Church Fathers Commentary Luke 12:4-7

"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. But I will warn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, who after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not: ye are of more value than many sparrows." — Luke 12:4-7 (ASV)

St. Ambrose of Milan: Unbelief springs from two causes: either from deep-seated malice or from sudden fear. To prevent anyone from being compelled by terror to deny the God he acknowledges in his heart, Christ rightly adds, And I say to you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and so on.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: This teaching does not seem to apply to absolutely everyone, but only to those who love God with their whole heart—those who can rightly say, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Those who are not like this are unstable and ready to fall. Moreover, our Lord says, Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. How, then, can it be anything but ungrateful to Christ not to repay Him for what we have received?

St. Ambrose of Milan: He also tells us that a death is not to be feared when, in exchange for it, immortality is purchased at a far more valuable rate.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: We must, then, consider that crowns and honors are prepared for the labors of those on whom people continually vent their indignation. For them, the death of the body is the end of their persecutions. This is why He adds, And after that have no more that they can do.

The Venerable Bede: The rage of those who cast the lifeless limbs of martyrs to be torn apart by wild beasts and birds is nothing but useless raving, since they can in no way prevent the omnipotence of God from reviving them and bringing them to life again.

St. John Chrysostom: Observe how our Lord makes His disciples superior to all by exhorting them to despise the very death that is terrible to everyone. At the same time, He also brings them proof of the soul's immortality, adding, I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: fear him, which after he has killed has power to cast into hell.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For our natural death is not the end of punishment. Therefore, He concludes that while death is the end of bodily punishment, the punishment of the soul is everlasting. God alone is to be feared—He to whose power nature sets no limits, but is itself subject—adding, Yes, I say to you, Fear him.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Observe here that death is sent upon sinners as a punishment, since they are tormented by destruction in this life and afterward cast down into hell. But if you examine the words closely, you will understand something further. For He does not say, “who casts into hell,” but who “has power to cast.” Not everyone who dies in sin is immediately cast down into hell; sometimes a pardon is given because of the offerings and prayers made for the dead.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Our Lord, then, had instilled the virtue of simplicity and awakened a courageous spirit. Only their faith was wavering, and He rightly strengthened it by adding, with respect to things of lesser value, Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? It is as if He said, "If God does not forget the sparrows, how can He forget a human being?"

The Venerable Bede: The dipondius is a coin of the lightest weight, equal to two asses.

Glossa Ordinaria: Now, that which is one in number is an ass in weight, but that which is two is a dipondius.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But perhaps someone will ask, "How is it that the Apostle asks, Does the Lord care for oxen?" An ox, after all, is of more value than a sparrow. But to care for something is one thing, and to have knowledge of it is another.

Origen of Alexandria: Literally, this signifies the swiftness of divine foresight, which reaches even to the smallest things. Mystically, however, the five sparrows rightly represent the spiritual senses, which perceive high and heavenly things: beholding God, hearing the divine voice, tasting the bread of life, smelling the perfume of Christ’s anointing, and handling the Word of Life.

These senses, being sold for two farthings—that is, being held in low esteem by those who consider everything of the Spirit to be perishable—are not forgotten before God. In contrast, God is said to be forgetful of some people because of their iniquities.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Alternatively, these five senses are sold for two farthings—that is, for the Old and New Testaments—and are therefore not forgotten by God. The Lord is always mindful of those whose senses are surrendered to the word of life so that they may be ready for spiritual food.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Alternatively, a good sparrow is one that nature has equipped with the power of flight. Nature has given us the grace to fly, but pleasure has taken it away, burdening the soul of the wicked with worldly things and shaping it into something carnal and earthbound. The five senses of the body, then, if they seek the nourishment of base earthly things, cannot fly back to the fruits of higher actions.

A bad sparrow, therefore, is one that has lost its ability to fly through the fault of grovelling in earthly things. Such are the sparrows sold for two farthings—that is, at the price of worldly luxury. For the enemy offers his captive slaves, so to speak, at the very lowest price. But the Lord, the rightful judge of His own work, has redeemed us, His noble servants whom He made in His own image, at a great price.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: It is His concern, then, to know the life of the saints diligently. This is why it follows, But the hairs of your heads are all numbered. By this He means that He has the most accurate knowledge of all things that relate to them, for the act of numbering reveals the meticulous nature of the care He exercises.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Lastly, the numbering of the hairs should not be understood as a literal act of counting, but as a sign of God's capacity for knowing. Yet it is right to say they are numbered, because we count the things we wish to preserve.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Mystically, a person's head is their understanding, and the hairs are their thoughts, which are all open to the eye of God.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Alternatively, by the head of each of the faithful, you must understand a manner of life worthy of Christ, and by the hair, the works of bodily mortification, which are numbered by God and are worthy of divine regard.

St. Ambrose of Milan: If, then, such is the majesty of God that not even a single sparrow or the number of our hairs is outside His knowledge, how unworthy it is to suppose that the Lord is either ignorant of the hearts of the faithful or despises them enough to consider them of lesser value. Therefore, He concludes, Fear not then, you are of more value than many sparrows.

The Venerable Bede: We must not read this as "you are more numerous," which relates to a comparison of number, but as "you are of more value," which means you are of greater esteem in the sight of God.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: Now I ask the Arians: if God, as if disdaining to create all other things, made only His Son and delegated all else to Him, how is it that He extends His providence to such trivial things as our hair and the sparrows? For whatever things God exercises His providence over, He is also their Creator by His own Word.