Church Fathers Commentary Luke 12:8-12

"And I say unto you, Every one who shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: but he that denieth me in the presence of men shall be denied in the presence of the angels of God. And every one who shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, be not anxious how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in that very hour what ye ought to say." — Luke 12:8-12 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: It was said above that every hidden work and word will be revealed, but He now declares that this revelation is to take place in the presence of the heavenly city and the eternal Judge and King, saying, But I say to you, Whoever shall confess me, etc.

St. Ambrose of Milan: He has also well introduced faith, stimulating us to its confession, and to faith itself He has placed virtue as a foundation. For as faith is the incentive to fortitude, so fortitude is the strong support of faith.

St. John Chrysostom: The Lord is not then content with an inward faith, but requires an outward confession, urging us to confidence and greater love. And since this is useful for all, He speaks generally, saying, Whoever shall confess me, etc.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now Paul says, If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. The whole mystery of Christ is conveyed in these words.

For we must first confess that the Word born of God the Father—that is, the only-begotten Son of His substance—is Lord of all. He is not one who had gained His Lordship from without and by stealth, but who is in truth by His nature Lord, just as the Father is.

Next, we must confess that God raised Him from the dead, who was Himself truly made man and suffered in the flesh for us; for as such He rose from the dead. Whoever then will so confess Christ before men, namely, as God and the Lord, Christ will confess him before the angels of God at that time when He will descend with the holy angels in the glory of His Father at the end of the world.

Eusebius of Caesarea: But what will be more glorious than to have the only-begotten Word of God Himself bear witness on our behalf at the divine judgment, and by His own love to draw forth—as a recompense for confession—a declaration upon that soul to whom He bears witness? For He will give His testimony not as one abiding outside the person to whom He bears witness, but as one dwelling in them and filling them with light.

But having confirmed them with good hope by such great promises, He again rouses them by more alarming threats, saying, But he that denies me before men, shall be denied before the Angels of God.

St. John Chrysostom: In condemnation a greater punishment is announced, and in blessing a greater reward, as if He said, "Now you confess and deny, but I will do so then, for a far greater recompense of good and evil awaits them in the world to come."

Eusebius of Caesarea: He rightly declares this threat so that no one should refuse to confess Him because of the punishment. This punishment is to be denied by the Son of God, to be disowned by Wisdom, to fall away from life, to be deprived of light, and to lose every blessing—and to suffer all these things before God the Father who is in heaven, and the Angels of God.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now, those who deny are, first, those who in a time of persecution renounce the faith. Besides these, there are also heretical teachers and their disciples.

St. John Chrysostom: There are other ways of denying as well, which St. Paul describes, saying, They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him. And again, If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. Also, flee from covetousness, which is idolatry.

Since, then, there are so many ways of denial, it is plain that there are also many ways of confession. Whoever has practiced these will hear that most blessed voice with which Christ greets all who have confessed Him.

But mark the care in the wording. For in the Greek he says, Whoever shall confess in Me, showing that a person confesses Christ not by his own strength, but by the aid of grace from above. But of him who denies, He said not "in Me," but "me." For although he denies while being destitute of grace, he is nevertheless condemned, because the destitution is his own fault, or he is forsaken for his own fault.

The Venerable Bede: But lest from what He says—that those who have denied Him will be denied—it should be supposed that the condition of all was alike (that is, both of those who deny deliberately and those who deny from infirmity or ignorance), He immediately added, And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But if our Savior means to imply that if we speak an injurious word against a common man, we will obtain pardon if we repent, then there is no difficulty in the passage. For since God is by nature merciful, He restores those who are willing to repent. But if the words are referred to Christ, how is someone who speaks a word against Him not to be condemned?

St. Ambrose of Milan: Truly, by the Son of Man we understand Christ, who by the Holy Spirit was born of a virgin, seeing that His only parent on earth is the Virgin. What then? Is the Holy Spirit greater than Christ, that those who sin against Christ should obtain pardon, while those who offend against the Holy Spirit are not thought worthy to obtain it? But where there is unity of power, there is no question of comparison.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: The ancients indeed, the learned Origen and the great Theognostus, describe the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as when those who have been counted worthy of the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism fall back into sin. For they say that for this reason they cannot obtain pardon, as Paul says, It is impossible for those who have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost to renew them again, etc.

But each adds his own explanation. Origen gives this as his reason: God the Father indeed penetrates and contains all things, but the power of the Son extends to rational things only; the Holy Spirit is only in those who partake of Him in the gift of Baptism. When, then, catechumens and heathens sin, they sin against the Son who abides in them, yet they may obtain pardon when they become worthy of the gift of regeneration. But when the baptized commit sin, he says that their offense touches the Spirit, after whose coming they have sinned, and therefore their condemnation must be irrevocable.

But Theognostus says that he who has gone beyond both the first and second threshold deserves less punishment, but he who has also passed the third will no longer receive pardon. By the first and second threshold, he means the doctrine of the Father and the Son, but by the third, the partaking of the Holy Spirit. According to St. John, When the Spirit of truth is come, he will lead you into all truth. This is not as though the doctrine of the Spirit was above that of the Son, but because the Son condescends to those who are imperfect, while the Spirit is the seal of those who are perfect.

If, then, blasphemy against the Spirit is unpardonable not because the Spirit is above the Son, but because remission of sin is for the imperfect while no excuse remains for the perfect, it follows that since the Son is in the Father, He is in those from whom the Father and the Spirit are not absent, for the Holy Trinity cannot be divided. Besides this, if all things were made by the Son and all things consist in Him, He will Himself be truly in all, so that it must necessarily be that he who sins against the Son sins against the Father and the Holy Spirit also.

Holy Baptism is given in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, those who sin after baptism commit blasphemy against the Holy Trinity. But if the Pharisees had not received baptism, how did He condemn them for having spoken blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, of whom they were not yet partakers? This is especially puzzling since He did not accuse them simply of sin, but of blasphemy. These two differ, for someone who sins transgresses the Law, but someone who blasphemes offends against the Deity Himself.

Furthermore, if there is no remission for offenses committed after baptism, how does the Apostle pardon the penitent at Corinth? And how does he travail in birth over the backsliding Galatians until Christ is formed in them again? And why do we oppose Novatus, who does away with repentance after baptism? The Apostle to the Hebrews does not reject the repentance of sinners in this way. Rather, lest they should suppose that, like the rites of the Law, there could be many daily baptisms under the veil of repentance, he warns them to repent but tells them that there could be only one renewal, namely, by Baptism.

With these considerations, I return to the dispensation which is in Christ, who, being God, was made man. As very God, He raised the dead; as clothed with the flesh, He thirsted, labored, and suffered. When anyone, then, looking to His human aspects, sees the Lord thirsty or suffering and speaks against the Savior as if against a man, they sin indeed, yet may speedily receive pardon on repentance, alleging as an excuse the weakness of His body.

And again, when anyone, beholding the works of His Deity, doubts the nature of His body, they also sin grievously. But these too, if they repent, may be quickly pardoned, seeing that they have an excuse in the greatness of the works. But when they attribute the works of God to the Devil, they justly undergo the irrevocable sentence, because they have judged God to be the Devil, and the true God to have nothing more in His works than the evil spirits.

To this unbelief, then, the Pharisees had come. For when the Savior manifested the works of the Father—raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, and deeds such as these—they said that these were the works of Beelzebub. They might as well say, looking at the order of the world and the providence exercised over it, that the world was created by Beelzebub.

As long as they erred in knowledge regarding His human aspects, saying, Is not this the carpenter’s son? and, How does this man know things which he never learned?, He endured them as sinning against the Son of Man. But when they grew more furious, saying that the works of God are the works of Beelzebub, He no longer endured them. In the same way, He also endured their fathers as long as their murmurings were for bread and water. But when they made a calf and imputed to it the divine mercies they had received, they were punished. At first, multitudes of them were slain; afterward, He said, Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.

Such, then, is the sentence passed upon the Pharisees: that in the flame prepared for the devil, they shall be consumed with him everlastingly. He did not say these things, then, to make a comparison between a blasphemy spoken against Himself and one against the Holy Spirit, as if the Spirit were greater. Rather, with each blasphemy being uttered against Him, He shows that one is greater and the other is less. For in looking at Him as a man, they reviled Him, and they also said that His works were those of Beelzebub.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Thus, it is thought by some that we should believe both the Son and the Holy Spirit to be the same Christ—preserving the distinction of Persons with the unity of the substance. This is because Christ, who is both God and man, is one Spirit, as it is written, The Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord. This same Spirit is holy, for the Father is holy, the Son is holy, and the Spirit is holy. If, then, Christ is each, what difference is there, except that we know it is not lawful for us to deny the divinity of Christ?

The Venerable Bede: Or else: whoever said that the works of the Holy Spirit are those of Beelzebub, it will not be forgiven him, either in this world or in the world to come. This is not to deny that if he could come to repentance, he could be forgiven by God. Rather, we believe that such a blasphemer, by the necessity of what he deserves, would never come to forgiveness, and therefore would never come to the fruits of a worthy repentance. This is according to the scripture, He has blinded their eyes, so that they should not be converted, and I should heal them.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But if the Holy Spirit were a creature, and not of the divine substance of the Father and the Son, how does an injury committed against Him entail so great a punishment as is denounced against those who blaspheme against God?

The Venerable Bede: Nor, however, are all those who say that the Spirit is not holy, or is not God, but is inferior to the Father and the Son, involved in the crime of unpardonable blasphemy, because they are led to do it through human ignorance, not a demonic hatred, as the rulers of the Jews were.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, if it were said here, "Who has spoken any blasphemy whatever against the Holy Spirit," we ought then to understand "all blasphemy." But because it was said, "who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit," it should be understood of someone who has blasphemed not just in any way, but in a manner that can never be pardoned. For so when it was said, The Lord tempts no man, that is not spoken of every kind of temptation, but only of a certain kind.

Now let us see what that kind of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is. The first blessing of believers is the forgiveness of sins in the Holy Spirit. The impenitent heart speaks against this free gift. Impenitence itself, therefore, is blasphemy against the Spirit, which is forgiven neither in this world nor in the world to come, for repentance gains that forgiveness in this world which will avail in the world to come.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But the Lord, after having inspired such great fear and prepared people to resist those who depart from a right confession, then commanded them not to worry about what they should answer. For those who are faithfully disposed, the Holy Spirit, as their teacher dwelling within them, frames fitting words. From this it follows: And when they shall bring you into synagogues, take no thought how or what you shall answer.

Glossa Ordinaria: Now he says "how" with respect to the manner of speaking, and "what" with respect to the matter of intention: how you shall answer those who ask, or what you shall say to those who wish to learn.

The Venerable Bede: For when we are led before judges for Christ’s sake, we ought to offer only our will for Christ, but in answering, the Holy Spirit will supply His grace, as it is added, For the Holy Spirit will teach you, etc.

St. John Chrysostom: But elsewhere it is said, Be ready to answer every one who shall ask you for a reason of the hope that is in you. When a contest or strife arises among friends, He bids us to think carefully, but when there are the terrors of a court of justice and fear on every side, He gives His own strength so as to inspire boldness and utterance, not dismay.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Since, then, our weakness is twofold—either we shun martyrdom from fear of punishment, or we cannot give a reason for our faith because we are ignorant—He has excluded both. He excluded the fear of punishment when He said, Fear not them which kill the body, and the fear of ignorance when He said, Take no thought how or what you shall answer, etc.