Why do you look at the mote in your brother's eye, and do not feel the beam in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother! Let me take the mote out of your eye, when you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see how to take the mote out of your brother's eye. There is no good tree that bears bad fruit; And there is no bad tree that bears good fruit, for every tree is known by its fruit, because they do not gather figs from thorns, nor take grapes from bushes. A good man brings forth good things out of the good treasure of his heart, but an evil man brings forth evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart, for out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks. What, he says, do you see the mote, that is, the small sin of your brother, and do not notice the beam, your great sin? This can also apply to everyone, and especially to teachers and superiors, who punish even the small errors of their subordinates, and leave their own, no matter how great, unpunished. That is why the Lord calls them hypocrites, because they seem to be different (for by punishing the sins of others, they seem righteous), and another thing is in fact, because they themselves sin, and even worse. Then He confirms His speech by example. As a good tree, he says, does not bear rotten fruit, and a rotten tree does not bear good fruit, so he who intends to make others chaste, to correct and bring them to a better condition, should not be evil himself; but if he himself is evil, he will not make others better. For everyone's heart is a treasury. If it contains good, then man is good, and speaks good; but if the heart is full of evil, then the man is also evil, and speaks evil. All this speech can be understood about the Pharisees. For He, addressing them, said: "Cast the beam out of your own eye first, and then the mote out of your brother's eye," just as in another place He said: "They that strain out a gnat, but devour a camel" (Matt. 23:24). How, then, he says, can you, Pharisees, being rotten trees, bring forth good fruit? For as your doctrine is rotten, so is your life, for you speak out of the abundance of your heart. How then will you correct others and punish the crimes of others, when you yourselves sin more?

Why do you call Me, Lord! God! - and do not do what I say? Whosoever cometh unto me, and heareth my words, and doeth them, I will tell you to whom he is like. He is like a man building a house, who has dug and deepened and laid a foundation on a rock; Why, when there was a flood and the water fell on this house, it could not shake it, because it was founded on a rock. But he who hears and does not obey is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, which, when the water fell on it, immediately collapsed; and the destruction of this house was great.

This necessarily applies to us, who confess Him to be Lord with our lips, but deny Him with our deeds (Titus 1:16). If," he says, "I am the Lord, then you must walk like slaves in all things. And the duty of slaves is to do what the Lord commands. Then He tells us what benefit it is to him who hears Him and not only listens to Him, but also fulfills Him in practice. Such a man is like a man who builds a house, who has built it on a rock. And the stone, as the Apostle testifies (1 Cor. 10:4), is Christ. - He who does not receive the words of Scripture superficially, but seeks their depths in the spirit, digs and deepens. Such a one founds on a stone; Then, when there is a flood, that is, persecution or temptation, the river will come up to this house, that is, the tempter, whether it be a demon or a man, and yet he cannot shake it. A tempting person can very justly be compared to the flooding of a river. For as the flood of the river is produced by the water that falls from above, so the tempting man is raised up by Satan, who has fallen from heaven. The house of those who do not keep the words of the Lord falls, and the destruction of this house is great. For the failures of those who hear but do not do are great, because he who does not hear and does not do sins more easily, but he who hears and yet does not do sins more severely.

Chapter Eight

After this, He went through the cities and villages, preaching and preaching the Kingdom of God, and with Him the twelve, and certain women, whom He healed from evil spirits and diseases: Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom came seven demons, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, who served Him with their possessions. Having descended from heaven in order to present to us in all things His model and predestination, the Lord teaches us not to be lazy in teaching, but to go to all places and preach; for whatever he did, he did for our instruction. He went through all the cities and villages, and led with Him twelve disciples, who did not teach or preach, but learned from Him and were edified by His works and His words. - The Lord preached not about earthly goods, but about the Kingdom of Heaven. For who else was more fitting to preach about heavenly things than Him who comes from heaven? That is why none of the prophets preached about the Kingdom of Heaven. For how could they preach about what they did not see? That is why the Forerunner said: "He that is of the earth, and speaketh as he that is of the earth, and he that cometh from heaven, that which he hath seen, beareth witness to" (John 3:31, 32). - The wives also followed the Lord, so that we would know that weakness does not prevent the female sex from following Christ. See also how they, being rich, despised, and yet all chose poverty for Christ's sake and with Christ. And that they were rich, know from the fact that they served the Lord with "their own" possessions, and not with someone else's or unjustly acquired possessions, as many do. - In the words: "from which seven demons proceeded" a certain number "seven" is taken indefinitely, instead of "many", for in the Scriptures the number seven is often taken instead of "many". Another, perhaps, will say: just as there are seven spirits of virtue, so, on the contrary, there are seven spirits of malice, for example: there is a spirit of the fear of God, there is, on the other hand, a spirit of God's fearlessness; there is the spirit of understanding, there is, on the other hand, the spirit of foolishness, and so on. If these seven spirits of wickedness are not driven away from the heart, no one can follow Christ. For first Satan must be cast out, and then Christ must be instilled.

And when he had said this, he cried out, Whosoever hath ears to hear, let him hear. And His disciples asked Him, What would this parable mean? He said, "It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, so that when they see they do not see, and when they hear they do not understand." Now what David said long ago in the presence of Christ has come to pass. "I will open," he said, "my mouth in a parable" (Psalm 77:2). The Lord spoke in parables for many purposes, namely: to make the hearers more attentive and to stir up their minds to investigate what is being said (for we, people, are usually more occupied with hidden speeches, and pay little attention to clear ones), and so that the unworthy would not understand what is said mysteriously; and for many other motives He speaks in parables. The "sower" came out, that is, the Son of God. He "came out" from the bosom of the Father and from His hiddenness, and became visible. Who came out? The One Who always sows. For the Son of God does not cease to sow always in our souls: He sows good seeds in our souls, not only when He teaches, but also through this world, and through those phenomena that happen to us and around us. He did not come out to destroy the farmers or to burn the country, but only to sow. For the farmer often goes out not only to sow, but also after others. "He went out to sow his own seed." For the word of His teaching was His own, and not someone else's. The prophets, for example, did not speak from themselves, but from the Spirit; wherefore they said, "This saith the Lord." But Christ had His seed; wherefore, when He taught, He did not say, "This saith the Lord," but, "I say unto you." - When He sowed, that is, taught, another seed fell by the wayside. He did not say, "The sower threw it away," but, "It fell; for the sower sows and teaches, but the word falls into the hearts of the hearers. They turn out to be either a road, or a stone, or thorns, or good land. - When the disciples asked about the parable, the Lord said to them: "It is given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, that is, to you who want to learn; for everyone who asks receives. And to the rest, who are unworthy of the sacraments, they are communicated covertly, and such seem to see, but do not see, and hear, but do not understand, and this is for their own good. For Christ hid these things from them for this reason, so that they, having known the sacraments and despised them, would not fall under greater condemnation, since he who knows and despises is worthy of the most grievous punishment.

Having said this, He cried out: "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!" There are three categories of people who are not saved according to this parable. To the first belong those who are like the seed that fell on the way, that is, they did not accept the teaching at all, for just as the trodden and beaten road does not receive the seed, because it is hard, so the hard-hearted do not accept the teaching at all, because although they listen, they do not pay attention. To the other belong those who are like a seed that fell on a stone, that is, those who, although they accepted the teaching, but later, through human weakness, turned out to be powerless before temptations. The third category are those who know the teaching, and yet are suppressed by the cares of life. So, three parts are perishing, and one is being saved. Thus, there are few who are saved, and there are a lot of those who are dying. See how He says about those who are oppressed by the cares of life: He did not say that they are oppressed by riches, but by cares for riches. For it is not wealth that harms, but the care of it, because many have benefited from riches, distributing them to satisfy the hunger of the poor. Perhaps note the accuracy of the Evangelist, as he said of those who are being saved: "When they hear the word, they keep it." He said this for the sake of those who are on the way; for these do not contain doctrine, but the devil takes it away from them. "And they bear fruit," He said for the sake of those who are overwhelmed by the cares of life and do not endure to the end, for such, that is, those who do not bear fruit to the end, do not bear fruit. "In patience," he said, for the sake of those who are on the rock; they accept the teaching, but, unable to resist the temptation that has found them, they turn out to be worthless. Do you see how He said of those who are saved: "They keep and bear fruit in patience," and through these three qualities He distinguished them from those who do not contain, such as those who are on the way, from those who do not bear fruit, such as those who are in thorns, and from those who cannot endure the temptation that comes upon them, such as those who are on stones.

No one, having lit a candle, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under the bed, but puts it on a candlestick, so that those who enter can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that is not made manifest, nor hidden that is not made known and revealed. Observe therefore how you listen: for he who has will be given, but he who does not have will be taken away from him even that which he thinks to have. Here is the beginning of another teaching. For He addresses His disciples and says this in order to instruct them to be thorough in life and unceasing ascetics, since everyone will turn their eyes to them. For everyone looks at the teacher and the preacher, everyone watches him, whether he is good, or vice versa, and he will not hide anything of his own. Therefore, if you, disciples, are attentive and thorough, then God will grant you great grace; but whoever does not have care and attentiveness, by his negligence will extinguish and destroy the gift from God that he apparently has.

And his mother and his brethren came to him, and they could not come near him because of the multitude. And they let him know, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. He answered and said to them, My mother and My brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it. From this it turns out that Christ was not together with His kinsmen in the flesh, but they came to Him, for He, having left them, is engaged in spiritual teaching. In the same way, anyone to whom the ministry of God is entrusted should not prefer anything to him; and we must also leave our parents, if they unprofitably and in vain hinder us in the work of God, just as the Lord does now. When some have spoken to Him about His kinsmen, He does not make brotherhood among the few, nor does He give the sons of Joseph the honor that they were only His brothers. But since He came to save the whole world, and to make all men brethren, He says, My mother and My brethren are they who hear the word of God; then, since hearing alone does not save anyone, but only condemns, He says: and they do. For we must listen and do together. He calls His teaching the Word of God, for whatever He said, everything belonged to His Father, since He was not an adversary of God, so that His words would not be God's. - Some understand this passage thus: since Christ taught and was glorified for His teaching, some, stirred up by envy, as if in mockery of Him, said: Behold, Thy Mother and Thy brethren stand outside, desiring to see Thee. Since His mother was poor, and His brothers were not glorious as the children of a carpenter, they, in order to disgrace Him as an ignoble one, pointed Him to His mother and to His brothers. But he, knowing their thought, said, "The poverty of relatives does not harm me in the least; on the contrary, if anyone is poor, but hears the Word of God, I make him My kinsman.

One day He went into a boat with His disciples and said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And off we went. While they were sailing, He fell asleep. A stormy wind had risen on the lake, and they were flooded with waves, and they were in danger. And they came and woke Him up, and said, "Teacher! Mentor! we die. But He arose, and rebuked the wind and the agitation of the waters; and they ceased, and there was silence. Then he said to them, Where is your faith? And they said to one another in fear and wonder, Who is this, that he commands the winds and the waters, and obeys him? The Lord falls asleep with a special intention, namely, to give exercise to the disciples and to test what their faith is, whether they will remain untroubled by temptations. It turns out that they are weak. They reveal faith that is not perfect, but mixed with unbelief. For they believe that He is able to save, but how do those of little faith say, Save! we die. And if they had perfect faith, they would be fully convinced that it is impossible for them even to perish when the Almighty is with them. "He arose, and rebuked the wind." In order that His power might be more apparent, He allowed them to be confused. For we, people, usually remember more the deliverer who saved us from great danger. So He rose up and saved them, not in the beginning, but when they were on the brink of danger. - You can also see a figurative meaning. The present event is an image of what happened to the disciples afterwards. The lake is Judea, upon which came a great storm of fury against Christ, such as the Jews raged at the crucifixion of the Lord. The disciples were also troubled, for they all forsook Him and fled. But the Lord arose from sleep, that is, He rose again, and the disciples again calmed down. For when He stood before them, He said: "Peace be unto you" (John 20:19). Such is the figurative meaning of this passage. They say this not in the sense of doubt, but in a sense of wonder. It was as if they said: "Who is this," that is, how great and wondrous He is, and with what authority and power He does this?!

And they sailed to the land of the Gadarenes, which lies opposite Galilee. When He came ashore, there met Him a certain man from the city, who had been possessed by demons for a long time, and who did not put on clothes, and who lived not in a house, but in tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech Thee, do not torment me. For Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of this man, because he had tormented him a long time, so that they bound him with chains and fetters, keeping him; but he broke the bonds and was driven by a demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, Legion, because many devils have entered into it. And they asked Jesus not to command them to go into the abyss. A large herd of pigs was grazing on the mountain; and the demons asked Him to allow them to enter into them. The demons, coming out of the man, entered into the pigs, and the herd threw themselves down the steep slope into the lake and drowned. Look: the demon is possessed by two passions of malice: insolence and fear. For the words, "What have you to do with me?" are characteristic of a bold and shameless servant, but "I beseech you" are characteristic of a fearful one. He lives in tombs, with the intention of instilling in people the evil idea that the souls of the dead become demons. - The demons ask that they not be commanded to go into the abyss, but be allowed to live on earth. The Lord allows them to be on earth, so that by attacking people they will make them more glorious. For if there were no opposing ones, there would be no feats, and if there were no feats, there would be no crowns. - Know a more figurative meaning. Whoever has demons in him, that is, demonic deeds, does not put on clothes, that is, he does not have the clothes of baptism and does not live in the house, that is, in the church, because he is not worthy to enter the church, but lives in the graves, that is, in places of dead works, for example, in the houses of the useless, in the toll-houses (customs). For such houses are the receptacles of wickedness,

The shepherds, seeing what had happened, ran and told the story in the city and in the villages. And they went out to see what had happened; and when they came to Jesus, they found a man out of whom demons had come out, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; And they were horrified. And those who saw told them how the demon-possessed man was healed. And all the people of the Gadarene region asked Him to depart from them, because they were seized with great fear. He got into the boat and returned. But the man out of whom the demons came asked Him to be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your house and tell me what God has done for you." He went and preached throughout the city what Jesus had done for him. The flight of the shepherds was for the Gadarenes a reason for salvation; but they did not understand. They should have been amazed at the power of the Savior and believed in Him, but they, it is said, asked, that is, begged Jesus to depart from them. For they feared lest they should suffer some other loss, as they had lost their swine. But he who has been healed is an indisputable proof of healing. He became so healthy in mind that he came to know Jesus and asked Him to be with Him. Perhaps he feared lest, after his departure from Jesus, he would again fall into the power of demons. But the Lord, showing him that he was not with Jesus, but covered by His grace, and could be above the snares of demons, said to him: "Return to your house and tell what God has done for you." He did not say, "What have I done unto thee," in order to set an example for humility and to attribute every happily accomplished deed to God. But the healed man was so prudent that he told what "Jesus" had done to him. Although the Lord commanded him to tell about what "God" had done for him, and he told what "Jesus" had done to him. Therefore, when we do good to someone, we should not desire to preach about him; but he to whom good has been done must declare it, even though we do not desire it.

And when Jesus returned, the people received him, because they were all waiting for him. And behold, there came a man named Jairus, who was the ruler of the synagogue; And he fell down at the feet of Jesus, and asked him to come into his house, because he had one daughter, about twelve years old, and she was at the point of death. And as he went, the people pressed upon him. And a woman who had been suffering from an issue of blood for twelve years, who, having spent all her possessions on doctors, could not be cured by one, came up from behind and touched the hem of His garment; and immediately the flow of her blood stopped. Jesus had just returned from the land of the Gadarenes, and the people were already waiting for Him, partly for the sake of teaching, and partly for the sake of miracles. And there came a certain ruler of the synagogue, neither poor nor outcast, but one of the first. The Evangelist also adds his name, so that it would be all the more obvious that the miracle is true. At the insistence of need, he falls down at the feet of Jesus. Even if he should fall down before Jesus without urgent need and confess Him to be the Eternal God, it still happens that sorrow prompts people to choose the best. That is why David also said: "Be not like a horse, like a foolish hinny, whose jaws must be bridled with bridles and bits, that they may obey you" (Psalm 31:9). During the journey of the Lord, a woman approaches, guided by a very strong faith. Approaching, she touched the hem of the Lord's garment in the confidence that as soon as she touched it, she would immediately be healed. "And immediately the flow of her blood stopped." As if someone turns his eye to a shining light or brings brushwood to a fire, they (light and fire) immediately exert their effect, so the woman who brought faith to Him who is able to heal immediately received healing. For she thought of nothing, neither of the longevity of the illness, nor of the despair of the doctors, nor of anything else, but only believed, and was saved. And it seems that she touched Jesus first with her thought, and then with her body.

And Jesus said, Who has touched me? And when all were denying, Peter also said to those who were with him, "Master! the people surround Thee, and press Thee, and Thou sayest, Who hath touched Me? But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I felt power come out of me." The woman, seeing that she did not hide herself, trembled and approached and, falling down before Him, declared to Him before all the people why she had touched Him and how immediately she was healed. He said to her, "Be of good cheer, daughter! thy faith hath saved thee; Go in peace.