Justin Martyr on the Importance of Fulfilled Messianic Prophecy
This portrait of Justin Martyr by Theophanes the Cretan (1490-1559) was accessed from Wikimedia Commons; {{PD-US}}.
Justin Martyr was a prolific Christian writer who lived in the first half of the second century. Though much of his work has been lost to history, a few of his treatises still remain to this day. One of them is a defense of the Christian faith written to the Roman emperor and senate around 150 AD, referred to as Justin’s First Apology. Here’s an abridged version of his opening:
To the Emperor, his sons, and the sacred Senate, with the whole People of the Romans, I, Justin, native of Palestine, present this address and petition in behalf of those of all nations who are unjustly hated and wantonly abused, myself being one of them…Our opponents proclaim our madness to consist in this, that we give to a crucified man a place second to the unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator of all; for they do not discern the mystery that is herein, to which, as we make it plain to you, we pray you to give heed… In fact, we shall now offer proof, not trusting mere assertions, but being of necessity persuaded by those who prophesied of Him before these things came to pass, for with our own eyes we behold things that have happened and are happening just as they were predicted; and this will, we think appear even to you the strongest and truest evidence.[1]
I recently interviewed attendees at a Christmas festival here in the St. Louis area about the meaning of Christmas, and the contrast between Justin’s approach and the views I heard from Christians during these interviews couldn’t be more pronounced (if you’d like to listen to them yourself click here). Whereas Justin appealed to the clear match between the publicly known facts about Jesus and the ancient Hebrew prophecies about the coming Messiah, most of the believers I spoke with appealed to faith itself, to their subjective feelings and experiences, or to the way they happened to be raised.
Justin appealed to the argument of fulfilled prophecy throughout his treatise.
As we think about the situation in which we find ourselves today, many people—both inside and outside the walls of the church—seem to be unfamiliar with the line of reasoning that was of central significance to Justin, namely the argument of fulfilled prophecy. Of course, Justin didn’t invent this approach, since it is found in almost every speech given by the apostles as recorded in the book of Acts (cf. 2:22ff, 3:21ff, 8:28ff, 10:39ff, 13:27ff, 26:22ff, 28:23). And the apostles apparently received it from Jesus himself: “‘These are my words that I spoke to you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled’” (Luke 24:44).
Notice how Justin emphasizes this approach in his argument to the emperor and senate:
There were, then, among the Jews certain men who were prophets of God, through whom the prophetic Spirit published beforehand things that were to come to pass before they happened. And [in] their prophecies…we found Jesus our Christ foretold as coming, born of a virgin…and healing every disease and every sickness, and raising the dead, and being hated, and unrecognized, and crucified, and dying, and rising again…and being called, the Son of God. We find it also predicted that certain persons should be sent by Him into every nation to publish these things…among the Gentiles…For things which were incredible and seemed impossible with men, these God predicted by the Spirit of prophecy as about to come to pass, in order that, when they came to pass, there might be no unbelief, but faith, because of their prediction.[2]
Justin appealed to external truths, not his own subjective experience or changed life.
Throughout his First Apology, Justin spends a great deal of time quoting all the various prophecies recorded throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and showing how they were fulfilled by Jesus. One important prophecy he interacts with is Micah 5:2-4, which was instrumental in my own conversion. Written some 700 years before the time of Jesus, the prophet Micah says:
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient days…And he shall stand and shepherd his flock…And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. (Mic. 5:2-4)
It’s worth noting that Micah not only foresaw that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, but also that he would be “great to the ends of the earth”! Justin Martyr only saw very early hints that this promise was being fulfilled as Gentiles from all over the Roman Empire began to worship Jesus, but now some two thousand years later, the fact that this promise pointed to Jesus is clearer than ever, since he is arguably the most famous person who ever lived and Christianity is the number one religion around the world. So, if Micah 5:2-4 isn’t referring to Jesus, do we have any other likely candidates? Who else from Bethlehem has reached such staggering heights of fame?
Justin also cites Psalm 22, which foresaw that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced, and Zechariah 9 that Israel’s king would come to his people humbly, riding on a donkey and speaking peace, not to Jerusalem only but to the nations.[3] He goes on to say,
And that it was predicted that our Christ should heal all diseases and raise the dead, hear what was said [by the prophet Isaiah], “At His coming the lame shall leap...the blind shall see, and the lepers shall be cleansed; and the dead shall rise, and walk about.” And that He did those things, you can learn from the Acts of Pontius Pilate.[4]
Here it’s worth pointing out that Justin is appealing to external truths, rather than to his own subjective experience or changed life. In fact, in this section of his apology, he encourages the emperor, and members of the Roman Senate, not merely to consult Christian versions of the story, but to examine the public records about Jesus, which at that time were still available.[5]
The Humble Skeptic Podcast Episode 64: “Christmas: Legend or History?”
Justin then cites other important selections from Isaiah, such as this portion from the early part of chapter nine, which was made famous in Handel’s Messiah:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. (Isa. 9:6-7)
This is another prophecy that was significant in my own conversion from a secular Jewish background. It seemed clear to me that whoever this child was, he was unambiguously being identified as God incarnate. In an article I recently wrote on this passage, I discuss the fascinating ways in which this verse has been interpreted in Jewish circles, both before and after the time of Jesus—some even referring to the subject of Isaiah’s prophecy as Israel’s promised Messiah.[6]
Fulfilled prophecies and testimonies, not beliefs “governed by passion,” are the proofs that ground Christian conviction.
Justin also goes on to cite, almost in its entirety, the amazing prophecy of the Suffering Servant from chapters 52 and 53 of Isaiah. “[H]ear what was…said by Isaiah,” Justin writes, “‘Because they delivered His soul to death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, He has borne the sin of many…He was despised, and of no reputation. It is He who bears our sins, and is afflicted for us.’”[7] Justin then concludes this section of his Apology by writing this:
Though we could bring forward many other prophecies, we judge these sufficient for the persuasion of those who have ears to hear and understand; and considering also that those persons are able to see that we do not make mere assertions without being able to produce proof, like those fables that are told of the so-called sons of Jupiter. For with what reason should we believe of a crucified man that He is the first-born of the unbegotten God, who will pass judgment on the whole human race, unless we had found testimonies concerning Him published before He came…So many things therefore, as these…are enough to produce conviction and belief in those who embrace the truth, and are not bigoted in their opinions, nor governed by passion.[8]
After successive waves of apologists like Justin Martyr, Western Culture was eventually Christianized. But across the span of time, people began to take Christian truth claims for granted. In short, they no longer needed reasons to believe the Christian story, since it was something most people already assumed to be true. However, this certainly is not the world we live in today.
Some years ago, Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith interviewed thousands of young Christians from across the denominational spectrum for a research project and later coined the phrase “moralistic therapeutic deism” to describe their convictions.[9] Contemporary churches, it seems, had been promoting Christianity not as a truth claim but as a kind of therapy to help believers cope with the ups and downs of life. And as it turns out, this therapy was quite vague, even about Jesus. This happened at a time in which most of our institutions had been thoroughly secularized, meaning they no longer took Christianity for granted. In fact, many of today’s educational institutions are downright hostile to the Christian message. Is it a wonder then that so many individuals today are “deconstructing” their faith?
Unlike all other worldview options, Christianity makes sense even when comfort is nowhere to be found.
What we need is to go back and retrace our steps. How did Christianity become the dominant belief system of the Western World in the first place? Justin Martyr shows us how it was done. He didn’t talk about his own personal experience with Jesus, the comfort he had felt, or even the impact that the gospel had on his life. This isn’t to say that these things are unimportant—they just aren’t good reasons to believe that Christianity is true in contrast to all the other competing worldview options. All religions give people comfort, provide solace and a sense of meaning, but Christianity makes sense even when comfort is nowhere to be found. Justin writes:
We—who, out of every race of men, used to worship Bacchus, Apollo, Venus, Aesculapius, or other gods—have now, through Jesus Christ, learned to despise them, though we be threatened with death for it…they who live irrationally, and were brought up licentiously in wicked customs, and are prejudiced in their own opinions…kill and hate us; whom we not only do not hate, but as is proved, pity and endeavor to lead to repentance.[10]
You see, Justin wrote these words at a time when Christianity was still illegal, and when Christians were still being persecuted and martyred for their faith. And this of course helps us to see how radical this new faith really was. Christians of his day needed something beyond coffee mug platitudes to get them through the day, since they were often arrested, beaten, and tortured for their convictions. In fact, Justin himself was beheaded for his faith sometime around 165 AD, which is why he was posthumously given the name Justin “Martyr.”
More than anything, it’s clear from his defense of Christianity that Justin never promoted any form of blind faith. No, instead, he wrote to the emperor and the senate in order to offer proof, rather than mere assertions, since, as he says, he was persuaded by those who prophesied about Jesus centuries before he came on the scene. In fact, he referred to fulfilled prophecy as the "strongest and truest evidence.”[11] I humbly suggest that we return to this same approach in our day as well.
The Humble Skeptic Podcast Episode 64: “Christmas: Legend or History?”
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Christian Basics: What Are the Five “Alones” and Why Do You Need to Know Them?
Recommended:
The Humble Skeptic Podcast Episode 64: “Christmas: Legend or History”
Notes:
[1] Justin Martyr, First Apology in The Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. 1, edited by Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001; reprint of the 1867 Edinburgh edition), 247, 254, 266. For other editions, see chapters 1, 13 and 30. This work is available online at https://bishoysblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ante-nicene-fathers-vol-1.pdf
[2] Ibid., 266-267 (ch. 31; 33).
[3] Ibid., 269-270 (ch. 35).
[4] Ibid., 277 (ch. 48).
[5] Though some ancient texts with the title, The Acts of Pontius Pilate, have survived, most scholars are agreed that these are fictional documents written long after the first century.
[6] See for example the Aramaic Targum of 9:5-6.
[7] Ibid., First Apology, ANF-01, 278-279 (ch. 50).
[8] Ibid., 280-281 (ch. 53).
[9] See his book, Soul Searching (New York, Oxford University Press, 2005), or listen to this White Horse Inn interview featuring Smith when the book was first released: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/whi-radio-members/2005whi730apr03-extended.mp3
[10] Ibid., First Apology, ANF-01, 263; 283-284 (ch. 25; 57).
[11] Ibid., 266 (ch. 30).
