Be not afraid of them who kill the body

St Luke Chapter XII : Verses 1-12

Contents

• Luke xii. Verses 1-12.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the Great Commentary

Luke xii. Verses 1-12.

To him that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven.
Verses 10-12.  J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

1 And when great multitudes stood about him, so that they trod one upon another, he began to say to his disciples: Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Multis autem turbis circumstantibus, ita ut se invicem conculcarent, cœpit dicere ad discipulos suos : Attendite a fermento pharisæorum, quod est hypocrisis.

2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed: nor hidden, that shall not be known.

Nihil autem opertum est, quod non reveletur : neque absconditum, quod non sciatur.

3 For whatsoever things you have spoken in darkness, shall be published in the light: and that which you have spoken in the ear in the chambers, shall be preached on the housetops.

Quoniam quæin tenebris dixistis, in lumine dicentur : et quod in aurem locuti estis in cubiculis, prædicabitur in tectis.

4 And I say to you, my friends: Be not afraid of them who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

Dico autem vobis amicis meis : Ne terreamini ab his qui occidunt corpus, et post haec non habent amplius quid faciant.

5 But I will shew you whom you shall fear: fear ye him, who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him.

Ostendam autem vobis quem timeatis : timete eum qui, postquam occiderit, habet potestatem mittere in gehennam : ita dico vobis, hunc timete.

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

Nonne quinque passeres veneunt dipondio, et unus ex illis non est in oblivione coram Deo?

7 Yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows.

sed et capilli capitis vestri omnes numerati sunt. Nolite ergo timere : multis passeribus pluris estis vos.

8 And I say to you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.

Dico autem vobis : Omnis quicumque confessus fuerit me coram hominibus, et Filius hominis confitebitur illum coram angelis Dei:

9 But he that shall deny me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God.

qui autem negaverit me coram hominibus, negabitur coram angelis Dei.

10 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but to him that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven.

Et omnis qui dicit verbum in Filium hominis, remittetur illi : ei autem qui in Spiritum Sanctum blasphemaverit, non remittetur.

11 And when they shall bring you into the synagogues, and to magistrates and powers, be not solicitous how or what you shall answer, or what you shall say;

Cum autem inducent vos in synagogas, et ad magistratus, et potestates, nolite solliciti esse qualiter, aut quid respondeatis, aut quid dicatis.

12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you must say.

Spiritus enim Sanctus docebit vos in ipsa hora quid oporteat vos dicere.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

1. AND when great multitudes ſtood about him, ſo that they trode one another, he began to ſay to his Diſciples: Take good heed of the leauen of the Phariſees, which is hypocriſie.

2. For nothing is hid, that ſhal not be reuealed: nor ſecret, that ſhal not be knowen.

3. For the things that you haue ſaid in darkneſſe, ſhal be ſaid in the light: and that which you haue ſpoken into the eare in the chambers, ſhal be preached in the houſe-tops.

4. And I ſay to you my freinds, Be not afraid of them that kil the body, and after this haue no more to doe.

5. But I wil ſhew you whom ye shal feare: feare him who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into Hel. Yea I ſay to you, feare him.

6. Are not fiue ſparowes ſold fo two farthings, and one of them is not forgotten before God?

7. Yea the haires also of your head are al numbred. Feare not therfore: you are more worth then many ſparowes.

8. And I say to you, Euery one that confeſſeth me before men, the Sonne of man alſo wil confeſſe him before the Angels of God.

9. But he that denieth me before men, ſhal be denied before the Angels of God.

10. And euery one that ſpeaketh a word against the Sonne of man it ſhal be forgiuen him: but he that ſhal blaſpheme againſt the Holy Ghoſt, to him it ſhal not be forgiuen.

11. And when they ſhal bring you into the Synagogues and to Magiſtrates and Poteſtates, be not careful in what manner, or what you ſhal anſwer, or what you ſhal say.

12. For the Holy Ghoſt ſhal teach you in the very houre what you muſt ſay.

Annotations

    [The following notes incorporate the Great Commentary relating to Chapters x and xii of St Matthew's Gospel, but retaing the verse numbers for St Luke's Gospel]

    1. And when great multitudes stood about him, The Greek has “the myriads of the multitude.” A myriad contains exactly ten thousand, and is consequently taken for an innumerable multitude, as here.

    Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Beware, says Bede, that you do not imitate the hypocrites, for the time will certainly come when both your virtue and their hypocrisy will be revealed to all. 

    4.Be not afraid of them who kill the body, &c. Do not, from fear of death with which the persecutors threaten you, deny My faith, or cease from the preaching which I have commanded you, for if ye do this, ye will incur the far worse death of the soul, even its eternal death in hell. Truly does S. Chrys. say (Hom. 5 ad pop.) “He who is always afraid of hell will never fall into its flames.”

    This saying of Christ has reference to a most needful precept. He bids us that we must not, through fear of tyrants, break the faith which we have pledged to God, nor violate His law. It may be further extended to things which are counselled, not commanded; but then it is a matter of counsel, not of precept. Thus Pope S. Clement extended it to the counsel of virginity. When SS. Nereus and Achilleus, the servants of S. Flavia Domitilla, who had been betrothed to Aurelian the son of the Roman consul, counselled her to embrace virginity, and asked S. Clement to give her the veil, he answered bravely, “For you, for her, and for me, I perceive there is prepared the palm of martyrdom. But forasmuch as Christ has laid it down that we must not fear them which kill the body, let us disregard mortals, that we may plainly and wholly obey the Author of everlasting life.” He therefore consecrated Domitilla, a virgin; which when Aurelian her betrothed heard, he beheaded SS. Nereus and Achilleus, and banished S. Domitilla to Pontus, where she completed her martyrdom by fire. At last S. Clement, being drowned in the sea, obtained the same palm. Thus were there four glorious victims of virginity. And the heroism of their action consisted in this—that it would have been lawful for them to persuade Domitilla to avoid the persecution by marrying Aurelian. But the love of chastity and of Christ gained the victory.

    Victorinus of Utica (lib. 3. Wandal. persecut.) relates that a matron named Dionysia, when she was exposed naked upon a lofty place and beaten with rods by the Arians, bravely answered, “Ye servants of the devil, that which ye think ye do to my shame is indeed my praise.” And when she beheld her only son, a little child turn pale at the torments, she animated him by reminding him of hell, lest the King should say to his servants, “Cast him into outer darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” “That is the life,” she said, “to be desired which is always in possession.” And strengthening her child with these words, she soon made him a martyr. Thus far Victor. He relates in the same place that Victorianus, the proconsul of Carthage, being asked by the ambassadors of King Hunneric to become an Arian, answered, “Being firm in God and Christ my Lord, I will tell ye what ye shall answer to your king: ‘Let him torment me with fire, let him expose me to beasts, let him excruciate me with every kind of torment; if I should consent unto him, it would be in vain that I have been baptized into the Catholic Church. For if this present life were all, and we did not hope for another which is indeed eternal, still even so, I would not do what he requires for the sake of a little temporal glory, and be ungrateful to Him who hath bestowed His faith upon me who believe in Him.’ At this reply the King was so enraged that no speech can express for how long and with what punishments he afflicted him. But he triumphing, and making in the Lord a happy consummation, received the martyr’s crown.” Thus Victor. Wisely spoke the martyr S. Flavian, “The body does not feel torments when the mind is in heaven, and has devoted itself to God with all its strength.”

Gerifalte Del Sabana, CC BY-SA 4.0 

    6. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, &c. Farthing, this is the Roman as, Gr. assarion. It is a diminutive, and means a little as. For the assarius was the half, not of the ancient as, which was a pound, but of the later as, which was half an ounce. So that the assarius was the fourth part of the uncia, or ounce of brass, and therefore of very small value. This, which Enthym. renders by terunciola, or a little farthing was the price of two sparrows in Judea in the time of Christ.

    and not one of them is forgotten before God? If God hath so great care and providence of these little sparrows, what will he have of you? For He is your Father, in that he hath given you reason, for similitude to Himself. And He hath re-formed you in Christ, and made you like unto Christ.

    7. Yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. That is, God from eternity hath appointed and decreed not only the number of your members, but even of each of your hairs. Wherefore He knows it exactly, and diligently keeps them to the number which He willeth, so that not one can fall without His special providence, as Luke saith.

    Allegorically, the hairs of Christ are all the elect and those who shall be saved, for these adorn Christ as hair does the head.

    Tropologically, hairs are all the thoughts, words, and deeds of the faithful. So S. Cyril (lib. 8 in Levit.). Again, hairs are the minutest thoughts and intentions of the Saints. So Damascene.

    Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows, Syr. more excellent. The Gr. is διαφέρετε ye are preferable, ye excel. If God have such care of sparrows, much more will he have of you, Wherefore, rest secure in the fatherly bosom of His Providence in all persecutions and tribulations whatsoever. For He will deliver you out of them all, either by freeing you from them, or else by giving you the crown of martyrdom, and taking you to heaven, where there will be no more labour or pain.

    8. And I say to you, Whosoever shall confess me before men,, &c. From this word confess, martyrs were anciently called confessors. 

    shall confess Me. The Gr. is ἐν ἐμοὶ, i.e., in Me. For I will confess him, the Gr. is ἐν ἀυτῷ, i.e., in him. And so Tertullian reads (in Scorpiace c. 9). So also S. Luke xii. 5. It is a Hebraism. For the Heb. constructs verbs of contact, whether bodily, mental, or spiritual contact, with the prep. ב, in. The Heb. would be hoda bi, confess in Me, meaning confess Me. This is plain from the antithesis, shall deny Me. Maldonatus, however, takes it differently—shall confess, i.e., shall glory in Me, answering to the Heb. hithraddeh, which, being in the Hithpael, has a reflexive force. To confess in oneself, i.e., to glory.

    The meaning is, whosoever, in the presence of tyrants, being interrogated concerning the faith, shall generously and constantly confess that he believeth in Me as the Messiah and the Son of God, him will I in like manner profess before God, and angels, and men, to be My disciple, and as such will I honour and glorify him.

    10. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but to him that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. You will ask, what is this blasphemy? 

    1. Philastrius (On the Heresy of Rotorius) thinks it is heresy, especially that of Eunomius, who said that the Holy Ghost was not God. Thus also S. Ambrose (lib. 1, de Spir. Sanc. sec. 3).

    2. S. Hilary thinks that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is when a man denies that Christ is God. “The sin against the Holy Ghost,” he says, “is to deny to God the power of virtue, and to take away from Christ His eternal substance, by which, because God came into man, man shall in turn come to God; since God grants pardon to all other things, whilst this only is without forgiveness.”

    3. S. Ambrose (L. 2, de pœniten. sec. 4) thinks it is schism; also Simony, the sin whereby, for example, Simon Magus wished to buy the Holy Spirit of S. Peter.

    4. Origen says it is every mortal sin after Baptism; committed, that is, after the grace of the Holy Spirit received in Baptism. Moreover, Pope Gelasius (de Anath. vinc.) understands by it sins which are not forgiven, either in this world, or in the world to come. But he thinks it refers to sinners who do not wish to repent. For he says, that man makes the sentence against himself irrevocable who wills to continue in such a state as that he cannot truly be forgiven.

    5. S. Cyprian (L. 3, ad Quirinal, N. 28) says, blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is every sin committed against God: but blasphemy against the Son of Man is every sin committed against man.

    6. The same Saint (L. 3, Epist. 14) thinks blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is denial of the faith in persecution.

    7. Richard of S. Victor says, it is to hate and revile God.

    I have summarily embraced eighteen expositions of the Fathers (viz., eleven of the Latin Fathers and seven of the Greek) in the foregoing paragraphs.

    Lastly, theologians—and from them, catechists—out of various expositions of S. Augustine, collect six sins against the Holy Ghost; namely, presumption, despair, striving against known truth, envy of fraternal charity, impenitence, and obstinacy. 

• They say that these are called sins against the Holy Ghost, because they are committed through undoubted wickedness against the goodness of God, which is an attribute of the Holy Ghost. 
• Thus, likewise, sins which are committed through infirmity are said to be done against God the Father, because power is one of His especial attributes.
• And sins which are done through ignorance, are said to be done against the Son, because of His attribute of wisdom.

    Note, therefore, that Christ is here speaking not of every sin against the Holy Ghost, but only of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which may take place by words; and the same reasoning will apply to thoughts and actions, as when anyone reviles works manifestly divine and miraculous, which God works for the salvation of men, by which He confirms faith and truth. Such a work is the casting out of devils; and because such works proceed from the goodness and holiness of God, they are attributed to the Holy Ghost, who proceeds from the Father and the Son by procession and inspiration, as Love, Goodness, and Holiness. When, therefore, anyone calumniates such things, and knowingly out of malice ascribes them to an unclean spirit (as these Pharisees did), such an one is said to commit blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; for such an one directly fights against God and takes from Him His holiness and purity. The whole argument is expressed in the following syllogism:—

    but to him that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven.

    shall not be forgiven: Arab. Shall not be relaxed, i.e., shall with difficulty, and seldom be forgiven. For this blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is most horrible, inexcusable, and altogether unworthy of pardon, and, considered simply in itself, takes away and excludes all medicine, and means of obtaining forgiveness. For such a blasphemer places himself in diametrical opposition to the Holy Ghost, and drives Him from him, yea blasphemes Him: the Holy Ghost, I say, by whom alone he could be absolved, healed, and sanctified. Similarly, we call an incurable disease one, which does not admit of medicine, and rejects every kind of food. Nevertheless a blasphemer does not shut up the hand of God, so that God cannot have mercy upon him, although unworthy; and convert him, as He converted S. Paul, who confesses that he had been a blasphemer against God (1 Tim. i. 3).

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

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.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.