Such a different gospel
The Greek word “Gospel” is translated into Russian as “good news.” In some English-speaking countries, the title of the story of the life of Jesus Christ is “Good News.” Translated into Russian this means “good news”. Orthodoxy has established a special order for how to read the Gospel every day.
To whom and when can the Gospel be read? What is a yearly cycle of reading the Gospel? What literature can help in reading and understanding the Gospel?
Gospel
Gospel for every day - for what?
The New Testament consists of the Gospels, the Epistles of the Holy Apostles, the Acts of the Holy Apostles and the Revelation of John the Theologian. The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) are the central part of the New Testament. They are named after the apostles who wrote down the story of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. They all tell the same story. But their stories differ in style, semantic accents, depth and focus.
So, for example, Mark addresses the Roman pagan youth. His text contains few details, a lot of factual information, the narrative develops clearly and rapidly. John pays less attention to facts. Indeed, by the time his book was written, the events had already been described in detail by other evangelists. He also reveals the mystical, deep essence of the Savior’s coming to earth.
Why are there four Gospels? In the Old Testament, through the prophet Ezekiel (1:4-25), the Lord reveals four animals with human faces. The Holy Fathers Irenaeus of Lyon, Jerome of Stridon, Gregory Dvoeslov consider this episode to be a prophecy. According to their interpretation, it reveals the symbolic meaning of each of the 4 Gospels. In the Bible, the number four denotes spatial completeness. Today we see this in iconography: the Angel (from Matthew) is the image of Christ as a perfect Man. Lion (from Mark) is the image of the King. Taurus (from Luke) is the image of God who sacrificed Himself for the sins of all people. Eagle (from John) - the image of the Conqueror of death.
GOSPEL. PART I
The Gospel teaching testifies that the Son of God, Who is the hypostatic Word of God, is eternally born of the Father (John 1. 1, 14, 18), together with the Father participates in the creation of the world (John 1. 3, 10; 5. 20) and providence for Him (Matt 28:20; John 5:17, 21). For the sake of the salvation of the world, the Son of God is incarnated from the Virgin Mary (cf. Matt. 1. 18-25) and perceives human nature. The Son of God, being true God, also becomes true man (John 1:14).
I. In the OT and in the literature of the intertestamental period, the concept of sonship with God always implied a special position of the individual (or individuals), to which this concept is applied, in relation to the God of Israel - serving Him and fulfilling His will. In the OT, the expression (sons of God) can indicate angels (Job 1.6; 2.1; Job 38.7; Ps 88.7; cf. Ps 28.1; 81.6), the people of Israel (Ex 4 22-23; Hos 11. 1; Deut. 32. 6; Jer 3. 4, 19; 31. 9; cf.: Mal 2. 10; in some cases, the term is used to indicate the sonship of God (firstborn - Exod. 4.22)), the king of Israel, and finally, the Messiah (Ps. 2.7).
The peculiarity of the messianic understanding of God's sonship in the OT is that a number of OT prophecies have a “double fulfillment”: they received partial fulfillment in the history of Israel, but the very nature of the prophecy suggests that their full fulfillment refers to messianic times (Blomberg. 2002). Ps 88.20-21 speaks of the anointing of David as king; for the psalmist this is the starting point for the person of David to serve as a type of the future. an outstanding Person about whom God says: “He will call Me: You are my Father, My God and the rock of my salvation. And I will make him the firstborn, above the kings of the earth; I will preserve My mercy for him forever, and My covenant with him will be faithful. And I will continue his seed forever, and his throne as the days of heaven” (Ps 89:27-30).
The broader religious and historical context of the ancient Near. The East also allows for the idea of the sonship of kings with the aim of exalting them. Thus, the Sumerian was proclaimed “the son of God.” king Kisha Mesalim (XXVI century BC) (Bickerman. 1975. P. 179; Fossum. 1996); in plural Sumerian and Akkadian sources, kings were considered as the chosen ones of the gods, with whom they were in close relationships (the gods gave them life, endowed them with reason, strength, fed them with sacred milk, “gave birth” to them as their “sons” in the flesh on the day of enthronement, etc. - Turaev 2004, p. 80; Fossum, 1996). The assimilation of divine wisdom to the kings and the recognition of their physical proximity to the gods in Sumer in the 2nd half. III millennium BC can be considered as “symbolic rhetoric”, “sovereigns continue to be considered only the viceroys of the ideal god-king” (Turaev. 2004. P. 80). The idea of the king as the son of the god El, found in Canaanite sources, who cannot die, being one of the gods, was not developed (Ibid. pp. 369-386).
In Greco-Roman. world of the 1st century BC, the spread of the idea of sonship with God was associated with the formation of imp. cult and is expressed in the formula divi filius - son of the divine (where by “divine” is meant the previous emperor, who was proclaimed as such after death). Greek translation of the title Rome. emperors θεοῦ υἱός was found in the political lexicon primarily of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, however, evidence of the adaptation of this term into religion. there are no lives (Mowery. 2002. P. 101-103).
In Palestinian and Alexandrian Judaism in the intertestamental period, especially during the period of the late Second Temple, due to the activities of the scribes and the general tendency towards a literalist interpretation of the OT (Korsunsky. 1882. pp. 167, 179), there is a strengthening of monotheistic ideas about God, as a result of which a rejection of anthropomorphic and anthropophatic ideas about Him. There is also a rejection of the idea of sonship with God (cf. John 5:18). This tendency is also noticeable in the LXX translation, where in a number of cases the expression was translated interpretatively - “angels of God” (οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ - Job 1.6; 2.1; 38.7; Exodus 32.8; Dan 3.25, 28).
In the Book of Wisdom of Solomon, the righteous man calls himself “the son of the Lord” (Wis 2:13), and his enemies call him “the son of God” (Wis 2:18), and in both cases the expressions are used in a figurative sense. The idea of nominal sonship of God in relation to pious people is also found in Wisdom 12.7, 19-20; 16.26; 18.4; 19.6, and in 18.3 the people of Israel are called “son of God”.
The messianic understanding of the name "Son of God" (or its equivalents) is attested in many Qumrans. manuscripts. The idea of sonship with God in them is borrowed from biblical Old Testament texts, but there is no reason to assert that the sonship of the Messiah was understood here not in a figurative sense (i.e., as likeness to God), but in a literal sense (as ontological equality with God). In the Qumran manuscript in Aram. in 4Q246 language the main character is the “Son of God” ( ), who is also called the “Son of the Most High” ( - 4Q246 ii 1). With all the multiplicity of interpretations of these names (options have been proposed: Syrian king, angel - Fitzmyer. 2000. P. 55, 57; people of Israel - Hengel. 1976. P. 45; Jewish ruler from the house of David - Fitzmyer. 2000. P. 59-61, 76-82; the coming Messiah - Ibid. P. 55) the fact of using this expression in a royal-messianic context is important. The manuscript states that the Son of God will appear after a period of wars and turmoil and His “everlasting Kingdom” will be characterized by peace and prosperity (4Q246 ii 5). These ideas have a direct biblical parallel with the revelation of the Messiah by the prophet. Isaiah (Isaiah 9.6-7).
To Qumran. manuscript “Charter of the Community” (1Q28a = 1QSa) talks about an eschatological feast, at which the Messiah Himself will be present along with the congregation of Israel, and it is stated that this will happen “when [God] gives birth to the Messiah among them” ( 1Q28a 2. 11-12) (Evans. 1995). In general, this passage says that when God gives birth to the Messiah, it will be a clear coming of the Messiah not for any particular religion. community of the Jews, but for the gathering of the entire community of Israel. It remains not entirely clear what is meant by birth; C. A. Evans pointed out a parallel with the text of Ps 2. 7 - “Today I have begotten Thee” (Ibid. P. 187).
The idea of the firstborn Son of God is also found at Qumran. "The Prayer of Enoch" (4Q369), which says: "You have made Him your Firstborn." The term “firstborn” is used here to express the idea of sonship with God. Evans drew attention to the connection between the texts of 4Q369 and the messianic Ps 88 (Ibid. P. 189). There is another Qumran. manuscript (4Q458), in which there is the expression “my firstborn” ( ), but the fragment in which it appears is too small, and its context is not fully understood.
II. The expression "Son of God" in the Gospels. Qumran. The texts as a whole confirm that among the Jews during the period of the end of the Second Temple, the idea of the Messiah and the idea of \u200b\u200bsonship with God were interconnected. Therefore, it seems quite natural that Nathanael’s reaction when meeting Jesus, described in John 1.49: “Rabbi! You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel.” John the Baptist, proclaiming Jesus the Christ who takes away the sin of the world, testifies: “This is the Son of God” (John 1:34). Confessing Jesus as the Messiah, St. Peter says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Martha, not yet knowing that Jesus can raise the dead, recognizes Christ in Him: “... I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who comes into the world” (John 11:27). The Gospel of Mark is characterized as “the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). In the Gospels, Christ sometimes speaks of Himself as the Son of God (John 3. 18; 5. 25; 9. 35, 37; 10. 36; 11. 4; cf. Matthew 26. 64; Mark 14. 62), but in most cases He is recognized as such by other people or even spiritual beings: arch. Gabriel (Luke 1.35), His disciples (Matt 14.33), Evangelist John (John 20.31), demon-possessed (Matt 8.29; Lk 4.41), Caiaphas (Matt 26.63: par. Mark 14 61), members of the Sanhedrin (Luke 22.70), Jews who condemned Christ (John 19.7), passing by the Cross (Matt 27.43), the tempter (Matt 4.3, 6; Lk 4.3, 9), unclean spirits (Mk 3.11).
The centurion's confession, conveyed differently in the Gospels (Mt 27.54; Mk 15.39), may be associated with the Roman understanding of the royal person as divi filius or may express the idea of \u200b\u200bthe righteousness of the Crucified One (Lk 23.47), but it is possible that it is in line with Jewish ideas about the divine sonship of the Messiah (Mowery. 2002).
Based on extra-evangelical sources, we can conclude that the idea of the Messiah’s sonship with God among the Jews of Palestine in the intertestamental period never assumed His ontological equality with God. Therefore, the Gospel sayings about Christ as the Son of God could be interpreted by them only as the Messiah’s maximum development of His spiritual gifts and qualities, excluding ontological equality with God. At the same time, this took place in Christ. environment. The temptation of such an interpretation is evidenced by the emergence of Arianism in Christ. Churches. Moreover, in the Gospels the expression “sons of God” is used several times. once used in a figurative sense: in relation to either the righteous who are worthy to achieve the life of the future. century and resurrection (Luke 20:36), or to the righteous peacemakers, who, even in this life, were awarded by God the blessedness and the indicated name (Matt 5:9).
Nevertheless, the teaching of the Orthodox Church. The Church, the source of which is Revelation, says that Jesus Christ is consubstantial with God the Father and that the Gospel name Son of God should be understood as an indication of the ontological equality of the Son with the Father, i.e. that the Son of God is God. The foundations of this teaching lie in the canonical Gospels and form an essential part of evangelical theology.
Jesus Christ before Caiaphas. Painting c. Epiphany in Yaroslavl. 1692 Jesus Christ before Caiaphas. Painting c. Epiphany in Yaroslavl. 1692 The Synoptic Gospels indicate that even His opponents understood Christ’s words about His sonship of God in a literal sense: the high priest Caiaphas asks Jesus at the trial: “Are you the Christ, the Son of God?” (Mt 26.63; Mk 14.61) - and in response to Christ’s affirmative words, accuses Him of blasphemy (Mt 26.64-65; Mk 14.62-64), that is, of violating Jewish monotheistic views (cf. .: John 19. 7).
The most important testimony of Jesus Christ about Himself as equal to the Father is contained in John 10.30: “I and the Father are one” (cf. John 14.9). The Jews understood this statement as an indication of ontological equality with God the Father: they rush to stone Christ for blasphemy and for the fact that He, “being a man,” makes Himself God (John 10:33). Christ, responding to this, calls Himself the Son of God (John 10:36).
III. Sonship of God and the doctrine of the Logos. 1. The concept of “Logos” in the prologue of the Gospel of John. The main source of the Gospel teaching about the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father is the prologue of the Gospel of John. Affirming the ontological equality of the Son of God to God the Father, the Evangelist John the Theologian calls the Son the Logos (Word): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (᾿Εν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, κα ὁ λόγος ἦν πρ ὸς τὸν θεόν , κα θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος - John 1. 1). Here, as in other places (Rev 19:13), the evangelist uses the term λόγος - without k.-l. - in relation to the Son of God. nearest predicates or explanations. Λόγος is used in the meaning of “word”, but in the highest sense - as “an organ for the accurate and complete detection of the activity of the mind.” In this case, λόγος is inseparable from the mind, which it discovers; “word” is the “externally manifested” mind, and reason is “the word... internal, which has not yet found its external detection” (Glubokovsky. 1928. pp. 91-92). Since God is the eternal mind, fully aware of Himself, then with Him the eternal Word exists (John 1:1) as an act of this self-consciousness. Unlike the weak human mind, which cannot always find adequate verbal expression for its spiritual movements, God at every moment of His existence - that is, always - is adequately objectified in the Word, therefore the Word of God must be just as eternal (ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος). To fully reflect the subject, the Word of God must be a person, since God is a person (κα ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν). Being the eternal image of God, the Word of God is also God (κα θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος) (Ibid. pp. 92-93). This is the general reason that ap. John the Theologian uses the term λόγος as an indication of the Divine dignity of the Son.
2. The idea of the Divine word in the OT. Closest in meaning to the Greek. λόγος in the texts of the OT is Heb. , (word). In speech, a word names a thing, hence the thing participating in events acquires its historical element, and history is expressed in (words). The word has 2 important aspects: firstly, it always indicates the meaning of a thing and therefore belongs to the sphere of knowledge; secondly, each is full of power, and can manifest itself in different ways; this power is felt by everyone who accepts and assimilates the word. This dynamic element determines the participation of this or that thing in history, hence it can mean “event”, and plural. part - chronicle of events (cf.: 1 Chronicles 27. 24). Both aspects are most clearly manifested in the prophetic speeches of the OT.
The prophetic word establishes such a close personal connection between the prophet and God that sometimes the prophetic ministry itself is expressed by it (Isa 2.1; Hos. 1.1; Micah 1.1; Zeph 1.1). The teaching of the Law of Moses, directed not to an individual, but to different generations of the Israelite people, could also be designated by the term (Deut. 12:32). The creative power of the word of the Lord, as one of the types of Revelation of God, manifested itself during God’s creation of the world, when the actions of God are performed by the Word (the term is not found in Genesis 1, but the word of the Lord during the creation of the world is spoken of in Ps 32. 6: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were created, and by the breath of His mouth all their host." The effective power of the “Word of the Lord” is described in Isaiah 55.11 and in Ezekiel 37.4 in the prophecy of the resurrection of the house of Israel (Ezek. 37.5-11).
3. The idea of logos in ancient Greek. philosophy and Hellenized Judaism. Relig. the use of the word λόγος must be considered taking into account the ideas of ancient Greek. philosophy. Already the Pre-Socratics used this word to express the idea of the rationality of the world process, the rational-spiritual beginning of world life (Heraclit. Fragm. 115), or even as an independent subjective-personal force (see: Muretov. 1881. P. 9). For the Sophists, λόγος is both a rational and moral force in man (Isocr. Or. 3, 6-7). For Socrates and Plato, λόγος is a fundamental fact of the harmony of social life, since in the world there is a certain pre-existing harmony between the logos of the thinking soul and the logos of things. According to Plato, the world can be conceived only by assuming that at its foundation lies λόγος as an objective idea that constitutes its content and is realized in its development. It can be perceived by the world, can be realized and embodied in its sensory forms only on the assumption that the world is a living being (Plat. Tim. 30b; Trubetskoy. 2000. P. 33). Aristotle summed up the classical understanding of human existence with the phrase: “Man differs from other living beings only in word” (Arist. Pol. I 2). In Stoicism, λόγος becomes a term to designate the nature of the world (cosmos) and to define the lower nature, understood as the outflow from the divine principle of its “seminal logoi” (Diog. Laert. VII 147-148). When adapting folk religion, the logos in the Stoic view was identified with Zeus (Aurel. Antonin. Ad se ipsum. V 27. 1).
As conceptual material for the doctrine of the Logos, the Gospels of John sometimes point to the teaching of Philo of Alexandria, whose teaching is a natural continuation of his idea of God as an absolutely transcendent being, communicating with the world and acting in it through special divine powers (θεῖαι δυνάμεις ), the highest of which is λόγος (see: Trubetskoy. 2000. P. 174). Philo’s statements about λόγος are as follows (see: Ibid. pp. 176-179): 1) this is the energy of the Divine (or the sum of His energies), which does not have independent existence in relation to its source; 2) the internal law of the world, a kind of world soul, which permeates all things and forms specific types of beings, according to their eternal prototypes (Philo. De confus. ling. 14; Idem. Quis rer. divin. 26; Idem. De fuga et invent. 20); 3) a created mediator between God and the world, between the unborn and the created. Philo calls it εἰκὼν θεοῦ - “the image of God” (Idem. De spec. leg. I 81). He is the first, purely spiritual creation of the Creator, Who creates the intelligent world before the sensory (Idem. Quis rer. divin. 48; Idem. Quod deter. pot. 23). Therefore, he is the “eldest Son of God” and is opposed to the “younger”, or “visible son of God” - the sensory world. The sensory world was created in the image of the logos, just as the logos was created in the image of God (Idem. De agr. 23; De confus. ling. 14.28; Somn. I 39.41). λόγος takes part in the creation of the world as ὄργανον θεοῦ - “an instrument of God” (cf.: Idem. De migr. Abr. 6; Idem. De cherub. 127). Together with Σοφία God gave birth as His only begotten (πρωτόγονον) Son to the intelligible world (τὸν νοητὸν κόσμον), which is identified with logos as follows (Idem. De opif. 24; cf.: De agr. 51): not the innumerable multitude of powers of the Divine, forming this intelligible world or the prototype of the sensory world is embraced in logos as in a common place (τόπος); at the same time, λόγος represents the mind of God (Idem. De confus. ling. 34; Idem. De opif. 5-6, 11). By acquiring personal traits, logos establishes mediation between the transcendental God and the world or man; this logos, like the “high priest” (Idem. De gigant. 52), intercedes for man before God (Idem. De vita Mos. II 133).
4. The eternal birth of the Son from the Father. In the Gospel of John, the term λόγος is used to indicate the Divine Person of the Son of God; using the shades of meaning inherent in λόγος, a completely new and original teaching is proposed here. Like the Old Testament, λόγος is a creative principle, but not the impersonal power of the Divine, but an independent Personality (Glubokovsky. 1928. p. 97.). Being the eternal manifestation of the self-consciousness of God, this Person is λόγος, expressed Reason, and the absolute Word, which makes this Gospel teaching related to the concepts of logos in Greek. thoughts. Like Philo's logos, the Son of God in the Gospel teaching participates in the creation of the world, but not as the highest of creations, but as God, equal to God the Father.
In modern biblical studies, taking into account the chiastic structure of the prologue for the interpretation of the 1st art. the parallel last verse is attracted - John 1. 18. Thus. The Word is identified with the Only Begotten Son, the words “The Word was with God” are revealed in the words “who is in the bosom of the Father,” and “The Word was God” - in “No one has ever seen God... He has revealed.” According to this interpretation, at the beginning of the prologue of the Gospel of John (John 1.1) it speaks of the pre-eternal, that is, timeless, birth of the Son from the Father as a mysterious manifestation of intra-divine life. The expression ἐν ἀρχῇ (at the beginning) has a completely different meaning than the Hebrew. (in the beginning) in Gen. 1. 1. The words “in the beginning” in the book. Genesis indicates the beginning of a temporal process - the creation of the world; this “beginning” serves as the starting point, the moment of creation of time. The “beginning” of the prologue of the Gospel of John is not temporal, but ontological in nature and indicates the presence of the Word of God with the Father (Lossky V. Dogmatic Theology. P. 209). “In the beginning was the Word” - here “the subject is defined as a constant being, in relation to which the predicate “was” is always permissible and to which the term “happened” is not in the least applicable: He is always ἦν, in every conceivable moment, and therefore does not may have a beginning” (Glubokovsky. 1928. pp. 93-94).
From the 1st Art. In the prologue of the Gospel of John, the Father is called God, the Son is called both Word and God. κα ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν - possible translation: “and the Word came to God” (John 1.1), here the particle πρός “indicates movement, dynamic proximity... Thus, πρός contains the idea of relationship; this relationship between the Father and the Son is a pre-eternal birth” (Lossky V. Dogmatic Theology. P. 211). The expression κα θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος (literal translation: “and the Word was God”) serves as an indication of the Divine dignity of the Word of God. Thus, the analysis of John 1.1 reveals the following predicates used in the Gospel of John in relation to the Logos: He is eternal, He is a person, and He is of the same Divine nature as the Father (Glubokovsky. 1928. P. 95 , 96).
IV. The only begotten Son of God. To indicate the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, ap. John the Theologian uses the expressions ὁ μονογενὴς υἱός (only begotten Son - John 1. 14, 18; 3. 16, 18; 1 John 4. 9) and ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον το ῦ πατρός (who is in the bosom of the Father - John 1.18).
Holy Trinity in Acts. Veil. Moscow, workshop of Matryona Godunova. 1592-1593 (GMMK)
Holy Trinity in Acts. Veil. Moscow, workshop of Matryona Godunova. 1592-1593 (GMMC) The term μονογενής is known in ancient Greek. literature since the time of Hesiod (700 BC). The first part, μονο-, indicates the nature of the birth, and not the source (unlike the words διογενής - born of Zeus or γηγενής - born from the earth). Hence μονογενής means “only begotten”, “having no brothers or sisters”, “sole heir”, but not “born of one”. In Greek writers, this term was used to enhance the meaning: μονογενής instead of μόνος, to emphasize that parents never had more than one child (Aeschyl. Agam. 898; Plat. Crit. 113d). In the LXX translation, μονογενής is used to render the Hebrew. in Judgment 11.34, where we are talking about Jephthah’s only daughter (cf. Tob 3.15; 6.11; 8.17). In Ps 21:21 this word refers to the soul - in the sense of its uniqueness and exclusivity. Josephus uses μονογενής in the sense of “only begotten” (Ios. Flav. Antiq. I 222; V 264).
In the NT, the term is found in the Gospels of Luke, John and in the Epistle to the Hebrews in the meaning of “only begotten”: Isaac is the only son of Abraham from his wife Sarah (Heb. 11.17), the widow of Nain has the only son whom Christ resurrects (Luke 7:12), the same word refers to the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:42) and the demon-possessed youth whom Jesus healed (Luke 9:38).
Only in the Gospel of John the term μονογενής is used to indicate the relationship of the Son of God to God the Father: only the Son of God was truly born of the Father according to the Divinity; in this case, the understanding of the birth of the Son from the Father in an improper, figurative sense is excluded. In relation to other persons in the Gospel, only a metaphorical likening to birth is possible (those who believe in the Son of God become children of God, who are “born of God” - John 1. 12-13); this birth comes “from water and the Spirit” (John 3.5) (see: Malinovsky. 1910. Vol. 1. Part 1. pp. 406-407). Christ Himself distinguishes His sonship of God from the conditional sonship of people: He never says “Our Father,” but “My Father” and “Your Father” (John 20.17; Matt. 5.45, etc.), a special case is the beginning of prayer “ Our Father": the Lord pronounces it on behalf of His disciples, teaching them this prayer (Matthew 6:9). At ap. Paul also traces the difference between God’s “own Son” (ὁ ἴδιος υἱός - Rom 8:32) from the sons of God, glorified by grace (Rom 8:14-15).
Birth from the Father in the Gospel narrative presupposes exceptionally close communication with Him of the Son, inaccessible to any other creatures, therefore it is the only begotten Son who is able to reveal the glory of the Heavenly Father (John 1.14), reveal the fullness of Revelation about God (John 1.18) and to accomplish the salvation of fallen man (John 3.16) and the judgment of unbelievers (John 3.18). Subsequently, the term μονογενής formed the basis of the most important dogmatic teaching of the Church about the birth of the Son from the Father as a distinctive property of the Second Hypostasis of the Holy One. Trinity (Malinovsky.1910. T. 1. Part 1. P. 408-409).
V. God the Father creates the world with His Word. The beginnings of the teaching about this can be found already in the OT (Gen. 1.3; Ps. 32.6; Proverbs 8.27-30, etc.). But in its entirety, the doctrine of the creation of the world by the Word of God is clearly expressed in John 1. 3-4a: δὲ ἕν ὃ γέγονεν. ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν (“All things came into being through Him, and without Him nothing came into being that was made. In Him was life...”). In the exegetical literature several are suggested. options for the logical breakdown of this phrase (Lamarch. 1964. P. 514-523). The first version of punctuation: “Through Him all things began to be, and without Him nothing began to be.” What began to be, in that was life,” while ἐν αὐτῷ can be understood differently: either we are talking about the Word of God (“What began to be, in Him was life”), or it refers to the created world (“What began to be, in Him was life”), or it refers to the created world (“What began to be — in Him was life”) This was life." This reading option is supported by papyrus ¸ 75c (this reading was introduced by the text editor; early III century), uncials C (V century), B (VI century), L (VIII century), Wsupp (V century), 050* (original reading of the text; 9th century), 0141*vid (probable reading of the original text; 10th century). The second version of understanding - the dot is placed after ὃ γέγονεν before ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν (“Everything through Him began to be, and without Him nothing began to be that began to be. In Him there was life...”) - is present in the uncials a2 (belongs to 2- to the editor of the manuscript, in the original there was no dot; 4th century), Q (IX century), Y (VIII-IX centuries), 050c (belongs to the editor; 9th century), in the family f13 (IX century) and to Byzantium. a family of manuscripts reflecting the tradition of the Byzantine Church, in a number of minuscules (dating no earlier than the 9th century). The third option - a logical pause is placed immediately before ζωὴ ἦν (then the meaning is: “all things began to be through Him, and without Him nothing began to be, [and] what began to be [was] in Him. Life was ...") - occurs only in some of the Fathers of the Church (Lamarche. 1964. P. 518).
From a grammatical-lexical point of view. The 1st and 2nd punctuation options have certain problems. In the 1st case, some interpreters point out the unexpectedness of the use of ἦν in relation to the created world after in verses 1-2 this verb form was consistently used in relation to the Word of God (Ibid. P. 519). When punctuation of the 2nd option there are several. The position of ὃ γέγονεν (“what began to be”) after οὐδὲ ἕν (“nothing”) is recognized as unexpected (Ibid. P. 521). The first version of punctuation imposes on the word “life” the meaning of natural life, common to every living creature, but this word in the Gospel of John denotes supernatural, spiritual life, which Christ brought and which ultimately becomes salvation for man. John 1.3-4a is no exception, since already in John 1.4b this “life” is said to have become “the light of men.” It is the second version of punctuation that is adopted in Church Orthodoxy. and Synodal translations and entered into the Russian tradition. theological science (Malinovsky. 1903. Part 2. P. 31).
The second variant notes the use of the verb ἐγένετο (aor. ind. med. from γίγνομαι - to become) in John 1. 3-4a: the creative activity of the Word of God is “seen in contrast to [His] long existence, which is spoken of in verses 1-2.” (Kleon. 2001. P. 307). The birth of the Word of God from the Father occurs in eternity, the creation of the world occurs in time; this is a process of a completely different kind.
The same idea is expressed by Ap. Paul: (literal translation) “For in Him all things were created... all things were created through (δι᾿ αὐτοῦ) Him and for Him (εἰς αὐτόν)” (Col. 1. 16). Here τὰ πάντα δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (“all things through Him”) literally corresponds to the thought of John 1. 3 about the creation of all things by the Word, and ἐν αὐτῷ and εἰς αὐτόν (literally translated: “in Him” and “for Him”) are in good agreement with χωρ ς αὐτοῦ (“without Him”) in John 1. 3, that is, with the thought that outside the Word nothing was created (Boismard. 1953. P. 23). The patristic formulation “The Father creates the world through the Son in the Holy Spirit” (Athanas. Alex. I Ep. ad Serap. 30; Idem. III Ep. ad Serap. 1; Malinovsky. 1903. Part 2. P. 32; Lossky V. Dogmatic theology, p. 226) also goes back to St. Paul: it is he who in a number of places says that everything comes from (ἐξ) or from (ὑπό) the Father (1 Cor 8:6; 2 Cor 5:18), through (διά) the Son or by the Son (Col 1:16 ) and in (ἐν and εἰς) the Holy Spirit (Eph 2.18; Rom 11.36).
According to the prologue of the Gospel of John (John 1.4), everything was not only created, but also exists thanks to the Logos: ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν (“in Him was life”); the verb ἦν indicates the permanent quality of the Logos - the fullness of life in Him and the source of life for all creation. Everything that exists not only came into existence thanks to Him, but also continues to draw its existence from the infinite richness of His life. Since the word ζωή is used without an article, it does not mean physical or spiritual life, but both together (Glubokovsky. 1928. P. 100). This life is characterized through the symbolism of “light for people” (φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων): just as the ability to see light is a condition for the life of any living creature, so for people, who are distinguished by the ability to spiritual life, the latter is possible only if they recognize the Logos as its primary source. This requires unity and affinity with Him, that is, likeness to God to a high degree of moral development (Ibid.).
VI. The Father saves the world through the Son. Greek the word πάντα in John 1. 3, like the Hebrew. in Gen. 1. 1, is a reference to the entire cosmos. Moreover, both in the OT the description of the creation of the world by God (Gen. 1) or His personified Wisdom (Proverbs 8.27, 30), and in the Gospels the narration of the creation of the world through the Son of God (John 1.3) are the beginning for the disclosure of history and teaching about salvation (Küng. 1965. P. 171 sqq.). The Son is born from the Father outside of time, in eternity (John 1.2), but is sent into this world (κόσμος) by the Father in time and is incarnated from the Virgin Mary for the redemption and salvation of man (Sylvester (Malevansky). Theology. Vol. 2. With 237): “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). All acts of God in the world preceding the incarnation of the Son of God are characterized here as love, since the sending of the Son is its result (Kleon, Kleon. 2001. P. 321). The Incarnation of the Son does not aim at judgment with a final verdict, but at the salvation of the world (John 3:17). This salvation is personal in nature and is possible only through faith in the Son of God as Savior (John 3:18).
Priest Dimitry Yurevich
Daily Gospel Reading
The Holy Gospel cannot be fully comprehended by reading it once as a literary text. Any miracle, conversation or parable described in this Book must be comprehended throughout life. Saint Theophan the Recluse calls us to read a certain passage of the Gospel daily and thoughtfully:
“In the morning it’s good to read the Gospel and the Apostle... And not just read, but come up with such a thought that you can spend the whole day with it.”
The rhythm of modern life does not allow a person to fully immerse himself in his spiritual life. At the same time, the truths of the Gospel are the answer to various questions that constantly confront us. This is why it is important to read the Gospel every day. The Holy Scripture reveals the Will of God to people and indicates the direction of life.
In one of his interviews, Metropolitan Longin of Saratov and Volsk said that reading the Gospel is not just an integral part of Christian life, but its basis. The Gospel is the primary source, it is the foundation, the word of God, which must constantly resound in the human heart. That is why the Holy Scripture, and above all the New Testament, is a must-read for a Christian.
Daily reading of the Word of God enriches the human soul. Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) said:
“Whoever explains the Gospel and all Scripture arbitrarily: thereby rejects the interpretation of it by the Holy Fathers and the Holy Spirit. Who rejects the interpretation of Scripture by the Holy Spirit; he, without any doubt, rejects the Holy Scripture itself... Read the Gospel with extreme reverence and attention. Do not consider anything in it unimportant or unworthy of consideration. Every iota of it emits a ray of life.”
Content
About the holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew and his Gospel Genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-17) Revelation of the secret to the righteous Joseph... (Matthew 1:18-25) Adoration of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12) Flight to Egypt and massacre of infants (Matthew 2:13–23) Sermon of the Forerunner of the Lord (Matthew 3:1–12) Baptism of the Lord (Matthew 3:13–17) Temptation from the devil (Matthew 4:1–11) The first sermon of the Lord in Galilee (Matthew 4:12–17) The Calling of the First Apostles (Matthew 4:18–24) The Talk on the Mount and the Beatitudes (Matthew 4:25, 5:1–12) Thou shalt not kill... Leave... your gift before the altar... Go first and be reconciled... (Matt. 5:20-26) Do not commit adultery (Matt. 5:27-32) Do not break your oath (Matt. 5:33-37) Whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also ( Matthew 5:38–41) Give to anyone who asks you... Love your enemies... Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:42–48) Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matthew 6:1) –4) When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites... Pray to your Father, who is in secret... When you pray, do not say unnecessary things... (Matt. 6:5-8) Our Father (Matt. 6:9-13) You cannot serve God and mammon... (Matt. 6:22-25) Look at the birds of the air... Look at the lilies of the field... (Matt. 6:26-30) Do not worry about tomorrow... Seek first The kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:31-34) Judge not, lest ye be judged... Why are you looking at the speck in your brother's eye (Matthew 7:1-4) You hypocrite! first take the plank out of your own eye... Do not throw your pearls before swine... (Matthew 7:5-6) Ask, and it will be given to you... Your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask Him... (Matthew 7:7-11) So in whatever you want people to do to you, do the same to them... Enter through the narrow gate... (Matthew 7:12-14) Beware of false prophets... Not everyone who says to Me: “Lord! Lord!”, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven... (Matthew 7:15-23) Everyone who listens to My words and does them will be likened to a prudent man... Whoever listens and does not do them will be like a foolish man (Matthew 7:24-29 ) Healing of the leper (Matt. 8:1-4) Healing of the centurion's servant of Capernaum (Matt. 8:5-13) Healing of Peter's mother-in-law and many sick people... (Matt. 8:14-18) The Lord's answers to the proud scribe and the humble disciple... ( Matthew 8:19–22) The taming of the storm… (Matthew 8:23–26) The healing of two demoniacs in the country of Gergesin… (Matthew 8:28–34) The healing of the paralytic in Capernaum… (Matthew 9:1–8) The calling of Matthew... (Matthew 9:9-13) The answer to the Pharisees and John's disciples about fasting... New wine and wineskins... (Matthew 9:14-17) The healing of the bleeding woman and the resurrection of Jairus' daughter... (Matthew 9:18-26) Healing of two blind and a deaf-mute... Surprise of the people and blasphemy of the Pharisees... (Matthew 9:27-35) The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few... (Matthew 9:36-38) Election of the twelve apostles... (Matthew 10:1-4) Preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand... Heal the sick... Freely you have received, freely give... (Matt. 10:5-8) Do not take with you either gold or silver... Say: peace to this house... Shake off the dust from your feet... (Matthew 10:9-15) Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves... Be wise , like serpents, and simple as doves... Beware of people... (Matt. 10:16-18) Do not worry how or what to say... and you will be hated by everyone... But he who endures to the end will be saved... (Matt. 10:19-22 ) When they persecute you in one city, flee to another... There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed... Do not be afraid of those who kill the body... (Matthew 10:23-31) Whoever confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father... I did not come to bring peace, but a sword... And a man’s enemies are his own household... (Matthew 10:32-36) Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father... I did not come to bring peace, but a sword... And enemies a man's household... (Matthew 10:32-36) Whoever loves father or mother more than Me... He who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me... He who receives you, receives Me... (Matthew 10 :37–42, 11:1) The Lord’s answer to John’s disciples... Praise to the Baptist... (Matt. 11:2–15) The sorrowful word of the Lord about the unbelieving Jews... (Matthew 11:16-19) A terrible judgment on the unrepentant cities... Glorification of God the Father... (Matthew 11:20-26) The Lord reveals His Divinity to the apostles and calls to Himself those who labor and are heavy laden... (Matt. 11:27-30) The Lord protects the disciples who plucked ears of corn on the Sabbath... (Matt. 12:1-8) Healing a withered hand on the Sabbath... Is it possible to heal on the Sabbath?.. (Matt. 12:9 –14) The great humility of the Lord... Healing of the demon-possessed and dumb blind... The exposure of the blasphemy of the Pharisees... (Matthew 12:15-30) The Lord's teaching about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, about the treasures of the heart and about idle words... (Matthew 12:31-37) ) The Lord's answer to the Pharisees who demanded a sign from heaven... (Matthew 12:38–45) Who is My Mother? and who are My brothers?.. (Matthew 12:46-50) About the parables of Christ... The parable of the sower... (Matthew 13:1-9) Interpretation of the parable of the sower and the seed... (Matthew 13:10-23) Parable about the tares... (Matthew 13:24-30) The parable of the mustard seed and the leaven... (Matthew 13:31-36) Interpretation of the parable of the tares... (Matthew 13:36-43) The parable of the hidden treasure... The parable of pearl of great price... The parable of the net... (Matthew 13:44-52) Jesus Christ in the Nazareth synagogue... (Matthew 13:53-58) The beheading of St. John, the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord... (Matthew 14:1-13) The miraculous feeding of five thousand people... (Matthew 14:14-21) The walking of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Peter on the waters... (Matthew 14:22-33) The healing of many sick... The exposure of the Pharisees' hypocrisy... (Matthew 14:34-15: 11) The Lord’s conversation with the disciples about what defiles a person... (Matthew 15:12-20) Healing of the Canaanite daughter... (Matthew 15:21-28) Healing of many sick... (Matthew 15:29-31) Miraculous feeding four thousand people... (Matt. 15:32-39) The temptation of Jesus Christ by the Pharisees and Sadducees... (Matt. 16:1-4) About the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees... (Matt. 16:5-12) The great confession of Peter and the great promise of Christ... (Matthew 16:13-19) The first open word of the Lord about His efforts... The contradiction of Peter and the strict instruction to him from the Lord... (Matthew 16:20-23) If whoever wants to come after Me, deny yourself, and take up your cross, and follow Me... (Matthew 16:24) Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it... Some... will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom... (Matthew 16:25-28) Transfiguration of the Lord... (Matthew 17:1-9) The question of the apostles about the coming of Elijah... (Matthew 17:10-13) Healing of the demoniac on the new moon... (Matthew 17: 14-23) Wonderful statir... (Matt. 17:24-27) Unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven... (Matt. 18:1-9) See that you do not despise one of these little ones... The parable of the lost sheep... (Matthew 18:10-14) If your brother sins against you... tell the church; and if he does not listen to the church, then let him be to you as a pagan and a publican... (Matthew 18:15-17) The Lord gives the apostles the power to bind and loose... The Lord's teaching on congregational prayer and forgiveness of offenses... (Matthew 18:18 –22) The parable of the unmerciful lender... (Matthew 18:23-35) The Lord's journey to Judea... His teaching on the sanctity of marriage and virginity... The blessing of children... (Matthew 19:1-15) The Lord's conversation with a rich young man... Conversation with the disciples about the danger of wealth and the rewards for Christ's followers... (Matthew 19:16-30) The parable of the laborers in the vineyard... (Matthew 20:1-16) The Lord's prediction about His crucifixion... The request of the sons of Zebedee... The spiritual law of Christian primacy... (Matthew 20:17-28) Healing of the blind of Jericho... (Matthew 20:29-34) The Lord's royal entry into Jerusalem... Expulsion of merchants from the temple... Healing of the sick... Divine answer to the Pharisees... (Matthew 21:1-17) Curse barren fig tree... (Matt. 21:18-22) The crafty question of the Sanhedrin and the wise question of Christ to the Sanhedrin... (Matt. 21:23-27) The parable of the two sons sent by their father into the vineyard... (Matt. 21:28-32) The parable of the wicked husbandmen... (Matt. 21:33-46) The parable of those invited to the wedding feast... (Matt. 22:1-14) Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's... (Matt. 22:15 –22) The Lord’s answer to the Sadducees about the resurrection... (Matthew 22:23-33) The Lord’s answer to the lawyer about the first and greater commandment in the Law... His question about Christ: whose Son is He?.. (Matthew 22:34-46) Warnings people and disciples from imitating the Pharisees... (Matthew 23:1-12) Woe to those who shut up the Kingdom of Heaven... Woe to those who devour the houses of widows... Woe to those who corrupt others... Woe to those who are deceitful in oaths... (Matthew 23:13-22) Woe to those who forget the most important things in the Law... Woe to those who cleanse the external and neglect the internal... Woe to the painted tombs... (Matthew 23:23-28) The Lord's prediction about the destruction of the temple... (Matthew 24:1-2) The prediction about false prophets, about the coming persecution of the apostles and other disasters... ( Matthew 24:3-13) Prediction about the spread of the Gospel, the destruction of Jerusalem and the false prophets of the last days of the world... (Matthew 24:14-26) The suddenness of the coming of Christ... Signs in the sky... The appearance of the Cross... The sound of a trumpet... The certainty of prophecy... (Matthew . 24:27-35) The unknown and unexpectedness of the last judgment... (Matt. 24:36-41) The unknown of the last hour... The parable of the servant waiting for the master... (Matt. 24:42-51) The parable of the ten virgins... (Matt. 25: 1–13) The parable of the ten virgins… (Matthew 25:1–13) The parable of the talents… (Matthew 25:14–30) An image of the Last Judgment of Christ… (Matthew 25:31–46) The last prediction of the Lord about His suffering... Secret meeting of the Sanhedrin and its decision... (Matthew 26:1-5) Supper in the house of Simon the leper... (Matthew 26:6-13) Judah's agreement with the enemies of the Lord... (Matthew 26:14-16) Last supper . Preparation of Passover... Cup of Thanksgiving... Washing of feet... Reproof of the traitor... (Matthew 26:17-25) Last Supper. Preparation of Easter... The Cup of Thanksgiving... Washing the feet... Reproaching the traitor... (Matthew 26:17-25) Institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion... (Matthew 26:26-30) The Lord's prediction about the temptation of the disciples and the denial of Peter... (Matthew 26:31) –35) Prayer for the cup... (Matthew 26:36-44) Tradition of the Lord by Judas... (Matthew 26:45-56) Jesus Christ at the trial of Annas and Caiaphas... First meeting - at night... Mockery in the courtyard... (Matthew 26) :57-68) Threefold denial of the Apostle Peter... (Matt. 26:69-75) Sanhedrin meeting - in the morning... Verdict... (Matt. 27:1-2) The death of Judas the traitor... Village of blood... (Matt. 27:3-10) ) Jesus Christ at the trial of Pilate and Herod... (Matthew 27:11-14) Barabbas... The dream of Pilate's wife... Not this one, but Barabbas!.. Let him be crucified!.. Pilate washes his hands... A terrible oath... (Matthew 27 :15-25) The suffering of our Lord in the court of Pilate... His condemnation to crucifixion... Carrying the cross... Simon of Cyrene... (Matthew 27:26-32) Otset with gall... The crucifixion of our Lord... His prayer for the enemies... The secrets of the cross of the Lord... ( Matthew 27:33–34) The sufferings of our Lord on the Cross The division of vestments… The inscription on the cross… The reproach… (Matt. 27:35-43) Reproach from the thief... The prudent thief... Darkening of the sun... Consolation of the Mother... (Matthew 27:44-45) The voice of sorrow to God... New reproaches... Drinking vinegar... The death of our Lord... (Matthew 27:46- 50) The tearing of the veil of the temple... Earthquake... Resurrection of the dead... (Matthew 27:51-53) Confession of the centurion... (Matthew 27:54) Holy women at the cross of Christ... (Matthew 27:55-56) Holy women at the cross of Christ ... (Matt. 27:55-56) Burial of Christ... (Matt. 27:57-61) Burial of Christ... (Matt. 27:57-61) Descent of the Savior into hell... Sealing of the tomb of Christ... Custody... (Matt. 27: 62–66) Resurrection of Christ... Appearance of an Angel at the tomb... Flight of the guards... Journey of the myrrh-bearers to the tomb and the first appearances of the Lord... (Matthew 28:1-10) Bribery of the guards... (Matthew 28:11-15) Appearance of the Lord on Mount Galilee ... (Matt. 28:16–20) The appearance of the Lord on Mount Galilee... (Matt. 28:16–20)
