Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord! if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that He will rise again in the resurrection, on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the seven resurrection and life; he who believes in Me, though he die, shall live. And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to Him, "Yes, Lord! I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, coming into the world. Having said this, she went and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Master is here and calling you." Martha had faith in Christ, but it was not complete, not proper. For this reason He says: Lord! if you had been here, my brother would not have died. She said this, no doubt, because she did not believe that, if He had willed, He could have prevented her brother's death without being present in person. And then he reveals an even greater weakness of faith. For He says, Whatsoever Thou askest of God, He will give Thee. You see, she considers Him to be some kind of person, virtuous and pleasing to God. For she did not say, "Whatsoever thou wilt, thou shalt do all"; but, whatsoever thou askest, he shall give thee all. The Lord, refuting such an understanding of it, says: "Thy brother shall rise again." He did not say to her, "Yes, I will ask God, and He will give Me," nor did he agree with her speech, but used a moderate expression. And then He expounds His power and authority much more clearly; I, he says, am the resurrection and the life. Since Martha did not yet believe and did not understand the meaning of the words: "Thy brother shall rise again," but thought that he would rise again in the last resurrection (and that there would be a last resurrection, Martha knew partly from the Divine Scriptures, and still more from Christ's frequent discourses on the resurrection), therefore, since the woman was still a woman, the Lord raised her up and stirred up her faith, as if it were dead, To put it more plainly: You tell Me that God will give Me whatever I ask of Him. But I tell you plainly that I am the resurrection and the life, so that My power is not limited to the place, but I can equally heal by being present in the place and in absentia. For I distribute good things, and not on behalf of anyone else, but I Myself am the resurrection and the life, and I Myself have the power to raise up and to give life. He who believes in Me, even if he dies this bodily death, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will not die a spiritual death. Therefore, do not be dismayed. For though your brother is dead, he will live. And what do I say about your brother? And you, if you believe in Me, will not die, but will be above spiritual death, which is much more terrible. And He who delivers from the most terrible death, the more easily will deliver your dead brother from a less terrible death. Do you believe this? - the Lord asks Martha. And she, although she had listened to such lofty speeches, did not understand what the Lord had said to her. I think that she suffered from grief and lack of understanding. For the Lord asks one thing, she answers another. The Lord asks whether she believes that He is resurrection and life, and that he who believes in Him will never die, whether you mean spiritual or bodily death. For it is rightly said of the faithful, because of their hope of the resurrection, that they do not die. And what does Martha answer? - I am sure that You are the Christ, the Son of God, coming into the world. Her answer is good and fair, but the answer is not to the question. However, she received this benefit from this, that the power of her sorrow was tamed and her sorrow was lessened. - Martha "secretly" calls her sister; and she did it very wisely. For if the Jews who came to them had known that Mary was coming to meet Christ, they would have left them, and the miracle would have been left without witnesses. And now the Jews thought that Mary was going to the tomb to weep, and they went with her, and of necessity became obvious witnesses of the miracle. Martha says to Mary: The Master is calling you. And the Evangelist does not notice that the Lord called her. This can be explained in the following way: the Evangelist kept silent, that the Lord commanded Martha to call her sister, or she considered the very coming of the Lord as an invitation and said that the Teacher was calling you. For when the Lord came, should she not have gone to Him? Thus, the coming of the Lord, which necessarily requires (from Mary) to meet Him, the Evangelist called an invitation. For the Master speaks, He has come, and calls thee; and since He came, His very coming is a call to you. For as soon as He has come, it is necessary for you to go to meet Him.

As soon as she heard, she hurriedly got up and went to Him. (Jesus had not yet entered the village, but he was at the place where Martha met Him.) The Jews, who were with her in the house and comforted her, seeing that Mary had hurriedly stood up and went out, followed her, supposing that she had gone to the tomb to weep there. And Mary, having come to where Jesus was, and seeing him, fell down at his feet, and said to him, Lord! if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Mary, as soon as she learned that Jesus had come, did not hesitate, but hurriedly got up and went to Him. From this it can be seen that Martha had not warned her before, although she knew that Jesus was coming. But Jesus had not yet come to the village, for He walked slowly, so that they would not think that He Himself was asking for a miracle, but that He would perform it at their request. And since the miracle that is to be performed was great, not performed many times, and had to benefit many, the Lord arranges so that many will become witnesses of the miracle. For the Evangelist says that the Jews who were with her in the house followed her. Mary came to Christ with more fervor than her sister Martha. For when she saw Him, she fell at His feet, not being ashamed of the people, not paying any attention to the fact that some of those who were there were hostile to Christ. In the presence of the Master, she threw away all mankind and cared only to honor Him. She says: "Lord! if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Martha does nothing of the kind, for she does not fall down before Him, but, on the contrary, when Christ gives good hope for her brother, she turns out to be unbelieving. Though Mary is imperfect when she says, "If thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died," yet Christ does not say to her anything that He said to her sister, because there were many people there, and it was not the time for such speeches. He condescends even more, clearly shows Human nature in Himself and reveals its properties. For listen to what the Evangelist says.

And when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her, weeping, he himself was grieved in spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have you laid him? They said to him: Lord! Go and see. Jesus shed tears. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him." And some of them said, "Could not this one, who opened the eyes of the blind, make this one also die? Since Mary and those who came with her wept, Human nature was disposed to tears and was troubled. But the Lord suppresses the shock in the spirit, that is, by the Spirit He restrains confusion and restrains it, and He asks a question without showing any tears. But since the Lord grieved, because He was truly a Man and wished to prove the reality of His human nature, He allowed it to do its own. At the same time, He restricts the flesh, rebukes it by the power of the Holy Spirit; but the flesh, unable to endure the prohibition, is troubled, sighs, and gives itself over to sorrow. The Lord allows His humanity to experience all this, partly in order to affirm that He was Man in truth, and not by providence, and partly in order to teach us to set limits and measures to sorrow and sorrowlessness. For to have no sympathy and tears is characteristic of beasts, but to shed many tears and give way to much sorrow is characteristic of women. And since the Lord took upon Himself our flesh and blood (Heb. 2:14), He takes part in that which is proper to man and nature, and shows us the measure in both. "Where have you laid him?" asks the Lord, not because He does not know (for, having been elsewhere and far away, He knew that Lazarus was dead), but so that they would not think that He was summoned by Himself to a miracle; He wishes to learn everything from them and to perform a miracle at their request, in order to free it from all suspicion. And since there was no hint of the resurrection of Lazarus, and it did not occur to anyone that He was coming to raise him up, and not only to weep, so they said to Him: Lord! Go and see. And the wicked Jews, in spite of the fact that great misfortune is before their eyes, and yet they do not abandon their malice, they say, "Could this one, who opened the eyes of the blind man, not be able to cause this one not to die?" This is said in humiliation of the miracle performed on the blind man (John 9). They should have been amazed at this miracle, but they cast doubt on the reality of Lazarus' death and, without waiting for the end of the matter, pronounce an insulting sentence in advance. Thus envy corrupted their minds.

Jesus, again grieving inwardly, comes to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay on it. Jesus says, "Take away the stone." The sister of the deceased, Martha, said to Him: "Lord! already stinks; for four days he was in the tomb. Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" So, they took away the stone from the cave where the deceased lay. And Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, forgive them! thank you for hearing me. I knew that You would always hear Me; but I have said these things for the people standing here, that they may believe that you have sent me. Why does the evangelist again note that Jesus wept and grieved out of sympathy? In order that we may know that He has truly clothed Himself with our nature. John, in comparison with the other Evangelists, proclaims a higher teaching about the Lord and theologizes something great; wherefore also of His bodily works He tells of those who are more humble. Wherefore also in the sorrow of the Lord he finds much that is human, and thus proves the truth of His flesh, so that thou mayest know that the Lord was God and at the same time Man. For just as Luke by the Lord's struggle, sorrow, and sweat (ch. 22), so John proves by His tears that He bore true flesh. Why did the Lord not resurrect Lazarus when the stone was still lying on the tomb? For He Who raised up a dead body with one word and animated one that had already begun to decay, He could have rolled away the stone with a word much more conveniently. - "Take away the stone," says the Lord, in order to make them witnesses of the miracle, so that they could not say, as before about the man born blind: "This is he; it is not he" (John 9:9). For being present in the very place and taking away the stone with their own hands should have stopped the mouths of the ill-intentioned witnesses of the miracle. "It's already stinking; for four days since he was in the tomb," said Martha out of unbelief, because she considered it impossible for her brother to be resurrected after so many days after his death. So she was still low in faith! Christ, reminding her of His conversation with her and as if reproaching her for forgetfulness, says: "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" The Lord says to His disciples that Lazarus died in order that "the Son of God" might be glorified through this (v. 4 above), and He says to Martha: "Thou shalt see the glory of "God," meaning the Father. He uses different expressions about one and the same thing - because of the weakness of his listeners. There were Jews here. To tell Martha that you would see the glory of the "Son of God," the Lord found inappropriate, because He would be considered vain. And now, having spoken of the glory of the Father, He made the speech moderate and acceptable. Why does the Lord pray, or rather, does He take the form of prayer? Listen to how He Himself says: "For the people standing here, I have said this, so that they may believe that You have sent Me, that is, so that they may not consider Me an adversary of God, so that they may not say that I am not of God, in order to prove to them that this deed was done by Me according to Your will. And what for this reason, and not for another, is presented to the worshippers, that is, for those who are coming, pay attention to the prayer itself. "Thank Thee" (Father!), that "Thou hast heard Me." It is clear that this is not a prayer, but only the position and type of prayer. And that He does not need prayer is evident from the fact that He did many other things without prayer. For example: "I tell you, demon! come out of it" (Luke 4:35); again, "I will, be cleansed" (Matt. 8:3); again: "Thy sins are forgiven" (Matt. 9:2), and this is the most important thing; and to the sea: "Be still, be still" (Mark 4:39). So, in order for those present here to believe that He is from heaven, and not an adversary of God, the Lord prays. For if in such works of Him, in all the proofs of His oneness of mind with the Father, it was said that He was not of God, what would not have been said if He had done nothing of the kind?

Having said this, He cried out with a loud voice: Lazarus! Go away. And the dead man came out, wrapped hand and foot in funeral clothes, and his face was bound with a handkerchief. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, let him go." Then many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what Jesus had done, believed in Him. And some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. The Lord, giving thanks to the Father more than asking (for, as it is said, He had no need of prayer and help from it, because He is equal to the Father), called out with a loud voice, autocratic and sovereign. For He did not say, In the name of My Father, Lazarus, go away; nor thus: Father! resurrect him; but, as it is said, autocratically, stopping the mouths of all who say that He is less than the Father. For what could be found equal to such power, that He said to the dead as to the living: Lazarus, go away? And now the words have been fulfilled in deed: "The time is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and when they have heard, they shall live" (John 5:25). Lest anyone think that Christ received such power from another, He foretells in advance what He had to prove by His very deed. The loud voice of the Saviour, which resurrected Lazarus, serves as an image of the great trumpet that will sound in the general resurrection (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16). The Lord cried out loudly in order to stop the mouths of the Greeks, who talk idly that the soul dwells in the tomb (together with the body), for He calls it loudly, as if far away. As this particular resurrection was, so will the general resurrection be suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52). "Gone out," it is said, "dead man, bound hand and foot." To go out seemed no less strange to the bound man than to be resurrected. And so, to the miracle of the resurrection was added another miracle - that the one who was completely bound moved. The Lord commands to untie him, so that those who approach and touch him will see that this is himself. "Let him," he said, "go." This is out of dislike of fame. For He does not bring him out (Himself), nor commands him to walk with Him in order to show Himself. When the miracle was performed, some of those who saw it believed, and others declared it to the Pharisees, no doubt in order to defame Him, who had done something unrighteous, since He had commanded that the buried man be dug up.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together a council and said, "What shall we do?" This Man works many miracles. If we leave Him thus, then all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take possession of our place and people. One should have been amazed and amazed at the Lord when He performed such miracles; the Pharisees, on the contrary, make up advice on how to destroy Him. What extreme madness! Him Who in the bodies of others overcomes death, they think to put to death in order to hide His glory; and after so many miracles, they consider Him a simple man. What, they say, should we do? This "Man" works many miracles. And what kind of crime is it if He works miracles? In this case, one should believe in Him, worship Him, and not consider Him a mere person. Look at the impudence of the Pharisees! Trying to stir up the people, they spread the rumor that all Jews were in danger and destruction from the Romans on suspicion of stealing the supreme power. If, they say, we abandon Him, a great many people will follow him, attracted by the appearance of miracles, and finally the Romans will suspect us all of stealing the supreme power, and will take our cities and destroy them. So they spoke with guile. In order not to appear that they are building fetters for Christ out of envy, they expose a common danger, stirring up the people against Christ as the future author of their destruction. "Perhaps understand this miracle in relation to the inner man. Our mind is a friend of Christ, but it is often overcome by the weakness of human nature, falls into sin and dies a spiritual death and the most pitiful death, but worthy of pity on the part of Christ, for the dead is His friend. Let the sisters and relatives of the dead mind, the flesh, like Martha (for Martha is more corporeal and material), and the soul, like Mary (for Mary is more pious and reverent), come to Christ and fall down before Him, leading after them the thoughts of confession, as they did the Jews. For Judas means confession. And the Lord, without a doubt, will appear at the grave, the blindness lying in the memory will command to be taken away, as if it were some stone, and will bring to mind future blessings and torments. And he will cry out with the great voice of the Gospel trumpet: Come out of the world, do not be buried in worldly amusements and passions; - just as He said to His disciples: "Ye are not of the world" (John 15:19), and the Apostle Paul: "And we shall go out to Him beyond the camp" (Heb. 13:13), that is, the world, and thus He will raise from sin the dead, whose wounds smelled of malice. The deceased emitted a smell because he was four days old, that is, he died to the four meek and bright virtues and was unmoved and immovable to them. However, although he was motionless and bound hand and foot, squeezed by the bonds of his own sins, and seemed to be completely inactive, although he was covered with a handkerchief over his face, so that when the fleshly veil was imposed, he could not see anything divine, in short, he was in the worst position both "by activity", which is indicated by hands and feet, and "by contemplation", which is indicated by a covered face, "And so, though he is in such a distress, yet he will hear, 'Loose him, good angels or priests who serve salvation, and give him forgiveness of sins, let him go and begin to do good.' - And some understood by "Martha" the Jewish Church, and by "Mary" the Church of the Gentiles. The Jewish Church cares about many things, for the commandments of the law are many and they are inconvenient to fulfill, and the Church of the Gentiles does not need many commandments, but a few, in which the whole law and the prophets are contained (Matt. 22:40), the commandments about love. By their brother, who is raised from the dead, they understood the souls of people who descend into hell for their sins, according to what is written: "Let sinners return to hell" (Psalm 9:18), but the Lord resurrects these souls.

And one of them, a certain Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing, and you will not think that it is better for us that one man should die for the people, than that the whole nation should perish." But he did not say this on his own behalf, but, being high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the people, and not only for the people, but also to gather together the scattered children of God. From that day on, they decided to kill Him. Among the Jews, by the way, the high priestly dignity was also distorted. For from the time when the offices of authority became purchased, the chief priests no longer served as priests all their lives, but only for a year. However, even with such a corruption of this dignity, the Holy Spirit still worked in the anointed. And when they raised their hands against Christ, then grace completely left them and passed on to the apostles. While some in the form of an opinion proposed to kill Christ, the high priest was so bloodthirsty that he pronounced sentence on Christ directly with his head bare, and boldly. He even reproaches others for not understanding what is due and not caring to see what is useful. You, he says, know nothing, do not want to understand, and do not think that it is better that Odin should die and all the people should be saved. He said this with an evil thought. For the grace of the Spirit used his mouth to foretell the future, although it did not touch his foul heart. Look at the power of the Spirit! She arranged it so that from an evil heart came the words that contained the wondrous prophecy. For when Christ died, all those who believed from among the people were delivered from a great and eternal punishment, and He died not only for the Jewish people, but in order to gather together the rest of the children of God, that is, the Gentiles. He calls the Gentiles children of God, and calls them so either in relation to the future, inasmuch as they are to become children of God, just as in another place He says: "I have other sheep also" (John 10:16), calling them so in relation to the future, or because He is the Father of all, Who begat us in a creative way, and because He honored us, creating us in His image and likeness, like the Apostle Paul, according to the Book of Acts (17:29), in his discourse to the Athenians he says: "Therefore we are the offspring of God." And so, since man is a living creature higher and God-like, then everyone is called a child of God, And so, we, scattered (for Satan separated people from one another and from God in many ways, disposing each one to rage against his neighbor for love of riches and glory), Christ brought us together, gathering into one Church and under one yoke, and making those near and far one body, that he who is in Rome should consider the inhabitants of India as his members and confess Christ as the one Head of all. "From this day on, they decided to kill Jesus." This means that from that day on, they were especially and finally confirmed in this intention. They had planned murder before, but weakly, and the matter was more a question than a decision, and now the final trial and decisive sentence took place. And before they sought to kill Him (John 5:18), and He Himself, rebuking them, said: "Why do you seek to kill Me?" (John 7:19). Notice the power of the high priestly dignity, how full it is of the grace of the Spirit, although those who bear it are unworthy. And I beseech thee, honor the chief priests according to the grace that dwells in them, and not according to their arbitrariness. Not only Caiaphas prophesied, but also many other unworthy people knew the future, for example, Pharaoh about the harvest and the failure of the harvest (Gen. 45:17-32), Nebuchadnezzar about kingdoms and Christ (Dan. 2:28-45) and Balaam about Christ (Num. 24:17). And not everyone who prophesies can be called a prophet, but every prophet prophesies. Just as not everyone who does something medical is already a doctor, but he who does medical things according to his medical title can be a doctor. Likewise, the righteous are not the one who does anything just, but the one who does righteousness according to what is said: "Persecute righteously" (Deuteronomy 16:20). Caiaphas also prophesies in this way, but not in the prophetic mood of the Spirit, and therefore not a prophet.

Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to a country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there He remained with His disciples. The Passover of the Jews was approaching, and many from all over the country came to Jerusalem before the Passover to be cleansed. Then they were looking for Jesus, and standing in the temple, they said to one another, What do you think? Will He not come to the feast? And the chief priests and the Pharisees commanded that if any man knew where he would be, he would declare that he might take him. The Lord withdraws from the judgment of the Jews not out of fear, but in order to teach us not to go into danger ourselves, even for the sake of piety, but if we are captured, to stand bravely, and if we are not captured, not to voluntarily throw ourselves into danger because of the uncertainty of the end of the matter. See how foolish is the intention of the Jews. Even during the feast they do not refrain from the malice of murder, but have decided to commit murder and ascend for purification. Those who sinned, willingly or unwillingly, did not celebrate the Passover before they were cleansed according to custom through ablution, fasting, circumcision, and the offering of legal sacrifices. And they, the best, who work cleansing, take counsel against the Lord, and say, What do you think? will He not come to the feast?", that is, He will surely fall into our hands, and if nothing else, the very time will bring Him into our nets. What malice! Whereas the open criminals should have been set free for the festival, they are plotting against the Innocent. And if only the common people had done this, their addiction would have seemed to be the work of ignorance, otherwise the Pharisees give orders to announce Him and seize Him. Thus, the Lord decently withdraws from them. For the word of God, proclaimed by the prophets, formerly circulated openly among the Jews, but now it is no more, but has withdrawn into the wilderness – the Church of the Gentiles, of which it is said that the empty woman has far more children than she who has a husband (Isaiah 54:1). Not far away is Ephraim, the wilderness. Ephraim means "fruitfulness", Ephraim was the younger brother; Manasseh is the eldest. Manasseh means "forgetfulness". Thus, the Jewish people were the eldest son of God, for it is said, "My son is the firstborn Israel" (Exodus 4:22), but God forgot him; and Ephraim, that is, the fruit-bearing of the Gentiles, the Lord created the second son. Thus, the Word, having left Judea, went out into the wilderness of Ephraim, the Church of the Gentiles, fertilized by the Gospel.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they prepared a supper for Him, and Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those who sat at table with Him. And Mary, taking a pound of spikenard, pure and precious ointment, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. and the house was filled with the fragrance of myrrh. On the tenth day of the month, a lamb is chosen to be slaughtered on the feast of Passover (Exodus 12:3), and from the same time they begin to prepare everything necessary for the feast. Usually, six days before Easter, that is, on the ninth day of the month, they eat luxurious food and begin the feast on this day. For this reason Jesus also came to Bethany, sharing the supper. The Evangelist, wishing to show the truth of the resurrection of Lazarus, says: "And Lazarus was one of those who sat at table with Him." For when he appeared alive, he did not die immediately, but remained on earth for a long time, eating, drinking, and doing other usual things. By saying that "Martha served," he meant that the food was in her house. Take note, I beg you, of this woman's faith. She did not entrust the service to the maidservants, but performs it herself directly. And Paul speaks of a widow who washed the feet of the saints (1 Tim. 5:10). Thus, Martha herself serves everyone in general, and Mary gives honor only to Christ, because she hearkens to Him not as a man, but as God. For she shed myrrh and wiped her head with her hair, because she had a different conception of Him than others had, not as a mere man, but as Lord and Lord. Mary can also be understood in the highest sense - about the divinity of the Father and Lord of all; for Mary means "lady." Thus, the Father's Divinity, which dominates all things, anointed the feet of Jesus, the flesh of the Lord the Word, which had been taken on in recent times, anointed the Spirit with myrrh, just as David says: "Therefore Thy God has anointed Thee, O God, with the oil of joy" (Psalm 44:8); and the great Peter says: "Know all the house of Israel, that God has made this very Jesus, whom you have crucified, Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). For the Flesh received by the Word, anointed by the divine Spirit who came into the womb of the Virgin, and made the same as the Word, that is, God, filled the world with blessing, just as the myrrh of Mary filled the whole house with fragrance. What is the "hair" with which the feet are wiped? These are, of course, the saints who adorn the head of God and His supreme authority. For they, being to the glory of God, may be called His adornment. They also became partakers of the anointing of the Lord's flesh, as David also calls them "partakers" (Psalm 44:8), and the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians: "God who strengthens us with you in Christ, and anointed us" (2 Corinthians 1:21). And everywhere we learn that those who live according to Christ are called Christs (anointed ones). Thus, by the hair with which Jesus' feet are wiped and which are partakers of the divine anointing, we can understand Christians. Hair is something dead. And Christians are dead, for they have crucified the flesh (Gal. 5:24) and have put to death the members that are on the earth (Col. 3:3), and have put to death for the world. Hair adorns the head and constitutes its glory. The glory of God is also made up of the saints, since their light shines before men, and the Father is glorified through them (Matt. 5:16), and they eat and drink for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), and in their members they glorify Him. And you, since Jesus has resurrected your mind, as if it were a certain Lazarus, receive Him into the house of your soul; let him who has risen recline with Him; anoint the feet of the Lord, six days before the Passover, before the Passover of the age to come as long as you live in this world made in six days. By the "feet" of Christ can be understood: the Apostle and the Gospel, and the commandments in general, for by them He walks in us. And so, to these commandments add myrrh - a disposition composed of various virtues, of which the highest is faith, ardent as spikenard. For if you do not show a fervent, zealous and virtuous disposition towards these commandments, and do not reject them with mortified limbs, as with hair, and do not receive them into yourself, you will not be able to perfume your house. By the "feet" of the Lord can be understood the lesser brethren, in whose person Christ comes to the doors of each and asks for what is necessary: anoint them with the myrrh of almsgiving. Many give alms for show, and therefore do not benefit themselves, for here they receive a reward (Matt. 6:1-2). And you wipe your head with your hair and receive the benefit for your soul, gather the fruit of alms in the dominant part. And if you have anything dead and soulless, like hair, perfume it with this good anointing. For it is said: "Atone for thy sins with almsgiving" (Dan. 4:24).

Then one of His disciples, Judas Simon Iscariot, who wanted to betray Him, said, "Why not sell this ointment for three hundred denarii and distribute it to the poor?" He said this not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. (He had a money drawer with him and carried what was put into it.) And Jesus said, Leave her; she has reserved it for the day of my burial. For you always have the poor with you, but not always Me. Judas, being covetous, does not approve of such a way of care. Why, as he says, did you bring not money, from which I could steal, but myrrh? How then does the other Evangelist (Matt. 26:8-9) say that all the disciples said this? To this it must be said that although all said so, the others did not speak with the same thought as Judas. The Lord does not rebuke Judas, although He knows that he said this with the intention of Tatya. For he did not want to shame him, teaching us to tolerate such people for a long time. However, secretly, the Lord reproaches Judas for betrayal and for handing Him over to death out of covetousness. For this reason he also mentions burial, striking his foolish heart, so that he may be reformed, and the addition has the following meaning: "The poor," he says, "you always have with you, but not always Me; a little while, and I will depart, for you have prepared death for me. Therefore, if I am displeasing to you, and the honor that I do is burdensome to you, be patient a little, and you will be delivered from Me; and then it will be revealed whether you care about the sale of peace because of the poor. - If Judas was covetous and a thief, then why did the Lord entrust him with the management of money? For the very reason that he was a thief in order to deprive him of any apology. For he could not say that he had betrayed Him (Jesus) for the love of money. The money-box consoled him, but even when he carried the box, he was not faithful. For he carried away, that is, stole what was put there, and he was a sacrilege, arrogating to himself alms for a holy work. Let the sacrilegers hear what their fate is. The height of evil is that Judas subsequently betrayed Jesus and the Lord. Do you see what covetousness leads to? - to betrayal. Thus, the Apostle Paul appropriately called the love of money the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10), because it betrayed the Lord and always does so. Some say that Judas was entrusted with the custody of money, as the least of the others. For serving about money is less than teaching, as in Acts 6:2 the apostles say: "It is not good for us, leaving the word of God, to take care of tables."

Many of the Jews knew that He was there, and they came not only to see Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. And the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus also. Because because of him, many of the Jews came and believed in Jesus. Those who came to the Lord were more well-intentioned than others, unconscious and violent; for they came not only for Jesus, but also to see Lazarus. Since a truly great miracle had taken place, many wished to be spectators of the resurrected one, perhaps in the hope of learning something from Lazarus about those who were in hell. The Pharisees are so inhuman that they want to kill not only Jesus, but also Lazarus, because he served as a reason for salvation for many through a miracle performed on him, leading guileless people to faith. In the same way, the beneficence of Jesus became a crime for them. They were especially vexed that, on the occasion of the feast, everyone went to Bethany, learned about the miracle and saw with their own eyes the resurrected one.

On the morrow, a multitude of people who had come to the feast, hearing that Jesus was going to Jerusalem, took palm branches, went out to meet Him, and cried out, Hosanna! blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, King of Israel! The Lord, having withdrawn for a short time into the wilderness in order to appease the fury of the bloodthirsty, again openly enters Judea and shows Himself before all. At last the time had come to suffer, and He should not have hid Himself, but given Himself up for the salvation of the world. See, then, what was the sequence of suffering. The Lord resurrected Lazarus, preserving by the end this miracle, the most important of all the others; because of this, many flocked to Him and believed. Because many believed, the envy of the enemies increased. This was followed by intrigues against Him and the Cross. The people, hearing that Jesus was coming, met Him with glory, no doubt for the sake of the miracle over Lazarus, giving Him more honor than befitted a common man. For they no longer took Him for a prophet, because to which of the prophets did their fathers give such honor? For this reason they exclaimed: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" for "hosanna" means, "save." Thus this word was translated into Greek by the LXX interpreters in Psalm 117 (v. 25). For in the Hebrew language it reads, "Hosanna," but in the Greek, "O Lord, save!" To save is proper to God alone, and to Him it is said, "Save us, O Lord our God!" Thus, those who cried out to Christ with the words of David show, first, that He is God; then that He is God in the proper sense. For they say, "To come," and not to one who is led. The latter is something slavish, and to go is autocratic. The words "in the name of the Lord" express the same thing, that He is the true God. For they do not say that He comes in the name of a servant, but in the name of the Lord. Again, they imagine that He is not an adversary of God, but has come in the name of the Father, as the Lord Himself says: "I have come in the name of My Father, and another shall come in his name" (John 5:43). They also call Him the King of Israel, perhaps in dreams of a sensual kingdom; for they expected that some king of nature higher than human nature would arise and deliver them from the dominion of the Romans.

And Jesus, having found the colt, sat on it, as it is written, Fear not, O daughter of Zion. Behold, thy King cometh seated on a colt (Zech. 9:9). His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that it was written about Him, and they did it to Him. The other Evangelists say that the Lord said to His disciples: "Loose them, and bring them unto me" (Matt. 1:21:2; Mk. 11:2; Lk. 19:30). And here John doesn't mention any of that, but just says, "Jesus, found a colt." However, there is no disagreement between the evangelists. The others spoke at length, and John said more briefly, "Jesus, having found a colt." When the disciples had untied him and brought him in, Jesus found him and sat down on him. In this circumstance He also fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah, who said: "Do not be afraid, O daughter of Zion! behold, thy king cometh unto thee, sitting on a colt" (Zech. 9:9). Since the kings of Jerusalem, for the most part, were unjust and greedy, the prophet says: "Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion! The king of whom I predict to you is not like that, but meek and humble-minded, and not in the least proud. This is also evident from the fact that He came sitting on a donkey. For He did not enter accompanied by an army, but came on one donkey. The Lord's sitting on a donkey was also a type of the future. This animal, unclean according to the law, was the image of the unclean people of the Gentiles, on whom Jesus, the Word of God, sits, subduing this rebellious and coarse, like an ass, new people, whom He leads up to the true Jerusalem after it has become tame and obedient to Him. For did not the Lord raise up to heaven those pagans who became His people and submitted to the preaching of the Gospel? - Palm trees, perhaps, meant that He, having resurrected Lazarus, became the conqueror of death; for the palm was given in battles to the victors. Perhaps they also expressed the fact that the one who is glorified is a heavenly Being who has come from above. For the palm tree of other trees alone reaches, so to speak, the very sky, puts out leaves at a height, has white kernels in the leaf, but in the trunk and middle, up to the top, it is rough and inconvenient to climb it, because it has thorns on the branches. In the same way, he who strives for the knowledge of the Son and the Word of God will find it not easy, but difficult, ascending through the labors of virtue, but, having reached the height of knowledge, he will be illumined by the bright light of the knowledge of God and the revelation of ineffable mysteries, as if by the whitest kernels of a palm tree. I beseech thee, marvel at the Evangelist, how he is not ashamed, but openly speaks of the former ignorance of the Apostles. The disciples, he says, did not understand this at first, but then they understood how Jesus was glorified. By glory he means the ascension that followed suffering and death. Then, no doubt, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, they knew that it was written about Him. That it was written, they may have known, but that what was written pertained to Jesus was hidden from them, and not without benefit. Otherwise they would have been tempted by His crucifixion, when He Whom the Scriptures call King suffers in this way.