Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 12:4
And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
4. my friends ] Joh 15:14-15, “Henceforth I call you not servants but friends.” The term comes the more naturally and pathetically because Jesus had just been in the thick of enemies.
Be not afraid of ] , i.e. afraid of anything which can come from them. This construction is only found in the LXX. and N.T., and is a Hebraism (v. Schleusner s.v). For similar thoughts see Jer 1:8; Isa 51:12-13.
after that have no more that they can do ] The same truth was an encouragement to the partially illuminated fortitude of Stoicism. Hence it constantly occurs in the Manual of Epictetus.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Luk 12:4-5
Be not afraid of them that kill the body
The fear of God
I.
WHAT IS THAT FEAR OF GOD WHICH THE FRIENDS AND DISCIPLES OF CHRIST ARE EXPECTED TO CHERISH?
1. We are sure that this fear is not, as some would have us believe, inconsistent with the enjoyment of the hopes and consolations of the gospel.
2. This fear blends itself with the other emotions of our mind, and gives a chastened character to them all.
(1) Solemnity to our prayers.
(2) Sobriety to our hopes.
(3) Consistency to our conduct,
(4) Intensity to our love.
II. WHAT CONSIDERATIONS TEND TO PROMOTE THIS FEAR.
1. The greatness of His power.
2. The immaculateness of His purity and justice.
3. The constancy and greatness, of His love. (Anon.)
Religious fear
I. CONSIDER ON WHAT THE FEAR OF GOD. AS IT IS A DUTY AND A GOOD DISPOSITION, IS FOUNDED.
1. On a due sense of out own imperfections.
(1) In practice.
(2) In belief.
2. On a due sense of the perfections of God. God is most holy, and abhors iniquity as entirely opposite to His pure and undefiled nature. He is everywhere present, and from Him nothing can be hid. He is all-wise, and cannot be deceived. He is the just governor of the world, and as such He cannot but observe the actions of men, and will certainly render to every one according to his works. He is almighty, and can punish the rebellious many ways, by turning them out of being, or by making that being a pain to them for as long a time as He sees proper. He is also supremely good; and though this of all His perfections may seem the least suited to make us dread Him, yet whosoever judgeth so is much mistaken; for indeed there is not any one quality of the Divine nature so adapted to strike us with an ingenuous fear, with the fear of a child towards a parent, as this, and of such efficacy to deter us from sin, and to make us avoid incurring His just displeasure. Sin against God, as He is almighty, is the excess of madness and folly; but, as He is most kind and merciful, it is the basest ingratitude.
II. THE SEVERAL DEGREES OF THIS RELIGIOUS FEAR. A person is sensible that his practice is not at all suitable to his knowledge and judgment; that he deliberately and continually offends God; that he is not in His favour; that, according to the doctrine of the gospel, he shall be condemned at the last day, unless he amend; and yet he goes on in his evil ways. One who is in this situation and disposition, and who seriously reflects upon it, cannot help fearing God. He fears Him as his worst enemy; he fears Him as a righteous and inflexible judge who will not spare the guilty. This fear is indeed well-grounded and rational and natural; yet, producing no good effects, it hath no virtue in it, it is no act of religion. But, if it deter him from sin, it is then to him the beginning of wisdom, and it becomes another kind of fear, and truly religious, as will appear from a second instance. A wicked person becomes sensible of his dangerous state, resolves to deliver himself from it without delay, and begins a new course. He knows that this repentance, these good resolutions, and this change for the better, are things which God requires, which He approves, and which He hath promised to accept when they bring forth the fruits of a regular obedience. He hath, therefore, hopes of pardon, without which it is not possible for any one to amend: but these hopes are mixed with many and great fears lest he should relapse into his former vices, lest he should not accomplish all that is necessary for his salvation, lest he should be called out of this world before he has finished his important and difficult task. This is a religious fear, because it is mixed with hope, and honourable notions of God, and because it produces good actions. There is, further, a religious fear, which, bringing forth a regular obedience, and not being accompanied with so much dread and terror as that last mentioned, shows that the mind in which it is lodged is advanced to a higher degree of goodness. The fear of God, therefore, is a disposition of mind, different in degree, according as our state is with relation to God and to religion. There is a fear that God is offended at us, and will punish us; which is the fear of a wicked person. There is a fear arising from a sense of our guilt, mixed and allayed with hopes that God will accept our amendment. This is the fear of a penitent sinner. There is a fear lest we ever should forfeit the favour of God, and fall short of that future reward which at present we may reasonably expect. This is the fear of a good man, and it is capable of increase or of diminution according to his behaviour. There is an awe and reverence which a due sense of Gods perfections, and of the infinite distance between Him and His creatures, would excite in our minds, though we were secure of His favour, and had no fear of losing it. This is the happy state of those who have arrived as near to perfection as a good person can whilst he is on this side of heaven, and who are sensible that their course is nearly ended, and the time of their departure is at hand. (J. Jortin, D. D.)
The reasonableness of fearing God mare than man
I. CONSIDER THE POWER OF MAN, AND WHAT IS HE CAN DO.
1. He can kill the body, and take away our lives, which includes a power of doing whatever is less.
2. He can do not even this, however, without the Divine permission.
3. If permitted to do his worst, he can do but this. After that they have no more that they can do.
(1) They can but kill the body, that is, they can only injure the worst and least considerable part of us.
(2) When they have killed the body, by doing this, they do but prevent nature a little, they do but antedate an evil a few moments, and bring our fears upon us a little sooner; the:; kill that which must die within a few days, though they should let it alone; they do but cut asunder that thread which would shortly break of itself by its own weakness and rottenness.
(3) They can but kill the body; and what argument of power is this, to be able to kill that which is mortal? as if you should say, They can break a glass; they can throw down that which is falling.
(4) The killing of the body does not necessarily signify any great mischief or harm in the issue and event. They can kill the body, that is, they can knock off our fetters, and open the prison doors, and set us at liberty; they can put us out of pain, thrust us out of an uneasy world, put an end to our sins and sorrows, to our misery and fears; they can give the weary rest, and send us thither where we would be, but are loath to venture to go.
(5) They can but kill the body; when they have done that, they may give over, here their proud waves must stop; here their cruelty and malice, their power and wit, must terminate, for they can reach no farther.
(6) They can but kill the body, they cannot do the least harm to the soul, much less can they annihilate it, and make it cease to be.
(7) And lastly, They can but kill the body, that is, they can but inflict temporal misery upon us; their power, as it is but small, so it is of a short continuance, it reacheth no farther than this life, it is confined to this world.
II. CONSIDER HOW MUCH THE POWER OF GOD EXCEEDS THE POWER OF MAN; which our Saviour declares in these words, Who, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Which in general signifies, that His power is infinite and unlimited.
1. Gods power is absolute, and independent upon any other.
2. His power reaches to the soul as well as the body.
3. In the other world He can raise our bodies again, and reunite them to our souls, and cast them into hell, and torment them there.
4. God can punish for ever. I proceed now to apply this serious and weighty argument, and to draw some useful inferences from it.
I. That religion doth not design to annihilate and to root out our passions, but regulate and govern them; it does not wholly forbid and condemn them, but determines them to their proper objects, and appoints them their measures and proportions; it does not intend to extirpate our affections, but to exercise and employ them aright, and to keep them within bounds.
II. We may infer likewise from hence, that it is not against the genius of true religion, to urge men with arguments of fear. No man can imagine there would have been so many fearful threatenings in Scripture, and especially in the gospel, if it had not been intended they should have some effect and influence upon us. Fear is deeply rooted in our nature, and immediately flows from that principle of self-preservation which is planted in every man; it is the most wakeful passion in the soul of man, and so soon as anything that is dreadful and terrible is presented to us, it alarms us to flee from it; and this passion doth naturally spring up in our minds from the apprehension of a Deity, because the notion of a God doth include in it power and justice, both which are terrible to guilty creatures; so that fear is intimate to our being, and God hath hid in every mans conscience a secret awe and dread of His presence, of His infinite power and eternal justice. Now fear being one of the first things that is imprinted upon us from the apprehension of a Deity, it is that passion, which, above all other, gives the greatest advantage to religion, and is the easiest to be wrought upon.
III. THE FEAR OF GOD IS THE BEST ANTIDOTE AGAINST THE FEAR OF MEN.
IV. IF GOD BE INFINITELY MORE TO BE DREADED THAN MEN, THEN, WHO IS TO BE OBEYED, GOD OR MEN? JUDGE YE. I speak not this to diminish our reverence to magistrates and their authority; for by persuading men to fear God, who commands obedience to magistrates, we secure their reverence and authority; but when the commands of men are contrary to Gods, and come in competition with them, shall we not hearken to Him who is supreme, the greatest and most powerful? Shall we not obey Him who hath the most unquestionable authority over us, and right to command us? Shall we not dread Him most who is to be feared above all, who can be the best friend and the sorest enemy, is able to give the greatest rewards to our obedience, and to revenge Himself upon us for our disobedience by the most dreadful and severe punishments?
V. IF GOD BE THE GREAT OBJECT OF OUR FEAR, LET ALL IMPENITENT SINNERS REPRESENT TO THEMSELVES THE TERRORS OF THE LORD AND THE POWER OF HIS ANGER. This consideration, if anything in the world will do it, will awaken them to a sense of the danger of their condition, and of the fatal issue of a wicked life, (Archbishop Tillotson.)
The use of fear in religion
1. In the first place, the emotion of fear ought to enter into the consciousness of the young, because youth is naturally light-hearted. The ordinary cares of this life, which do so much towards moderating our desires and aspirations, have not yet pressed upon the ardent and expectant soul, and therefore it needs, more than others, to fear and to stand in awe.
2. Secondly, youth is elastic, and readily recovers from undue depression. There is an elasticity in the earlier periods of human life that prevents long-continued depression. How rare it is to see a young person smitten with insanity! It is not until the pressure of anxiety has been long continued, and the impulsive spring of the soul has been destroyed, that reason is dethroned. The morning of our life may, therefore, be subjected to a subduing and repressing influence, with very great safety. It is well to bear the yoke in youth. The awe produced by a vivid impression from the eternal world may enter into the exuberant and gladsome experience of the young with very little danger of actually extinguishing it and rendering life permanently gloomy and unhappy.
3. Thirdly, youth is exposed to sudden temptations and suprisals into sin. The general traits that have been mentioned as belonging to the early period in human life render it peculiarly liable to solicitations. The whole being of a healthful hilarious youth, who feels life in every limb, thrills to temptation like the lyre to the plectrum. There are moments in the experience of the young when all power of resistance seems to be taken away by the very witchery and blandishment of the object. He has no heart, and no nerve, to resist the beautiful siren. And it is precisely in these emergencies in his experience–in these moments when this world comes up before him clothed in pomp and gold, and the other world is so entirely lost sight of, that it throws in upon him none of its solemn shadows and warnings–it is precisely now, when he is just upon the point of yielding to the mighty yet fascinating pressure, that he needs to feel an impression, bold and startling, from the wrath of God. Nothing but the most active remedies will have any effect in this tumult and uproar of the soul.
4. In the fourth place, the feeling and principle of fear ought to enter into the experience of both youth and manhood, because it relieves from all other fear. He who stands in awe of God can look down from a very great height upon all other perturbation. When we have seen Him from whose sight the heavens and the earth flee away, there is nothing in either the heavens or the earth that can produce a single ripple upon the surface of our souls.
5. The fifth and last reason which we assign for cherishing the feeling and principle of fear applies to youth, to manhood, and to old age, alike; the fear of God conducts to the love of God. Our Lord does not command us to fear Him who, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell because such a feeling as this is intrinsically desirable, and is an ultimate end in itself; it is in itself undesirable, and it is only a means to an end. By it our torpid souls are to be awakened from their torpor; our numbness and hardness of mind in respect to spiritual objects is to be removed. We are never for a moment to suppose that the fear of perdition is set before us as a model and permanent form of experience to be toiled after-a positive virtue and grace intended to be perpetuated through the whole future history of the soul. It is employed only as an antecedent to a higher and a happier emotion; and when the purpose for which it has been elicited has been answered, it then disappears. Perfect love casteth out fear; for fear hath torment (1Jn 4:18). But, at the same time, we desire to direct attention to the fact that he who has been exercised with this emotion, thoroughly and deeply, is conducted by it into the higher and happier form of religious experience. Religious fear and anxiety are the prelude to religious peace and joy. These are the discords that prepare for the concords. (W. T. G. Shedd, D. D.)
Lessons
1. An unwarrantable fear condemned, and that is, the sinful, servile, slavish fear of man–Fear not them that kill the body.
2. An holy, awful, and prudential fear of the omnipotent God commended–Fear Him that is able to kill both body and soul.
3. The persons whom this duty of fear is recommended to, and bound upon; disciples, ministers, and ambassadors, all the friends of Christ; they not only may, but ought to fear Him, not only for His greatness and goodness, but upon the account of His punitive justice, as being able to cast both soul and body into hell. Such a fear is not only awful, but laudable; not only commendable, but commanded, and not misbecoming the friends of Christ. The ministers of God may use arguments from fear of judgments, both to dissuade from sin, and to persuade to duty. It is not unsuitable to the best of saints to keep in heavens way for fear of hell; it is good to bid a friend fear when that fear tendeth to his good. (W. Burkitt.)
Warning words
In Luk 12:5 our Lord guards against the error of the souls annihilation. Also against the notion that the body will escape the ruin of the soul. Perdition is not the destruction of the being of either, but of the well-being of both. Learn, that to play false with convictions to save life will fail of its end. God can inflict a violent death in some other and more awful way.
1. There is a hell for the body as well as for the soul; consequently sufferings adapted to the one as well as the other.
2. Fear of hell is a divinely authorized and needed motive of action even to Christs friends.
3. As Christs meekness and tenderness were not compromised by this language, those ministers want their Masters spirit who soften it to please ears polite. (Van Doren.)
How far is it to hell?
A young man met the deacon of a church one Sunday morning, and asked him the terrible question, How far is it to hell? Young man, was the reply, dont mock such a serious reality; you may be nearer to hell than you think. They had only just turned the corner of the road, and ridden a few yards, when his horse threw him, and he was picked up dead.
Sweetness of life
One of the martyrs, when being led to the stake, was urged to recant; and as a motive to induce him to do so it was said, Life is sweet, and death is bitter. True, said the good man; life is sweet, and death is bitter; but eternal life is sweeter, and eternal death is more bitter.
Death cannot destroy the soul
Methinks I hear an accursed spirit in the nether world crying after death, and saying, O death, pause, turn back and quench my wretched existence; in yonder world I dreaded thee, I struggled hard against thee–I now invoke thy stroke, a stroke that shall annihilate me for ever! And methinks I hear death, heartless as ever, saying, I cannot destroy thee; I never had any power over thine existence; I could wither landscapes, breathe destruction into the face of every green field and forest; I could quench animal life, and have reduced all past generations of men to dust; but I could never touch the soul. The soul, secured in her existence, smiled at my dagger and defied the point. I cannot paralyze memory, I cannot extinguish the fires of conscience, I cannot destroy a soul. (The Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Kill the body] See Clarke on Mt 10:28.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
See Poole on “Mat 10:28“, where we met with the same. In Luk 12:5-13 our Saviour arms his disciples to encounter those storms of persecution which he knew they would meet with after he should be taken up into heaven. Here are two arguments in this verse:
1. The one drawn from the impotency, or limited power, of the most malicious enemies; they can kill the body, but can do no more.
2. From the mighty power of God, who can cast us into hell. Matthew saith, who can cast body and soul into hell fire:
whence is evident:
1. That there are punishments beyond this life; all mens punishments will not end with the killing of their bodies.
2. That men have souls as well as bodies, and both souls and bodies of sinners will in the resurrection be made capable of eternal punishment.
3. That the ready way to bring us under that misery, is to be more afraid of the wrath of men than of the wrath of God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4, 5. I say, c.You will say,That may cost us our life. Be it so but, “My friends, theretheir power ends.” He calls them “my friends” here,not in any loose sense, but, as we think, from the feeling He thenhad that in this “killing of the body” He and theywere going to be affectingly one with each other.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I say unto you, my friends,…. Whom he dearly loved, and had taken into the greatest intimacy and familiarity; making known to them whatever he had heard from his Father; giving them the best instructions, the most faithful and friendly advice, and proper precautions; all which, and more, showed them to be his friends, and for whom he after laid down his life:
be not afraid of them that kill the body; though he would have them beware of the Pharisees, he would not have them be afraid of them; he would have them know them, and avoid their hypocrisy, and guard against it; but not fear them, or the worst they could do unto them, which was to kill the body; and that they had no need to be afraid of, since at death, their souls would be immediately happy, in the enjoyment and vision of God; and their bodies would sleep in Jesus, and be raised in the resurrection morn, and be united to their souls, and be both for ever blessed:
and after that have no more that they can do; they have nothing more to kill, or which they can put to pain or misery; the soul is out of their reach, is an immortal spirit, and cannot be hurt or destroyed by them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Unto you my friends ( ). As opposed to the Pharisees and lawyers in Luke 11:43; Luke 11:46; Luke 11:53.
Be not afraid of ( ). First aorist passive subjunctive with , ingressive aorist, do not become afraid of, with and the ablative like the Hebrew min and the English “be afraid of,” a translation Hebraism as in Mt 10:28 (Moulton, Prolegomena, p. 102).
Have no more that they can do ( ). Luke often uses the infinitive thus with , a classic idiom (Luke 7:40; Luke 7:42; Luke 12:4; Luke 12:50; Luke 14:14; Acts 4:14, etc.).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Unto you, my friends [ ] . See on Pharisees and lawyers, ch. 11 43, 46. Not an address, “O my friends,” but, “unto you, the friends of me.”
Be not afraid of [ ] . Lit., “fear not from;” i e., from the hands of.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And I say unto you my friends,” (lego de humin tois philois mou) “Then I tell you my friends;” Here, our Lord’s church disciples, of Luk 12:1 are called “my friends,” Joh 15:14. He speaks to His friends or comrades as a general to his soldiers in arms, Eph 6:10-18. He distinguishes them from the hostile Pharisee hypocrites of Luk 12:1; Isa 8:12-13; Jer 1:8.
2) “Be not afraid of them that kill the body,” (me phobethete apo ton apoktennonton to soma) “Do not be afraid or terrorized by those who kill the body,” Psa 49:16-17; Mat 10:28; For He has not given us the spirit of bondage to fear, Rom 8:15; Isa 51:7-8; Act 20:24; Php_1:28.
3) “And after that they have no more that they can do.” (kai meta tauta me echonton ti poiesai) “And after they have done this they have nothing beyond it that they can do,” Mat 10:28. The power of the enemy of God’s children is limited to this life, and to the hurt of the body only, not to the soul, and that by the permissive will of God, Job 1:1-22; Isa 51:12-13; 1Pe 3:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(4-9) I say unto you my friends.See Notes on Mat. 10:28-32. The opening words, however, in their tender sympathy, anticipating the language of Joh. 15:14-15, may be noted as peculiar to St. Luke.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
II. To the myriads. Fear not them, but God who is able to judge and destroy the soul, 4-12. Mat 10:28-31.
4. Unto you my friends My friends includes both disciples (that is apostles and followers) and the myriads. They were not only to beware of the deceit, but to be fearless of the menaces and hostilities, of the hierarchy.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“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.”
This is the only place in the first three Gospels where Jesus calls His disciples His ‘friends’, but compare also Joh 15:13-15, where we learn that those are His friends who obey His words, and that to them He reveals His secrets. This tenderness is in order to strengthen them to face the stark fact, baldly stated, that they might be martyred. But even in the face of that they should remember that once they have been killed their enemies will be powerless to do anything more. Whatever they do to their bodies it will not affect their future (there were times in the future when because of their belief in the resurrection men maltreated the bodies of Christians and sought to dispose of them in such a way that they could not rise again, but all would be to no avail). So in view of that fact they need not be afraid of them, for God will watch over them and is so concerned about them that He even knows how many hairs they have on their head. Whatever is done to their bodies He will be able to resurrect them as one whole.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
True fearlessness:
v. 4. And I say unto you, My friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
v. 5. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him which, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him.
v. 6. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
v. 7. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows. As friends Jesus addresses His disciples, a title showing His love and trust in them, Joh 15:14. They should have no fear of those that can injure and destroy the body, if God should so permit. Only one fear can and should live in their hearts, a deep-seated fear, an awe and relevance which is not afraid of the punishment, but stands in holy dread of Him that judges and condemns both soul and body to everlasting destruction. For this is not a mere human tempter, who tries to harm his neighbor’s soul by leading him into sin, nor is it Satan, for he has no absolute power over body and soul. It is the great God, the divine Judge, Himself. Fear of human enemies, of their contempt and of their injury, implies lack of faith in Him, which may, in turn, lead to denial and thus to damnation. And again: Why fear? So little are sparrows valued by men that they were put up in packages of five or ten and sold on the market at the rate of five for two assaria, or less than a cent apiece; so insignificant is the loss of a single hair that it is not even noticed. And yet: Not a single one of these cheapest of birds is forgotten or neglected before God; all the hairs of our head are numbered by Him, and His accounts are always right. How foolish therefore is fear, since we have His assurance that we are preferred above many sparrows in His estimation.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
DISCOURSE: 1525
GOD TO BE FEARED, BUT NOT MAN
Luk 12:4-5. I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
AN undue regard to the good opinion of mankind operates to the production of two apparently opposite effects, namely, a hypocritical assumption of the religious character, and a cowardly concealment of it. Moreover, the same persons may be alternately tempted to both these evils, according as the one kind of dissimulation or the other may be best suited to their present circumstances. The persons most likely to feel their influence, are those who have lately begun to venerate religion, and to desire the attainment of it in their hearts. Hence our blessed Lord earnestly cautioned his Disciples against them. He began with guarding them against hypocrisy, which was the leaven that pervaded all the Pharisees; and then he guarded them against the fear of man (which would induce them to put their light under a bushel); and, as the best antidote to it, to cultivate the fear of God [Note: ver. 1, 4, 5.].
The subject of our text cannot be rendered more clear by any artificial arrangement of it, nor can the words be treated in any better order than that in which they stand: we shall therefore follow them simply without any particular division.
The fear of man is a very powerful and prevailing evil
[Scarcely does any one begin to feel a desire after salvation, but he is beset immediately with this temptation: though perhaps he never at any time regarded the good opinion of men so far as to be deterred by it from the commission of any sin, now he is filled with apprehensions lest this or that person should despise him. He scarcely dares look grave, lest his friends should think him melancholy; nor will he venture to acknowledge any compunction for his past iniquities, lest they should say that he is going mad. He is persuaded in his mind that they who are persecuted for righteousness sake are on the whole in the best way; but he dares not join himself to them for fear of participating in their reproach; nor dares he shew any attachment to a minister of Christ, from whom he would wish to derive instruction, lest he should be classed with his followers. He dares not even go to a place of worship where Christ is more faithfully preached, lest he should be loaded with some opprobrious name. To bear an open testimony against sin, or to vindicate the ways of righteousness, would be an effort which he could not even contemplate without dread: so tied is he and bound with this ideal chainthe good opinion of the world.
If he have been enabled to surmount these first difficulties, he still is in bondage to fears of another kind. His father perhaps threatens to disinherit him, his master to dismiss him, his patron to turn his back upon him: the question then arises in his mind, How shall I sustain this trial? and then, to avoid the cross, he sacrifices his conscience, declines from the ways of God, and goes back again to the world: tribulation and persecution arising because of the word, he presently is offended. Nor is it uncommon for those who have appeared bold in the cause of Christ, to turn back, when they are called to resist unto blood. When Paul was first called before the Roman Emperor, there was not found one single Christian that dared to stand by him: Every one of them forsook him. And God alone knows how any of us should act, if, like Daniel or the Hebrew Youths, we were called to seal the truth with our blood.]
But to be governed by this principle, is both impious and absurd
[God expressly commands us not to harbour it in our bosoms: Be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled [Note: 1Pe 3:14.]. He cautions us against it as a fatal snare: The fear of man bringeth a snare [Note: Pro 29:25.]. He represents it as quite absurd: Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and forgettest the Lord, thy Maker [Note: Isa 51:7-8; Isa 51:12-13.]? And in our text he shews how impotent man is, and unworthy to be regarded as an object of fear [Note: Compare Isa 51:13. with the text.]. Man may prevail so far as to kill our bodies; but this is the utmost that he can do. In doing this, he may exercise his ingenuity to put us to the most cruel torture: but God has graciously appointed that the body should not endure all that our enemies might wish to inflict: the soul will take its flight, if the body be too violently assailed, and will leave the body insensible to all that the most insatiate malice can devise [Note: Job 3:17-19.]. Now we grant that this is an evil: the Christian cannot be indifferent to pain, and anguish, and death; but still these things are not so formidable as to justify his being influenced by the fear of man. If, indeed, there were no state beyond the present, and no Being that was superior to man, and able either to recompense our sufferings or to inflict others more severe, then there were some reason why we should fear man: but]
God is the more proper object of fear
[Him we ought to fear; indeed he is very greatly to be feared; for with him is terrible majesty: we should therefore stand in awe of him, and fear him always, and walk in his fear all the day long. We should do nothing without considering first whether it will please or displease him: if we have reason to think that it will displease him, we should not for the whole world presume to do it; nor should we neglect any thing which our conscience tells us will be pleasing in his sight. In every thing that we do, we should have respect to his will, as the reason; his word, as the rule; and his glory, as the end, of our actions. In comparison of his favour, all earthly considerations should dwindle into nothing: the allurements or the terrors of the world should be alike contemptible in our eyes: they should weigh no more with us than the small dust upon the balance.]
There is very abundant reason why we should fear him
[The circumstance of our being his creatures, formed by him for the promotion of his glory, should of itself induce us to regard him chiefly, him continually, him exclusively: and the circumstance of his having redeemed us by the blood of his dear Son, should constrain us irresistibly to live altogether for him. But the consideration urged in our text is that which we are more particularly called to notice.
God can destroy the body, as well as man [Note: After he hath killed.]. He commissioned worms to execute his vengeance on a prince that robbed him of his glory [Note: Act 12:23.]. And on many of his own peculiar people also has he inflicted punishment, visiting them with sickness and death for their transgressions against him [Note: 1Co 11:30.]. In this respect then, to say the least, he is on a par with men, and is as much to be feared as they. But he can also wound the soul, which man can never touch. The saints of old, instead of being grieved at the spoiling of their goods, took it joyfully. Paul and Silas, when their backs were torn with scourges, and their feet fastened in the stocks, so far from having their spirits hurt, were filled with unutterable joy, and sang praises to God at midnight. And every saint is privileged to take pleasure in afflictions, and to glory in tribulations; so little is it in the power of man to hurt his soul. But what distress cannot God inflict? Look at Judas: look at many also at this day, who, like him, choose strangling rather than life. Whence arise the numerous suicides that we hear of continually? God lets loose his wrath upon the souls of men on account of their iniquities; and then they are so miserable that they cannot endure to live. The saints themselves, too, are sometimes made to experience his frowns: and then how inexpressible is their anguish! A wounded spirit who can bear? Here then God shews his superiority over man, even in this life. But Gods power extends also to the future world: he can cast the soul into hell; and can raise up the body also, and re-unite it to the soul, and make them monuments of his everlasting vengeance. Oh! who knoweth the power of his anger? Who can tell us what it is to lie down in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, and to spend an eternity in that place, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched? Read a faint description of their state, drawn by the hand of an angel [Note: Rev 14:10-11.]; and you will then see that it is indeed a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Now judge whom you ought to fear [Note: Jer 10:6-7.]. Now see why our blessed Lord so often, and so emphatically, repeats the same word, Fear not man; but I will forewarn you whom you shall fear; Fear God; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Alas! that the stupidity of our hearts should ever make such repetitions needful! but since our blessed Lord has condescended to make use of them, I pray God that our obduracy may not also render them ineffectual.]
We acknowledge that these considerations are awful; but we state them to you as proofs of our love
[To speak of the wrath to come is always painful, and frequently offensive. Persons are apt to imagine that we take pleasure in alarming the minds of men; and they even conceive of us as disturbers of the public peace, and as enemies to the happiness of our fellow-creatures. But was this the character of our blessed Lord? or did he feel any thing but love, whilst he gave these solemn admonitions? Yea, did he not account this fidelity to their souls the strongest expression of his regard? Hear how carefully he marks this in his address to them: I say unto you, my friends. Permit me then to say, that, however men may be disposed to represent our fidelity as an indication of harshness, we are actuated only by a spirit of love, and are in reality your best friends. Many there are, indeed, who call themselves your friends, who would give advice directly contrary to ours: they would say, Do not indulge any foolish fears about the wrath of God; He is a very merciful Being; and you have nothing to fear at his hands. But think how absurd you will appear in the sight of all sensible men: think how you are ruining all your prospects in life: think what troubles you will bring upon yourself by these needless singularities: shake off all these groundless apprehensions: turn your back upon those who would fill you with false alarms: and act so as to ensure the approbation and esteem of all around you. This, I say, is the common advice of parents, of brethren, and of many others who call themselves friends: but think a moment whether their counsel or that of Christ is to be preferred: they say, Fear man, but not God; and Christ says, Fear God, but not man. Truly, brethren, we must join in the advice of Him who has proved himself your friend; has proved it by laying down his life for you: and we must declare to you that, whilst the fear of man is folly in the extreme, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and the praise of it endureth for ever.]
With this feeling, we urge them upon your minds with some additional arguments
[The minor sorts of persecution are unworthy the regard of a rational man. What signifies a reproachful name, or the contempt of those who contemn God? You should rather account it your honour to be so treated [Note: 1Pe 4:14.]. But whatever be the cross you are called to bear, God has provided abundant consolation under it [Note: 2Co 1:5. Mat 5:10-12]. Only submit to your trials with meekness and patience [Note: What dignity was there in that conduct of Jeremiah! Jer 26:14.], and you may defy the confederate hosts of earth and hell [Note: Isa 51:5-9.]. Think how your Saviour suffered, not only enduring the cross, but despising the shame; and arm yourselves with the same mind [Note: 1Pe 4:1. Heb 12:3.], rejoicing that you are counted worthy to suffer for his sake. If you are tempted at any time to obey man rather than God, then look to the eternal world, and consider whether temporal joys or sorrows deserve a thought in comparison of those that are eternal. Think of the noble army of martyrs who are gone before, sent by men, as it were, in a fiery chariot to heaven: do they regret that they loved not their lives unto death? Thus, setting eternity before you, implore help from your God and Saviour: then shall you be found faithful unto death, and finally obtain a crown of life.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Ver. 4. See Trapp on “ Mat 10:28 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
4. ] See Joh 15:13-15 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 12:4 . , introducing a very important statement, not a mere phrase of Lk.’s to help out the connection of thought (Ws [114] , Mt.- Evang., 279). , not a mere conventional designation for an audience, but spoken with emphasis to distinguish disciples from hostile Pharisees = my comrades, companions in tribulation. , etc., down to end of Luk 12:5 = Mat 10:28 , with variations. For Mt.’s distinction between body and soul Lk. has one between now and hereafter ( ). The positive side of the counsel is introduced not with a simple “fear,” but with the more emphatic “I will show ye whom ye shall fear”. Then at the end, to give still more emphasis, comes: “Yea, I say unto you, fear him”. Who is the unnamed object of fear? Surely he who tempts to unfaithfulness, the god of this world!
[114]s. Weiss (Dr. Bernhard).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 12:4-7
4″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. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Luk 12:4 “My friends” This is the only use of this phrase in the Synoptic Gospels. Jesus often talks about “a friend,” but only here does He say “My friends.” However, it occurs three times in Joh 15:14-15. What a tremendous affirmation of His disciples, not just Lord, but friend!
“do not be afraid” “Do not be afraid” is an aorist passive (deponent) subjunctive. “Fear” (Luk 12:5) is another aorist passive (deponent) subjunctive. The second and third “fear” in Luk 12:5 are aorist passive (deponent) imperatives.
There is obviously an intended word play in these two verses. The difference between these forms is only an accent mark. The subjunctive mood denotes a contingency. In light of human choices and their consequences the imperative gives God’s inspired directive! Fear is not and should not characterize believers, but rather awe and respect toward God, which are always wise and appropriate. Circumstances and even evil people are temporary, but God and His judgments are permanent and affect the body (physical and temporal) and the soul (spiritual and eternal).
“kill the body” Earthly enemies can terminate our physical life, but only God can give eternal life (cf. Mat 10:28)!
Luk 12:5 “who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell ” This is referring to God the Father. In the OT monotheism was affirmed by attributing all causality to YHWH (cf. Deu 32:39; 1Sa 2:6; Job 5:18; Isa 30:26; Hos 6:1). Further progressive revelation asserts that God allows evil to exist to serve His purposes (cf. A. B. Davidson, An Old Testament Theology, pp. 300-306).
However, sometimes we say that God sends no one to hell, that humans send themselves by their unbelief. This again, is the mystery of predestination and human free will. Humans are responsible for their choices and actions. God is the One who will make them responsible. The mystery is why some do not believe!
See SPECIAL TOPIC: ELECTION/PREDESTINATION AND THE NEED FOR A THEOLOGICAL BALANCE at Luk 2:14.
SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM
“hell” The term Gehenna is an abbreviation of the OT phrase “the valley of Hinnom.” It was the site of the worship of the Phoenician fire god, Molech (which is a corruption of the Hebrew term for king, MLK, BDB 572). This worship is mentioned often throughout the OT (cf. Lev 18:12; 1Ki 11:7; 2Ki 23:10; 2Ch 28:3; 2Ch 33:6; Jer 32:35; Eze 16:20). This place was called Topeth (burning) and is described in 2Ki 16:3; 2Ki 21:6; 2Ki 23:10; Jer 7:32; Jer 19:4-6; Jer 32:34-35. The Jews turned this area south of Jerusalem into the garbage dump for the city because they were so ashamed their ancestors used it for idolatry (offering their children as sacrifices for the fertility of crops, herds, and people). See SPECIAL TOPIC: Where Are the Dead? at Luk 16:23.
“fear Him” This is an aorist passive (deponent) imperative (cf. Luk 12:5 b, repeated for emphasis). It is used in the sense of reverence for God as being the high and holy Creator/Redeemer/Judge.
Luk 12:6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents” Sparrows were not used as sacrifices, but were eaten by the poor (cf. Moulton and Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, p. 594).
The “two cents” is the Greek term assarion, which comes from the Latin as. It was a small brass coin worth about one tenth of a denarius. These birds were very inexpensive. See the parallel in Mat 10:24-33.
See SPECIAL TOPIC: COINS IN USE IN PALESTINE IN JESUS’ DAY at Luk 15:8.
“Yet not one of them is forgotten before God” This is a periphrastic perfect passive indicative. Usually sparrows were sold four for two cents and they received one free. Even the free one is not forgotten by God (cf. Mat 10:29-30). God truly loves human beings because they were created in His image (cf. Gen 1:26-27).
God is not only the creator, but the provider and sustainer of all life (cf. Neh 9:6; Mat 5:45; Col 1:17). He is moving all creation toward His purposes.
For a good discussion of the doctrine of “Providence,” see Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd edition, pp. 412-435.
God has a special relationship of care for those who trust His Son (i.e., Father). Believers can trust God’s provision in every area of life (cf. 1Pe 5:7).
Luk 12:7 “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered” This is a perfect passive indicative. This does not mean that God literally keeps track of every hair on our heads, but is metaphorical (cf. OT idiom in 1Sa 14:45; 2Sa 14:11; and 1Ki 1:52, see Archer Bible Commentary, vol. 28A, p. 960) of every problem, every need, every aspect, and every situation of believers’ lives being a concern to Him.
“Do not fear” This is a perfect middle (deponent) imperative with the negative particle, which usually means stop an act already in process. Fear is a characteristic of fallen, guilty humanity, but should not be of believers!
Christians must be careful not to interpret this paragraph as a general promise that nothing bad will ever happen to them. This is untrue in history and in the first century. This is a promise that God will be for us at eschatological judgment! The next paragraph also speaks of eschatological judgment, as well as contemporary judgments. The thrust of them both is God is with us and for us, but we live in a fallen world. Bad things happen (see John William Wenham, The Goodness of God)! The world has rejected God’s Son; it will reject, persecute, and kill His followers (cf. Mat 10:21-22; Joh 16:2), but God will be with them in time and will set everything straight when time is no more! My favorite book on this subject is Hannah Whithall Smith’s The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life. It has been a blessing.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
I say unto you. Always introduces an important matter.
unto = to.
Be not afraid (phobethete). ye shall fear (phobethete) (Luk 12:5). Note the Figure of speech Anadiplosis (App-6), by which all the words between are emphasized, by being thus enclosed.
not. Greek. me. App-105. Not the same word as in verses: Luk 12:2, Luk 12:6, Luk 12:10, Luk 2:15, Luk 2:21, Luk 2:26, Luk 2:27, Luk 2:39, Luk 2:45, Luk 2:46, Luk 2:56, Luk 2:57, Luk 2:59.
of = from [the hands of]. Greek. apo. App-104. Compare Mat 10:28. Not the same word as in verses: Luk 12:6, Luk 12:13, Luk 12:25, Luk 6:48, Luk 6:57. after. Greek. meta. App-104. no. Greek. ou.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
4. ] See Joh 15:13-15.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 12:4. , my friends) A faithful counsel, and a spur to strength of resolution, and a conciliatory appellation, which is intended to temper the severity (sternness) of His language respecting a difficult and hard matter. In war, a General addresses his soldiers whilst doing battle by the kindly title, Brothers [in arms, fellow-soldiers], etc.-[ , Be not afraid of) in your confession of the truth.-V. g.]- , …) .-, after) The after [He hath killed], in Luk 12:5, corresponds to this after.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
my: Son 5:1, Son 5:16, Isa 41:8, Joh 15:14, Jam 2:23
Be: Isa 51:7-13, Jer 1:8, Jer 1:17, Jer 26:14, Jer 26:15, Eze 2:6, Dan 3:16, Dan 3:17, Mat 10:28, Act 4:13, Act 20:24, Phi 1:28, 1Pe 3:14, Rev 2:10
Reciprocal: Deu 9:19 – For I Job 3:17 – the wicked Job 37:24 – fear Psa 56:4 – in God I have Psa 89:7 – General Pro 16:14 – wrath Pro 19:12 – king’s Ecc 8:4 – the word Isa 8:12 – fear ye Isa 51:12 – that thou Jer 41:18 – for they Eze 32:25 – though Dan 3:19 – was Nebuchadnezzar Dan 6:10 – as he Mat 6:25 – I say Joh 9:22 – because Joh 14:27 – afraid Heb 11:23 – and they Heb 13:6 – I will Rev 15:4 – Who Rev 21:8 – the fearful
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE FEAR OF HELL
Be not afraid of them that kill the body. Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell.
Luk 12:4-5
We cannot safely put aside motives of fear. It was the motive of fear which enabled Wesley and Whitefield to convert their hundreds of thousands. We are altogether unsafe if we do not remember the punishments of hell behind us, if we fall back, as well as the glories of heaven before us if we go forward. It is with an infinite tenderness that our Saviour speaks to us in the words of the text.
I. The Bible view.We believe that in the Word of God God has told us all that it concerns us to know about the mysteries of our being. We are, indeed, willing to weigh the language of the Word of God carefully, and to compare one passage with another. We are willing to allow for imperfections of language in the human channels of revelation; we do not refuse to recognise the human element in the revelation. But we do not believe that the Word of God could tell us anything about God which was not true. We are not willing to take modern notions for our rule, or say that if the Word of God comes up to these modern notions we will believe it, but if it does not come up to these modern notions we will reject it. No; we believe that in all these tremendous thingsHeaven and Hell, Life and Death, God and the Soul, Time and Eternity, Redemption and Faithwe have got here the very mind of God sufficiently clearly and decisively for us to understand it and act by it. Therefore, while I take every means available for finding out the full meaning and history of the language of the Word of God, I take it in its plain and literal sense. I do not trouble my mind as to whether when our Saviour spoke of eternal punishment He used words which would allow of some far-off ending in some future providence of God; I have no means of determining whether when St. Peter spoke in his sermon at Jerusalem about the heavens receiving Jesus Christ until the times of the restitution of all things, he meant that there was some utterly remote possibility of hell itself being converted; whether when St. Paul said, He must reign until He hath put all things under His feet, he meant that even the opposition of hell itself would some day cease and be subdued, I cannot tellGod has not revealed it. But I do know that we are over and over again warned against the torments of hell as if they never came to an end. I do know that we are everywhere urged to repent on the ground that our only chance is in this life. I do know that when the word eternal is used, whatever it may mean, it must mean something of the same sort as eternity. I do know that in His parable of the sheep and the goats our Saviour describes the King as saying to them on the left hand, Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
II. The fear of hell.I do not see how God could govern the world if it were not for this great truth: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear Him. I remember when the famous sermons were preached on this subject they were very much misunderstood. Ignorant people thought that the preacher was doing away with hell altogether. I remember one Sundayat that time I was riding along from Fulham to preach in some distant part of Middlesexand I heard men encouraging each other to come into the public-house. They said, Oh, theres one of em been showing that there aint no hell. That is what the result would be if we took away from the words of this Book. God has chosen to tell us that hell is everlasting. If we say, No, hell is not everlasting, then every kind of sin will abound. Sinners will say, Oh, we shall all come right in the end. Gods government of the world would cease. Nothing but the strong, stern, stubborn fact of hell as it is described to us will keep them back from trifling with their souls. Think of that expressionTheir fire is not quenched. This expression must correspond to some dreadful reality, some external punishment. How fearful would it be to us to endure the bodily suffering of being burnt alive, even if it only lasted ten minutes! Each moment, as the scorching flame reached some new part, there would be a fresh accumulation of agony as the scalded blood hissed and the nerves cracked and smarted. Or if you had only to let your hand or your foot be burnt off with fire! Our hearts turn sick at the very thought. But what comparison is there between the fires of this world, which are but for a moment, and those which are described as everlasting? And the torments of hell our Saviour can paint in no other way than by saying, Where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched.
Oh, if God would draw aside for one moment the veil which hides the eternal world from our view; what amazement, what terror, what fear and trembling would fill our souls! Never again could we be the same as we were before. Never would the shrieks and yells of the damned be out of our ears. Never would the fierceness of those flames cease to flare before our eyes.
III. Each mans resolve.There was once a rich man who was afraid to die, and on the last day of his life he rose from his bed and rushed out into courtyard, and shouted aloud, I will not die! I will not die! His friends caught him, carried him back. His strength was exhausted, and in a few hours more he breathed his last. There was nothing that could be done to prevent it. But there is a far more important resolve which you can make this morning. O, dear friends, make up your minds this very day, once more, that you will not go to hell! O, fall down before the Cross of Jesus, the Son of God, your Saviour, reigning in glory, but present here in this church, and let your cries be heard by Him from the depth of your heart, Mercy, Jesu, mercy! again and again. Look back into your life! uncover your sins; know that the devouring flames of hell are behind you; and whilst it is called to-day Flee from the wrath to come. For, as yet, the glories of Gods eternal heavens are before you. What an easy way to escape hell fire and to reach the blessed pastures and still waters by repenting of my sins! Or even if at any time repentance seems a hard up-hill road, and the battle against sin seems to rage all day long and weary, yet let me remember that hell is a much harder word, and that the struggle here, however long, is as nothing to the endless burnings of that dreadful lake of fire. O, let the fire of hell ever scare me from my sins!
Archdeacon W. M. Sinclair.
Illustration
Faint and weary Thou hast sought me,
On the cross of suffering brought me:
Shall such grace be vainly brought me?
Righteous Judge, for sins pollution
Grant Thy gift of absolution,
Ere that day of retribution.
Guilty now I pour my moaning,
All my shame with anguish owning:
Spare, O God, Thy suppliant groaning.
Thou the sinful woman savedst;
Thou the dying thief forgavedst;
And to me a hope vouchsafest.
Worthless are my prayers and sighing,
Yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
Rescue me from fires undying!
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
4
Men can cause physical death but can do nothing against the soul of the man who serves God with a righteous life.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The second duty which our Saviour presses upon his disciples, is that of holy courage and resolution: as if Christ had said, the preaching of the gospel will stir up many enemies against you, which will malign and oppose you, vex and persecute you; but I say unto you, fear them not who can only kill the body; but fear him who, if you fail in your duty, can cast both body and soul into hell.
Here note,
1. An unwarrantable fear condemned, and that is, the sinful, servile, slavish fear of man: Fear not them that kill the body.
2. An holy, awful, and prudential fear of the omnipotent God commended: Fear him that is able to kill both body and soul.
3. The persons whom this duty of fear is recommended to and bound upon; disciples, ministers, and ambassadors, all the friends of Christ. They not only may, but ought to fear him; not only for his greatness and goodness, but upon the account of his punitive justice, as being able to cast both soul and body into hell. Such a fear is not only lawful, but laudable; not only commendable, but commanded, and not misbecoming the friends of Christ. The ministers of God may use arguments from fear of judgments, both to dissuade from sin, and to persuade to duty. It is not unsuitable to the best of saints to keep in heaven’s way for fear of hell: it is good to bid a friend fear, when that fear tends to his good.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Vers. 4-7. Personal Security.And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear; fear Him which, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you, fear Him. 6. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings; and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
The success of their cause is certain. But what of their personal future? After Luk 11:49 there was good cause for some disquiet on this point. Here the heart of Jesus softens: the thought of the lot which some of them will have to undergo seems to render His own more dear to Him. Hence the tender form of address, To you, my friends. Certainly Luke did not invent this word; and if Matthew, in whom it is not found (Luk 10:28 et seq.), had used the same document as Luke, he would not have omitted it. Olshausen has taken up the strange idea, that by him who can cast into hell we are to understand, not God, but the devil, as if Scripture taught us to fear the devil, and not rather to resist him to his face (1Pe 5:9; Jam 4:7).
The MSS. are divided between the forms (Eolico-Doric, according to Bleek), (a corruption of the preceding), and (the regular form). The term Gehenna (hell) properly signifies valley of Hinnom (, Jos 15:8, comp. Luk 18:16; 2Ki 23:10; Jer 7:31, etc.). It was a fresh and pleasant valley to the south of the hill of Zion, where were found in early times the king’s gardens. But as it was there that the worship of Moloch was celebrated under the idolatrous kings, Josiah converted it into a place for sewage. The valley thus became the type, and its name the designation, of hell. This saying of Jesus distinguishes soul from body as emphatically as modern spiritualism can do. What are we to think of M. Renan, who dares to assert that Jesus did not know the exact distinction between those two elements of our being!
Jesus does not promise His disciples that their life shall always be safe. But if they perish, it will not be without the consent of an all-powerful Being, who is called their Father. The sayings which follow express by the most forcible emblems the idea of a providence which extends to the smallest details of human life.
To make a more appreciable sum, Luke speaks of five birds of the value of about two farthings. Matthew, who speaks of two birds only, gives their value at one farthing; that is, a little dearer. Did five cost proportionally a little less than two? Can we imagine one of the two evangelists amusing himself by making such changes in the text of the other, or in that of a common document! The expression before God is Hebraistic; it means that there is not one of those small creatures which is not individually present to the view of divine omniscience. The knowledge of God extends not only to our persons, but even to the most insignificant parts of our being,to those 140,000 hairs of which we lose some every day without paying the least attention. No fear, then; ye shall not fall without God’s consent; and if He consent, it is because it will be for His child’s good.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
12:4 {2} And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
(2) Although hypocrites have princes to execute their cruelty, yet there is no reason why we should be afraid of them, even by the smallest amount that may be, seeing that they can do nothing except that which pleases God, and God does not will anything that may be against the salvation of his elect.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Preparing for judgment 12:4-12
"The teaching about the Pharisees and the judgment leads naturally into a more general section on judgment and the importance of being prepared for it." [Note: Morris, p. 208.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Jesus identified what followed as particularly important (cf. Luk 6:27; Luk 11:9; Luk 12:5; Luk 12:8). The unusual address "my friends" (Gr. philois) added a further encouragement to represent Jesus boldly in spite of opposition even though it might result in death. The word expressed confidence in the disciples and approval of them as those entrusted with His secrets and those who do His will. It contrasts with the rejection they faced in the world. This is the only place in the Synoptics where Jesus called His disciples His friends (cf. Mat 12:48-50; Joh 15:13-15). Friends are not just people with whom we share common life but those with whom we also share common commitments and goals. The writer of Hebrews made a similar distinction when he wrote of the Lord’s partners (Gr. metochoi, Heb 1:9).