Origen, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, Part II, Complete

Translated by Allan Menzies.

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Page 117

Then we may very properly refer to Christ's declaration that He cannot do anything but what He sees the Father doing and saying, [5104] because whatever the Father does that the Son also does in like manner, and that He had raised the dead, i.e., the body, the Father granting Him this, who must be said to have been the principal agent in raising up Christ from the dead. But Heracleon says, "In three days," instead of "On the third day," not having examined the point (and yet having noted the words "in three"), that the resurrection is brought about in three days. But he also calls the third the spiritual day, in which they consider the resurrection of the Church to be indicated. It follows from this that the first day is to be called the "earthly" day, and the second the psychical, the resurrection of the Church not having taken place on them. Now the statements of the false witnesses, recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew and Mark [5105] towards the end of the Gospel, and the accusation they brought against our Lord Jesus Christ, appear to have reference to this utterance of His, "Destroy this temple, and I will build it up in three days." For He was speaking of the temple of His body, but they supposed His words to refer to the temple of stone, and so they said when accusing Him, "This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it up in three days," or, as Mark has it, "We heard Him say, that I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build up another temple not made with hands." Here the high-priest stood up and said to Him, "Answerest Thou nothing? What do these witness against Thee? But Jesus held His peace." Or, as Mark says, "And the high-priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus saying, Answerest Thou nothing? What do these witness against Thee? But He held His peace and answered nothing." These words must, I think, necessarily have reference to the text now before us.

[5104] John v. 19.

[5105] Matt. xxvi. 61; Mark xiv. 58.

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