---
title: "The Gospel of Peter, the Diatessaron, Aristides and Origen on John and Matthew"
author: "Various Church Fathers"
translator: "A. Cleveland Coxe (ed.)"
languages: [en]
shelf: "Church Fathers"
section: 26 of 111
url: https://scriptura.si/works/church-fathers-gospel-of-peter-diatessaron-aristides-origen/26/
cite: "Various Church Fathers, tr. A. Cleveland Coxe (ed.), The Gospel of Peter, the Diatessaron, Aristides and Origen on John and Matthew, section 26. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/church-fathers-gospel-of-peter-diatessaron-aristides-origen/26/"
---

# The Gospel of Peter, the Diatessaron, Aristides and Origen on John and Matthew

*Various Church Fathers, tr. A. Cleveland Coxe (ed.)*

Tatian's Diatessaron, the Gospel of Peter, Aristides, and Origen's commentaries on John and Matthew.

## 26. Section XX

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/church-fathers-gospel-of-peter-diatessaron-aristides-origen/26/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/church-fathers-gospel-of-peter-diatessaron-aristides-origen/26/#p-N

[¶0] And Jesus knew within himself that his disciples were murmuring because of that, and he said unto them, Doth this trouble you? What if ye should see the Son of man then ascend to the place where he was of old? It is the spirit that quickeneth, and the body profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe. And Jesus knew beforehand who they were who should not believe, and who it was that should betray him. And he said unto them, Therefore I said unto you, No man can come unto me, if that hath not been given him by the Father.

[¶1] [Arabic, p. 78] And because of this word many of his disciples turned back and walked not with him. And Jesus said unto the twelve, Do ye haply also wish to go away? Simon Cephas answered and said, My Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed and known that thou art the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus said unto them, Did not I choose you, ye company of the twelve, and of you one is a devil? He said that because of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot; for he, being of the twelve, was purposed to betray him.

[¶2] And while he was speaking, one of the Pharisees came asking of him that he would eat with him: and he went in, and reclined to meat. And that Pharisee, when he saw it, marvelled that he had not first cleansed himself before his eating. Jesus said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees wash the outside of the cup and the dish, and ye think that ye are cleansed; but your inside is full of injustice and wickedness.

[¶3] [15, 16] Ye of little mind, did not he that made the outside make the inside? Now give what ye have in alms, and everything shall be clean unto you.

[¶4] [17, 18] And there came to him Pharisees and scribes, come from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eating bread while they had not washed their hands, they found fault. For all of the Jews and the Pharisees, if they wash not their hands thoroughly, eat not; for they held to the ordinance of the elders. And they ate not what was bought from the market, except they washed it; and many other things did they keep of what they had received, such as the washing of cups, and measures, and vessels of brass, and couches. And scribes and Pharisees asked him, [Arabic, p. 79] Why do thy disciples not walk according to the ordinances of the elders, but eat bread without washing their hands? Jesus answered and said unto them, Why do ye also overstep the command of God by reason of your ordinance? God said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whosoever revileth his father and his mother shall surely die. But ye say, If a man say to his father or to his mother, What thou receivest from me is an offering,—and ye suffer him not to do anything for his father or his mother; and ye make void and reject the word of God by reason of the ordinance that ye have ordained and commanded, such as the washing of cups and measures, and what resembles that ye do much. And ye forsook the command of God, and held to the ordinance of men. Do ye well to wrong the command of God in order that ye may establish your ordinance? Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah the prophet prophesy concerning you, and say,

[¶5] This people honoureth me with its lips;

[¶6] But their heart is very far from me.

[¶7] But in vain do they fear me,

[¶8] In that they teach the commands of men.

[¶9] And Jesus called all the multitude, and said unto them, Hear me, all of you, and understand: nothing without the man, which then enters him, is able to defile him; but what goeth out of him, that it is which defileth the man. He that hath ears that hear, let him hear. Then his disciples drew near, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees which heard this word were angry? He answered and said unto them, Every plant which my Father which is in heaven planted not shall be [Arabic, p. 80] uprooted. Let them alone; for they are blind leading blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both of them shall fall into a hollow.

[¶10] And when Jesus entered the house from the multitude, Simon Cephas asked him, and said unto him, My Lord, explain to us that parable. He said unto them, Do ye also thus not understand? Know ye not that everything that entereth into the man from without cannot defile him; because it entereth not into his heart; it entereth into his stomach only, and thence is cast forth in the cleansing which maketh clean all the food? The thing which goeth forth from the mouth of the man proceedeth from his heart, and it is that which defileth the man. From within the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, fornication, adultery, theft, false witness, murder, injustice, wickedness, deceit, stupidity, evil eye, calumny, pride, foolishness: these evils all of them from within proceed from the heart, and they are the things which defile the man: but if a man eat while he washeth not his hands, he is not defiled.

[¶11] And Jesus went out thence, and came to the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a certain house, and desired that no man should know it; and he could not be hid. But straightway a Canaanitish woman, whose daughter had an [48, 49] unclean spirit, heard of him. And that woman was a Gentile of Emesa of Syria. And she came out after him, crying out, and saying, Have mercy upon me, my Lord, thou son of David; for my daughter is seized in an evil way by Satan. And he answered [Arabic, p. 81] her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, and said, Send her away: for she crieth after us. He answered and said unto them, I was not sent except to the sheep that are gone astray of the house of Israel. But she came and worshipped him, and said, My Lord, help me, have mercy upon me.

[¶12] Jesus said unto her, It is not seemly that the children’s bread should be taken and thrown to the dogs. But she said, Yea, my Lord: the dogs also eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters’ tables, and live. Then said Jesus unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: it shall be unto thee as thou hast desired. Go then thy way; and because of this word, the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And her daughter was healed in that hour. And that woman went away to her house, and found her daughter laid upon the bed, and the devil gone out of her.

### Section XXI

[¶14] And Jesus went out again from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and came to the sea of Galilee, towards the borders of Decapolis. And they brought unto him one dumb and deaf, and entreated him that he would lay his hand upon him and heal him. And he drew him away from the multitude, and went away alone, and spat upon his fingers, and thrust them into his ears, and touched his tongue; and looked to heaven, and sighed, and said unto him, Be opened. And in that hour his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spake with ease. And Jesus charged them much that they should not tell this to any man: but the more he charged them, the more they increased in publishing, and marvelled much, and [Arabic, p. 82] said, This man doeth everything well: he made the deaf to hear, and those that lacked speech to speak.

[¶15] [8, 9] And while he was passing through the land of Samaria, he came to one of the cities of the Samaritans, called Sychar, beside the field which Jacob gave to Joseph to his son. And there was there a spring of water of Jacob’s. And Jesus was fatigued from the exertion of the way, and sat at the spring. And the time was about the sixth hour. And a woman of Samaria came to draw water; and Jesus said unto her, Give me water, that I may drink. And his disciples had entered into the city to buy for themselves food. And that Samaritan woman said unto him, How dost thou, being a Jew, ask me to give thee to drink, while I am a Samaritan woman? (And the Jews mingle not with the Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who this is that said unto thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest ask him, and he would give thee the water of life. That woman said unto him, My Lord, thou hast no bucket, and the well is deep: from whence hast thou the water of life? Can it be that thou art greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well, and drank from it, and his children, and his sheep? Jesus answered and said unto her, Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water which I shall give him shall not thirst for ever: but the water which I shall give him shall be in him a spring of water springing up unto eternal life. That woman said unto him, My Lord, give me of this water, that I may not thirst again, neither come and draw water from here. Jesus said unto her, [Arabic, p. 83] Go and call thy husband, and come hither. She said unto him, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou saidst well, I have no husband: five husbands hast thou had, and this man whom thou hast now is not thy husband; and in this thou saidst truly. That woman said unto him, My Lord, I perceive thee to be a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place in which worship must be. Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, an hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father. Ye worship that which ye know not: but we worship that which we know: for salvation is of the Jews. But an hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: and the Father also seeketh such as these worshippers. For God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. That woman said unto him, I know that the Messiah cometh: and when he is come, he will teach us everything. Jesus said unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

[¶16] And while he was speaking, his disciples came; and they wondered how he would speak with a woman; but not one of them said unto him, What seekest thou? or, What speakest thou with her? And the woman left her waterpot, and went to the city, and said to the people, Come, and see a man who told me all that ever I did: perhaps then he is the Messiah. And people went out from the city, and came to him. And in the mean while his disciples besought him, and said unto him, Our [36, 37] master, eat. And he said unto them, I have food to eat that ye know not. And the disciples said amongst themselves, Can any one have brought him aught to eat? Jesus said unto them, My food is to do the will of him that sent me, and to accomplish [Arabic, p. 84] his work. Said ye not that after four months cometh the harvest? behold, I therefore say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and behold the lands, that they have become white, and the harvest is already come. And he that reapeth receiveth his wages, and gathereth the fruit of eternal life; and the sower and the reaper rejoice together. For in this is found the word of truth, One soweth, and another reapeth. And I sent you to reap that in which ye have not laboured: others laboured, and ye have entered on their labour.

[¶17] And from that city many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the words of that woman, who testified and said, He told me all that ever I did. And when those Samaritans came unto him, they besought him to abide with them; and he [45, 46] abode with them two days. And many believed in him because of his word; and they said to that woman, Now not because of thy saying have we believed in him: we have heard and known that this truly is the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.

[¶18] [47, 48] And after two days Jesus went out thence and departed to Galilee. And Jesus testified that a prophet is not honoured in his own city. And when he came to Galilee, the Galilæans received him.

### Section XXII

[¶20] And when Jesus came to a certain village, there drew near to him a leper, and fell at his feet, and besought him, and said unto him, If thou wilt, thou art able to cleanse me. And Jesus had mercy upon him, and stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and said, I will cleanse thee. And immediately his leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he sternly charged him, and sent him out, [Arabic, p. 85] and said unto him, See that thou tell not any man: but go and shew thyself to the priests, and offer an offering for thy cleansing as Moses commanded for their testimony. But he, when he went out, began to publish much, and spread abroad the news, so that Jesus could not enter into any of the cities openly, for the extent to which the report of him spread, but he remained without in a desert place. And much people came unto him from one place and another, to hear his word, and that they might be healed of their pains. And he used to withdraw from them into the desert, and pray.

[¶21] And after that, was the feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

[¶22] And there was in Jerusalem a place prepared for bathing, which was called in Hebrew the House of Mercy, having five porches. And there were laid in them much people of the sick, and blind, and lame, and paralysed, waiting for the moving of the water. And the angel from time to time went down into the place of bathing, and moved the water; and the first that went down after the moving of the water, every pain that he had was healed. And a man was there who had a disease for thirty-eight years. And Jesus saw this man laid, and knew that he had been thus a long time; and he said unto him, Wouldest thou be made whole? That diseased one answered and said, Yea, my Lord, I have no man, when the water moveth, to put me into the bathing-place; but when I come, another goeth down before [16, 17] me. Jesus said unto him, Rise, take thy bed, and walk. And immediately that man was healed; and he rose, and carried his bed, and walked.

[¶23] And that day was a sabbath. And when the Jews saw that healed one, they said unto him, It is a sabbath: thou hast no authority to carry thy bed. And he answered and said unto them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take thy bed, [Arabic, p. 86] and walk. They asked him therefore, Who is this man that said unto thee, Take thy bed, and walk? But he that was healed knew not who it was; for Jesus had removed from that place to another, because of the press of the great multitude which was in that place. And after two days Jesus happened upon him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art whole: sin not again, lest there come upon thee what is worse than the first. And that man went, and said to the Jews that it was Jesus that had healed him. And because of that the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him, because he was doing this on the sabbath. And Jesus said unto them, My Father worketh until now, and I also work. And because of this especially the Jews sought to kill him, not because he profaned the sabbath only; but for his saying also that God was his Father, and his making himself equal with God. Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son cannot do anything of himself, but what he seeth the Father do; what the Father doeth, that the Son also doeth like him. The Father loveth his Son, and everything that he doeth he sheweth him: and more than these works will he shew him, that ye may marvel. And as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, so the Son also giveth life to whomsoever he will. And the Father judgeth no man, but hath given all judgement unto the Son; that every man may honour the Son, as he honoureth the Father. And he that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever heareth my word, and believeth in him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgement, but passeth from [Arabic, p. 87] death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, An hour shall come, and now is also, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those which hear shall live. And as the Father hath life in himself, likewise he gave to the Son also that he might have life in himself, and authority to do judgement also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not then at that: I mean the coming of the hour when all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth: those that have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those that have done evil deeds, to the resurrection of judgement.

[¶24] I am not able of myself to do anything; but as I hear, I judge: and my judgement is just; I seek not my own will, but the will of him that sent me. I bear witness of myself, and so my witness is not true. It is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he beareth of me is true. Ye have sent unto John, and he hath borne witness of the truth. But not from man do I seek witness; but I say that ye may live. That was a lamp which shineth and giveth light: and ye were pleased to glory now in his light. But I have witness greater than that of John: the works which my Father hath given me to accomplish, those works which I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father which sent me, he hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his appearance. And his word abideth not in you; because in him whom he hath sent ye do not believe. Search the scriptures, in which ye rejoice that ye have eternal life; and they bear witness of me; and ye do not wish to come to [49, 50] [Arabic, p. 88] me, that ye may have eternal life. I seek not praise of men. But I know you, that the love of God is not in you. I am come in the name of my Father, and ye received me not; but if another come in his own name, that one will ye receive. And how can ye believe, while ye receive praise one from another, and praise from God, the One, ye seek not? Can it be that ye think that I will accuse you before the Father? Ye have one that accuseth you, Moses, in whom ye have rejoiced. If ye believed Moses, ye would believe me also; Moses wrote of me. And if ye believed not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?