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Reply to Faustus the Manichaean

22.

In the passage, "Thou shalt see thy life hanging, and shalt not believe thy life," ¹ Faustus is deceived by the ambiguity of the words. The words may be differently interpreted; but that they cannot be understood of Christ is not said by Faustus, nor can be said by anyone who does not deny that Christ is life, or that He was seen by the Jews hanging on the cross, or that they did not believe Him. Since Christ Himself says, "I am the life," ² and since there is no doubt that He was seen hanging by the unbelieving Jews, I see no reason for doubting that this was written of Christ; for, as Christ says, Moses wrote of Him. Since we have already refuted Faustus' arguments by which he tries to show that the words, "I will raise up from among their brethren a prophet like unto thee," do not apply to Christ, because Christ is not like Moses, we need not insist on this other prophecy. Since, in the one case, his argument is that Christ is unlike Moses, so here he ought to argue that Christ is not the life, or that He was not seen hanging by the unbelieving Jews. But as he has not said this, and as no one will now venture to say so, there should be no difficulty in accepting this too as a prophecy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, uttered by His servant. These words, says Faustus, occur in a chapter of curses. But why should it be the less a prophecy because it occurs in the midst of prophecies? Or why should it not be a prophecy of Christ, although the context does not seem to refer to Christ? Indeed, among all the curses which the Jews brought on themselves by their sinful pride, nothing could be worse than this, that they should see their Life--that is, the Son of God --hanging, and should not believe their Life. For the curses of prophecy are not hostile imprecations, but announcements of coming judgment. Hostile imprecations are forbidden, for it is said, "Bless, and curse not." ³ But prophetic announcements are often found in the writings of the saints, as when the Apostle Paul says: "Alexander the coppersmith has done me much evil; the Lord shall reward him according to his works." ⁴ So it might be thought that the apostle was prompted by angry feeling to utter this imprecation: "I would that they were even made eunuchs that trouble you." ⁵ But if we remember who the writer is, we may see in this ambiguous expression an ingenious style of benediction. For there are eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. ⁶ If Faustus had a pious appetite for Christian food, he would have found a similar ambiguity in the words of Moses. By the Jews the declaration, "Thou shalt see thy life hanging, and shalt not believe thy life," may have been understood to mean that they would see their life to be in danger from the threats and plots of their enemies, and would not expect to live. But the child of the Gospel, who has heard Christ say, "He wrote of me," distinguishes in the ambiguity of the prophecy between what is thrown to swine and what is addressed to man. To his mind the thought immediately suggests itself of Christ hanging as the life of man, and of the Jews not believing in Him for this very reason, that they saw Him hanging. As to the objection that these words, "Thou shalt see thy life hanging, and shalt not believe thy life," are the only words referring to Christ in a passage containing maledictions not applicable to Christ, some might grant that this is true. For this prophecy might very well occur among the curses pronounced by the prophet upon the ungodly people, for these curses are of different kinds. But I, and those who with me consider more closely the saying of the Lord in His Gospel, which is not, He wrote also of me, as admitting that Moses wrote other things not referring to Christ, but, "He wrote of me," as teaching that in searching the Scriptures we should view them as intended solely to illustrate the grace of Christ, see a reference to Christ in the rest of the passage also. But it would take too much time to explain this here.

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Contra Faustum Manichaeum libri triginta tres

22.

Hinc est et illud, cuius ambiguitate Faustus fallitur: Videbis vitam tuam pendentem et non credes vitae tuae. Quae verba et aliter posse intellegi potest aliquis dicere; de Christo autem non posse intellegi nec Faustus ausus est dicere nec quisquam prorsus audebit, nisi qui negaverit aut Christum esse vitam aut a Iudaeis visum esse pendentem aut eos illi non credidisse. p. 464,16 Cum vero et ipse dicat: Ego sum vita et eum pependisse constet ante oculos non ei credentium Iudaeorum, non video, cur dubitare debeamus id etiam de Christo scripsisse illum, de quo Christus ait: Ille enim de me scripsit. Proinde si quod scriptum est: Suscitabo eis prophetam de fratribus illorum similem tibi, ostendere conatus est Faustus non posse de Christo intellegi, quia Christus Moysi similis non est, et tamen ex omni parte convictus est, quid opus est in hoc testimonio laborare? Aut certe, sicut dixit Christum similem non esse Moysi, ut illam refelleret prophetiam, sic etiam ut hanc refellat, dicat Christum non esse vitam vel in conspectu Iudaeorum non ei credentium non pependisse. p. 464,28 Cum autem hoc ille non dixerit nec hodie quisquam eorum audeat dicere, nihil est, cur moremur hanc quoque de domino et salvatore nostro Iesu Christo famuli eius amplecti prophetiam. At enim inter cetera maledicta et hoc positum est. Num ideo non est prophetia, cum et cetera, inter quae positum est, nihil sint aliud quam prophetiae? Aut ideo non est de Christo prophetia, quia illa, quae in ea lectione vel praecedentia vel consequentia contexuntur, nihil pertinere videntur ad Christum? Quasi vero quicquam sit peius inter maledicta, quae Iudaeis pro merito superbiae impietatis acciderunt, quam videre vitam suam, id est filium dei, pendentem et non credere vitae suae. Maledicta enim cum ex prophetia dicuntur, non sunt de malo voto imprecantis, sed de praescio spiritu denuntiantis. p. 465,13 Nam illa, quae de malo voto sunt, prohibentur, cum dicitur: Benedicite et nolite maledicere. Haec autem saepe inveniuntur in sermone sanctorum. Sicut apostolus Paulus, Alexander inquit aerarius multa mala mihi ostendit; reddet illi dominus secundum opera sua. Nam illud tamquam stomachatus et indignatus etiam male optasse videtur apostolus: Utinam et abscidantur, qui vos conturbant! Quod utique, si consideres personam scribentis, magis eum elegantissimo ambiguo bene optasse intelleges. Sunt enim spadones, qui se ipsos absciderunt propter regnum caelorum. Quod in his quoque verbis Faustus sapuisset, si pium palatum ad escas dominicas attulisset. p. 465,25 Sic enim sonuit fortasse Iudaeis, quod dictum est: Videbis vitam tuam pendentem et non credes vitae tuae, ut inter minas vel dolos hostium suorum vitam suam videntes ex incerto pendere victuros se esse non crederent. Sed filius evangelii cum audit: Ille enim de me scripsit, in hac ipsa ambiguitate sententiae videt, quid prophetae porcis proiciant, quid hominibus innuant, statimque illi occurrit vita hominum Christus pendens eique non credentes Iudaei ob hoc ipsum, quia pendentem vident. Et alius quidem aliquis cito diceret inter cetera maledicta, quae in illa lectione ad aliquid de Christo intellegendum non pertinent, hoc solum ibi esse de Christo, quod scriptum est: Videbis vitam tuam pendentem et non credes vitae tuae; neque enim fieri non posset, ut inter diversa maledicta, quae impio populo prophetice praenuntiabantur, hoc quoque poneretur. p. 466,13 Sed ego et qui mecum aliquanto attentius cogitant evangelicam illam dominicamque sententiam, qua non ait: Ille enim et de me scripsit ut et alia, quae ad Christum non pertinent, scripsisse crederetur, sed ait: De me enim ille scripsit, ut omnem scripturae illius intentionem nonnisi ad intellegendam Christi gratiam perscrutando consuleremus, etiam cetera in illa lectione maledicta propter Christum praedicta cognoscimus. Quod nunc ostendere si velim, nimis longum erit.