Faucets

The legend of the resurrection of Lazarus. The Resurrection of Lazarus - a type of the Resurrection of Christ

Jesus knew that Lazarus would die, and if he said that his illness was not unto death, it was because he intended to resurrect him, and that, consequently, this illness would not end with the death that ends a person’s earthly life forever. He knew that God would be glorified by the resurrection of the dead Lazarus, and that this glory would also glorify Him, the Son of God, who performed such a miracle.

After two days, Jesus said to his disciples: let's go back to Judea ().

Jesus, leaving Galilee, was on his way to Jerusalem, that is, to Judea; the purpose of this journey was known to His Apostles, and therefore, if He said - let's go back to Judea, - then it must be assumed that on this journey He entered the borders of Judea and again went beyond the Jordan, to Perseus; The apostles took it for the return of Jesus to Galilee. That's why they were surprised at His desire to go again into Judea, and they said to him, “Master! How long have the Jews wanted to stone You, and are You going there again?”

In saying this, the Apostles revealed their lack of faith. Seeing so many extraordinary miracles performed by Jesus, pondering His divine teaching, they were ready to recognize Him as the true Messiah, and even the Apostle Peter, to the question of Jesus - and who do you think I am?- exclaimed: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God(). But they did not want to think that the Messiah-Christ, the Son of God, might die; and since the Jews, embittered against him, could kill him if he appeared again in Jerusalem, they, loving Jesus sincerely, wanted to divert him from such a dangerous, in their opinion, journey.

Jesus knew that he was to die and rise again, and that all this would be done according to the will of his Father; the way before him was clear to him, as the way is clear to a traveler who travels by day; That is why, wishing to reassure His Apostles, He said: Are there not twelve hours in the day? whoever walks by day does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world; but whoever walks at night stumbles, because there is no light with him (). And just as a traveler goes on his way until these twelve bright hours of the day have passed, and sees everything that lies ahead of him on the way, so I walk according to the will of My Father, and nothing unforeseen can happen to Me. What are your warnings?

Then, to show them His omniscience, He said: Lazarus, our friend, fell asleep; but I'm going to wake him up(John I, 11). The apostles, not losing hope of keeping Jesus from the dangerous journey to Jerusalem, noticed that there was no need to go if Lazarus fell asleep, since sleep is a sign of a turning point in the disease, a turn for the better: if he falls asleep, he will recover(). They did not understand Jesus, and therefore He was forced to tell them directly that Lazar died(). At the same time, Jesus added that he rejoiced for them, the Apostles, that He was not in Bethany when Lazarus was sick, since healing him from his illness could not strengthen their faith in Him like the upcoming resurrection.

Stopping this conversation, which was caused by the fears of the Apostles, Jesus said: but let's go to him ().

Seeing the inexorable determination of Jesus to go to Jerusalem to open death, one of the Apostles, Thomas, nicknamed Gemini, said: “What shall we do after this? Shall we leave Him? Let's go and we will die with Him" ().

Arrival of Jesus in Bethany

None of the Apostles objected to Thomas, and everyone followed Jesus.

As Jesus was approaching Bethany, He was told that Lazarus had died and had been in the tomb for four days. The sister of the deceased, Martha, came out to meet Him, and sadly said that if Jesus had not delayed His coming, if He had found her brother alive, then he would not have died. However, without losing hope for something better, something that she could only dream of, but did not dare to speak out directly, she said: " But even now when my brother died I know that whatever You ask God, God will give You".

Your brother will rise Jesus told her.

Lazarus will rise! Yes, she dreamed about this, she hinted at this to Jesus, saying - I know that whatever You ask God, God will give You. However, she does not accept the promise of Jesus with enthusiasm, as one might expect from her, but with some timidity. Oppressed by grief, she is afraid to believe her happiness; wanting to check herself whether she is mistaken, understanding the words of Jesus in this and not another sense, she purposely in her answer gives them a different meaning, disappointing for herself: I know that he will rise on the last day, when all will be resurrected for Judgment; but what comfort is there for me when he is now dead?

Martha believed that God would fulfill every request of Jesus; consequently, she did not have sufficient faith in the omnipotence of Jesus Himself. That is why, wanting to bring her to such a faith, He says to her: I am the resurrection and the life. I have the power and power to resurrect and give life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Do you believe that I, who now have the power to raise your dead brother, have the power to give eternal life to everyone who believes in Me? Do you believe that he who believes in Me becomes immortal, and if he dies temporarily, it is only in order to revive another, better, eternal life?

Yes, Lord! Martha replied, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, coming into the world.

Resurrection of Lazarus

A great miracle was about to take place. By this miracle, Jesus wanted to turn to Himself the hearts of those who had not yet believed in Him and give His enemies an opportunity to come to their senses and repent; therefore He not only did not evade doing it publicly, but even sent Martha for Sister Mary and remained, waiting for her and her companions, at the very place where Martha met Him. Although Martha secretly called Mary, but the haste with which the latter got up and went, forced the Jews comforting her to follow her. They, as the Evangelist explains, thought that she went to her brother's grave to cry, so they followed her. The family of Lazarus apparently enjoyed special love and respect among acquaintances, since many of the Jews who lived in Jerusalem, which was separated from Bethany, came to mourn their grief to the orphaned sisters. stages in fifteen() (about three kilometers).

Mary went up to Jesus, fell down at His feet with tears and said: God! if you were here, my brother would not die. Mary shed tears, and the Jews who came with her wept; Mary's tears, plucked from the depths of her grief-stricken soul, caused tears in the eyes of Jesus, while the feigned tears of the Jews who accompanied her revolted Him.

"Jesus ... was grieved in spirit and indignant(). The Greek word rendered grieved contains the concept of indignation, anger, and disgust caused by an outrageous act, while the word translated indignant, concludes the concept of shudder, shock; This means that the whole expression will be more accurately translated: was indignant and shuddered. What was the soul of the Lord indignant at that moment? A little later, when the Jews who were there expressed rather clearly their hostility towards him, he again rebelled (v. 38: the same Greek word); this gives reason to assume that the Lord at that moment was indignant at the same, that is, the Jews, their behavior at that time. The Evangelist says that the Lord was so indignant when he saw Mary weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, that is, when he saw, on the one hand, the sincere tears of the deeply grieving sister of the deceased, and on the other hand, next to her, the weeping of these people who fed evil enmity against Him, the beloved friend of the grieving sisters. With crocodile tears of His enemies, the Jews, the Lord was indignant to the depths of his soul. Moreover, the Lord saw that this enmity towards Him would bring Him to death; and behold, the organs of this enmity towards Him are here, at the greatest miracle that is about to take place. This miracle will be the greatest sign and proof of His messianic dignity, and should extinguish enmity towards Him; but instead it would be (He knew it) the decisive occasion for the sentence of His death (verses 47-53). This disturbance was so strong that it produced an external bodily shock; but this shock, in the sense of the Greek word, was not a completely involuntary shock, but expressed some effort of the Lord Himself to suppress this spiritual disturbance. The outward expression of a quick and decisive victory over the indignation of the spirit was a short and quick question: where did you put it? (). The question is addressed, no doubt, to the sisters of the deceased, and they, of course, answered Him: go and see. Jesus shed a tear(). The indignation of the spirit is defeated and resolved by the tears of the Lord - a tribute to His human nature ”(Bishop Michael. Explanatory Gospel. 3. P. 347-349).

The evangelist speaks of the impression that Jesus' tears made on the Jews present at the same time. Even among them, some were touched by His tears and said: look how he loved him(). Others, gloating, said: could not this, who opened the eyes of the blind, prevent this one from dying? If he could, then, of course, loving Lazarus, he would not let him die; however, Lazarus died; hence, This he couldn't do it, that's why, vexed, he cries.

The embittered enemies of Christ avoided calling Him by His name, and therefore even now they contemptuously spoke of Him— This.

The Lord, suppressing the feeling of sorrow in Himself, silently approached the tomb of Lazarus, that is, to the cave, the entrance to which was blocked with a stone; when he reached her, he ordered the stone to be taken away. The opening of the caves in which the dead were buried was carried out only in exceptional cases, and then only shortly after the burial, and not when the corpse was already decomposing. The decaying corpse of a person generally makes a depressing impression not only on the relatives and friends of the deceased, but even on strangers. In addition, in the warm climate of Palestine, the decomposition of corpses begins very soon after death, as a result of which the Jews buried their dead on the same day on which they died; on the fourth day after death, the decomposition should have reached such a degree that even the believing Martha began to doubt the possibility of the resurrection of Lazarus; therefore she, as if wishing to prevent this sad and aimless, in her opinion, spectacle, timidly says to Jesus: God! already stinks; for four days he has been in the tomb().

When those sent from the sisters of Lazarus told Jesus that the one He loves was sick, Jesus answered them that this illness was not unto death, but to the glory of God. When Martha came out to meet Him and announced to Him that her brother had died, He said to her: your brother will rise, because I am the resurrection and the life... Do you believe this?(Mn. 11, 23, 25-26). Now, reminding Martha of what he had said before, He asked: Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? ().

After that, the sisters agreed to the opening of the cave, and the stone was taken away from the entrance to it. Jesus, who personally has the power to work miracles and raise the dead, knew, however, that His embittered enemies attribute all His miracles to the power of the devil; therefore, desiring, probably, to show the people standing right there that he works miracles by divine, and not by the power of the devil, He raised his eyes to heaven and said loudly: Father! thank you that you heard me(). To the apostles, who stood closer to Him, He had to show that He would now work an extraordinary miracle, although by divine power, but personally belonging to Him, since He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Therefore, continuing His prayer, probably in such a voice that could only be heard by the Apostles and Sisters of Lazarus around Him, He said: I knew that You would always hear Me; but I said this for the people standing here, that they might believe that you sent me.

Then, coming closer to the entrance to the cave, He called in a loud voice Lazarus: Lazarus! get out(). And before the eyes of a crowded crowd, a miracle incomprehensible to the human mind happened: not an imaginary dead man arose from the coffin, but a man whose corpse was already decomposing and emitting a stench; stood up, entwined in funeral shrouds with a head tied with a scarf; got up, left the cave and stopped at the entrance to it, as the burial shrouds hampered his movements; and in this form appeared to the astonished crowd. Untie him Christ said, Let him go.

This miracle made a tremendous impression on the people. Even many of the Jews believed in Him, but some of them, hiding their anger, silently withdrew and hurried to Jerusalem to announce to the Sanhedrin what had happened.

The decision of the Sanendrin to kill Jesus

This news excited the enemies of Jesus and was considered so important that the chief priests and Pharisees immediately gathered members of the supreme council, the Sanhedrin. At the meeting of the Sanhedrin, the enemies of Christ, feeling themselves among their like-minded people, did not hesitate as it was sometimes necessary among the crowd of people. They believed that Jesus worked miracles; they no longer said that he created them by the power of Beelzebub, because they were convinced that he created them by his divine power; they were simply afraid that the people would follow him, and that then the end of their power and plunder would come; they were afraid for their personal well-being, which was dearer to them than all the prophets and even the Messiah. " What should we do? () - they argued. - This Man does many miracles. If we leave Him like this, everyone will believe in Him.(), they will proclaim Him the King of Israel, they will rise up against Roman rule ... and then the trouble is: Roman troops will come, take possession of Jerusalem and all our people, and the end of our power will come.

Such gloomy pictures, presented to the frightened imagination of the members of the Sanhedrin, were dispelled by the practical high priest Caiaphas. He was surprised that his associates were racking their Jewish heads over the solution of questions about what would happen if everyone believed in This Man. It is necessary that the people do not have time to believe in Him; you just need to kill this man so that he does not work more miracles and does not embarrass the people. “I’m surprised,” he said, “how you don’t know anything, and you won’t think that it’s better for us that one person died for the people than for the whole people to die" (). The speech of Caiaphas met with no objections, and the Sanhedrin decided: to kill Jesus.

Narrating this meeting of the conspirators, Evangelist John himself explains that Caiaphas, saying that it is better for one person to die for the people, did not speak, in essence, from himself, since he predicted that Jesus would indeed die for the people; and not only for the people- continues the Evangelist, - but in order to gather together the scattered children of God(). Speaking in this way, the Evangelist did not mean the Jews, who were scattered at that time in all countries among the pagans, but the pagans themselves. Attributing this prophecy to Caiaphas as the high priest, the Evangelist based himself on the fact that in ancient times the high priests, beginning with Aaron, were heralds of the will of God, prophesied.

Removal of Jesus from Bethany to the city of Ephraim

In view of the verdict of the Sanhedrin, Jesus did not go from Bethany to Jerusalem, but went with the Apostles to the city of Ephraim, located near the desert, probably Jericho, and remained there for some time with His disciples.

Meanwhile, the feast of the Jewish Passover was approaching; to Jerusalem, as usual, gathered a large number of Jews from all parts of Palestine. Many of those who came were interested in seeing Jesus as a Healer and Wonderworker, looked for Him and, not finding Him, asked each other: how do you think? will he not come to the feast?(). The high priests and the Pharisees were also waiting for Jesus, but with a different purpose: in order to seize Him and kill Him, and so that He could not hide from them, they publicly announced that everyone who learned about the place of His stay was obliged to immediately announce this to the Sanhedrin for the execution of what had taken place. judgment upon him.

On Other Cases of the Resurrection of the Dead

Only the Evangelist John narrates about the resurrection of Lazarus: nothing is said about him in the Gospels of the first three Evangelists. Why? Many interpreters of the Gospel have labored to resolve this question, and, however, have not given an answer that would not arouse objections. It seems to us that the most satisfactory answer is provided by the concluding words of the Gospel of John: Many other things also did Jesus create; but, if I wrote about it in detail, then, I think, the world itself would not contain the books written (). The Evangelist John, as is known, supplemented the Gospels of the first three Evangelists; but he, by his own admission, did not describe everything that Jesus did; consequently, his Gospel contains only brief information about the main events in the life of Jesus Christ. None of the four Evangelists intended to describe in detail the entire life of Jesus; each of them wrote his gospel for a special circle of readers, so that they believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God(), and to achieve this goal, it was enough to tell readers about only some miracles. For this reason, the first two Evangelists speak of only one resurrection by Jesus of the daughter of Jairus; the third Evangelist supplements their narratives with a story about the resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain, and the fourth narrates about the resurrection of Lazarus. Therefore, it must be admitted that the Evangelists Matthew and Mark are silent about the resurrection of Lazarus for the same reason that they say nothing about the resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain, that is, because they recognized the resurrection of the dead daughter of Jairus alone as quite sufficient to convince their readers of that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God. They do not say anything about the resurrection of other dead, which resurrections undoubtedly took place; This is evidenced by the words of the Savior Himself quoted by the Evangelists Matthew (11:5) and Luke (7:22): when the disciples of John came to Jesus and asked Him - Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another?- then Jesus performed many miracles before them and said to them: Go, tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor preach the gospel. It cannot be assumed that Jesus ordered the disciples of John to tell their teacher not only about what they saw with their own eyes and heard with their ears, but even about what they could hear from others; it is certain that the disciples of John are commanded to tell their teacher only what they themselves were eyewitnesses; so the words of Jesus the dead are raised prove that under the disciples of John, the resurrection of one or more of the dead was accomplished. But the Evangelists did not consider it necessary to talk about their resurrection because they had previously told about the power of Jesus to raise even the dead, and this was considered quite sufficient for those for whom they wrote their Gospels to believe in Him (cf. the explanation on p. 245).

The words - let's go and we will die with him() - prove that the Apostles now looked at Jesus simply as their beloved Teacher, Prophet and Wonderworker, that is, as a Man, and not as a Jewish Messiah and not as the Son of God. If He were the Messiah, He would not speak of His death; and if he had been the ever-existing Son of God, much more he could not have died. And if He constantly inspires the Apostles with the thought of the inevitability of His death, then He is not the Messiah and not the Son of God, but simply a wonderful Teacher, Prophet, to whom God especially favors and shows His favor to Him in the miracles performed by Him. So the Apostles could think, and with such thoughts, apparently, they followed Jesus in the direction of Jerusalem.

May he be glorified through her(i.e. Lazarus disease) God's Son. With these words, Jesus again declared Himself the Son of God. But Count Tolstoy and others still try to convince their blind admirers that Jesus never called Himself the Son of God.

It can be seen from this conversation that the Apostles were already beginning to believe in the possibility of the death of their Teacher, but they did not understand that this death was to His glory, that the Resurrection would follow death, otherwise they would not have dissuaded Him from traveling to Jerusalem. But they dissuaded, because they saw how recently, in the same Jerusalem, in the temple, the Pharisees seized stones to kill Jesus with them; they foresaw that the embittered scribes and Pharisees would bring their criminal designs to fruition, and they felt sorry for their Teacher, Whom they loved, Whom all who were close to Him could not but love. They understood that He was going to certain death, and they wanted to prevent it; and when they did not succeed, then, in a fit of sincere love for Jesus, they said: “Shall we part from Him? Not! If He must die, we will die with Him!”

Predictions of Jesus Christ about the end of the world and His second coming

Jesus Christ foretold the future of our world and all people. He taught that the end of the world would come, and the earthly life of the human race would end; then He will come to earth a second time and resurrect all people (then the bodies of all people will again unite with their souls and come to life), and then Jesus Christ will judge people and reward everyone according to his deeds. "Do not marvel at this," said Jesus Christ, "for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice" of the Son of God, and those who hear will live; and they will come out of the graves - some who did good, for eternal, blessed life, and others who did evil, for condemnation.

His disciples asked: "Tell us when this will be, and what is the sign of Your (second) coming and the end of the world?"

In response to this, Jesus Christ warned them that before His coming, in glory, to earth, such hard times for people would come, such as had not happened since the beginning of the world. There will be various disasters: famine, pestilence, earthquakes, frequent wars. Iniquity will multiply; faith will weaken; many will not love each other. Many false prophets and teachers will appear who will deceive people and corrupt them with their pernicious teaching. But first the gospel of Christ will be preached throughout the earth as a witness to all nations.

Before the very end of the world there will be great, terrifying signs in the sky; the sea will roar and rage; despondency and bewilderment will take possession of people, so that they will die from fear and from the expectation of disasters for the whole world. In those days, after that sorrow, the sun will grow dim, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of Jesus Christ (His cross) will appear in heaven; then all the tribes of the earth will mourn (for fear of the judgment of God) and they will see Jesus Christ walking on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. As lightning flashes in the sky from east to west (and is immediately visible everywhere), so (visibly for everyone, suddenly) will be the coming of the Son of God.

About the day and hour of His coming to earth, Jesus Christ did not tell His disciples; “Only My Heavenly Father knows about this,” He said, and taught to be always ready to meet the Lord.

Second Coming of the Savior

6 , 24-29; from Matthew, ch. 24 , 3-44; from Mark, ch. 13 , 3-37; from Luke, ch. 17 , 20-37 and ch. 21 , 7-36.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

In order for people to always be ready to meet the Lord, that is, to the judgment of God, and therefore to death, since death is the beginning of God's judgment on man, Jesus Christ told the parable of the ten virgins. In this parable, the Lord likened us to virgins who were gathered for marriage. According to Eastern wedding customs, the groom followed the bride, who was waiting for him in her father's house. Her friends, girls, with lit lamps, in the late evening, were supposed to meet the groom and lead to the bride.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins,” said the Savior, “who, having taken their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom. Of these, five were wise, and five were foolish. "Then they took the oil in their vessels along with their lamps. As the bridegroom tarried, all the virgins dozed off and fell asleep. Suddenly, at midnight there was a cry: "Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him." Then all these virgins got up and they adjusted their lamps, but the foolish ones began to go out without oil, and they said to the wise, “Give us your oil; because our lamps are going out." And the wise answered: "so that there is no shortage for us and for you, go better to those who sell and buy for yourself." When they went to buy, at that time, the groom came, and they were ready to meet the groom went in with him to the wedding feast, and the doors were shut.

Then the other virgins come and say: "Lord! Lord! open to us."

He answered them, "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you" (that is, you are strangers to Me).

And having finished this parable, the Savior said: "Therefore, be awake (that is, always be ready), because you do not know either the day or the hour in which the Son of Man(as the Savior called Himself).

"foolish virgins“Like those negligent people who know that they need to appear at the judgment of God, but do not, prepare for it while they still live on earth and until death overtakes them; they do not repent of their sins and do not do good deeds.

"Oil in lamps" means good deeds, especially works of mercy (helping the poor).

"The dream of the maidens"depicts the death of people.

Will come to earth Groom") Our Judge, Jesus Christ, will wake up all the dead from the sleep of death, i.e., He will resurrect. Whatever death found someone - ready or unprepared for the judgment of God - so he will appear before the judgment of God. Then negligent people will have nowhere to wait for themselves help, and they will hear bitter words from Christ: “I do not know you; get away from Me."

25 , 1-13.

Parable of the Talents

And Jesus Christ spoke one more parable against our laziness and negligence.

The Son of Man will act like a man who, going to a foreign country, called his servants and entrusted them with his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to a third one talent, to each according to his strength; and immediately set off.

The one who received the five talents went and put them to work and bought five more talents with them. In the same way, he who received two talents acquired two other talents with them. But the one who received one talent did not want to work, so he went and dug it in the ground and hid his master's money.

After a long time, the master of those servants returned and demanded an account from them. The one who received five talents brought another five talents and, going up to him, said: “Sir, you have given me five talents; behold, I have purchased another five talents with them.”

The one who had received two talents also came up and said: “Sir, you have given me two talents; here are the other two talents I have acquired with them.”

The master said to him: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in little, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your master."

The one who received one talent came up and said: “Sir, I knew you that you are a cruel man, you reap where you did not sow, and gather where you did not scatter; behold, I, frightened of this, went and hid your talent in the ground. yours to you."

The master answered him, “Cunning and lazy slave! I will judge you with your mouth; you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter; therefore, you had to give my money to the merchants; and I, return, I would have received mine with profit. Therefore, take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For to everyone who has it will be given and it will be multiplied; but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Having said this parable, Jesus Christ proclaimed: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

This parable means: all people receive various gifts from the Lord, such as: life, health, strength, spiritual abilities, teaching, gifts of the Holy Spirit, worldly blessings, etc., in order to serve God and neighbor with these gifts. All these gifts of God are understood in the parable under the name of talents. God knows how much to give to each, according to his abilities, and therefore they receive - some more, others less. Whoever has taken advantage of the gifts of God, each person will have to give an account to the Lord at His second coming. Whoever uses them for the benefit of himself and others will receive praise from the Lord and eternal heavenly joys; and lazy and careless people will be condemned by the Lord to eternal suffering.

NOTE: See Matthew, ch. 25 , 14-30; from Luke, ch. 19 , 11-28.

About the Last Judgment

About His last, terrible judgment over all people, at His second coming, Jesus Christ taught as follows:

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He, as King, will sit on the throne of His glory. And all nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate some people from others (the faithful and good from the ungodly and evil), just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats; And He will put the sheep (the righteous) on His right hand, and the goats (sinners) on His left.

Then the King will say to those on His right hand: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me."

Then the righteous will ask Him humbly: “Lord, when did we see You hungry and fed? Or thirsty and gave You drink? When did we see You a stranger and took You in? come to you?"

The king will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, because you did this to one of the least of these My brothers (i.e., for people in need), you did it to Me."

Then the King will also say to those on the left side: “Depart from Me, cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his Aggels. For I was hungry, and you did not give Me food; I was thirsty, and you did not give Me drink; and received me not, was naked, and did not clothe me, sick and in prison, and did not visit me."

Then they too will say to Him in answer: “Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and not, serve You?”

But the King will say to them, "Truly I say to you, because you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

And they will go into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

This day will be great and terrible for each of us. That is why this court is called scary, since our deeds, words, and the most secret thoughts and desires will be open to everyone. Then we will no longer have anyone to rely on, for the Judgment of God is righteous, and everyone will receive according to their deeds.

NOTE: See Matthew, ch. 25 , 31-46.

Resurrection of Lazarus

The feast of the Jewish Passover was approaching, and with it came the last days of the life of Jesus Christ on earth. The malice of the Pharisees and the leaders of the Jews reached its extreme; their hearts were petrified from envy, lust for power and other vices; and they were unwilling to accept the meek and merciful teaching of Christ. They were waiting for an opportunity to seize the Savior and put him to death. And, behold, now their time drew near; the power of darkness came, and the Lord was betrayed into human hands.

At this time, in the village of Bethany, Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, fell ill. The Lord loved Lazarus and his sisters and often visited this pious family.

When Lazarus fell ill, Jesus Christ was not in Judea. The sisters sent to say to Him: "Lord! Behold, whom You love is sick."

Jesus Christ, hearing this, said: "This disease is not to death, but to the glory of God, may he be glorified through it. The Son of God."

After spending two days at the place where he was, the Savior said to the disciples: "Let's go to Judea. Lazarus, our friend, fell asleep; but I'm going to wake him up."

Jesus Christ told them about the death of Lazarus (about his death dream), and the disciples thought that He was talking about an ordinary dream, but since sleep during an illness is a good sign of recovery, they said: "Lord! if you fall asleep, then you will recover" .

Then Jesus Christ spoke directly to them. "Lazarus is dead, and I rejoice for you that I wasn't there, (that's so) that you might believe. But let's go to him."

When Jesus Christ approached Bethany, Lazarus had already been buried for four days. Many Jews from Jerusalem came to Martha and Mary to comfort them in their sorrow.

Martha was the first to know about the coming of the Savior and hurried to meet Him. Maria, in deep sorrow, sat at home.

When Martha met the Savior, she said: "Lord, if You were here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that what You ask God will give You."

Jesus Christ tells her: "Your brother will rise again."

Martha said to him: "I know that he will rise on the resurrection, on the last day, (that is, on the general resurrection, at the end of the world)."

Then Jesus Christ said to her: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Martha answered Him: "Yes, Lord! I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world."

After that, Martha quickly went home and quietly said to her sister Mary: "The teacher is here and is calling you."

Mary, as soon as she heard this joyful news, hastily got up and went to Jesus Christ. The Jews who were with her in the house and consoled her, seeing that Mary hastily got up and went out, followed her, thinking that she had gone to her brother's grave to weep there.

The Savior had not yet entered the village, but was at the place where Martha met Him.

Mary came to Jesus Christ, fell at His feet and said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

Jesus Christ, seeing Mary weeping and the Jews who came with her, Himself grieved in spirit and said: "Where did you put him?"

They say to Him: "Lord, come and see."

Jesus Christ wept.

When they approached the tomb (grave) of Lazarus - and it was a cave, and the entrance to it was littered with a stone - Jesus Christ said: "Take away the stone."

Martha said to Him: "Lord, it already stinks (that is, the smell of decomposition), because it has been in the tomb for four days."

Jesus says to her, "Didn't I tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"

So, they rolled away the stone from the cave.

Then Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said to God his Father: “Father, I thank you that you heard me. .

Then, having said these words, Jesus Christ called out with a loud voice: "Lazarus, go out."

And he died out of the cave, all entwined hand and foot with funeral shrouds, and his face was tied with a scarf (this is how the Jews dressed the dead).

Jesus Christ told them: "Untie him, let him go."

Then many of the Jews who were there and saw this miracle, believed in Jesus Christ. And some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. The enemies of Christ, the high priests and Pharisees, became worried and, fearing that all the people would not believe in Jesus Christ, they gathered a Sanhedrin (council) and decided to kill Jesus Christ. The rumor about this great miracle began to spread throughout Jerusalem. Many Jews came to the house of Lazarus to see him, and when they saw him, they believed in Jesus Christ. Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well. But Lazarus, after his resurrection by the Savior, lived for a long time and was then a bishop on the island of Cyprus, in Greece.

NOTE: See the Gospel of John, ch. 11 , 1-57 and ch. 12 , 9-11.

This great miracle of the Savior, the resurrection of Lazarus, is remembered by St. Orthodox Church on Saturday in the sixth week of Great Lent (on the eve of Palm Sunday).

Solemn Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem

Shortly after the resurrection of Lazarus, six days before the Jewish Passover, Jesus Christ made a solemn entry into Jerusalem to show that He is the true Christ the King and goes to death voluntarily.

Approaching Jerusalem, having come to the village of Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, Jesus Christ sent two of His disciples, saying: “Go to the village that is right in front of you; there you will find a donkey tied and a young donkey with her, on which no one from the people will ever did not sit down; untie them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, answer that the Lord needs them."

The disciples went and did as Jesus Christ commanded them. They brought a donkey and a young donkey, covered the donkey with their clothes, and Jesus Christ sat on it.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem they learned that Jesus, who raised the four-day-old Lazarus, was going to Jerusalem. A multitude of people, who had gathered from all over for the feast of the Passover, came out to meet Him. Many took off their outer garments and spread them out for Him along the way; others cut palm branches, carried them in their hands and threw them along the road. And all the people who accompanied and met Him exclaimed in joy: Hosanna(the rescue) Son of David! blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord(i.e. worthy of praise, coming in the name of the Lord, sent from God) King of Israel! Hosanna in the highest!"

Approaching Jerusalem, the Savior looked at him with sorrow. He knew that the people would reject Him, their Savior, and Jerusalem would be destroyed. Jesus Christ wept for him and said: Oh, if only in this day of yours you would know what serves the world(i.e. salvation) yours! But it is now hidden from your eyes(i.e. you stubbornly close your eyes to all God's favor sent to you). Days will come upon you when enemies will surround you with trenches and surround you and push you from everywhere and ruin you, beat your children and leave no stone unturned in you, because you did not know (did not want to know) time of your visit"(i.e., the time when the Lord will shine on you).

When Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem, the whole city began to move, and those who did not know Him asked: "Who is this?"

The people answered: "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee," and they said that He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead.

Entering the temple, Christ again, as in the first year of His teaching, drove out of it all those who sell and buy, saying to them: "It is written: - My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples - and you have made it a den of thieves."

The blind and the lame surrounded Him in the temple, and He healed them all. The people, seeing the miracles of Jesus Christ, began to glorify Him even more. Even the little children who were in the temple exclaimed: Hosanna to the Son of David!"

But the chief priests and scribes were indignant at this and said to Him, “Do you hear what they say?”

Jesus Christ answered them: "Yes, have you never read: - out of the mouths of babies and sucklings You arranged praise?" (Psal. 8 , 3).

In the days that followed, Jesus Christ taught in the temple and spent the nights outside the city. The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people looked for an opportunity to destroy Him, but did not find it, because the whole people listened unceasingly to Him.

NOTE: See Matthew, ch. 21 , 1-17; from Mark, ch. 11 , 1-19; from Luke, ch. 19 , 29-48; from John, ch. 12 , 12-19.

The solemn entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is celebrated by St. Orthodox Church on the last Sunday before the bright holiday of Easter. This is one of the great holidays and it is also called Palm Sunday, because on this day, during the all-night service of God (or at Matins), consecrated branches of willow or other plants are distributed to those praying. In the old days, with green branches, they met kings who returned in triumph after defeating their enemies. And we, holding in our hands the first branches that bloom in spring, glorify the Savior as the Conqueror of death; because He raised the dead and on this very day entered Jerusalem in order to die for our sins and rise again and thereby save us from eternal death and eternal torment. The branch then serves us as a sign of Christ's victory over death and should remind us of the future resurrection of all of us from the dead.

Troparion of the holiday.

General resurrection assuring - certifying that there will be a general resurrection of the dead; before your passion- before His suffering; raised up thou- You resurrected; t I eat- That's why; like boys- like children. Children, along with adults, met Christ with tree branches and glorified Him. Bearing signs of victory- wearing signs of victory. Here, under the sign, or signs of the victory of Jesus Christ over death, we mean the branches of the trees with which we stand in the temple. Let's cry- we exclaim; blessed is he who comes in the name the Lord's - worthy of glorification going to the glory of the Lord.

The place of burial and the glorious Resurrection of the Savior was near Golgotha, on its southwestern side. Now this place is the majestic Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

Parable of the Evil Tenants

Answers of Jesus Christ to the questions: about tribute to Caesar, about the resurrection of the dead and the question of the Savior to the Pharisees about the Divine dignity of the Messiah - Christ.

Speaking in the temple, the Lord Jesus Christ, addressing the high priests, scribes and elders of the people, told them such a parable.

“There was a certain Master of the house, who planted a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, and, having given it to the vinedressers, went away.

When the time of fruits drew near, He sent His servants to the vinedressers to take His fruits. But the vine-growers seized His servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

He also sent other servants, more than before. But they did the same.

Finally, He sent to them His only Son, the beloved, saying: "They will be ashamed of My Son."

But the vine-growers, seeing the Son, began to say among themselves: "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and take possession of his inheritance." And they seized Him and led Him out of the vineyard and killed Him."

Having told this parable, the Savior asked them: "So, when the Owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these vinedressers?"

They answered Him, "He will put these evildoers to an evil death; but he will give the vineyard to other vinedressers, who will give him their fruit in their seasons."

Answer of the Savior to the Pharisees about the tribute to Caesar

The Lord Jesus Christ confirmed their answer by saying: "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a people that bears its fruits."

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees with the scribes understood that the Savior was talking about them. In their fury they wanted to seize Him, but they were afraid of the people, because the people considered Him a prophet.

This parable is explained as follows. Master of the house, that's God. Vineyard this is the Jewish people, chosen by God to preserve the true faith. Fence vineyard - the Law of God given through Moses; winepress where grape juice flowed - sacrifices (in the Old Testament, representing the cross sacrifice of Jesus Christ); tower- Temple of Jerusalem. Growers- high priests, scribes, leaders of the Jewish people. Master's Servants- Holy Prophets. Master's Son- The Son of God our Lord Jesus Christ. The chief priests, scribes, and rulers who were at the head of the Jewish people were given power to prepare the people for the acceptance of the Savior, and they used this power only for their own benefit. God sent prophets to them, but they persecuted and killed them. So they turned out to be the killers of the prophets, and then the killers of the apostles. They rejected their Savior, and having led him out of their city, they crucified him. And therefore the Kingdom of God was taken away from them and given to another people, the Church of Christ, which was made up of pagans.

ABOUT PAYING TO CAESAR

The Lord Jesus Christ continued to teach in the temple, and the elders of the Jews at that time were conferring among themselves, how to catch Him in words so that they could accuse Him before the people, or before the Roman authorities.

And so, having come up with a crafty question, they send to the Savior some Pharisees (from their young disciples) and Herodians (that is, those who recognized the legitimacy of the Roman authorities), who, pretending to be pious, began to flatteringly say to Him: “Teacher! We know that You just, and you truly teach the way of God, and do not care about pleasing anyone, for you do not look at any person. So tell us: Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar or not??"

The enemies of Christ, who came up with this crafty question, calculated as follows: if Jesus Christ answers that taxes should be paid, then by this He will cause indignation against Himself among the people, since the Jews recognized only God as their king; and to consider themselves subjects of a foreign king, and even a pagan, they considered it a lawless, ungodly deed, and only forcibly paid taxes to Caesar. If Jesus Christ answers that one should not pay tribute to Caesar, then in this case they will immediately accuse Him before the Roman commander, as a rebel of the people against the Roman authorities, as an opponent of Caesar.

But Jesus Christ, knowing their wickedness, said to them: that you tempt me, you hypocrites? (A hypocrite is a person who pretends, for the sake of profit, tries to expose himself to others as pious and virtuous). Show me the coin you pay to file".

They brought Him a denarius.

The Savior asked: "Whose is this image and the inscription on it?"

They answered "caesareans".

Then Jesus Christ said to them: therefore give what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God". This means: give to Caesar what you receive from him, pay taxes to him for everything that you use from him (money, army, etc.), be submissive to him in everything that is not contrary to God's commandments - payment to give is a sign of obedience, a legal duty and a necessity, but at the same time unswervingly fulfill all that God requires of you in His commandments and serve Him with love, for you owe your being, your very life, to God.

The Savior's answer surprised everyone with its wisdom and extraordinary simplicity, so that the questioners fell silent and with shame moved away from Him.

ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

After that, according to a prearranged agreement, the Sadducees approached the Savior, who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They decided to confuse Him with their question and said: "Master! Moses said:" if anyone dies without children, then let his brother take his wife for himself and restore seed to his brother. "We had seven brothers: the first married died and having no children, he left his wife to his brother, likewise the second, and the third, even to the seventh: and after all the wife also died. So, in the resurrection, which of the seven will she be his wife? for they all had her.

Jesus Christ answered them: “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God; for in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but remain as the angels of God in heaven. And about the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God has spoken to you: " I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living".

(At that time, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob no longer lived on earth; therefore, if God still called Himself their God, then they are alive for Him, for He cannot call Himself the God of a non-existent).

The people again marveled at the wisdom of Jesus Christ's answer. Even some of the scribes said, "Master! You have spoken well."

ON THE DIVINE Dignity of the MESSIAH - CHRIST

The Pharisees, who were still standing at some distance, gathered together and came closer to Jesus Christ, but did not dare to ask Him about anything.

Then Jesus Christ Himself, turning to the assembled Pharisees, asked them: What do you think about Christ? Whose Son Is He?"

The Pharisees immediately answered Him: "David's."

The word "son" meant among the Jews not only a son in the proper sense, but also a descendant; therefore the expression "Son of David" means - a descendant of David.

Jesus Christ again asked: "How is it that David, by inspiration, calls Him Lord when he says: - the Lord said to my Lord; sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool"? So if David calls him Lord, how is he his son?"

And no one could answer Him a word. The Pharisees, understanding the Scriptures not in spirit and in truth, did not understand that Christ, as the God-Man, was a descendant of David only in His humanity, but in His Divinity He always was, for He - Son of God, from eternity.

From that day on, no one dared to question Him.

Thus was the learned pride of man put to shame before the Divine wisdom of the Savior. And many people listened to the Lord with delight.

Then Jesus Christ turned to His disciples and the people, and in a formidable speech, clearly in front of everyone, exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes and predicted grief for them.

Jesus Christ said with sorrow: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that you close the Kingdom of Heaven to people; because you yourself do not enter, and you do not allow those who want to enter."

The Savior exposes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes

... "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that you give tithes from mint, anise and temin (things of little value), and left the most important thing in the law: judgment (justice), mercy and faith; and this was to be done, and that was not leave. Blind leaders, straining out a mosquito, but swallowing a camel! (This means that they carefully observe the little things, and leave the important unattended).

".... outwardly you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" ...

This was the last admonition of the Lord, the last attempt to save them from a terrible condemnation. But on their faces there was no repentance, but there was hidden malice against the Savior.

NOTE: See in the Gospel: Matt., ch. 21 , 33-46; ch. 22 , 15-46; ch. 23 ; from Mark, ch. 12 , 1-40; from Luke, ch. 20 , 9-47.

Widow's mite

At the entrance to the temple of Jerusalem, a treasury was placed, that is, a combined mug in which the worshipers put their voluntary donations to the temple.

Jesus Christ sat down in front of the treasury and watched the people put money (their donations) into the treasury. Many rich people put in a lot.

A poor widow came up to the treasury and put in it two mites (not much more than half a kopeck), which is a small Roman Codrant coin. Such a gift might seem to people not worth any attention.

But the Lord who knows the hearts pointed out to His disciples precisely this humble sacrifice of the poor woman. The Lord judged her according to her inner dignity. Calling the disciples to him, the Savior said to them: “Truly I tell you that this poor widow put in more than all those who put into the treasury. that is, she laid down the last thing she had, and thus consecrated everything she had to God.

NOTE See Gospel: Mark 12 , 41-44; from Luke 21 , 1-4.

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Only one Evangelist John tells about this event. Even during the time of the Lord's stay in Perea, He received news of the illness of His beloved friend Lazarus, who lived in Bethany with his sisters Martha and Mary. This family was especially close to the Lord, and when He was in Jerusalem, it must be assumed that He often visited it in order to rest there from the noise of the crowd constantly watching him and the crafty interrogators of the scribes and Pharisees. The sisters sent to say to the Lord: "that's who you love, sick" in the hope that the Lord Himself will hasten to come to them in order to heal the sick. But the Lord not only did not hurry, but even deliberately remained in the place where he was, yet " two days", saying that "This sickness is not unto death, but to the glory of God, may the Son of God be glorified through it." The Lord knew that Lazarus would die, and if he said that his illness was not fatal, it was because he intended to resurrect him. Only two days later, when Lazar had already died, the Lord said to the disciples: Let's go back to Judea." The Lord points not to Bethany, but to Judea, as the goal of their journey, in order to call out the thought, led by Him, nestled in the hearts of the disciples, about the danger threatening Him in Judea.

By this the Lord wanted to root in them the idea of the necessity, and therefore the inevitability of the suffering and death of their Teacher. The disciples really expressed their fear for Him, recalling that not long ago the Jews wanted to stone Him in Jerusalem. The Lord answers this fear of the disciples with allegorical speech, borrowing it from the circumstances in which He was at that time. It was probably early in the morning, at sunrise: they had, therefore, 12 hours of the day for their journey.

During all this time, you can travel without hindrance: it would be dangerous if you had to travel after sunset, at night, but this is not necessary, because you can reach Bethany even before sunset. In a spiritual sense, this means: the time of our earthly life is determined by the highest Divine will, and therefore, while this time continues, we can without fear go along the path determined for us, perform the deeds to which we are called: we are safe, for the Divine will protects us from all dangers, as the light of the sun guards those who walk by day. There would be danger if night caught us in our work, i.e., when we, contrary to the will of God, would take it into our heads to continue our activity: then we would stumble. In relation to Jesus Christ, this means that the life and activity of the Lord Jesus Christ will not end earlier than the term determined for it from above, and therefore the disciples should not be afraid of the dangers that threaten Him. Making his way in the light of the will of God, the God-man cannot be exposed to unforeseen danger. Having explained this, the Lord points to the immediate goal of the trip to Judea: "Lazarus, our friend, has fallen asleep, but I'm going to wake him up."

The Lord called the death of Lazarus a dream, as He did in other similar cases (see Matt. 9:24, Mark 5:29). For Lazar, death really was like a dream because of its short duration. The disciples did not understand what the Lord was saying about the death of Lazarus, taking into account what He had said earlier that this illness was not unto death: they believed that the Lord would come miraculously heal him. "If you fall asleep, you will recover"- it was said, probably, in order to reject the Lord from traveling to Judea: "There is no need to go, since the illness has taken a favorable turn."

Then the Lord, putting aside any contradiction of the disciples and wanting to emphasize the unconditional need to go to Judea, said to them directly: "Lazarus is dead." At the same time, Jesus added that He rejoiced for them, the Apostles, that He was not in Bethany when Lazarus was sick, since a simple healing of his illness could not strengthen their faith in Him in the same way as the forthcoming great miracle of his resurrection from the dead . Decisively stopping the conversation, caused by the fears of the disciples, the Lord says: " but let's go to him." Although indecision was overcome, the fears of the disciples did not dissipate, and one of them, Thomas, called Didymus, which means Gemini, expressed these fears in a very touching way: " Let's go, we'll die with him" i.e., if it is impossible to turn Him away from this journey, then shall we really leave Him? Let us go to death with Him.

When they approached Bethany, it turned out that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. "Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stages away," those. about two and a half miles, half an hour's walk, it is said in order to explain how there were many people in the house of Martha and Mary in a sparsely populated village. Martha, who was distinguished by a greater liveliness of character, having heard about the coming of the Lord, hurried to meet him, without even telling her sister Mary about this, who "was at home" in great sorrow, accepting the consolations of those who came to comfort. With sorrow, she says, not reproaching the Lord, but only expressing regret that this happened: "Lord, if You'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died."

Faith in the Lord instills in her confidence that now not everything is lost, that a miracle can happen, although she does not express this directly, but says: "I know that whatever You ask God, God will give You." To this the Lord directly says to her: your brother will rise." As if checking herself whether she is mistaken and wanting to encourage the Lord to clarify these words, to make her clearly understand what kind of resurrection the Lord is talking about, and whether the miracle that He intends to perform now, or only about the general resurrection of the dead at the end of the world, Martha says : "I know that he will rise on Sunday, on the last day," Martha expressed her belief that God would fulfill every request of Jesus: consequently, she did not have faith in Jesus Himself as the almighty Son of God. Therefore, the Lord leads her to this faith, focuses her faith on His face, saying: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, even if he dies, shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." The meaning of these words is this: in Me is the source of resurrection and eternal life: therefore, I can, if I want, resurrect your brother even now, before the general resurrection. "Do you believe it?" Then the Lord asks Martha, and receives an affirmative answer that she believes in Him as in the Messiah-Christ who came into the world.

At the command of the Lord, Martha then followed her sister Mary to bring her to the Lord. Since she called Mary secretly, the Jews who comforted her did not know where she was going and followed her, thinking that she went to the tomb of Lazarus, " cry there." Mary fell at the feet of Jesus with tears, uttering the same words as Martha. Probably, in their grief, they often said among themselves that their brother would not have died if the Lord and their Teacher were with them, and now, without agreeing, they express their hope in the Lord in the same words. Lord "grieved in spirit and indignant" at the sight of this spectacle of sorrow and death. Ep. Michael believes that this grief and indignation of the Lord is explained by the presence of the Jews, weeping insincerely and burning with anger against Him, who was about to perform such a great miracle. The Lord wanted to perform this miracle in order to enable His enemies to come to their senses and repent, to believe in Him before the sufferings ahead of Him: but instead, they inflamed hatred towards Him even more and resolutely pronounced a formal and final death sentence on Him. Having overcome this indignation of the spirit in himself, the Lord asks: "where did you put it?" The question was addressed to the sisters of the deceased. "The God-man knew where Lazarus was buried, but in dealing with people, he acted like a human being" (Blessed Augustine). The sisters replied: "Lord! Come and see." "Jesus Wept" this, of course, is a tribute to His human nature. The Evangelist goes on to speak of the impression these tears made on those present. Some were touched, while others gloated, saying: "Could He not, who opened the eyes of the blind, prevent this one also from dying?" If he could, then, of course, loving Lazarus, he would not let him die, and since Lazarus died, then, consequently, he could not, and therefore now he is crying. Suppressing the feeling of sorrow in Himself, from the malice of the Jews, the Lord approached the tomb of Lazarus and said to take away the stone. Coffins in Palestine were arranged in the form of a cave, the entrance to which was closed with a stone.

The discovery of such caves was carried out only in extreme cases, and even then only after the burial soon, and not when the corpse was already decomposing. In the warm climate of Palestine, the decomposition of corpses began very quickly, as a result of which the Jews buried their dead on the same day they died. On the fourth day, the decomposition should have reached such a degree that even the believing Martha could not resist, so as not to object to the Lord: "Lord! already stinks; for four days he has been in the tomb!" Reminding Martha of what was said to her before, the Lord says: "Didn't I tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" When the stone was taken away, the Lord raised His eyes to heaven and said: "Father, I thank You that You heard Me." Knowing that His enemies attribute the miraculous power of His power to demonic power, the Lord wanted to show through this prayer that He works miracles by virtue of His complete unity with God the Father. The soul of Lazarus returned to his body, and the Lord cried out in a loud voice: "Lazarus! Get out!" A loud voice here is an expression of a resolute will, which is sure of unquestioning obedience, or, as it were, the excitement of a deep sleeper. Another miracle was added to the miracle of the resurrection: Lazarus, bound hand and foot with funeral shrouds, was able to leave the cave himself, after which the Lord commanded to untie him. The details of the image of this event indicate that it was described by an eyewitness. As a result of this miracle, the usual division between the Jews occurred: many believed, but others went to the Pharisees, the worst enemies of the Lord, obviously with evil feelings and intentions, in order to tell them about what had happened.