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INTRODUCTION TO ST. MATTHEW'S GOSPEL.

been observed in the Gospels; and those which, allowing that this order has been more or less neglected, profess, on very different schemes, to correct the supposed irregularity.

Matthew, who had also the name of Levi, was, at an early period of our Lord's ministry, called to follow him, as he was sitting at the receipt of custom at Capernaum, upon the Sea of Galilee. This was called Christ's "own city," because of his most frequent residence there, after he left Nazareth. Matt. iv. 13. There can be little doubt, therefore, that Matthew, who was also a resident there, had heard his preaching, knew his character, and was already a believer. On this occasion he was, however, bidden to "follow" him; the import of which command he knew was, to become, in a more formal and intimate manner, his disciple, and to continue with him in all places, as the celebrated Jewish Rabbis were attended by their chosen scholars. It implied, also, his seeking more perfect instruction in Christ's heavenly doctrine. This explains the readiness with, which Matthew obeyed the call; and the joy that he felt in being admitted into the number of our Lord's peculiar disciples,—those who were permitted to behold all his works, to hear all his conversations and discourses, and to be trained to teach his doctrines to others, was expressed by his making a great feast for his fellow-publicans, at which Jesus and his disciples attended. The publicans were odious to the stricter Jews, especially the Pharisees; not, however, let it be observed, always on account of their rapacity, though that might be chargeable upon many, but because they submitted to collect the Roman imposts,-a mark of subjection which the pride of the Pharisees affected to disown, although their country was, in fact, a Roman province. That there were respectable men among even the publicans, appears from the example of Zaccheus and Levi, or Matthew. When they classed them emphatically with "sinners," it was therefore because they thought the office, when held by a Jew, an apostasy from, or at least an offence against, Judaism. In modern language, we should call Matthew a custom-house officer, because his office was to receive the dues paid at the port of Capernaum upon goods landed there; and that he was of the higher rank, may be gathered from his making the great feast just mentioned, at which he entertained a very large company. He was finally made one of the twelve apostles. Of his labours out of Judea we have nothing certain; but the fathers seem to agree that he left Palestine on some foreign evangelic mission.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW.

CHAPTER I.

1 The genealogy of Christ from Abraham to Joseph. 18 He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary when she was espoused to Joseph. 19 The angel satisfieth the misdeeming thoughts of Joseph, and interpreteth the names of Christ.

1 THE book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

a Luke iii. 23.

CHAPTER I. Verse 1. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ.-Whether this title merely introduces the genealogy which follows, or extends to the whole account of our Lord contained in this Gospel, is a question disputed by interpreters. In Gen. v. 1, "This is the book of the generations of Adam," the LXX. use the same phrase as that here employed by St. Matthew; and the section which it introduces is plainly an account of Adam's production, and of the patriarchs who descended from him in the line of Seth to Noah. But the word ycveσis occurs also in Gen. ii. 4: "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created;" where it obviously signifies the history or relation of their production, and of the several events which followed. In Greek authors yeveous signifies original extract, descent, or birth; but the Hebrew mode of speaking is here probably the better rule; and the term may be here extended to the history which follows, as in Gen. vi. 9, where, "These are the generations of Noah," is the title of a section which says nothing of his descent, but carries us on to the character of that patriarch, and the events of his life. If this introductory clause be limited to the genealogy, it may be translated, as by Campbell," the lineage," if taken in the more extended sense, "the history, of Jesus Christ."

Jesus Christ.-On the name Jesus, see the note on verse 21. When Matthew adds Christ to this name, he declares that Jesus was the MESSIAH; and in proof of this his Gospel was written. The word signifies, one anointed; in allusion to the custom of consecrating and inaugurating priests and kings among the Jews, by anointing them with oil. The composition for this purpose, and which was applied not only to persons but to things set apart for the service of God, was made by Moses under divine direction, and kept in the sanctuary. It was typical of the communication of the Holy Spirit with which the church is replenished; and for this reason it is, that his sacred influence upon the minds of believers is called by St. John " an unction, or anointing, from the Holy One." It was the full effusion of the Spirit upon our Saviour which constituted him " the Messiah, or Christ;" that is, "the Anointed of the Lord." After the resurrection of our Lord the term Christ, without the article, passed into a proper name, and, as such, is used to distinguish the divine founder of our religion.

The son of David, the son of Abraham.— The terms son and daughter were used by the Hebrews to signify grand-children, or any lineal descendants, however remote. Thus, our Lord calls the woman whom he healed of an infirmity, "a DAUGHTER Of

2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and d Jacob begat Judas and his brethren ;

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Abraham." The Messiah was to be a descendant of Abraham, through Isaac, not Ishmael; through Jacob, not Esau; and was to be of the tribe of Judah, and of the house and lineage of David. Thus was fulfilled in our Lord the promise made to Abraham, "that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed;" and the covenant with David, "that of the fruit of his body he would raise up the Christ to sit upon his throne." The name, "Son of David," appears constantly in the later Jewish writings for "the Messiah ;" and that it was so used in common language in the time of our Lord appears from several passages of the Gospels: Hosannah to the Son of David; "Have mercy upon us, thou Son of David," &c. St. Matthew therefore proves from the Jewish genealogies, that our Lord was descended from David and Abraham. This was sufficient for the purpose of this evangelist, who wrote immediately for the use of the Jews; but St. Luke, who wrote his Gospel for the Gentile churches, carries up the genealogy from Abraham to Noah and Adam; and thereby put them in possession of the Old Testament account of the origin and descent of mankind, and corrected their vain traditions and absurd fables.

Verse 2. Abraham begat Isaac.-For a full investigation of the questions which have been raised on the genealogies of Christ given by St. Matthew and St. Luke, recourse may be had to Grotius, Hammond, Le Clerc, Lightfoot, Bishop Kidder, Whitby, Dr. Barrett, and others who have written at large upon them. The genealogies coincide from Abraham to David; and then so entirely differ, except in two descents, that they must be regarded as two distinct tables; and the opinion now generally admitted is that of Lightfoot, that St. Matthew gives the genealogy of Joseph, whose adopted son Jesus was; and St. Luke, that of his virgin mother. This derives strong confirmation from the

d Gen. xxix. 35.

circumstance that the Jewish Rabbins in their writings call Mary the daughter of Eli. This distinction in the genealogies also serves to explain the reason why St. Luke begins his genealogy with stating that Jesus was the sUPPOSED son of Joseph, "who was the son of Eli." The natural father of Joseph was, as Matthew states, Jacob; but Mary being the daughter of Eli, Joseph became his son-in-law; or simply, according to the vague way in which the Hebrews used such relative terms, his son; which is further confirmed by another instance of a son-in-law being called a son in the same table, namely, Salathiel, who is called “the son of Neri," that is, his son-in-law; his natural father being Jechonias, 1 Chron. iii. 17. The only point of real importance, however, in this question is, whether Mary as well as Joseph was of the house of David, because the Christ was indubitably to be of the seed of David "according to the flesh," which our Lord was not by mere virtue of his being the adopted son of Joseph, and entered as such in the Jewish genealogies. Now, though there seems sufficient reason to conclude that Mary married Joseph as next of kin; and though the very silence of the Jews, who, upon the promulgation of the doctrine of Christ's miraculous conception, at whatever period that was first made known, whether during our Lord's life, or immediately after his ascension, must have raised this fatal objection, if Mary had not been a descendant of David as well as

Joseph, proves that this fact was a subject of public notoriety; yet the matter is settled by a passage in the Gospel of St. Luke, which those who have investigated this question of the two genealogies have generally overlooked. In Luke i. 32, when the angel makes the annunciation to Mary that she should become the mother of the Messiah, he says, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give

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3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and 'Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;

4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon ;

5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;

6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

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7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;

8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat began Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;

9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;

10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias ;

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unto him the throne of HIS FATHER David," -terms which could not have been used unless Mary herself had been David's descendant. It may be added to this, that unless it had been a matter sufficiently well known and acknowledged, that Mary and Joseph were of the same house and lineage, it could have answered no end for Matthew to have copied from the public genealogical tables of the Jews the descent of Joseph from David, since he himself closes the list of descents with an account of the conception and birth of Jesus, which declares that he was not the son of Joseph, but of Mary only. But the family relationship of Mary and Joseph being well known, the one genealogy was as well suited to his purpose as the other. Besides that, it had also this advantage, that it established our Lord's legal right to the throne of David, through Joseph, of whom he was the son by adoption. And this was of importance in arguing with the Jews; for, although Mary was descended from David, yet, had she married into the tribe of Levi, under the same circumstances as she married Joseph, our

g 1 Sam. xvi. 1; xvii. 12. j 2 Kings xx. 21; 1 Chron. iii. 13,

Lord would have been reckoned in the Jewish genealogies as of the tribe of Levi, and his legal claim to the throne of David could not have been maintained on the ground of descent; but, having married into her own tribe, our Lord was the descendant of David, both in law and by

nature.

With respect to other difficulties in these tables of descent, they are to be referred to the Jewish records, and not to the evangelists who copied them. however, the Jews exerted particular care in preserving the pedigree of their priests, and also the line of David, in which they expected the Messiah, the discrepancies are probably apparent only, and the obscurity arises from the circumstance that their mode of keeping them, as being affected by their changes of name, or the practice of bearing double names, and by their laws of succession, is now but partially known. The tables are, however, sufficiently clear to prove the only point for which they were introduced, that Jesus was the son of David, and the son of Abraham.

11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon :

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12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;

14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;

15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

• Some read, Josias begat Jakim, and Jakim begat Jechonias.
k 1 Chron. iii. 17, 19.

Verse 16. Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom, &c.—Here it is to be observed, that the evangelist in giving the natural line of descent from David to Joseph uses the term eyevvnoe, begat, in each instance; but instead of saying that Joseph begat Jesus, he turns the phrase by saying, "Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, or WHOM WAS BORN Jesus;" thus intimating what he afterwards more fully states, that Jesus was not begotten of Mary by her husband, Joseph.

Verse 17. Fourteen generations.—Lightfoot has shown, by a number of instances, that it was usual with the Jews to reduce things or numbers nearly alike to the same term, for the sake of aiding the memory. Here, therefore, are three regular classes, formed by unimportant omissions: the first, under the Patriarchs and Judges, from Abraham to David; the second, under the Kings; the third, under the Governors and Asmonean priests, from the captivi

1 Luke i. 27.

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Verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus, &c.— The birth of our Saviour is now placed by chronologers in about four years before the common era from which we reckon. In the first ages of Christianity the practice of dating from the birth of Christ was unknown; and, in fact, was not generally adopted among Christians till about A. D. 730; and it is now generally agreed that an error of four years was then made in fixing the era.

Was espoused to Joseph.-Maimonides says, that "before the giving of the law, if a man met a woman in the street, he might take her home and marry her; but when the law was given, the Israelites were commanded that if a man would take

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