The First Apology

Moses, the first of the prophets, spoke these words: "The scepter shall not leave Judah, nor a ruler from between his feet, until He comes for whom it is reserved; and He shall be the desire of the nations, binding His foal to the vine, washing His robe in the blood of the grape." It is your duty to inquire thoroughly and determine until when the Jews had their own ruler and king. Up until the time of Jesus Christ, who taught us and clarified the prophecies that were not yet understood, they had a ruler, as foretold by the holy and divine Spirit of prophecy through Moses, "that a ruler would not fail the Jews until He comes for whom the kingdom was reserved" (for Judah was the ancestor of the Jews, who are named after him); and after Christ appeared, you began to govern the Jews and took possession of all their land.

The prophecy, "He shall be the expectation of the nations," indicated that people from all nations would look for Him to come again. This you can see for yourselves and be convinced by the facts. For among all races of people, there are some who look for Him who was crucified in Judea, and after whose crucifixion, the land was promptly handed over to you as spoils of war. The prophecy, "binding His foal to the vine and washing His robe in the blood of the grape," symbolized what would happen to Christ and what He would do.

For a foal was bound to a vine at a village's entrance, and He instructed His acquaintances to bring it to Him; when it was brought, He mounted it and entered Jerusalem, where the grand temple of the Jews was, which was later destroyed by you. Following this, He was crucified to fulfill the rest of the prophecy. "Washing His robe in the blood of the grape" predicted the suffering He would endure, cleansing by His blood those who believe in Him.

For "His robe," as called by the Divine Spirit through the prophet, refers to those who believe in Him, within whom the seed of God, the Word, dwells. "The blood of the grape" signifies that He who would appear would have blood, though not from human lineage, but from the power of God. The first power after God the Father and Lord of all is the Word, who is also the Son; we will soon describe how He took flesh and became man.

Just as man did not make the blood of the vine, but God did, it intimated that the blood would not be of human origin, but of divine power, as mentioned before. Isaiah, another prophet, foretelling the same events in different words, said: "A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a flower shall spring from the root of Jesse; and His arm shall the nations trust." A star of light has risen, and a flower has emerged from the root of Jesse—this is Christ.

By the power of God, He was conceived by a virgin of the seed of Jacob, who was the father of Judah, who, as shown, was the father of the Jews; Jesse was His ancestor according to prophecy, and He was the son of Jacob and Judah by direct descent.