Teaching And Deeds

Et stupebant in docrina ejus, quia in potestate erat sermo ipsius... Sermo doctoris in potestate fit, cum ea quae docet operatur. Nam qui actis ipse sua dicta destruit, contemnitur. Cui contra doctorem instituens Apostolus ait: Nemo adolescentiam tuam contemnat. Singulariter autem Dominus ac principaliter solus ex potestate bona locutus est, quia ex infirmitate mala nulla commisit. Ex divinitatis quippe potentia habuit id quod nobis per humanitatis suae innocentiam ministravit. Aliter in potestate erat sermo ipsius, sive ut alius evangelista dicit, erat docens eos sicut potestatem habens, et non sicut scribae. Quoniam scribae quae per legem didicerant praecepta, populis dabant. Ipse vero quasi auctor impletorque legis, vel mutando, vel augendo quae minus videbantur, libere agendo substituit. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 92.379a-b

And they were astonished at His teaching, because there was power in His words... 1 The speech of a teacher has power when he does those things he teaches. For he is scorned who destroys what he has said with his deeds. Against which imposition of such a teacher the Apostle says, 'Do not let anyone scorn your youth.' 2 Only the Lord especially and principally spoke good things from power, because He did no evil from weakness. Certainly from the power of the Divinity He had with which He served us through the innocence of humanity. Otherwise, 'there was power in His words,' because as another Evangelist says, 'He was teaching them as one having power, and not like the scribes,' 3 because the scribes learnt their teaching through the Law and gave it to the people, but He as the author and fulfiller of the Law with deeds openly altered it, either by changing it or supplying what seemed to be lacking. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 2, Chapter 4 1 Lk 4.32 2 Tim 4.12 3 Mt 7.29