On the Incarnation

On the Incarnation by Athanasius, Chapter 6, Reputation of the Jews. We have dealt thus far with the incarnation of our Savior and have found clear proof of the resurrection of his body and his victory over death. Let us now go further and investigate the unbelief and the ridicule with which Jews and Gentiles, respectively, regard these same facts. It seems that in both cases the points at issue are the same, namely the unfittingness or incongruity, as it seems to them, alike of the cross and of the words becoming man at all. But we have no hesitation in taking up the argument against these objectors, for the proofs on our side are extremely clear. First, then, we will consider the Jews. Their unbelief has its reputation in the scriptures which even themselves read, for from cover to cover the inspired book clearly teaches these things, both in its entirety and in its actual words. Prophets foretold the marvel of the virgin and of the birth from her, saying, Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God is with us. And Moses, that truly great one in whose word the Jews trust so implicitly, he also recognized the importance and truth of the matter. He puts it thus, There shall arise a star from Jacob and a man from Israel, and he shall break in pieces the rulers of Moab. And again, How lovely are thy dwellings, O Jacob, thy tents, O Israel! Like woodland valleys they give shade, and like parks by rivers, like tents which the Lord has pitched, like cedar trees by streams. There shall come forth a man from among his seed, and he shall rule over many peoples. And again, Isaiah says, Before the babe shall be old enough to call father or mother, he shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria from under the eyes of the king of Assyria. These words then foretell that a man shall appear, and scripture proclaims further that he that is to come is Lord of all. These are the words, Behold, the Lord sitteth on an airy cloud and shall come into Egypt, and the man-made images of Egypt shall be shaken. And it is from Egypt also that the father calls him back, saying, Out of Egypt I have called my son. Moreover, the scriptures are not silent even about his death. On the contrary, they refer to it with the utmost clearness. They have not fear to speak also of the cause of it. He endures it, not for his own sake, but for the sake of bringing immortality and salvation to all. And they record also the plotting of the Jews against him and all the indignities which he suffered at their hands. Certainly nobody who reads the scriptures can plead ignorance of the facts as an excuse for error. There is in this passage, for instance, a man that is afflicted and knows how to bear weakness, for his face is turned away. He was dishonored and not considered. He bears our sins and suffers for our sakes. And we for our part thought him distressed and afflicted and ill-used. But it was for our sins that he was wounded, and for our lawlessness that he was made weak. Chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his bruising we are healed. O marvel at the love of the word for men, for it is on our account that he is dishonored, so that we may be brought to honor. For all we, it goes on, have strayed like sheep. Man has strayed from his path, and the Lord has given him up for our sins. And he himself did not open his mouth at the ill-treatment. Like a sheep he was led to slaughter, and as a lamb is dumb before its shearer, so he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. And then scripture anticipates the surmises of any who might think from his suffering thus, that he was just an ordinary man, and shows what power worked in his behalf. Who shall declare of what lineage he comes, it says? For his life is exalted from the earth. By the lawlessnesses of the people was he brought to death. And I will give the wicked in return for his burial, and the rich in return for his death. For he did no lawlessness, neither was deceit found in his mouth, and the Lord wills to heal him of his affliction. You have heard the prophecy of his death, and now perhaps you want to know what indications there are about the cross. Even this is not passed over in silence. On the contrary, the sacred writers proclaim it with the utmost plainness. Moses foretells it first, and that, write loudly, when he says, You shall see your life hanging before your eyes, and shall not believe. After him the prophets also gave their witness, saying, But I, as an innocent lamb brought to be offered, was yet ignorant of it. They plotted evil against me, saying, Come, let us cast wood into his bread, and wipe him out from the land of the living. And again, they pierced my hands and my feet, they counted all my bones, they divided my garments for themselves, and cast lots for my clothing. Now a death lifted up and that takes place on wood can be none other than the death of the cross. Moreover, it is only in that death that the hands and feet are pierced. Besides this, since the Savior dwelt among men, all nations everywhere have begun to know God. And this too, Holy Writ expressly mentions, There shall be the root of Jesse, it says, and he who rises up to rule the nations, on him nations shall set their hope. These are just a few things in proof of what has taken place. But indeed, all scripture teems with this proof of Jewish unbelief. For example, which of the righteous men and holy prophets and patriarchs of whom the divine scriptures tell, ever had his bodily birth from a virgin only? Was not Abel born of Adam, Enoch of Jared, Noah of Lamech, Abraham of Terah, Isaac of Abraham, and Jacob of Isaac? Was not Judah begotten by Jacob, and Moses and Aaron by Amorim? Was not Samuel the son of Elkanah, David of Jesse, Solomon of David, Hezekiah of Ahaz, Josiah of Amon, Isaiah of Amos, Jeremiah of Elkiah, and Ezekiel of Buzi? Had not each of these a father as author of his being? So who is he that is born of a virgin only, that sign of which the prophet makes so much? Again, which of all those people had his birth announced to the world by a star in the heavens? When Moses was born, his parents hid him. David was unknown, even in his own neighborhood, so that mighty Samuel himself was ignorant of his existence, and asked whether Jesse had yet another son. Abraham again became known to his neighbors as a great man only after his birth. But with Christ it was otherwise. The witness to his birth was not man, but a star shining in the heavens once he was coming down. Then again, what king that ever reigned and took trophies from his enemies before he had strength to call father or mother? Was not David thirty years old when he came to the throne? And Solomon, a grown man? Did not Joash enter on his reign at the age of seven, and Josiah sometime after him at about the same age, both of them fully able by that time to call father or mother? Who is there then that was reigning and despoiling his enemies almost before he was born? Let the Jews who have investigated the matter tell us if there was ever such a king in Israel or Judah, a king upon whom all the nations set their hopes and had peace, instead of being at enmity with him on every side. As long as Jerusalem stood, there was constant war between them, and they all fought against Israel. The Assyrians oppressed Israel, the Egyptians persecuted them, the Babylonians fell upon them, and, strange to even the Syrians, their neighbors were at war with them. And did not David fight with Moab and smite the Syrians, and Hezekiah quail at the boasting of Sennacherib? Did not Amalek make war on Moses and the Amorites oppose him? And did not the inhabitants of Jericho array themselves against Joshua, the son of Nun? Did not the nations always regard Israel with implacable hostility? Then it is worth inquiring who it is on whom the nations are to set their hopes. Obviously there must be someone, for the prophet could not have told a lie. But did any of the holy prophets or of the early patriarchs die on the cross for the salvation of all? Was any of them wounded and killed for the healing of all? Did the idols of Egypt fall down before any righteous man or king that came there? Abraham came there certainly, but idolatry prevailed just the same, and Moses was born there, but the mistaken worship was unchanged. Again does scripture tell of anyone who was pierced in hands and feet or hung upon a tree at all, and by means of a cross perfected his sacrifice for the salvation of all? It was not Abraham, for he died in his bed, as did also Isaac and Jacob. Moses and Aaron died in the mountain, and David ended his days in his house, without anybody having plotted against him. Certainly he had been sought by Saul, but he was preserved unharmed. Again Isaiah was sawn asunder, but he was not hung on a tree. Jeremiah was shamefully used, but he did not die under condemnation. Ezekiel suffered, but he did so not on behalf of the people, but only to signify to them what was going to happen. Moreover, all these, even when they suffered, were but men, like other men. But he whom the scriptures declare to suffer on behalf of all is called not merely man, but life of all, although in point of fact he did share our human nature. You shall see your life hanging before your eyes, they say, and who shall declare of what lineage he comes? With all the saints we can trace their descent from the beginning and see exactly how each came to be, but the divine word maintains that we cannot declare the lineage of him who is the life. Who is it then of whom holy writ thus speak? Who is there so great that even the prophets foretell of him such mighty things? There is indeed no one in the scriptures at all, save the common Savior of all, the word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. He it is that proceeded from a virgin and appeared as man on earth. He it is whose earthly lineage cannot be declared because he alone derives his body from no human father, but from a virgin alone. We can trace the paternal descent of David and Moses and of all the patriarchs, but with the Savior we cannot do so, for it was he himself who caused the star to announce his bodily birth, and it was fitting that the word, when he came down from heaven, should have his sign in heaven too, and fitting that the King of creation on his coming forth should be visibly recognized by all the world. He was actually born in Judea, yet men from Persia came to worship him. He it is who won victory from his demon foes and trophies from the idolaters even before his bodily appearing, namely all the heathen who from every region had abjured the tradition of their fathers and the false worship of idols, and are now placing their hope in Christ and transferring their allegiance to him. The thing is happening before our very eyes here in Egypt, and thereby another prophecy is fulfilled. For at no other time have the Egyptians ceased from their false worship save when the Lord of all, riding as on a cloud, came down here in the body, and brought the error of idols to nothing, and won over everybody to himself and through himself to the Father. He it is who was crucified with the sun and moon as witnesses, and by his death salvation has come to all men, and all creation has been redeemed. He is the life of all, and he it is who, like a sheep, gave up his own body to death, his life for ours and our salvation.