The main and main event of the entire Christian world is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Without this miracle there would be nothing - neither our salvation, nor eternal life, nor the Christian faith itself. It is the resurrection of the Son of God from the dead that is the basis for the fact that life in paradise can be available to each of us. However, the resurrection of Christ is not the only thing in the Gospel. We know about Lazarus, who was resurrected after 4 days in the grave cave, we know the example of the resurrected daughter of Jairus. The Gospel also testifies to those who rose from their graves after the crucifixion of Christ. So why did the resurrection of Jesus become such a turning point in the entire history of mankind? What does this miracle give us today?
How the Savior was resurrected
All four Gospels describe in sufficient detail the events of the sufferings on the cross, the death of Christ and His subsequent resurrection. So, Jesus died on Friday, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, before the celebration of the Jewish Passover.
Through the death of Christ, man was reconciled with God
One pious and wealthy Israeli, Joseph of Arimathea, received permission from Pilate to remove the body from the Cross and bury Him in a cave. Joseph had his own cave, hewn out of the rock, for his own burial, however, out of great love for Jesus, he decided to bury Him there. The Savior's body was removed from the Cross and anointed with incense, as required by the Jewish funeral traditions of that time. After this, the prepared body was wrapped in clean linen and laid in a cave.
Interesting! The same cloth that was wrapped around the holy body of our Lord Jesus has still been preserved and represents one of the most famous and revered shrines of the entire Christian world - the Shroud of Turin.
Joseph and Nicodemus, who helped him, were part of the Sanhedrin - that was the name of the supreme Jewish court. At the same time, they accepted Christianity and secretly followed the teachings of Christ. Having placed the body of Christ in the cave, they blocked the entrance with a huge stone. Of course, such preparations required much more time, but those who buried Him were in a hurry - the Jewish Passover would begin very soon.
Where is the body of Jesus Christ?
No. There is nothing in ancient Roman records about the theft of the body of Jesus Christ. We have Tacitus recording at the very beginning of the second century that He was crucified, but not that His body was stolen. Josephus, a Jewish writer, also records the crucifixion of Jesus Christ around the same time. There are no Roman records or even written rumors of the theft of His body. Published Jewish sources claiming that His body was stolen came MUCH later, so few can legitimately claim that such a claim has historical support. The earliest Jewish record claiming that the body was stolen comes from Toledot Yeshu from the fifth century.
The only record of the claim that Jesus' body was stolen dates from the first century and has a Christian rather than a Jewish source. This is Matthew 28:11-15, in which Matthew recorded that the Jews made this statement. And this fiction is widespread among the Jews to this day. Of course, the Christian record is one source of a conspiracy by Jewish leaders to create a theory in the use of bribes so that the theory would not die. It is clear from the Gospel of Matthew that there was no evidence to support this claim.
While the women went to the disciples, several soldiers from the guard came into the city and told the high priests everything that had happened. The high priests consulted with the elders and after that they gave the soldiers a lot of money, saying: “ You must tell everyone: “His disciples came at night and stole His Body while we slept.” If this reaches the ruler, then we will come to an agreement with him, and you will not have any troubles.” They took the money and said what they were told, and this news spread among the Jews, and so it has remained to this day. (Matthew 28:11-15)
Another source for the claim that Jesus' body was stolen comes from a dialogue with Tryphon in 170 AD. e. This is the story of a debate between Justus Martyr and a Jewish opponent named Tryphon. In this Christian account, the source, Justus himself, reports that his rival Tryphon claimed that the body of Jesus Christ was stolen. Tryphon does not present any evidence or even the names of those who stole the body, which he refers to in the debate.
Appearances after the resurrection
On the very first day after the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ began to appear to his disciples and all his faithful. According to legend, His Mother was the first to see the risen Savior. By His appearance He consoled her immeasurable maternal grief over her executed Son.
Then the living Christ was seen by the apostles, who were hiding from persecutors and enemies of Christianity in different places. The rest of the myrrh-bearing wives also saw Him, striving early in the morning to His tomb. Of the apostles, the first to receive the appearance were Peter and the disciples Cleopas and Luke.
Most of the apostles gathered in the Upper Room of Zion (the place where the Last Supper was celebrated) to secretly discuss the message of the resurrection. Then the Lord appeared to all of them. Absent from this meeting was the Apostle Thomas, who would later be popularly called an “unbeliever.” He received this nickname because he refused to believe the news of a miracle until he personally saw the Lord and touched His wounds with his hands. Then Jesus appears to the apostles once again and allows Thomas to be convinced of the truth of what happened and the reality of the wounds on His body from the crucifixion.
Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection
After His resurrection, the Savior remained on earth for 40 days in a renewed and transformed body. During this time, He appeared to many hundreds of His disciples and followers. He instructed the apostles in His teaching so that they could preach the Gospel throughout the whole Earth, as was commanded. After 40 days, the Lord, together with his incorruptible body, ascended to Heaven, where he remains next to his Father. This day is celebrated in the liturgical calendar as the Great Twelfth Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. This day ends the stay of Christ on earth as the God-man. From now on, every sincerely believing Christian has every opportunity to inherit eternal life, following the example of Christ himself.
Important! The most important thing that the Savior did while on earth was victory over death.
About the appearances of the Savior after the Resurrection and their deep meanings
Of course, Christ was resurrected before the myrrh-bearing women came to the tomb, and the stone was rolled away by an angel after His Resurrection, as can be seen from the message of the holy Evangelist Matthew, who says that the women, arriving early in the morning, saw an angel fly away like lightning on the coffin, then rolled away the stone and sat on it[1].
Indeed, the Savior dwelt in the womb of the Most Pure Virgin and was born without violating the keys of virginity; after being removed from the Cross, Christ was laid in a new tomb, in which no one had yet
never
laid
(John 19:41), - a symbol of birth from the Virgin. And just as He entered the womb of His Most Holy Mother, He also came out of the tomb, without breaking the stone that covered it.
The angel rolled away the stone so that the myrrh-bearing women would see that the tomb was empty, and so that Peter and John, who would come to the tomb after the myrrh-bearing women had proclaimed the Resurrection, could see the empty tomb and untouched shrouds[2].
In Ardyal[3] there are icons depicting Christ the Victorious emerging from the tomb and standing on an unrolled gravestone, which means that He emerged through the stone even before it was rolled away. This symbolism seems very important to me, and I want to dwell on it further.
Apparently, the next appearance of Christ was to Mary Magdalene, who came with the myrrh-bearing women, but did not leave with them. Not believing what she saw (the Savior cast out seven demons from her, and she knew how deceitful the devil was), she returned to the tomb, looking for evidence of the Resurrection. Being in a state of emptiness that oppressed her heart, she stood at the coffin and cried. And then suddenly she saw two angels inside, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus lay, and they asked her why she was crying. She answered them with great sorrow: “For they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.
"(John 20:13).
Without a doubt, she heard some noise and, without waiting for the angels to answer, she turned around and saw the Savior nearby, but did not recognize Him. Like the angels, He turned to her with a question: why is she crying, who is she looking for? Mary thought that it was the gardener and asked Him if He had taken the body of Jesus and if so, she begged him to tell him where He had laid it so that she would go and take it. Then Jesus called her by name:
- Maria!
And at that moment she recognized Him and exclaimed:
- Rabbi!
– threw herself at His feet.
But He stopped her:
- Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brothers and say to them: I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God
(John 20:16–17).
This meeting is full of meanings and symbols. Why does He not allow Mary to touch Him now, before He ascends to heaven?
Then He will go to the apostles, who were sitting behind locked doors for fear of the Jews, and ask them:
– Why are you embarrassed, and why do such thoughts enter your hearts? Look at My hands and at My feet; it is I Myself; touch Me and look at Me; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have
(Luke 24:38–39).
Undoubtedly, the disciples touched Him, but nevertheless they continued to doubt. To convince them, the Savior asked if they had any food. They gave Him some of the baked fish and honeycomb, and He ate.
Thus, without having yet ascended to heaven, as He told Mary Magdalene, the Savior convinced the apostles to touch His hands and feet, so that they would be convinced that it was not a spirit, but He Himself. He will do the same with Thomas when he appears to the disciples in a week. Then why did He forbid this to Mary Magdalene, telling her not to touch Him, since He had not yet ascended to the Father
? Here we need to soar in spirit and turn to certain symbolism.
The Savior always used symbols to describe the relationships of people with each other and with God. When it came to Divine truths, which cannot be imagined by our minds, but can only be accepted by faith, then He no longer used symbols, but a direct and consistent statement. Having said that He was the Son of God[4], He made a clear statement, undisguised by symbols, and accepted death without hiding the truth in the symbol. When he said that His Flesh is truly food and His Blood is truly drink (see: John 6:55) and whoever does not eat His Flesh and drink His Blood will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (see: John 6 : 53), then He did not use any symbol, but only a clear statement, for God is not deceitful, like the devil.
Christ makes this clear statement (as stated in John 6) and is willing to die for it and lose His disciples - and solemnly repeats it at the Last Supper. So when Protestants declare that the Last Supper and bread and wine were only symbols of the Body and Blood, they make God Himself false and to this day follow the path of their deception.
Mary Magdalene is a symbol of the peoples who will come to faith only after Christ ascends to heaven and sends the Holy Spirit to the disciples who go to preach.
There is another exciting aspect to this encounter between Christ and Mary Magdalene. She saw the Lord for the last time on Friday evening, when He was laid in the tomb. She was with Him all the time, apparently for two years or more, almost every day. His body was not touched by corruption, and yet, looking at Him near the tomb, she did not recognize Him. Why?
We assume that Christ, who had just emerged from the tomb in the Resurrection, having passed through the gravestone without breaking it, had a certain material lightness, transparency, which somehow distanced Him from human eyes. And yet, when Christ called her by name: Mary!
– She instantly recognized Him and threw herself at His feet.
Christ said: no one can come to Me unless the Father draws him
(John 6:44). Therefore, we do not come to God unless Christ calls us by name - each one. When we are called, our reaction cannot be other than that of Mary: we throw ourselves at His feet - or than that of Judas: we go to destruction.
When He called her by name, Mary recognized Him and called Him: Rabbi
.
When Thomas was called, he said: My Lord and my God
(John 2:28)! Christ calls us all and draws us to Himself in different ways, until our minds are enlightened, and then, understanding the call, we throw ourselves at His feet.
| The appearance of Christ to the apostles on the way to Emmaus. Mosaic of the 6th century. Saint Apolinarius Nuovo, Ravenna |
Emmaus was a village located 60 stages from Jerusalem, which is approximately 11 kilometers.
This event is recorded only by the evangelist Luke (chap. 24), although we believe that it is conveyed in two verses by St. Mark (16: 12-13), when he says that Jesus appeared to two disciples in the field. The news of the Resurrection of Christ excited the city of Jerusalem: some denied it, others believed it, the Pharisees and scribes branded it as a lie, but no one remained indifferent to this event, which went beyond the neutral dimension of life. The two disciples headed to Emmaus. One of them mentioned by name in St. Luke's account was Cleopas; the other, naturally, had to be the Evangelist Luke himself, because only he mentions this event in detail. They, too, were excited and disappointed by the contradictory rumors about the Resurrection of the Lord, but what was most painful for them was their own inability to believe.
At some point, Christ appears before them also going to Emmaus. He asks them why they are worried, and when they tell Him why, He rebukes them for their unbelief and explains from the Scriptures what was said about Him.
They approach Emmaus, the refuge of these two, and Jesus pretends that he wants to go further, but the two persuade Him to stay, and He agrees. The host offers them dinner, and Christ takes the bread and breaks it; then their eyes are opened and they recognize Him, but He becomes invisible to them.
The two disciples remembered that when He talked with them on the road, the fire burning in their hearts told them who was walking with them. They ran back to Jerusalem and told the disciples how they had seen the Lord and what He had said to them.
These two disciples did not recognize Christ, perhaps because of the same spiritual transformation of Him, but perhaps this is not what the author means when he says that their eyes were held back so that they did not recognize Him
(Luke 24:16). Probably, the Savior wanted to first explain to them the Holy Scriptures about Him, which He could not have calmly done if He had immediately said who He was. The impressive significance of this event is that they recognized Him by the breaking of bread.
We must also take into account the fact that Christ did not so easily declare who He was; Most of all, He did this after the Resurrection, seeing the unbelief of the apostles. This time He revealed Himself to these two in one gesture - in the breaking of bread. Many theologians believe that the Savior had a unique manner of breaking bread - a gesture that became sacred to the apostles after they saw it at the Last Supper. This inimitable gesture was a confirmation of Christ's identity to the two disciples.
The appearance of Christ the Savior to some of His disciples on the Sea of Tiberias, during the second miraculous fishing, is filled with unsurpassed mysterious beauty and exciting hidden meaning. Seven disciples: Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John and two others not named went fishing on the Sea of Galilee, but that night they did not catch anything[5]. It was getting light and there was an unnatural silence; the sea, usually turbulent, froze, like dead water, transparent and illuminated by the stars, so that the stones at the bottom could be counted. The boat moved slowly towards the shore. And suddenly there, on the shore, a Man appeared. He asked them:
- Children! do you have any food?
They answered no. Without any explanation, the man on the shore said:
– Throw the net on the right side of the boat.
They threw it in, and it immediately filled with fish, as if all the stones from the bottom of the sea had turned into fish.
Holy Evangelist John stood next to Holy Apostle Peter. He peered intensely at the Man on the Shore, then whispered to Peter:
– This is the Lord
(John 21:5–7).
Peter was stripped to the waist. Hearing that it was the Lord, he got dressed, girded himself and, throwing himself into the water, swam to the Teacher. Later, a boat with disciples arrived, they pulled it ashore and ran to Christ, for they learned from John who this Man was who asked them for food.
When they came to Him, they saw a fire built and coals, and fish on the coals, and bread. Christ saw how they were in a hurry and remarked:
– Bring the fish you have now caught
(John 21:10).
Peter went to the boat, with great effort he pulled a full net onto the shore, in which there were 153 large fish, and the net still did not break.
They returned to the fire, for Christ invited them:
- Come, eat.
They approached in complete silence, and no one dared to ask Him: “Who are you?” Everyone knew it was the Lord. Christ approached, took the bread, broke it and handed it to them. Then fish.
An interesting fact is that the disciples obeyed the Lord before they knew Him, casting the net at His command.
| Wonderful catch of fish. Mosaic of the 6th century. Saint Apolinarius Nuovo, Ravenna |
I sailed on a ship on the Sea of Galilee.
The water in it is completely transparent, so you can see the scurrying fish and stones at the very bottom. If at night, when the net is not visible in the darkness, the apostles did not catch anything, then an experienced fisherman could immediately realize that at dawn, when the light was already beginning to dawn, there was no hope of catching a fish at all. Yet they obeyed Him without hesitation. I am convinced that something unconsciously clicked in their minds, and they remembered how, during the first abundant fishing, Jesus told Peter, after preaching on the lake, to cast the net on the right side of the boat, and he protested:
- Mentor! We worked all night and caught nothing, but at Your word I will let down the net.
(Luke 5:5).
And a miracle happened. Peter instinctively obeyed the command of Christ, and John, enlightened by the strong love that he was attached to the Lord, recognized Him and told Peter about it. He had an ardent disposition - let us remember how he behaved, in particular, during the Passion of the Lord. At the Last Supper, he declares before the Lord and the apostles that even if everyone denies the Teacher, he will not deny Him, and even if this means dying, he will not deny. Christ calms him down, predicting that before the rooster crows, Peter will deny Him three times[6].
Indeed, Peter denied the Lord three times: the first time simply denying that he knew Him, the second time he denied with an oath, and the third time with a curse. And when the rooster crowed, he remembered the Lord’s rebuke and began to cry, repenting.
We see that, having gone ashore, the disciples found fire and fish on it, although they, in a hurry to meet the Teacher, did not bring with them the fish they had caught. Perhaps this fish was supposed to remind the disciples of their doubt when Christ appeared to them on the night of the Resurrection, and they did not believe that it was Him until He ate the fish[7]. And the fire was supposed to remind Peter of his denial at the fire in the courtyard of the high priest.
The second part of the meeting with Christ on the Sea of Galilee is very intense, both in a mystical sense, and because what happened here is interpreted differently by Orthodox and Catholics, affirming the primacy of Peter and, as a consequence, the pope. Catholics take this fragment out of the context of the situation with Peter’s denial and ignore the Savior’s reproaches for the haste with which he makes big promises and does not fulfill them, and even the fact that He calls him Satan [8]
.
But let us follow further the text of St. John. As soon as Christ revealed himself to the apostles in the breaking of bread, complete silence reigned, everyone ate in silence, and everyone waited for what would happen next. Personally, it seems to me that both Peter and the other disciples had an inkling of what was about to happen. Some kind of heaviness was felt in the mysterious atmosphere of the meeting.
Peter's position among the apostles after his denial was rather doubtful, and they knew that the Lord must clarify it in one way or another. Peter was the chief apostle for a long time. His age gave him an advantage over the rest, and they gave due honor to his age and position before Christ. However, the Savior had never before taken with Him only Peter, but also James and John.
At the Last Supper, it was obvious that the Lord gave preference to John, not only because he reclined at the Master’s breast: John was young, and the Teacher patronized him, but especially because when the Lord said that one of will betray Him, Peter asked John to ask who the traitor was, which the Savior revealed to John in a whisper, and he, undoubtedly, then conveyed this to Peter[9].
But Christ then said something much more important about the salvation of Peter from the sin of renunciation - we read about this in the holy Evangelist Luke (22: 31-32):
-
Simon!
Simon! Behold, Satan asked to sow you like wheat, but I prayed for you, so that your faith would not fail; and you, having once turned, strengthen your brothers. These firm words still sounded in their hearts, just like the prophecy: the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you do not know Me.
[10]. I think that because of these words of Christ, the disciples had no doubt about whether to accept Peter into their ranks again. This is my opinion, it is not found, as a rule, in Orthodox interpretations of Peter’s denial.
When the Lord Jesus Christ and the disciples finished the meal (John 21:15 et seq.), the Savior suddenly asked Peter - and He knew the thoughts of everyone, and this question was a continuation of those thoughts to which Christ had to give an explanation. Christ's question was directly related to Peter's statement at the Last Supper. Christ asked him now:
– Simon Ionin! Do you love Me more than they?
And Peter’s impetuous nature again made itself felt in the haste with which he answered, momentarily forgetting about his renunciation:
- Yes, Lord! You know I love you.
| Peter, feed my sheep. Fresco from the Visoki Decani monastery. Serbia |
And yet it seems to me that there was some caution in the answer of Peter, who no longer exalted himself above the rest of the apostles;
this makes one think that the memory of the renunciation was still alive in him. Jesus entrusted him with feeding His lambs without a single explanation or hint of his primacy among the apostles[11]. On the contrary, as if at a trial, where the first testimony must be supported in order to be accepted (in such situations three testimonies were necessary), He asks him a second time, no longer comparing him with the other apostles:
- Simon Ionin! do you love me?
Peter confirms this without adding anything more - uttering the same words:
- Yes, Lord! You know I love you.
Christ entrusts him with tending His sheep.
The Savior asks for the third time, as if checking his first statement for the last time:
- Simon Ionin! do you love me?
Peter confirms by saying the same words:
- You know I love you.
Christ entrusts him with tending His sheep.
Despite the conviction of Peter and the apostles that Christ was restoring Peter to the level of apostleship, this third question deeply saddened Peter, since the Teacher turned to him for the third time with the words: “Do you love me?” - and he answered with great sadness in voice:
- God! You know everything; You know I love you.
Thus, Peter indirectly confirms that all these questions, uttered three times, are connected with his three renunciations, and with them the sin he committed is blotted out, and he is again restored among the apostles. It is obvious to any person with sound faith that Peter is now not given special powers, because in that case why would he be sad when he was asked for the third time?
When Christ turned to the apostles after the Resurrection and said: go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature
(Mark 16:15), the Teacher did not address Peter with anything special, so his position remained somewhat unclear in comparison with the others. Christ intended to restore those who had renounced Him through a solemn reunion, similar to the acceptance of a heretic into Orthodoxy in our time.
When Catholics claim that he is now given special power, they are deliberately deceived: Peter is now given the power that the rest of the apostles had from the beginning, which they did not lose, like Peter, and which was confirmed on the day of the Resurrection. Now Peter was restored to the apostleship, and the right to preach to all creation was restored to him:
- Feed My lambs, feed My sheep!
If during this entire mysterious period after the Resurrection of the Lord there was something special for any of the apostles, then two stood out: Thomas, for whose sake Christ specially came to assure him of His Resurrection, and John, about whom He told Peter at His appearance, which we are discussing:
“If I want him to stay until I come, what is that to you?” you follow me
(John 21:22).
Thus, Jesus again rebukes Peter for his insolence.
There is something else important connected with Peter. When Mary Magdalene announces to the apostles that she spoke with the Lord at the tomb and He is alive, they doubted, and only Peter and John ran to the tomb to see what happened there. John, being younger, ran faster; he looked into the tomb, saw the empty shroud, but did not enter out of respect for Peter’s age. After a short time, Peter reached the tomb, and they went inside one after another.
There they saw the shroud lying on the ground, and the cloth with which the face of Jesus was covered was not with the shroud, but was rolled up and lay in another place. Then
, adds the Evangelist John,
they saw and believed
(cf. John 20: 8).
If the shroud had been opened and lay straightened on the ground, as a piece of cloth is usually laid, I think it would not have made such a stunning impression on both apostles. Without a doubt, there was something strange in the way the shroud lay on the ground, if St. John wrote that they saw the shroud and believed, for they did not yet know from the Scriptures that Christ had to rise from the dead
(John 20:9).
Taking into account... the Jewish tradition associated with burial, let us remember that after the death of the Savior on the Cross, the Jews tried to get rid of the bodies of the crucified, because the next day was Easter, and Judaism did not allow the dead to remain unburied on Easter. Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, went to Pilate and asked him for the body of Jesus. He was surprised that the Teacher had already died, called the centurion and asked him, and he confirmed the death. This was probably the same centurion who exclaimed when he saw the supernatural phenomena that accompanied the death of the Savior:
– Truly He was the Son of God
(Matt. 27:54).
We know from the narrative of St. John that Pilate nevertheless sent soldiers to check this, and when they saw that the two robbers had not died, they broke their legs [12] - this caused shock and instant death; but they did not break Jesus’ legs, but only pierced His heart with a spear.
Joseph of Arimathea removed the body of Jesus from the Cross; Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night to question Him, also approached (see: John 3), he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes; they soaked the shroud in this composition, then, wrapping the body of the Lord with this cloth soaked in incense, they laid the Savior in a tomb in which no one had ever been laid
(John 19:42).
These incense, like driers, had the property of making the fabric more rigid[13]. What Peter and John saw was an ununrolled shroud that retained the shape of Jesus’ body, which meant: the Lord came out of the shroud without disturbing the shape that it had taken on His body.
Confirming all supernatural phenomena - from the Nativity of the Savior to His Resurrection, we see a chain of symbols leading to the highest final goal - the Divinity of Jesus. He was born from the Virgin without a husband, and She did not carry anyone else in Her womb - so at burial, Christ was laid in a new tomb, in which no one was ever buried. The Savior came out of the shroud without tearing or unwrapping it, and then came out of the grave through the stone without breaking it, just as He came out of His Mother’s womb without causing the pain of birth and without damaging the keys of virginity.
All this is connected with the theological idea that everywhere everything that God touches comes to life, leaves its natural order and enters a different order - Divine, higher, incomprehensible to us.
The joy of the Feast of the Resurrection is different from that which we experience at the Birth of Christ, when we try to make our heart a spiritual cave in which the Baby Jesus will be born. There, at Christmas, we all stand together before a miracle in which the inconceivable, beginningless God, who created this wonderful world, heaven and earth, limits Himself to the scale of a tiny and fragile Baby lying in a manger and warmed only by the breath of animals and the love of His Mother and righteous Joseph.
At Christmas, it was as if we had not yet accepted Christ into ourselves; He is still a wondrous Child who came down from heaven, and we have a certain feeling of being outside of God the Son. At Easter, thanks to the expiatory fast and the fact that we saw God among us, having our appearance and stature, suffering like us, bleeding, calling His Father from heaven, praying for those who tormented Him - among whom, perhaps, were and we - our joy becomes internal. Christ united us through suffering and forgiveness.
People are calmer on Easter, more interiorized[14]. The Resurrection brings a quieter joy, we do not have to run as we do at Christmas to reach the Cave of the Nativity. The God-man is in us, in our suffering, our repentance, our cleansing by fasting and in our new turn to God. Frequent and longer services, heartache about the sins we have committed, all-night vigils and passions gradually elevate us and bring us closer to God. And our spirit becomes zealous for repentance and more diligent in prayer.
I would really like for everyone in this temple to reach the Resurrection as bright as angels and cleansed of sins. I would really like you to forget about all evil, I would like your mind to be directed towards God alone, from your lips come, as the holy Apostle Paul says, psalms, hymns and spiritual songs[15]. I do not mean that from now on you will begin to recite psalms, but that you will see, in the words of the psalmist, how your heart rejoices with joy about the Resurrection of the Savior[16].
And then this temple will truly become the dwelling place of Christ. And I would be very happy if you all became higher than me, all of you would be saints in this temple.
Bible Online
The Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, thereby accomplishing the work of redeeming mankind. Why did He appear to people within 40 days after His resurrection? What was the significance of the appearance to man after His resurrection, and what was His will behind it?
The Bible says: “While they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, “ Peace be with you.” They, confused and frightened, thought that they saw a spirit. But He said to them: Why are you troubled, and why do such thoughts enter your hearts? Look at My hands and at My feet; it is I Myself; touch Me and look at Me; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. And having said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 While they still did not believe for joy and were amazed, He said to them, “ Do you have any food here?” They gave Him some of the baked fish and honeycomb. And he took it and ate before them” (Luke 24:36-43). Every time I read these verses, I envy Peter, John and others. When Jesus was doing His work in Judea, He was always with His disciples, day and night, and after His resurrection He cared for them as before, appearing to them, explaining the Scriptures to them, and teaching them. Peter and the others were fortunate that the Lord had chosen them to be His disciples and that they could hear the teachings of the Lord Jesus with their own ears—they were so blessed! Subsequently, I read God’s words and realized that in fact, the will of the Lord Jesus was behind His appearance to people after His resurrection, and that this act further personified the omnipotence and wisdom of God. I truly saw that the appearance of the Lord Jesus to people after His resurrection was actually so important!
God’s words say: “ The first thing the Lord Jesus did after His resurrection was to allow people to see Him, to be convinced of His existence and the fact of His resurrection. It also served to restore His former relationship with men, when He worked in the flesh and was the Christ who could be seen and touched. Thus, one of the results of this was that people no longer doubted that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead after crucifixion, just as they did not doubt the Lord Jesus' work of redeeming mankind. Another result was that the appearance of the Lord Jesus to people after His resurrection, allowing them to see and touch Him, thoroughly established them in the Age of Grace. From this point on, people could no longer return to the previous times of the Age of Law due to the “disappearance” or “departure” of the Lord Jesus. They had to move forward by following the teachings of the Lord Jesus and the work He had done. Thus, a new stage formally began in the work of the Age of Grace, and from this point on, the people who lived under the law “officially” left this period and entered a new era with a new beginning. Such is the variety of meanings of the appearance of the Lord Jesus to people after His resurrection ” (“God’s Work, God’s Character and God Himself. Part III”).
After reading God's words, I finally understood that the Lord Jesus' appearance to people within 40 days of His resurrection had two meanings. One thing is that He came to tell people that God has ended the Age of Law, begun the Age of Grace, and will lead humanity into a new era. Another meaning was that God did this so that people could claim that the Lord Jesus is God incarnate Himself, and thereby strengthen their faith in God.
The Lord Jesus rose again and appeared to people to usher them into a new era and firmly establish them in the Age of Grace
The Lord Jesus ushered in the Age of Grace and ended the Age of Law. He expressed the way " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand " (Matthew 4:17). and performed many miracles, such as healing the sick, casting out demons, restoring the lame to walk, and the blind to see, etc., so that people could enjoy the abundant grace that came from God. But the people of that time did not know God's work, and they did not have a true understanding that Jesus is God incarnate. When the Lord Jesus was crucified, people simply did not realize that this meant God had completed the work of redemption, and therefore they fell into negativity and weakness. People began to doubt the identity of the Lord Jesus, and some even returned to the temple and began to obey the law of the Old Testament. Thus, people were still facing death under the law for their sins, and the work that the Lord Jesus had done to redeem mankind was half completed. The Lord Jesus carefully examined the innermost feelings of people and perfectly understood their needs and shortcomings. Therefore, after His resurrection, He appeared and first spoke to His disciples, made real contact with them, and gave them the opportunity to see that He had indeed returned from the dead, completed His work of redeeming mankind, and began a new age. After this, humanity left the law in the past and entered a new period - the Age of Grace. Under the guidance of the work and words of the Lord Jesus, people began to practice according to His teachings, they bore the cross, followed the Lord, and were guided by His teaching: “ Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ” (Mark 16:15). Thus, they began to preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven and testified to the name of the Lord Jesus so that all people could accept it and achieve His salvation. Today, the gospel of the Lord Jesus has spread throughout the world, which is entirely the result of Jesus appearing to people after His resurrection from the dead. From this we see how significant His appearance to people was after the resurrection!
The appearance of the Lord Jesus to people after His resurrection allowed them to claim that He was the incarnation of God Himself, thereby strengthening their faith in Him
God’s words say: “ While the Lord Jesus was doing His work in the flesh, most of His followers could not fully confirm His identity and what He said. When He went to the cross, the attitude of His followers became one of expectancy. All the time, from the moment of His crucifixion until His burial, people were dominated by disappointment. At this time, they even began to move from doubt to denial of everything that the Lord Jesus spoke about while in the flesh. When He emerged from the tomb and began to appear to people, most people who saw Him with their own eyes or heard about His resurrection gradually changed their denial to skepticism. They only truly agreed that the Lord Jesus was the Christ in the flesh when He allowed Thomas to “put His hands into His side”, when He broke bread after His resurrection and ate it before the crowd, and then ate before them baked fish. You could say it was as if a spiritual body of flesh and blood appeared before people and awakened them from sleep, because the Son of Man standing before them was the One who had existed since time immemorial. He had a body, He had flesh and bones, and He had already lived among people for a long time and ate food with them... At that moment, people felt that His existence was real and beautiful. They were also joyful and happy, at the same time they were overwhelmed with emotions. His reappearance helped people truly see His humility, feel His closeness, His longing and affection for humanity. During this brief reunion, it seemed to the people who saw the Lord Jesus that a whole life had passed before them. Their confused, discouraged, fearful, anxious, yearning, and numb hearts were comforted. They were no longer filled with doubt and disappointment because they now had hope and hope. The Son of Man standing before them will always be near them. He will always be their fortress and refuge ” (“God’s Work, God’s Character, and God Himself. Part III”).
God’s words clarify another meaning of the Lord Jesus’ appearance to people after His resurrection. The Lord Jesus incarnated among people and carried out His work for three and a half years, and many accepted His salvation and followed the Lord. However, most people did not truly understand that the Lord Jesus is the Christ and that He is God Himself. Therefore, before the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, they watched the events unfold and began to doubt in their souls and asked themselves, “Is the Lord Jesus really God? If He is Christ and God Himself, then how could the Roman authorities seize Him, how could the soldiers beat and ridicule Him, and then crucify Him? Especially when the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, they felt completely disappointed in Him, denied that He was the incarnation of God Himself, and denied the words He spoke, believing that Jesus would die like an ordinary person and would not be able to survive. The Lord Jesus knew that people's faith was so small that they did not know the Lord, and that more people would become weak and depressed because He was crucified. Therefore, after the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, He came to His disciples and spoke to them, He expounded the Scriptures and fellowshiped with them, He ate with them and allowed Thomas to touch His hands and side, and so on. Based on the words spoken by the Lord Jesus and the actions He performed after His resurrection, His disciples claimed that Jesus had indeed risen, and they knew that He was the same Lord who had previously eaten, abided and lived with them, that He was the same Lord Who preached to them, cared for them and guided them, Who loves them just as before, that He cares for them and has not abandoned them and that He is next to them. The Lord Jesus is the embodiment of God Himself, the Imperishable One, the eternal support of man, the strong tower and refuge of man. Although the Lord Jesus was crucified, He is the keeper of the keys to the afterlife and has the power to return to life, for He is the only God Himself... After this, people no longer felt lost or confused and no longer doubted the Lord Jesus, but, on the contrary, they were able to believe in Jesus and rely on Him with all their hearts. This is entirely the result of the Lord Jesus appearing to His disciples and speaking to them after His resurrection from the dead.
From these two meanings of the Lord Jesus appearing to people after His resurrection, I finally understood that He awakened people's hearts by the way He appeared to them, and He also gave us the opportunity to experience God's care and love towards us. Such care and love is not just a legend, it is a fact. From this we can also understand that God considers us to be His race; He has always been with people and has never left us, because God created man to have us, and He hopes that we will hear His words, completely obey and worship Him, and become one with Him. Therefore, no matter what the Lord Jesus did, whether He performed His work and spoke His words in the flesh or appeared to people in the Spirit after His resurrection, He always cared for mankind and especially cared for those who followed Him. Because man is unable to overcome sin and without God's guidance and provision of truth, there is no way to get rid of his corruption and achieve God's true salvation. In our delusions we believe that God abandoned us after He had completed the work of redemption, and that after that He no longer paid any attention to us. But the truth is not what we imagine it to be. The Lord Jesus completed His work to redeem mankind, but He did not abandon man. He is still with the people as before, caring for us, providing for us, and guiding us; The Lord Jesus is our help and support in need, and no matter how He appears to us, He will always be with us! Just as God’s words say: “ Although the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, before that, His heart and His work did not leave mankind. By His appearance, He informed people that, regardless of what form He appears in, He will always and everywhere accompany them, will always walk and be next to humanity. At every time and in every place, He will take care of people, look after them, allowing them to see and touch Him, and will make every effort so that they will never again feel helpless. The Lord Jesus also wanted people to know that they are not alone in this world. God cares about people, He is near them. They can always rely on God. He is a family to each of His followers. With a God they can rely on, people will no longer be lonely or helpless. And those who accept Him as an atoning sacrifice for their sins will no longer be mired in sin ” (“God’s Work, God’s Character, and God Himself. Part III”).
In fact, each of us who believes in the Lord Jesus can see that on the path of faith in God, whenever we encounter temptations such as money, fame and wealth, the Lord protects us and gives us the ability to avoid and overcome them; whenever we suffer failures and defeats, the Lord guides us with His words, He gives us faith and strength, strengthening us; when we face difficulties in our lives, the Lord always helps us in need, showing us a way out; when trials come upon us and we experience suffering, the words of the Lord properly illuminate and guide us, allowing us to understand the will of God and experience peace and joy in our spirit... We can truly feel that God is with us, guiding and accompanying us every day, giving us the opportunity to understand the truth and His will...
I am so touched by the love of the Lord, and now I understand better why the Lord Jesus appeared to people for 40 days after His resurrection, ate in the presence of His disciples, explained the Scriptures and communicated with them, making many demands on them, and so on. Everything the Lord Jesus said or did was filled with great care and attention, and all His actions and words were extremely meaningful. Through reading God's words, I now have a deeper understanding of Jesus' appearance to people after His resurrection. Thanks be to God!
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THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS
Death of Jesus The Bible describes the moment of death as follows: “Jesus cried out with a loud voice: Or, Or the Lama of the Savachthani? That is: My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me? Some of those standing there, hearing this, said: He is calling Elijah. And immediately one of them ran, took a sponge, filled it with vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave Him to drink; and others said, “Wait, let’s see if Elijah will come to save Him.” Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up the ghost.” At that very moment, when Jesus stopped breathing, a strong earthquake suddenly began. Many houses were destroyed and a sandstorm arose. The sun was not visible, darkness fell. People saw this and were horrified. Nature itself mourned the death of the Son of God. Even the centurion who was in charge of guarding the body of Jesus remarked in fear: “Truly he was the Son of God.” The priests, fearing that the people would now rise in rebellion, immediately strengthened the security around his body. After Jesus hung his head lifelessly, a soldier approached him and did what was prescribed by the rules - he poked him in the ribs with a spear. In dead people, black, coagulated blood appears from the wound. Jesus began to ooze fresh scarlet blood from his wound, indicating that he was in fact still alive. Therefore, Christ was left hanging on the cross even before Friday, awaiting his complete death. ________________________________________ Burial of Jesus Christ On Friday, April 19, Joseph of Arimathea, a very influential man, one of the 72 members of the highest court of Judea, the Sanhedrin, came to Pontius Pilate. Joseph turned to Pilate with an unexpected request - to give him the body of Jesus Christ for an honorable burial in his own tomb. For this, Joseph was even ready to pay a large ransom. Pilate had great respect for this man, so he granted his request without taking any ransom. In addition, Pilate was tormented by his conscience because, on his orders, an innocent man, a righteous man, lost his life. Pilate sent a man to the place of execution to find out if Jesus had really died. At this time, according to legend, there were two people near Jesus - John of Zebedee and the elder of the Essenes religious society. This elder asked the centurion, who was in charge of guarding the place of execution, not to break the knees of the deceased Jesus. According to the custom of that time, the knees of the person who died on the cross were torn apart in order to finally make sure of the death of the latter. The elder knew that Jesus was actually still alive. The elder explained to the centurion that the crucified man was indeed a respected person and worthy of an honorable burial; now a large ransom would be paid for him to Pontius Pilate, so there is no point in spoiling the body of the deceased. The centurion, fortunately, turned out to be a kind and compassionate man, he was sympathetic to Jesus, touched by his courageous behavior during the execution. Therefore, the centurion allowed Jesus not to break his knees. Moreover, the centurion knew that Jesus was in fact still alive, but did not tell anyone about it. The secret disciples of Jesus Christ - Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, having received permission from Pontius Pilate to release the body, got down to business. On Friday at noon, the body of Jesus was transferred to Joseph's own tomb, located not far from the place of execution. It was in this crypt that all procedures related to the burial of Jesus were carried out. Joseph and Nicodemus, having swaddled the body of Christ, soaked the bandages with a solution made from medicinal oils and balms. Jesus prepared this solution long before his execution. There is a mention of this solution in the Bible (John 19:39-40): “Nicodemus brought with him about a hundred liters of a mixture of myrrh and aloe. They took the Body of Jesus and wrapped it in strips of linen soaked with this perfume, in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” All procedures lasted until four o'clock in the evening. Then the body of Jesus, anointed with perfume, carefully swaddled in bandages, was wrapped in a huge white shroud. In the morning, Roman soldiers came to look at the body of Jesus and were convinced that he was indeed buried according to all laws. After all the inspectors were convinced of the death of Jesus, the entrance to the tomb was blocked with a large stone. In the morning, the Jewish priests were simply shocked to learn that Jesus was buried in the personal tomb of Joseph of Arimathea - a member of the very Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus to death! And he was helped by another member of the Sanhedrin - Nicodemus! And the Roman governor Pontius Pilate ordered the body of the executed robber and blasphemer to be handed over for an honorable burial! The high priests felt that there was some kind of conspiracy against them. The priests and Pharisees turned to Pilate with a request: - Master! We remembered that the deceiver, while still alive, said: after three days I will rise again. So, order that the tomb be guarded until the third day, so that his disciples, coming at night, do not steal it and say to the people: he has risen from the dead. Otherwise, the last deception will be worse than the first. Pilate, who was very angry with the priests who had previously threatened to denounce him to Rome, sharply answered them: “If you have guards, go and guard them as best you can.” Caiaphas ordered that guards be placed at the tomb and seals placed on the stone. He did not like the behavior of Pilate, who was too obviously sympathetic to Jesus. It was no longer possible to rely on Roman power - now we had to do everything ourselves. ________________________________________ Resurrection of Christ The story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection in the Bible is extremely confusing. Anyone can verify this. It is written that Jesus was captured on the night from Thursday to Friday, on Friday he was condemned, crucified, and by the evening he gave up the ghost. And Christ resurrected after this on the third day, on Sunday morning. If Jesus died on Friday, then on the third day he must have risen on Monday! ________________________________________ How it really happened. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, two people approached the other side of the hill, opposite the entrance to the tomb - Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. They found a heavy stone hidden among the trees and together they rolled it aside, opening the entrance to a secret tunnel leading to the tomb. Joseph and Nicodemus, who went down into the hole, helped Jesus get rid of the bandages. After thirty-six hours spent in them, only a spear mark and nail marks on his hands and feet remained on the body of Christ. Everything looked as if many years had passed. His weakened body demanded its toll, and right here Jesus drank wine, which invigorated him and dispersed the blood throughout his body. Jesus was fed honey, and then given a life-giving herbal balm to drink, which in its composition resembled modern glucose. Jesus gradually began to come to his senses and come to life right before our eyes. Then, getting out of the hole and throwing the shroud over himself, he appeared in front of the guards. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, a strong earthquake began. The Jews guarding the tomb with Jesus were terribly afraid. And suddenly they saw a man in white robes approaching the tomb. People at that time were very superstitious, so the picture they saw shocked them to the core - night, a strong thunderstorm, lightning, the earth shaking under their feet, and an incomprehensible figure in white robes silently approaching the tomb. The guards, deciding that this was an angel who had come to take their souls and punish them for the death of Jesus, fled in horror in different directions. They all knew about Jesus’ own resurrection predicted on the third day, so they were sure that what they had been warned about had begun. The Bible writes about it this way (Matthew 28:2-3): “And then there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord, who had descended from heaven, came and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it; his appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow; Fearful of him, those who were guarding trembled and became as if they were dead.” ________________________________________ It really was an angel, and his name was Jesus Christ!!! Jesus, and it was he, rolled away the stone and frightened his guards to death, took off the shroud that covered his clothes, and laid it along with bandages on the bed where his almost lifeless body had recently lay. Then he covered the stone again; the seals on it were untouched. After the guards fled in fear, all three went to the nearby forest and, crossing the stream, went deeper into the saving thicket. A stop was made here, and after a short rest the whole procession set off again, it was necessary to move away from the tomb as quickly as possible. A little more time will pass, and everyone will begin to look for the body of Jesus. Not far from Golgotha lived a friend of Joseph of Arimathea, who was very devoted to him. It was decided to hide Jesus with him. ________________________________________ The news of the resurrection of Christ spreads throughout the area On Sunday morning, April 21, Mary Magdalene, at the teaching of Joseph of Arimathea, without saying a word to anyone, together with her maid Mary, the mother of James and Salome, approached the crypt. Mary Magdalene saw the guards sitting and told them that Jesus had risen and do not look for his body here. Among those guarding the crypt of Jesus was the Apostle Andrew. He sat near the tomb and waited for the resurrection of Christ. I doubted it, but nevertheless, in the depths of my soul I believed that maybe Christ would really rise again. Mary approached him and said what Joseph had taught her: Jesus had risen and told his disciples to wait for him in Galilee. By this, Joseph wanted to deceive the priests and send them on the wrong trail. The main thing is that they do not look for Jesus in Jerusalem. The puzzled and frightened guards opened the crypt. The seals that Caiaphas ordered to be placed on the tomb were intact, that is, no one entered or left the crypt. The opened room turned out to be empty! Only scraps of bandages and a shroud lay on the floor. The guards froze in place, not knowing what to do next. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene and the women accompanying her went to Peter and John and told them that Jesus had risen. They didn’t believe it and ran headlong to the crypt. John overtook Peter and was the first to look into the tomb, where he found only bandages and a shroud. The apostles went to the other disciples to tell the amazing news. Magdalene remained at the tomb to see what would happen next. The guards sent to Pilate to report that a miracle had happened and Jesus had risen! The found shroud was taken by the women and handed over to the Mother of God. Joseph and Nicodemus reassured Mary, and she now looked forward to meeting her son. Now this relic is in Italy and is known throughout the world as the Shroud of Turin. The face of Jesus is imprinted on it. Soon there was no crowd near the crypt - soldiers and curious people ran in there. After his resurrection, Jesus no longer appeared near his tomb, as it was too dangerous. Joseph was afraid to leave Jesus for a long time at his friend's house. There was too much risk; Jesus had to leave Jerusalem as soon as possible. They decided that Christ would stay in Jerusalem for two days, get stronger and on the night of Monday to Tuesday, April 23, go to Galilee. ________________________________________ Jesus appears to his disciples And then the long-awaited Sunday night arrived. By this time, Jesus already knew that many doubted his resurrection. The apostles could not understand what had happened. Why Jesus did not resist arrest, why he allowed himself to be executed, what all this was for, where the resurrected Christ went and what will happen next is a mystery. And then Jesus appeared to his disciples so that they could be convinced of the authenticity of his resurrection. Under the cover of darkness, Christ came to the house where the apostles were at that moment, all except Thomas. Jesus suddenly appeared on the threshold and said the greeting: “Peace be with you!” His disciples recoiled from him in fear, thinking that they saw a ghost in front of them. Jesus reassured them: Why do you doubt my resurrection and do not believe those people who saw me? Here I am in front of you, look at my hands, look at my feet, these are the wounds from the nails. Touch me and see that I'm not a ghost. Even after touching Jesus, the disciples found it difficult to believe that he was alive. Jesus asked: “Do you have any food here?” And he, along with everyone else, tasted baked fish and honeycomb honey, saying: “Everything happened exactly as prophesied.” I had to suffer and be resurrected on the third day. And preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations, starting from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to all this. I will send the promise of My Father upon you, but for now you remain in the city of Jerusalem until you are endowed with power from on high. Don’t follow me, don’t follow me, because it will threaten you with trouble. Jesus blessed his disciples and quickly left them. The remaining students were in complete shock. They were terribly ashamed that they fled from Jesus when he was arrested and did not help him. And in general, recently they began to trust him very little; many were unhappy. Now they were confused and did not know what to do next. Only one apostle did not see the risen Christ - Thomas. The other disciples told him: “We have seen the Lord.” But he answered them: “Until I see the wounds on his hands, and put my finger, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Having told the disciples to go to Galilee, Jesus himself went to Bethany to Lazarus and met his mother there. Meanwhile, by order of Caiaphas, Joseph of Arimathea was arrested. Joseph was kept under arrest for three days and released because they did not know what exactly he could be accused of. Caiaphas believed that the rumors about the resurrection of Christ were false. It is unclear what Joseph had to do with these rumors. Therefore, Joseph was released, but just in case, they put him under surveillance. But since the suspect did not meet with anyone and no one came to his house, the surveillance was soon lifted. It was dangerous for Jesus to be in Jerusalem. He went to Galilee, his homeland, to see all his people there. ________________________________________ Second appearance to the disciples. doubting Thomas For safety reasons, movement was only possible at night. Jesus was to be accompanied on the journey by two young men. One is the son of Joseph of Arimathea, the second is his nephew, the son of his elder brother. Both boys loved Jesus very much. Jesus walked alone, and two boys followed him at a distance so that the large group of people would not attract attention on the night road. It took Jesus three days to reach his friends in Galilee. He stayed here for about a week, resting. Then the Teacher appeared to people again to see his mother and family. The second time Jesus appeared to the disciples was eight days after the first. Now Thomas, an unbeliever, was with them. Jesus said to Thomas: “Put your finger here and look at my hands, put your hand in my side and don’t be an unbeliever, but become a believer.” Thomas answered him: “My Lord and my God!” Jesus says to him: “You believed because you saw me.” Happy will be those who did not see, but believed. He said to his disciples: “I will leave soon.” I will ascend to Heaven and you will never see me again. He again accused them of lack of faith. The fact is that they were never truly loyal to him. But he is still grateful to them for the lesson he learned from them. The students stood in front of him, confused and embarrassed. They felt uncomfortable and ashamed. Jesus said: “If I accepted such a martyr’s death, then each of you will accept exactly the same death.” Because when we were one flock and I was your shepherd, we could defeat the wolf. And now, when we are left each on our own, you will accept the same martyrdom as I did. You cannot remain any longer in Judea, because you will be severely persecuted. Cast lots as to who should go where, in which direction to carry the Word of God. The apostles did as Jesus advised them - they cast lots to determine who would go to which country. Our Lady Mary also took part in the draw, and she got Georgia. But at the last moment, Jesus appeared to the Mother of God and said that it was not worth going to Georgia. Mary and Jesus will have to go to Gaul (France). These forty days Jesus was in a secret place. He, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were preparing to leave Judea and leave forever for distant Gaul. Before leaving, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene and the Mother of God urgently sold all their property - houses and things. All this had to be done in complete secrecy; even Jesus’ disciples knew nothing about the upcoming departure. Forty days after the last meeting, Jesus appeared again to his disciples. He blessed them for their deeds and disappeared into the fog. From the outside it looked like Jesus had ascended to heaven. Later, while in Gaul, Jesus constantly remembered his disciples and in difficult times always came to their aid - in a dream or in reality. ________________________________________ Later life of Jesus Jesus spent the rest of his life with his family and friends in Gaul. Christ no longer preached. He was forbidden to do this from Above. That's it, Jesus drank his cup to the end. Jesus saw the future - he knew that a time would come when his teaching would spread throughout the world. At first it will be greatly distorted, but later it will be corrected and restored to its original form. Using the knowledge gained in distant India, Jesus began mining and processing gold. Together with Joseph and Nicodemus, they owned a small mine, which provided their families with a comfortable existence. Our Lady Mary died in 59, having lived 78 years. Mary Magdalene died at the age of 92, and Jesus himself lived 158 years and passed away on May 27, 154. They are all buried in one place near each other. Their graves are located on the territory of modern France. The house of Jesus has not survived to this day. ________________________________________ Pontius Pilate At the time of Jesus' crucifixion, Pilate was 48 years old. After the crucifixion of Jesus, Pontius Pilate's wife Procula began to lean more and more towards the new faith that Jesus spoke about. She recalled her meetings with this amazing man, his reasoning, the pain for all people that lived in his soul, and her confidence grew stronger and stronger that Jesus was really sent to earth to save the whole world. After some time, she was baptized. Pilate's meeting with Jesus Christ also changed his life; he began to look at many things differently. At first, Pilate treated the Roman state religion with respect, but without faith. As a true courtier, he understood that religion is, first of all, a tool for maintaining order in the minds of the common population. Pontius knew very well the Roman priests, whose lives were filled with deception, lies and betrayal. The servants of God first of all thought not about the Almighty, but about how to quickly and more fill their bottomless pockets with gold. Pilate, naturally, did not trust these people. Jesus, in his appearance, behavior and attitude to life, was absolutely not like the Roman clergy. It was clear that Jesus, unlike them, really first of all cares about people, cares about their souls, wants to bring peace and tranquility to Earth. This new faith could be trusted; it attracted people with its purity, truthfulness and humanity. Over time, Pontius Pilate became a convinced Christian. And he began to believe in God exactly as Jesus taught him. The Romans were satisfied with Pilate's rule, because for ten years there were no riots in the provinces and taxes were received regularly in the capital. But later the situation changed. Before his death, the elderly Emperor Tiberius (he died in 37 at the age of 78) began to suspect almost everyone of treason. He saw conspiracies and secret societies of rebels everywhere. The emperor's days were practically numbered. Everyone understood perfectly well that Tiberius would not last long, and therefore everyone was worried about one single question: who would become his successor and what policy should be pursued in the new conditions? At court, all the senators and military leaders began to unite into groups hostile to each other. Pilate gradually became an increasingly popular and well-known politician, to whom people from various walks of life were drawn. And in Rome they began to fear Pilate. Pontius had a friend - a former military leader, everyone was afraid of their unification. Rumors began to reach Rome that Pontius Pilate was allegedly trying to secretly create his own army in order to support his supporters in the capital of the empire with weapons if something happened. A denunciation was made against Pontius to Emperor Tiberius, as a result of which the governor of Judea lost his position. Pilate fell victim to palace intrigue and was exiled to the city of Vienne. The unfairly slandered procurator of Judea was very worried about what happened. In fact, he did not prepare any uprising; he was defamed. In 37, the eldest son of Procula and Pontius passed away. The day before the death of her son, the woman dreamed of Jesus and said that he had come for her son, she asked to leave her son, to which the Son of God replied that his hour had struck. Six months later, their youngest son was killed, and Procula, unable to bear the grief that befell her, died at the age of fifty-four from melancholy. She died two years after Pilate's exile. Procula was buried in the local cemetery in the city of Vienne. After the death of Procula and his sons, life for Pontius Pilate, the once formidable ruler of Judea, lost its meaning. He could not bear the test that fell on his once mighty shoulders. Pilate could not straighten himself out again and walk straight, proudly carrying his head. He began to drink, locking himself alone, sitting for a long time in one place and looking at one point. Two years later, on the anniversary of Procula’s death, Pontius Pilate ended his worthless life by hanging himself in his office. He died on September 29, 1940. This is how a man who played a significant role in the fate of Jesus Christ ended his life. They decided to throw the body of the martyr Pilate, who committed suicide, into the river, instead of burying him in the ground, according to custom. Nature itself was outraged by such injustice, and the waters of the river suddenly began to boil, refusing to accept the body. Interestingly, even this supernatural event was interpreted not in Pilate's favor. They started talking about how even the river refused to accept the body of the killer of Christ. The Romans, having learned about the death of Pontius, demanded that his body be returned to Rome, and having made sure that it was really Pilate, it was decided to bury the former procurator of Judea in Rome in a cemetery, without honors. Such a tragic coincidence of events, when almost the entire Pilate family passed away in a short period of time, gave rise to rumors that this was all for a reason - they say, this is a punishment for the execution of Jesus Christ. Heaven thus punished the man who gave the order to crucify the righteous. From the point of view of Heaven, the almost simultaneous death of all family members, on the contrary, is considered a reward; all the dead are reunited in that world. It’s not for nothing that many folk tales end the same way: “They lived happily ever after and died on the same day.”https://bookitut.ru/Otkroveniya-Angelov-Khranitelej-3-Krest-Iisusa.AContents.html
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Where and to whom exactly did Jesus appear? Elizabeth Mitchell Introduction
Some people claim that the gospel accounts of the places, eyewitnesses, and times of Christ's appearances after His resurrection are very contradictory.
Scripture calls us to always be ready to give an answer to the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15). Since these answers, as well as our eternal hope, are based on the certainty of Christ's resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:17), we need to clarify for ourselves the “many sure proofs” (Acts 1:3) described in Scripture. We suggest examining the timeline and evidence to support the most important events in history. ————————- Contradictory or complementary narratives?
“On the Mountain” So, where and to whom exactly did Jesus appear?
Some have questioned the sequence of events in the Bible, citing the phrase “to the mountain”: “The eleven disciples went into Galilee to the mountain where Jesus commanded them, and when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but others doubted.” (Matthew 28:16–17, emphasis added) So where did Jesus appear to the eleven—on a mountain in Galilee or in Jerusalem, behind closed doors? Doesn't this narrative contradict the story told in the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John? “Finally, He appeared to the eleven who were reclining [at the supper], and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him risen” (Mark 16:14). “And they arose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven [Apostles] together and those who were with them, who said that the Lord had truly risen and appeared to Simon. And they told about what had happened on the way, and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of bread. While they were talking about this, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them and said to them: Peace be with you. They were confused and afraid, and thought they saw a spirit” (Luke 24:33–37). “On the same first day of the week in the evening, when the doors [of the house] where His disciples were meeting were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: Peace be with you! Having said this, He showed them His hands and feet and His ribs. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19–20). After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to His followers several times and is mentioned at least ten times in Scripture. Beginning on the day of His Resurrection, He “manifested Himself alive... with many sure proofs” (Acts 1:3) and taught His apostles and many other followers for forty days. Then He ascended from the Mount of Olives, and the apostles were witnesses (Acts 1:9–12). To clarify these controversial verses, we must examine the appearances of Christ in terms of when and where they occurred and who witnessed them. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul summarizes and it gives us information about these and other phenomena that are not mentioned in the Gospels and the book of Acts. “For I taught you from the beginning what I also received, [that is] that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared Cephas, then twelve; then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, and some have died; Then he appeared to James, and also to all the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:3–7). We know that among these appearances there was also an appearance to Cephas (Peter), then to the “twelve,” and to more than five hundred brothers at a time, most of whom were living witnesses to this event at the time Paul wrote his epistle. Eleven or twelve?
Some may point out that after the death of Judas, Paul's words about the appearance of the "twelve" were erroneous.
However, by the time Paul wrote his epistle, Matthias had replaced the traitor (Acts 1:20–26). It is noteworthy that all the apostles agreed that Judas should be replaced by a man who had been with them from the time of the baptism of the Lord until the day of his ascension.1 In fact, one of the key purposes of this replacement was that the new apostle would be a witness of the Resurrection. This means that by the time Paul began writing his epistles, Matthias had already joined the “eleven” and was a direct eyewitness of the risen Christ, so the fact that Paul called this group of people “the twelve” is a completely accurate description. And this fact is intended to remind us that Jesus, in addition to the apostles He chose, had many other followers. Women
In order to reconcile all four Gospel accounts of the actions of women, we need to first focus on the first appearances on the day of the Resurrection.
Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20 begin with the women (including Mary Magdalene) arriving at the tomb.2 They find it empty and the stone rolled away. coffin We believe that Mary Magdalene separated from the other women after her first visit to the tomb. She probably hurried to find Peter and “the other disciple” (John). Apparently the other nine disciples were not with Peter and John that morning, and other women told them about the empty tomb.3 John 20:1–2 says that Mary Magdalene told them that the Lord's body was missing. When Peter and John examined the empty tomb and left, Mary Magdalene remained there in tears, saw the angels in the tomb, asked them about the body of the Lord, and then personally talked with Jesus. John 20:17 says that Jesus sent her to tell the brothers that He was alive, and verse 18 says that she obeyed Him. Mark 16:9–11 says that Mary Magdalene was the first to whom the Lord appeared, and that the disciples did not believe her story. Meanwhile, other women, who discovered that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, entered the tomb and saw an angel sitting on the right. Suddenly they realized that there were two angels there, as Luke notes. Matthew and Mark mention only one of them, perhaps focusing on the angel who spoke directly to the women (Matthew 28:5–7; Mark 16:5–7; Luke 24:4–8). The angel tells the women to go and tell the disciples and Peter (thus suggesting Peter's separation after his denial and the fact that he was not with the rest of the disciples) that Jesus has risen and that He will meet them in Galilee. Matthew 28:8–10 says the women ran to tell the disciples. Perhaps they missed Peter and John, who were just heading to the tomb. Apparently, while the women were searching for the disciples in the city, Peter and John were examining the empty tomb, and Mary Magdalene was experiencing her encounter with Jesus. Appearing to Mary Magdalene, Jesus visited the women who were heading into the city and once again told them that they should go and tell their brothers that they would see Him in Galilee. Perhaps Jesus appeared to them in person because they were terribly afraid and afraid to talk to anyone (Mark 16:8). After meeting Jesus, they joyfully delivered His message to the apostles. Luke 24:9–11 sums it up: “the eleven and all the rest” finally heard from the women (including Mary Magdalene) the news of Christ’s resurrection. However, no one believed them. The Empty Tomb and More
Matthew 28:11–15 tells of another important event that happened that Sunday morning.
The guards told the high priests everything that had happened. Using bribes, the high priests spread rumors that the disciples had stolen Christ's body while the guards were sleeping. By doing so, they confirmed to history that the tomb was in fact empty. The events described in the remaining verses of Matthew 28 did not occur on that Sunday. Matthew 28:16 tells us that the disciples went to Galilee (a journey that took them more than one day), and this happened before the appearance described in verse 17. Therefore, this event followed the events described in other Gospels. Jesus appeared to individuals twice in person before appearing to all eleven together. The first of these two phenomena is described in Luke 24:13–35, and also briefly in Mark 16:12–13. Having heard the story of the women, as well as the testimony of Peter and John about the empty tomb, a man named Cleopas and his companion went to Emmaus. On the way, they met Jesus and received a Bible lesson from Him, explaining to them the passages of the Old Testament Scriptures that were fulfilled through His suffering, death and resurrection. When the two realized that they had broken bread with Jesus, they hurried back to the city to tell the disciples. Arriving there, they learned that the Lord had also personally appeared to Simon Peter. This meeting with Peter is mentioned in Luke 24:34, but we have no other details about it. And finally we come to the verses that raise doubts. By this time it was already Sunday evening. Luke 24:33 tells us that the two traveling to Emmaus “found the eleven together and those who were with them.” However, we know that when Jesus appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not with them. Perhaps Thomas withdrew for some reason, or was not with them at the time, and the term "eleven" was used to generically refer to the group of apostles after the death of Judas. John 20:26 says that Thomas had to wait another eight days before Jesus appeared to the disciples again. Matthew does not mention Christ's appearance to the "eleven" while they were still in the room, but we find this information in the Gospels of Mark and Luke. We know from Luke's account that other people were present with the disciples, and Jesus ate with them, thus proving that His body was alive again (Luke 24:42). During these two appearances in Jerusalem, He convinced His followers that He was in fact alive. Galilee
The Galilean apparitions are not recorded in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, but are mentioned in Matthew 28:16–17 and John 21.
Matthew 28:16 records that the eleven went to Galilee, apparently waiting for Jesus to appear, as He had promised them this by delivering a message through the women. According to John 21, Peter and six other disciples decided to go fishing. Jesus advised them to cast the net on the other side of the boat. Returning to the shore, they saw Jesus preparing breakfast for them. Jesus had His famous conversation with Peter, “Feed my sheep,” and told him about his impending martyrdom. John o, and this means that He appeared to them as a group for the third time (John 21:14). The first time it was a meeting with eleven, except Thomas, and the second time Thomas was present there. The appearance on the mountain in Galilee, where Jesus commanded them to come (Matthew 28:16–17), occurred some time after His appearance on the shore. These verses continue the story logically because just a few verses earlier Jesus told the women to tell the brothers that they would see Him in Galilee. After a brief interlude about how the Jewish leaders conspired to explain the disappearance of the body, the narrative takes us to Galilee, to the promised appearance of Christ. Many believe that this particular appearance on a mountain in Galilee was the occasion when Jesus appeared to more than five hundred people at once (1 Corinthians 15:6). By this time, information about the promised appearance of Christ should have spread among many of His followers, and there should have been enough time for them to gather. Matthew 28:16–17 does not specifically say that there were other people with the disciples, but there is nothing in this verse that would rule out the possibility that other followers of His were gathered there. When the disciples saw Jesus, they worshiped Him, but others were still in doubt. The eleven had already seen Jesus more than once by this time, and some had even eaten with Him, which means that the words “others doubted” most likely refer to those who had not seen Him before. Last Appearances
From 1 Corinthians 15:7 we learn that after the appearance on the mountain, Jesus also appeared to His half-brother James.
Although we do not know the exact location where this meeting took place, it is logical to assume that it took place in Galilee, since, according to the Gospels, this is where Jesus and James grew up (Matthew 12:46–50; see Matthew 13:55). Wherever this meeting took place, it must have been some catalyst for Jacob, who was skeptical (John 7:5), and it must have led him to believe that his half-brother was truly the Son of God. 1 Corinthians 15:7 also explains that all the apostles saw Christ again after His meeting with James. This event is mentioned in Acts 1 (also see Matthew 28:18–20; Mark 16:14–19; Luke 24:44–53). Jesus led the apostles all the way to Bethany in the eastern part of Mount Eleon near Jerusalem. There He gave them the last instructions before ascending to heaven. The Apostle Paul writes: “And after all he appeared to me also, as to a certain monster.” This phenomenon occurred while Paul (then called Saul) was going to Damascus to persecute Christians (Acts 9:1–9; 1 Corinthians 15:7). Conclusion
Believing in the reliability of Scripture, and therefore in the veracity of eyewitness accounts, we can propose such a possible chronology after the resurrection and before the ascension of Christ based on the events set forth in the Holy Word of God.4 Chronology of the appearances of Christ after His resurrection
As demonstrated in the diagram, there is absolutely no contradiction in the stories about the appearances of Christ after His resurrection.
We, like good reporters who construct a story from the testimony of reliable witnesses, must examine all the eyewitness accounts contained in God's Word, accept by faith that the Scripture is true, and then see how it fits together without any tricks. Taken together, these stories tell us the most important truth in the world: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins and rose again, conquering sin and death for our salvation and for the glory of God. And those who have not seen Him—like you and me—are called to believe in Him and through their faith receive the incredible blessings of eternal life (1 Peter 1:8–9). References and Notes
1 The disciples, with the exception of Judas, are referred to throughout as “the eleven” (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:33; Acts 2:14). Before the death of Judas and the addition of Matthias, the disciples were often called “the twelve” (Luke 8:1; 9:12; 18:31; 22:3; 22:47; Acts 6:2). 2 If we put all four accounts together, we see that at least five women went to the tomb that morning: Mary Magdalene, another Mary (mother of James?—Matthew 28:1), Salome (Mark 16:1), Joanna and other women (Luke 24:10; “other women” included Salome and at least one other unnamed woman). 3 The Bible does not explicitly say that the women separated, but there is nothing in the Bible that would rule out the possibility. If this assumption is correct, then the problematic areas can be easily linked with each other. Luke 24:9–12 collects all eleven disciples and some other followers together, but it can also be taken as an account of the individual actions of the women and disciples linked in one narrative. The fact that John mentions only himself, Peter and Mary Magdalene proves that the other women separated from them. Additionally, John includes in his narrative the appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene after Peter and John visit the tomb (John 20:11–18), while Matthew 28:9–10 states that Jesus appeared to the women ( presumably without Mary Magdalene) when they went to look for the disciples. There may be other ways to connect the details surrounding the first appearances of Christ, but this seems to us to be the simplest approach. 4 We must also remember the words of John 21:25! source - www.answersingenesis.org https://www.origins.org.ua/page.php?id_story=1429
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Where did Christ's human body go after His ascension?
There are questions to which dogmatic answers have not yet been given. This is the space for theology. The rules of the game in this space are strict, but simple: you can only say what does not contradict the Gospel and the dogmas already adopted (at the Ecumenical Councils). If you fall into a contradiction, you drop out of the game as a heretic.
The editor of “The Table” enthusiastically kept score in the “game” of Fr. Sergius with his accusers, and in the end she herself became involved in discussions with a master of theology, a researcher of the works of Fr. Sergius Bulgakov Alexandra Osharina. We invite our readers to keep score.
– The main accusers are Fr. Sergius Bulgakov were church hierarchs who settled in Karlovtsy, and Metropolitan. Sergius Stragorodsky from the “red” church, which was under Bolshevik rule at that time. The “Karlovites” were very politicized and joined forces to restore the monarchy in Russia. It is for this reason that Patriarch Tikhon in 1921, by his decree, transferred the fullness of canonical power in the Western European Exarchate to Metropolitan. Eulogius (Georgievsky).
–Theology of Fr. Did Sergius somehow interfere with the political project of the “Karlovites”?
– The “Karlovites” clashed directly with Metropolitan Eulogius and the so-called Eulogian Church. In order to discredit the “Eulogian” church, they needed to discredit the free theological approach of the professors of the St. Sergius Institute in the person of Fr. Sergius Bulgakov. It is interesting that instead of Fr. A new theological generation came to Sergius and his contemporaries: Fr. Georgy Florovsky, Vladimir Lossky and others - which was much more conservative. Father Georgy Florovsky, for example, said that Russian theology has no prospects, that a return to Byzantine thought is inevitable. The task of Russian theology is to study patristic theology and systematize it; Russian theology does not have its own tasks. Position o. George Florovsky gave rise to neo-Byzantineism, thanks to which theology gradually faded away.
–What specific theological accusations were brought against the teachings of Fr. Sergius?
– I quote the decree of Metropolitan. Sergius of Stragorodsky: “True to the word of the Gospel, no one has ever seen God; the Church did not demand: “Show us the Father,” in order to know him with our earthly knowledge. The glory of God is that He is “the invisible, unseen, incomprehensible God.” There are two approaches in theology - apophatic and cataphatic. The first approach is a definition through negation: two and two are not five, not three, not ten. The second is associated with the positive disclosure of the phenomenon: two and two are four. Combining these two approaches is extremely important. Since God is the Creator, man cannot fully know Him, therefore the framework that the negative (apophatic) definition sets is important. The two natures in Christ were united “unfused, unchangeable, indivisible, inseparable,” says the Chalcedonian dogma. But after denial there must be an affirmation. What is Metropolitan doing? Sergius? He pulls out a quote from the Gospel of John that no one has ever seen God. But it has a continuation: “The Only Begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed.” The Evangelist says that the Only Begotten God - Christ - who came from the bosom of the Father - He revealed God. That is, in the decree of Metropolitan Sergius, only the apophatic approach in theology is easily and naturally affirmed.
Sergius Bulgakov. Photo: Author unknown
–And what exactly did Metropolitan Sergius try to refute in the theology of Fr. Sergius?
– After all, Sophia the Divine is the revealing nature of God.
–That is, the nature of God cannot be revealed? If you follow the logic of Metropolitan Sergius.
- Yes. Moreover, he claims this on behalf of the church.
-And no one questioned this position later?
- Of course they did. And Fr. himself Sergius, and the diocesan commission, which in 1936 was convened by Metropolitan Evlogii to respond to the accusations. This commission refuted all accusations of heresy. And a commission of professors from the St. Sergius Institute in the same 1936 showed a deviation from Orthodoxy in the accusations themselves.
–Has the Church officially admitted that there were theological errors in the accusations?
– Officially, all this ended in 1936. Vladimir Lossky writes the book “The Dispute about Sofia,” where he tries to neutralize everything that was said and prove that he is right. There is one more point related to the violation of church subordination. Vladimir Lossky writes his secret report in 1935. The patriarch was no longer there at that time. There is Met. Sergius of Stragorodsky and other metropolitans. At the same time, Patriarch Tikhon in 1921 issued a decree by which he temporarily transferred the entire management of the affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad to Metropolitan Evlogii, thereby depriving the church in Karlovtsy of its status. It ended with the “Karlovites” anathematizing Met. Eulogy - uncanonically deprive him of the right to govern the diocese. Although no one gave them the right to do this: no one canceled the decree of Patriarch Tikhon. In other words, during the period of accusations from 1927 to 1936, only one Metropolitan. Eulogius had full canonical power, transferred to him by Patriarch Tikhon.
-And Eulogius was not against the teachings of Fr. Sergius Bulgakov?
- Certainly.
-That is, o. Sergius was simply unlucky with his patron: against Met. Eulogius was hatching a conspiracy, and Fr. Sergius suffered “for the company.” If he had another patron, perhaps they wouldn’t have touched his theology?
“They didn’t like this free spirit himself. Metropolitan Eulogius tried to be guided by church interests, not political ones. And at the St. Sergius Institute he gathered a very specific professorship, including Fr. Sergius Bulgakov, who was the dean there and the soul of the institute, according to the testimony of many. If Russian theology is known for something, it is for the works of the professors of the St. Sergius Institute. And the theology of Father Sergius Bulgakov, according to Nikita Alekseevich Struve, towers like a mountain above the entire Orthodox world. Like the apostle Paul's theology, it enriches our spiritual lives.
O. Sergius did not claim that his theology was not subject to discussion - he wanted to be discussed, but he was not discussed, he was simply accused of heresy. By the way, Patriarch Tikhon blessed Sergius Bulgakov for priestly service even when he was the author of “The Non-Evening Light,” and this book was in many ways the basis for his ordination. Although this work, written in 1917, is much more vulnerable from a theological point of view. There are many intuitions there, but they have not yet been finalized.
-What else was Father Sergius accused of?
- Here is the following accusation: “Expounding on his teaching about the hypostatic union and clarifying the question of how it happened, he (Fr. Sergius) says: “The Logos for the human nature of Christ, one might say, simply and naturally replaced the created hypostasis.” By the latter he here means the highest part of human nature - the spirit. The fact that in man there is his own, human, spirit emanating from God, explains Fr. Sergius Bulgakov, then in Christ there is the Eternal Logos - the second hypostasis of the Most Holy Trinity. Do you understand what this is about?
– Vaguely.
– This is about the union of two natures in Christ. O. Sergius argued that the spirit in Christ was precisely the Logos, the Son of God, but which diminished in the image of the human hypostasis. Further, the Karlovac “Definition” criticizes: “Thus, here prot. Bulgakov shares the heretical views of Apollinaris, who was condemned by the Second and Sixth Ecumenical Councils. In its doctrine of the union of two natures in Christ, the Church expresses the belief that the complete human nature, consisting of body, soul and spirit, was united with God the Word, but in such a way that the result was one divine person.”
– It is possible to clarify the difference between what they think should be done and what Fr. writes. Sergius? It all sounds very similar.
– Any person consists of body, soul and spirit. The Spirit is what God “breathed” into Adam. In Christ this is the second hypostasis, the Logos. The fact that a person has a spirit, his hypostasis, in Christ is the Logos. The Chalcedonian dogma about the union of two natures in Christ says that two natures, human and Divine, are united in one person (hypostasis) of Christ. He does not have two spirits - human and Divine. Meanwhile, “Definition” claims that there is! It says: “In its teaching about the union of two natures in Christ, the Church expresses the belief that the complete human nature, consisting of body, soul and spirit, was united with God the Word. But in such a way that the result was one divine face.” This is a violation of a basic tenet. From the Karlovac “Definition” it follows that Christ united in himself the divine hypostasis and a certain human spirit.
-From what part of the Chalcedonian dogma is it clear that there is no human spirit in Christ?
– “The true man, the same from the rational soul and body, consubstantial with us in humanity (soul and body - it is not said about the spirit here - A.O..), ... united in one person and in one hypostasis, not divided or separated two faces."
Definition of the Council of Chalcedon: “We agree to confess the same true God and true man, perfect in Divinity and perfect in humanity, the same from rational soul and body, consubstantial with us in humanity, one and the same Lord Christ, the only begotten Son in two natures unfused, unchangeable, inseparably, inseparably cognizable. While preserving the essence of each of the natures, united in one person and in one hypostasis, not divided or separated into two persons, but one and the same Only Begotten Son of God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
–What meaning does the presence or absence of the word “spirit” have for my faith?
– Why was the Chalcedonian definition even necessary? This is not literalism. It was preceded by serious schisms in the church, heresies... In particular, Arius made an attempt to perceive Christ as a creation - simply as a person who was blessed from above with the special favor of God. But then we are not saved! Then death is not defeated. Apollinaris said that in Christ the body and soul were human, and the mind was the Logos. His teaching, like the teaching of Arius, is recognized as heretical, since Christ, it turns out, has half of one nature, half of another: neither is God in fullness, nor is man in fullness. How then can we take Him as an example of how to walk His way?
– How does the presence of two spirits in Christ - human and divine - threaten my faith?
- This means that He has two faces, as if two personalities. This is schizophrenia. Here I show the dogmatic inconsistency of the accusation itself. They accuse precisely what is Orthodox, what corresponds to dogmatic theology. Here is another accusation: “All of historical Christianity has always recognized that the Lord ascended to Heaven not by His Divinity, in which He always remained in Heaven with God the Father, but by humanity. And that in His humanity He ascended as a complete man - in His soul and in His body, and in this glorified flesh and soul in His resurrection and ascension He sat down and remains at the right hand of His Father.”
–Also with theological errors?
– Don’t you yourself hear a contradiction with the teachings of the church?
–What exactly is in the teaching of Fr. Did they want to refute Sergius with this?
– First you need to understand the teachings of the church. It is clear that God is spirit; there is no place in Him for human flesh, even transformed. In addition, from the “Definition” it follows that the natures in Christ are separated: it turns out that He did not descend from Heaven! He always resides in Heaven with God the Father. And He ascended as humanity—full man, in soul and body—directly into the bowels of the Most Holy Trinity. Father Sergius, responding to this accusation, points out the direct contradiction of this statement to the Gospel of John: “No one ascended into Heaven except the Son of Man who came down from Heaven and is in Heaven.”
There is no dogmatic definition of the church - in what body did the Son of God ascend to Heaven?
There is no dogmatic definition of the church - in what body the Son of God ascended to Heaven. It is clear that God is spirit, and human flesh cannot ascend into the bowels of the Holy Trinity. O. Sergius takes this antinomy and says that the human body of Christ is the Church. After all, it is called the Body of Christ. But this is something that is up for debate. This is not a dogma, but something like theologumena, theological intuition, an attempt to answer an existing question. It does not contradict the dogmatic statements of the church. It would be good if it were discussed in church. Next is a logical continuation of what the “Definition” says: “Those are his ideas, where the categorical statement about the inadmissibility of any body, flesh into the heavenly world also rejects the teaching of the Orthodox Church about the future bliss of holy people after the Last Judgment of Christ with resurrected and glorified bodies in heavenly kingdom of the Holy Trinity..."
-Well, yes, we will be resurrected in the body...
- Yes. And in the Gospel of John it is said that the New Jerusalem will come from Heaven - the same created world, but renewed. But the created world will not enter the bowels of the Most Holy Trinity! The “Definition” so easily deals with things that contradict Revelation.
-What’s terrible about the fact that human flesh entered the bowels of the Trinity? Christ lived in the flesh.
– Human flesh cannot enter the bowels of the Holy Trinity, it is foreign to it. The Creator and creation are not the same thing. God is transcendental.
– The Transcendent God was born from the Virgin Mary, He could be touched, which means He joined His creation. He ate and drank - He took this creation into himself. Therefore, the idea of human flesh entering together with Christ into the bowels of the Most Holy Trinity does not cause me such bewilderment.
– The Chalcedonian dogma says that the natures of Christ can neither be divided nor merged. This is truly a great mystery, and the positive outcome of our conversation is that these theological problems have become obvious. O. Sergius, endowed with an amazing inquisitive mind, saw questions where the church dogmatic definition had not yet been formulated. The Church has already done a lot in thinking about this topic, but not everything. Theology is not over. Antinomies remain, and Fr. Sergius examines them with trepidation. This is theology.
