who are rich! for you have already received your consolation. Woe to you, you who are satiated now! for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now! for you will weep and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you! for thus did their fathers deal with false prophets. The Lord, having ordained the disciples, through the beatitudes and teaching, brings them to a more spiritual state. For He speaks to them. And, first, it blesses the poor; if you want, understand by them those who are humble-minded, if you want, who lead a life that does not love money. In general, all the beatitudes teach us moderation, humility, humiliation, and the endurance of reproach. In the same way, "sorrow" is assigned to those who are rich in the present age (of whom it is said that they receive consolation, that is, here, in the present age, they taste joy, rejoice, enjoy pleasures, and receive praise). Let us be afraid, brethren, for woe to those who have praise from men. For one must earn praise from men, but first from God.

But to you who hear, I say, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you. To him who smote you on the cheek, offer the other also, and to him who takes away your outer garment, do not hinder him from taking your shirt also. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not demand back from him who has taken what is yours. And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. And if you love those who love you, what gratitude do you have for that? for even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what gratitude do you have for that? for sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what gratitude do you have for that? for sinners also lend to sinners in order to get back as much. But you love your enemies, and do good, and lend without expecting anything; and you will have a great reward, and you will be the sons of the Most High; for He is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, therefore, even as your Father is merciful. The Apostles were to be sent to preach, and therefore they expected many persecutors and libelers. Thus, if the apostles, burdened by persecution, and then wishing to take revenge on the offenders, had fallen silent and ceased to teach, then the sun of the Gospel would have been extinguished. That is why the Lord first urges the Apostles not to take revenge on their enemies, but to endure everything that happens courageously, whether anyone offends them, or unjustly plots against them. This is what He Himself did on the Cross, saying: "Father, forgive them! forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Then, lest the Apostles should say that such a commandment – to love one's enemies – is impossible, He says: "What thou wilt for thyself, do also to others, and be in relation to others as thou wouldst have others in relation to thyself." If you want your enemies to be harsh, uncompassionate, and wrathful to you, then be so you. If, on the contrary, you wish them to be kind and compassionate, and unforgiving, then do not consider it impossible to be such yourself. Do you see the innate law written in our hearts? Thus the Lord said: "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (Jeremiah 31:33). Then he offers them another motive, namely: if you love those who love you, then you are like sinners and pagans; but if you love those who are angry with you, then you are like God, who is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. What do you desire, then, to be like sinners, or to be like God? Do you see the Divine teaching? At first He urged you by the natural law: "What you want for yourself, do to others; then he convinces you with both death and reward, for as a reward he promises you that you will be like God.

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given unto you: with a good measure, shaken, pressed, and overflowing, they shall pour it into your bosom; for with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you also. He also told them a parable: Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will not both fall into the pit? A disciple is never higher than his teacher; but even when he is perfected, everyone will be like his teacher. The Lord cuts off from our souls the most difficult illness, I mean, the root of arrogance. For whoever does not watch over himself, but only spies on his neighbor and wishes to defame him, he, obviously, captivated by arrogance, has forgotten himself. He certainly thinks of himself that he does not sin, and therefore condemns others when they sin. Therefore, if you do not want to be condemned, do not condemn others. For tell me, perhaps, why do you condemn another as a transgressor of the Divine Laws in all things? And do you not transgress the Divine Law (not to mention other sins) by condemning others? For the Law of God decisively commands you not to condemn your brother. It means that you also transgress the Law. And being a criminal yourself, you should not condemn another as a criminal; for the Judge must be above nature, which falls into sin. Therefore let go, and it shall be forgiven thee; Come on, and it will be given to you. For a good measure, pressed, shaken, and full will be given into your bowels. For the Lord will measure not sparingly, but richly. As you, intending to measure some flour, if you wish to measure without miserliness, press it, shake it, and apply it in abundance, so the Lord will give you a greater and full measure. Perhaps some witty person will ask: How does He say that they will give you a full measure in your bowels, when He said that He will be measured to you by the same measure as you measure, for if it overflows over the top, it is not the same? We answer that the Lord did not say: "He will be measured to you by "the same" measure, but "in the same way." If He had said, "By the same measure," then the speech would have been difficult and contradictory; and now, by saying, "In the same way," He resolves the contradiction, for it is possible to measure by the same measure, but not in the same way. The Lord says: if you do good, they will do good to you too. This is the same measure. It is called full because for one of your good deeds you will be repaid innumerable. - The same is true of condemnation. For he who condemns receives the same measure when he is subsequently condemned; but since he is condemned more as one who has condemned his neighbor, this measure is full. The Lord, having said this and forbidden us to condemn, presents us with a parable, that is, an example. He says: he who condemns another and commits the same sins himself! Tell me, perhaps, are you not like a blind man who guides a blind man? For if you condemn another, and you yourself fall into the same sins, then you are both blind. Though you think that through condemnation you lead him to good, you do not lead. For how will he be guided by you to do good, when you yourself fall? A student is never higher than a teacher. If, therefore, you, the alleged teacher and guide, fall, then, without a doubt, so does the disciple you lead. For even the prepared disciple, that is, the perfect one, will be like his teacher. Having said this, that we should not condemn our weakest and apparently sinners, He adds something else on the same subject.