Commentary on Matthew 16.18–16.25

Origen · Commentary on Matthew · ca. 246–248 · Caesarea · 8 passages

Greek text: Migne, PG 13 (Greek text: Migne, Patrologia Graeca vol. 13 (1862), transcribed from library-scan OCR of the printed volume).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 9 (1896).

Chapter 16

16.18PG 13:1433c–1437b

ι Πορευθέντες δὲ οί μαθηταὶ, καὶ ποιήσαντες καθὼς προσέταξεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἧγαγον τὴν ὄνον καὶτὸν πῶλον.» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, ἕως τοῖν ι '0 ἀπὸ Ναςαρὲτ τῆς Γαλιλαίας. ι '0 δὲ Μάρκος οὕτω κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἐξέθετοο ι Καὶ ἀπελθόντες εὗρον πῶλον δεδεμένον πρὸς τὴν θύραν ἔξω ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀμφόδου, καὶ λύουσιν αὐτὸν,ι καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, ἕως, τοῦθ ι Εὐλογημένη ἡ ὲρχομένη βασιλεία τοῦ Πατρὸς ήμῶν Δαυῖδ· εἰρήνη ὲν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.» Καὶ ὁ Λουκᾶς δὲ τοιαῦτα φη· σιν* ι Ἀπελθόντες δὲ οἱ ἀπεσταλμένοι εὖρον, acadd; εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, ἑστῶτα τὸν πῶλον,» καὶ τὰ έξῆςν ῑως τοῦ· ι Ἐὰν οὗτοι σιωπήσωσιν, οί λίθοι κεκράι ξονται. ι ’Δκολούθως- τοῖς ἀποδεδομένας περὶ in ἀποσταλέντων δύο μαθητῶν, ἐπὶ μένην ὄνον καὶ τὸν πῶλον τὸν μετʼ αὐτῆς, καὶ τοῖς εἰς τὸν τόπον εἰρημένοις, διηγησόμεθα ἐκκείμενα, ὲν οἷς λέλεκται, ὅτι πορευθέντες οἱ δύο μαθηται, καὶ ποιήσαντες τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος αςτοξς προστεταγμένα, ἤγαγον πρὸς αὑτὸν την δνον καὶ τοι πῶλον, οὒς οὐκ ἀφήκασι γυμνοὺς, ἀλλὰ κόσμον αὐτοῖς περιέθηκαν ὲν ἱματίοις εὐσχημοσύνην περιποιοῦσι, κοσμήσασι τὴν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν λελυμένην 8m καὶ τὸν μετʼ αὐτῆς πῶλοψ οἷς καὶ αὐτοὶ ἦσαν ιιικοσμημένοικαὶ ἐσκεπασμένοι, καὶ ἵνα νοις ὄνῳ καὶ τῷ πώλῳ τοῖς ἐνδύμασι τῶν διδαξῄ των μαθητῶν ὲπαναπαύσηται καὶ ὲφιδριιθῇ ό τοῦ _ Θεοῦ Λόγος γινόμενος ἐπάνω μόνος, καί ἶ λελυμένων καὶ βασταζόντων αὐτόν. Ἀλλὰ τοῖς. μὲν ὲκ τῶν διδαξάντων ἱματίοις ὲπιτεθεῖσι τῇ όνῳ καὶ τῷ πώλῳ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὲπικαθέζεται· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἕκαστον tm συμβαλέσθαι τι τῷ πραεῖ Βασιλεῖ ὲπιὸεὸηκότι ὑποζυγίῳ καὶ πώλῳ νέῳ, ἦν δὲ πλεῖστος ὄχλος ό perurenέρέόμενος είς ἱιεροοσαλὴμ τῷ Ἰησοῦχ καὶ οἶκοι έδέιέαν καρπὸν τῆς τοῦ Ennio); bnoooxﬁglv spat ἑαυτῶν ἱμάτια ὑποστρῶσαι, καὶ ὃν εἷχονᾉκόσμον ill σκέπην, ὲπικαθεζομένῳ τῇ όνῳ καὶ τῷ τῇ τοίνυν καθʼ ἠν ἦγε ὄνον καὶ-τὸν τᾶ Ἰέροσόλυμα, ἔστρωσαν τὰ ἑαυτῶν ἱμάτια ὸ πλεξστος όγλος, ἴνα καθαροῖς γῆς καὶ πραγμξιζ των,ἐὰι μηδαμῶς έχουσι κονιορτὸν ἠίξνος τιαὶῦ πῶλος ἐπιθῇ-τῇ. Ὶεροόσαλήμ. Καὶ τρίτον δέ “sint! I τδ παρέι “iis δύο μαθητὰς κα) τὸν primusprimus ἰ πλεῖστον ὄχλον τὰ ἱμάτια ὲν τῇ ὁδῷ νῦν ἆάί ὡραιότητα erepte-troiae},ὁδῷ διʼ ὥδευεν-ἐπὶ τὰ· Ἱεροσόλυμαὸ Ἰησοῦς ὀχούμενος προειρημένοις* ὡράιότης ἦντ κοπτομῆνῗνὲᾇξ δῶν δένδρων καὶ στρωννυ μένων παρʼ τῶν ἐστρωμένων ἱματίων εί μὴ ἄρα τρῦτο τέἓρτῦῖ τάγμα ἧκα-’ἄλλοι γὰρ ol λύοντες-μαθηται, tuépém'bvo; mi. δʼ μετʼ αὐτῆς πῶλος, καὶ τριτοιδ πλεῖστος ὄχλος, καὶ τέταρτοι οί κόπτοντες τοὺς κλάδους ἀπὸ τῶν δένδρων κα) στρωννύντες ἐν τῇ ὀδῷ. Νόει δέ μοιάπὸ τούτων καὶ πέμπτον καὶ ἕκτον τάγμα κατειλεγμένον τῶν τὸν Ἰησοῦν προαγόντων, καὶ τῶν ἀκολουθούντων αύτῷ · καὶ προάγοντας μέν φήσεις ἀπὸ τῶν πρὸ τῆς παρουσίας εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ δικαίων, τάχα καὶ προφητῶν· ἀκολουθοῦντας δὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν μετά τὴν παρουσίαν ἑπομένων τῷ Λόγῳ, καὶ ἀκολουθούντων αὐτῷ, εἴτε δικαίων εἴτε καὶ ἀποστόλων Χριστοῦ. Πλὴν ούκ ἄλλα μὲν ἔλεγον οἱ προάγοντες, ἄλλα δὲ οἱ ἀκολουθοῦντες ἔκραζον γὰρ πάντες ἅμα ὡς χορὸς συνᾴδων καὶ σύμφωνος, καὶ ἔλεγον καὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον ὑμνοῦντες τοῦ Σωτῆο ρος ἐν τῷ· I Ὡσαννά τῷ υίῷ Δαυῒδ”› καὶ τὴν δευτέραν αὐτοῦ ἐπιδημίαν· ι Εὐλογημένος 6 ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου-ι καὶ τὴν εἰς τά ἅγια ἀποκατάστασιν ἐν τῷ· I Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. ι

i Poreuthentes de oi mathētai, kai poiēsantes kathōs prosetaxen autois ho Iēsous, hēgagon tēn onon kaiton pōlon.» kai ta hexēs, heōs toin i '0 apo Nasaret tēs Galilaias. i '0 de Markos houtō kata ton topon exethetoo i Kai apelthontes heuron pōlon dedemenon pros tēn thyran exō epi tou amphodou, kai lyousin auton,i kai ta hexēs, heōs, touth i Eulogēmenē hē erchomenē basileia tou Patros ēmōn Dauid; eirēnē en tois hypsistois.» Kai ho Loukas de toiauta phē; sin* i Apelthontes de hoi apestalmenoi euron, acadd? eipen autois, hestōta ton pōlon,» kai ta exēsn iōs tou; i Ean houtoi siōpēsōsin, oi lithoi kekrai xontai. i ’Dkolouthōs- tois apodedomenas peri in apostalentōn dyo mathētōn, epi menēn onon kai ton pōlon ton metʼ autēs, kai tois eis ton topon eirēmenois, diēgēsometha ekkeimena, en hois lelektai, hoti poreuthentes hoi dyo mathētai, kai poiēsantes ta hypo tou Sōtēros astoxs prostetagmena, ēgagon pros hauton tēn dnon kai toi pōlon, ous ouk aphēkasi gymnous, alla kosmon autois periethēkan en himatiois euschēmosynēn peripoiousi, kosmēsasi tēn hypʼ autōn lelymenēn 8m kai ton metʼ autēs pōlops hois kai autoi ēsan iiikosmēmenoikai eskepasmenoi, kai hina nois onǭ kai tǭ pōlǭ tois endymasi tōn didaxę̄ tōn mathētōn epanapausētai kai ephidriithę̄ o tou _ Theou Logos ginomenos epanō monos, kai i lelymenōn kai bastazontōn auton. Alla tois. men ek tōn didaxantōn himatiois epitetheisi tę̄ onǭ kai tǭ pōlǭ ho Iēsous epikathezetai; epei de hekaston tm symbalesthai ti tǭ praei Basilei epioeoēkoti hypozygiǭ kai pōlǭ neǭ, ēn de pleistos ochlos o perurenereomenos eis hiieroosalēm tǭ Iēsouch kai oikoi edeiean karpon tēs tou Ennio)? bnoooxﬁglv spat heautōn himatia hypostrōsai, kai hon heichonĄkosmon ill skepēn, epikathezomenǭ tę̄ onǭ kai tǭ tę̄ toinyn kathʼ ēn ēge onon kai-ton ta Ierosolyma, estrōsan ta heautōn himatia o plexstos oglos, ina katharois gēs kai pragmxiz tōn,eai mēdamōs echousi koniorton ēixnos tiaiy pōlos epithę̄-tę̄. Ieroosalēm. Kai triton de “sint! I td parei “iis dyo mathētas ka) ton primusprimus i pleiston ochlon ta himatia en tę̄ hodǭ nyn aai hōraiotēta erepte-troiae},hodǭ diʼ hōdeuen-epi ta; Hierosolymao Iēsous ochoumenos proeirēmenois* hōraiotēs ēnt koptomēnïneąx dōn dendrōn kai strōnny menōn parʼ tōn estrōmenōn himatiōn ei mē ara tryto teertui tagma hēka-’alloi gar ol lyontes-mathētai, tuepem'bvo? mi. dʼ metʼ autēs pōlos, kai tritoid pleistos ochlos, kai tetartoi oi koptontes tous kladous apo tōn dendrōn ka) strōnnyntes en tę̄ odǭ. Noei de moiapo toutōn kai pempton kai hekton tagma kateilegmenon tōn ton Iēsoun proagontōn, kai tōn akolouthountōn autǭ ; kai proagontas men phēseis apo tōn pro tēs parousias einai ek tou laou dikaiōn, tacha kai prophētōn; akolouthountas de tous apo tōn meta tēn parousian hepomenōn tǭ Logǭ, kai akolouthountōn autǭ, eite dikaiōn eite kai apostolōn Christou. Plēn ouk alla men elegon hoi proagontes, alla de hoi akolouthountes ekrazon gar pantes hama hōs choros synądōn kai symphōnos, kai elegon kai to anthrōpinon hymnountes tou Sōtēo ros en tǭ; I Hōsanna tǭ uiǭ Dauïd”› kai tēn deuteran autou epidēmian; i Eulogēmenos 6 erchomenos en onomati Kyriou-i kai tēn eis ta hagia apokatastasin en tǭ; I Hōsanna en tois hypsistois. i

“And the disciples went and did as Jesus had commanded them, and brought the ass and the colt,” and so on, up to “from Nazareth of Galilee.” Mark set out the passage thus: “And going away, they found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street, and they untie it,” and so on, up to “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; peace in the highest.” And Luke says this: “And those who were sent went away and found, as he had told them, the colt standing,” and so on, up to “If these are silent, the stones will cry out.” Consistently with what we explained about the two disciples sent to the tied ass and the colt with her, and with what was said on that passage, we shall explain the passage set before us, in which it is said that the two disciples went, did what the Saviour had commanded them, and brought him the ass and the colt. These they did not leave bare, but put adornment on them, providing seemliness with garments, adorning the ass they had loosed and the colt with her with the garments with which they themselves were adorned and covered, so that the Word of God might rest and be seated upon the ass and the colt, on the clothing of the disciples who taught, being alone above those who had been loosed and were carrying him. Jesus, then, sits on the garments of those who taught, which were placed on the ass and the colt. And since each wished to contribute something to the meek King mounted on a beast of burden and a young colt, and there was a very great crowd going up to Jerusalem with Jesus, … On the road, then, by which he led the ass and the colt to Jerusalem, the very great crowd spread their garments, so that … And third … the very great crowd … the garments on the road … the beauty of the road by which Jesus travelled, riding, to Jerusalem … of the branches cut from the trees and strewn … of the garments spread; unless this is a fourth order. For the disciples who loose are one; the ass and the colt with her another; third, the very great crowd; and fourth, those who cut branches from the trees and strew them on the road. And understand for me from these a fifth and a sixth order as well, of those who go before Jesus and of those who follow him. You will say that those who go before are from among the righteous of the people before his coming, perhaps the prophets too; and those who follow are from among those who, after his coming, follow the Word and go after him, whether the righteous or the apostles of Christ. Yet those who went before did not say one thing and those who followed another; for all cried out together, like a chorus singing in harmony and agreement, and they said, hymning both the humanity of the Saviour in the words, “Hosanna to the son of David,” and his second coming, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” and his restoration to the holy places, in the words, “Hosanna in the highest.”

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Matt 21:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 21:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 21:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 21:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 21:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 11:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 11:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 19:32 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 19:40 (quotation, high confidence) · Zech 9:9 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The disciples’ garments on the ass and colt are the teachers’ adornment on which the Word sits; the crowd, the branch-cutters, and those going before and after Jesus (the righteous before and after his coming) form orders of a single chorus of praise.

Quotations and allusions: Matt 21:6–11; Mark 11:4–10; Luke 19:32–40. The end of the quotation from Mark is printed “peace in the highest” (compare Luke 19:38). A long stretch in the middle of the passage is badly garbled in the scan; the readable words are translated and the gaps marked “…”, without supplying anything. A stray Latin word in the scan has been removed.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR: stray Latin word in split word): ἀποκατάστα- excelsis. ι σιν → ἀποκατάστασιν.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Matt. 16.18 (PG 13:1433c–1437b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-matthaeum/16-18/#p-16-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Migne PG 13 (library-scan OCR, slips corrected and logged), then compared with the public-domain English of ANF 9 (Patrick, 1896) for books 10–14; books 15–17, which have no public-domain or FOTC English, were re-read against the Greek.

16.19PG 13:1437b–1441c

Τούτων δὴ τῶν τριῶν ἐκφωνήσεων λεγομένων ὑπὸ τῆς συμφωνίας τῶν προαγόντων κα) ἀκολουθούντων τῷ Ἰησοῦ, 6 μὲν εἰσῄει είς τά ἀληθινὰ ’ῐεροσόλυμαο ξενισθεῖσαι δὲ αἱ οὐράνιαι δυνάμεις, αἵτινες λέγονται πᾶσα εἶναι ἡ πόλις, ἔφασκον· t Τίς ἐστιν οὖτοςς ι ἀνάλογον τοῖς προφητευθείσιν ἐν κγʼ ψαλμῷ περὶ τῆς ἀναλήψεως τοῦ Σωτῆρος, καὶ τοῦ ξενισμοῦ τῶν ούρανίων δυνάμεων ξενιζομένων ἐπὶ τῷ καινῷ τοῦ σωματικοῦ αὑτοῦ ὀχήματος θεάματι. Ἔχει δὲ οὕτως ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ· t Ἄρατε πύλας, οἱ ἄρχοντες, ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐπάρθητε, πύλαι αἰώνιοι, καὶ εἰσελεύσεται 68am.λεὺς τῆς δόξης, I καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς. Καὶ ἐν Ἦσαῖα δὲ παραπλήσια προφητεύεται πε ρὶ τῆς μετά τὴν οἰκονομίαν ἀνόδου τοῦ Σωτῆροςο γέγραπται γάρ· ι Τίς οὗτος 6 παραγενόμενος ἐξ Ἑδὼμ, ἐρύθημα ἱματίων αὑτοῦ ἐκ Βοσὸρ, οὗτος ὡραῖος ἐν στολῆς I Τά δὲ κατά τὸν τόπον ὅλα καὶ σὺ δυνήσῃ ἀναλεξάμενος κατανοῆσαι, τί τε λέγουσιν αί ξενιζόμεναι δυνάμεις ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ σωτηρίου σώματος ἀνόδου, καὶ τί αὑταῖς ἀποκρίνεται. Ταῦτα δή μοι παρείληπται βουλομένῳ σῶσαι τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τῆς κατά τὴν Γραφὴν τροπολογίας, ὅτι, ι εἰσελθόντος αὑτοῦ είς Ἰεροσόλυμα, ἐσείσθη πᾶσα ἡ πόλις λέγουσα Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος I Μετά δὲ τοῦτο ἐξῆς γέγραπται, ὅτι πολλοὶ ἔλεγον· ι Οὗτός ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς 6 προφήτης 6 ἀπὸ Ναζαρὲτ τῆς Γαλιλαίας, ι ὁμολογοῦντες τὸν προφητευθέντα, ὅτι t όΝαζωραῖος κληθήσεται, I 6 κυρίως τῷ Θεῴ ἀεὶ ἀνακείμενος. Ἀλλὰ κατά τὴν διήγησιν ταύτην περιγεγράφθω τά κατά τὸν τόπον, καὶ ἀρχή τις ἔστω ἐτέρας περικοπῆς τά ἐπιφερόμενα, ἵνα μὴ ἀναγκάζηται τις, συνάπτων καὶ τὴν περὶ ἐκείνων διήγησιν τοῖς προτέροις, ζητεῖν ὲκὸαλλομένους ἀπὸ τοῦ ίεροῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ τινας τοὶς ἐπιπληττομένους, ὡς πεποιηκότας τὸν τῆς προσευχῆς οἷκον λῃστῶν σπήλαιον. Οὐκ οἶδα δὲ εί, κᾶν βιάσηταί τις, δύναται ἀκολούθως τῷ· ι Χαῖρε σφόδρα, θύγατερ Σιὼν, ι σῶσαι τὴν πᾶσαν καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς τοῖς ὲκκει μένοις ἀκολουθίαν. Μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξετάσωμεν καί τό· ι Ὡσαννὰ τῷ υίῷ Δαυῖδ ’ Εὐλογημένος ὁ Epχόμενος ὲν ὀνόματι Κυρίου ’ Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψεστοις, ι ποῖον ἔχει νοῦν. Σαφῶς μὲν οὖν τό ο ι Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ὲν ὀνόματι Κυρίου, ι αὑταῖς λέξεσι κεῖται ἐν τῷ πρὸ τοῦ μεγίστου ψαλμοῦ ψαλμῷ, λεγομένῳ ἓν τισιν ἀντιγράφοις ριξ· δοκεῖ δέ μοι τὰ ἀντὶ τοῦ* ι Ὠ Κύριε, σῷσον δή, ι προτεο ταγμὲνα τοῦ · ι Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ὲν Wagn. Κυρίου· »Ἑβραίκῶς ἑκκεισθαι ὲν τῷ· ι Ὡσαννὰ rt'p'uicj) Δαυῖδλ ι οὕτω δὲ καὶ εἶχεν ἡ Ἐσραῖκὴ λέξις· ι Ἀννὰ Ἀδωναῒ Ὠσειεννάν, Ἀννὰ Ἀδωναῒ ἀσαῖ. Ἀννὰ Βαροὺχ ἀβὁὰβ σαῖμ Ἀδωναῖ ι Εἶτα δοκεῖ μοι ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων συνεχῶς, γραφόμενα τὰ Εὑαγγέλια μὴ εἰδότων τὴν διάλεκτον, συγκεχύσθαι tv τοῖς κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἔχουσι ταῦτα (Η) ἀπὸ τοῦ προειρημένου ψαλμοῦ. Εἰ δὲ τὸ ἀκριβὲς βούλει μαθεῖν τῆς λέξεως, ἄκουε Ἀκύλου ἐρμηνεύσαντος ὡδί · ι '0 δὴ Κύριε, σῶσον δή. Ὦ δὴ Κύριε, εὐόδωσον δή Εὖ·λογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου. ι mm γὰρ ὲπανακεφαλαιωσὼμεθα τὰ κατὰ τδν τόπον, καὶ λέγωμεν, ὄτι ἦτοι Παῦλος καὶ Πέτρος ἦ τὰ δύο εἴδη τῶν διδασκόντων, λύσαντες ἀπὸ τῶν δεσμῶν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ πρόσταξιν τοὺς ἀπὸ περιτομῆς καὶ τοὺς άπὸ ἀκροβυστίας, ἐκόσμησαν αὐτοὺς, καὶ πεποιήκασιν εὐπρεπεῖς πρὸς τὸ όχήσασθαι αὐτοῖς τὸν Λόγον ἀνιόντα είς τὴν Ἰερουσαλήμ· καὶ τά λοιπά κατὰ μὲν μίαν ἔσται διήγησιν· κατὰ δὲ ἑτέραν ἀεὶ ὶνέστηκε τῶν ἀποδεχομένων τὸν Ἰησοῦν στρωννύνων αὐτῷ διά τῶν ἰδίων ἐνδυμάτων τὴν ὁδὸν, καὶ κοσμούντων αὐτὴν τοῖς κλάδοις, καὶ προαγόντων, καὶ ἐπακολουθούντων ο καὶ ἄλλως δὲ ἕκαστος διὰ μὲν τῶν ἧδη πεπραγμένων προάγει τὸν Ἰησοῦνο διά δέ τῶν προαχθησομένων ἐπακολουθεῖ αὐτῷ, καὶ λέγει τὰ ἀναγεγραμμένα. Καὶ εἰς ταῦτα δὲ ἡμεῖς μὲν τοσαῦτα εῐδομεν· ὁ δὲ ἡμῶν διαφέρων πλείονα καὶ βλεπέτω καὶ διδασκέτω. Πλὴν ἐν τινι τῶν εἰς τὸ κατά Ἰωάννην Εὐαγγέλιον ἐπὶ ποσὸν καὶ ταῦτα ἐξητάσαμεν ὅτε προέκειτο διηγήσασθαι τό ο t Τῇ ἐπαύριον οὖν ὄχλος πολὺς ό ἐλθὼν είς τὴν ἑορτὴν, ι καὶ τὰ Περὶ τῶν ἐκβληθέντων ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ.

Toutōn dē tōn triōn ekphōnēseōn legomenōn hypo tēs symphōnias tōn proagontōn ka) akolouthountōn tǭ Iēsou, 6 men eisę̄ei eis ta alēthina ’ierosolymao xenistheisai de hai ouraniai dynameis, haitines legontai pasa einai hē polis, ephaskon; t Tis estin outoss i analogon tois prophēteutheisin en kgʼ psalmǭ peri tēs analēpseōs tou Sōtēros, kai tou xenismou tōn ouraniōn dynameōn xenizomenōn epi tǭ kainǭ tou sōmatikou hautou ochēmatos theamati. Echei de houtōs en tǭ psalmǭ; t Arate pylas, hoi archontes, hymōn, kai eparthēte, pylai aiōnioi, kai eiseleusetai 68am.leus tēs doxēs, I kai ta exēs. Kai en Ēsaia de paraplēsia prophēteuetai pe ri tēs meta tēn oikonomian anodou tou Sōtēroso gegraptai gar; i Tis houtos 6 paragenomenos ex Hedōm, erythēma himatiōn hautou ek Bosor, houtos hōraios en stolēs I Ta de kata ton topon hola kai sy dynēsę̄ analexamenos katanoēsai, ti te legousin ai xenizomenai dynameis epi tēs tou sōtēriou sōmatos anodou, kai ti hautais apokrinetai. Tauta dē moi pareilēptai boulomenǭ sōsai tēn akolouthian tēs kata tēn Graphēn tropologias, hoti, i eiselthontos hautou eis Ierosolyma, eseisthē pasa hē polis legousa Tis estin houtos I Meta de touto exēs gegraptai, hoti polloi elegon; i Houtos estin Iēsous 6 prophētēs 6 apo Nazaret tēs Galilaias, i homologountes ton prophēteuthenta, hoti t oNazōraios klēthēsetai, I 6 kyriōs tǭ Theǭ aei anakeimenos. Alla kata tēn diēgēsin tautēn perigegraphthō ta kata ton topon, kai archē tis estō eteras perikopēs ta epipheromena, hina mē anankazētai tis, synaptōn kai tēn peri ekeinōn diēgēsin tois proterois, zētein ekoallomenous apo tou ierou tou Theou tinas tois epiplēttomenous, hōs pepoiēkotas ton tēs proseuchēs hoikon lę̄stōn spēlaion. Ouk oida de ei, kan biasētai tis, dynatai akolouthōs tǭ; i Chaire sphodra, thygater Siōn, i sōsai tēn pasan kai tōn hexēs tois ekkei menois akolouthian. Meta tauta exetasōmen kai to; i Hōsanna tǭ uiǭ Dauid ’ Eulogēmenos ho Epchomenos en onomati Kyriou ’ Hōsanna en tois hypsestois, i poion echei noun. Saphōs men oun to o i Eulogēmenos ho erchomenos en onomati Kyriou, i hautais lexesi keitai en tǭ pro tou megistou psalmou psalmǭ, legomenǭ hen tisin antigraphois rix; dokei de moi ta anti tou* i Ō Kyrie, sǭson dē, i proteo tagmena tou ; i Eulogēmenos ho erchomenos en Wagn. Kyriou; »Hebraikōs hekkeisthai en tǭ; i Hōsanna rt'p'uicj) Dauidl i houtō de kai eichen hē Esraikē lexis; i Anna Adōnaï Ōseiennan, Anna Adōnaï asai. Anna Barouch aboab saim Adōnai i Eita dokei moi hypo Hellēnōn synechōs, graphomena ta Heuangelia mē eidotōn tēn dialekton, synkechysthai tv tois kata ton topon echousi tauta (Ē) apo tou proeirēmenou psalmou. Ei de to akribes boulei mathein tēs lexeōs, akoue Akylou ermēneusantos hōdi ; i '0 dē Kyrie, sōson dē. Ō dē Kyrie, euodōson dē Eu;logēmenos ho erchomenos en onomati Kyriou. i mm gar epanakephalaiōsōmetha ta kata tdn topon, kai legōmen, oti ētoi Paulos kai Petros ē ta dyo eidē tōn didaskontōn, lysantes apo tōn desmōn kata tēn tou Iēsou prostaxin tous apo peritomēs kai tous apo akrobystias, ekosmēsan autous, kai pepoiēkasin euprepeis pros to ochēsasthai autois ton Logon anionta eis tēn Ierousalēm; kai ta loipa kata men mian estai diēgēsin; kata de heteran aei inestēke tōn apodechomenōn ton Iēsoun strōnnynōn autǭ dia tōn idiōn endymatōn tēn hodon, kai kosmountōn autēn tois kladois, kai proagontōn, kai epakolouthountōn o kai allōs de hekastos dia men tōn hēdē pepragmenōn proagei ton Iēsouno dia de tōn proachthēsomenōn epakolouthei autǭ, kai legei ta anagegrammena. Kai eis tauta de hēmeis men tosauta eidomen; ho de hēmōn diapherōn pleiona kai blepetō kai didasketō. Plēn en tini tōn eis to kata Iōannēn Euangelion epi poson kai tauta exētasamen hote proekeito diēgēsasthai to o t Tę̄ epaurion oun ochlos polys o elthōn eis tēn heortēn, i kai ta Peri tōn ekblēthentōn apo tou hierou.

When these three acclamations had been spoken by the harmony of those who went before and followed Jesus, he entered the true Jerusalem; and the heavenly powers, amazed—these are said to be the whole city—said, “Who is this?” This corresponds to what is prophesied in the twenty-third Psalm about the ascension of the Saviour and the amazement of the heavenly powers, amazed at the new sight of the bodily vehicle he bore. It runs thus in the Psalm: “Lift up your gates, O rulers, and be lifted up, everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in,” and so on. And in Isaiah similar things are prophesied about the Saviour’s ascent after the dispensation; for it is written: “Who is this who comes from Edom, with crimson garments from Bozrah, this one beautiful in his robe?” And you too, by reading the whole passage, will be able to understand what the amazed powers say at the ascent of the Saviour’s body, and what is answered them. These things I have adduced because I wish to keep the consistency of the figurative reading in Scripture of the words, “When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying, Who is this?” After this it is written next that many said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee,” confessing the one of whom it was prophesied that “he shall be called a Nazarene,” the one who in the proper sense is always devoted to God. But let the passage be bounded by this explanation, and let what follows be the beginning of another section, so that no one may be compelled, by joining the explanation of what follows to what precedes, to look for certain persons who are cast out of the temple of God and rebuked for having made the house of prayer a den of robbers. And I do not know whether, even by forcing it, one can keep the whole consistency of what follows with the passage before us, in line with “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion.” After this let us also examine what meaning the words have: “Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” The words “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” stand clearly, in these very words, in the Psalm that comes before the greatest Psalm, which in some copies is numbered the hundred and seventeenth. And it seems to me that the words that precede “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” namely “O Lord, save now,” are set out in Hebrew in the words “Hosanna to the son of David.” And so the Hebrew text also ran: “Anna Adōnai ōseiennan, anna Adōnai asai, anna barouch abboab saim Adōnai.” Then it seems to me that, as the Gospels were constantly copied by Greeks who did not know the language, the copies that have these words at this place, taken from the Psalm mentioned, became confused. If you wish to learn the exact wording, hear Aquila, who translated it thus: “O Lord, save now; O Lord, prosper now; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Now let us sum up the passage again, and say that either Paul and Peter, or the two kinds of teachers, having loosed from their bonds, at Jesus’ command, those from the circumcision and those from the uncircumcision, adorned them and made them fit for the Word to ride on them as he went up to Jerusalem; and the rest will be according to one explanation. According to another, it is always taking place among those who receive Jesus, who spread the road for him with their own garments, adorn it with branches, and go before and follow. And in another way, each person goes before Jesus by what he has already done, and follows him by what he will go on to do, and says what is recorded. On these things we have seen so much; but let one who surpasses us both see and teach more. However, we examined these things to some extent in one of the books on the Gospel according to John, when we had to explain the words, “The next day a great crowd that had come to the feast,” and so on. [On those cast out of the temple.]

Matt 21:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 21:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 21:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 24:7 (23:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 63:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 2:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 21:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 21:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Zech 9:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 118:25 (117:25 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 118:26 (117:26 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 12:12 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Christ’s entry into Jerusalem figures his ascension, at which the heavenly powers ask “Who is this?”; Origen explains “Hosanna” as the Hebrew of Ps 118:25, garbled by Greek copyists, and gives Aquila’s rendering.

Quotations and allusions: Matt 21:9–11; Ps 24:7 (23:7 LXX; Origen’s “twenty-third Psalm” follows the Greek numbering); Isa 63:1; Matt 2:23; Matt 21:12–13; Zech 9:9; Ps 118:25–26 (117:25–26 LXX; “the greatest Psalm” is Ps 119, 118 LXX); John 12:12. The Hebrew of Ps 118:25–26 is given in Greek letters and is garbled in the scan; it is reproduced in transliteration as printed. The reference to Origen’s Commentary on John concerns a book that does not survive. The bracketed words at the end are a heading printed in the edition.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Matt. 16.19 (PG 13:1437b–1441c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-matthaeum/16-18/#p-16-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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16.20PG 13:1441c–1444d

ι Καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ό Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐξέβαλε πάντας τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ ἀγοράζοντας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, ι καὶτὰ ἐξῆς. Τά δὲ κατὰ τὸν τόπον καὶ οι λοιποὶ τρεῖς εύαγγελισταὶ ἐξέθεντο, ὧν τὴν πρὸς άλλήλους διαφοράν οὐ τοῦ προκειμένου καιροῦ ἐστι διηγήσασθαι ’ ἀρκέσει γὰρ τὸ ἐν τῷ ἐξεταζομένῳ Εὑαγγελίῳ κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἡμῖν σαφηνίσαι ° τῶν τεσσάρων εὐαγγελιστῶν ἀναγραψάντων τὰ κατὰ τὸν τόπον, πλείονα τὰ κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἡμῖν ἐξήτασται ὐπαγορεύουσιν είς τὸ κατὰ Ἰωάννην, καὶ ὡς οἷόν τε ἦν σαφηνίξουσι τό · t Kal εῦρεν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ τοὺς πωλοῦντας βόας καὶ πρόβατα καὶ περιστερὰς, ι καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς · ἔνθα κατασκευάζομεν οὐκ ἐλάττονα τῶν παραδόξων δυνάμεων εἶναι τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τὴν προκειμένην, ὅτι, τέκτονος μὲν νομιζόμενος εἶναι υἱὸς, τοσαύτῃ παρρησίᾳ καὶ ἐξουσίᾳ ἐχρήσατο, ἐκβάλλων ἄν πανηγύρει ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τοὺς ἀναγεγραμμένους, ὁποίᾳ οὐδʼ ό τοῦ ἔθνους ἡγούμενος εὐχερῶς ἂν ῆνυσε 1:056; ὅπερ Ἰησοῦς πεποίηκει Καὶ ἐτροπολογήσαμεν ιω δὲ δουλεύσαντες τῇ λέξει, ὡς ἐχωροῦμεν, τὸ Ἰωάννου βούλημα· ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ καὶ νῦν ὁ είρμὸς ἡμᾶς ἀπαιτεῖ εἰπεῖν κατὰ τὴν Ματθαίου λέξιν περὶ τῶν ἐκκειμένων, τὸν Πατέρα τῆς σοφίας ἐπικαλεσάμενοι, φέρʼ ἴδωμεν εί ἄξιόν τι δυνάμεθα τῆς Ἰησοῦ μετὰ θάρσους πραξεως εἰπεῖν εἰς τὸν τόπον. Καὶ πρῶτον λεκτέον τί τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅπερ ὁμολογῶν ὁ Θεὸς εἶπεν ἐν τῷ Προφήτη· ι '0 οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται. ι Ἀνάλογον μὲν οὖν τῇ κατὰ σάρκα περιτομῇ καὶ ταῖς σωματικαῖς τοῦ νόμου ἑορταῖς καὶ θυσίαις, ἱερὸν ἐνομίζετο τοῦ Θεοῦ εἴναι τὺ ὲκλίθων ἀναισθήτων κατασκεύασμα οἰκοδομηθὲν ὑπὸ Σολομῶντος πρῶτον, καὶ ἀνοικοδομηθὲν ἔτι ὑπὸ Ἔσδρα, πλὴν μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος οἰκονομίαν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων καθʼ αιρεθέν ' καὶ οἰκος ἐκεῖνος ὑπελαμβάνετο εἶναι εὖ· χῆς οὗ καθαιρεθέντος, ἀναγκαῖον Ἰουδαίους, ὡς in}. κέτι ἔχοντας οἰκον προσευχῆς, λέγειν μηκέτι ἔχειν τὸ ἐξαίρετον τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὃ ἔχειν ᾤοντο. παρὰ τὺ ὲν τῷ οἴκῳ τῆς προσευχῆς εὔχεο-θαι, μετὰ τὸ τὰ τῆς νομικῆς λατρείας ἐπιτελεῖν. Καὶ 1.165611,κέτω σωματικῶς ἀπʼ ἐκείνου ὁ καὶ σύμβολα ποιήσας τῶν ἰδίων πνευματικῶν πράξεων Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν, τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ ἀγοράζοντας, καὶτὰς τραπέζας τῶν κολλυβιστῶν καταβεβληκέτω, καὶ τὰς καθέδρας τῶν πολούντων τὰς περιστερὰς, καὶ εἰρηκέτω τὰ ὲκκείο μενα εἰς ἐπιστροφὴν τοῦ τότε λαοῦ, ἀντὶ σεμνῆς πανηγύρεως ἐπιτελουμένης ὲν ὀνόματι Θεοῦ σχολαζόντων τῷ πωλεῖν καὶ ἀγοράζειν, οὐκ ὲν τῇ καθηκούσῃ χώρᾳ ὲν ᾖ ἔδει πωλεῖν καὶ ἀγοράζειν, ἀλλʼ ὲν τῷ ίερῷ · ἔνθα ἐχρῆν μὲν συνερχομένους εὔχεσθαι ὡς ὲν οἴκῳ προσευχῆς · ὲποίουν δὲ τὰ ὲναντία τῇ εὐχῇ ἐν αὐτῷ, ὡς ὲν οἴκῳ ἐμπορικῷ πωλοῦντες καὶ ἁγοράο ζοντες, καὶ ἀργύρια κολλυσίζοντες, καὶ ἐπὶ καθεδρῶν καθεζόμενοι, ἵνα πωλῶσι περιστεράς. Καὶ τὸ ἄσεμνον τῶν γινομένων παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἡμῶν καθῃρηκέτωκὲλέγξας τοὺς, ἀντὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἑορτάζειν, ἐμπορευομένους, καὶ σωματικῶς τρυφῶντας.

i Kai eisēlthen o Iēsous eis to hieron tou Theou, kai exebale pantas tous pōlountas kai agorazontas en tǭ hierǭ, i kaita exēs. Ta de kata ton topon kai oi loipoi treis euangelistai exethento, hōn tēn pros allēlous diaphoran ou tou prokeimenou kairou esti diēgēsasthai ’ arkesei gar to en tǭ exetazomenǭ Heuangeliǭ kata to dynaton hēmin saphēnisai ° tōn tessarōn euangelistōn anagrapsantōn ta kata ton topon, pleiona ta kata to dynaton hēmin exētastai ypagoreuousin eis to kata Iōannēn, kai hōs hoion te ēn saphēnixousi to ; t Kal euren en tǭ hierǭ tous pōlountas boas kai probata kai peristeras, i kai ta hexēs ; entha kataskeuazomen ouk elattona tōn paradoxōn dynameōn einai tou Iēsou kai tēn prokeimenēn, hoti, tektonos men nomizomenos einai huios, tosautę̄ parrēsią kai exousią echrēsato, ekballōn an panēgyrei apo tou hierou tous anagegrammenous, hopoią oudʼ o tou ethnous hēgoumenos eucherōs an ēnyse 1:056? hoper Iēsous pepoiēkei Kai etropologēsamen iō de douleusantes tę̄ lexei, hōs echōroumen, to Iōannou boulēma; allʼ epei kai nyn ho eirmos hēmas apaitei eipein kata tēn Matthaiou lexin peri tōn ekkeimenōn, ton Patera tēs sophias epikalesamenoi, pherʼ idōmen ei axion ti dynametha tēs Iēsou meta tharsous praxeōs eipein eis ton topon. Kai prōton lekteon ti to hieron tou Theou, hoper homologōn ho Theos eipen en tǭ Prophētē; i '0 oikos mou oikos proseuchēs klēthēsetai. i Analogon men oun tę̄ kata sarka peritomę̄ kai tais sōmatikais tou nomou heortais kai thysiais, hieron enomizeto tou Theou einai ty eklithōn anaisthētōn kataskeuasma oikodomēthen hypo Solomōntos prōton, kai anoikodomēthen eti hypo Esdra, plēn meta tēn tou Sōtēros oikonomian hypo Rhōmaiōn kathʼ airethen ' kai oikos ekeinos hypelambaneto einai eu; chēs hou kathairethentos, anankaion Ioudaious, hōs in}. keti echontas oikon proseuchēs, legein mēketi echein to exaireton tēs episkopēs tou Theou, ho echein ǭonto. para ty en tǭ oikǭ tēs proseuchēs eucheo-thai, meta to ta tēs nomikēs latreias epitelein. Kai 1.165611,ketō sōmatikōs apʼ ekeinou ho kai symbola poiēsas tōn idiōn pneumatikōn praxeōn Sōtēr hēmōn, tous pōlountas kai agorazontas, kaitas trapezas tōn kollybistōn katabeblēketō, kai tas kathedras tōn polountōn tas peristeras, kai eirēketō ta ekkeio mena eis epistrophēn tou tote laou, anti semnēs panēgyreōs epiteloumenēs en onomati Theou scholazontōn tǭ pōlein kai agorazein, ouk en tę̄ kathēkousę̄ chōrą en ę̄ edei pōlein kai agorazein, allʼ en tǭ ierǭ ; entha echrēn men synerchomenous euchesthai hōs en oikǭ proseuchēs ; epoioun de ta enantia tę̄ euchę̄ en autǭ, hōs en oikǭ emporikǭ pōlountes kai hagorao zontes, kai argyria kollysizontes, kai epi kathedrōn kathezomenoi, hina pōlōsi peristeras. Kai to asemnon tōn ginomenōn para Ioudaiois tote ho Iēsous hēmōn kathę̄rēketōkelenxas tous, anti tou kata ton nomon heortazein, emporeuomenous, kai sōmatikōs tryphōntas.

“And Jesus entered the temple of God and cast out all who sold and bought in the temple,” and so on. The other three evangelists also set out this passage, but it is not the present occasion to explain how they differ from one another; for it will suffice to make clear, as far as we can, what is in the Gospel under examination. Since all four evangelists recorded the passage, we examined it more fully, as far as we could, when dictating on the Gospel according to John and making clear, as well as was possible, the words, “And he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves,” and so on. There we show that this act of Jesus is no less than his extraordinary miracles: that he, who was thought to be the son of a carpenter, used such boldness and authority, casting out from the temple at a festival those who are recorded, that not even the ruler of the nation could easily have achieved what Jesus did. And there, having first served the letter, we interpreted John’s meaning figuratively, as far as we could. But since now too the order of our work requires us to speak about what is set out according to Matthew’s wording, let us call on the Father of wisdom and see whether we can say, with boldness, anything on the passage worthy of Jesus’ deed. And first we must say what the temple of God is, which God acknowledged when he said in the Prophet, “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” In correspondence with circumcision according to the flesh, and with the bodily feasts and sacrifices of the law, the structure of lifeless stones built first by Solomon and rebuilt again by Ezra, but destroyed by the Romans after the dispensation of the Saviour, was thought to be the temple of God, and that was supposed to be the house of prayer. Now that it has been destroyed, the Jews, as no longer having a house of prayer, must say that they no longer have the special oversight of God which they thought they had because they prayed in the house of prayer after performing the rites of the legal worship. Let our Saviour, then, who also made symbols of his own spiritual acts, have cast out bodily from that temple those who sold and bought, and have overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves, and have said the words set before us, for the conversion of the people of that time—who, instead of a solemn festival kept in the name of God, were busy with selling and buying, not in the proper place where one should sell and buy, but in the temple, where they ought to have come together to pray, as in a house of prayer. But they did in it what is contrary to prayer, selling and buying as in a house of trade, changing money, and sitting on seats to sell doves. And let our Jesus have put down the unseemliness of what was then done among the Jews, reproving those who, instead of keeping the feast according to the law, traded and lived in bodily luxury.

Matt 21:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 21:13 (allusion, high confidence) · John 2:14 (quotation, high confidence) · John 2:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 13:55 (allusion, medium confidence) · Isa 56:7 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Origen refers to his fuller treatment of the cleansing of the temple in his Commentary on John, and explains it first literally: Jesus, a carpenter’s supposed son, boldly drove out those who turned the house of prayer into a market.

Quotations and allusions: Matt 21:12–13; John 2:14–16; Matt 13:55; Isa 56:7. Origen refers to Book 10 of his Commentary on John. His remarks on the Jews after the destruction of the temple are translated as written.

Extrabiblical texts: Origen, Comm. Jo. 10 (Commentary on the Gospel of John; allusion)

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Matt. 16.20 (PG 13:1441c–1444d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-matthaeum/16-18/#p-16-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-commentarius-matthaeum-16-20) · Report an error

16.21PG 13:1444d–1448d

Καὶ νῦν δὲ νομίζω ἰερδν ὲκ λίθων ζώντων οἰκοδομηθὲν εἷναι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, καί εἶναι ὲν αὐτῇ τινας οὐχ ὡς ὲν Ἐκκλησία ζῶντας, ἀλλʼ ὡς ι κατὰ σάρκα στρατευομένους, ι οἵτινες καὶ ποιοῦσι τὸν τῆς προσο ευχῆς ὲκ ζώντων λίθων οἷκον λῃστῶν διὰ τὴν αὐτῶν κακίαν σπήλαιον ο τίς γὰρ, κατανοήσας τὰ ἓν τισιν Ἐκκλησίαις ἁμαρτανόμενα ὑπὸ τῶν νομιζομένων πο- . ρισμὸν εἶναι τὴν ἑτέρων εὐσέβειαν, καὶ δέον ὲκ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου μόνον διαζῇν, τοῦτο μὲν μὴ ποιούντων πλοῦτον δὲ καὶ πολλὴν κτῆσιν συναγόντων, οὐκ ὲρεῖ σπήλαιον λῃστῶν γεγονέναι τὸ τηλικοῦτον τῆς Ἑκκλησίας μυστήριονς Ὢστ ἂν εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτανομένοις ὲν ᾧ ᾠκοδόμησεν ἱερῷ ζῶντι, τό τε ἀπὸ τῶν Ψαλμῶν οὕτως ἕχον ι Τίς ὠφέλεια ὲν τῷ αἵματί μου ἐν τῷ καταβῆναι με εις διαφθοράν; ι καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ, ὡς οἶμαι, Ὠσηὲ, ἔνθα ἡ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ψυχὴ λέγει δυσαρεστουμένη τῷ βιῳ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων, καὶ ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ εἶναι δοκούντων, τό · ι Οῐμοι, ὃτι ἐγενήθην ὡς συνάγων καλάμην ἐν ἀμητῷ, καὶ ὡς ἐπιφυλλίδα ἐν τρυγητῷ, οὐκ ὄντος στάχυος τοῦ φαγεῖν τὰ πρωτόγονα. Οῖμοι, ψυχὴ, ὅτι ἀπόλωλεν εὐλαβὴς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ὁ κατορθῶν ὲν ἀνθρώποις οὐχ ὑπάρχει. ι Καὶ ἐὰν προσκόπτῃς γε τῷ ταῦτα λέγειν τὸν Ἰησοῦν, καὶ πενθοῦντα ἡμῶν τὰ πταίσματα φάσκειν τόδ ι Οῖμοι, ψυχῆ, ι συνιξέτασον τούτοις τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, ἔνθα γέγραπται, ὅτι, ι ἰδὼν τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ, ἔκλαυσεν ἐπʼ αὐτῇ, καὶ εἶπε. ι Καὶ μᾶλλόν γε, εῐπερ εὐλόγως ἔκλαυσεν ἐπὶ Ἰερουσαλὴμ, εὐλογώτερον κλαύσεται ἐπὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, οἰκοδομηθεῖσαν μὲν ἵνα οἶκος προσευχῆς ᾖ, γενομένην δὲ διὰ τὴν αἰσχροκέρδειαν καὶ τρυφήν τινων, ἀλλʼ εἴθε μὴ καὶ τῶν ἡγουμένων τοῦ λαοῦ, σπήλαιον λῃστῶν. Ἀλλά τότε μὲν εἰσῆλθεν Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὲκάθαρεν αὐτὸ ἑκβαλὼν πάντας τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ ἀγοράζοντας ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶτὰς τραπέζας τῶν κολλυβιστῶν καταστρέψας μετὰ τῶνκαθεδρῶν ὲν αἶς ἐκαθέζοντο οἱ πωλοῦντες τὰς περιστεράς. Νῦν δὲ ὅσον μὲν οὐκ ἐπισκοτωῦνται οἱ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ γινόμενοι ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ὲν συναγωγαῖς, εἰσιν οἱ πωλοῦντες καὶ ἀγοράζοντες ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ τὰ λοιπά ποιοῦντες, καὶ εὐδαμοῦ Ἰησοῦς αὐτοῖς ἐπιφαίνεται, ἵνα ἐκβαλὼν δώσῃ τούς λοιποὺς, ἢ κάκείνους ἐκβληθέντας ποιήσῃ συναισθέσθαι τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν, οὐκέτι μετὰ τοῦ πωλεῖν καὶ ἀγοράζειν, ἢ τά λοιπὰ ΗΒ ποιεῖνʼ ἐπὰν δὲ ὲπισκέψηται ἐπὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ ὡς ἀγαπῶν ἡμᾶς ὲπιδημήσῃξ ἵνα ni μαστιγώσῃ ὡς υἱοὺς, ὅπως ἡμᾶς παραδέξηται, τότε εἰσελεύσεται ἡ δύναμις Ἰησοῦ συναγομένων ἡμῶν καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου, καὶ εἰσελθοῦσα triﬁda! πάντας τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ ἀγοράζοντας ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ πωλοῦντας μὲν, καὶ ὡσπερεὶ·ἀπεμπολοῦντας εί καί τι χρηστὸν. εἶχον, ἀγοράζοντας δὲ ἀντʼ ἐκείνων τὰ φαῦλα, καὶ ταῦτα ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῇ Ἐκκλησία, πράττοντας. Ἀλλʼ εἴθε εἰσελθὼν είς τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Πατρὸς, τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, τὸν οἷκον τῆς προσευχῆς, mtaβάλλοι ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὰς τῶν κολλυὸιστῶν καὶ φιλαρτύρων τραπέζας, καὶ εἰς πολλὰ εὐτελῆ καὶ οὐδενὸς λόγου ἄξια κατακερματιζόντων τὰ δόκιμα ἀργύρια, ἵνα βλάψωσι μὲν ἐκείνους οῖς κολλυὸίζουσιν, αὐτοὶ δὲ μὴ είς δέον χρήσονται τῷ ἀργυρίῳὲ Εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ πωλοῦντες καὶ ἀγοράζοντες τὰς Χριστοῦ περιστερὰς, καὶ παραδιδόντες ι τοὶς ἀκεραίους ὡς περιστερὰς, ι τοὺς εὐξαμένους καὶ εἰ· πόντας· ι Τίς δώσει μοι πτέρυγας ὡσεὶ περιστερᾶς. καὶ πετασθήσομαι, καὶ καταπαύσω; ο καὶ ἐπακουσθέντας, ἄρχουσιν οἷς οὐ δεῖ.

Kai nyn de nomizō ierdn ek lithōn zōntōn oikodomēthen heinai tēn Ekklēsian, kai einai en autę̄ tinas ouch hōs en Ekklēsia zōntas, allʼ hōs i kata sarka strateuomenous, i hoitines kai poiousi ton tēs proso euchēs ek zōntōn lithōn hoikon lę̄stōn dia tēn autōn kakian spēlaion o tis gar, katanoēsas ta hen tisin Ekklēsiais hamartanomena hypo tōn nomizomenōn po- . rismon einai tēn heterōn eusebeian, kai deon ek tou Euangeliou monon diazę̄n, touto men mē poiountōn plouton de kai pollēn ktēsin synagontōn, ouk erei spēlaion lę̄stōn gegonenai to tēlikouton tēs Hekklēsias mystērions Ōst an eipein ton Iēsoun epi tois hamartanomenois en hǭ ǭkodomēsen hierǭ zōnti, to te apo tōn Psalmōn houtōs hechon i Tis ōpheleia en tǭ haimati mou en tǭ katabēnai me eis diaphthoran? i kai to apo tou, hōs oimai, Ōsēe, entha hē tou Iēsou psychē legei dysarestoumenē tǭ biǭ tōn hamartanontōn, kai en tǭ hierǭ einai dokountōn, to ; i Oimoi, hoti egenēthēn hōs synagōn kalamēn en amētǭ, kai hōs epiphyllida en trygētǭ, ouk ontos stachyos tou phagein ta prōtogona. Oimoi, psychē, hoti apolōlen eulabēs apo tēs gēs, kai ho katorthōn en anthrōpois ouch hyparchei. i Kai ean proskoptę̄s ge tǭ tauta legein ton Iēsoun, kai penthounta hēmōn ta ptaismata phaskein tod i Oimoi, psychē, i synixetason toutois to apo tou Euangeliou, entha gegraptai, hoti, i idōn tēn Ierousalēm, eklausen epʼ autę̄, kai eipe. i Kai mallon ge, eiper eulogōs eklausen epi Ierousalēm, eulogōteron klausetai epi tēn Ekklēsian, oikodomētheisan men hina oikos proseuchēs ę̄, genomenēn de dia tēn aischrokerdeian kai tryphēn tinōn, allʼ eithe mē kai tōn hēgoumenōn tou laou, spēlaion lę̄stōn. Alla tote men eisēlthen Iēsous eis to hieron tou Theou, kai ekatharen auto hekbalōn pantas tous pōlountas kai agorazontas en tǭ hierǭ, kaitas trapezas tōn kollybistōn katastrepsas meta tōnkathedrōn en ais ekathezonto hoi pōlountes tas peristeras. Nyn de hoson men ouk episkotōyntai hoi tǭ onomati Iēsou Christou ginomenoi epi to auto en synagōgais, eisin hoi pōlountes kai agorazontes en tǭ hierǭ, kai ta loipa poiountes, kai eudamou Iēsous autois epiphainetai, hina ekbalōn dōsę̄ tous loipous, ē kakeinous ekblēthentas poiēsę̄ synaisthesthai tēs hamartias, kai eiselthein eis to hieron, ouketi meta tou pōlein kai agorazein, ē ta loipa ĒB poieinʼ epan de episkepsētai epi tas hamartias hēmōn, kai hōs agapōn hēmas epidēmēsę̄x hina ni mastigōsę̄ hōs huious, hopōs hēmas paradexētai, tote eiseleusetai hē dynamis Iēsou synagomenōn hēmōn kai tou Pneumatos tou hagiou, kai eiselthousa triﬁda! pantas tous pōlountas kai agorazontas en tǭ hierǭ pōlountas men, kai hōsperei;apempolountas ei kai ti chrēston. eichon, agorazontas de antʼ ekeinōn ta phaula, kai tauta en tǭ hierǭ tou Theou, tę̄ Ekklēsia, prattontas. Allʼ eithe eiselthōn eis to hieron tou Patros, tēn Ekklēsian, ton hoikon tēs proseuchēs, mtaballoi ho Iēsous tas tōn kollyoistōn kai philartyrōn trapezas, kai eis polla eutelē kai oudenos logou axia katakermatizontōn ta dokima argyria, hina blapsōsi men ekeinous ois kollyoizousin, autoi de mē eis deon chrēsontai tǭ argyriǭe Eisi de kai alloi en tǭ hierǭ pōlountes kai agorazontes tas Christou peristeras, kai paradidontes i tois akeraious hōs peristeras, i tous euxamenous kai ei; pontas; i Tis dōsei moi pterygas hōsei peristeras. kai petasthēsomai, kai katapausō? o kai epakousthentas, archousin hois ou dei.

And now too I think that the temple built of living stones is the church, and that there are in it some who live not as in the church but as “waging war according to the flesh,” and who by their wickedness make the house of prayer of living stones a den of robbers. For who, considering the sins committed in some churches by those who think that the godliness of others is a means of gain—who, though they ought to live from the Gospel alone, do not do this, but gather wealth and much property—will not say that so great a mystery as the church has become a den of robbers? So that Jesus might say, about the sins committed in the living temple he built, both the words from the Psalms, “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to corruption?”, and those from, I think, Hosea, where the soul of Jesus, displeased with the life of those who sin and seem to be in the temple, says: “Alas, for I have become like one gathering straw in the harvest, and like a gleaning in the vintage, when there is no ear of grain to eat the firstfruits. Alas, my soul, for the godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none among men who does right.” And if you stumble at Jesus’ saying these things, and saying, as he mourns our failings, “Alas, my soul,” examine together with them the words from the Gospel, where it is written that “seeing Jerusalem, he wept over it and said.” And all the more: if he reasonably wept over Jerusalem, more reasonably will he weep over the church, which was built to be a house of prayer but has become a den of robbers through the shameful love of gain and the luxury of some—and would that it were not also of the leaders of the people! But then Jesus entered the temple of God and cleansed it, casting out all who sold and bought in the temple, and overturning the tables of the money-changers together with the seats on which those who sold doves sat. And now, as long as those who gather together in assemblies in the name of Jesus Christ are not visited, there are those who sell and buy in the temple and do the rest, and Jesus nowhere appears to them to cast them out and save the rest, or to make even those cast out aware of their sin and enter the temple, no longer selling and buying or doing the rest. But when he visits our sins, and, as one who loves us, comes to scourge us as sons, so that he may receive us, then the power of Jesus will enter as we are gathered together with the Holy Spirit, and, entering, will cast out all who sell and buy in the temple—selling, and as it were bartering away, whatever good they had, and buying wicked things in its place, and doing these things in the temple of God, the church. Would that Jesus, entering the temple of the Father, the church, the house of prayer, might overturn the tables of the money-changers and lovers of money, who break up genuine silver into many cheap and worthless coins, so as to harm those whose money they change, while they themselves do not use the money for what is needful. And there are others in the temple who sell and buy the doves of Christ, and hand over “those who are guileless as doves”—who prayed and said, “Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly away and be at rest?” and were heard—to rulers to whom they ought not to be handed over.

1 Pet 2:5 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 10:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 6:5 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 30:9 (29:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Mic 7:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Mic 7:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 19:41 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 21:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 21:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 12:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 18:20 (allusion, low confidence) · Matt 10:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 55:6 (54:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The church is now the living temple, but some in it, perhaps even its leaders, make it a den of robbers through greed and luxury; Christ weeps over it and will come to scourge and cleanse it.

Quotations and allusions: 1 Pet 2:5; 2 Cor 10:3; 1 Tim 6:5; 1 Cor 9:14; Ps 30:9 (29:10 LXX); Mic 7:1–2 (Origen attributes it, with hesitation, to Hosea); Luke 19:41; Matt 21:12–13; Heb 12:6–7; Matt 18:20; Matt 10:16; Ps 55:6 (54:7 LXX). Origen’s criticism of greedy members and leaders of the church is translated as written. Two verbs (“visited,” “save”) are garbled in the scan and translated by sense.

Topics: Church office

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Matt. 16.21 (PG 13:1444d–1448d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-matthaeum/16-18/#p-16-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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16.22PG 13:1448d–1453b

Καὶ νομίζω ἁρμόζειν τὸν περὶ τῶν πωλούντων τὰς περιστερὰς λόγον τοῖς παραδιδοῦσι τάξ Ἐκκλησίας αἱσχροκερδέσι, καὶ τυραννικοῖς, καὶ ἀνεπιστήμοσι. καὶ ἁνευλαδέσιν ἐπισκόποις, ἢ πρεσβυτέροις, ἦ διας κόνοις ” διόπερ μόνων τῶν πωλούντων τὰς περιστερὰς καθέδρας ὠνόμασεν ὀ Ματοαῖος καὶ ό Μάρκος, εις φασ κατεστράφθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ. Ὠς εῖοε τούτων ἥκουσ μετὰ τοῦ πρέποντος νοῦ τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ οἱ ἐπὶ τῆς καθέδρας Μωῦσέως αὐχοῦντες καθέζεσθαι, καὶ πω·λοῦντες ὅλας ἐκκλησίας περιστερῶν, καὶ παραδιῶντες αὑτὰς τοιούτοις προεστηκόσι, περὶ ὧν λέγοιτʼ ἂν τὸ ὲν τῷ Ἱερεμίᾳ ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου λεγόμενονο ι Ol ἡγούμενα τοῦ λαοῦ μου ἐμὲ οὐκ ᾔδεισαν · υἱοὶ ἄφρονές εἰσι, καὶ οὐ συνετοί ° σοφοί είσι τοῦ κακοποιῆσαι, τὺ δὲ καλῶς ποιῆσαι οὐκ ἔγνωσαν· ι καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ Μιχαίᾳ, οἶμαι, οὕτω λελεγμένον · ι Οί,ήγούμενοι τοῦ λαοῦ μου ἐκβληθήσονται ἐξ οἴκου τρυφῆς αὐτῶν· ι εί γὰρ ἤκουον, οὐκ ἂν ὲπὼλησαν τὰς Χριστοῦ περιστερὰς, ἀλλὰ κατέστη σαν ἄρχοντας αὐτῶν φειδομένους . τῶν περιστερῶν, κα). προνοουμένους τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῶν, καὶ οὑ περιβλεπομένους τίνα ὡς παχεῖαν περᾼιστερὰν Θύσαντες καταθοινήσονται. Λέγει δὲ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς ὲκβαλλομένοις, ὡς πωλοῦσι καὶ ἀγοράέ ζουσι, καὶ τοῖς κολλυβισταῖς, καὶ τοῖς πωλοῦσι τὰς περιστερὰς, δυσωπῶν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ὡς ὲκ προσώπου τοῦ Πατρὸς λεγομένων προφητειῶν, ὅτιτὸ μὲν γεγραμμένον ἐστίν· ι Ὅ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κλήόήσεταις ι οὐδὲνγὰρ ἄλλο δεῖ εἶναι ἐν Ἐκκλησία Θεοῦ ἦ αὐγὴν πάσης ἁγίας πράξεως, καὶ προκαλουμένης τὴν τοῦΘεοῦ ἐπισκοπὴν, είς εὐχὴν παρὰίΘεῷ λογιζομένης, καθὸ καὶ τό· ι ’Λδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε, »ν δυναέ τόν ἐστιν· ὑμεῖς δὲ, ὦ οὗτοι, ταῖς ὑμετέραις κακίαις τὸν τῆς προσευχῆς οἶκον σπήλαιον λῃστῶν πεποιήίκατ-εʼ καὶ εὑρεῖν ἐστι πολλαχοῦ κατὰ βραχὺ οὕτως εἰς διασῖροφὴν ὁδεύσαντα τὰ τῆς νομιζομένήξ Ἐκκλη· σίας πράγματα, ὡς μηδὲν σπηλαίου λῃστῶνῄ διαφέρειν τὸ adpeto-pa συναγόμενον ἐν ὀνόματι ηΧριστοῦ,ν ὥστʼ ἂν λέγεσθαι αὐτοῖς · ι Διʼ ὑμᾶς διὰ παντὸς τδγὸνομά μου βλασφημεῖται ὲν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν. ι Εί δὲ δεῖ τὰ εῖδη τρία τυγχάνοντα τῶν ἐνταῦθα κατειλεγμένων προσφιλονεικήσαντα τῇ camini; τῆς Γραφῆς ἐπιμελέστερον διηγήσασθαι, μήποτε οἱ μὲν ἐν τῷ λαῷ μηδενὶ ἢ τῷ κόσμῳ σχολάζοντες, καὶ περ) τὸ πωλεῖν καὶ ἀγοράζειν μόνον τὰς διατριβὰς ἔχοντες, καὶ σπανίως ταῖς προσευχαῖς προσκαρτεροῦντες, κα) οἷς ἀπαιτεί ἔργοις ό θεῖος Λόγος, εἰσὶν οἱ πωλοῦντες καὶ ἀγοράζοντες ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ· οἱ δὲ μὴ καλῶς διάκονοι διοικοῦντες τὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας χρήματα, ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ μὲν ταῦτα ψηλαφῶντες, οὗ καλῶς δὲ αὑτᾶ οἰκονομοῦντες, ἀλλὰ σωρεύοντες τὸν vortat:de πλοῦτον καὶ χρήματα, ἵνα πλουτῶσιν ἀπὸ τῶν si; λόγον πτωχῶν διδομένων, οὗτοί εἰσιν oi κολλυβιπιῖ, τραπέζας χρημάτων ἔχοντες, ἃς κατέστρεψεν 6 Tr;σοῦς οἱ δὲ τὰς πρωτοκαθεδρίας πεπιστευμένοι τώ λαοῦ ἐπίσκοποι καὶ πρεσβύτεροι, καὶ ὡσπερεὶ ἀποδιδόμενοι ὅλας Ἐκκλησίας οἷς οὑ χρὴζ καὶ καθιστάντες οὓς οὐ δεῖ ἄρχοντας, οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ πωλοῦντες τὰς περιστερὰς, ὧν τὰς καθέδρας κατέστρεψεν 6 Ἰησοῦς. Ἕκαστος οὖν τῶν ἐπὶ καθέδρας καθεζομέ· νων ὲκκλησιαστικῆς, καὶ ι ἀγαπώντων τὰς πρωτοκαθεδρίας ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς, ι προσεχέτω μήποτε οὕτω καθέζεται ἐπὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ καθέδρας, ὥστε E1— θόντα τδν Ἰησοῦν καταστρέψαι αὐτὴν, ὡς ἀξίαν καταστροφῆς. una: καὶ ἕκαστος τῶν ἀπὸ διακονίας συναγόντων χρήματα, νοήσας τὴν προκειμένην Γριφὴν, μηκέτι σωρευέτω είς τὰς τραπέζας ἁργὺρισν, ἵνα μὴ καταστρέψῃ αὑτὰς 6 Ἰησοῦς. Ἀλλά καὶ ol ὑπὸ μεριμνῶν τε καὶ φροντίδων βιωτικῶν ἀγόμενοι εἰς ἀγορασμοὺς καὶ πράσεις φροντιζέτωσαν μήποτε ἐλθὼν 6 Ἰησοῦς ἐκβάλῃ αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ, ὅτε (ﬁ) 6 ἐκβεβλημένος οὐδὲ ἐλπίδα τοῦ εἰσελθεῖν ἔχει, ὅθεν ἐξεβλήθη. Καὶ ὑποφαίνεται μοι ἐρευνῶντι τὴν ἐκκειμένην Γραφὴν, μήποτε ταῦτα 6 Ἰησοῦς ποιήσῃ καὶ κατὰ τὴν δευτέραν ἐπιδημίαν, ἣ κατὰ τὴν προσδοκωμένην θείαν κρίσιν· εἰσελθὼν γὰρ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅλον, τὴν πᾶσαν Ἐκκλησίαν, τὴν, ἐξ οῦ συνέστη Ἐκκλησία, ὲν ὀνόματι Χριστοῦ συνεστηκυῖαν μέχρι τῆς συντελεϊας τοῦ αἰῶνος, οὓς ἂν εῦρῃ τῷ πωλεῖν καὶ ἀγοράζειν σχολάσαντας τῶν νομιζομένων εἷναι ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκβάλῃʼ καὶ οὓς ἂν εῦρῃ τραπέζας πήξαντας καὶ γινομένους κολλυβιστὰς, ἐλέγξει, καταστρέψας αὐτῶν τὰς τραπέζας, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ δείξας οἷα περὶ τὸ ἀργύριον ἡμαρτήκασι ο τότε δὲ καὶ τὰς, ὡς διηγησάμεθα, καθέδρας τῶν πωλούντων τὰς περιστερὰς καταστρέψει. Εἰ δέ τις οὐδὲν τῶν τριῶν τούτων εἰδῶν ἔχει, καὶ ὲν τῷ ναῷ εὑρίσκεται τοῦ Θεοῦ, θαρρείτωο οὔτε γὰρ ἐκβληθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, οῦτε τι τῶν αὐτοῦ καταστραφήσεξται, οὔθʼ ὡς ποιήσας τὸνοἷκον προσευχῆς σπήλαιον λῃστῶν ὀνειδισθήσεται ὡς λῃστὴς, ὅτε κολασθήσονται οἱ ποιήσαντες τῇ ἑαυτῶν λῃστείᾳ καὶ ἀδικίᾳ τὸν οἷκον τῆς προσευχῆς σπήλαιον λῃστῶν.

Kai nomizō harmozein ton peri tōn pōlountōn tas peristeras logon tois paradidousi tax Ekklēsias haischrokerdesi, kai tyrannikois, kai anepistēmosi. kai haneuladesin episkopois, ē presbyterois, ē dias konois ” dioper monōn tōn pōlountōn tas peristeras kathedras ōnomasen o Matoaios kai o Markos, eis phas katestraphthai hypo tou Iēsou. Ōs eioe toutōn hēkous meta tou prepontos nou tę̄ theią Graphę̄ hoi epi tēs kathedras Mōyseōs auchountes kathezesthai, kai pō;lountes holas ekklēsias peristerōn, kai paradiōntes hautas toioutois proestēkosi, peri hōn legoitʼ an to en tǭ Hieremią hypo tou Kyriou legomenono i Ol hēgoumena tou laou mou eme ouk ę̄deisan ; huioi aphrones eisi, kai ou synetoi ° sophoi eisi tou kakopoiēsai, ty de kalōs poiēsai ouk egnōsan; i kai to en tǭ Michaią, oimai, houtō lelegmenon ; i Oi,ēgoumenoi tou laou mou ekblēthēsontai ex oikou tryphēs autōn; i ei gar ēkouon, ouk an epōlēsan tas Christou peristeras, alla katestē san archontas autōn pheidomenous . tōn peristerōn, ka). pronooumenous tēs sōtērias autōn, kai hou periblepomenous tina hōs pacheian perĄisteran Thysantes katathoinēsontai. Legei de Iēsous tois ekballomenois, hōs pōlousi kai agorae zousi, kai tois kollybistais, kai tois pōlousi tas peristeras, dysōpōn autous apo tōn hōs ek prosōpou tou Patros legomenōn prophēteiōn, hotito men gegrammenon estin; i Ho oikos mou oikos proseuchēs klēoēsetais i oudengar allo dei einai en Ekklēsia Theou ē augēn pasēs hagias praxeōs, kai prokaloumenēs tēn touTheou episkopēn, eis euchēn paraiTheǭ logizomenēs, katho kai to; i ’Ldialeiptōs proseuchesthe, »n dynae ton estin; hymeis de, ō houtoi, tais hymeterais kakiais ton tēs proseuchēs oikon spēlaion lę̄stōn pepoiēikat-eʼ kai heurein esti pollachou kata brachy houtōs eis diasirophēn hodeusanta ta tēs nomizomenēx Ekklē; sias pragmata, hōs mēden spēlaiou lę̄stōnę̄ diapherein to adpeto-pa synagomenon en onomati ēChristou,n hōstʼ an legesthai autois ; i Diʼ hymas dia pantos tdgonoma mou blasphēmeitai en tois ethnesin. i Ei de dei ta eidē tria tynchanonta tōn entautha kateilegmenōn prosphiloneikēsanta tę̄ camini? tēs Graphēs epimelesteron diēgēsasthai, mēpote hoi men en tǭ laǭ mēdeni ē tǭ kosmǭ scholazontes, kai per) to pōlein kai agorazein monon tas diatribas echontes, kai spaniōs tais proseuchais proskarterountes, ka) hois apaitei ergois o theios Logos, eisin hoi pōlountes kai agorazontes en tǭ hierǭ tou Theou; hoi de mē kalōs diakonoi dioikountes ta tēs Ekklēsias chrēmata, allʼ aei men tauta psēlaphōntes, hou kalōs de hauta oikonomountes, alla sōreuontes ton vortat:de plouton kai chrēmata, hina ploutōsin apo tōn si? logon ptōchōn didomenōn, houtoi eisin oi kollybipii, trapezas chrēmatōn echontes, has katestrepsen 6 Tr?sous hoi de tas prōtokathedrias pepisteumenoi tō laou episkopoi kai presbyteroi, kai hōsperei apodidomenoi holas Ekklēsias hois hou chrēz kai kathistantes hous ou dei archontas, houtoi eisin hoi pōlountes tas peristeras, hōn tas kathedras katestrepsen 6 Iēsous. Hekastos oun tōn epi kathedras kathezome; nōn ekklēsiastikēs, kai i agapōntōn tas prōtokathedrias en tais synagōgais, i prosechetō mēpote houtō kathezetai epi tēs heautou kathedras, hōste E1— thonta tdn Iēsoun katastrepsai autēn, hōs axian katastrophēs. una: kai hekastos tōn apo diakonias synagontōn chrēmata, noēsas tēn prokeimenēn Griphēn, mēketi sōreuetō eis tas trapezas hargyrisn, hina mē katastrepsę̄ hautas 6 Iēsous. Alla kai ol hypo merimnōn te kai phrontidōn biōtikōn agomenoi eis agorasmous kai praseis phrontizetōsan mēpote elthōn 6 Iēsous ekbalę̄ autous ek tou hierou, hote (ﬁ) 6 ekbeblēmenos oude elpida tou eiselthein echei, hothen exeblēthē. Kai hypophainetai moi ereunōnti tēn ekkeimenēn Graphēn, mēpote tauta 6 Iēsous poiēsę̄ kai kata tēn deuteran epidēmian, hē kata tēn prosdokōmenēn theian krisin; eiselthōn gar eis to hieron tou Theou holon, tēn pasan Ekklēsian, tēn, ex ou synestē Ekklēsia, en onomati Christou synestēkuian mechri tēs synteleïas tou aiōnos, hous an eurę̄ tǭ pōlein kai agorazein scholasantas tōn nomizomenōn heinai en tǭ hierǭ tou Theou ekbalę̄ʼ kai hous an eurę̄ trapezas pēxantas kai ginomenous kollybistas, elenxei, katastrepsas autōn tas trapezas, kai tǭ logǭ deixas hoia peri to argyrion hēmartēkasi o tote de kai tas, hōs diēgēsametha, kathedras tōn pōlountōn tas peristeras katastrepsei. Ei de tis ouden tōn triōn toutōn eidōn echei, kai en tǭ naǭ heurisketai tou Theou, tharreitōo oute gar ekblēthēsetai hypo tou Iēsou, oute ti tōn autou katastraphēsextai, outhʼ hōs poiēsas tonoikon proseuchēs spēlaion lę̄stōn oneidisthēsetai hōs lę̄stēs, hote kolasthēsontai hoi poiēsantes tę̄ heautōn lę̄steią kai adikią ton hoikon tēs proseuchēs spēlaion lę̄stōn.

And I think that the saying about those who sell doves fits those who hand over the churches to bishops, presbyters, or deacons who are greedy for shameful gain, tyrannical, ignorant, and irreverent; and for this reason Matthew and Mark named only the seats of those who sold doves, saying that they were overturned by Jesus. Would that those who boast of sitting on the seat of Moses, and who sell whole churches of doves and hand them over to such presiding officers, would hear these things with the meaning that befits the divine Scripture! Of such officers might be said what is said by the Lord in Jeremiah: “The leaders of my people did not know me; they are foolish sons and without understanding; they are wise to do evil, but how to do good they did not know”; and what is said, I think, in Micah thus: “The leaders of my people shall be cast out of their houses of luxury.” For if they had heard, they would not have sold the doves of Christ, but would have appointed rulers over them who spare the doves and provide for their salvation, and do not look around for one to sacrifice as a fat dove and feast on. And Jesus says to those who are cast out as sellers and buyers, and to the money-changers, and to those who sell doves, putting them to shame with the prophecies spoken as from the person of the Father, that what is written is: “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” For nothing else ought to be in the church of God than the radiance of every holy action, calling forth the oversight of God and reckoned as prayer before God; in this sense the words “Pray without ceasing” too are possible. “But you, such as you are, have by your wickedness made the house of prayer a den of robbers.” And one can find in many places that the affairs of what is thought to be the church have gradually so gone to ruin that the assembly gathered in the name of Christ differs in nothing from a den of robbers, so that it may be said to them: “Because of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles.” And if one must contend more earnestly with the letter of Scripture and explain more carefully the three kinds listed here, perhaps those among the people who devote themselves to nothing but the world, spending their time only in selling and buying, and who seldom persevere in prayer and in the works the divine Word requires, are those who sell and buy in the temple of God. And the deacons who do not administer the church’s money well, but are always handling it without managing it well, heaping up … wealth and money so as to grow rich from what is given for the poor—these are the money-changers, who have the tables of money which Jesus overturned. And the bishops and presbyters who have been entrusted with the first seats among the people, and who as it were sell off whole churches to those to whom they ought not, and appoint as rulers those whom they ought not—these are the sellers of doves, whose seats Jesus overturned. Let each, then, of those who sit on an ecclesiastical seat and “love the first seats in the synagogues” take heed lest he so sit on his seat that Jesus, when he comes, overturns it as deserving to be overturned. And let each of those who gather money from a diaconate, understanding the Scripture before us, no longer heap up silver on the tables, lest Jesus overturn them. And let those who are led by the cares and anxieties of this life into buying and selling take care lest Jesus come and cast them out of the temple, when the one cast out has not even the hope of entering again the place from which he was cast out. And it appears to me, as I search the Scripture set before us, that perhaps Jesus will do these things also at his second coming, at the expected divine judgment. For, entering the whole temple of God—the whole church, constituted in the name of Christ from the time the church was constituted until the completion of the age—he will cast out those whom he finds occupied with selling and buying among those thought to be in the temple of God; and those whom he finds to have set up tables and become money-changers he will reprove, overturning their tables and showing by his word how they have sinned with regard to money; and then he will overturn also the seats, as we explained them, of those who sell doves. But if anyone has none of these three kinds of fault and is found in the temple of God, let him take courage; for he will not be cast out by Jesus, nor will anything of his be overturned, nor will he be reproached as a robber for having made the house of prayer a den of robbers, when those are punished who by their robbery and injustice have made the house of prayer a den of robbers.

Matt 21:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 21:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 11:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 23:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Jer 4:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Mic 2:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 56:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Thess 5:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 2:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 52:5 (quotation, medium confidence) · Rom 12:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 23:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 21:34 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The three kinds driven from the temple are worldly church members, deacons who enrich themselves from funds for the poor, and bishops and presbyters who appoint unworthy rulers over the flock; Christ will judge them at his second coming.

Quotations and allusions: Matt 21:12–13; Mark 11:15; Matt 23:2; Jer 4:22; Mic 2:9; Isa 56:7; 1 Thess 5:17; Rom 2:24 (Isa 52:5); Rom 12:12; Matt 23:6; Luke 21:34. Origen’s criticism of bishops, presbyters, and deacons is translated as written. A word describing the wealth heaped up is garbled in the scan and marked “…”. A running head of the edition, left in the scan, has been removed.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR: running head): οῐιιαΕΝιε ΗΞῖί ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ → ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ.

Topics: Church office, Eschatology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Matt. 16.22 (PG 13:1448d–1453b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-matthaeum/16-18/#p-16-22). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-commentarius-matthaeum-16-22) · Report an error

16.23PG 13:1453b–1456a

Εἰρημένου τοίνυν εις τὸ ῥητὸν τῆς ὑποπεσούσης ἡμῖν καὶ εἰς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν διχῶς ἀποδεδομένης διηγήσεως, φέρε μετὰ ταῦτα ἴδωμεν εἰ δύναται καὶ οῦτω τὰ κατὰ τὸν τόπον νοηθῆναι. Οὐκ ἔλαττον τῆς Ἐκκλησίας φύσει ἱερόν ὲστιΘεοῦ πᾶσα λογικὴ φύσις, κατεσκευασμένη ἶνα χωρήσῃ δόξαν Θεοῦ, περὶ ἦς γέγραπται ὲν τῇ δευτέρᾳ τῶν Παραλειπομένων, καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ τῶν Βασιλειῶν, ὀφοεισης μετὰ τὴν οἰκον δομὴν τοῦ νεὼ ὲν αὐτῷ.,Τοῦτο δὴ τὸ φύσει ἱερὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὴν ψυχὴν, πεπληρώκαμεν οἱ ἁμαρτάνοντες πωλούντων καὶ ἀγοραζόντων λογισμῶν, καὶ ἄλλων περὶ ἀργυρίου πάντα σκοπούντων διαλογισμῶν πεπλη ρὼκαμεν δὲ ἁμαρτάνοντες, καὶ ἄλλων πωλούντων καὶ ἁπεμπολούντων εἴ τι ἆγιον κατάλειμμα ὲν τῇ ψυχῇ ήμῶν γεγένηται, ὅπερ ἦν περιστερά. Λέγει οὖν τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν ὁ Ἰησοῦς. καὶ πεπληρωμένοις λῃστῶν λογισμῶν τό* ι Γέγραπταιʼ '0 οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται ’ ὑμεῖς δὲ αὑτὸν πεποιήκατε σπήλαιον λῃστῶν. ι Ὀ μὲν οῦν Ἰησοῦς τοὺς ποιήσαντας σπήλαιον λῃστῶν τὸν οἶκον τῆς προσευχῆς λῃστὰς ἐξέβαλεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ’ οἱ δὲ τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς λῃσταῖς φρονοῦντες περὶ μὲν Ἰησοῦ εἰρήκασι· ι Σταύρου, σταύρου αὐτόν· ι περὶ δὲ τοῦ λῃστοῦ Βαραββἄ· ι ’Λπόλῦσον ὑμῖν τὸν Βαραββᾶν. ι Διόπερ μέχρι σήμερον Ἰουδαῖοι Ἰησοῦν μὲν ούκ ἔχουσιν, ού γὰρ πεπιστεύκασιν εὶς τὸν Υεὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ’ ἔχουσι δὲ μεθʼ ἑαυτῶν ί ῦῗιιιι τὸν ἀτεὺ τῶν πνευματικῶν τῆς πονηρίας Βαραῦὂᾶν τὸν λῃστὴν ήδη κεκρατημένον, καὶ είς φυλακὴν καφ τακεκλεισμένον, ὃν καθʼ ἑαυτῶν ἠξίωσαν ἀπολυο θῆναι θ διὰ τοῦτο ἄρχει τῶν ἀπίστων Ἰουδαίων Βαραββᾶς ὁ λῃστής. Περί τῶν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ θεραπευθέντων τυφλῶν καὶ χωλῶν.

Eirēmenou toinyn eis to rhēton tēs hypopesousēs hēmin kai eis tēn Ekklēsian dichōs apodedomenēs diēgēseōs, phere meta tauta idōmen ei dynatai kai outō ta kata ton topon noēthēnai. Ouk elatton tēs Ekklēsias physei hieron estiTheou pasa logikē physis, kateskeuasmenē ina chōrēsę̄ doxan Theou, peri ēs gegraptai en tę̄ deuterą tōn Paraleipomenōn, kai tę̄ tritę̄ tōn Basileiōn, ophoeisēs meta tēn oikon domēn tou neō en autǭ.,Touto dē to physei hieron tou Theou, tēn psychēn, peplērōkamen hoi hamartanontes pōlountōn kai agorazontōn logismōn, kai allōn peri argyriou panta skopountōn dialogismōn peplē rōkamen de hamartanontes, kai allōn pōlountōn kai hapempolountōn ei ti agion kataleimma en tę̄ psychę̄ ēmōn gegenētai, hoper ēn peristera. Legei oun tois hamartanousin ho Iēsous. kai peplērōmenois lę̄stōn logismōn to* i Gegraptaiʼ '0 oikos mou oikos proseuchēs klēthēsetai ’ hymeis de hauton pepoiēkate spēlaion lę̄stōn. i O men oun Iēsous tous poiēsantas spēlaion lę̄stōn ton oikon tēs proseuchēs lę̄stas exebalen ek tou hierou ’ hoi de ta auta tois lę̄stais phronountes peri men Iēsou eirēkasi; i Staurou, staurou auton; i peri de tou lę̄stou Barabba; i ’Lpolyson hymin ton Barabban. i Dioper mechri sēmeron Ioudaioi Iēsoun men ouk echousin, ou gar pepisteukasin eis ton Yeon tou Theou ’ echousi de methʼ heautōn i yïiiii ton ateu tōn pneumatikōn tēs ponērias Barauoan ton lę̄stēn ēdē kekratēmenon, kai eis phylakēn kaph takekleismenon, hon kathʼ heautōn ēxiōsan apolyo thēnai th dia touto archei tōn apistōn Ioudaiōn Barabbas ho lę̄stēs. Peri tōn en tǭ hierǭ therapeuthentōn typhlōn kai chōlōn.

Having, then, given on the literal text the explanation that occurred to us, and applied it in two ways also to the church, come, let us next see whether the passage can also be understood in this way. No less than the church, every rational nature is by nature a temple of God, made to receive the glory of God—the glory of which it is written in the second book of Chronicles and the third of Kingdoms that it appeared in the temple after the building of it. This temple of God by nature, the soul, we who sin have filled with thoughts that sell and buy, and with other reasonings that look at everything in terms of money; and we who sin have filled it with still other thoughts that sell and barter away whatever holy remnant has come to be in our soul, which was a dove. Jesus, then, says to those who sin and are filled with robber thoughts: “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.” Jesus, then, cast out of the temple the robbers who had made the house of prayer a den of robbers; and those who thought as the robbers did said about Jesus, “Crucify, crucify him,” and about the robber Barabbas, “Release Barabbas to us.” Therefore to this day the Jews do not have Jesus, for they have not believed in the Son of God; but they have with them … Barabbas the robber, from among the spiritual hosts of wickedness, who had already been seized and shut up in prison, and whom they asked to be released to their own hurt. Therefore Barabbas the robber rules the unbelieving Jews. [On the blind and lame healed in the temple.]

2 Chr 7:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Chr 7:2 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 8:10 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 8:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 21:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 23:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 23:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 6:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 27:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 27:21 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Every rational soul is a temple of God, which sins fill with robber thoughts; those who chose Barabbas over Jesus are, in Origen’s reading, ruled by the robber still.

Quotations and allusions: 2 Chr 7:1–2; 1 Kgs 8:10–11 (3 Kgdms 8:10–11 LXX); Matt 21:13; Luke 23:21; Luke 23:18; Eph 6:12; Matt 27:16–21. Origen’s statements about the Jews are translated as written, without comment. A few words before “Barabbas the robber” are garbled in the scan and marked “…”. The bracketed words at the end are a heading printed in the edition.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Matt. 16.23 (PG 13:1453b–1456a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-matthaeum/16-18/#p-16-23). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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16.24PG 13:1456a–1456b

ι Καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ τυφλοὶ καὶ χωλοὶ ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτοὺς, ι καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἓως, τοῦ · ι Ἐκ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον. ι Td μὲν τῆς λέξεως δῆλω ἀκολούθωςᾶ ταῖς προαποδεδομέναις ἀναγωγαῖς λεκτέον, ὅτι ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῷ οἴκῳ τῆς προσευχῆς, τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, ού πᾴντες είσὶ βλέποντες, οὐδὲ, ἶνʼ οὕτως ὀνομάσω, ὀρθοποδοῦντεςσ εἰσὶ γάρ τινες καὶ τυφλοὶ, καὶ ἄλλοι χωλοὶ τῶν ἀθροιζομένων, οἵτινες ἐκ τοῦ συναισθέσθαι τῆς ἑαυτῶν τυφλότητος καὶ κοιλότητος, καὶ τοῦ γινώσκειν, ὅτι οὐδενὸς ἥ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔργον ἐστὶ, καὶ τοῦ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ θεραπεῦσαι αὐτοὺς, atposελθόντες αύτῷ θεραπεύονται.

i Kai prosēlthon autǭ typhloi kai chōloi en tǭ hierǭ, kai etherapeusen autous, i kai ta hexēs heōs, tou ; i Ek stomatos nēpiōn kai thēlazontōn katērtisō ainon. i Td men tēs lexeōs dēlō akolouthōsa tais proapodedomenais anagōgais lekteon, hoti en tǭ hierǭ tou Theou, tǭ oikǭ tēs proseuchēs, tę̄ Ekklēsią, ou pąntes eisi blepontes, oude, inʼ houtōs onomasō, orthopodountess eisi gar tines kai typhloi, kai alloi chōloi tōn athroizomenōn, hoitines ek tou synaisthesthai tēs heautōn typhlotētos kai koilotētos, kai tou ginōskein, hoti oudenos hē tou Theou ergon esti, kai tou Logou tou Theou to therapeusai autous, atposelthontes autǭ therapeuontai.

“And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them,” and so on, up to “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have perfected praise.” What concerns the letter is clear. But, consistently with the higher interpretations given before, we must say that in the temple of God, the house of prayer, the church, not all are seeing, nor, if I may so name it, walking straight; for some of those gathered are blind and others lame. These, from being aware of their own blindness and lameness, and from knowing that it is the work of none but God and the Word of God to heal them, come to him and are healed.

Matt 21:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 21:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 8:2 (8:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 2:14 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: In the church, the house of prayer, some are blind and some lame; recognizing this and that only the Word of God can heal them, they come to him and are healed.

Quotations and allusions: Matt 21:14–16; Ps 8:2 (8:3 LXX); Gal 2:14 (“walking straight”).

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Matt. 16.24 (PG 13:1456a–1456b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-matthaeum/16-18/#p-16-24). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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16.25PG 13:1456c–1457c

Μετά τοῦτο γέγραπται, ὅτι oi ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ τι γραμματεῖς, καίτοιγε ἰδόντες τὰ θαυμάσια ἀ ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, καὶ τῶν παίδων ἀκούοντες δοξαζόντων τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὲν τῷ ἱερῷ, τῇ Ἐκκλησία, ἠγανἀκτη σαν καταφρονοῦντες τῶν ὑμνούντων τὸν Ἰη- σοῦν παιδίων, καὶ ἀγανακτήσαντες φασι τῷ Σωτῆρι · ι Ἀκούεις τί οὗτοι λέγουσιν ; › ὁ δὲ, δυσωπῶν αὐτοὺς, ἀπεκρίνατο, ὅτι, Τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ ὲν ταῖς θείαις ἀναστρεφόμενοι Γραφαῖς μέχρι τοῦ δεῦρο, οῦκ ἀνέγνωτε, ἵνα μὴ καταφρονήσητε τῶν ὲν τῇ Ἐκκλησία μικρῶν καὶ παιδίων ὑμνούντων ἐμὲ καὶ τὸν ὲν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς Πατέρα μου ὅτι, ί Ἐκ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἷνον; ι Μήποτε οῦν, ὡς κατά ἱστορίαν ψεκτοί είσιν οὗτοι οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ γραμματεῖς, οὕτως καὶ κατά τὴν ἀναγωγὴν είσί τινες ψεκτοὶ ἀρχιερεῖς, τὺ ὄνομα τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς οὐ κοσμοῦντες τῷ ἑαυτῶν βίῳ, οὐδὲ ἐνδεδυμένοι τὴν δήλωσιν καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν; Οὗτοι οὖν, καίτοιγε βλέποντες τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ θαυμάσια, οὐδὲν ἦττον καταφρονοῦσι τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησία μικρῶν μὲν καὶ νηπίων, ὑμνούντων δὲ τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν αὑτοῦ, καὶ ἀγανακτοῦσιν ἐπὶ τῇ τούτων προκοπῇ, καὶ κατηγοροῦσιν αὐτῶν παρὰ τῷ Ἰησοῦ, ὡς ἁμαρτανόντων τῶν μὴ ἁμαρτανόντων, καὶ ὡς ἀκουόντων πᾶσαν τάξιν τηρούντων, καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· ι ’Δκούεις τί οὗτοι λέγουσι; ι Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ ἔτι μᾶλλον συνήσομεν, ὲπιστήσαντες τίνα τρόπον πολλάκις τοῖς ζέουσι τῷ πνεύματι, καὶ μέχρι φυλακῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἀπίστους πα· ραβαλλομένοις, καὶ κινδύνου καταφρονοῦσι, καὶ μετά πάσης εὐτονίας ἀσκοῦσιν ἁγνείαν καὶ παρθενίων, ἰδιώταις τῇ λέξει, ὲπιπλήσσουσιν ὼς ἀτάκτοις οἱ ψακτοὶ ἀρχιερεῖς, καὶ ἐγκαλοῦσιν αὐτοῖς παρά τῷ Ἰησοῦ, ὡς αὐτοὶ δικαιότερον πράττοντες τῶν οὕτω σπουδαίων καὶ χρηστῶν παιδίων. Ἀλλʼ ό Ἰησοῦς τοῖς παιδίοις μὲν μαρτυρεῖ, τοῖς δὲ ἀρχιερεῦσιν ἀμαθίαν ἐγκαλεῖ διὰ τοῦ λέγειν· ι Οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε, ὅτι ὲκ πόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον ; ι καὶ ἐπὰν ἴδῃς ὲν τῇ Ἐκκλησία τοὺς κατὰ τὸν πρότερον, ι ὡς,ἀρτιγένητα βρέφη, τὸ λογιτὼν ἄδολον γάλα ἐπιποθοῦντας, ι καὶ θηλάξοντας αὐτὸ γάλα ποτιζομένους, ἔτι καὶ ὑμνοῦντας τὸν Θεὸν τῇ πίστει καὶ τῷ βίῳ, θεώρει, ὅτι πληροῦται ἐπʼ αὐτῶν τό· ς Ἐκ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνονο ι ἑαυτῷ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς αἶνον ὲν τοῖς τοιούτοις καταρτίζεται, ἐφʼ οἷς εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Πατρὶ δἰησοῦς λέγει· ι Ἐξομολογοῦμαί σοι, Πάτερ, Κύριε τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅτι ἀπέκρυψας ταῦτα ἀπὸ σοφῶν καὶ συνετῶν, καὶ ἀπεκάλυψας αὑτά νηπίοις. Ναὶ, ὁ Πατὴρ, ὃτι οὕτως ἐγένετο, ι καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Περὶ τῆς ξηρανθείσης συκῆς.

Meta touto gegraptai, hoti oi archiereis kai ti grammateis, kaitoige idontes ta thaumasia a epoiēsen ho Iēsous, kai tōn paidōn akouontes doxazontōn ton Huion tou Theou en tǭ hierǭ, tę̄ Ekklēsia, ēganaktē san kataphronountes tōn hymnountōn ton Iē- soun paidiōn, kai aganaktēsantes phasi tǭ Sōtēri ; i Akoueis ti houtoi legousin ? › ho de, dysōpōn autous, apekrinato, hoti, Tosoutǭ chronǭ en tais theiais anastrephomenoi Graphais mechri tou deuro, ouk anegnōte, hina mē kataphronēsēte tōn en tę̄ Ekklēsia mikrōn kai paidiōn hymnountōn eme kai ton en tois ouranois Patera mou hoti, i Ek stomatos nēpiōn kai thēlazontōn katērtisō hainon? i Mēpote oun, hōs kata historian psektoi eisin houtoi hoi archiereis kai grammateis, houtōs kai kata tēn anagōgēn eisi tines psektoi archiereis, ty onoma tēs episkopēs ou kosmountes tǭ heautōn biǭ, oude endedymenoi tēn dēlōsin kai tēn alētheian? Houtoi oun, kaitoige blepontes ta tou Theou thaumasia, ouden ētton kataphronousi tōn en tę̄ Ekklēsia mikrōn men kai nēpiōn, hymnountōn de ton Theon kai ton Christon hautou, kai aganaktousin epi tę̄ toutōn prokopę̄, kai katēgorousin autōn para tǭ Iēsou, hōs hamartanontōn tōn mē hamartanontōn, kai hōs akouontōn pasan taxin tērountōn, kai legousin autǭ; i ’Dkoueis ti houtoi legousi? i Kai touto de eti mallon synēsomen, epistēsantes tina tropon pollakis tois zeousi tǭ pneumati, kai mechri phylakōn pros tous apistous pa; raballomenois, kai kindynou kataphronousi, kai meta pasēs eutonias askousin hagneian kai partheniōn, idiōtais tę̄ lexei, epiplēssousin ōs ataktois hoi psaktoi archiereis, kai enkalousin autois para tǭ Iēsou, hōs autoi dikaioteron prattontes tōn houtō spoudaiōn kai chrēstōn paidiōn. Allʼ o Iēsous tois paidiois men martyrei, tois de archiereusin amathian enkalei dia tou legein; i Oudepote anegnōte, hoti ek pomatos nēpiōn kai thēlazontōn katērtisō ainon ? i kai epan idę̄s en tę̄ Ekklēsia tous kata ton proteron, i hōs,artigenēta brephē, to logitōn adolon gala epipothountas, i kai thēlaxontas auto gala potizomenous, eti kai hymnountas ton Theon tę̄ pistei kai tǭ biǭ, theōrei, hoti plēroutai epʼ autōn to; s Ek stomatos nēpiōn kai thēlazontōn katērtisō ainono i heautǭ gar ho Theos ainon en tois toioutois katartizetai, ephʼ hois eucharistōn tǭ Patri diēsous legei; i Exomologoumai soi, Pater, Kyrie tou ouranou kai tēs gēs, hoti apekrypsas tauta apo sophōn kai synetōn, kai apekalypsas hauta nēpiois. Nai, ho Patēr, hoti houtōs egeneto, i kai ta hexēs. Peri tēs xērantheisēs sykēs.

After this it is written that the chief priests and the scribes, though they saw the wonders that Jesus did, and heard the children glorifying the Son of God in the temple, the church, were indignant, despising the children who hymned Jesus; and in their indignation they say to the Saviour, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And he, putting them to shame, answered, as it were: Though you have occupied yourselves so long with the divine Scriptures, up to this day, have you not read—so that you would not despise the little ones and children in the church who hymn me and my Father in heaven—that “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have perfected praise”? Perhaps, then, as according to the narrative these chief priests and scribes are blameworthy, so also according to the higher sense there are some blameworthy chief priests, who do not adorn the name of the episcopate by their own life, nor are clothed with the “Manifestation and Truth.” These, then, though they see the wonders of God, nonetheless despise those in the church who are little ones and infants but hymn God and his Christ; and they are indignant at their progress, and accuse them before Jesus as sinning when they do not sin, and as disobedient when they keep all good order, and they say to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And we shall understand this still better if we consider how often those who are fervent in spirit, who expose themselves even to prison before the unbelievers, despise danger, and with all vigour practise purity and virginity, though they are unlearned in speech, are reproved as disorderly by the blameworthy chief priests, who accuse them before Jesus as though they themselves acted more righteously than such earnest and good children. But Jesus bears witness to the children, and charges the chief priests with ignorance by saying, “Have you never read, Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have perfected praise?” And when you see in the church those who, as in the First Letter of Peter, “like newborn babes long for the pure spiritual milk,” and who nurse and are given milk to drink, yet hymn God by their faith and their life, consider that “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have perfected praise” is fulfilled in them. For God perfects praise for himself in such people, for whom Jesus, giving thanks to the Father, says: “I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for so it was,” and so on. [On the withered fig tree.]

Matt 21:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 21:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 8:2 (8:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 28:30 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 12:11 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Cor 11:6 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Pet 2:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:26 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The indignant chief priests stand for bishops whose lives dishonour their office and who despise and accuse simple, fervent believers; Christ defends the children, from whose mouths God perfects praise.

Quotations and allusions: Matt 21:15–16; Ps 8:2 (8:3 LXX); Exod 28:30 (“Manifestation and Truth,” the LXX rendering of Urim and Thummim on the high priest’s breastpiece); Rom 12:11; 2 Cor 11:6; 1 Pet 2:2; Matt 11:25–26. Origen’s criticism of bishops is translated as written. The word rendered “disobedient” is garbled in the scan and translated by sense. The bracketed words at the end are a heading printed in the edition.

Topics: Church office

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Matt. 16.25 (PG 13:1456c–1457c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-matthaeum/16-18/#p-16-25). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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