DISCOURSE 57

"And His disciples asked Him, How then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first" (Matt. 17:10)?

So the disciples did not learn about this from the Scriptures, but the scribes revealed it to them, and the rumor about it spread among the common people, as well as about Christ. Wherefore the Samaritan woman said, "The Messiah shall come...; when He comes, He will declare all things to us" (John 4:25); And the scribes asked John, Are you Elijah? … Prophet" (John 1:21)? So, among the Jews, as I have said, there was a rumor about the coming of Christ and Elijah, but they misinterpreted it. Scripture speaks of two comings of Christ, the past and the future. And Paul, pointing to both comings, said: "The grace of God has appeared, saving for all men, teaching us that, rejecting ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live chastely, righteously, and godly in this present age." Here is one coming; Listen to how he speaks about other things. Having said these words, he added: "Waiting for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:11-13). Likewise, the prophets mention both; they say that the forerunner of one of them, namely the second, will be Elijah, and the first was John, whom Christ calls Elijah, not because he was Elijah, but because he performed His service. As Elijah will be the forerunner of the second coming, so John was the forerunner of the first. But the scribes, merging the two and corrupting the people, mentioned before the people only the second coming and said that if this was Christ, then Elijah must precede Him with his coming. Wherefore also the disciples say, "How then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" For the same reason the Pharisees sent to John and asked: "What then? you are Elijah"? not at all mentioning the first coming. What answer did Christ give? Elijah will surely come then, before My second coming; but even now Elijah has come, calling John by this name. This Elijah has come. And if you ask about the Tishbite, he will come; wherefore he said, Elijah must come first and arrange all things. What is everything? What the prophet Malachi said: "I will send to you Elijah the prophet.... And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children..., lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Mal. 4:5,6). See the accuracy of the prophetic utterance! When Christ called John Elijah, He called him because of the similarity of ministry. And lest you think that the same thing is said by the prophet, the latter added his homeland, calling him a Tishbite; but John was not a Tishbite. At the same time, he points out another sign, saying: "Lest, when I come, smite the earth with a curse," meaning by this His second terrible coming. In the first, He did not come to smite the earth: "He came," He says, "not to judge the world, but to save the world" (John 12:47). Thus, the above-mentioned words of the prophet show that the Tishbite will come before the coming, when there will be judgment. At the same time, he shows the reason for his coming. What is this reason? So that when he came, he would persuade the Jews to believe in Christ, and so that when Christ comes, they will not all perish completely. That is why Christ, bringing this to mind, said: "I must come first and arrange everything," i.e. He will correct the unbelief of the Jews of that time. That is why the prophet said very accurately; He didn't say, "He will turn ... the hearts of the children to their fathers", but: "fathers to their children". Since the fathers of the apostles were Jews, it is said: "He will turn to the teaching of the sons, i.e., the apostles, the hearts of the fathers, i.e., the disposition of the Jewish people."

"I say unto you, that Elijah hath already come, and ye have not recognized him, but have done unto him as they wilt; so also the Son of Man will suffer from them. Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist" (Matt. 17:12,13). Although neither the scribes nor the scriptures spoke about this, but since the apostles had already become more perceptive and attentive to the words, they soon understood. How did the disciples know about this? Previously they were told: "He is Elijah, to whom he must come" (Matt. 11:14), but here it is said that he has already come; and again, "Elijah must come first, and arrange all things." But do not be troubled, and do not consider it a mistake when in one place it is said, "I must come," and in another, "I have come." All this is fair. When Christ says: "Elijah must come first and arrange all things," he means Elijah himself and the future conversion of the Jews; and when he says: "He is Elijah, who must come," he calls John Elijah in the manner of his ministry. In like manner, the prophets called every pious king David, and the Jews princes of Sodom and sons of the Ethiopians, and precisely because of their way of life. As Elijah will be the forerunner of the second coming, so John was the forerunner of the first.

2. But it is not for this reason alone that Christ everywhere calls him Elijah, but also in order to show that He says in perfect accord with the Old Testament, that this coming took place according to prophecy. Wherefore he adds: "He came, and they did not recognize him, but did unto him as they wished." What does it mean, all "as desired"? They threw him into prison, mocked him, killed him, and brought his head on a platter. "So also the Son of Man shall suffer from them." Do you see how opportunely He again reminds them of suffering? He had already comforted them with John's sufferings; and not only by this, but also by the fact that he soon begins to perform great miracles. When He speaks of suffering, He immediately works miracles; and, as can be seen, He acted in this way both before and after these words, and in general on every occasion. Then "he began to reveal ... that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer much... and be killed" (Matt. 16:21). When? Then, as they confessed that He was Christ and the Son of God. And even on the mountain He reminded them of their sufferings, when He showed them a wonderful vision, and when the prophets spoke of His glory. When He had finished the story of John, He added, "So also shall the Son of Man suffer by them"; and a little later, when He cast out a demon whom the disciples could not cast out, "While they were in Galilee," says the Evangelist, "Jesus said to them, 'The Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him, and on the third day He shall rise again'" (Matt. 17:22,23). He did this in order to reduce the excessiveness of sorrow by the greatness of miracles, and in order to console them in some way. So here, too, reminding them of the death of John, He gave them great consolation. And if anyone asks: why did He not send Elijah even now, when so many blessings testify to His coming? - We answer: because even now those who acknowledge Christ as Elijah have not believed in Him; and it is plainly said, "Some esteem Thee Elijah, others Jeremiah" (Matt. 16:14). But there was no other difference between John and Elijah except in time. How, you ask, will they believe then? He will arrange everything not only by the glory of his name, but also by the fact that the glory of Christ will have time to spread widely before that time, and will be clearer than the sun to all. Therefore, when he comes, after the high opinion and expectations of Him have already spread, and begins to preach Jesus, then his gospel will be received with willingness. When Christ says: "They did not recognize him," he apparently excuses His enemies, and comforts His disciples. In addition, He consoles these latter by pointing out His innocent suffering, and covers their sorrows with two signs: those that were on the mountain and those that are to come. When they hear this, they do not ask Him when Elijah will come, either because they were oppressed by sorrow for suffering, or because they were afraid. It often happened that as soon as they noticed that He did not want to speak clearly about something, they ceased to be curious. When, being in Galilee, He said: "The Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him," then, the Evangelist adds, they were "greatly grieved," which the two Evangelists explain in this way: Mark – "they did not understand these words, but they were afraid to ask Him" (Mark 9:32); Luke – "it was hidden from them, so that they did not comprehend it, but they were afraid to ask Him about this word" (Luke 9:45). "When they came to the people, a man came up to Him, and kneeling before Him, said, Lord! have mercy on my son; he is possessed at the new moon, and suffereth grievously, for he often throweth himself into the fire, and often into the water: I brought him unto thy disciples, and they were not able to heal him" (Matt. 17:14-16). Scripture testifies that this man was very weak in faith. This is evident from many things: from the fact that Christ said: "All things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23); from the fact that he who himself came to Him said: "Help my unbelief"; even from the fact that Christ forbade the evil spirit ever to enter him, and, finally, from the fact that this man said to Christ: "If you can do anything." But if unbelief, you will say, was the reason why the evil spirit did not come out, then why does Christ accuse the disciples? He showed that by faith they can heal the sick without intermediaries. Often the faith of the mediator is sufficient to get what you want even from the lesser brothers; In the same way, the power of the miracle-worker is often sufficient to work a miracle, even if those who come do not have faith. Both of these cases are confirmed by Scripture. The household of Cornelius attracted the grace of the Spirit by their faith, and Elisha raised the dead at a time when no one believed, because those who threw the dead man did not leave him out of faith, but out of timidity, threw him away at random, and, fearing danger, fled, and the abandoned man himself was dead, but from the power of the holy body alone this dead man arose. From this it is obvious that the disciples were also weak, but not all; the pillars were not there.

3. But you can see the foolishness of this man from another circumstance. Here he complains to Jesus before the people about the disciples: "He brought him," he said, "to Thy disciples, and they were not able to heal him" (Matt. 17:16). However, Christ, deflecting the accusation from them in the eyes of the people, accuses them more: "O unfaithful and perverse generation! how long will I be with you" (v. 17)? In order not to embarrass him, He addresses Himself not only to him, but to all the Jews. Probably, many of those who were present were tempted and began to think ill of the disciples. But when He says, "As long as I am with you," He shows again that death is desired by Him, and that it is a matter of desire for Him to be removed from here, and that it is not difficult for Him to be crucified, but to live with them. However, He does not limit Himself to accusations, but what does He say? "Bring him to Me here," and He Himself asks the father how many years his son has suffered, thereby protecting the disciples, and arousing in him a good hope and confidence that his son will be delivered from the disease. But if He allows him to be tormented, it is not for show: when the people began to come together, He rebuked the spirit; but he does this for the father himself, so that when he sees the confusion of the demon at the mere word of Jesus, at least after that he will believe the miracle that is about to take place. When he said: "From childhood", and: "If you can do anything, ... help us," the Saviour says, "all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:20-22), again reproaching him. When the leper said: "If you will, you can cleanse me," testifying to His authority, then the Lord, praising him and confirming what he said, answers: "I will, be cleansed" (Luke 5:12,13). On the contrary, when this one said nothing worthy of His power, but only said: "If you can do anything... help us," then see how Christ corrects his error. What does he say? "If you can believe a little, all things are possible to him who believes," that is: I have so much power that I can make others wonderworkers; therefore, when you believe as you should, you yourself can heal your son and many others. Having said this, Christ healed the possessed man. And you should see not only from this His benevolent providence, but also from the very time from which He allowed the demon to enter the lad - because if it had not been for a special Providence at that time, the sick man would have perished long ago. The Scriptures say that the spirit threw him into both fire and water; but if he dared to do such things, he would have killed him altogether, if God had not tamed the spirit in the midst of such fury. It was the same with those naked who wandered in empty places, and beat themselves against stones. If this demoniac is called a lunatic, then do not be dismayed; that's what his father called him.

Why then does the Evangelist say that Christ healed many lunatics? He calls them so in accordance with the opinion of the people. The demon slanders the elements, and torments the possessed, and weakens them with the flow of the moon; But this does not mean that the moon is active - no, the spirit itself resorts to such a cunning, slandering the elements. Hence the erroneous opinion among the foolish has been established, and falling into deception, they call demons by this name. But this is unfair. "Then the disciples came to Jesus in private, and said, Why could we not cast him out" (Matt. 17:19)? It seems to me that they feared that they might not have lost the grace imparted to them; they have received power over unclean spirits: therefore they ask Christ, having come to Him secretly, not because they were ashamed (since the deed had already been done, and they had been reproved, there was no reason for them to be ashamed of verbal confession), but because they intended to question Him about an important and secret subject. What about Christ? "Because of unbelief," he says, "yours; … if you have faith as a mustard seed, and say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will pass; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matt. 17:20). You will say: where did they move the mountain from its place? I will say that they did much more, raising thousands of the dead. Truly, it is not so much the strength to move a mountain as to drive death out of the body. It is said, however, that the saints who lived after them and their much smaller ones moved mountains when the need demanded it. From this it is evident that the apostles could have moved if it had been necessary, but since there was no need at that time, they should not be blamed. And the Lord did not say: you will certainly move, but: you can move. And if they did not move the mountains, it was not because they could not (otherwise, how could they perform more important miracles), but because they did not want to; but they did not want because there was no need; Or perhaps it happened, but it is not mentioned anywhere, since not all miracles are described. In addition, they were not so perfect then. Why? Did they not have such faith? They did not; they were not always equally perfect. Thus Peter is now called blessed, now he is reproached; so others receive from Christ a reproach for ignorance, when they did not understand the words about kvass. Perhaps in the present case the apostles also revealed the weakness of faith, since before the cross they were not quite perfect. Speaking here of faith, Christ means miraculous faith, and wishing to show its ineffable power, He points to mustard, which, although very small in appearance, has very great power. Thus, in proof that even the smallest sincere faith has great power, he points to mustard; Without stopping there, he then also mentions the mountains and, ascending further, adds: "Nothing will be impossible for you."

4. Marvel here also at their wisdom and strength of spirit: wisdom, because they did not hide their weakness; the power of the Spirit, because those who had no faith and the size of a mustard seed, He so exalted in a short time that rivers and springs of faith flowed into them. "This kind is cast out only by prayer and fasting" (v. 21), He adds. Here He means demons in general, and not only lunatics. Do you see how He already speaks to the Apostles about fasting? Do not tell me about the rare cases that some have cast out demons even without fasting. Although it is said of some that they cast out demons even without fasting, it cannot be that a person who lives in the midst of pleasures is delivered from such an ailment: no, he who suffers from such an ailment has a special need of fasting. You will say: if faith is needed, what else is fasting for? In addition to faith, fasting gives much strength; He teaches great wisdom, makes man an angel, and strengthens against the incorporeal powers. However, not by itself; - Prayer is also needed, and it must precede it. And see what benefits come from these two virtues. He who prays as he should, and fasts at the same time, requires little; but he who requires a little will not be a lover of money; and he who is not covetous loves to give alms. Whoever fasts becomes light and inspired, and prays with a cheerful spirit, quenches evil lusts, propitiates God and humbles his haughty spirit. That is why the apostles always almost fasted. Whoever prays with fasting has two wings, lighter than the wind itself. Such a one does not slumber, does not talk much, does not yawn and does not relax in prayer, as happens to many, but he is faster than fire and higher than the earth; For this reason such a man is especially an enemy and a warrior against demons, since there is no stronger man who sincerely prays. If a wife could bow down a cruel ruler, who feared neither God nor was he ashamed of people, then how much more can he bow down to God who constantly stands before Him, tames the belly and rejects pleasures.

If your body is weak to fast unceasingly, then it is not weak for prayer and for neglecting the pleasures of the womb. If you cannot fast, then at least you can not luxuriously, and this is not unimportant and not far from fasting, and can tame the fury of the devil. Truly, nothing is so pleasing to the demon as luxury and drunkenness, the source and mother of all evil. In this way the devil once plunged the Israelites into idolatry, by this he inflamed the Sodomites to lawless lusts. "In this," says the Scripture, "was the iniquity of Sodom thy sister and her daughters: in pride, in gluttony, and in idleness" (Ezek. 16:49). In the same way he destroyed many others and gave them over to hell. Indeed, what evil does luxury not produce? It makes people pigs, and worse than pigs. The pig rolls in the mud and feeds on feces, but the voluptuous man prepares for himself the most disgusting table, inventing unlawful relations and lawless love. Such a person is in no way different from a demoniac person: he is also shameless and furious. For the possessed we at least regret, but this one we abhor and hate. And why? For he rages voluntarily, and turns his mouth, eyes, nostrils, and everything in general into conductors of stench and impurity. If we look inside such a person, we will see that the soul in him is frozen and numb, as if in the midst of winter and frost, and can no longer give any help to the boat, because of the excessive bad weather. I am ashamed to say how much both men and women suffer from voluptuousness. I leave this to their conscience, which knows everything more accurately. What's more disgusting than a drunken woman rocking back and forth? The weaker the vessel, the more severe the collapse. Whether it be a free wife or a slave, the free woman dishonors herself among slaves, and the slave does the same among slaves, and thus they blaspheme the gifts of God without meaning. I hear many people say, when there are such cases, "Damn the wine!" Oh, stupidity; Oh, madness! Others sin, and you blame the gift of God. What kind of extravagance? Is wine, O man, the cause of such evil? No, not wine, but the intemperance of those who abuse wine. It is better to say: Vanish drunkenness, perish luxury! And if you say, "Lose the wine," then you can then say, "Lose the iron," because there are murderers; perish the night, for there are thieves; the light is gone, for there are slanderers; let the women perish, for there are harlots. In this way, you will finally want to destroy everything.

5. But don't do that, it's a satanic spirit. Do not despise wine, but despise drunkenness. When the drunk comes to his senses, describe to him all his ugliness. Say to him, Wine is given for amusement, and not to disgrace yourself; given to be cheerful, not to be a laughing stock; given to promote health, not to upset; for the healing of bodily infirmities, and not for the weakening of the spirit. God has honored you with this gift: why do you dishonor yourself by the immoderate use of this gift? Listen to what the Apostle Paul says: "Drink a little wine, for the sake of your stomach and your frequent infirmities" (1 Tim. 5:23). If this saint, even possessed by illness and frequent infirmities, did not drink wine until his teacher commanded him, then what condemnation will we be worthy of, when even the healthy are drunk? He was told, "Drink a little wine for your stomach's sake"; And the Apostle will say to each of you who is drunk, "Drink less wine, for from drunkenness is born fornication, foul language, and other evil lusts." If you do not want to abstain from drunkenness for this reason, then abstain at least because it excites vile lusts. Wine is given for rejoicing, - it is said: "wine that rejoices the heart of man" (Psalm 103:15); and you also defame this good quality of his. In fact, what joy is it to be out of one's mind, to be tormented by a multitude of illnesses, to see everything whirling, everything in darkness, and like those who are in a fever, to have the need for someone to anoint their heads with oil? I am not speaking of all, or rather, of all; not because everyone drinks; No, but because those who do not drink do not care about those who drink. That is why I especially appeal to you, to you who are in a healthy state. In the same way, a physician, leaving the sick, converses with those who sit near them. To you, therefore, I address the word: I beseech you, do not be infected with this disease; and those who are infected, snatch them out of trouble, lest they be worse than the dumb. In fact, the brutes do not demand anything more than they need; and those who indulge in drunkenness become more senseless than they are, transgressing the bounds of moderation. And truly, is not the ass much better than such people? Isn't a dog much better? Each of these animals, as well as all animals in general, whether they eat or drink, knows the limits of contentment and does not extend beyond what is necessary. And even if thousands of people force them, they will never allow themselves to reach the point of immoderation. Therefore you are worse than the dumb in this respect as well, and not only in the eyes of healthy people, but also in your own eyes. And that you think worse of yourself than of pigs and asses, this is evident from the fact that you do not force these animals to eat excessively. Why is this so, it will be asked? Thou shalt say, lest thou harm them; but you do not use this foresight about yourself. Consequently, you think of yourself worse than of cattle, and, always overwhelmed, you neglect yourself. You suffer from drunkenness, not only on the day when you are drunk, but also after that day. In the same way, just as after the passing of fever, there are still traces of its pernicious influence, so with you, and after the passing of hops, both in soul and in body a storm rages. A poor body lies paralyzed, like a ship wrecked by a storm, and even poorer is the soul, because even in a paralyzed body it raises a storm and kindles lust. When, apparently, he comes to common sense, then he becomes especially mad, imagining wine, bottles, glasses, cups. As when the agitation is tamed after a storm, traces of its destructive action remain, so it is here. As there are goods, so here almost everything good is thrown away. Whether one has acquired chastity, modesty, decency, meekness, humility, all this drunkenness plunges into a sea of impiety. And what else drunkenness does after that cannot be compared with anything else. There, after unloading, the ship becomes lighter; but here, on the contrary, there is a new burden: instead of riches, the ship is loaded with sand, salt water and all sorts of rubbish, as a result of which the ship with the swimmers and the helmsman immediately perishes. Therefore, in order that we may not suffer the same, let us withdraw from this storm. A drunkard cannot see the kingdom of heaven. "Do not be deceived," says the Apostle: ... neither drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9,10). And what do I say, the kingdom of heaven? A drunken person does not see real objects either; drunkenness turns days into nights for us, light into darkness; A drunken man, looking into all his eyes, does not see even what is under his feet. And not only is this evil born of drunkenness, but also drunkards are subjected to another, most cruel punishment: insane despondency, frenzy, relaxation, ridicule, and reproach. What kind of mercy should be expected for those who kill themselves with such calamities? Absolutely none. Therefore, let us strive to avoid this affliction, so that we may receive both present and future blessings, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

CONVERSATION 58

"And it came to pass, while they were in Galilee, that Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him, and on the third day he shall rise again. And they were greatly grieved" (Matt. 17:22,23).

1. So that the disciples do not say, "Why do we stay here so long?" - Christ again tells them about suffering, and hearing about it, they did not even want to see Jerusalem. See how the apostles even after Peter had already been reproached, after Moses and Elijah, speaking of suffering, called this work glory, after the Father also gave a voice from above, and there were so many miracles, and the resurrection was already at the door (because Christ said that He would not remain long in the embrace of death, but on the third day he will rise again), yet they did not bear the words of Christ, but were grieved, and grieved greatly. This was because they did not yet understand the power of Christ's words, as Mark and Luke show. One says: "They did not understand these words, but they were afraid to ask Him" (Mark 9:32); and the other: The Word "was hidden from them, so that they did not comprehend it, but they were afraid to ask Him about this word" (Luke 9:45). But if they did not understand, then how could they be sad? It cannot be said that they do not understand anything; on the contrary, they knew that He would die, because they heard about it continually. But that such a death could ever happen to Him, and that it should soon be destroyed and produce innumerable blessings, they did not yet clearly understand; nor did they know what kind of resurrection it was. That is why they grieved, because they loved the Teacher very much.

"And when they came to Capernaum, the collectors of didrachms came to Peter, and said, Will not your teacher give you didrachms" (Matt. 17:24)? What are these didrachms? When God slew the firstborn of Egypt, he took the tribe of the Levites in their place. But since the number of the Levites was less than the number of the firstborn among the Jews, He commanded that shekels should be brought in for those who were lacking in number. From that time on, it became customary to pay such a fee for the firstborn. And since Christ was the firstborn, and Peter seemed to be the first of the disciples, the tax collectors approached him. They, it seems to me, collected a tax from every city; therefore they came to him in their homeland, which was considered to be Capernaum. They did not dare to approach Christ Himself, but came to Peter; however, the latter was not approached with a violent demand, but modestly. They did not insistently demand, but only asked: "Will your teacher not give you a didrachm?" They did not yet have a proper opinion of Him, but considered Him to be a simple man; however, they gave Him some respect and honor for the signs that had preceded him. What does Peter answer them? "He says: yes"! Peter told the tax collectors that Christ would give the didrachm; but he did not declare this to Christ Himself, perhaps being ashamed to speak to Him about such things. Wherefore Jesus, who is meek and clear in all things, warns him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take duties or tributes? When Peter answered, "From strangers," Christ said, "Therefore the sons are free" (v. 25, 26). Lest Peter think that he has heard anything from them, he precedes him, revealing his thoughts on the same subject, and giving him boldness, since the latter had not dared to speak of it before. The meaning of His words is this: I am exempt from paying the toll. If the kings of the earth do not take taxes from their sons, but from strangers, how much more must I be free from their demands, the King and the Son of the King, not earthly, but heavenly. Do you see how He distinguished sons from those who are not sons? If He had not been the Son, He would have cited kings as an example in vain. Exactly, they say, He is the Son, but not the true one. Therefore, not the Son. And if he is not the Son, and not the true Son, then he is not the Son of God, but someone else's. But if it is a stranger, then the example of kings has no power of its own. He speaks not merely of sons of any kind, but of lawful sons of his own, who participate in the kingdom with those who begat them. For this reason he contrasted the sons of strangers for the sake of distinction, so calling those who were not born of them (kings). And he calls his sons those whom the kings themselves begat them. But note here also how He strengthens with His words the knowledge revealed to Peter. However, He does not stop there, but by His condescension He inspires the same thing: a new experience of great wisdom! Having said this, He adds: "But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast a fishing rod, and take the first fish that comes along, and opening its mouth, you will find a stater; take him, and give him to them for me and for yourself" (v. 27). Do you see how He does not refuse the tax, and yet does not simply command it to be paid? Having shown in advance that He is not subject to tax, then He gives it; he does the first in order that the disciples may not be offended; the latter - so that the tax collectors would not be tempted. He gives the toll not as obligated to it, but out of condescension to their weakness.