Christ's Sermon on the Mount. General Rule for Treating Neighbors

First, the Lord indicated what His disciples should be, i.e. all Christians. How they must fulfill the law of God in order to receive a blessed (that is, in the highest degree joyful, happy), eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. For this, He gave the nine beatitudes. Then the Lord gave teachings about the Providence of God, about not judging others, about the power of prayer, about almsgiving, and about many other things. This sermon of Jesus Christ is called the Sermon on the Mount.

So, on a clear spring day, with a quiet breath of coolness from the Lake of Galilee, on the slopes of a mountain covered with greenery and flowers, the Savior gives people the New Testament law of love. And no one leaves Him without consolation.

The Old Testament law is the law of strict truth, and the New Testament law of Christ is the law Divine love and grace, which gives people the power to fulfill God's Law. Jesus Christ Himself said: "I did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it" (Matt. 5:17).

(according to "The Law of God". Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy
-http://www.magister.msk.ru/library/bible/zb/zb143.htm)

THE COMMANDMENTS OF BLESS

" If you love me, keep my commandments ".
GOSPEL FROM JOHN, ch.14, 15.

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, as a loving Father, shows us the ways or works through which people can enter the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. To all who will fulfill His instructions or commandments, Christ promises, as the King of heaven and earth, eternal bliss (great joy, supreme happiness) in the future, eternal life. That is why He calls such people blessed, i.e. the happiest.

ABOUT THE PROVISION OF GOD

ABOUT NON-JUDGING YOUR NEIGHBOR

ABOUT FORGIVENING YOUR NEIGHBOR

ABOUT LOVE TO THE NEAR

THE GENERAL RULE FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEIGHBORS

ON THE POWER OF PRAYER

ABOUT ALMS

ON THE NEED FOR GOOD WORKS

When it comes to Christian commandments, these words usually mean the well-known to all: “I am the Lord your God<…>may you have no other gods; do not make yourself an idol; do not take the name of the Lord in vain…” However, these commandments, through Moses, were given to the people of Israel 1,500 years before the birth of Christ.

In Christianity, there is a different code of relations between man and God, which is usually called the Beatitudes (Mt 5:3-12), about which modern man knows much less than about the Old Testament commandments. What is their meaning?
What blessing are we talking about? And what is the difference between the Old Testament and New Testament commandments?
We talked about this with a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy Alexei Ilyich Osipov.

- Today the word "bliss" for many means the highest degree of pleasure. Does the Gospel presuppose just such an understanding of this word, or does it put some other meanings into it?
- There is one common thesis in the patristic heritage, which is found in almost all Fathers: if a person considers the Christian life as a way to achieve some kind of heavenly pleasures, ecstasies, experiences, special states of grace, then he is on the wrong path, on the path of delusion. Why are the holy fathers so unanimous on this issue? The answer is simple: if Christ is the Savior, therefore, there is some kind of big misfortune from which we all need to be saved, then we are sick, we are in a state of death, damage and spiritual clouding, which does not give us the opportunity to achieve that blissful union with God, which we call the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the correct spiritual state of a person is characterized by his desire for healing from any sin, from everything that prevents him from reaching this Kingdom, and not by his desire for pleasure, even heavenly. As Macarius the Great said, if I am not mistaken, our goal is not to receive something from God, but to unite with God Himself. And since God is Love, then the union with God joins us to that highest, which in human language is called love. A higher state for a person simply does not exist.

Therefore, the very word “bliss” in this context means communion with God, who is Truth, Being, Love, the highest Good.

What is the fundamental difference between the commandments of the Old Testament and the Beatitudes?

All the Old Testament commandments are of a prohibitive nature: “Thou shalt not kill,” “Thou shalt not steal,” “Thou shalt not covet”… They were called upon to keep a person from violating the Will of God. The Beatitudes have a different, positive character. But they can only conditionally be called commandments. In essence, they are nothing but a representation of the beauty of the qualities of that person whom the apostle Paul calls new. The beatitudes show what spiritual gifts one receives new person if he follows the way of the Lord. Decalogue of the Old Testament and Sermon on the Mount The gospels are two different levels spiritual order. The Old Testament commandments promise a reward for their fulfillment: that your days on earth may be long. Beatitudes, without canceling these commandments, elevate the consciousness of man to the true goal of his being: God will be seen, for beatitude is God Himself. It is no coincidence that such a connoisseur of Scripture as St. John Chrysostom says: "The Old Testament is separated from the New, as the earth is from heaven."

It can be said that the commandments given through Moses are a kind of barrier, a fence on the edge of the abyss, holding back the beginning. And the beatitudes are the open prospect of life in God. But without the fulfillment of the first, the second, of course, is impossible.

What is the "poor in spirit"? And is it true that in the ancient texts of the New Testament it says simply: “Blessed are the poor,” and the word “in the Spirit” is a later insert?
- If we take the edition of the New Testament in the ancient Greek language by Kurt Aland, where the interlinear references are given to all the discrepancies found in the found manuscripts and fragments of the New Testament, then everywhere, with rare exceptions, the word “spirit” is present. And the very context of the New Testament speaks of the spiritual content of this saying. Therefore, the Slavic translation, and then the Russian one, contains precisely “the poor in spirit” as an expression that corresponds to the spirit of the whole sermon of the Savior. And I must say that this full text has the deepest meaning.

All the holy fathers-ascetics constantly and persistently emphasized that it is the awareness of one's spiritual poverty that is the basis of the spiritual life of a Christian. This poverty consists in a person's vision, firstly, of the damage to his nature by sin, and secondly, the impossibility of healing it with his own strength, without God's help. And until a person sees this poverty of his, he is not capable of spiritual life. Poverty of the spirit is essentially nothing but humility. How it is acquired is briefly and clearly discussed, for example, by St. Simeon the New Theologian: “Careful fulfillment of the commandments of Christ teaches a man his infirmities,” that is, reveals to him the illnesses of his soul. The saints affirm that without this foundation no other virtues are possible. Moreover, the virtues themselves without spiritual poverty can lead a person into a very dangerous state, into vanity, pride and other sins.

If the reward for the poverty of the spirit is the Kingdom of Heaven, then why are the rest of the beatitudes needed, because the Kingdom of Heaven already presupposes the fullness of goodness?

Here we are not talking about a reward, but about the necessary condition under which all further virtues are possible. When we build a house, we first lay the foundation, and only then we build the walls. In the spiritual life, humility - spiritual poverty - is such a foundation, without which all good deeds and all further work on oneself becomes meaningless and useless. This was well said by St. Isaac the Syrian: “What salt is for every food, humility is for every virtue. because without humility all our deeds, all virtues and all deeds are in vain. But, on the other hand, spiritual poverty is a powerful stimulus to a correct spiritual life, the acquisition of all other god-like properties and, thus, the fullness of the good.

- Then the next question is: are the commandments of beatitude hierarchical and are they a kind of system, or is each of them completely self-sufficient?

It can be said with full confidence that the first step is the necessary basis for receiving the rest. But the enumeration of others does not at all bear the character of some logically connected strict system. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke themselves, they are in a different order. This is also evidenced by the experience of many saints, who have a different sequence of acquiring virtues. Each saint had some special virtue that distinguished him from the rest. Someone was a peacemaker. And someone especially merciful. This depended on many reasons: on the natural properties of the individual, on the circumstances of external life, on the nature and conditions of achievement, and even on the level of spiritual perfection. But, I repeat, the acquisition of spiritual poverty, according to the teachings of the fathers, has always been regarded as an unconditional requirement, since without it the fulfillment of the remaining commandments leads to the destruction of the entire spiritual home of a Christian.

The Holy Fathers give sad examples when some ascetics who have achieved great talents could heal, see the future, prophesy, and then fall into the gravest sins. And the fathers directly explain: all this happened because, without knowing themselves, that is, their sinfulness, their weakness in the feat of purifying the soul from the action of passions, in other words, without acquiring spiritual poverty, they were easily subjected to devilish attacks, stumbled and fell.

- Blessed are those who weep. But people cry for different reasons. What crying are you talking about?
- There are many types of tears: we cry from resentment, weep from joy, weep from anger, weep from some kind of grief, weep from misfortune. These types of crying can be natural or even sinful.

When the holy fathers explain Christ’s blessing to those who weep, they are not talking about these reasons for tears, but about tears of repentance, contrition of the heart about their sins, about their powerlessness to cope with the evil that they see in themselves. Such lamentation is the turning of both mind and heart to God for help in spiritual life. And God will not reject the heart of the contrite and humble, and will certainly help such a person to overcome evil in himself and acquire good. Therefore, blessed are those who weep.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. What does it mean? In the sense that all the unmeek will eventually kill each other, and only the meek will remain on earth?
- First of all, it is necessary to explain what meekness is. Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) wrote: “The state of the soul, in which anger, hatred, remembrance and condemnation are eliminated from it, is a new bliss, it is called meekness.” Meekness, it turns out, is not some kind of passivity, weakness of character, inability to repulse aggression, but generosity, the ability to forgive the offender, not to return evil for evil. This property is completely spiritual, and it is a characteristic of that Christian who has conquered his egoism, conquered passions, primarily anger, which push him to revenge. Therefore, such a person is capable of inheriting the promised land of the Kingdom of Heaven.

At the same time, the holy fathers explained that here we are not talking about this, our earth, filled with sin, suffering, blood, but about that earth, which is the abode of the eternal future life of man - the new earth and new heaven, about which the Apostle John the Theologian writes. in his Apocalypse.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. That is, it turns out that God treats the merciful differently than the unmerciful. He favors some and not others?

It would be a mistake to understand the word “pardoned” in a legal sense, or to believe that God, having anger against a person, but seeing his mercy towards people, transferred His anger to mercy. Here there is no judicial pardon for the sinner, nor a change in God's attitude towards him for his kindness. Rev. Anthony the Great explains this beautifully: “It is absurd to think that the Deity was good or bad because of human deeds. God is good and does only good things, remaining always the same; but when we are good, we enter into communion with God - by our likeness to Him, and when we become evil, we are separated from God - by our dissimilarity with Him. By living virtuously, we become God's, and by becoming evil, we become rejected from Him; and this does not mean that He had wrath on us, but that our sins do not allow God to shine in us, but they unite them with tormenting demons. If later, by prayers and good deeds, we gain permission in sins, then this does not mean that we have pleased God and changed Him, but that by means of such actions and our turning to God, having healed the evil that is in us, we again become able to taste God's goodness; so to say: God turns away from the wicked is the same as to say: the sun hides itself from the blind. That is, pardon here does not mean a change in God's attitude towards a person for his mercy, but this mercy towards his neighbor makes a person himself capable of perceiving God's unchanging love. This is a regular and natural process - like is combined with like. The closer a person becomes to God through his mercy to his neighbors, the more God's mercy he becomes able to accommodate.

- Who are the pure in heart and how are they able to see God, who is the Spirit and about whom it is said: No one has seen God?

By “pure heart” the holy fathers understand the possibility of achieving dispassion, that is, liberation from slavery to passions, for everyone who commits sin, according to the word of Christ, is a slave of sin. So, as a person is freed from this slavery, he really becomes more and more a spiritual spectator of God. As we experience love, we see it in ourselves, so, like this, a person can see God - not with external vision, but with an internal experience of His presence in his soul, in his life. How beautifully the Psalmist speaks of this: Taste and see that the Lord is good!

- Blessed are the peacemakers - who is this about? Who are the peacemakers and why are they promised bliss?

These words have at least two conjugate meanings. The first, more obvious, concerns our mutual relations with each other, both personal and collective, public, international. Those who disinterestedly strive to establish and preserve peace are gratified, even if this was associated with some infringement of their pride, vanity, etc. This peacemaker, in whom love overcomes his often petty truth, is gratified by Christ.

The second meaning, deeper, refers to those who, by the feat of struggle with passions, cleansed their hearts from all evil and became able to receive into their souls that peace about which the Savior said: My peace I give you; not as the world gives, I give to you. This world of the soul is glorified by all the saints, who affirm that he who acquires it acquires true sonship with God.

- Well, the last question - the exiled for the sake of truth. Isn't there a certain danger here for a modern person - to confuse their personal problems, which have caused unpleasant consequences for you, with persecution for Christ and the truth of God?

- Of course, this danger exists. After all, there is no good thing that cannot be spoiled. And in this case, we all (each one, to the extent of our susceptibility to passions) are sometimes inclined to consider ourselves persecuted for that truth, which is not at all the truth of God. There is an ordinary human truth, which, as a rule, is, in mathematical terms, the establishment of the identity of relations: twice two - four. This truth is nothing but the right to justice. V. Solovyov very accurately said about the moral level of this right: "Law is the lowest limit or a certain minimum of morality." Exile for this truth, if we correlate it with the modern context of the struggle for freedoms and human rights, it turns out, is not the highest dignity of a person, because here, along with sincere aspirations, vanity, and calculation, and political considerations, and others, not always disinterested, are often manifested. , motives.

What kind of truth did the Lord speak about, promising the Kingdom of Heaven to those who were exiled because of it? Saint Isaac the Syrian wrote about her: “Mercy and justice in one soul is the same as a person who worships God and idols in one house. Mercy is the opposite of justice. Justice is the equalization of the exact measure: because it gives to everyone what he deserves ... But mercy. compassionately bows to all: he who is worthy of evil does not repay him with evil, and he who is worthy of good fills him with excess. Just as hay and fire do not tolerate being in the same house, so justice and mercy are in the same soul.

There is a good saying: "Demanding your rights is a matter of truth, sacrificing them is a matter of love." God's truth is only where there is love. Where there is no love, there is no truth. If I say to a person with an ugly appearance that he is a freak, then formally I will be right. But God's truth will not be in my words. Why? Because there is no love, no compassion. That is, the truth of God and the truth of man are often completely different things. Without love, there is no truth, even if everything looks quite fair. And, conversely, where there is not even justice, but there is real love, condescending to the shortcomings of the neighbor, showing patience, there is true truth. St. Isaac the Syrian cites God Himself as an example: “Do not call God just, for His justice is not known in your deeds. more than that, He is good and gracious. For he says: There is good to the evil and the ungodly (Luke 6:35). The Lord Jesus Christ, being a righteous man, suffered for the unrighteous and prayed from the Cross: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Here, it turns out, for what kind of truth one can and should really suffer - for love for a person, for truth, for God. Only in this case, those persecuted for the truth will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

Many Jews came to listen and be healed by Jesus. Many people were weak and sick, they wanted to touch Him, His garments, at least to the edge, because they believed that if they touched, they would be healed. Jesus, seeing this multitude, decided, together with his disciples, to climb the mountain near the Lake of Galilee. There He sat down and began to teach the people.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ pointed out what Christians should be like - they should be His disciples and should bear the commandments of beatitude. Further, His teaching was about the Providence of God, that one cannot condemn - one must forgive, love one's neighbor. It was also said about almsgiving and the need for good deeds.

Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ

Bliss commandments.

Jesus Christ shows us through what ways and deeds we can enter the Kingdom of God. To all who will fulfill His commandments, Jesus promises eternal bliss, that is, great joy, eternal life in the future.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they reproach you and persecute you and slander you in every way unrighteously for me.

Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

(Matthew 5:3-12)

Blessed are the poor in spirit- the humble, who feel their shortcomings and are aware of their sins, understand that without God they cannot live and do a good deed.

crying- from their sins, about shortcomings in the soul. The Lord forgives our sins here on earth and comforts us.

meek- patiently endure all adversity, grief, do not get angry with anyone, give the situation into the hands of the Lord.

Hungry and thirsty- those who want to see the truth that receives in the word of God, who are thirsty for cleansing from sins and to be led by God. And they will be justified - they will be satisfied.

Gracious- people with a good heart, merciful, ready to help, such people will be pardoned themselves.

Pure in heart- Christians who take care of their hearts, purify their soul, protecting it from bad deeds and thoughts.

peacekeepers– Jesus commands to live in peace, friendliness and trying on others.

Exiled for the truth- Christians who live according to the word, the law of God, who endure all sorts of persecutions and disasters for him.

Do not be sad if they persecute you for the Word of God and slander you, the reward for this will be great - a particularly high degree of bliss.

25 Therefore I say to you, worry not for your soul what you should eat or drink, nor for your body what you should wear. Is not the soul more than food, and the body more than clothes?

26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you much better than them?

27. And who among you, by taking care, can add even one cubit to his stature?

28. And what do you care about clothes? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: neither toil nor spin;

29 But I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory did not dress like one of them;

30. But if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow will be thrown into the oven, God so dresses, how much more than you, you of little faith!

31. So worry not, and say, What shall we eat? or what to drink? Or what to wear?

32. because the Gentiles are looking for all this, and because your Heavenly Father knows that you need all this.

33. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you.

(St. Matthew 6:25-33)

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said that God cares (provides) about man. He provides His help in everything that benefits us and that is necessary in life.

About not condemning your neighbor.

1. Do not judge, so that you will not be judged,

2. For by what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you use, it will be measured to you again.

3. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not feel the beam in your eye?

4. Or how will you say to your brother: “Give me, I will take the speck out of your eye,” but, behold, there is a log in your eye?

5. Hypocrite! first take the log out of your eye, and then you will see how to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

(St. Matthew 7:1-5)

Jesus did not order to condemn others, because with what coin you judge, such will you be judged, be indulgent, and God will be merciful to you at his judgment. Look for sin in yourself, destroy it, and do not search for such in others, we are all not perfect, but with God we can do more.

About forgiveness.

14. For if you forgive people their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you,

15. But if you do not forgive people their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.

(St. Matthew 6:14,15)

About love for your neighbor.

43. You heard what was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

44. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you,

45. May you be sons of your Father in Heaven, for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

46. ​​For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Do not the publicans do the same?

47. And if you greet only your brothers, what do you do especially? Don't the pagans do the same?

48. Therefore, be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.

(St. Matthew 5:43-48)

Jesus commanded to love not only those close to you, because they are easy to love, but also your enemies. If we do good and give love only to relatives and friends, then why should God reward us? God wants us to take an example from His Son Jesus Christ.

General rule of dealing with neighbors.

12. Therefore, in everything you want people to do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

(St. Matthew 7:12)

Do to people what you want for yourself, I think everyone wants to be loved and pitied, forgiven, so do it with your neighbor.

On the power of prayer

If we pray according to the word of God, with faith, diligence, we will receive everything that will help us for good.

7. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you;

8. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

9. Is there a man among you who, when his son asks him for bread, would give him a stone?

10. And when he asks for a fish, would you give him a snake?

11. If then, being evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.

(Holy Gospel of Matthew 7:7-11)

About mercy.

1. Be careful not to do your charity in front of people so that they can see you: otherwise you will not be rewarded from your Heavenly Father.

2. Therefore, when you do alms, do not blow your trumpets before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that people may glorify them. I tell you truly, they already receive their reward.

3. With you, when you do alms, let your left hand not know what your right hand is doing,

4. that your charity be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.

(St. Matthew 6:1-4)

We must do all good deeds in the name of love for God, neighbor and His glorification, not for the sake of praise or for show. Do not boast of goodness even to yourself, forget about it, the main thing is that God remembers it.

On the need for good deeds.

22. Many will say to Me in that day: Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Your name? and did they not cast out demons in your name? and did not many miracles work in your name?

23. And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.

24. Therefore, whoever hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock;

25. And the rain came down, and the rivers flooded, and the winds blew, and rushed against that house, and it did not fall, because it was founded on a stone.

26. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand;

27. And the rain came down, and the rivers flooded, and the winds blew, and attacked that house; and he fell, and his fall was great.

(Holy Gospel of Matthew 7:22-27)

Jesus said that in order to enter the Kingdom of God, it is not enough just to be kind and think good things, good deeds are also needed.

The parable of the prudent builder teaches us on what basis we need to live and build our lives, so that in time of trouble we see the obvious privilege of living with God.

I want to dwell on the prayer of the Our Father. This is the only prayer that Jesus gave to his disciples as an example, showing with it all the greatness and power of our Father, His mercy and goodness towards us. Pray this prayer, learn it by heart.

9. Pray like this: Our Father who art in heaven! hallowed be thy name;

10. Thy kingdom come; may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

11. give us our daily bread for this day;

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;

13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

(Holy Gospel of Matthew 6:9-13)

Blessings to you my dear readers, I pray for you!

Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy
Law of God

New Testament

Sermon on the Mount

After the election of the apostles, Jesus Christ descended with them from the top of the mountain and stood on level ground. Here His numerous disciples were waiting for Him and a great crowd of people gathered from all over the Jewish land and from neighboring places. They came to listen to Him and receive healing from their diseases. Everyone sought to touch the Savior, because power emanated from Him and healed everyone.

Seeing before Him a multitude of people, Jesus Christ, surrounded by His disciples, went up to the hill and sat down to teach the people.

First, the Lord indicated what His disciples, that is, all Christians, should be like. How they must fulfill the law of God in order to receive a blessed (that is, in the highest degree joyful, happy), eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. For this he gave nine beatitudes. Then the Lord gave teachings about the Providence of God, about not judging others, about the power of prayer, about almsgiving, and about many other things. This sermon of Jesus Christ is called upland.

So, on a clear spring day, with a quiet breath of coolness from the Lake of Galilee, on the slopes of a mountain covered with greenery and flowers, the Savior gives people the New Testament law of love.

In the Old Testament, the Lord gave the Law in the barren wilderness, on Mount Sinai. Then a formidable, dark cloud covered the top of the mountain, thunder rumbled, lightning flashed and a trumpet sounded. No one dared to approach the mountain, except for the prophet Moses, to whom the Lord handed over the Ten Commandments of the Law.

Now the Lord is surrounded by a dense crowd of people. Everyone is trying to come closer to Him and touch, at least to the edge of His clothes, in order to receive grace-filled power from Him. And no one leaves Him without consolation.

The Old Testament law is the law of strict truth, and the New Testament law of Christ is the law of Divine love and grace, which gives people the power to fulfill God's Law. Jesus Christ Himself said, "I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it" (Matt. 5 , 17).

THE COMMANDMENTS OF BLESS

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, as a loving Father, shows us the ways or works through which people can enter the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. To all who will fulfill His instructions or commandments, Christ promises, as the King of heaven and earth, eternal bliss(great joy, supreme happiness) in the future, eternal life. That's why he calls these people blessed, i.e. the happiest.

Poor in spirit- these are people who feel and recognize their sins and shortcomings of the soul. They remember that without God's help they themselves cannot do anything good, and therefore they do not boast and are not proud of anything, neither before God, nor before people. These are humble people.

crying- people who mourn and cry about their sins and spiritual shortcomings. The Lord will forgive their sins. He gives them comfort here on earth, and eternal joy in heaven.

meek- people who patiently endure all sorts of misfortunes, without being upset (without grumbling) at God, and humbly endure all sorts of troubles and insults from people, without getting angry at anyone. They will receive a heavenly dwelling in their possession, that is, a new (renewed) earth in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Hungry and thirsty for the truth- people who zealously desire the truth, like hungry (hungry) - bread and thirsty - water, they ask God to cleanse them from sins and help them live righteously (they want to be justified before God). The desire of such people will be fulfilled, they will be satisfied, that is, they will be justified.

Gracious- people with a good heart - merciful, compassionate to everyone, always ready to help those in need in any way they can. Such people will themselves be pardoned by God, they will be shown the special mercy of God .

Pure in heart- people who not only protect themselves from bad deeds, but also try to make their soul pure, that is, keep it from bad thoughts and desires. They are close to God even here (they always feel Him with their soul), but in the future life, in the Kingdom of Heaven, they will forever be with God, see Him.

peacekeepers- people who do not like any quarrels. They themselves try to live peacefully and friendly with everyone and to reconcile others with each other. They are likened to the Son of God, who came to earth to reconcile sinful man with the justice of God. Such people will be called sons, that is, children of God, and will be especially close to God.

Exiled for the truth- people who so love to live in truth, that is, according to God's law, in justice, that they endure and endure all kinds of persecution, deprivation and calamity for this truth, but do not change it in any way. For this they will receive the Kingdom of Heaven.

Here the Lord says: if you are reviled (mocked at you, scolded, dishonored you), applied and falsely speak evil of you (slander, unfairly accused), and you endure all this for your faith in Me, then do not be sad, but rejoice and be glad, because the greatest, greatest reward in heaven awaits you, that is, a particularly high degree of eternal bliss.

ABOUT THE PROVISION OF GOD

Jesus Christ taught that God provides, that is, takes care of all creatures, but especially provides for people. The Lord takes care of us more and better than the kindest and most sensible father takes care of his children. He gives us His help in everything that is necessary in our life and that serves our true benefit.

"Do not worry (unnecessarily) about what you eat and what you drink, or what you wear," said the Savior. "Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into a barn, and your Heavenly Father feeds them; but are you not much better than them? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, nor spin. But I tell you that Solomon, in all his glory, was not dressed like any of them, but if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow will be thrown into the oven, God dresses like that, how much more you, you of little faith! your Heavenly One knows that you have need of all this. Therefore, seek first of all the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

ABOUT NON-JUDGING YOUR NEIGHBOR

Jesus Christ did not command to condemn other people. He said this: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned. the judgment will be merciful to you.) And with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you again. : why do you like to notice even minor sins and shortcomings in others, but do not want to see big sins and vices in yourself?) Or, as you say to your brother: let me take the speck out of your eye; but, behold, there is a log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye (try first of all to correct yourself), and then you will see how to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (then you will be able to correct the sin in another without offending or humiliating him).

ABOUT FORGIVENING YOUR NEIGHBOR

"Forgive and you will be forgiven," said Jesus Christ. "For if you forgive people their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive people their trespasses, then your Father will not forgive you your trespasses."

ABOUT LOVE TO THE NEAR

Jesus Christ commanded us to love not only our loved ones, but all people, even those who offended us and harmed us, that is, our enemies. He said: “You heard what was said (by your teachers, the scribes and Pharisees): love your neighbor and hate your enemy. that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

If you only love those who love you; or will you do good only to those who do it to you, and will lend only to those from whom you hope to receive back, for what should God reward you? Don't lawless people do the same? Don't the pagans do the same?

So be merciful, as your Father is merciful, be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect?

THE GENERAL RULE FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEIGHBORS

How should we always treat our neighbors, in any case, Jesus Christ gave us this rule: "in everything, as you want people to do with you (and we, of course, want all people to love us" did to us good and forgave us), so do you also with them. "(Do not do to others what you do not wish for yourself).

ON THE POWER OF PRAYER

If we earnestly pray to God and ask for His help, then God will do everything that will serve our true benefit. Jesus Christ said this about it: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you; for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If he asks him for bread, would he give him a stone? And when he asks for a fish, would he give him a snake? If then, being evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him."

ABOUT ALMS

We must do every good deed not out of boasting before people, not for display to others, not for the sake of human reward, but for the sake of love for God and neighbor. Jesus Christ said: “Look, do not do your alms before people so that they see you; otherwise you will not be rewarded from your Heavenly Father. as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that people glorify them. Truly I say to you, they already receive their reward. With you, when you give alms, let your left hand not know what your right hand is doing (i.e., yourself in front of you do not boast of the good that you have done, forget about it), so that your alms may be in secret, and your Father, who sees the secret (that is, everything that is in your soul and for the sake of which you do all this), will reward you openly "- if not now, then at His last judgment.

ON THE NEED FOR GOOD WORKS

So that people know that only good feelings and desires are not enough to enter the Kingdom of God, but good deeds are necessary, Jesus Christ said: "Not everyone who says to Me: Lord! Lord! - will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who the will (commandments) of my Heavenly Father", that is, it is not enough to be only a believer and pilgrimage, but we must also do those good deeds that the Lord requires of us.

When Jesus Christ finished His preaching, the people marveled at His teaching, because He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes and Pharisees taught. When He came down from the mountain, many people followed Him, and He, in His mercy, performed great miracles.

NOTE: See in the Gospel of Matthew chapters - 5, 6 and 7, from Luke, ch. 6:12-41.

Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 3

After the twelve apostles were chosen, Christ descended from the top of the mountain. Here He was expected by a multitude of people from Jerusalem, Judea, and the seaside cities of Tire and Sidon. People came to listen to the Divine Teacher and be healed of their ailments.

Surrounded by his disciples, the Savior began to speak to the people about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. He indicated what his disciples, that is, all Christians, should be like. How they must fulfill the Law of God in order to receive a blessed, eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Then the Lord taught the doctrine of Divine Providence, non-judgment and forgiveness of neighbors, the power of prayer, almsgiving, love for enemies and fulfillment of commandments. This sermon of Jesus Christ is called the Sermon on the Mount.
In the Old Testament, God gave the Law to people in the barren wilderness. Then a formidable, dark cloud covered the top of Mount Sinai. Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and trumpets sounded. No one dared to approach the mountain, except for the prophet Moses, to whom the Lord handed over the Ten Commandments of the Law.

Now, on a clear spring day, with a quiet breath of coolness from the Lake of Galilee, on the slopes of a mountain covered with greenery and flowers, the Savior was surrounded by a close crowd of people. Everyone tried to come closer to Him and touch at least the edge of His clothes in order to receive grace-filled power from Him. And no one left without consolation.

The Old Testament law is the law of strict truth, and the New Testament law of Christ is the law of Divine love and grace. The Lord Jesus Christ shows people the way by which they can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. As the King of heaven and earth, He promises them eternal bliss in the future eternal life. Therefore, the Savior calls such people blessed, that is, the happiest.

The Lord says: "". With these words, Christ proclaimed to mankind a completely new truth. To enter the Kingdom of Heaven, it is necessary to realize that in this world a person has nothing of his own. His whole life is in the hands of God. Health, strength, ability - everything is a gift from God.
Spiritual poverty is called humility. Without humility it is impossible to turn to God, no Christian virtue is possible. Only it opens the human heart to the perception of Divine grace.
Physical poverty can also serve spiritual perfection, if a person chooses it voluntarily, for God's sake. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said this in the Gospel to one rich young man: ""
The young man did not find the strength in himself to follow Christ, since he could not part with earthly wealth. However, many Christians, from the first days of the founding of the Church of Christ to our time, acted according to the word of the Savior and were awarded a heavenly reward.

Rich people can also be poor in spirit. If a person understands that earthly wealth is perishable and transient, then his heart will not depend on earthly treasures. And then nothing will prevent the rich man from striving for the acquisition of spiritual goods, for the acquisition of virtues and perfection.

The Lord promises the poor in spirit a great reward - the Kingdom of Heaven.
" ", - the Savior continued to teach the people. Speaking of weeping, Christ meant repentant tears and sorrow of the heart for the sins committed by man. "" says the apostle Paul.

The Lord will console those who weep over their sins, grant them blessed peace. Their sorrow will be replaced by eternal joy, eternal bliss.

" ", - the Savior continued to speak to the assembled people. Meekness is a calm, complete Christian love the state of the human spirit. A meek person never grumbles either against God or against people. He always regrets the cruelty of the hearts of those who offended him and prays for their correction.

The greatest example of meekness and humility was shown to the world by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when, crucified on the Cross, He prayed for His enemies.
Meekness conquers even the most cruel hearts of people. An example of this is the countless persecution of Christians. Those whom the fury of the pagans sought to wipe off the face of the earth, by patience and meekness defeated their tormentors. Their faith enlightened the entire universe.

The Savior promises the meek that they will inherit the earth. The Lord keeps them in earthly life, and in the future life they will become the heirs of the Heavenly Fatherland - the New Earth with its endless blessings.

Prof. Duluman E.K.

"Essays on Orthodox Culture - OPK"]

Christian doctrine and morality in its self-awareness is, as it were, the highest level of the biblical, actually Jewish, world outlook. They (Christian dogma and morality) seem to continue Judaism and at the same time, as it were, oppose themselves to it. This can be observed in all parameters of the historical and logical comparison of Christianity with Judaism, or, as it is customary to say in theological circles, the biblical Old Testament and the biblical New Testament. Let us turn to the moral teaching of evangelical Christianity.

The core of Old Testament morality was set forth by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. Hence it is also called the Sinai legislation. The core of New Testament morality is set forth by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, also on the mountain. Hence it is called the Sermon on the Mount of Christ. The core of all Sinai legislation is the Ten Commandments of Moses (Decalogue). The heart of Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount is the Nine Beatitudes.

It would be wrong, as is often done by ignorant believers and theologians, to reduce all the Old Testament moral teaching to the Decalogue, and the New Testament to the Beatitudes. Moses, according to the Old Testament, on behalf of God offered the Jews, according to the calculations of the Talmudists, 613 commandments (365 - by the number of days in a year - prohibitions and 248 - by the number of bones and cartilage in the human body - prescriptions), and Christ outlined his moral teaching, according to the estimates of Christian theologians, in many of his sermons, 40 parables and confirmed by 38 miracles. The Evangelist John reports that if everything said by Jesus Christ “were to be described in detail, I think that even the world itself could not contain the books that were written” (John 21:25).

The most complete and detailed moral teaching of the gospel Jesus Christ is set forth in chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew. It can be assumed that the main elements of the Sermon on the Mount were repeated by Jesus Christ, interpreted by his apostles and disciples in other writings of the New Testament. So, in the Gospel of Luke, the Beatitudes of Jesus Christ proper are transmitted in a different presentation and under different circumstances. Let us first read the text of the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew.

After being baptized in the Jordan River, after forty days in the wilderness and being tempted by Satan, Jesus Christ " went to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he came and settled in Capernaum by the sea"(Matthew, 4: 12-13) that on the shore of the Tiberias (Galilee) lake (sea). Here he begins his preaching exclusively among the Jews, chooses 12 disciples (apostles). " And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness, every infirmity among the people. And the news about him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all the weak, possessed by various diseases and seizures, and demon-possessed, and lunatics, and paralyzed, and He healed them. And a multitude of people followed Him from Galilee and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan(4:23-25).

Seeing the people, He went up the mountain; and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying (5:1-2):

(according to the gospel of Matthew)

Who is blessed?

2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

9. Blessed are you when they reproach you and persecute you and slander you in every way unrighteously for me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: so they persecuted [and] the prophets who were before you.

(Gospel of Matthew, 5:2-12)

Beatitudes

I. Who is blessed?

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for yours is the Kingdom of God.

2. Blessed are those who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.

3. Blessed are those who weep now, for you will laugh.

4. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they excommunicate you and revile you and carry your name as dishonorable for the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven. This is what their fathers did to the prophets.

II. Who is threatened by grief?

Against,

1. Woe to you rich! for you have already received your consolation.

2. Woe to you who are now satiated! for you will cry.

3. Woe to you who laugh now! for you will weep and wail.

4. Woe to you when all people speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

(According to the Gospel of Matthew)

I. You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world :

1. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its potency, how will you make it salty? She is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled by people.

2. You are the light of the world. A city on top of a mountain cannot hide. And having lighted a candle, they do not put it under a vessel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to all in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.

II. Don't Break the Laws

and the instructions of the prophets of the Old Testament :

3. Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law until all is fulfilled. So, whoever breaks one of these least commandments and teaches people so, he will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever does and teaches, he will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

III. The Christian must transcend

Old Testament righteousness :

You have heard what the ancients said:

4. Do not kill, whoever kills is subject to judgment. And I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother in vain will be subject to judgment.

5 .Whoever says to his brother: "cancer" (simple), is subject to the Sanhedrin. And I tell you that anyone who says against his brother: "insane" (fool), is subject to hell fire.

6 If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, then leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Reconcile with your opponent quickly, while you have not yet quarreled with him, so that your opponent does not hand you over to the judge, and the judge does not hand you over to a servant, and plunge you into prison. But you you won’t get out of there until you give it back to the last penny (the last penny - E.D.).

8. You have heard what the ancients said: do not commit adultery. And I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 9. But if your right eye offends you, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish, and not your whole body be cast into hell. And if your right hand offends you, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish, and not your whole body be cast into hell.

10. It is also said that if a man divorces his wife, let her give her a divorce. And I tell you: whoever divorces his wife, except for the guilt of adultery, he gives her a reason to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

11. You also heard what was said of the ancients: do not break your oath, but fulfill your oaths before the Lord. And I tell you: do not swear at all: neither by heaven, because it is the throne of God; nor the earth, for it is His footstool; nor Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King; do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. But let your word be: yes, yes; no no; and what is more than this is from the evil one.

12. You have heard it said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And I tell you: Resist not evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; and whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your coat as well; and whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go two mile with him. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

13. You heard what was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. And I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven, for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Do not the publicans do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what special thing do you do? Don't the pagans do the same?

So, be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

IV. Do charity in secret.

Be careful not to do your alms before people so that they can see you: otherwise you will not be rewarded from your Heavenly Father. Therefore, when you do almsgiving, do not blow your trumpets before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that people may glorify them. I tell you truly, they already receive their reward. With you, when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.

V. How to Pray

And when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love in synagogues and on street corners, stopping to pray in order to appear before people. I tell you truly, they already receive their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your closet, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. And while praying, do not say too much, like the pagans, for they think that in their verbosity they will be heard; do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Pray like this:

Our Father who art in heaven!

I.D but hallowed be thy name;

2. let your kingdom come;

3. may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

4. give us our daily bread this day;

5. and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;

6. and lead us not into temptation,

7. but deliver us from the evil one.

VI. Forgive people for their sins.

For if you forgive people their trespasses, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their trespasses, then your Father will not forgive you your trespasses.

VII. Fast without discouragement.

Also, when you fast, do not be despondent like the hypocrites, for they take on gloomy faces in order to appear to people who are fasting. I tell you truly, they already receive their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may appear to those who are fasting, not before people, but before your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.

VII. One cannot serve God and mammon.

1. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and do not steal, for where your treasure is, there it will be. and your heart.

2. The lamp for the body is the eye. So if your eye is clear, then your whole body will be bright; but if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. So if the light that is in you is darkness, then what is the darkness?

3. No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other.

4. You cannot serve God and mammon.

VII. Don't worry about tomorrow .

1. Therefore I say to you: worry not for your soul what you should eat or drink, nor for your body what you should wear. Is not the soul more than food, and the body more than clothes?

2. Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you much better than them?

3. Yes, and which of you, taking care, can add one cubit to his stature?

4. And what do you care about clothes? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: neither toil nor spin; but I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like any of them; But if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow will be thrown into the oven, God dresses like this, how much more than you, you of little faith!

5.So, do not worry and do not say: what shall we eat? or what to drink? Or what to wear? because the Gentiles are looking for all this, and because your Heavenly Father knows that you need all this.

6. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you.

7.So, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow [itself] will take care of its own: enough for [each] day of its care.

IX. Judge not, lest you be judged.

Judge not, lest you be judged, for by what judgment you judge, [by such] you will be judged; and with what measure you use, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not feel the beam in your eye? Or how will you say to your brother: “Give me, I will take the speck out of your eye,” but, behold, there is a log in your eye? Hypocrite! first take the log out of your eye, and then you will see [how] to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

X. Shrine is not for dogs, pearls are not for pigs.

Do not give holy things to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample it under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.

XI. Ask, seek, knock.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Is there a man among you who, when his son asks him for bread, would give him a stone? and when he asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? So, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.

So, in everything you want people to do to you, so do you to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

XIII. Choose the strait gate and the narrow path.

Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go through it; for narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

XIV. Beware of false prophets - wolves in sheep's clothing.

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do they gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.

XV. Listen to my words and do them.

Not everyone who says to Me: “Lord, Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Your name? and did they not cast out demons in your name? and did not many miracles work in your name? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. So whoever hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain fell, and the rivers flooded, and the winds blew, and rushed against that house, and it did not fall, because it was founded on a stone. And whoever hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand; and the rain came down, and the rivers flooded, and the winds blew, and fell upon that house; and he fell, and his fall was great.

And when Jesus finished these words, the people marveled at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as scribes and Pharisees.

Continuation of Christ's Sermon on the Mount

(According to the Gospel of Luke)

I. Instructions to the Followers of Christ :

But to you who hear, I say:

1. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.

2. Offer the other to the one who slaps you on the cheek, and do not prevent the one who takes your coat from you to take your shirt.

3. To everyone who asks of you, give, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand back.

4 .And as you want people to do to you, so do you to them.

5. And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? for even sinners love those who love them.

6. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? for sinners do the same.

7. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what thanks do you have for that? for even sinners lend to sinners in order to get back the same amount.

8. But you love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

9. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you: good measure, shaken together, shaken together, and overflowing, they will pour into your bosom; for with what measure you mete, it will be measured to you again.

So be merciful, as your Father is merciful

2. He also said to them in parables:

1. Can the blind lead the blind? will they not both fall into the pit?

2. The student is not higher than his teacher; but even when perfected, everyone will be like his teacher.

3. Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not feel the beam in your eye? Or, how can you say to your brother: brother! let me take the speck out of your eye, when you yourself don't see the log in your eye? Hypocrite! first take the log out of your eye, and then you will see how to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

4. There is no good tree that bears bad fruit; and there is no bad tree that bears good fruit, for every tree is known by its fruit, because they do not gather figs from the thorn bush and do not pick grapes from the bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and evil person out of the evil treasure of his heart he brings forth evil, for out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks.

5. Why are you calling me: Lord! God! - and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will tell you to whom he is like. He is like a man who builds a house, who dug, deepened, and laid his foundation upon the rock; why, when there was a flood and the water rushed over this house, it could not shake it, because it was built on a stone. And he who hears and does not do is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, which, when the water came down on him, immediately collapsed; and the destruction of this house was great.

When He finished all His words to the listening people, He entered Capernaum.

(Luke 6:27 - 7:1)

"Blessed" - so translated into Church Slavonic Greek word Makarios means happy. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato considered “Bliss”, “Good” to be the highest Idea and identified it with God.

In the ancient lists of the New Testament it was written: "Blessed are the poor." The expression "poor in spirit" was inserted later - somewhere in the 5th-6th century, after the canonization of the text of the Bible.

The Gospel of Luke says that after settling in Capernaum, Christ begins to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God and heals the sick. People flock to him. “In those days He ascended the mountain to pray, and remained all night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he named apostles” (Luke 6:12-13). And descending with them, he became on level ground(The Gospel of Matthew says that Christ " climbed the mountain, and not “came down from the mountain” and did not “stand on level ground” _E.D.) and a multitude of His disciples, and many people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seaside places of Tire and Sidon, who came to listen to Him and be healed of their diseases also those suffering from unclean spirits; and were healed. And all the people sought to touch Him, because power came from Him and healed everyone. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and spoke” (Luke 6:17-20).

The Holy Scripture of the Jewish religion (the Old Testament part of the Christian Bible) is divided into three parts: the Law (in Hebrew - the Torah, which includes the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), the Prophets (books written by the prophets) and the Scriptures (books instructive and liturgical). Here Jesus Christ speaks of the need to accurately and completely fulfill all the prescriptions that are set forth in the Torah (in the Law) and in the prophetic books of the Old Testament.

Gehenna is a garbage pit in which sewage was burned near Jerusalem. In the mouth of the gospel Jesus Christ, Gehenna means hell boiling with stinking tar, in which sinners are tortured (Matthew, 18:9; Mark, 9:14; Luke, 12:5).

More extensively about self-mutilation in the name of heavenly bliss, Christ says this: “And if your hand offends you, cut it off: it is better for you maimed to enter into life than with two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die and the fire does not fading away. And if your foot offends you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life lame, than with two feet to be cast into hell, into unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. And if your eye offends you, pluck it out: it is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye, than with two eyes to be cast into hellfire, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:43-48). Jesus Christ advises the most courageous to castrate themselves in the name of the Kingdom of Heaven. About this in the Gospel of Matthew it is written as follows: “And the Pharisees came to Him and, tempting Him, said to Him: Is it permissible for a man to divorce his wife for any reason? He answered and said to them: Have you not read that He who created male and female in the first place created them? And he said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. So what God has joined together, let no man separate. They say to Him: how did Moses command to give a bill of divorce and divorce her? He says to them: Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to divorce your wives, but at first it was not so; but I tell you : whoever divorces his wife not for adultery and marries another, [he] commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. His disciples say to him: if such is the duty of a man to his wife, then it is better not to marry. He said to them: not all can accommodate this word, but to whom it is given, for there are eunuchs who were born like this from the womb of their mother; and there are eunuchs who are castrated out of men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever is able to contain, let him contain” (Matthew 19:3-12).

Christian theologians in their interpretations of the prayer proposed by Jesus Christ call it the Lord's Prayer and distinguish three components in it: 1. Appeal to God; 2. Seven petitions and 3. Final praise of God.

The gospel Jesus Christ repeated the commandment to forgive the sins of others several times. “Then Peter came to Him and said, Lord! how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? up to seven times? Jesus says to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). It is not difficult to calculate that a believing Christian during one day must forgive the same criminal 490 of his sins.

Having begun to preach the Heavenly Beatitudes, Christ and his disciples led a vagabond life. speaking modern language were homeless. Jesus Christ complained to one of the scribes: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but I have nowhere to lay my head” (Matthew 8:20). The lifestyle of homeless people is also offered to all Christians: “And one of the leaders asked Him: Good teacher! what should I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him: why do you call me good? none is good but God alone; you know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother. And he said, All this I have kept from my youth. When Jesus heard this, he said to him: There is one more thing you lack: sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was saddened, because he was very rich. Jesus, seeing that he was sad, said: How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:18-25).

Christian theologians inspire believers that Christ marked the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind. In religious terms, this is the atonement for the sins of all people. Christ overcame death, opened the gates of heaven for those who believe in him. With Jesus Christ, a new era begins for mankind and life according to the new, Christian, moral precepts. Among these commandments, according to the theologians, the greatest and newest is the commandment of love. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another,” said Christ (John 13:34). And again: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39) But in his lofty expression, Jesus Christ prosaically repeated himself. The commandment to love from all sides was not new at the time of its utterance by the gospel Jesus Christ. Love for each other is also inherent in animals, in the environment of which man was formed. The oldest, in my opinion, the first, works of art speak of love. The object of this love was a woman, the first image of which is presented in a stone statue of the "Windsor Venus", made 30 thousand years ago. In all ancient, ancient and modern religion in one form or another, the commandment to love each other is inherent. In the religion of the Greco-Roman pantheon there was a whole bunch of gods of love: here are Cupid with Amurchik, and Venus with Hera, and Aphrodite with Juno, and the loving Zeus who abducted Europe ... Christian apologists say that Christ's commandment about love was new compared to the commandments of the Old covenant. But it's not. The Old Testament speaks of love for one another. "Do not be at enmity against your brother in your heart ... Do not take revenge and do not bear malice against the sons of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself, says in Leviticus 19:17-18. As for the commandment: in everything, as you want people to do to you, so do you to them. then this commandment is eternally inherent in all moral codes, including the codes of all religions: Vedism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism ... To the question of his student: "Is it possible to be guided by one word all your life?" Confucius (551 - 479 BC) replied: "The word is reciprocity: don't do to others what you don't want yourself to do". Speaking of a primitive society in which there was a war of all against all, the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) wrote that in society everyone “should be content with such a degree of freedom in relation to other people, which he would allow in relation to himself "(Leviathan, ch. XIV). The basic and universal rule of morality, later called golden, is the following: "do not do to others what you would not want to be done in relation to you" (Leviathan, ch. XV).

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