Толкование К Титу послание ап. Павла 2 глава 9 стих - Экзегет

Since our Lord and Savior, who in the gospel says, “Come to me, you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest,” thinks that no condition, age, or sex is unsuitable for blessedness, therefore the apostle now lays down commands even for slaves, namely, as for a part of the church and for members of the body of Christ. And just as higher up he showed Titus what he needed to teach older men, older women, younger women, and younger men, so now he lays down precepts that are suitable for slaves.
First of all, that “they should be submissive to their masters in all things.” Now in these “all things” that are not contrary to God, the slave should be subjected to the master, when and if the master commands things that are not opposed to Holy Scripture. But if he commands things that are contrary, let him obey the master more in spirit than in body. Pay careful attention to how he issues commands that are congruent with the persons. “Slaves,” he says, “should be submissive to their masters in all things.” While carrying on a discussion about children in another passage, he says, “Children, obey your parents.” For it is befitting that children “obey” their parents, but slaves are to be “subjected” to the master who gives orders.
It is not that we should think that this contradicts what he says in another letter, “Wives should be subjected to your husbands,” whereas in this one he asserted that wives are subjected to their husbands, as if he has used the same word both in respect to slaves and in respect to wives. For in what way is the husband the lord of the wife? He says, “He will rule over you.” Also the Savior was subjected to his parents, but when he was still twelve years old and was no different from a slave, he was Lord of all. For he had not yet reached the perfect age of manhood, which could receive the inheritance. Moreover, elsewhere it is written of him, “For when all things have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to him who subjected all things to himself, that God may be all in all.” Now all things will be subjected to him when he says, “The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet.” The Lord is subjected in the subjected slaves. And just as he is said to be a curse for us, though he is not a curse but a true blessing, so for us he is recorded either as subjected or not subjected, if we become either subjected or not subjected to God.
Some read this passage as follows: “Slaves should be subjected to their masters,” and after they have punctuated up to this point, they add, “Let them please them in all things”; though the order of the reading is different in Greek, that is, “Let slaves be subjected to their masters in all things”; so that it follows: εὐαρέστους εἶναι. This does not fully please us, nevertheless we can translate it to some extent as: “so that they may please themselves,” namely, lest God’s pronouncement upon their condition should seem unjust to them. But just as a poor man can be saved in accordance with his own measure; and a woman is not excluded from the kingdom of God for the weakness of her sex, and every condition can receive beatitude in accordance with its own rank; so also slaves may be pleased with themselves that they are slaves. They should not think that, because they are subjected to men, on that account they cannot serve God. On the contrary in that respect, if they become subjected in all things to their masters and please themselves in their own condition, they can please the will of God all the more. And let them pursue what the apostle commanded next, that they not be “contradicters” or “thieves.” To contradict masters is the very great vice of slaves. When the masters command anything, they mutter to themselves. And so, he warns Titus to remove this sort of passion from those who are Christian slaves by means of sound teaching. For if the slave regards it as necessary to fulfill the things the master commands, why should he not do this with good will? Why should he instead offend the master and yet do what is commanded, especially since God too was offended at the water of con- tradiction? And in another passage he speaks to the people about murmuring: “Let their murmuring cease and they will not die.”