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Page 39
In Luke ch. i. 26, The angel Gabriel is said to have come from God
to Mary, when she was yet a virgin, espoused to Joseph, who was
of the house of David, and announced to her that she should
conceive, and bear a son, and should call his name Jesus; that her
holy offspring should be called the Son of God, and that God
should give unto him �the throne of David his father, and that he
should rule the house of Jacob for ever, and that to his kingdom
there should be no end.� Now this story is encumbered with many
difficulties, which I shall not consider; but confine myself to
asking wherefore, if these things were true, did not the Mother of
Jesus? and his brethren, knowing these extraordinary things, obey
his teachings. For it is certain, that they did not at first believe him,
but, as appears from the 7th chap. of John, derided him. Besides,
neither did his mother nor his brethren, when they came to the
house where he was preaching to simple and credulous men, come
for the purpose of being edified, but �to lay hold of him,� to carry
him home, for said they he is mad, or �beside himself [Mark iii.
24] which certainly they would not have dared to do, if this story
of Luke�s were true. For their mother would have taught them of
his miraculous conception, and extraordinary character. Moreover,
how was it that God did not give him the throne of David, as was
promised by the Angel to his Mother? For he did not sit upon the
throne of David, nor exercise any authority in Israel. Moreover,
how comes it that David is called the Father of Jesus, since Jesus
was not the son of Joseph, who, according to the Evangelists drew
his origin from that king. Finally, the saying �that to his kingdom
there should be no end,� is directly contradicted by Paul in the 1st
Epis. to the Cor. ch. xv: for he says therein, that �Jesus shall
render up his kingdom unto the Father, and be himself subject unto
him.� Here you see, that the kingdom of Jesus is to have an end;
for when he renders up his kingdom to the Father, he certainly
must divest himself of his authority. How then can it be said, that �
to his kingdom there shall be no end?
Jesus says, John v. 39, �And the Father himself which hath sent
me, hath borne witness of me; ye have neither heard his voice at
any time,� &c. But how does this agree with Moses, who says,
Deut. iv. 33, �Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out
of the midst of fire, as thou hast heard?�--�And we heard his
voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day, that God
doth talk with man, and he liveth.� Deut. v. 24.
Luke, ch. 4, 17, �And they gave to Jesus the Book of Isaiah the
Prophet, and he opened the Book, and found this place, where it
was written, �The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, therefore hath he
anointed me to preach the Gospel; to the poor hath he sent me, that
I should bind up the broken in heart, proclaim liberty to the
captives, and sight to the blind; that I should preach the acceptable
year of the Lord.� And shutting the Book, he gave it to the
minister, and afterwards addressed them, saying �This day is this
Scripture fulfilled in your ears.� Here you see the words which
gave offence; and by turning to Is. in loco. ch. lxi. you may see the
reason why the inhabitants of Nazareth arose up in wrath against
him. For these words alledged in Luke, are somewhat perverted
from the original in Isaiah; for these words, �and sight to the
blind,� are not in Isaiah, but are inserted in Luke for purposes very
obvious. And 2. he neglects the words following, �and the day of
vengeance of our God, and of consolation to all who mourn. To
give consolation to the mourners of Zion; to give them beauty
instead of ashes, and the oil of joy instead of grief; a garment of
praise instead of a broken heart,� &c. to the end of the chapter.
From this it is very clear, that this prophecy has no reference to
Jesus: but Isaiah speaks these things of himself; and the words �
the Lord hath anointed me,� signify, �God hath chosen,
established me to declare�--what follows. This exposition of
anointing is confirmed from these passages;--1 Kings, xix ch.
�Anoint a prophet in thy stead,� where the sense is, �constitute a
prophet in thy place.� Again, �touch not mine anointed ones, and
do my prophets no harm,� i. e. �Touch not my chosen servants�;
and so in several other places. The meaning, therefore, of Isaiah is,
that God had appointed, and constituted him a prophet to announce
these consolations to the Israelites, who were to be in captivity, in
order that they should not dispair of liberation; and that they
should have hope, when they read those comfortable words spoken
by the mouth of Isaiah, at the command of God. For he calls the
subjects of his message �the broken in heart,� �the captives,� �
the mourners of Zion,� &c. all which terms are applicable only to
the Israelites. That this is the true interpretation, will be made
further evident to any impartial person, by reading the context
preceding, and following.
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