He doesn't use the plural to describe the group of people who witnessed the presumed miracle. He uses the plural to describe the people who have been punished.which cannot explain why Celsus uses the plural to describe the group of the person who witnessed the presumed miracle:In which case Celsus is referring to John the Baptist, probably using the Gospel of John:the statement of another of those individuals who have been punished along with you
Origen believes that Celsus' Jew was referring to John the Baptist as the witness. The accusation:
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/04161.htm
"When you were bathing", says the Jew, "beside John, you say that what had the appearance of a bird from the air alighted upon you." And then this same Jew of his, continuing his interrogations, asks, "What credible witness beheld this appearance? Or who heard a voice from heaven declaring you to be the Son of God? What proof is there of it, save your own assertion, and the statement of another of those individuals who have been punished along with you?"
Origen makes it clear that the witness is John the Baptist:
It is in this way, accordingly, that John testifies when he says, "I beheld the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not; but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon whom you will see the Spirit descending, and abiding on Him, the same is He that baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bear witness, that this is the Son of God."
Origen then criticises Celsus' Jew for incorrectly connecting John the Baptist with Jesus with regards to punishment:
And as it is a Jew who, in the work of Celsus, uses the language to Jesus regarding the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, "This is your own testimony, unsupported save by one of those who were sharers of your punishment, whom you adduce", it is necessary for us to show him that such a statement is not appropriately placed in the mouth of a Jew. For the Jews do not connect John with Jesus, nor the punishment of John with that of Christ. And by this instance, this man who boasts of universal knowledge is convicted of not knowing what words he ought to ascribe to a Jew engaged in a disputation with Jesus.
So, who were the sharers of Jesus' punishment? Although not stated outright, they seem to have been the disciples of Jesus, whom were "not afraid to endure the same sufferings with their Master", with some of them being delivered over to death by Paul:
And besides this, one may well wonder how it happened that the disciples— if, as the calumniators of Jesus say, they did not see Him after His resurrection from the dead, and were not persuaded of His divinity — were not afraid to endure the same sufferings with their Master, and to expose themselves to danger, and to leave their native country to teach, according to the desire of Jesus, the doctrine delivered to them by Him...
...
... He saw, probably, that anything he might say about that apostle would require to be explained, in consistency with the fact that, after being a persecutor of the Church of God, and a bitter opponent of believers, who went so far even as to deliver over the disciples of Jesus to death...
...
... He saw, probably, that anything he might say about that apostle would require to be explained, in consistency with the fact that, after being a persecutor of the Church of God, and a bitter opponent of believers, who went so far even as to deliver over the disciples of Jesus to death...
Statistics: Posted by GakuseiDon — Fri Apr 12, 2024 11:23 pm