34. And hear in what part of the world He was to be Apor..
Place of His hirth.
Circumstances of His Passion.
34. And hear in what part of the world He was to be Apor.. born, as another prophet, Micah, declared, who spoke thus; j^^l£lAiid thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least \)\\iicy oi among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come forth
''^^^" a Governor, Who shall feed My people.
Now this is a 5, 2. certain village in the country of the Jews, thirty -five stadia ^^'^^'•'^' distant from Jerusalem, in which Jesus Christ was born
; as you may also learn from the lists of the taxing, which was made in the time of Cyrenius, the first governor of yours in Judea.
35. And that Christ, after His birth, should be unknown The to other men*^, until He was "•rown to man's estate, which « "^"'"
' o
rixion also came to pass, hear what was foretold of this ; the words foretold. are as follows; A Child is born to us, and a young Man 25 Is. 9,0. given to us, Whose government is up>on His shoulders, which is significant of the power of the Cross ; to which, when crucified. He applied His shoulders, as shall be shewn more clearly in the course of my explanation.
And again the same prophet Isaiah, who was inspired by the prophetical Spirit, says, / have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people, to those ivho walk in a way that isls.G5,2.
' "* 7iot good; they ask me notv for judgment, a7id presume to draw nigh to God.
And again in other words, by another prophet, He says, They pierced My hands and My feet, and cast lots upon My garments.
Yet David, the king and P^- 22, prophet, who uttered these words, underwent none of these things ; but Jesus Christ stretched out His hands, and was crucified by the Jews, who contradicted Him, and denied Him to be the Christ ; for, indeed, as the Prophet said, they mocked Him, and set Him on the judgment-seat, and said. Judge us^.
But the words. They pierced My hands and My feet, are a description of the nails that were fixed in His hands and His feet on the Cross ; and after He was crucified, those who crucified Him cast lots for His garments,
^ The question here, says the Benedoes not exclude His period of mandictine, is, not of the silence and obscure hood, but rather the contrary, and life of Christ to the time of His Bapproves He was hated and unknown by tism, but of the mind of the Jews the Jews from His birth, even to His towards Him, who knew not that He full aa:e, and extreme period of life, was their King and God. see §. 31
. 49. page 65. c.
Hence, he continues, the expression, ^ Judge us.
This would appear to *' Until He was come to man's estate," allude generally to Matt.xxvii.26—30.