Chapter LIV.—What the blood of the grape signifies.

“And that expression which was committed to writing171    Literally, “inquired into.” by Moses, and prophesied by the patriarch Jacob, namely, ‘He shall wash His garments with wine, and His vesture with the blood of the grape,’ signified that He would wash those that believe in Him with His own blood. For the Holy Spirit called those who receive remission of sins through Him, His garments; amongst whom He is always present in power, but will be manifestly present at His second coming. That the Scripture mentions the blood of the grape has been evidently designed, because Christ derives blood not from the seed of man, but from the power of God. For as God, and not man, has produced the blood of the vine, so also [the Scripture] has predicted that the blood of Christ would be not of the seed of man, but of the power of God. But this prophecy, sirs, which I repeated, proves that Christ is not man of men, begotten in the ordinary course of humanity.”

[54] Καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ Μωυσέως δὲ ἀνιστορημένον καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ πατριάρχου Ἰακὼβ προπεφητευμένον, τὸ Πλυνεῖ ἐν οἴνῳ τὴν στολὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν αἵματι σταφυλῆς τὴν περιβολὴν αὐτοῦ, τὸ τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ ἀποπλύνειν μέλλειν τοὺς πιστεύοντας αὐτῷ ἐδήλου. στολὴν γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἐκάλεσε τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα τοὺς δι' αὐτοῦ ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν λαβόντας, ἐν οἷς ἀεὶ δυνάμει μὲν πάρεστι, καὶ ἐναργῶς δὲ παρέσται ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ αὐτοῦ παρουσίᾳ. τὸ δὲ αἷμα τῆς σταφυλῆς εἰπεῖν τὸν λόγον, διὰ τῆς τέχνης δεδήλωκεν ὅτι αἷμα μὲν ἔχει ὁ Χριστός, οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπου σπέρματος, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμεως. ὃν γὰρ τρόπον τὸ τῆς ἀμπέλου αἷμα οὐκ ἄνθρωπος ἐγέννησεν ἀλλὰ θεός, οὕτως καὶ τὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αἷμα οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρωπείου γένους ἔσεσθαι, ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ δυνάμεως προεμήνυσεν. ἡ δὲ προφητεία αὕτη, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἣν ἔλεγον, ἀποδεικνύει ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Χριστὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὸ κοινὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων γεννηθείς.