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#71 The First Apology of Justin - Part 7
By Justin Martyr, from The Ante-Nicene Fathers
Chapter 30 - Was Christ Just a Magician?
But someone might ask: What prevents the one we call Christ from being just a
man born of humans who performed his mighty works by magic, and thus seemed to
be the Son of God?
We will now offer proof, not relying on mere claims but being convinced by those
who prophesied these things before they happened. With our own eyes, we see
things that have happened and are happening exactly as they were predicted. This
will seem even to you the strongest and truest evidence.
Chapter 31 - The Hebrew Prophets
There were among the Jews certain men who were prophets of God. Through them,
the prophetic Spirit announced things that would happen before they occurred.
Their prophecies, as they were spoken, were carefully preserved in books by the
Jewish kings of that time. The prophets themselves arranged them in their own
Hebrew language.
When Ptolemy, king of Egypt, was building a library and trying to collect the
writings of all people, he heard about these prophets. He sent to Herod, who
was then king of the Jews, requesting that the books of the prophets be sent to
him. Herod sent them, written in Hebrew. When their contents were found to be
unintelligible to the Egyptians, Ptolemy requested that men be commissioned to
translate them into Greek. When this was done, the books remained with the
Egyptians, where they are until now.
All Jews throughout the world also have these books. But though they read them,
they do not understand what is said. They consider us enemies and, like you,
kill and punish us whenever they have the power.
In the recent Jewish war, Barchochebas, the leader of the Jewish revolt, ordered
that Christians alone should be led to cruel punishments unless they would deny
Jesus Christ and blaspheme.
In these books of the prophets, we found Jesus our Christ foretold as coming:
born of a virgin, growing to manhood, healing every disease and sickness,
raising the dead, being hated, unrecognized, crucified, dying, rising again,
ascending into heaven, and being called the Son of God. We also found that
certain people would be sent by Him to every nation to proclaim these things,
and that Gentiles rather than Jews would believe in Him.
He was predicted before He appeared - first 5,000 years before, then 3,000
years, then 2,000 years, then 1,000 years, then 800 years - as prophets arose in
succession through generations.
Chapter 32 - Christ Predicted by Moses
Moses, the first of the prophets, spoke these very words: "The sceptre shall
not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh
come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto
the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in
wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes."
You can investigate and determine until whose time the Jews had their own ruler
and king. Until the time of Jesus Christ, who taught us and interpreted the
prophecies that were not yet understood, they had a ruler as foretold. Moses
prophesied through the Spirit that a ruler would not fail the Jews until He came
for whom the kingdom was reserved.
Judah was the ancestor of the Jews, from whom they get their name. After Christ
appeared, you began to rule the Jews and gained possession of all their
territory.
The prophecy "He shall be the desire of the nations" meant that some from all
nations would look for Him to come again. This you can see for yourselves and be
convinced by fact. From all races, there are some who look for Him who was
crucified in Judea, after whose crucifixion the land was immediately surrendered
to you as spoils of war.
The prophecy about "binding his foal to the vine, and washing his robe in the
blood of the grape" was a symbol of what would happen to Christ.
The foal of a donkey stood tied to a vine at the entrance of a village. He
ordered His acquaintances to bring it to Him; when it was brought, He mounted it
and entered Jerusalem, where the great temple of the Jews stood, which was later
destroyed by you.
After this, He was crucified, fulfilling the rest of the prophecy. "Washing His
robe in the blood of the grape" predicted the suffering He would endure,
cleansing by His blood those who believe in Him. The "robe" the prophet speaks
of means those who believe in Him, in whom the seed of God, the Word, dwells.
"The blood of the grape" means that He who would appear would have blood, though
not from human origin but from divine power.
The first power after God the Father and Lord of all is the Word, who is also
the Son. We will explain later how He took flesh and became a man. Just as man
did not make the blood of the vine but God did, so it was indicated that the
blood would not come from human origin but from divine power.
Isaiah, another prophet, foretold the same things differently: "There shall
come a Star out of Jacob, and there shall come a rod out of the stem of
Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; and in him shall the Gentiles
trust." A star of light has arisen, and a flower has sprung from the root of
Jesse - this is Christ. By God's power, He was conceived by a virgin from the
line of Jacob, who was the father of Judah (the father of the Jews, as we have
shown). Jesse was His ancestor according to the prophecy, and He was the son of
Jacob and Judah by direct descent.
View all episodes
By Timeless FaithBy Justin Martyr, from The Ante-Nicene Fathers
Chapter 30 - Was Christ Just a Magician?
But someone might ask: What prevents the one we call Christ from being just a
man born of humans who performed his mighty works by magic, and thus seemed to
be the Son of God?
We will now offer proof, not relying on mere claims but being convinced by those
who prophesied these things before they happened. With our own eyes, we see
things that have happened and are happening exactly as they were predicted. This
will seem even to you the strongest and truest evidence.
Chapter 31 - The Hebrew Prophets
There were among the Jews certain men who were prophets of God. Through them,
the prophetic Spirit announced things that would happen before they occurred.
Their prophecies, as they were spoken, were carefully preserved in books by the
Jewish kings of that time. The prophets themselves arranged them in their own
Hebrew language.
When Ptolemy, king of Egypt, was building a library and trying to collect the
writings of all people, he heard about these prophets. He sent to Herod, who
was then king of the Jews, requesting that the books of the prophets be sent to
him. Herod sent them, written in Hebrew. When their contents were found to be
unintelligible to the Egyptians, Ptolemy requested that men be commissioned to
translate them into Greek. When this was done, the books remained with the
Egyptians, where they are until now.
All Jews throughout the world also have these books. But though they read them,
they do not understand what is said. They consider us enemies and, like you,
kill and punish us whenever they have the power.
In the recent Jewish war, Barchochebas, the leader of the Jewish revolt, ordered
that Christians alone should be led to cruel punishments unless they would deny
Jesus Christ and blaspheme.
In these books of the prophets, we found Jesus our Christ foretold as coming:
born of a virgin, growing to manhood, healing every disease and sickness,
raising the dead, being hated, unrecognized, crucified, dying, rising again,
ascending into heaven, and being called the Son of God. We also found that
certain people would be sent by Him to every nation to proclaim these things,
and that Gentiles rather than Jews would believe in Him.
He was predicted before He appeared - first 5,000 years before, then 3,000
years, then 2,000 years, then 1,000 years, then 800 years - as prophets arose in
succession through generations.
Chapter 32 - Christ Predicted by Moses
Moses, the first of the prophets, spoke these very words: "The sceptre shall
not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh
come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto
the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in
wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes."
You can investigate and determine until whose time the Jews had their own ruler
and king. Until the time of Jesus Christ, who taught us and interpreted the
prophecies that were not yet understood, they had a ruler as foretold. Moses
prophesied through the Spirit that a ruler would not fail the Jews until He came
for whom the kingdom was reserved.
Judah was the ancestor of the Jews, from whom they get their name. After Christ
appeared, you began to rule the Jews and gained possession of all their
territory.
The prophecy "He shall be the desire of the nations" meant that some from all
nations would look for Him to come again. This you can see for yourselves and be
convinced by fact. From all races, there are some who look for Him who was
crucified in Judea, after whose crucifixion the land was immediately surrendered
to you as spoils of war.
The prophecy about "binding his foal to the vine, and washing his robe in the
blood of the grape" was a symbol of what would happen to Christ.
The foal of a donkey stood tied to a vine at the entrance of a village. He
ordered His acquaintances to bring it to Him; when it was brought, He mounted it
and entered Jerusalem, where the great temple of the Jews stood, which was later
destroyed by you.
After this, He was crucified, fulfilling the rest of the prophecy. "Washing His
robe in the blood of the grape" predicted the suffering He would endure,
cleansing by His blood those who believe in Him. The "robe" the prophet speaks
of means those who believe in Him, in whom the seed of God, the Word, dwells.
"The blood of the grape" means that He who would appear would have blood, though
not from human origin but from divine power.
The first power after God the Father and Lord of all is the Word, who is also
the Son. We will explain later how He took flesh and became a man. Just as man
did not make the blood of the vine but God did, so it was indicated that the
blood would not come from human origin but from divine power.
Isaiah, another prophet, foretold the same things differently: "There shall
come a Star out of Jacob, and there shall come a rod out of the stem of
Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; and in him shall the Gentiles
trust." A star of light has arisen, and a flower has sprung from the root of
Jesse - this is Christ. By God's power, He was conceived by a virgin from the
line of Jacob, who was the father of Judah (the father of the Jews, as we have
shown). Jesse was His ancestor according to the prophecy, and He was the son of
Jacob and Judah by direct descent.