And fear not them which kill the body
This is a "periphrasis" of bloody persecutors, who, not content
to revile, scourge, and imprison, put the faithful ministers of
Christ to death, in the most cruel and torturing manner; and yet
are not so to be feared and dreaded by them, as to discourage and
divert them from the performance of their important work and
office; for, as Luke says, ( Luke 12:4 ) "after" that
they "have no more than they can do". This is all they are
capable of doing, even by divine permission, when they are
suffered to run the greatest lengths in violence against the
saints; this is the utmost of their efforts, which Satan, and
their own wicked hearts, can put them upon, or is in the power of
their hands to perform: and the taking away of the lives of good
men is of no disadvantage to them; but sends them the sooner out
of this troublesome world to their father's house, to partake of
those joys that will never end; so that they have nothing to fear
from their most implacable enemies; but should boldly and bravely
go on in their master's service, openly, freely, faithfully, and
fully discharging the work they were called unto: for, the loss
of a corporal life is no loss to them, their souls live after
death, in eternal happiness; and in a little time God will raise
up their bodies, and reunite them to their souls, and be for ever
happy together. A noble argument this, which our Lord makes use
of, to engage his disciples to a public and diligent ministration
of the Gospel, in spite of all opposers; who, when they have
vented all their malice, can only take away a poor, frail, mortal
life; and which, if they did not, in a little time would cease in
course:
but are not able to kill the soul;
which is immortal, and cannot be touched by the sword, by fire
and faggot, or any instruments of violence: it is immortal, it
survives the body, and lives in a separate state, enjoying
happiness and bliss, whilst the body is in a state of death:
but rather fear him, which is able to destroy both body and
soul in
hell.
This is a description of God, and of his power, who is able to do
that which men are not: all that they can do, by divine
permission, is to kill the body; but he is able to "destroy",
that is, to torment and punish both body and soul "in hell", in
everlasting burnings; for neither soul nor body will be
annihilated; though this he is able to do. As the former clause
expresses the immortality of the soul, this supposes the
resurrection of the body; for how otherwise should it be
destroyed, or punished with the soul in hell? Now this awful
being which is able to hurl, and will hurl all wicked and
slothful, unfaithful and unprofitable, cowardly and temporising
servants and ministers, soul and body, into the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone, is to be feared and dreaded; yea,
indeed, he only is to be feared, and to be obeyed: cruel and
persecuting men are not to be feared at all; God alone should be
our fear and dread; though the argument seems to be formed from
the lesser to the greater; yet this, is the sense of the word
"rather", that God is to be feared, not chiefly and principally
only, but solely; and in some versions that word is left out, as
in the Arabic, and Ethiopic, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel.