Tertullian — Against Marcion 3.6
If it is settled enough for now about those two properties of Jewish literature, remember, reader, it has been settled so that when we bring such things the form of Scripture is not to be re-argued but the status of the cause. When therefore heretical madness presumed that Christ had come who had never been announced, it followed that it contended the Christ who had always been preached had not yet come—and so was forced to ally with Jewish error and build argument from it, as if the Jews, certain also that he who came was another’s, not only refused him as foreign but also killed him as an adversary, who would doubtless have recognized and followed him with every religious duty if he had been theirs.
As if that shipmaster had been cautioned by Pontic rather than Rhodian law that Jews were not allowed to err about their Christ—when, even if no such prediction about them were found, human condition alone liable to deceit would have persuaded that Jews as humans could have erred, and one must not at once take prejudice from the verdict of those it is believable erred.
Further, since it was also predicted they would not recognize Christ and therefore also kill him, already therefore he will be both the one ignored and the one slain by them against whom they were so noted as about to offend. If you demand proof I will not unroll those Scriptures that by declaring a killable Christ also affirm an ignorable one—for unless ignored he could of course suffer nothing—but reserving those for the passion cause it will suffice for now to bring those predictions that prove Christ ignorable, and briefly while they show every force of understanding taken from the people by the Creator.
I will take away, he says, the wisdom of their wise and hide the prudence of their prudent; with ears you will hear and not hear, with eyes see and not see—for this people’s heart has grown fat… lest they convert and I heal them. This blunting of saving senses they had deserved, loving God with lips but far in heart. Therefore if Christ was announced by the Creator… without doubt they were being shown they would not know and not understand what was announced—Christ—with their chief wise and prudent and people hearing and not hearing, seeing and not seeing.
We indeed, sure Christ always spoke in the prophets—the Creator’s Spirit—know such were already then his voices reproaching Israel for what would be committed against him. If you prefer to refer all the reckoning of Jewish ignorance not to Christ but rather to God himself, still you are refuted: not denying that his Christ is the Creator’s Son and Spirit and substance, you must concede those who did not recognize the Father could not recognize the Son. So it appears how the Jews both refused and killed Christ—not as understanding a foreign Christ but as not recognizing their own—because they could not have understood a foreigner about whom nothing had ever been announced, whereas they could have understood him about whom it had always been preached. So far are they from seeming to have understood an alien Christ who did not even judge his humanity as alien.
Latin
Si satis constat de istis interim duabus proprietatibus Iudaicae litteraturae, memento, lector, constitisse, ut, cum tale quid adhibuerimus, non retractetur de forma scripturae, sed de statu causae. cum igitur haeretica dementia eum Christum uenisse praesumeret, qui numquam fuerat adnuntiatus, sequebatur, ut eum Christum nondum uenisse contenderet, qui semper fuerat praedicatus; atque ita coacta est cum Iudaico errore sociari et ab eo argumentationem sibi struere, quasi Iudaei, certi et ipsi ali(en)um fuisse qui uenit, non modo respuerint eum ut extraneum uerum et interfecerint eum ut aduersarium, agnituri sine dubio et omni officio religionis prosecuturi, si ipsorum fuisset. scilicet nauclero illi non quidem Rhodia lex, sed Pontica cauerat errare Iudaeos in Christum suum non licere, quando, et si nihil tale praedicatum in illos inueniretur, uel sola utique humana condicio deceptui obnoxia persuasisset Iudaeos errare potuisse, qua homines, nec statim praeiudicium sumendum de sententia eorum, quos credibile fuerit errasse. porro cum et praedicatum sit non agnituros eos Christum ideoque etiam perempturos, iam ergo ipse erit et ignoratus et interemptus ab illis, in quem ita admissuri praenotabantur. hoc si probari exigis, non eas scripturas euoluam, quae interemptibilem Christum edicentes utique et ignorabilem adfirmant, — nisi enim ignoratus nihil scilicet pati posset — sed reseruatis eis ad causam passionum eas praedicationes in praesenti sufficiet adhibere, quae interim ignorabilem probent Christum, et hoc breuiter, dum ostendunt omnem uim intellectus ademptam populo a creatore. auferam, inquit, sapientiam sapientium illorum et prudentiam prudentiam; eorum abscondam, et: aure audietis et non audietis et oculis uidebitis et non uidebitis: incrassatum est enim cor populi huius et auribus grauiter audierunt et oculos concluserunt, ne quando auribus audiant et oculis uideant et corde coniciant et conuertantur et \'sanem illos. hanc enim obtusionem salutarium sensuun: meruerant, labiis diligentes deum, corde autem longe absistentes ab eo. igitur si Christus quidem adnuntiabatur a creatore solidante tonitruum et condente spiritum et adnuntiante in homines Christum suum secundum Iohelem prophetam, si omnis spes Iudaeorum, ne dicam etiam gentium, in Christi reuelationem destinabatur, sine dubio id demonstrabantur non agni. turi et non intellecturi ablatis agnitionis et intellegentiae uiribus, sapientia atque prudentia, quod adnuntiabatur, id est Christus, erraturis in eum principalibus sapientibus eorum, id est scribis, et prudentibus eorum, id est Pharisaeis, pariter et populo auribus audituro et non audituro, utique Christum docentem, et oculis uisuro et non uisuro, utique Christum signa facientem, secundum quod et alibi: et quis caecus. nisi pueri mei? et quis surdus, nisi qui dominatur eorum? sed et cum exprobrat per eundem Esaiam: filios. generaui et exaltaui, at illi me reiecerunt; agouit bos possessorem suum et asinus praesepe domini sui. Israhel autem me non cognouit et populus me non intellexit. nos quidem certi Christum semper in prophetis locutum, — spiritum scilicet creatoris, sicut propheta testatur: persona spiritus nostri Christus dominus — qui ab initio uicarius patris in dei nomine et auditus sit et uisus, scimus ipsius uoces eiusmodi fuisse, iam tunc Israheli exprobrantis quae in illum commissuri praedicabantur: dereliquistis dominumetin iram prouocastis sanctum Israhel. si uero non in Christum, sed in ipsum potius deum uolueris referre omnem Iudaicae ignorantiae de pristino reputationem, nolens etiam retro sermonem et spiritum, id est Christum creatoris, despectum ab eis et non agnitum, sic quoque reuinceris. non negans enim filium et spiritum et substantiam creatoris esse Christum eius, concedas necesse est eos, qui patrem non agnouerint, nec filium agnoscere potuisse per eiusdem substantiae condicionem, cuius si plenitudo intellecta non est, multo magis portio certe, qua plenitudinis consors. his ita dispectis iam apparet, quomodo et respuerint Iudaei Christum et interemerint, non ut extraneum Christum intellegentes, sed ut suum non agnoscentes, quia nec extraneum intellegere potuissent de quo nihil umquam fuerat adnuntiatum, cum intellegere potuissent de quo semper- fuerat praedicatum. id enim intellegi uel non intellegi capit, quod habendo substantiam praedicationis habebit et materiam uel agnitionis uel erroris. quod uero materia (ea) caret, non admittit sapientiae euentum. et adeo non qua alterius dei Christum auersati persecutique sunt, sed qua solummodo hominem, quem planum in signis et aemulum in doctrinis existimabant, ut et ipsum hominem qua suum, id est Iudaeum, sed Iudaismi torem et destructorem, deduxerint in iudicium et suo iure punierint, alienum scilicet non indicaturi. tanto abest, ut alienum Christum intellexisse uideantur qui nec hominem eius ut alienum iudicauerunt.