First Apology 32

Moses, then, who was the first of the prophets, said in these very words: “A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he comes for whom it is reserved; and he will be the expectation of the nations, binding his foal to the vine, washing his robe in the blood of the grape.” It is yours, then, to examine carefully and learn until when the Jews had a ruler and king of their own: until the manifestation of Jesus Christ, our Teacher and the interpreter of the prophecies that were not understood, as it was foretold by the divine, holy, prophetic Spirit through Moses that a ruler would not fail from the Jews until he should come for whom the kingdom is reserved. For Judah is the forefather of the Jews, from whom they have their name of Jews; and you, after his manifestation, ruled over the Jews and took possession of all their land. And “He will be the expectation of the nations” signified that people from all the nations will expect him to come again, which you can see with your eyes and be persuaded by the fact; for people of every race expect the one who was crucified in Judea, after whom the land of the Jews was immediately handed over to you as spoil of war. And “Binding his foal to the vine and washing his robe in the blood of the grape” was a symbol showing what would happen to Christ and what he would do. For the foal of an ass stood bound to a vine at the entrance of a village, and he then ordered his acquaintances to bring it to him; and when it was brought, he mounted and sat on it and entered Jerusalem, where the greatest temple of the Jews was, which was afterward destroyed by you; and after this he was crucified, so that the rest of the prophecy might be fulfilled. For “washing his robe in the blood of the grape” foretold the suffering he was to undergo, cleansing by his blood those who believe in him. For what the divine Spirit through the prophet called his robe are the people who believe in him, in whom dwells the seed from God, the Word. And the blood of the grape that was mentioned signifies that the one who would appear would have blood, but not from human seed but from divine power. And the first power after God the Father and Master of all is also the Son, the Word; how he was made flesh and became man we will tell in what follows. For just as it is not man but God who made the blood of the vine, so this also indicated that the blood would come not from human seed but from the power of God, as we said before. And Isaiah, another prophet, prophesying the same things in other words, said thus: “A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a flower shall come up from the root of Jesse; and on his arm shall the nations hope.” And a shining star has risen, and a flower has come up from the root of Jesse: this is Christ. For he was born by the power of God through a virgin of the seed of Jacob, who was the father of Judah, who was shown to be the father of the Jews; and Jesse was his forefather according to the oracle, and he was the son of Jacob and Judah by descent.