m their
sins, must be born of a woman, is plainly necessary. Because 'the
children are partakers of flesh and blood,' He also must 'take part of
the same.' That He must be free from the taint in nature, which passes
down to all 'who are born of the will of the flesh or of man,' is no
less obviously requisite. Both requirements are met in the supernatural
birth of Jesus, and unless both have been met, He is not, and cannot be,
the world's saviour. Nor is that supernatural birth less needful to
explain His manifestly sinless character than it is to qualify Him for
His unique office. The world acknowledges that in Him it finds a man
without blemish and without spot. How comes He to be free from the flaws
which, like black streaks in Parian marble, spoil the noblest
characters? Surely if, after millions of links in the chain, which have
all been of mingled metal, there comes one of pure gold, it cannot have
had the same origin as the others. It is part of the chain, 'the Word
was made flesh'; but it has been cast and moulded in another forge, for
it is 'that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.'

'She shall bring forth a son.' The angel does not say, 'a son to thee,'
but yet Joseph was to assume the position of father, and by naming the
child to acknowledge it as his. The name of Jesus or Joshua was borne by
many a Jewish child then. There was a Jesus among Paul's _entourage_. It
recalled the warrior leader, and, no doubt, was often given to children
in these days of foreign dominion by fathers who hoped that Israel might
again fight for freedom. But holier thoughts were to be Joseph's, and
the salvation from God which was expressed by the name was to be of
another kind than Joshua had brought. It was to be salvation from sin
and from sins. This child was to be a leader too, a conqueror and a
king, and the mention of 'His people,' taken in connection with Joseph's
having been addressed as 'the son of David,' is most significant. He,
too, is to have a subject people, and the deliverance which He is to
bring is not political or to be wrested from Rome by the sword, but
inward, moral, and spiritual, and therefore to be effected by moral and
spiritual weapons.

It is the evangelist, not the angel, who points to Isaiah's prophecy. He
does so with a certain awe, as he thinks of the greatness of 'all these
things'. Undoubtedly the Hebrew word rendered in Matthew, after the
Septuagint, 'virgin', does not necessarily imp