And he said unto them,
Go, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons, and I perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be finished.
All Commentaries on Luke 13:32 Go To Luke 13
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
And He said to them. Christ answered the Pharisees freely and loftily when they brought up the fear of Herod. He said that He feared neither Herod, nor the Pharisees, nor the rulers, but He would continue to preach, though against the will of them all, until the day appointed by the Father for His death. He called Herod "a fox," because he was cunning, crafty, (versipellis) and false, for he killed John the Baptist by fraud and falsehood. Such are heretics the type of whom was Herod, for they seek to kill those who believe, in Christ.
But Christ here rather addresses the Pharisees, and calls them all foxes because they would have instilled a false fear of Herod into His mind, that in flying from Juda He might be taken by the rulers and put to death. Titus says that "He appears, as some think, to direct the whole force of His words against Herod alone, but He turns them against the wickedness of the Pharisees rather than Herod, for He did not say "that fox," but "this fox."" In fact, to show that the Pharisees resembled foxes by their pretended fraud, He carefully used a middle term, and, as S. Theophylact says, "with intention," for by saying "fox" in the singular Hebrews , made them think that He meant Herod, but by the addition of the demonstrative pronoun "this," He signified that they themselves were the crafty ones.
Thus Emmanuel S: "The word "that" may apply either to Herod or to him who invented the falsehood that Herod wished to kill Christ; and who must have been one of the Pharisees, the enemies of Christ. The meaning then Isaiah , You Pharisees, like crafty and deceitful foxes, would fill Me with the fear of Herod, that I may no longer preach among you; but I forewarn you that I fear neither you nor Herod, nor will I, for any reason, cease to preach; for I am sure that my Father will not suffer Me to be taken and put to death before the day appointed by Him shall have arrived."
Behold, I cast out devils—I proceed to perform my work against the will not only of Herod but of you—to-day and to-morrow, that Isaiah , for some time yet, and the third day, that Isaiah , in a short time, when I shall have finished my ministry and preaching, I shall be perfected, i.e. "I shall receive my consummation in a glorious death on the cross, undergone by me willingly and courageously for the salvation of men," as the Apostle says, Hebrews xi.
Observe the Hebraism by which an indefinite time is put for a definite, as in Hosea vi2. So S. Cyril and Theophylact. Euthymius says, "To-day; and therefore to-morrow; that Isaiah , for some time yet, though a short one, that is about three months," for Christ appears to have said this a little before the Feast of Dedication, which is kept upon the25th of the month Casleu, which answers to part of our November and December, and He was crucified in the following March.
Christ therefore boldly said this to the Pharisees to show, 1. That He feared not death but sought it2. To show His Divine Power, by which He would live among men, and teach them, even against their will, as long as the Father and Himself pleased and determined3. To increase the vexation of the perverse Pharisees, for they already wished for His destruction.
Christ also calls His death "a consummation," because in it and by it He consummated the whole Å“conomy of His Incarnation, and the whole work of the mission on which He was sent by the Father, that Isaiah , the expiation of all sins, the redemption of the human race, the salvation of the elect; as in Hebrews 10:14.
