Isaiah 59:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Likewise, Paul expressed concern for the Jewish believers, cautioning, "Lest, when I come again, I should be humbled by my God, and lest I should mourn for many who have sinned before, and have not repented of the uncleanness, whoredom, and uncleanness which they did" (2 Corinthians 12:21). This connects to the question of why God swiftly judged Ananias and Sapphira upon their sin. Such actions from God often serve to guide and nurture His people.

We must ask whether He showed them mercy or not. Initially, they lied and then tempted the Holy Spirit; their sin lay not only in withholding what was sacred but also in testing the Spirit of God. When Peter inquired, "Tell me, for how much did you sell the land?" (Acts 5:8), the wife showed no shame. Why did Peter ask this? Was it not an invitation for them to confess and turn back? Just as God questioned Adam to lead him to repentance, He similarly asked Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother?" (Genesis 4:9), in hopes of prompting atonement for his wrongdoing. Could God not have rebuked him outright at the start? If there was a rebuke, it was meant to encourage confession and recovery. This echoes His declaration, "We shall be judged; speak thou, that thou mayest be justified" (Isaiah 43:26). They have the authority to avoid sin. Should they fall, He does not turn them away; rather, He returns with the intent of freeing them from their wrongdoing. For our offences are many before You. When iniquity abounds, can the sorrow of a repentant heart not suffice before God, who compassionately listens and scrutinizes our transgressions? When children confess to their father, he typically seeks to overlook their faults rather than examine them harshly. How much more will God, in His boundless mercy, show compassion toward the sinner? Our sins are indeed against us; our iniquities are known to us, and we bear witness to our own transgressions.

Thus, when they refer to the rejection of the Jewish people and the judgment that fell upon them for their offenses against Christ, they usefully remind us of their eventual restoration in the last days, and their calling through faith in Christ. To prevent anyone from believing that Truth could utter a falsehood, He wisely portrays their repentance and speaks to God on their behalf, saying, “We await judgment, yet there is none.” However, through judgment, they evidently call for truth through Christ, which they hoped to receive but did not attain; they became cruel and disobedient. Therefore, it is proclaimed that salvation is far from us. Our transgressions are numerous before You, and our sins dwell within us. When they completely turned away from Him who justifies through faith, they distanced themselves from salvation. They had not cast aside the filth of sin nor removed the stain of iniquity; rather, they had a corruption that became ingrained within them. Consequently, Christ proclaimed to them, “Truly, I say to you, unless you believe as I do, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). Their failure to believe resulted in their death in sins; and due to their manifold wickedness against Christ, they admitted their wrongs, declaring, “We have pursued wickedness, slander, apostasy, and turned away from our God.” Indeed, they have grievously sinned, bearing false witness against the glory of Christ, our Savior, and rejecting His guidance. They confess, “We have spoken unrighteousness and have not followed; we have borne unrighteous thoughts and learned untruths from our hearts,” for their words were directed against Christ. They accused Him of casting out demons through the power of Beelzebub, the chief of demons (Matthew 12:24); then, in a burst of unrighteousness, they labeled Him a Samaritan and a demoniac, as well as a poisoner and a drunkard; they even slandered Him and accused Pilate, claiming that He incited the people and instructed them not to pay taxes to Caesar (Luke 23:2). Therefore, they acknowledge, “We have strayed from following our God; we have spoken unrighteousness and have not obeyed; we have borne unrighteous thoughts and have learned deceit from our hearts; we abandoned justice, and truth is distant from us,” meaning we have disdainfully rejected truth, turning away from it. Thus, it is far from us. These are the words of penitents seeking Christ’s forgiveness; repentance and a sincere confession of sins is a saving endeavor, as it is written, “Declare your iniquities first, that you may be justified” (Isaiah 43:20). The divine Psalmist also declares, “I will confess my iniquity to the Lord; and You have forgiven the wickedness of my heart” (Psalm 31:5).

Indeed, our transgressions are formidable before You, and our sins confront us. We have them within us and have recognized our wrongs. We have behaved wickedly, deceived, and turned our backs on our God. We have spoken injustice and acted in disobedience, teaching from our hearts words of unrighteousness. We have strayed from justice, and truth has retreated from us, for it has grown weary in its pursuit, rendering us incapable of walking the righteous path.

The truth has been removed; understanding has been clouded, causing us to wail like bears and moan like doves, awaiting a judgment that does not come, the salvation that has passed to the Gentiles. We lament, “Our iniquities have multiplied before You,” compelling You to turn Your face away, refusing to see or punish them. Our sins bear testimony against us, leaving us to face the consequences.

What are these iniquities? They pertain to the act of sinning and lying before God—or, according to the Hebrew text translated by Aquila, to deny God, which refers to the Savior. They say, “We have forsaken our God,” claiming, “We know that God spoke to Moses; but regarding this, we do not know” (John 9:29). They utter slander, asserting, “If He were of God, He would not break the Sabbath,” and “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons” (Luke 11:15). The offense more explicitly referred to in Greek is termed ἀποστάσεις (apostasy), indicating denial of God and the status of being an apostate.

We have conceived and expressed words of falsehood from our hearts, disregarding God’s law and adhering to the traditions of men, known as δευτερωσεις, which we harbored in our hearts. The judgment receded, while truth became remote. What partnership can truth have with iniquity? What concord exists between Christ and Belial (2 Cor. 6)? Truth has found a home among the Gentiles, growing further from us, as it stumbled in the streets. The path that leads to destruction is wide and inviting (Matt. 7), yet they refuse to tread the narrow road where truth resides.

Truth sank into forgetfulness, and it is written, “The truth has risen from the earth, and the truth from heaven has come” (Psalm 84:12). It is noted that the name of truth often refers to the visage of Christ, whose forsakers followed falsehood. Those who turn away from lies face vulnerability. Though this may seem bleak, it can be understood in this light: as we produced falsehoods from our hearts and abandoned God’s law, truth became distant, justice slipped away, and the Son of God, who embodies truth, was relegated to obscurity. Consequently, anyone wishing to diverge from Jewish traditions faced hostility and persecution. The man born blind, who regained his sight, was expelled from the synagogues (John 9), and after Christ's resurrection, those entrusted with the ministries from the apostles were subject to persecution and exploitation.