Episode 3239: Origen and the Gospel of Matthew - Part 1

Origen and the Gospel of Matthew: Christ the New Moses
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Through the intercession of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, and St. Matthew the Apostle, may our study of His Gospel lead us deeper into the heart of Christ. Amen.
Welcome to this deep dive into Scripture and tradition from the Patristic Fathers in which we start with Origen on the Gospel of Matthew. Today, we walk with one of the earliest and most gifted biblical interpreters: Origen of Alexandria. He brought a theological, spiritual, and literary richness to reading Matthew seeing Christ not only in the narrative but as the fulfillment of all God’s promises.
We’ll explore Origen’s life, his commentary on Matthew as the Gospel of fulfillment, his famous insight of Christ as the New Moses, and his spiritual interpretation of the Beatitudes, all amplified by his own words. Let’s step into the sacred mountains of his thought.”

2. Who Was Origen?
“Origen (c. 185–c. 253 AD) was born in Alexandria, a city rich in philosophy and Christian scholarship. With zeal for Scripture, he founded a biblical school in Caesarea. Though his life ended under persecution, his legacy lives through his writings.
Why he matters: Eusebius records that Origen composed the Commentary on Matthew around the time of his defense of the faith, Contra Celsum, when he was over sixty around 246–248 AD
Despite later controversies, his biblical exegesis remains a treasure.
Origen taught a tiered approach to Scripture: the literal (body), the moral (soul), and the allegorical or spiritual (spirit). He believed that the Old and New Testaments are one ongoing story of salvation, culminating in Christ Today, we’ll focus on Origen’s insight into Matthew.”

3. Matthew’s Gospel as “The Gospel for the Jews”
“Origen emphasizes Matthew’s genealogy opening: ‘The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham’ (Matthew 1:1). He sees in it the intentional framing of Christ's lineage as fulfillment of Israel’s Covenants.
Matthew’s genealogy isn't just history; it is divine poetry linking Abraham's promise, ‘All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in you’, and David’s promise, ‘Your throne shall endure forever’. Origen argues that Matthew shows Israel’s story pointed decisively to Jesus. Every name, every generation woven into Christ Himself.
A modern scholar affirms Matthew’s genealogy as a literary framework: three sets of fourteen generations marking key points in salvation history. Origen would have nodded at that symmetry seeing history filled with God’s purpose.”
4. Christ the New Moses
“Origen’s greatest insight: Jesus as the New Moses. He draws parallels:
• Moses was saved from massacre; Jesus escaped death in Egypt.
• Moses led Israel out of Egypt; Jesus was brought out of Egypt (Matt 2:15).
• Moses ascended Sinai, received the Law; Jesus ascends the mountain, delivers the Beatitudes.
Origen noticed that Matthew gives five major discourses of Jesus paralleling the five books of Moses. He says Matthew offers not law on stone, but law on the heart, pointing to Christ’s fulfillment of the old covenant.
This theme resonates deeply: Christian tradition sees Christ as the end—not abolition—of the Law. Origen invites us to hear the Sermon on the Mount not as abolition of commandments but as the perfection of God's promises.”
Biblical Parallels Between Moses and Christ
Origen was among the first to notice that Matthew deliberately presents Jesus in ways that echo the life of Moses. These parallels were not accidental; they were Spirit-guided patterns showing Christ as the true and greater Moses.
• Saved from Infancy Massacres
o Pharaoh ordered the killing of Hebrew infants (Exodus 1:22). Moses was spared by God’s providence, placed in a basket, and rescued.
o Herod ordered the massacre of Bethlehem’s infants (Matthew 2:16). Jesus, too, was spared by divine providence, being taken into Egypt.
• Exodus and Return
o Moses led God’s people out of Egypt to freedom.
o Jesus Himself came out of Egypt in His infancy (Matt. 2:15), fulfilling the prophecy of Hosea 11:1: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
• Mountains of Revelation
o Moses ascended Mount Sinai, fasted forty days, and received the Law written on stone.
o Jesus fasted forty days, ascended the Mount of Beatitudes, and gave the Sermon on the Mount — the new Law written on the heart.
• Five Books / Five Discourses
o The Torah is structured around the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy).
o Matthew arranges Jesus’ teaching into five major discourses:
1. The Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7)
2. The Missionary Discourse (Matt. 10)
3. The Parables of the Kingdom (Matt. 13)
4. The Discourse on the Church (Matt. 18)
5. The Eschatological Discourse (Matt. 24–25)
Origen interpreted this deliberate structure as Matthew’s way of presenting Christ as the new and definitive Lawgiver the Messiah who surpasses Moses.
Origen’s Insight
Origen highlights the continuity and transcendence of Christ’s law compared to Moses’ law.
• Moses delivered laws carved in stone, external to the people.
• Christ delivers a law of the Spirit, written not on tablets but on human hearts (cf. Jeremiah 31:33).
Origen writes:
“Moses, after fasting forty days, received the Law written on tablets of stone; but Jesus, after fasting forty days, gave the Beatitudes, the law of the Spirit, to those who would hear Him.” (Homilies on Matthew)
For Origen, Matthew’s Gospel is the bridge: it reassures Jewish Christians that Jesus does not abolish Moses, but fulfills him; and it teaches Gentile Christians that this fulfillment opens the Law to the whole world.
Catholic Tradition: Christ, the Law’s Fulfillment
The Church has always read Matthew in this light.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1967):
“The Law of the Gospel ‘fulfills,’ refines, surpasses, and leads the Old Law to its perfection. In the Beatitudes the New Law fulfills the divine promises by elevating and orienting them toward the Kingdom of heaven.”
• St. Augustine taught that Moses and Christ are not in opposition but in hierarchy: Moses points to Christ, but Christ surpasses Moses.
• St. Thomas Aquinas called the Sermon on the Mount “the perfect law of the New Covenant,” containing the essence of Christian morality.
Spiritual Meaning
Origen goes beyond surface parallels. He says:
• Moses symbolizes the Old Covenant written externally, which disciplined but could not transform.
• Christ symbolizes the New Covenant of grace, where God Himself transforms the heart by the Holy Spirit.
Thus, in Origen’s mystical reading, Moses represents the beginning of wisdom (fear of God), but Christ represents perfect wisdom (love of God).
Application for Us Today
• Not Abolition, but Fulfillment: When we hear Christ’s words “I have not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17) Origen reminds us not to see Christianity as a rejection of Israel’s story, but as its crown and completion.
• The Sermon on the Mount as Our Sinai: Just as Israel had to gather at Sinai, we gather around Christ’s teaching in Matthew. The Beatitudes become our roadmap.
• Interior Law: Ask: am I living my faith as external rules, or has Christ written His law of love into my heart?

5. Origen on the Beatitudes
“With Origen, the Beatitudes become spiritual ascent more than moral instruction. On Matthew 5:6 (‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness’), he writes:
‘Jesus is "the bread that comes down from heaven" and "living water", for which the great David himself thirsted… “I shall behold your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied in beholding your glory.”
Likewise, he sees each Beatitude transforming the believer humility, mercy, purity, peace. Climbing the mountain with Christ means being changed from within.”
1. Background: The Beatitudes as Ascent
Origen doesn’t treat the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12) as a flat list of moral tips, but as a ladder of ascent each one a higher step up the mountain of perfection. He sees in the Sermon on the Mount a parallel to Moses receiving the Law on Sinai. But where Moses descended with stone tablets, Christ speaks directly to the people, writing the law on their hearts.
For Origen, this is the New Law of the Spirit. It is not just instruction it is transformation. The Beatitudes don’t merely tell us what to do; they describe what we are becoming when Christ lives in us.
2. The Beatitudes According to Origen
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Origen teaches that poverty of spirit is the first step. It is humility an emptying of self so God may fill the soul. Just as Israel had to leave Egypt before entering the Promised Land, the Christian must leave pride and self-sufficiency.
Reflection: Are we poor in spirit, or are we clinging to our own control?
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Origen interprets this mourning not as worldly sorrow, but grief for sin and compassion for suffering. It is the holy weeping that leads to cleansing. He reminds us that David wept for his sins, and Peter wept after denying Christ. Mourning is the soil from which conversion grows.
Reflection: Do we grieve more over losing worldly things than over sin?
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Meekness is not weakness but strength under control. Origen contrasts this with the violent conquest of land in the Old Testament. He says the meek inherit the true earth the new creation in Christ. Meekness allows the believer to master passions, not by force but by grace.
Reflection: Do we fight with anger, or do we conquer with patience?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Origen writes:
“Jesus is the bread that comes down from heaven and the living water. To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to hunger and thirst for Him.” (Commentary on Matthew, Book 10)
He links this hunger to Psalm 17:15: “I shall behold your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied in beholding your glory.” For Origen, true satisfaction is not found in earthly goods but in Christ Himself.
Reflection: What do we hunger for most deeply success, comfort, or God Himself?
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Mercy, for Origen, is the imitation of God’s own mercy. Just as God forgave Israel and Christ forgave His persecutors, so must we. He stresses that mercy is not optional but essential: the merciful become like God, and in turn, they receive mercy at the final judgment.
Reflection: Do we show mercy only when convenient, or do we extend it even when it costs us?
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Origen takes this as the climax of the ascent: purity of heart is the condition for the vision of God. Sin clouds vision; purity opens it. Just as Moses could only glimpse God’s back, the pure in heart behold His face in Christ.
Reflection: What clutters my heart and prevents me from seeing God clearly?
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Origen sees peacemaking as more than avoiding conflict it is actively reconciling, imitating Christ who reconciles man to God. Peacemakers build harmony in the Church, in families, and within their own divided hearts. By doing so, they show themselves to be true children of God.
Reflection: Am I a peacemaker, or do I spread division with my words and actions?
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
For Origen, this final Beatitude crowns the rest. To endure persecution is to be united with Christ crucified. He writes that persecution proves the reality of righteousness in the believer — it is the ultimate test of fidelity.
Reflection: Do I fear opposition for my faith, or do I embrace the Cross as Christ did?
Theological Depth
Origen presents the Beatitudes as a progression:
1. Humility (poverty of spirit) opens the way.
2. Sorrow for sin (mourning) purifies.
3. Meekness tames the passions.
4. Hunger for righteousness directs the soul.
5. Mercy extends God’s love outward.
6. Purity of heart unites us inwardly with God.
7. Peacemaking extends God’s order into the world.
8. Persecution crowns the journey with conformity to Christ.
This is why Origen calls them steps up the mountain of holiness. To hear them is to be invited to climb with Christ not remaining on the plain, but ascending toward God.
Practical Application for Today
• The Beatitudes are not just for monks or saints in heaven; they are the daily program for every Christian.
• Origen challenges us to stop treating them as slogans and start treating them as a way of life.
• They form the antidote to modern vices:
o Pride → Poverty of spirit
o Pleasure → Mourning for sin
o Anger → Meekness
o Greed → Hunger for righteousness
o Harshness → Mercy
o Lust → Purity of heart
o Division → Peacemaking
o Fear → Courage in persecution
In short, for Origen, the Beatitudes are the charter of the New Law, the interior law of love given by Christ the New Moses. They are both a path and a promise: a path of transformation here, and a promise of blessedness in eternity.
6. Fulfillment of the Old Covenant
At Matthew 5:17, Christ says, “I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them.” Origen insists all Scripture, particularly the Old Testament, must be seen through Christ as its completion. Shadows—like lambs, manna, sacrificial laws—point toward Him. Matthew makes little sense apart from His light. For Origen, Christ is both the meaning and the meaning-maker.
The Key Text: Matthew 5:17
Christ declares:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
This verse is central to understanding not only Matthew’s Gospel but the entire New Testament. For Origen, these words are the interpretive key that unlocks the Scriptures. They show us that the Old Covenant is not discarded but completed, not erased but perfected, not meaningless but meaningful only in Christ.
Origen’s Vision of Fulfillment
Origen teaches that all Scripture — every command, prophecy, and ritual — is ultimately about Christ. The Old Covenant is a shadow, a sign pointing toward the reality found in Him. Without Christ, the Old Testament is incomplete; with Christ, it bursts into full light.
Examples he emphasizes:
• The Paschal Lamb: Every lamb slain in sacrifice prefigures Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
• The Manna in the Desert: This miraculous bread foreshadows the true Bread from Heaven, the Eucharist.
• The Temple Sacrifices: Bulls and goats could not take away sin (Hebrews 10:4), but they prepared Israel for the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
• The Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel point forward to the Messiah; in Christ, their promises are fulfilled.
Origen writes:
“If you understand the Law spiritually, it is Christ. If you read the Prophets, they are all fulfilled in Him. What they announced in shadow, He reveals in light.” (Commentary on Matthew, Book 12)
Theological Depth: Christ as the Meaning and the Meaning-Maker
Origen goes further: Christ is not only the fulfillment of the Old Covenant but also its Author. He is the eternal Word who inspired the Law and the Prophets in the first place.
• He is the Logos through whom the Father spoke to Moses on Sinai.
• He is the Spirit behind the Psalms, giving voice to David’s prayers.
• He is the Wisdom revealed in Proverbs and the Prophets.
Thus, Christ is both the meaning of Scripture (the One to whom it points) and the meaning-maker (the One who inspired it). For Origen, to read Scripture without Christ is like trying to read a letter without understanding the language.
Catholic Tradition
The Catholic Church has always affirmed this continuity:
• Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1964):
“The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel. ‘The Law is a pedagogy and a prophecy of things to come.’ It prophesies and presages the work of liberation from sin which will be fulfilled in Christ.”
• St. Augustine:
“The New is hidden in the Old, and the Old is revealed in the New.” (Quaestiones in Heptateuchum)
• St. Thomas Aquinas:
“All the ceremonial precepts of the Old Law were ordained to the foreshadowing of Christ.” (Summa Theologiae I-II, q. 101, a. 2)
The Church Fathers and Doctors echo Origen’s insight: Christ is the hermeneutical key the lens through which we must read the Old Testament.
Spiritual Application
• Do we read the Old Testament with Christ in mind? When we hear the story of the Exodus, do we see it as our own spiritual journey, fulfilled in Christ’s Cross and Resurrection?
• Do we understand the sacraments as fulfillment of the old signs? Baptism is the new crossing of the Red Sea; the Eucharist is the new manna; Confirmation is the new anointing.
• Do we live as people of fulfillment? Or do we cling to shadows external observances, empty rituals without letting Christ Himself transform us?
Conclusion
For Origen, Matthew 5:17 is not simply a statement about the Law but about the whole drama of salvation. Christ did not come to erase Israel’s story but to bring it to perfection. Every lamb, every prophecy, every line of the Law is a whisper of His name.
In Origen’s words:
“Without Christ, the Law is an unfinished melody. With Christ, the harmony is complete.”
7. Application for Today
Lessons for us:
1. Read Scripture as one story—not a test of law versus prophecy.
2. See Christ in every page—from Abraham to the Beatitudes.
3. Live Matthew not as a rule book but as spiritual formation.
4. Let the Beatitudes become your pilgrimage toward Christ.
Challenge for the week: Pick one Beatitude. Meditate on it as Origen would say: “How is Christ forming that virtue in me?” Live it, don’t just recite it.
8. Closing
“In summary, Origen teaches us to see Matthew as Israel’s story brought full Christ is the fulfillment, the New Moses, the heart-written Law.
Let us pray:
O Christ, Giver of the Law written on hearts, teach us to climb Thy mountain with humble hearts. May Thy Beatitudes mold our souls until we see Thee in glory. Amen.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.’