What Christ suffered was not defilement
But God neither does nor suffers the most shameful things, nor does he serve evil, as Celsus supposes; for nothing of the kind was foretold. And if he himself says that it was foretold that God would serve evil, or do or suffer the most shameful things, he ought to have quoted the prophets’ words to that effect, instead of wishing to defile his hearers to no purpose.
What Christ would suffer, the prophets did foretell, and they also set down the reason why he would suffer; and God knew what his Christ would suffer. But on what grounds were these things most foul and most unclean, as Celsus says? He will seem, though, to be showing how the things Christ endured were most foul and most unclean, since he says: “For what else was it for God to eat the flesh of sheep and to drink gall or vinegar, but to eat dung?”
But God, on our teaching, did not eat the flesh of sheep. For even supposing he did eat, it was as one who bore a body that Jesus ate. As for the gall and the vinegar, which were prophesied in the words, “They gave gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69:21), we have spoken of them earlier, and Celsus forces us to say it again. For those who plot against the word of truth always bring to the Christ of God the gall that comes from their own wickedness and the vinegar that comes from their own turning toward what is base; and he, “when he has tasted it, will not drink” (Matthew 27:34).
Greek
Ἀλλ᾿ οὐδὲ ποιεῖ ἢ πάσχει αἴσχιστα ὁ θεὸς οὐδὲ τῷ κακῷ διακονεῖται, ὡς οἴεται Κέλσος· οὐδὲ γὰρ προείρηταί τι τῶν τοιούτων. κἂν λέγῃ αὐτὸς προειρῆσθαι τὸν θεὸν τῷ κακῷ διακονεῖσθαι ἢ ποιεῖν ἢ πάσχειν αἴσχιστα, ἔμελλε παραθέσθαι τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν προφητῶν εἰς τοῦτο λέξεις καὶ μὴ μάτην μολύνειν ἐθέλειν τοὺς ἀκούοντας αὐτοῦ. ἃ μὲν οὖν πείσεται Χριστὸς προεῖπον οἱ προφῆται, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τιθέντες τοῦ, δι᾿ ὃ πείσεται· καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἠπίστατο ἅπερ ὁ Χριστὸς αὐτοῦ πείσεται. πόθεν δ᾿ ὅτι καὶ μιαρώτατα καὶ ἀκαθαρτότατα ταῦτ᾿ ἦν, ὥς φησιν ὁ Κέλσος; ἀλλὰ δόξει διδάσκειν, πῶς μιαρώτατα καὶ ἀκαθαρτότατ᾿ ἄττα ἦν ἃ καὶ ὑπέμεινεν, ἐπεί φησι· τί γὰρ ἄλλο ἦν θεῷ τὸ προβάτων σάρκας ἐσθίειν καὶ χολὴν ἣ ὄξος πίνειν πλὴν σκατοφαγεῖν; θεὸς δὲ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς προβάτων σάρκας οὐκ ησθιεν. ἵνα γὰρ καὶ δόξῃ ὅτι ἤσθιεν, ὡς σῶμα φορῶν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἤσθιεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῆς χολῆς καὶ τοῦ ὄξους, προφητευθέντων ἐν τῷ „ἔδωκαν εἰς τὸ βρῶμά μου χολὴν, καὶ εἰς τὴν δίψαν μου ἐπότισάν με ὄξος,“ ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτέρω προειρηκότες ἀναγκαζόμεθα ὑπὸ τοῦ Κέλσου παλιλλογεῖν. ἀεὶ γὰρ οἱ τῷ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπιβουλεύοντες λόγῳ χολὴν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἑαυτῶν κακίας καὶ ὄξος τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπὶ τὰ φαῦλα τροπῆς προσάγουσι τῷ Χριστῷ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὃς „γευσάμενος οὐ θέλει πιεῖν.“