SECT. XVII. Jesus proved to be the Messiah, from those things that were predicted of the Messiah.

AND these things do indeed prove, as was before said, that the Messiah did come so many ages since; to which I add, that he was no other than Jesus; for all others, who were willing to have themselves thought the Messiah, or were really thought so, left no sect in which that opinion continued. None now profess themselves to be followers of Herod, or Judas Gaulonita, or of Barchochebas,⁶⁵¹⁶⁵¹   Whom Justin styles, the chief of the revolt of the Jews. He is mentioned by Eusebius, Jerom, Orosius, in the Talmud, entitled concerning the Council, in Bereschith Raba, by the rabbies John and Abraham Salmanticensis, and others, in many places. who, in 211the times of Adrian, declared himself to be the Messiah, and deceived many learned men.⁶⁵²⁶⁵²   As rabbi Akiba; see the Talmud, entitled concerning the Council, and the book Zemach David. But there have been such as owned Jesus, ever since be was upon earth, to this very day, and they a great many, not in one country, but all the world over.⁶⁵³⁶⁵³   See what is said of this in the second book. I might here allege many other things, formerly predicted, or believed of the Messiah, which we believe to have been completed in Jesus, and which were not so much as affirmed of any other; such as these, that he was of the seed of David;⁶⁵⁴⁶⁵⁴   Psalm lxxxix. 4, Isaiah ix. 7. xi. 10. Jeremiah xxiii. 5. Ezekiel xxxiv. 24. Mich. v. 2. Matt. i. 20. ix. 27. xii. 23. xv. 22. xx. 30, 31. xxi. 9, 15. xxii. 42. and following verses. Mark x. 47. xii. 35, 36, 37. Luke i. 27, 32, 69. ii. 4, 11. xviii. 38, 39. xx. 12, 44. John vii. 42. Acts xii. 34. xv. 16. Rom. i. 3. 2 Tim. ii. 8. Rev. v. 5. xxii. 16. that he was born of a virgin;⁶⁵⁵⁶⁵⁵   Isaiah vii. 14. Matt. i. 18, 22, 23. Luke i. 35. that this thing was discovered from heaven,⁶⁵⁶⁶⁵⁶   Matt. i. 20. to him who had married that virgin, and would not keep her in marriage because she was big with child by another; that he was born in Bethlehem;⁶⁵⁷⁶⁵⁷   Mic. v. 2. Matt. ii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Luke ii. 4. that he began to spread his doctrine first in Galilee;⁶⁵⁸⁶⁵⁸   Isaiah. ix. 1. Matt. iv. 12, 13. Mark i. 14. Luke iv. 14, 15, 16. and in many other places. that he healed all kinds of diseases;⁶⁵⁹⁶⁵⁹   Isaiah xxxv. 5. lxi. 1. Matt. xi. 5. Luke. iv. 18. and every where else. Further he also raised the dead, which r. Levi Ben Gerson reckons among the principal marks of the Messiah. made the blind to see, and the lame to walk: but I shall content myself with one, the effects of which remains to this day; and is manifest from the prophecies of 212David,⁶⁶⁰⁶⁶⁰   Psalm ii. 8. xxii. 28. lxviii. 32. lxxii. 8, 17. Isaiah,⁶⁶¹⁶⁶¹   ii. 2. xi. 10. xiv. 1. xix 18. xxvii. 13. xxxv. xlii. and xliii. particularly xlix. 6. li. 5. lii. 15. liv. lv. 4, 5. lx. 3. and following ones, lxv. 1, 2. lxvi. 19, and following. Zechariah,⁶⁶²⁶⁶²   ii. 11. viii. 20. and following, ix. 9, 10, 11. xiv. 16. and Hosea,⁶⁶³⁶⁶³   ii. 23. viz. that the Messiah was to be the instructor of all nations; that the worship of false gods should be overthrown by him;⁶⁶⁴⁶⁶⁴   Isaiah ii. 18, 20. xxxi. 7. xlvi. 1. Zephaniah i. 4, 5, 6. Zech. xiii. 2. and that he should bring a vast multitude of strangers to the worship of one God. Before the coming of Jesus, almost the whole world was subject to false worship: which began to vanish afterwards by degrees, and not only particular persons, but whole nations and kings, were converted to the worship of one God. These things are not owing to the Jewish rabbles, but to the disciples of Jesus and their successors. Thus they were made the people of God who were not so before,⁶⁶⁵⁶⁶⁵   Hosea ii. 23. and that prediction of Jacob, Gen. xlix. was fulfilled, that before the civil power was taken from the posterity of Judah, Shiloh should come, whom the Chaldee and other interpreters explain to be the Messiah,⁶⁶⁶⁶⁶⁶   Both Jonathan the author of the Jerusalem paraphrase, and the writers of the Talmud, in the title concerning the Council; Bereschith Rabba, Jakumus on the Pentateuch, rabbi Solomon, and others, שבמ, which the Jews now would have to be a rod of chastisement; the Targum in Chaldee explains by שלטן, and the Greeks ἄρχων, a governor; Aquila, σκῆπτρον, a sceptre; Symmachus, ἐκουσία, power. And שילח is explained by בגן his son, by the Chaldee r. Siloh, r. Bachai, r. solomon, Abenesdras, and Kimchi. See what is excellently said concerning this place in Chrysostom, in his discourse, that Christ is God. whom foreign nations also were to obey.⁶⁶⁷⁶⁶⁷   See the fore-cited place of Isaiah xi. 10. which affords light to this.