The First Apology

And again, as Isaiah said, the Gentile nations, who were not looking for Him, would worship Him, but the Jews, who always expected Him, would not recognize Him when He came. The words are spoken as if from the perspective of Christ; they are: “I was revealed to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, 'Here I am,' to a nation that did not call on My name. I spread out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people, to those who walked in a way that is not good, but followed their own sins; a people that provoked Me to anger to My face.” For the Jews, having the prophecies and always expecting the Christ to come, did not recognize Him; and not only that, they also treated Him shamefully. But the Gentiles, who had never heard anything about Christ until the apostles set out from Jerusalem and preached about Him, and gave them the prophecies, were filled with joy and faith, cast away their idols, and dedicated themselves to the Unbegotten God through Christ. And that it was foreknown that these infamous things would be spoken against those who confessed Christ, and that those who slandered Him, and said it was right to preserve the ancient traditions, would be miserable, hear what Isaiah briefly said: “Woe to those who call sweet bitter, and bitter sweet.”