Thursday, November 20, 2014

158. Matthew 15:14

So that it was not as if He belonged to another god that they conceived an aversion for Christ, and persecuted Him, but simply as a man whom they regarded as a wonder-working juggler, and an enemy in His doctrines. They brought Him therefore to trial as a mere man, and one of themselves too--that is, a Jew (only a renegade and a destroyer of Judaism)--and punished Him according to their law. If He had been a stranger, indeed, they would not have sat in judgment over Him. So far are they from appearing to have understood Him to be a strange Christ, that they did not even judge Him to be a stranger to their own human nature. Our heretic will now have the fullest opportunity of learning the clue of his errors along with the Jew himself, from whom he has borrowed his guidance in this discussion. Since, however, the blind leads the blind, they fall into the ditch together. We affirm that, as there are two conditions demonstrated by the prophets to belong to Christ, so these presignified the same number of advents; one, and that the first, was to be in lowliness, when He had to be led as a sheep to be slain as a victim, and to be as a lamb dumb before the shearer, not opening His mouth, and not fair to look upon. [Tertullian Adv Marc 3.7.1 KROYMANN Aem., CCL 1 (1954)(p.516, l.7) BP1]

Part company with the heathen, O heretic! for although you are all agreed in imagining a God, yet while you do so in the name of Christ, so long as you deem yourself a Christian, you are a different man from a heathen: give him back his own views of things, since he does not himself learn from yours. Why lean upon a blind guide, if you have eyes of your own? Why be clothed by one who is naked, if you have put on Christ? Why use the shield of another, when the apostle gives you armour of your own? It would be better for him to learn from you to acknowledge the resurrection of the flesh, than for you from him to deny it; because if Christians must needs deny it, it would be sufficient if they did so from their own knowledge, without any instruction from the ignorant multitude. He, therefore, will not be a Christian who shall deny this doctrine which is confessed by Christians; denying it, moreover, on grounds which are adopted by a man who is not a Christian.[Tertullian De resurrectione mortuorum 3.4 BORLEFFS J.G.Ph., CCL 2 (1954),(p.924, l.18) BP1

Let the Marcionites therefore make their choice: Will it not be just the same inconsistency to desert the prescription of their master, as to have Christ teaching in the interest of men or of the Creator? But "a blind man will lead a blind man into the ditch."(Matthew 15:14) Some persons believe Marcion. But "the disciple is not above his master."(Matthew 10:24) Apelles ought to have remembered this----a corrector of Marcion, although his disciple. The heretic ought to take the beam out of his own eye, and then he may convict the Christian, should he suspect a mote to be in his eye. Just as a good tree cannot produce evil fruit, so neither can truth generate heresy; and as a corrupt tree cannot yield good fruit, so heresy will not produce truth. Thus, Marcion brought nothing good out of Cerdon's evil treasure; nor Apelles out of Marcion's. [Tertullian Adv Marc 4.17.11 KROYMANN Aem., CCL 1 (1954)(p.587, l.2) BP1]
from David Inglis, Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. [Mt 15:14] This parallel suggests that here Tertullian might be quoting Mt 15:14b, but his lack of reference to Mt 15:14a and addition of v. 6:40a instead makes this unlikely. It should also be noted that there is a parallel in Thomas, with saying 34 being essentially the same as Tertullian’s variant of v. 6:39: Jesus said, "If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit." And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? [6:39] The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. [6:40] Tertulian quotes: “a blind man will lead a blind man into the ditch." and "the disciple is not above his master." While the second quote is clearly v. 6:40a, the first is a variant in which the questions in v. 6:39 are turned into a statement. Although this short parable has no parallel in Mk, v. 6:39 does have a parallel in Mt.


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