Zondervan NIV Matthew Henry Commentary

Matthew Henry

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9780310874409
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Reference

Time has sealed the reputation of Matthew Henry's classic commentary as a rich source of insight into God's word. Four centuries after its first publication, it remains one of the best-loved, most popular commentaries ever written. However, while its wisdom is timeless, the English language has changed much through the years. Words that meant one thing in Matthew Henry's day have taken on different meanings today. In addition, Henry's often wordy reflections are generations removed from the crisp style that communicates most effectively to contemporary readers. The Zondervan NIV Matthew Henry Commentary is a masterful response to these concerns. It delivers the heart and soul of Henry's incomparable writings in a style that is easy to read and understand. -Dr. Leslie Church's meticulous abridgment retains the essential content of the original work. - Easily misunderstood words have been replaced with modern ones while keeping Henry's style. - Use of the New International Version (NIV) instead of the King James Version makes this edition fully compatible with today's most widely used Bible translation. In one volume, here is a wealth of exposition, metaphors, analogies, and illustrations, ideal for - Personal devotions - Bible study - Sermon and lesson preparation

AN EXPOSITION, WITH PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS, OF

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW

I. The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; so this second part of the Holy Bible is entitled: The new covenant. But, when it is (as here) spoken of as Christ’s act and deed, it is most properly rendered a testament, for he is the testator, and it comes into force by his death (Heb. 9. 16, 17). All the grace contained in this book is owing to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour; and, unless we consent to him as our Lord, we cannot expect any benefit by him as our Saviour. This is called a new testament, to distinguish it from that which was given by Moses. How carefully do we preserve, and with what attention and pleasure do we read, the last will and testament of a friend, who has in it left us a fair estate, and, with it, high expressions of his love to us! How precious then should this testament of our blessed Saviour be to us, which secures to us all his unsearchable riches! It is his testament; for though, as is usual, it was written by others, yet he dictated it; and the night before he died, in the institution of his supper, he signed, sealed, and published it, in the presence of twelve witnesses. In it is declared the whole will of God concerning our salvation, Acts 20. 27.

II. The Four Gospels. Gospel means good news, or glad tidings; and this history of Christ’s coming into the world to save sinners is, without doubt, the best news that ever came from heaven to earth; the angel gave it this title (Luke 2. 10),

—I bring you good news; I bring the gospel to you. And the prophet foretold it, Isa. 52. 7; 61. 1. Gospel is an old Saxon word; it is God’s spell or word. The four books which contain the history of the Redeemer we commonly call the four gospels, and the inspired penmen of them evangelists, or gospel writers. These four gospels were early and constantly received by the primitive church, and read in Christian assemblies, as appears by the writings of Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, who lived little more than a hundred years after the ascension of Christ. A Harmony of these four evangelists was compiled by Tatian about that time, which he called,

—The Gospel out of the four. In the third and fourth centuries there were gospels forged by different sects, and published, one under the name of St Peter, another of St Thomas, another of St Philip, etc. But they were never acknowledged by the church.

III. The Gospel according to St Matthew. The penman was by birth a Jew, by calling a tax collector, until Christ commanded his attendance, and then he left the tax collector’s booth, to follow him, and was one of those who accompanied him the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out, beginning from John’s baptism to the time that he was taken up, Acts 1. 21, 22. He was therefore a competent witness of what he has here recorded. Doubtless, it was written in Greek, as the other parts of the New Testament were; not in that language which was unique to the Jews, whose church and state were near an end, but in that which was common to the world, and in which the knowledge of Christ would be most effectively transmitted to the nations of the earth.

CHAP. 1

This evangelist begins with the account of Christ’s parentage and birth, the ancestors from whom he descended, and the manner of his entry into the world, for it was foretold that he should be the son of David, and should be born of a virgin. I. His ancestry from Abraham in forty-two generations, three fourteens, ver. 1-17. II. An account of the circumstances of his birth, to show that he was born of a virgin, ver. 18-25.

Verses 1-17

Concerning this genealogy of our Saviour,

I. The title of it. It is a record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, of his ancestors according to the flesh; or, It is the narrative of his birth. It is

—a book of Genesis. The Old Testament begins with the book of the generation of the world, but the glory of the New Testament in this excells, that it begins with a record of the genealogy of him who made the world.

II. The principal intention of it. It is not an endless or needless genealogy. It is like ancestry given in evidence, to prove a title, and make out a claim; the intent is to prove that our Lord Jesus is the son of David, and the son of Abraham, of that nation and family out of which the Messiah was to arise. Abraham and David were, in their day, the great trustees of the promise relating to the Messiah. It was promised to Abraham that Christ should descend from him (Gen. 12.3;22.18), and to David that he should descend from him (2 Sam. 7.12;Ps.89.3ff., 132.11). Christ is here first called the son of Da vid; because under that title he was commonly spoken of, and expected, among the Jews. They who acknowledged him to be the Christ, called him the son of David, ch. 15. 22; 20.31; 21.15. This, therefore, the evangelist undertakes to make out, that he is not only a son of David, but that son of David on whose shoulders the government was to be; not only a son of Abraham, but that son of Abraham who was to be the father of many nations.

In calling Christ the son of David, and the son of Abraham, he shows that God is faithful to his promise, and will make good every word that he has spoken; and this,

1. Though the performance may be long deferred. Delays of promised mercies, though they exercise our patience, do not weaken God’s promise.

2. Though it begins to be despaired of. This son of David, and son of Abraham, who was to be the glory of his Father’s house, was born when the offspring of Abraham was a despised people, recently become subject to the Roman yoke, and when the house of David was buried in obscurity; for Christ was to be a root out of a dry ground.

III. The particular series of it, drawn in the direct line from Abraham downward, according to the genealogies recorded in the beginning of the books of Chronicles.

Some particulars in this genealogy.

1. Among the ancestors of Christ who had brothers, generally he descended from a younger brother; such Abraham himself was, and Jacob, and Judah, and David, and Nathan, and Rhesa; to show that the pre-eminence of Christ did not come from the primo-geniture of his ancestors, but from the will of God, who exalts those of low degree, and gives greater honour to the parts that lacked it.

2. Among the sons of Jacob, besides Judah from whom Shiloh came, notice is here taken of his brothers: Judah and his brothers. No mention is made of Ishmael the son of Abraham, or of Esau the son of Isaac; because they were shut out of the church; whereas all the children of Jacob were taken in and therefore are mentioned in this genealogy.

3. Perez and Zerah, the twin sons of Judah, are likewise both named, though Perez only was Christ’s ancestor, for the same reason that the brothers of Judah are taken notice of.

4. There are four women, and only four, named in this genealogy; two of them were originally strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, Rahab a Canaanitess, and a prostitute besides, and Ruth the Moabitess; for in Jesus Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew; those who are strangers and foreigners are welcome, in Christ, to the citizenship of the saints. The other two were adulteresses, Tamar and Bathsheba; which was a further mark of humiliation put on our Lord Jesus. He took upon him the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom. 8.3), and takes even great sinners, at their repentance, into the nearest relation to himself.

5. Though different kings are here named, yet none is expressly called a king but David (v. 6), because with him the covenant of royalty was made. The Messiah is therefore said to inherit the throne of his father David, Luke 1. 32.

6. In the ancestry of the kings of Judah, between Jehoram and Uzziah (v. 8), there are three left out, namely, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah; and therefore when it is said, Jehoram was the father of Uzziah, it is meant, according to the idiom of the Hebrew language, that Uzziah was lineally descended from him.

7. Some observe what a mixture there was of good and bad in the succession of these kings; as for instance (v. 7, 8), wicked Rehoboam was the father of wicked Abijah; wicked Abijah was the father of good Asa; good Asa was the father of good Jehoshaphat; good Jehoshaphat was the father of wicked Jehoram. Grace does not run in the blood, neither does reigning sin. God’s grace is his own, and he gives or withholds it as he pleases.

8. The captivity in Babylon is mentioned as a remarkable period in this line, v. 11, 12. All things considered, it was a wonder that the Jews were not lost in that captivity, as other nations have been; but this intimates the reason why the streams of that people were kept to run pure through that dead sea, because from them, with regard to his human nature, Christ was to come.

9. Josiah is said to father Jeconiah and his brothers (v. 11); by Jeconiah here is meant Jehoiakim, who was the firstborn of Josiah. When Jeconiah is said to have been recorded as childless (Jer. 22. 30), it is explained thus: None of his offspring will prosper. Salatiel is here said to father Zerubbabel, whereas Salatiel fathered Pedaiah, and he fathered Zerubbabel (1 Chron. 3. 19): but, as before, the grandson is often called the son.

10. The line is brought down, not to Mary the mother of our Lord, but to Joseph the husband of Mary (v. 16); for the Jews always reckoned their genealogies by the males; yet Mary was of the same tribe and family with Joseph, so that, both by his mother and by his supposed father, he was of the house of David.

11. The centre in whom all these lines meet is Jesus, who is called Christ, v. 16. This is he that was so importunately desired, so impatiently expected. They who do the will of God are in a more honourable relation to Christ than those who were akin to him according to the flesh, ch. 12.50. Jesus is called Christ, that is, the Anointed, the same with the Hebrew name Messiah.

Lastly, The general summary of all this genealogy we have, v. 17, where it is summed up in three fourteens, distingushed by remarkable periods. In the first fourteen, we have the family of David rising, and looking forth as the morning; in the second, we have it flourishing in its meridian lustre; in the third, we have it declining and growing less and less, dwind-ling into the family of a poor carpenter, and then Christ shines forth out of it, the glory of his people Israel.

Verses 18-25

The mystery of Christ’s incarnation is to be adored, not pried into. If we do not know the path of the wind, nor how the body is formed in a mother’s womb (Eccles. 11.5), much less do we know how the blessed Jesus was formed in the womb of the blessed virgin. Some circumstances attending the birth of Christ are not in Luke, though it is recorded at more length there. Here we have,

I. Mary’s espousals to Joseph. Mary, the mother of our Lord, was pledged to be married to Joseph, not completely married, but contracted. We read of a man who was pledged to a woman and not married her, Deut. 20.7. Christ was born of a virgin, but a betrothed virgin,

1. To show respect for the marriage state, and to recommend it as honourable among all. Who more highly favoured than Mary was in her espousals?

2. To save the credit of the blessed virgin, which otherwise would have been exposed. It was fit that her conception should be protected by a marriage, and so justified in the eye of the world.

3. That the blessed virgin might have one to be a suitable helper for her. Some think that Joseph was now a widower, and that those who are called the brothers of Christ (ch. 13. 55), were Joseph’s children by a former wife. Joseph was a righteous man, she a virtuous woman. We may also learn, from this example, that it is good to enter into the married state with deliberation, and not hastily—to preface the marriage with a contract. It is better to take time to consider before than to find time to repent after.

II. Her pregnancy with the promised offspring; before they came together, she was found to be with child, which really was through the Holy Spirit. Now we may well imagine, what perplexity this might justly cause the blessed virgin. She herself knew the divine original of this conception; but how could she prove it? She would be dealt with as a prostitute. Never was any daughter of Eve so dignified as the Virgin Mary was, and yet in danger of falling under the charge of one of the worst crimes; yet we do not find that she tormented herself about it; but, being conscious of her own innocence, she kept her mind calm and at ease, and committed her cause to him who judges righteously.

III. Joseph’s perplexity, and his care what to do in this case. He is loth to believe so ill a thing of one whom he believed to be so good a woman; and yet the matter, as it is too bad to be excused, is also too plain to be denied.

1. The extremity which he sought to avoid. He did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He might have done so, Deut. 22. 23, 24. How different was the spirit which Joseph displayed from that of Judah, who in a similar case hastily passed that severe sentence, Bring her out and have her burned to death! Gen. 38. 24. How good is it to think on things, as Joseph did here! Were there more of deliberation in our censures and judgments, there would be more of mercy and moderation in them.

Some persons of a rigorous temper would blame Joseph for his clemency: but it is here spoken of to his praise; because he was a righteous man, therefore he was not willing to expose her. He was a religious, good man; and therefore inclined to be merciful as God is, and to forgive as one that was forgiven. It becomes us, in many cases, to be gentle towards those who come under suspicion of having offended. That court of conscience which moderates the rigour of the law we call a court of equity. Those who are found faulty were perhaps overtaken in the fault, and are therefore to be restored with a spirit of meekness.

2. The expedient he found for avoiding this extremity. He had in mind to divorce her quietly, that is, to give a bill of divorce into her hand before two witnesses, and so to hush up the matter among themselves. The necessary censures of those who have offended ought to be managed without noise. Christian love and Christian prudence will hide a multitude of sins, and great ones, as far as may be done without having fellowship with ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• EDITOR’S PREFACE
• FOREWORD
• GENESIS
• EXODUS
• LEVITICUS
• NUMBERS
• DEUTERONOMY
• THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
• THE BOOK OF JUDGES
• THE BOOK OF RUTH
• THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL
• THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL
• THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS
• THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS
• THE FIRST BOOK OF CHRONICLES
• THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES
• THE BOOK OF EZRA
• THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH
• THE BOOK OF ESTHER
• THE BOOK OF JOB
• THE BOOK OF PSALMS
• THE PROVERBS
• THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES
• THE SONG OF SOLOMON
• THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH
• THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH
• THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH
• THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL
• THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET DANIEL
• THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET HOSEA
• THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JOEL
• THE PROPHECY OF AMOS
• THE PROPHECY OF OBADIAH
• THE BOOK OF JONAH
• THE PROPHECY OF MICAH
• THE PROPHECY OF NAHUM
• THE PROPHECY OF HABAKKUK
• THE PROPHECY OF ZEPHANIAH
• THE PROPHECY OF HAGGAI
• THE PROPHECY OF ZECHARIAH
• THE PROPHECY OF MALACHI
• THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW
• THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK
• THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE
• THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN
• THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
• THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS
• THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS
• THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS
• THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE GALATIANS
• THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS
• THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS
• THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS
• THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS
• THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS
• THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO TIMOTHY
• THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO TIMOTHY
• THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO TITUS
• THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO PHILEMON
• THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
• THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES
• THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER
• THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER
• THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN
• THE SECOND EPISTLE OF JOHN
• THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN
• THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JUDE
• THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN
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