"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. Thus, 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 it is he himself. "Let him," he said, "go." This is because of the 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 in this way, then all will believe in Him; and the Romans will come and take possession of both our place and our 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. Understand, perhaps, this miracle also 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, peace, and thus 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 carnal 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, Therefore, although 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, since they are to become children of God, just as in another place He says: "I have other sheep" (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 after His likeness, as the Apostle Paul, according to the Book of Acts (17:29), in a conversation to the Athenians, he says: "Therefore we are the offspring of God."

Thus, since man is a living creature higher and God-like, then everyone is called a child of God. And so, Christ brought us, 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), gathering us into one Church and under one yoke, and making those near and far one body, so that those who are in Rome would consider the inhabitants of India as his members and confess Christ as the one Head of all.

"From that 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, a righteous man is not one who does anything just, but one who does righteousness according to what is said: "Seek righteousness, seek righteousness" (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 not, but has withdrawn into the wilderness – the Church of the Gentiles, of which it is said that she who is forsaken has far more children than she who has a husband (Isaiah 54:1).

Nearby 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.