Theophylact Bulgarian. Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 18: 1. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and said: Who is greater in the Kingdom of Heaven?
Since they saw that Peter was honored by Christ (he was honored by the fact that he received the command to give a statyr for Christ and for himself), therefore they experienced something human and, devoured by envy, approached the side, asking the Lord: 'who is more?' ...
Matthew 18: 2. Jesus called a child and set him in the midst of them
Matthew 18: 3. And he said: Truly I say to you, if you do not turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18: 4. so, he who diminishes, like this child, the same is more in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Seeing that the passion of ambition seizes the disciples, the Lord restrains them, showing them through a humble child the way of humility. For we should be children by humility of spirit, but not by childhood of thinking, by gentleness, but not by foolishness. By saying, “if you don’t turn,” he showed that they had passed from humility to ambition. So, you must return there again, that is, to humility, from which you have turned away.
Matthew 18: 5. and whoever receives one such child in my name receives me;
Matthew 18: 6. but whoever seduces one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him if they hung a millstone around his neck and drowned him in the depths nautical.
You, he says, not only must be humble, but if you honor other humble ones for my sake, you will receive a reward, for you will receive Me when you receive children, that is, humble ones. Then, and vice versa, he says: “whoever seduces - that is, offends - one of these little ones,” that is, of those who humiliate and humble themselves, even if they were great, “it would be better for him if they hung a millstone on the neck'. He clearly points out sensitive punishment, wishing to show that much torment will be endured by those who offend and seduce the humble in Christ. But you must understand that if someone seduces a really small, that is, a weak one, and does not raise him in every way, he will be punished, for an adult is not so easily seduced as a small one.
Matthew 18: 7. Woe to the world from temptations: for temptations must come; but woe to the person through whom the temptation comes.
As a philanthropist, the Lord mourns the world because he will suffer harm from temptations. But someone will say: why is it necessary to mourn when it is necessary to help and lend a hand? We will say that mourning someone is also help. For it can often be seen that to those to whom our admonition did not bring any benefit, we benefit by mourning them, and they come to their senses. And if the Lord says that temptations must necessarily come, then how can we to avoid? They need to come, but there is no need for us to perish, since there is an opportunity to resist temptations. Under the temptations of the minds of people who hinder in goodness, under the world - people who are dolny and creeping on the earth, whom it is easy to keep from doing good.
Matthew 18: 8. If your hand or your foot tempts you, cut them off and throw them away from you: it is better for you to enter life without an arm or without a leg, than with two hands and with two legs to be thrown into the eternal fire;
Matthew 18: 9. and if your eye tempts you, pluck it out and cast it away from you: it is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to be thrown into fiery hell with two eyes.
Under the hand, foot and eye of the minds of the friends whom we have among the members. So, if such, that is, close friends, turned out to be harmful to us, then we should despise them like rotten limbs, and cut them off so that they do not harm others. So it is clear from this that if there is a need for temptations to come, that is, harmful people, then there is no need for us to be spoiled. For if we act as the Lord said, and we cut off from ourselves those who harm us, even if they were friends, then we will not suffer harm.
Matthew 18:10. See that you despise not one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father Heavenly.
Matthew 18:11. For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.
Commands not to humiliate those who are considered small, that is, the poor in spirit, but great with God. For, he says, they are so loved by God that they have angels as their protectors, so that the demons do not harm them. Each of the believers, or rather all of us, people, have angels. But the angels of the small and humble in Christ are so close to God that they constantly contemplate His face, standing before Him. Hence it is clear that although we all have angels, the angels of sinners, as if ashamed of our lack of hesitation, themselves do not have the courage to contemplate the face of God and even pray for us; the angels of the humble behold the face of God, because they have boldness. “And what do I say,” says the Lord, “that such have angels? I came to save the lost and to become close to those who are considered insignificant by many. '
