Origen of Alexandria

It seems to me that the Son of man seated "at the right hand of Power" signifies enthronement and empowerment. He was seated therefore next to Power—the only power properly 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 reads simply, "You will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power." This does not imply anything contrary to what we have said. However, in light of Matthew's words, "hereafter you will see" and Luke's words, "so will the Son of man be in his day," one may ask whether since the time the Savior had said these things, they were fulfilled to those who heard his words.… Our reply is that they appear to have been fulfilled, since from that time, that is, from the time of 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 before, they saw him seated "at the right hand of Power."

It was not fit that the Lord should answer the High Priest's adjuration as though under compulsion, wherefore He neither denied nor confessed Himself to be the Son of God. For he was not worthy to be the object of Christ's teaching, therefore He does not instruct him, but taking up his own words retorts them upon him. This sitting of the Son of Man seems to me to denote a certain regal security; by the power of God, Who is the only power, is He securely seated to Whom is given by His Father all power in heaven as in earth. And there will come a time when the enemies shall see this establishment. Indeed this has begun to be fulfilled from the earliest time of the dispensation; for the disciples saw Him rising from the dead, and thereby saw Him seated on the right hand of power. Or, In respect of that eternity of duration which is with God, from the beginning of the world to the end of it is but one day; it is therefore no wonder that the Saviour here says, Shortly, signifying that there is but short time before the end come. He prophesies moreover, that they should not only see Him sitting at the right hand of power, but also coming in the clouds of heaven. These clouds are the Prophets and Apostles, whom He commands to rain when it is required, they are the clouds that pass not away, but bearing the image of the heavenly, (1 Cor. 15:49.) are worthy to be the throne of God, as heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. (Rom. 8:17.)

It was necessary for him to teach these things by example, "giving his back to whips and his cheeks to fists" and not turning his face away "from insults and spitting." Thus would he, by suffering these things in our place, deliver us (as I believe) who were worthy to suffer all that disgrace. Truly he did not "die for us" that we might not die but that we might not die for ourselves. And he was spat upon and beaten for us, so that we who were worthy of all these things because of our sins might not just suffer them but, suffering them for the sake of justice, we might gratefully accept them. Paul makes it clear that the Savior "humbled himself becoming obedient all the way to death, even to the death of the cross." … "On account of all this, God exalted him." God not only exalted him because of the death he underwent for our sake but also because of the buffeting and the spitting and all the rest.Christ did not turn his face away "from insult and spitting," so his face might be glorified more than the face of Moses42—with so much glory that comparatively the glorification of Moses' face was outshone, even as the light of a lamp is outshone by that of the sun and even as knowledge, which knows in part, is outshone "when that which is perfect has come." But they also buffeted the holy head of the church. Because of this, they will be beaten by Satan, not that they may not be extolled or may have their power brought to an end but that, once in the hands of the enemy and punisher, they may receive just punishment for the sin they committed in buffeting Jesus.
Not content with spitting in his face and buffeting him, they even struck his face with the palms of their hands, and, mocking him, they said, "Prophesy to us, O Christ! who is it that struck you?" On account of this … they have been struck and punished. Yet they were unwilling to accept any discipline, as Jeremiah had prophesied about them: "You chastened them and they did not grieve; they were unwilling to receive correction." And now whoever harms anyone in the church and does these things to him spits on the very face of Christ, and, buffeting Christ, they slap him with the palms of their hands.

Upon examining Peter’s denial, we note that “as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” For this reason, neither was it possible for Peter at the time to profess belief in Jesus nor was he to be criticized for not professing belief in him, since it is said to those who profess belief: “It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” We … since the Spirit of the Father has the power to speak in us and since it is in our power to “make room” in us for the Holy Spirit and not “for the devil,” if we should deny Christ, we would have no excuse.It may be that whoever is in the courtyard of Caiaphas “the high priest” cannot admit knowing the Lord Jesus unless he has gone outside his courtyard and has been brought outside of every teaching contrary to Jesus and outside of Jewish traditions handed down, not according to the Spirit of the Scriptures but according to the “commands and teachings of men.” Consider how Peter, seated outside at a distance from Jesus and in the high priest’s courtyard, denied Jesus before them all; and again, for the second time, going out to the porch and wishing to leave but not yet outside the gateway, he denied the Lord. Then, for the third time, “while the bystanders came and said, ‘Certainly you are also one of them,’ ” when “he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear ‘I do not know the man,’?” he was not yet outside. Furthermore, all the denials were made at night and in the darkness, before the break of dawn and the sign of the new day, that is, the crowing of the cock that bestirs the early risers. And if, by way of hypothesis, Peter had denied after the crowing of the cock, as was said, “The night is far gone, the day is at hand … let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day,” he would have had no excuse for his actions.
Perhaps all people when they deny Jesus … seemingly deny him before the crowing of the cock, when the sun of justice has not yet risen for them and its rising is not yet at hand. But if upon the rising of the sun for the soul “we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a fearful prospect of judgment and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.”

Anyone who demands from me a scriptural text concerning the breaking of those fetters with which the chief priests and elders bound Jesus should understand that it was on account of this very event that Jesus said through the prophet, "Let us break their bonds." It was just as though Jesus had said this of the chief priests and elders, or even more so of those rulers who operated through them and of the kings of the world who "set themselves," and of those rulers who "take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed," who also said, "let us cast their cords from us."4Our inquirer will be satisfied still more with scriptural demonstration that Jesus broke the chains of those who "took counsel" against him and led him away, bound, if he understands the meaning of what was written concerning Samson, who also broke the fetters of those foreigners who bound him, for he was a Nazirite of God and had power in his uncut head of hair. If therefore he whose power came from the hair on his head was able to break the chains of the oppressors who bound him, how much more will Christ decisively break those chains binding him, who, after performing great signs and miracles, freely delivered himself to be bound (the power of his divine nature lay dormant and still, allowing him to be captured). Samson's bonds were but a type of Christ's.

Let us see whether or not, by the grace of God, we can explain the meaning of the following verse, which still remains hidden to many: "When Judas his betrayer saw him condemned, he repented and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests" and so on.If this were written after Jesus had been sentenced by Pilate, scourged and delivered to the Jews for crucifixion, we would not need to inquire any further into the meaning of the report that "Judas … saw him condemned" because we know that Judas was a party to those events.
But how is it that Judas saw Jesus condemned before Jesus had either been sentenced or interrogated by Pilate? Some perhaps will answer that Judas was anticipating in his mind the final result of Jesus having been handed over by the chief priests and elders of the people, which he did witness. Others, however, will say that one whom Judas "saw condemned" was not Jesus but Judas himself. According to this account, when the chief priests and elders of the people handed Jesus over to Pilate, Judas then realized the evil he had done and understood that such an audacious act was already under the judgment and condemnation of God. Perhaps also Satan, who had entered Judas after the dipping of the morsel of bread, remained present in him until Jesus was delivered to Pilate but "departed from him" after he finished accomplishing Satan's will. Judas then sensed the devil's departure and at once saw and understood that "betraying righteous blood" is condemned by God, which he was able to understand only after the devil had ceased working in him. Only then, free from Satan's influence, was Judas capable of penitence by returning the thirty pieces of silver to those who had paid him. When the devil had left him, he could then say what he had not been able to say earlier, for when his heart was still full of Satan he was unable to confess, "I have sinned in betraying righteous blood." We are not saying, however, that the devil ceases to prey upon anyone whom he may have left. Rather, he waits and watches for an opportune moment to apply himself again. Even after his victim has sinned and come to recognize the devil's influence, he still waits and watches for yet a third opportunity to deceive.

Let the propounders of those fables concerning intrinsically evil naturesa answer me here, whence Judas came to the acknowledgment of his sin, I have sinned in that I have betrayed righteous blood, except through the good mind originally implanted in him, and that seed of virtue which is sown in every rational soul? But Judas did not cherish this, and so fell into this sin. But if ever any man was made of a nature that was to perish, Judas was yet more of such a nature. If indeed he had done this after Christ's resurrection, it might have been said, that the power of the resurrection brought him to repentance. But he repented when he saw Christ delivered up to Pilate, perhaps remembering the things Jesus had so often spoken of His resurrection. (John 13:27.) Or, perhaps Satan who had entered into him continued with him till Jesus was given up to Pilate, and then, having accomplished his purpose, departed from him; whereupon he repented. But how could Judas know that He was condemned, for He had not yet been examined by Pilate? One may perhaps say, that he foreboded the event in his own mind from the very first, when he saw Him delivered up. Another may explain the words, when he saw that he was condemned, of Judas himself, that he then perceived his evil case, and saw that he himself was condemned.

But when the Devil leaves any one, he watches his time for return, and having taken it, he leads him into a second sin, and then watches for opportunity for a third deceit. (1 Cor. 5:1.) So the man who had married his father's wife afterwards repented him of this sin, but again the Devil resolved so to augment this very sorrow of repentance, that his sorrow being made too abundant might swallow up the sorrower. Something like this took place in Judas, who after his repentance did not preserve his own heart, but received that more abundant sorrow supplied to him by the Devil, who sought to swallow him up, as it follows, And he went out, and hanged himself. But had he desired and looked for place and time for repentance, he would perhaps have found Him who has said, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. (Ezek. 33:11.) Or, perhaps, he desired to die before his Master on His way to death, and to meet Him with a disembodied spirit, that by confession and deprecation he might obtain mercy; and did not see that it is not fitting that a servant of God should dismiss himself from life, but should wait God's sentence.