Chapter XLIII.—He concludes that the law had an end in Christ, who was born
of the Virgin.
“As, then, circumcision began with Abraham, and the Sabbath and sacrifices and offerings
and feasts with Moses, and it has been proved they were enjoined on account of the hardness
of your people’s heart, so it was necessary, in accordance with the Father’s will, that they
should have an end in Him who was born of a virgin, of the family of Abraham and tribe
of Judah, and of David; in Christ the Son of God, who was proclaimed as about to come to
all the world, to be the everlasting law and the everlasting covenant, even as the foremen-
tioned prophecies show. And we, who have approached God through Him, have received
not carnal, but spiritual circumcision, which Enoch and those like him observed. And we
have received it through baptism, since we were sinners, by God’s mercy; and all men may
equally obtain it. But since the mystery of His birth now demands our attention I shall speak
of it. Isaiah then asserted in regard to the generation of Christ, that it could not be declared
by man, in words already quoted:304 ‘Who shall declare His generation? for His life is taken
from the earth: for the transgressions of my people was He led305 to death.’306 The Spirit
of prophecy thus affirmed that the generation of Him who was to die, that we sinful men
might be healed by His stripes, was such as could not be declared. Furthermore, that the
men who believe in Him may possess the knowledge of the manner in which He came into
the world,307 the Spirit of prophecy by the same Isaiah foretold how it would happen thus:
‘And the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask for thyself a sign from the Lord thy God,
in the depth, or in the height. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
And Isaiah said, Hear then, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to contend with
men, and how do you contend with the Lord? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a
sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and his name shall be called
Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, before he knows or prefers the evil, and chooses
out the good;308 for before the child knows good or ill, he rejects evil309 by choosing out
the good. For before the child knows how to call father or mother, he shall receive the power
of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria in presence of the king of Assyria. And the land shall
be forsaken,310 which thou shalt with difficulty endure in consequence of the presence of
304 Chap. xiii.
305 Or, “was I led.”
306 Isa. liii. 8.
307 Literally, “He was in the world, being born.”
308 See Chap. lxvi.
309 Literally, “disobeys evil” (ἀπειθεῖ πονηρά). Conjectured: ἀπωθεῖ, and ἀπειθεῖ πονηρία.
310 The mss. of Justin read, “shall be taken:” καταληφθήσεται. This is plainly a mistake for καταλειφθήσεται;
but whether the mistake is Justin’s or the transcribers’, it would be difficult to say, as Thirlby remarks.
Chapter XLIII.—He concludes that the law had an end in Christ, who was born of the Virgin.
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Chapter XLIII.—He concludes that the law had an end in Christ, who was born…