Deuteronomy 21:21Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Thus, he invites the whole city to engage in the punishment, indicating that even those with no direct connection to the offended must feel indignation toward the transgressor, for the affront strikes at the essence of our shared nature. Such a person, akin to a plague, must be removed from both city and world as he stands as an adversary to all—against God, against nature, against the law, and against the sanctity of life itself. The call to unify in this act of condemnation serves to purify the community.

Congratulations on embracing the teaching about parental respect; by expressing your support with cheers instead of stones, you reveal the deep reverence you hold for your fathers. We often commend those laws that punish offenders when we remain blind to our own failings. In all things, let us offer gratitude to the Lord who watches over our lives, who nurtures our parents and our children, and who orchestrates everything for our eternal salvation. Glory, honor, and worship be unto Him, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who is without end, now and forever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Just as transgressing against God through harmful speech leads to severe punishment, so does disobedience to parents. The one who disregards the Divine ordinance and chooses to provoke the Source of moral guidance faces dire consequences; similarly, one who scorns the counsel of their father or mother faces stoning, as declared by Divine law. Deuteronomy states: "If any man has a son who is violent and disobedient, disobeying the voice of his father and the voice of his mother, and they have chastised him, but he does not heed them, let his father and his mother take him and bring him to the elders of his city and to the gate of his residence, and say to the elders of his city: 'This son of ours is rebellious and disobedient, does not hearken to our words, a glutton and a drunkard'; then all the inhabitants of his city let them stone him to death; and so destroy evil from among yourselves, and all Israelites shall hear and fear" (Deut. 21:18-21). Can one still doubt that reverence for parents immediately follows the honouring of God? Palladius. No, indeed. The necessity for us to honour them is emphasized by the wise counsel of another, "Remember that thou art born of them" (Sir. 7:30), and by the words of patriarch Jacob, who humbly states, "If not... the fear of Isaac my father were I" (Gen. 31:42). Cyril. Therefore, tell me: when it is declared that we are born of them, does it not clearly demonstrate that they reflect the image of the Creator, akin to Him who brought forth beings from nothing? And should we not regard it as fitting to honour them with reverence, thereby elevating them to a dignity resembling that of the Lord? P. Indeed, it does. This is why a wise writer warns against some, stating, "The eye that mocks the father, and neglects obedience to the mother, shall be eaten by the ravens of the valley" (Proverbs 30:17).