Messiah should come of the house and lineage of David,* and it was therefore necessary that the fulfilment of prophecy in the person of our Lord should be fully proved, both to the Jews and Gentiles. Accordingly both St. Matthew and St. Luke give his genealogy, though in a different manner, and consequently some discrepancies have been observed between the two accounts. St. Matthew wrote his Gospel for the Jews, and therefore traces our Lord's pedigree legally, or politically, through Joseph his reputed father-FROM ABRAHAM, in whom all the families and nations of the earth should be blessed; AND FROM DAVID, whose throne was to be established for ever. Accordingly he adopts the common Hebrew mode of abridging the genealogy so as to include all the important names and necessary links in the descent, and then, for the convenience of being remembered, dividing the 42 generations thus preserved into three equal periods, viz. 14 generations from Abraham to David; 14 generations from David to the Babylonian captivity; and 14 generations from the Babylonian captivity to Jesus. In the second division, however, there is an error, as it only contains 13 generations, occasioned by the accidental omission of Jehoiakim, or Joakim, the son of Josias, and father of Jechonias. St. Luke wrote his Gospel for the Gentiles, and being desirous of proving their admission into the gospel covenant, he traces our Lord's genealogy through Mary his mother up to David, and from thence to Adam. From Adam to Abraham, therefore, the genealogy is only recorded by St. Luke. From Abraham to David the gene Old Testament Prophecies of our Lord's descent.-God had said to Abraham, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," Gen. xii. 2, etc.; and to David, "Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations," 2 Sam. vii. 12; Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4. Isaiah (xi. 1) had also said, "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." The Jews had therefore expected the Messiah in the line of David and Abraham. St. John (vii. 42) says, "Hath not the Scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was ? Again, we read in Acts, (xiii. 23,) "Of this man's (David's) seed hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus." alogies given by both St. Luke and St. Matthew agree with each other. But from David to Christ considerable differences occur between the two. This has been accounted for by the fact of the Hebrews omitting the names of women in their genealogical tables, so that, if a family ended with a daughter, they inserted the husband as the son of her father, though he was really only son-in-law to the latter.* Matt. i. 1-17; Luke iii. 23-38.t Purification of Mary, and presentation JUDEA. of Christ.-In 33 days after the circum- 19 Prophecies of Simeon and Anna.-At this time Simeon, 20 a devout man of Jerusalem, to whom it had been revealed by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ, was carried by the Spirit into the Temple, and taking the infant Saviour in his arms, he blessed God, and said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." At the same time a widowed prophetess, named Anna, daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher, who had reached her 84th year, and yet served God in the Temple with fasting * Proofs from the Genealogies.-The two genealogies thrus prove Jesus to be, 1. The Son of David, who should according to promise sit upon the throne of Israel. 2. The Seed of Abraham, in whom all nations of the earth should be blessed, according to the covenant made with the father of the faithful. 3. The Son of man, or "the Seed of the woman," who should bruise the serpent's head. For a further explanation of the supposed discrepancies between the genealogies of St. Matthew and St. Luke, and those in the Old Testament, the student is referred to Mills's Vindication of the Evangelical Accounts of the Descent and Parentage of the Saviour against some recent Mythical Interpreters. 21 and prayers, night and day, came in and gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spoke of him to all them that waited for redemption in Jerusalem. 25-38. Luke ii. The Magi visit Jerusalem and adore the Saviour.The Holy Family now appear to have returned to Bethlehem, but meantime certain wise men * from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." When Herod heard of this proceeding he became fearful for the safety of his throne, and having summoned the chief priests and scribes, [i. e. the Sanhedrim, see note to sect. 70,] he demanded where Christ should be born? They replied, "In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not Origin of the Magi, or "wise men."-The Magi were originally one of the six tribes into which the Medes were divided, and, like the Levites in the Mosaic institution, were intrusted with the care of religion. After the Medes were united with the Persians, the Magi formed a sacred caste or college, which became very famous in the ancient world. The primitive Magian religion, which consisted in the worship of Ormuzd, the symbol of light and goodness, became debased at an early period. At length Zoroaster, who lived between the eighth and fifth centuries before Christ, appeared to renovate the old and corrupt system, being, as he himself intimates in the Zendavestas, the restorer of the word which Ormuzd had formerly revealed, but which the influence of the Devs (the principles of evil who had been created by Ahriman, the symbol of darkness and evil) had degraded into a false and deceptive magic. In the system of the Zendavestas as revised by Zoroaster there are remarkable germs of truth, and it included the idea of a Sosiosh-an expected Deliverer. This idea was either derived directly from the Jewish prophecies, or else, during the Babylonian captivity, had become considerably modified by the Messianic ideas abroad amongst the Jews (see sect. 4). The Persians expected their Sosiosh from the family of Zoroaster; but these Magi came to seek for the King of the Jews, and probably as the star in the east appeared at the time when according to the prophecies of Daniel the Saviour was to come, it assured them of the truth of all that they had been led to expect, and at once induced them to journey to the place where the young Child was. (See also Daniel ii. 2, etc.) The early Church regarded these Magi as the representatives of the heathen world, which in them offered its homage to the Lord: an ingenious thought, full of deep truth! the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel." Micah v. 2. Herod then privately questioned the wise men concerning the first appearance of the star, and sent them to Bethlehem with directions, that when they had found the child they should let him know, that he might worship him also. When the wise men left the king's presence they again beheld the star, and it now went before them, and at length became stationary over the abode of the Saviour. They then entered the house and worshipped the infant Jesus, and presented him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh; and being warned by God in a dream not to visit Herod, they returned to their own country another way (see sect. 4). ii. 1-12. Matt. Egypt. The Holy Family fly to Egypt.-The angel of the Lord now appeared to Joseph in a dream, and desired him to fly to Egypt with the young child and its mother, for Herod was seeking to destroy the infant. The Holy Family accordingly fled to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod, thus fulfilling the prophecy, "Out of Egypt have I called my Son." Hosea xi. 1. Matt. ii. 13-15. Slaughter of the Innocents.-Herod was enraged at 23 being deceived by the Magi, and slew all the children of Bethlehem and its neighbourhood that were two years old and under; thus fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah, (xxxi. 15,)"In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." Matt. ii. 16-18. Galilee. Joseph The Holy Family return to Nazareth.After this, Herod died of a loathsome disease, and the angel appeared to Joseph in Egypt, and desired him to return to the land of Israel. accordingly did so, but on learning that Archelaus reigned in Judæa (sect. 3) in the room of his father Herod, he was fearful of going there; and being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into Galilee, and dwelt in Nazareth; thus fulfilling that which was spoken by the pro 24 25 phets, "He shall be called a Nazarene.”* 19-23. Jerusalem. Matt. ii. Christ among the doctors, in his 12th year, A. D. 8.-From this time the parents of our Lord went to Jerusalem every year to the feast of Passover; and when the child Jesus was 12 years old the visit was performed as usual, but at the conclusion of the feast he tarried behind. Meantime his parents, thinking he was in the company, went a day's journey towards home, and then began to seek for him amongst their kinsfolk and acquaintance, and not finding him, returned to Jerusalem. Here, after three days' search, they discovered him in the Temple sitting amidst the doctors, both hearing them and answering them questions. The spectators were astonished at his understanding and answers, and his parents were amazed at the sight. His mother asked the reason of his conduct, saying, "Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." But he replied, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" The answer was not understood, but Jesus returned to Nazareth with his parents, and was subject unto them; and he increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.† Luke ii. 41-52. * This prophecy no quotation.-This text is the prediction of no particular prophet, but appears to refer to those passages in the Old Testament which implied the contempt with which our Lord would be treated. Nazareth was a despised and infamous place, (John i. 46,) and the very name of Nazarene was a term of reproach (Mark i. 24). We may therefore presume that the angel sent Joseph to this contemptible place that he might thence become" despised and rejected of men," Isa. liii. 3. Here our Lord resided until his 30th year, when he commenced his ministry. The Feasts.-According to the law of Moses, the males were to go up to Jerusalem three times yearly, to the three principal feasts -the Passover, the Pentecost or First-fruits, and the Tabernacles. When children had attained the age of 12 years, they were called "Sons of the Law," and were then obliged to keep the law, and consequently from that year used to accompany their parents. The feast of the Passover, which included that of unleavened bread, lasted seven days. |