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The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 4 · Chapter 43

About this work

A sustained refutation of Marcion’s theology and edited Scriptures, defending the unity of the Creator and Christ’s Father and reading the Gospel and Pauline letters against Marcionite claims.

Author: Tertullian
Date: Early 3rd century
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Heresiology

Chapter XLIII.—Conclusions. Jesus as the Christ of the Creator Proved from the Events of the Last Chapter of St. Luke. The Pious Women at the Sepulchre. The Angels at the Resurrection. The Manifold Appearances of Christ After the Resurrection. His Mission of the Apostles Amongst All Nations. All Shown to Be in Accordance with the Wisdom of the Almighty Father, as Indicated in Prophecy. The Body of Christ After Death No Mere Phantom. Marcion’s Manipulation of the Gospel on This Point.

It was very meet that the man

‹ Book 4 · Chapter 42 Book 5 · Chapter 1 ›

who

buried

the

Lord

should

thus

be

noticed

in

prophecy

,

and

thenceforth

be

“

blessed

;

”

since

prophecy

does

not

omit

the

(

pious

)

office

of

the

women

who

resorted

before

day

-

break

to

the

sepulchre

with

the

spices

which

they

had

prepared

.

For

of

this

incident

it

is

said

by

Hosea

:

“

To

seek

my

face

they

will

watch

till

day

-

light

,

saying

unto

me

,

Come

,

and

let

us

return

to

the

Lord

:

for

He

hath

taken

away

,

and

He

will

heal

us

;

He

hath

smitten

,

and

He

will

bind

us

up

;

after

two

days

will

He

revive

us

:

in

the

third

day

He

will

raise

us

up

.

”

For

who

can

refuse

to

believe

that

these

words

often

revolved

in

the

thought

of

those

women

between

the

sorrow

of

that

desertion

with

which

at

present

they

seemed

to

themselves

to

have

been

smitten

by

the

Lord

,

and

the

hope

of

the

resurrection

itself

,

by

which

they

rightly

supposed

that

all

would

be

restored

to

them

?

But

when

“

they

found

not

the

body

(

of

the

Lord

Jesus

)

,

”

“

His

sepulture

was

removed

from

the

midst

of

them

,

”

according

to

the

prophecy

of

Isaiah

.

“

Two

angels

however

,

appeared

there

.

”

For

just

so

many

honorary

companions

were

required

by

the

word

of

God

,

which

usually

prescribes

“

two

witnesses

.

”

Moreover

,

the

women

,

returning

from

the

sepulchre

,

and

from

this

vision

of

the

angels

,

were

foreseen

by

Isaiah

,

when

he

says

,

“

Come

,

ye

women

,

who

return

from

the

vision

;

”

that

is

,

“

come

,

”

to

report

the

resurrection

of

the

Lord

.

It

was

well

,

however

,

that

the

unbelief

of

the

disciples

was

so

persistent

,

in

order

that

to

the

last

we

might

consistently

maintain

that

Jesus

revealed

Himself

to

the

disciples

as

none

other

than

the

Christ

of

the

prophets

.

For

as

two

of

them

were

taking

a

walk

,

and

when

the

Lord

had

joined

their

company

,

without

its

appearing

that

it

was

He

,

and

whilst

He

dissembled

His

knowledge

of

what

had

just

taken

place

,

they

say

:

“

But

we

trusted

that

it

had

been

He

which

should

have

redeemed

Israel

,

”

—

meaning

their

own

,

that

is

,

the

Creator’s

Christ

.

So

far

had

He

been

from

declaring

Himself

to

them

as

another

Christ

!

They

could

not

,

however

,

deem

Him

to

be

the

Christ

of

the

Creator

;

nor

,

if

He

was

so

deemed

by

them

,

could

He

have

tolerated

this

opinion

concerning

Himself

,

unless

He

were

really

He

whom

He

was

supposed

to

be

.

Otherwise

He

would

actually

be

the

author

of

error

,

and

the

prevaricator

of

truth

,

contrary

to

the

character

of

the

good

God

.

But

at

no

time

even

after

His

resurrection

did

He

reveal

Himself

to

them

as

any

other

than

what

,

on

their

own

showing

,

they

had

always

thought

Him

to

be

.

He

pointedly

reproached

them

:

“

O

fools

,

and

slow

of

heart

in

not

believing

that

which

He

spake

unto

you

.

”

By

saying

this

,

He

proves

that

He

does

not

belong

to

the

rival

god

,

but

to

the

same

God

.

For

the

same

thing

was

said

by

the

angels

to

the

women

:

“

Remember

how

He

spake

unto

you

when

He

was

yet

in

Galilee

,

saying

,

The

Son

of

man

must

be

delivered

up

,

and

be

crucified

,

and

on

the

third

day

rise

again

.

”

“

Must

be

delivered

up

;

”

and

why

,

except

that

it

was

so

written

by

God

the

Creator

?

He

therefore

upbraided

them

,

because

they

were

offended

solely

at

His

passion

,

and

because

they

doubted

of

the

truth

of

the

resurrection

which

had

been

reported

to

them

by

the

women

,

whereby

(

they

showed

that

)

they

had

not

believed

Him

to

have

been

the

very

same

as

they

had

thought

Him

to

be

.

Wishing

,

therefore

,

to

be

believed

by

them

in

this

wise

,

He

declared

Himself

to

be

just

what

they

had

deemed

Him

to

be

—

the

Creator’s

Christ

,

the

Redeemer

of

Israel

.

But

as

touching

the

reality

of

His

body

,

what

can

be

plainer

?

When

they

were

doubting

whether

He

were

not

a

phantom

—

nay

,

were

supposing

that

He

was

one

—

He

says

to

them

,

“

Why

are

ye

troubled

,

and

why

do

thoughts

arise

in

your

hearts

?

See

my

hands

and

my

feet

,

that

it

is

I

myself

;

for

a

spirit

hath

not

bones

,

as

ye

see

me

have

.

”

Now

Marcion

was

unwilling

to

expunge

from

his

Gospel

some

statements

which

even

made

against

him

—

I

suspect

,

on

purpose

,

to

have

it

in

his

power

from

the

passages

which

he

did

not

suppress

,

when

he

could

have

done

so

,

either

to

deny

that

he

had

expunged

anything

,

or

else

to

justify

his

suppressions

,

if

he

made

any

.

But

he

spares

only

such

passages

as

he

can

subvert

quite

as

well

by

explaining

them

away

as

by

expunging

them

from

the

text

.

Thus

,

in

the

passage

before

us

,

he

would

have

the

words

,

“

A

spirit

hath

not

bones

,

as

ye

see

me

have

,

”

so

transposed

,

as

to

mean

,

“

A

spirit

,

such

as

ye

see

me

to

be

,

hath

not

bones

;

”

that

is

to

say

,

it

is

not

the

nature

of

a

spirit

to

have

bones

.

But

what

need

of

so

tortuous

a

construction

,

when

He

might

have

simply

said

,

“

A

spirit

hath

not

bones

,

even

as

you

observe

that

I

have

not

?

”

Why

,

moreover

,

does

He

offer

His

hands

and

His

feet

for

their

examination

—

limbs

which

consist

of

bones

—

if

He

had

no

bones

?

Why

,

too

,

does

He

add

,

“

Know

that

it

is

I

myself

,

”

when

they

had

before

known

Him

to

be

corporeal

?

Else

,

if

He

were

altogether

a

phantom

,

why

did

He

upbraid

them

for

supposing

Him

to

be

a

phantom

?

But

whilst

they

still

believed

not

,

He

asked

them

for

some

meat

,

for

the

express

purpose

of

showing

them

that

He

had

teeth

.

And now, as I would venture to believe, we have accomplished our undertaking. We have set forth Jesus Christ as none other than the Christ of the Creator. Our proofs we have drawn from His doctrines, maxims, affections, feelings, miracles, sufferings, and even resurrection—as foretold by the prophets. Even to the last He taught us (the same truth of His mission), when He sent forth His apostles to preach His gospel “among all nations;” for He thus fulfilled the psalm: “Their sound is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Marcion, I pity you; your labour has been in vain. For the Jesus Christ who appears in your Gospel is mine.

Notes

1
The first word of the passage just applied to Joseph.
2
Luke xxiv. 1.
3
Hos. v. 15 and vi. 1, 2.
4
Volutata.
5
Luke xxiv. 3.
6
Isa. lvii. 2, according to the Septuagint, ἡ ταφὴ αὐτοῦ ἠρται ἐκ τοῦ μέσου.
7
Luke xxiv. 4.
8
Tot fere laterensibus.
9
Deut. xvii. 6, xix. 15, compared with Matt. xviii. 16 and 2 Cor. xiii. 1.
10
Isa. xxvii. 11, according to the Septuagint, γυναῖκες ἐρχόμεναι ἀπὸ θέας, δεῦτε.
11
Luke xxiv. 13–19.
12
Luke xxiv. 21.
13
Plane.
14
Luke xxiv. 25.
15
Luke xxiv. 6, 7.
16
Videte. The original is much stronger ψηλαφήσατέ με καὶ ἴδετε, “handle me, and see.” Two sentences thrown into one.
17
Luke xxiv. 37–39.
18
Luke xxiv. 39.
19
Luke xxiv. 41.
20
An additional proof that He was no phantom.
21
Ut opinor.
22
Sententiis.
23
Prophetarum.
24
Luke xxiv. 47 and Matt. xxviii. 19.
25
Ps. xix. 4.