THE INCESSANT WORK1 In the last chapter, we saw how the loving ministry of the Lord Christ, was faced by opposition from all sides. Now, in the present chapter, the evangelist confirms the infinite love that filled the vastness of the Master’s heart, working incessantly, despite the equally incessant opposition. 1- Healing the man who had a withered hand 1-6. 2- His ministry through a small boat 7-11. 3- Appointing disciples to work with Him 12-19. 4- His relatives and the scribes accusing Him 20-30. 5- His mother and brothers sending for Him 31-35. 1- HEALING THE MAN WITH A WITHERED HAND The Lord Christ entered the Jewish synagogue on a Sabbath, and there, was a man with a withered hand; said by the Evangelist St. Luke, to be his right hand. They watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. That action refers to the entrance of the Lord to His own, ‘the Jewish synagogue,’ to find them with withered hands, unable to do God’s work on a Sabbath. They were afflicted with withering of their right hands, that is to say their spiritual work. If the Lord had silenced the Jews who rebuked His disciples, because they plucked heads of grain on a Sabbath (2: 23-28), presenting to them the prophet David as an example; as He entered the synagogue, He brought them to the truth, healing the man with a withered hand, so as to proclaim that, if the disciples have plucked the heads of grain, to satisfy the necessary need of their bodies, He is healing that man to let him spend the Sabbath, not in idleness, but in work for the kingdom of God. The withered hand may refer to that of the first man that was extended in rebellion, to eat from the forbidden tree, to get withered of all good deeds... It needed the advent of the Messiah, Himself “the Second Adam,” to restore it to life, through having His own hand extended and nailed on the cross, in place of the withered hand. And as expressed by St. Ambrose, [The hand that Adam extended to take from the forbidden tree, had been flooded by the Lord with the juice of salvation, rich in good deeds. So, if it were withered through sin, it would be healed through the good deeds2.] St. Mark, the Evangelist, narrates the episode of the man with the withered hand, saying, “He said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Step forward.’ And He said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they kept silent.” (s 3, 4) St. Cyril the Great, says, [Why did Christ instruct the man to do so? He was probably trying to move the emotions of the Pharisees towards Him, and to soften their hearts; as that man’s condition was painful enough to draw tears, and to quench the ember of vile and malice3.] He wanted to draw them away from the stupid arguments to the practical love. He presented them with a question that silenced them, as they would be unable to 1 Revised by Milany Salama, Holmdel, N.J., USA 2 In Luc. 6: 6-11. 25 . ترجمة المرحوم كامل جرجس، ا رجع أیضًا أقوال القدیس یوحنا الذهبي الفم: في إنجیل متى عظة 3 .40 - إنجیل لوقا: عظة 23 5 say, that it is lawful to do evil on the Sabbath, but to do good. So, it would be more fitting for Christ to show mercy, and to save a soul, in order to be able to enjoy the grace of life. And as expressed by St. Cyril the Great, [God ordered man to abstain from working on the Sabbath and He, even instructed him not to force animals to work on that day, saying, “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. You, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger, who is within your gates.’ (deutronomy5: 14) So, if God have compassion on cattle, would He not, on a Sabbath, have it on a man, afflicted by sickness, that withered his strength and will?1] By His talk with them, the Lord probably wished to heal them from the withering of their literally minds concerning the Law, before he heals the withering of the man’s hand; as they were far sicker than he was, and in much more need for the work of Christ in them. Yet He opened the door for them to be healed, without compelling them. If our withered hands through the fall of the first Adam, have been completely cured, through the work of the Second Adam; and, in the water of Baptism, we gained the new man who carries the newness of life (Rom. 6: 10), and is capable of spiritual work, we should walk in spirit, laboring incessantly, to keep from getting once more the withering of our hands. St. Paul, the apostle, says: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17) And St. Ambrose says, [You heard the words of the Lord, “Stretch out your hand;”(mark3: 5) this is the key cure! You, who think that your hand is sound, beware not to spoil it by greed, and sin; stretch it more often... Stretch it to that poor man who begs you! Stretch it to help your neighbor, and to support the widow. Stretch it to rescue the oppressed from the oppressor. The hand of king Jeroboam withered, when he stretched it out to burn incense to the idols, and restored it when he prayed to the Lord (1 Kings 13:4- 6)2.] The evangelist says: “The Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.” ( 6). They considered the word of Christ, that healed on the Sabbath, a great crime that warrants his destruction. As to the Herodians, they did not care a bit about the Sabbath, but they feared for the authority of their Roman master. They assumed that the spiritual authority proclaimed by the Lord Christ, would lead to the fall down of the dynasty of Herod the Great; despite the fact that the Lord has proclaimed in many ways that His kingdom is not of this world. Early scholars had different definitions of the ‘Herodians,’ but the most probable is that they were not a religious, nor a political group, nor representing official positions, but they were Jewish friends of Herod the Great, working on his behalf, and on that of Rome3. And some were even claiming that Herod is Christ4. Anyhow, the Herodians were, with the Roman Governor, on one side, and the Jews as a whole on the other. Yet common interest has united the Pharisees and the Herodians, despite the great animosity between the two groups. The word ‘Herod’ originally came from ‘Hero.’ But Fr. Theophlactius thinks 1 .25- إنجیل لوقا: عظة 23 2 In Luc. 6: 6–11. 2 On Gosp. hom 3. 3 New Westminster Dict. of the Bible, p 384. 4 J. Mckenzie: Dict. of the Bible, p 356. 6 that it means ‘Skin.’ So, if the Pharisees refer to hypocrisy, the Herodians refer to the lusts of the body (skin). 2- HIS MINISTRY FROM A SMALL BOAT If the Lord entered the synagogue of the Jews to cure them of the withering of their right hands, to give them the ability of spiritual work for the sake of the kingdom of God, by which they can celebrate the true Sabbath, the majority of them plotted to destroy Him. But, as it was always His custom, He did not confront evil with evil. He meekly withdrew, to preach among the strangers, in the ‘sea’ of the nations and Gentiles; The evangelist states: “But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumia and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude. When they heard how many things He was doing, they came to Him. And He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.” (s 7-9) a- The evangelist says, “Jesus withdrew.” As they intended to destroy Him, He left them, not out of fear, but to consummate His work with others. He withdrew from evil, and did not oppose it, presenting Himself as a role model for the Church, that is not afraid of death, yet does not confront evil with evil, but rather withdraw from it. He did not withdraw from evil to put an end to His missionary work, but headed to the sea, to the pagan nations, roaring like the sea, to rid them of the sweeping currents of corruption, and to grant them His exalted peace! b- The Lord came to His own, who did not receive Him. So He headed to the Gentiles, preaching them through His disciples and apostles; The evangelist says “When they heard how many things He was doing.” The Jews got the chance to enjoy the incarnated Lord Christ, a descendant of David, but they rejected Him. But the Gentiles enjoyed Him through listening to His words of preaching. It is as though, what the Lord did here was an instruction to His disciples to work among the Gentiles after His ascension. He opened the way and paved it for the disciples to walk through. Some people may raise the question, why did the Lord, as far as preaching among the Gentiles is concerned, stop at that level, leaving it to the disciple to consummate? If He had preached, and performed healing miracles among the Gentiles openly, and on a large scale, that would have given the Jews some excuse to crucify Him. So He had that missionary work postponed until after the crucifixion, to deprive the Jews of any excuse for crucifying Him. c- The Lord told His disciples that a small boat should be ready for Him; in reference to His Church, in which He is residing, that He called by the name of ‘the little flock.” “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk. 12:32). His Church is a little flock or a little boat in the middle of the world; yet, it carries Him, whom the heaven and earth could not accommodate. As the Lord transfigured in the middle of His little Church, He drew to Him many, who came to touch Him, in loving faith, to get spiritual healing, and to rid themselves of the evil spirits; according to the words of the evangelist. “For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known” (s 10,11). 7 The unclean spirits uttered the same words that St. Peter did (Mt. 16:16). But, as expressed by St. Augustine [I hear a similar confession, yet, I do not see a similar love; they embrace fear without love. Those who have the beloved, are children, but those who tremble with fear, are not. Who have the beloved, He makes them gods, but those who tremble, are confirming that they are not gods1.] 3- CHOOSING DISCIPLES TOWORKWITH HIM: The Lord working incessantly to save every soul, in His love for man, chose his disciples and apostles, to work with His Spirit, granting them the power “to heal sicknesses, and to cast out demons” ( 15). He granted them His capabilities, to work, not in their own name, but in His, and for the sake of His Kingdom. His choice of the disciples came after two things: a- He forbade the unclean spirits from bearing testimony for Him (s 11-12), even though they were telling the truth, at the time; so as not to let people trust in them, and fall under their influence. He muted the evil spirits, to grant His word to the mouths of His saintly disciples, to preach His gospel. b- St. Luke, the evangelist, stated that the Lord, before He started calling His disciples, “Went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Lk. 6:12) As representing us, He wanted to proclaim that His ministers working in truth, are chosen, not according to human mind, but to divine will. If the Lord Christ Himself - the Rock, not cut by hand, who became a great mountain, filling the whole earth (Dan. 2:35, 45) - it is fitting for us, always to seek His divine counsel, to choose ministers according to His divine heart. That was what He confirmed to us, by saying, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Lk. 10:2) So also says St. Paul: “No man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God.” (Heb.5: 4) The Lord chose Simon, and gave him the name “Peter,” that means “Rock;” and James and John, the sons of Zebedee, whom He called “Boanerges,” that is “Sons of Thunder.” The reason He changed the names of some of His disciples, was, according to St. John Chrysostom: [To make it clear that He gave the Old Covenant, changing the names of Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel; as well as giving others their names, before or since they were born, as Isaac, Samson, and those mentioned in the Book of Isaiah (8: 3), and in the Book of Hosea (1:4, 6, 9) etc.2] He called Simon ‘Cephas’ or ‘Peter,’ meaning “the Rock,” because he was privileged by a revelation by God the Father about the identity of the Son, leading him to proclaim, that He is the “Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:17). And called James and John ‘the Sons of Thunder,” as they, according to St. Ambrose3, became like those in heaven, carrying the nature of heavenly thunder; or, according to St. Gregory of Nazianzus, owing to their eloquence4. ‘Andrew’ in Greek, means “strong” or “brave,” in reference to his mature and brave association with the Lord. ‘Philip,’ means “the mouth of the lamp,” in reference to the shining light of the words of God coming out of his mouth. ‘Bartholomew’ means “the son of the one attached to the water,” probably in reference to his enjoyment of 1 On Ps. 50. 2 In loan 19: 2. 3 Ep. 22: 5. 4 On Death of his Father 24. 8 adoption to God through the water of Baptism. ‘Matthew’ means “gift,” granted to him by the Lord, not only through forgiving his sins, but also by choosing him as an apostle. ‘Thomas’’ means “depths” as he, who has the knowledge by a divine authority, enters into depths. ‘James’ the son of Alphaeus means “the learned struggler.” ‘Thadaeus’ means “watcher of the heart, or with the heart;” he, himself, is ‘Judas,’ brother of ‘James,’ both also known as the brothers of the Lord. ‘Simon’ the Canaanite, and ‘Judas’ Iscariot, the first referring to “listening, or obedience,” is related to the village of Cana of Galilee; as Judas is to his village Sychar. St. Ambrose speaks to us about the Lord’s choice of His disciples, saying, “He chose to send them to sow faith through preaching with the help of God, for the salvation of mankind in the whole world. Behold the wisdom of God. He did not choose the wise, the rich, nor the noble, but chose them from among tax-collectors and sinners, so that they would not think, that because of their power, they have drawn hearts and enjoyed salvation. He wanted to save them from getting attracted by the glamour of authority and wealth, by the victory of truth1.] St. Cyril the Great, says, [They were simple men, but they were rich in their (spiritual) work and virtues. The embers of rich Greek Philosophy have been extinguished, by the beauty of speech of St. Paul, and the wave of gospel message soared up, to cover the whole world. It would be enough to read what the Prophet Habakkuk referred to, in his rebuke of the adversaries of the apostles: “Woe to him who increases what is not his - How long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges; will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty” (Hab. 2:6). Satan has grasped all the inhabitants of the earth who are not his, and led them to prostrate to him and worship him. He boasted his greatness. Yet a few of them rose up and plundered his booties; The apostles cast their net of teaching on the captives and sinners, to get it back to God, loaded with the people of the world2.] 4- HIS RELATIVES AND THE SCRIBES ACCUSING HIM “And the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, ‘He is out of His mind.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebub,’ and, ‘By the ruler of demons He casts out demons” (s 20-22). Having called His twelve disciples, He brought them “home,” that is to say, to the ‘Church,’ to make of them His household, and to enter with them into a relation that surpasses that of flesh and blood. They did not enter alone, but the place got packed with people, “so that they could not so much as eat bread.” He opens the gates of His heavenly house, longing to embrace all in it, as beloved as brothers, and as children. As to His own people, His own flesh and blood, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, ‘He is out of His mind.’ God let us get into Him by love, yet man, in his idiocy, gets himself out of this circle of love, accusing even God of ‘being out of His mind.’ He tries to embrace man, but man thinks that he should be free of His love! It was not just His relatives, His own flesh and blood, but even some learned persons, the scribes, came down from Jerusalem, to accuse Him of having Beelzebub, and that by the ruler of demons, He casts demons. They came down from the Higher 1 In Luc 6: 12–49. 2 In Luc hom 23–24. 9 Jerusalem, and rejected the heavenly life, so their minds got corrupted, and their inner vision darkened through ignorance. Yet, in love, He revealed to them the idiocy of their thoughts, saying: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” (s 23-29). We have already presented interpretation of these phrases, in our study of the gospel according to St. Matthew, the Evangelist (12:25-32). But I should like here to stress on the following points: a- According to everyday knowledge, it is impossible to accept the claim, which Satan casts out Satan, lest his kingdom would not stand. In ordinary wars, as in home life, dissension would definitely be followed by destruction. b- Satan has taken over man and considered him his house, plundering all his energies, capabilities and gifts, to work for the kingdom of evil. That strong enemy would not get out, nor the goods he plundered would be regained, unless we first bind him. The Lord Christ came to proclaim His authority as a destroyer of that strong (man), to regain what he plundered. St. Cyril the Great, says: [By the “strong man” is meant Satan, and by his “house,” his kingdom on earth; as to his “goods,” these are people who follow the steps of Satan, their father, in their affairs and their actions. And, as we call the Saints, “sanctified vessels and consecrated garments,” so also we can call the evil ones, “the devil’s vessel and his garments,” as they partake of Him in evil and guile. Christ, the Word, entered alone the devil’s house, this earthly world, bound Satan, and delivered him “into chains of darkness” (2 Pet. 2:4). He saved ‘Levi,’ not only from being a captive in the kingdom of Satan, but to become, by his repentance, worthy of the divine blessings. Thus we learn, that repentance is the sound way towards salvation and redemption. It is said: “Look at Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 45:22)1] c- The Son of Man is ready to forgive these accusations, despite their bitterness, if these people retract from their evil ways. But if they persist on not repenting, they would be considered as blasphemers against the Holy Spirit, that is to say, as rejecters of His work, that is repentance. So they would be denied forgiveness, and would be condemned. St. Augustine says, [Indeed every sin and blasphemy are forgiven to mankind, not only what is said against the Son of Man. As long as there is no sin of unrepentant, which is addressed to the Holy Spirit, by whom the Church forgives all sins, all sins are otherwise forgiven.] 5- HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS SEND FOR HIM Having brought His disciples into a “house,” and was surrounded with a huge crowd, He wanted to proclaim, that His relationship with these people, is far more exalted than that of the flesh. He did not underestimate relationships according to the flesh, but rather proclaimed His commitment to a higher and nobler relationship. That is why, when His Mother and brothers stood outside and sent for Him, He responded by saying: “Who 1 In Luc hom 21. 10 is My mother, or My brothers?” And looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and My mother” (s 34-35). The Lord instructs us to honor our relatives according to faith, more than we do towards those according to flesh and blood. Indeed, man could be a “mother” to Jesus through preaching Him; for he would be then, as though He is delivering Him in the hearts of his listeners1. St. John Chrysostom He did not say so, to deny His mother, but rather to proclaim her honor, which is not based on her conceiving Christ, but on her enjoying every virtue2. Fr. Theophlactius Patriarch of Bulgaria He did not say ‘You are not My mother,’ but said “Who is My mother?” as though He is presenting a new concept of relating to Him, not through physical relationship by flesh and blood, but rather through doing the will of God, His Father. Don’t you see Him, in every occasion, denying relationship according to the flesh, but adding to it what is through virtue?3 St. John Chrysostom Be sure to do the will of God, in order to be a “mother” to Christ (Mk. 3: 35)4. St. Ambrose The Church is in a condition of labor, until Christ is transformed and delivered in us; Every saint who enjoys a fellowship with Christ, is as though Christ is born anew in him5. Fr. Methodosius Whoever preaches the truth, is considered, above everything a “mother” to the Lord Christ, as he “delivers” our Lord, bringing Him into the hearts of his listeners. He becomes a “mother” to Christ, as he insinuates the love of God, in the spirit of his relative, through his talk to him6. Pope Gregory (the Great) 1 Cf. Catena Aurea. 2 Cf. Catena Aurea. 3 In Matt. hom 32:11. 4 De Virginitate 4:20, Comm on Luke 10:25. 5 Symposion 8:8. 6 On Gosp. hom 3.
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