Christ’s Death and Resurrection
Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 1.55
I recall a certain occasion when I was engaged in an inquiry with those who are called wise among the Jews, and I brought these prophecies to bear. The Jew maintained that these things had been prophesied concerning the whole people as a single entity — that the people had gone into dispersion and had been struck — so that many proselytes might be gained on the pretext that Jews were scattered among the other nations. In this way he interpreted the words: "Your appearance will be dishonored among men," and "Those to whom it was not announced concerning him will see," and "A man who is in affliction" (Isaiah 53:3-5). Consequently, many arguments were offered at that time in the inquiry to demonstrate that it is not reasonable to apply these prophecies, which concern a single individual, to the entire people. But I was asking: whose voice is it that says, "He bears our sins and suffers for us," and "He was wounded because of our sins, and he was bruised because of our lawlessness," and whose voice claims, "By his bruise we were healed"? For clearly those who have been in sins and have been healed through the Savior's suffering — whether they come from that people or from the nations — speak these words, as the prophet foresaw and the Holy Spirit personified. Most of all we seemed to press the argument from the statement: "He was led to death because of the lawlessness of my people" (Isaiah 53:12). For if the people are those who are prophesied about, according to them, how can it be said that he was led to death because of the lawlessness of God's people, unless he is someone other than the people of God? And who is this, if not Jesus Christ? By whose bruise "we were healed" — we who believe in him — having stripped off "the rulers and authorities" and having made a public spectacle of them on the cross. But to clarify each detail in the prophecy and to leave none of them unexamined belongs to another time. And these things have been said at somewhat greater length, as I think, necessarily because of the exposed argument of the Jewish man in Celsus.
Greek
Μέμνημαι δέ ποτε ἔν τινι πρὸς τοὺς λεγομένους παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις σοφοὺς [ἐν]ζητήσει ταῖς προφητείαις ταύταις χρησάμενος, ἐφ᾿ οἷς ἔλεγεν ὁ Ἰουδαῖος ταῦτα πεπροφητεῦσθαι ὡς περὶ ἑνὸς τοῦ ὅλου λαοῦ, καὶ γενομένου ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ καὶ πληγέντος, ἵνα πολλοὶ προσήλυτοι γένωνται τῇ προφάσει τοῦ ἐπεσπάρθαι Ἰουδαίους τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσι. καὶ οὕτω διηγεῖτο τὸ „ἀδοξήσει ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπων τὸ εἶδός σου“ καὶ τὸ „οἷς οὐκ ἀνηγγέλη περὶ αὐτοῦ ὄψονται“ καὶ τὸ ἄνθρωπος ἐν πληγῇ ὤν.“ πολλὰ μὲν οὖν τότ᾿ ἐν τῇ ζητήσει λέλεκται τὰ ἐλέγχοντα ὅτι περί τινος ἑνὸς ταῦτα προφητευόμενα οὐκ εὐλόγως ἐκεῖνοι ἀνάγουσιν ἐπὶ ὅλον τὸν λαόν. ἐπυνθανόμην δὲ, τίνος ἂν εἴη πρόσωπον τὸ λέγον· „οὗτος τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν φέρει καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν ὀδυνᾶται“ καὶ τό· „αὐτὸς δὲ ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν,“ καὶ τίνος πρόσωπον ἦν τὸ φάσκον· „τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς ἰάθημεν.“ σαφῶς γὰρ οἱ ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις γενόμενοι καὶ ἰαθέντες ἐκ τοῦ τὸν σωτῆρα πεπονθέναι, εἴτ᾿ ἀπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ ἐκείνου εἴτε καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν, ταῦτα λέγουσι παρὰ τῷ προφήτῃ προεωρακότι καὶ ἀπὸ ἁγίου πνεύματος ταῦτα προσωποποιήσαντι. μάλιστα δ᾿ ἐδόξαμεν θλίβειν ἀπὸ τῆς φασκούσης λέξεως τό· „ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνομιῶν τοῦ λαοῦ μου ἤχθη εἰς θάνατον.“ εἰ γὰρ ὁ λαὸς κατ᾿ ἐκείνους εἰσὶν οἱ προφητευόμενοι, πῶς „ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνομιῶν τοῦ λαοῦ“ τοῦ θεοῦ λέγεται ἦχθαι „εἰς θάνατον“ οὗτος, εἰ μὴ ἕτερος ὢν παρὰ τὸν λαὸν τοῦ θεοῦ; τίς δ᾿ οὗτος, εἰ μὴ Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, οὗ „τῷ μώλωπι“ „ἰάθημεν“ οἱ εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύοντες, ἀπεκδυσαμένου „τὰς“ ἐν ἡμῖν „ἀρχὰς καὶ ἐξουσίας“ καὶ „παῤῥησίᾳ“ δειγματίσαντος αὐτὰς ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ; ἕκαστον δὲ τῶν ἐν τῇ προφητείᾳ σαφηνίσαι καὶ μηδὲν ἀβασάνιστον αὐτῶν παραλιπεῖν ἄλλου καιροῦ ἐστι. καὶ ταῦτα δ᾿ ἐπὶ πλεῖον εἴρηται, ὡς νομίζω, ἀναγκαίως διὰ τὴν ἐκκειμένην τοῦ παρὰ τῷ Κέλσῳ Ἰουδαίου λέξιν.