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From: Micah 5:2-5a
The Messiah, the saviour who will be born in Bethlehem
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[2] But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
[3] Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in travail has brought forth; then the rest of his brethren shall return to the people of Israel.
[4] And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
Assyria repulsed
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[5] And this shall be peace, when the Assyrian comes into our land and treads upon our soil.
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Commentary:
5:2-4. The scenario, darkened for a moment in the previous three verses (4:9-5:1), becomes bright again with the announcement of a “ruler” or governor in Israel, who will be born (“come forth from”O Bethlehem, the city of David, a city in the region of “Ephrath” (Gen 35:16). The region is often distinguished from its leading city (cf. 1 Sam 17:12), but in some passages the region and the city are treated as one and the same (Gen 35:19).
There are many contrasts here, a typical feature of salvation oracles: the future king will have humble origins, for he will be born in a small town (“you … who are little” in v. 2 could also be translated as “you … who are least”); still, Bethlehem is not without honour, for it was the birthplace of David and is therefore the place that guaranteed one’s belonging to the line of David; this ruler comes from an ancient line, but to perceive his presence one must wait until “she who is in travail has brought forth” (v. 3); all he will do is tend his flock, yet the benefits of his rule will extend to the ends of the earth (v. 4). No contemporary king could match this description; the prophet is referring to the future Messiah-king. There are many elements in this passage that link it to the messianic passages in Isaiah (Is 7:14; 9:5-6; 11:1-4) and to passages about the future offspring of David (2 Sam 7:12-16; Ps 89:3).
Jewish tradition read this passage as a messianic prophecy, as can be seen from passages in the Talmud (Pesahim, 51, 1 and Nedarim, 39, 2). The New Testament contains clear references to it: for example, the verses in the Gospel of St John that report the opinion of Jesus’ contemporaries as to where the Messiah would come from: “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture said that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was? (Jn 7:40-42); but Matthew 2:4-6 is the main text that applies the prophecy to Jesus: the evangelist subtly ennobles the city of David (he says: “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah”, instead of Micah’s “who are little” or “least” – in order to enhance the figure of Jesus, the Messiah).
Going along with this interpretation in St Matthew, Christian tradition has seen the Micah passage as an announcement of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The Fathers developed many arguments to try to convince Jews that Jesus was the expected Messiah. For example, Tertullian wrote: “Since the children of Israel accuse us of grave error because we believe in Christ, who has come, let us show them from the Scriptures that the Christ who was foretold has come […]. He was born in Bethlehem in Judah, as the prophet foretold: But you, O Bethlehem, are by no means least . . . (v. 2)” (Adversus Iudaeos, 13). And St Irenaeus said: “In his day, the prophet Micah told us of the place where the Christ would be born: Bethlehem, in Judah. O Bethlehem . . . , who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth from me one who is to be ruler of Israel. Bethlehem is also in the homeland of David, and Christ comes from the line of David, not only because he was born of the Virgin, but because he was born in Bethlehem” (Demonstratio praedicationis apostolicae, 63).
5:5-6. “This [the Messiah who will be born in Bethlehem] shall be peace” (v. 5). In the same way as “Egypt” was synonymous with “bondage”, now Assyria has come to symbolize the oppressive nation. This oracle, then, comes prior to the appearance of Babylon on the horizon of the chosen people. A Christian reading of the passage sees in it a description of any crisis experienced by the people of God or by a sincere believer, who looks to his Lord for peace. Ephesians 2:13-14 echoes 5:4: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility.”
The Ancestry of Jesus Christ
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[1] The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham.
[2] Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, [3] and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, [4] and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahson, and Nahson the father of Salmon, [5] and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz due father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, [6] and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, [7] and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa, [8] and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, [9] and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, [10] and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, [11] and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
[12] And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, [13] and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, [14] and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Aching and Achim the father of Eliud, [15] and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, [16] and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
The Virginal Conception of Jesus, and His Birth
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[18] Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; [19] and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. [20] But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; [21] she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." [22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: [23] "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and His name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means God with us).
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Commentary:
1. This verse is a kind of title to St Matthew's entire Gospel. The promises God made to Abraham for the salvation of mankind (Gen 12:3) are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, as is Nathan's prophecy to King David of an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam 7:12-16).
The genealogy presented here by St Matthew shows Jesus' human ancestry and also indicates that salvation history has reached its climax with the birth of the Son of God through the working of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is the expected Messiah.
The genealogy is presented in a framework of three series, each consisting of fourteen links which show the progressive development of salvation history.
For the Jews (and for other Eastern peoples of nomadic origin) genealogical trees were of great importance because a person's identity was especially linked to family and tribe, with place of birth taking secondary importance. In the case of the Jewish people there was the added religious significance of belonging by blood to the chosen people.
In Christ's time each family still kept a careful record of its genealogical tree, since because of it people acquired rights and duties.
6. Four women are named in these genealogies--Tamar (cf. Gen 38; 1 Chron 2:4), Rahab (cf. Josh 2:6,17), Bathsheba (cf. 2 Sam 11:12, 24) and Ruth (cf. Book of Ruth). These four foreign women, who in one way or another are brought into the history of Israel, are one sign among many others of God's design to save all men.
By mentioning sinful people, God's ways are shown to be different from man's. God will sometimes carry out his plan of salvation by means of people whose conduct has not been just. God saves us, sanctifies us and chooses us to do good despite our sins and infidelities--and he chose to leave evidence of this at various stages in the history of our salvation.
11. The deportation to Babylon, described in 2 Kings 24-25, fulfilled the prophets' warning to the people of Israel and their kings that they would be punished for their infidelity to the commandments of the Law of God, especially the first commandment.
16. Jewish genealogies followed the male line. Joseph, being Mary's husband, was the legal father of Jesus. The legal father is on a par with the real father as regards rights and duties. This fact provides a sound basis for recognizing St Joseph as Patron of the whole Church, since he was chosen to play a very special role in God's plan for our salvation; with St Joseph as his legal father, Jesus the Messiah has David as his ancestor.
Since it was quite usual for people to marry within their clan, it can be concluded that Mary belonged to the house of David. Several early Fathers of the Church testify to this--for example, St Ignatius of Antioch, St Irenaeus, St Justin and Tertullian, who base their testimony on an unbroken oral tradition.
It should also be pointed out that when St Matthew comes to speak of the birth of Jesus, he uses an expression which is completely different from that used for the other people in the genealogy. With these words the text positively teaches that Mary conceived Jesus while still a virgin, without the intervention of man. 18. St. Matthew relates here how Christ was conceived (cf. Luke 1:25-38): "We truly honor and venerate (Mary) as Mother of God, because she gave birth to a person who is at the same time both God and man" (St. Pius V Catechism, I, 4, 7).
According to the provisions of the Law of Moses, engagement took place about one year before marriage and enjoyed almost the same legal validity. The marriage proper consisted, among other ceremonies, in the bride being brought solemnly and joyously to her husband's house (cf. Deuteronomy 20:7).
From the moment of engagement onwards, a certificate of divorce was needed in the event of a break in the relationship between the couple.
The entire account of Jesus' birth teaches, through the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 (which is expressly quoted in verses 22-23) that: 1) Jesus has David as His ancestor since Joseph is His legal father; 2) Mary is the Virgin who gives birth according to the prophecy; 3) the Child's conception without the intervention of man was miraculous.
19. "St. Joseph was an ordinary sort of man on whom God relied to do great things. He did exactly what the Lord wanted him to do, in each and every event that went to make up his life. That is why Scripture praises Joseph as `a just man'. In Hebrew a just man means a good and faithful servant of God, someone who fulfills the divine will (cf. Genesis 7:1; 18:23-32; Ezekiel 18:5ff.; Proverbs 12:10), or who is honorable and charitable toward his neighbor (cf. Tobias 7:6; 9:6). So a just man is someone who loves God and proves his love by keeping God's commandments and directing his whole life towards the service of his brothers, his fellow men" ([St] J. Escriva, Christ Is Passing By, 40).
Joseph considered his spouse to be holy despite the signs that she was going to have a child. He was therefore faced with a situation he could not explain. Precisely because he was trying to do God's will, he felt obliged to put her away; but to shield her from public shame he decided to send her away quietly.
Mary's silence is admirable. Her perfect surrender to God even leads her to the extreme of not defending her honor or innocence. She prefers to suffer suspicion and shame rather than reveal the work of grace in her. Faced with a fact which was inexplicable in human terms she abandons herself confidently to the love and providence of God. God certainly submitted the holy souls of Joseph and Mary to a severe trial. We ought not to be surprised if we also undergo difficult trials in the course of our lives. We ought to trust in God during them, and remain faithful to Him, following the example they gave us.
20. God gives His light to those who act in an upright way and who trust in His power and wisdom when faced with situations which exceed human understanding. By calling him the son of David, the angel reminds Joseph that he is the providential link which joins Jesus with the family of David, according to Nathan's messianic prophecy (cf. 2 Samuel 7:12). As St. John Chrysostom says: "At the very start he straightaway reminds him of David, of whom the Christ was to spring, and he does not wish him to be worried from the moment he reminds him, through naming his most illustrious ancestor, of the promise made to all his lineage" (Hom. on St. Matthew, 4).
"The same Jesus Christ, our only Lord, the Son of God, when He assumed human flesh for us in the womb of the Virgin, was not conceived like other men, from the seed of man, but in a manner transcending the order of nature, that is, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that the same person, remaining God as He was from eternity, became man, which He was not before" (St. Pius V Catechism, I, 4, 1).
21. According to the Hebrew root, the name Jesus means "savior". After our Lady, St. Joseph is the first person to be told by God that salvation has begun.
"Jesus is the proper name of the God-man and signifies `Savior'--a name given Him not accidentally, or by the judgment or will of man, but by the counsel and command of God" [...]. All other names which prophecy gave to the Son of God--Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (cf. Isaiah 9:6)--are comprised in this one name Jesus; for while they partially signified the salvation which He was to bestow on us, this name included the force and meaning of all human salvation" (St. Pius V Catechism, I, 3, 5 and 6).
23. "Emmanuel": the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, quoted in this verse, foretold about 700 years in advance that God's salvation would be marked by the extraordinary event of virgin giving birth to a son. The Gospel here, therefore, reveals two truths.
First, that Jesus is in fact the God-with-us foretold by the prophet. This is how Christian tradition has always understood it. Indeed the Church has officially condemned an interpretation denying the messianic sense of the Isaiah text (cf. Pius VI, Brief, Divina, 1779). Christ is truly God-with-us, therefore, not only because of His God-given mission but because He is God made man (cf. John 1:14). This does not mean that Jesus should normally be called Emmanuel, for this name refers more directly to the mystery of His being the Incarnate Word. At the Annunciation the angel said that He should be called Jesus, that is, Savior. And that was the name St. Joseph gave Him.
The second truth revealed to us by the sacred text is that Mary, in whom the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 is fulfilled, was a virgin before and during the birth itself. The miraculous sign given by God that salvation had arrived was precisely that a woman would be a virgin and a mother at the same time.
"Jesus Christ came forth from His mother's womb without injury to her maternal virginity. This immaculate and perpetual virginity forms, therefore, the just theme of our eulogy. Such was the work of the Holy Spirit, who at the conception and birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her while preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity" (St. Pius V Catechism, I, 4, 8).
25. St. John Chysostom, addressing himself to St. Joseph, comments: Christ’s conception was the work of the holy Spirit, but do not think that this divine economy had nothing to do with you. for although it is true you had no part in the generation of Christ, and that the Virgin remained inviolate, nevertheless, what pertains to a father (not injuring the honour of virginity) that do I give you—the naming of the child. “For ‘you shall call his name.’ although you have not generated him, you will act as a father to him. Hence it is that, beginning with giving him his name, I associate you intimately with the one who is to be born.” (Hom. On St. Matthew, 4)
Following the Greek text strictly, the New Vulgate version says: et non cognoscebat eam, donec peperit filium. The literal English translation is: “and he knew her not until she had borne a son.” The word donec (until) of itself does not direct our attention to what happened afterwards; it simply points out what has happened up to that moment, that is, the virginal conception of Jesus Christ by a unique intervention of God. We find the same word in John 9:18 where it says that the Pharisees did not believe in the miraculous cure of the man blind from birth “until” (donec) they called his parents. However, neither did they believe afterwards. Consequently, the word “until” does not refer to what happened later.
The Vulgate adds after filium the words suum primogentium, which in the Bible simply means “the first son”, without implying that there are any other children (cf, Exodus 13:2). This Latin variant gives no ground whatsoever for thinking that Our Lady had other children later. See the note on Luke 2:7.
[Note on Luke 2:7.
"First-born son": it is usual for Sacred Scripture to refer to the first male child as "the first-born" whether or not there were other brothers (cf., for example, Exodus 13:2; 13:13; Numbers 15:8; Hebrews 1:6). The same practice is to be found in ordinary speech; take, for example, this inscription dating from approximately the same time as Christ was born, which was found near Tell-el-Jedvieh (in Egypt) in 1922, which states that a woman named Arsinoe died while giving birth to "her first-born son". Otherwise, as St. Jerome explains in his letter Adversus Helvidium, 10, "If only He were first-born who was followed by other brothers, He would not deserve the rights of the first-born, which the Law lays down, until the other had been born"--which would be absurd, since the Law ordains that those first-born should be "ransomed" within a month of their birth (Numbers 18:16).
However, Jesus Christ is first-born in a much deeper sense independent of natural or biological considerations--which St. Bede describes in these words, summarizing a long tradition of the Fathers of the Church: "Truly the Son of God, who was made manifest in the flesh, belongs to a more exalted order not only because He is the Only-begotten of the Father by virtue of the excellence of His divinity; He is also first-born of all creatures by virtue of His fraternity with men: concerning this [His primogeniture] it is said: `For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the first-born among many brethren' (Romans 8:29). And concerning the former [His being the Only-begotten] it is said `we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father' (John 1:14). Thus, He is only-begotten by the substance of the Godhead, and first-born through His assumption of humanity; first-born by grace, only-begotten by nature. This is why He is called brother and Lord; brother, because He is the first-born; Lord, because He is the Only-begotten" (In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc.).
Christian Tradition teaches, as a truth of faith, that Mary remained a virgin after Christ's birth, which is perfectly in keeping with Christ's status as her first-born. See, for example, these words of the Lateran Council of 649: "If anyone does not profess according to the holy Fathers that in the proper and true sense the holy, ever-Virgin, immaculate Mary is the Mother of God, since in this last age not with human seed but of the Holy Spirit she properly and truly conceived the divine Word, who was born of God the Father before all ages, and gave Him birth without any detriment to her virginity, which remained inviolate even after His birth: let such a one be condemned" (Canon 3).]
The Church has always taught that the perpetual virginity of our Lady is a truth to be held by all Catholics. For example, the following are the words of the Lateran Council of A.D. 649: “If anyone does not profess according to the holy Fathers that in the proper and true sense the holy, ever-virgin, immaculate Mary, is the Mother of God, since in this last age not with human seed but of the Holy Spirit she properly and truly conceived the Divine Word, who was born of God the Father before all ages, and gave him birth without any detriment to her virginity, which remained inviolate even after his birth: let such a one be condemned” (can. 3)
St. Jerome gives the following reasons why it was fitting that the Mother of God, as well as being a virgin, should also be married: first, so that Mary’s child would be clearly a descendent of King David (through the genealogy of St. Joseph); second, to ensure that on having a son her honor would not be questioned nor any legal penalty imposed on her; third, so that during the flight to Egypt she would have the help and protection of St. Joseph. He even points to a fourth possible reason, expressly taken from St. Ignatius Martyr, and to which he seems to give less importance—that the birth of Jesus would go unnoticed by the devil, who would not know about the virginal conception of our Lord (cf, Comm. On St. Matthew, 1, 1).