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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comRobertson Word Pictures - Matthew 1:22 - 1:22
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That it may be fulfilled (hina plērōthēi). Alford says that “it is impossible to interpret hina in any other sense than in order that.” That was the old notion, but modern grammarians recognize the non-final use of this particle in the Koiné and even the consecutive like the Latin ut. Some even argue for a causal use. If the context called for result, one need not hesitate to say so as in Mar 11:28; Joh 9:36; 1Jo 1:9; Rev 9:20; Rev 13:13. See discussion in my Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, pp. 997-9. All the same it is purpose here, God’s purpose, Matthew reports the angel as saying, spoken “by (hupo, immediate agent) the Lord through (dia, intermediate agent) the prophet.”
“All this has happened” (touto de holon gegonen, present perfect indicative), stands on record as historical fact. But the Virgin Birth of Jesus is not due to this interpretation of Isa 7:14. It is not necessary to maintain (Broadus) that Isaiah himself saw anything more in his prophecy than that a woman then a virgin, would bear a son and that in the course of a few years Ahaz would be delivered from the king of Syria and Israel by the coming of the Assyrians. This historical illustration finds its richest fulfilment in the birth of Jesus from Mary. “Words of themselves are empty. They are useful only as vessels to convey things from mind to mind” (Morison). The Hebrew word for young woman is translated by virgin (parthenos), but it is not necessary to conclude that Isaiah himself contemplated the supernatural birth of Jesus. We do not have to say that the idea of the Virgin Birth of Jesus came from Jewish sources. Certainly it did not come from the pagan myths so foreign to this environment, atmosphere and spirit. It is far simpler to admit the supernatural fact than try to explain the invention of the idea as a myth to justify the deification of Jesus. The birth, life, and death of Jesus throw a flood of light on the Old Testament narrative and prophecies for the early Christians. In Matthew and John in particular we often see “that the events of Christ’s life were divinely ordered for the express purpose of fulfilling the Old Testament” (McNeile). See note on Mat 2:15, Mat 2:23; Mat 4:14-17; Mat 8:17; Mat 12:17-21; Mat 13:35; Mat 21:4.; Joh 12:38.; Joh 13:18; Joh 19:24, Joh 19:28, Joh 19:36.