And our Lord Jesus, after speaking to them, took them out to Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And while he blessed them, he was separated from them, and ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and at all times they were in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
.jpg)
The idea in the surviving text is that somehow Christ 'separated from them' went to heaven where he sat 'at the right hand of God' and the disciples 'worshipped him.' The naive assumption of course would be that the disciples couldn't see Christ enthroned because he was in heaven and they were still on earth, but this is not the sense which emerges from Origen's gospel:It seems to me that the Son of Man seated "at the right hand of power" signifies enthronement and empowerment. He was seated next to power - the only power so called - and at the right hand. He received all power from the Father "in heaven and on earth." His adversaries too will see his enthronement sometime after the blessed have seen him with joy.
Now the passage according to Mark does not say 'hereafter.' It simply says 'You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power' ... Our reply is that they [his words] appear to have been fulfilled, since from that time, that is from the dispensation, the Son of Man has been seated 'at the right hand of power' and his disciples witnessed his resurrection from the dead. For this reason, as we noted they saw him seated 'at the right hand of power.' [Origen Comm Matt III (GCS 38.2.231-32)]
If you are interested in reading how this observation fits within my greater understanding of the workings of Secret Mark WITHIN the contemporary Alexandrian Church please go here
If you want to read more about how Alexandrian Christianity was rooted in the Jewish traditions of Alexandria, Philo of Alexandria and more feel free to purchase my new book here
