The Holy Spirit will teach you at that hour what to say
Posté par diaconos le 17 octobre 2020
From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke
At that time Jesus said to his disciples, « I tell you, whoever has declared himself for me before men, the Son of Man will also declare himself for him before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before men will also be denied before the angels of God. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but if any man blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him.
When they bring you before the people of the synagogues, the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour what to say. » (Lk 12, 8-12)
Jesus confessed his name
In both gospels, Jesus made a courageous confession of his name against the fear of men. It was this fear that paralysed his heart and lips when it came to declaring himself for him and his cause. Instead of these words, before the angels of God, Matthew said : « Before my Father in heaven ».
This last idea is more complete and more striking; but both are true, because it is about eternal judgment, in which the angels will take part. According to Luke, Jesus does not say that he himself will deny the one who denies him. Even today in the East, five little passerines are sold for two pennies (Félix Bovet, Voyage en Terre Sainte, 7th edition). Matthew spoke of two sparrows that sold for a penny.
Jesus gave his opponents this terrible warning : « Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. » In order to find a connection with the above, it is pointed out that denial of the name of Christ can lead to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is right. Matthew and Mark assigned its rightful place to this severe declaration that Jesus directed against those who attributed his miracles to the devil.
According to Luke, this same accusation was made under different circumstances and provoked the previous discourse (Luke 11, 17-26). The synagogues were the Jewish courts, the magistrates were the Gentile courts, and the authorities designated the various powers before which the disciples could be brought.
The words with which Jesus wanted to reassure his disciples literally mean : « Do not be troubled how or what you will do your apology, or what you will talk about. « In Matthew, these words were part of the instructions given to the apostles sent on mission. This was their natural and first place.
Deacon Michel Houyoux
Links to other Christian sites on the Internet
◊ Ray Stedman : click here to read the paper →The Teaching Spirit
◊The Holy Spirit is our Helper : click here to read the paper → The Holy Spirit is our Helper, Teacher, and Leader
♥ The Holy Spirit – our teacher
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