Dialogue with Trypho

And I replied, "Let's also consider together whether one can now observe all the Mosaic institutions."

And he replied, “No. For we know that, as you mentioned, it is not possible to sacrifice the lamb of the Passover anywhere, or to offer the goats required for the fast, or, in short, to present all the other offerings.”

And I said, "Please tell me yourself some things that can be observed; for you will be persuaded that, even if a person does not keep or has not performed the eternal decrees, they can certainly be saved."

He replied, "To keep the Sabbath, to be circumcised, to observe months, and to be washed if you touch anything prohibited by Moses, or after sexual intercourse."

And I said, "Do you think that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, and Job, and all the others equally righteous, as well as Sarah the wife of Abraham, Rebekah the wife of Isaac, Rachel the wife of Jacob, and Leah, and all the others, up to the mother of Moses the faithful servant, who observed none of these statutes, will be saved?"

And Trypho replied, “Weren't Abraham and his descendants circumcised?”

And I said, "I know that Abraham and his descendants were circumcised. I previously explained in detail the reason why circumcision was given to them; and if what has been said does not convince you, let us examine the matter again. But you know that, up to the time of Moses, no one who was righteous actually practiced any of these rites that we are discussing or received any commandment to observe them, except for the commandment of circumcision, which began with Abraham."

And he replied, "We know it and admit that they are saved."

Then I responded, "You understand that God, through Moses, gave you all such ordinances because of the hardness of your people's hearts, so that by the sheer number of them, you would keep God constantly, and in every action, before your eyes, and never begin to act unjustly or impiously. He instructed you to wear a fringe of purple dye, so you would not forget God; and He commanded you to wear a phylactery, with certain characters we consider holy, engraved on very thin parchment. These were meant to encourage you to maintain a constant remembrance of God; but, at the same time, they revealed that in your hearts, you do not even retain a faint memory of God's worship.

Yet, even with these reminders, you were not dissuaded from idolatry. During the time of Elijah, when God counted those who had not bowed to Baal, He said the number was seven thousand; and in Isaiah, He rebukes you for sacrificing your children to idols. But we, because we refuse to sacrifice to those whom we once sacrificed to, endure extreme penalties and find joy in death, believing that God will raise us up through His Christ, and make us incorruptible, undisturbed, and immortal. We understand that the ordinances given due to the hardness of your people's hearts do not contribute to the performance of righteousness and piety."