1 He also said to His disciples: There was a certain man who was rich and had a steward, against whom it was reported to him that he was wasting his property;
2 And he called him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you?” give an account of your management, for you can no longer manage.
3 Then the steward said to himself, “What should I do?” my lord takes away the stewardship of the house from me; I can’t dig, I’m ashamed to ask;
4 I know what to do so that they will accept me into their homes when I am removed from the management of the house.
5 And he called his master’s debtors, each one separately, and said to the first, “How much do you owe my master?”
6 He said, “One hundred measures of oil.” And he said to him: take your receipt and sit down quickly, write: fifty.
7 Then he said to another, “How much do you owe?” He answered: one hundred measures of wheat. And he said to him: take your receipt and write: eighty.
8 And the lord praised the unfaithful steward, because he acted wisely; for the sons of this age are more perceptive in their generation than the sons of light.
9 And I say to you: make friends for yourself with unrighteous wealth, so that when you become poor, they will receive you into eternal abodes.
10 He who is faithful in a little is also faithful in much, but he who is unfaithful in a little is also unfaithful in much.
11 Therefore, if you have not been faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will give you the true credit?
12 And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to others, who will give you what is yours?
13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they laughed at Him.
15 He said to them, “You show yourselves to be righteous before men, but God knows your hearts, for whatever is high among men is an abomination to God.”
16 Law and prophets until John; From now on, the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone enters into it with effort.
17 But it is sooner for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to be lost.
18 Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries one who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.
19 A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted magnificently every day.
20 There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with sores
21 And he desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his sores.
The parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. Artist Y. Sh von KAROLSFELD 22 The beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And in hell, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom
24 And he cried out and said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer;
26 And besides all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, neither can they cross from there to us.
27 Then he said, “I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house,
28 For I have five brothers; let him testify to them, so that they too do not come to this place of torment.
29 Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.
30 And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if one comes to them from the dead, they will repent.
31 Then Abraham said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, even if someone were raised from the dead, they would not believe it.”
The Rich Man and Lazarus. Artist G. Dore He also said to His disciples: one man was rich and had a steward, against whom it was reported to him that he was wasting his property;and calling him, he said to him: “What is this I hear about you? give an account of your management, for you can no longer manage.”Then the steward said to himself: “What should I do? my lord takes away the stewardship of the house from me; I can’t dig, I’m ashamed to ask;I know what to do so that they will accept me into their homes when I am removed from managing the house.”
And calling his master’s debtors, each one separately, he said to the first: “How much do you owe my master?”He said, “one hundred measures of oil.” And he said to him: “Take your receipt and sit down quickly, write: fifty.”Then he said to another: “How much do you owe?” He answered: “one hundred measures of wheat.” And he said to him: “Take your receipt and write: eighty.”
And the lord praised the unfaithful steward for acting wisely; for the sons of this age are more perceptive in their generation than the sons of light.
And I say to you: make friends for yourself with unrighteous wealth, so that when you become poor, they will receive you into eternal abodes.
He who is faithful in a little is also faithful in much, and he who is unfaithful in a little is also unfaithful in much.So, if you have not been faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with what is true?And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to others, who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they laughed at Him.He told them: You show yourself to be righteous before men, but God knows your hearts, for whatever is exalted among men is an abomination to God.
Law and Prophets before John; From now on, the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone enters into it with effort.But it is sooner that heaven and earth pass away than one line of the law disappears.
Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries one divorced from her husband commits adultery.
A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted brilliantly every day.There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with sores.and wanted to feed himself on the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his scabs.
The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.And in hell, being in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosomand, crying out, said: “Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.”
But Abraham said: “child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer;and above all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us.”Then he said: “So I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house,for I have five brothers; let him testify to them, so that they too do not come to this place of torment.”
Abraham said to him: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them."He said: “No, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead comes to them, they will repent.”Then Abraham He said to him: “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone were raised from the dead, they will not believe it.”
Gospel of Luke Chapter 16 He also said to His disciples: There was a certain man who was rich and had a steward, against whom it was reported to him that he was wasting his property; and calling him, he said to him: What is this I hear about you? give an account of your management, for you can no longer manage. Then the steward said to himself: What should I do? my lord takes away the stewardship of the house from me; I can’t dig, I’m ashamed to ask; I know what to do so that they will accept me into their homes when I am removed from managing the house. And calling his master’s debtors, each one separately, he said to the first: How much do you owe my master? He said: one hundred measures of oil. And he said to him: take your receipt and sit down quickly, write: fifty. Then he said to another: how much do you owe? He answered: one hundred measures of wheat. And he said to him: take your receipt and write: eighty. And the lord praised the unfaithful steward for acting wisely; for the sons of this age are more perceptive in their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you: make friends for yourself with unrighteous wealth, so that when you become poor, they will receive you into eternal abodes. He who is faithful in a little is also faithful in much, and he who is unfaithful in a little is also unfaithful in much. So, if you have not been faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with what is true? And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to others, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they laughed at Him. He said to them: You show yourselves to be righteous before men, but God knows your hearts, for whatever is exalted among men is an abomination to God. Law and Prophets before John; From now on, the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone enters into it with effort. But it is sooner that heaven and earth pass away than one line of the law disappears. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries one divorced from her husband commits adultery. A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted brilliantly every day. There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with scabs and wanted to feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his scabs. The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, being in torment, he raised his eyes, saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom and, crying out, said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; and on top of all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us. Then he said: So I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers; let him testify to them, so that they too do not come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them. He said: no, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead comes to them, they will repent. Then Abraham said to him: if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone were raised from the dead, they would not believe it.
e. Jesus' Teachings on Wealth and the Kingdom of God (Chapter 16)
This chapter contains two parables about wealth. The first (verses 1-13) was addressed to His followers, and the second (verses 19-31) to the scribes and Pharisees, in light of their reaction to the first parable (verses 14-18).
Onion. 16:1-8a. With the parable of the unfaithful steward, Jesus told His followers to learn to use earthly wealth to achieve the goals of the Kingdom of God. The parable itself (verses 1-8a) is followed by conclusions from it in relation to life (verses 8b-13).
One man was rich and had a steward... and calling him, he said to him: Give an account of your management. This was caused by the fact that the owner was told that the steward was wasting his property. In the days of Jesus Christ, wealthy people often hired "stewards" who were trusted to handle the financial affairs of their estates. Such an employee cared about increasing the income of his master and had the right to manage his money precisely for these purposes. Apparently, in this case, the “steward” was more likely to “spend” than to “gather.” As a dishonest or irresponsible person, he was fired.
But before, as they would say now, “giving up,” he came up with a way out of his plight: in the person of two of his master’s debtors, he made friends for the future, giving them the opportunity to rewrite their promissory notes in the direction of significantly reducing their debt ( one hundred measures of oil equals fifty; one hundred measures of wheat equals eighty). The “unfaithful steward” did this with the idea that they would accept him into their homes when he was removed from managing the house (verse 4).
Having learned about this, the owner praised... the unfaithful steward for acting shrewdly (meaning “deliberately”). Of course, the steward's action was neither worthy nor, as such, worthy of praise. But he wisely planned everything for the future in order to secure it for himself. Jesus, of course, did not call His followers to dishonorable deeds, but in this story He allegorically expressed the idea of achieving spiritual goals at the cost of material wealth. In other words, He taught a good lesson by a bad example.
Onion. 16:8b-13. He draws three conclusions from the parable, addressing the disciples who were to live among unbelievers. Firstly, unrighteous wealth (meaning vain and fleeting) must be used to attract people to the Kingdom (verse 8b-9). (The following reading of the phrase when you become poor is known: “when wealth (material) loses its power,” that is, after the second coming of Christ. The second part of this phrase, so that they (then) will receive you into the eternal abode, in the English text of the Bible is conveyed as " welcomed (meaning friends) you to the eternal abodes." - Ed.)
For the sons of this age are more perceptive than the sons of light in their own way - here Jesus, apparently, “separates” His disciples from the “unfaithful steward,” who is the “son of this age,” striving only to get a better place in this earthly life; disciples are “sons of light” (compare 11:33-36; Eph. 5:8), who must act “discerningly” (wisely, but not dishonestly) in this world. It is precisely they who must wisely dispose of “unjust wealth,” forcing it to serve themselves and not becoming its slaves.
Where Christ speaks of “making friends for himself” through this wealth (verse 9), the lines of the disciples and the “unfaithful steward” again “converge,” for it was through “wealth” that he gained “friends.” By thoughtfully managing earthly wealth, it is possible to attract more and more people to the number of followers of Jesus Christ.
The second conclusion is made in verses 10-12: those who wisely manage small things (earthly wealth) are worthy to receive “true wealth” (apparently, these spiritual benefits are meant that await believers in the Kingdom of God).
The third conclusion is found in verse 13: You cannot serve God and mammon. In other words, the love of money (for “unrighteous wealth”) leads a person away from God (1 Tim. 6:10), and vice versa - the love of God does not allow him to see money as the main value in life.
Onion. 16:14-18. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they laughed at Him. They laughed because in their eyes both Jesus Himself and His disciples were poor people, and now He, being poor, has the audacity to teach them about money!
Jesus tells them that God knows people's hearts, and He cannot be "impressed" by outward righteousness or wealth. The Pharisees were righteous only in their own minds and presented themselves as such to people (verse 15; compare 15:7), however, the final word at the final judgment will belong to God, who evaluates a person by his inner state.
The teachers of the law did not understand the true meaning of God's blessings according to the covenant He made with Israel. So, they believed that if a person is rich, it means that God blesses him for righteous behavior. They seemed to completely overlook the fact that many righteous people in Old Testament times did not have earthly riches, while many who lived unworthily did.
What we say in verses 16-18 must be seen in the light of Jesus' statement regarding the self-righteousness of the Pharisees who will be judged by God. Jesus reminds them that there was a law and prophets before John the Baptist, and since the time of John the Kingdom of God has been preached, and only those (including the Pharisees) who make an effort will be able to enter into it (compare the interpretation on Matt. 11:12) .
Meanwhile, the self-righteous Pharisees did not live according to the Law. As an example of its violation, Jesus pointed to the practice of divorce. He declares remarriages after divorce to be adultery (with respect to the only exception He made, interpretation on Matt. 5:32; 19:1-12). The Pharisees turned a blind eye to divorce.
They said that a man should not commit adultery, but did not condemn the husband’s desire to have another wife, and for this reason they allowed him to divorce his first wife without serious grounds - in order to then marry another. This was not adultery in their eyes. But Christ saw in this clear example“self-justification”, which affects only people, but not God (verse 15).
So the Pharisees were breaking the law, the importance of which Jesus emphasizes (verse 17).
Onion. 16:19-21. Further, using the example of the rich man and Lazarus, Christ showed that wealth is by no means identified with righteousness. The rich man in the parable had everything he wanted. (The porphyry and fine linen in which he dressed was costly purple cloth and the finest linen.)
The beggar Lazarus had nothing. He was pitiful and sick (covered with scabs). Perhaps Jesus called the beggar Lazarus because the name is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew "God is the Helper." Lazarus was righteous not because he was poor, but because he trusted in God.
Onion. 16:22-23. The time came and both died. The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham’s bosom; The rich man also died and was buried; upon death, the rich man found himself in hell - a place where a sinful soul suffers while maintaining full consciousness. Often translated as “hell,” the Greek word hades appears 11 times in the New Testament. 70 "interpreters" when translating into Greek language Old Testament(Septuagint) resorted to this word to convey the Hebrew "sheol" (literally - "abode of the dead"); it occurs 61 times in the Septuagint. This refers to the place where the unsaved dead are awaiting judgment before the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15). Abraham's bosom is an image of the "Old Testament paradise", a temporary (until the aforementioned judgment) blessed refuge of souls pleasing to God (compare Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4).
Onion. 16:24-31. The rich man could talk to Abraham. His first request was that Abraham send him to wet his tongue. Abraham answered him that this was impossible, reminding him that in earthly life he had everything he wanted in abundance, while Lazarus had nothing, and he, being rich, did not express a desire to help him; This is also impossible because hell and heaven are separated by a great abyss, and no one can cross it in either direction.
Then the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus to earth, to his brothers, to warn them from this place of torment. He hoped that if someone from the dead came to them, they would repent (verse 30). But Abraham replied that if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets (i.e., they ignore Holy Bible), then even if someone were to rise from the dead, they would not believe it.
The rich man in Christ's parable undoubtedly symbolized the Pharisees. After all, it was they who constantly demanded a sign from Him - so obvious that it was simply impossible not to believe it. But the Lord knew that they, who did not want to believe the Scriptures, would not believe any sign. Shortly thereafter, Christ raised another Lazarus (John 11:38-44). But as a result, the religious leaders rallied even more against Him, obsessed with the desire to kill both Him and Lazarus (John 11:45-53; 12:10-11).
He also said to His disciples: There was a certain man who was rich and had a steward, against whom it was reported to him that he was wasting his property; and calling him, he said to him: What is this I hear about you? give an account of your management, for you can no longer manage. Then the steward said to himself: What should I do? my lord takes away the stewardship of the house from me; I can’t dig, I’m ashamed to ask; I know what to do so that they will accept me into their homes when I am removed from managing the house. And calling his master’s debtors, each one separately, he said to the first: How much do you owe my master? He said: one hundred measures of oil. And he said to him: take your receipt and sit down quickly, write: fifty. Then he said to another: how much do you owe? He answered: one hundred measures of wheat. And he said to him: take your receipt and write: eighty. And the lord praised the unfaithful steward for acting wisely; for the sons of this age are more perceptive in their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you: make friends for yourself with unrighteous wealth, so that when you become poor, they will receive you into eternal abodes.
(Luke 16:1-9).
Every parable covertly and figuratively explains the essence of some object, but it is not in all respects similar to the object it is taken to explain. Therefore, one should not explain all parts of the parable to the point of subtlety, but, having used the subject as appropriate, the other parts should be omitted without attention, as parables added for the sake of integrity, but having no correspondence with the subject. The same should be done with the proposed parable. For if we undertake to explain everything in fine detail, who is the steward, who put him in charge, who denounced him, who are the debtors, why one owes oil and the other wheat, why it is said that they owed a hundred each, and if all If we generally explore everything else with excessive curiosity, then we will make the speech obscure, and, forced by difficulties, we may even end up with ridiculous explanations. Therefore, this parable should be used as much as possible. Let me explain a little.
The Lord wants here to teach us how to manage the wealth entrusted to us well. And, firstly, we learn that we are not lords of property, for we have nothing of our own, but that we are stewards of someone else’s property, entrusted to us by the Master so that we dispose of property well and as He commands. Then we learn that if we act in managing wealth not according to the Lord’s thoughts, but squander what has been entrusted to us on our own whims, then we are the kind of stewards who have been denounced. For the will of the Master is such that we use what has been entrusted to us for the needs of our fellow servants, and not for our own pleasures. When they inform on us and we have to be removed from the management of the estate, that is, expelled from this life, when it is we who will give an account of the management after our death from here, then we are late in noticing what needs to be done, and we make friends for ourselves with unrighteous wealth.
« Unrighteous"that's called" wealth", which the Lord handed over to us to use for the needs of our brothers and co-servants, and we keep it for ourselves.
But late we realize where we should turn, and that on this day we cannot work, for then is not the time to do, nor to ask for alms, for it is indecent, since the virgins who asked (for alms) were called fools (Matthew 25:8). What remains to be done? To share this property with our brothers, so that when we move from here, that is, we move from this life, the poor will accept us into eternal abodes. For the poor in Christ are assigned eternal abodes as their inheritance, into which they can receive those who showed them love here through the distribution of wealth, although it, as belonging to the Master, first had to be distributed to the poor. They are debtors according to what was said: “ every day he has mercy and lends"(Ps. 37:26), and in another place: " He who gives to the poor lends to the Lord"(Prov. 19:17). So, first it was necessary to distribute everything to these good debtors, who pay a hundredfold. However, when we turn out to be unfaithful stewards, unjustly retaining for ourselves what is assigned to others, we should not remain forever in this inhumanity, but should give to the poor so that they will accept us into eternal abodes.
When we explain this parable in this way, there will be nothing superfluous, sophisticated, or mind-boggling in the explanation. However, the expression " the sons of this age are more perceptive" and so on seems to mean something else, and not something incomprehensible or strange. " Sons of the century"this calls those who come up with everything that is useful for them on earth, and " sons of light“those who, out of love for God, should teach others spiritual wealth. So, here it is said that people appointed as stewards of human property try in every possible way to have consolation after their resignation from management, but the sons of light, appointed, that is, receiving in trust the management of spiritual property, do not think at all about so that after this they can benefit themselves. So, the sons of this age are those who have been entrusted with the management of human affairs and who “in their generation,” that is, in this life, conduct their affairs wisely, and the sons of light are those who have received the property with that, to govern it in a Godly manner. It turns out that when managing human property, we manage our affairs wisely and try to have some kind of refuge for life even when we are removed from this management. And when we manage property, which must be disposed of according to the will of God, we do not seem to care that, upon our departure from this life, we will not fall under responsibility for management and be left without any consolation. That is why we are called foolish because we do not think about what will be useful for us after this. But let us make friends for ourselves in the poor, using on them unrighteous wealth, given to us by God as a weapon of righteousness, but retained by us for our own benefit and therefore turned into untruth. If wealth acquired in a righteous way, when it is not managed well and is not distributed to the poor, is imputed to unrighteousness and to mammon, then how much more is the wealth unrighteous. Let us be the last to make friends for ourselves, so that when we die and move from this life, or in another case we become faint-hearted from condemnation, they will receive us there into eternal abodes.
He who is faithful in a little is also faithful in much, and he who is unfaithful in a little is also unfaithful in much. So, if you have not been faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with what is true? And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to others, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
(Luke 16:10-13).
The Lord also teaches that wealth must be managed according to the will of God. " Faithful in small things “, that is, he who has managed well the property entrusted to him in this world is faithful “and in many ways,” that is, worthy of true wealth in the next century. " Small" calls earthly wealth, since it is truly small, even insignificant, since it is fleeting, and " many" - Heavenly wealth, since it always abides and arrives. Therefore, whoever turned out to be unfaithful in this earthly wealth and appropriated what was given for the common benefit of his brothers to himself, he will not be worthy of even that much, but will be rejected as an unfaithful.
Explaining what has been said, he adds: “ So, if you have not been faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with what is true?» « Unrighteous“he called the wealth that remains with us wealth; for if it were not unrighteous, we would not have it. And now, since we have it, it is obvious that it is unrighteous, since it is withheld by us and not distributed to the poor. For the theft of someone else's property and that of the poor is injustice. So, whoever manages this estate badly and incorrectly, how can he be trusted? true" wealth? And who will give us “ours” when we mismanage “someone else’s”, that is, property? And it “ someone else's”, since it is intended for the poor, and on the other hand, since we brought nothing into the world, but were born naked. And our inheritance is Heavenly and Divine riches, for there is our dwelling (Phil. 3:20).
Possessions and acquisitions are alien to man, created in the image of God, for none of them are like him. And enjoying Divine blessings and communicating with God is akin to us.
Until now, the Lord has taught us how to properly manage wealth. For it is someone else's, not ours; we are stewards, not lords and masters. Since the management of wealth according to the will of God is accomplished only with firm dispassion towards it, the Lord added this to his teaching: “ You cannot serve God and mammon“, that is, it is impossible for someone to be a servant of God who has become attached to wealth and, out of addiction to it, retains something for himself. Therefore, if you intend to properly manage wealth, then do not be enslaved to it, that is, do not have attachment to it, and you will truly serve God. For the love of money, that is, the passionate inclination for wealth, is condemned everywhere (1 Tim. 6:10).
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they laughed at Him. He said to them: You show yourselves to be righteous before men, but God knows your hearts, for whatever is exalted among men is an abomination to God.
(Luke 16:14-15).
The Pharisees, annoyed at the words of the Lord, laughed at Him. For they, as money lovers, were unpleasant to hear about non-covetousness. This is what it says: “ Godliness is an abomination to the sinner, and wounds to the wicked are reproached "(Prov. 9:7). The Lord, revealing the hidden wickedness of the Pharisees and showing that, although they take on the appearance of righteousness, they are vile, yet before God because of their conceit, he says: you present yourselves as righteous before people and think that you alone are given the ability to understand what is necessary, and teach; That’s why you laugh at My words as unreasonable, wanting to be revered by the mob as teachers of truth. But that's not the case. Because God knows your hearts and considers you vile for your arrogance and addiction to human glory. " For whatever is high among men is an abomination to God. ». « Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord"(Prov. 16:5). Therefore, you, Faris/emey, had to live not for human opinion, “ for God will scatter the bones of those who fight against you"(Ps. 52:6), but it is better to make yourself righteous before God.
Law and Prophets before John; From now on, the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone enters into it with effort. But it is sooner that heaven and earth pass away than one line of the law disappears. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries one divorced from her husband commits adultery.
(Luke 16:16-18).
Apparently, this is a separate speech that has nothing in common with the above, but for the attentive it will not seem inconsistent, but, on the contrary, very connected with the previous one.
The Lord, with the above words, taught non-covetousness and called wealth an unrighteous name, and the Law (Lev. 26:3-9) provided blessings in wealth (by the way), and the prophets (Isa. 19) promised earthly blessings as a reward. Lest anyone, like the Pharisees, say to Him mockingly: What are you saying? Are you contradicting the Law: it blesses with wealth, but You teach non-covetousness? - therefore the Lord says: The Law and the Prophets had a time before John and taught it well, because the listeners were then in at a young age. But from the time when John appeared, almost disembodied due to lack of covetousness and non-covetous almost due to disembodiment, and preached the Kingdom of Heaven, earthly blessings no longer have time, but the Kingdom of Heaven is preached. Therefore, those who desire heaven must learn non-covetousness on earth. Since the prophets and the Law did not mention the Kingdom of Heaven, they rightly promised earthly blessings to people who were still far from perfect and unable to imagine anything great and masculine. Therefore, Pharisees, I rightly teach non-covetousness, when the imperfect commandments of the Law no longer have time.
Then, so that they would not say that, finally, everything legal was rejected as vain and completely empty, the Lord says: No! on the contrary, now it is being fulfilled and accomplished even more. For what the Law wrote in the shadow, speaking figuratively about Christ or about the commandments, is now being fulfilled, and not a single line of it will be lost. What is indicated there in the form of a shadow about Christ will now be fulfilled in the clearest way. And the commandments of the Law, given then adaptively and in accordance with the understanding of the imperfect, will now have the highest and most perfect meaning.
And that the Law spoke imperfectly to the imperfect can be seen from the following. For example, the Law, due to the hardness of the hearts of the Jews, gave a sentence on the dissolution of marriage, namely: if a husband hated his wife, he had the right to divorce her so that something worse would not happen. For the murderous and bloodthirsty Jews did not spare their closest relatives, so they buried their sons and daughters as sacrifices to demons. But this is a flaw and imperfection of the Law. Then there was a time for such a law, but now a different, more perfect teaching is needed. That is why I say: whoever divorces his wife for reasons other than adultery and marries another commits adultery. Therefore, it is not surprising if I teach about non-covetousness, although the Law does not clearly say anything about it. Behold, the Law indifferently gave the commandment about marital divorce, to prevent murder among the Jews; and I, accustoming my listeners to the highest perfection, prohibit divorce without a blessed reason and command this not contrary to the Law, but so that there is no murder between husbands and wives. And I confirm this when I teach that spouses should take care of each other and protect each other as if they were their own members. And the Law wanted this, but since the listeners were imperfect, He determined to dissolve the marriage, so that, at least under this condition, the husband and wife would spare each other and would not be angry with each other.
So, Christ confirmed all the requirements of the Law; and therefore he said well that it is impossible to miss a single line from the Law. For how would it perish when Christ corrected it (the Law) in the best possible way?
A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted brilliantly every day. There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with scabs and wanted to feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his scabs. The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
(Luke 16:19-22).
This speech stands in connection with the previous one. Since the Lord taught above how to manage wealth well, he rightly adds this parable, which, by example of what happened to the rich man, points to the same idea. This speech is precisely a parable, and not a real event, as some thought without reason. For the time has not yet come for the righteous to inherit good things, nor for sinners to inherit evil. And the Lord gave the speech figurativeness in order to teach both the unmerciful what is in store for them in the future, and to teach the ill-suffering that they will be prosperous for what they endure here.
The Lord took the rich man into the parable without a name, since he is not worthy to be named before God, as it was said through the Prophet: “ I will not remember their names with my lips"(Ps. 16:4). And he mentions the poor by name, for the names of the righteous are written in the book of life. They say, according to Jewish tradition, that at that time there was a certain Lazarus in Jerusalem, who was in extreme poverty and illness, and that the Lord mentioned him, taking him into the parable as obvious and famous.
The rich man was prosperous in all respects. He dressed in purple and fine linen and not only dressed himself, but also enjoyed every other pleasure. " Feasted brilliantly“, it is said, and it’s not that today - yes, but tomorrow - no, but “ every day", and not that moderately, but " brilliantly”, that is, luxurious and wasteful.
But Lazarus was poor and sick, and, moreover, “ in scabs", as stated. For you can be sick and yet not be wounded, but this increases evil. And he was defeated at the rich man's gate. It is a new sorrow to see that others enjoy abundantly, while he suffers from hunger. For he wanted to be satisfied not with luxurious dishes, but with crumbs from them, such as the dogs ate. No one cared about the healing of Lazarus: for the dogs licked his wounds, since no one drove them away.
What? Lazarus, being in such a difficult situation, blasphemed God and reviled the luxurious life of the rich man? Condemned inhumanity? Grumbled about Providence? No, he didn’t think of anything like that, but he endured everything with great wisdom. Where can you see this? From the fact that when he died, the Angels accepted him. For if he had been a murmurer and a blasphemer, he would not have received such an honor - being accompanied and carried by Angels.
« The rich man died and was buried" Even during the life of the rich man, his soul was truly buried; it carried the flesh like a coffin. Therefore, even after his death, he is not elevated by the Angels, but is relegated to hell. For he who has never thought about anything lofty or heavenly deserves the lowest place. In the words " buried him“The Lord hinted that his soul was destined for the underworld and a dark place.
And in hell, being in torment, he raised his eyes, saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom and, crying out, said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; and on top of all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us.
(Luke 16:23-26).
Like Adam, having expelled him from paradise, the Lord settled him in front of paradise (Gen. 3:24), so that the suffering repeated during permanent form Paradise, made Adam feel more clearly the deprivation of bliss, so he condemned this rich man in the face of Lazarus, so that, seeing the state in which Lazarus was now, the rich man would feel what he had lost through inhumanity.
Why did the rich man see Lazarus not with another of the righteous, but in the bosom of Abraham? Since Abraham was hospitable, and the rich man had to be convicted of his dislike for hospitality, therefore the rich man sees Lazarus with Abraham. He even invited those passing by into his house, but he despised the one lying inside the house.
Why does the rich man make his request not to Lazarus, but to Abraham? Maybe he was ashamed, or maybe he thought that Lazarus remembered his evil, and based on his deeds he made conclusions about Lazarus as well. If I (he could think), enjoying such happiness, despised him, oppressed by such misfortune, and did not give him even crumbs, then all the more he, despised by me, will remember the evil and will not agree to show me mercy. That is why he addresses his words to Abraham, probably thinking that the patriarch does not know how it happened.
What about Abraham? He didn’t say to the rich man: inhumane and cruel, aren’t you ashamed? now you remember about philanthropy. But how? " Child"! See a compassionate and holy soul. Some sage says: do not disturb a humble soul. That is why Abraham says: “ child“, letting him know through this that it is in his power to call him so graciously even now, but only that, and that more than this he has no power to do anything for him. I will give you what I can, that is, a voice of compassion. But to go from here to there is not in our will, for everything is contained.
« You have already received your good in your life, but Lazarus received your evil." Why didn't Abraham say to the rich man: you received, but you received? We usually use the word “get back” about those who receive what they were owed.
What do we learn? Because although some have defiled themselves with atrocities, although they have reached the extreme degree of malice, at some point they have done one or two good deeds. Therefore, the rich man also had some good deeds, and since he received reward in the prosperity of this life, it is said that he received Kind yours. " And Lazarus is evil" Perhaps he also committed one or two evil deeds and, in the sorrow that he endured here, received due retribution for them. Therefore, he is comforted, and you suffer.
« abyss"means the distance and difference between the righteous and the sinners. For just as their wills were different, so their abodes have a great difference, when each receives reward according to will and life.
Take into account here the objection against the Origenists. They say that the time will come when the torment will end and sinners will unite with the righteous and with God, and thus God will be all in all. But now, we hear Abraham saying that those who want to go from here to you or from there to us cannot do this. Therefore, just as it is impossible for anyone to move from the fate of the righteous to the place of sinners, so it is impossible, Abraham teaches us, to move from the place of torment to the place of the righteous. And Abraham, without a doubt, is more worthy of faith than Origen.
What's happened " hell"? Some say that hell is an underground dark place, while others called hell the transition of the soul from a visible to an invisible and formless state. For as long as the soul is in the body, it is revealed by its own actions, but after separation from the body it becomes invisible. This is what they called hell.
« Lon Abraham “name the totality of those benefits that are offered to the righteous upon their entry from the storm into the heavenly havens; since in the sea we usually call bays (bosoms) places convenient for landing and calming down.
Pay attention also to the fact that on the day that offender will see in what glory the one offended by him will be, and this one, in turn, will see in what condemnation the offender will be, just as here the rich man saw Lazarus, and this one saw the rich man again.
Then he said: So I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers; let him testify to them, so that they too do not come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him; they have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them. He said: no, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead comes to them, they will repent. Then Abraham said to him: if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone were raised from the dead, they would not believe it.
(Luke 16:27-31).
The unfortunate rich man, having not received relief from his lot, encloses a request for others. Look how, through punishment, he came to sympathize with others, and whereas before he despised Lazarus, who lay at his feet, he now cares about others who are not with him, and begs to send Lazarus from the dead, not just someone, to his father’s house from the dead, but Lazarus, so that those who had previously seen him sick and dishonored would now see him crowned with glory and healthy, and those who were witnesses of his misery would themselves become contemplators of his glory. For it is obvious that he would have appeared to them in glory if it had been necessary for him to be a preacher worthy of belief.
What did Abraham say? " They have Moses" You, he says, do not care about your brothers as much as God, their Creator. He assigned countless mentors to them. And the rich man says: “ no, father"! For, like a field of soil /p That is why, when he heard the Scriptures, he did not believe and considered their words to be fables; he assumed the same about his brothers and, judging by himself, says that they will not listen to the Scriptures, just like he himself, but if anyone will rise from the dead, they will believe.
There are people like this today who say: who saw what was happening in hell? Who came from there and told us? P