Lucas 23
Augustine of Hippo · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Lucas 23:1
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (de Con. Ev. lib. iii. c. 7.) Luke, after he had finished relating the denial of Peter, recapitulated all that took place concerning our Lord during the morning, mentioning some particulars which the others omitted; and so he has composed his narrative, giving a similar account with the rest, when he says, And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him to Pilate, &c. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:2
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (lib. iii. c. 8.) He next relates what happens before Pilate, as follows, And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting our nation, &c. Matthew and Mark do not give this, though affirming that they accused Him, but Luke has laid open the very charges which they falsely brought against Him. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:13
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] Luke returns to those things which were going on before the governor, from which He had digressed in order to relate what took place with Herod; saying as follows, And Pilate, when he had called, &c. from which we infer, that he has omitted the part wherein Pilate questioned our Lord what He had to answer to His accusers. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:26
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (de Con. Ev. lib. iii. c. 10.) But John relates that Jesus bore His own cross, from which is understood that He was Himself carrying His cross, when He went forth to that place which is called Calvary; but as they journeyed Simon was forced into the service on the road, and the cross was given him to carry as far as that place. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:33
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (de Gr. Nov. Test. Ep. 140.) For not without reason did He choose this kind of death, in order that He might be the master of breadth and length, and heighth and depth. For breadth lies in that cross piece of wood which is fastened from above. This belongs to good works, because on it the hands are outstretched. Length lies in that which is seen reaching from the former piece to the ground, for there in a certain manner we stand, that is, abide firm or persevere. And this is applied to longsuffering. Heighth is in that piece of wood which is left reaching upwards from that which is fixed across, that is, to the head of the Crucified; for the expectation of those who hope for better things is upward. Again, that part of the wood which is fixed hidden in the ground, signifies the depth of unrestrained grace. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:34
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (de Con. Ev. lib. iii. c. 12.) This matter indeed was briefly related by the three first Evangelists, but John more distinctly explains how it was done. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:34
Look at the Lord who did precisely what he commanded. After so many things the godless Jews committed against him, repaying him evil for good, did he not say as he hung on the cross, "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing"? He prayed as man, and as God with the Father, he heard the prayer. Even now he prays in us, for us and is prayed to by us. He prays in us as our high priest. He prays for us as our head. He is prayed to by us as our God. When he was praying as he hung on the cross, he could see and foresee. He could see all his enemies. He could foresee that many of them would become his friends. That is why he was interceding for them all. They were raging, but he was praying. They were saying to Pilate "Crucify," but he was crying out, "Father, forgive." He was hanging from the cruel nails, but he did not lose his gentleness. He was asking for pardon for those from whom he was receiving such hideous treatment. — SERMON 382.2
Lucas 23:34
So, brothers and sisters, let us learn above all from the example of this martyr [Stephen] how to love our enemies. We have just had the example given us of God the Father, who makes his sun rise on the good and the bad. The Son of God also said this after receiving his flesh, through the mouth of the flesh which he received for love of his enemies. After all, he came into the world as a lover of his enemies, he found absolutely all of us his enemies, he didn't find anyone a friend. It was for enemies that he shed his blood, but by his blood that he converted his enemies. With his blood he wiped out his enemies' sins; by wiping out their sins, he made friends out of enemies. One of these friends was Stephen, or rather, is and will be. Yet the Lord himself was the first to show on the cross what his instructions were. With the Jews, you see, howling at him from all sides, furious, mocking, jeering, crucifying him, he could still say, "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing; after all, it is blindness that is crucifying me." Blindness was crucifying him, and the crucified was making an eye-salve for them from his blood.But people who are reluctant to carry out the precept, eager to get the reward, who don't love their enemies but do their best to avenge themselves on them, don't pay any attention to the Lord, who would have had nobody left to praise him if he had wanted to avenge himself on his enemies. So when they hear this place in the Gospel, where the Lord says on the cross, "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing," they say to themselves, He could do that as the Son of God, as the only Son of the Father. Yes, it was flesh hanging there, but God was hidden within. As for us, though, what are we to do that sort of thing? So didn't he really mean it when he gave this order? Perish the thought; he certainly meant it. If you think it is asking too much of you to imitate your Lord, look at Stephen your fellow servant.… So Stephen loved his enemies. I mean, while he stood up to pray for himself, he knelt down for them. Clearly he fulfilled what had been written. He proved to be a true imitator of the Lord's passion and a perfect disciple of Christ, completing in his own passion what he had heard from the Master. The Lord, you see, while hanging on the cross had said, "Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing." And the blessed Stephen, when he was already almost buried under the stones, spoke like this: "Lord Jesus, do not hold this sin against them." Oh, what an apostolic man, already from being a disciple become a master! It was necessary, after all, for the first martyr of Christ to follow the teaching of the Master. He prays for the godless, he prays for blasphemers, he prays for those who are stoning him. — SERMON 317.2-3, 6
Lucas 23:34
Let me now tell you something that will help you believe what you cannot possibly understand unless you believe. Tell me, how many souls were there, in the Acts of the Apostles, who believed when they observed the miracles of the apostles? I mean those Jews who had crucified the Lord, who brought along blood stained hands, who had sacrilegious ears, whose tongues were compared with a sword. "Their teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." Christ had not prayed for them in vain. He did not say in vain, "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing." From their number, a very great many believed. As we can read, "There believed on that day," as it says, "three thousand souls." There you have thousands of souls, and here so many thousand souls. The Holy Spirit came on them, through whom loved is poured out in our hearts. — SERMON 229G.5
Lucas 23:34
You are a Christian. You carry the cross of Christ on your forehead. The mark stamped on you teaches you what you should profess. He was hanging on the cross, which you carry on your forehead. Do not delight in the sign of the wood but in the sign of the one hanging on it. When he was hanging on the cross, he was looking around at the people raving against him, putting up with their insults and praying for his enemies. While they were killing him, the doctor was curing the sick with his blood. He said, "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing." These words were not futile or without effect. Later, thousands of those people believed in the one they murdered, so that they learned how to suffer for him who had suffered for them and at their hands.Brothers and sisters, we should understand this from this sign, from this stamp that Christians receive even when they become catechumens. From this, we should understand why we are Christians. — SERMON 302.3
Lucas 23:35
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (ubi sup.) Having mentioned the rulers, and said nothing of the priests, St. Luke comprehended under a general name all the chief men, so that hereby may be understood both the scribes and the elders. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:43
"Recognize to whom you are commending yourself. You believe I am going to come, but even before I come, I am everywhere. That is why, although I am about to descend into hell, I have you with me in paradise today. You are with me and not entrusted to someone else. You see, my humility has come down to mortal human beings and to the dead, but my divinity has never departed from paradise." — SERMON 285.2
Lucas 23:44-45
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (de Con. Ev. lib. iii. c. 17.) What is here said of the darkness, the other two Evangelists, Matthew and Mark, confirm, but St. Luke adds the cause whence the darkness arose, saying, And the sun was darkened. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:45
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (de Civ. Dei, l. iii. c. 15.) This darkening of the sun it is quite plain did not happen in the regular and fixed course of the heavenly bodies, because it was then the Passover, which is always celebrated at the full moon. But a regular eclipse of the sun does not take place except at new moon. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:47
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (iv. de Trin. c. 13.) When after uttering that voice He immediately gave up the ghost, those who were present greatly marvelled. For those who hung upon the cross were generally tortured by a prolonged death. Hence it is said, Now when the centurion saw, &c. (de Con. Ev. lib. iii. c. 20.) There is no contradiction in that Matthew says, that the centurion seeing the earthquake marvelled, whereas Luke says that he marvelled, that Jesus while uttering the loud voice expired, showing what power He had when He was dying. But in that Matthew not only says, at the sight of the earthquake, but added, and at the things that were done, he has made it clear that there was ample room for Luke to say, that the centurion marvelled at the death of the Lord. But because Luke also himself said, Now when the centurion saw what was done, he has included in that general expression all the marvellous things which took place at that hour, as if relating one marvellous event of which all those miracles were the parts and members. Again, because one Evangelist stated that the centurion said, Truly this man was the Son of God, but Luke gives the words, was a just man, they might be supposed to differ. But either we ought to understand that both these were said by the centurion, and that one Evangelist related one, another another. Or perhaps, that Luke expresses the opinion of the centurion, in what respect he called Him the Son of God. For perhaps the centurion did not know Him to be the Only-begotten, equal to the Father, but called Him the Son of God, because he believed Him to be just, as many just persons are called the sons of God. (Gen. 6:2, 4.) But again, because Matthew added, those who were with the centurion, while Luke omits this, there is no contradiction, since one says what another is silent about. And Matthew said, They were greatly afraid; but Luke does not say that he feared, but that he glorified God. Who then does not see that by fearing he glorified God? — Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Lucas 23:51-52
[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] (de Con. Ev. lib. iii. c. 22.) Now John says, that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus. Hence it is also here added, Who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. But it naturally causes surprise how he who for fear was a secret disciple should have dared to beg our Lord's body, which none of those who openly followed Him dared to do; for it is said, This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. We must understand then, that he did this from confidence in his rank, by which he might be privileged to enter familiarly into Pilate's presence. But in performing that last funeral rite, he seems to have eared less for the Jews, although it was his custom in hearing our Lord to avoid their hostility. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas