St Luke Chapter III : Verses 7-18
Contents
- Luke iii. 7-18. Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Annotations
- Douay-Rheims : 1582 text
Luke iii. 7-18.
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| Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Dicebat ergo ad turbas quae exibant ut baptizarentur ab ipso : Genimina viperarum, quis ostendit vobis fugere a ventura ira?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance; and do not begin to say, We have Abraham for our father. For I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
Facite ergo fructus dignos pœnitentiae, et ne cœperitis dicere : Patrem habemus Abraham. Dico enim vobis quia potens est Deus de lapidibus istis suscitare filios Abrahæ.
9 For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down and cast into the fire.
Jam enim securis ad radicem arborum posita est. Omnis ergo arbor non faciens fructum bonum, excidetur, et in ignem mittetur.
10 And the people asked him, saying: What then shall we do?
Et interrogabant eum turbæ, dicentes : Quid ergo faciemus?
11 And he answering, said to them: He that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner.
Respondens autem dicebat illis : Qui habet duas tunicas, det non habenti : et qui habet escas, similiter faciat.
12 And the publicans also came to be baptized, and said to him: Master, what shall we do?
Venerunt autem et publicani ut baptizarentur, et dixerunt ad illum : Magister, quid faciemus?
13 But he said to them: Do nothing more than that which is appointed you.
At ille dixit ad eos : Nihil amplius, quam quod constitutum est vobis, faciatis.
14 And the soldiers also asked him, saying: And what shall we do? And he said to them: Do violence to no man; neither calumniate any man; and be content with your pay.
Interrogabant autem eum et milites, dicentes : Quid faciemus et nos? Et ait illis : Neminem concutiatis, neque calumniam faciatis : et contenti estote stipendiis vestris.
15 And as the people were of opinion, and all were thinking in their hearts of John, that perhaps he might be the Christ;
Existimante autem populo, et cogitantibus omnibus in cordibus suis de Joanne, ne forte ipse esset Christus,
16 John answered, saying unto all: I indeed baptize you with water; but there shall come one mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
respondit Joannes, dicens omnibus : Ego quidem aqua baptizo vos : veniet autem fortior me, cujus non sum dignus solvere corrigiam calceamentorum ejus : ipse vos baptizabit in Spiritu Sancto et igni :
17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
cujus ventilabrum in manu ejus, et purgabit aream suam, et congregabit triticum in horreum suum, paleas autem comburet igni inextinguibili.
18 And many other things exhorting, did he preach to the people.
Multa quidem et alia exhortans evangelizabat populo.
Annotations
[For verses 7-9, Lapide refers the student to his annotations on Matthew iii. 5-12. These are enclosed within the star borders *** below, with appropriate modifications]
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7. He said therefore to the multitudes that went forth to be baptized by him, etc. The multitudes came from —
(a) Jerusalem and all Judea and all the country about Jordan (iii. 5).
(b) Bethania beyond the Jordan (St John i. 28). This place is now unknown. They went to the desert where St John was preaching and baptizing. We read of three places, but there would have been others : —
1. The desert of Judea, probably the traditional site near Jericho.
2. Bethania beyond the Jordan. The site is now unknown.
3. Ennon, near Salim (St John iii. 23), on the border between Samaria and Judea. Since the days of Malachias, 400 years earlier, no prophet had risen up ; hence the eagerness of the people to see and hear the Precursor.
Note. — It is probable that the Baptist’s ministry coincided with a sabbatical year, hence the vast multitudes were freed from agricultural labours. Every seventh year the land was allowed to lie fallow, and no agricultural work was done. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and, six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and shalt gather the fruits thereof : But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath to the land, of the resting of the Lord : thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. What the ground shalt bring forth of itself, thou shalt not reap : neither shalt thou gather the grapes of the first-fruits as a vintage : for it is a year of rest to the land (Lev. xxv. 3-5).
The location was the country about Jordan. This applies to both sides of the river, from Jericho to the Dead Sea on the right bank, and from Bethnimra to the brook of Gired on the left bank. St John probably baptized in the valley of the Jordan at different stations. St Luke alone mentions the journeys of St John ; the other Evangelists only speak of the multitudes that went out to him. He came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins (St Luke iii. 3).
to be baptized by him. They did not receive the Sacrament of Baptism, but a penitential rite to prepare them for the preaching of Christ.
This baptism of penance could not itself take away sin. When the Baptist’s disciples became Christians they were re-baptized.
Cf. And he said : In what then were you baptized ? Who said : In John’s baptism. Then Paul said : John baptized the people with the baptism of penance saying. That they should believe in him who was to come after him, that is to say, in Jesus. Having heard these things they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts xix. 3, 4, 5).
St Matthew mentions they came confessing their sins, — i.e. “ declaring their deeds.” These words do not refer to the Sacrament of Penance, which was not as yet instituted. The Law of Moses prescribed a detailed confession of certain sins, e.g. unjust or rash oaths. Leviticus : Let him do penance for his sin, and offer of the flocks an ewe lamb or a she-goat, and the priest shall pray for him and for his sin (v. 5, 6).
St Luke describes the different classes of people who came to St John the Baptist, and the different advice he gave to each (see iii. 10-15).
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to his baptism. They came to listen to his preaching, but the Pharisees, as a class, certainly did not accept the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers despised the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized by him (St Luke vii. 30).
7. Ye offspring of vipers. The word vipers expresses crafty wickedness. Jesus also applied it to them. You serpents, generations of vipers, how will you flee from the judgment of hell ? (xxiii. 33). Perhaps there is an allusion to the devil, the infernal serpent. Cf. You are of your father the devil (St John viii. 44). When the dry stalks are set on fire in the autumn, the vipers in the grass try to escape from the flames (Holtzmann).
who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come? Who has persuaded you that the mere ceremony of baptism, without true repentance, will suffice to assure your salvation? This is the meaning generally given to these words.
Other interpretations are —
(a) The words are employed negatively, — i.e. no one has warned you how to escape God’s judgments. Cf. How will you flee from the judgment of hell?
(b) St John rejoices that the proud, depraved Pharisees and Sadducees are in earnest about their salvation.
The next two verses favour the first explanation ; but whichever meaning we take, the same necessity remains — to flee from the wrath to come.
8. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance; As proofs of their inward sorrow. The heart of man is the tree, his deeds are the fruit. St Luke gives the plural, “ fruits.” The Baptist goes on to enumerate some of these fruits.
The Rabbis had various “ sayings ” on this subject : —
“ If Israel would only repent one day, the Son of David would come forthwith.”
“All the stages are past, and all depends solely on repentance and good works.”
do not begin to say, We have Abraham for our father. The Jews boasted of being the children of Abraham, without troubling to do the works of Abraham (St John viii. 39). Cf. They answered him : We are the seed of Abraham . . . . Abraham is our father (St John viii. 33 and 39). St John was but confirming the teaching of the prophets.
Cf. Her princes have judged, for bribes, and her priests have taught for hire, and her prophets divined for money : and they leaned upon the Lord, saying: Is not the Lord in the midst of us ? no evil shall come upon us (Micheas iii. 11). Make your ways and your doings good: .... if you will execute judgment between a man and his neighbour, if you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, . ... I will dwell with you in this place (i.e. the Temple) (Jer. vii. 3-7).
For I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. There is here a play upon the Hebrew words “ banim,” “ children,” and “ abanim,” “ stones.” In Isaias, God is represented as saying : Look unto the rock whence you are hewn . . . . look unto Abraham your father (li. 1, 2). The words these stones would be accompanied by an energetic gesture, as the Baptist pointed to the loose rocks and pebbles on the banks of the Jordan. In the children to Abraham, whom God could raise up, we have a reference to the conversion of the Gentiles. Note that all the metaphors employed are derived from the desert ; vipers, trees, fruit, stones.
9. For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. There is need of haste, for the ventura ira (wrath to come) is near at hand, and the unfruitful trees will be cut down.
Cf. Behold, for three years 1 come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and I find none. Cut it down therefore ; why cumbereth it the ground ? (St Luke xiii. 7). In Palestine trees were valued only for their fruit, and barren trees were speedily removed.
St John’s baptism was only an external rite, a sign that the recipient was penitent, whereas the baptism of the Messias was a means of sanctification and purification of souls. Hence St John proclaims that the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled, since the Holy Ghost is now poured out on those who believe in Christ and receive His baptism. Cf. —
Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high (Is. xxxii. 15).
I will put a new spirit in their bowels (Ezec. xi. 19).
I have poured out my spirit upon all the house of Israel (Ezec. xxxix, 29) .
I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh (Joel ii. 28).
Our Lord Himself explains these words of St John the Baptist, and refers them to the descent of the Holy Ghost. John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost (Acts i. 5).
he that shall come after me. Notice the successive stages in the proclamation of the herald :—
(a) There shall come one mightier than I.
(b) There hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not.
(c) Behold the Lamb of God. This is he of whom I said : After me there cometh, etc. (St John i. passim). St John the Baptist was born about six months before our Lord. As noone was allowed to preach before his thirtieth year, Jesus began His Public Life about six months later than St John.
16. mightier than I. Note the Baptist’s humility : Jesus is the mighty God.
the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose: St Matthew has: whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. The Baptist, speaking frequently, would naturally vary his expressions. The thought is the same. “ I am not worthy to perform for the Messias a service which the slave renders to his lord.”
In the East, the slaves removed and carried their masters’ sandals when they entered into a temple or banqueting-hall.
shoes. Better, “sandals.”
he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: A reference to the work of the Holy Ghost in the soul, which He first purifies, and then enkindles with the love of God and zeal for souls.
Cf. I am come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled ? (St Luke xii. 49). In Baptism we receive the Holy Ghost, and in Confirmation He comes to the soul and imparts His sevenfold gifts.
and fire. Four different interpretations have been given of these words.
They signify —
(a) Purgatory (Origen, St Hilary, St Jerome).
(b) Trials and persecutions (St Bede).
(c) Hell fire (some modern non-Catholic writers).
(d) The purifying and enkindling of the soul by the Holy Ghost (St John Chrysostom, Zigabenus, a Lapide, etc.).
The third view given has little weight, for nowhere in Scripture is the word “baptism” used to denote hell fire.
The last interpretation is the one most generally accepted, since —
(a) The Holy Ghost descended on the apostles in the form of fiery tongues.
(b) St Matthew uses the expression in the Holy Ghost and fire as though these terms were synonymous.
(c) The prophets compare the action of the Holy Ghost to a purifying fire. Cf . The Lord shall wash away the blood of Jerusalem . ... by the spirit of burning (Is. iv. 4). Behold he cometh .... for he is like a refining fire (Mai. iii. 1, 2). (Abridged from Maas, S.J., Comm. St Matt.)
17. Whose fan is in his hand, A winnowing shovel made of osiers, by which the threshed corn was tossed up against the wind in order to separate the grain from the husks.
and he will purge his floor. This cleansing consisted in gathering up the grain, and burning the stalks, husks, etc. The threshing-floor in the East consists of a hardened circular area on which the grain is strewn, and then beaten with flails or trodden out by oxen. The corn is then separated by means of fans, and stored in underground pits or in natural caverns.
The refuse, when burnt, is used as manure. The farmer sets fire to it windward, and as long as there is any chaff to consume, the fire burns.
barn here signifies (1) the Catholic Church, (2) Heaven.
chaff. The wicked are often compared to chaff. Cf. All that do wickedly shall he stubble : and the day that cometh shall set them on fire (Matt. iv. 1). I will scatter them with a fan in the gates of the land (Jer. xv. 7). “ Christ compares the visible Church, which is the world, with an area, a circular threshing-floor, where chaff and grain, good and bad, now lie mingled together, till He who will winnow them shall come. And thus He teaches us faith, patience, constancy, charity, zeal and fear” (Wordsworth, Greek Testament).
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Annotations on St Luke resumed:
10. And the people asked Him, saying, What shall we do then? that we may bear fruits worthy of penance, and so avoid the ruin threatened by you, and obtain everlasting salvation. John had accused the Pharisees and the populace, but the Pharisees “despised the counsel of God,” c. vii. 30, and therefore also the discourse of John; but the crowd of common people, deeply moved and touched by the force of his preaching, try to find out the way to repent, so as to seize upon John’s instructions, and offer themselves to him ready and prepared. So also, in these days, the common people were more ready than the great to take hold of the warnings of preachers, and are therefore saved rather than they.
11. And he answering, said to them: He that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner. A synecdoche; he signifies every kind of alms-deed by one which is the more common and necessary; clothing and feeding the poor. “Two” supposing one coat to be sufficient to clothe and warm the body, and the other, therefore, superfluous, let him give that other “to him that hath not,” to him that is naked and in need of a coat. For if both be necessary he is not bound to give either to the poor man. So S. Jerome (Quæst. I. ad Hedibiam); and S. Ambrose, on this passage, says, “The limits of mercy are observed according to the capability of human nature, so that each one deprive not himself of everything, but share what he has with the poor man,” and he adds, “He that is able, let him bear the fruit of grace, he that is bound, of penance. The use of mercy is common, therefore the precept is common; mercy is the fulness of the virtues.”
This, then, is one of the fruits worthy of penance, according to the words of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, “Break off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor” iv. 27. Besides, almsgiving fitly disposes our lives for every virtue. Every virtue is either of obligation or of supererogation; justice is of obligation, mercy of supererogation, and therefore mercy satisfies both for itself and for justice, both because he that gives what is his own, will not seize what belongs to others, and also because he that gives what he is not bound to give will much more pay what he owes—to which he is bound by justice or some other virtue—and again because mercy comes of love and charity, and charity is the fulness of the law. For “He that loveth hath fulfilled the law,” Rom. xiii.
Euthymius aptly remarks here, “He enjoins on the multitudes to take one another into mutual benevolence, and assist one another with mutual good works.” For the many easily understand works of mercy, and devote themselves to them, while they are not easily induced to prayer, fasting, and works of penance, and sometimes are incapable of them.
12. And the publicans also came to be baptized, and said to him: Master, what shall we do?—to save our souls. Here is fulfilled the saying of Christ, “Publicans and harlots shall be before you (O Scribes) in the kingdom of God,” Matt. xxi. 31. For the sinners, being called to account by John, felt deep compunction, acknowledged their fault, and sought for penance; but the proud Scribes, thinking themselves just and wise, despised it.
13. But he said to them: Do nothing more than that which is appointed you.—in the exaction of taxes. In the Greek it is πράσσετε, which can be translated both make and exact, but in this place is more clearly rendered exact as the Syriac and the Greek render it. So Jansenius, Maldonatus, Francis Lucas, and others. For tax-gatherers are wont to increase the tribute out of avarice, and to exact more than is appointed by the Ruler, which is theft or rapine, wherefore John here charges them with it. “He lays a moderate command on them,” says S. Augustine (Serm. 3 de Diversis), “that both iniquity may have no place, and the appointed tribute may have effect.” “So the Baptist,” says S. Ambrose, “gives to each generation of men the answer suitable to them.” Let the preacher do the same, and prescribe to wives, to husbands, to sons, to maidservants, to menservants, to merchants, farmers, and lawyers, what each in particular ought to do, and give each one the directions proper to his state of life.”
14. And the soldiers also asked him, saying: And what shall we do? And he said to them: Do violence to no man; neither calumniate any man; and be content with your pay. Soldiers who were serving some of them under Herod Antipas against Aretas, the king of the Arabs, some under the prefect of the Temple, and some under Pilate, the Roman Governor; these men, hearing John thundering against their vices, and threatening them with hell, conscious of rapine and other crimes, which soldiers are wont to commit, becoming, together with the publicans, contrite, at the word of John, seek from him the remedy of penance, of a good life, and of salvation. John, therefore, tacitly gives it to be understood that it is lawful to be a soldier, and that war is lawful, as S. Ambrose teaches (Serm. 7), and S. Augustine (Contra Faustum, bk. xxii. ch. 74)
16. John answered, saying unto all: I indeed baptize you with water; but there shall come one mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:—namely, the Messias.
The rest which Luke here adds has been explained on Matt. 3:11.
Morally, Origen says, “Preachers are here warned not to allow themselves to be too much praised or honoured by the people, but to suppress these praises and honours, and refer them to Christ, lest by reason of their pride they be deprived of them by Christ.
Douay-Rheims : 1582 text
7. He ſaid therfore to the multitudes that went forth to be baptized of him: Ye vipers broods, who hath ſhewed you to flee from the wrath to come?8. Yeald therfore fruits worthie of penance; and doe ye not begin to say, we haue Abraham, to our father. For I tel you, that God is able of theſe ſtones to raiſe vp children to Abraham.9. For now the axe is put to the roote of the trees. Euery tree therfore that yealdeth not good fruit, ſhal be cut downe, and caſt into fire.10. And the multitudes aſked him, ſaying: What ſhal we doe then?11. And he anſwering, ſaid vnto them: He that hath two coats, let him giue to him that hath not; and he that hath meat, let him doe likewiſe.12. And the Publicans alſo came to be baptized, and ſaid to him: Maiſter, what ſhal we doe?13. But he ſaid to them: Doe nothing more then that which is appointed you.14. And the ſouldiars alſo aſked him, ſaying: What ſhal we alſo doe? And he ſaid to them: Vexe not, neither calumniate any man; and be content with your ſtipends.15. And the people imagining, and al men thinking in their harts of Iohn, leſt perhaps he were Chriſt:16. Iohn answered, ſaying vnto al: I indeed baptize you with water, but there ſhal come a mightier then I, whoſe latchet of his shoes I am not worthie to looſe; he ſhal baptize you in the Holy Ghoſt and fire:17. who fanne is in his hand, and he wil purge his floore; and wil gather the wheat into his barne, but the chaffe he wil burne with vnquencheable fire.18. Many other things also exhorting did he euangelize to the people.
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SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.
The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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