Again, does Scripture tell of anyone who was pierced in hands and feet or hung upon a tree at all, and by means of a cross perfected his sacrifice for the salvation of all? It was not Abraham, for he died in his bed, as did also Isaac and Jacob. Moses and Aaron died in the mountain, and David ended his days in his house, without anybody having plotted against him. Certainly he had been sought by Saul, but he was preserved unharmed. Again Isaiah was sawn asunder, but he was not hung on a tree. Jeremiah was shamefully used, but he did not die under condemnation. Ezekiel suffered, but he did so, not on behalf of the people, but only to signify to them what was going to happen.
Moreover, all these even when they suffered were but men, like other men; but He Whom the Scriptures declare to suffer on behalf of all is called not merely man but Life of all, although in point of fact He did share our human nature. "You shall see your Life hanging before your eyes," they say, and "Who shall declare of what lineage He comes?" With all the saints we can trace their descent from the beginning, and see exactly how each came to be; but the Divine Word maintains that we cannot declare the lineage of Him Who is the Life. Who is it, then, of Whom Holy Writ thus speaks?
Who, then, is the One about Whom the divine Scriptures say these things? Who is so great that the prophets foretold so much about Him? No one else is found in the Scriptures except the common Savior of all, the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. He came forth from a virgin and appeared as a human being on earth, and His generation according to the flesh cannot be described. No one can name His father according to the flesh, because His body came not from a man but from a virgin alone.
We can trace the paternal descent of David and Moses and of all the patriarchs. But with the Savior we cannot do so, for it was He Himself Who caused the star to announce His bodily birth, and it was fitting that the Word, when He came down from heaven, should have His sign in heaven too, and fitting that the King of creation on His coming forth should be visibly recognized by all the world.
He was born in Judea, yet people from Persia came to worship Him. He is the One Who, even before His manifestation in a body, gained victory over the opposing demons and raised trophies over idolatry. People from the nations in every region now renounce their ancestral customs and the godlessness of idols, place their hope in Christ, and enroll themselves under Him, as can be seen with one’s own eyes.
For the godlessness of the Egyptians ceased at no other time than when the Lord of all, riding as upon a cloud, came down there in the body, abolished the deception of idols, and transferred everyone to Himself and, through Himself, to the Father.
He it is Who was crucified with the sun and moon as witnesses; and by His death salvation has come to all men, and all creation has been redeemed. He is the Life of all, and He it is Who like a sheep gave up His own body to death, His life for ours and our salvation.