Wealth, rule and wisdom in the teaching of Jesus
From these points too, then, it is clear how Jesus, the “Nazarene” man, does not lay down contrary laws in what he said about wealth and about those who were amazed, namely, that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:23–26; Luke 18:24). This holds whether one takes the “rich man” more simply as the one who is distracted by wealth and hindered by it, as by thorns, from bearing the fruits of the word (Matthew 13:22), or as the one who is rich in false doctrines, of whom it is written in Proverbs: “Better a poor man who is righteous than a rich man who is a liar” (Proverbs 19:22).
It is likely that Celsus took the idea that Jesus forbade the love of rule from the sayings “Whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be the servant of all” (Mark 10:43–44; compare Mark 9:35), “The rulers of the nations lord it over them” (Matthew 20:25), and “Those who exercise authority among them are called benefactors” (Luke 22:25). This must not be thought contrary to “You shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you” (Deuteronomy 15:6), especially in view of the explanations already given of that text.
Next after these points Celsus throws in something about wisdom, supposing that Jesus teaches that the wise man has no access to the Father. Let us say to him: Which wise man? If he means the one who has been shaped by what is called the wisdom “of this world,” which is foolishness “with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19), we too shall say that the man who is wise in this way has no access to the Father. But if one understands Wisdom to be Christ, since Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), we say not only that the man who is wise in this way has access to the Father; we also say that the one adorned with the gift called the word of “wisdom,” which is given through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8), far surpasses those who are not such.
Greek
Σαφῆ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἐκ τούτων, πῶς Ἰησοῦς ὁ „Ναζωραῖος“ ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἀντινομοθετεῖ τοῖς περὶ πλούτου καὶ τῶν ἐξισταμένων εἰρημένοις περὶ τοῦ δύσκολον εἶναι πλούσιον εἰσέρχεσθαι εἰς τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ βασιλείαν· εἴτε πλούσιόν τις λαμβάνει ἁπλούστερον τὸν ὑπὸ πλούτου περισπώμενον καὶ ὡς ὑπὸ ἀκάνθης αὐτοῦ ἐμποδιζόμενον φέρειν τοὺς τοῦ λόγου καρποὺς εἴτε καὶ τὸν ἐν τοῖς ψευδέσι δόγμασι πλουτοῦντα, περὶ οὗ ἐν Παροιμίαις γέγραπται· „κρείσσων πτωχὸς δίκαιος ἢ πλούσιος ψεύστης.“ εἰκὸς δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ „ὁ θέλων ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος ἔστω πάντων διάκονος“ καὶ „οἱ ἄρχοντες τῶν ἐθνῶν κατακυριεύουσιν αὐτῶν“ καὶ „οἱ ἐξουσιάζοντες ἐν αὐτοῖς εὐεργέται καλοῦνται“ εἰληφέναι τὸν Κέλσον ὅτι Ἰησοῦς φιλαρχίαν ἐκώλυεν, ἥντινα οὐκ ἐναντίαν εἶναι νομιστέον τοῦ „ἄρξεις σὺ ἐθνῶν πολλῶν, σοῦ δὲ οὐκ ἄρξουσι,“ μάλιστα διὰ τὰ ἀποδεδομένα εἰς τὴν λέξιν. ἑξῆς δὲ τούτοις παραῤῥίπτει περὶ τῆς σοφίας ὁ Κέλσος, οἰόμενος τὸν Ἰησοῦν διδάσκειν μὴ παριτητὸν εἶναι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα τῷ σοφῷ. εἴπωμεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν· ποίῳ σοφῷ; εἰ μὲν γὰρ τούτῳ, ὃς πεποίωται κατὰ τὴν λεγομένην σοφίαν „τοῦ κόσμου τούτου,“ ουσαν μωρίαν „παρὰ τῷ θεῷ.“ καὶ ἡμεῖς φήσομεν μὴ παριτητὸν εἶναι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα τῷ οὕτως σοφῷ· εἰ δὲ σοφίαν τις νοήσαι τὸν Χριστὸν, ἐπεὶ Χριστός ἐστι θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ θεοῦ σοφία, οὐ μόνον παριτητὸν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα τῷ οὕτως σοφῷ λέγομεν εἶναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλῷ τῶν μὴ τοιούτων διαφέρειν τὸν κεκοσμημένον χαρίσματί φαμεν λόγῳ „σοφίας“ καλουμένῳ, διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος διδομένῳ.