But the Jews who slew Him [Jesus], and would not believe
in Him, because it behoved Him to die and rise again, were
yet more miserably wasted by the Romans, and utterly rooted
out from their kingdom, where aliens had already ruled over
them, and were dispersed through the lands (so that indeed
there is no place where they are not), and are thus by their
own Scriptures a testimony to us that we have not forged
the prophecies about Christ.
And very many of them, considering this, even before His
passion, but chiefly after His resurrection, believed in
Him, of whom it was predicted, "Though the number of the
children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant
shall be saved." But the rest are blinded, of whom it was
predicted, "Let their table be made them a trap, and a retribution,
and a stumbling-block. Let
their eyes be darkened lest they see, and bow down their
back always."
Therefore, when they do not believe our Scriptures, their
own, which they blindly read, are fulfilled in them, lest
perchance anyone should say that the Christians have forged
these prophecies about Christ. . . . Therefore God has shown
the Church in her enemies the Jews the grace of His compassion,
since, as saith the apostle, "their offence is the salvation
of the Gentiles."
And therefore He has not slain them, that is, He has not
let the knowledge that they are Jews be lost in them, although
they have been conquered by the Romans, lest they should
forget the law of God, and their testimony should be of
no avail in this matter of which we treat. But it was not
enough that he should say, "Slay them not, lest they should
at all forget Thy law," unless he had also added, "Disperse
them;" because if they had only been in their own land with
that testimony of the Scriptures, and not everywhere, certainly
the Church which is everywhere could not have had them as
witnesses among all nations to the prophecies which were
sent before concerning Christ.
