Interpretation of the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1. Interpretation of the New Testament by Theophylact of Bulgaria. Interpretation of the Gospel of Mark

Departing from there, he comes to the borders of Judea on the Jordan side. Again the people gathered to Him according to His custom, He again taught them. The Pharisees came and asked, tempting Him: Is it permissible for a husband to divorce his wife? He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said: Moses allowed the writing of a letter of divorce and divorce. Jesus answered and said to them, Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. At the beginning of creation, God created them male and female (Gen. 1:27). Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh; so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. So, what God has joined together, let no man separate.

The Lord often left Judea because the Pharisees hated Him. But now he comes again to Judea, because the time of His suffering was approaching. However, He does not go directly to Jerusalem, but first only “to the borders of Judea” in order to benefit the kindly people; while Jerusalem, through the cunning of the Jews, was the center of all evil. And look how, in their malice, they tempt the Lord, not tolerating the people to believe in Him, but each time approaching Him with the intention of putting Him in difficulty and blocking Him with their questions. They offer Him a question that put Him between two abysses: is it permissible, they say, for a man to let his wife go? For whether He says that it is permissible, or whether He says that it is impermissible, in any case, they thought to accuse Him of contradicting the Law of Moses. But Christ, the Self-Existing Wisdom, answers them in such a way that he escapes their snares. He asks them: what did Moses command them? And when they answered that Moses commanded to let his wife go, Christ explained to them the Law itself. Moses, He says, was not so unmerciful that he could give such a Law, but he wrote this because of your hardness of heart. Knowing the inhumanity of the Jews, such that a husband who did not love his wife could easily kill her, Moses allowed the husband to let his unloved wife go. But from the beginning it was not so: God combines two persons in the union of marriage so that they become one, leaving even their parents. Notice that the Lord says: God does not allow polygamy, so that one can let go of one wife and take another, and then again leave this one and marry another. If it had pleased God, He would have created one husband and many wives; But that’s not what happened, but “God created man and woman” to be combined - one husband with one wife. In a figurative sense, this can be understood this way: the word of the Teaching, throwing good seeds into the soul of a believer, has the meaning of a husband for the soul that accepts it. But (the word of teaching) leaves his father, that is, a lofty mind, and his mother, that is, decorated speech, and cleaves to his wife, that is, the benefit of the soul, adapts to her and often prefers low thoughts and simple speech. And then they both become one flesh, that is, the soul believes that “the Word (of God) became flesh,” and no human thought can separate the soul from such faith.

At home, His disciples again asked Him the same thing. He said to them: whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if a wife divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.

So the disciples were tempted (regarding the divorce of husband and wife), so they too come to Him and ask about the same thing. Their way of thinking was not yet completely sound. The Lord answered them: whoever lets his wife go and understands another, becomes an adulterer with this second wife; Likewise, a wife who leaves her husband and marries another becomes an adulteress.

They brought children to Him so that He could touch them; The disciples did not allow those who brought them. Seeing this, Jesus was indignant and said to them: Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such is the Kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. And he embraced them, laid his hands on them and blessed them.

There was great faith among the people when they accepted the laying on of hands by Christ as a blessing for the children brought to Him, but the disciples did not allow those bringing them, thinking that it was unworthy of Him. What about Christ? Teaching his disciples to be humble and reject worldly arrogance, He accepts and embraces children. By this He shows that He accepts those who are not evil; That’s why he says: “For of such is the kingdom of God.” Notice that he did not say: these children “are the Kingdom,” but “such children,” that is, those who have acquired the same kindness that children have by nature. For the child does not envy, does not remember evil and, being punished by his mother, does not run away from her, but even if she wore rags, he prefers her to the queen; So a person who lives virtuously prefers his mother, I mean the Church, to everything and is not carried away by worldly pleasures. For this reason, the Lord embraces such people, saying: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,” and blesses them, saying: “Come, you blessed of My Father.” The Kingdom of God here refers to the preaching of the Gospel and the promise of future blessings. So, whoever accepts the Divine preaching as a child, that is, without hesitation at all and without allowing unbelief in himself, will enter the Kingdom of God and inherit the blessings that he has already acquired through faith.

When He set out on the road, someone ran up, fell on his knees before Him and asked Him: Good Teacher! What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him: Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not offend, honor your father and mother (Ex. 20: 12-17). He answered and said to Him: Teacher! I have kept all this from my youth. Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me, taking up the cross. He, embarrassed by this word, went away sad, because he had great property.

Some falsely represent this young man as a cunning and treacherous tempter. This is not so: he was only a covetous man, and not a tempter. For listen to what the evangelist notes: “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” And why did Christ answer him like this: “No one is good”? Because he approached Christ as a simple man and as one of many teachers. Christ seems to say this: If you consider Me good, as a simple teacher, then in comparison with God not a single person is good; If you recognize Me as good as God, then why do you call Me only teacher? With such words, Christ wants to convey the highest thought about Himself, so that he knows Him as God. In addition, to correct the young man, the Lord gives him another lesson: if he wants to talk with someone, then he must speak without flattery, and the root and source of goodness is to know one thing - God and give due honor to Him. However, I am surprised at this young man in the fact that when everyone else came to Christ for healing from illnesses, he himself asks for the inheritance of eternal life - if only he were not possessed by the even stronger passion of the love of money. Because of this passion, having heard the words of the Lord: “Go, sell and give to the poor,” he “went away with sadness.” Note at the same time that the Lord did not say: sell in parts what you have and distribute, but sell at a time and distribute, but only to the poor, and not to caresses and not to debauchees; then: “follow me,” that is, learn every other virtue, for there are many who are willing and not acquisitive, but not humble, or humble, but not sober, or have some other vice. Therefore, the Lord does not only say: “sell and give to the poor,” but: “and come, follow Me, taking up the cross,” which means to be ready to die for His sake. “He was troubled by this word and went away sad, because he had great property.” It is not in vain that it was added that he had a lot: for owning little is both bad and dangerous, and the bonds of many acquisitions are completely insoluble. But the one who is young in spirit, frivolous, inattentive in thought, not organized in mind, let him sell his property in the same way, such as anger and lust, with all that vegetates from them, and give it away, throw it to the demons, who are the poor , deprived of all good and wealth, because they have fallen away from the goodness of God, and then let him follow Christ, for he can only follow Christ who rejects the wealth of sins, which is the property of demons. “Turn away,” it is said, “from evil”: this means throwing sinful wealth to the poor, that is, to the forces of demons; - “and do good”: what does it mean to follow Christ and take His Cross.

And, looking around, Jesus said to His disciples: how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God! The disciples were horrified at His words. But Jesus answers them again: children! How difficult it is for those who hope for wealth to enter the Kingdom of God! 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. They were extremely amazed and said to each other: who can be saved? Jesus, looking at them, said: This is impossible with men, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.

It is not wealth in itself that is evil, but those who cherish it are evil and worthy of condemnation, for they should not have it, that is, keep it, but use it for good. This is why it is called wealth because it is intended for beneficial use, not for saving. Therefore, it is difficult for those who guard and lock it to “enter the Kingdom of God.” And the word “difficult” here means the same thing as impossible. It is indeed too difficult for a rich man to be saved. This can be seen from the example that the Lord adds when he says: “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.” By the name camel we mean either the animal itself, or the thick rope (rope) used on large ships. So, it is impossible for a person to be saved while he is rich. But from God it is possible. Christ said: “Make friends for yourselves with unrighteous wealth.” You see how everything becomes possible when we hear the Word of God! “This is impossible for humans,” that is, it is impossible when we reason like humans. But why were the disciples so amazed at these words? After all, they themselves were never rich? I think that in this case they cared about all the people, since they were already beginning to be humane. Some people wonder how Christ said that “all things are possible with God.” Can He really sin? To this we answer that when Christ says: “all,” he means everything essential, but sin is not something essential: sin is something inessential, inactive, or, in other words, sin is not a property of strength, but of weakness, as and the apostle says: “While we were still weak, Christ died” (Rom. 5:6), and David says: “Their sorrows are multiplied” (Ps. 15:4). This means that sin, like weakness, is impossible for God. But can God, they say, make things that were as if they were not? To this we say: God is Truth, and to make what has happened as if it had not happened is a lie. How can Truth make a lie? To do this, He would first have to change His Being. To say this would be to say that God may not be God.

And Peter began to say to Him: Behold, we have left everything and followed You. Jesus answered and said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for My sake and the gospel’s sake, and will not receive it now, in this time, in the midst of persecution, a hundred times more houses, and brothers and sisters, and fathers, and mothers, and children, and lands, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first.

Although Peter left a little for the sake of Christ, he still calls this little “all.” Apparently, few people have bonds of partiality; and therefore the one who leaves a little is worthy of satisfaction. Peter alone asked Christ, but the Lord gives a common answer for everyone: everyone who leaves his wife or mother. He says this not so that we leave our parents helpless or separate from our wives, but teaches us to prefer pleasing God to everything carnal. Since the preaching of the Gospel caused strife to flare up between people, so that children had to renounce their fathers, the Lord says: whoever forsakes carnal relationships and everything carnal in general for the sake of the Gospel, in this age he will receive all this a hundred times more, and in future - eternal life. Therefore, will he not get a hundred times more wives? Yes, - although the damned Julian scoffed at it. For, tell me, what benefit does a wife bring to her husband’s household? In general, she takes care of food and clothing for her husband and in this regard completely provides for her husband. Look how it was with the apostles. How many wives took care of bringing them clothes and food and served them, so that they themselves had no concern for anything except the word and teaching! Likewise, the apostles had many fathers and mothers, as were all those who loved them and cared for them heartily. Peter left one house, and subsequently had (as his own) all the houses of his disciples. He still has bright houses all over the earth - temples in his name. And what is even more important is that the saints inherited all this in exile, that is, being persecuted for the faith of Christ, and in cruel suffering, but their suffering was not disgrace for them. For they, who seemed last in the present age because of the tribulations and persecutions they endured, will be first in the next age because of their strong trust in God. Pharisees, former first, became the last, and those who left everything and followed Christ became the first.

When they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus walked ahead of them, and they were terrified and, following Him, were in fear. Calling the twelve, He again began to tell them what would happen to Him: behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and hand Him over to the pagans, and they will mock Him, and beat Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him; and on the third day he will rise again.

Why does Jesus predict to his disciples what will happen to Him? To strengthen their spirit, so that they, having previously heard about this, bravely endure when it comes true, and are not struck by the suddenness; and at the same time they should have known that He suffered according to His will. For whoever foresaw suffering could avoid it, and if he did not run, it is clear that he willingly surrendered himself to suffering. But since only his closest disciples should have revealed His suffering, He precedes everyone on the path, wanting to separate the disciples from the people. By forestalling everyone and by His haste on the path, the Lord also shows that He hastens to suffering and does not run away from death for the sake of our salvation. Everything that He expresses in this case, although regrettable, for all this he consoles us with the fact that “on the third day he will rise again.”

Then the sons of Zebedee, James and John, came up to Him and said: Teacher! We want You to do for us whatever we ask. He said to them: what do you want me to do to you? They told Him; let us sit with You, one by one right side, and the other on the left, in Thy glory. But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.” Can you drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?

Another evangelist (Matthew 20:20) says that their mother (James and John) approached Jesus. But, probably, it was both: these two apostles, ashamed of others, sent their mother ahead, and then they themselves approached separately, as the evangelist means, saying: “they approached Him,” that is, they approached separately, moving away from the others. What did they ask for? They understood the ascension of Christ to Jerusalem, about which He talked with the disciples, that He was coming to embrace the sensual kingdom and, upon His accession to the throne, would undergo the suffering that He had predicted. Thinking in this way, they ask for sitting on the right and on the right. left side Christ. That is why the Lord reproaches them as those who do not understand what they are asking: “You do not know,” he says, “what you are asking.” You think that My Kingdom will be sensual, and therefore you ask for sensual seating; no, this is not so: this is beyond the concept of man, and to sit at My right hand is the greatest thing, exceeding even the ranks of angels. Moreover, you dream of glory, but I call you to death. He calls the Cross the Cup and Baptism - the Cup because the Cross, like a cup of wine, was soon to lead Him to the sleep of death - and He was ready to accept the cup of suffering as a sweet drink for Himself; and by Baptism - because through the Cross He accomplished the cleansing of our sins. But the disciples, not understanding the words of the Lord, make a promise for their part, thinking that He is talking about the sensual cup and about the baptism that the Jews had, who washed themselves before eating food.

They answered: we can. Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized.” but to let you sit on My right side and on My left does not depend on Me, but on whom it is prepared.

You, he says, will enter into the feat of martyrdom and die for the truth, “but it is not up to Me to let you sit down.” But there are two perplexities here. First: is this seat destined for anyone? Second: can the universal Lord really not give this seat? We answer: no one will sit either on the right hand or on the left. And if you hear that Scripture speaks many times about such sitting, then do not mean sitting (in in its own sense), but the highest dignity. And the words: “it does not depend on Me” have the following meaning: It is not in my nature, the righteous Judge, to give you such dignity out of love for you alone; otherwise I would not be just; but such an honor is reserved only for those who strive. This is the same as if a just king placed some ascetic above others, and his favorites, coming, said to him: “Give us crowns”; then the king, of course, would answer: “It doesn’t depend on me,” but whoever struggles and wins, the crown is prepared for him. “So, you, sons of Zebedee, can and will be martyrs for Me; but if anyone, along with martyrdom, has any other virtue greater than you, he will have an advantage over you.

And when the ten heard it, they began to be angry with James and John. Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are considered princes of the nations rule over them, and their nobles rule over them. But let it not be like this among you: but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant; and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His soul as a ransom for many.

The disciples, still reasoning humanly, fell into envy, which is why they are indignant at the two apostles. However, when? When they saw that the latter’s request was not accepted by the Lord, but was rejected, then they began to be indignant. While the Lord Himself showed preference to James and John, the other disciples, seeing this, endured; but when those two disciples began to ask for honors for themselves, the others could no longer stand it. They were still so imperfect at that time! But later we will see how each of them gave way to the other. Now Christ heals them, first pacifying them, and for this purpose bringing them closer to Him - which is what is meant by the word “calling.” Then he shows that to admire the honor of others and to seek primacy is a matter of paganism. For pagan rulers forcefully subjugate others to their power; but My disciples, he says, are not like that: but whoever of them wants to be great, let him serve everyone, because this is also a sign of a great soul - to endure from everyone and serve everyone. There is an example of this nearby: “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” And this is more than service. In fact, not only to serve, but also to die for the one you serve - what could be higher and more wonderful than this? But such service and humility of the Lord was height and glory both for Himself and for everyone. For before becoming man He was known only to the Angels, and having become a man and undergoing the Crucifixion, He not only has that glory (heavenly), but also accepted another, and reigns over the entire universe.

They arrive in Jericho. And when He left Jericho with His disciples and a multitude of people, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat blind by the road, begging for alms. Hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say: Jesus, Son of David! have mercy on me. Many people forced him to remain silent; but he began to shout even more: Son of David! have mercy on me. Jesus stopped and told him to call him. They call the blind man and tell him: don’t be afraid, get up, he’s calling you. He took off his outer garment, stood up and came to Jesus. Answering him, Jesus asked: What do you want from Me? The blind man said to Him: Teacher! so that I can see the light. Jesus said to him: Go, your faith has saved you. And he immediately received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Matthew speaks of two blind men: and perhaps two were healed; but, probably, one of them attracted more attention, the one that Mark now mentions. But look how the people honor Jesus: they even forbid a blind man to shout as if some king were passing by. And Jesus asks the blind man so that they will not say that He is not giving what the blind man wanted. And the soul of the blind man was prudent, for after being healed he did not leave Jesus, but followed Him. And (allegorically) it can be understood this way: Jericho means a low-lying place (world); the blind man sitting here is an image of human nature, which was once adopted to God, above all earthly honor; it cried out to Christ passing through Jericho, that is, this world. But Christ had mercy on it and saved it through faith when it put off the old garment of sin. After receiving salvation, it followed Him (Christ), fulfilling the commandments on its way, that is, in this life. For only in this life can one follow Christ, and after it the doors (of salvation) are already closed and there will be no more time to fulfill the commandments of God.

Interpretation of Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria

Preface

The Holy Gospel of Mark was written in Rome ten years after the Ascension of Christ. This Mark was a student and follower of Petrov, whom Peter even calls his son, of course, spiritual. He was also called John; was a nephew of Barnabas; accompanied the Apostle Paul. But for the most part was with Peter, with whom he was also in Rome. Therefore the faithful at Rome asked him not only to preach to them without Scripture, but also to set down for them the works and life of Christ in Scripture; He barely agreed to this, however, he wrote. Meanwhile, it was revealed to Peter by God; that Mark wrote the Gospel. Peter testified that it was true. Then he sent Mark as a bishop to Egypt, where with his preaching he founded a church in Alexandria and enlightened everyone living in the midday country.
The distinctive features of this Gospel are clarity and the absence of anything difficult to understand. Moreover, the real evangelist is almost similar to Matthew, except that it is shorter, and Matthew is more extensive, and that Matthew at the beginning mentions the Nativity of the Lord in the flesh, and Mark began with the prophet John. Hence, some, not without reason, see the following sign in the evangelists: God, sitting on the cherubim, whom Scripture depicts as four-faced (Ezek. 1:6), taught us a fourfold Gospel, animated by one spirit. So, each of the cherubim has one face that is called like a lion, another like a man, a third like an eagle, and a fourth like a calf; so it is in the matter of evangelical preaching. The Gospel of John has the face of a lion, for the lion is the image of royal power; so John began with royal and sovereign dignity, with the Divinity of the Word, saying: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” The Gospel of Matthew has a human face because it begins with the carnal birth and incarnation of the Word. The Gospel of Mark is compared to an eagle because it begins with a prophecy about John, and the gift of prophetic grace, as the gift of acute vision and insight into the distant future, can be likened to an eagle, which is said to be gifted with the keenest vision, so that it alone Of all the animals, without closing his eyes, he looks at the sun. The Gospel of Luke is like a calf because it begins with the priestly ministry of Zechariah, who offered incense for the sins of the people; then they also sacrificed the calf.
So, Mark begins the Gospel with a prophecy and a prophetic life. Listen to what he says!

Chapter first

The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in the prophets: Behold, I send My angel before Thy face, who will prepare Thy way before Thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.
The evangelist presents John, the last of the prophets, as the beginning of the Gospel of the Son of God, because the end of the Old Testament is the beginning of the New Testament. As for the testimony of the Forerunner, it is taken from two prophets - from Malachi: “Behold, I am sending My angel, and he will prepare the way before Me” (3:1) and from Isaiah: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness” (40:3) And so on. These are the words of God the Father to the Son. He calls the Forerunner an Angel for his angelic and almost ethereal life and for the announcement and indication of the coming Christ. John prepared the way of the Lord, preparing the souls of the Jews through baptism to accept Christ: “before Your face” means Your Angel is close to You. This signifies the closeness of the Forerunner to Christ, since even before kings, primarily related persons are honored. “The voice of one crying in the wilderness,” that is, in the Jordanian desert, and even more so in the Jewish synagogue, which was empty in relation to good. The path means the New Testament, "paths" - the Old, as repeatedly violated by the Jews. They had to prepare for the path, that is, for the New Testament, and correct the paths of the Old, for although they had accepted them in ancient times, they later turned away from their paths and got lost.
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And the whole country of Judea and the people of Jerusalem came out to him, and they were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
John's baptism did not have remission of sins, but introduced only repentance for people. But how does Mark say here: “for the forgiveness of sins”? To this we answer that John preached a baptism of repentance. What was the point of this sermon? To the remission of sins, that is, to the baptism of Christ, which already included the remission of sins. When we say, for example, that such and such came before the king, commanding that food be prepared for the king, we mean that those who fulfill this command are favored by the king. So it is here. The Forerunner preached the baptism of repentance so that people, having repented and accepted Christ, would receive remission of sins.
John wore clothes made of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey.
We already talked about this in the Gospel of Matthew; now we will only say about what is omitted there, namely: that John’s clothing was a sign of mourning, and the prophet showed in this way that the repentant should cry, since sackcloth usually serves as a sign of crying; the leather belt meant the deadness of the Jewish people. And that these clothes meant crying, the Lord himself speaks about this: “We sang sad songs to you (Slavic “lamentation”), and you did not cry,” calling here the life of the Forerunner weeping, because he further says: “John came without eating, neither drinks; and they say, “He has a devil” (Matthew 11:17-18). Likewise, the food of John, pointing here, of course, to abstinence, was at the same time an image of the spiritual food of the Jews of that time, who did not eat clean birds of the air, that is, did not think about anything lofty, but fed only on the word exalted and aimed at grief, but again falling to the ground . For locusts (“locusts”) are an insect that jumps up and then falls to the ground again. In the same way, the people ate honey produced by bees, that is, prophets; but it remained with him without care and was not increased by deepening and correct understanding, although the Jews thought that they understood and comprehended the Scripture. They had the Scriptures, like some honey, but they did not labor at them and did not study them.
And he preached, saying: He who is mightier than I is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down to untie; I baptized you with water, and He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
“I,” he says, “are not worthy to be even His lowest servant, who would untie the belt, that is, the knot on the strap of his boots. They understand, however, this: everyone who came and was baptized by John was released through repentance from the bonds of their sins when they believed in Christ. Thus, John loosed the belts and bonds of sin in everyone, but in Jesus he could not loose such a belt, because this belt, that is, sin, was not found with Him.
And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came out of the water, John immediately saw the heavens opening and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him. And a voice came from heaven: You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Jesus does not come to baptism for the remission of sins, for He did not create sin, nor to receive the Holy Spirit, for how could John’s baptism bestow the Spirit when it did not cleanse sins, as I said? But He did not go to be baptized for repentance, since He was greater than the Baptist himself (Matthew 11:11). So, why does it come? No doubt, so that John would announce Him to the people. Since many flocked there, He deigned to come in order to be testified before many who He is, and at the same time in order to fulfill “all righteousness,” that is, all the commandments of the Law. Since obedience to the baptizing prophet, as sent from God, was also a commandment , then Christ fulfills this commandment as well. The Spirit descends not because Christ has a need for this (for in essence He abides in Him), but so that you know that the Holy Spirit also descends on you at baptism. When the Holy Spirit descends, it is immediately spoken and testimony. Since the Father spoke from above: “You are My Son,” so that those who heard would not think that He was speaking about John, the Spirit descended on Jesus, showing that this was said about Him. And the heavens were opened so that we might know that they are also revealed to us when we are baptized.
Immediately after this, the Spirit leads Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the beasts; and Angels served Him.
Teaching us not to lose heart when, after baptism, we fall into temptation, the Lord goes up into the mountain to face temptation, or, better yet, does not go away, but is led away by the Holy Spirit, showing through the fact that we ourselves should not fall into temptation, but accept them when they come. befall us. And he goes up the mountain so that, due to the desolation of the place, the devil will have boldness and can approach Him; for he usually attacks when he sees that we are alone. The place of temptation was so wild that there were many animals there. The angels began to serve Him after He defeated the tempter. All this is stated in more detail in the Gospel of Matthew.
After John was betrayed, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and saying that the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe in the Gospel.
Having heard that John had been handed over to prison, Jesus retired to Galilee, in order to show us that we should not fall into temptation ourselves, but avoid them, and when we fall, endure. Christ preaches, apparently, the same thing as John, something like: “repent” and “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” But in fact, it is not the same thing: John says “repent” in order to turn away from sins, and Christ says “repent” in order to lag behind the letter of the Law, which is why he added: “believe in the Gospel,” for he whoever wants to believe according to the Gospel has already abolished the Law. The Lord says that “the time is fulfilled” for the Law. Hitherto, he says, the Law was in action, but from now on the Kingdom of God comes, life according to the Gospel. This life is rightly presented as the “Kingdom” of Heaven, for when you see that someone who lives according to the Gospel behaves almost as if incorporeal, how can you not say that he already has the Kingdom of Heaven (where there is no food or drink), although it seems to still exist? far.
As he passed near the Sea of ​​Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting nets into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. And they immediately left their nets and followed Him. And having gone a little way from there, He saw James Zebedee and John his brother also in a boat mending nets; and immediately called them. And they, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the workers, followed Him.
Peter and Andrew were at first disciples of the Forerunner, and when they saw Jesus testified by John, they joined Him. Then, when John was betrayed, they went back to their previous occupation with sorrow. So, Christ now calls them a second time, for the real calling is already the second. Notice that they were nourished by their righteous works, and not by their unrighteous activities. Such people were worth being the first disciples of Christ. Immediately leaving what was in their hands, they followed Him; for one must not delay, but must follow immediately. After these he catches James and John. And these, although they themselves were poor, nevertheless supported their elderly father. But they left their father not because leaving parents is a good deed, but because he wanted to prevent them from following the Lord. So you, when your parents hinder you, leave them and follow the Good. Apparently, Zebedee did not believe, but the mother of these apostles believed and, when Zebedee died, she also followed the Lord. Take this into account, too, that action is called first, and then contemplation, for Peter is the image of action, because he was of a fiery character and always warned others about what is characteristic of action; John, on the contrary, represents contemplation in himself, for he was a theologian par excellence.
And they come to Capernaum; and soon on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they marveled at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Where did you come to Capernaum from? From Nazareth, and on the Sabbath day. When they usually gathered to read the law, then Christ came to teach. For the Law also commanded to celebrate the Sabbath, so that people would read, gathering together for this purpose. The Lord taught accusatoryly, and not flatteringly, like the Pharisees: he urged them to do good, and threatened those who disobeyed with torment.
In their synagogue there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit, and he cried out: leave him alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? You have come to destroy us! I know You, who You are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying: Be silent and come out of him. Then the unclean spirit, shaking him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And everyone was horrified, so they asked each other: what is this? What is this new teaching that He commands even the unclean spirits with authority, and they obey Him? And soon rumors about Him spread throughout the entire region in Galilee.
Evil spirits are called “unclean” because they love all kinds of unclean things. The demon considers leaving a person to be “destruction” for himself. Evil demons generally blame themselves for suffering when they are not allowed to do evil to people. Moreover, being carnal and accustomed to enjoying substances, they seem to suffer great hunger when they do not live in bodies. That is why the Lord says that the demonic race is driven out by fasting. The unclean one did not say to Christ: You are holy, since many of the prophets were holy, but he said “Holy One,” that is, the Only One, Holy in His essence. But Christ forces him to remain silent, so that we know that demons must stop their mouths, even if they speak the truth. The demon rushes and violently shakes the one possessed by it, so that eyewitnesses, seeing the calamity the person is being delivered from, will believe for the sake of the miracle.
Soon leaving the synagogue, they came to the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simonov's mother-in-law was in a fever; and immediately they tell Him about her. Approaching, He lifted her up, taking her hand; and the fever immediately left her, and she began to serve them.
By Saturday evening, as usual, the Lord went to the disciples’ house to eat. Meanwhile, the one who was supposed to serve in this regard was overcome with fever. But the Lord heals her, and she begins to serve them. These words make it clear that you, when God heals you from an illness, must use your health to serve the saints and to please God. Being possessed is a kind of fever, and a person is angry and out of anger becomes bold with his hands. But if the word holds his hand and meekly stretches it out, then the one previously burned with anger begins to serve the word. For the angry one, when the word restrains his hand, rebels, and thus anger serves the word.
When evening came, when the sun set, they brought to Him all the sick and demon-possessed. And the whole city gathered at the door. And He healed many who were suffering from various diseases; He cast out many demons, and did not allow the demons to say that they knew that He was the Christ.
It is not without reason that it was added: “when the sun set.” Since they thought that it was impermissible to heal on the Sabbath, they waited until sunset and then began to bring the sick for healing. “He healed many,” it is said instead of “all,” because all make up a multitude; or: he did not heal everyone because some turned out to be unbelievers, who were not healed for their unbelief, but he healed “many” of those brought, that is, those who had faith. He did not allow demons to speak in order, as I said, to teach us not to believe them, even if they spoke the truth. Otherwise, if they find someone who completely trusts them, then what the damned ones won’t do, mixing lies with the truth! So Paul forbade the inquisitive spirit to say: “These people are servants of the Most High God”; The Holy Man did not want to hear feedback and testimony from unclean lips.
And in the morning, getting up very early, he went out and retired to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Simon and those who were with him followed Him and, having found Him, they said to Him: everyone is looking for You. He says to them: let us go to the neighboring villages and cities so that I can preach there too, for this is why I came. And He preached in their synagogues throughout Galilee and cast out demons.
After healing the sick, the Lord goes to a secluded place, teaching us not to do anything for show, but if we do any good, we should hasten to hide it. And He also prays in order to show us that whatever good we do must be attributed to God and said to Him: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is coming down from above, from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). Christ Himself did not even need to pray. Further, when the people sought and greatly desired Him, He does not give itself to Him, although it accepts it with favor, but also goes to others in need of healing and instruction. For the work of teaching should not be limited to one place, but the rays of the word must be scattered everywhere. But look how He combines action with teaching: He preaches, and then casts out demons. So teach and do things together, so that your word is not in vain. Otherwise, if Christ had not shown miracles at the same time, then His word would not have been believed.
A leper comes to Him and, begging Him and falling on his knees before Him, says to Him: if you want, you can cleanse me. Jesus, having compassion on him, stretched out his hand, touched him and said to him: I want you to be clean. After this word, the leprosy immediately left him, and he became clean.
The leper was prudent and believed; therefore he did not say: if you ask God; but believing in Him as God, he said: “if you want.” Christ touches him as a sign that nothing is unclean. The law forbade touching a leper as unclean; but the Savior, wanting to show that there is nothing unclean by nature, that the requirements of the Law should be abolished and that they have power only over people, touches the leper - while Elisha was so afraid of the Law that he did not even want to see Naaman, the leper who asked healing.
And, looking at him sternly, he immediately sent him away and said to him: See that you don’t say anything to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. And he, going out, began to proclaim and tell about what had happened, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside, in deserted places. And they came to Him from everywhere.
And from this we also learn not to show off ourselves when we show kindness to someone, for Jesus Himself commands the one who has purified himself not to talk about Him. Although He knew that he would not listen and would divulge it, however, as I said, teaching us not to love vanity, he orders us not to tell anyone. But on the other hand, anyone who has benefited should be grateful and grateful, even if his benefactor does not need it. So the leper divulges the good deed he has received, despite the fact that the Lord did not tell him to. Christ sends him to the priest, because according to the command of the Law, a leper could only enter the city by a priestly announcement about his cleansing from leprosy, otherwise he had to be expelled from the city. At the same time, the Lord commands him to bring a gift, as those who were purified as usual brought: this is evidence that He is not an opponent of the Law, on the contrary, He values ​​it so much that He commands to fulfill what is commanded in the Law.

Chapter two

A few days later He came again to Capernaum; and it was heard that He was in the house. Many immediately gathered, so that there was no longer room at the door; and He spoke the word to them. And they came to him with the paralytic, who was carried by four; and not being able to approach Him due to the crowds, they opened the roof of the house where He was, and, having dug through it, lowered the bed on which the paralytic lay. Jesus, seeing their faith, says to the paralytic: child! your sins are forgiven you.
After the Lord’s ascension to Capernaum, many, hearing that He was in the house, gathered in the hope of convenient access to Him. Moreover, the faith of the men who brought the paralytic was so great that they broke through the roof of the house and lowered him. Therefore, the Lord gives him healing, seeing the faith of those who brought it or the faith of the paralytic himself. For he himself would not have allowed himself to be taken if he had not believed that he would be healed. However, the Lord often healed for the sake of faith one offerer, although the offerer was not a believer, and, on the contrary, often healed for the sake of the faith of the offerer, although those offering did not believe. First of all, He forgives the sins of the sick person, and then heals the illness because the most difficult illnesses mostly arise from sins, just as in the Gospel of John the Lord causes the illness of one paralytic from sins. This paralytic mentioned in John is not the same as the one mentioned now; on the contrary, they are two different people. For the one mentioned in John did not have a helping person, but the one now has four; the first was at the sheep's font, and this one was in the house; that one is in Jerusalem, and this one is in Capernaum. You can find other differences between them. But it must be said that the one mentioned in Matthew (chapter 9) and here in Mark are one and the same.
Some of the scribes sat there and thought in their hearts: Why does He blaspheme so much? who can forgive sins except God alone? Jesus, immediately knowing in His spirit that they were thinking this way in themselves, said to them, “Why are you thinking this way in your hearts?” What's easier? Should I say to the paralytic: your sins are forgiven? go say: get up, take your bed and walk? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, he says to the paralytic: I say to you, get up, take up your bed and go to your house. He immediately got up and, taking the bed, went out in front of everyone, so that everyone was amazed and glorified God, saying: we have never seen anything like this.
The Pharisees accused the Lord of blasphemy for forgiving sins, since this belongs to God alone. But the Lord gave them another sign of His Divinity - knowledge of their hearts: because God alone knows everyone’s heart, just as the prophet says: “You alone know the heart of all” (2 Chron. 6:30; 3 Kings 8:39). Meanwhile, the Pharisees, although it was revealed by the Lord what was in their hearts, remain insensitive, and they do not yield to the one who knows their hearts so that He can heal their sins. Then the Lord, through healing the body, confirms that He also healed the soul, that is, through the obvious, He confirms the hidden and through the easiest, the most difficult, although it seemed otherwise to them. For the Pharisees considered healing the body, as a visible action, to be the most difficult, and healing the soul, as an invisible action, the easiest, and they reasoned as if like this: here is a deceiver who rejects the healing of the body, as an obvious matter, and heals the invisible soul, saying: " your sins are forgiven." If He really could heal, He would probably heal the body and not resort to the invisible. Therefore, the Savior, showing them that He can do both, says: what is easier to heal, the soul or the body? Without a doubt, the body; but it seems to you the opposite. So, I will heal the body, which is really easy, but only seems difficult to you, and thereby I will assure you of the healing of the soul, which is really difficult, and seems easy only because it is invisible and undeniable. Then he says to the paralytic: “Get up, take up your bed,” in order to further assure the reality of the miracle, that it was not dreamy, and at the same time show that He not only healed the sick man, but also gave him strength. This is what the Lord does with spiritual infirmities: he not only frees us from sins, but also gives us strength to fulfill the commandments. So, I, the paralytic, can be healed. For even now there is Christ in Capernaum, in the house of consolation, that is, in the Church, which is the house of the Comforter. I am relaxed because the powers of my soul are inactive and motionless for good; but when the four evangelists take me and bring me to the Lord, then I will hear His word: “child!” For I become the son of God through fulfilling the commandments, and my sins will be forgiven. But how will they bring me to Jesus? - Having broken the blood. What about shelter? The mind is the top of our being. On this roof there is a lot of earth and tiles, that is, earthly affairs; but when all this is thrown off, when the power of the mind is broken and freed from heaviness, when I then go down, that is, I humble myself (I should not ascend as a result of the relief of my mind, but after relief I am obliged to descend, that is, humble myself), then I will be healed and take my bed, that is, the body, exciting it to fulfill the commandments. For one must not only rise from sin and recognize one’s sin, but also take a bed, that is, a body, to do good. Then we can achieve contemplation, so that all our thoughts will say: “We have never seen anything like this,” that is, we have never had such understanding as we do now, having been healed from relaxation. He who is cleansed of sins truly sees.
And Jesus went out again to the sea; and all the people went to Him, and He taught them. As He passed, He saw Levi Alpheus sitting at the toll collection, and said to him: Follow Me. And he got up and followed Him. And as Jesus reclined in his house, his disciples and many publicans and sinners reclined with him; for there were many of them, and they followed Him. The scribes and the Pharisee, seeing that He was eating with publicans and sinners, said to His disciples: How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners? Hearing this, Jesus said to them: It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
After performing a miracle over the leper, the Lord went to the sea, probably seeking solitude, but the people again flocked to Him. Know that the more you avoid fame, it will chase you; and if you chase after her, she will run away from you. The Lord had just retired to the sea when the people again ran after Him. However, He left from here too, and caught Matthew on the way. Now called Levi in ​​Mark is Matthew, since he had two names. Therefore, Luke and Mark, hiding his real name, call him Levi. But he himself is not ashamed; on the contrary, he openly speaks about himself: Jesus saw Matthew the publican (Matthew 9:9). So we will not be ashamed to reveal our sins. Levi sat at the collection of duties, doing, according to his duties, either collecting taxes from someone, or drawing up a report, or whatever else tax collectors usually did in their places of work. But now he turned out to be so zealous for Christ that, leaving everything, he followed Him and in great joy called many to dinner. And the Pharisees begin to blame the Lord, presenting themselves, of course, as pure people. But the Lord said to this: “I came to call not the righteous,” that is, you who justify yourself (he speaks in the form of mockery of them), “but sinners,” to call, however, not so that they remain sinners, but “ to repentance,” that is, so that they would turn. “To repentance,” he said, “so that you do not think that, calling sinners, He does not correct them at all.”
The disciples of John and the Pharisees fasted. They come to Him and say: Why do the disciples of John and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, “Can the sons of the bridal chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them?” As long as the bridegroom is with them, they cannot fast, but the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.
John's disciples, as still imperfect, adhered to Jewish customs. Therefore, some of those who came to Christ presented them as an example and blamed Him for the fact that His disciples did not fast equally with those. And He said to them: Now I, the Bridegroom, am with them, and therefore they should rejoice and not fast; but when I am taken from this life, then, being exposed to adversity, they will both fast and mourn. He calls Himself the “Bridegroom” not only because He betrothed virgin souls to Himself, but also because the time of His first coming is a time of no crying and grief for those who believe in Him, and no hard times, but comforting us with baptism without the works of the law. Indeed, what kind of work is it to be baptized? And yet in this easy task we find salvation. “The sons of the bridal chamber” are the apostles, because they were considered worthy of the joy of the Lord and became partakers of all heavenly blessings and consolation. You can also understand that every person, when he commits virtue, is “the son of the bridal chamber,” and as long as he has the Bridegroom-Christ with him, he does not fast, that is, he does not perform works of repentance; for why should one repent who does not fall? When the Bridegroom-Christ is taken away from him, when, that is, he falls into sin, then he begins to fast and repent in order to heal sin.
No one puts patches of unbleached fabric on old clothes: otherwise the newly sewn garment will be torn away from the old one, and the hole will be even worse. No one puts new wine into old wineskins: otherwise the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine will flow out, and the skins will be lost; but new wine must be put into new wineskins.
Just as an “unbleached”, that is, a new patch, due to its hardness, will only tear apart old clothing if it is sewn to it, and just as new wine, due to its strength, will burst old wineskins, so My disciples are not yet strong, and therefore, if we burden them, Through this we will harm them, since, due to the weakness of their minds, they are still like old clothes. So, one should not impose the heavy commandment of fasting on them. Or you can understand this way: Christ’s disciples, being already new people, cannot serve the old customs and laws.
And it happened on the Sabbath that He passed through the sown fields, and His disciples began to pluck the ears of corn along the way. And the Pharisees said to Him: Look, what are they doing on the Sabbath that ought not to be done? He said to them: Have you never read what David did when he had need and was hungry, he and those who were with him? how did he enter the house of God in the presence of Abiathar the high priest and eat the showbread, which no one was to eat except the priests, and gave it to those with him? And he said to them, The Sabbath is for man, and not man for the Sabbath: therefore the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.
The Lord's disciples pluck ears of corn, as if they were accustomed to live outside the law. When the Pharisees began to be indignant at this, Christ stopped their mouths, pointing to David, who out of necessity broke the law under the bishop Abiathar. Fleeing from Saul, the prophet David came to this bishop and deceived him, saying that he was sent by the king out of dire military necessity. Here he ate the showbread and took back the sword of Goliath, which he had once dedicated to God. There were twelve loaves of bread; They reclined at the table every day, six on the right side and six on the left side of the table. Some ask: why did the evangelist call the bishop Abiathar here, while the book of Kings calls him Ahimelech (1 Sam. 21)? We can say to this that the bishop had two names: Ahimelech and Abiathar. It can be explained differently, namely: the book of Kings speaks about the then priest Ahimelech, and the evangelist about Abiathar, the then bishop, and therefore their testimonies do not contradict one another. The priest at that time was Ahimelech, and Abiathar was then the bishop. In the highest sense, understand it this way: Christ’s disciples go on Saturday, that is, in peace of mind (Saturday means peace); therefore, when they have gained freedom from passions and from the attacks of demons, then they complete the journey, that is, they become guides to virtue for others, plucking and uprooting all earthly and low dreamy growths. For whoever does not first free himself from passions and adjust himself to a quiet way of life cannot guide others and be a leader for their good.

Chapter Three

And he came again to the synagogue; there was a man who had a withered hand. And they watched Him to see if He would heal Him on the Sabbath, in order to accuse Him. He said to the man who had a withered hand: stand in the middle. And he says to them: Should one do good on the Sabbath, or should one do evil? save your soul or destroy it? But they were silent. And looking at them with anger, grieving over the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man: Stretch out your hand. He stretched out, and his hand became as healthy as the other.
On the occasion of the accusation by the Jews of the disciples for plucking ears of corn on the Sabbath, the Lord, with the example of David, had already stopped the mouths of the accusers, and in order to bring them to their senses even more, He works miracles, through this He expresses the following: this is how innocent my disciples are of sin: I myself do this miracle on the Sabbath day. If performing miracles is a sin, then in general doing what is necessary on the Sabbath is a sin; but to perform a miracle to save a person is the work of God, therefore, the one who does something not evil on the Sabbath does not violate the law. Therefore, the Lord asks the Jews: “Should we do good on the Sabbath?”, denouncing them for preventing Him from doing good. In a figurative sense it is dry right hand from everyone who does not do the works of the right side. To such a person Christ says: “stand,” that is, stay away from sin, “stand in the middle,” that is, in the middle of the virtues, since every virtue is the middle, not inclined either to deficiency or to excess. So, when he stands in this middle, then his hand will become healthy again. Notice the word “became”; There was a time when we had healthy hands, or active forces, when, that is, a crime had not yet been committed: and since our hand stretched out to the forbidden fruit, it became dry in relation to doing good. But it will return to its previous healthy state when we stand among the virtues.
The Pharisees, having gone out, immediately made a conference with the Herodians against Him, how to destroy Him. But Jesus and His disciples withdrew to the sea, and a multitude of people followed Him from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and beyond the Jordan. And those who dwelt in the region of Tire and Sidon, when they heard what he did, came to him in great multitudes. And He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him because of the crowd, so that He would not be crowded. For He healed many, so that those who had wounds rushed to Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell before Him and shouted: You are the Son of God. But He strictly forbade them so that they would not make Him known.
Who were the Herodians? - either Herod’s warriors, or some new sect that recognized Herod as Christ for the reason that under him the succession of the Jewish kings ended. The prophecy of Jacob determined that when the princes become poor from Judah, then Christ will come (Gen. 49). So, since in the time of Herod no one was a prince of the Jews, but Herod, a foreigner, ruled (he was an Edomite), some took him for Christ and formed a sect. It was these people who wanted to kill the Lord. But He leaves because the time of suffering has not yet come. He leaves the ungrateful in order to benefit more people. Many indeed followed Him, and He healed them; even the Tyrians and Sidonians benefited, despite the fact that there were foreigners. Meanwhile, His fellow tribesmen persecuted Him. So there is no benefit in kinship if there is no good behavior! So strangers came to Christ from afar, and the Jews persecuted Him who came to them. See how Christ is alien to the love of glory; so that the people do not surround Him, He requires a boat in order to be at a distance from the people. - The evangelist calls illnesses “sores,” for illnesses really contribute a lot to our admonition, so God punishes us with these ulcers, like a father of children. In a figurative sense, pay attention to the fact that the Herodians want to kill Jesus, these carnal and rude people (Herod means leather). On the contrary, those who came out of their homes and from their fatherland, that is, from a carnal way of life, will follow Him; why their wounds will be healed, that is, sins that hurt the conscience, and unclean spirits will be cast out. Finally, understand that Jesus orders His disciples to bring a boat so that the people do not embarrass Him. Jesus is the word in us, commanding that our boat, that is, our body, be ready for Him, and not be left to the storm of everyday affairs, so that these crowds of worries about business do not disturb the Christ who lives in us.
Then he ascended the mountain and called to Him whom He Himself wanted; and came to Him. And he appointed twelve of them to be with Him and to send them to preach, and so that they would have the power to heal diseases and cast out demons; appointed Simon, calling his name Peter, James Zebedee and John, brother of James, calling them the names Boanerges, that is, “sons of thunder” Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James Alphaeus Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed His.
He goes up the mountain to pray. Since before this he performed miracles, after performing miracles he prays, of course, as a lesson to us, so that we thank God as soon as we do something good, and attribute it to the power of God. Or since the Lord intended to ordain the apostles, on this occasion he ascends the mountain to pray for our instruction that we, when we intend to ordain someone, must first pray that one worthy of it will be revealed to us and that we will not become participants “in the sins of others.” (1 Tim. 5:22). And that he chooses Judas to be an apostle, then from here we must understand that God does not turn away a person who has to do evil because of his future evil deed, but that for his real virtue he is honored, even if he subsequently becomes a bad person. The Evangelist lists the names of the apostles in relation to the false apostles, so that the true apostles may be known. He calls the sons of Zebedee the sons of thunder, as especially great preachers and theologians.
They come to the house; and again the people gathered, so that it was impossible for them to eat bread. And when His neighbors heard, they went to take Him, for they said that He had lost His temper. And the scribes who came from Jerusalem said that He had Beelzebub in Him and that He cast out demons by the power of the prince of demons.
“And having heard,” he says, “His neighbors,” perhaps people from the same city with Him, or even brothers, came out to take Him; for they said that He lost His temper, that is, that He had a demon. Since they heard that He cast out demons and healed diseases, out of envy they thought that He had a demon and “lost his temper,” which is why they wanted to take Him to bind him as if he were demoniac. This is what His neighbors thought and wanted to do with Him. Likewise, the Jerusalem scribes said that He had a demon in Him. Since they could not reject the miracles that happened before them, they blaspheme them in another way, deriving them from demons.
And calling them, he spoke to them in parables: How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; and if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand; and if Satan has rebelled against himself and been divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. No one entering the house of a strong man can plunder his belongings unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.
Refutes the hated Jews with undeniable examples. “How is it possible,” he says, “to cast out demons, when even in ordinary houses we see that while those living in them are peaceful, the houses stand well, and as soon as division occurs in them, they fall? How is it possible, he says, for someone to steal the dishes of a strong man if he does not tie him up first? These words mean the following: “the strong one” is the devil; His “things” are people who serve as his container. Thus, if someone does not first bind and overthrow the devil, then how can he plunder his vessels, that is, those who are possessed? Therefore, if I plunder his vessels, that is, I free people from demonic violence, then, consequently, I have previously bound and cast down the demons, and I find myself their enemy. So, how do you say that I have Beelzebub in Me, that is, that I cast out demons, being their friend and magician?
Truly I say to you, all sins and blasphemies will be forgiven to the sons of men, no matter what they blaspheme; but whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but he is subject to eternal condemnation. He said this because they said: There is an unclean spirit in Him.
What the Lord says here means the following: people who sin in everything else can still apologize in some way and receive forgiveness, through God’s condescension to human weakness. For example, those who called the Lord a food drinker and a wine drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners, will receive forgiveness for this. But when they see that He works undoubted miracles, and yet they blaspheme the Holy Spirit, that is, the working of miracles that come from the Holy Spirit, then how will they receive forgiveness if they do not repent? When they were tempted by the flesh of Christ, in this case, even if they did not repent, they will be forgiven, like people who were tempted; and when they saw Him doing the works of God and still blasphemed, how will they be forgiven if they remain unrepentant?
And His Mother and His brothers came and, standing outside the house, sent to Him to call Him. The people were sitting around Him. And they said to Him: Behold, Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside the house asking You. And he answered them: Who are My mother and My brothers? And looking around at those sitting around Him, He said: Behold My mother and My brothers; for whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.
The Lord's brothers, out of envy, came to take Him as one who was frantic and possessed by a demon. And the Mother, probably inspired by a sense of honor, came to distract Him from the teaching, thus showing the people that She freely disposes of the One Whom they marvel at and can distract Him from the teaching. But the Lord answers: It will be of no benefit to My Mother to be My Mother if she does not combine all the virtues. In the same way, kinship will be useless for My brothers. Because those are the only true relatives of Christ who do the will of God. So, saying this, He does not renounce the Mother, but shows that She will be worthy of honor not only for birth, but also for any other good deed: if she did not have this, then others would anticipate the honor of kinship.

Chapter Four

And again he began to teach by the sea; and a great crowd gathered to Him, so that He entered into a boat and sat on the sea, and all the people were on the land by the sea. And he taught them a lot in parables.
Although, it seemed, he had sent His Mother away, however, he again obeys Her, for for Her sake he goes out to the sea. He sits in a boat so that, having everyone before his eyes, he can speak in the hearing of everyone and have no one behind Him.
And in His teaching He said to them: listen: behold, a sower has gone out to sow; and while he was sowing, it happened that some things fell along the road, and birds flew in and devoured them. Some fell on a rocky place where there was little earth, and soon sprang up, because the earth was shallow; when the sun rose, it withered and, as if it had no root, withered away. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew, and choked the seed, and it did not bear fruit. And some fell on good soil and produced fruit, which sprang up and grew, and brought forth some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said to them: He who has ears to hear, let him hear! When he was left without people, those around Him, along with the twelve, asked Him about the parable. And he said to them: It has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but to those outside everything happens in parables, so that they look with their own eyes and do not see; they hear with their own ears and do not understand; let them not turn, and their sins be forgiven.
The first parable is about a seed, in order to make listeners more attentive. Since He intends to say that the seed is the word and that, having fallen among those who are not attentive, it disappears, He speaks about this first of all, so that the listeners would try to be attentive and different from the earth that destroys the seed. But who is the Sower? Christ Himself, Who, out of love for mankind and condescension, inseparably came from the bosom of the Father, came not to burn the cursed earth and evil hearts, not to cut out thorns, but to sow seed. What seed? Isn't it Moses'? Is this not the seed of the prophets? No, His own, that is, to preach His Gospel. He sowed; but one of the seeds fell on the soul, like a road trampled by many, and the birds of the air, that is, the demons who control the air, devoured this seed. Such people include people-pleasers; they are like a road trampled by many. He who does everything only to please one or the other is trampled upon by many. But notice that the Lord did not say that the seed was thrown along the way, but that it fell along the way, because the Sower throws the seed on the ground as if it were good, and she herself, having turned out to be bad, destroys the seed, that is, the word. However, some accepted well what fell along the way in the sense that it fell on unfaithful heart. For the Way is Christ, and those who are on the way are unbelievers, who are outside the way, that is, Christ. Another seed fell on the stony soul, I mean those who easily accept the word, but then reject it. They are stony, as if they were somewhat like a stone, that is, Christ, because they accepted the word; but as they accept the word for a while and then reject it, then through this they lose their likeness. Another seed fell on a soul that cares about many things, for “thorns” are the cares of life. But the fourth seed fell on good soil. So look how rare is good and how few are saved! Only a quarter of the seed survived! To the disciples who asked Him in private, He said: “It has been given to you to know mysteries.” But is it really true that by distribution and purpose this is given to some by nature, and not to others? It can not be; But to those it was given, as to those who seek: “Seek,” it is said, “and it will be given to you,” and God left others in blindness, so that the knowledge of what is due would not serve to further condemn them when they do not fulfill this obligation. However, do you want to know that God has given it to everyone to see what is due? Listen! “They look with their own eyes” - this is from God; “and they do not see” - this is from their malice; for God created them to see, that is, to understand what is good, but they do not see, closing their eyes voluntarily, so as not to turn and correct themselves, as if envying their own salvation and correction. You can understand it this way: for the rest I speak in parables, “so that they look with their own eyes and do not see; with their ears they hear and do not understand,” so that at least for this reason they would turn and correct themselves.
And he says to them: Do you not understand this parable? How can you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. Those sown by the way signify those in whom the word is sown, but to whom, when they hear, Satan immediately comes and snatches away the word sown in their hearts. In like manner, those sown on rocky ground signify those who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, but have no root in themselves and are fickle; then, when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they are immediately offended. Those sown among thorns mean those who hear the word, but in whom the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of wealth and other desires, entering into them, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And what was sown on good soil means those who hear the word and receive it; and they bear fruit, one thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.
Here are three categories of people in whom the word disappears: some are inattentive, these are indicated by the word “on the road”; others are cowardly, these are meant by the word “on a rocky place”: others are voluptuous, signified by the word “in thorns.” There are three categories of those who accepted and preserved the seed: some bear fruit of a hundred - these are people of perfect and high life; others - at sixty, these are average; others - thirty, which, although not much, still bring according to their strength. Thus, some are virgins and hermits, others live together in community, others in peace and in marriage. But the Lord accepts all of them as bearing fruit. And thanks be to His love for mankind!
And he said to them: Is a candle brought for this purpose, to put it under a bushel or under a bed? Is it not for putting it on a candlestick? There is nothing secret that would not become obvious; and there is nothing hidden that would not come out. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!
Here the Lord teaches the apostles to be bright in life and behavior. Just as a lamp is supplied to shine, so your life, he says, will be visible to everyone, and everyone will look at it. Therefore, try to lead a good life; for you are not placed in a corner, but serve as a lamp, and the lamp is not hidden under the bed, but is placed in plain sight, on a candlestick. And each of us is a lamp that should be placed on a candlestick, that is, at the height of life according to God, so that it can shine on others, and not under the cover of gluttony and worry about food and not under the bed of inaction. For no one who is busy caring for food and devoted to laziness can be a lamp shining with his life for everyone. “And there is nothing hidden that would not come out.” Whatever anyone does in secret: good or evil, everything will be revealed here, and especially in the next century. What was more hidden than God? However, He also appeared in the flesh.
And he said to them; Take note of what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you, and more will be added to you who hear. For whoever has, to him will be given, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
The Lord encourages the disciples to stay awake. Notice,” he says, “that you are listening; do not omit anything I have said. “With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you,” that is, to the extent you are careful, to the extent you will benefit. To the listener who is always attentive and, moreover, to the highest degree, God will give a great reward, and to the slow person the profit of the reward will be commensurate. Whoever has zeal and zeal will be given a reward, and whoever does not have zeal and zeal will have what he thinks he has taken away. For because of laziness, that small spark that he previously had is extinguished in him, just as it is kindled through zeal.
And he said: The Kingdom of God is like if a man casts seed into the ground, and sleeps and rises night and day; and how the seed sprouts and grows, he does not know, for the earth itself produces first greenery, then an ear, then a full grain in the ear. When the fruit is ripe, he immediately sends in the sickle, because the harvest has come.
By the Kingdom of God we mean God's care for us. “Man” is God Himself, who became man for our sake. He cast “seed into the ground,” that is, the gospel sermon. Having abandoned him, He “sleeps,” that is, ascended to heaven; however, He “rises night and day.” For although God, apparently, sleeps, that is, long-suffering, He rises: He rises at night, when through temptation He awakens us to the knowledge of Him; rises during the day when it fills our lives with joys and consolations. The seed grows as if without His knowledge, because we are free, and it depends on our will whether this seed grows or not. We do not bear fruit unwillingly, but voluntarily, that is, we bear fruit from ourselves. At first, when we are babies, not yet reaching the age of Christ, we grow “greens”, show the firstfruits of good; then - “ear”, when we are already able to resist temptations, for the ear is already tied at the knees, stands straight and has already achieved greater development; then the “full grain” is formed in the ear - this is when someone bears the fruit of perfection. When the “harvest” comes, then the “sickle” gathers the fruit. This “sickle” is the Word of God, and the “harvest” is the time of death.
And he said: What shall we compare the Kingdom of God to? or by what parable shall we depict it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; and when it is sown, it sprouts and becomes larger than all the grains, and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can take refuge under its shadow. And he preached the word to them in many parables, as far as they could hear. He did not speak to them without a parable, but explained everything to his disciples in private.
The word of faith is not enough: because you just have to believe in Christ, and you will be saved. You see that this word is as small as a mustard seed. But the preaching of the word, sown on the earth, expanded and grew, so that the birds of the air rest on it, that is, all people with lofty and heavenly minds and knowledge. Indeed, how many wise men calmed down at this sermon, abandoning Hellenic wisdom! Thus the sermon became greater than anything else and sent forth great branches. For the apostles dispersed like branches: one to Rome, another to India, a third to Achaia, and the rest to other countries of the earth. The Lord speaks to the people in many parables, offering parables according to the condition of the listeners. Since the people were simple and uneducated, he therefore reminds them of mustard seeds, grass and seeds, in order to teach them something useful with familiar and ordinary objects, or to force them to come up and ask, and understand something incomprehensible from the question. Thus, He explained everything to the disciples in private, since they directly approached Him and asked questions. He explained everything only about what they asked and what they didn’t know, and not everything in general, even if it was clear. For when they understood what they were asking about, then other things became clear to them, and thus everything was resolved for them.
In the evening of that day he told them: let's cross to the other side. And they sent the people away, and took Him with them, just as He was in the boat; There were other boats with Him. And a great storm arose; the waves beat on the boat, so that it was already filling with water. And He slept at the stern at the head. They wake him up and say to him: Teacher! Do You really not need that we perish? And, getting up, He rebuked the wind and said to the sea: be silent, stop. And the wind died down, and there was great silence. And he said to them: Why are you so fearful? How do you have no faith? And they were afraid with great fear and said among themselves: Who is this, that both the wind and the sea obey Him?
Matthew narrated this differently than Mark: what he said in more detail, this one shortened, and vice versa, what the first stated briefly, the latter spoke about in more detail. The Lord takes only his disciples with Him, leaving them to be spectators of the future miracle. But so that they do not become proud of the fact that he sent others away, but took them, and together, in order to teach them to endure danger, allows them to be in danger from the storm. And He sleeps for this purpose, so that the miracle would seem all the more important to them after they were frightened. Otherwise, if the storm had happened while Christ was awake, they would not have been afraid or would not have turned to Him with a request for salvation. And so He allows them to be in fear of danger, so that they come to the consciousness of His power. Since they only saw the benefits of Christ on others, but themselves did not experience anything similar, there was a danger that they would become careless; That's why the Lord allows the storm to happen. He sleeps at the stern of the ship (it was, of course, wooden). Having awakened, Christ first forbids the wind, since it causes sea disturbances, and then tames the sea. He also denounces the disciples for not having faith. For if they had faith, they would believe that even He who sleeps can keep them unharmed. The disciples said to each other: “Who is this,” because they still had a vague concept of Him. Since Christ tamed the sea with one command, and not with a rod, like Moses, not with a prayer appeal, like Elisha Jordan, not with an ark, like Joshua, then for this reason He seemed to them higher than man; and by sleeping, He appeared to them again as a man.

Chapter Five

And they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He came out of the boat, He was immediately met by a man who had come out of the tombs and was possessed by an unclean spirit. He had a home in the tombs, and no one could even bind him with chains, because he was bound with fetters and chains many times, but he broke the chains and broke the fetters. , and no one was able to tame him; always, night and day, in the mountains and coffins, he screamed and beat against the stones.
In the lists of more serviceable ones it reads: “to the country of Gergesin”. Matthew says that there were two demoniacs, but Mark and Luke talk about one. These latter chose the fiercest of them and tell about him. The demoniac goes and confesses Christ as the Son of God. Since those on the ship were perplexed about who He was, then the most reliable testimony about Him will follow from the enemies, I mean the demons. The demoniac lived in coffins, because the demon wanted to instill through this the false idea that the souls of the dead become demons, which should not be believed.
Seeing Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him, and, crying out with a loud voice, said: What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I conjure You by God, do not torment me! For Jesus said to him, “Come out, O unclean spirit, from this man.” And he asked him: what is your name? And he answered and said, My name is Legion, for we are many. And they asked Him a lot so that He would not send them out of that country.
Demons consider leaving a person to be torture, which is why they said: “do not torture,” that is, do not drive us out of our dwelling, that is, from a person. On the other hand, they thought that the Lord would no longer tolerate them for their excessive insolence, but would immediately give them over to torture, which is why they prayed not to torture them. The Lord asks the demoniac not in order to know Himself, but so that others may know about the many demons that have taken possession of him. Since one man stood before his eyes, Christ shows how many enemies this pitiful man fought.
There was a large herd of pigs grazing there near the mountain. And all the demons asked Him, saying: Send us among the swine, that we may enter into them. Jesus immediately allowed them. And the unclean spirits came out and entered into the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the sea, and there were about two thousand of them; and drowned in the sea. Those who were herding the pigs ran and told the story in the city and villages.
The demons prayed to the Lord not to send them out of the country, but to let them into the herd of pigs. He agrees to this. Since our life is a battle, the Lord did not want to remove demons from it, so that by their struggle with us they would make us more skillful. He allows them to enter the pigs, so that we know that just as they did not spare the pigs, they would not have spared that man if the power of God had not preserved him. For the demons, being hostile to us, would immediately destroy us if God had not protected us. So, know that demons have no power even over pigs, much less over people, unless God allows it. But know also that people who live like pigs and wallow in the mire of sensual pleasures are possessed by demons who cast them down from the rapids of destruction into the sea of ​​this life, and they drown.
And the residents came out to see what had happened. They come to Jesus and see that the demoniac, in whom the legion was, is sitting and clothed, and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who saw it told them about how this happened to the possessed man, and about the pigs. And they began to ask Him to depart from their borders. And when He entered the boat, the demoniac asked Him to be with Him. But Jesus did not allow him, but said: go home to your people and tell them what the Lord has done to you and how he has had mercy on you. And he went and began to preach in the Decapolis what Jesus had done to him; and everyone marveled.
The inhabitants of that city, amazed by the miracle, came out to Jesus, but when they heard about the details, they were even more frightened. That is why they asked Jesus to leave their borders. They were afraid that they would not suffer anything more. Having lost the pigs and regretting this loss, they also refuse the presence of the Lord. On the contrary, the demoniac asked Him for permission to be with Him, because he feared that the demons, having found him alone, would not enter into him again. But the Lord sends him home, showing that His power and providence will protect him even in his absence. Sends it along and so that it will benefit others who see it. That's why he started preaching, and everyone was surprised. But look how the Savior is a stranger to exaltation! He did not say, “Tell me,” what I have done to you, but, “What the Lord has done to you.” So you, when you do something good, attribute what you did not to yourself, but to God.
When Jesus again crossed in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered to Him. He was by the sea. And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue, named Jairus, comes, and, seeing Him, falls at His feet and earnestly asks Him, saying: My daughter is about to die; come and lay your hands on her so that she may get well and live. Jesus went with him. Many people followed Him and pressed Him. One woman, who suffered from hemorrhage for twelve years, suffered much from many doctors, exhausted all that she had, and received no benefit, but came into an even worse state - having heard about Jesus, she came up behind the crowd and touched His garment. , for she said: if I touch His clothes, I will get well. And immediately her source of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her illness.
After the miracle over the possessed man, the Lord performs another miracle - he resurrects the daughter of the leader of the synagogue. For the Jews, eyewitnesses of the event, the evangelist also says the name of the leader of the synagogue. He was a half-believer: by falling at the feet of Christ, he turns out to be a believer, but by asking Him to go, he shows faith that is not what it should be; he should have said, “just say the word.” Meanwhile, on the path of the Lord, the bleeding wife is also healed. This woman had great faith, because she hoped to be healed from one garment of the Lord; That's why she received healing. In a figurative sense, understand this about human nature. It was bleeding because it produced sin, which is the murder of the soul and which sheds the blood of our souls. Our nature could not receive healing from many doctors, that is, neither from the sages of this age, nor even from the Law and the Prophets. But she was healed as soon as she touched the clothes of Christ, that is, His flesh. For whoever believes that Christ became incarnate is the one who touches His garment.
At the same time, Jesus, feeling within Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned among the people and said: Who touched My garment? The disciples said to Him: You see that the people are crowding You, and you say: Who touched Me? But He looked around to see the one who did it. The woman, in fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came up, fell before Him and told Him the whole truth. He said to her: daughter! your faith has saved you; Go in peace and be well from your illness.
The power does not come out of Christ in such a way that it changes place; on the contrary, it is communicated to others, and at the same time remains in Christ without diminishing, just as the lessons of teaching remain with the students and are taught to the students. But look how the people oppressed Him on all sides, and yet not one touched Him; on the contrary, the wife, who did not embarrass Him, touched Him. From here we learn the secret that among the people occupied with many everyday worries, none touches Christ: they only oppress Him; on the contrary, whoever does not oppress Jesus and does not burden his mind with vain worries touches Him. But why does the Lord reveal his wife? Firstly, in order to glorify the wife’s faith, secondly, in order to arouse faith in the leader of the synagogue that his daughter will also be saved, and at the same time in order to free the wife who was afraid from strong fear, as if she had stolen the healing. So the evangelist says: “I approached in fear and trembling.” Therefore, the Lord did not say: I saved you, but: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace,” that is, in peace. The meaning of these words is this: be calm, you who have hitherto been in sorrow and turmoil.
While He was still saying this, they came from the ruler of the synagogue and said: Your daughter is dead; Why else are you bothering the Teacher? But Jesus, having heard these words, immediately said to the leader of the synagogue: Do not be afraid, only believe. And He did not allow anyone to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. He comes to the house of the leader of the synagogue and sees confusion and people crying and crying out loudly. And entering, he said to them: Why are you embarrassed and crying? the girl is not dead, but is sleeping. And they laughed at Him. But He, having sent everyone out, takes with Him the father and mother of the girl and those who were with Him and enters where the girl lay. And, taking the girl by the hand, he says to her: “talifa kumi,” which means: girl, I tell you, stand up. And the girl immediately stood up and began to walk, for she was about twelve years old. Those who saw it were in great amazement. And He strictly ordered them that no one should know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
The people of the leader of the synagogue revered Christ as one of the ordinary teachers, which is why they asked to come and pray for the girl, and finally, when she died, they thought that He was no longer needed after her death. But the Lord encourages the father and says: “Only believe.” Meanwhile, he does not allow anyone to follow Him, except for the three disciples, because the humble Jesus does not want to do anything for show. At His words: “The girl is not dead, but sleeps,” they laugh; this was allowed so that later they would not have an excuse to say that she had fainted, and that it would not be surprising if He resurrected her; on the contrary, so that they would convict themselves by their own testimony of His resurrection of the truly deceased, when they even laughed at His words that she was not dead, but asleep. The Lord takes her hand to give her strength; and orders that she be given food in order to confirm the resurrection as a real and not an imaginary event.

Chapter Six

He left from there and came to His fatherland; His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard said in amazement: Where did He get this from? What kind of wisdom was given to Him, and how are such miracles performed by His hands? Isn't He the carpenter, the son of Marin, the brother of James, Josiah, Judah and Simon? Are not His sisters here, between us? And they were offended because of Him.
The Lord comes to the Fatherland not because he did not know that he would be ignored, but so that later they could not say: if He had come, we would have believed. He comes along to expose the envious nature of his compatriots; for while they should have admired the Lord, who so adorned their fatherland with teachings and miracles, they instead humiliated the Lord for His poor origin. That's what evil is envy! She always tries to darken what is good and does not allow those who are envious to see it. So now many, out of ill-intention and extreme ignobility, dishonor some because of their humble origins, although they are worthy of all honor.
Jesus said to them; There is no prophet without honor, except in his own country and among his relatives and in his own house. And he could not perform any miracle there, only laying his hands on a few sick people and healing them. And he marveled at their unbelief.
The Lord says in general about all the prophets that they do not enjoy honor in their fatherland, among relatives and households. Do they have famous relatives? In this case, these relatives envy them and therefore dishonor them. Will they be of poor origin? - they are again dishonored for their poor origins. The Lord could not work miracles there, not because he was powerless, but because they were unbelievers. While sparing them, He does not perform miracles, so as not to serve to further condemn them as unbelievers and at the sight of miracles. On the other hand, miracles require, firstly, the power of the performer, and secondly, the faith of those who receive the miracle. Since the second (of these conditions), that is, the faith of those who needed healing, was lacking here, it was not appropriate for Jesus to perform miracles. So we must understand that the evangelist’s expression “and could not” was used instead of “did not dare.”
Then he walked around the surrounding villages and taught. And having called twelve, he began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. And he commanded them not to take anything on the road except one staff: no bag, no bread, no copper in their belts, but to put on simple shoes and not wear two clothes. And he said to them: If you enter a house anywhere, stay in it until you leave that place. And if anyone will not receive you and will not listen to you, then when you leave there, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city.
The Lord taught not only in cities, but also in villages, so that we would know that we should neither neglect small towns nor constantly visit large cities, but that we should sow the word in small towns as well. Further, not only did He Himself teach, but He also sent His disciples, two at a time, so that they would be bolder. Otherwise, if He had sent them one at a time, then one would not have been able to act so boldly, and if He had sent more than two at a time, then the number of apostles would not have been enough for all the villages. So, he sends two at a time: “Two are better than one,” says Ecclesiastes (4:9). He commands them not to take anything - neither scrip, nor belt money, nor bread, in order to teach them non-covetousness and so that others, looking at them, will be touched when they teach non-covetousness by the fact that they themselves have nothing. In fact, who will not be moved and not moved towards non-covetousness, seeing that the apostle does not take either the bag or the bread, which is most needed for us? He orders them to stay in the same house, so that they will not be thought to change places for the sake of gluttony, wandering from one to another. Those who would not accept them, they had, according to the Lord, to shake off the dust from their feet as a sign that they had made a long journey for their sake and, however, without benefit for them, or as a sign that they were worth nothing. They took even the dust from them, which, on the contrary, they shook it off too, so that it would turn into a testimony to them, that is, an accusation. “Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment” than for those who do not receive you. For the Sodomites, having been punished here, will be punished more easily there; Moreover, the apostles were not sent to them. On the contrary, those who did not accept the apostles will endure the most severe torments of those.
They went and preached repentance; They cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
The fact that the apostles anointed with oil is said by Mark alone and also by James, the brother of God, in his Council Epistle: “If any of you is sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil” (James 5, 14). Oil is also useful against diseases, it is used for illumination, is used in a joyful state of mind and signifies the mercy of God and the grace of the Spirit, by which we get rid of diseases and from which we receive light, joy, and spiritual joy.
King Herod, having heard about Jesus (for His name had become known), said: It is John the Baptist who has risen from the dead, and therefore miracles are done by him. Others said: this is Elijah, and others said: this is a prophet, or like one of the prophets. When Herod heard it, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he rose from the dead.
This Herod was the son of Herod, who beat up the infants. As a tetrarch, Mark calls him king, using this name not in the strict sense. Hearing about the miracles of the Lord and realizing that he had killed righteous John for no reason, Herod began to think that he had risen from the dead and after his resurrection received the power to work miracles. Before, John had not performed a single sign, but after the resurrection, Herod thought so, he received the power to perform signs. But others said about Christ that this was Elijah, because He denounced many, for example, when he said: “Oh, unfaithful generation!” But Herod was afraid. This man was so pitiful that he was afraid of the dead!
For this Herod sent and took John and put him in prison for Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John said to Herod: You must not have your brother’s wife. Herodias, angry at him, wanted to kill him; but she couldn't. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and took care of him; I did a lot by obeying him, and listened to him with pleasure.
Mark takes this opportunity to place here an introductory discourse on the death of the Baptist. Some say that Herod took Herodias while Philip was still alive and for this he was rebuked as a wicked man who married the wife of his living brother. On the contrary, others claim that Philip had already died, but left behind a daughter. And when Philip had a daughter left, Herod should not have married his brother’s wife even after his brother’s death; for the Law commanded a brother to take his brother’s wife in the event that the latter died childless. But in the present case the daughter remained; therefore, Herod's marriage was lawless. Look how strong the passion of carnal love is! Here Herod, who had so much respect and fear for John, neglected this just to satisfy his passion.
An opportune day came when Herod, on the occasion of his birthday, was holding a feast for his nobles, the captains of thousands and the elders of Galilee, - the daughter of Herodias came in, danced and pleased Herod and those who were reclining with him; the king said to the girl: ask me what you want, and I will give it to you; and he swore to her: whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, even up to half of my kingdom. She went out and asked her mother: what to ask? She answered: the heads of John the Baptist. And she immediately went with haste to the king and asked, saying: I want you to give me now the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The king was saddened, but for the sake of the oath and those reclining with him, he did not want to refuse her. And immediately, sending a squire, the king ordered his head to be brought. He went and cut off his head in prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the maiden, and the maiden gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
The feast goes on merrily: Satan dances in the maiden, and an oath is made, lawless and godless, and most of all insane. “So that you give it to me,” says the evil wife, now, now. The reckless and lustful Herod was afraid to break his oath and therefore kills the righteous man, whereas in this case he should have changed his oath and not committed such a terrible crime (it is not good to fulfill an oath everywhere). A squire was a military man who was appointed by society to execute and kill criminals. You can understand the place in question in a figurative, spiritual sense. Thus, Herod represents the grossly carnal people of the Jews: he took a wife - a false and absurd glory, whose daughter is still dancing and in motion among the Jews - this is their deceiving knowledge of the Scriptures. They think that they know the Scriptures, when in fact they do not, for they beheaded John, that is, the prophetic word, because they did not accept the Head of the prophecy, meaning Christ. Therefore, if they have a prophetic word, then they have it without a Head, that is, without Christ.
And the Apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him everything, both what they had done and what they had taught. He said to them: go alone to a deserted place and rest a little, for there were many coming and going, so that they had no time to eat. And they went to a deserted place in a boat alone. The people saw them depart, and many recognized them; and they fled there on foot from all the cities, and warned them, and gathered to Him.
After their preaching, the apostles gather to Jesus. This should be a lesson for us that we, having been chosen for any ministry, should not leave obedience to the one who chose us and exalt ourselves before him, but should recognize him as the head, turn to him and report to him about everything that we have done and what was taught (must not only be taught, but also done). Christ gives His disciples rest; This is a lesson for the primates, so that they know how to give rest to those who labor in word and teaching, and not always keep them in tension and labor. Further, the Lord, not loving glory, retires into an empty place. However, even here he did not hide from those who were looking for Him. On the contrary, the people watched so carefully, lest the Lord hide from them, that they preceded, that is, got ahead of, the apostles themselves and went to the place where Jesus intended to rest. So you should anticipate Jesus: do not wait for Him to call you, but it is better to hurry forward yourself to warn Him.
Jesus went out and saw a multitude of people and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and began to teach them a lot. And as a lot of time had passed, His disciples, approaching Him, said: This place is deserted, and there is already a lot of time - let them go so that they can go to the surrounding villages and villages and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat. He answered them; you give them something to eat. And they said to Him: Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat? But He asked them: How many loaves do you have? go and have a look. When they found out, they said: five loaves and two fish. Then he ordered them to seat everyone in sections on the green grass. And they sat down in rows, hundreds and fifty.
The Pharisees, being ravenous wolves, did not save the people, but ate them. Therefore, the people, having passed them, gather to Christ, the true Shepherd. And Christ gives him food, first more useful and valuable - in words, and then bodily. But look at the students, how philanthropic they are! Feeling sorry for the people, they come to Christ and begin to beg Him for them. The Lord, tempting them and testing whether they recognized His power, that He can feed the people, says: “Give them something to eat.” To this, the disciples, in the form of a reproach, present to Him, on the one hand, the greatness of their poverty, on the other, the large number of people, as if He does not know this. In this difficulty they say: “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?” Finally, the Lord makes everyone lie down on the grass in separate rows. That is, as if at different tables.
He took the five loaves and two fish, looking up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to distribute to them; and he divided the two fish among everyone. And they all ate and were filled. And they collected twelve full baskets of pieces of bread and the remains of fish. There were about five thousand men who ate the loaves.
The Lord looks at heaven, firstly, in order to teach us to ask for food from God, and not from the devil, as people do who live on unrighteous profits, and secondly, in order to show the people that Christ is not an enemy of God , on the contrary, He Himself calls on God. He gives the loaves to the disciples so that they will not forget about the miracle after they have received the loaves with their own hands. And twelve boxes of surplus remain for the same purpose, so that each of the apostles, carrying a box on his shoulders, would always keep the miracle in his memory. And the fact that not only to feed such a multitude of people, but also to leave surpluses, is a sign of the abundant power in Christ. Although Moses gave manna, it was only for everyone’s needs, for in what was left over, worms infested. And Elijah, impregnating a famous wife, delivered exactly as much as was enough for food. On the contrary, Jesus as Master produces what appears to be an excess. This is a historical meaning. In a figurative sense, the five loaves mean the books of Moses, of which there are five: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The two fish represent the words of the fishermen - Apostle and Gospel. These are what feed our five senses, signified by five thousand people. However, we cannot eat everything, but much will remain in excess, which the apostles alone can bear. Thus, we, who are still servile to the five senses, cannot bear the most difficult aspects of understanding the Law and the Gospel, but only the apostles can.
And immediately He compelled His disciples to get into the boat and go forward to the other side to Bethsaida, while He sent the people away. And, having dismissed them, he went up the mountain to pray. In the evening the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on earth. And I saw them in distress on the voyage, because the wind was against them; About the fourth watch of the night he approached them, walking on the sea, and wanted to pass them. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. For everyone saw Him and were afraid. And immediately he spoke to them and said to them, “Be of good cheer; It's me, don't be afraid. And he entered the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were extremely amazed and amazed, for they did not understand the miracle of the loaves, because their hearts were hardened.
"Forced the disciples." The disciples separated from Him only out of compulsion, but on their own they did not want to part, partly out of their love for Him, partly out of bewilderment about how He could come to them without a boat. And He, having dismissed the people, goes up (to the mountain) to pray alone, since prayer requires solitude and an imperturbable state. The Lord allows the disciples to be overwhelmed at sea so that they learn patience. For the same reason, He does not immediately appear to them, but allows them to be in danger from the storm for the whole night, in order to accustom them to be patient and wait for deliverance not at the very beginning of danger. But notice another circumstance, that is, that before ending the danger, He plunges them into even greater fear; for when they saw Him, they cried out in fear, thinking that it was a ghost. Then the Lord immediately encourages them with His voice, saying: “Do not be afraid”; then, entering the boat, he gives them complete peace of mind, because the wind suddenly stopped. Walking on the sea is a great miracle and is characteristic of the one true God; and the fact that there was confusion between the disciples and a contrary wind makes the miracle even more exalted. As for the apostles, they, not having known (Christ) from the miracle of the loaves, knew Him from the real miracle on the sea. Therefore, one can think that Christ allowed them to be in danger so that they, having not known Him from the miracle of the loaves, would now know from the miracle over the sea and benefit from it.
And having crossed over, they arrived in the land of Gennesaret and landed on the shore. When they got out of the boat, immediately the inhabitants, recognizing Him, ran around the entire surrounding area and began to bring the sick on their beds to where He was heard to be. And wherever He came, whether to villages, cities, or villages, they laid the sick in open places and asked Him to touch at least the hem of His garment; and those who touched Him were healed.
The Lord arrived in this place, it seems, after a considerable time (absence); That’s why the evangelist says: “When they recognized Him, they began to bring the sick.” They had not yet invited Him into their homes, but they themselves brought the sick, begging them to touch at least the hem of His garment. For the miracle of the bleeding wife came to the attention of everyone and created even greater faith in them.

The Holy Gospel of Mark was written in Rome ten years after the Ascension of Christ. This Mark was a student and follower of Petrov, whom Peter even calls his son, of course, spiritual. He was also called John; was a nephew of Barnabas; accompanied the Apostle Paul. But for the most part he was with Peter, with whom he was also in Rome. Therefore the faithful at Rome asked him not only to preach to them without Scripture, but also to set down for them the works and life of Christ in Scripture; He barely agreed to this, however, he wrote. Meanwhile, it was revealed to Peter by God; that Mark wrote the Gospel. Peter testified that it was true. Then he sent Mark as a bishop to Egypt, where he founded Alexandria with his preaching and enlightened everyone living in the midday country.

The distinctive features of this Gospel are clarity and the absence of anything difficult to understand. Moreover, the real evangelist is almost similar to Matthew, except that it is shorter, and Matthew is more extensive, and that Matthew at the beginning mentions the Nativity of the Lord in the flesh, and Mark began with the prophet John. Hence, some, not without reason, see the following sign in the evangelists: God, sitting on the cherubim, whom Scripture depicts as four-faced (), taught us a four-fold Gospel, animated by one spirit. So, for each of the cherubs, one face is called like a lion, another - like a man, the third - an eagle, and the fourth - a calf (); so it is in the matter of evangelical preaching. The Gospel of John has the face of a lion, for the lion is the image of royal power; so John began with the royal and sovereign dignity, with the Divinity of the Word, saying: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God”(). The Gospel of Matthew has a human face because it begins with the carnal birth and incarnation of the Word. The Gospel of Mark is compared to an eagle because it begins with a prophecy about John, and the gift of prophetic grace, as the gift of acute vision and insight into the distant future, can be likened to an eagle, which is said to be gifted with the keenest vision, so that it alone Of all the animals, without closing his eyes, he looks at the sun. The Gospel of Luke is like a calf because it begins with the priestly ministry of Zechariah, who offered incense for the sins of the people; then they also sacrificed the calf.

So, Mark begins the Gospel with a prophecy and a prophetic life. Listen to what he says!

The Gospel of Mark is the second book of the New Testament after the Gospel of Matthew and the second (and shortest) of the four canonical Gospels.

The Gospel tells about the life and works of Jesus Christ and largely coincides with the presentation of the Gospel of Matthew. A distinctive feature of the Gospel of Mark is that it is addressed to Christians who came from a pagan environment. Many Jewish rites and customs are explained here.

Read the Gospel of Mark.

The Gospel of Mark consists of 16 chapters:

Mark's poetic style is expressive and spontaneous. The Gospel is written in Greek. The language of the Gospel is not literary, but closer to colloquial.

Authorship. In the text of this Gospel, as in the texts of other Gospels, there is no indication of authorship. According to church tradition, the authorship is attributed to the disciple of the Apostle Peter, Mark. It is believed that the Gospel was written by Mark based on the memories of Peter.

The Gospel describes an episode about an unknown young man who ran out into the street on the night of the capture of Christ wearing only a blanket. It is believed that this young man was the Evangelist John Mark.

Many modern biblical scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark was the first of the canonical Gospels to be created and, together with the unknown source Q, served as the basis for the writing of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Time of creation. The most likely time for the creation of the Gospel of Mark is the 60-70s. There are two versions of the place of writing - Rome and Alexandria.

Interpretation of the Gospel of Mark.

Most of the testimonies of the Church Fathers that have survived to our times claim that the Gospel of Mark was created in Rome and was intended primarily for pagan Christians. This is evidenced by a number of facts:

• Explanations of Jewish customs,
• Translation of Aramaic expressions into understandable Greek.
• Usage large quantity Latinisms.
• Using the time system used in Rome.
• A small number of quotations from the Old Testament.
• The Lord's concern for “all nations” is emphasized

Evangelist Mark is more attracted by the actions than by the speeches of Christ (18 miracles are described and only 4 parables).

It was important for Mark to emphasize that Jesus was unwilling to reveal himself as the Messiah until His followers understood the nature of His Messiahship and the true nature of His ministry.

In the Gospel, Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man 12 times and Christ (Messiah) only once. This is explained by the fact that the messianic task itself - to be a servant of Jehovah and to give his life for people according to His will - better corresponded to the hypostasis of the Son of Man

It was difficult for Christ's disciples to understand His plan - they expected a triumphant Messiah, and not the One who would suffer and die for the sins of mankind. The apostles are afraid and do not understand what awaits them. That is why they fled when the soldiers grabbed Jesus.

With special feeling, Mark writes about the angel's news that Christ has risen and will meet with his disciples in Galilee. The point of the ending is that Jesus is alive and will lead and care for his followers.

Purposes of the Gospel of Mark:

• describe the life of Christ as the servant of God;
• attract new followers to the Christian faith;
• to instruct and strengthen new Christian converts in the faith in the face of the persecution that awaited them

The main purpose of the gospel is to deeply understand the meaning of discipleship and following Christ in the context of His death and resurrection.

The Gospel of Mark: summary.

Chapter 1. The sermon of the closest predecessor of Jesus Christ - John the Baptist. Baptism of Jesus. Temptation of Christ by Satan. Ministry of Christ in Galilee. The power of the Son of God over disease and demonic powers. Sermons and the first disciples.

Chapter 2. Disagreements between Jesus Christ and the religious elite in Galilee.

Chapter 3. The Pharisees reject Jesus. Sermons of the Savior in the area of ​​the Sea of ​​Galilee. The calling of the 12 apostles. Miracles and parables of Christ. Accusing Christ of collaborating with Beelzebub. Jesus' answer about who truly constitutes His family.

Chapter 4. Description and characteristics of the Kingdom of God in the parables of Jesus.

Chapter 5. Miracles of Jesus, testifying to His Divine power.

Chapter 6. Ministry of Christ. Death of John the Baptist. Rejection of Jesus.

Chapters 7 – 8. In word and deed, Christ reveals Himself to His 12 disciples.

Chapter 9 Jesus goes to Judea. Further miracles and parables. Jesus' prediction of His martyrdom.

Chapter 10. Healing of the Jericho blind man. Faith of Blind Bartimaeus.

Chapter 11. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and preaching there. Signs of the Savior regarding God's judgment.

Chapter 12. Clashes between the Savior and religious leaders in the courtyards of the temple.

Chapter 13. Predictions about the destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of the end of the world

Chapter 14. Anointing with myrrh. Last Supper. Gethsemane Struggle, Arrest and Trial

Chapter 15. Jesus before Pilate. Christ's crucifixion and burial.

Chapter 16. The appearance of the risen Christ. Jesus' commission to His followers.

I. Title (1:1)

Mar. 1:1. The first verse (which does not contain a single verb) contains the title of the book and reveals its theme. The word Gospel (euangeliou - "good news") in this case does not refer to the book of Mark, known as the "Gospel of Mark", but to the good message about Jesus Christ.

Those who were familiar with the Old Testament knew with what high meaning the word “gospel” and the words derived from it were filled in it (Isa. 40:9; 41:27; 52:7; 61:1-3). In its usual meaning, the word “news” (or “news”) implies that something important has happened. But Mark resorts to this word at a time when it has already become a kind of Christian term denoting the preaching of Jesus Christ. “Good news” or “gospel” (Greek word) is the announcement of God's power at work in Jesus Christ for the salvation of all who believe (Rom. 1:16). This term plays an important role in Mark's theological narrative (Mark 1:14-15; 8:35; 10:29; 13:9-10; 14:9).

For Mark, the beginning of the Gospel was the historical facts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Later, the apostles proclaimed the Good News, starting where Mark left off (for example, Acts 2:36).

So, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ” means: The good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. “Jesus” is His proper name, given to Him by God (Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31; 2:21); it is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew "Yoshua", meaning "Jehovah is our salvation."

The word "Christ" is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew title "Mashiach" ("Messiah" or "Anointed One"). The Jews used it in relation to the Liberator whom they expected; in their minds, it was God's Messenger (Mediator) who would come to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies (for example, Gen. 49:10; Ps. 2:109; Isa. 9:1-7; 11:1-9; Zech. 9 :9-10). Jesus appeared to be the Messiah for whom they were waiting.

Although from the beginning of the Christian era the title "Christ" became, as it were, part of own name Jesus, Mark uses it precisely in the sense of a title full of power (Mark 8:29; 12:35; 14:61; 15:32). Another title of Jesus, “Son of God,” indicates His very special relationship with God. He is a Man (Jesus) and God's "special Mediator" (Messiah), fully possessing the same Divine nature as the Father. As the Son of God, He is obedient to God the Father (Heb. 5:8).

II. Introduction: Preparing for Jesus' Ministry to Men (1:2-13)

In a short introduction, Mark dwells on three “preparatory” events that had great importance for a correct perception of the entire life-ministry of Jesus. These are: the ministry of John the Baptist (verses 2-8), the baptism of Jesus (verses 9-11), and the temptation of Jesus (verses 12-13). The decisive role is played in the introduction by two words repeated several times in it - “desert” (eremos; verses 3-4,12-13) and “Spirit” (verse 8, 10,12).

A. The Forerunner of Christ - John the Baptist (1:2-8) (Matt. 3:1-12; Luke 3:1-20; John 1:19-37)

1. FULFILLMENT IN JOHN THE BAPTIST OF THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY (1:2-3)

Mar. 1:2-3. Mark begins his narrative within the context of the Old Testament. And this is the only place where he refers to the Old Testament, except for quotations from it given by Jesus Christ.

Verse 2 is a "confusion" of what is said in Ex. 23:20 and Malachi (3:1). And in 1:3 the prophet Isaiah is quoted (40:3). Moreover, Mark proceeds from the traditional understanding of the mentioned Old Testament verses and therefore does not explain them. But he clearly emphasizes the word “way” (hodos, literally “road”), which is key to Mark’s exposition of the essence of Christian discipleship (Mark 8:27; 9:33; 10:17,32,52; 12 :14).

Mark prefaces the “mixed” citation in verses 2-3 with the words: As it is written in the prophets... This kind of “mixed” or “united” references by topic is generally characteristic of New Testament authors. In this case, the “unifying theme” is the “desert,” which played a special role in Israeli history. Since Mark begins his narrative with the ministry of John the Baptist in the wilderness, the decisive words in his quotation are the words of the prophet Isaiah about the voice of one crying in the wilderness...

Guided by the Holy Spirit, Mark interprets the Old Testament texts in a “messianic way,” consciously changing the phrase “the way before Me” (Mal. 3:1) to Your way and “the paths of our God” (Is. 40:3) to His paths. Thus, he refers to I as God, who sends His Angel (John) before the face of Jesus (“before Your face”), the Angel who will prepare the way of Jesus (“Your way”). John was the “voice” calling on Israel to prepare the way for the Lord, that is, Jesus, and to make the paths straight for Him (Jesus). The meaning of these metaphors is revealed in the words about John's ministry (1:4-5).

2. JOHN AS PROPHET (1:4-5)

Mar. 1:4. In fulfillment of the above prophecies, John appeared on the historical stage - as the last of the Old Testament prophets (compare Luke 7:24-28; 16:16), and this marked a turning point in God's attitude towards the human race. John baptized in the desert (literally, an uninhabited area parched by the sun)…preaching a baptism of repentance. The word "preaching" (Greek word "kerisson") could be rendered - in light of the prediction in Mar. 1:2-3 - as “proclaiming, being a messenger, a messenger.”

On the one hand, John's baptism was not something fundamentally new, since the Jews demanded that pagans converting to Judaism perform a similar ritual - self-immersion in water. What was new, however, was that John offered to be “baptized” not to the pagans, but to God’s chosen people, i.e., the Jews, and at the same time demanded repentance from them - in the face of the Messiah coming after him (Matt. 3:2).

This baptism is described as being associated with repentance or expressing repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This very word - “repentance” (“metanoia”) is found in the Gospel of Mark only here. And it implies a “180-degree turn” - a change in the way of thinking, and, accordingly, behavior (Matt. 3:8; 1 Thess. 1:9).

“Forgiveness” (aphesin) here literally means “the removal or destruction of the barrier (or “debt”) of guilt.” It is implied - by God's mercy, for it is by it - on the basis of the sacrificial death of Christ (Matthew 26:28) - that “sins” are canceled (like a debt). Forgiveness was not a consequence of the ritual of baptism, but was a visible evidence that the person being baptized had repented, and as a result, God, in His mercy, forgave him of his sins (Luke 3:3).

Mar. 1:5. By resorting to hyperbole (compare also verses 32-33, 37), Mark sought to show how great was the influence of John on the Jews in general and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem in particular. People came from all directions and were baptized by him... in the Jordan River (compare verse 9), confessing their sins. The imperfect form of the Greek verbs in this verse emphasizes that the human flow was continuous, that people walked and walked to listen to John's preaching and be baptized by him.

The verb "to baptize" here (baptiso - an intensifying form of bapto - "to dip") literally means "to lower, immerse in water." To be baptized by John in the Jordan River meant for a Jew to “turn to God.” He thus became part of the repentant people, ready to meet the Messiah.

The act of baptism itself included an open, public confession of sins. The verb “to confess” (exomologoumenoi - literally “to agree, acknowledge, confess” - Acts 19:18; Phil. 2:11) is a strong sounding word. Those who confessed publicly acknowledged the justice of God's condemnation of their sins (here hamartias - literally "missing the mark", meaning (their) failure to meet God's standards). Every Jew familiar with the history of his people knew that Israel did not fulfill the requirements of the Heavenly Father. The willingness to be baptized by John “in the wilderness” corresponded to his recognition of his disobedience to God and his expression of desire to turn to Him.

3. JOHN'S LIFESTYLE WAS THE LIFESTYLE OF A PROPHET (1:6)

Mar. 1:6. The clothes and food of John the Baptist identified him as a “man of the desert,” and they also testified to him as a prophet of God (compare Zech. 13:4). to his appearance John resembled the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), who was identified by the prophet Malachi (Malachi 4:5) with God's Angel or messenger (Malachi 3:1); quoted above (Mark 1:2; compare Mark 9:13; Luke 1:17).

Those who lived in the desert regions of Palestine often ate locusts (locusts) and wild honey. In Lev. 11:32 Locusts are counted among "clean" food.

4. SERMON OF JOHN - SERMON OF THE PROPHET (1:7-8)

Mar. 1:7. Literally the first words of this verse are: “And he proclaimed as a herald, saying” (compare verse 4). John Mark's sermon boils down to main idea her to emphasize it: to the announcement that someone much greater is following him, who will baptize the people with the Holy Spirit (verse 8). The words come after me (meaning “after (in time) me”) The strongest of me, like an echo, reflect what was said in Mal. 3:1 and 4:5, however, who exactly is the “Mightiest One” who “comes after him” was hidden even from John until the moment of Jesus’ baptism from him (compare John 1:29-34). Mark undoubtedly avoided the word “Messiah” - for the reason that this concept was inextricably linked with its incorrect interpretation among the people. Next, in verse 8, Mark explains why the One coming after John is “mightier than he.”

John points to the greatness of the Coming One and shows his own humility (compare John 3:27-30), saying that he is not worthy to stoop down (these words are recorded only by Mark) to untie the strap of His shoes (sandals). But even a slave who was in the service of a Jew was not required to do this for his master!

Mar. 1:8. In this verse, I is contrasted with He. John performed the act external character- baptism with water, and the One who follows him will pour out the life-giving Spirit on them.

The Greek word is baptiso. if it is related in meaning to the word "water", it usually means immersion in water, and only (verses 9-10). But when combined with the words Holy Spirit, it means entering the sphere where the life-giving power of the Spirit operates.

I baptized you with water... probably indicates that John was speaking to people who had already received baptism from him. His baptism "in water" was preparatory in nature. But those who were baptized by John thereby promised to receive the One who “followed him,” and to whom it was given to baptize them with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5; 11:15-16). The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was an expected activity of the coming Messiah (Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 36:26-27; Joel 2:28-29).

B. The Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (1:9-11) (Matt. 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-22)

1. JESUS' BAPTISM IN JORDAN (1:9)

Mar. 1:9. Mark quite unexpectedly introduces the One who follows John as Jesus. Unlike the others who went to the Baptist, who were from “Judea and Jerusalem,” it is said about Jesus that He came from Nazareth of Galilee. Nazareth was a little-known town, never mentioned in the Old Testament, the Talmud, or the historical narratives of Josephus, a famous Jewish historian who lived in the first century A.D. Galilee was one of three provinces into which it was divided then Palestine (Judea, Samaria and Galilee), and occupied an area of ​​approximately 100 by 45 kilometers; it formed the most populated northeastern part of Palestine.

Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan (compare verse 5). The Greek prepositions (eis, into, verse 9, and ek, out, verse 10) indicate baptism by immersion. In all likelihood, Jesus was baptized near Jericho. He was then about 30 years old (Luke 3:23).

Unlike all others, Jesus did not confess sins (compare Mark 1:5) because there was no sin in Him (John 8:45-46; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 -John 3:5). Mark does not explain why Jesus was baptized by John, but three reasons can be suggested: 1) It was an act of obedience, indicating that Jesus fully shared God's plan and agreed with the role that John had to play in carrying it out. baptism (Matt. 3:15). 2) This was for Him an act of identifying Himself with the people of Israel, to which He considered Himself by His earthly origin and whose unenviable position in the eyes of God was also ready to share. 3) This was for Jesus an act of consecration of Himself to the messianic ministry, a sign of official acceptance of it, entry into it.

2. GOD'S VOICE FROM HEAVEN (1:10-11)

Mar. 1:10. Here Mark used the Greek adverb eutis (“immediately”) for the first of 42 times in his Gospel. He uses it in different meaning- both in the sense of the “immediacy” of this or that action, and in the sense of the logical sequence of actions (for example, 1:21, where the same adverb is translated as “soon”).

During the baptism of Jesus, three events occurred that did not accompany the baptism of others. First, John saw the heavens opening. The strong-sounding words “opening the heavens” are a metaphor reflecting God’s intervention in human affairs - with the goal of saving His people (Is. 64: 1-5, where there is a similar image). Secondly, John saw the Spirit like a dove descending on Him, that is, in the form of a dove, in a form accessible to human vision (compare Luke 3:22).

The image of a dove appears to symbolize the creative activity of the Spirit (Gen. 1:2). In Old Testament times, the Spirit came upon some people to infuse them with strength for service (for example, Exodus 31:3; Judges 3:10; 11:29; 1 Sam. 19:20,23). The coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus gave Him power for His messianic ministry (Acts 10:38) and for the baptism of others with the Holy Spirit, as John foretold (Mark 1:8).

Mar. 1:11. Third: And a voice came from heaven (compare 9:7). The words of the Heavenly Father, in which He expressed unconditional approval of Jesus and His mission, are echoed in three verses of the Old Testament - Gen. 22:2; Ps. 2:7; Is. 42:1.

The first statement - You are My Son - affirms the special relationship of Jesus with His Heavenly Father. The majestic meaning of these words is explained in Ps. 2:7, where God refers to His Son as the anointed King. From the moment of His baptism in the Jordan, Jesus officially takes on the role of God's Anointed (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Ps. 89:27; Heb. 1:5).

The word Beloved (ho agapetos) in relation to the Son can be understood in the sense of the Old Testament "only" or "only begotten" Son (compare Gen. 22:2,12,16; Jer. 6:26; Am. 8:10; Zech. 12:10), i.e., as an equivalent to the Greek word “monogenos” (sole, unique - John 1:14,18; Heb. 11:17).

The phrase in which My favor sounds “out of time” and indicates that the Father always favors the Son. This favor of God had no beginning and will have no end. This idea is also heard in Isa. 42:1, where God addresses His chosen “Young One” (in English translation - “Servant”), on whom He is ready to pour out His Spirit. With Isa. 42:1 begins the first of four prophecies about the true Servant-Messiah, who is contrasted in them with the disobedient “servant people”, i.e. Israel (Is. 42:1-9; 49:1-7; 50:4-9 ; 52:13 - 53:12).

A true Servant (or Slave) must suffer a lot to fulfill the will of God. He is to die as a “propitiation victim” (Is. 53:10), becoming the sacrificial Lamb (Is. 53:7-8; John 1:29-30). This is the role of the suffering Servant that Jesus began to fulfill from the moment of His baptism. And it is this aspect of His messianic ministry that Mark emphasizes (8:31; 9:30-31; 10:32-34,45; 15:33-39).

The ritual of baptism itself had no effect on the Divine status of Jesus. He did not become the Son of God at the moment of baptism, nor did He become the Son of God at the moment of His transfiguration before the eyes of the disciples (9:7). Rather, the baptism indicated the far-reaching significance of Jesus answering His messianic calling both as the suffering Servant of God and as the Messiah, the Son of David. He became the Messiah, being the Son of God, with whom is always the favor of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit (and not vice versa). All three Persons of the Divine are “included” in the phenomenon of His messiahship.

C. Temptation of Jesus by Satan (1:12-13) (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13)

Mar. 1:12. Immediately after his baptism, the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert. A more accurate translation: not “leads,” but “drives,” for here the Greek verb zkballo is used, which Mark uses elsewhere when speaking of casting out demons (verses 34,39; 3:15,22-23; 6:13 ; 7:26; 9:18,28,38). Used in this case, this word indicates Mark's penchant for "strong expressions" (compare with Matt. 4:1 and Luke 4:1, where the other two evangelists resort to a different Greek word, rendered in Russian as "raised" and "behaved"). The idea here, however, is that in His influence on Jesus the Spirit had recourse to a strong moral impulse - so that Jesus would go towards temptation and evil, and not try to evade them.

A desert (compare Mark 1:4) is a waterless, uninhabited area; according to the traditional ideas of the ancient Jews, the “desert” was inhabited by evil spirits and all evil spirits (Matt. 12:43; Luke 8:29; 9:24). Tradition says that the temptation of Christ took place northwest of the Dead Sea, near Jericho and slightly west of it.

Mar. 1:13. And He was there in the desert for forty days... If we look for a parallel to these “forty days” in the Old Testament, then, perhaps, the closest one will be the story of David’s victory over Goliath, who kept the Israelites in fear for 40 days (1 Sam. 17:16 ).

Jesus was... there... tempted by Satan. “Tempted” - from the Greek word “peiraso”, which means “to put to the test”, “to test” - in order to find out what the “tested” is. This word can be used both in a positive sense (1 Cor. 10:13; Heb. 11:17, where it is translated as “to tempt”), and in a negative sense, when Satan or his demons “tempt” with sinful temptations. But in this case both meanings are implied.

Jesus was tested by God (“The Spirit leads Him into the wilderness”) in order to show His suitability for the messianic task entrusted to Him. But at the same time, Satan was also active, trying to distract Jesus from fulfilling the mission God had appointed Him (compare Matt. 4:11; Luke 4:1-13). Jesus' sinlessness did not mean that He could not be tempted; could, and this showed that He was indeed a man (compare Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:18).

The tempter was Satan himself, the enemy of the human race and the adversary of God. Mark does not resort here to the term “devil” (“slanderer”), which we find in Matthew and Luke (Matthew 4:1 and Luke 4:2).

Satan and the evil forces subordinate to him, constantly opposing God and the implementation of His purposes, especially actively opposed the mission of Christ. As you know, Satan always tries to turn people away from God, and then, when they fall, he accuses them before God and strives in every possible way to destroy them. Before going out to fight the spirits of evil, Jesus gave battle to their “prince.” He came to earth precisely in order to, through His ministry, defeat him and free the people enslaved by him (Heb. 2:14; John 3:8). The Son of God defeated Satan in the wilderness, and the demons recognized that He was truly from God, His Son (Mark 1:24; 3:11; 5:7).

Only Mark mentions animals. According to the Old Testament concept, the “desert” was therefore deserted, dull and dangerous, serving as a haven for terrible voracious animals (Isa. 13:20-22; 34:8-15; Ps. 21:12-22; 90:11-13), that God cursed her. It is hostile to man in nature, and the “beasts” living in it testify that Satan rules over this place.

The image of the Angels who served Jesus contrasts with the image of the “beasts.” The angels were Jesus’ helpers during His trial; in particular, they strengthened His confidence that God would not abandon Him. Mark does not mention that Jesus fasted (compare Matt. 4:2; Luke 4:2), perhaps because His very sojourn in the wilderness implied this. In general, the scene of temptation is conveyed briefly by Mark (unlike Matthew and Luke).

He says nothing about what exactly the “temptation” was, nor that it ended in the victory of Jesus over Satan, who tried in various cunning ways to lure Him away from fulfilling the waves of God (Mark 8:11,32-33 ; 10:2; 12:15). Jesus entered into direct confrontation with Satan and the hellish forces led by him because, having been baptized, he officially took upon himself the fulfillment of the mission entrusted to him by God.

The Gospel of Mark is precisely the story of the struggle of Jesus with Satan, which reached its culmination on the Cross of Calvary. From the very beginning, Jesus showed that He was stronger than Satan. And the fact that He later cast out demons from those possessed became possible precisely because of the victory He won over Satan at the beginning of His earthly ministry (3:22-30).

III. The beginning of Jesus' ministry in Galilee (1:14 - 3:6)

The first main section of the Gospel of Mark includes: a summary of Jesus' preaching (1:14-15); His calling of the first disciples (1:16-20; 2:14); a description (as part of Jesus' ministry) of his casting out demons and healing the sick in and around Capernaum (1:21-45); finally, a description of a number of clashes between the Savior and the religious leaders of the Jews (2:1 - 3:5). The section ends with the message that the Pharisees and Herodians conspired among themselves to kill Jesus (3:6). Throughout this section, Jesus demonstrates His supreme authority over all things, both in His words and in His deeds.

A. Jesus' sermon - brief, introductory, summary (1:14-15) (Matt. 4:12-17; Luke 4:14-21)

Jesus began His ministry in Galilee (1:9) after John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod Antipas for the reason mentioned in Mark. 6:17-18. Before coming to Galilee, Jesus served in Judea for about a year (John 1:19 - 4:45), but Mark does not mention this. This indicates that Mark did not set out to write the life of Christ in chronological order.

Mar. 1:14. The word betrayed, with which Mark reports the imprisonment of John the Baptist, both in Greek and in Russian texts, has a common root with “betrayed” (compare 3:19, which speaks of the betrayal of Jesus Himself by Judas; from this we can conclude that Mark seemed to draw a parallel between the fate of John and Jesus (compare 1:4 and 14a).

The passive voice in which the word “betrayed” appears perhaps emphasizes the fulfillment of God’s will in John’s “tradition” (note the “consonant” passages regarding Jesus Himself in 9:31 and 14:18). So, the time had come for Jesus to begin his ministry in Galilee (compare interpretation on 9:11-13): Jesus came to Galilee preaching (compare 1:14) the gospel (compare verse 1) of the kingdom of God.

Mar. 1:15. His preaching boiled down to two statements and two commands. The first statement - time has been fulfilled - expressed the idea that the time appointed by God to prepare for the coming of the Messiah and wait for Him (the Old Testament era) was completed - in full accordance with God's plan (Gal. 4:4; Heb. 1:2; 9:6- 15).

The second statement - the kingdom of God is at hand - defines the essence of Jesus' gospel. The word "Kingdom" (basileia) is used here in the sense of "reign" or "royal rule." This concept includes the supreme power of the ruler, His very activity of governance, as well as the scope of His rule and the benefits arising from the above. Thus, the “Kingdom of God” is the concept of a dynamic (and not static, frozen) state, which is determined by all the activities of God as the Supreme Ruler governing His creation.

This concept was well known to Christ’s contemporaries on the basis of Old Testament prophecies (2 Samuel 7:8-17; Isa. 11:1-9; 24:23; Jer. 23:4-6; Mic. 4:6-7; Zechariah 9:9-10; 14:9); they lived in anticipation of the future messianic (Davidian) kingdom on earth (Matt. 20:21; Mark 10:37; 11:10; 12:35-37; 15:43; Luke 1:31-33; 2:25 ,38; Acts 1:6). Therefore, Jesus did not have to make any effort to arouse their interest in His message.

The Kingdom of God that He spoke about, His listeners were ready to identify with the messianic kingdom they had been waiting for so long, predicted in the Old Testament. So, the time to make a decision has come; for Jesus expected from His hearers a corresponding response to His two demands: Repent and believe the Gospel.

Repentance and faith were bound by Him into one whole (they did not break up into two successive actions). To "repent" (compare Mark 1:4) meant to turn or turn away from the present object of their faith and hope (which, in particular, is one's own human self). “Believe” here implies complete surrender of oneself to the object of true, not erroneous faith.

That is, to believe the Gospel means to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God. (So ​​the “content” of the Good News is Himself - verse 1.) Only in this way can one enter the Kingdom of God (compare 10:15) or receive it (as a gift).

As a nation, Israel officially rejected these demands (3:6; 12:1-2; 14:1-2,64-65; 15:31-32). Meanwhile, Jesus taught that His earthly kingdom (the kingdom of David) would not come immediately or “at once” (Luke 19:11). But this will not happen before God realizes His current goal - the salvation of Jews and Gentiles through the creation of His Church (Rom. 16:25-27; Eph. 3:2-12). And then Jesus Christ will return to earth to establish His Kingdom on it (Matt. 25:31,34; Acts 15:14-18; Rev. 19:15; 20:4-6). Then Israel will be “restored” and “redeemed” (Rom. 11:25-29), and then they will find joy in the fulfilled promises of the Kingdom.

B. Jesus Calls Four Fishermen to His Ministry (1:16-20) (Matt. 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11)

Immediately after setting out the essence of Jesus’ sermon, Mark writes about His calling four fishermen to serve—“two pairs” of siblings. He seems to emphasize by this (and clearly shows) that to repent and believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15) means to immediately and decisively break with the past way of life and follow Jesus, follow His call. Jesus began his ministry in Galilee with the aforementioned call of the four. This will be followed by His choosing and blessing the rest of the Twelve to work (3:13-19; 6:7-13,30).

Mar. 1:16. The Sea of ​​Galilee is a warm lake approximately 12 km wide and about 20 km long, located approximately 200 meters below sea level; Fishing was the main occupation of those who lived along its banks. This lake was, as it were, the “geographical center” of the Galilean ministry of Jesus Christ. Passing near the Sea of ​​Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting nets into the sea, for they were fishermen by profession, Mark emphasizes.

Mar. 1:17-18. The words follow me meant: follow me as my disciples. In those days it was customary for those who wished to study to “find” rabbis for themselves; They waited until the disciples came to them. In contrast, Jesus took the initiative by calling His followers. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men,” He promised. Jesus “caught” them for His Kingdom and will now prepare them (the corresponding Greek phrase has just such a semantic connotation) so that they, in turn, will go out to “catch” other human souls.

The image of “catching,” like fishing, is probably inspired here by the profession of the four disciples, but it should be noted that it also occurs frequently in the Old Testament (Jer. 16:16; Ezek. 29:4-5; Am. 4:2; Hab. 1:14-17). True, the prophets resorted to this metaphor when speaking about the future God's judgment, but Jesus used it in the “opposite” sense - meaning liberation from this judgment. In light of the coming righteous reign of God (1:15), Jesus called four fishermen to the work of “catching” people from the “sea of ​​sin” (“sea” is a characteristic image of sin and death in the Old Testament; for example, Is. 57: 20-21).

And... immediately Simon and Andrew, leaving their networks (their former work, calling), followed Him. In the Gospels "to follow (akolouteo) for" when the subject ( actor) is this or that person, means his entry onto the path of discipleship. Subsequent events showed (verses 29-30) that entering this path did not mean that the disciples abandoned their loved ones and left their homes; for them, it meant unconditional loyalty to Jesus (10:28).

Mar. 1:19-20. About this time, Jesus saw James Zebedee and John his brother (compare 10:35), also in a boat mending their nets before their next night's fishing. They were Simon's companions (Luke 5:10). And immediately Jesus called them to follow Him. They immediately parted with what determined their former way of life (the boat and fishing nets), and with what constituted its value (their father Zebedee... with the workers), and followed Him.

Mark does not mention the previous contacts of these fishermen with Jesus, but from the Gospel of John (John 1:35-42) we learn that Andrew and Simon had already previously recognized Him as the Messiah of Israel.

After some time has passed. Jesus gathered all the Twelve around Him and began their discipleship (Mark 3:14-19).

Mark sets out the “historical part” of Jesus (the beginning of his ministry) briefly (1:14-20), placing the main emphasis on the authority Jesus enjoyed among people and on the obedience of His followers to Him. The theme of discipleship dominates the Gospel of Mark. The very fact of “calling” the disciples by Himself, in all likelihood, prompted Mark’s readers to ask two questions: “Who is this Caller?” and “What did it mean in practice to follow Him?” The evangelist answers both potential questions. Mark apparently assumed certain similarities between the twelve disciples (commentary on 3:13 and 13:37) and his readers, believing that whatever the latter learned about the former would be of great benefit to them in the light of their own discipleship.

V. Jesus' Authority over Demonic Powers and Diseases (1:21-45)

The authoritative tone of Jesus (verse 22) and the special significance of His words (verses 38-39), which the four fishermen first learned from their experience, were later found to be justified in the amazing actions of Jesus. Verses 21-34 describe one apparently typical Sabbath day for the Lord in Capernaum: on that day He demonstrated His power over demons (verses 21-28), healed Peter’s mother-in-law (verses 29-31), and after sunset - many others (verses 32-34).

Then verses 35-39 briefly tell us that in the morning... very early He prayed, and in a few words how He began to preach in Galilee. One of the remarkable events during His preaching journey was His healing of a leper (verses 40-45). Jesus spoke and did “as one having authority,” and this caused amazement, but at the same time it gave rise to many disputes and disagreements (2:1 - 3:5).

I. HEALING ONE POSSESSED BY AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT (1:21-28) (Luke 4:31-37)

Mar. 1:21-22. The four disciples went with Jesus to Capernaum, located nearby on the northwestern shore of the Sea of ​​Galilee. This was the city where they lived, and it became the center of Jesus' "Galilean ministry" (Luke 4:16-31). When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus came to the synagogue for the usual service that day. There He began to teach, no doubt at the suggestion of the ruler of the synagogue (compare Acts 13:13-16). Mark often mentions what Jesus taught (2:13; 4:1-2; 6:2,6,34; 8:31; 10:1; 11:17; 12:35; 14:49), but He devotes a little space to what He taught.

Jesus' listeners marveled (ekseplesonto - literally "were amazed"; the same word is found in 6:2; 7:37; 10:26; 11:18) both at His manner of teaching and at the content of His words. He taught as having authority from God, and therefore forced people to think about what they heard. And this was sharply different from how the scribes taught; they were taught the law in all its written nuances and the oral interpretation of what was written down, but they invariably kept within the framework of “tradition”, and their interpretation essentially amounted to references to what was said before them.

Mar. 1:23-24. The very presence of Jesus in the synagogue and the authoritative tone of His teachings provoked a violent reaction from a man present who was possessed by an unclean spirit. It was the “unclean spirit” or “demon” who cried out through his mouth: What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? These words convey a Hebrew idiomatic expression meaning the incompatibility of opposing forces (compare 5:7; Joshua 22:24; Judges 11:12; 2 Sam. 16:10; 19:22).

You have come to destroy us... “Destroy” is used not in the sense of “destroy”, but in the sense of “deprive us of strength.” The pronoun “us” sounded twice in verse 24 emphasizes that the demon was well aware of what it was like - the presence of Jesus for all evil forces; He represented the most terrible threat to them and their activities. Unlike most people, the demon did not doubt the true nature of Jesus: You, Holy One of God! - he exclaims (compare 3:11; 5:7), i.e. He whose source of power is the Holy Spirit. In other words, it was clear to the demon where this authority in Jesus came from.

Mar. 1:25-26. Several in simple words(without resorting to spells) Jesus rebuked (compare 4:39) the evil spirit and commanded it to leave the person possessed by it. Obeying the authority of Christ, the demon, shaking the unfortunate man with a cry (compare 9:26), came out of him.

Attempt evil spirit Jesus rejected “defending” himself and his “tribe” (1:24) - after all, His task was to engage in battle with Satan and his forces and defeat them. His demonstrated power over unclean spirits demonstrated that the power of God was at work through Jesus (verse 15). This first case of man's liberation from the evil spirit that tormented him marked the beginning of Jesus' constant confrontation with demons, about which Mark writes especially a lot.

Mar. 1:27-28. The people who witnessed what happened were horrified (here meaning “they were shocked” - compare 10:24,32). Their exclamations What is this? - related both to the nature of His teachings and to the fact that, before their eyes, He cast out a demon from a possessed person - through just one command to him. They could not help but see that the unusual power for them, sounded in His qualitatively new, different teaching, extended to the demonic forces forced to obey Him (compare 4:41). And soon (literally, “immediately”), writes Mark, rumors about Him spread throughout the entire region in Galilee.

2. HEALING OF SIMON'S MOTHER-IN-LAW (1:29-31) (MAT. 8:14-15; LUK. 4:38-39)

Mar. 1:29-31. Having soon left the synagogue (at the end of the Sabbath service), Jesus and His disciples came to the house of Simon (Peter) and Andrew. This house became Jesus' permanent home during His ministry in Capernaum (2:1; 3:20; 9:33; 10:10). Simonov's mother-in-law was in a fever; and immediately they tell Him about her. Moved by compassion, He approached her and this time, without saying a word, He simply lifted her up, taking her hand. And the fever immediately left her, obviously, and the weakness that accompanied high temperature, for the woman stood up and began to serve them.

3. HEALING OF MANY PEOPLE AFTER THE SUN SET (1:32-34) (MAT. 8:16-17; LUK. 4:40-41)

Mar. 1:32-34. This brief description vividly testifies to the excitement created in Capernaum by the miracles performed by Christ on the Sabbath day. Clarification of the circumstances of time - when evening came, when the sun set... - is not accidental here; this emphasizes that the inhabitants of Capernaum waited for the end of the Sabbath (at sunset), and only after that they began to bring their sick relatives to Jesus - so as not to violate the law (Ex. 20:10) or rabbinic regulations that prohibited carrying any load on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-5).

The whole city gathered at the door (of Simon's house) - a hyperbole (compare 1:5) expressing the concept of multitude; people brought all the sick and demon-possessed to Him. Again, moved by compassion, Jesus healed many (the Greek text here uses a Hebrew idiom meaning "as many as were offered" - compare with verse 32; 10:45) who suffered from various diseases. He also cast out (compare Mark 1:39) many demons, but, as before (verses 23-26), He did not allow the demons to speak about who He was, and by silencing them He revealed their powerlessness before Him.

The miracles that accompanied Christ's preaching activity naturally contributed to the growth of His popularity. But He did them not to “impress” people, but to convince them of the truth of His teaching (verse 15).

4. JESUS ​​REMOVES TO PRAYER AND THEN GOES OUT TO PREACH IN GALILEE (1:35-39) (Luke 4:42-44)

Mar. 1:35. Despite the extreme tension of the past Sabbath day (verses 21-34), Jesus got up very early (in the original - “before dawn”, apparently around 4 o’clock in the morning), went out and retired to a deserted place (compare verse 4) and prayed there. (In the same deserted place He resisted temptation and defeated Satan - verses 12-13.)

Mark singles out from many others three prayers of Jesus in three special situations; each was performed by Him alone and under the cover of night: the first - at the beginning of the service (verse 35), the second - in the middle of it (6:46) and the third - at the end of the service (14:32-42). In all three cases, He seemed to have the opportunity to take an easier path to achieve His messianic goal. But every time He drew strength from prayer in order to follow the path that the Father showed Him.

Mar. 1:36-37. Meanwhile, crowds of people returned early to Simon's house, hoping to see Jesus, but He was not there. Simon and those who were with him followed Him (in the Greek text there is an expression that is not found anywhere else in the New Testament - “they followed His path”). Their exclamation - everyone is looking for You, apparently, concealed some annoyance: it seemed to the disciples that Jesus here in Capernaum was missing a great opportunity to “make capital” of universal reverence and veneration.

Mar. 1:38-39. From Jesus' response it followed that the disciples still did not understand either Himself or the nature of His mission. His goal was to go everywhere, in particular to the nearby villages and cities of Galilee, and preach there too - not only in Capernaum. For this is why I came,” He explains. To preach the gospel (verse 14) and invite people to repent and believe in it (verse 15). But the inhabitants of Capernaum saw in Him only a miracle worker and it was in this capacity that they looked for Him, and therefore He left them to preach in other places.

Verse 39 briefly describes His walk throughout Galilee (compare verse 28), which probably lasted several weeks (Matt. 4:23-25). His main business was to preach in the local synagogues, and the fact that He cast out demons was an impressive confirmation of the truth of the message with which He came.

5. THE CLEANSING OF THE LEPER (1:40-45) (MAT. 8:1-4; LUK. 5:12-16)

Mar. 1:40. During the days of Jesus' stay in Galilee, a leper comes to Him (this in itself was great courage on his part). (In those days, the concept of “leprosy” included a whole range of skin diseases - from ringworm to real leprosy (caused by the so-called Hanson bacillus), which entails physical decay and progressive disfigurement of the patient’s body.) The person who turned to Christ languished a miserable existence due not only to his physical suffering, but also to ritual impurity (Lev. 13-14), the consequence of which was his expulsion from society. It is not without reason that leprosy, associated with all types of suffering - physical, mental and social, serves as a prototype of sin in the Bible.

The rabbis considered leprosy to be an incurable disease. The Old Testament describes only two cases of cleansing from it by God Himself (Numbers 12:10-15; 2 Kings 5:1-14). Nevertheless, this leper was convinced that Jesus could cleanse him. If you want, it sounds like “if it be Your will.” If you want, you can cleanse me. He fell on his knees before Him, begging for cleansing.

Mar. 1:41-42. Jesus, having mercy (splanchnisteis - literally “imbued with deep compassion”) over him... touched the untouchable and healed him, hopelessly ill. This very touch showed that Jesus did not consider Himself bound by the rabbinic regulations regarding ritual impurity. This symbolic touch of Him led to the healing of the leper (compare 7:33; 8:22), and His words filled with imperious power: I want, be cleansed. The healing occurred immediately (immediately), in front of everyone around, and was complete.

Mar. 1:43-44. After the healing, Jesus immediately sent him away, strictly warning him not to tell anyone anything. Most likely, this warning was “temporary” in nature and was supposed to remain in force until the priest declared the former leper clean. However, Jesus often demanded silence from people in other cases - so that the rumor about Him as a miraculous Healer would spread less (1:25,34; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 9:9). The question arises: why?

Some theologians believe that Mark and other evangelists “inserted” these commands of Jesus on their own, resorting to them as a kind of literary device - to explain why the Jews did not recognize Christ as their Messiah during His earthly ministry. This understanding was called the “messianic secret” - after all, according to it, Jesus Himself wanted to keep His Messiahship a secret.

Another point of view seems more convincing, according to which Jesus wanted to avoid any misunderstandings, which, in turn, could lead to premature and/or based on an erroneous understanding of His popularity (interpretation on 11:28). He did not want to “declare” Himself until He had fully clarified in the eyes of the people the nature of His missionary service (commentary on 8:30; 9:9). He thus wanted to gradually remove the “veil” from His personality - until the moment when he would openly speak about Himself (14:62 and compare with 12:12).

Further. Jesus told the former leper to show himself to the priest, who alone had the right to declare him ritually clean, and to offer the sacrifice established by Moses (Lev. 14:2-31). This requirement is “deciphered”: as evidence to them. This phrase can be understood both in a positive sense (as “convincing” evidence) and in a negative sense (as evidence for condemning them), and it can apply both to the people in general and to the priests in particular.

In this context, as in two other cases (Mark 6:11; 13:9), the understanding in the negative sense is preferable. We are most likely talking about the priesthood, about evidence against it. The point is that Christ's cleansing of the leper and the way it happened served as an undeniable messianic "sign" (compare Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22) - a sign that God had begun to act in a new way. And if the priests acknowledged the fact of purification, but rejected the Purifier, then their unbelief would become evidence against them.

Mar. 1:45. Instead of obeying Jesus and remaining silent, the man who was healed of leprosy by Him began to proclaim and tell about what had happened, and the news about it began to spread far and wide. (Mark does not say anything about whether the healed man visited the priest.) As a result, Jesus had to stop preaching in the Galilean synagogues (verse 39). He could no longer openly enter the city, since He was immediately besieged by crowds of people who expected the manifestation of worldly mercies from Him. Even when He was... in desert places (that is, in remote and uninhabited places - compare verse 35), people came to Him from everywhere.

The healing accomplished by Christ was beyond the purview of the Mosaic Law and the rabbinical decrees. Although the law provided for the performance of the appropriate ritual in the event of the already accomplished cleansing of the leper, it was powerless to give him relief from the disease, as well as internal spiritual renewal.

D. Jesus' disagreements with the religious leaders in Galilee (2:1 - 3:5)

Mark gives five different episodes in this section because they are "united" by a common theme - Jesus' disagreements with the religious leaders in Galilee. Chronological order The evangelist does not adhere to this. We find a similar “unification” of the five disputes in the Jerusalem Temple in Mark 11:27 - 12:37.

Here the conflict arose over the question of whether Jesus had authority over sin and the law. The first incident is preceded by a brief "introduction" (2:1-2). Mark is characterized by this brief “statement” of the activities of Jesus, after which a statement of events follows - in accordance with the purpose set by the evangelist (1:14-15,39; 2:1-2,13; 3:7-12,23; 4 :1,33-34; 8:21-26,31:9:31-, 10:1; 12:1).