In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Today the Holy Orthodox Church commemorates, by the appointed reading from the Holy Gospel, one of the greatest miracles—the healing of the man who was born blind, wrought by our Lord Jesus Christ. Because this man, blind from birth, was known to nearly all, the report of his receiving sight spread quickly through the witnesses of the miracle. And the people, astonished by such an unprecedented healing, were stirred and moved.
Worried by this commotion, the Pharisees hastened to assemble in order to investigate the event and to deliberate upon what course of action they ought to take. At first, upon interrogating the healed man, the Pharisees themselves were confounded, and disputes and divisions arose among them. But finding no escape from their perplexity, they resolved to accuse of deceit the healed man who said that he was born blind.
They had but one charge against Christ—that He had healed the afflicted man on the sabbath day. Yet they themselves well knew how insufficient such a pretext was in the face of the overwhelming majesty of the miracle that had occurred. Their only remaining hope lay in the parents of the one now healed, supposing that they might shrink from confirming their son’s testimony out of fear of being cast out of the synagogue. But when summoned for questioning, the parents—though they preferred to feign ignorance as to how the healing had occurred—nonetheless testified plainly that the one who now saw was indeed their son, and that he had been born blind.
Then the Pharisees once more entered into dispute with the man who had received his sight, and receiving no grounds whereby to refute the miracle, they at last, with their customary guile, demanded that he should give the glory to God alone and by no means glorify Jesus Christ, Whom they supposed was a great sinner.
This hypocritical and unjust judgment deeply stirred the soul of the man who had been so wondrously healed, and he began to rebuke those religious teachers and legal experts who sat before him, exposing their inconsistency. Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see (John 9:25). And when they declared unto him, We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is, the man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing (John 9:29–33).
Angered, the Pharisees turned upon the man, and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and they cast him out (John 9:34).
Rejected by these teachers, and perhaps even by many others among their followers, including his own kin, the man withdrew. Yet none could take from him the joy he had received. He beheld the light, he beheld the world of God, he knew that he had been made new. And the Lord did not forget him. When Christ heard of the Pharisees’ judgment, He sought out the healed man, desiring that he should confess his faith publicly, thus strengthening others and turning them to the path of truth, and thereby securing for himself salvation unto eternal life.
Dost thou believe on the Son of God? asked Jesus Christ. The man answered with such solemn import that his words were inscribed in the Holy Gospel and became known to the whole world. By these words he bore witness that he had been enlightened not only in his bodily eyes but in the eyes of his heart. Believing in his heart that Jesus Christ, who had healed him, was greater than a prophet—since none of the prophets had done such works—he yet did not comprehend that Jesus was the very Son of God, and thus he replied, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? Then said Christ unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him (John 9:35–38).
The holy Apostle John declares that Jesus did many such things: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written (John 21:25). Yet the people remained hard of heart, and the Pharisees only grew firmer in their malice. They demanded signs from heaven as proof of the divinity of the Teacher. This was the condition they stubbornly upheld.
The Jews, having studied the Scriptures, knew that the appearance of God to Moses had been accompanied by signs from heaven—thunder, lightning, and earthquakes—and that God had miraculously fed Israel in the wilderness with manna which fell from heaven. Yet neither the feeding of multitudes with a few loaves, nor the healing of the blind, the lame, and the sick, nor the casting out of devils, nor even the raising of the dead could make an impression on those whose hearts had grown callous. These did not stir them as did the spectacles of nature—thunder, lightning, earthquakes, subterranean rumblings, and the gathering of storm-clouds in the heavens.
Thus, after the feeding of four thousand with seven loaves, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and began to demand of Him a sign from heaven. The Son of God answered them:
Ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed (Matthew 16:3–4).
The Holy Gospel adds that the Pharisees asked Him “tempting him.”
Indeed it was so. One need not doubt the deceitfulness of the Pharisees, for they acted contrary to their own learned knowledge. While it may be conceivable that the common people, in their simplicity, might demand signs from heaven—though many Jews did know the Scriptures and were aware of wonders wrought by magicians and the powers of fallen spirits in the air—it is inconceivable to attribute such ignorance to the Pharisees. They upheld the popular errors and asked Christ for signs from heaven, not because only heavenly phenomena persuaded them, nor because they thought Moses spoke with God while Christ’s origin was unknown to them—but to use these popular demands as a pretext for their unbelief, and to justify their rejection of Christ as the Messiah by the supposed absence of heavenly signs.
Given their level of learning, they could not have been ignorant that a sign from heaven is not always a sign from God. Surely, they did not yet understand that the visible sky is but the air; that thunder, lightning, and rain are the effects of atmospheric phenomena; and that the sun, moon, and stars are within the expanse of this same heaven, not beyond it. But they knew well enough of the spirits of the air—how satan called down fire, that is, lightning, from heaven to consume the sheep and shepherds of the righteous Job; how magicians (such as Simon) by demonic power performed wonders, ascended into the air; and how men mistook the works of fallen spirits for works of God.
The Pharisees themselves repeatedly accused Jesus Christ of casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub, though their keen scrutiny could not have failed to detect, for example, His calming of the storm at sea; for they constantly interrogated the people and the witnesses of His miracles, and therefore were well informed of the signs wrought by Christ.
No, their demands for signs were not born of sincerity, but were the bitterest mockery, derision, and blasphemy against the Lord. Each of them, according to his carnal wisdom, devised new cunning stratagems. Standing before the Cross of the Crucified Son of God, they no longer demanded signs from heaven, but now asked that He come down from the Cross—and then, they promised, they would believe in Him.
But signs from heaven did appear without delay—as soon as Christ gave up the ghost. These were signs not of men, but of God: A supernatural darkness fell upon the land, the veil of the temple was rent in twain, the earth quaked, rocks were split, graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose. Yet on Golgotha, as the Holy Gospel states, only one centurion, fearing greatly because of the earthquake and those things which were done, exclaimed, Truly this was the Son of God (Matthew 27:50–54). The Pharisees, however, did not believe these signs of God.
To forewarn His followers, our Lord Jesus Christ revealed to the apostles that before His Second Coming there would arise false Christs and false prophets, and they would show great signs and wonders—especially the Antichrist. Thus, what has been and is shall be even more intensified in the future. Without doubt, the Antichrist will call down fire from heaven and perform before men the very signs that the Pharisees once demanded of Christ as proof of His Divinity. And many shall be deceived—even the learned shall be beguiled.
In every age, men will thirst for signs from heaven—not from ignorance, but even in spite of enlightenment and scientific knowledge, just as the Pharisees did, because of unbelief, lack of spiritual maturity, self-will, and carnal wisdom, which gives rise to errant judgment and superstition. The Jews were not satisfied with the sign of the prophet Jonas, nor did they recognize the signs of the times—namely, the birth, death, and resurrection of the Messiah—but shall praise the Antichrist for his false signs from heaven.
Why is this so? The Lord Himself explained it to His disciples: “A wicked and adulterous generation (Matthew 16:4), one that had betrayed God and been rejected by the Heavenly Father.
Therefore, it is no wonder that in our own times the same errors are repeated, and the same vain desires persist. Amid the modern decline of faith, superstition is likely to spread widely. Life and science long ago demonstrated that the weaker a people’s faith becomes, the stronger the grip of superstition and false belief upon their minds and hearts. For humanity cannot live without religion; in the absence of true faith, it invents another of its own making.
In our time, this decline of religion and true knowledge is especially aided by prevailing trends in philosophy and the natural sciences, which lead to the rejection of the Gospel truths and all that is miraculous. And by “miracles” they mean solely those that are from God—not signs from the sky. While proclaiming the power of matter and arguing that all of Holy Scripture, with its spiritual and supernatural domain, is mere invention, they incline themselves to bestow mystery and power upon certain natural forces not yet fully understood by science. Thus, they stir in their followers a new kind of thirst—also for wonders, but of a different kind: for communion with unknown powers. And they cause men to mistake the workings of fallen spirits for the souls of their deceased loved ones, friends, or even famed national figures and scientists.
They call such spiritual influences magnetism or hypnotism, and their interactions with the world beyond as spiritism. Without doubt, there are many who, in one form or another, engage in sorcery. Thus, through false enlightenment, men substitute truth, faith, and religion with lies, vain wisdom, and superstition.
Beloved! Was it not of our times that the holy Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy?
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:1–2).
Already there are multitudes who have fallen away from the Christian faith and from the Orthodox Church! How many young souls perish through the hypocrisy of false teachers! Are not the same mockeries, scoffings, and blasphemies being repeated today against the miracles of Christ as in the days of the Jews? The modern Pharisees are even worse! After having received enlightenment, sanctification, and spiritual grace in the Sacraments of the Church of Christ, they have come not only to deny all things, but even to blaspheme the Holy Ghost—a sin which, as the Word of God declares, shall never be forgiven!
The Pharisees of the Old Testament taught in the synagogues and misled the people in private dwellings, but they did not possess the powerful means available today for spreading blasphemy, lies, and derision of all that is holy through the press, newspapers, and literature. Whose generation, then, is more wicked, more adulterous, more criminal?
Modern Pharisees believe in nothing at all—not even in the Creator. They answer everything with their mad “scientific” reasoning, and in defense of their delusions, they boldly demand signs from heaven and even summon God the Father to judgment! But no sign shall be given them, save the sign of the Resurrection of the Son of God, the God-Man!
They deny the possibility of God’s miracles! Yet were there not many witnesses of them? Jesus Christ performed His miracles openly, in the presence of multitudes, in ways that were concrete, tangible, and undeniable. The enemies of Christ were present and saw them all. And so it is today. Never did the Pharisees deny the miracles of Christ, as the modern unbelievers do, for they could not refute them. They only strove to undermine their influence among the people by blasphemy, slander, and cunning deceit.
They follow the example of the Jews and demand signs from heaven as proof of the existence of God! But the Jews never blasphemed in such a way, nor did they doubt God the Provider. They simply desired that Jesus should prove His Divinity through such signs. Do the modern Pharisees not understand that Christ had no need of signs from heaven? He acted by the goodness, the favor, and the mercy of the Heavenly Father, having a higher, righteous, and holy purposes. He performed signs within man himself, within his inner being, renewing him unto eternal life and bestowing salvation.
Christ came not to display His authority over nature, but over sin, over the fallen spirits, and over the souls of men. He worked through His word, directly influencing the heart and mind, and the miracles of the Son of God were the greatest acts of mercy. Signs from heaven are less wondrous, for they are perceived only by the physical senses and cannot be called acts of beneficence, since their effect upon men is brief and fleeting.
They reject even the miracles worked by the apostles and their successors! But can one deny the history of Christianity—the history of the world’s renewal through Christ—the lives of the holy apostles, martyrs, Fathers, and monastics who left us their writings, disciples, and followers who bore witness to all this not only in word but by their very lives, by imitating the struggles of the holy Fathers of the Church?
The entire history of Russia is woven through with wondrous events—won through the prayers of a believing people to the Most Holy Theotokos, blessed by selfless hierarchs, and proclaimed in a prophetic spirit by wondrous monastic saints!
There are supposedly no miracles in our time! But how could that be when God exists—and every act of God is a miracle! Among the faithful, miracles are unceasing, daily, and hourly. Yet some see them, understand them with the mind, and feel them in the heart, while others do not. Nicodemus beheld the miracles of Jesus Christ, but the other Pharisees did not. Therefore, to the believer there are the miracles of God; to the unbeliever, there are none. And so the Lord hath said, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23).
Amen.
