Four Gospels. A Guide to Studying the Holy Scriptures of the New TestamentThe Four Gospels Why 4 Gospels
The Gospel is the name given to the book of the New Testament. There are four Gospels that are recognized as canonical: Matthew, Luke, Mark and John, as well as many apocrypha and other books telling about the earthly life of Christ. On the one hand, the Bible begins with the Old Testament, on the other, we are people of the New Testament and should know the Gospel well, and not rely on apocryphal texts. It can be difficult for a person to understand and comprehend everything said in the Gospel, so the Church suggests turning to interpretations and explanations of the New Testament. Difficult passages in the Gospel are commented on by theologians who have devoted their lives to the study of the Holy Scriptures.
In this article you will find the Gospel of Matthew with interpretations, explanations and comments on difficult passages from the theologian Andrei Desnitsky.
The details of the life of the Holy Apostle Matthew have not reached us. It is known (Luke 5:27-29) that he lived in Capernaum and was a tax collector, that is, he served the Roman occupation regime and profited from his compatriots. Having heard Christ preach, he invited Him to come to his house. After meeting Christ, Levi (Hebrew name of Matthew) repented, distributed his property and followed the Savior.
After Pentecost, Matthew preached in Palestine for 8 years. There he wrote down his Gospel in Hebrew. The original text has not reached us, but the Greek translation from it entered the canon of the New Testament as its first book - the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew's Holy Gospel
1 Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begat Isaac; Isaac gave birth to Jacob; Jacob begat Judah and his brothers;
3 Judah begat Perez and Zehra by Tamar; Perez begat Hezrom; Hezrom begat Aram;
4 Aram begot Abinadab; Amminadab begat Nahshon; Nahshon begat Salmon;
5 Salmon begat Boaz by Rahab; Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth; Obed begat Jesse;
6 Jesse begat David king; David the king begot Solomon from Uriah;
7 Solomon begat Rehoboam; Rehoboam gave birth to Abijah; Abijah begat Asa;
8 Asa begat Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat begat Joram; Jehoram begat Uzziah;
9 Uzziah begat Jotham; Jotham begat Ahaz; Ahaz begat Hezekiah;
10 Hezekiah begat Manasseh; Manasseh begat Amon; Amon gave birth to Josiah;
11 Josiah begat Joachim; Joachim gave birth to Jeconiah and his brothers before moving to Babylon.
12 After he was removed to Babylon, Jeconiah begat Shealtiel; Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel;
13 Zerubbabel begat Abihu; Abihu begat Eliakim; Eliakim begat Azor;
14 Azor begat Zadok; Zadok gave birth to Achim; Achim begat Eliud;
15 Eliud begat Eleazar; Eleazar begat Matthan; Matthan gave birth to Jacob;
16 Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the migration to Babylon to Christ there are fourteen generations.
18 The birth of Jesus Christ was like this: after the betrothal of His Mother Mary to Joseph, before they were united, it turned out that She was pregnant with the Holy Spirit.
19 But Joseph, Her husband, being righteous and not wanting to make Her public, wanted to secretly let Her go.
20 But when he thought this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: Joseph, son of David! Do not be afraid to accept Mary your wife, for what is born in Her is from the Holy Spirit;
21 She will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
22 And all this happened, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying:
23 Behold, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means: God is with us.
24 Joseph rose from sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife,
25 and did not know Her. [How] at last She gave birth to Her firstborn Son, and he called His name Jesus.
1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said:
2 Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? for we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him.
3 When King Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And having gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them: Where should Christ be born?
5 And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are no less than the rulers of Judah, for from you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men and learned from them the time of the appearance of the star.
8 And having sent them to Bethlehem, he said: Go, carefully investigate the Child, and when you find him, notify me, so that I too can go and worship Him.
9 After they had heard the king, they left. [And] behold, the star that they saw in the east walked before them, *when* it finally came and stood over the *place* where the Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy,
11 And entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary His Mother, and, falling down, they worshiped Him; and having opened their treasures, they brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
12 And having received a revelation in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
13 When they had departed, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said: Arise, take the Child and His Mother and flee to Egypt, and be there until I tell you, for Herod wants to look for the Child in order to destroy Him.
14 He arose, took the child and his mother by night, and went down to Egypt,
15 And there he was until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt I called my Son.
16 Then Herod, seeing himself ridiculed by the Magi, became very angry, and sent to kill all the infants in Bethlehem and throughout its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time that he found out from the Magi.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, saying:
18 A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and mourning and great crying; Rachel cries for her children and does not want to be consoled, for they are not there.
19 After the death of Herod, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Egypt in a dream.
20 And he says: Arise, take the Child and His Mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the life of the Child are dead.
21 He arose, took the child and his mother, and came to the land of Israel.
22 When he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of Herod his father, he was afraid to go there; but having received a revelation in a dream, he went into the region of Galilee
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, that he should be called a Nazarene.
1 In those days John the Baptist comes and preaches in the wilderness of Judea
2 and says: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For he is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah said: the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John himself had a robe of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around Jordan came out to him
6 And they were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!” who inspired you to flee from future wrath?
8 Produce fruit worthy of repentance
9 And do not think to say within yourself, “We have Abraham as our father,” for I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
10 Even the ax lies at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I; I am not worthy to carry His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire;
12 His fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, and He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.
13 Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.
14 But John restrained Him and said: I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, Leave it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then *John* admits Him.
16 And having been baptized, Jesus immediately came out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and *John* saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and descending upon Him.
17 And behold, a voice from heaven said: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil,
2 And having fasted forty days and forty nights, he was finally hungry.
3 And the tempter came to Him and said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.
4 And he answered and said unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil takes Him to the holy city and places Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 And he says to Him: If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written: He will command His angels concerning You, and in their hands they will bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said to him, “It is also written, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again the devil takes Him to a very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,
9 And he says to Him: I will give all this to You if you fall down and worship me.
10 Then Jesus saith unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, the angels came and ministered to Him.
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put into custody, he withdrew into Galilee
13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, who said:
15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, on the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 The people sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in the land and shadow of death a light dawned.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
18 And as He passed near the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting nets into the sea, for they were fishermen,
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they immediately left their nets and followed Him.
22 And they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him.
23 And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24 And rumors of Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all the weak, those possessed by various diseases and seizures, and the demon-possessed, and the lunatics, and the paralytic, and He healed them.
25 And a great multitude followed him from Galilee, and from the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
1 When He saw the people, He went up to the mountain; and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of unjust things against you because of Me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 You are the salt of the earth. If the salt loses its strength, then what will you use to make it salty? It is no longer good for anything except throwing it out there for people to trample underfoot.
14 You are the light of the world. A city standing on top of a mountain cannot hide.
15 And having lit a candle, they do not put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
17 Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For verily I say unto you, Until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the law, until all is fulfilled.
19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches people so, he will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; and whoever does and teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients: Do not kill; whoever kills will be subject to judgment.
22 But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment; whoever says to his brother: (raqa) is subject to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says: (mad) is subject to fiery hell.
23 So if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 Leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Make peace with your adversary quickly, while you are still on the way with him, lest your adversary hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the servant, and you be thrown into prison;
26 Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last coin.
27 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, “You shall not commit adultery.”
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.
31 It is also said that if a man divorces his wife, he should give her a divorce decree.
32 But I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for the guilt of adultery, gives her cause to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 Again you have heard what was said to the ancients: Do not break your oath, but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.
34 But I say to you: do not swear at all: not by heaven, for it is the throne of God;
35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King;
36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.
37 But let your word be: yea, yea; no no; and anything beyond this is from the evil one.
38 You have heard that it was said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
39 But I say to you: do not resist evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him;
40 And whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your outer garment too;
41 And whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go with him two miles.
42 Give to the one who asks from you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you,
45 May you be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't publicans do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers, what special thing are you doing? Don't the pagans do the same?
48 Therefore be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
1 Be careful that you do not do your alms in front of people so that they will see you: otherwise you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 So, when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that people may praise them. Truly I tell you, they are already receiving their reward.
3 But when you give alms, let left hand yours doesn't know what your right one is doing,
4 that your alms may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, so that they may be seen by people. Truly I tell you that they are already receiving their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
7 And when you pray, do not talk too much, like the pagans, for they think that for their many words they will be heard;
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 Pray like this: _ _ _ _ _ Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name;
10 Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
11 Give us this day our daily bread;
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 But if you do not forgive people their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 Also, when you fast, do not be sad, like the hypocrites, for they put on gloomy faces in order to appear to people as fasting. Truly I tell you that they are already receiving their reward.
17 And you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 That you may appear to those who fast, not before men, but before your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal,
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal,
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The lamp of the body is the eye. So, if your eye is clean, then your whole body will be bright;
23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. So, if the light that is in you is darkness, then what is the darkness?
24 No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one and neglectful of the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will wear. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your Father in heaven feeds them. Aren't you much better than them?
27 And which of you, by caring, can add to his stature *even* one cubit?
28 And why are you concerned about clothing? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
29 But I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like any of these;
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more than you, O you of little faith!
31 So do not be anxious and say, “What shall we eat?” or what to drink? or what to wear?
32 Because the Gentiles seek all these things, and because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow *will* worry about its own things: enough for *every* day is its own worry.
1 Judge not, lest ye be judged,
2 For with whatever judgment you judge, *in this way* you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the plank that is in your own eye?
4 Or how will you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” but behold, there is a log in your eye?
5 Hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see *how* to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
6 Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.
7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you;
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 Is there a man among you who, when his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
10 And when he asks for a fish, would you give him a snake?
11 If you therefore, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.
12 Therefore in everything that you would have people do to you, do so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go in thereat;
14 For narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it.
15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 By their fruits you will know them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21 Not everyone who says to Me: (Lord! Lord, войдет в Царство Небесное, но исполняющий волю Отца Моего Небесного.!}
22 Many will say to Me on that day: Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Your name? and was it not in Your name that they cast out demons? and did they not perform many miracles in Your name?
23 And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.
24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them will be likened to a wise man, who built his house on the rock;
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not fall, because it was founded on rock.
26 But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand;
27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and he fell, and his fall was great.
28 And when Jesus had finished saying these words, the people marveled at his teaching,
29 For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes and Pharisees.
1 And when He came down from the mountain, a great crowd followed Him.
2 And then the leper came up and bowed to Him and said: Lord! if you want, you can cleanse me.
3 Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said, “I want you to be clean.” And he was immediately cleansed from leprosy.
4 And Jesus said to him, Be careful not to tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony to them.
5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him and asked Him:
6 Lord! my servant lies at home in relaxation and suffers cruelly.
7 Jesus says to him: I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said: Lord! I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will recover;
9 For I am a man under authority, but having soldiers under me, I say to one, “Go,” and he goes; and to another: come, and he comes; and to my servant: Do this, and he does.
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I say to you, even in Israel I have not found such faith.”
11 But I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and will lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;
12 And the children of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13 And Jesus said to the centurion, Go, and as you have believed, so be it done for you. And his servant was healed at that hour.
14 When Jesus came to the house of Peter, he saw his mother-in-law lying in a fever,
15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose and ministered to them.
16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed, and He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick,
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, who said: He took upon Himself our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.
18 When Jesus saw a large crowd around Him, He ordered [the disciples] to sail to the other side.
19 Then one scribe came up and said to Him: Teacher! I will follow You wherever You go.
20 And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
23 And when He entered into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
24 And behold, there was a great disturbance on the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves; and He was sleeping.
25 Then His disciples came to Him and woke Him up and said: Lord! save us, we are perishing.
26 And he says to them: Why are you *so* fearful, you of little faith? Then, getting up, he rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great silence.
27 And the people were amazed and said, “Who is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”
28 And when He arrived on the other side in the country of Gergesin, He was met by two demoniacs who came out of the tombs, very fierce, so that no one dared to pass that way.
29 And behold, they cried out: What have you to do with us, Jesus, Son of God? You came here ahead of time to torment us.
30 And at a distance from them there was a large herd of swine grazing.
31 And the demons asked Him: If you drive us out, then send us into the herd of swine.
32 And He said to them, Go. And they went out and went into the swine herd. And so, the entire herd of pigs rushed down a steep slope into the sea and died in the water.
33 But the shepherds ran and came into the city and told about everything, and about what had happened to the demon-possessed.
34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they asked Him to depart from their borders.
1 Then He got into the boat and crossed back and arrived at His city.
2 And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And Jesus seeing their faith, said to the paralytic: Be of good cheer, child! your sins are forgiven you.
3 And some of the scribes said within themselves, He blasphemes.
4 But Jesus, seeing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?”
5 For which is easier to say: Your sins are forgiven, or to say: Rise and walk?
6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, then he says to the paralytic, “Get up, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
7 And he got up, *took up* *his bed* and went to his house.
8 When the people saw this, they were amazed and glorified God, who had given such power to men.
9 Passing from there, Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the toll booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he stood up and followed Him.
10 And as Jesus reclined in the house, many publicans and sinners came and reclined with him and his disciples.
11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat and drink with publicans and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick,
13 Go and learn what it means: I want mercy and not sacrifice? For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
14 Then John’s disciples come to Him and say: Why do we and the Pharisees fast a lot, but Your disciples do not fast?
15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the sons of the bridal chamber mourn while the bridegroom is with them?” But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
16 And no one puts patches of unbleached cloth on old clothing, for what is sewn again will tear away from the old, and the hole will be even worse.
17 Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins break, and the wine flows out, and the skins are lost, but new wine is poured into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
18 While He was telling them this, a certain ruler came up to Him and bowed to Him, saying: My daughter is now dying; but come, lay Your hand on her, and she will live.
19 And Jesus stood up and followed him, and his disciples.
20 And behold, a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the hem of His garment,
21 For she said within herself, If I only touch His garment, I will be healed.
22 Jesus turned and saw her and said, “Be of good cheer, daughter!” your faith has saved you. From that hour the woman became healthy.
23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the people in confusion,
24 He said to them, “Come out, for the maiden is not dead, but sleeps.” And they laughed at Him.
25 When the people were sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl stood up.
26 And the rumor of this spread throughout all that land.
27 As Jesus walked away from there, two blind men followed Him and shouted, “Have mercy on us, Jesus, son of David!”
28 When He came into the house, the blind came to Him. And Jesus said to them: Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to Him: Yes, Lord!
29 Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, be it done to you.”
30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus sternly said to them: Take care that no one finds out.
31 And they went out and spread the word about Him throughout all that land.
32 When they went out, they brought to Him a mute man possessed by a demon.
33 And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man began to speak. And the people, surprised, said: such a phenomenon has never happened in Israel.
34 And the Pharisees said: He casts out demons by the power of the prince of the demons.
35 And Jesus went through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
36 Seeing the crowds of people, He had compassion on them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then he said to his disciples: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
38 Therefore pray ye to the Lord of the harvest, that he will send out laborers into his harvest.
1 And calling His twelve disciples, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
2 And these are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James Zebedee, and John his brother,
3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the publican, James Alphaeus and Lebbeus, called Thaddeus,
4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, neither enter into the city of the Samaritans;
6 But go ye especially unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel;
7 As you go, preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand;
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; freely you have received, freely give.
9 Do not take with you gold, silver, or copper in your belts,
10 neither a scrip for the journey, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor a staff, for the worker is worthy of his food.
11 Whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and remain there until you leave;
12 And when you enter a house, greet it, saying, “Peace to this house.”
13 And if the house is worthy, then your peace will come upon it; if you are not worthy, then your peace will return to you.
14 And if anyone does not receive you and does not listen to your words, then when you leave that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet;
15 Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city.
16 Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves: therefore be ye wise as serpents, and innocent as doves.
17 Beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts, and in their synagogues they will beat you,
18 And you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony before them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they betray you, do not worry how or what to say; for at that hour it will be given to you what to say,
20 For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father who will speak in you.
21 But brother will betray brother to death, and father son; and children will rise up against their parents and kill them;
22 And you will be hated by everyone because of My name; he who endures to the end will be saved.
23 When they persecute you in one city, flee to another. For truly I say to you, before you have gone around the cities of Israel, the Son of Man comes.
24 A student is not above his teacher, and a servant is not above his master:
25 It is sufficient for the disciple that he should be as his teacher, and for the servant that he should be as his master. If the master of the house was called Beelzebub, how much more of his household?
26 So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be known.
27 What I say to you in the dark, speak in the light; and whatever you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.
28 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but fear Him more who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
29 Are not two small birds sold for an assar? And not one of them will fall to the ground without the *will* of your Father;
30 And the hairs of your head are all numbered;
31 Do not be afraid: you are better than many small birds.
32 Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven;
33 But whoever denies Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
34 Do not think that I came to bring peace to earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword,
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 And a man's enemies are his own household.
37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
38 And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
39 He who saves his life will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake will save it.
40 Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me;
41 whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive the reward of a prophet; and whoever receives the righteous, in the name of the righteous, will receive the reward of the righteous.
42 And whoever gives one of these little ones to drink only the cup cold water, in the name of the disciple, truly I tell you, he will not lose his reward.
1 And when Jesus had finished teaching his twelve disciples, he went from there to teach and preach in their cities.
2 When John heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
3 say to Him: Are you the One who is to come, or should we expect something else?
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John what you hear and see:
5 The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have the good news preached to them;
6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.
7 And when they had gone, Jesus began to speak to the people about John: Why did you go into the wilderness to see? Is it a cane shaken by the wind?
8 What did you go to see? a person dressed in soft clothes? Those who wear soft clothes are in the palaces of kings.
9 What did you go to see? prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
10 For he is the one of whom it is written: Behold, I send My angel before Thy face, who will prepare Thy way before Thee.
11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen a greater man than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and those who use force take it by force,
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if you want to accept, he is Elijah, who must come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
16 But to whom will I liken this generation? He is like children who sit on the street and, turning to their comrades,
17 They say: We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; We sang sad songs to you, and you did not cry.
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking; and they say: he has a demon.
Sophia the Wisdom of God, fragment of an icon.
19 The Son of Man came, eating and drinking; and they say: here is a man who loves to eat and drink wine, a friend of publicans and sinners.
20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which His powers were most manifested, because they did not repent:
21 Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the powers that were done in you had been done in Tire and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes,
22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tire and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
23 And you, Capernaum, who were exalted to heaven, will be brought down to hell, for if the powers that were manifested in you had been demonstrated in Sodom, it would have remained to this day;
24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.
25 At that time, Jesus continued speaking and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes;
26 to her, Father! for such was Thy good pleasure.
27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom the Son wants to reveal it.
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest;
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls;
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
1 At that time Jesus passed through the sown fields on the Sabbath; His disciples became hungry and began to pick the ears of corn and eat.
2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, Behold, Your disciples are doing what ought not to be done on the Sabbath.
3 And he said to them, Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry?
4 How did he enter into the house of God and eat the showbread, which neither he nor those with him were to eat, but only the priests?
5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, but are innocent?
6 But I tell you, here is He who is greater than the temple;
7 If you knew what it means: I want mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent,
8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
9 And he departed from there and entered their synagogue.
10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus to accuse Him: is it possible to heal on the Sabbath?
11 And he said to them, Which of you, having one sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take it and pull it out?
12 How much better is a man than a sheep! So you can do good on Saturdays.
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he held out, and she became healthy, like anyone else.
14 And the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how to destroy Him. But Jesus, having learned, withdrew from there.
15 And many people followed him, and he healed them all
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, who said:
18 Behold, My Servant, whom I have chosen, My Beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My spirit on Him, and He will proclaim judgment to the nations;
19 He will not contradict, he will not cry, and no one will hear his voice in the streets;
20 He will not break a bruised reed, nor will he quench the smoking flax, until he brings victory to the judgment;
21 And the nations will trust in His name.
22 Then they brought to Him a demon-possessed man, blind and dumb; and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb man began to speak and see.
23 And all the people marveled and said, Is this not the Christ the son of David?
24 When the Pharisees heard *this,* they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the *power* of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons.”
25 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be desolate; and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand.
26 And if Satan casts out Satan, then he is divided with himself: how can his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whose power do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has certainly come upon you.
29 Or how can anyone enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? and then he will plunder his house.
30 He who is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.
31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men;
32 If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the future.
33 Or judge the tree to be good and its fruit to be good; or recognize the tree as bad and its fruit as bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.
34 Generations of vipers! how can you say good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 A good man brings good things out of a good treasure, and an evil man brings evil things out of an evil treasure.
36 But I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment:
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said: Teacher! We would like to see a sign from You.
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah;
40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
41 The Ninevites will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented from the preaching of Jonah; and behold, there is more Jonah here.
42 The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here.
43 When the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it walks through dry places, looking for rest, and does not find it;
44 Then he says: I will return to my house from whence I came. And, having arrived, he finds *it* unoccupied, swept and put away;
45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation.
46 While He was still speaking to the people, His mother and brothers stood outside *the house* wanting to speak with Him.
47 And someone said to Him: Behold, Your Mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with You.
48 And he answered and said unto him that spake, Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?
49 And pointing his hand to his disciples, he said, “Behold my mother and my brothers;
50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother.
1 And Jesus went out of the house that day and sat down by the sea.
2 And a great crowd gathered unto him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat down; and all the people stood on the shore.
3 And he taught them many parables, saying, Behold, a sower went out to sow;
4 And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and birds came and devoured them;
5 Some fell on rocky places where there was little soil, and quickly sprang up, because the soil was shallow.
6 But when the sun rose, it withered away, and, as if it had no root, it withered away;
7 Some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them;
8 Some fell on good ground and brought forth fruit: some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.
9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given,
12 For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him;
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, and they do not understand;
14 And the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled over them, which says: You will hear with your ears and will not understand, and you will look with your eyes and will not see,
15 For the heart of this people is hardened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and lest they be converted, that I may heal them.
16 Blessed are your eyes that see, and your ears that hear,
17 For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear.
18 Listen to the *meaning* of the parable of the sower:
19 To everyone who hears the word about the Kingdom and does not understand, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart - this is what is sown along the way.
20 But what is sown on rocky places is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 But it has no root in itself and is fickle: when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, it is immediately offended.
22 And what was sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
23 But what is sown on good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, and who bears fruit, so that some bear fruit a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
25 And while the people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away;
26 When the greenery came up and the fruit appeared, then the tares also appeared.
27 Having come, the servants of the householder said to him: Master! did you not sow good seed in your field? where does the tares come from?
28 And he said to them, “The enemy of man has done this.” And the slaves said to him: Do you want us to go and choose them?
29 But he said, “No, lest when you choose the tares you pull up the wheat along with them,
30 Leave both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather first the tares and bind them in sheaves to burn them, and put the wheat into my barn.
31 He set another parable to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,
32 which, although smaller than all seeds, yet when it grows, is greater than all herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and take refuge in its branches.
33 He told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened.
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the people in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them,
35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the creation of the world.
36 Then Jesus sent the crowd away and entered the house. And coming to Him, His disciples said: Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field.
37 He answered and said to them, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man;
38 the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the Kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 Therefore, just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of this age:
41 The Son of Man will send His angels, and from His kingdom they will gather all who offend and those who practice iniquity,
42 And they will throw them into the fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth;
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and out of joy over it he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.
45 Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking good pearls,
46 who, having found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of all kinds,
48 which, when it was full, they pulled ashore and sat down, collecting the good in vessels, and throwing out the bad.
49 So it will be at the end of the age: angels will come out and separate the wicked from among the righteous,
50 And they will throw them into the fiery furnace: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 And Jesus asked them, “Have you understood all this?” They say to Him: Yes, Lord!
52 He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who is taught in the kingdom of heaven is like a master who brings out of his treasury new and old things.
53 And when Jesus had finished speaking these parables, he went away from there.
54 And when he came to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were amazed and said, “Where does he get such wisdom and power?”
55 Is not this the son of carpenters? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers Jacob and Joses and Simon and Judas?
56 And are not His sisters all among us? where did He get all this from?
57 And they were offended because of Him. Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.
58 And he did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief.
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard a report about Jesus
2 And he said to those who served with him, This is John the Baptist; he rose from the dead, and therefore miracles are done by him.
3 For Herod took John, bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,
4 Because John said to him, “You must not have it.”
5 And he wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet.
6 During the *celebration* of Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the congregation and pleased Herod,
7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.
8 And she, at the instigation of her mother, said: Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.
9 And the king was saddened, but for the sake of the oath and those who were reclining with him, he commanded that it be given to her,
10 And he sent to cut off John's head in prison.
11 And they brought his head on a platter and gave it to the maiden, and she took it to her mother.
12 And his disciples came and took his body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.
13 And when Jesus heard it, he departed from there in a boat to a desert place alone; and the people, having heard about this, followed Him from the cities on foot.
14 And Jesus went out and saw a multitude of people, and had compassion on them, and healed their sick.
15 When evening came, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place and the time is already late; send the people away so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.
16 But Jesus said to them, “They don’t need to go, you give them something to eat.”
17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18 He said, Bring them here to Me.
19 And he commanded the people to lie down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and two fishes, he looked up to heaven, blessed, and broke them, and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the people.
20 And they all ate and were filled; and they took up the remaining pieces, twelve baskets full;
21 And those who did eat were about five thousand people, besides women and children.
22 And immediately Jesus compelled His disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, until He sent the people away.
23 And having dismissed the people, He went up into the mountain to pray in private; and in the evening he remained there alone.
24 But the boat was already in the middle of the sea, and was tossed with waves, because the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
26 And the disciples, when they saw Him walking on the sea, were alarmed and said, “It is a ghost; and they cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately spoke to them and said, “Be of good cheer; It's me, don't be afraid.
28 Peter answered Him: Lord! If it is You, command me to come to You on the water.
29 And he said, Go. And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to come to Jesus,
30 But, seeing the strong wind, he was afraid and, beginning to drown, cried out: Lord! save me.
31 Jesus immediately stretched out his hand, supported him, and said to him, “You of little faith!” why did you doubt?
32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 And those in the boat came and worshiped Him and said, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
34 And having crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.
35 When the inhabitants of that place recognized Him, they sent throughout the whole region and brought to Him all the sick,
36 And they asked Him just to touch the hem of His garment; and those who touched were healed.
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem came to Jesus and said:
2 Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.
3 And he answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”
4 For God has commanded: Honor your father and mother; and: He who curses his father or mother shall die by death.
5 And you say: if anyone says to father or mother, “It is a gift to *God* that you would benefit from me,
6 he may not honor his father or his mother; Thus you have made void the commandment of God by your tradition.
7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied well about you, saying:
8 This people draws near to Me with their lips, and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me;
9 But in vain they worship Me, teaching doctrines the commandments of men.
10 And he called the people and said to them, “Hear and understand!”
11 It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth defiles a person.
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him: Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this word, they were offended?
13 And he answered and said, Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted;
14 Leave them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind; and if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.
15 And Peter answered and said to Him, Explain this parable to us.
16 Jesus said, “Do you also not yet understand?”
17 Do you not yet understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the belly and is cast out?
18 But what comes out of the mouth - comes out of the heart - this defiles a person,
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander -
20 This defiles a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.
21 And Jesus departed from there and departed into the countries of Tire and Sidon.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman came out of those places and cried out to Him: Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David, my daughter is cruelly raging.
23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came up and asked Him: let her go, because she is screaming after us.
24 And he answered and said, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 And she came up and bowed to Him and said: Lord! help me.
26 He answered and said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She said: Yes, Lord! but the dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman! great is your faith; let it be done to you as you wish. And her daughter was healed at that hour.
29 Jesus went on from there and came to the Sea of Galilee, and went up to a mountain and sat down there.
30 And a great multitude came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the dumb, the crippled, and many others, and they cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and He healed them;
31 So that the people marveled, seeing the dumb speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and glorified the God of Israel.
32 Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I have pity on the people, because they have been with Me for three days and have nothing to eat; I don’t want to let them go dumb, lest they become weak on the road.
33 And His disciples said to Him: Where can we get so much bread in the desert to feed so many people?
34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said: seven, and a few fish.
35 Then he commanded the people to lie down on the ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and fishes, and gave thanks, and broke them, and gave them to his disciples, and the disciples to the people.
37 And they all ate and were filled; and they took up the remaining pieces, seven baskets full,
38 And those who did eat were four thousand, besides women and children.
39 And having sent the people away, He entered the boat and came to the region of Magdalene.
1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, tempting Him, and asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said to them, “In the evening you say: there will be a bucket, because the sky is red;
3 and in the morning: today there is bad weather, because the sky is purple. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. And, leaving them, he went away.
5 Having crossed to the other side, His disciples forgot to take the loaves.
6 Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7 But they thought within themselves and said: *this* *means* that we did not take the loaves.
8 When Jesus realized this, he said to them, “Why do you think to yourself, you of little faith, that you did not take the loaves?
9 Do you still not understand and remember about the five loaves of bread for the five thousand *people* and how many baskets you collected?
10 nor about seven loaves for four thousand, and how many baskets did you take up?
11 How do you not understand that I did not tell you about bread: Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?
12 Then they realized that He was telling them not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13 Having come to the countries of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples: Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?
14 They said: some for John the Baptist, others for Elijah, and others for Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
15 He says to them: Who do you say that I am?
16 Simon Peter answered and said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 Then Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven;
18 And I say to you: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it;
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
20 Then [Jesus] commanded His disciples that they should not tell anyone that He was Jesus Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began to reveal to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again.
22 And having called Him away, Peter began to rebuke Him: Be merciful to Yourself, O Lord! may this not happen to you!
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me,
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it;
26 What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? or what ransom will a man give for his soul?
27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward everyone according to his deeds.
28 Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
1 And when six days had passed, Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up to a high mountain alone,
2 And he was transfigured before them: and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
4 At this Peter said to Jesus: Lord! It’s good for us to be here; If you want, we will make three tabernacles here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice from the cloud said: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Listen to him.
6 And when the disciples heard, they fell on their faces and were very afraid.
7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Rise up and do not be afraid.”
8 Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus.
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus rebuked them, saying, Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man rises from the dead.
10 And His disciples asked Him, “How then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus answered and said to them, “It is true that Elijah must come first and arrange everything;
12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him as they wanted; so the Son of Man will suffer from them.
13 Then the disciples realized that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
14 When they came to the people, a man came to Him and, kneeling before Him,
15 said: Lord! have mercy on my son; On new moons he *goes berserk* and suffers greatly, for he often throws himself into fire and often into water,
16 I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not heal him.
17 Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I tolerate you? bring him here to Me.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we cast him out?”
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief; For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you;
21 This generation is driven out only by prayer and fasting.
22 While they were in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men,
23 And they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again. And they were very sad.
24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of didrachms came to Peter and said: Will your teacher give didrachms?
25 He says: Yes. And when he entered the house, Jesus warned him and said: What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take duties or taxes? from your own sons, or from strangers?
26 Peter saith unto him, From strangers. Jesus said to him: So the sons are free;
27 But so that we do not tempt them, go to the sea, throw a fishing rod, and take the first fish that comes across, and when you open its mouth, you will find a statir; take it and give it to them for Me and for yourself.
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Jesus called a child and set him in the midst of them
3 And he said, Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven;
4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven;
5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;
6 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.
7 Woe to the world because of temptations, for temptations must come; but woe to the man through whom temptation comes.
8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut them off and throw them away from you: it is better for you to enter into life without an arm or without a foot, than to have two hands and two feet and be cast into everlasting fire;
9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you: it is better for you to enter into life with one eye, than to be cast into fiery hell with two eyes.
1°See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
11 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
12 What do you think? If someone had a hundred sheep, and one of them got lost, would he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains and go looking for the lost one?
13 And if he happens to find her, then, truly, I tell you, he rejoices over her more than over the ninety-nine who were not lost.
14 It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
15 If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone; If he listens to you, then you have gained your brother;
16 But if he does not listen, take with you one or two more, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 But if he does not listen to them, tell the church; and if he does not listen to the church, then let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector.
18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.
19 Truly I also say to you that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven,
20 For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them.
21 Then Peter came to Him and said: Lord! How many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? up to seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, up to seven times, but unto seventy times seven.
23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants;
25 And since he did not have anything to pay with, his sovereign ordered him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and everything that he had, and to pay;
26 Then that servant fell, and, bowing to him, said: Sir! Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.
27 The sovereign, having mercy on that slave, released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But that servant went out and found one of his companions who owed him a hundred denarii, and he grabbed him and strangled him, saying, “Pay me what you owe.”
29 Then his companion fell at his feet, begging him and saying, “Have patience with me, and I will give you everything.”
30 But he did not want to, but went and put him in prison until he paid off the debt.
31 His comrades, seeing what had happened, were very upset and, when they came, they told their sovereign everything that had happened.
32 Then his master calls him and says: wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me;
33 Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your companion, just as I had mercy on you?
34 And his sovereign became angry and handed him over to the torturers until he paid him all the debt.
35 So also My heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother his sins from his heart.
1 When Jesus finished saying these words, he left Galilee and came to the borders of Judea, on the side beyond the Jordan.
2 Many people followed Him, and He healed them there.
3 And the Pharisees came to Him and, tempting Him, said to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
4 He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who created in the beginning made them male and female?”
5 And he said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh,
6 so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. So, what God has joined together, let no man separate.
7 They said to Him: How did Moses command to give a letter of divorce and to divorce her?
8 He says to them: Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to divorce your wives, but at first it was not so;
9 But I say to you: whoever divorces his wife for reasons other than adultery and marries another commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
10 His disciples said to Him: If this is the duty of a man to his wife, then it is better not to marry.
11 He said to them, “Not everyone can receive this word, but to those who have been given it,
12 For there are eunuchs who were born like this from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who are castrated from people; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can contain it, let him contain it.
13 Then the children were brought to Him, so that He could lay His hands on them and pray; the disciples rebuked them.
14 But Jesus said, Let the little children come and do not hinder them from coming to Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
15 And he laid his hands on them and went away from there.
16 And behold, someone came and said to Him: Good Teacher! What good thing can I do to have eternal life?
17 And he said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. If you want to enter into *eternal life,* keep the commandments.
18 He said to Him: Which ones? Jesus said: Do not kill; Thou shalt not commit adultery; don't steal; do not bear false witness;
19 Honor your father and mother; and: love your neighbor as yourself.
20 The young man said to Him: I have kept all this from my youth; what else am I missing?
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me.
22 When the young man heard this word, he went away sad, because he had great possessions.
23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven;
24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
25 When His disciples heard this, they were greatly amazed and said, “Who then can be saved?”
26 And Jesus looked up and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what will happen to us?
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the end of life, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
30 But many who are first will be last, and last ones first.
1 For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2 And having agreed with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard;
3 When he went out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 And he said to them, “Go you also into my vineyard, and whatever is proper I will give you.” They went.
5 He went out again about the sixth and ninth hour and did the same.
6 Finally, going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idly, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here all day idly?”
7 They said to him, “No one hired us.” He says to them: You also go into my vineyard, and you will receive what follows.
8 When evening came, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.
9 And those who came about the eleventh hour received a denarius.
10 Those who came first thought that they would receive more, but they also received a denarius;
11 And when they received it, they began to murmur against the owner of the house
12 And they said, These last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us, who endured the hardship of the day and the heat.
13 He answered and said to one of them, “Friend!” I don't offend you; Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
14 Take what you have and go; I want to give this last *the* *the same* as you;
15 Do I not have the power to do what I want? Or is your eye envious because I am kind?
16 So the last will be first, and the first last, for many are called, but few are chosen.
17 And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, called the twelve disciples alone on the way, and said to them:
18 Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death;
19 And they will deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and beaten and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee and her sons came to Him, bowing and asking Him something.
21 He said to her, “What do you want?” She says to Him: command that these two sons of mine may sit with You, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left in Your Kingdom.
22 Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask.” Can you drink the cup that I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? They say to Him: We can.
23 And he says to them: You will drink my cup, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized, but to let you sit on my right hand and on my left does not depend on me, but on whom it has been prepared by my Father.
24 When the *other* ten *disciples* heard *this* they were indignant at the two brothers.
25 And Jesus called them and said, “You know that the princes of the nations rule over them, and the great rulers rule over them;
26 But let it not be so among you: but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant;
27 And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave;
28 For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
29 And as they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
30 And behold, two blind men who were sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, began to shout: Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!
31 But the people kept them silent; but they began to shout even louder: have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!
32 Jesus stopped and called them and said, “What do you want from Me?”
33 They say to Him: Lord! so that our eyes may be opened.
34 Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
1 And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2 Saying to them, Go to the village that is right in front of you; and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie, bring to Me;
3 And if anyone says anything to you, answer that the Lord needs them; and he will send them forthwith.
4 Nevertheless this happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king comes to you meek, sitting on a donkey and the colt of a donkey.
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them:
7 They brought a donkey and a colt and put their clothes on them, and He sat on top of them.
8 And many people spread their clothes along the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them along the road;
9 And the people who preceded and accompanied exclaimed: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!
10 And when He entered into Jerusalem, the whole city began to stir, saying, Who is this?
11 And the people said, This is Jesus, the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
12 And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves,
13 And he said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; and you made it a den of robbers.
14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
15 When the chief priests and scribes saw the miracles that He did, and the children shouting in the temple and saying: Hosanna to the Son of David! - were indignant
16 And they said to Him, Do you hear what they say? Jesus says to them: Yes! Have you never read: from the mouths of babes and sucklings You have ordained praise?
17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.
18 And in the morning, returning to the city, he became hungry;
19 And seeing a fig tree by the way, he approached it and, finding nothing on it except some leaves, said to it: Let there be no fruit from you henceforth forever. And the fig tree immediately withered.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were surprised and said, “How is it that the fig tree withered away immediately?”
21 Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen.
22 And whatever you ask in prayer in faith, you will receive.
23 And when He came into the temple and taught, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him and said, By what authority are You doing this? and who gave you such power?
24 Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you one thing; If you tell Me about this, then I will tell you by what authority I do this;
25 Where did the baptism of John come from: from heaven, or from men? They reasoned among themselves: if we say: from heaven, then He will tell us: why didn’t you believe him?
26 But if we say: from men, we are afraid of the people, for everyone regards John as a prophet.
27 And they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” He also said to them: And I will not tell you by what authority I do this.
28 What do you think? One man had two sons; and he, approaching the first, said: son! Go today and work in my vineyard.
29 But he answered, “I don’t want to; and then, repenting, he left.
30 And coming to the other, he said the same thing. This one said in response: I’m going, sir, but I didn’t go.
31Which of the two fulfilled the will of the father? They tell Him: first. Jesus said to them: Truly I say to you, tax collectors and harlots are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you,
32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the publicans and harlots believed him; But you, having seen this, did not repent afterwards to believe him.
33 Listen to another parable: there was a certain owner of a house who planted a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, and, having given it to vinedressers, went away.
34 When the time for fruit approached, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to take their fruit;
35 The vinedressers seized his servants, beat some, killed others, and stoned others.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them.
37 Finally, he sent his son to them, saying: They will be ashamed of my son.
38 But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said to one another, “This is the heir; Let's go, kill him and take possession of his inheritance.
39 And they seized him, took him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 So when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these vinedressers?
41 They say to him, “He will put these evildoers to an evil death, and he will give the vineyard to other vinedressers, who will give him the fruit in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner?” Is this from the Lord, and is it marvelous in our eyes?
43 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who bear the fruits thereof;
44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, and whoever it falls on will be crushed.
45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them,
46 and they tried to seize Him, but they were afraid of the people, because they considered Him to be a Prophet.
1 Jesus continued speaking to them in parables and said:
2 The kingdom of heaven is like a king who held a wedding feast for his son
3 And he sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast; and didn't want to come.
4 Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell those who are invited: Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my bullocks and what is fattened, killed, and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.
5 But they despised it and went, some to their field, and some to their trade;
6 But the rest seized his servants, insulted and killed *them.*
7 When the king heard about this, he was angry, and sending his troops, he destroyed their murderers and burned their city.
8 Then he said to his servants: The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy;
9 Go therefore to the highways, and invite as many as you find to the wedding feast.
10 And those servants, going out onto the roads, gathered everyone they found, both evil and good; and the wedding feast was filled with those reclining.
11 When the king went in to see those reclining, he saw a man there, not wearing a wedding garment,
12 And he says to him: friend! How did you come here not wearing wedding clothes? He was silent.
13 Then the king said to the servants, “Binding his hands and feet, take him and throw him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth;
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
15 Then the Pharisees went and consulted how to catch Him in words.
16 And they send their disciples to Him with the Herodians, saying: Teacher! we know that You are just, and You teach truly the way of God, and do not care about pleasing anyone, for You do not look at any person;
17 So tell us: what do you think? Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar or not?
18 But Jesus, seeing their wickedness, said, “Why are you tempting Me, you hypocrites?”
19 Show Me the coin with which the tax is paid. They brought Him a denarius.
20 And he said to them: Whose image and inscription is this?
21 They say to Him, Caesar's. Then he says to them, “Render therefore the things that are Caesar’s to Caesar, and the things that are God’s to God.”
22 When they heard this, they were surprised and left Him and went away.
23 That day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him:
24 Teacher! Moses said: If a man dies without having children, let his brother take his wife for himself and restore seed to his brother;
25 We had seven brothers; the first, having married, died and, having no children, left his wife to his brother;
26 likewise the second and the third, even unto the seventh;
27 And last of all the wife also died;
28 So in the resurrection, which of the seven will she be the wife of? for everyone had it.
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God,
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but remain as the angels of God in heaven.
31 And regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you:
32 Am I the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
33 And when the people heard, they marveled at His teaching.
34 And the Pharisees, when they heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together.
35 And one of them, a lawyer, tempting Him, asked, saying:
36 Teacher! What is the greatest commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said to him, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind:
38 This is the first and greatest commandment;
39 And the second is like it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
41 When the Pharisees had gathered, Jesus asked them:
42 What do you think about Christ? whose son is he? They say to Him: David.
43 He said to them, “How is it that David, by inspiration, calls Him Lord when he says:
44 The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool?
45 So if David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?
46 And no one could answer Him a word; and from that day no one dared to ask Him.
1 Then Jesus began to speak to the people and his disciples
2 And he said, The scribes and Pharisees sat in Moses’ seat;
3 Therefore whatever they command you to observe, observe and do; But do not act according to their deeds, for they say and do not:
4 they bind heavy and unbearable burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves do not want to move them with a finger;
5 Yet they do their works so that people can see them: they enlarge their storehouses and increase the cost of their garments;
6 They also love to sit at banquets and preside over synagogues.
7 and greetings in public assemblies, and for people to call them: teacher! teacher!
8 But you are not called teachers, for you have one Teacher - Christ, yet you are brothers;
9 And call no one on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven;
10 And do not be called instructors, for you have only one instructor—Christ.
11 The greatest of you shall be your servant:
12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
17 Mad and blind! What is greater: gold, or the temple consecrating gold?
18 Also: if anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on it, he is guilty.
19 Mad and blind! What is greater: the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
20 So he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it;
21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it;
22 And he who swears by heaven swears by the Throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe mint, anise and cumin, and have neglected the most important things in the law: judgment, mercy and faith; this had to be done, and this should not be abandoned.
24 Blind leaders, straining out a gnat and devouring a camel!
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the platter, while inside they are full of robbery and unrighteousness.
26 Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside of them may also be clean.
27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and all uncleanness;
28 Likewise, on the outside you appear to people to be righteous, but on the inside you are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
30 And say: If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their accomplices in *shedding* the blood of the prophets;
31 Thus you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets;
32 So fill up the measure of your fathers.
20. Expulsion of the legion of demons in the country of the Gadarenes 21. Healing of the bleeding woman and resurrection of Jairus' daughter 22. Healing of two blind men and a demon-possessed mute 23. Second visit to Nazareth 24. Walking of the Lord Jesus Christ through Galilee with the disciples and some women. - his grief over the lack of laborers in the harvest 25. Christ sends twelve apostles to preach 26. Beheading of John the Baptist 27. The miraculous feeding of five thousand people with five loaves 28. The Lord walking on the waters and healing many sick 29. Conversation about the bread of heaven - about the Sacrament of Communion Third Passover of the public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ 1. Refutation of the Pharisees' traditions 2. Healing of the Canaanite daughter 3. Healing of the deaf, tongue-tied and many sick people 4. The miraculous feeding of four thousand people 5. Reproof of the Pharisees who asked for signs and warnings against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees 6. Healing of the blind man in Bethsaida 7. The Apostle Peter confesses on behalf of all the apostles Jesus Christ as the Son of God 8. The Lord predicts his death and resurrection and teaches about bearing the cross 9. Transfiguration of the Lord 10. Healing a demon-possessed youth: the importance of faith, prayer and fasting 11. Miraculous payment of church taxes 12. Conversation about who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven - the Lord sets the child as an example to the disciples 13. In the name of Christ, miracles were performed by those who did not walk with Him 14. Teaching on the fight against temptations 15. The parable of the lost sheep, about admonishing the erring and the meaning of the court of the church 16. About the forgiveness of insults and the parable of the unmerciful debtor 17. Christ refuses to go to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem with the brethren 18. Christ goes to Jerusalem with his disciples: the Samaritan village refuses to accept him 19. Christ sends seventy disciples to preach 20. The Lord is in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles 21. The judgment of Christ over the sinner brought to him by the Pharisees 22. Conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Jews in the temple 23. Healing a man born blind 24. Conversation about the Good Shepherd 25. Conversation on the holiday of renewal 26. Return of the Seventy Disciples 27. Parable of the Good Samaritan 28. Lord Jesus Christ in the house of Martha and Mary 29. Parable of a persistent request 30. Reproof of the Scribes and Pharisees 31. Parable of the Foolish Rich Man 32. Parables about waiting for the second coming of Christ: about servants waiting for the return of their Master and about a faithful and prudent steward 33. The Lord predicts division among people 34. A call to repentance in connection with the death of the Galileans and the fall of the Tower of Siloam 35. Parable of the barren fig tree 36. Healing a crumpled woman 37. About the narrow path to the Kingdom of God 38. Christ responds to Herod’s threats and laments the destruction of Jerusalem 39. Healing a person suffering from dropsy 40. Parable of those who love to excel 41. Parable of those invited to supper 42. Teaching about the true followers of Christ 43. Parable of the Prodigal Son 44. Parable of the Unfaithful Steward 45. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus 46. The doctrine of the sanctity of marriage and virginity 47. Conversation about the power of faith and the obligation to fulfill the commandments 48. Healing of ten lepers 49. Conversation about the coming of the Kingdom of God and the second coming of Christ 50. Parable of the unjust judge 51. Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee 52. Blessing of children 53. About the Rich Young Man 54. The apostles who left everything for Christ will inherit eternal life 55. Parable of the workers in the vineyard who received equal pay 56. The Lord repeats the prediction about his upcoming suffering and resurrection and gives an answer to the sons of Zebedee about primacy in his kingdom 57. Healing of the two blind men of Jericho 58. The Lord Jesus Christ visits Zacchaeus 59. Parable of ten minas or talents 60. Raising Lazarus 61. The decision of the Sanhedrin to kill the Lord Jesus Christ 62. Supper in Bethany in the house of Lazarus Part three. The last days of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ 1. Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem 2. Expulsion of traders from the temple Maundy Monday 3. The Curse of the Barren Fig Tree 4. The desire of the Hellenes to see Jesus Christ and the Lord’s conversation on this matter Maundy Tuesday 5. A withered fig tree and a lesson about the power of faith 6. Conversation in the temple: the Lord’s answer to the elders who gave him such power 7. The Parable of the Two Sons 8. The parable of the evil vinedressers 9. Parable of those invited to the wedding feast of the king's Son 10. The Lord's answer about tribute to Caesar 11. Shaming of the Sadducees on the issue of resurrection 12. Discussion about the greatest commandment in the law and about the Divine dignity of the Messiah 13. A diatribe against the scribes and Pharisees 14. Widow's Mite 15. The Lord’s conversation with his disciples on the Mount of Olives about his second coming and the end of the world 16. Parable of the Ten Virgins 17. About the Last Judgment Great Wednesday 18. Conference of the high priests and elders about the killing of Christ. The anointing of the Lord by a sinful wife in the house of Simon the leper and the betrayal of Judas Maundy Four 19. Last Supper Washing your feet The Lord announces His traitor Establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist Dispute between students about seniority Farewell conversation of the Lord with the disciples Continuation of the farewell conversation High Priestly Prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ 20. Gethsemane feat: prayer for the cup 21. Tradition of Jesus Christ: his taking into custody, the sword of Peter and the flight of the disciples 22. The trial of the Lord by the high priests Annas and Caiaphas 23. Denial of Peter Good Friday 24. Sanhedrin verdict 25. The death of Judas the traitor 26. The Lord Jesus Christ at the trial of Pilate 27. Way of the Cross of the Lord - procession to Calvary 28. Crucifixion 29. Repentance of a prudent thief 30. Our Lady of the Cross 31. Death of Christ 32. Burial of the Lord Jesus Christ Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ 33. The arrival of the myrrh-bearing women to the tomb and the appearance of an angel to them 34. Appearance of the risen Lord to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary 35. Lies of the Jews and bribery of the guards of the Holy Sepulcher by the high priests 36. The appearance of the risen Lord to the disciples on the way to Emmaus 37. The appearance of the risen Lord to ten disciples on the day of resurrection 38. The appearance of the risen Lord to the eleven disciples on the eighth day after the resurrection and the dispersion of Thomas’ unbelief 39. The appearance of the risen Lord to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias 40. Restoration of the Apostle Peter to his apostolic dignity and prediction of martyrdom for him 41. The appearance of the risen Lord to the disciples on a mountain in Galilee 42. Ascension of the Lord12) S.V. Kokhomsky. – Explanation of the most important passages of the Four Gospels;
13) Prot. M. Herskov. – Interpretive review of the priest. books of the New Testament;
14) A.V. Ivanov. – Guide to the study of the sacred books of the New Testament;
15) Prot. N. Alexandrov. – A guide to the study of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament;
16) Prof. Dr. N.N. Glubokovsky. – Their gospel is the gospel of Christ the Savior and the redemptive work;
17) Prof. Dr. N.N. Glubokovsky. – The gospel of Christian freedom in the letter of St. Apostle Paul to the Galatians;
18) Bishop Cassian. – Christ and the first Christian generation.
It goes without saying that, first of all, all the interpretative works of the Holy Fathers were widely used - especially St. Chrysostom and the "Blagovestnik" Blessed. Theophylact, Archbishop. Bulgarian, as well as the interpretation of the Gospel compiled on the basis of the Holy Fathers in the “Trinity Leaves”, published before the revolution in Russia, and the “Patristic interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew”, published by the magazine “Eternal” under the editorship of Bishop Methodius during these last years in Paris, in three books. Without pursuing special scientific goals, the author had in mind to give into the hands of those who read and study the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament a manual that gives the key to its correctness, in accordance with the teachings of St. Orthodox Church, understanding and interpretation - a manual that is here abroad, given the extreme scarcity of books and publications this kind, could at least partially replace all previous Russian pre-revolutionary textbooks and manuals. To what extent he achieved this goal is not for him to judge. The author asks to be lenient with his work, since he did not have the opportunity to devote himself entirely to it, as the high importance of the subject would require, but worked on it only in fits and starts. But he thanks God for this opportunity, believing that his work will not remain useless, and asks everyone who will use this “Manual” to pray for the author.
INTRODUCTION
THE CONCEPT OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Holy Scriptures of the New Testament are called the collection of those sacred books that are part of the Bible, which came to light after the Nativity of Christ. These books were written, by inspiration from the Holy Spirit, by the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ or the holy Apostles.
THE PURPOSE OF WRITING THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THEIR CONTENTS
The sacred books of the New Testament were written by St. The apostles with the aim of depicting the salvation of people accomplished by the incarnate Son of God - our Lord Jesus Christ. In accordance with this lofty goal, they tell us about the greatest event of the incarnation of the Son of God, about His earthly life, about the teachings that He preached, about the miracles that He performed, about His atoning suffering and death on the cross, about the glorious resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven, about the initial period of the spread of the Christian faith through St. The Apostles, explain to us the teachings of Christ in its diverse application to life and warn us about the final destinies of the world and humanity.
NUMBER, NAMES AND ORDER OF THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The total number of all holy books of the New Testament is twenty-seven. Their names and the usual order of arrangement are as follows:
1) Matthew's Holy Gospel (or: gospel),
2) According to Mark, the Holy Gospel (or: gospel),
3) Luke's Holy Gospel (or: gospel),
4) From John the Holy Gospel (or: gospel),
5) Acts of the Holy Apostles,
6) Cathedral Epistle of St. Apostle James,
7) The first conciliar letter of St. Apostle Peter,
8) Second Council Epistle of St. Apostle Peter,
9) The first conciliar letter of St. Apostle John the Theologian,
10) Second Council Epistle of St. Apostle John the Theologian,
11) Third Council Epistle of St. Apostle John the Theologian,
12) Cathedral Epistle of St. Apostle Jude,
13) Epistle to the Romans by St. Apostle Paul,
14) First Epistle to the Corinthians by St. Apostle Paul,
15) Second Epistle to the Corinthians by St. Apostle Paul,
16) Epistle to the Galatians by St. Apostle Paul,
17) Epistle to the Ephesians by St. Apostle Paul,
18) Epistle to the Philippians by St. Apostle Paul,
19) Epistle to the Colossians by St. Apostle Paul,
20) First Epistle to Thessalonians (or: Thessalonians) by St. Apostle Paul,
21) Second Epistle to Thessalonians (or: Thessalonians) of St. Apostle Paul,
22) First Epistle to Timothy St. Apostle Paul,
23) Second Epistle to St. Timothy. Apostle Paul,
24) Epistle to Titus St. Apostle Paul,
25) Epistle to Philemon St. Apostle Paul,
26) Epistle to the Hebrews by St. Apostle Paul,
27) Apocalypse, or Revelation of St. John the Theologian.
CONTENTS OF VARIOUS NAMES OF THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The collection of all the sacred books of the New Testament is usually called simply the “NEW TESTAMENT”, as if in contrast to the Old Testament, for in these sacred books new commandments and new promises of God are set out to people - a new “covenant” or “union” of God with man, founded on the Blood of the only Intercessor of God and men who came to earth and suffered for us - Jesus Christ (see Tim. 2:5;).
The New Testament holy books are divided into “Gospel” and “Apostle”. The first four books are called “FOUR GOSPEL” or simply “GOSPEL”, because they contain “good news” (the word “GOSPEL” in Greek means “good” or “good news”, which is why it is translated into Russian with the word “good news” ") about the coming into the world of the Divine Redeemer promised by God to the ancestors and about the great work of salvation of humanity accomplished by Him.
All other books of the New Testament are often united under the name "APOSTLE", because they contain a narrative about the acts of St. The Apostles and the presentation of their instructions to the first Christians.
DIVISION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT SACRED BOOKS ACCORDING TO THEIR CONTENT
1) LEGAL books, which include the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as constituting the very essence of the New Testament of God's law to people, for they set forth the events of the saving earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ for us and His Divine teaching;
2) a HISTORICAL book, which is the book of the acts of St. Apostles, as telling us the history of the establishment and initial spread of the Church of Christ on earth through the preaching of St. Apostles;
3) TEACHING books, which include 7 conciliar messages: one St. Apostle James, two St. Apostle Peter, three St. Apostle John the Theologian and one St. Apostle Jude, as well as 14 epistles of St. Apostle Paul (listed above), as containing the teachings of St. The Apostles, or rather, the interpretation of Christ’s teaching by St. The Apostles in relation to different cases of life;
4) a PROPHETIC book, which is the Apocalypse, or the Revelation of St. John the Theologian, as containing in mysterious visions and images prophecies about the future destinies of the Church of Christ, the world and humanity.
HISTORY OF THE CANON OF THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The New Testament holy books are all canonical. These books acquired canonical dignity immediately after their publication, because everyone knew the highly authoritative names of their authors. Remarkable in this regard is the testimony of St. Ap. Peter in his 2nd publication. epistle (3:16), where he speaks, as already known to him, of “all the epistles” of St. Apostle Paul. Having written a letter for the Colossians, St. The Apostle Paul gives orders that it should also be read in the Laodicean church (). We have abundant evidence that the Church has always and from the very beginning recognized the canonical dignity of the New Testament holy books currently known to us. If there were doubts about some of the books, which the so-called likes to refer to. “negative criticism”, then these doubts belonged to private individuals and were not shared by everyone.
Already in the writings of the “apostolic men” we find individual sayings from all the New Testament books almost known to us, and in several separate books the apostolic men give direct and clear testimony as to books that undoubtedly have an apostolic origin. For example, certain passages from the New Testament books are found in St. BARNABAS, companion and collaborator of St. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to St. CLEMENT OF ROMAN in his epistles to the Corinthians, from the Hieromartyr IGNATIUS THE GOD-BEARER, Bishop of Antioch, who was a disciple of St. Apostle John the Theologian, in his 7 epistles, from which it is clear that he knew all four Gospels well; with the Hieromartyr POLYCARP, Bishop of Smyrna, also a student of St. John the Theologian, in his letter to the Philippians, and in PAPIA, Bishop of Hierapolis, also a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, in his books, excerpts from which are given by Eusebius in his History of the Church.
All these apostolic men lived in the second half of the first and early second centuries.
We also find many references to the New Testament holy books and extracts from them in somewhat later church writers - apologists who lived in the second century. So, for example, St. Martyr JUSTIN - PHILOSOPHER in his apology “Conversation with Tryphon the Jew” and other writings cites up to 127 Gospel texts; Hieromartyr IRENEUS, Bishop of Lyons, in his essay “Five Books against Heresies” testifies to the reliability of all four of our Gospels and provides a huge number of verbatim extracts from them; TATIAN in his book “Speech against the Hellenes,” denouncing the madness of paganism, proves the divinity of Holy Scripture, citing texts from the Gospel; He also made the first attempt to compile a set of all four Gospels, known as “DIATES-SARONA”. The famous teacher and head of the Alexandrian School in all his works that have come down to us, such as, for example, “Pedagogue”, “Mixture or Stromata”, etc., cites numerous passages from the New Testament sacred books, as from those whose authenticity is beyond any doubt . The pagan philosopher ATHENAGORS, who began reading the Holy Scriptures with the intention of writing against Christianity, but who instead became a brilliant apologist for the Christian faith, in his apology cites a number of authentic sayings of the Gospel, explaining that “THUS SAYS THE SCRIPTURE.” St. THEOPHILUS, Bishop of Antioch, in the “Three Books of Autolycus” that have come down to us, makes many literal references to the Gospel, and, according to the testimony of Blessed Jerome, he compiled a set of all four Gospels and wrote a “Commentary on the Gospel.”
From the most learned church writer ORIGEN, who lived at the end of the second and beginning of the third century, a whole series of works has come down to us, in which he cites a huge number of texts from the New Testament sacred books and gives us evidence that undoubtedly the apostolic and divine writings were recognized throughout the entire celestial Church, both the four Gospels and the books of the Acts of the Apostles, the Apocalypse and the 14 Epistles of St. Apostle Paul.
Testimonies from “outsiders” – heretics and pagans – are also extremely valuable. In the writings of the heretics BASILIDES, CARPOCRATES, VALENTINE, PTOLEMY, HERACLION and MARCION we find many passages from which it is clear that they were well aware of our New Testament sacred books. They all lived in the second century.
Particularly important is the work of the pagan philosopher CELUS, which appeared in the middle of the same second century, full of hatred for Christ, entitled “THE TRUE WORD”, in which all the material for attacks on God is borrowed from all four of our Gospels, and even verbatim extracts from them are often found.
True, not all ancient lists of the sacred books of the New Testament that have come down to us always list all the accepted 27 books in full. In the so-called The "Muratorial Canon", believed to date back to the second half of the second century and found in the last century by Professor Muratorius, lists in Latin only the 4 Gospels, the book of Acts of St. Apostles, 13 Epistles of St. Apostle Paul (without the Epistle to the Hebrews), Epistle of St. Apostle Jude, Epistles and Apocalypse of St. John the Theologian. There is, however, no reason to consider this “canon” an official church document.
In the same second century, a translation of the holy books of the New Testament into the Syriac language appeared, called “PESHITO”. It contains the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Epistle of St., not listed in the Muratorium. Apostle James, but the message of St. Apostle Jude, 2nd Epistle of St. Ap. Peter, 2nd and 3rd Epistles of St. Apostle John and the Apocalypse.
For all these omissions there could be reasons of a private nature, just as the doubts of certain private individuals expressed regarding the authenticity of this or that book do not have serious significance, because they also have a private nature, sometimes with obvious bias.
It is known, for example, that the founder of Protestantism, Martin Luther, tried to suspect the authenticity of the letter of St. Ap. James because it strongly emphasizes the insufficiency of faith alone for salvation without good works (2- “faith without works is dead”; see also 2:14, 17, 20, etc.), while the main dogma he proclaimed Protestant doctrine states just the opposite, that “a person is justified by faith alone without good works.” Equally tendentious, of course, are all other similar attempts to discredit our New Testament canon.
As for the entire Church as a whole, from the very beginning it has always accepted all the New Testament holy books that are currently recognized among us, which was attested in 360 at the local LAODICEAN Cathedral, which issued a definition that lists by name all 27 of our New Testament sacred books. books (60 rights). This definition was later solemnly confirmed and thus received an ecumenical character at the VI Ecumenical Council.
THE LANGUAGE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT SACRED BOOKS AND THE HISTORY OF THEIR TEXT
All New Testament holy books are written in Greek, but not in classical Greek, but in the popular Alexandrian dialect of the Greek language, the so-called “KINI”, which was spoken or which, in any case, was understood by all the cultural inhabitants of not only the Eastern, but also the Western half of the then Roman Empire. It was the language of all educated people of that time. The apostles therefore wrote in this language in order to make the New Testament holy books accessible to reading and understanding of all educated citizens.
They were written by the authors either in their own hands (), or by scribes to whom the authors dictated (), on papyrus made from Egyptian reed, with a cane and ink (). Parchment, made from animal skin and highly valued, was also used comparatively less frequently for this purpose.
It is characteristic that only capital letters the Greek alphabet, without punctuation marks and even without separating one word from another. Small letters began to be used only from the 9th century, as well as word divisions. Punctuation marks were introduced only after the invention of printing - by Aldus Manutius in the 16th century. The current division into chapters was made in the West by Cardinal HUGE in the 13th century, and the division into verses by the Parisian typographer ROBERT STEPHAN in the 16th century.
In the person of her learned bishops and presbyters, she always took care of protecting the text of the sacred books from any distortions, which were always possible, especially before the invention of printing, when books were copied by hand. There is information that such learned men of Christian antiquity as ORIGEN, HESYCHUS, BISHOP OF EGYPT and LUCIAN, Presbyter of ANTIOCH worked hard to correct the text in faulty copies. With the invention of printing, they began to ensure that the New Testament holy books were printed only from the best ancient manuscripts. In the first quarter of the 16th century, two printed editions of the New Testament Greek text appeared almost simultaneously: the so-called. COMPLUTENIAN POLYGLOTTE in Spain and the edition of ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM in Basel. In the last century, it is necessary to note as exemplary the works of TISHENDORF - a publication that was the result of a comparison of up to 900 manuscripts of the New Testament.
Both these conscientious critical works, and especially, of course, the vigilant observance of the Church, in which the Holy Spirit lives and guides, serve us as a completely sufficient guarantee for the fact that we currently possess the pure, intact Greek text of the New Testament sacred books.
In the second half of the 9th century, the New Testament sacred books were translated by the enlighteners of the Slavs, the Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers CIRILL and METHODIUS, into the “Slovenian language”, to some extent common and more or less understandable for all Slavic tribes, believed to be the BULGARO-MACEDONIAN dialect, which was spoken in the surrounding area Thessaloniki, homeland of St. brothers. The oldest monument of this Slavic translation has been preserved in Russia under the name “OSTROMIR GOSPEL”, so called because it was written for the Novgorod mayor Ostromir by Deacon Gregory in 1056–57. This is the Gospel “APRAKOS” (which means: “weekly”), i.e. The material in it is arranged not according to chapters, but according to the so-called. “TO THE CONCEPTIONS,” starting from the 1st conception of the Gospel of John (“From the beginning of the word”), which is read during our liturgy on the first day of Easter, and then follows the order of liturgical use, week by week. In the liturgical use of our Orthodox Church, it is generally accepted to divide the New Testament sacred text not into chapters, but into CONCEPT, i.e. separate passages containing a more or less complete narrative or complete thought. In each Gospel there is a SPECIAL account conceived, but in the APOSTLE, which includes the book of Acts and all the epistles, there is one GENERAL account. The Apocalypse, like a book that is not read during worship, is not divided into parts. The division of the Gospel and the Apostle into beginnings does not coincide with the division into chapters and, in comparison with it, is more fractional.
Over time, the original Slavic text in our country underwent some, however insignificant, Russification - rapprochement with the spoken Russian language. Modern Russian translation, made in the first half of the 19th century into Russian literary language, is unsatisfactory in many respects, why the Slavic translation should be preferred to it.
THE TIME OF WRITING THE NEW TESTAMENT SACRED BOOKS
The time of writing of each of the holy books of the New Testament cannot be determined with absolute certainty, but it is absolutely certain that they were all written in the second half of the first century. This is clearly evident from the fact that a number of writers of the second century, like St. the martyr JUSTIN THE PHILOSOPHER in his apology, written around 150, the pagan writer CELUS in his work, also written in the middle of the second century, and especially the holy martyr IGNATIUS THE GOD-BEARER in his epistles dating back to the year 107 - all are already doing a lot references to the New Testament holy books and provide verbatim excerpts from them.
The first New Testament books were, according to the time of their appearance, undoubtedly the EPISTLES OF ST. Apostles, caused by the need to strengthen the newly founded Christian communities in the faith; but soon, of course, the need arose for a systematic presentation of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings. No matter how hard I tried, the so-called. “negative criticism” undermines faith in the historical reliability and authenticity of our Gospels and other New Testament holy books, attributing their appearance to a much later time (for example, Baur and his school) the latest discoveries in the field of patristic literature convincingly indicate that they were all written in the first century.
At the beginning of our liturgical Gospel, in a special preface to each of the four Evangelists, it is indicated, on the basis of the testimony of the church historian Eusebius, which is followed by the famous interpreter of the Gospel Blessed FEOPHYLACT, Archbishop of Bulgaria, that the Gospel of Matthew was written in the eighth year after the Ascension of the Lord, the Gospel of Mark in the tenth, the Gospel of Luke in the fifteenth, the Gospel of John in the thirty-second. In any case, for a number of reasons we can conclude that the Gospel of Matthew was undoubtedly written earlier than anyone else and no later than 50-60. according to R.Ch. The Gospels of Mark and Luke were written somewhat later, but in any case before the destruction of Jerusalem, i.e. until 70 A.D., and St. John the Theologian wrote his Gospel later than everyone else, at the end of the first century, already at a very old age, as some suggest, around the year 96. Somewhat earlier he wrote the Apocalypse. The book of the Acts of the Apostles was written shortly after the third Gospel, for, as can be seen from the preface to it, it serves as a continuation of it.
THE MEANING OF THE FOUR-FOUR NUMBER OF THE GOSPELS
All four Gospels tell the same story about the life and teaching of Christ the Savior, about His miracles, suffering on the cross, death and burial, His glorious resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven. Mutually complementing and explaining each other, they represent a single whole book that does not have any contradictions and disagreements in the most important and fundamental thing - in the teaching of SALVATION, which was accomplished by the incarnate Son of God - a perfect God and a perfect man. Ancient Christian writers compared the Four Gospels to a river, which, leaving Eden to irrigate the paradise planted by God, divided into four rivers flowing through countries abounding in all kinds of treasures. An even more common symbol for the four Gospels was the mysterious chariot that the prophet Ezekiel saw at the river Chebar (1:1-28) and which consisted of four creatures with faces resembling a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle. These beings, taken individually, became emblems for the evangelists. Christian art since the 5th century depicts St. Matthew with a man or angel, St. Mark with a lion, St. Luke with the calf, St. John with an eagle. St. Evangelist Matthew began to adopt the symbol of man because in his Gospel he especially emphasizes the human origin of the Lord Jesus Christ from David and Abraham; St. Mark - a lion, for he brings out in particular the royal omnipotence of the Lord; St. Luke - a calf (a calf as a sacrificial animal), for he primarily speaks of Christ as the great High Priest who offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world; St. To John - an eagle, since with the special loftiness of his thoughts and even the very majesty of his style, like an eagle, he soars high in the sky “above the clouds of human weakness,” in the words of Blessed Augustine.
In addition to our four Gospels, in the first centuries there were known many (up to 50) other writings that also called themselves “gospels” and ascribed apostolic origin to themselves. The Church, however, soon rejected them, classifying them among the so-called. "Apocrypha". Already a holy martyr. IRENAEUS, Bishop of Lyons, former student St. Polycarp of Smyrna, who in turn was a disciple of St. John the Theologian, in his book “Against Heresies” (III, 2, 8) testifies that there are ONLY FOUR GOSPELs and that there should be no more or less of them, because there are “four countries of the world”, “four winds in the universe”.
The great father of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, answering the question why the Church accepted four Gospels, and did not limit itself to just one:
“Couldn’t one Evangelist have written everything? Of course he could, but when four people wrote, they wrote not at the same time, not in the same place, without communicating or agreeing with each other, and, however, they wrote as if everything was uttered by one mouth, then this serves as the greatest proof of the truth."
He also responds perfectly to the objection that the Evangelists do not completely agree with each other on everything, that in some particulars there are even seemingly contradictions:
“If they had exactly agreed in everything - both regarding the time, and regarding the place, and the words themselves, then none of the enemies would have believed that they wrote the Gospel without agreeing with each other and not according to the usual agreement, and what agreement is was a consequence of their sincerity. Now, the disagreement that appears in small things frees them from all suspicion and speaks brilliantly in favor of those who wrote.”
Another interpreter of the Gospel, Blessed One, argues similarly. Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria: “Don’t tell me that they disagree on everything, but look at what they disagree on. Did one of them say that Christ was born and the other that he was not, or did one say that Christ was resurrected and the other not? It won't happen! They agree on what is more necessary and more important. So, if they do not disagree on the most important things, then why are you surprised if they seem to disagree on the unimportant? Their truth is reflected most of all in the fact that they do not agree on everything. Otherwise they would have been thought to have written while seeing each other and consulting. Now what one omitted was written by another, which is why it seems that they sometimes contradict.”
From the above considerations it is clear that some small differences in the narratives of the 4 Evangelists not only do not speak against the authenticity of the Gospels, but, on the contrary, clearly testify to it.
MEANING OF THE EXPRESSIONS: “GOSPEL OF MATTHEW”, “FROM MARK”, etc.
The word “Gospel”, as we have already seen, when translated into Russian, means: “good news”, “good news”, which name is usually used in the headings of each individual Gospel: “From Matthew the holy gospel”, “From Mark the holy gospel ", etc. You need to know, however, that these expressions are only relative. The entire Four Gospels are actually the GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST - He Himself preaches to us, through the mediation of the Evangelists, the joyful or good news of our salvation. Evangelists are only intermediaries in the transmission of this gospel. That is why the headings that are adopted in translations of the Gospels into other languages are more correct and accurate: “St. the gospel according to Matthew" or: "St. the gospel according to Matthew”, – “according to Mark”, – “according to Luke”, – “according to John”.
RELATIONSHIP OF THE FOUR GOSPELS ACCORDING TO THEIR CONTENT
Of the four Gospels, the content of the first three - Matthew, Mark and Luke - largely coincides, close to each other, both in the narrative material itself and in the form of presentation; The fourth Gospel of John in this regard stands apart, differing significantly from the first three, both in the material presented in it, and in the style and form of presentation.
In this regard, the first three Gospels are usually called “SYNOPTIC” from the Greek. the words “synopsis”, which means: “presentation in one general image” (the same as the Latin: “conspectus”). But although the first three Gospels are very close to each other both in plan and in content, which can easily be located in the corresponding parallel tables, each of them, however, also has its own characteristics. Thus, if the entire content of the individual Gospels is determined by the number 100, then in Matthew it turns out that 58% of the content is similar to the others and 42% is different from the others; % similar and 7% different; % similar and 59% different; in John it is 8% similar and as much as 92% different. Similarities are noticed mainly in the rendering of the sayings of Christ the Savior, while differences are seen in the narrative part. When Matthew and Luke literally agree with each other in their Gospels, Mark always agrees with them; the similarity between Luke and Mark is much closer than between Luke and Matthew; when Mark has additional features, they are usually found in Luke, which cannot be said about features found only in Matthew, and, finally, in those cases where Mark does not report anything, the Evangelist Luke often differs from Matthew.
The Synoptic Gospels tell almost exclusively about the activities of the Lord Jesus Christ in Galilee, St. John is in Judea. Forecasters tell, Ch. arr., about miracles, parables and external events in the life of the Lord, St. John discusses its deepest meaning and cites the Lord’s speeches about the most sublime objects of faith.
For all the differences between the Gospels, they are free from internal contradictions; upon careful reading, it is easy to find clear signs of agreement between the weather forecasters and St. John. Yes, St. John talks little about the Galilean ministry of the Lord, but he undoubtedly knows about His repeated long stay in Galilee; weather forecasters do not convey anything about the early activities of the Lord in Judea and Jerusalem itself, but they often find hints of this activity. So, according to their testimony, the Lord had friends, disciples and followers in Jerusalem, such as, for example, the owner of the upper room where the Last Supper took place, and Joseph of Arimathea. Particularly important in this regard are the words quoted by weather forecasters: “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often have I wanted to gather your children...,” an expression that clearly implies the Lord’s repeated stay in Jerusalem. The weather forecasters, however, do not report the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, but Luke knows his sisters in Bethany well, and the character of each of them, so clearly outlined by him in a few words, completely coincides with the characterization of them given by John.
The main difference between the weather forecasters and St. John in the conversations of the Lord they conveyed. Among weather forecasters, these conversations are very simple, easily understandable, and popular; in John - they are deep, mysterious, often difficult to understand, as if they were intended not for the crowd, but for some closer circle of listeners. But this is so: the weather forecasters cite the speeches of the Lord addressed to the Galileans, simple and ignorant people; John conveys mainly the speeches of the Lord addressed to the Jews, scribes and Pharisees, people experienced in the knowledge of the Law of Moses, who stood more or less high on the levels of education of that time. In addition, John, as we will see later, has a special goal - to reveal as fully and deeply as possible the teaching about Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and this topic, of course, is much more difficult to understand than the parables that are so understandable and easily understandable to everyone. weather forecasters. But even here there is no big discrepancy between the weather forecasters and John. If the weather forecasters show a more human side in Christ, and John, predominantly a divine one, this does not mean that the weather forecasters completely lack a divine side or that John has a human side. According to the weather forecasters, the Son of Man is also the Son of God, to whom was given all authority in heaven and on earth. Likewise, the Son of God in John is also a true man who accepts the invitation to the wedding feast, talks friendly with Martha and Mary and weeps over the tomb of His friend Lazarus.
Without contradicting each other at all, the weather forecasters and St. John complement each other and only in their totality give the most beautiful, perfect image of Christ, as He is perceived and preached by St. .
CHARACTER AND FEATURES OF EACH OF THE FOUR GOSPELS
The Orthodox teaching about the inspiration of the books of Holy Scripture has always held the view that, inspiring sacred writers, imparting to them both thought and word, the Holy Spirit did not constrain their own mind and character. The influx of the Holy Spirit did not suppress the human spirit, but only purified and elevated it above. within its normal boundaries. Therefore, representing a single whole in the presentation of Divine truth, all four Gospels differ from each other, depending on the personal characteristics of each of the Evangelists, differ in the structure of speech, style, and some special expressions; They differ from each other due to the circumstances and conditions under which they were written and depending on the goal that each of the four Evangelists set for themselves.
Therefore, to better interpret and understand the Gospel, we need to become more familiar with the personality, character and life of each of the four Evangelists and the circumstances under which each of the 4 Gospels was written.
1. Gospel of Matthew
The writer of the first Gospel was St. Matthew, who also bore the name Levi, son of Alpheus, is one of the 12 Apostles of Christ. Before his call to apostolic service, he was a publican, i.e. tax collector, and, as such, of course, was unloved by his Jewish compatriots, who despised and hated tax collectors because they served the heterodox enslavers of their people and oppressed their people by collecting taxes, and in their desire for profit, they often took much more, than it should.
About his calling St. Matthew himself tells it in chapter 9. 9 tbsp. of his Gospel, calling himself the name “Matthew,” while the Evangelists Mark and Luke, narrating the same thing, call him “Levi.” It was the custom of the Jews to have several names, and therefore there is no reason to think that we are talking about different persons here, especially since the subsequent invitation of the Lord and His disciples to the house of Matthew is described by all three Evangelists in exactly the same way, and in the list The 12 disciples of the Lord and Mark and Luke also call the one called “Matthew” (compare Mark 3i).
Touched to the depths of his soul by the mercy of the Lord, who did not disdain him, despite the general contempt of the Jews and especially the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people, the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew wholeheartedly accepted the teaching of Christ and especially deeply understood its superiority over the traditions and views of the Pharisees, which bore the stamp of external righteousness , conceit and contempt for sinners. That is why he alone cites in such detail the powerful accusatory speech of the Lord against the scribes and Pharisees - hypocrites, which we find in the 23rd chapter of his Gospel. It must be assumed that, for the same reason, he took especially close to his heart the matter of saving HIS native Jewish people, who by that time were so saturated with false, destructive concepts and Pharisaic views, and therefore HIS GOSPEL WAS WRITTEN PRIMARILY FOR THE JEWS. As there is reason to believe, it was originally written in Hebrew and only a little later, unknown by whom, perhaps by Matthew himself, was translated into Greek. St. testifies to this. Papias of Hierapolis: “Matthew set out the Lord’s conversations in Hebrew, and everyone translated them as best he could” (Church. East. Eusebius III, 39). It is possible that Matthew himself later translated his Gospel into Greek in order to make it understandable to a wider circle of readers. In any case, the Church accepted into the canon only the Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew, because the Hebrew was soon maliciously distorted by the “Judaizing” heretics.
Having written his Gospel for the Jews, St. Matthew sets as his main goal to prove to the Jews that he is exactly the MESSIAH about whom the Old Testament prophets predicted, that He is “the fulfillment of the law and the prophets,” that the Old Testament revelation, obscured by the scribes and Pharisees, only in Christianity understands and perceives its most perfect meaning. Therefore, he begins his Gospel with the GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST, wanting to show the Jews His origins FROM DAVID and ABRAHAM, and makes a huge number of REFERENCES TO THE OLD TESTAMENT in order to prove the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies on Him. All such references to the Old Testament in St. Matthew are no less than 66, and in 43 cases a literal extract is made. The purpose of the first Gospel for the Jews is clear from the fact that St. Matthew, mentioning Jewish customs, does not consider it necessary to explain their meaning and significance, as other Evangelists do; it also leaves without explanation some Aramaic words used in Palestine (compare, for example, 15:1–3 and y and y).
Time of writing of the Gospel of Matthew Church. historian Eusebius (III, 24) refers to the 8th year after the Ascension of the Lord, but St. Irenaeus of Lyon believes that St. Matthew wrote his Gospel “while Peter and Paul were preaching the gospel in Rome,” i.e. in the sixties of the first century.
Having written his Gospel for his Jewish compatriots, St. Matthew preached for them in Palestine for a long time, but then he retired to preach in other countries and ended his life as a martyr in Ethiopia.
The Gospel of Matthew contains 28 chapters or 116 church principles. It begins with the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ from Abraham and ends with the Lord’s farewell instructions to the disciples before His ascension. Since St. Matthew speaks mainly about the origin of Jesus Christ according to His humanity, then the emblem of man is assigned to him.
Chapter 1: Genealogy of Jesus Christ. Nativity.
Chapter 2: Adoration of the Magi. Flight of St. families to Egypt. Massacre of the innocents. Return of St. family from Egypt and his settlement in Nazareth.
Chapter 3: The Sermon of John the Baptist. Baptism from him of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter 4: The temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ from the devil. The beginning of His preaching in Galilee. The Calling of the First Apostles. Preaching Christ and healing the sick.
As the book of Acts narrates, upon their arrival in the city of Perga, Mark separated and returned to Jerusalem (13:13). Therefore, on his second journey, St. The Apostle Paul did not want to take Mark with him, and since Barnabas did not want to be separated from Mark, “grief arose” between them, “so that they were separated from each other”; “Barnabas, taking Mark, sailed to Cyprus,” and Paul continued his journey with Silas (). This cooling of relations apparently did not last long, since we then find Mark together with Paul in Rome, from where the letter to the Colossians was written and which St. Paul greets, by the way, both on behalf of Mark and warns about the possibility of his coming (4:10). Further, as can be seen, St. Mark became a companion and collaborator of St. Apostle Peter, which is especially emphasized by Tradition and which is confirmed by the words of the Apostle Peter himself in his first conciliar letter, where he writes: “The church chosen, like you, in Babylon AND MARK MY SON () greets you. Before his departure (), he is again called to himself by St. Ap. Paul, who writes to Timothy: “Take Mark with you, for I need him for ministry” (). According to the legend of St. The Apostle Peter installed St. Mark as the first bishop of the Alexandrian Church, and St. Mark ended his life in Alexandria with a martyr's death.
According to the testimony of St. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, as well as St. Justin the Philosopher and St. Irenaeus of Lyons, St. Mark wrote his Gospel from the words of St. Apostle Peter. St. Justin even directly calls it “the memorial notes of Peter.” Clement of Alexandria claims that the Gospel of Mark is essentially a recording of the oral sermon of St. Apostle Peter, which St. Mark did it AT THE REQUEST OF THE CHRISTIANS LIVING IN ROME. This is confirmed by many other church writers, and the very contents of the Gospel of Mark clearly indicate that it is intended for Pagan CHRISTIANS. It says very little about the relationship of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Old Testament and provides very few references to the Old Testament holy books. At the same time, we find Latin words in it, such as “speculator” (6:27), “centurio” (15:44, 45), “mite” is explained as codrant (from the Latin “quadrns” - quarter assa, 1242). Even the Sermon on the Mount, as explaining the superiority of the New Testament law over the Old Testament, is omitted.
But the main attention of St. Mark focuses on giving in his Gospel a strong, vivid narrative of the miracles of Christ, thereby emphasizing the ROYAL GREATNESS and OMNIPOTENCE of the Lord. In his Gospel, Jesus is not the “son of David”, as in Matthew, but the SON OF GOD, Lord and Ruler, King of the universe (compare the first lines of one and the other Gospel: Matt. 1i). Therefore, Mark’s emblem is a lion - a royal animal, a symbol of power and strength.
Basically, the content of the Gospel of Mark is very close to the content of the Gospel of Matthew, but differs, in comparison with it, in greater brevity and conciseness. It contains only 16 chapters or 71 church chapters. It begins with the appearance of John the Baptist, and ends with the departure of St. Apostles to preach after the Ascension of the Lord.
The time of writing the Gospel of Mark Church. historian Eusebius dates it to the 10th year after the Ascension of the Lord. In any case, it was undoubtedly written before the destruction of Jerusalem, i.e. before 70 AD.
Chapter 1: The Sermon of John the Baptist. Epiphany. Temptation in the desert. Beginning of preaching in Galilee. The Calling of the First Apostles. Sermon and miracles of healing in Capernaum. Healing lepers.
Chapter 2: Healing of the paralytic, lowered on his bed through the roof of the house. Levi's calling. About the fast of Christ's disciples. Harvesting ears on Saturday.
Chapter 3: Healing a withered arm on Saturday. Meeting of the Pharisees about the destruction of Jesus. Many people following the Lord and miracles of healing. Ordination of the 12 Apostles. Accusing the Lord that He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub: unforgivable blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. “Who are My mother and My brothers?”
Chapter 4: Parable of the Sower. The parable of the growing seed, the mustard seed. Taming the storm at sea.
Chapter 5: The expulsion of a legion of demons from a demoniac in the country of the Gadarenes and the death of a herd of pigs. The resurrection of Jairus' daughter and the healing of the bleeding woman.
Chapter 6: “There is no prophet without honor...” Sending the 12 Apostles to preach. The beheading of John the Baptist. Miraculous feeding of 5,000 people. Walking on the waters. Miraculous healings through touching the hem of Jesus' robe.
Chapter 7: The Pharisees accuse the disciples of the Lord of violating the traditions of the elders. It is wrong to eliminate the Word of God by tradition. It is not what enters a person that defiles him, but what comes from his unclean heart. Healing of the demon-possessed daughter of a Syrophoenician woman. Healing the deaf and dumb.
Chapter 8. Miraculous feeding of 4000 people. The Pharisees Seeking a Sign from Jesus. Warning against the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod. Healing of a blind man in Bethsaida. Confession of Jesus Christ by Peter on behalf of all the Apostles. The Lord's prediction of His death and resurrection and Peter's reproach. The teaching of self-sacrifice, taking up one's cross and following Christ.
Chapter 9: Transfiguration of the Lord. Healing someone possessed by a mute spirit. A new prediction of the Lord about His death and resurrection. The Apostles' disputes about primacy and the Lord's instruction about humility. About a man casting out demons in the Name of Christ. About temptations. About salt and mutual peace.
Chapter 10: On the inadmissibility of divorce in marriage. Blessing of children. About the difficulty for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God. About the reward of those who left everything for the sake of the Lord. A new prediction of the Lord about His upcoming suffering, death and resurrection. The request of the sons of Zebedee for primacy and the Lord’s instruction to the disciples about the need for humility. Healing of blind Bartimaeus.
Chapter 11: The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. The curse of the barren fig tree. The question of the high priests about the authority of Jesus.
Chapter 12: The parable of the evil vinedressers. About the permissibility of giving tribute to Caesar. Answer to the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead. About the two most important commandments - love for God and love for neighbors and the Sonship of God. A warning from scribes. Two widow's mites.
Chapter 13: Prediction of the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, oh the last times, about the end of the world and the second coming of Christ.
Chapter 14: The Anointing of Jesus with Chrism in Bethany. Betrayal of Judas. Last Supper. Prediction of Peter's denial. The Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane and His capture by the servants of the high priests. Flight of the students. About a young man in a veil who followed the Lord. Trial before the high priest. Peter's denial.
Chapter 15: Trial before Pilate. The release of Barabbas and the condemnation of the Lord. The scourging of the Lord and the mockery of the soldiers over Him. Crucifixion, on the cross and burial.
Chapter 16: The arrival of the myrrh-bearing women to the tomb and the gospel of the young man in white clothes about the resurrection of Christ. The appearance of the risen Lord to Mary Magdalene, two disciples on the way and eleven disciples at the supper. Instruction for them to preach the Gospel to every creature. The Ascension of the Lord into heaven and the sending of the disciples to preach.
3. Gospel of Luke
Who was, by origin, the writer of the third Gospel of St. Luke, we don’t know exactly. Eusebius of Caesarea says that he came from Antioch, and therefore it is generally accepted that St. Luke was, by origin, a pagan or a so-called “proselyte,” i.e. a pagan who converted to Judaism. By occupation he was a doctor, as can be seen from the message of St. Apostle Paul to the Colossians (4:14); Church tradition adds to this that he was also a painter. From the fact that his Gospel contains the Lord’s instructions to only 70 disciples, set out in great detail, they conclude that he belonged to the 70 disciples of Christ. The extraordinary vividness of his narrative about the appearance of the risen Lord to two disciples on the way to Emmaus, and only one of them is called Cleopas by name, as well as the ancient tradition, testify that he was one of these two disciples who were honored with the appearance of the Lord (). Then from the book of the Acts of the Apostles it is clear that, starting from the second journey of St. Apostle Paul, Luke becomes his constant collaborator and almost inseparable companion. He was with Ap. Paul, both during his first bonds, from which the letter to the Colossians and Philippians was written, and during his second bonds, when the 2nd letter to Timothy was written and which ended with his martyrdom. There is information that after the death of Ap. Paul St. Luke preached and died a martyr's death in Achaia. His holy relics under Emperor Constantius were transferred from there to Constantinople along with the relics of St. Apostle Andrew.
As can be seen from the very preface of the third Gospel, St. Luke wrote it at the request of a certain noble man, “sovereign,” or, as translated in Russian, “venerable” Theophilus, who lived in Antioch, for whom he then wrote the book of the Acts of the Apostles, serving as a continuation of the Gospel narrative (See and Acts 1:1–2). At the same time, he used not only the narrations of eyewitnesses of the Lord’s ministry, but also some written records that already existed then about the life and teaching of the Lord. In his own words, this narrative and written records were subjected to the most careful study, and therefore his Gospel is distinguished by its particular accuracy in determining the time and place of events and its strict chronological sequence.
“Sovereign Theophilus,” for whom the third Gospel was written, undoubtedly was not a resident of Palestine and did not visit Jerusalem: otherwise St. Luke to give him various geographical explanations, such as, for example, that Olivet is located near Jerusalem at the distance of the Sabbath journey, etc. (see: 24i). On the other hand, he apparently knew Syracuse, Rigia and Puteoli in Italy, Appian Square and the Three Hotels in Rome, mentioning which in the book. Acts, St. Luke makes no explanation. However, according to Clement of Alexandria, Theophilus was not a Roman, as one might think, but an Antiochian, he was rich and noble, professed the faith of Christ, and his house served as a temple for Antiochian Christians.
The Gospel of Luke was clearly influenced by St. Apostle Paul, whom St. Luke was a companion and collaborator. Like the “Apostle of Tongues” St. Paul tried most of all to reveal the great truth that the Messiah - Christ came to earth not only for the Jews, but also for the pagans, and is the SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE WORLD, OF ALL PEOPLE. In connection with this main idea, which the third Gospel clearly pursues throughout its entire narrative, the genealogy of Jesus Christ is brought to the ancestor of all humanity and to God Himself in order to emphasize His significance FOR THE WHOLE HUMAN KIND (). Places such as the embassy of the prophet Elijah to the widow in Zarephath of Sidon, the healing of leprosy by the prophet Elisha of Naaman the Syrian (4:26–27), the parable of the prodigal son (15:11–32), the tax collector and the Pharisee (18:10– 14) are in close internal connection with the thoroughly developed teaching of St. The Apostle Paul about the SALVATION not only of Jews, but also of pagans, and about the justification of man before God not by the works of the law, but by the grace of God, bestowed upon him, solely by the infinite mercy and love of God. No one has depicted God’s love for repentant sinners as vividly as St. Luke, who cited in his Gospel a number of parables and actual events on this topic. It is enough to recall, in addition to the already mentioned parables about the prodigal son and the publican and the Pharisee, also the parable about the lost sheep, about the lost drachma, about the merciful Samaritan, the story of the repentance of the chief tax collector Zacchaeus () and other places, as well as his significant words about that , that “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents,” and this joy is greater than the joy “over ninety and nine righteous people who do not demand repentance” (Luke 15 and 15:7).
Seeing from all this the undoubted influence of St. Apostle Paul on the author of the third Gospel, Origen's statement that "the Gospel of Luke was approved by Paul" can be considered reliable.
The time and place of writing of the Gospel of Luke can be determined based on the consideration that it was written EARLIER than the book of the Acts of the Apostles, which constitutes, as it were, its continuation (see). The Book of Acts ends with a description of the two-year stay of St. Apostle Paul in Rome (28:30). These were 62 and 63 AD. Consequently, the Gospel of Luke could not have been written LATER than this time and, presumably, in Rome, although the historian Eusebius believes that it appeared in the world much earlier, already in the 15th year after the Ascension of the Lord.
Due to the fact that St. Luke speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ primarily as the Great High Priest, who offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of ALL humanity, his emblem is a calf, as a sacrificial animal usually used in sacrifices.
The Gospel of Luke contains 24 chapters or 114 church principles. It begins with the story of the appearance of an angel to the priest Zechariah, the father of St. John the Baptist, and ends with the story of the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ into heaven.
Chapter 1: Introduction addressed to Theophilus. The appearance of an angel who predicted to the priest Zechariah the birth of his son John. Annunciation of an angel to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Visit Holy Virgin Maria Elizabeth. Christmas of St. John the Baptist.
Chapter 2: The Nativity of Christ, the appearance of an angel to the Bethlehem shepherds and their worship of the Born Child of God. Circumcision of the Lord. Meeting of the Lord. The youth Jesus in the Jerusalem temple in conversation among the teachers.
Chapter 3: Sermon of St. John the Baptist. Epiphany. Genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter 4: Temptation from the devil. Preaching of the Lord in Galilee, in the Nazareth synagogue. Healing of a demoniac in the Capernaum synagogue. Healing of Simonova's mother-in-law and many other sick and possessed people. Sermon in the synagogues of Galilee.
Chapter 5: The miraculous fishing on Lake Gennesaret and the calling of the Apostles. Healing a leper. Healing of the paralytic, brought on his bed and lowered through the roof of the house. The Calling of the Publican Levi. About the fasting of the Lord's disciples: the parable of old clothes and new wine.
Chapter 6: Harvesting ears on Saturday. Healing a withered arm on Saturday. Election of the 12 Apostles. The Lord's sermon about who is “blessed” and who is “woe.” About love for enemies. About non-judgment. About the need to do good deeds.
Chapter 7: Healing of the servant of the Capernaum centurion. Resurrection of the son of the Nain widow. The embassy of John the Baptist to Jesus Christ and the testimony of the Lord about John. Anointing of the Lord with the world of a sinner wife.
Chapter 8: Preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the cities and villages, accompanied by 12 wives who served Him from their estates. Parable of the Sower. Lamp on the candlestick. “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” Taming the storm at sea. The expulsion of a legion of demons from a possessed man and the death of a herd of pigs. The resurrection of Jairus' daughter and the healing of the bleeding wife.
Chapter 9: Embassy of the 12 Apostles to preach. Herod's confusion about the identity of Jesus Christ. Miraculous feeding of 5000 people. Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ. The Lord's prediction about his death and resurrection. The teaching of self-sacrifice and taking up one's cross. Transfiguration. Healing a demon-possessed youth. The Apostles' thoughts on primacy and the Lord's instruction on humility. About casting out demons in the name of Jesus. About the Lord's rejection in the Samaritan village. About following Christ.
Chapter 10: Embassy of 70 disciples to preach. Their return with joy that the demons obey them. The Lord's Instruction: "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Jesus glorifies the Heavenly Father because He “hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.” Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Lord is with Martha and Mary.
Chapter 11: “Our Father” and the teaching of constancy in prayer. The Jews slander the Lord, as if He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub. The parable of the unclean spirit and the swept and tidied house. “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” The sign of Jonah the prophet. The lamp of the body is the eye. Denunciation of the Pharisees.
Chapter 12: Warning against the leaven of the Pharisees. About confessing Jesus Christ before people and not fearing torment. About the unforgivability of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. A warning against covetousness and a parable about the rich man and the bountiful harvest. About not burdening yourself with worries and about seeking the Kingdom of God. About alms. About always being awake and ready for the second coming of Christ: the parable of the faithful steward, division in the world because of Christ the Savior and about preparing oneself for the judgment of God.
Chapter 13: “Unless you repent, you will all also perish.” Parable of the barren fig tree. Healing a crumpled woman on Saturday. The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven. “Are there not enough people being saved? - “It is fitting to enter through a narrow gate.” The Lord's answer to Herod. The Lord's rebuke to Jerusalem.
Chapter 14: Healing on Saturday. Reprimand for those who seek primacy. About inviting beggars to a feast. The parable of those invited to supper. The teaching of self-sacrifice, taking up one's cross and following Christ.
Chapter 15: Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Drachma. Parable of the Prodigal Son.
Chapter 16: The parable of the unrighteous steward. About the reprehensibility of divorce. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
Chapter 17: About temptations, about forgiveness to a brother, about the power of faith, about fulfilling everything commanded. Healing of 10 lepers. “The kingdom of God is within you.” About the second coming of Christ. Chapter 18: The Parable of the Unjust Judge. Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. Blessing of children. About the difficulty for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God. About the reward for those who left everything for Christ. The Lord's prediction about His upcoming suffering, death and resurrection. Healing of the Jericho blind man.
Chapter 19: Repentance of the chief tax collector Zacchaeus. The parable of mines. Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. Expulsion of traders from the temple.
Chapter 20: Question of the high priests and elders about the authority of Jesus. The parable of the evil vinedressers. About tribute to Caesar. Answer to the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead. About the Sonship of Christ. A warning from scribes.
Chapter 21: Two mites for a widow. A prediction about the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the world and the second coming of Christ. A call to wakefulness.
Chapter 22: The Betrayal of Judas. Last Supper. Prediction of Peter's denial. About two swords. Gentlemen in the Garden of Gethsemane. Taking the Lord into custody. Peter's denial. Trial before the Sanhedrin.
Chapter 23: Trial before Pilate. Herod's Lord. Pilate's attempt to free Jesus. The people's demand for His condemnation. The release of Barabbas and the condemnation of the Lord. Simon of Cyrene. The cry of women and the words of the Lord to them. Crucifixion of the Lord. Repentance of a prudent thief. Death of the Lord and burial. Preparation of incense by women who came from Galilee.
Chapter 24: The appearance of angels to the myrrh-bearing women. Peter at the tomb. The appearance of the risen Lord to two disciples on the way to Emmaus. The appearance of the Lord to the 11 disciples and His instructions to them. Ascension of the Lord.
4. Gospel of John
The Fourth Gospel was written by Christ’s beloved disciple, St. John the Theologian. St. John was the son of the Galilean fisherman Zebedee () and Salome (Matt. 27i). Zebedee was apparently a wealthy man, for he had workers (), and was apparently also not an insignificant member of Jewish society, for his son John had an acquaintance with the high priest (). His mother Salome is mentioned among the wives who served the Lord from their estates: she accompanied the Lord in Galilee, followed Him to Jerusalem for the last Easter and participated in the acquisition of aromas for anointing His body along with other myrrh-bearing wives (). Tradition considers her the daughter of Joseph the betrothed.
John was first a disciple of St. John the Baptist. Having heard his testimony about Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, he immediately, together with Andrei, followed Christ (). He became a constant disciple of the Lord, however, a little later, after a miraculous fishing on Lake Gennesaret, when the Lord Himself called him along with his brother Jacob (). Together with Peter and his brother Jacob, he was honored with special closeness to the Lord, being with Him in the most important and solemn moments of His earthly life. Thus, he was honored to be present at the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter (), to see the Transfiguration of the Lord on the mountain (), to hear a conversation about the signs of His second coming (), to be a witness to His Gethsemane prayer (). And at the Last Supper he was so close to the Lord that, in his own words, it was as if he “was reclining on His forehead” (), which is where his name “confidant” came from, which later became a common noun to designate a person, especially to someone close. Out of humility, without calling himself by name, he nevertheless, speaking about himself in his Gospel, calls himself a disciple, “whom Jesus loved” (13:23). This love of the Lord for him was also reflected in the fact that the Lord, hanging on the cross, entrusted His Most Pure Mother to him, saying to him: “Behold your mother” ().
Fieryly loving the Lord, John was filled with indignation against those who were hostile to the Lord or alienated from Him. Therefore, he forbade a person who did not walk with Christ to cast out demons in the Name of Christ () and asked the Lord for permission to bring down fire on the inhabitants of one Samaritan village because they did not accept Him when He traveled to Jerusalem through Samaria (). For this, he and his brother Jacob received from the Lord the nickname “BOANERGES,” which means “sons of Thunder.” Feeling Christ’s love for himself, but not yet enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he dares to ask himself, together with his brother Jacob, for the closest place to the Lord in His coming Kingdom, in response to which he receives a prediction about the cup of suffering awaiting them both ().
After the Ascension of the Lord we often see St. John together with St. Apostle Peter (). Along with him, he is considered a pillar of the Church and has his residence in Jerusalem (). Since the destruction of Jerusalem, the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor has become the place of life and activity of St. John. During the reign of Emperor Domitian (and according to some legends, Nero or Trajan, which is unlikely), he was sent into exile on the island of Patmos, where he wrote the Apocalypse (1:9-19). Returned from this exile to Ephesus, he wrote his Gospel there, and died in his own way (the only one of the Apostles), according to a very mysterious legend, at a very old age, according to some sources 105, according to others 120 years, during the reign of Emperor Trajan.
As legend says, the fourth Gospel was written by John at the request of the Ephesian Christians or even the bishops of Asia Minor. They brought him the first three Gospels and asked him to supplement them with the speeches of the Lord that they had heard from him. St. John confirmed the truth of everything written in these three Gospels, but found that much needed to be added to their narrative, and, in particular, to set forth more extensively and clearly the teaching ABOUT THE DIVINE of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that people, over time, would not begin to think about Him, only as about the “Son of Man.” This was all the more necessary because by this time heresies had already begun to appear that denied the Divinity of Christ - the Ebionites, the heresy of Cerinthos and the Gnostics. According to the testimony of the Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyons, as well as other ancient church fathers and writers, St. John wrote his Gospel, prompted to do so precisely by the requests of the Asia Minor bishops, who were concerned about the emergence of these heresies.
From all that has been said, it is clear that the purpose of writing the fourth Gospel was the desire to COMPLETE the narrative of the first three Evangelists. That this is so is evidenced by the very content of John’s Gospel. At the same time, the first three Evangelists often narrate ABOUT THE SAME EVENTS and cite the SAME WORDS OF THE LORD, which is why their Gospels were called “SYNOPTICAL”, John’s Gospel DIFFERS greatly from them in its content, containing narrations of events and citing the speeches of the Lord, which are often not even mentioned in the first three Gospels.
Characteristic distinguishing feature The Gospel of John is clearly expressed in the name that was given to it in ancient times. Unlike the first three Gospels, it was primarily called the “GOSPEL SPIRITUAL (in Greek: “PNEUMATICS”).” This is because while the synoptic Gospels narrate mainly about the events of the earthly life of the Lord, the Gospel of John begins with an exposition of the doctrine of His Divinity, and then contains a whole series of the most sublime speeches of the Lord, in which His Divine dignity is revealed and the deepest mysteries of faith, such as, for example, a conversation with Nicodemus about being born again by water and spirit and about the sacrament of redemption, a conversation with a Samaritan woman about living water and about worshiping God in spirit and truth, a conversation about the bread that came down from heaven and about the sacrament of communion, a conversation about the good shepherd and, especially remarkable in its content, a farewell conversation with the disciples at the Last Supper with the final miracle, the so-called. "high priestly prayer" of the Lord. Here we find a whole series of the Lord’s own testimonies about Himself, as the Son of God. For the teaching about God the Word and for the revelation of all these deepest and most sublime truths and secrets of our faith, St. John and received the honorary title of “Theologian”.
A pure-hearted virgin, who completely devoted himself to the Lord with all his soul and was loved by Him with special love, St. John deeply penetrated into the sublime mystery of Christian love and no one, as he, revealed it so completely, deeply and convincingly, both in his Gospel, so especially in his three conciliar epistles, Christian teaching about the two main commandments of the Law of God - about love for God and about love for neighbor - why he is also called the “APOSTLE OF LOVE”.
An important feature of John’s Gospel is that while the first three Evangelists narrate mainly about the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in Galilee, St. John sets out the events and speeches that took place in Judea. Thanks to this, we can calculate what was the duration of the Lord’s public ministry and at the same time the duration of His earthly life. Preaching mostly in Galilee, the Lord traveled to Jerusalem, i.e. to Judea, on all the main holidays. It was from these travels that St. John takes mainly the events he narrates and the speeches of the Lord he recounts. As can be seen from the Gospel of John, there were ONLY THREE such journeys to Jerusalem for the holiday of Easter, and BEFORE THE FOURTH EASTER of His public ministry, the Lord ACCEPTED DEATH ON THE CROSS. From this it follows that the public ministry of the Lord lasted ABOUT THREE AND A HALF YEARS, and He lived on earth for about THIRTY-THREE AND A HALF YEARS (for he entered public ministry, as St. Luke testifies in 3:23, at the age of 30) .
The Gospel of John contains 21 chapters and 67 church principles. It begins with the teaching of the “Word,” which “was in the beginning,” and ends with the appearance of the Risen Lord to the disciples at the Sea of Gennesaret, the restoration of St. Peter in his apostolic dignity and the author’s statement that “his testimony is true” and that if everything that Jesus did was written in detail, then “the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
Chapter 1: The Doctrine of God the Word. Testimony of John the Baptist about Jesus Christ. The following of John's two disciples after the Lord Jesus. The coming to the Lord of the first disciples: Andrew, Simon, Peter, Philemon and Nathanael. The Lord's conversation with Nathanael.
Chapter 2: The first miracle in Cana of Galilee. Expulsion of traders from the temple. The Lord's prediction about the destruction of the temple of His body and His resurrection from the dead on the third day. Miracles performed by the Lord in Jerusalem and those who believed in Him.
Chapter 3: Conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the leader of the Jews, Nicodemus. New testimony of John the Baptist about Jesus Christ.
Chapter 4: Conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. Faith of the Samaritans. Return of the Lord to Galilee. Healing of the son of a courtier in Capernaum.
Chapter 5: Healing on Saturday the paralytic at the Sheep's Font. The testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ about Himself as the Son of God, having the power to raise the dead, and about His relationship with God the Father.
Chapter 6: The miraculous feeding of 5000 people. Walking on the waters. A conversation about the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. About the necessity of communion of the Body and Blood of Christ for the inheritance of eternal life. Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The Lord's prediction about His traitor.
Chapter 7: rejects the brothers' offer. Jesus Christ teaches the Jews in the temple for the holiday. His teaching about the Holy Spirit is like living water. Dispute about Him among the Jews.
Chapter 8: Forgiveness by the Lord of a sinner caught in adultery. The Lord's conversation with the Jews about Himself, as the Light of the world and as Existing from the beginning. The denunciation of the Jews who did not believe in Him, as wanting to fulfill the lusts of their father - the devil, a murderer from time immemorial.
Chapter 9: Healing a man blind from birth.
Chapter 10: The Lord’s conversation about Himself as the “good shepherd.” in the Jerusalem Temple on the Feast of Renewal. His conversation about His unity with the Father. An attempt by the Jews to stone Him.
Chapter 11: The Raising of Lazarus. The decision of the chief priests and Pharisees to put the Lord to death.
Chapter 12: Anointing of the Lord with myrrh by Mary in Bethany. Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. The Greeks want to see Jesus. Jesus' prayer to God the Father for His glorification. The Lord's exhortation to walk in the light while there is light. Unbelief of the Jews according to the prophecy of Isaiah.
Chapter 13: The Last Supper. Washing the feet. The Lord's prophecy about the betrayal of Judas. The beginning of the Lord's farewell conversation with his disciples: instructions on mutual love. Prediction of Peter's denial.
Chapter 14: Continuation of the farewell conversation about the many mansions in the Father’s house. Christ is the way, the truth and the life. About the power of faith. The promise with the sending of the Holy Spirit.
Chapter 15: Continuation of the farewell conversation: the Lord’s teaching about Himself as a vine. Advice on mutual love. Prediction of persecution.
Chapter 16: Continuation of the farewell conversation: a new promise about the sending of the Comforter Spirit.
Chapter 17: The High Priesthood of the Lord about His disciples and about all believers.
Chapter 18: The Taking of the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. Anna's trial. Peter's denial. At Caiaphas. At Pilate's trial.
Chapter 19: The Scourging of the Lord. Interrogation of Pilate. Crucifixion. The casting of lots by the soldiers for the clothing of Jesus. Jesus entrusts His Mother to Joan. Death and burial of the Lord.
Chapter 20: Mary Magdalene at the tomb with the stone rolled away. Peter and the other disciple find the tomb empty with linens lying in it. Appearance of the risen Lord to Mary Magdalene. The appearance of the risen Lord to all the disciples together. Thomas's unbelief and the Lord's second appearance to all the disciples with Thomas together. The purpose of writing the Gospel.
Chapter 21: The Lord’s appearance to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, the Lord asking Peter three times: “Do you love Me,” and the commission to feed His sheep. Prediction of martyrdom for Peter. Peter's question about John. A statement about the truth of what is written in the Gospel.
A CONSISTENT REVIEW OF THE CONTENTS OF THE WHOLE FOUR GOSPELS WITH AN EXPLANATION OF THE IMPORTANT PLACES
Introduction
As we have already said, not all Evangelists tell the same thing about the life of the Lord Jesus Christ with the same details: some have something that others do not have; some speak in more detail and in detail about what others mention only in a few words, as if in passing; and in the very transmission of events and speeches of the Lord, sometimes there are differences, in some cases even seemingly disagreements and contradictions, which the so-called especially likes to find and emphasize. "negative criticism"
That is why, from the very first times of Christianity, attempts were made to bring the content of all four Gospels together, i.e. a compilation of all the material contained in the four Gospels in one general coherent sequence, to establish a more probable chronological order of the Gospel events, as if there were one Gospel.
The first attempt of this kind known to us was made by the apologist Tatian, a disciple of St. Justin the philosopher, who compiled in the middle of the second century A.D. such a collection of all four Gospels, widely used under the name “diatessarona”. The second work of the same kind belonged, according to the testimony of Blessed. Jerome, Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, who lived in the second half of the same second century, who also wrote the “Commentary on the Gospel”, i.e. experience of its written interpretation.
Such attempts to bring the narratives of the 4 Gospels together continued further, right up to our time. In our time, for example, the work of B.I. is known. Gladkov, who also compiled the Interpretation of the Gospel. The best compilation of all 4 Gospels is recognized as the work of Bishop Theophan (Vyshensky Recluse) entitled: “The Gospel story about God the Son, who became incarnate for our salvation, in sequential order set forth in the words of the Holy Evangelists.”
The significance of such works is that they give us a complete, coherent, integral picture of the entire course of the earthly life of our Lord and Savior.
We will conduct a consistent review of the entire Gospel narrative, following the guidance of these works, establishing, as far as possible, the chronological sequence of events, dwelling on the differences in the presentation of each of the 4 Evangelists and explaining the most important passages in accordance with the authoritative interpretations of the Holy Fathers of the Church.
The entire Gospel story naturally falls into three main sections:
I. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world.
II. Public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. The last days of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
) - from the Greek word synopsis, corresponding to Lat. conspectus. This name was given to them because they are very close to each other in plan and content, which can easily be located in the appropriate tables. This term is not older than the 16th century (first encountered by George Sigelius in his “Sinopsis historiae Jes. Christi”, 1585). In each of the Synoptic Gospels, however, there are features; exegesis has even developed a numerical formula that determines their similarities and differences. If, using this formula, the entire content of the individual Gospels (including the fourth) is determined by the number 100, then the following figures are obtained: in Matthew, 58% of the content is similar to the others and 42% is different from the others; Mark has 93% similarity. and 7% excellent; in Luke 41% and 59%; for John - 8% and 92%. It is also calculated that the total number of verses common to all weather forecasters rises to 350; then Matthew has 350 verses exclusively characteristic of him, Mark - 68, Luke - 541. Similarities are mainly noticeable in the rendering of the sayings of Christ, differences - in the narrative part. In Matthew, the narrative takes up about 1/4 of the total. Mark has 1/2, Luke has 1/3. When Matthew and Luke literally agree with each other in their Gospels, Mark always agrees with them; the similarity between Luke and Mark is much closer than between Luke and Matthew; when Mark has additional features, they are usually also found in Luke, which cannot be said about features found only in Matthew, and, finally, in those cases where Mark does not report anything, Hev. Luke often differs from Matthew.
The time of origin of the Gospels cannot be determined with absolute certainty, but must be placed in the second half of the first century. The first New Testament books were undoubtedly the epistles of the apostles, caused by the need to teach the newly founded Christian communities; but soon there was a need for books that would detail the history of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. Negative criticism of Baur's school attempted to place the origins of the Gospels at the end of the 2nd century, in order to undermine their historical reliability; but already Baur’s students (Zeller, Volkmar, Hilgenfeld) admit the great antiquity of the Evang. The latest discoveries in the field of ancient patristic literature speak in its favor. It can be assumed that Matthew wrote his Gospel around 50-60. according to R. X., Mark and Luke - several years later and in any case earlier than the destruction of Jerusalem, i.e. before 70, and John - at the end of the 1st century, in old age. The language in which the Gospels are written is Greek, not classical, but so called. Alexandrian, the most common at that time. Books written on it could be freely read by the most diverse peoples - from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and beyond; knowledge of it was considered a necessary accessory to education among all the peoples that were part of the Roman Empire. From the authors of the Gospel. Matthew and John were apostles and eyewitnesses of Christ's ministry; the other two were those who are blessed. Jerome called them “men of the apostles.” Saint Mark, in all likelihood, was even an eyewitness to the ministry of Christ in the last period of His life; In the church, from ancient times, a tradition has been preserved that his Gospel bears traces of direct influence from the apostle. Petra. Luke directly states that he was not an eyewitness to the ministry of Christ (although, according to legend, he was one of the 70 disciples); but he took advantage of those records that already existed before him regarding the life and teachings of Christ. In addition, he, as the closest follower of the ap. Paul, clearly depicted in his Gospel. the views of this greatest of the apostles. Thus, the Gospels essentially come from the four great apostles: Matthew, Peter, Paul and John. To what extent the authors of the Gospel. were dependent on pre-existing records of the life and work of Christ - this difficult question gave rise to many theories, often contradictory. That such records existed is directly evidenced by Luke in the introduction to his Gospel (“How many have already begun to compile narratives,” etc. ). It is very likely that already in the first days of the Christian church a whole circle of authoritative oral traditions circulated among Christians, which, under the leadership of the apostles, as eyewitnesses of the events themselves, sought to obtain a firmly established form. The orally transmitted legends were soon, therefore, recorded by some of the students in writing; such records could naturally serve as primary materials and sources for those “many who began to compile narratives,” and the most reliable information from them could then be included in the Gospels themselves. That the evangelists were not absolutely dependent on the records and narratives that preceded them is clearly demonstrated by the great difference that exists between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John. The weather forecasters talk almost exclusively about the activities of Christ in Galilee, John - about His activities in Judea. The weather forecasters mainly talk about miracles, parables and external events in His life, but John discusses its deepest meaning. In general, the Gospel of John is distinguished by greater spirituality and, so to speak, ideality, which gave rise to critics to assume that it gives not a story, but an allegory of the life of Jesus Christ. For all the differences between the Gospels, they are free from contradictions; upon careful examination, one can find clear signs of agreement between the weather forecasters and John, even in the presentation of the facts external life Jesus Christ. John talks little about the Galilean ministry of Jesus Christ, but he undoubtedly knows about His repeated long stay in Galilee; weather forecasters do not say anything about the early activities of Jesus Christ in Judea and Jerusalem, but hints of this activity are often found among them. So, according to their testimony, Jesus Christ had friends, disciples and followers there, for example. the owner of the upper room where the Last Supper took place, and Joseph of Arimathea. The famous words are especially important in this regard: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! How often have I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks,” an expression that obviously implies a multiple or long stay of Christ in Jerusalem. Forecasters, however, do not talk about such a great miracle as the resurrection of Lazarus, but Luke is well acquainted with his sisters in Bethany, and in a few features the character of these sisters depicted by him is consistent with what John tells about their mode of action on the occasion of the death of their brother. Many of the sayings given by John clearly resemble the conversations of Jesus Christ given by the weather forecasters. Thus, the famous saying quoted by Matthew: “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father” (11:27) is very close to those with which the Gospel of John is filled. True, the conversations of Jesus Christ among the weather forecasters are generally of a different nature than those of John: there they are popular, clear and consist of visual parables and explanatory examples, while in John they are deep, mysterious, often difficult to understand, as if they were not spoken for crowds, but for a closer circle of listeners. But one is not excluded by the other; different modes of speech could be caused by different conditions and circumstances. Both the weather forecasters and John depict Jesus Christ surrounded by crowds of people; It would be difficult to understand how He could captivate the crowd with His word if He spoke only as it is depicted in John. On the other hand, the entire fullness of knowledge about Christ as the God-man, appearing in the Christian church from the most ancient times, would have been incomprehensible if Christ had not spoken sublimely mysterious conversations, such as those set forth in John. If the weather forecasters put forward a more human side in Jesus Christ, depicting Him as the Son of man, the son of David, and John, on the contrary, puts forward the divine side and presents Him as the Son of God, this does not mean that the weather forecasters lack a divine side or that John does not have a divine side. human. According to the weather forecasters, the Son of Man is also the Son of God, to whom was given all authority in heaven and on earth. John also has the Son of God as a true man, who goes to the wedding feast, talks friendly with Martha and Mary, and weeps at the tomb of His friend Lazarus. The Synoptics and John, thus, complement each other and only in their totality give the most perfect image of Christ, as He is perceived and preached by the Church. Ancient Christian writers compared the Four Gospels with a river, which, leaving Eden to irrigate the paradise planted by God, was divided into four rivers flowing through countries abounding in all kinds of precious stones and metals. An even more common symbol for the four Gospels was the mysterious chariot that the prophet Ezekiel saw during the river. Khobar (1, 5-26) and which consists of four four-faced creatures, resembling a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle. These creatures, taken individually, became emblems for the evangelists: Christian art, starting from the 5th century, depicts Matthew with a man or angel, Mark with a lion, Luke with a calf, John with an eagle. The reason for this combination was the consideration that Matthew in his Gospel puts forward the especially human and messianic character of Christ, Mark depicts His omnipotence and royalty, Luke speaks of His high priesthood (with which the sacrifice of calves was associated), and John, according to Blessed. Augustine, “like an eagle soars above the clouds of human weakness.”
The earliest of the Gospels is the Gospel. from Matthew. Its author, ap. Matthew was a tax collector and therefore had to be able to read and write. According to legend, he wrote his Gospel in Hebrew, as he intended it as a lesson to his fellow tribesmen, especially the scribes. The Hebrew original was soon translated into Greek, and this translation has reached us. In accordance with the purpose of the Gospel, it proves to the converted Jews that Jesus is the Messiah for whom they were waiting. Following the events of Christ's earthly life, Matthew notes at every occasion how one or another of them is in close correlation with Old Testament prophecies. Hence the constant repetitions: “this has happened, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, who says” such and such, might be fulfilled (1, 22; 2, 15, 23, etc.). Matthew has at least 65 references to the Old Testament: in 43 cases a literal extract is made, and in the rest - only an indication of the general meaning. Gospel ev. Matthew consists of 28 chapters, begins with a statement of the genealogy of Christ from Abraham and ends with the Savior’s farewell conversation with the apostles before the Ascension, when He commanded them to go preaching about Christianity to all nations, promising to be with them “always until the end of the age.”
The Second Gospel was written by Saint Mark, who in his youth had a double name - John-Mark, and the latter name, as quite common among the Romans, subsequently replaced the first. Listeners up. They wanted a written statement of Peter's teachings. In response to this request, Mark outlined everything he had heard from the apostle. Peter about the earthly life of Jesus Christ, in an extremely visual and picturesque form. Evang. Mark apparently intended his for the pagans. It rarely makes reference to the Old Testament, but often explains various Jewish customs, such as eating unleavened bread on Passover and washing hands and vessels. The Gospel was written by Mark either in Rome or in Alexandria. It primarily depicts the time of the solemn ministry of the Messiah, when He victoriously opposed the sin and malice of this world. The Gospel of Mark consists of 16 chapters, begins with the appearance of John the Baptist and ends with a message about how, after the ascension of Christ, the apostles went to preach the teachings of Christ. It alone, by the way, tells an episode about an unknown young man who, on the night of the capture of Christ by soldiers, ran out into the street in only a blanket, and when one of the soldiers grabbed him by the blanket, then, breaking free from the warrior’s hands, he left the blanket in his hands and ran away committing naked (15, 51, 52). According to legend, this young man himself was born. Mark.
The third Gospel was written by St. Luke (Luke is a short form of Lucan or Lucilius), a colleague of the Apostle Paul during his mession. travel. During these travels, he learned to understand the teachings of the apostle as a deep reproduction and interpretation of the teachings of Christ in its various applications. This prompted him to write the Gospel, which he in particular intended for a certain “Reverend Theophilus,” who apparently enjoyed great respect in the church and wanted to “learn the solid basis of this teaching in which he was instructed.” Before this time, the first two Gospels were already in circulation, as well as other fragmentary records “about completely well-known events”; but ev. Luke wanted, “after a thorough examination of everything first, to describe in order” to the Venerable Theophilus earthly life Christ, as far as he knew about it from “eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word” (1, 1-4). Since Theophilus, by assumption, was a pagan, the entire Gospel of Luke was written for pagan Christians. Therefore, the genealogy of Christ in it is not only from Abraham, as in the Gospel. Matthew, but from Adam, as the ancestor of all people. He presents the life of Christ primarily from the historical side, and the story is detailed, especially in the first chapters, which describe the events that preceded the birth of Christ and those that accompanied it. The Gospel consists of 24 chapters and ends with the story of Christ's ascension to heaven.
The Fourth Gospel was written in Ephesus by the “beloved disciple” of Jesus Christ, John, who, due to the height of his teaching about God the Word, received an honorary title; Theologian. After the destruction of Jerusalem; Ephesus became the center of the Christian church in the East; at the same time, it was generally the center of the mental life of the East, since representatives of both Greek and Eastern thought collided here. The first heresiarch, Cerinthus, also taught there, who distorted Christianity by introducing into it Greco-Eastern elements, which he borrowed from Alexandria. Under such circumstances, it was especially necessary for the church to have guidance in faith, ensuring against error. Having in the person of the Apostle John one of the closest witnesses and eyewitnesses of the “ministry of the Word,” the Christians of Ephesus began to ask him to describe to them the earthly life of Christ the Savior. When they brought John the books of the first three evangelists, he praised them for the truth and veracity of the narrative, but found that they omitted a lot of very important things. When talking about Christ who came in the flesh, it is necessary to talk about His deity, since otherwise, over time, people will begin to judge and think about Christ only by how He appeared in earthly life. The Gospel of John begins, therefore, not with a presentation of the human side in the life of Christ, but precisely the divine side - with an indication that the incarnate Christ is the primordial Word, the very one who “in the beginning was with God and was himself God,” that Logos , through whom everything that exists came into being. Such an indication of the deity and eternal existence of Christ was also necessary in view of the false teachings disseminated by Cerinthos regarding Jesus, whom he considered only a simple man who assumed divinity only temporarily, during the period from baptism to suffering, as well as in view of the Alexandrian speculation about reason and word (Logos), in their application to the relationship between God and His original Word. Complementing the weather forecasters, Ev. John describes mainly the activities of Christ in Judea, telling in detail about Christ's visit to Jerusalem on major holidays along with other pilgrims. The Gospel of John consists of 21 chapters and ends with the testimony of the author himself that “his testimony is true.”
The literature on the subject is extremely extensive: here it is enough to indicate only the most outstanding works, especially those that served as turning points in the development of the question of the origin of the Gospels. This question received a scientific formulation in the 18th century, when researchers, not content with the traditional view, first treated it critically. Instead of the accepted view, according to which the Gospel was recognized as the first Gospel. Matthew. Researchers appeared who recognized Evang as such. Luke (Walch Garenberg, McKnight, etc.). But this theory was so inconsistent with the evidence that seniority was soon transferred to Evang. Mark (Storr, “Ueber den Zweck der evаng. Gesch. des Joh.”, Tübingen 1786, as well as “De font. evang. Matth. et Luc.” 1794). and all interest was then concentrated on the question whether this Gospel should be considered a source, or an extract, in relation to the first two.
Griesbach (in his “Comm. qua Marci evang.”, etc., Iena 1789) gave the upper hand to the latter. This question was put aside for a while by the new theory of Eichhorn (in his “Einleit. in d. N. T.” 1804), who recognized a special source for all the Synoptic Gospels short essay in Aramaic. Although this theory has no historical foundations and is a matter of pure speculation, it found ardent admirers in the person of Grau (“Never Versuch” etc. 1812), Ziegler and others. In its decisive form, Eichhorn’s theory, however, did not last long, and criticism again took up the question of the seniority of one of the initial Gospels: again many researchers settled on Mark as the most ancient evangelist (Knobel, “De evang. Marci origine”, Bresl. 1831: Reuss “Gesch. d. II. Schrift”, 1843, etc. .). Then the Tübingen school came forward with its sharply defined theory about the late origin of the Evang. (Baur, “Krit. Undersuch. uber die kanon. Ev”, Tube. 1847), and this theory occupied the minds of researchers for a long time, until the consciousness of its inconsistency again brought to the stage the previous questions about the primary source, which they still began to see in the Gospel Mark, although more sophisticated criticism has found it possible to distinguish the present Mark from the special Urmarcus, which served as the source for Mark himself (Weiss, Holtzman, Schenkel, etc.). In the end, criticism almost begins to lean again towards the traditional view from which it tried to free itself. See I. F. Bleck, “Einleitung in die Schrift” (Part II. ed. 4, 1886); B. Weiss, “Lehrbuch der Einleitung d. N.T." (2nd ed. 1889). Extensive and very detailed, especially in the bibliographer. regarding the article, see Vigouroux's "Bible Dictionary" under the word "Evangiles", vol. XV pp. 2058 et seq. In Russian literature, arch. Mikhail “Introduction to the New Testament Books” (translation of works by Guericke, M. 1864); his “On the Gospel and Gospel History” (2nd ed., M., 1870), etc. For the best summary of the contents of the four Gospels into one coherent narrative, see Rev. Feofan, in his work: “The Gospel Story about God the Son”, etc. (M. 1885). Wed. at Brockhaus under the words. "Gospel".
Here we mean only the canonical Gospels; about the apocryphal gospels, see vol. I, art. 930.
Text source: Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia. Volume 5, column. 172. Petrograd edition. Supplement to the spiritual magazine "Strannik" for 1904.
Four Gospels
Anyone who opens the New Testament has a question: why are there four Gospels? Why is the same story told four times in Scripture? The Gospel of John, however, is somewhat different from the previous three. But the first three Gospels largely repeat each other almost word for word - this is immediately obvious if you write the text in three columns. But that's it - almost verbatim, always with some differences in details.
Why is that?
Since ancient times, attempts have been made many times to combine four or at least three Gospels into one whole, into a single narrative. The first such attempt was made by Tatian at the dawn of Christianity. Tatian's Gospel, which combined four stories in one, was used, but did not enter into the practice of the Church. The last such attempt was made by the Kiev priest Leonid Lutkovsky. He combined the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke into one, and added to them the Gospel of John as different. His work was published by Literaturnaya Gazeta, but was not to the taste of readers. No one bothered to publish it the second time. For the obvious reason that the first three evangelists, not to mention John, are very different from each other.
Gospel of Mark according to the time of writing - the first. It's quite short compared to the others. In Mark's Gospel, Jesus says less than in the accounts of Matthew, Luke, or John. There is a way of printing the New Testament, when the words of Christ, speaking in Latin, ipsissima verba, are highlighted in red. So, there is significantly less red text in the Gospel of Mark than in the other three. But the reader's attention is constantly fixed on what Jesus is doing. The miracles are described here in more detail than in Matthew, who talks about them briefly and concisely.
Although the Russian “from Mark”, “from Matthew” indicates that this Gospel was written from beginning to end by one or another evangelist, tradition claims that the Gospel of Mark was written for preaching among the Romans based on the preaching of the Apostle Peter in Rome. Mark repeated in his sermon what Peter said, and then Mark's disciples compiled the Gospel apo, secundum,"according to Mark." This means not by Marc, a according to Marc, that is, “according to the sermon.” And in French, let's say it's not par St. Marc, a selon St. Marc, that is, “according to the preaching of Mark, according to what Mark once said.”
It appears that the Gospel of Mark is indeed addressed to the Romans. From the Roman literature of the era of Emperor Augustus, close in time to the Gospel, we know that the Romans are a people of warriors and poets. They are emotional, decisive, explosive, they do not like to reason, they know how to fight, suffer and perceive the world without halftones. They are very sensitive to what Horace called "color vitality"- colors of life. The Romans do not like abstractions - these are not the Greeks, who gave the world wonderful historians and philosophers, these are the ancestors of modern Italians. That is why the Gospel of Mark is filled with vivid visual images that are not found in Matthew, Luke, or John. And in this bright world, where everything was perceived more through sight, the short Gospel of Mark with vivid descriptions of miracles, where Jesus says little but acts a lot - such a Gospel could really be perceived as our own...
Here is the scene when the Savior calms the storm on the Sea of Galilee. It is described in all four Gospels, but only Mark has such a detail, for example. Everyone says that Jesus slept during the storm. And Mark adds: “at the stern at the head” - that is, he gives us a purely visual image. And we immediately imagine how He slept: “at the stern at the head.”
Another example. A rich young man comes running to Jesus to ask: “Good Teacher! What must I do to inherit eternal life?” In response, Jesus tells him: “You know the commandments...” Mark has a detail: “he ran up... fell on his knees before Him and asked.” This movement of the young man falling to his knees was preserved only in the Gospel of Mark.
Jesus tells the disciples that whoever wants to be first must become last; but whoever does not humble himself like a child will not enter the Kingdom of God. This episode is found in both Matthew and Mark. In Matthew we read: “Jesus called a child, set him in the midst of them, and said...” And in Mark, before the word “said,” a participial phrase is inserted: “having embraced him.” This is again a striking visual detail.
A blind man named Bartimaeus shouts: “Jesus, Son of David! have mercy on me." The blind man is called to Jesus, and he runs up, throwing off his cloak. This detail, this movement - the blind man takes off his cloak and remains in one tunic - was preserved only by the Gospel of Mark.
A woman with alabaster, a small vessel containing precious fragrant myrrh, comes to pour this ointment either on the feet or on the head of Jesus. Mark captures another characteristic movement: breaking the alabaster, the woman poured a libation of myrrh. She broke the vessel so that no one else could pour anything into it. And this scene also appears only in the Gospel of Mark.
On almost every page of the Gospel of Mark one can find details that, without changing the content as a whole, without even adding any new touches to the teaching of Jesus, give us the opportunity to see what was happening, introducing visual, usually dynamic details into the story: dropped a cloak, a broken vessel, a young man fallen to his knees. Sometimes, as, for example, in the description of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem, they simply flesh out the story. The disciples go to some house to untie the donkey. Mark clarifies that the donkey was tied at the gate outside, in the alley. Not inside the yard, not on the street, but precisely outside and precisely in the alley. These details are not found in any of the other Gospels.
Another distinctive feature of the Gospel of Mark is its language. He's extremely bad. In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter and John exclaim: “We cannot help but say what we have seen and heard” (4:20). The Evangelist Mark thinks approximately this way, and this phrase from Acts could be used as an epigraph to the Gospel of Mark. It is very difficult for him to write. He has never been a writer and will never be one in the future. He is the one whom the Evangelist John will later call the word “witness.” Realizing that it is necessary to tell about Jesus, despite the fact that it is very difficult for him, he tells. He speaks a strange, at times funny, at times almost incomprehensible Greek language, and uses some unexpected images.
For example, in the story of the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus commands all participants in this miracle to sit in rows. “Like vegetables in a garden,” Mark remarks. Authors Synodal translation they didn’t even dare to include this figurative comparison in their text. They simply wrote: “in rows” (and the Greek text here reproduces the structure of the Aramaic source, where this expression is repeated twice - “in beds, in beds”). Whether this is true or not, I hear here the voice of the Apostle Peter, his catechetical conversations, which formed the basis of the Gospel of Mark. This is an echo of the living sermon of a simple Galilean fisherman, in whose mouth such an expression is quite appropriate.
Here's another image. The evangelist talks about the Transfiguration of the Lord. This is some completely mystical text: Jesus stands on a mountain, suddenly His clothes begin to shine like light or like snow, and His face also becomes shining. “His clothes became shining, very white, like snow, as on earth a whitener cannot bleach.” Here again is a comparison taken from everyday life, and again an echo of Peter’s sermon is heard. The Evangelist does not say that Christ’s clothes became “dazzling white,” or, for example, “fantastically white,” or “white like the snows of the Himalayas,” etc. He remembers the whitener and his work, and takes a specific image. In this example, extremely simple, the entire originality of the Gospel of Mark seems to be focused. There is a lot of dynamics in this Gospel. Mark’s favorite words are “immediately”, “immediately”. Everything happens very quickly here.
The Gospel of Mark, I repeat, was apparently written first of the four.
The second one appeared Gospel of Matthew. It is one and a half times larger in volume than the Gospel of Mark, but at the same time, the events from the life of Jesus and miracles are presented here much more briefly. Sometimes they say: if the Gospel of Mark was written for the Romans and meets missionary tasks better than others, then the Gospel of Matthew was created for the Jews and for teachers of the faith. It is written in a language that can be called ecclesiastical. There are many words and expressions taken from the Old Testament, not to mention numerous quotations. There are editions of the Gospel where the text is typed in regular font, and quotations from the Old Testament are in italics. Italics are most abundant in the Gospel of Matthew. Speaking, for example, about the Nativity of Christ, the evangelist quotes from the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means: God is with us.” And when talking about the beating of infants, he quotes the prophet Jeremiah: “Rachel weeps for her children and does not want to be consoled, for they are not,” etc.
But even if there are no quotations, the language of the Gospel of Matthew is somewhat stylized to resemble the language of the Old Testament. It is a sacred language associated with worship, and texts written in it are recited. This reveals the Jewish nature of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus says a lot here, Matthew's text is literally filled with His words. The evangelist is rooted in the culture of the Old Testament, and Jesus is revealed here primarily as a Teacher, just as the rabbis are in the Talmud. (Although among the countless rabbis of the Talmud there are almost no miracle workers, people whose life, purity and holiness would draw the reader’s attention; rabbis are not saints, but simply teachers.) In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus appears in many ways as a rabbi. It is no coincidence that the Sermon on the Mount begins with the fact that He climbed onto a platform and sat down. This is like the beginning of a “lecture”: Jesus ascends the mountain as a pulpit. And the expression “opening of the mouth” is used in Greek to prepare the reader for the fact that he is now learning something very important. It is impossible to say, for example, “he opened his mouth and asked for something to eat or drink.”
Then Matthew says: ????????? (“taught”) – the imperfect is used, that is, the past incomplete. In Russian there is no fundamental difference between the imperfect and the aorist; we say: “I read this book,” meaning that we once read it. In Greek, as in French, the imperfect denotes only those actions that took place several times, repeatedly or constantly. The imperfect is used here to emphasize that Christ taught many times, that what we have before us is not a “transcript” of one sermon, but, as it were, a whole series of sermons repeated more than once brought together, their “sum,” a textbook of Christianity.
The Savior’s teaching is placed at the very beginning of the Gospel, so that this is where reading begins. Then the evangelist only mentions: “He taught them...”, and what he taught, not a word is said about this, because the essence of the teaching is already set out in the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters. What follows is simply a story about the sermon and miracles of Jesus, and the sermon is spoken of in great detail, but the miracles are always briefly discussed. In a word, this is not at all like the Gospel of Mark.
The text of Jesus' sermons in the Gospel of Matthew requires extremely deep reading. Here you need to think about literally every phrase. Let me give you an example. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” To thirst for truth means to “want justice.” The Greek word used here is ????????????, which means “justice.” Let us say this: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.” The verbs “hunger” and “thirst” in Greek, as in Russian, require the genitive case, which is partitive in nature. It's the same as in French, for example, du th? or du pain. If I say no du th?, a le th?, this means that I want all the tea there is in the world. A du th?- I want a glass of tea. “I want bread” - again, if we do not use this partitive with du it turns out that I want all the bread ( le pain), which is currently on sale in Moscow.
So, in the Greek version of the Gospel, instead of the expected genitive case, the accusative case is used: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Not “truth”, but “truth”. When you read the Gospel in Greek, it immediately makes a huge impression. What is meant here is not some specific justice in relation to someone or something, but all justice that exists in this world. The fact that the word “truth” is not in the genitive, but in the accusative case, immediately catches the eye: this form makes the phrase, on the one hand, somewhat clumsy, and on the other, surprisingly capacious and bright.
There are a lot of such passages in Matthew, and when, I repeat, you read his Gospel in Greek, they immediately attract attention. However, it is difficult to translate such passages; they must be specified in the notes, which, as a rule, is done in editions of the Holy Scriptures in almost all languages.
Gospel of Luke stands out because of what is written good language– in contrast to the simply bad language of the Gospel of Mark and the somewhat strange, chanting, either church or synagogue language of the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel of Luke is good 1st century Greek literature. Edward Mayer, the famous German historian of the early 20th century, wrote about this. This is the Gospel “for the intelligentsia,” for those who understand what good literature is.
Evangelist Luke is a Greek from Antioch, which was one of the largest intellectual and cultural centers of the ancient East. He received a varied education and was a doctor. How is this known? Let us remember the parable that says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Evangelists Matthew and Mark use the word here????? is a common sewing needle used by women. And in the Gospel of Luke the word ?????? is used. - surgeon's needle. This is a word from Corpus Hippocraticum- a set of works by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, that is, a purely medical word. Another confirmation is the scene of the healing of the possessed youth. Matthew talks about this boy’s illness without much detail: he goes berserk, throws himself first into the fire, then into the water, that is, he simply looks insane. In Mark’s transmission, everything is much more specific; according to his description, one can make an accurate diagnosis: this is epilepsy (one possessed by a “dumb spirit” throws himself to the ground, emits foam, grinds his teeth and becomes numb). Luke describes the disease completely differently. He is not horrified by the repulsive picture of an epileptic seizure, since he, a doctor, probably had to provide assistance to such patients; Luke’s attention is focused on the suffering of the sick youth, who screams before an attack, and when the attack “forcibly recedes”, he is completely exhausted. This is precisely the attitude towards human suffering without which the medical profession is impossible.
In addition, Luke is a historian, he read Thucydides and other Greek authors. In addition to the Gospel, he penned a historical work - the Acts of the Holy Apostles. Luke's authorship is supported by a comparative analysis of the vocabulary and style of these two New Testament texts. Acts is a brilliant literary work that is a comparative biography of the apostles Peter and Paul. The comparative biographies of Plutarch, which were written much later than the Acts, are in the same vein, although Plutarch is considered, by misunderstanding, to be the first master of this genre. Luka, according to him, strives for ????????? - this word, which is almost impossible to translate into Russian, means a truthful, accurate, consistent presentation of facts. As a historian, Luke attaches great importance to chronology, as if inscribing the gospel events into world history, and even the genealogy of Christ leads not from Abraham, like Matthew, but from Adam. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Gospel of Luke is of great interest both from the point of view of its deeply thought-out composition and from the point of view of content. Let us compare it with the two Gospels already discussed.
The Gospel of Mark is missionary in nature and can be used brilliantly for missionary purposes. And statistics confirm that this is indeed the gospel for missionaries. There is an International Summer Linguistic Institute (Summer Institute of Linguistics, abbreviated SIL) with headquarters in London, which is engaged in the translation of the Holy Scriptures into the languages of indigenous peoples. In his card index, the Gospel of Mark ranks first in the number of translations of all biblical texts. It has been translated into the most exotic languages. Any missionary working with people who have not yet been enlightened by the light of the gospel truth will say that reading the New Testament must begin with the Gospel of Mark.
Remarkable evidence of this can be found in the memoirs of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. He tells how once, when he was fourteen years old, Father Sergius Bulgakov came to the school where he studied. The remarkable shepherd and thinker spoke about Christ, but this conversation did not arouse much interest in the future metropolitan - rather, quite the opposite. However, somehow Father Sergius Bulgakov stirred him up. Arriving home, the boy asked his mother for the New Testament and, looking at the table of contents, realized that the shortest one there was the Gospel of Mark. In order not to waste time (people are very busy at fourteen years old!), he decided to read this, the shortest one. “And that’s where I got caught,” says the Metropolitan, “because it was written for the same little Roman savages as I was then.”
If we start with the Gospel of Matthew, we may be put off by the long genealogical table that takes up the entire first page. Starting with the Gospel of Luke, we will be faced with the background of the birth of Christ, which may seem too difficult to us. Let's start with the Gospel of Mark - perhaps we'll read to the end.
The Gospel of Matthew, I repeat once again, can be compared to a teacher’s book designed to teach the fundamentals of faith. The lesson of the Law of God is easiest to teach precisely from this Gospel.
What about the Gospel of Luke? First of all, there is quite a lot here that is missing from the other evangelists: the parables of the Prodigal Son, the Publican and the Pharisee, the Good Samaritan. Ambrose of Milan in the 4th century called the parable of the prodigal son Evangelium Evangeliorum– “The Gospel of the Gospels”, or “the core of the Gospel”. This parable talks about the boundlessness of God’s mercy, about how God expects repentance from every sinner, from the worst sinner, from everyone who has left God.
The parable of the publican and the Pharisee is about external (Pharisee) and internal (publican) piety. She teaches to pray as the publican prayed: “God! be merciful to me, a sinner!
The parable of the Good Samaritan answers the question of who is your neighbor. It teaches that Christianity is not about profession, but about action. The priest and the Levite, who passed by the lying man, although they were pious and respectable people, did not help the unfortunate man. Not villains, not indifferent to the suffering of their neighbor, they did not approach the sufferer only because they were afraid of being defiled by touching a dead body. After this, for a long time they could not perform divine services in the temple. In other words, they passed by out of caution, caring for ritual purity. And the Samaritan, without a doubt, a man despised by Jesus’ listeners - either a Jew, or a heretic, or even an atheist, and also a merchant who deals with money and is probably not always honest - turned out to be merciful to the unfortunate man. The point is that there is ritual purity, and there is internal purity.
These parables pose very important questions, and ones that can be attributed to pastoral theology. About the sinner. What should he do? How to live? What should be offered to a sinner? This is discussed in the parable of the prodigal son. How can a person live in this world? What should be his relationship with God, with people, with ritual, etc.? The answers are in the parable of the Good Samaritan. What is godliness? This is the theme of the parable of the publican and the Pharisee...
The Gospel of Luke is focused from beginning to end on the problem of sin and the repentant sinner, and sin is understood here as a disease, not as a crime or misdemeanor. The Christian must be treated for this disease. And the priest must help him with this. So the Gospel of Luke is suitable for the priest who is preparing a sermon and asking himself: “What is the meaning of my ministry?” It has a special “pastoral” connotation.
Mark is very impetuous and active. It is no coincidence that his key word, as I already said, is ????? - “immediately”, “immediately”. There is one detail in Mark's account of Jesus' arrest that is missing from the other Gospels. One young man, who for some reason was wrapped in a veil, saw how Jesus was captured. He was also captured, but he escaped from the soldiers’ hands and ran away from them naked. The medieval reader saw in this young man the evangelist himself, who witnessed the last night before Golgotha. But regardless of whether the author drew himself here or not, one thing can be said: this is all Mark. Impulse, speed, unexpected change of personnel.
Unhurried Matthew with his meditative and slow narration. Typically Greek historian Luke, somewhat similar to Plutarch. Impetuous and illiterate Mark. The authors of the three Gospels have very different characters, different levels of education, different language, different temperaments and, finally, different potential recipients or readers.
IN Gospel of John Another world opens up to us. It’s all prayerful, from beginning to end. John - for the one who prays, he teaches prayer. This fourth Gospel is written in a language that cannot be called either verse or prose. It is all built on repetitions, on key words that move from verse to verse and turn the text into something that is not similar to poetry, but even less reminiscent of prose. It would seem that the language of this Gospel is extremely poor: John’s vocabulary is 1000 words, while Luke’s is more than 2000, Matthew’s is approximately 1,700 words, and Mark’s is 1,350. In a text as long as the Gospel of John, is it possible to express anything significant in just a thousand words?! But the evangelist, despite everything, succeeds. And this is truly a miracle.
John has a lot of night scenes, such as the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in the third chapter or the last conversation with the disciples, beginning with the words: “Now is the Son of Man glorified...” (this text is read in the temple before Easter, the first of the “twelve Gospels”). Jesus talks with his disciples in almost complete darkness, as depicted in the wonderful painting by N. N. Ge “The Last Supper.” The appearance of the Risen One to the disciples, his dialogues - first with Thomas, then with Peter - also take place in the dark. The Gospel of John can be compared to a large, elongated painting hanging in a dark hall. Walking past it with a candle, we snatch out of the darkness first one, then another, then a third fragment, but we cannot see it entirely.
The author of the fourth Gospel is not a writer. Sometimes they say that it is written in some special poetic language. This is wrong. Theological depths are achieved here not thanks to language, but in spite of it. For example, Plato, in his “Dialogues”, really, in many ways, reaches the depths of thought through linguistic means; The Greek language of the great Plato is magnificent. The deep essence of John's Gospel is not expressed through the strange language of the Galilean fisherman. There are some other, truly mystical means here.
The first three Gospels are filled with dialogues between Jesus and quite a large number of people; He is always surrounded by crowds. In the Gospel of John, on the contrary, Jesus conducts all conversations mainly alone with his interlocutor. In the first chapter He speaks with Nathanael, in the third - with Nicodemus, in the fourth - with the Samaritan woman, in the fifth - with the paralytic, in the ninth - with the man born blind, then - a farewell conversation with the disciples, then, at the end of the Gospel - with Thomas and then - with Peter. All this is like a conversation in a low voice. This is how we sometimes talk in a low voice at night, when the children are already asleep. The Gospel of John, the Gospel of meeting, is written in the same simple language of frank one-on-one conversation. When Jesus meets Nathanael, we don’t even know what they are talking about, we only become witnesses to their meeting, and unbeknownst to us, our meeting with Christ, our prayer dialogue with Him, takes place.
Clement of Alexandria, a Christian writer who lived at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, called John's gospel ??????????? ?????????? - a spiritual Gospel, the mysticism and sublimity of which are achieved not thanks to, but in spite of language. And if the weather forecasters give the portrait of Jesus from the outside, then the Evangelist John gives it from the inside, from the depths of the spirit. If you write down the formulas with which John calls Christ - the Only Begotten Son, the Lamb of God, the Bread of Life, the Savior of the world, the Good Shepherd, etc. - a kind of akathist to Christ will be compiled. Thus, the Gospel of John is the Gospel of a personal encounter with Jesus and a Gospel for prayer.
Strange affair. When you read Plato’s book about Socrates, and then Xenophon’s book about him, you get the impression that they seem to be writing about different people. Xenophon's Socrates is very different from Plato's Socrates.
Evangelists, as I already said, are very different from each other - neither in education, nor in type of thinking, nor in temperament, nor in the tasks that they set for themselves. But the Jesus of the four evangelists is one Jesus. In different, sometimes almost mutually exclusive texts, one Man emerges. This makes Jesus not the hero of the Gospel, but a truly living Person who goes beyond the book and actually finds himself among us. Each of the Gospels paints a portrait of Him. But Jesus in the four Gospels is already much more than a portrait, even more than a hologram. This is a miracle.
It turns out that it is impossible to contain in one text what is contained in four, although almost everything here seems to be repeated. That's why there are four Gospels. The same phrases are repeated, but in one Gospel some word disappears, in another it appears. The result is a three-dimensional effect. From a book that can be opened and read, the Gospel turns into a real building that you can enter and live inside for the rest of your life. In his Confessions, St. Augustine says that the Gospel reminds him of a building with a low entrance. It's difficult to enter. But the further you go, the higher and higher the vaults of this building become, until they finally disappear somewhere in the sky. Augustine very well expressed precisely the volume of the Gospel, this effect when the reader, as it were, enters the book, finds himself inside. You can also use a comparison with a statue, which cannot be photographed from one side so that the viewer has a complete picture of it. To do this, it must be removed from several points.
But that’s not the only reason why there are four Gospels. With all their differences the main task one is to proclaim the Good News, to announce that Christ has risen. Everything else seems to be attached to this.
In addition to the Four Gospels, as you know, there are also different apocryphal (not recognized as sacred by the Church) gospels- from Thomas, from Nicodemus, from Peter, from Mary, etc. In recent years, several books have been published on this topic.
The question naturally arises: why did the Church recognize some Gospels as canonical, while others were rejected or apocryphal? At the same time, in the apocryphal gospels there are certain facts that cannot be ignored. But in general, each of these gospels depicts its own Jesus, unlike the Jesus from other apocrypha and the One with whom we meet in the Gospels included in the Holy Scriptures. This is the first sign of the non-canonical nature of these books.
The second sign is that each of the apocryphal gospels was written to substantiate one or another thesis. From this point of view, the apocrypha can be divided into three groups. The first is the Judeo-Christian gospels, designed to substantiate the thesis to which Mao Zedong would return much later, in the 20th century: poverty is good. These gospels show that the rich are all bad and the poor are all good. Of course, we know - the Savior speaks directly about this - that it is difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It's difficult, but possible. Yes, it’s easier for the poor, but there is no condemnation of wealth anywhere in the Gospels. The Apostle Paul condemns not wealth, but the love of money. Christ warns us that it is difficult to manage wealth and therefore easier for a person when he has nothing. At the same time, calling us to help, to give to those who need something, the Savior seems to be saying: in order to give, you must have something to give. The relationship between a Christian and wealth is thus not at all as simple as pseudo-Christian socialists would sometimes like. It’s good for some Peruvian priest professing liberation theology to talk about how wonderful it is to be poor, knowing that brothers from France, Italy or the USA will certainly help his parish... We also talk about how wonderful it is to have nothing, and We are expecting a truck with humanitarian aid from Germany in two days. This is immoral. And Christ does not teach us such an attitude towards life anywhere in the New Testament. But in the apocryphal gospels of the first group, Christ says precisely that it is good to be poor. This basic idea of theirs has a purely social connotation.
The second group is the Gnostic gospels. In the Gospel of Thomas, for example, we are talking about the fact that a person is saved not by faith, but by immersion in the knowledge of God. There is no need to try to save another, there is no need to extend a helping hand to him. The main thing is to immerse yourself in the knowledge of God. This is the main thesis of the Gnostic gospels, scrolls with texts of which were found in Egypt, in the village of Nag Hammadi, shortly after World War II and were then published many times in Europe. Here, in Russian translation, they saw the light of day thanks to the works of M.K. Trofimova. These texts immediately attracted the attention of the European intelligentsia, because they talk about exactly what is pleasant for today's intellectuals - about special knowledge. Christ calls us not to believe in them, not to live in Him, in Christ, and for the sake of those who surround us, but to immerse ourselves in some kind of secret knowledge. This vision of Christianity immediately reconciled many people with it, but such “Christianity” has nothing in common with Christ.
The third group of non-canonical gospels is of later origin. These texts are written in Latin, and their purpose is to show that the Jews are bad and the Romans are good. It was the Jews who crucified Christ, and the Romans were actually against it. And the Roman soldiers generally liked Christ right away... These texts were created in conditions when Christianity had already begun to become the state religion of the Roman Empire. And the goal of their creators was to reconcile the empire and Christianity, showing, firstly, that Christ did not plan anything bad towards it, did not quarrel with any of the authorities, but, on the contrary, somehow fit very well into the overall picture of the empire, and secondly, that the Romans are not guilty of anything before Him.
When you read the texts of any of these three groups, you always see what goal the authors pursued, what they want to prove. Their main character is always a thesis, idea or complex of ideas, and not the living Christ, while at the center of any of the four canonical Gospels is the living Jesus Himself, and not His teaching.
No one ever hid the apocryphal gospels from their readers. They are easy to buy in a bookstore even now, but reading them usually does not give a person much, moreover, it causes disappointment. Many, for example, think that in the Gospel of Thomas one can find some hidden and therefore most valuable sermons of Christ, which the clergy are hiding from the people. And after reading it, they always feel disappointed.
Let me make a few theoretical comments. Reading the Judeo-Christian gospels, you immediately see that they are addressed to the poor people of the Middle East at the turn of the 1st–2nd centuries and call them to some kind of social action. The Latin Gospels, and this is also immediately noticeable, are addressed to the Romans, who are trying to convince them that Christianity is not directed against Rome. It is clear that the texts of the Gnostic gospels are addressed to disillusioned intellectuals who thirst not for salvation, but for secret knowledge. And the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John are addressed to each of us. It makes no difference - to an intellectual or a not very educated person, to a Russian or a Greek, to a Roman or a Chinese, a person from the East or from the South.
There is a wonderful word in modern theology, unfortunately, untranslatable into Russian, English and French - message. This is not just a “message”. Message is a message that we receive by fax many times faster than by telegraph. A note sent by fax will be received on the other side of the globe in a few seconds. That's what it is message. The Gospel text is exactly that message which each of us receives. This is a text “today and now” addressed to a specific person. The addressed nature of the Gospel text is one of its main features.
The second, no less important detail that you need to remember when reading the biblical text: understand message It is possible only by knowing biblical archeology, delving into the details, into every word, understanding what a particular word means and what stands behind it. This is why it is extremely important to know the real environment in which Jesus preached and the literature that tells about it.
Finally, the third, no less important detail. None of the gospel phrases can live an independent life. Each individual gospel phrase is part of the single Word of God. We are talking about the Holy Scriptures, the whole Bible, that this is the Word of God. It is interesting that the internal unity inherent in the canonical Gospels is not present in the apocryphal texts. The Gospel of Thomas begins with the words: “These are the words that Jesus spoke.” Meanwhile, any canonical Gospel is the Word, or rather, even a part of the Word. For this reason, it is dangerous to take gospel phrases out of the context of the entire Bible, perceiving them as independent texts and as aphorisms, which, unfortunately, is done quite often. L.N. Tolstoy, taking the phrase “do not resist evil,” built an entire theory on it. However, if we read this phrase from the Sermon on the Mount against the background of the rest of Scripture, it turns out that, teaching us not to return evil for evil, not to resist evil with evil, Christ is not at all indifferent to evil and calls us not to be indifferent. On the contrary, through the lips of the Apostle He calls us to overcome evil, but only with good!
It is impossible, as Protestant exegetes did before, to take one phrase from Scripture and build an entire theory on it, for every biblical phrase is significant only in the context of the entire Scripture.
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