Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

“Its use, then, in the opening words of this Gospel (and in Mt 1:17, 18) is in the style of the late period when our Evangelist wrote, rather than of the events he was going to record.”

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

“Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren--Only the fourth son of Jacob is here named, as it was from his loins that Messiah was to spring (Ge 49:10).”

Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,

“It will be observed that Rachab is here represented as the great-grandmother of David (see Ru 4:20-22; 1Ch 2:11-15) --a thing not beyond possibility indeed, but extremely improbable, there being about four centuries between them.”

and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

“And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren--Jeconiah was Josiah's grandson, being the son of Jehoiakim, Josiah's second son (1Ch 3:15); but Jehoiakim might well be sunk in such a catalogue, being a mere puppet in the hands of the king of Egypt (2Ch 36:4).”

After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

“Nor does this contradict Jer 22:30, "Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man (Coniah, or Jeconiah) childless"; for what follows explains in what sense this was meant--"for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David."”

Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.

“And Zorobabel begat Abiud, &c.--None of these names are found in the Old Testament; but they were doubtless taken from the public or family registers, which the Jews carefully kept, and their accuracy was never challenged.”

and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

“And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus--From this it is clear that the genealogy here given is not that of Mary, but of Joseph; nor has this ever been questioned.”

In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

“It will be observed that the last of the three divisions of fourteen appears to contain only thirteen distinct names, including Jesus as the last.”

asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

“Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?--From this it would seem they were not themselves Jews.”

When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

“When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled--viewing this as a danger to his own throne: perhaps his guilty conscience also suggested other grounds of fear. and all Jerusalem with him--from a dread of revolutionary commotions, and perhaps also of Herod's rage.”

And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.

“As MEYER says, it was all the theologians of the nation whom Herod convened, because it was a theological response that he wanted. he demanded of them--as the authorized interpreters of Scripture. where Christ--the Messiah. should be born--according to prophecy.”

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea--a prompt and involuntary testimony from the highest tribunal; which yet at length condemned Him to die. for thus it is written by the prophet-- (Mic 5:2).”

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the…

“The classical writers use the same figure. The pastoral rule of Jehovah and Messiah over His people is a representation pervading all Scripture, and rich in import. That this prophecy of Micah referred to the Messiah, was admitted by the ancient Rabbins.”

When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt.

“To "the house of bondage?" Well, it once was that. But Egypt was a house of refuge before it was a house of bondage, and now it has but returned to its first use.”

where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

“Out of Egypt have I called my son--Our Evangelist here quotes directly from the Hebrew, warily departing from the Septuagint, which renders the words, "From Egypt have I recalled his children," meaning Israel's children.”

“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

“Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, was buried in the neighborhood of Bethlehem (Ge 35:19), where her sepulchre is still shown.”

“Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”

“So Joseph and the Virgin had, like Abraham, to "go out, not knowing whither they went," till they should receive further direction.”

So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel.

“And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel--intending, as is plain from what follows, to return to Bethlehem of Judea, there, no doubt, to rear the Infant King, as at His own royal city, until…”

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea

“In those days--of Christ's secluded life at Nazareth, where the last chapter left Him. came John the Baptist, preaching--about six months before his Master. in the wilderness of Judea--the desert valley of the Jordan, thinly peopled and bare in pasture, a little north of Jerusalem.”

and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

“A kingdom for which repentance was the proper preparation behooved to be essentially spiritual. Deliverance from sin, the great blessing of Christ's kingdom (Mt 1:21), can be valued by those only to whom sin is a burden (Mt 9:12).”

This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness--(See on Lu 3:2); the scene of his ministry corresponding to its rough nature.”

John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

“And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair--woven of it. and a leathern girdle about his loins--the prophetic dress of Elijah (2Ki 1:8; and see Zec 13:4). and his meat was locusts--the great, well-known Eastern locust, a food of the poor (Le 11:22).”

Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

“And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins--probably confessing aloud. This baptism was at once a public seal of their felt need of deliverance from sin, of their expectation of the coming Deliverer, and of their readiness to welcome Him when He appeared.”

But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from…

“What an expression is this, "The wrath to come!" God's "wrath," in Scripture, is His righteous displeasure against sin, and consequently against all in whose skirts sin is found, arising out of the essential and eternal opposition of His nature to all moral evil.”

The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

“What a strength, too, of just indignation is in that word "cast" or "flung into the fire!" The third Gospel here adds the following important particulars in Lu 3:10-16. Lu 3:10: And the people--the multitudes.”