Jews and Greeks Answered: His Coming Foretold

Since this is how things stand, and the resurrection of his body and the Savior’s victory over death have been clearly proved, come now, let us rebuke both the unbelief of the Jews and the scoffing of the Gentiles. For these, perhaps, are the points where the Jews express disbelief and the Gentiles laugh: they find fault with the unseemliness of the cross, and with the Word of God becoming man. But our argument will not delay to grapple with both, especially since the proofs we have against them are as clear as day. [a]

The Jews in their unbelief can be refuted from the Scriptures, which they read themselves. For this text and that, and in a word the whole inspired Scripture, cries aloud about these things, as its own express words abundantly show. The prophets proclaimed beforehand the wonder of the virgin and the birth from her, saying: “Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel, which means, God with us.” And Moses, the truly great, whom they believe to speak the truth, judged what was said about the Savior’s becoming man to be important. Being sure of its truth, he set it down in these words: “A star will rise out of Jacob, and a man out of Israel, and he will crush the leaders of Moab.” And again: “How lovely are your dwellings, Jacob, your tents, Israel! Like shady gardens, and like parks beside the rivers, and like tents which the Lord has pitched, like cedars beside the waters. A man will come out of his seed, and he will be lord over many peoples.” And again, Isaiah: “Before the child knows how to say father or mother, he will take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria in the presence of the king of Assyria.”

These words, then, foretell that a man will appear. But they also foretell, once more, that the one who is to come is Lord of all, in these words: “Look, the Lord is sitting on a light cloud, and he will come into Egypt, and the carved idols of Egypt will be shaken.” For it is from there, too, that the Father calls him back, saying: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”