The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 29

men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." faniah is often c:i.lled the evang~licnl prophet; in his prophecy we have the fore~hadowing of tho gospel, the good tidings of salvation; bis very name points to the Saviour; it is "Jesus" with tho elements reversed, it means" the salvation of Jeliovah." 'l'hs prophecy was uiven through him; but he was not the author of it, it camo from God. God had spok~n it, a_nd he would ma,~rn }t good. _II? had announced,, his will long ago, and at length tho time v,&S come. Now all this 1s como to pass, the angel said (for thcso words aro part of the message), "that it might be fulfilled." All this had come to pass that human nature might be cleansP.d by its union with the Divina nature in the Person of Christ. That great result was the end contemplated by the prophecy; to fulfil the prophecy, and to save the souls of men, was tho samo thing. lt was nu end worthy of n Divine intervention, worthy of an angel-messenger. All thi8, the nnnuncintiou the miraculous ~nception, all this is come to pass that his gracious purpose, announc;d _so long ago, m1gbt now be fulfilled. 2. The substance of the prophecy. 'l'hc Hebrew words mean literally, "The virgin is with child, and beareth a Son." The prophet is speaking of one virgin, one illustrious and unique, as Chrysostom says. 'l'he terms of the prophecy can be satisfied only by a miraculous conception, a supernatural birth. It is the sign which the Lord himself shall give-the sign of the Messiah, the sign of deliverance from sin and death. That marvellous birlh, foretold so solemnly, in such strange, startling language, was to be the beginning of the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God upon earth. For the virgin-born is the King, the King who must reign till all his enemies are put under his feet. And be is "God with us "-Immanuel. He has taken upon him the form of a servant; he is made in the likeness of men. He was from all eternity in the form of God, living in tliaL glory which he had with the Father before the world was. Now he is Immanuel," God with us," the Word incarnate. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." He has taken upon him our human natnre, that by the mysterious union of the human and Divine in the one Per- son of Christ our human na.ture might be cleansed from the dark stain of sin, and be created anew arter the image of God. God is with us-with us to redeem, to cleanse, to regenerate, to sanctify. He abideth in us if we are truly his, he in us and we in him. He is with us always even to the end of the world, ready to hear our prayer, ready to help us, ready to save us even to the uttermost; for through the wondrous miracle of the Incarnation he is ours and we are his, if we abide in his love. V. TnE HOLY NAME. 1. Joseph's obedience. All his doubts were dispelled, his anguish was gone, he was filled with a strange and awful joy. His betrothed was to be the mother of the Messiah. He was to care for her now, to watch over the infancy of the holy Child. He took unto him his wife; he respected her spotless purity; he lived with her in reverential awe. At last the promised Child was born. Joseph looked upon the heavenly face of the blessed Babe. '!'here is something very sweet in the calm face of an innocent infant. What a depth of celestial beauty must there Lave been in the smile of the infant Jesus! what a treasure of unspeakable joy must that holy Babe have been to Mary and Joseph! He called his name Jesus, in obedience to the angel's bidding. 2. Many had borne that name already. It is the Greek form of the common Hebrew name Josh'II,(],. 'l'he first Joshua of whom we read was called ori:c;inally Oshea or Hoshea; this name, which was also the name of the last King of Israel and of the first in order of the minor prophets, means "salvation." Moses added to it the sacred name, and called the son of Nun J choshua or Joshua, " the salvation of Jehovah." He fulfilled the prophecy contained in his name. He was steadfast in unswerving allegiance to Jehovah : ".As for me and my house," he said, " we will serve the Lord." He was the Lord'~ instrument in saving the people of Israel out of the bands of their enemiee. He ied them through the river Jordan, he fought their battles for them, he gave them rest in the promised land. In all this be was an eminent type of our Lord, who is the Captain of our salvation, who fought out the fearful conflict for us against the deadly enemy, who leads his people through the river of death into tho ~verla£ting rest. 'l'he name of their great leader naturally became common among the Jc:ws; it appears a«ain and ~gain under its various forms, Oshea, Hoshea, Jehoshun, Joshua. Jeshua, Jes°us. 3. But only the Bon of God fulfilled its blessed meaning. He was indeed the Salvation of Jehovah; be was Jehovah, God the Bon, come in his infi- nite tenderness, in his Di\'ine comras!'ion, to save bis r.,col)lc. "He shall save hi11 ,err, r. 1-25.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO F;T. MATTllEW. 15