Chapter V.—The new covenant, founded on the sufferings of Christ, tends to
our salvation, but to the Jews’ destruction.
For to this end the Lord endured to deliver up His flesh to corruption, that we might
be sanctified through the remission of sins, which is effected by His blood of sprinkling. For
it is written concerning Him, partly with reference to Israel, and partly to us; and [the
Scripture] saith thus: “He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our
iniquities: with His stripes we are healed. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and
as a lamb which is dumb before its shearer.”44 Therefore we ought to be deeply grateful to
the Lord, because He has both made known to us things that are past, and hath given us
wisdom concerning things present, and hath not left us without understanding in regard
to things which are to come. Now, the Scripture saith, “Not unjustly are nets spread out for
birds.”45 This means that the man perishes justly, who, having a knowledge of the way of
righteousness, rushes off into the way of darkness. And further, my brethren: if the Lord
endured to suffer for our soul, He being Lord of all the world, to whom God said at the
foundation of the world, “Let us make man after our image, and after our likeness,”46 un-
derstand how it was that He endured to suffer at the hand of men. The prophets, having
obtained grace from Him, prophesied concerning Him. And He (since it behoved Him to
appear in flesh), that He might abolish death, and reveal the resurrection from the dead,
endured [what and as He did], in order that He might fulfil the promise made unto the
fathers, and by preparing a new people for Himself, might show, while He dwelt on earth,
that He, when He has raised mankind, will also judge them. Moreover, teaching Israel, and
doing so great miracles and signs, He preached [the truth] to him, and greatly loved him.
But when He chose His own apostles who were to preach His Gospel, [He did so from among
those] who were sinners above all sin, that He might show He came “not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.”47 Then He manifested Himself to be the Son of God. For if He
had not come in the flesh, how could men have been saved by beholding Him?48 Since
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looking upon the sun which is to cease to exist, and is the work of His hands, their eyes are
not able to bear his rays. The Son of God therefore came in the flesh with this view, that He
might bring to a head the sum of their sins who had persecuted His prophets49 to the death.
For this purpose, then, He endured. For God saith, “The stroke of his flesh is from them;”50
44 Isa. liii. 5, 7.
45 Prov. i. 17, from the LXX, which has mistaken the meaning.
46 Gen. i. 26.
47 Matt. ix. 13; Mark ii. 17; Luke v. 32.
48 The Cod. Sin. reads, “neither would men have been saved by seeing Him.”
49 Cod. Sin. has, “their prophets,” but the corrector has changed it as above.
50 A very loose reference to Isa. liii. 8.
Chapter V.—The new covenant, founded on the sufferings of Christ, tends to our salvation, but to the Jews’ destruction.
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Chapter V.—The new covenant, founded on the sufferings of Christ, tends…