3.1b. Before
your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
Christ is
rightly said to be portrayed clearly before us because the whole chorus of the
[Old Testament] prophets foretold his torture, suffering, and the blows and
whippings he would receive. As a result, we know about the cross not only from
the Gospel, which relates the story of his crucifixion, but also [from writings
penned] long before he deigned to come down to earth and assume the form of a
crucified man. It is much to the Galatians’ credit that they believed in Christ
crucified as he had previously been portrayed for them. They of course had been
led in due course to this belief by continually reading the prophets and by
knowing all of the ordinances of the old Law. (Jerome, Commentary on
Galatians, ed. David G. Hunter [trans. Andrew Cain; The Fathers of the
Church 121; Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2010],
119-20)
