“And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.”
And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me — the root of persecution is ignorance (ou ginōskousin—do not know) of the Father and Jesus. Those who know God truly cannot kill those who bear his image; those who kill the righteous do so because they do not know the one they claim to serve. The ignorance is culpable; they have had opportunity to know but have chosen not to.
Church Fathers on John 16:3
After the promise of the Holy Spirit, to inspire them with strength to give witness; He well adds, These things have I spoken to you, that you should not be offended. For when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us (Romans 5:5), then great peace have they that love God’s law, and they are not offended at it (Psalms 118). What they were about to suffer follows next: They shall put you out of the synagogues.
For the Jews had already agreed, if any confessed that He was Christ, that he should be put out of the synagogue.
Read all 8 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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