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Matthew 10:21-25

Luke 6:40

21. And the brother will deliver up the brother to death, and the
father the son, and the children will rise up against the parents, and
will put them to death. 22. And you will be hated by all on account of
my name: but he who shall endure to the end [588] will be saved.
23. And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another:
for verily I say unto you, You will not have gone over [589] all the
cities of Israel, till the Son of man bec ome. 24. The disciple is not
above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25. It is enough for
the disciple that he be as his master, and that the servant be as his
lord: if they have called the master of the house himself Beelzebub,
how much more his household servants?

40. The disciple is not above his master, but every one shall be to his
master.


Matthew 10:21. And the brother will deliver up the brother to death. He
first gives warning what heavy calamities await them, and then adds a
remarkable consideration, which sweetens all their bitterness. First,
he announces that those circumstances which other men find to be the
means of protection, or from which they obtain some relief, will prove
to the disciples a fresh addition to their misery. Brothers, who ought
to assist them when oppressed, to stretch out their hand to them amidst
their distresses, and to watch over their safety, will be their mortal
enemies.

It is a mistake however, to suppose that it happens to none but
believers to be delivered up to death by their brethren: for it is
possible that a father may pursue his son with holy zeal, [590] if he
perceives him to have apostatized from the true worship of God; nay,
the Lord enjoins us in such a case (Deuteronomy 13:9) to forget flesh
and blood, and to bestow all our care on vindicating the glory of his
name. [591] Whoever has fear and reverence for God will not spare his
own relatives, but will rather choose that all of them should perish,
if it be found necessary, than that the kingdom of Christ should be
scattered, the doctrine of salvation extinguished, and the worship of
God abolished. If our affections were properly regulated, there would
be no other cause of just hatred among us.

On the other hand, as Christ not only restores the kingdom of God, and
raises godliness to its full vigor, but even brings men back from ruin
to salvation, nothing can be more unreasonable than that the ministers
of so lovely a doctrine should be hated on his account. A thing so
monstrous, and so contrary to nature, might greatly distress the minds
of simple men: [592] but Christ foretells that it will actually take
place.

22. But he who endured to the end shall be saved This single promise
ought sufficiently to support the minds of the godly, though the whole
world should rise against them: for they are assured that the result
will be prosperous and happy. If those who fight under earthly
commanders, and are uncertain as to the issue of the battle, are
carried forward even to death by steadiness of purpose, shall those who
are certain of victory hesitate to abide by the cause of Christ to the
very last?

23. And when they shall persecute you. He anticipates an objection that
might arise. If we must encounter the resentments of the whole world,
what shall be the end of all this? [593] Though it may not be safe for
them to remain in any place, yet Christ warns them not to despair, but,
on the contrary, when they have been driven from one place, to try
whether their labors in some other place may be of any avail. It is a
mistake, however, to suppose that this is a bare permission: for it is
rather a command given to the disciples, what it is the will of Christ
that they should do. He who has sustained one persecution would
willingly withdraw as a soldier who has served his time. But no such
exemption is granted to the followers of Christ, who commands them to
fulfill their whole course with unabated zeal. In short, the apostles
are enjoined to enter into fresh contests, and not to imagine that,
when they have succeeded in one or two cases, they have fully
discharged their duty. No permission is granted to them to flee to a
retired spot, where they may remain unemployed, but though their labor
may have been unsuccessful in one place, the Lord exhorts them to
persevere.

And yet the command implies also a permission. As to avoiding
persecution, it ought to be understood in this manner: we must not
condemn without distinction all who flee, and yet it is not every kind
of flight that is lawful. Some of the ancients carried their zeal in
this matter to an extreme and condemned flight as a species of
disavowal. Were this true, some part of the disgrace would fall on
Christ and his apostles. Again, if all without distinction are at
liberty to flee, a good pastor could not be distinguished from a
hireling during a season of persecution. We must abide by the
moderation which Augustine recommends, when writing to Honoratus: No
man must quit his station through timidity, either by betraying the
flock through cowardice, or by giving an example of slothfulness; and
yet no man must expose himself precipitately, or at random. If a whole
church is attacked, or if a part of them is pursued to death, the
pastor, whose duty it is to expose his life in place of any individual
among them, would do wrong in withdrawing. But sometimes it may happen,
that by his absence he will quell the rage of enemies, and thus promote
the advantage of the church. In such cases, the harmlessness of the
dove must be his guide, that effeminate persons may not seize on his
conduct as an excuse for their timidity: for the flesh is always too
ingenious in avoiding what is troublesome.

For verily I say to you. These words cannot be understood in the sense
which some have given to them as relating to the first mission, [594]
but embrace the whole course of their apostleship. But the difficulty
lies in ascertaining what is meant by the coming of the Son of man Some
explain it as denoting such a progress of the gospel, as may enable all
to acknowledge that Christ is truly reigning, and that he may be
expected to restore the kingdom of David. Others refer it to the
destruction of Jerusalem, in which Christ appeared taking vengeance on
the ingratitude of the nation. The former exposition is admissible: the
latter is too far-fetched. I look upon the consolation here given as
addressed peculiarly to the apostles. Christ is said to come, when
matters are desperate, and he grants relief. The commission which they
received was almost boundless: it was to spread the doctrine of the
Gospel through the whole world. Christ promises that he will come
before they have traveled through the whole of Judea: that is, by the
power of his Spirit, he will shed around his reign such luster, that
the apostles will be enabled to discern that glory and majesty which
they had hitherto been unable to discover.

24. The disciple is not above his master By his own example he now
exhorts them to perseverance; and, indeed, this consolation is enough
to banish all sadness, if we consider that our lot is shared with the
Son of God. To make us feel deeper shame, he borrows a twofold
comparison from what is customary among men. The disciple reckons it
honorable to be placed on a level with his master, and does not venture
to wish a higher honor, and again, servants do not refuse to share that
condition to which their masters willingly submit. In both respects,
the Son of God is far above us: for the Father has given to him the
highest authority, and has bestowed on him the office of a teacher. We
ought, therefore, to be ashamed of declining what he did not scruple to
undergo on our account. But there is more need to meditate on these
words than to explain them: for, in themselves, they are sufficiently
clear.

Luke 6:40. The disciple is not above his master, but every one shall be
conformed to his master Luke gives this sentence without any
connection, as if it had been spoken abruptly in the midst of other
discourses; but as Matthew explains very clearly, in this passage, to
what it relates, I have chosen not to insert it in any other place.
With respect to the translation, I have chosen neither to follow
Erasmus nor the old translator, and for the following reason: -- The
participle katertismenos, signifies perfect, but signifies also fit and
suitable Now, as Christ is speaking, not about perfection, but about
resemblance, and must therefore mean, that nothing is more suitable for
a disciple than to be formed after the example of his master, the
latter meaning appeared to me to be more appropriate.

25. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub This is
equivalent to calling himself Lord of the Church, as the apostle, when
comparing him to Moses and the prophets, (Hebrews 3:1,) says, that they
were servants, but that he is the Son and heir. Though he bestows on
them the honor of calling them brethren, (Hebrews 2:11,) yet he is the
first-born (Romans 8:29) and head of the whole church; and, in short,
he possesses supreme government and power. Nothing, therefore, can be
more unreasonable than to wish to be accounted believers, and yet to
murmur against God when he conforms us to the image of his Son, whom he
has placed over all his family. To what sort of delicacy do we pretend,
if we wish to hold a place in his house, and to be above the Lord
himself? The general meaning is, that we carry our delicacy and
tenderness to excess, if we account it a hardship to endure reproaches
to which our Prince willingly submitted.

Beelzebub is a corrupted term, and would have been more correctly
written Baalzebub. This was the name given to the chief of the false
gods of the Philistines, who was worshipped by the inhabitants of
Ekron, (2 Kings 1:2.) Baalim was the name of the inferior deities, whom
the Papists of our day call patrons. Now, as Baalzebub means the patron
of the fly, or of the flies, some have thought that he was so called on
account of the great multitude of flies in the temple, occasioned by
the number of sacrifices; but I rather conjecture that the assistance
of the idol was implored against the flies which infested that place.
When Ahazlah, under the influence of superstition, applied to him to be
informed about his recovery, he gave him this name, which would appear
from that circumstance not to be a term of reproach. But as the name
gehenna was applied by holy men to hell, in order to stamp that place
with infamy, so, in order to express their hatred and detestation of
the idol, they gave the name Beelzebub to the devil. Hence we infer
that wicked men, for the purpose of rendering Christ detestable to the
multitude, employed the most reproachful term which they could invent,
by calling him the devil, or, in other words, the greatest enemy of
religion. If we happen to be assailed by the same kind of reproach, we
ought not to think it strange, that what began in the head should be
completed in the members.
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[588] "Qui soustiendra, ou, tiendra bon, jusques k la fin;" -- "he who
shall endure, or hold out, even to the end."

[589] "Vous n'aurez point parachev, d'aller;" -- "you will not have
finished going."

[590] "Par un zele sainct et plaisant a Dieu;" -- "by a zeal that is
holy and pleasing to God."

[591] "De maintenir la gloire de son nom, a fin que punition soit faite
de l'outrage commis contre sa majeste;" -- "to maintam the glory of his
name, that punishment may be inflicted on the outrage comnntted against
his majesty."

[592] "Les gens simples, et d'esprit paisible;" -- "simple people, and
of peaceable dispositions."

[593] "Que sera ce a la fin, et que deviendrons-nous?" -- "What shall
be in the end, and what will become of us?"

[594] "Touchant le premier voyage, ou la premiere commission qu ont eue
les apostres;" -- "respecting the first journey, or the first
commission which the apostles had."