apply to the writer's own time, because in the continuation, chap. xxx., the people are reproved for seeking assistance from Egypt. Matt. xxi. 4: "All this (the entry into Jerusalem) was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold thy king cometh unto thee meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass." Zech. ix. 9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Compare this with the following passages of Zechariah, ch. iii. 8, 9: "Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes; behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” ix. 6-10: "Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace, unto it. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth." vi. 11-13: "Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." It is clear that Zerubbabel is the person intended in all these passages. He was a "branch" of the house of David, 1 Chron. iii. 19, and might very naturally be considered by the returned Jews as their lawful king. One object of the book of Zechariah seems to be to advance his pretensions. But he could not assume the regal state under the Persian rule, and was obliged to limit himself in public to an humble and pacific demeanour; therefore his friend and poet Zechariah asserts his claim to the homage of his countrymen, notwithstanding his apparently low estate. According to Grotius (Annot. in Zech.), instead of "thy king cometh," the Hebrew might very well be read "thy king hath come"; and he is described as riding upon an ass instead of a horse, not only from modesty, but also for the sake of shewing a pacific intention; the ass being an animal of peace, and the horse of war. The title "having salvation," or Saviour (Sept. owowy) was given very commonly to national deliverers.* Matt. xxii. 43: "He (Jesus) saith unto them, How then doth David in the spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool ?" Psalm cx. This Psalm seems to be a fragment of a complimentary address to some person, to whom it gives the common Jewish title, My Lord. See 1 Kings xviii. 7, 13, and Judges vi. 13. It speaks of his warlike greatness, but has nothing applicable to Jesus. When the original occasion of it was forgotten, it was probably * See Judges iii. 9; 2 Kings xiii. 5. considered to have reference to the Messiah, for want of It might have been an ode any other apparent meaning. addressed by David to Saul. plained in this way: Saul was known to be jealous of the authority of the high priest, to which dignity he himself could have no claim, not being of the family of Aaron; the writer therefore flatters him with the title of a priest after the order of Melchizedek, who was not a common priest, but also king of Salem. Matt. xxiv. 15, 16: "When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand,) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains." Daniel ix. 27: There are many clear allusions in Daniel to the profanation of the sanctuary by Antiochus. This most obscure part of the book most likely refers also to the same event. There is nothing in the context to fix the meaning of the passage to the desolation under the Romans. See chap. xiv on Daniel. Matt. xxvi. 31: "Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night; for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." Zech. xiii. 7: " Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts; Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.' The writer, probably Jeremiah,* begins here to describe the miseries of the captivity, which he closes with a promise of miraculous vengeance on the Jews' enemies. * That the last five chapters of Zechariah belong to Jeremiah is inferred,-1stly, From the similarity of style; 2dly, From the prophecy against Assyria, x. 11, which could not proceed from Zechariah, who lived under the Persian empire; 3dly, From Matthew's quoting Zech. xi. 13, as part of Jeremiah. The king of Judah is frequently called a shepherd or pastor. See Zech. xi. 3-5; Jer. xxv. 34. The words "man that is my fellow" are in the Septuagint π avopa επι ανδρα πολίτην με, the man, my fellow citizen. The sword would not spare even the fellow citizen of God, i. e. the Jew who inhabited Jerusalem, God's own city. Matt. xxvi. 56: "But all this was done (the apprehension of Jesus), that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Dan. ix. 26: "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off." See remark on Matt. xxiv. 15. In Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Psalms, there are abundant allusions to real or emblematic personages in distress; but, as will be shewn, in none of them can the meaning be fixed to the case of Jesus. Matt. xxvii. 9: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; and gave them for the potters' field, as the Lord appointed me." Zech. xi. 12-13. The writer seems to be describing the little regard paid by the children of Israel to the Lord, which was the reason of his breaking his covenant with them. There is nothing in the context to fix the meaning of these verses to the Messiah. The coincidence of the thirty pieces of silver and the potters' field would be, however, very remarkable, if there were not reason to suspect Matthew of having accommodated his narrative to this verse; for none of the other Evangelists mention thirty pieces of silver, or the potters' field. Mark, xiv. 11, and Luke, xxii. 5, merely say that Judas covenanted for money; and in Acts i. 18, it is said that Judas, not the priests, bought "a field" with the money. Mark i. 2: "As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face," &c. (applied to John the Baptist). Malachi, chap. iii. and iv., foretels the coming of a mes Q senger of the Lord, and a day of vengeance on the wicked. This is one of those passages which produced the popular idea of a Messiah, and probably contributed to the undertaking of Jesus. But it does not correspond throughout with events in the time of Jesus. iii. 4-5: "Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years, and I will come near to you to judgment." iv. 5: "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." Mark xiv. 27: “I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." See remark on Matthew xxvi. 31. Mark xv. 28: “And the Scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors." Isaiah liii. 12: "And he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." This was spoken of Jacob or Israel. See chap. xiii. Luke i. 69: "And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us, in the house of his servant David, as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hands of all that hate us." Luke ii. 32: “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of my people Israel." Isaiah xlii. 6, and xlix. 6; in both places, Jacob or Israel seems to be intended. See chap. xiii. Luke iii. 4: "As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness," &c. See remark on Matthew iii. 2. Luke iv. 17-18: "He (Jesus) found the place where it was written, The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the |