An angel informs Joseph ST. MATTHEW. A. M. 4000. ation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. of the death of Herod. 19 But when Herod was dead, be- A. M. 4001. hold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, of death, at a day appointed; on their arrival thither, he shut them all up in the circus, and then, sending for Salome his sister, and Alexas her husband, com of others upon him," says, "When he heard that among those male infants about two years old, which Herod the king of the Jews ordered to be manded them that, as soon as he was dead, they || slain in Syria, one of his sons was also murdered, should send in the soldiers upon them, and put them he said, 'It is better to be Herod's hog than his all to the sword. 'For this,' said he, 'will provide || son." The saying alludes to his professing Judamourning for my funeral all over the land, and make || ism, which forbade his killing swine, or eating their the Jews in every family lament my death, whether || flesh; therefore, his hog would have been safe where they will or not:' and when he had adjured them hereto, some hours after, he died. But they, not being wicked enough to do what they had been solemnly made to promise, rather chose to break | count, happened, according to some, within three their obligation, than to make themselves the executioners of so bloody and horrid a design." Since Josephus, who has given us the history of Herod's transactions at large, has taken no notice of the slaughter of these children, some have been ready to suspect his fidelity as an historian, or, which is worse, that of St. Matthew. But there is his son lost his life. Verse 19. When Herod was dead-His death, of which Josephus has given us a very affecting ac or four months of his perpetrating the above-mentioned bloody act, and was a fearful instance of that vengeance which God, even in this world, sometimes takes on his enemies, and those of his people. He || died eaten with worms, at the age of seventy-one, after a reign of forty years, having endured such | excruciating, lingering, and loathsome diseases, as no need to do either. For surely it is not to be sup- || rendered him intolerable to himself and others also. posed, that an historian lessens his credibility as often as he relates the facts omitted by another; or passes over those recorded by another. For it is hardly possible it should be otherwise, unless one And his innate cruelty being thus exasperated, he became more barbarous than ever, and just before his death caused Antipater, his son and the heir apparent of his kingdom, to be executed on some should exactly copy from another. Besides, Jose- || groundless suspicion. God, it seems, made him, in phus has so many instances exactly similar to this, a remarkable manner, a terror to himself and to all round about him. Eusebius, the ancient ecclesiastical historian, thought his death so great an illustration of the gospel history, that he has inserted it at large in his work. An angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt-Probably the same angel which had appeared to him before, and directed him to flee into Egypt, and abide there till he should bring him word again. That word is now brought him, and in obedience to it he returns with the child and his mother into the land of Israel. Let us, in like manner, remember, it is God's part to direct, and ours to obey. Nor can we be out of the way of safety and comfort while we are in the way of duty, following his directions, and steering our course by the intimations of his pleasure. For, "the preservation of the holy child Jesus may be considered as a figure of God's care over his Church and people, in their greatest dangers. He doth not often, as he easily could, strike their persecutors with immediate destruction, but he provides a hiding place for his children, and by methods not less effectual, though less pompous, preserves them from being swept away even when the enemy comes in like a flood. Egypt, that was once the seat of persecution and oppression to the Israel of God, is now a refuge to his Son: and thus all places. will be to us what Divine Providence will be pleased to make them. When, like Joseph and Mary, we are cut off from the worship of his temple, and, perhaps, removed into a strange land, he can be a little sanctuary to us, and give us, in his gracious presence, a rich equivalent for all we have lost."-Doddridge Joseph returns from Egypt, CHAPTER II. and settles in Galilee. reign in Judea in the room of his father A. M. 4001 Herod, he was afraid to go thither: not A. M. 4001. 20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which || withstanding, being warned of God in a dream, sought the young child's life. he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 21 And he arose, and took the young child23 And he came and dwelt in a city called and his mother, and came into the land of Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which Israel. was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called 22 But when he heard that Archelaus did a Nazarene. • Chap. iii. 13; Luke ii. 39. -P John i. 45. 4 Judges xiii. 5; 1 Samueli. 11. Verse 20. They are dead which sought the young yet it made him ample amends for that inconchild's life-It has been conjectured by some, that || venience, by placing him and his under the pecuAntipater, the son of Herod, who died but five days || liar care of a watchful Providence, ever attentive to before his father, might also be referred to in these words, They are dead, &c. At the time when Christ was born, he was heir apparent to the crown, and was a prince so cruel and ambitious, that he had procured the death of his two elder brothers, to clear his way to the succession, and no doubt he would be an active counsellor and instrument in seeking the destruction of the new-born Jesus, and in advising the slaughter of the infants. Verses 21, 22. And he arose-Joseph obeyed the angel, and, it appears, would gladly have gone to Judea, probably to Bethlehem, because from his own knowledge of the prophecies, as well as from the decision of the scribes, an account of which he might have received from the magi, he fancied | his son's education in Bethlehem was as necessary to his being acknowledged the Messiah, as his birth, || which had been so providentially ordered to happen his safety, and that of his little family; and by procuring him the favour of so many extraordinary visitations and supernatural discoveries of the divine will. This is no less than the fourth message sent him from the court of heaven since he became the husband of Mary! Verse 23. He dwelt in a city called NazarethWhere he had formerly resided before he went to Bethlehem. Nazareth, as appears from Luke iv. 29, was built upon a rock, not far from mount Tabor. The country about it, according to Antoninus the martyr, was like a paradise, abounding in wheat and fruits of all kinds. Wine, oil, and honey, of the best kind, were produced there: but it was a place so very contemptible among the Jews, that it was grown into a proverb with them, That no good thing could be expected from thence; so that by Jesus's returning to Nazareth, and being brought up there. Nevertheless, when he heard that Arche-and educated in it, a way was further opened by the laus did reign in Judea, he was afraid to go thither, || providence of God, for the fulfilment of the many knowing the jealous and cruel disposition of that prince. Archelaus was the sixth son of Herod, and the most cruel of all those that survived him. His father appointed him his successor, with regal authority, but Augustus gave him only the title of ethnarch, or ruler of the nation, annexing to his government Samaria and Idumæa. In the very beginning of his reign, he massacred 3,000 Jews at once in the temple, and was afterward, viz., in the tenth year of his government, banished by Augustus to Vienna in Gaul, on a complaint brought against Scriptures which foretold that he should appear in mean and despicable circumstances, and be set up as a mark of public contempt and reproach. This seems to be the most probable solution of this difficult text. He shall be called a Nazarene-That is, he shall be reputed vile and abject, and shall be despised and rejected of men, an event which many of the prophets had particularly foretold. And it is to be observed, that St. Matthew does not cite any particular prophet for these words, as he had done before, ch. i. 22; and here, verses 15, 17, and in other ties. Joseph, therefore, might well be afraid to phets, viz., in general, whereby, as Jerome observes, settle in a country that was under the government || he shows that he took not the words from the proof such a cruel tyrant. Being warned of God in a phets, but only the sense. See Psa. lxix. 9, 10; Isa. dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee- liii. 3. Now it is certain the Nazarene was a term which was under the government of Herod Antipas, of contempt and infamy put upon Christ, both by (see note on verse 2,) a prince of a milder character || the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles, and that because than Archelaus, and then on such hostile terms he was supposed to come out of this very city. with him, that there was no danger of his giving There was, among the Jews, a celebrated thief, up Joseph and Mary into his power. Add to this, || called Ben-Nezer, and in allusion to him, they gave that, being intent upon building the cities of Julias the name to Christ. His very going to dwell at and Tiberias, he endeavoured, by promises and im- || Nazareth, was an occasion of his being despised and munities, as well as by a mild government, to allure || rejected by the Jews. Thus, when Philip said to strangers to come and settle there. We may ob- || Nathanael, We have found Jesus of Nazareth, of serve here, that although Joseph's near relation to whom Moses spake, Nathanael answered, Can any Jesus exposed him to many difficulties and dangers, || good thing come out of Nazareth? And when Nisuch as he had been a stranger to till it commenced, codemus seemed to favour him, the rest of the coun him by the chief of the Jews, for his various cruel-places, but only says, this was spoken by the pro John the Baptist preaches ST. MATTHEW. in the wilderness of Judea. cil said to him, Search and look, for out of Galilee || extant, but are now lost, or to some writings not ariseth no prophet. Here then we have a plain put into the Sacred Canon, or to some paraphrases CHAPTER III. This chapter exhibits, (1,) The life and doctrine of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ; his baptizing multitudes, and solemn calling to them to repent and receive the Messiah, who was about to be manifested, 1-12. (2,) The baptism of Jesus by John at Jordan, and the solemn attestation of his person by the Holy Ghost and the Father, 13-17. A.M.4030. IN those days came a John the Baptist, || 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the A. M. 4030 preaching bin the wilderness of Judea, a Mark i. 4, 15; Luke iii. 2, 3; John i. 28. NOTES ON CHAPTER III. Verse 1. In those days--That is, in those years. For, as these events happened near thirty years after those recorded in the former chapter, this phrase is to be taken, in a very extensive sense, for that age of which he had spoken in the preceding words. And it is here used with the greater propriety, because John did indeed appear in his public character while Christ continued to dwell at || Nazareth, which was the event that Matthew had last mentioned. Christ was now about thirty years of age, before which time of life no priest, teacher, or prophet was allowed to perform his office, as the Hebrews tell us, and as may be collected from the Scripture, 1 Chron. xxiii. 3. Hence we learn that great preparation is necessary for sacred offices. The evangelists, therefore, pass over almost in entire silence our Saviour's minority, only mentioning his disputing with the doctors in the temple, Luke ii. 46. And yet it is probable many other remarkable things happened during that period, which, if they had been recorded, we should have read with pleasure and profit. But as the Holy Ghost has not been pleased to favour us in this respect, let us kingdom of heaven is at hand. D. b Josh. xiv. 10. Dan. ii. 44; Chap. iv. 17; x. 7. on him, and consecrated him to his prophetic office. Preaching-The original word, κηρυσσων, means proclaiming, or crying aloud. It is properly used of those who make proclamation in the streets or camps, or who lift up their voice in the open air, and declare the things which are to be promulgated by public or royal authority, and which they have in charge from another. In the wilderness of Judea -That is, in the uncultivated and thinly-inhabited parts of Judea, where, it seems, his father Zacharias lived, Luke i. 39, 40. For we are not to suppose that John shunned the society of men, as those afterward did, who, on that account, were called hermits; but he had been brought up and had always lived in the country, and not in the city, and had had a plain country education, and not an academical or courtly one, at Jerusalem. We must observe, that the term wilderness, among the Jews, did not signify a place wholly void of inhabitants, but a place in which they were fewer, and their habitations more dispersed, than in villages and cities. Hence we read of six cities with their villages, in the wilderness, Jos. xv. 61, 62; that Nabal dwelt in the wilderness of Paran, 1 Sam. xxv. 1, 2; be thankful for, and duly improve, what is made || and Joab had his house in the wilderness, 1 Kings known to us. Came John-The son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, who had lived for several years retired in the wilderness of Judea: the Baptist-So called, either because he was the first who, by God's command, baptized penitents, or because by him God instituted the ordinance of baptism. For, admitting that the Jews received proselytes by baptism, yet he baptized Jews themselves, and from his time the ordinance of baptism must be dated. Before Christ's entering upon the first part of his work, that of declaring the will of God, was recorded, it was necessary that the office of John should be spoken of, because he was his har- | Christ, on the other hand, who entered upon his binger, or forerunner, and proclaimed his coming beforehand; and because, at the time of John's baptizing Jesus, the Holy Ghost visibly descended ii. 34. John began his preaching in the desert, in which he had been brought up, Luke i. 80, as Jesus, in like manner, began his in Galilee, Acts x. 37. There was, however, this difference between them, that Christ preached in Galilee, a country the most populous of any in that neighbourhood, but John in the desert, that is, in a place but thinly inhabited, and little cultivated. The former of which was suitable to the benignity of our Saviour, and the latter to the austerity of his forerunner. Lastly, John, who had begun to preach in Judea, is imprisoned and put to death in the dominions of Herod; ministry in the tetrarchy of Herod, is crucified at Jerusalem, in Judea. Verse 2. Repent ye, &c.-Be sorry for your sins, John, the forerunner of Christ, Α. Μ. 4030. A. D. 26. 3 For this is he that was spoken of || ye the way of the Lord, make his A. M. 4030. by the Prophet Esaias, saying, The || paths straight. voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare 4 And f the same John & had his raiment of d Isa. xl. 3; Marki. 3; Luke iii. 4; John i. 23. Luke i. 76. Mark i. 6.52 Kings i. 8; Zech. xiii. 4. and amend your lives; for the original word, μετάνοειτε, here used, implies this. It properly signifies, says Beza, to be wise after the action, and so to grieve for a fault committed as to amend it, which, in Latin, is properly expressed by resipis-willing to learn. This very demand of repentance tist, then, and Christ took up this phrase, and used it as they found it, and gradually taught the Jews to affix right ideas to it, though it was a lesson which that worldly people were remarkably un cere. In this respect it differs from another Greek word, which the evangelists sometimes use, viz., μεταμελομαι, which simply signifies to be distressed, and showed that it was a spiritual kingdom which was spoken of; and that no wicked man, how politic or brave, how learned and renowned soever, could anxious after any thing done, but does not neces-possibly be a genuine subject of it. As the term sarily imply any change of mind, or reformation || kingdom implies the dominion of a king over his of life. Therefore Matthew uses the latter word subjects, so the kingdom of God, or heaven, is of Judas, the traitor, ch. xxvii. 3, but not the former. God's reigning in and over his rational creatures, Thus Christ and his apostles began their preaching, || whether angels or men; and, as to the latter, confirming John's doctrine. John taught other things also, but this he began with, and this was the main scope of his preaching. He did not give them any new precepts of life, but charged them | with breaking the law they had already, and called upon them to be sensible of it, sorry for it, and to reform their conduct: to lay aside the false opinions they had imbibed, whether from the Pharisees or Sadducees; to acknowledge, condemn, and lament | the faults they had committed, and to turn from all error and all sin, to true faith in, and piety toward, God. He that so deplores some sins as to commit others, or to repeat the commission of those he deplores, either counterfeits, or is ignorant of repentRepentance is, as Jerome speaks, secunda post naufragium tabula-a lucky plank after a ship- || wreck. The first degree of happiness is, not to sin; the second, to know our sins, and repent of them. For repentance not only implies sorrow for sin, or sincerely wishing it undone, but a change of mind, and reformation of life. The kingdom of heaven is at hand-As if he had said, God is about to appear in an extraordinary manner, to erect that kingdom spoken of by Daniel, (ch. ii. 44; and vii. 13, 14,) as the kingdom of the God of heaven, which he would set up, and give to the Son of man, making it finally victorious over all other kingdoms. This phrase, the kingdom of heaven, is used thirty times by St. Matthew. The other evangelists, and St. Paul, term it generally, the kingdom of God, and sometimes, the kingdom of Christ. These different phrases mean the same thing, and ance. whether on earth or in heaven, that is, whether of the church militant or the church triumphant. The expression properly signifies the gospel dispensation, in and by which subjects were to be gathered to God by his Son, and a society formed, which was to subsist first in more imperfect circumstances on earth, and afterward in complete perfection and felicity in the world of glory. In some places of Scripture the phrase more particularly signifies the former, and denotes the state of Christ's kingdom on earth, as Matt. xiii., especially ver. 41, 47; Matt. xx. 1; and sometimes it signifies only that most blessed state of things which shall take place after the resurrection, when God will be all in all. See 1 Cor. vi. 9; and xv. 50. But it generally includes both; and what is closely connected therewith, God's subduing, or executing judgment upon his and his people's enemies. For God's regal power is exercised in delivering, assisting, defending, and rewarding all his faithful subjects, and in warning, punishing, and destroying his obdurate enemies. This latter particular, namely, the punishing and destroying his enemies, seems, at least, to be partly meant in this passage, as appears by the context. For, to enforce his doctrine of repentance, he warns them of approaching wrath that would speedily come upon the impenitent, verses 7 and 10, the executing of which wrath, first upon the unbelieving Jews, and then upon the persecuting Gentiles, is elsewhere represented as the coming of the Son of man in his kingdom. Verse 3. For this is he, &c. ----These may be the were in familiar use among the Jews, as plainly ap-words of John himself, (comp. John i. 22, 23,) but pears from divers passages of the gospels. They seem to have borrowed them from the above-mentioned passages in the book of Daniel, which they wholly misunderstood and misinterpreted, inferring from them that God would erect a temporal kingdom the seat of which would be at Jerusalem, which would become, instead of Rome, the capital of the world. The expected sovereign of this kingdom, they learned, from Daniel, to call the Son of man, by it is more likely that they are the words of the evangelists; spoken of by the Prophet Esaias, saying, The voice, &c. Isaiah, in the passage referred to, ch. xl. 3, &c., is to be understood as speaking first, though not principally, concerning the Jews returning from the Babylonish captivity, as appears from the preceding chapter. As, however, the prophet intended, under the emblem of that deliverance of God's people, to shadow out a re which title they understood the promised Messiah, demption of an infinitely higher and more importor the Anointed One of God. Both John the Bap- || ant nature, the evangelists, with the greatest proPreaching and appearance ST. MATTHEW. of John the Baptist priety, apply his words to the opening of the || sensual, and devilish disposition had taken posses gospel dispensation by the preaching of John, and to the introduction of the kingdom of the Messiah, who was to effect a much greater deliverance of the people of God, Gentiles as well as Jews, from the captivity of sin, and the power of death. And the same thing may be affirmed concerning many other passages of the prophets. See notes on Isa. xl. 3, 4. sion of their minds and hearts, even the whole spirit of the world, and obstructed the entrance of Christ's spiritual kingdom into them and among them. It was necessary, therefore, that these hinderances should be removed out of the way, that they might become the true people and followers of the Messiah. Verse 4. And the same John-The following de This expression, The voice of one crying, is as scription of John is added, that it might appear he much as to say, A herald is at hand proclaiming. || did not live in obscurity, but was sufficiently known The word crying, implies that John's testimony | to all: had his raiment of camel's hair-Not, as concerning Christ was uttered, not secretly, negli-some have supposed, a camel's skin, raw and ungently, or doubtfully, but openly and publicly, dressed, but a kind of sackcloth, coarse and rough, freely, expressly, and resolutely, with a fervent spirit, and an audible, or strong voice. In the wilderness-These words are generally considered as connected with the preceding, so as to signify that John preached in the wilderness of Judea; and some interpret the expression figuratively as well as literally, and by the wilderness of Judea, understand the desert state of the Jewish Church at that time, destitute of religious culture, and the trees and fruits of righteousness. But Bishop Lowth connects Isaiah's words with the following clause, and translates them, A voice crieth: In the wilderness prepare ye the way of Jehovah, which he thus interprets: "The prophet hears a crier giving orders, by solemn proclamation, to prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; to remove all obstructions before Jehovah marching through the desert; made of the raw long hair of camels, and not of their fine and soft hair, dressed and spun into thread. The difference between these two is as great as that between flax rude or unprepared, and the same dressed or spun; or between that which we now call hair cloth, made of undressed hair, and camlet, that is made of it when it is softened, and spun, and prepared; in imitation of which, though made of wool, is the English camlet. Elijah seems to have wore a similar garment, and therefore was called a hairy man; which expression is supposed to refer to his clothing rather than his body. Most of the ancient prophets wore such garments, whence we read of the false prophets putting on a rough garment to deceive, Zech. xiii. 4; and of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth, Rev. vi. 12; and xi. 3. And a leathern girdle about his loins-In through the wild, uninhabited, and unpassable coun- || this respect, also, being like Elijah, in whose spirit try;" the idea, he thinks, "being taken from the practice of the eastern monarchs, who, whenever they entered upon an expedition, or took a journey, especially through desert countries, sent harbingers before them to prepare all things for their passage, and pioneers to open the passes, to level the ways, and to remove all impediments." Thus John the Baptist, the harbinger of Christ, who was God manifest in the flesh, is sent to prepare his way before him, by calling the people to repentance and || to faith in him, their great Redeemer and Saviour. | Make his paths straight-The paths of our God. Remove all obstructions out of his way, particularly all sin and unbelief, all carnal desires and worldly views, affections, and expectations, that your Saviour and your King may have a ready passage, and free access to your hearts, and may there erect his spiritual kingdom of righteousness, and power he came, Mal. iv. 5; Luke i. 17. Hereby, as also by his spare diet, he gave an example of repentance, and of his expectation of a heavenly kingdom. And his meat was locusts-The insects called locusts are undoubtedly intended, a kind of large-winged grasshoppers. See Rev. ix. 3, 7, 9. It is true, according to Sandys (Trav. p. 183) and many others, it appears there is, in these parts, a shrub termed the locust tree, the buds of which resemble asparagus; yet it is not probable that this is here meant, nor the wild fruits of any trees, nor the tops of herbs and plants, as some, both ancients and moderns, have supposed; because the original word here used, in the LXX. and elsewhere, generally signifies the animal which we call a locust, which it is certain the law allowed the Jews to eat, and which, Pliny assures us, made a considerable part of the food of the Parthians and Ethiopians. Dr. peace, and joy in, and by, the Holy Ghost; and may || Shaw tells us that when sprinkled with salt and rule your lives, your whole conversation and conduct by his righteous and holy laws. Though this could only be done by divine grace, and it is grace which prepares for further grace, yet as man must concur with God, and be a worker together with him, John with propriety calls on the people thus to prepare the Lord's way, that his grace might not be received in vain. The words imply that they were unprepared for receiving the Messiah and his salvation, which indeed they were in every sense, being neither in a fit disposition to relish, or even understand, his doctrine, to be convinced by his miracles, receive his Spirit, follow his example, rely on his mediation, or become his subjects. An earthly, || fried they taste much like the river cray-fish. See his excellent Travels, p. 258. And wild honeySuch as, in those parts, was often found in hollow trees, or in the clefts of the rocks, 1 Sam. xiv. 26; Judg. xiv. 8; Psa. lxxxi. 16. John used such a diet and such clothing as was cheap and easily obtained. He drank no wine, and frequently fasted, not through poverty, for he was the only son of a priest, but of his own free-will, as well that his severe and mortified manner of life might correspond with his doctrine, which enjoined frequent fasting to his disciples, as that in this way he might fortify both his body and mind, and prepare himself to undergo dangers, imprisonment, and death undauntedly. As |