ACC ~ Mark 14 v53 - 65

OVERVIEW:

Jesus’ silence fulfilled messianic prophecy even on the silence of the lamb (AUGUSTINE). He remained silent even when spat upon, but will not be silent in the final judgment (CYPRIAN). The fallen temple attests the vulnerability of all our best artistic efforts (PRUDENTIUS). The temple to be rebuilt was his body that would be resurrected in three days (ORIGEN). The priests did not dispute the messianic premise that the true Christ must be the Son of God but only asked whether he indeed was the Christ, the Son of God (HILARY OF POITIERS). The spitting occurred in the high priest’s house (AUGUSTINE). Death dissolved the body born of woman that the eternal Father might restore the same body in the resurrection (PRUDENTIUS). His first coming was in humility; his second will be in glory (JUSTIN MARTYR).

14:58a | I Will Destroy This Temple

THE LORD BOUND IN THE TEMPLE

PRUDENTIUS:

Lo, the house of the wicked blasphemer, Caiaphas, has fallen,

Where the sacred face of the Christ was cruelly smitten.

This destruction will be the lot of all reprobate sinners,

For their life will lie buried in crumbling ruins forever.

In this house the Lord stood upright, bound and tied to a pillar,

And submitted his back as a slave to the pitiless scourging.

Worthy of reverence, this pillar still stands, supporting a temple,

And instructing us how to lead our lives free from all scourges.

SCENES FROM SACRED HISTORY 40, 41.

THE TEMPLE BUILT BY HANDS

PRUDENTIUS:

Do not the quarried stones of Solomon

Now lie in ruins, that temple built by hand?

Why so? The mortal hand of mason wrought

That short-lived work. It rightly lies in ruins,

Since every work of art returns to nought.

All that is made is doomed one day to fall.

Learn what our temple is, if you would know;

It is one that no artisan has built,

A structure not of riven fir or pine,

Nor reared with blocks of quarried marble fair.

Its massive weight no columns high support

Beneath the arches of a gilded vault.

By God’s Word it was formed, not by his voice,

But by the everlasting Word, the Word made flesh.

This temple is eternal, without end,

This you attacked with scourge and cross and gall.

This temple was destroyed by bitter pains.

Its form was fragile from the mother’s womb,

But when brief death the mother’s part dissolved,

The Father’s might restored it in three days.

THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST.

14:58b | In Three Days I Will Build Another Not Made with Hands

WHICH TEMPLE WOULD BE REBUILT?

ORIGEN: The accusations 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.” [1] Though he was speaking of the temple of his body, they supposed his words to refer to the temple of stone. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 10.21. [2]

[1] Jn 2:19.

[2] ANF 9:402*; TLG 2042.005, 10.37.251.3-252.3. His resurrection, the resurrection of the temple of his body, would occur within three days.

14:61a | But He Was Silent and Made No Answer

HIS MEEKNESS

AUGUSTINE: It was not in vain that the prophecy had preceded him: “As a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.” [1] When he did not open his mouth, it was reminiscent of the figure of a lamb. It was not as one of bad conscience convicted of sins, but as one who in his meekness was being sacrificed for the sins of others. TRACTATES ON JOHN 116.4. [2]

[1] Is 53:7.

[2] Cetedoc 0278, 116.4.4; NPNF 1 7:426*.

14:61b | The High Priest Asked Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

LEARNING FROM CHRIST’S TORMENTERS

HILARY OF POITIERS: If you will not learn who Christ is from those who received him, at least learn from those who rejected him. The ironic confession his adversaries were inadvertently forced to make stands as reproof of their very mockery. His accusers did not recognize Christ when he came bodily. Yet they had grasped firmly that the true Christ must be the Son of God. Thus, when the false witnesses whom they had hired against him did not score any blows, the priest interrogated him: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the most high God.” [1] They did not realize that the mystery was already being fulfilled in him. But they did, ironically, recognize that the divine nature was the condition of its fulfillment. They did not question the assumption that Christ would be the Son of God. They only asked whether he indeed was the Christ, the Son of God. They were mistaken about the person, but not about the Son of God. They had no doubt that Christ would be the Son of God. So while they asked whether he indeed was the Christ, they did so without denying that the Christ is the Son of God. ON THE TRINITY 6.50. [2]

[1] Mt 26:63; Mk 14:61.

[2] HE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL | MARK 1:1-5

14:62 | You Will See the Son of Man Coming with the Clouds of Heaven

TWO COMINGS FORETOLD

JUSTIN MARTYR: In reference to his coming from heaven with glory, recall what was spoken to this effect through the prophet: “Behold how the Son of Man comes on the clouds of heaven.” [1] … For the prophets foretold two comings of Christ—one, which has already happened, when he comes in the form of a dishonored and dying man, and the second, when as has been foretold he will come from heaven in glory. [2] FIRST APOLOGY 51, 52. [3]

[1] Dan 7:13; cf. Jer 4:13; Mt 24:30; 26:64.

[2] Cf. Hag 2:7; Mt 16:27; 25:31; Lk 9:26.

[3] LCC 1:275*; TLG 0645.001, 58.8.1-9.3, 52.3.1-3.

14:65 | Some Began to Spit on Him and to Cover His Face

HIS RESPONSE TO ABASEMENT

CYPRIAN: Who is this strange one who says that he had been silent before, but would not always be silent? Who is he who was led as a sheep to the slaughter and who, like a lamb without making a sound before its shearer, did not open his mouth? [1] Who is he who did not cry out and whose voice was not heard in the streets? Surely it was he who was not stubborn and who did not murmur when he offered his back to the scourges and his cheeks to blows. He did not turn his face away from their filthy spittle. [2] When accused by the priests and elders, he answered nothing [3] and, to the amazement of Pilate, kept a most patient silence. [4] THE GOOD OF PATIENCE 23. [5]

[1] Is 53:7.

[2] Is 50:5-6; Mt 26:67; Mk 14:65; Lk 22:63.

[3] Mt 26:63; Mk 14:61.

[4] Mt 27:14; Mk 15:5.

[5] Cetedoc 0048, 23.454; FC 36:286**.