21 and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.'
`Of this one's seed God, according to promise, did raise to Israel a Saviour -- Jesus,
this one God, a Prince and a Saviour, hath exalted with His right hand, to give reformation to Israel, and forgiveness of sins;
on the morrow John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, `Lo, the Lamb of God, who is taking away the sin of the world;
And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise the child, then was his name called Jesus, having been so called by the messenger before his being conceived in the womb.
and through him to reconcile the all things to himself -- having made peace through the blood of his cross -- through him, whether the things upon the earth, whether the things in the heavens. And you -- once being alienated, and enemies in the mind, in the evil works, yet now did he reconcile, in the body of his flesh through the death, to present you holy, and unblemished, and unblameable before himself, if also ye remain in the faith, being founded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the good news, which ye heard, which was preached in all the creation that `is' under the heaven, of which I became -- I Paul -- a ministrant.
and lo, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus;
`Let it therefore be known to you, men, brethren, that through this one to you is the forgiveness of sins declared, and from all things from which ye were not able in the law of Moses to be declared righteous, in this one every one who is believing is declared righteous;
My little children, these things I write to you, that ye may not sin: and if any one may sin, an advocate we have with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one, and he -- he is a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born out of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth; to him who did love us, and did bathe us from our sins in his blood, and did make us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him `is' the glory and the power to the ages of the ages! Amen.
and ye have known that he was manifested that our sins he may take away, and sin is not in him;
and if in the light we may walk, as He is in the light -- we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son doth cleanse us from every sin;
who did give himself for us, that he might ransom us from all lawlessness, and might purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works;
to you first, God, having raised up His child Jesus, did send him, blessing you, in the turning away of each one from your evil ways.'
The husbands! love your own wives, as also the Christ did love the assembly, and did give himself for it, that he might sanctify it, having cleansed `it' with the bathing of the water in the saying, that he might present it to himself the assembly in glory, not having spot or wrinkle, or any of such things, but that it may be holy and unblemished;
And the messenger answering said to her, `The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also the holy-begotten thing shall be called Son of God; and lo, Elisabeth, thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her who was called barren;
and the messenger said unto him, `Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John,
`Seventy weeks are determined for thy people, and for thy holy city, to shut up the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to cover iniquity, and to bring in righteousness age-during, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies.
In those days is Judah saved, And Jerusalem doth dwell confidently, And this `is' he whom Jehovah proclaimeth to her: `Our Righteousness.'
Declare ye, and bring near, Yea, they take counsel together, Who hath proclaimed this from of old? From that time hath declared it? Is it not I -- Jehovah? And there is no other god besides Me, A God righteous and saving, there is none save Me. Turn to Me, and be saved, all ends of the earth, For I `am' God, and there is none else.
And thou hast said in that day: `I thank thee, O Jehovah, Though Thou hast been angry with me, Turn back doth Thine anger, And Thou dost comfort me. Lo, God `is' my salvation, I trust, and fear not, For my strength and song `is' Jah Jehovah, And He is to me for salvation.
and he saith, `At this season, according to the time of life, thou art embracing a son;' and she saith, `Nay, my lord, O man of God, do not lie unto thy maid-servant.' And the woman conceiveth and beareth a son, at this season, according to the time of life, that Elisha spake of unto her.
and he saith, `returning I return unto thee, about the time of life, and lo, to Sarah thy wife a son.'
and God saith, `Sarah thy wife is certainly bearing a son to thee, and thou hast called his name Isaac, and I have established My covenant with him, for a covenant age-during, to his seed after him.
And I have sprinkled over you clean water, And ye have been clean; From all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, I do cleanse you. And I have given to you a new heart, And a new spirit I give in your midst, And I have turned aside the heart of stone out of your flesh, And I have given to you a heart of flesh. And My Spirit I give in your midst, And I have done this, so that in My statutes ye walk, And My judgments ye keep, and have done them. And ye have dwelt in the land that I have given to your fathers, And ye have been to Me for a people, And I -- I am to you for God. And I have saved you from all your uncleannesses, And I have called unto the corn, and multiplied it, And I have put no famine upon you.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Matthew 1
Commentary on Matthew 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Gospel According to ST. Matthew
Chapter 1
This evangelist begins with the account of Christ's parentage and birth, the ancestors from whom he descended, and the manner of his entry into the world, to make it appear that he was indeed the Messiah promised, for it was foretold that he should be the son of David, and should be born of a virgin; and that he was so is here plainly shown; for here is,
Thus methodically is the life of our blessed Saviour written, as lives should be written, for the clearer proposing of the example of them.
Mat 1:1-17
Concerning this genealogy of our Saviour, observe,
In calling Christ the son of David, and the son of Abraham, he shows that God is faithful to his promise, and will make good every word that he has spoken; and this.
Some particulars we may observe in the genealogy.
Mat 1:18-25
The mystery of Christ's incarnation is to be adored, not pried into. If we know not the way of the Spirit in the formation of common persons, nor how the bones are formed in the womb of any one that is with child (Eccles. 11:5), much less do we know how the blessed Jesus was formed in the womb of the blessed virgin. When David admires how he himself was made in secret, and curiously wrought (Ps. 139:13-16), perhaps he speaks in the spirit of Christ's incarnation. Some circumstances attending the birth of Christ we find here which are not in Luke, though it is more largely recorded here. Here we have,
Observe,
Some persons of a rigorous temper would blame Joseph for his clemency: but it is here spoken of to his praise; because he was a just man, therefore he was not willing to expose her. He was a religious, good man; and therefore inclined to be merciful as God is, and to forgive as one that was forgiven. In the case of the betrothed damsel, if she were defiled in the field, the law charitably supposed that she cried out (Deu. 22:26), and she was not to be punished. Some charitable construction or other Joseph will put upon this matter; and herein he is a just man, tender of the good name of one who never before had done anything to blemish it. Note, It becomes us, in many cases, to be gentle towards those that come under suspicion of having offended, to hope the best concerning them, and make the best of that which at first appears bad, in hopes that it may prove better. Summum just summa injuria-The rigour of the law is (sometimes) the height of injustice. That court of conscience which moderates the rigour of the law we call a court of equity. Those who are found faulty were perhaps overtaken in the fault, and are therefore to be restored with the spirit of meekness; and threatening, even when just, must be moderated.
The prophecy here quoted is justly ushered in with a Behold, which commands both attention and admiration; for we have here the mystery of godliness, which is, without controversy, great, that God was manifested in the flesh.
Nor is it improper to say that the prophecy which foretold that he should be called Immanuel was fulfilled, in the design and intention of it, when he was called Jesus; for if he had not been Immanuel- God with us, he could not have been Jesus-a Saviour; and herein consists the salvation he wrought out, in the bringing of God and man together; this was what he designed, to bring God to be with us, which is our great happiness, and to bring us to be with God, which is our great duty.
It is here further observed,