The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 39

n.nceetry. Show that there ie thie common interest in JeSl:e, and it is fully met, and met in euch a way ae to secure 11 supreme interest in him. II. 'l'llE BACDED 1111ss10N OF GENEALOGIES, They become proofs of the Messiahship of Jesus. Prophecy fixed one condition, Messiah would belong to the royal house of David. Now, observe that during Christ's life this was never once disputed. 'l'he Sanhedrin kept the public archives; and though Herod the Great sought out and burnt 1111 the family registers he could, the enemies of Christ never attempted to disprove bis claim to belong to the royal race. Evidently the public genealogies confronted them and served this sacred purpose. Ulla, a rabbi of the third century, says, "Jesus wa.:i treated in an exceptional way, because he was of the royal race."-R. 'l'. Ver. 1.-Messiah's Sonships. The writer of the Epi~tle to the Hebrews, in a most significant and emphatic way, points out the distinct feature of the last Divine revela- tion: "God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by <livers portions and in divers manners, bath at the end of theso days spoken unto us in his Son ( iv 11/qi)." Son ship declaring Fatherhood in God is the very essence of the reve- lation in Christ. That point is illustrated in the genealogies in a very striking way. Jesus is set forth as the Son of David; he is more, he is the Son of Abraham; he is more, he is the Son of Adam; he is more, he is ev~n the Son of God. If this stem~ to be less prominent in Matthew's descending genealogy, it is very prominent in Luke's ascending one. Putting all these Sonships together, we get the following impressions concerning the claims of Jesus. I. HE WAS TltUE KING, "Son of David;" lineal descendant of King David. With actual, natural, legitimate right to the sovereignty of David's land. In our Lord'3 time there was no other claiwant to David's throne. Herod would have made short work in dealing with any such claimant. He tried to destroy the Child-King Jesus. Jesus was David's legitimate and only Heir. II. HE WAS TRUE JEW, "Son of Abraham." This was indeed involved in his beinl); "Son of David," since David wns a son of Abraham; but for the satisfacti•1n of the Jews the Abrahamic descent is as3ured. "Salvation is of the Jews." Messiah must come in the Abrahamic line. He must be the " Seed of Abraham," in whom all nations of the earth are to be blessed. III. HE WAS TRUE MAN. "Son of Adam." Luke, writing for Gentiles, goes beyond all Jewish limitations, and sets forth the true, proper, common humanity of Christ, and the interest of all humanity in him. For if" salvation is of the Jew," it ig salva- tion for the whole world. "God so loved the world." Jesus belongs to the Jewish race, and that is important. lie is the Crown and Flowering of that race. But Jesus belongs to humanity, and that is more important. He is the Hope of the human race; the "Life and Light of men." _ IV. HE WAS D1vmE MAii. "Son of God." There is a sense in which this may be said of every man; there is a special sense in which it is said of Christ. He brings a new force of Divine life to start a new spiritual mce, even as Adam had a s1,ccial Divine life to start a human race. "In him was life."-R. 'f. Vere. 3, 5.-Strange linlcs in genealogical chains. It must strike every reader ns singular, that the women introduced in the genealogies are of doubtful character or of foreign relations. "'l.'he mention of the four women, Tamar, l'!nhab, Iluth, and Ilath- sheba, in such a pedigree is very significant. Tamar, the forgotten one, twice left a childless widow; Rahab, not only of the accursed seed of the Cann.anites, but more- over a harlot; Ruth, also a long-childless widow, and a stranger, o.n,l born of the stock of r.foab, tbat nation of incestuous origin, forbidden to enter the house of the Lonl unto the tenth generation; and lastly, the wife of Uriah, tho very mention of whom, under this designation, only draws attention to her sin ;-all these arc seen incorpora!ed iuto the line of the children of Abraham, nay, more, into tho holy genealogy of Chi ist." What can it be intended that these strange links should teach us? I. MAN'S WILFUL:SEBB IS NOT ALLOWED TO HINDER Goo's PU!IPOSES. Marriage of Jews beyond the limits of the nation was strictly forbidden; and such marriages were 11. fruitful source of evil, as is illustrated in the times of l3alaam and of Nehemiah. ,ve can clearly see man•~ wilfulness in the marriugcs of Ilahab and Ruth, who wore 26 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [en. 1, 1-26.