All these things we may understand mystically. For as Caiaphas said that “it is expedient that one man should die for the people,” [John 11:50] not knowing what he said, so these, in all they did, furnished sacraments to us who believe, though they did them with other intention. In the scarlet robe He bears the bloody works of the Gentiles; by the crown of thorns He takes away the ancient curse; with the reed He destroys poisonous animals; or He held the reed in His hand wherewith to write down the sacrilege of the Jews.
Reproduced in full. Translation: Oxford 1841 (Newman), public domain (Public domain).