From: Luke 12:1-7
Various Teachings of Jesus
[4] “I tell you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that, have
no more that they can do. [5] But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him who, af-
ter He has killed, has power to cast into Hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! [6] Are not
five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
[7] Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more
value than many sparrows.”
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Commentary:
3. Most Palestinian houses had a roof in the form of a terrace. There people
would meet to chat and while away the time in the hottest part of the day. Jesus
points out to His disciples that just as in these get-togethers things said in private
became matters of discussion, so too, despite the Pharisees’ and scribes’ efforts
to hide their vices and defects under the veil of hypocrisy, they would become a
matter of common knowledge.
6-7. Nothing — not even the most insignificant thing — escapes God, His Provi-
dence and the judgment He will mete out. For this same reason no one should
fear that any suffering or persecution he experiences in following Christ will re-
main unrewarded in eternity.
The teaching about fear, contained in verse 5, is filled out in verses 6 and 7,
where Jesus tells us that God is a good Father who watches over every one of
us — much more than He does over these little ones (whom He also remembers).
Therefore, our fear of God should not be servile (based on fear of punishment); it
should be a filial fear (the fear of someone who does not want to displease his
father), a fear nourished by trust in Divine Providence.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
First reading | Ephesians 1:11-14 © |
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Psalm | Psalm 32:1-2,4-5,12-13 © |
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Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ps18:9 |
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Or | Ps32:22 |
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Gospel | Luke 12:1-7 © |
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