after He had spoken to them in person—descending Himself from heaven, uniting (1) within Mary’s womb and taking from her a veil of flesh—so that He was, in their claim, a creature as far as His body was concerned yet a creator as far as His spirit was concerned. It was He who fashioned His own body (2) and who created His mother; she preceded Him in respect of the nāsūt (human nature), while He preceded her in respect of the lāhūt (divine nature). He is, they say, the perfect God and the perfect man. And—as a further proof of His all-embracing mercy, exalted is He!—(3) toward His servants, He consented to have His blood shed for them upon the wooden cross. Thus He allowed His enemies, the Jews, to gain power over Him so that His wrath against them might be fulfilled: they seized Him, crucified Him, slapped Him, spat in His face, and crowned Him with a wreath of thorns. His blood (4) sank into His finger, for had even a drop fallen to the earth everything upon its surface would have withered; yet at the very spot where He was crucified there sprouted (5) flowers (6).

And since, according to what they call the eternal wisdom, it did not befit God to avenge Himself upon a disobedient servant who had wronged Him or belittled His majesty—because of the Lord’s exalted rank and the servant’s lowliness—He, glorified be He, chose instead to exact justice from a human being who, they allege, is a god like Himself. Thus He avenged Adam’s sin by crucifying “Jesus the Messiah—who is, in their eyes, a god equal to Him in divinity; they crucified the Son of God” (7)—who is God—at the ninth hour on Friday. These are their very words in their own books!!