Homilies on the Epistle to the Hebrews

“You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of Him. For whom the Lord loves, He chastens: and scourges every son whom He receives.”

1. There are two kinds of consolation, apparently opposed to one another, but yet contributing great strength each to the other; both of which he has here put forward. The one is when we say that persons have suffered much: for the soul is refreshed, when it has many witnesses of its own sufferings, and this he introduced above, saying, “Call to mind the former days, in which after ye had been illuminated ye endured a great fight of afflictions.” The other is when we say, “You have suffered no great thing.” The former, when [the soul] has been exhausted refreshes it, and makes it recover breath: the latter, when it has become indolent and supine, turns it again and pulls down pride. Thus that no pride may spring up in them from that testimony [to their sufferings], see what he does. “You have not yet” (he says) “resisted unto blood, [striving] against sin.” And he did not at once go on with what follows, but after having shown them all those who had stood “unto blood,” and then brought in the glory of Christ, His sufferings, he afterwards easily pursued his discourse. This he says also in writing to the Corinthians, “There has no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man”, that is, small. For this is enough to arouse and set right the soul, when it considers that it has not risen to the whole [trial], and encourages itself from what has already befallen it.

What he means is this: You have not yet submitted to death; your loss has extended to money, to reputation, to being driven from place to place. Christ however shed His blood for you, while you have not [done it] for yourselves. He contended for the Truth even unto death fighting for you; while you have not yet entered upon dangers that threaten death.

“And you have forgotten the exhortation.” That is, And you have slackened your hands, you have become faint. “You have not yet,” he said, “resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Here he indicates that sin is both very vigorous, and is itself armed. For the [expression] “You have resisted [stood firm against],” is used with reference to those who stand firm.

2. “Which” (he says) “speaks unto you as unto sons, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of Him.” He has drawn his encouragement from the facts themselves; over and above he adds also that which is drawn from arguments, from this testimony.

“Faint not” (he says) “when you are rebuked of Him.” It follows that these things are of God. For this too is no small matter of consolation, when we learn that it is God's work that such things have power, He allowing [them]; even as also Paul says; “He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” He it is who allows [them].

“For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” You can not say that any righteous man is without affliction: even if he appear to be so, yet we know not his other afflictions. So that of necessity every righteous man must pass through affliction. For it is a declaration of Christ, that the wide and broad way leads to destruction, but the strait and narrow one to life. If then it is possible to enter into life by that means, and is not by any other, then all have entered in by the narrow [way], as many as have departed unto life.