Theophylact Bulgarian. Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 24:27. for as lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man; Matthew 24:28. For where the corpse is, there the eagles will gather.
At the coming of Christ, there will be no need for an index: it will be visible to everyone, like lightning. As lightning suddenly appears and is visible to everyone, so the coming of Christ will be visible to everyone living in the world. In the second coming it will not be so as in the first, when the Lord moved from place to place: then He will appear in a moment. And as predatory eagles immediately flock to the corpse, so where Christ will be, all the saints will come, soaring at the height of virtue; they, like eagles, will ascend into the clouds. The corpse here means Christ, since He died. And Simeon says about Him: 'This one lies to fall.'
Matthew 24:29. And suddenly, after the sorrow of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken;
Following the coming of the Antichrist, whose power will soon be abolished (this is expressed by the word “suddenly”), “the sun will darken,” that is, it will be darkened, will not be noticeable in comparison with the more excellent light of Christ's coming; the moon and the stars are alike. Indeed, what a need for sensual luminaries, when there will be no night, when Sun of Truth? But “the powers of heaven will also shake,” that is, they will be amazed and shuddered when they see that the creation is changing and all people who lived from Adam to that time will have to give an account.
Matthew 24:30. then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven; and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;
Then the cross will appear in denunciation of the Jews in heaven, shining brighter than the sun. The Lord will come with the cross as the most important piece of evidence against the Jews, just as someone who was struck by a stone would show this stone. The cross is called a sign, like a victorious royal banner. 'Then all the tribes will mourn' the Jews, lamenting their disobedience; Christians who are attached to the earthly will also mourn, since all who are addicted to the earthly can be called the tribes of the earth. If the Lord walks with the cross, then it means with great power and glory.
Matthew 24:31. and he will send his angels with a loud trumpet; And they will gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the heavens to the end of them.
He will send angels to gather the saints who are still living and raised from the dead, so that they would meet Him in the clouds. It honors them by convening through the mediation of the angels. There is no contradiction to this in the words of the Apostle Paul: “we will be caught up in the clouds” (1 Sol.4: 17): those who first the angels will gather, then the clouds will delight. With this, the trumpet is for greater amazement.
Matthew 24:32. Take a likeness from the fig tree: when its branches are already soft and let out leaves, you know that summer is near;
Matthew 24:33. so, when you see all these things, know that it is near at the door.
When all this happens, then not much time will remain until the end of the world and My coming. “Summer” refers to the coming age, when there will be peace from storms for the righteous; for sinners it is storm and confusion. Just as the Savior says, looking at the branches and leaves of the fig tree, you look forward to summer, so look forward to My coming when you see the signs I predicted - the change of the sun and moon.
Matthew 24:42. So, stay awake, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come.
Matthew 24:43. But you know this, that if the owner of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have been awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken up.
Matthew 24:44. Therefore, you too, be ready, for at an hour you don’t think the Son of Man will come.
The Lord commands us to be awake and prepare, that is, to be enriched with good deeds, so that when the Lord comes, we can present to Him what He pleases. Notice that the Savior did not say, “I don’t know what hour the thief will come,” but he said, “you don’t know.” Under the thief of course the end and death of everyone. As imperceptibly, he says, the thief comes, so unexpectedly will My coming: do not be careless, but be awake. If we knew when our end would come, then we would only try to please God that day. And now, since we do not know, we are always awake for works of virtue.
Matthew 24:45. Who is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master made over his servants to give them food at the right time?
Matthew 24:46. Blessed is the servant whom his master, when he comes, will find doing so; I tell you truly, that he will put him over all his possessions.
The Lord is perplexed in his question: 'Who is the faithful and prudent slave whom his master put in his service?', Making it clear that such slaves can rarely be found. Two qualities are required of every steward: loyalty and discretion. If a slave is a steward and is faithful, that is, he himself does not steal anything, but is not prudent and loses his property for nothing, then he is useless. Equally, if he is prudent but steals himself, he is unworthy. But whoever then turns out to be both faithful and prudent will receive something higher, namely the Kingdom of Heaven. The saints will be heirs to all that belongs to God. The faithful and intelligent slave is the kind of teacher who provides the flock with proper spiritual food at the right time. Such was Paul, formerly a blasphemer, and then became a faithful minister. Now he gave milk to one, now he proclaimed wisdom to another; he was also reasonable, knowing the intentions of the enemy. Such should be everyone who has received something from God - property, power, or leadership. He must manage the entrusted both correctly and reasonably, for he will have to give an account.
Matthew 24:48. But if that servant, being angry, says in his heart: My lord will not come soon,
Matthew 24:49. and he will begin to beat his companions and eat and drink with drunkards, -
Matthew 24:50. then the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect, and at an hour when he does not think,
Matthew 24:51. and cut him open and subject him to the same fate as the hypocrites; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Having said what honor a faithful servant will be awarded, the Lord then says what punishment the evil one will bear. If a person who has been entrusted with the disposal of any gift begins to neglect his service and says: my lord hesitates, that is, he does not immediately punish; if he thus “makes the longsuffering of God a pretext for debauchery,” he begins to beat his fellow slaves, that is, when I interpret, he will seduce them, strike their conscience , are harmful), - then such a slave will be dissected, that is, deprived of talent; then it will be revealed what he is. He will be thrown into darkness. Previously, he deceived others with his dignity. Thus, many bishops seem to be saints only because of their rank. Then their grace is taken away from them, and they will be punished as hypocrites, because they did not seem what they really were.
