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«from two years old and under» having come to Jerusalem and asked, the same magi, and having learned that the Christ is born in Bethlehem, went out again with the star guiding them and came from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. and entering, they found him with his mother Mary and falling down 1.373 they worshipped him and offered gifts. If, therefore, he is immediately worshipped, the one born is not a mere man, but God; and not after thirty years and not after baptism does he become Christ, but immediately Christ was born from a virgin, God and man. Wherefore the angels also immediately sing hymns, saying, «glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men» and they announce the good news to the shepherds, saying, «To you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David». And not only this, O deceived Ebion, is shown, but also from twelve years old he is found «sitting in the midst of the priests and elders, both asking them questions and seeking with them», and «they were astonished at the word of grace that came from his mouth». And he was not doing this after the thirtieth year, that you might say that when the spirit came upon him he became Christ, but immediately from twelve years old, as I said before, as it is written in the gospel according to Luke. But even earlier, when he was an infant, he says those with Joseph and Mary went up to Jerusalem to worship at the feast and were returning, Jesus remained behind and they were seeking him on the journey and among their relatives and did not find him for Mary had relatives; and returning and finding him she said to him, «What have you done to us, child? Behold, I and your father have been searching for you anxiously.» For Joseph was to him in the place of a father, for he was not his father by nature. Then the Lord to her: «Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?» signifying that the temple was built in the name of God, that is, of his own Father. If, therefore, from infancy he knows the temple and the Father, then the born Jesus is not a mere man, nor was he called Son and Christ after the thirtieth year, after the 1.374 form of the dove came upon him, but both immediately and more boldly he taught that he must be in the things of his Father. And that Joseph was not his father, but was in the place of a father, hear the same evangelist saying, who wrote from the person of Mary that «I and your father have been searching for you anxiously»; again how he writes, saying «And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph». And in saying «as was supposed» he showed that he was not his son, but was supposed to be. 30. But time will fail me in narrating for the presentation of truth and for the refutation of the foolishness of Ebion and of the same forged school of foolishness. For from where would it not be clear that Joseph was not the father, but was considered in the place of a father? «Behold,» he says, «the virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son»; and he did not say, «Behold, the woman.» And again in another place he says, «And the heifer will give birth, and they will say, she has not given birth.» For since some of the Manichaeans and Marcionists say that he was not born, for this reason it says, «she will give birth and they will say, she has not given birth»; since Mary did not give birth from the seed of a man, and these madmen falsely say that she gave birth from the seed of a man. Therefore the heifer has in truth given birth to God, a man in truth. And that the virgin is called a heifer and that her remains were a purification for the defiled, hear the law saying, «Take for yourself a red heifer,» in order to show the chosen vessel of Mary * on account of the fire-like nature of the Savior's divinity contained in the virgin; «for God,» he says, «is a consuming fire.» And the law says, «a red heifer, upon whose neck a yoke has not come,» in order to show the

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«ἀπὸ διετοῦς καὶ κατωτέρω» ἐλθόντες εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἐρωτήσαντες οἱ αὐτοὶ μάγοι καὶ γνόντες ὅτι ἐν Βηθλεὲμ ὁ Χριστὸς γεννᾶται, ἐξῆλθον πάλιν τοῦ ἀστέρος ὁδηγοῦντος αὐτοὺς καὶ ἦλθον ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων εἰς Βηθλεέμ. καὶ εἰσελθόντες εὗρον αὐτὸν μετὰ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας καὶ πεσόντες 1.373 προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ καὶ προσήνεγκαν τὰ δῶρα. εἰ τοίνυν εὐθὺς προσκυνεῖται, οὐ ψιλὸς ἄνθρωπος ὁ γεννηθείς, ἀλλὰ θεὸς καὶ οὐ μετὰ τριάκοντα ἔτη καὶ οὐ μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα Χριστὸς γίνεται, ἀλλὰ εὐθὺς Χριστὸς ἐγεννήθη ἀπὸ παρθένου θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος. διὸ καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι εὐθὺς ὑμνοῦσι λέγοντες «δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις θεῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη, ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία» καὶ εὐαγγελίζονται τοὺς ποιμένας λέγοντες «ἐγεννήθη ὑμῖν Χριστὸς κύριος σήμερον ἐν πόλει ∆αυίδ». καὶ οὐ μόνον τοῦτο, ὦ ἠπατημένε Ἐβίων, δείκνυται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ δωδεκαετοῦς εὑρίσκεται «καθήμενος ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ἱερέων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων, ἐρωτῶν τε αὐτοὺς καὶ ζητῶν μετ' αὐτῶν», καὶ «ἐξεπλήττοντο ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ τῆς χάριτος τῷ ἐκπορευομένῳ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ». καὶ οὐχὶ μετὰ τὸ τριακοστὸν ἔτος ἐποίει τοῦτο, ἵνα εἴπῃς ὅτι ὅτε ἦλθεν τὸ πνεῦμα εἰς αὐτὸν Χριστὸς ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ εὐθὺς ἀπὸ δωδεκαετοῦς ὡς προεῖπον, ὡς γέγραπται ἐν τῷ κατὰ Λουκᾶν εὐαγγελίῳ. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔτι ἀνωτέρω, ὅτε νηπιάζοντος αὐτοῦ ἀνῆλθον φησὶν οἱ περὶ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ Μαριὰμ εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ προσκυνῆσαι ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ καὶ ἀνέκαμπτον, ἔμεινεν Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ὁδοιπορίᾳ καὶ ἐν τοῖς συγγενέσιν αὐτῶν καὶ οὐχ ηὕρισκον εἶχεν γὰρ ἡ Μαρία συγγένειαν· ἀνακάμψασα δὲ καὶ εὑροῦσα αὐτὸν ἔφη αὐτῷ «τί ἡμῖν ἐποίησας, τέκνον; ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὀδυνώμενοι ἐζητοῦμέν σε» ἐν τάξει γὰρ πατρὸς ὁ Ἰωσὴφ αὐτῷ ὑπῆρχεν, οὐ γὰρ ἦν αὐτοῦ πατὴρ κατὰ φύσιν. εἶτα ὁ κύριος πρὸς αὐτήν «τί ὅτι ἐζητεῖτέ με; οὐκ ᾔδειτε ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου δεῖ εἶναί με;» σημαίνων ὅτι ὁ ναὸς εἰς ὄνομα θεοῦ τουτέστιν πατρὸς τοῦ ἰδίου ᾠκοδομήθη. εἰ τοίνυν ἀπὸ νηπίου οἶδε τὸν ναὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα, οὐκ ἄρα ψιλὸς ἄνθρωπος ὁ γεννηθεὶς Ἰησοῦς οὐδὲ μετὰ τὸ τριακοστὸν ἔτος, μετὰ τὸ ἐλθεῖν εἰς αὐτὸν τὸ 1.374 εἶδος τῆς περιστερᾶς, υἱὸς καὶ Χριστὸς ἐκαλεῖτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐθὺς καὶ θαρραλεωτέρως ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ δεῖν αὐτὸν εἶναι ἐδίδασκεν. καὶ ὅτι δὲ ὁ Ἰωσὴφ οὐχὶ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἦν, ἀλλὰ ἐν τάξει πατρὸς ὑπῆρχεν, ἄκουε τοῦ αὐτοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ λέγοντος, τοῦ γράψαντος ἀπὸ προσώπου Μαρίας ὅτι «ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὀδυνώμενοι ἐζητοῦμέν σε»· πάλιν πῶς γράφει λέγων «ἦν δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἀρχόμενος εἶναι ὡς ἐτῶν τριάκοντα, ὢν υἱός, ὡς ἐνομίζετο, Ἰωσήφ». ἐν δὲ τῷ εἰπεῖν «ὡς ἐνομίζετο» ἔδειξεν αὐτὸν μὴ εἶναι αὐτοῦ υἱόν, ἀλλὰ νομίζεσθαι. 30. Ἐπιλείψει δέ μοι ὁ καιρὸς διηγουμένῳ εἰς παράστασιν ἀληθείας καὶ εἰς ἔλεγχον τῆς ματαιοφροσύνης Ἐβίωνος καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ παραπεποιημένου ματαιοφροσύνης διδασκαλείου. πόθεν γὰρ οὐ σαφὲς ἂν εἴη ὅτι οὐ πατὴρ ἦν Ἰωσήφ, ἀλλ' ἐν τάξει πατρὸς ἐνομίζετο; «ἰδού» φησίν «ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν»· καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν «ἰδού, ἡ γυνή». καὶ πάλιν ἐν ἑτέρῳ τόπῳ λέγει «καὶ τέξεται ἡ δάμαλις καὶ ἐροῦσιν, οὐ τέτοκεν». ἐπειδὴ γάρ τινες τῶν Μανιχαίων καὶ Μαρκιωνιστῶν λέγουσιν αὐτὸν μὴ τετέχθαι, διὰ τοῦτο τό «τέξεται καὶ ἐροῦσιν, οὐ τέτοκεν»· ἐπειδὴ οὐ τέτοκεν ἡ Μαρία ἐκ σπέρματος ἀνδρὸς καὶ οὗτοι μανέντες λέγουσι ψευδῶς ἐκ σπέρματος ἀνδρὸς αὐτὴν γεγεννηκέναι. γεγέννηκεν οὖν ἡ δάμαλις ἐν ἀληθείᾳ θεόν, ἄνθρωπον ἐν ἀληθείᾳ. καὶ ὅτι μὲν δάμαλις ἡ παρθένος καλεῖται καὶ τὸ ταύτης λείψανον καθαρισμὸς ἦν τῶν κεκοινωμένων, ἄκουε τοῦ νόμου λέγοντος «λάβε σοι δάμαλιν πυρράν», ἵνα δείξῃ τὸ ἐκλεκτὸν σκεῦος τῆς Μαρίας * διὰ τὸ πυροειδὲς τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος θεότητος χωρηθὲν ἐν τῇ παρθένῳ· «πῦρ γὰρ ὁ θεός» φησί «καταναλίσκον». καί φησιν ὁ νόμος «δάμαλιν πυρράν, ἐφ' ἧς ζυγὸς οὐκ ἀναβέβηκεν ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον», ἵνα δείξῃ τὴν