Therefore the Lord said,
Since this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
All Commentaries on Isaiah 29:13 Go To Isaiah 29
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
This is why he can say, “My friends and neighbors drew near and stood against me; and my neighbors stood far off.” Do you understand what I mean? I have called those who approached him “neighbors,” yet they stood far off; for though they drew near in body, they stood far away in their hearts. Who was so near physically as those who hoisted him onto the cross? Yet who so far away in heart as those who uttered blasphemies? Far distance of this latter kind was mentioned by Isaiah; listen to what he said about being near while really being far away: “This people honors me with its lips (that means, they are physically near), but its heart is far from me.” The same people are said to be near and yet far: near with their lips, far away in their hearts.
However, the fearful apostles certainly ran far away, so we can more simply and obviously refer the saying to them, understanding it to mean that some of them drew near and others stood far off. Even Peter, who had been bold enough to follow our Lord, was so far off that when questioned and frightened, he three times denied the Lord with whom he had earlier promised to die.
