Joseph therefore being risen, took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the room of Herod his father, he durst not go thither; but being admonished from heaven in a dream, he retired into Galilee, 23 and went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what had been said by the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazarene. ver. 23. Judg. xiii. 5. Isa. xi. 1. This is a Hebrew expression, of which we have given the sense. See 1 Kings xix. 10. 14. Exod. iv. 19. The angel seems to allude to this last passage. v. 22. Archelaus.] Who was the sixth son of Herod, and the most cruel of all those that survived him. He caused 3000 citizens to be murdered in the temple. The Evangelist says here that he reigned. Herod indeed appointed him, in his will, his successor, and bestowed upon him the regal authority; but Augustus gave him only the title of ethnarch, or prince of the nation, of which however he deprived him afterwards, and sent him into banishment for his tyranny and cruelty. Joseph. Antiq. 1. xvii. 15. Into Galilee.] Which belonged to the jurisdiction of Antipas, one of the sons of Herod, who was himself afterwards called Herod. See Matt. xiv. 1. V. 23. Nazareth.] A small town of lower Galilee, near the frontiers of the tribes of Zebulon and Issachar. By the prophets.] That is, by some one of the prophets. Thus, Judg. xii. 7. the cities of Gilead are put for one of the cities of Gilead. He shall be called a Nazarene.] As these words are not expressly found in any one of the prophets, St. Chrysostom supposed that the Evangelist had taken them out of some prophecy which is now lost. They seem however to be extant, Judg. xiii. 5. and perhaps St. Matthew looking upon Sampson as a type of the Messiah, alluded to that passage. Or else it may be supposed, that the Evangelist had an eye to Isa. xi. 1. where the Messiah is styled the Metzer, or Branch, from whence the word Nazareth is derived. Such allusions to words as these are very frequent in the sacred writings. The Jews and heathens were wont to call Jesus Christ a Nazarene by way of scorn and contempt, Mark i. 24. xiv. 67. John xviii. 5, 7. Acts vi. 14. xxiv. 5. But the Christians were proud of that name, John i. 45. Acts ii. 22. iii. 6. iv. 10. and Jesus Christ sometimes styled himself Jesus of Nazareth, Acts xxii. 8. CHAPTER III. John the Baptist preaches repentance and baptizes, 1-6. God's judgments upon the impenitent and unbelieving Jews, 7-12. Baptism of Jesus Christ, 13—17. 1 IN those days appeared John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea in this manner: 2 Repent, ver. 1. Luke i. 80. iii. 2. John i. 28. v. 2. Mark i. 4. Malachi iv. Luke i. 16, 17. iii. 3. John i. 5, 23. 5, 6. V. 1. In those days.] That is, while Jesus was yet at Nazareth, where he dwelt till he entered on his public ministry. He was then in the 30th year of his age. See Luke iii. 1, 2. It is usual with authors to denote the times they are speaking of in an indeterminate manner. John the Baptist.] Gr. or the Baptizer. This name was given him, because baptizing was one of his chief functions, v. 6. Wilderness of Judea.] It was not a place wholly void of inhabitants, but hilly, not so fruitful or so well inhabited as the rest of Judea, though there were several cities therein. Joshua reckons six. See Jos. xv. 61, 62. St. John was born, and had been brought up in this wilderness. Luke i. 39, 40. v. 2. Repent.] preaching. This is only the substance and result of his The kingdom of heaven.] That is, the kingdom of God, according to the style of the Hebrews, who frequently used the word heaven to denote God himself who dwells there. Hence what is here by St. Matthew called the kingdom of heaven, is by St. Mark and St. Luke named the kingdom of God, Mark i. 15. Luke vi. 20. The kingdom of heaven signifies then here. The kingdon of God which was founded and established by Jesus Christ; and this expression is grounded on Dan. . 44. and vii. 13, 14, Now as the kingdom of heaven was to be opened by the preaching of the gospel, John the Baptist rightly says, that it was at hand, since Jesus Christ entered on his public ministry about six months after. Luke iii. 2, 3. See Dr. Whitby on this verse. for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 It is of him that the prophet Isaiah spake, when he said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness is heard: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths level. 4 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair, with a leathern girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then came to him the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Heb. xi. 37. v. 5. Mark i. 5. Luke ver. 3. Isai. xl. 3. Mark i. 3. Luke i. 76. iii. 4, 5. v. 4. Mark i. 6., 2 Kings i. 8. Zech. xiii. 4. iii. 3, 7. V. 3. It is of him.] viz. of John. This is a reflection the Evangelist makes. Prepare the way.] See Isai. xl. 3. This prophecy seems to relate in its primary and original signification to the return of the Jews to Jerusalem after they had been set at liberty by Cyrus; but it also belonged in a typical sense which was as much as the former intended by the Holy Ghost to John the Baptist, (See John i. 23.) considered as preparing the Jews to receive Jesus Christ, either by exhorting them to repentance, or by testifying that Jesus was the Messiah. See John i. 31. Luke i. 76, 77. and Matt. xi. 10. Level.] Gr. Make his paths straight or level. V. 4. Of Camel's hair.] The Jews used to wear hair, or coarse garments, in times of sorrow and humiliation. See Matt. xi. 21. The Nazarites did the same till they had fulfilled their vow, it was also a dress that was sometimes worn by prophets. Zech. xiii. 4. 2 Kings i. 8. Rev. iv. 12. and xi. 3. And in all these respects it suited John the Baptist, as he preached repentance, as he was a prophet, and as he imitated the austerity which was practised by the Nazarites. A leathern girdle.] As some of the old prophets, and in particular Elijah, whom John the Baptist represented in habit as well as in spirit and office. See 2 Kings i. 8. comp. Heb. xi. 37. Matt. xi. 14. Locusts.] The eating of locusts was allowed by the law. Lev. xi. 22. Wild honey.] Which he found in the holes of rocks and trees. Or else it was a kind of honey, which is found in Syria, on the leaves of trees, like dew. v. 5. Of the whole country round about Jordan.] As the river Jordan runs through a vast tract of land, it cannot be supposed that all they that lived near it came to John's baptism. By all the region round about Jordan, St. Matthew therefore means some of those countries near Jordan which bordered upon Judea, as the plain or of all Judea, and of the whole country round about Jordan, 6 and confessing their sins, were baptized by him in Jordan. 7 But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said to them, Generation of vipers, who has warned you to fly from the ver. 6. Mark i. 4, 5. v. 7. Matt. xii. 34. xxiii. 33. Luke iii. 7. Rom. v. 9. 1 Thess. i. 10. Jordan, which is by the Seventy called the country about Jordan. Compare the Septuagint with the Hebrew in the following passages, Gen. xix. 17, 25. xiii. 10, 11, 12. 2 Chron. iv. 17. v. 6. Confessing their sins.] That is, they acknowledge they were great sinners, they repented of their offences, and promised to forsake them. This confession of sins was absolutely required as a condition without which there could be no expiation, Lev. xvi. 21. nor remission of them, 1 John i. 9. If those that were baptized had committed any great crime, or scandalous offence, they might make a public and open confession of it, as appears from Acts xix. 18. Were baptized.] Baptism was an ancient ceremony performed by the Jews at the admission of their proselytes. John administered it to the Jews themselves, thereby giving them to understand, that at the opening of the Christian œconomy, they were to look upon themselves no otherwise than as proselytes, and that they had as much need of repentance as the heathens. For baptism was not only a pledge and assurance to those that received it, of the remission of their offences, but, upon the administering of it, they also bound and engaged themselves to lead holy and unblamable lives; baptism was an open profession of this engagement. 1 Pet. iii. 21. v. 7. Pharisees]. A Jewish sect so called from the Hebrew word Pharas, that signifies separated or set apart, because they distinguish themselves from the rest of the Jews by pretending to greater degrees of holiness and piety than the generality of them did, and by some particular observances. For an account of their rise and tenets, see Joseph. Antiq. 1. xiii. 9. (and especially Dr. Prideaux Conn.) Sadducees.] Another Jewish sect so named from Sadoc the founder of it. For an account of their rise and notions, see Joseph. ibid. and Matt. xxii. 23. Coming to his Baptism.] It is manifest from the reproof of John the Baptist, that they did not come to it with true faith, or else that they fancied that baptism alone could procure them the remission of their sins. See Luke vii. 29. and Matt. xxi. 25. from which passages it appears, that the Pharisees did not receive the baptism of John. It is also evident from Luke iii. 7. that there were among the multitude, some persons that were in no better dispositions than the Pharisees since John the Baptist gives them the same reproof. H H wrath to come? 8 Produce therefore fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and pretend not to say within yourselves; we have Abraham for our father, for I declare to you, that out of these stones God is able to raise children to Abraham. 10 The axe is already laid at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore which bears not good fruit, shall be hewn down and cast into the fire. 11 As for me, I baptize you with water to bring you to repentance; but He that comes after me is superior to me, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He it is that shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Acts. xiii. 26. ver. 8. Luke iii. 8. v. 9. Isa. li. 1, 2, 3, 4. Luke iii. 8. John viii. 33, Matt. viii. 11. xv. 2, 6. 1. Luke iii. 16. 39. v. 10. Matt. vii. 19. Luke iii. Pet. iv. 17, 18. Deut. xx. 20. John i. 15, 26, 33. vii. 33, 39. The wrath to come.] That is, not only from the Gehenna, Matt. v. 29. but also from the dreadful calamities that were ready to fall on the Jewish nation. V. 8. Worthy.] i. e. Do such works as may manifest the truth and sincerity of your repentance. See Acts xxvi. 20. and comp. Eph. v. 9. v. 9. To raise children, &c.] This is an allusion to Isa. li. 1, 2, 3, 4. St. John hints here at the calling in of the Gentiles, which was occasioned by the unbelief of the Jews. V. 10. The axe, &c.] See Isa. x. 33, 34. These words contain a prophecy of the total ruin and destruction of the temple, the city, and the nation of the Jews, which happened forty years after the death of Jesus Christ. v. 11. As for me.] This is the answer John made to the question that was put to him, Whether he was the Christ, or no? John i. 20. In it he shews the difference there was between the Messiah and him. With water-with the Holy Ghost-with fire.) Gr. In the water— in the Holy Ghost-&c. These words do very well express the ceremony of baptism, which was at first performed by plunging the whole body in water, as also the copious effusion of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. To bring you to repentance.] Gr. for repentance. For they that were baptized, did not only declare that they repented of their sins, but they bound themselves never to commit the like again, and to lead a life of holiness and virtue; which is the meaning of John in this place. And this is the new life, Rom. vi. 4. which people engaged themselves to, when baptism was administered to them. |