Bible title. Who and when wrote the Bible? Where did Jesus' trial take place?

MBOU Lyceum No. 10 Biblical chapters in the novel "The Master and Margarita" by M. Bulgakov The work was done by Granovskaya Lyudmila Pupil 11 "A" class

Bulgakov's novel is largely based on the comprehension and rethinking of evangelical and biblical ideas and plots. During the period of writing the novel, Bulgakov studied not only the text of the Gospels, but also numerous historical sources about Judea at the beginning of the era, Hebrew, and non-canonical interpretations. The author deliberately deviates from the gospel story, offering his own vision of biblical motifs.

The most controversial image from a biblical point of view is the image of Yeshua. The central motifs of the novel are associated with it: the motif of freedom, suffering and death, execution, forgiveness, mercy. These motifs receive a new, Bulgakovian incarnation in the novel, sometimes very far from the traditional biblical tradition. The first serious difference between the biblical motive of the Savior and Bulgakov's interpretation is that Yeshua in the novel does not declare his messianic destiny, and does not define his divine essence in any way, while the biblical Jesus says: "I am the Son of God", "I and Father is one

There is only one episode in the novel, reminiscent of the gospel miracles performed by Jesus. "What is truth?" Pontius Pilate asks Yeshua. This question in a slightly different sound is also found in the Gospel. Yeshua answers this question: “The truth is, first of all, that your head hurts ... But your torment will end now, your head will pass.” The healing of Pontius Pilate is the only healing and the only miracle performed by Yeshua. Therefore, Bulgakov’s Yeshua is not a God-man, but a man, at times weak, even miserable, extremely lonely, but great in his spirit and all-conquering kindness.He preaches not all Christian dogmas, but only ideas of goodness, significant for Christianity, but not constituting the whole Christian doctrine.One cannot hear from him about the future Kingdom of God, about the Salvation of sinners, about the afterlife retribution of the righteous and sinners. Bulgakov's Savior of the earth, and seeks good here, on sinful earth. Unlike the Gospel Jesus, Yeshua has only one disciple, Levi Matvey, since Bulgakov believes that even one person in a generation that has accepted a certain idea is enough for this idea to live for centuries.Biblical motifs in the image of Yeshua have undergone a serious refraction.

Recreation of gospel events is one of the most important traditions of world and Russian literature. What is the originality of the interpretation of the gospel events in M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita"? First of all, M. Bulgakov refers to these events at such times when faith in God is not only questioned, but mass disbelief becomes the law of the life of the state Question Answer

Returning all these events and speaking of them as an undoubted reality, the writer goes against his time and knows perfectly well what this is fraught with. But the biblical chapters of the novel are vital as a reminder of the first, initial mistake - not recognizing Truth and Good. Bible chapters can be attributed to the genre of the novel-parable. Events are presented objectively and dispassionately. There are absolutely no direct appeals from the author to the reader. There is no expression of the author's assessment of the behavior of the characters True, there is no morality, but, apparently, it is not needed, because the moral accents in these chapters are placed very clearly.

In the master's novel, the three main characters are Joshua Pontius Pilate Judas. Yeshua is the bearer of moral truth, inaccessible to people. According to M. Bulgakov, Judas, in contrast to the gospel tradition, is neither a disciple nor a follower of Yeshua.

Pontius Pilate is the central figure in the Yershalaim layer. The Master says he is writing a novel about Pilate. Pilate immediately felt Yeshua's human originality, but the traditions and customs of Imperial Rome eventually win, and he, in accordance with the gospel canon, sends Yeshua to the cross. But M. Bulgakov refuses the canonical understanding of this situation, Pilate has a tragic face in him, torn between personal aspirations and political necessity, between humanity and power. M. Bulgakov clearly shows the feeling of tragic hopelessness, horror from what he had done, which filled Pilate's soul. From that moment on, Pilate's true life becomes a dream: the procurator walks along the moonlit path with Yeshua, talking, and the execution is a pure misunderstanding, and their dialogue is endless. But in reality, the execution is not abolished, and the torment of Pilate is just as irrevocable.

The novel "The Master and Margarita" is a complex work. And although a lot has already been written and said about the novel, each reader is destined in his own way to discover and understand the artistic and philosophical values ​​\u200b\u200bhidden in its depths. Pilate's torment ends only after Yeshua's assurance that there was no execution. Yeshua grants forgiveness to Pilate and peace to the master who wrote the novel about Pilate. This is the outcome of the tragedy, but it comes not in time, but in eternity.

Recreation of gospel events is one of the most important traditions of world and Russian literature. Refers to the events of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ J. Milton in the poem "Paradise Regained", O. de Balzac in the story "Jesus Christ in Flanders", in Russian literature - N. S. Leskov ("Christ visiting the peasants"), I. S. Turgenev (poem in prose "Christ"), L. Andreev ("Judas Iscariot"), A. Bely (poem "Christ is Risen"). What is the originality of the interpretation of the gospel events in M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita"?

First of all, M. Bulgakov refers to these events at such times when faith in God is not only questioned, but mass disbelief becomes the law of the life of the state. Returning all these events and speaking of them as an undoubted reality, the writer goes against his time and knows perfectly well what this is fraught with. But the biblical chapters of the novel are vital as a reminder of the first, initial mistake - the failure to recognize the Truth and the Good, which resulted in the phantasmagoria of Moscow life in the 30s.

Bible chapters can be attributed to the genre of the novel-parable. Just as in a parable, the events are presented objectively and dispassionately. There are absolutely no direct appeals of the author to the reader, as well as an expression of the author's assessment of the behavior of the characters. It is true that there is no morality, but, apparently, it is not needed, because the moral accents in these chapters are placed very clearly.

There are three main characters in the master's novel: Yeshua, Pontius Pilate, Judas. Yeshua, of course, is not the gospel Jesus, there are no manifestations of his divinity, even M. Bulgakov refuses the scene of the resurrection. Yeshua is the embodiment, above all, of morality. He is a philosopher, a wanderer, a preacher of kindness and love for people, mercy. His goal was to make the world cleaner and kinder. Yeshua's life philosophy is this: "... there are no evil people in the world, there are unhappy people." And he really treats all people as if they really are the embodiment of goodness - even to the centurion Ratslayer, who beats him. Yeshua is the bearer of moral truth, inaccessible to people.

Judas in the novel is also not identical to the Gospel Judas. We know from the Gospel that Judas betrays the Savior with his kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane. Betrayal is the greatest guilt before a person, immeasurable is the guilt of the one who betrayed Jesus. According to M. Bulgakov, Judas, in contrast to the gospel tradition, is neither a disciple nor a follower of Yeshua. There is also no scene of "treacherous kiss". In fact, Judas was an instrument in the hands of the high priest and truly "did not know what he was doing." He found himself between Kai-fa and Pilate, a toy in the hands of people who are endowed with power and who hate each other. M. Bulgakov removes the blame from Judas, placing it on Pontius Pilate.

Pontius Pilate is the central figure in the Yershalaim layer. The Master says he is writing a novel about Pilate. Pilate immediately felt Yeshua's human originality, but the traditions and customs of Imperial Rome eventually win, and he, in accordance with the gospel canon, sends Yeshua to the cross. But M. Bulgakov refuses the canonical understanding of this situation, Pilate has a tragic face in him, torn between personal aspirations and political necessity, between humanity and power. M. Bulgakov clearly shows the feeling of tragic hopelessness, horror from the deed, filling Pilate's soul ("Today, for the second time, longing fell on him ..."). From that moment on, Pilate's true life becomes a dream: the procurator walks along the moonlit path with Yeshua, talking, and the execution is a pure misunderstanding, and their dialogue is endless. But in reality, the execution is not abolished, and the torment of Pilate is just as irrevocable.

Pilate's torment ends only after Yeshua's assurance that there was no execution. Yeshua grants forgiveness to Pilate and peace to the master who wrote the novel about Pilate. This is the outcome of the tragedy, but it comes not in time, but in eternity.

The novel "The Master and Margarita" is a complex work. And although a lot has already been written and said about the novel, each reader is destined in his own way to discover and understand the artistic and philosophical values ​​\u200b\u200bhidden in its depths.

Christian doctrine is built on the Bible, but many do not know who its author is and when it was published. To get answers to these questions, scientists have conducted a large number of studies. The spread of Holy Scripture in our century has reached enormous proportions, it is known that one book is printed every second in the world.

What is the Bible?

Christians call the collection of books that make up Holy Scripture the Bible. He is considered the word of the Lord, which was given to people. Over the years, much research has been done to understand who wrote the Bible and when, so it is believed that the revelation was given to different people and records were made over many centuries. The Church recognizes the collection of books as inspired.

The Orthodox Bible in one volume has 77 books with two or more pages. It is considered a kind of library of ancient religious, philosophical, historical and literary monuments. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old (50 books) and the New (27 books) Testament. There is also a conditional division of the Old Testament books into law-positive, historical and teaching.

Why is the Bible called the Bible?

There is one main theory proposed by biblical scholars that answers this question. The main reason for the appearance of the name "Bible" is associated with the port city of Byblos, which was located on the Mediterranean coast. Through him, Egyptian papyrus was delivered to Greece. After some time, this name in Greek began to mean a book. As a result, the book of the Bible appeared and this name is used only for the Holy Scriptures, which is why they write the name with a capital letter.

Bible and Gospel - what's the difference?

Many believers do not have an accurate idea regarding the main Holy Book for Christians.

1. The gospel is part of the Bible, which is part of the New Testament.
2. The Bible is an early scripture, but the text of the Gospel was written much later.
3. The text of the Gospel tells only about life on earth and the ascension to heaven of Jesus Christ. The Bible provides a lot of other information.
4. There are also differences in the one who wrote the Bible and the Gospel, since the authors of the main Holy Book are unknown, but at the expense of the second work there is an assumption that its text was written by four evangelists: Matthew, John, Luke and Mark.
5. It is worth noting that the Gospel is written only in ancient Greek, and the texts of the Bible are presented in different languages.

Who is the author of the Bible?

For believers, the author of the Holy Book is the Lord, but experts can challenge this opinion, since it contains the Wisdom of Solomon, the Book of Job and more. In this case, answering the question - who wrote the Bible, we can assume that there were many authors, and each made his own contribution to this work. There is an assumption that it was written by ordinary people who received divine inspiration, that is, they were only an instrument, holding a pencil over the book, and the Lord led their hands. Finding out where the Bible came from, it is worth pointing out that the names of the people who wrote the text are unknown.

When was the Bible written?

There has been a long debate over when the most popular book in the world was written. Among the well-known statements, with which many researchers agree, the following can be distinguished:

1. Many historians, when asked when the Bible appeared, point to VIII-VI century BC. e.
2. A huge number of biblical scholars are sure that the book was finally formed in V-II centuries BC. e.
3. Another common version of how old the Bible is indicates that the book was compiled and presented to believers around II-I century BC. e.

Many events are recorded in the Bible, thanks to which we can conclude that the first books were written during the life of Moses and Joshua. Then other editions and additions appeared, which formed the Bible as it is known today. There are also critics who dispute the chronology of the writing of the book, believing that the text presented cannot be trusted, since it claims to be of divine origin.

What language is the Bible written in?

The majestic book of all times was written in ancient times and today it has been translated into more than 2.5 thousand languages. The number of editions of the Bible has exceeded 5 million copies. It is worth noting that the current editions are later translations from the original languages. The history of the Bible indicates that it was written for more than a dozen years, so it combines texts in different languages. The Old Testament is mostly represented in Hebrew, but there are also texts in Aramaic. The New Testament is almost entirely presented in ancient Greek.

Given the popularity of the Holy Scriptures, it will not surprise anyone that research was carried out and this revealed a lot of interesting information:

1. The Bible mentions Jesus more often than others, and David is in second place. Among women, Abraham's wife Sarah receives laurels.
2. The smallest copy of the book was printed at the end of the 19th century using the photomechanical reduction method. The size was 1.9x1.6 cm, and the thickness was 1 cm. To make the text readable, a magnifying glass was inserted into the cover.
3. Facts about the Bible indicate that it contains approximately 3.5 million letters.
4. It takes 38 hours to read the Old Testament, and 11 hours to read the New Testament.
5. Many will be surprised by the fact, but according to statistics, the Bible is stolen more often than other books.
6. Most copies of the Holy Scriptures are made for export to China. At the same time, in North Korea, reading this book is punishable by death.
7. The Christian Bible is the most persecuted book. Throughout history, no other work is known against which laws were issued, for the violation of which the death penalty was imposed.

Subject: Biblical chapters and their role in solving the moral problems of M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita".

Goals and objectives of the lesson.

1. Find out for what purpose M. Bulgakov introduces biblical stories and their heroes into his novel? How does he see and portray the main biblical characters Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate?

2. Determine what philosophical and moral problems the author raises and solves in the Yershalaim chapters? What does it warn us about, what does it warn against?

3. Raising a sense of responsibility for one's actions, awakening the concepts of goodness, mercy, conscience, etc.

Lesson Form  discussion of problems at the round table, discussion (research work on the texts of the Bible and the novel).

Decor:

1. Portrait of M. Bulgakov (performed by 11th grade students).

2. Bible, Gospel of Matthew.

3. The novel by M. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita".

4. Illustrations for the scenes "Court", "Execution" (performed by students in grade 11).

5. Design a stand with the works of graduates of the past year:

a) an abstract “Biblical chapters and their role in solving the philosophical and aesthetic problems of M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”;

b) the essay "Letter to the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate";

c) a report on the life and work of M. Bulgakov.

Epigraph to the lesson:"Yes, take any five pages from any of his novels, and without any certificate you will be convinced that you are dealing with a Writer" (M. Bulgakov.)

Posters for the lesson:

1. "Cowardice is an extreme expression of inner subordination, unfreedom of the spirit, the main cause of social meanness on earth." (V. Lakshin.)

2."Conscience   atonement for guilt, the possibility of internal purification "(E. V. Korsalova).

Lesson stages(On the desk):

1. Comparison of Bulgakov's plot with the gospel basis. The purpose of the conversion and rethinking of the biblical story.

2. Pontius Pilate. Contrasts in the depiction of the protagonist of the Yershalaim chapters.

3. Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Wandering Philosopher's Sermons: Delusion or Pursuit of Truth?

4. Philosophical and moral problems raised in the Yershalaim chapters. central problem.

5. Novel warning. Creative problem solving.

During the classes.

1. Organizational moment.

2. Introduction to the lesson.

Teacher's word. I would like to start our first lesson on the novel by M. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita" with lines from an article by Elena Vladimirovna Korsalova - Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor of Literature - "Conscience, Truth, Humanity ..."

"Finally, this talented Russian novel has come to school, embodying the author's thoughts about his era and eternity, man and the world, artist and power, a novel in which satire, subtle psychological analysis and philosophical generalizations are surprisingly intertwined..."

As a teacher, I fully agree with Elena Vladimirovna and will repeat her words with pleasure: "Finally, this talented Russian novel has come to school ..." And I will add from myself: the novel is complex, requiring deep thought, certain knowledge.

Today we are starting to study it.

The topic of the first lesson is:

"Biblical chapters and their role in solving the philosophical and aesthetic problems of M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita".

When you read this novel for the first time, in the summer, I'm sure you noticed its composition. And this is no coincidence. The composition of the novel is original and multifaceted. Within the framework of one work, two novels interact in a complex way:

1st - a story about the life fate of the Master,

2nd - a novel about Pontius Pilate created by the Master.

It turned out to be a novel within a novel.

The chapters of the inserted novel tell about one day of the Roman procurator. They are dispersed in the main narrative about the Moscow life of the protagonist, the Master, and the people around him. There are only four of them (chs. 2, 16, 25 and 26). They wedged into the mischievous Moscow chapters and differ sharply from them: the strictness of the narrative, the rhythmic beginning, the antiquity (after all, they take us from Moscow in the 30s of the twentieth century to the city of Yershalaim, also in the 30s, but the first century).

Both lines of a single work modern and mythological explicitly and implicitly echo each other, which helps the writer to show the contemporary reality more widely, to comprehend it (and this is one of the most important tasks of the writer M. Bulgakov, which he solves in all his works.)

The objectives of our lesson:

To draw parallels, to test modern reality by the experience of world culture at the level of eternal values, universal moral principles.

And the foundations of this moral experience are laid in Christianity. Anyone who reads the Bible can learn about them.

Compare Bulgakov's story with the gospel basis, understand why Bulgakov refers to biblical stories, why he rethinks and changes them;

Determine what philosophical and moral problems the author raises and solves, what he warns about.

I understand the complexity of the task set for the first lesson, but I hope that by working with the texts of the Gospel and the novel at home, answering homework questions, with my help in the lesson, at this round table together we can discuss many important issues and try to draw conclusions .

I ask you to boldly express your opinions, even if they are not entirely correct, controversial, listen carefully to the answers of your comrades, use signal cards (!) So that I notice your desire to speak out in time. That is, I expect from you a full-fledged work of thought and word, and I promise to be a good helper to you.

So let's get started1 stagelesson. All three groups received a task for him..

1. Comparison of Bulgakov's plot with the gospel basis. The purpose of the appeal and rethinking the biblical story.

Foreword: To those who do not know the Bible, it seems that the chapters of Yershalaim a paraphrase of the gospel story of the trial of the Roman governor in Judea, Pontius Pilate, over Jesus Christ and the execution of Jesus that followed. But a simple comparison of the gospel basis with Bulgakov's text reveals many significant differences.

1 question: What are these differences?

Let's get back to your homework:

Age (Jesus - 33 years old, Yeshua - 27 years old);

Origin (Jesus son of God and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Yeshua has a father Syrian, and mother  a woman of questionable behavior; he does not remember his parents)

Jesus is god, king; Yeshua - beggar wandering philosopher (position in society);

Absence of students

Lack of popularity among the people;

He did not enter on a donkey, but entered on foot;

Changed the nature of the sermon;

After death, the body is stolen and buried by Levi Matthew;

Judas did not hang himself, but was killed on the orders of Pilate;

The divine origin of the Gospel is disputed;

The absence of the predestination of his death on the cross in the name of atonement for the sins of mankind;

There are no words "cross" and "crucified", but there are rude "pillar", "hang";

the protagonist is not Yeshua (whose prototype is Jesus Christ), but Pontius Pilate.

2 Question: Why M. Bulgakov refers to biblical stories and their heroes in his novel  on the one hand and on the other  why, for what purpose does he rethink them?

The image of Yeshua Ha-Nozri depicts not the son of God, but the son of man, i.e. a simple man, although endowed with high moral qualities;

M. Bulgakov pays attention not to the idea of ​​divine predestination, the predestination of death in the name of atonement for human sins, but to the earthly idea of ​​power, social injustice;

Making Pontius Pilate the main character, he wants to pay special attention to the problem of a person's moral responsibility for what is happening around;

He turns to biblical stories and heroes to emphasize the importance of everything he will talk about, the problems that will be solved.

Conclusion: The appeal to the biblical story emphasizes the importance of what is described in the Yershalaim chapters, and the author’s rethinking of them is due to his desire to bring universal moral ideals closer to the earthly problems of power and human responsibility for happening.

Stage 2 of the lesson. Group 1 prepared materials for the question.

Pontius Pilate. Contrasts in the depiction of the protagonist of the Yershalaim chapters.

Teacher: I propose to start work on the image of Pontius Pilate from the text. Let's read the lines that tell about the appearance in the palace of this significant and complex figure: "In a white cloak ..."

Comments: It is impossible not to feel the significance and special emotional fullness of this phrase even by ear. But then comes a phrase that immediately removes this halo of significance, emphasizing the earthly weaknesses of the hero, somewhat down to earth:

"More than anything in the world ... since dawn" (p. 20, 2 abz.)

Conclusion: So throughout the novel, the majestic features of a strong and intelligent ruler and signs of human weakness will be combined in the image of Pilate.

Let's turn to the text and find other examples of contrast there. the main artistic technique used by the author Bulgakov in the depiction of Pontius Pilate.

Majestic features of the ruler.

human weaknesses.

1. In the past, fearless wars, the rider of the "golden spear".

2. Externally - majestic figure of the all-powerful procurator.

3. Instills fear in everyone, calls himself "fierce

monster."

4. Surrounded by a crowd of servants and guards.

5. Wants to be fair, to help Yeshua.

6. Called to decide the fate of people.

7. Sees that Yeshua is innocent.

8. Passed judgment.

1. Hates the smell of rose oil.

2. Inside - Strong headache.

3. Afraid of Caesar, hides cowardice, afraid of denunciations.

4. Lonely, only friend Bang's dog.

5. Lost faith in people, afraid of losing his career.

6. Sends an innocent to death.

7. Accuses of what he himself does not

believes.

8. Tormented in a dream and in reality.

Question: Why is there so much contrast in the portrayal of Procurator Pontius Pilate?

Bulgakov wants to show how a good and evil principle fights in a person, how Pilate wants to be just and does evil.

Let's leave Pontius Pilate for a while and turn to another hero of the Yershalaim chapters- Yeshua Ha-Nozri.

Stage 3 of the lesson.

Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Sermons of a Wandering Philosopher. Delirium or striving for the truth? (group 2).

Teacher: Again, let's turn to the text and see how the second hero of the Yershalaim chapters appears in the palace and in the novel.

"This man..." (p. 22).

"Connected instantly..." (p. 24).

"The arrested man staggered..." (p. 29).

Comments: This description creates an image of a miserable, physically weak person who finds it difficult to endure bodily torment.

Question: What is this hero like internally? Is he as weak in spirit as in body?

Let's turn to the text:

1. What is Ga-Notsri accused of?

2. What does he really preach? What does he claim?

The main accusations are in the words of the procurator: "So you were going to destroy the temple building and called on the people to do this?"

Yeshua's sermons:

1. "All people are kind", "God is one, ... I believe in him."

2. "... the temple of the old faith will collapse and a new temple of truth will be created."

3. "... every power is violence against people and that the day will come when there will be no power, neither Caesars, nor any other power. Man will pass into the realm of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all."

Teacher: Let's talk about Yeshua's statements. Let's look at them through the eyes of Pontius Pilate.

1. Which of his statements is perceived by Pontius Pilate as nonsense, as harmless eccentricity?

2. Which one is considered easily contested?

3. What makes him tremble, fear? Why?

Pilate considers the first statement to be nonsense and disputes it in his own way: physically - with the help of the Ratslayer, morally a reminder of the betrayal of Judas;

The 2nd statement makes him laugh: "What is truth?" The question should destroy the interlocutor, because it is not given to man to know the truth, or even what truth is. For people, this is a complex, abstract concept. What can be the answer to this question?

What would you say?

One can expect a stream of abstract, vague words.

BUT: "The truth is, first of all, that your head hurts, and it hurts so badly that you cowardly think about death," Yeshua's answer is simple and clear, the truth comes from a person and closes on him.

This is a piece of truth that Pontius Pilate cannot dispute.

The 3rd statement aroused fear in the procurator, because he is afraid of denunciations, he is afraid of losing his career, he is afraid of the reprisals of Caesar, he is afraid of the pillar, i. afraid for himself.

Question: Does Yeshua fear for himself? How does he behave?

Yeshua is afraid of physical torture. But he does not deviate from his convictions, does not change his views.

Question: What qualities of the hero are revealed to you in his preaching and behavior?

The main qualities of Yeshua: kindness, compassion, courage.

Teacher: In revealing the image of the second hero of the Yershalaim chapters, the contrast technique is also used. Physically weak Yeshua Ha-Nozri turns out to be strong in spirit.

Teacher: Let's go back to the interrogation scene and see if what does the jewish philosopher think of the wandering philosopher procurator?

Questions: 1. Did Pontius Pilate understand that Yeshua was innocent? Is he sure of this?

Yes. "A formula formed in the bright and light head of the procurator. It was as follows: the hegemon examined the case of the wandering philosopher Yeshua, and found no corpus delicti in it."

2. Does he want to save him from a painful death? To be fair?

Yes. Pontius Pilate made hints to Yeshua that he would renounce his words about Caesar, sent a "hinting look", etc.

3. What feeling wins over all the rest in Pontius Pilate? How does this happen?

First, Pilate wants to be just and save the philosopher. But the reasoning of the latter about power plunges him into horror. "Dead!" then: "Dead!" He makes an attempt to persuade Yeshua to retract his words, but to no avail.

Fear is stronger than the desire to be fair. He wins.

4. Find the words of the procurator, in which the death sentence sounds.

- "You think, unfortunate ... I do not share" (p. 35)

Teacher: So, the internal struggle in Pontius Pilate between good and evil, between the desire to be just or to pass the death sentence on the innocent is over.

The all-powerful procurator, the clever, wise ruler, was frightened, faint-hearted, and scared.

He goes through states: from fear - to cowardice - to meanness.

Question: Tell me, at what stage of this logical chain could you still understand And justify Pilate? When not?

Fear is a physiological feeling (equal to fear), characteristic of all living beings, it is a reflex, like the instinct of self-preservation.

Those. Pilate could experience a feeling of fear, this is normal, incontrovertible.

But man is a rational being. He is responsible for his actions. Pilate must not give in to fear, overcome cowardice, remain true to himself and his convictions to the end.

Execution of the death sentence on the innocent this is already meanness. And meanness it's immoral.

Accent: Cowardice  between fear and meanness. Fear does not always lead to cowardice, but from cowardice to meanness 1 step.

Conclusion: "Cowardice - undoubtedly one of the worst vices, Yeshua said so.

"No, philosopher, I object to you: this is the most terrible vice," the inner voice of Pontius Pilate.

And indeed: "Cowardice is an extreme expression of inner subordination, unfreedom of the spirit, the main cause of social meanness on earth."

So it was with Pontius Pilate: he committed meanness out of fear, out of cowardice. But that's not all. Pontius Pilate will save both his life and his career. But it will deprive itself of something very important.

What is this?

Pontius Pilate lost his composure. His conscience will torment him.

Did Pilate try to fix what he had done, how?

Yes. Ordered to kill Judas. He wants to do good to Levi Matthew.

Will it calm him down?

No. "For about two thousand years he has been sitting on this platform and sleeping, but when the moon comes, ... he is tormented by insomnia" (p. 461).

"Under the moonlight, he has no peace ... he claims that he did not agree on something then ... with the prisoner Ga-Nozri ... more than anything in the world, he hates his immortality and unheard-of glory."

"Twelve thousand moons for one moon once, isn't that too much?" asked Margarita.

Let's finish our conversation about the heroes of the biblical chapters and turn to their problems.

4th stage of the lesson. Materials for the question were prepared by the 3rd group.

Philosophical and moral-aesthetic problems raised in the chapters of Yershalaim.

Teacher: Now I want to turn to group number 3.

Their homework was a question about the problems of the novel, posed by the author in the Yershalaim chapters. Listening to the statements in today's lesson, participating in them, I think they were able to complete their home sketches. And I give the floor to them.

Among all the problems of the novel "The Master and Margarita" we want to single out two separate groups, which we could call as follows: "philosophical" and "moral-aesthetic".

Moreover, we noticed that these groups are quantitatively different. Because philosophy the science of the most general laws of the development of nature, society and thought, then the philosophical problems, in our opinion, raised in these chapters, are also connected with the most general laws.

Therefore, we have identified the following philosophical problems:

What is good and evil?

What is truth?

What is the meaning of human life?

Man and his faith.

Considering that "... morality this is a rule that determines the behavior, spiritual and spiritual qualities necessary for a person in society, as well as the implementation of these rules, behavior”, we single out the moral and aesthetic problems of the novel raised in the Yershalaim chapters:

Spiritual freedom and spiritual dependence.

Man's responsibility for his actions.

Man and power.

Social injustice in human life.

Compassion and mercy.

Question: Which of the problems posed by the author is, in your opinion, the central one?

The problem of a person's responsibility for his actions, i.e. problem of conscience.

E. V. Korsalova confirms this idea in her article. She also speaks of what conscience was given to man: "Conscience the inner compass of a person, his moral judgment on himself, the moral assessment of his actions. Conscience expiation of guilt, the possibility of inner purification.

Remember, children, these words.

Question to everyone: Which of these problems can be called contemporary to us, today?

All.

Conclusion. M. Bulgakov raised eternal, undying problems in his novel. His novel is addressed not only to his contemporaries, but also to his descendants.

We will continue to work on these problems in the next lesson.

Stage 5 of the lesson.

Roman warning. Creative problem solving.

"Roman Warning it is a bitter writer's vision of what kind of pictures could become reality if the current spiral of life continues to unwind."

These words from the critic's article also apply to the novel by M. Bulgakov, who wants to warn us, all living people, from deals with conscience, from spiritual unfreedom.

I asked you to approach this issue creatively, to solve it in an original way.

What came of it?

1 group prepared a drawing illustration for the scene "Judgment";

2 group prepared a drawing illustration for the scene "Execution";

Group 3 designed last year's work: 1) an essay "The role of Yershalaim chapters in solving the moral and philosophical problems of the novel"; 2) the essay "Letter to the Roman Procurator Pontius Pilate".

And the guys also composed poems, let them complete our lesson.

Summing up the lesson- assessments.

1. I am satisfied (not satisfied) ... With what?

2. We coped with the tasks set (failed).

3. Difficulty of the topic and problem.

4. Joint work. Group member ratings.

Homework:

2. To the topic "Satire in the novel", select material for the question: "Who and for what does Woland punish?"

3. Evil, greed, indifference, selfishness, heartlessness, lies their examples in the Moscow chapters.

Poem "Pilate's Dream"

N.P. Borisenko

Pilate has an endless dream again:

The court is administered by the procurator, he is close to the truth.

In the past, the valiant Horseman of the Golden Spear,

How will he glorify his reign today?

Before him is kind and bright, radiant with kindness,

Like virtue itself, together with truth itself.

Good people, is this his crime,

That he walks the world, sows peace and goodness?

What brings healing through the walls of palaces

How does revelation itself see the world without fetters?

The procurator wrinkles his brow. Be bold, hegemon,

Is the damned fear born in you?

Innocent, you know, say so, don't be silent.

Whose fate do you decide in this moonlit night?

He kept silent ... did not correct ... did not save from the pillar ...

And he did not send him to torment, but himself.

And the soul has no rest terrible punishment:

To be immortal to the hero and his vice.

Cowardice, meanness out of fear the worst vice!

Conscience is your scaffold

Cross - immortality term!

Behind the line of the lesson

In preparation for this lesson, the class was divided into three working groups, each of which received a specific task: one big question (see questions 2, 3, 4 in the Lesson Stages section) and a general task (see question 1).

The creative solution to the issue of the warning novel (see question 5) is designed for the individual abilities of students (in poetry, fine arts, etc.).

2. The assignment for the next lesson on the novel is also ahead of schedule. Questions 1 and 2 are given to the whole class, while question 3 can be divided into groups or given as an individual task.

The Bible is the Book of books. Why is the Holy Scripture so called? How is it that the Bible remains one of the most widely read common and sacred texts on the planet? Is the Bible really an inspired text? What place is given to the Old Testament in the Bible and why should Christians read it?

What is the Bible?

Holy Scripture, or bible, is called a collection of books written by prophets and apostles, like us, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The word "Bible" is Greek and means "books". The main theme of Holy Scripture is the salvation of mankind by the Messiah, the incarnated Son of the Lord Jesus Christ. IN Old Testament it speaks of salvation in the form of types and prophecies about the Messiah and the Kingdom of God. IN New Testament the very realization of our salvation through the incarnation, life and teaching of the God-man, sealed by His death on the Cross and Resurrection, is set forth. According to the time of their writing, the sacred books are divided into Old Testament and New Testament. Of these, the first contain what the Lord revealed to people through divinely inspired prophets before the Savior came to earth, and the second contains what the Lord Savior Himself and His apostles revealed and taught on earth.

On the Divine Inspiration of Holy Scripture

We believe that the prophets and apostles wrote not according to their own human understanding, but according to inspiration from God. He cleansed them, enlightened their minds and revealed secrets inaccessible to natural knowledge, including the future. That is why their Scriptures are called divinely inspired. “Prophecy was never uttered by the will of man, but men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21), testifies the holy Apostle Peter. And the apostle Paul calls the Scriptures inspired by God: “All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Tim. 3:16). The image of Divine revelation to the prophets can be represented by the example of Moses and Aaron. To tongue-tied Moses, God gave his brother Aaron as mediators. To Moses’ perplexity, how he could proclaim the will of God to the people, being tongue-tied, the Lord said: “You” [Moses] “will be to him” [Aaron] “speak and put words (Mine) into his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and by his mouth, and I will teach you what you should do; and he will speak instead of you to the people; so he will be your mouth, and you will be to him instead of God” (Ex. 4:15-16). While believing in the divine inspiration of the books of the Bible, it is important to remember that the Bible is the Book of the Church. According to God's plan, people are called to be saved not alone, but in a society that is led and inhabited by the Lord. This society is called the Church. Historically, the Church is divided into the Old Testament Church, to which the Jewish people belonged, and the New Testament Church, to which Orthodox Christians belong. The New Testament Church inherited the spiritual wealth of the Old Testament - the Word of God. The Church has not only preserved the letter of the Word of God, but also has a correct understanding of it. This is due to the fact that the Holy Spirit, who spoke through the prophets and apostles, continues to live in the Church and guide it. Therefore, the Church gives us correct guidance on how to use her written wealth: what is more important and relevant in it, and what has only historical significance and is not applicable in New Testament times.

Summary of Important Translations of Scripture

1. Greek translation of the seventy interpreters (Septuagint). The closest to the original text of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament is the Alexandrian translation, known as the Greek translation of the seventy interpreters. It was started by the will of the Egyptian king Ptolemy Philadelphus in 271 BC. Desiring to have in his library the sacred books of Jewish law, this inquisitive sovereign ordered his librarian Demetrius to take care of acquiring these books and translating them into the Greek language that was generally known at that time and the most widespread. From each tribe of Israel, six of the most able men were chosen and sent to Alexandria with an exact copy of the Hebrew Bible. The translators were placed on the island of Pharos, near Alexandria, and completed the translation in a short time. The Orthodox Church from the apostolic time has used the sacred books according to the translation of the seventy.

2. Latin translation, Vulgate. Before the fourth century AD, there were several Latin translations of the Bible, among which the so-called Old Italic, made according to the text of the seventy, enjoyed the greatest popularity for its clarity and special closeness to the sacred text. But after the blessed Jerome, one of the most learned Fathers of the Church of the 4th century, published in 384 his translation of the Holy Scriptures in Latin, made by him according to the Hebrew original, the Western Church gradually began to abandon the ancient Italic translation in favor of the translation of Jerome. In the 16th century, the Council of Trent put Jerome's translation into general use in the Roman Catholic Church under the name of the Vulgate, which literally means "common translation."

3. The Slavic translation of the Bible was made according to the text of seventy interpreters by the holy Thessalonica brothers Cyril and Methodius in the middle of the 9th century AD, during their apostolic labors in the Slavic lands. When the Moravian prince Rostislav, dissatisfied with the German missionaries, asked the Byzantine emperor Michael to send capable teachers of the faith of Christ to Moravia, Emperor Michael sent Saints Cyril and Methodius to this great work, who knew the Slavic language thoroughly and had begun to translate the Holy Scripture into this language while still in Greece.
On the way to the Slavic lands, the holy brothers stopped for some time in Bulgaria, which was also enlightened by them, and here they did a lot of work on the translation of sacred books. They continued their translation in Moravia, where they arrived about 863. It was completed after the death of Cyril by Methodius in Pannonia, under the auspices of the pious prince Kotsel, to whom he retired due to civil strife in Moravia. With the adoption of Christianity under the holy Prince Vladimir (988), the Slavic Bible, translated by Saints Cyril and Methodius, also passed to Rus'.

4. Russian translation. When, over time, the Slavic language began to differ significantly from Russian, reading the Holy Scriptures became difficult for many. As a result, the translation of books into modern Russian was undertaken. First, by decree of Emperor Alexander I and with the blessing of the Holy Synod, the New Testament was published in 1815 at the expense of the Russian Bible Society. Of the Old Testament books, only the Psalter was translated - as the most commonly used book in Orthodox worship. Then, already in the reign of Alexander II, after a new, more accurate edition of the New Testament in 1860, a printed edition of the law-positive books of the Old Testament appeared in Russian translation in 1868. The following year, the Holy Synod blessed the publication of historical Old Testament books, and in 1872 - teaching ones. Meanwhile, Russian translations of individual sacred books of the Old Testament began to be frequently printed in spiritual journals. So the complete edition of the Bible in Russian appeared in 1877. Not everyone supported the appearance of a Russian translation, preferring Church Slavonic. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, and later St. Theophan the Recluse, St. Patriarch Tikhon, and other prominent archpastors of the Russian Orthodox Church spoke out in favor of the Russian translation.

5. Other translations of the Bible. The Bible was first translated into French in 1160 by Peter Wald. The first translation of the Bible into German appeared in 1460. Martin Luther in 1522-1532 again translated the Bible into German. The first translation of the Bible into English was made by Beda the Venerable, who lived in the first half of the 8th century. A modern English translation was made under King James in 1603 and published in 1611. In Russia, the Bible was translated into many languages ​​of small peoples. So, Metropolitan Innokenty translated it into the Aleutian language, the Kazan Academy - into Tatar and others. The most successful in translating and distributing the Bible into different languages ​​were the British and American Bible Societies. The Bible has now been translated into over 1200 languages.
It should also be said that every translation has its advantages and disadvantages. Translations that seek to literally convey the content of the original suffer from heaviness and difficulty in understanding. On the other hand, translations that seek to convey only the general meaning of the Bible in the most understandable and accessible form often suffer from inaccuracies. The Russian synodal translation avoids both extremes and combines the maximum proximity to the meaning of the original with the lightness of the language.

Old Testament

The Old Testament books were originally written in Hebrew. Later books from the time of the Babylonian captivity already have many Assyrian and Babylonian words and turns of speech. And the books written during the Greek rule (non-canonical books) are written in Greek, the Third Book of Ezra is in Latin. The books of Holy Scripture came out of the hands of the holy writers in appearance not the way we see them now. They were originally written on parchment or on papyrus (which was made from the stems of plants native to Egypt and Palestine) with a cane (a pointed reed stick) and ink. Strictly speaking, it was not books that were written, but charters on a long parchment or papyrus scroll, which looked like a long ribbon and was wound around a shaft. Scrolls were usually written on one side. Subsequently, parchment or papyrus ribbons, instead of being glued into scroll ribbons, began to be sewn into books for ease of use. The text in the ancient scrolls was written in the same large capital letters. Each letter was written separately, but the words were not separated from one another. The whole line was like one word. The reader himself had to divide the line into words and, of course, sometimes did it wrong. There were also no punctuation or stress marks in ancient manuscripts. And in the Hebrew language, vowels were also not written - only consonants.

The division of words in books was introduced in the 5th century by the deacon of the Church of Alexandria Eulalius. Thus, gradually the Bible took on its modern form. With the modern division of the Bible into chapters and verses, reading the sacred books and searching for the right places in them has become a simple matter.

Sacred books in their modern fullness did not appear immediately. The time from Moses (1550 B.C.) to Samuel (1050 B.C.) can be called the first period of the formation of the Holy Scriptures. God-inspired Moses, who wrote down his revelations, laws, and narratives, gave the following command to the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord: “Take this book of the law and lay it on the right hand of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God” (Deut. 31:26). Subsequent sacred writers continued to attribute their creations to the Pentateuch of Moses with the command to keep them in the same place where it was kept - as if in one book.

Old Testament Scripture contains the following books:

1. Books of the Prophet Moses, or Torah(containing the foundations of the Old Testament faith): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

2. Historical books: Book of Joshua, Book of Judges, Book of Ruth, Books of Kings: First, Second, Third and Fourth, Books of Chronicles: First and Second, First Book of Ezra, Book of Nehemiah, Book of Esther.

3. teacher books(edifying content): the Book of Job, the Psalter, the book of Solomon's parables, the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Book of Song of Songs.

4. prophetic books(mostly prophetic content): The Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, the Book of the Prophet Daniel, the Twelve Books of the “minor” prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

5. In addition to these books of the Old Testament list, the Bible contains the following nine books, called "non-canonical": Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, the Book of Jesus, the son of Sirach, the Second and Third Books of Ezra, the three Maccabean Books. They are called so because they were written after the list (canon) of sacred books was completed. Some modern editions of the Bible do not have these "non-canonical" books, while the Russian Bible does. The above titles of the sacred books are taken from the Greek translation of the seventy interpreters. In the Hebrew Bible and in some modern translations of the Bible, several Old Testament books have different names.

New Testament

gospels

The word gospel means "good news", or - "pleasant, joyful, good news." This name is given to the first four books of the New Testament, which tell about the life and teachings of the incarnated Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, about everything that He did to establish a righteous life on earth and save us sinful people.

The time of writing each of the sacred books of the New Testament cannot be determined with absolute accuracy, but it is absolutely certain that they were all written in the second half of the 1st century. The first of the New Testament books were the epistles of the holy apostles, caused by the need to establish in the faith the newly founded Christian communities; but soon there was a need for a systematic exposition of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings. For a number of reasons, we can conclude that the Gospel of Matthew was written before everyone else and not later than 50-60 years. according to R.H. The Gospels of Mark and Luke were written a little later, but in any case earlier than the destruction of Jerusalem, that is, before the year 70 A.D., and the Evangelist John the Theologian wrote his Gospel later than everyone else, at the end of the first century, being already in extreme old age , as some suggest, around 96 years old. Somewhat earlier, the Apocalypse was written by him. The book of Acts was written shortly after the Gospel of Luke, because, as can be seen from its preface, it serves as a continuation of it.

All four Gospels, according to the story, tell about the life and teachings of Christ the Savior, about His suffering on the Cross, death and burial, His glorious Resurrection from the dead and ascension to. Mutually complementing and explaining each other, they represent a single whole book that does not have any contradictions and disagreements in the most important and fundamental.

A common symbol for the four Gospels is the mysterious chariot that the prophet Ezekiel saw at the river Chebar (Ezek. 1:1-28) and which consisted of four creatures that resembled a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle in their appearance. These beings, taken individually, became emblems for the evangelists. Christian art, starting from the 5th century, depicts Matthew with a man or, Mark with a lion, Luke with a calf, John with an eagle.

In addition to our four Gospels, in the first centuries up to 50 other writings were known, which also called themselves "Gospels" and attributed to themselves an apostolic origin. The church classified them as "apocryphal" - that is, unreliable, rejected books. These books contain distorted and dubious narratives. Such apocryphal gospels include the First Gospel of James, the Story of Joseph the Carpenter, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Nicodemus, and others. In them, by the way, for the first time legends relating to the childhood of the Lord Jesus Christ are recorded.

Of the four gospels, the contents of the first three are from Matthew, brand And Luke- coincides in many respects, close to each other both in terms of the narrative material itself and in the form of presentation. The fourth gospel is from John in this respect, it stands apart, differing significantly from the first three, both in the material presented in it, and in the very style and form of presentation. In this regard, the first three Gospels are usually called synoptic, from the Greek word "synopsis", which means "exposition in one general image." The Synoptic Gospels tell almost exclusively about the activities of the Lord Jesus Christ in Galilee, while the Evangelist John - in Judea. Forecasters talk mainly about miracles, parables and external events in the life of the Lord, the Evangelist John discusses its deepest meaning, cites the Lord's speeches about the lofty objects of faith. Despite all the differences between the Gospels, there are no internal contradictions in them. Thus, the synoptics and John mutually complement each other and only in their totality give an integral image of Christ, as he is perceived and preached by the Church.

Gospel of Matthew

Evangelist Matthew, who also bore the name of Levi, was one of the 12 apostles of Christ. Before his calling to the apostle, he was a publican, that is, a tax collector, and, as such, of course, he is not loved by his compatriots - the Jews, who despised and hated publicans because they served the unfaithful enslavers of their people and oppressed their people by collecting taxes, and in in their desire for profit, they often took much more than they should. Matthew tells about his calling in chapter 9 of his Gospel (Matt. 9:9-13), calling himself by the name of Matthew, while the evangelists Mark and Luke, talking about the same, call him Levi. The Jews used to have several names. Touched to the depths of his soul by the grace of the Lord, who did not disdain him, despite the general contempt for him by the Jews and especially by the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people, the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew wholeheartedly accepted the teachings of Christ and especially deeply understood his superiority over the Pharisees' traditions and views that bore the seal of external righteousness, conceit and contempt for sinners. That is why he gives such a detailed account of the Lord's powerful diatribe against the
the lowlies and the Pharisees - hypocrites, which we find in the 23rd chapter of his Gospel (Matt. 23). It must be assumed that for the same reason he especially took to heart the work of saving his native Jewish people, who by that time were so saturated with false concepts and Pharisees, and therefore his Gospel was written mainly for Jews. There is reason to believe that it was originally written in Hebrew and only a little later, perhaps by Matthew himself, translated into Greek.

Having written his Gospel for the Jews, Matthew sets as his main goal to prove to them that Jesus Christ is exactly the Messiah about whom the Old Testament prophets foretold, that the Old Testament revelation, obscured by the scribes and Pharisees, is clarified and perceives its perfect meaning only in Christianity. Therefore, he begins his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus Christ, wishing to show the Jews His origin from David and Abraham, and makes a huge number of references to the Old Testament in order to prove the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies on Him. The purpose of the first Gospel for the Jews is evident from the fact that Matthew, mentioning Jewish customs, does not consider it necessary to explain their meaning and meaning, as other evangelists do. It likewise leaves without explanation some of the Aramaic words used in Palestine. Matthew preached for a long time in Palestine. Then he retired to preach in other countries and ended his life as a martyr in Ethiopia.

Gospel of Mark

Evangelist Mark also bore the name of John. By origin, he was also a Jew, but he was not among the 12 apostles. Therefore, he could not be the constant companion and listener of the Lord, as Matthew was. He wrote his Gospel from the words and under the guidance of the Apostle Peter. He himself, in all likelihood, was an eyewitness only of the last days of the earthly life of the Lord. Only one Gospel of Mark tells of a young man who, when the Lord was taken into custody in the Garden of Gethsemane, followed Him, wrapped around his naked body in a veil, and the soldiers seized him, but he, leaving the veil, fled naked from them (Mark 14:51-52). In this youth, ancient tradition sees the very author of the second Gospel - Mark. His mother Mary is mentioned in the Book of Acts as one of the wives most devoted to the faith of Christ. In her house in Jerusalem, believers gathered for. Mark subsequently participates in the first journey of the Apostle Paul, along with his other companion Barnabas, to whom he was a nephew by his mother. He was with the Apostle Paul in Rome, from where the Epistle to the Colossians is written. Further, as can be seen, Mark became a companion and collaborator of the Apostle Peter, which is confirmed by the words of the Apostle Peter himself in his first Catholic Epistle, where he writes: “The Church in Babylon, chosen like you, and Mark, my son, greet you” (1 Pet. 5:13, here Babylon is probably an allegorical name for Rome).

Icon “Saint Mark the Evangelist. First half of the 17th century

Before his departure, the apostle Paul again calls him to himself, who writes to Timothy: “Take Mark ... with you, for I need him for my ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11). According to legend, the Apostle Peter made Mark the first bishop of the Alexandrian Church, and Mark ended his life as a martyr in Alexandria. According to Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, as well as Justin the Philosopher and Irenaeus of Lyons, Mark wrote his Gospel from the words of the Apostle Peter. Justin even explicitly calls it "Peter's memorabilia." Clement of Alexandria argues that the Gospel of Mark is essentially a recording of the oral sermon of the Apostle Peter, which Mark made at the request of Christians living in Rome. The very content of the Gospel of Mark testifies that it is intended for Gentile Christians. It says very little about the relationship of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Old Testament and very few references to the Old Testament sacred books. At the same time, we find Latin words in it, such as, for example, speculator and others. Even the Sermon on the Mount, as explaining the superiority of the New Testament Law over the Old Testament, is omitted. On the other hand, Mark pays his main attention to giving in his Gospel a strong, vivid account of the miracles of Christ, thereby emphasizing the Royal majesty and omnipotence of the Lord. In his Gospel, Jesus is not the "son of David", as in Matthew, but the Son of God, Lord and Commander, King of the Universe.

Gospel of Luke

The ancient historian Eusebius of Caesarea says that Luke came from Antioch, and therefore it is generally accepted that Luke was, by origin, a pagan or a so-called "proselyte", that is, a pagan, prince

who was Judaism. By the nature of his occupation, he was a doctor, as can be seen from the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians. Church Tradition adds to this the fact that he was also a painter. From the fact that his Gospel contains the instructions of the Lord to 70 disciples, set forth in full detail, they conclude that he belonged to the number of 70 disciples of Christ.
There is evidence that after the death of the Apostle Paul, the Evangelist Luke preached and accepted

Evangelist Luke

martyrdom in Achaia. Under the emperor Constantius (in the middle of the 4th century), his holy relics were transferred from there to Constantinople along with the relics of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. As can be seen from the very preface of the third Gospel, Luke wrote it at the request of a noble man, the “venerable” Theophilus, who lived in Antioch, for whom he then wrote the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, which serves as a continuation of the gospel narrative (see Luke 1: 1 -4; Acts 1:1-2). At the same time, he used not only the accounts of eyewitnesses of the ministry of the Lord, but also some of the written records that already existed at that time about the life and teachings of the Lord. In his own words, these written records were subjected to the most thorough research, and therefore his Gospel is distinguished by particular accuracy in determining the time and place of events and a strict chronological sequence.

The Gospel of Luke was clearly affected by the influence of the Apostle Paul, whose companion and collaborator was the Evangelist Luke. As an "apostle of the Gentiles," Paul tried most of all to reveal the great truth that the Messiah - Christ - came to earth not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles, and that He is the Savior of the whole world, of all people. In connection with this main idea, which the third Gospel clearly pursues throughout its narrative, the genealogy of Jesus Christ is brought to the ancestor of all mankind, Adam, and to God Himself, in order to emphasize His significance for the entire human race (see Luke 3:23-38). ).

The time and place of the writing of the Gospel of Luke can be determined, guided by the consideration that it was written earlier than the Book of Acts of the Apostles, constituting, as it were, its continuation (see Acts 1:1). The book of Acts ends with a description of the two-year sojourn of the Apostle Paul in Rome (see Acts 28:30). This was about A.D. 63. Therefore, the Gospel of Luke was written no later than this time and, presumably, in Rome.

Gospel of John

Evangelist John the Theologian was a beloved disciple of Christ. He was the son of the Galilean fisherman Zebedee and Solomiya. Zebedee was, apparently, a wealthy man, since he had workers, he was apparently not an insignificant member of Jewish society, for his son John had an acquaintance with the high priest. His mother Solomiya is mentioned among the wives who served the Lord with their property. Evangelist John was first a disciple of John the Baptist. Hearing his testimony about Christ as about the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, he immediately followed Christ together with Andrew (see John 1:35-40). However, he became a constant disciple of the Lord a little later, after a miraculous catch of fish on the Gennesaret (Galilee) lake, when the Lord Himself called him along with his brother Jacob. Together with Peter and his brother James, he was honored with special closeness to the Lord du, being with Him in the most important and solemn moments of His earthly life. This love of the Lord for him was also reflected in the fact that the Lord, hanging on the Cross, entrusted him with His Most Pure Mother, saying to him: “Behold your Mother!” (see John 19:27).

John traveled to Jerusalem via Samaria (see Luke 9:54). For this, he and his brother Jacob received from the Lord the nickname “Boanerges”, which means “sons of Thunder”. From the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor became the place of life and activity of John. In the reign of the emperor Domitian, he was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the Apocalypse (see Rev. 1:9). Returned from this exile to Ephesus, he wrote his Gospel there and died a natural death (the only one of the apostles), according to legend, very mysterious, at a ripe old age, being about 105 years old, in the reign of Emperor Trajan. According to tradition, the fourth gospel was written by John at the request of the Ephesian Christians. They brought him the first three Gospels and asked him to supplement them with the words of the Lord that he had heard from Him.

A distinctive feature of the Gospel of John is also clearly expressed in the name given to it in antiquity. Unlike the first three Gospels, it was predominantly called the Spiritual Gospel. The Gospel of John begins with a presentation of the doctrine of the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and then contains a whole series of the Lord’s most exalted speeches, in which His Divine dignity and the deepest mysteries of faith are revealed, such as, for example, a conversation with Nicodemus about being born again with water and the Spirit and about the sacrament atonement (John 3:1-21), a conversation with a Samaritan woman about living water and about worshiping God in spirit and truth (John 4:6-42), a conversation about the bread that came down from heaven and the sacrament of communion (John 6 :22-58), a conversation about the good shepherd (John 10:11-30) and a farewell conversation with the disciples at the Last Supper (John 13-16), which is especially remarkable in its content, with the concluding marvelous, so-called "high-priestly prayer" of the Lord (John 17). John deeply penetrated into the sublime mystery of Christian love - and no one, like him in his Gospel and in his three Catholic Epistles, revealed so fully, deeply and convincingly the Christian teaching about the two main commandments of the Law of God - about love for God and about love. to the neighbor. Therefore, he is also called the apostle of love.

Book of Acts and Epistles

As Christian communities spread and increased in different parts of the vast Roman Empire, naturally, Christians had questions of a religious, moral and practical nature. The apostles, not always having the opportunity to personally analyze these issues on the spot, responded to them in their letters-messages. Therefore, while the Gospels contain the foundations of the Christian faith, the apostolic epistles reveal some aspects of the teaching of Christ in more detail and show its practical application. Thanks to the apostolic epistles, we have a living testimony of how the apostles taught and how the first Christian communities were formed and lived.

Book of Acts is a direct continuation of the gospel. The purpose of its author is to describe the events that took place after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ and to give an outline of the initial structure of the Church of Christ. This book tells in particular detail about the missionary work of the apostles Peter and Paul. St. John Chrysostom, in his conversation about the Book of Acts, explains its great significance for Christianity, confirming the truth of the gospel teaching with facts from the life of the apostles: “This book contains primarily evidence of the resurrection.” That is why on Easter night, before the glorification of the resurrection of Christ, chapters from the Book of Acts are read in Orthodox churches. For the same reason, this book is read in its entirety during the period from Pascha to Pentecost at the daily liturgies.

The book of Acts tells about the events from the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ to the arrival of the Apostle Paul in Rome and covers a period of about 30 years. Chapters 1-12 tell about the activities of the Apostle Peter among the Jews of Palestine; Chapters 13-28 - about the activities of the Apostle Paul among the pagans and the spread of the teachings of Christ already beyond the borders of Palestine. The narrative of the book ends with an indication that the apostle Paul lived in Rome for two years and preached the doctrine of Christ there without restraint (Acts 28:30-31).

Cathedral Epistles

The name "Cathedral" refers to seven epistles written by the apostles: one - James, two - Peter, three - John the Evangelist and one Judas (not Iscariot). In the composition of the books of the New Testament of the Orthodox edition, they are placed immediately after the Book of Acts. They were called catholic by the Church in early times. "Cathedral" is "district" in the sense that they are addressed not to individuals, but to all Christian communities in general. The entire composition of the Epistles of the Council is named by this name for the first time by the historian Eusebius (beginning of the 4th century A.D.). The Catholic Epistles differ from the Epistles of the Apostle Paul in that they have more general basic doctrinal instructions, while the content of the Apostle Paul is adapted to the circumstances of those local Churches to which he addresses, and has a more special character.

The Epistle of the Apostle James

This message was intended for the Jews: "the twelve tribes scattered", which did not exclude the Jews living in Palestine. Time and place of the message are not specified. Apparently, the message was written by him shortly before his death, probably in the years 55-60. The place of writing is probably Jerusalem, where the apostle resided permanently. The reason for writing was those sorrows that the Jews of the dispersion suffered from the Gentiles and, in particular, from their unbelieving brothers. The trials were so great that many began to lose heart and waver in faith. Some murmured against outward calamities and against God Himself, but still saw their salvation in descent from Abraham. They looked at prayer incorrectly, did not underestimate the importance of good deeds, but willingly became teachers of others. At the same time, the rich were exalted above the poor, and brotherly love grew cold. All this prompted James to give them the necessary moral healing in the form of an epistle.

The Epistles of the Apostle Peter

First Epistle the Apostle Peter is addressed to "newcomers scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia" - the provinces of Asia Minor. By "newcomers" one must understand mainly the converted Jews, as well as the pagans who were part of the Christian communities. These communities were founded by the apostle Paul. The reason for writing the epistle was the desire of the Apostle Peter to “strengthen his brothers” (see Luke 22:32) in the event of discord in these communities and persecution that befell them from the enemies of the Cross of Christ. Appeared among Christians and internal enemies in the face of false teachers. Taking advantage of the absence of the Apostle Paul, they began to distort his teaching on Christian freedom and patronize all moral immorality (see 1 Pet. 2:16; Pet. 1:9; 2, 1). The purpose of this epistle of Peter is to encourage, console and confirm the Christians of Asia Minor in the faith, as pointed out by the apostle Peter himself: the grace of God in which you stand” (1 Pet. 5:12).

Second Epistle written to the same Asia Minor Christians. In this epistle, the apostle Peter warns believers with particular force against depraved false teachers. These false teachings are similar to those denounced by the Apostle Paul in the epistles to Timothy and Titus, and also by the Apostle Jude in his Catholic Epistle.

There is no reliable information about the purpose of the Second Catholic Epistle, except for those contained in the Epistle itself. Who were named "the chosen lady" and her children is unknown. It is only clear that they were Christians (there is an interpretation that “Mistress” is the Church, and “children” are Christians). As for the time and place of writing this epistle, one can think that it was written at the same time that the first one was written, and in the same Ephesus. The Second Epistle of John has only one chapter. In it, the apostle expresses his joy that the children of the chosen lady are walking in the truth, promises to visit her and insistently exhorts them not to have any fellowship with false teachers.

Third Epistle: addressed to Gaia or Kai. Who it was is not exactly known. From the apostolic writings and from Church Tradition it is known that several persons bore this name (see Acts 19:29; Acts 20:4; Rom. 16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14, etc.), but to whom of them or to whom this epistle was written, there is no way to determine. Apparently, this Guy did not hold any hierarchical position, but was simply a pious Christian, a stranger. About the time and place of writing the third epistle, it can be assumed that: both of these epistles were written at approximately the same time, all in the same city of Ephesus, where the apostle John spent the last years of his earthly life. This message also consists of only one chapter. In it, the apostle praises Gaia for his virtuous life, firmness in faith and "walking in the truth", and especially for his virtue of accepting strangers in relation to the preachers of the Word of God, reproaches the power-hungry Diotrephes, reports some news and sends greetings.

The message of the Apostle Jude

The writer of this epistle calls himself "Judas, a servant of Jesus Christ, brother of James." From this we can conclude that this is one person with the apostle Judas from among the twelve, who was called Jacob, as well as Levi (not to be confused with Levi) and Thaddeus (see Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6: 16; Acts 1:13; John 14:22). He was the son of Joseph the Betrothed by his first wife and the brother of Joseph's children - Jacob, later Bishop of Jerusalem, nicknamed the Righteous, Josiah and Simon, later also Bishop of Jerusalem. According to legend, his first name was Judas, he received the name Thaddeus by being baptized by John the Baptist, and he received the name Leuveus by joining the ranks of the 12 apostles, perhaps to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot of the same name, who became a traitor. On the apostolic ministry of Judas after the Ascension of the Lord, tradition says that he preached first in Judea, Galilee, Samaria and the Marching, and then in Arabia, Syria and Mesopotamia, Persia and Armenia, in which he died a martyr, crucified on the cross and pierced with arrows. The reasons for writing the epistle, as can be seen from verse 3, were Jude's concern "for the general salvation of souls" and anxiety about the strengthening of false teachings (Jude 1:3). Saint Jude directly says that he writes because impious people have crept into Christian society, turning Christian freedom into a pretext for debauchery. These are, undoubtedly, false Gnostic teachers who encouraged depravity under the guise of "mortification" of sinful flesh and considered the world not a creation of God, but a product of lower forces hostile to Him. These are the same Simonians and Nicolaitans who are denounced by the Evangelist John in chapters 2 and 3 of the Apocalypse. The purpose of the epistle is to warn Christians against being carried away by these false teachings that flatter sensuality. The epistle is intended for all Christians in general, but its content shows that it was intended for a certain circle of people, into which the false teachers found access. It can be assumed with certainty that this epistle was originally addressed to the same Churches of Asia Minor, to which the apostle Peter later wrote.

The Epistles of the Apostle Paul

Of all the New Testament sacred writers, the apostle Paul, who wrote 14 epistles, worked the most in expounding the Christian doctrine. Due to the importance of their content, they are rightly called the "second Gospel" and have always attracted the attention of both thinkers-philosophers and ordinary believers. The apostles themselves did not disregard these edifying creations of their “beloved brother”, younger in time of conversion to Christ, but equal to them in the spirit of teaching and grace-filled gifts (see 2 Pet. 3:15-16). Constituting a necessary and important addition to the gospel teaching, the epistles of the Apostle Paul should be the subject of the most careful and diligent study of every person who seeks to gain a deeper knowledge of the Christian faith. These epistles are distinguished by a special height of religious thought, reflecting the extensive scholarship and knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures of the Apostle Paul, as well as his deep understanding of the New Testament teachings of Christ. Sometimes not finding the necessary words in the modern Greek language, the apostle Paul was sometimes forced to create his own word combinations to express his thoughts, which later came into wide use among Christian writers. Such phrases include: “to be resurrected”, “to be buried with Christ”, “to put on Christ”, “to put off the old man”, “to be saved by the bath of resurrection”, “the law of the spirit of life”, etc.

Book of Revelation or Apocalypse

The Apocalypse (or in Greek - Revelation) of John the Theologian is the only prophetic book of the New Testament. It predicts the future fate of mankind, the end of the world and the beginning of a new eternal life, and therefore, naturally, is placed at the end of Holy Scripture. The Apocalypse is a mysterious and difficult book to understand, but at the same time, it is the mysterious nature of this book that attracts the eyes of both believing Christians and simply inquisitive thinkers who are trying to unravel the meaning and meaning of the visions described in it. There is an enormous number of books about the Apocalypse, among which there are also quite a few absurd works, this especially applies to modern sectarian literature. Despite the difficulty of understanding this book, the spiritually enlightened fathers and teachers of the Church have always treated it with great reverence as inspired by God. So, Dionysius of Alexandria writes: “The darkness of this book does not prevent one from being surprised at it. And if I do not understand everything in it, then only because of my inability. I cannot be a judge of the truths contained in it, and measure them by the poverty of my mind; guided more by faith than by reason, I find them only beyond my understanding.” Blessed Jerome speaks of the Apocalypse in the same way: “There are as many secrets in it as there are words. But what am I saying? Any praise for this book will be below its dignity. During the divine service, the Apocalypse is not read because in ancient times the reading of the Holy Scriptures during the divine service was always accompanied by its explanation, and the Apocalypse is very difficult to explain (however, in the Typicon there is an indication of the reading of the Apocalypse as edifying reading at a certain period of the year).
About the author of the Apocalypse
The author of the Apocalypse calls himself John (see Rev. 1:1-9; Rev. 22:8). According to the common opinion of the holy fathers of the Church, this was the Apostle John, the beloved disciple of Christ, who received the distinctive name “Theologian” for the height of his teaching about God the Word. His authorship is confirmed both by the data in the Apocalypse itself and by many other internal and external signs. The inspired pen of the Apostle John the Theologian also includes the Gospel and three Epistles. The author of the Apocalypse says that he was on the island of Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:9). From church history it is known that of the apostles, only John the Theologian was imprisoned on this island. The proof of the authorship of the Apocalypse of the Apostle John the Theologian is the similarity of this book with his Gospel and epistles, not only in spirit, but also in style, and especially in some characteristic expressions. An ancient tradition dates the writing of the Apocalypse to the end of the 1st century. So, for example, Irenaeus writes: "The Apocalypse appeared shortly before this and almost in our time, at the end of the reign of Domitian." The purpose of writing the Apocalypse is to portray the coming struggle of the Church against the forces of evil; to show the methods by which the devil, with the assistance of his servants, fights against good and truth; give guidance to believers on how to overcome temptations; depict the death of the enemies of the Church and the final victory of Christ over evil.

Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The Apostle John in the Apocalypse reveals the general methods of deceit, and also shows the sure way to avoid them in order to be faithful to Christ until death. Similarly, the Judgment of God, which the Apocalypse repeatedly speaks of, is both the Last Judgment of God, and all the private judgments of God over individual countries and people. This includes the judgment on all mankind under Noah, and the judgment on the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah under Abraham, and the judgment on Egypt under Moses, and the double judgment on Judea (six centuries before Christ and again in the seventies of our era), and judgment over ancient Nineveh, Babylon, over the Roman Empire, over Byzantium and, more recently, over Russia). The reasons that caused the righteous punishment of God were always the same: the unbelief of people and lawlessness. In the Apocalypse, a certain extratemporality or timelessness is noticeable. It follows from the fact that the apostle John contemplated the fate of mankind not from the earthly, but from the heavenly perspective, where the Spirit of God led him. In an ideal world, the flow of time stops at the Throne of the Most High, and the present, past and future appear before the spiritual gaze at the same time. Obviously, therefore, the author of the Apocalypse describes some events of the future as past, and the past as present. For example, the war of the Angels in Heaven and the overthrow of the devil from there - events that happened even before the creation of the world, are described by the Apostle John as having happened at the dawn of Christianity (Rev. 12 ch.). The resurrection of the martyrs and their reign in Heaven, which covers the entire New Testament era, is placed by them after the trial of the Antichrist and the false prophet (Rev. 20 ch.). Thus, the seer does not tell about the chronological sequence of events, but reveals the essence of that great war between evil and good, which is going on simultaneously on several fronts and captures both the material and angelic worlds.

From the book of Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

Bible Facts:

Methuselah is the main long-liver in the Bible. He lived for almost a thousand years and died at the age of 969.

More than forty people worked on the texts of Scripture, many of whom did not even know each other. However, there are no obvious contradictions or inconsistencies in the Bible.

From a literary point of view, the Sermon on the Mount, written in the Bible, is a perfect text.

The Bible was the first machine-printed book in Germany in 1450.

The Bible contains prophecies that were fulfilled hundreds of years later.

The Bible is published annually in tens of thousands of copies.

Luther's translation of the Bible into German marked the beginning of Protestantism.

The Bible was written for 1600 years. No other book in the world has undergone such a long and scrupulous work.

The Bishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton divided the Bible into chapters and verses.

49 hours of continuous reading is required to read the entire Bible.

In the 7th century, an English publishing house published a Bible with a monstrous misprint. One of the Commandments looked like this: "Commit adultery." Almost the entire circulation was liquidated.

The Bible is one of the most commented and quoted books in the world.

Andrey Desnitsky. Bible and archeology

Conversations with the father. Getting Started in Bible Study

Conversations with the father. Bible Study with Children