"Refutation of the Jews"
This is taken from On The Incarnation by St. Athanasius.
It was the this book that help defeat the Arians at the Council of Nicaea and clearly established the doctrine of the Trinity as well as Christ being divinely part of the Trinity. The Arians had challenged Christs' divinity..
All true Christians should enjoy this gem from our Christian treasures.
THE REFUTATION OF THE JEWS
33. UNBELIEF OF JEWS AND SCOFFING OF GREEKS. THE FORMER confounded by their
own Scriptures. Prophecies of His coming as God and as Man.
These things being so, and the Resurrection of His body and the victory gained over death by the
Saviour being clearly proved, come now let us put to rebuke both the disbelief of the Jews and the
scoffing of the Gentiles. 2. For these, perhaps, are the points where Jews express incredulity, while
Gentiles laugh, finding fault with the unseemliness of the Cross, and of the Word of God becoming
man. But our argument shall not delay to grapple with both especially as the proofs at our command
against them are clear as day. 3. For Jews in their incredulity may be refuted from the Scriptures,
which even themselves read; for this text and that, and, in a word, the whole inspired Scripture, cries
aloud concerning these things, as even its express words abundantly shew. For prophets proclaimed
beforehand concerning the wonder of the Virgin and the birth from her, saying: "Lo, the [5] Virgin
shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is, being
interpreted, God with us." 4. But Moses, the truly great, and whom they believe to speak truth, with
reference to the Saviour's becoming man, having estimated what was said as important, and assured
of its truth, set it down in these words: "There [6] shall rise a star out of Jacob, and a man out of
Israel, and he shall break in pieces the captains of Moab." And again: "How lovely are thy habitations
O Jacob, thy tabernacles O Israel, as shadowing gardens, and as parks by the rivers, and as
tabernacles which the Lord hath fixed, as cedars by the waters. A man shall come forth out of his
seed, and shall be Lord over many peoples." And again, Esaias: "Before [7] the Child know how to
call father or mother, he shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils 'of Samaria before the king
of Assyria." 5. That a man, then, shall appear is foretold in those words. But that He that is to come
is Lord of all, they predict once more as follows: "Behold [8] the Lord sitteth upon a light cloud, and
shall come into Egypt, and the graven images of Egypt shall be shaken." For from thence also it is that
the Father calls Him back, saying: "I called [9] My Son out of Egypt."
34. Prophecies of His passion and death in all its circumstances.
Nor is even His death passed over in silence: on the contrary, it is referred to in the divine Scriptures,
even exceeding clearly. For to the end that none should err for want of instruction :in the actual
events, they feared not to mention even the cause of His death,--that He suffers it not for His own
sake, but for the immortality and salvation of all, and the counsels of the Jews against Him and the
indignities offered Him at their hands. 2. They say then: "A man [1] in stripes, and knowing how to
bear weakness, for his face is turned away: he was dishonoured and held in no account. He beareth
our sins, and is in pain on our account; and we reckoned him to be in labour, and in stripes, and in
ill-usage; but he was wounded for our sins, and made weak for our wickedness. The chastisement of
our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we were healed." O marvel at the loving-kindness of the
Word, that for our sakes He is dishonoured, that we may be brought to honour. "For all we," it says,
"like sheep were gone astray; man had erred in his way; and the Lord delivered him for our sins; and
he openeth not his mouth, because he hath been evilly entreated. As a sheep was he brought to the
slaughter, and as a lamb dumb before his shearer, so openeth he not his mouth: in his abasement his
judgment was taken away [2]." 3. Then lest any should from His suffering conceive Him to be a
common man, Holy Writ anticipates the surmises of man, and declares the power (which worked)
for Him [3], and the difference of His nature compared with ourselves, saying: "But who shall declare
his generation? For his life is taken away [2] from the earth. From the wickedness of the people was
he brought to death. And I will give the wicked instead of his burial, and the rich instead of his death;
for he did no wickedness, neither was guile found in his mouth. And the Lord will cleanse him from
his stripes."
35. Prophecies of the Cross. How these prophecies are satisfied in Christ alone.
But, perhaps, having heard the prophecy of His death, you ask to learn also what is set forth
concerning the Cross. For not even this is passed over: it is displayed by the holy men with great
plainness. 2. For first Moses predicts it, and that with a loud voice, when he 55 says: "Ye shall see
[4] your Life hanging before your eyes, and shall not believe." 3. And next, the prophets after him
witness of this, saying: "But s I as an innocent lamb brought to be slain, knew it not; they counselled
an evil counsel against me, saying, Hither and let us cast a tree upon his [6] bread, and efface him
from the land of the living." 4. And again: "They pierced [7] my hands and my feet, they numbered all
my bones, they parted my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots." 5. Now a death
raised aloft and that takes place on a tree, could be none other than the Cross: and again, in no other
death are the hands and feet pierced, save on the Cross only. 6. But since by the sojourn of the
Saviour among men all nations also on every side began to know God; they did not leave this point,
either, without a reference but mention is made of this matter as well in the Holy Scriptures. For
"there a shall be," he saith, "the root of Jesse, and he that riseth to rule the nations, on him shall the
nations hope." This then is a little in proof of what has happened. 7. But all Scripture teems with
refutations of the disbelief of the Jews. For which of the righteous men and holy prophets, and
patriarchs, recorded in the divine Scriptures, ever had his corporal birth of a virgin only? Or what
woman has sufficed without man for the conception of human kind? Was not Abel born of Adam,
Enoch of Jared, Noe of Lamech, and Abraham of Tharra, Isaac of Abraham, Jacob of Isaac? Was
not Judas born of Jacob, and Moses and Aaron of Ameram? Was not Samuel born of Elkana, was
not David of Jesse, was not Solomon of David, was not Ezechias of Achaz, was not Josias of Amos,
was not Esaias of Amos, was not Jeremy of Chelchias, was not Ezechiel of Buzi? Had not each a
father as author of his existence? Who then is he that is born of a virgin only? For the prophet made
exceeding much of this sign. 8. Or whose birth did a star in the skies forerun, to announce to the
world him that was born? For when Moses was born, he w as hid by his parents: David was not
heard of, even by those of his neighbourhood, inasmuch as even the great Samuel knew him not, but
asked, had Jesse yet another son? Abraham again became known to his neighbours as [9] a great
man only subsequently to his birth. But of Christ's birth the witness was not man, but a star in that
heaven whence He was descending.
36. Prophecies of Christ's sovereignty, flight into Egypt, &c.
But what king that ever was, before he had strength to call father or mother, reigned and gained
triumphs over his enemies [10]? Did not David come to the throne at thirty years of age, and
Solomon, when he had grown to be a young man? Did not Joas enter on the kingdom when seven
years old, and Josias, a still later king, receive the government about the seventh year of his age? And
yet they at that age had strength to call father or mother. 2. Who, then, is there that was reigning and
spoiling his enemies almost before his birth? Or what king of this sort has ever been in Israel and in
Juda--let the Jews, who haves searched out the matter, tell us--in whom all the nations have placed
their hopes and had peace, instead of being at enmity with them on every side? 3. For as long as
Jerusalem stood there was war without respite betwixt them, and they all fought with Israel; the
Assyrians oppressed them, the Egyptians persecuted them, the Babylonians fell upon them; and,
strange to say, they had even the Syrians their neighbours at war against them. Or did not David war
against them of Moab, and smite the Syrians, Josias guard against his neighbours, and Ezechias quail
at the boasting of Senacherim, and Amalek make war against Moses, and the Amorites oppose him,
and the inhabitants of Jericho array themselves against Jesus son of Naue? And, in a word, treaties of
friendship had no place between the nations and Israel. Who, then, it is on whom the nations are to
set their hope, it is worth while to see. For there must be such an one, as it is impossible for the
prophet to have spoken falsely. 4. But which of the holy prophets or of the early patriarchs has died
on the Cross for the salvation of all? Or who was wounded and destroyed for the healing of all? Or
which of the righteous men, or kings, went down to Egypt, so that at his coming the idols of Egypt fell
[1]? For Abraham went thither, but idolatry prevailed universally all the same. Moses was born there,
and the deluded worship of the people was there none t he less.
37. Psalm xxii. 16, &c. Majesty of His birth and death.Confusion of oracles and demons in Egypt.
Or who among those recorded in Scripture was pierced in the hands and feet, or hung 56 at all upon
a tree, and was sacrificed on a cross for the salvation of all? For Abraham died, ending his life on a
bed; Isaac and Jacob also died with their feet raised on a bed; Moses and Aaron died on the
mountain; David in his house, without being the object of any conspiracy at the hands of the people;
true, he was pursued by Saul, but he was preserved unhurt. Esaias was sawn asunder, but not hung
on a tree. Jeremy was shamefully treated, but did not die under condemnation; Ezechie suffered, not
however for the people, but to indicate what was to come upon the people. 2. Again, these, even
where they suffered, were men resembling all in their common nature; but he that is declared in
Scripture to suffer on behalf of all is called not merely man, but the Life of all, albeit He was in fact
like men in nature. For "ye shall [2] see," it says, "your Life hanging before your eyes;" and "who shall
declare his generation?" For one can ascertain the genealogy of all the saints, and declare it from the
beginning, and of whom each was born; but the generation of Him that is the Life the Scriptures refer
to as not to be declared. 3. Who then is he of whom the Divine Scriptures say this? Or who is so
great that even the prophets predict of him such great things? None else, now, is found in the
Scriptures but the common Saviour of all, the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. For He it is that
proceeded from a virgin and appeared as man on the earth, and whose generation after the flesh
cannot be declared. For there is none that can tell His father after the flesh, His body not being of a
man, but of a virgin alone; 4. so that no one can declare the corporal generation of the Saviour from a
man, in the same way as one can draw up a genealogy of David and of Moses and of all the
patriarchs. For He it is that caused the star also to mark the birth of His body; since it was fit that the
Word, coming down from heaven, should have His constellation also from heaven, and it was fitting
that the King of Creation when He came fort h should be openly recognized by all creation. 5. Why,
He was born in Judaea, and men from Persia came to worship Him. He it is that even before His
appearing in the body won the victory over His demon adversaries and a triumph over idolatry. All
heathen at any rate from every region, abjuring their hereditary tradition and the impiety of idols, are
now placing their hope in Christ, and enrolling themselves under Him, the like of which you may see
with your own eyes. 6. For at no other time has the impiety of the Egyptians ceased, save when the
Lord of all, riding as it were upon a cloud, came down there in the body and brought to nought the
delusion of idols, and brought over all to Himself, and through Himself to the Father. 7. He it is that
was crucified before the sun and all creation as witnesses, and before those who put Him to death:
and by His death has salvation come to all, and all creation been ransomed. He is the Life of all, and
He it is that as a sheep yielded His body to death as a substitute, for the salvation of all, even though
the Jews believe it not.
38. Other clear prophecies of the coming of God in the flesh. Christ's miracles unprecedented.
For if they do not think these proofs sufficient, let them be persuaded at any rate by other reasons,
drawn from the oracles they themselves possess. For of whom do the prophets say: "I was [3] made
manifest to them that sought me not, I was found of them that asked not for me: I said Behold, here
am I, to the nation that had not called upon my name; I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and
gainsaying people." 2. Who, then, one might say to the Jews, is he that was made manifest? For if it is
the prophet, let them say when he was hid, afterward to appear again. And what manner of prophet
is this, that was not only made manifest from obscurity, but also stretched out his hands on the
Cross? None surely of the righteous, save the Word of God only, Who, incorporeal by nature,
appeared for our sakes in the body and suffered for all. 3. Or if not even this is sufficient for them, let
them at least be silenced by another proof, seeing how clear its demonstrative force is. For the
Scripture says: "Be strong [4] ye hands that hang down, and feeble knees; comfort ye, ye of faint
mind; be strong, fear not. Behold, our God recompenseth judgment; He shall come and save us.
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear; then shall the lame man
leap as an hart, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be plain." 4. Now what can they say to this, or
how can they dare to face this at all? For the prophecy not only indicates that God is to sojourn here,
but it announces the signs and the time of His coming. For they connect the blind recovering their
sight, and the lame walking, and the deaf hearing, and the tongue of the stammerers being made plain,
with the Divine Coming which is to take place. Let them say, then, when such signs have come to
pass in Israel, or where 57 in Jewry anything of the sort has occurred. 5. Naaman, a leper, was
cleansed, but no deaf man heard nor lame walked. Elias raised a dead man; so did Eliseus; but none
blind from birth regained his sight. For in good truth, to raise a dead man is a great thing, but it is not
like the wonder wrought by the Saviour. Only, if Scripture has not passed over the case of the leper,
and of the dead son of the widow, certainly, had it come to pass that a lame man also had walked
and a blind man recovered his sight, the narrative would not have omitted to mention this also. Since
then nothing is said in the Scriptures, it is evident that these things had never taken place before. 6.
When, then, have they taken place, save when the Word of God Himself came in the body ? Or
when did He come, if not when lame men walked, and stammerers were made to speak plain, and
deaf men heard, and men blind from birth regained their sight? For this was the very thing the Jews
said who then witnessed it, because they had not heard of these things having taken place at any
other time: "Since [5] the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man
born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing."
39. Do you look for another? But Daniel foretells the escort time. Objections to this removed.
But perhaps, being unable, even they, to fight continually against plain facts, they will, without denying
what is written, maintain that they are looking for these things, and that the Word of God is not yet
come. For this it is on which they are for ever harping, not blushing to brazen it out in the face of plain
facts. 2. But on this one point, above all, they shall be all the more refuted, not at our hands, but at
those of the most wise Daniel, who marks both the actual date, and the divine sojourn of the Saviour,
saying: "Seventy [6] weeks are cut short upon thy people, and upon the holy city, for a full end to be
made of sin, and for sins to be sealed up, and to blot out iniquities, and to make atonement for
iniquities, and to bring everlasting righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint a Holy
of Holies; and thou shalt know and understand from the going forth of the word to restore [7] and to
build Jerusalem unto Christ the Prince" 3. Perhaps with regard to the other (prophecies) they may be
able even to find excuses and to put off what is written to a future time. But what can they say to this,
or can they face it at all ? Where not only is the Christ referred to, but He that is to be anointed is
declared to be not man simply, but Holy of Holies; and Jerusalem is to stand till His coming, and
thenceforth, prophet and vision cease in Israel. 4. David was anointed of old, and Solomon and
Ezechias; but then, nevertheless, Jerusalem and the place stood, and prophets were prophesying:
God and Asaph and Nathan; and, later, Esaias and Osee and Amos and others. And again, the
actual men that were anointed were called holy, and not Holy of Holies. 5. But if they shield
themselves with the captivity, and say that because of it Jerusalem was not, what can they say about
the prophets too ? For in fact when first the people went down to Babylon, Daniel and Jeremy were
there, and Ezechiel and Aggaeus and Zachary were prophesying.
40. Argument (I)from the withdrawal of prophecy and destruction of Jerusalem, (2) from the
conversion of the Gentiles, and that to the God of Moses. What more remains for the Messiah to do,
that Christ has not done ?
So the Jews are trifling, and the time in question, which they refer to the future, is actually come. For
when did prophet and vision cease from Israel, save when Christ came, the Holy of Holies ? For it is
a sign, and an important proof, of the coming of the Word of God, that Jerusalem no longer stands,
nor is any prophet raised up nor vision revealed to them,--and that very naturally. 2. For when He
that was signified was come, what need was there any longer of any to signify Him ? When the truth
was there, what need any more of the shadow ? For this was the reason of their prophesying at
all,--namely, till the true Righteousness should come, and He that was to ransom the sins of all. And
this was why Jerusalem stood till then- namely, that there they might be exercised in the types as a
preparation for the reality. 3. So when the Holy of Holies was come, naturally vision and prophecy
were sealed and the kingdom of Jerusalem ceased. For kings were to be anointed among them only
until the Holy of Holies should have been anointed; and Jacob prophesies that the kingdom of the
Jews should be established until Him, as follows :-"The ruler s shall not fail from Juda, nor the Prince
from his loins, until that which is laid up for him shall come; and he is the expectation of the nations."
4. Whence the Saviour also Himself cried aloud and said: "The [9] law and the prophets prophesied
until John." If then there is now among the Jews 58 king or prophet or vision, they do well to deny
the Christ that is come. But if there is neither king nor vision, but from that time forth all prophecy is
sealed and the city and temple taken, why are they so irreligious and so perverse as to see what has
happened, and yet to deny Christ, Who has brought it all to pass ? Or why, when they see even
heathens deserting their idols, and placing their hope, through Christ, on the God of Israel, do they
deny Christ, Who was born of the root of Jesse after the flesh and henceforth is King ? For if the
nations were worshipping some other God, and not confessing the God of Abraham and isaac and
Jacob and Moses, then, once more, they would be doing well in alleging that God had not come. 5.
But if the Gentiles are honouring the same God that gave the law to Moses and made the promise to
Abraham, and Whose word the Jews dishonoured,--why are they ignorant, or rather why do they
choose to ignore, that the Lord foretold by the Scriptures has shone forth upon the world, and
appeared to it in bodily form, as the Scripture said: "The [1] Lord God hath shined upon us;" and
again: "He [2] sent His Word and healed them ;" and again: "Not [3] a messenger, not an angel, but
the Lord Himself saved them?" 6. Their state may be compared to that of one out of his right mind,
who sees the earth illumined by the sun, but denies the sun that illumines it. For what more is there for
him whom they expect to do, when he is come ? To call the heathen? But they are called already. To
make prophecy, and king, and vision to cease ? This too has already come to pass. To expose the
godlessness of idolatry? It is already exposed and condemned. Or to destroy death? He is already
destroyed. 7. What then has not come to pass, that the Christ must do ? What is left unfulfilled, that
the Jews should now disbelieve with impunity ? For if, I say, -which is just what we actually
see,--there is no longer king nor prophet nor Jerusalem nor sacrifice nor vision among them, but even
the whole earth is till ed with the knowledge of God, and gentiles, leaving their godlessness, are now
taking refuge with the God of Abraham, through the Word, even our Lord Jesus Christ, then it must
be plain, even to those who are exceedingly obstinate, that the Christ is come, and that He has
illumined absolutely all with His light, and given them the true and divine teaching concerning His
Father. 8. So one can fairly refute the Jews by these and by other arguments from the Divine
Scriptures. |
