ACC ~ Matthew 10 v16 - 25

OVERVIEW:

Jesus sends the disciples out with only one coat, barefooted, without a staff, without clothing or provisions, to accentuate his unspeakable power. He is exhibiting the gentleness of sheep, even while they are going out among wolves (CHRYSOSTOM, ANONYMOUS). Whatever fearful things they were to face, the more would they be given grace to face them (CHRYSOSTOM). Wherever the apostles pray they will be persecuted by civil authorities who believe they are serving God. The One who sustains them in peace will help them all the more in conflict (ANONYMOUS). When Christ has been attested before the authorities by the words of the martyrs amid the tortures of savage persecutors, the way will be open for the Gentiles to believe in him, though they remain stubborn (HILARY).

Jesus was preparing the disciples for what was to occur throughout the whole world. They are being taught a new kind of warfare. Both governors and the governed will betray them (CHRYSOSTOM). Never think back on previous deeds. Think about the end (ANONYMOUS). Knowledge of things to come is helpful for acquiring tolerance, especially if our own will to endure has been anticipated by the Lord’s example (HILARY). The believer should not fear persecution but should turn away from it, as did the apostles in Jerusalem (JEROME). The Christian message will pass quickly from Israel to the Gentiles under the conditions of persecution. When it has been proclaimed to all the Gentiles, the Son will return and Israel will be reclaimed (HILARY). The disciple is like the master by the grace of adoption, not by nature (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA).

10:16 | Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves

SHEEP IN THE MIDST OF WOLVES

ANONYMOUS: But let us consider this. Why did he say, on the one hand, “like sheep” and, on the other hand, did he not say “like wolves” but simply “wolves”? If he had called the former “sheep” for the sole reason of their gentleness, since by nature they were human indeed but sheep by gentleness, certainly he would have called the latter “wolves,” for they too, though like wolves in cruelty, by nature were human. For this reason, therefore, he called the former “sheep” but called the latter not “like wolves” but fully “wolves,” since people, who are God’s creatures, though they may be good, always have in them something evil according to the flesh. And one is called a sheep insofar as one is good; yet like a sheep, however, insofar as one is not fully good. For one who does not know God can have nothing good in himself. So one is referred to as a “wolf,” not “like a wolf,” because he has nothing good in himself and does not know God in himself. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 24. [1]

[1] PG 56:756-57.

10:17 | Councils and Synagogues

THEY WILL FLOG YOU

CHRYSOSTOM: Again he is preparing them for this new sort of combat. They are to suffer wrong and willingly permit others to inflict punishment upon them. This is meant to teach them that the victory is in suffering evil for the sake of good. By this means their eternal trophies are being prepared. He does not instruct them to fight and resist those who would persecute them. All he promises them is that they will suffer with him the utmost ills. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 33.2. [1]

[1] PG 57:391; NPNF 1 10:221**.

10:18 | Dragged Before Rulers

BEAR TESTIMONY FOR MY SAKE

CHRYSOSTOM: Some may object, saying, “How then will others come to faith, when they see on our account children being slain by their fathers, and brothers killing brothers, and all things filled with abominations?” How could this sort of warfare work out? Will not we be treated as though we were destructive demons? As though we were a plague and pests to be driven out from every quarter? Won’t they see that the earth is filled with the blood of kinsmen fighting kinsmen? Even so our sole purpose is to bring peace into their houses, even amid so much conflict. And this peace is beautiful. Suppose there had been some great number of us, not merely twelve! Suppose we had been wise and skilled in rhetoric, trained orators rather than “unlearned and ignorant.” What would have come of our proclamation? Suppose we had been kings, in possession of armies and an abundance of wealth? Would we have been thereby more persuasive in proclaiming this kingdom of peace? When we despise our own safety, why do they pay all the more attention to us?

But they were not thinking or saying these things. They were not putting Jesus’ commands to some pragmatic test. Rather, they simply yielded and obeyed. And this obedience did not come from their own moral excellence as such but rather itself was a gift of grace from their teacher. Whatever fearful things they were to face, the more so would they be given grace to face them.

He said, “Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” And again he warned shortly after this, “And you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles.” This is no small exhortation, that we should both suffer these things because of Christ and serve as a reproof to humans. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 33.3. [1]

[1] PG 57:391; NPNF 1 10:221-22**.

10:19 | What You Are to Say

A NEW SORT OF WARFARE

CHRYSOSTOM: He is teaching them a new sort of warfare. He sends them out exposed, with only one coat, barefoot and without a staff, without clothing or provisions. The manner of their battle array is entirely unimpressive. He calls them to allow themselves to be totally supported by the generosity of such as receive them. All this is to accentuate his unspeakable power. Then, to press this reverse strategy to its limits, he tells them to exhibit the gentleness of sheep, even though they are going out among wolves, and not simply toward the wolves but trustfully moving right into the midst of the wolves. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 33.1. [1]

[1] PG 57:389; NPNF 1 10:219-20.

OFFERED AS A SACRIFICE

ANONYMOUS: “For they will deliver you up to councils, and scourge you in their synagogues.” [1] As though for the greater glory of God, they will whip you in their synagogues. Where there are prayers and praises and readings or sacrifices, there they will punish the apostles as though offering to God a sacrifice. In fact, the suffering of the apostles was a sacrifice to God, not as wages paid to the Jews but as their own crown. For the Jews, however, it marked their downfall. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 24. [2]

[1] Mt 10:17; Mk 13:9.

[2] PG 56:758.

10:20 | The Spirit Speaking in You

YOUR FATHER SPEAKS THROUGH YOU IN EVERY AGE

AUGUSTINE: To be sure, we heard in that reading, “But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious how or what you are to speak … for it is not you who are speaking but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you.” And he says in another place: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” [1] Does this mean that the people who heard those words of the Lord would be here until the end of the world? The Lord was referring, rather, not only to those about to depart from this life but also to the others, including us and those who would come after us in this life. He saw everyone in his single body, and the words he spoke, “I am with you even to the end of the world,” were heard by them and by us too. And if we did not hear them then in our knowledge, we heard them in his foreknowledge. Therefore, safe as sheep among the wolves, let us keep the commandments of him who directs us. And let us be “innocent as doves but cautious as snakes.” [2] Innocent as doves that we may not harm anyone; cautious as snakes that we may be careful of letting anyone harm us. SERMON 64A.2. [3]

[1] Mt 28:20.

[2] Mt 10:16.

[3] 9.

IT IS NOT YOU WHO SPEAKS

ANONYMOUS: For the greater consolation of the apostles, he did not say, “The Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” but “who speaks.” He meant that neither then nor now can they do or speak anything without the Spirit of God. It is as though he said to them, “You see me hungry, and you believe that I am the heavenly bread. You see me thirsty, and you believe that I am the spring of water welling up to eternal life. [1] You believe in me and declare that I speak the truth. How are we to understand this human faculty that sees one thing and believes another and then professes that belief? So, if now at a time when there is no danger, my grace is at work in you, how much more will it be in you when persecution comes? For he who sustains you in peace will help you all the more in war.” INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 24. [2]

[1] Jn 4:14.

[2] PG 56:759.

10:21 | Relatives Will Rise Against Each Other

CHILDREN WILL RISE AGAINST PARENTS

HILARY: This entire saying of the Lord refers to the Jews and the heretics: “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents.” The family in a single house will disagree among themselves. This means that whereas the people were formerly united (for the “people” is meant under the names of parents and relatives), we will now be exposed to vicious hatred. We will be offered up to earthly judges and kings, who attempt to secure either our silence or our cooperation. For we are to bear testimony to these people and to the Gentiles, and after that testimony has been borne, our persecutors will be deprived of the excuse that they are ignorant of divine things. When Christ has been prophesied by the words of the martyrs amid the tortures of savage persecutors, the way will be open for the Gentiles to believe in him, though they remain stubborn. ON MATTHEW 10.12. [1]

[1] SC 254:230.

THOSE YOU TRUSTED WILL BETRAY YOU

ANONYMOUS: He therefore told them to be wary of people as though of the worst kind of evils. Now if he had not said this in finding fault with people, it would have been sufficient for him to say, “Beware, for they will betray you.” But now he adds “Beware of men,” for he intends to show that of all evils human beings are the worst. In fact, if you compare them with the wild animals, you will find that they are the worst. For though an animal may show cruelty, its cruelty falls short of human cruelty since an animal is irrational. When a person, who is rational, is cruel, it is not easy to escape his or her cruelty. If you compare a human with a snake, you will find that a human is worse than a snake. Even though a snake is venomous, it is afraid of people. If it can take them by surprise, it will bite them; but if it cannot, it will flee. People are venomous like a snake, but they do not have a snake’s fear. Therefore, as long as a person has the time, he lies in wait like a snake. If he comes upon his prey, he will lunge forward like a wild animal. The moment a snake is threatened, it becomes deadly; but if it is not threatened, it slithers away. People, even when not threatened, fly into a rage; and they rage even more against those who have not threatened them. In short, every wild animal has a peculiar evil of its own, whereas humanity has within its will every evil. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 24. [1]

[1] PG 56:758.

10:22 | Hated but Enduring to the End

HATED BY ALL

CHRYSOSTOM: The courts of justice will go against you. Kings will assail you, as will governors, the synagogues of the Jews and the magistrates of the Gentiles. Both rulers and ruled will combat you. He was preparing them not only for what was to befall them in Palestine but also throughout the world. For they were soon to be sent to the Gentiles with this same proclamation. In doing so they would find that the whole world opposes them. In this spiritual warfare all that dwell upon the earth, all peoples, tyrants and kings, will be arrayed against them. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 33.3. [1]

[1] PG 57:391; NPNF 1 10:221**.

ENDURING TO THE END

ANONYMOUS: “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” This is said because many begin but few reach the end. There is always pleasure in the beginning, but the end is the time of testing. For no one can endure with God to the end without becoming a person who belongs to God by means of grace. Everything done because of the flesh is mortal. The body is itself impermanent. But what is done because of God is eternal, just as God is eternal. What is glorious is not to begin something good but to reach the end in a good way. Hence the very essence of a good life is a good death. Firmness of heart can reach the end. Fleshly desire often starts some good thing but cannot reach the end except by the grace of God. So then, now that you have turned to God and begun to serve God and do the works of righteousness, never think back on your previous deeds. Think about your end. The contemplation of our previous good service leads to pride, but the contemplation of our end leads to holy reverence. This is the meaning of “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 24. [1]

[1] PG 56:760.

10:23 | Flee Persecution

THE FLIGHT OF THE GOSPEL

HILARY: He then tells them to flee out of one city into another. This means that his message would first go beyond the borders of Judea and pass into Greece. Then the messengers would be harassed and the various apostles would suffer among the cities of Greece. At last the message would be established among all the Gentiles. He also wished to indicate that the Gentiles would believe in the apostles’ preaching but that Israel alone would not believe until his own return. For this reason he said, “You will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes,” that is, after the conversion of all of the Gentiles. Israel will be left, and when he comes in splendor, it will fill out the number of the holy and be established in the church. ON MATTHEW 10.14. [1]

[1] SC 254:232.

DO NOT FEAR PERSECUTION

JEROME: This should be read as referring to the time when the apostles were sent forth to preach. It was properly said to them: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,” [1] because they should not fear persecution but should turn away from it. We see that this is what the believers did in the first days. When persecution began in Jerusalem, they scattered throughout all Judea. Their time of trial thus became a seedbed for the good news.

On the spiritual level we propose this symbolic interpretation. When we are persecuted in one city—that is, in one book or passage in Scripture—we will flee to other cities, that is, to other books. No matter how menacing the persecutor may be, he must come before the judgment seat of the Savior. Victory is not to be granted to our opponents before we have done this. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 1.10.23. [2]

[1] Mt 10:5.

[2] CCL 77:69-70.

FROM ONE TOWN TO THE NEXT

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Jesus commands his disciples to flee from one town to the next, and from that one to another. In saying this he is not telling his disciples to be cowardly. He is telling them not to cast themselves into dangers and die at once, for that would be a loss to those who otherwise will benefit from the teaching. FRAGMENT 120. [1]

[1] MKGK 192.

BEFORE THE SON OF MAN COMES

THEODORE OF HERACLEA: His coming is not described as a manifest one at the end of our life. His coming will appear as spiritual guidance and help for those who are persecuted from time to time for the sake of God. FRAGMENT 68. [1]

[1] MKGK 75.

10:24 | A Disciple Not Above the Teacher

LIKE THE TEACHER

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: It is truly said that a disciple is not above his teacher according to his nature. For he who is made like his teacher by adoption can never go beyond his nature, but to be made like his teacher is the highest end he can reach. It is also for this reason that Jesus says there is only one teacher, and that teacher is himself. For the teachers among humans are more like routinely stamped images of teachers than like true ones, as each of them teaches what he himself takes for granted. One will make more progress if one is reconciled to the good that has already been given. FRAGMENT 53. [1]

[1] MKGK 114.

10:25 | The Servant Like the Master

OUR LORD’S EXAMPLE

HILARY: Knowledge of things to come is very edifying for acquiring tolerance, especially if our own will to endure has been molded by another’s example. Our Lord, who is eternal light and the leader of all believers and the founder of immortality, sent consolations in advance to his disciples for the sufferings they would endure. This was so that no disciple would think himself above his teacher or above the Lord, when in reality he is a servant. For some call the master of the house by a demon’s name out of their ill will. If we were indeed equal to our Lord or to the circumstances of his sufferings, how much more would they commit every sort of injury and insult on those of his household who have more fully entered the realm of glory? ON MATTHEW 10.15. [1]

[1] SC 254:234.

CALLING THE MASTER BEELZEBUL

CHRYSOSTOM: What Christ is saying to the faithful is, I am now already sharing with you the same stigma you are presently suffering. That is sufficient for your encouragement. I, your Master and Lord, have felt the same grief you now feel. And if that distresses you further, remember this: that even from this foreboding you will soon be freed. For why do you now grieve? Are you troubled that someone is calling you a deceiver or a liar? So what? Wait a little while. In time you will be seen as benefactors of the world and champions of faith. For time reveals whatever is concealed. Time will refute their false accusations and make your good intent known. For as historic events unfold, a larger design will be recognized. Everyone will finally grasp the real state of the case and not merely the frail words used to describe it. Then your adversaries will be revealed as false accusers, liars and slanderers. With time lengthening to reveal and proclaim your innocence, you will shine brighter than the sun. Your voice will in time be heard more clearly than a trumpet. Your good intent will be attested by all. So do not let what is now being said demoralize you. Rather, let the hope of the good things to come raise you up. For the true story of your testimony cannot be suppressed forever. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 34.1. [1]

[1] PG 57:399; NPNF 1 10:227**. Since time discovers all things concealed, be assured that the truth will ultimately be vindicated.

THE RELATION BETWEEN MASTER AND SERVANT

CHRYSOSTOM: Observe how he reveals that he is the Lord and God and Creator of all things. What does it mean that “a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master”? As long as one is a disciple or a servant, one is not ready to receive honor. So do not speak to me of what is lacking in the Master. Learn your arguments from all that is sufficient about him. Jesus does not say “how much more will they malign his servants?” but instead “how much more will they malign those of his household?” This demonstrates his close relationship with them. In another place Christ says, “I no longer call you my slaves; you are my friends.” [1] Moreover, he does not say “if they are insolent to the master of the house and accuse him.” Instead, he includes the exact form their insolence took, namely, that they called him Beelzebul. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 34.1. [2]

THE ONE TO FEAR MATTHEW 10:26-31

[1] Jn 15:15.

[2] PG 57:398-99; NPNF 1 10:227.

OVERVIEW:

We are not to fear our persecutors’ threats or stratagems, because the day of judgment will reveal that these all were empty (HILARY). Although the mystery has been hidden from the ages, it is now made manifest to all (ANONYMOUS). In contrast with Jesus’ quiet tone of voice, the disciples would soon be making a proclamation with a boldness of speech that was to be conferred upon them (CHRYSOSTOM). Those things that were once said in the darkness are now preached in the light (HILARY). What Jesus teaches through the indirect communication of parables, the apostles are proclaiming openly (ANONYMOUS). Jesus was restraining himself, looking toward a more appropriate time for public speech (EUSEBIUS OF EMESA). Do not grieve over death, but sin (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA, AUGUSTINE). The body is dead without the soul, and the soul is dead without God (AUGUSTINE).

Some things happen because of God’s direct will, but some happen merely with his permissive consent (ORIGEN). When persons sell themselves for the sake of an insignificant sin, it is like two sparrows being sold for a penny. Yet whatever is sold sinfully, Christ can buy back and redeem (HILARY). The sparrows do not fall apart from the will of God, who intends even these to serve a useful purpose (APOLLINARIS). If God is not ignorant of anything that happens in creation and if God loves us more truly than the best human father, then we need not be afraid (CHRYSOSTOM).

10:26 | Having No Fear

REVEALED IN JUDGMENT

HILARY: This refers to the day of judgment, which will make known the hidden conscience of our will and reveal to public knowledge those things that now seem obscure. Jesus is admonishing us, therefore, that we are not to fear our persecutors’ threats or stratagems or power, because the day of judgment will reveal that these all were nothing and empty. ON MATTHEW 10.16. [1]

[1] SC 254:234.

10:27 | Uttered in the Light

WHAT YOU HEAR IN THE DARK

HILARY: We do not take this to mean that the Lord was accustomed to preach at night and to transmit his teaching in the dark. Rather, to those who are carnal, everything he said is darkness, and to unbelievers his word is night. … Therefore Jesus commands that those things which were said in the darkness should be preached in the light. In this way the things he secretly whispered into their ears will be heard from the housetops, from on high, through those who speak as heralds. ON MATTHEW 10.17. [1]

[1] SC 254:234-36.

WHAT YOU HEAR WHISPERED

CHRYSOSTOM: The point is not that Jesus was literally whispering into their ears or speaking in physical darkness. Rather, he was here pressing a strong figure of speech. He was conversing with them quietly and alone in a small corner of Palestine. In contrast with this tone of voice, they would soon be preaching with a boldness of speech that would in due time be conferred upon them. The metaphor of whispering in the ear in a dark place, in this present quietness, is contrasted with what is to come. For they were soon to be commissioned to speak not to one or two or three cities but to the whole world. They would soon be traversing land and sea, amid inhabited countries and across deserts, addressing both princes and tribes, philosophers and orators, telling it like it is with an open face and with all boldness of speech. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 34.2. [1]

[1] PG 57:399-400; NPNF 1 10:227-28**.

PUBLIC SPEECH AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME

EUSEBIUS OF EMESA: But someone may ask, “If it is good to speak in the light, why did he himself speak in darkness? And if it is good to preach from the housetops, why did he himself quietly speak into their ears?” He keeps quiet because it is timely, but he instructs the disciples to proclaim and preach his words. He is not afraid—it is, rather, for ignorant people to fear the Lord Jesus. He is carefully managing his speech, much like a steward manages money. At times he keeps silent and at other appropriate times he speaks openly. HOMILY 27.3. [1]

[1] SSL 27:196.

BEYOND THE ENIGMA OF PARABLES

ANONYMOUS: What is the meaning of “What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops”? This refers to the darkness of the Jewish people, as is written elsewhere: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” [1] The “darkness” means that they have not been capable of recognizing the true light. And so the Lord was proclaiming that whatever he had said among the Jews would have to be made manifest in the church. … To return to our passage, “What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.” This means, “What I am now telling you through the enigma of parables, you are hereafter to say openly.” INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 25. [2]

[1] Jn 1:5.

[2] PG 56:761.

NO PLACE WHERE CHRIST WILL NOT BE KNOWN

ANONYMOUS: He now reveals to them what will be the outcome of their preaching, because their preaching was going to have a glorious result. “Here I am,” he says. “I am the light hidden in the shadows, God concealed in a man, exaltation in humility. So although this mystery was hidden from the ages, it will now be made manifest to all through you, so that the prophecy I spoke will be fulfilled: ‘Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat.’” [1] For there is no place where the sun is not seen and its heat is not felt. In the same way there will be no place where Christ is not known and his divine nature is not understood. In this way all humankind will be divided into two groups: the unbelievers who will have no excuse and will be punished, and believers. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 25. [2]

[1] Ps 19:6 (18:6 LXX).

[2] PG 56:760.

10:28 | Fear the One Who Can Kill Body and Soul

DO NOT FEAR THOSE WHO KILL THE BODY

ANONYMOUS: “Do not fear those who kill the body.” The essence of the human is not the body, but the soul. It is the soul alone that God made in his own image and the soul that he loves. For the sake of the soul he even created the world. Our enemies are jealous of the soul and persecute the soul. For the sake of the soul even the Son of God came into the world. But the body is the garment of the soul, as the apostle says: “For while we are still in this body, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” [1] If a madman destroyed someone’s garment that is worn over the body, his victim would think of him as the inflicter of an injury, but there would be no harm to the victim’s nature. In the same way if unbelievers murder the body that is worn over the soul, the soul is grieved by the murder, but there is no harm to the soul’s nature. … What do you mean that the soul perishes? Was not the soul created to be immortal? “Death” can mean not only the snuffing out of the body but also torment. Thus Paul says, “Every day I die for your glory, which I possess in Jesus Christ.” [2] And John says this in Revelation: “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power.” [3] For the second death is fire and sulphur. You can see therefore that by “damnation of the soul” he does not mean the disappearance of the soul but the torture of the soul in hell, which is the second death. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 25. [4]

[1] 2 Cor 5:4.

[2] 1 Cor 15:31.

[3] Rev 20:6.

[4] PG 56:762-64.

DO NOT BEWAIL DEATH, BUT SIN

AUGUSTINE: The gospel is life. Impiety and infidelity are the death of the soul. So then, if the soul can die, how then is it yet immortal? Because there is always a dimension of life in the soul that can never be extinguished. And how does it die? Not in ceasing to be life but by losing its proper life. For the soul is both life to something else, and it has it own proper life. Consider the order of the creatures. The soul is the life of the body. God is the life of the soul. As the life that is the soul is present with the body, that the body may not die, so the life of the soul (God) ought to be with the soul that it may not die.

How does the body die? By the departure of the soul. I say, by the departure of the soul the body dies, and it lies there as a mere carcass, what was a little before a lively, not a contemptible, object. There are in it still its several members, the eyes and ears. But these are merely the windows of the house; its inhabitant is gone. Those who bewail the dead cry in vain at the windows of the house. There is no one there within it to hear. … Why is the body dead? Because the soul, its life, is gone. But at what point is the soul itself dead? When God, its life, has forsaken it. … This then we can know and hold for certain: the body is dead without the soul, and the soul is dead without God. Every one without God has a dead soul. You who bewail the dead rather should bewail sin. Bewail ungodliness. Bewail disbelief. SERMON 65.5-7. [1]

[1] PL 38:428-30; NPNF 1 6:307** (Sermon 15).

DESTROYED IN HELL

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: When Jesus says “hell,” he is emphasizing that punishment there is eternal. By “hell” he means the condemnation awaiting those who receive recompense according to their life.

His choice of words shows that there is a great difference between the two things. He first says “kill” but next says “destroy,” and from destruction there is no longer any salvation. FRAGMENT 56. [1]

[1] MKGK 114-15.

10:29 | A Sparrow’s Fall

WITHOUT YOUR FATHER’S WILL

ORIGEN: In this passage, Jesus demonstrates his foresight in all things. The word without refers not to will but to foreknowledge. Some things happen because of his direct will, but some happen merely with his approval and consent. And so on the literal level, he is showing the subtlety of his foresight and his previous knowledge of events.

On the spiritual level, [1] however, a sparrow falls to the ground when it looks at what is below it and falls to earth, ensnared by the vices of the flesh, given up “to dishonorable passions.” [2] It loses its freedom together with its honor. For a sparrow is either borne always upward, or else it comes to rest by alighting on mountains or hills (the hills are metaphors for Scripture). And such a person is one who has been raised aloft by the Word but has his mind on earthly concerns. FRAGMENT 212. [3]

[1] Rhētos signifies the literal interpretation of the text, while noētos signifies the spiritual, here expressed through allegory.

[2] Rom 1:26.

[3] GCS 41.1:101-2.

CHRIST BUYS BACK WHAT IS SOLD

HILARY: What is sold is the body and soul. It is a sin to sell them to anyone, because Christ redeems from sin and is the Redeemer of body and soul. So when persons sell themselves for the sake of an insignificant sin, it is like two sparrows being sold for a penny. They were born for flying and to be carried to heaven on spiritual wings, but they are overtaken by the price of their immediate pleasures, and by such actions they trade away all their eternal treasures for the sake of temporal luxury. ON MATTHEW 10.18. [1]

[1] SC 254:236-38.

THE SPARROW’S FALL KNOWN BY GOD

APOLLINARIS: However, you must know that the story of the sparrows is figurative, since foresight in matters like these makes no difference at all to God. As the apostle said, “Is it for oxen that God is concerned?” [1] It is for the sake of humanity that he has foresight of sparrows, which he gives to us for our use. The “penny” is symbolic of something seemingly worthless. FRAGMENT 55. [2]

[1] 1 Cor 9:9.

[2] MKGK 16.

10:30-31 | Of More Value Than Many Sparrows

FEAR NOT

CHRYSOSTOM: What do you see in creation of less value than a tiny sparrow? But even the sparrow will not fall without God’s knowledge. Jesus does not mean that the sparrow falls by God’s direct will because it is unworthy but that nothing that occurs is hidden from God. If then God is not ignorant of anything that happens in creation, and if God loves us more truly than the best human father, and if God loves us so as to have numbered our very hairs, then we need not be afraid. Jesus said this not to indicate that God literally has a number placed on the very hairs of our head but rather to show that God has perfect knowledge of everything about us and providentially cares for everything about us. Therefore, if God both knows all things that happen to us and is able to save us and willing to do so, then whatever we may be suffering, we need not think that God has forsaken us in our suffering. For it is not God’s will to keep us wholly separated from that which elicits dread but rather to persuade us not to make an idol out of whatever we dread. It is this, more than anything else, that constitutes deliverance from dread. “Therefore, don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.” Don’t you see that God views your fear with more concern than the lives of many sparrows? He already knows the secrets of your heart. Hence Jesus adds, “Do not fear.” For even if that which you dread prevails, it prevails only over your body; this is the limited part of yourself, which nature will surely take in due time and bring to an end. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 34.2-3. [1]

[1] PG 57:400-401; NPNF 1 10:228-29**.