And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do

 

And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.  And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.   

 

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

 

- Luke 11:53-12:12 

 

Yesterday we read that a certain Pharisee asked Jesus to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.  But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."   Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."

 

And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.  This is the first time we are given an indication in the Gospel that the scribes and Pharisees begin to seek ways to catch Jesus in something He might say, so that they might accuse Him.  It's a clear indication of hostility and danger present.

 

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.  And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."  My study bible comments that whom you should fear refers to God (Proverbs 9:10).  Let us note that -- as commented in the paragraph above -- this is the first time in the Gospels we are distinctly told there is danger present to Jesus, in that the religious leaders now seek to find something for which they might bring an accusation against Him.  Therefore "whom you should fear" becomes a directive to His followers about where our real fear should be placed.  My study bible comments that the body will die eventually, one way or another.  It says that St. Ambrose even states that the death of the body is not itself a punishment, but rather it marks the end of earthly punishments.  The soul continues for all eternity.  Since God is the judge of the soul, our efforts even in this world are to please God alone.  Let us know also the tremendous assurance of God's love that Jesus gives here, that the very hairs of your head are all numbered."  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."   The five sparrows referred to by Christ indicate the sacrifice afforded to a poor person, and that not one of these least of all creatures which may be set apart for God is forgotten.

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."   To say a word against the Son of Man is explained by my study bible as meaning to reject Jesus as the Messiah.  To many, He seemed to be a mere man, before their conversion.  It says that the scandal caused by the Incarnation and Crucifixion of the Son of God (1 Corinthians 1:23) makes this sin more easily forgiven.  On the other hand, the Holy Spirit, which is without bodily form, invisibly works divine goodness.  According to St. John Chrysostom and many other patristic figures, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Jesus does not call this sin "unforgivable."  Rather, He makes this comment knowing that those who are blaspheming the Spirit are calling what is pure, divine goodness "evil," and that they are beyond repentance by their own choice.  

The image of the little sparrows sold for two copper coins is quite poignant for us.  Two copper coins is also the amount put into the treasury of the temple in the image spoken of by Jesus in the story of the poor widow (Mark 12:41-44).  Jesus magnifies what might seem small and broken to us into magnificent images of human dignity infused with God's power through faith.  We might consider the the power of five little sparrows given into the hands of God.  While we do not practice sacrifice as it was practiced in the temple, we nonetheless continue to understand the power of a life lived within the infusion of faith and God's power to give holiness, to sanctify.  What are the value of two copper coins, of five sparrows when given into the hands of God.  As illustrated in the story of the widow who put all she had in the treasury, God knows the extreme value of her gift.  When Jesus assures us both of the regard God has for the sparrows, and that even the very hairs of our head are numbered, He is speaking of the great value God places for each of us to be in communion with God.  If even those sparrows offered to God are precious, how much more precious are our lives in God's sight when we are willing to devote ourselves to God?  When we will to set ourselves apart -- even in a Christian sense of sacrament -- as devotion to God, then of what tremendous value can that gift be made through the power of God?  Today I heard of two young chaplains who died serving troops at the battlefront in a small Christian country defending itself against much bigger and more malicious aggressive foes.  Their lives were devoted to God, and they died in that service to God and to the world, their fellow human beings and brothers.  My study bible reminds us that each of us will die.  What does it mean that these young men passed while giving life and serving God for others, bringing the blessings of faith in battle?  How can we possibly estimate what our lives of service will do, or compare other ways to pass from this world?  Let us give careful thought what it means to serve and fear only God, for there is a place that each one of us must go to determine the great value of God placed upon our lives and what we choose -- for we are worth so much more than many sparrows.