ΣΤΕΡΓΙΟΥ ΣΑΚΚΟΥ

ΖΗΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΟ ΣΤΟ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΠΩΛΕΙΟ ΜΑΣ

"ΑΠΟΛΥΤΡΩΣΙΣ", ΤΗΛ. 2310 274518

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Translation from the Book

Ὁ Θεός στήν Καινή Διαθήκη, Βοήθημα Κατωτέρου Κατηχητικοῦ Β΄,

ἐκδ. «Χριστιανική Ἐλπίς» Ὀρθόδοξη Ἀδελφότητα, Θεσσαλονίκη 2015, σσ. 155-158

Lk 24:36-49
Jn 20:19-29

  It's been three days since Friday when the Jews crucified Christ on Golgotha. The two disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, placed Him in the tomb. They sealed His tomb with a large stone. What about the other disciples of Christ? Where could they be? They are all together in a house with a heavy heart from grief, but also with the doors closed, well secured, because they are afraid. The enemies of Christ may come to arrest them. In one night they arrested their beloved Master and so unjustly dragged him to the courts, they slandered him, they sentenced him as a criminal to death on a cross ... So, how can they not be afraid now? Their own lives may also be in danger.
  From time to time the scribes and Pharisees may seek them out, they may lead them to their death. Some pious women, Christ’s followers, just before they came and surprised them. They went early in the morning to offer with all their love - the most exquisite myrrh to their dead Master, but they found the tomb empty! And not just that but one Angel said to them that Christ is risen! And the most shocking, as they were returning, Christ Himself met them resurrected! "We saw him with our own eyes, he greeted us, he spoke to us", the Myrrh-bearers said happily.
  The disciples, however, could not believe them. But is it possible? They were convinced that Christ died on the cross. They knew that they had put him in the tomb and the tomb was closed with a large stone. What are these now that the claim? Probably because of their pain and their great love for the Master, they imagined everything that was being said. This is what the disciples thought.
  Βut when they were all gathered together, and though the doors were closed, suddenly Christ appeared among them! "Peace be upon you"! Ηe greeted them with the well-known greeting exchanged by the Jews at that time. They were frightened just as they saw Him. They were scared. Do they see a ghost? Is it a dream? But no! It is true! They can hear His sweet divine voice: “Why are you troubled? Why do you have doubts within you? Look at my hands and my feet to make sure that I really am. Come and touch me. The ghost has no flesh and bones, as you can see I have”. And saying this, he showed them the marks of the nails which he had in his hands and on his feet. He also showed them His side, which had been pierced by the soldier's spear on the cross.
  The disciples looked and wondered. How can they believe in this unexpected joy, that Christ was resurrected? But also, how can they continue to doubt? They can see Him with their own eyes, they can hear Him, they can touch Him! "Do you have something for me to eat?" Christ asked them, wanting to give them further proof of His resurrection. They immediately brought him grilled fish and honeycomb with honey. Christ took them and ate before them. They slowly realized the great truth, that he is alive! When he had soon disappeared from amongst them, the bones of the fish and the wax of the honeycomb were left behind. Thus no one could say: "Did we have a dream? Did we imagine that?"
  From the company of the disciples, however, Thomas had missed out. When he returned, the other disciples said to him happily, "We have seen the Lord!" But he could not believe them. "If I do not see in His hands the marks from the nails," he said, "and if I do not put my finger in the marks from the nails, and if I do not put my hand on His side, I will not believe."
  Exactly one week later, the disciples had gathered in the same place. This time they had Thomas with them. Jesus appeared – while the doors were closed once again - and He stood among them. "Peace be upon you", he greeted them and turned to Thomas: - “Come, Thomas, bring your finger here and see my hands, bring your palm and put it on my side, so that you are not a nonbeliever but a believer. Thomas was shocked. “My Lord and my God!” he exclaimed with great faith. The Lord heard all that Thomas had said and now came to assure him with convincing proof of His resurrection. Yes, Thomas can no longer be a nonbeliever. He is now certain that Christ has risen! And he is also sure that after Christ was resurrected, after he conquered death, he could not be a simple man; he is God himself!
  This is why the resurrection of Christ is the greatest event in history and the most glorious celebration of our Church. Because it assures us that our Christ is not only a man, but the true God and the victor of death. What grief henceforth can steal our joy? Our greatest enemy, death, was defeated! Christ was resurrected and one day he will resurrect us all, so that we can live eternally close to Him in the joy of paradise! That is why the faithful never cease chanting:

"Christ is risen from the dead,
by His death He trampled upon death,
and to those in the tombs He granted life".

Copyright © 2021 by Orthodox Christian Association «ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΛΠΙΣ» ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΗΤΑ. All rights reserved.

Translation from the article:

Ἀποστόλου Παπαδημητρίου, Ὁ φωτισμός καί ὁ "Διαφωτισμός", περιοδ. "Ἀπολύτρωσις" 77 (2022) 8-9.

(Apostolos Papadimitriou, Electrical engineer, Columnist and Author)

  The Epiphany is one of the oldest feasts of the Church. During it, the baptism of Christ is celebrated, which was followed by Ηis three years of public life, Ηis teaching, Ηis Passion and his Resurrection. For Christians in the West the Epiphany marks the enlightenment of humanity with the entry of God into the history of mankind. “O Christ our God, Who hath appeared and enlightened the world” is the final phrase of the Apolytikion of the celebration. And the people of God gave to the feast the name of the Light, because Christ enlightened the world with his epiphany. In remembrance of the event of baptism, the Church established the service of sanctification of the waters, which for centuries takes on a festive character in places near the sea, lake or river. This tradition was respected by our conquerors, even those of other religions. The people of God took care to bring a vessel to the church for the reception of the holy water. They used this to sanctify not only their family members, but also their animals and fields, their houses, and even their filthy stables, so that everything would have God's blessing. And they maintained stock for use throughout the year by adding water. And they did not hide their satisfaction that the holy water remained unaltered, which is a sign that our faith is alive, unlike others, even other Christian denominations.
   Centuries passed. The West was detached from the body of the one, holy, catholic Church of Christ. The faith was altered, the image of the person was distorted. The ascetic view of life and traditions were devalued. Intellectualism under the influence of philosophical reflection “created a building” which didn’t have the teaching of Christ as its foundation. The consequences were painful. Freedom in Christ was replaced by the regime of feudalism and the "Inquisition", and the enlightenment of Christ was replaced, admittedly by most, by the darkness of the Middle Ages.
   And when arbitrariness reached extreme manifestations, it provoked reaction, which manifested itself in the so-called religious reform. A feature of this was not the search for the truth lost in the realm of despotic papacy, but the arbitrary course which was not based on the tradition of the Apostolic Church that was ignored in the West, but on the personal beliefs and perceptions of the reformers. And the new fallacy proved to be worse than the first, as evidenced by the multi-fragmentation in the field of reformers and the unstoppable multiplication of their "churches"! They boasted that in "rationality" they built the "true" faith in Christ. That is why they were adversaries and particularly hostile to local traditions, which they collectively rejected as superstitions of the so called "dark" past!
   The delusion of Western Christianity lies in its foundation in intellectualism and "rationalism", with which they believed they could persuade non-Christians to accept the faith of Christ, in essence their own faith. Thus their edifice, without Christ being its foundation, was swept away and fell by storm during the age of the so-called "Enlightenment". It was preceded, during the so-called "renaissance", the questioning of the authority of God's "representative" on earth. This was followed by the questioning of God himself as the God of history. He was initially repelled in the "heavens", as a God indifferent to his creatures, to be led to non-existence, which Nietzsche tragically proclaimed with the cry "God is dead"! The "god-killers" became gods themselves and undertook the task to illuminate the world with their own "lights", those of the "enlightenment"! And the world has since moved by the arrogance of the administrators of the soul-damaging experiment. They reassure the masses that everything is going well and that there is no need for concern, as they know too well how to manage the crises that they themselves cause! Selfishness does not allow them to shout Goethe’s (from the monologue of "Faust").
   “I 've studied now Philosophy
   And Jurisprudence, Medicine, -
   And even, alas! Theology,
   From end to end, with labor keen;
   And here, poor fool! with all my lore
   I stand, no wiser than before.
   We, too, were dazzled by the "lights" of the West, when, after bloody sacrifices, we re-tasted the illusion of national freedom. According to Makrygiannis, our west-stricken compatriots, in the service of our foreign "protectors", conveyed the "lights" of Western Europe to our country as well, in order to illuminate us. Our people resisted this change/alteration with all the strength they had under slavery. In the end, they seem to succumb, accepting that "we belong to the West" and all the change that this brings with it as something inevitable. Our slavish attitude to everything that is foreign reveals the discrediting of our tradition. In fact, we brag foolishly: "We can live without Christ! Our planet is flooded with lights! It is high time we walked the path of "progress" opened by the people of the West, the "enlightened ones"!
   When will we ever feel our spiritual darkness? I wonder…

Copyright © 2021 by Orthodox Christian Association «ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΛΠΙΣ» ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΗΤΑ. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Translation from the book:

Στεργίου Ν. Σάκκου, Ἑρμηνεία στό κατά Λουκᾶν Εὐαγγέλιο, τόμ. Α΄, 

ἐκδ. «ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΛΠΙΣ» ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΗΤΑ, Θεσ/νίκη 2008, σσ. 159-164

(Stergios N. Sakkos [Read CV], A Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Luke, vol. A', pp. 159-164)

  In antiquity, all peoples in general preserved their genealogical tree carefully, but the Hebrews were particularly careful to preserve it, as they looked forward to the Messiah’s coming, who would come from a specific tribe and a specific generation. Jesus’ genealogy is mentioned by the evangelists Matthew and Luke; Matthew writes about it immediately before the narrative of Jesus Christ’s birth (see 1:1-17), while Luke at the beginning of his public ministry.

3,23. Καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὡσεὶ ἐτῶν τριάκοντα ἀρχόμενος, ὤν, ὡς ἐνομίζετο, υἱὸς Ἰωσήφ, τοῦ Ἡλί.
3:23 And he was Jesus and was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was supposed to be the son of Joseph, son of Heli.

When Jesus began his public ministry, “was about thirty years old”. This age, at which a man combines physical perfection and spiritual maturity, was recognized by the Jewish law as a suitable age for taking up public office. Jesus, of course, already at the age of twelve, had astonished the teachers of the law with his wisdom (cf. 2:47). He waited, however, to reach the appointed age of thirty years. As he endured circumcision and baptism, although it was undoubtedly not necessary for him, so once again he condescended and behaved just as a simple Jew.
People thought that Jesus was Joseph’s son, although in reality he was born "of the Holy Spirit and of Mary the Virgin", as the Orthodox Church confesses in the Creed, and as the archangel Gabriel announced to Mary on the day of the Annunciation (see Lk 1:35).

3,24-38. τοῦ Ματθάν, τοῦ Λευΐ, τοῦ Μελχί, τοῦ Ἰωαννᾶ, τοῦ Ἰωσήφ, τοῦ Ματταθίου, τοῦ Ἀμώς, τοῦ Ναούμ, τοῦ Ἐσλίμ, τοῦ Ναγγαί, τοῦ Μαάθ, τοῦ Ματταθίου, τοῦ Σεμεΰ, τοῦ Ἰωσήχ, τοῦ Ἰωδᾶ, τοῦ Ἰωαννάν, τοῦ ῾Ρησᾶ, τοῦ Ζοροβάβελ, τοῦ Σαλαθιήλ, τοῦ Νηρί, τοῦ Μελχί, τοῦ Ἀδδί, τοῦ Κωσάμ, τοῦ Ἐλμωδάμ, τοῦ ῎Ηρ, τοῦ Ἰωσῆ, τοῦ Ἐλιέζερ, τοῦ Ἰωρείμ, τοῦ Ματθάτ, τοῦ Λευΐ, τοῦ Συμεών, τοῦ Ἰούδα, τοῦ Ἰωσήφ, τοῦ Ἰωνᾶ, τοῦ Ἐλιακείμ, τοῦ Μελεᾶ, τοῦ Μαϊνάν, τοῦ Ματταθᾶ, τοῦ Νάθαν, τοῦ Δαυΐδ, τοῦ Ἰεσσαί, τοῦ ᾿Ωβήδ, τοῦ Βοόζ, τοῦ Σαλμών, τοῦ Ναασσών, τοῦ Ἀμιναδάβ, τοῦ Ἀράμ, τοῦ Ἰωράμ, τοῦ Ἐσρώμ, τοῦ Φαρές, τοῦ Ἰούδα, τοῦ Ἰακώβ, τοῦ Ἰσαάκ, τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, τοῦ Θάρα, τοῦ Ναχώρ, τοῦ Σερούχ, τοῦ ῾Ραγαῦ, τοῦ Φάλεκ, τοῦ ῎Εβερ, τοῦ Σαλᾶ, τοῦ Καϊνάν, τοῦ Ἀρφαξάδ, τοῦ Σήμ, τοῦ Νῶε, τοῦ Λάμεχ, τοῦ Μαθουσάλα, τοῦ Ἐνώχ, τοῦ Ἰάρεδ, τοῦ Μαλελεήλ, τοῦ Καϊνάν, τοῦ Ἐνώς, τοῦ Σήθ, τοῦ Ἀδάμ, τοῦ Θεοῦ.

3:24-38 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

  Comparing this Jesus’ genealogy with that given by Matthew, we find several differences both in the number of the names and in the names themselves. In particular these are the following differences:
  1) Matthew begins the genealogy from Abraham and ends with Joseph, Mary’s husband. Conversely, Luke begins from Joseph, he bypasses Abraham and ends up with Adam. This difference is easily understood when we know the purpose of the writing of the two Gospels. Matthew addresses the Jewish Christians, to whom he wants to demonstrate that Jesus, according to the promises, is the seed of Abraham and that he descends from David’s royal line (see Acts 2:30; Rom 1:3; 2 Tim 2:8; Eph 7:14). Luke who is the disciple of Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, addresses the Gentiles and he writes to the “most excellent Theophilus”. Consequently, he aims to present the universality of the gospel. For this reason, his genealogy reaches Adam, the common ancestor of the human race. He even implies that Adam came into existence directly from God, without any parents. In this way he refers indirectly to the creation of man by God.
  2) There are also differences between the two genealogies in the period from David to Joseph. The names Zerubbabel and Salathiel, common to the two genealogies, do not refer to the same persons. Moreover, Luke mentions 42 names in all, while Matthew mentions far fewer, only 28. In both genealogies, of course, there are omissions of names. These are either because there were omissions in the genealogical lists on which the evangelists based their writings, or because the word "son" simply means descendant and not direct son (cf. Mt 1:1; “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”).
  Julius Africanus, an ancient writer, explained the difference between the two lists as follows: Joseph's natural father was Jacob, while his legal father was Eli according to the law of “ἐπιγαμβρεύσεως” (see Deut 25:5-6), which established levirate marriage (levir = brother-in-law). That is, when a Jewish childless man died, his brother was obliged to take his wife and bear offspring with her for his dead brother. Eli and Jacob, in fact, were half-brothers, born of the same mother but not of the same father. Matthew gives Jacob’s genealogy, while Luke Eli’s.
  Another suggested explanation is that Matthew presented Joseph’s lineage, while Luke searched and learned from the Virgin her own lineage in great detail. Of course, there were not genealogies for women at that time. The evangelist tells the genealogy of Mary's father, Eli, who, according to tradition, was called Joachim; that is, he had two names, Eli and Joachim. Interestingly, both genealogies meet in King David, from whose lineage the Messiah was expected.
  Certainly, when the God-inspired evangelist Luke was writing his Gospel, he knew the genealogy of the Gospel according to Matthew, which was already in circulation (see comments on 1:1). Nevertheless, he is not afraid of causing confusion with the differences noted in his own genealogy, because there are no essential problems.

Copyright © 2021 by Orthodox Christian Association «ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΛΠΙΣ» ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΗΤΑ. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Translation from the book:

Στεργίου Ν. Σάκκου, Ἑρμηνεία στό κατά Λουκᾶν Εὐαγγέλιο, τόμ. Α΄, 

ἐκδ. «ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΛΠΙΣ» ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΗΤΑ, Θεσ/νίκη 2008, σσ. 154-159

(Stergios N. Sakkos [Read CV], A Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Luke, vol. A', pp. 154-159)

  In the Gospel according to Luke, the event of Jesus' baptism is briefly recounted. This description, however, provides more information which the other evangelists do not give (see Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:9-11; Jn 1:32-34). These distinctive events are:
  a) Jesus came to John to be baptized after all the people had already been baptized.
  b) Jesus prayed at the time of baptism.
  c) The Holy Spirit came down “in a bodily form, like a dove” (v. 22).

3,21. Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ βαπτισθῆναι ἅπαντα τὸν λαὸν καὶ Ἰησοῦ βαπτισθέντος καὶ προσευχομένου ἀνεῳχθῆναι τὸν οὐρανόν.
3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened.

  The expression “all the people” does not mean that all the people of Palestine were baptized, but that John's preaching was made known everywhere, so that all those who wanted to be baptized, they were baptized. Jesus also wanted to be baptized like the rest of the people. All the others, of course, confessed their sins first; Jesus immediately came out of the waters of the Jordan (see Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10), because he was sinless. He had no need of purification, but he accepted baptism in order to keep the whole law, as he explained to the Baptist who vividly expressed his objections (cf. Mt 3:15).
  St John Damascene, referring to the theology of Jesus’ baptism, writes: "He is baptized, not as one who needs cleansing, but for my purification, that he may break the demons’ heads on the water, to drown the sin in the water, and to bury the old Adam in the water, to sanctify the baptizer, to fulfill the law, to reveal the mystery of the Trinity, to be a symbol and example for our baptism."
  The baptism of Jesus is another act of humiliation. The shock John experienced (see Mt 3:14) before this humiliation of the Lord is emphasized with very strong contrasts in the Doxastikon of the Great Consecration of the Epiphany; “The Forerunner was seized with trembling, and cried aloud, saying: “How can a lamp illumine the light? How can a slave lay his hand upon his Master?”
Zygavinos notes that at the time of his baptism Jesus prayed "teaching that those who are baptized should pray".

3,22. καὶ καταβῆναι τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον σωματικῷ εἴδει ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν, καὶ φωνὴν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ γενέσθαι λέγουσαν· σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα.
3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in a bodily form, like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, which said, "You are my beloved Son; I am well pleased in you."

  During the Lord's baptism, before people’s astonished eyes, the heaven was opened as if it had been torn (see Mk 1:10). From the open heavens the Holy Spirit descended “like a dove” and stood upon Jesus. Thus, John was assured that Jesus was the expected Messiah, according to the information he received from God Himself (see Jn 1:33). The people who were standing by also understood to whom the voice that was heard afterwards, referred to.
  The third person of the Holy Trinity appeared “in a bodily form” like a dove. He appeared “εἴδει”, that is, in appearance, not in the nature of a dove. He did not become a real dove, he was not incarnated, but he appeared in this way so that people could see him. In other words, it did not happen the same as to the Son, who took human nature and, as the evangelist John notes, “the Word became flesh” (1:14).
  The dove symbolizes integrity, meekness and peace. The Holy Spirit was revealed in the form of the dove "that we may know we must be meek and pure", underlines St. Theophylact. The dove also signifies Jesus’ sinlessness and his work of peace, by which he would reconcile the earth with heaven. St. Chrysostom recalls that also in Noah's ark a dove came bearing an olive branch, a symbol of God's love for man and of the deliverance from his sufferings. At the Lord’s baptism, according to the same father, the Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove to announce God’s mercy to the world.
  The Father’s voice was also heard from heaven, giving his testimony concerning Jesus, "You are my beloved Son; I am well pleased in you." In the Homeric and classical Greek language, “beloved” often means "only-begotten", hence, of the same nature. The verb “εὐδoκω” means "to be pleased, to feel relieved, to feel pleased ". In this case the Father's pleasure is absolute, because the Son is of the same nature with the Father. He is the one who reveals the Father’s person to the world, “the express image of his person” (Heb 1:3). “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9), said the Lord to his disciple Philip shortly before the Passion.
  The triune God was revealed in Jesus’ baptism; the Son was baptized in the waters of the Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove and the presence of the Father was sensed in the voice that was heard. This truth is conveyed in the Apolytikion of the feast of the Epiphany: "When You were baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity manifested; for the voice of the Father bore witness to You, calling You His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove, confirmed the certainty of the word. O Christ our God, who has appeared and has enlightened the world, glory be to You”. This complete revelation of the triune God will be repeated in the Transfiguration of Jesus the Saviour (see Mt 17:1-8; Mk 9:2-8; Lk 9:28-36).
  By the baptism Christ was formally enthroned on three thrones:
  a) on the throne of the Teacher; to teach the truth of his gospel,
  b) on the throne of the high priest, to celebrate the great sacrifice, in which he would be at the same time both the sacrificial priest and the prey, the lamb “Behold the Lamb of God, which has taken away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29),
  c) finally, on the throne of the King, because he is the King of the eternal kingdom, his Church, to which belong all those who had been disciples by his teaching and they were redeemed by his sacrifice.

Copyright © 2021 by Orthodox Christian Association «ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΛΠΙΣ» ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΗΤΑ. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Translation from the book:

Στεργίου Ν. Σάκκου, Ἑρμηνεία στό κατά Λουκᾶν Εὐαγγέλιο, τόμ. Α΄, 

ἐκδ. «ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΛΠΙΣ» ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΗΤΑ, Θεσ/νίκη 2008, σσ. 133-153

(Stergios N. Sakkos [Read CV], A Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Luke, vol. A', pp. 133-153)

   Luke, like the other three evangelists (see Mt 3:1-12; Mk 1:1-8; Jn 1:19-34), first narrates the appearance and work of John the Forerunner and Baptist and then the Lord's public ministry. John the Baptist stands at the border between the prophets and the apostles; he not only prophesied of the Messiah, but also showed him to his disciples (see Jn 1:29).

3,1. Ἐν ἔτει δὲ πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ τῆς ἡγεμονίας Τιβερίου Καίσαρος, ἡγεμονεύοντος Ποντίου Πιλάτου τῆς Ἰουδαίας, καὶ τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Γαλιλαίας Ἡρῴδου, Φιλίππου δὲ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Ἰτουραίας καὶ Τραχωνίτιδος χώρας, καὶ Λυσανίου τῆς Ἀβιληνῆς τετραρχοῦντος.
3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.

   John's presence on the historical scene and the beginning of Jesus' public ministry are stipulated chronologically by political and religious rulers at the time (see comments on 1:5).
   Tiberius Caesar (Tiberius Claudius Nero) was the stepson and successor of Octavian Augustus (see Lk 2:1). In the fifteenth year of Tiberius' reign (14-37 AD), John and Jesus were about thirty years old (see v. 23).
   After the death of Herod I, the slayer of the infants of Bethlehem, his kingdom was divided among his sons. They acquired the title of tetrarch; the people, of course, called them "kings". At first Archelaus reigned in Judea, Samaria and Idumea. But he was deposed by the emperor because of his cruelty (see comments on 2:42). The areas under his jurisdiction were annexed to the province of Syria. From then on, Judea was ruled by Roman commissioners, who were based in Caesarea of Palestine. The fifth commissioner of Judea after the deposition of Archelaus (6 A.D.) was Pontius Pilate. His name Pontius indicates his origin from Pontus, while the name Pilate, according to one interpretation, is due to his habit of always carrying his spear, which in Latin is called “pilum”.
   Herod Antipas was the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, the one who beheaded John the Baptist (see Mt 14:1-12; Mk 6:14-29; Lk 9:7-9). We will see about his relationship with Jesus within the passages of the Gospel (see comments on Lk 13:32; 23:6-12).
   Philip, Herod Antipas' brother, was the tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, areas east of Lake Gennesaret, at a considerable distance from it, towards the Syrian desert. Herod Antipas, had an illicit relationship with Philip's wife Herodias. He was strictly rebuked by John the Baptist and this was the cause of John's imprisonment (Mt 14:3; Mk 6:17).
   The existence of the tetrarch Lysanias was questioned-challenged. Luke was accused of moving some years later Lysanias, the king of Ituraea, who was killed by Antony in 34 B.C. However, inscriptions and coins that were found in excavations of that area support the information of the evangelist Luke. The area administered by Lysanias, Abilene, stretched between Damascus and the Ptolemaic Heliopolis.

3,2. ἐπ᾿ ἀρχιερέως Ἄννα καὶ Καϊάφα, ἐγένετο ῥῆμα Θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν Ζαχαρίου υἱὸν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.
3:2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priest, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

   The use of the singular “the high priest”, although followed by two names, Anna and Caiaphas, is not a grammatical error. In 15 A.D. the Romans deposed Anna, the legal, according to the Mosaic law, lifelong-high priest since 6 A.D., and in his place they successively appointed his four sons and finally his son-in-law Caiaphas. In Jesus’ time, Caiaphas was officially recognized as the high priest by the Romans, while Annas remained the real and acceptable high priest by the Jews. In every religious matter, Annas decided first, so as to satisfy the people’s conscience and then Caiaphas repeated the decision "in the eyes of the Romans" (see Jn 18:13; Acts 4:6).
   “The word of God came” means that God’s command came to John to undertake his mission by an angel or by a vision or in some other way that is not specified. He was "a man sent by God", as the evangelist John notes (Jn 1:6; cf. 1:33), that is why he did not begin his work "of his own accord", "but being moved by the divine Spirit".
   The expression "the word of God came" is found only here in the New Testament. It is reminiscent of the equivalent phrase "the word of the Lord was spoken", which is used very often in the Old Testament for the calling of the prophets by God (see Hos 1:1; Mic1:1; Joel 1:1; Jon 1:1; Zeph 1:1; Hag 1:1.3; Zech 1:1; Jer 1:1.2; Ezek 1:2) and it shows Luke’s familiarity with the text of the Old Testament and in particular with its Greek translation by the O' (Seventy).
   John received God's message “in the wilderness”, where, according to the evangelist Luke, he had withdrawn himself "until the day of his revelation to Israel" (1:80). God, who brought him into the world by a miracle, then led him into the wilderness to prepare for his great mission. It is a characteristic of great men to isolate themselves for a period of preparation before beginning their public operation.
   In the wilderness John lived as an ascetic. He did not consume alcoholic beverages (see Lk 1:15), he did not want to live with the comforts people have. He wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist. His food was "locusts and wild honey" (Mt 3:4; cf. Mk 1:6).

3,3. καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν περίχωρον τοῦ Ἰορδάνου κηρύσσων βάπτισμα μετανοίας εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν.
3:3 and he went into all the region along the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

   When John received God's command, he left his isolation and “went into every region along the Jordan”, throughout the whole bank of the Jordan River (cf. Jn 1:28; 3:23; 10:40), where he preached and baptized the people.
   The Jordan river descends from Lake Gennesaret and flows through all the districts of the country, namely Galilee, Samaria, Judea and Perea. John stayed near the river, because his main mission was to baptize the Jews who would receive his preaching. He went along the whole of the riverside area of Palestine, so that those who wished could approach him. The place where John baptized is not exactly specified. Combining the testimonies of all the evangelists, we guess that this was done "in the wilderness" (Mt 3:1), in the uninhabited region of Judea, but also in all of Palestine; on both banks of the river, on the left side and "beyond the Jordan" (Jn 1:28), obviously in places where the riverbed was suitable for baptisms. Such places are numerous along the river, from the Sea of Galilee to Judea, where the Jordan flows into the Dead Sea. Even today, at a distance of about 40 kilometers from Jerusalem, near Jericho, where the Holy Monastery of St. Gerasimus of Jordan is located, many pilgrims are baptized in the Jordan River. In that area, but also further north, near Beisan (Scythopolis), where " Aenon near to Salim" must have been located, John baptized "because there was much water there" (Jn 3:22-23). His presence in the northern region of Palestine, in Galilee, is also attested by the fact that he was arrested there by Herod Antipas, king of Galilee.
   The Baptist did not go to the cities, but his fame reached there. His ascetic figure, his powerful preaching and his holy life attracted many crowds from all places, even from the capital (see Mt 3:5; Mk 1:5; Jn 1:19). His great mission was also obvious by his whole appearance; that was a call to repentance, too. The news spread throughout the whole country that in the wilderness of Judea lived an ascetic whose language reminded of the great prophets and whose life shone like a burning torch in the thick moral darkness. After all, five centuries had already passed since the time of Malachi, and in all that time no prophet had appeared in Israel. Therefore, the crowds gathered to see and hear John eagerly. Moreover, he was quite different from all the false messiahs of that day. They, taking advantage of the people's false and deceptive perceptions of the Messiah, gathered armed followers and promised salvation from the oppression of the Roman yoke. None of them were interested in the moral progress of his followers. John appeared unarmed and weak, without claiming to be the Messiah. His words like a hammer shattered petrified hearts and like a scalpel pierced the most intimate thoughts, in order to create thoughts leading to repentance. It was precisely this true and different element that the people discerned and ran to him.
   The baptism which John instituted was not included in the regulations of the Mosaic legislation. The law prescribed that the objects and the Jews themselves should be washed whenever they came into contact with the Gentiles or for any other reason they were offended by legal impurity (see Lev ch. 11;15). John's baptism was a “baptism of repentance”, that is, it expressed repentance and the desire for a pure life. It was not concerned with the confined legal impurity, but with the whole moral uncleanness; it revealed the inadequacy of legal purification and the need for complete renewal. It did not, however, ensure the forgiveness of sins and spiritual rebirth; “this is the gift of the baptism given afterwards”, St Chrysostom states categorically. Those who repented sought redemption and being humbled they felt the desire for the forgiveness of their sins; this is the meaning of the expression “for the forgiveness of sins”. John's baptism was a prophetic sign, a symbol that included all the previous and prepared for the reality that the Messiah would inaugurate. Before Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, redemption could not be assured; "the blood of His son, Jesus Christ, cleanses us from all sin" (1 Jn 1:7). John's aim was to bring the Jews to self-consciousness, to lead them to an awareness of their sins. “This was the appearance of this man, a man of repentance and confession”, observes St Chrysostom. The Baptist seemed to preach as follows: “It is not the objects that defile a man. You are defiled by the impurity of sin. Come to me in repentance and I will immerse you in the water." That is why, while the Jews stood in the water, immersed up to their necks, they confessed their sins and then dipped their heads in the water.
   The awareness of sinfulness and the realization of inadequacy are the basic prerequisites for a person to accept God’s presence in his life. The better he knows himself and realizes his weaknesses, the more intensely he seeks God as a redeemer. This is why the Lord proclaims: "For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mt 9:13). The pharisees who "justify themselves" (Lk 16:15) did not feel the need to repent. The tax collectors and prostitutes especially approached John the Baptist, as the Lord emphasized; “Verily I assure you, that the tax collectors and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and you, when you had seen it, did not repent afterwards, that you might believe him” (Mt 21:31-32). It is indeed an acceptable truth that "those who do not want to repent cannot believe". On the contrary, the deeper the repentance is, the more faith and love are rekindled for the Lord.

3,4-6. ὡς γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ λόγων Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ· πᾶσα φάραγξ πληρωθήσεται καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται, καὶ ἔσται τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθεῖαν καὶ αἱ τραχεῖαι εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας, καὶ ὄψεται πᾶσα σὰρξ τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
3:4-6 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all mankind shall see the salvation of God."

   John is the prophet who was prophesied. Two prophets, Isaiah and Malachi, spoke of his person, his mission and the content of his preaching. In the Gospel according to Mark prophecies of both of them are mentioned; "Behold, I send my angel before you, who will prepare your way in front of you" (Mk 1:2; cf. Mal 3:1) and "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths" (Mk 1:3; cf. Is 40:3). The other three evangelists (see Mt 3:3; Lk 3:4; Jn 1:23) mention only the prophecy contained “of the words of Isaiah”.
   In the first place this prophecy of Isaiah was addressed to the people of Israel, who after centuries would be captive in Babylon. The prophet, seeing prophetically the people’s return to their homeland, said to the captives to prepare the way in order to hasten their return. But the same prophecy also has its messianic dimension. John the Baptist used it to answer the Pharisees' messengers coming from Jerusalem when they asked him, "What do you say of him?" (Jn 1:22). He was conscious that he was a voice crying out loud in the wilderness, a voice in the desert. St. Cyril of Alexandria analyzes this voice in brief commands; "Be prepared to obey to what Christ will give as a law; withdraw your hearts from the shadow of the law; put an end to the typical religiosity; get rid of your perverse way of thinking."
   The voice of the wilderness, John’s voice, was calling the Jews to prepare the Lord’s way; that is, to prepare themselves inwardly. More specifically, they were to make “the paths straight”, to make the paths straight and smooth, setting aside the obstacles raised by formal adherence to the law and the tyranny of the passions, so that their hearts might be made receptive to the Messiah’s preaching. These words recall Joshua’s command: "Set your hearts straight towards the Lord God of Israel" (Josh 24:23).
   The gorges, mountains and hills represent, according to the interpreters, the various and multiple forms of sin which hinder the coming of salvation. The coarse and prone to wickedness people are symbolized by the steep gorges, while the hard and unfruitful in virtue are represented by the mountains and the hills. The hymn writers of our Church, interpreting in their own poetic way, consider the poor human nature to be a gorge, which through the incarnation of the Word will be filled, completed with the divine nature and elevated. Similarly, they say, the mountains and the hills are "the death bringing pride" which will be diminished and humbled by losing its dominating hold over the human race. Through the power of repentance, which will be preached by the Baptist, all obstacles will be removed, so that the way will be straight and smooth, “the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth”, for the coming Saviour.
   It is characteristic that only Luke of the synoptic evangelists adds here Isaiah’s prophetic word that “all mankind shall see the salvation of God" (40:5), not only the Jews. For the Gentile Christians, to whom the Gospel according to Luke is addressed, this truth was especially important. The whole human race will see God's salvation, the Saviour, the Son of God who is coming to give salvation (see comments on 2:30).

3,7. ῎Ελεγεν οὖν τοῖς ἐκπορευομένοις ὄχλοις βαπτισθῆναι ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ· γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, τίς ὑπέδειξεν ὑμῖν φυγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς;
3:7 He said therefore to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

   The holy prophet and ascetic John was also a teacher, a champion preacher of God’s truth. His teaching, completely free of nationalistic ideals, was simple, brief and practical. As a spiritual doctor, he gave to each one the prescription he needed. He gave to each group: the sinful tax collectors, the hypocritical scribes and pharisees and the Sadducees, the exploiters of the people’s piety, a different one. But to all of them he preached the sermon of repentance with a prophetic power (cf. Mt 3:1-2. 7-12; cf. Lk 3:7-14).
   Luke compared to the other evangelists records more details of the Baptist's teaching and as he informs us here, John also criticized both the crowds with courage and the religious and political leadership (see Mt 3:7; 14:4). John did not flatter the great and powerful, nor did he hesitate to criticize most of them. His criticism was especially acute for those who approached him without a repentant disposition. With the illumination of the Holy Spirit, who filled his existence from his mother's womb according to the prophecy of the angel Gabriel (cf. Lk 1:15), John could read in men’s hearts the motives of their actions. Many went to the Jordan only out of curiosity and others out of purpose, to win the pious people’s favour. Still others came to be baptized because they feared that some harm would come upon them, entirely typically, without any desire to change and correct themselves. The hypocrisy of all these was stamped out by John. He called them the offspring of vipers, that is, vipers, to emphasize that their cunning and wickedness resembled that of the devil, who appeared in heaven as a serpent (see Gen 3:1f). As the serpents flee away from the fire, so they could not withstand the Baptist's criticism and were driven away.
   If there is no sincere repentance, John emphasized, there is no other way in which “the wrath to come” can be overcome. By this term the eternal hell is emphasized to which the unrepentant will end up. In reality, of course, God neither gets angry nor does he punish. Man, through his sin and apostasy, is removed from the sphere of divine love and feels God's wrath against him. Just as he who punches on nails is wounded and he who stones the sun receives the stones as they return with a rush, so he who sins pays the price of his rebellion. This means that the "wrath of God" is an anthropomorphic expression which projects the subjective state of the wicked and impious man onto God’s holy and perfect person.

3,8. Ποιήσατε οὖν καρποὺς ἀξίους τῆς μετανοίας, καὶ μὴ ἄρξησθε λέγειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν Ἀβραάμ· λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι δύναται ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ Ἀβραάμ.
3:8 Therefore bring forth fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

   True repentance is seen in the change of life. A change of mind must be accompanied by a change of conduct. I repent essentially when I give up the life that serves my wickedness and weaknesses, and strive to make my works pleasing to God. This is why John preached, "bring forth fruits that befit repentance”. Repentance is judged by its fruitfulness, by the godly works of piety, love and purity. The New Testament mentions examples of practical repentance - Matthew the tax collector (see Lk 5:27-28; Mt 9:9; Mk 2:14), the prostitute (see Lk 7:37-50), Zacchaeus the chief tax collector (see Lk 19:1-10), the Samaritan woman (see Jn 4:7-42), the criminal robber (see Lk 23:40-43), Saul the persecutor (see Acts 9:1-30).
   John the Baptist proclaimed a hard truth for the Jews; “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham”. God can bring forth Abraham's children even from the stones, as he allowed Isaac to be born from the dead and infertile as a stone Sarah’s womb. He had no need of the Jews to carry out his plan. He could raise the people who would glorify his name from the most unlikely and unsuitable human earthlings. Indeed from the heathen, whom the Jews esteemed no more highly than stones -they called them unclean swine and dirty dogs- the genuine children of Abraham came from.
   The pseudo-piοus Jews thought that they were assured of God's favour because they were Abraham’s descendants. Their lineage was their greatest boast which, however, proved to be vain and futile. As Abraham’s children they should have had the faith, obedience and works of their ancestor. This is what the Lord Himself emphasized to them in the amazing dialogue preserved by John the evangelist; “If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham” (Jn 8:39). The same theme is developed at length by the apostle Paul in the fourth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans and in the third chapter to Galatians. Interpreting the apostolic teaching, St Chrysostom addressed those who boasted about their glorious ancestors and warned them: "Have you a great ancestor? If you are like him, you will gain. But if you do nothing to be worthy of him, he himself will become a critic for you instead of praiser, because from such a worthy root you have grown a bitter fruit."
   People who have a relationship with God run the following grave danger; if they do not pay attention in the course of their lives and do not show diligence in their spiritual progress, they lose everything essential and retain only an outer cloak of typical religiosity, which even grows in them a sense of self-sufficiency and arrogance. They deceive their consciences by invoking their relationship with revered persons and sacred things, and are not interested in their personal conscious relationship with God himself, nor in whether their life is consistent with his commandments.

3,9. ῎Ηδη δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀξίνη πρὸς τὴν ῥίζαν τῶν δένδρων κεῖται· πᾶν οὖν δένδρον μὴ ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλὸν ἐκκόπτεται καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται.
3:9 Already now the axe is lying to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

   The “ἀξίνη” is the axe. Every tree that doesn't bear fruit is cut down and burned. The coming Messiah and his word is the axe that draws near to cut down the unrepentant Jews like fruitless trees. It is an inevitable and imminent judgment. John warns of this judgment, but also points out the way of salvation, true repentance.

3,10. Καὶ ἐπηρώτων αὐτὸν οἱ ὄχλοι λέγοντες· τί οὖν ποιήσομεν;
3:10 And the crowds asked him, saying, “What shall we do then”?

   Next, the Gospel narrative presents certain categories of people who approached John and asked him, "What shall we do?
   All men at heart desire salvation; the corruption of sin covers this desire. But when the soul realizes its great need, it spontaneously asks to know what it should do to be saved (cf. Acts 2:37; 16:30). The first manifestation of a humbled heart and a soul who repents is the attempt to make amends.

3,11. Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι, καὶ ὁ ἔχων βρώματα ὁμοίως ποιείτω.
3:11 And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

   John answers the people's question by recommending as fruits of repentance the works of compassion and love. The mark of genuine repentance is the practical manifestation of love. The prophet Daniel had given the following advice to King Nebuchadnezzar - "redeem your sins in alms and your iniquities in mercy to the poor " 4:27 (4:24). At his Second Coming the Lord will judge the world on the basis of faith in his person and the practice of practical love (see Mt 25:31-46).
   John the Baptist, wanting to teach participation in the needs of the poor brethren, refers to two elements essential for man's survival, food and clothing (cf. 1 Tit 6:8). Even today, despite the abundance of good things, many are deprived of necessities and suffer. The Gospel's preaching of practical love and charity (see Mt 5:7; Acts 20:35; Jas 2:16; 1 Jn 3:18) has never ceased to be relevant.

3,12-13. Ἦλθον δὲ καὶ τελῶναι βαπτισθῆναι, καὶ εἶπον πρὸς αὐτόν· διδάσκαλε, τί ποιήσομεν; Ὁ δὲ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτούς· μηδὲν πλέον παρὰ τὸ διατεταγμένον ὑμῖν πράσσετε.
3:12-13 Then came also tax collectors to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “exact no more than that which is appointed you”.

   In ancient times “τελῶναι” (customs officials) were called the tax collectors. But they were very different from those of today. They were not civil servants but private individuals who bought taxes from the state and then collected them from the citizens on their own account. In the Roman Empire, which included Palestine in Christ’s time, tax collectors were organized into companies. Especially in Judea, it was a law that tax companies, consisting only of Jews, were to collect taxes.
   The taxation was done as follows: The state estimated that from the region of Judea it had to collect taxes of, for example, a million. It would therefore organize an auction starting from this amount. The directors of the big tax companies, who were Roman citizens, each wanting to collect the taxes for his company, raised the amount, which could reach two or three million. The one who gave the most bought the taxes for his company and paid the amount in advance to the state. He then resold the taxes to other smaller companies and they in turn to other even smaller companies. The resale was always done by auction and as a result, the amount of money raised was enormous. Whereas, for example, the individual tax set by the state was 10 % of each citizen's income, the successive auctions raised it to 30-40 %. And when the harvest happened to be less than the state had calculated, the people were forced to pay all of it in taxes, so that they suffered from hunger.
   The tax collectors were cruel and inhuman in the collection of taxes, real beasts who sucked the blood of the people. The philosopher Theocritus from Chios when asked which were the fiercest beasts, replied: “In the mountains the bears, in the cities the tax collectors”. The historian Philo the Judean, contemporary of the apostles, recounts that in his days the tax collectors who, when collecting the head tax, found some of the taxpayers dead, dug them out of the grave and flogged them in public. When fellow citizens asked them why they abused the lifeless bodies, since they were unable to meet their demand, the tax collectors replied that they did so in order to force the deads’ relatives to pay the tax themselves.
   The Jews of course, hated the tax collectors. They considered them traitors, because they collaborated with the conquerors and dirty, because they consorted with unclean Gentiles. The profession of a tax collector was described as dishonourable and shameful. That is why the rabbis did not allow their disciples to have anything to do with them.
   Among the tax collectors, however, there were souls who kept deep within them the anxiety for salvation. They were going to be baptized in the Jordan in true repentance. Their question “what shall we do?” expressed their sincere desire to change course. And John recommended that they should not receive more than what the law required. This command is valid in every age for all professions. The believer ought to be content with the lawful reward in every work and not to seek unjust gain.

3,14. Ἐπηρώτων δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ στρατευόμενοι λέγοντες· καὶ ἡμεῖς τί ποιήσομεν; Καὶ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτούς· μηδένα συκοφαντήσητε μηδὲ διασείσητε, καὶ ἀρκεῖσθε τοῖς ὀψωνίοις ὑμῶν.
3:14 Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or threatening for non-existent laws, and be content with your wages."

   The “soldiers” were Roman or Hebrew citizens, who served in the army of Herod Antipas the tetrarch.
   The verb “συκοφαντήσητε” here, as in Lk 19:8, does not have the usual meaning of 'slander'. It means "to collect from someone a certain amount of money as a tax by threatening and invoking non-existent laws." This was exactly what the soldiers to whom John was addressing did. The Roman law defined the temporary tax of "παραχειμασίας”. It was paid to the soldiers themselves by the inhabitants of the districts in which a military unit of the conquerors happened to be stationed. Usually, the soldiers collected the tax in a cruel and predatory manner. While the tax of "παραχειμασίας” was only valid for wartime, the soldiers continued to demand it from the citizens even in peacetime in the same inhumane way, claiming that they were carrying out orders from their superiors. That is why when they asked “what shall we do?”, John advised them not to be unjust by taking taxes illegally and violently, but to be content with the salary they received from the state.
   The verb “διασείω” in its literal meaning is used in the work of an arborist, a person who takes care of trees. In order to gather the last fruits of a tree, which are left on the tops, he takes the branch and shakes it with force, so that the fruits fall. In economic phraseology the verb is used metaphorically. "Διασείω” means to "rob someone by violence", to take away his last savings by force.

3,15-16. Προσδοκῶντος δὲ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ διαλογιζομένων πάντων ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν περὶ τοῦ Ἰωάννου, μήποτε αὐτὸς εἴη ὁ Χριστός, ἀπεκρίνατο ὁ Ἰωάννης ἅπασι λέγων· ἐγὼ μὲν ὕδατι βαπτίζω ὑμᾶς· ἔρχεται δὲ ὁ ἰσχυρότερός μου, οὗ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς λῦσαι τὸν ἱμάντα τῶν ὑποδημάτων αὐτοῦ· αὐτὸς ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί.
3:15-16 As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the lace of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.

   John's personality, his holy and ascetic life and his powerful preaching made the people wonder if he was the Messiah. However, according to the prophecies, the Messiah would come from Judah’s tribe, while John belonged to Levi’s tribe.
   John did not take advantage of the people’s enthusiasm and confidence to push himself forward. He emphasized, “but he who is mightier than I is coming”. He is "the one who comes from heaven" (Jn 3:31). The Baptist humbly and clearly declared, “I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.” (Jn 3:28). He called himself "the friend of the bridegroom" (Jn 3:29), who joyfully proclaimed the coming of the bridegroom-Messiah. That is why, when John's disciples expressed their dissatisfaction with Jesus’ ministry (see Jn 3:26), they received from their teacher the answer; “he must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30).
   There was a rabbinic saying according to which the disciples of a rabbi were to render him every service, even the most humiliating of services, except only to tie and untie the laces of his shoes, for this was considered extremely humiliating. John, in order to emphasize how superior the Messiah was to him - apparently making an allusion to that saying - said that not only did he owe him even this, but that he was unworthy to do it, “the laces of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie”. The evangelist Matthew, of course, notes John's word somewhat differently; “whose shoes I am not worthy to hold” (3:11). Obviously, the Baptist used both examples in his preaching, sometimes one and sometimes the other.
   John also explained that his baptism was not the one that offered salvation, but it was a symbolic baptism in water. He was preparing for the Messiah’s perfect and effective baptism (see comments on 3:3), which would be “in the Holy Spirit and fire”. A metallic object is cleansed with water only externally, while fire penetrates into it and melts it, so that it can be cleansed of all impurities and take on a new form and shape. Similarly, the Messiah’s baptism would deeply purify man and transform him, as the Holy Spirit like fire would penetrate his entire existence. The Holy Spirit’s descent on the day of Pentecost was manifested in tongues of fire (see Acts 2:3-4) fulfilling John's prophecy and transforming the fearful disciples into fiery preachers of the Resurrection.

3,17. Οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ διακαθαριεῖ τὴν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ συνάξει τὸν σῖτον εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ.
3:17 His winnowing-shovel is in his hand to clear out his threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up in fire unquenchable."

   The prophets foretold that the Messiah would perform a work of judgment (Mal 3:2; Is 63:4). The old man Simeon, likewise, who had the honour to hold the divine infant in his arms prophesied, “behold, this child is set for the fall and uprising of many in Israel” (Lk 2:34). The Baptist repeated the same prophecy, using the image of the threshing floor, as it was done at that time. The thresher with the spade, the threshing shovel, shook the threshed grain into the air, threshing it, separating the wheat from the chaff. So will the Messiah come as a judge and separate the believers from the nonbelievers. The “storehouse” symbolizes the eternal kingdom, where the Lord will gather his own after the final judgment. The nonbelievers will be punished “in fire unquenchable”, which represents the unending hell (see Mt 5:22; 13:40; 42:50; 18:8. 9; 25:41. 46; Mk 9:43-48).
   This possessive adjective “his”, which is repeated three times, identifies the Messiah with Yahweh, who according to the Old Testament is the only absolute judge and ruler.

3,18. Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἕτερα παρακαλῶν εὐηγγελίζετο τὸν λαόν.
3:18 So, with many other exhortations, he declared the good news to the people.

   After the exemplary exposition of the Baptist’s teaching and work, the content of his sermon is mentioned generally and briefly. John “παρακαλῶν” (advising), edifying and preparing the people, “declared the good news”, proclaiming the happy message of the Messiah’s coming, of the fulfillment of God's promises.

3,19-20. Ὁ δὲ Ἡρῴδης ὁ τετράρχης, ἐλεγχόμενος ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ περὶ Ἡρῳδιάδος τῆς γυναικὸς τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ περὶ πάντων ὧν ἐποίησε πονηρῶν ὁ Ἡρῴδης, προσέθηκε καὶ τοῦτο ἐπὶ πᾶσι καὶ κατέκλεισε τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.
3:19-20 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been rebuked by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

   The evangelist Luke, wishing to complete what concerns the Baptist, mentions at this point the event of his imprisonment, which will certainly take place later, after the baptism of Jesus, which is described below (see v. 21-22).
   As a genuine preacher of God's truth, John did not hesitate to address his disapproval also to Herod Antipas. The tetrarch of Galilee was publicly committing the sin of adultery with Herodias, wife of his brother Philip. Herod, in spite of the severe criticism he received, did not dare to harm John, because he was a religiously-obsessed man; the association of corruption with religion-obsession is an ancient one. Besides, he did not want to displease the people, who honoured John as a prophet (see Mt 14:5). He did, however, order his arrest and “he locked up John in prison”. Later, on his birthday, drunk as he was, he made an oath to give Salome, the daughter of Herodias, whatever she asked for her dance in front of his guests. Salome, following her mother's advice, asked for and received " John the Baptist’s head on a platter" (Mt 14,8).

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The Liturgy of the Faithful

  After the first petition of the faithful, the priest continues: “now and for ever and to the ages of ages”. Time is divided in the past, the present and the future.

  If we extend our gaze into the past ages, when God’s voice was heard: “Let there be Light” (Gen 1:3) we get some idea of the past. In comparison to the entire past, we are like a drop in the ocean. Where have we been a thousand of years before? Only in God’s mind. When people think about their past full of small and big sins are disturbed by their memories and have no peace. With various means they try to forget. But we can travel back in time and clear all the iniquities of our life through sincere repentance. For those who repent, a pit is opened up and all their sins are buried there. Prophet David sings sweetly: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered”. Ps 31 (32):1.

  Where will we be after a thousand of years? In God’s hands. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). There are thoughts about our future. What is going to happen to me? Will I be healthy? I might face sorrows, misfortunes, obstacles in my personal or family life. These thoughts about an unknown future fill our souls with uneasiness, anxiety and impatience. Only our Lord Jesus Christ can save us from this terrible condition. He gives us the means for our salvation. All these disappear with another gift called “hope”. A hope not based on persons or things of this world, but on the solid unshakable rock, our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed and fortunate are those who hope in Christ, the only real hope in the world.
  We must also pay attention to the “now”, that is, every moment of our life, because it has great importance. Unfortunately, the majority of the people leave the “now” unexploited. A duty exists for every moment and we are called to do something, no matter how small it appears. What is a glass of water worth which someone offers to a thirsty man? Yet, our Lord said that even this small offering of the moment will not remain unrewarded (see Mt 10:42). Our life is the sum of moments, so we can guess the value every moment has. Therefore, we should perform our activity and work honestly and willingly.
  Throughout our life, from childhood until death, it is necessary to hymn and glorify God. The Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, will never cease to be hymned in all ages. Now and always and into the eternity they will be glorified, honoured and worshipped. Not only during the Divine Liturgy, but every hour and every moment it is necessary to honour and glorify God. How? By sanctifying every moment of our life, by performing our Christian duties. So, every moment will become a golden coin with the icon of Christ depicted on it.

The Liturgy of the Faithful

   The priest, standing before the altar, says the first prayer of the faithful. This prayer refers to “conscience”, specifically, the priest who is to offer the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist must have a clear conscience. But what is conscience?
   We can mention two persons as examples. They are involved in Christ’s Passion: Peter and Judas. Peter, the zealous disciple of Christ, boldly proclaimed that he would never betray his Lord, even if all the others did. Christ, however, told Peter: “Before the rooster crows tonight you will say three times that you don’t know me” (Mt 26,34). And so it happened. On the night of Holy Thursday, he watched the Divine Drama, hiding his own drama. His fear dominated him completely. He trembled with fear of being recognized as a disciple and arrested. Three times betrayed the Lord with curses and denials.
   Certainly, his conscience existed but it was asleep. With the crow of the rooster his conscience woke up. Just then Christ was passing through the courtyard and his glimpse affected him. Aware of his sin Peter went out and wept bitterly. However, with the help of the Divine Grace he repented and God’s peace returned to his heart.
   Judas was one of the Twelve but his sin was greater than Peter’s. Peter denied Christ from fear, but Judas betrayed Him from avarice. He sold his Teacher for thirty coins, the price of a slave. When he accepted the purse of the coins his conscience was diseased, darkened, distorted by avarice. Later, when he learnt that Christ was condemned, his conscience woke up. Like a stormy, troubled sea, it cast up great waves of despair, trying to drown him. Completely alone without the help of the Divine Grace, he fought the raging waves but he was overwhelmed by them. In despair, he ended his own life. He hung himself. Selfish people may kneel down and repent but avarice hardens the heart, darkens and confuses the mind.
   Conscience is the faculty of the soul which distinguishes good from evil. It is a natural part of man’s soul. Adam and Eve, the first to sin, felt the remorse of conscience and tried to hide from God’s sight. Cain, the first murderer, could never calm himself. The voice: “Cain, Cain where is your brother?” would not leave him in peace. As St. Chrysostomos said, it is better to be stung by a scorpion than by the conscience. When our passions roar in our souls, the voice of conscience can’t be heard. However, when Christ will be back to judge the world, the voice of our conscience will be endless and unbearable. It will be an eternal damnation.

The Liturgy of the Faithful

   If order must prevail during the first part, the Liturgy of the Catechumens (those not yet baptized), so that everyone can hear the petitions, the prayers, readings and sermon, order must prevail much more in the second part. Now the Lord, no longer as Teacher but as Archpriest, prepares to celebrate the Sacrament of the Divine Eucharist, to offer His body and blood to the faithful. Those who really confess the “Symbol of the Faith” are the faithful. Only these can participate in this mystery of the Holy Eucharist.
   Are faithful the “christians” who come to church only on Christmas and Easter? If one were to ask these people: “Why don’t you come to church regularly?” The answer would be: “We don’t go to church, but we are good people.” Those who sign their own certificates of merit, are sadly mistaken.
   First, they don’t know themselves. If they were to examine their own lives from childhood to this day, they would find that they have often violated God’s will as expressed in Scripture. No matter how good they may appear to be, they may be corrupt at heart. If they don’t do evil acts, this might be for fear of becoming caught in the nets of human justice.
  Secondly, those who claim to be good don’t know the Bible. Because in the Gospels we read that in order to be saved, good deeds are not enough, no matter how many or how great they might be. A thousand acts of charity can’t save the unbeliever. If good acts could save a man, then it was not necessary for the Son of God to come into the world and be crucified. His sacrifice would have been in vain.
   So, we are saved through faith. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16,16). Faith is indispensible for salvation. The same faith is indispensible for participation in the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. We gain nothing if we go to church because it is the custom, if we go without faith in Christ.

The Liturgy of the Faithful

"For an angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask of the Lord"

   With this petition we ask God to send an angel to guard our souls and bodies. An angel? Unbelievers hearing this would ridicule Christians, who, in the twentieth century, believe in the existence of angels. An astronaut of an atheistic state once said, that when he flew in space, he did not see any angels not even a wing! What foolishness! He was expecting to see an angel.... The area in which the atheist astronaut flew was very small, indeed, the smallest part of the endless universe. And even if he were able to fly through the entire universe in his rocket, he would not find an angel's wing. This is because an angel is not a material creature, to be seen by mortal eyes.
   As to whether angels exist or not depends on an answer to a more basic question: Does God exist? Yes or no? If God does not exist, then neither do angels. The one who denies the existence of God, the Supreme Spirit, naturally denies the existence of lower spirits, the angels. Such a person accepts only material things and nothing else.
Human thought is immaterial, something spiritual, which we cannot grasp or weigh on a scale. Where does it come from? From matter? A handful of dirt, a piece of metal does not have mind. Matter does not possess reason.
   The materialist, who does not accept the creed "I believe in one God, the Father almighty...", is forced to believe in another dogma which presents much greater difficulties than those of the Christian doctrine. The unbeliever says: "I believe in omnipotent matter..." How illogical is the Creed of materialists!
   The highest of all creatures is man. Man is composite. He is body and soul. As a body, he belongs to the material world; as a soul, he belongs to the unseen spiritual world. As certain as we are that man is a body, so sure we are that he is soul. Man is a compound of matter and spirit.
   The question is raised: Could not God, Who created man as a link between the visible and invisible worlds also create beings having no body, but only spirit? He certainly could, and He did create such beings. These are the angels.
   The existence of angels, which reason does not reject, is confirmed in the word of God, the Holy Scripture. Anyone who reads the Bible can see that angels and archangels are mentioned there many times. We will mention two Scriptural passages: "When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice" (Job 38:7). In this passage, not only the existence of angels is affirmed but also the time of their creation. The angels and archangels existed before the heavens and the stars were made. Such a spectacle the heavens and shining stars presented, that the angels and archangels, seeing such a marvelous thing rise out of chaos, could not stand indifferent and apathetic, but were filled with admiration, and began praising and glorifying the omnipotent and all-wise God. Truly, one of the most convincing proofs of God's existence and His grandeur is the sight of the heavens at night.
   The material world has stars, but the spiritual world has its stars as well. In the spiritual world, the angels shine like stars; and above the spiritual lights of the angels is the eternal and inaccessible light of the triune Deity, the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
   Another biblical passage which affirms the existence of the angelic world was spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He who created both material and spiritual worlds and who knows with all detail all the beings, Christ Himself said that everyone, even a person the world considers small and unimportant, is protected by the Father. The same angels who, by the command of our heavenly Father guard and protect the lowliest people of the earth, also surround God's throne and pray for those to whom they are assigned as guardians. "See that you do not despise any of these little ones. Their angels in heaven, I tell you, are always in the presence of my Father in heaven" (Mt. 18:10).
   What a comfort there is in the fact that we have someone next to us ready to protect and guard us! In order to keep this angel by our side as our guardian and protector, we have to be careful not to sin. It is because of this that the angel leaves us and laments. Yes! We sin and laugh, while angels cry and lament in heaven because we have fallen. Lord, have mercy on us!