pel, but we must
speak further of their bearing on the evangelist's view of the Old
Testament. His Messianic quotations are introduced by such phrases as
"that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet," or, "then
was fulfilled," etc. The tendency of modern scepticism to ridicule the
supernatural element in prophecy has caused some writers to depreciate
this method of quotation. And we find even a thoughtful Roman Catholic
writer speaking of it as "giving the impression that the supple and
living story of the life of Jesus is only a chain of debts which fall
due, and fulfilments which cannot be avoided." [8] In particular, it
has been alleged that the Greek word translated "that," or "in order
that," and prefixed to these quotations, implies this fatalistic
necessity. But this particular argument is mistaken. In later Greek
the use of the word was vaguer than it had been formerly.[9] It cannot
be narrowed down so as to prove that the evangelist thought that events
in the Old Testament only took place in order to be types which the Son
of God constrained Himself to fulfil. And, speaking more generally, we
may say that the evangelist shows an exquisite taste in his selection
of Messianic quotations. Convinced that Jesus sums up the history of
Israel, he does not hesitate to quote passages in the Old Testament,
whether they directly refer to the Messianic King, or only call up some
picture which has a counterpart in the life of Christ.

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Thus the quotations in i. 23 and ii. 6 directly refer to one who is the
expected King, that in viii. 17 to one who is the ideal martyred
Servant, that in ii. 15 to Israel conceived of as the peculiar child of
God and so a type of Christ. In ii. 23 the evangelist finds in the
name of _Nazareth_ an echo of the ancient Messianic title _Netzer_ (a
branch). In ii. 18 we see that the tomb of Rachel near Bethlehem
reminds him of the mothers of Israel weeping over the death of their
children at the hands of the Babylonians; and as Jeremiah poetically
conceived of Rachel weeping with the mothers of his own day, so St.
Matthew conceives of her as finding her crowning sorrow in the massacre
of the Holy Innocents.

Three other quotations deserve special notice: (1) That in xxvii. 9,
which the evangelist quotes from "Jeremiah." It is often said that
this is a mere mistake for Zechariah. But it is a quotation combined,
according to the Jewish method known as the Charaz,