53. (Vers. 22.). Again, to designate the person of the Holy Spirit, it is added: The Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him; John 1: "Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining, he it is who baptizes." — Now he descended in the form of a dove by reason of signification, because, as Chrysostom says, "this bird above all others is the greatest cultivator of charity." Hence he appeared to Christ in a complete animal, but to the disciples in tongues, to signify that in Christ he was present according to every manner of fullness, but in others in parts: whence it is said in John 3: "God does not give the Spirit by measure." He also appeared over the disciples in fire, but over Christ in a dove, because, as Gregory says, "Christ came to gather us through meekness"; and therefore he appeared over him in a dove, but "over the disciples in fire: whom he came to kindle against themselves for consuming the rust of sin." — And most fittingly does the apparition of the Holy Spirit in a dove befit baptism, on account of the innocence which baptism restores. As a sign of this, it is said in Genesis 8 that the dove after the flood brought back a branch of a green olive tree. By that flood — as Damascene says, and as it is said in 1 Peter 3: "In which few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water," etc. — baptism is understood: whence by the dove bringing back to the ark a branch of a green olive tree is understood the innocence of meekness with the grace of anointing.
54. And note that the Holy Spirit appeared in a threefold form, namely in a dove at the baptism; in a cloud at the transfiguration, below in chapter 9; in fire over the disciples, Acts 2. And these correspond to three states, as the expositor says. For upon beginners he descends as a dove, because he renders them groaning and meditating: Isaiah 59: "We shall groan like meditating doves"; and Isaiah 38: "Like a young swallow, so shall I cry out; I shall meditate like a dove." — Upon those progressing, as a cloud, because by the striving of the mind he makes them ascend upward from virtue to virtue, until he elevates them to heaven, so that the God of gods may be seen in Sion: Psalm: "They shall go from virtue to virtue; he shall be seen," etc. — Upon the perfect, in fire, because he inflames them so that they tend upward through desire, and also toward their neighbors through beneficence: below in chapter 12: "I came to cast fire upon the earth." As a sign of this, it is said in 4 Kings 2 that "Elijah ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire"; concerning which fire, Lamentations 1: "From on high he sent fire into my bones and instructed me."
55. Finally, to designate the person of the Father there is added: A voice came from heaven. And then was verified that word of the Psalm: "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the God of majesty has thundered"; and that word of Deuteronomy 4: "From heaven he made you hear his voice." And that this voice was in the person of the Father is shown when there is added: You are my Son, namely the Only-begotten, begotten from Eternity: the Psalm: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son." And in this the Father bore witness to him: John 8: "I am the one who bears witness concerning myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness concerning me"; whence First John 5: "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, because he has testified concerning his Son." You therefore is here taken distinctively, because no other: whence he is called the Only-begotten in John 1: "No one has ever seen God except the Only-begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father," because, according to that word of the Psalm, "before the daystar I begot you." And because he loves him supremely, therefore there is added: beloved, through whom even others who are hateful are loved: Ephesians 1: "He has graced us in his beloved Son"; and again Colossians 1: "He has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love." And for greater expression there is added: In you I am well pleased, namely in everything that pleases: and this on account of the most perfect bond of love which is between the Father and the Son: Proverbs 3: "As a father is well pleased in his son"; and Colossians 1: "In him it pleased all fullness to dwell, making peace through his blood for the things that are in heaven and the things that are on earth"; and therefore it is said in John 8: "He who sent me is with me, and he has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to him."
56. Thus therefore testimony was borne to Christ in the voice by the Father, by the Holy Spirit in the dove, by the Son in the light: and thus the testimony is firm, because "in the mouth of three witnesses every word must stand." And thus that word of 1 John 5 was verified: "There are three who give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit." - And note that in Matthew 3 it is said concerning this voice: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"; but in Mark 1: "You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased"; in Luke, here: You are my beloved Son, in you it has pleased me. In these, however, there is no contradiction, because they express not the sound of the words but the meaning, as Augustine says in the book On the Harmony of the Evangelists. It is expressed differently, however, because this voice of the Father is significative of the fact that Christ is the Word of the Father, most similar and most expressive, and therefore most pleasing. And since the Father speaks himself by the Word in himself, he speaks also to us, by which Word he declares himself to others, and he also speaks all things by the Word, whatsoever he speaks: and this is most perfect; and the Evangelist could not express this by a single word, although that heavenly voice intimated all of this: therefore the Evangelists expressed it in diverse ways, so that Matthew intimates the complacency of the Father with respect to the Word, insofar as he speaks himself in himself; and therefore he says: "In whom I am well pleased"; Mark with respect to the Word, insofar as the Father by the Word speaks himself and is pleased toward others, and therefore he says: "In you I am well pleased"; Luke with respect to the Word, insofar as the Father by the Word speaks all things: and therefore he adds: In you it has pleased me, that is, generally, whatsoever is pleasing.
Second, concerning the temporal genealogy, three things.
57. (Verse 23). And Jesus himself was etc. After the sacramental regeneration, in which he also declared the eternal generation, he here subjoins the temporal genealogy, concerning which three things are introduced for consideration. The first is the time of the one proceeding, to exclude a fantastical understanding. The second is the manner of proceeding, to exclude a carnal understanding. The third is the degree of the procession, or its progress, to strengthen a faithful understanding.
First, therefore, he indicates the time of age, so that those may be refuted who believe that Christ was not a true man: on account of which he says: And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, beginning, that is, to manifest himself to others and to preach. About is said because according to some he was twenty-nine years and thirteen days old; according to others he was thirty years and thirteen days beyond. In this he also provided an example, that no one ought to teach before the age of maturity, however great the wisdom he may possess: whence Sirach 20: "A wise man will be silent until the proper time." And therefore it is said in Sirach 32: "Young man, speak in your own cause only when necessary." Whence the sons of Gershon were not numbered for bearing the burdens of the tabernacle except from thirty years to fifty, Numbers 4. Although this is so by the common law, nevertheless sometimes it happens otherwise by special privilege, as it is said in Jeremiah 1: "Do not say: I am a child"; and in the penultimate chapter of Daniel, of whom it is said that "God raised up the spirit of a younger boy." Therefore it is said in Wisdom 10 that "wisdom opened the mouth of the mute and made the tongues of infants eloquent"; and in the Psalm: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise." Nevertheless, the privileges of the few are not to be drawn into a general rule, nor is a law to be imposed upon the divine operation and grace, because, as it is said in Wisdom 4, "understanding is the gray hair of man, and an immaculate life is old age"; and again: "Being made perfect in a short time, he fulfilled a long time."
58. Next he describes the manner of descent, when he says: As was supposed the son of Joseph: in which he shows that according to temporal generation he did not have a true father, but a putative one, because he was born of the Virgin; for men supposed Joseph to be his father, according to what is said below in chapter four: "Is not this the son of Joseph?"
But from this it seems that the following genealogy has nothing to do with Christ according to truth. — To which Bede responds, following Jerome, that it is not the custom of the Scriptures for the order of women to be woven into the genealogies; furthermore, he says that both Joseph and Mary were born from the same tribe, whence by the Law he was bound to take her as a kinsman. A sign of this is also that they were enrolled together in Bethlehem, as is stated above in chapter two. And therefore the series of generation in the one pertains to the other. — From this it is apparent why so little mention is made of Mary in Scripture. For if no mention is made of her in Christ's genealogy for the sake of preserving the custom of the Scriptures, even though it would seem almost necessary, much less should it be done concerning her own acts. — Now, no mention is made of women in the order of genealogies, partly because of a deficiency on the part of nature, because "woman is a misbegotten male"; partly because of a deficiency on the part of signification, because she signifies not Christ but the Church, not the higher portion of reason but the lower, First Corinthians eleven; partly because of a deficiency on the part of office, because neither to teach nor to preside befits them; partly because of a deficiency on the part of remedy, because it befits her not to remedy but to be remedied; partly because of a deficiency of principle, because "man is not from woman, but woman from man"; partly because of the memory of the first sin: First Timothy two: "Adam was not deceived, but the woman." And for this reason the descent is not traced through women — whence neither is it the custom in the Scriptures for there to be great mention of Mary — and because the Gospels began from the precursor, Luke one and Mark one: "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ," etc., and also for the aforesaid reasons. Nevertheless, it was written in the Old Testament that there could be a figure of the Virgin in certain women who bore the figure of Mary and of the Church.
59. Third, he adds the degrees of the processions, when he adds: Who was of Heli, etc. — But this seems to be contradicted by Matthew one, where it is said that "Jacob begot Joseph," who descends through Solomon. If therefore it is impossible that someone be begotten by two at the same time, either this genealogy or that of Matthew is entirely erroneous.
For the clarification of this matter, it should be noted that Mathat, who descended from David through Nathan, and Mathan, who descended from David through Solomon, successively had one wife, from whom Mathan begot Jacob, and Mathat begot Heli. And thus Heli and Jacob were two uterine brothers. But Heli, having taken a wife, died without children, and therefore according to the Law, Jacob his brother took her, so that he might raise up seed for his brother, and from her "begot Joseph, the husband of Mary." Joseph therefore according to the flesh was the son of Jacob, who descended through Solomon; but according to the Law he was the son of Heli, who descended through Nathan. And since to perfectly write the genealogy of the Savior it was necessary that it be written both according to the Law and according to nature, therefore the Holy Spirit accomplished this through two Evangelists, such that through Matthew the carnal genealogy and through Luke the legal one.
60. This, however, was not done without a reasonable cause. For Matthew pursues Christ's kingship and humanity, according as he succeeded David, and therefore treats of his descent unto the assumption of our flesh. And because this was first promised to Abraham himself and promised again to David himself, therefore he begins the genealogy of the Savior from Abraham, descending through David and Solomon, who succeeded him in the kingdom. — Hence it is also that in descending he sets down only forty intermediate generations, because by that number the universality of time is designated, according to what Augustine says in the book On the Harmony of the Evangelists: for it is generated if ten is multiplied by four. Or according to another manner of counting, forty-two, according to the forty-two stations of the children of Israel, Numbers thirty-three:
so that Jechoniah is counted twice, to designate Christ the cornerstone. And this number is generated from six multiplied by seven, in which the state of the present time is designated. And because the generation of Christ according to the flesh is the beginning of the Gospel, therefore it is placed at the beginning of the book. — But Luke pursues the priesthood of Christ, through which we are reconciled unto the adoption of sons from the state of sin, which indeed takes place through sacramental regeneration; therefore he pursues the adoptive or legal filiation of Christ, ascending all the way to God, and this through seventy-seven steps, because by that number, as Augustine says, the universality of sins is designated: for it is generated by eleven multiplied by seven. Therefore he also places this genealogy not at the beginning of the book, but after the baptism of Christ. Since therefore "the end imposes necessity upon those things which are ordered to the end," and Luke directed the eye of his principal intention toward the priesthood of Christ, but Matthew toward the kingship of Christ, hence it is that they pursued the genealogy of Christ in different ways: they described it not in a contrary manner nor by chance occurrence, but with a certain harmonious and well-articulated variety, the Holy Spirit directing them.
61. From these things the cause of the sevenfold difference between Luke and Matthew becomes apparent, namely in persons, because they set forth a twofold mode of paternity, according to nature and the Law: the first Matthew, the second Luke: in the first mode through Solomon, in the second through Nathan. — In progression, because Matthew descends, Luke ascends, and this because nature is the principle of propagating, but grace of leading back. — In manner, because Matthew says begot, Luke who was of: because the former indicates natural generation, the latter legal designation. — In time, because Matthew from the beginning, Luke from the thirtieth year, because the former indicates the beginning of being born, the latter of being reconciled. — In position, because Matthew from the beginning, Luke from the baptism, because the former principally attends to generation, the latter to regeneration. — In standing, because Matthew up to Abraham, Luke up to God, because the former indicates nature, and the latter grace, which sanctifies the children. — In number, because Matthew lists forty-two generations and forty persons, one being counted twice, to designate the universality of the pilgrimage to which he descended; Luke seventy-seven, through the number of transgression, which Christ expiated through baptism.
62. Spiritually it should be noted that all the names which are expressed in the genealogy of the Savior convey something mystical which avails unto salvation. However, in order to avoid tedium and curiosity, only the notable and principal places designated in these degrees should be attended to, namely the first, the seventh, the tenth, the seventeenth, the seventieth, the seventy-sixth — and the last. And thus seven notable places, such that in the first is the beginning of our salvation, in the last the completion, and in the intermediate ones the increase of progress.
63. In the first place is set Jesus, who is interpreted as Savior, because he saves and liberates from the servitude of sin: Matthew 1: "And you shall call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins." And this is the beginning of our salvation, to depart from evil: Psalm: "Who is the man who desires life and loves to see good days?" "Turn away from evil" etc. - In the seventh place, Jannai, who is interpreted as right hand, because, with sin forgiven, we are transferred from the left to the right: Colossians 1: "He rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love," that is, from the left to the right: Matthew 25: "He shall set the lambs on his right, but the goats on his left." - In the tenth place, Amos, who is interpreted as burdening, because, having been transferred to grace, we are invited to bear the burdens of the law: Matthew 11: "Come to me, all" etc. "Take my yoke upon you" etc.; concerning which yoke and burden it is said in Lamentations 3: "It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth." - In the seventeenth place, Joseph, who is interpreted as increase, because by keeping and bearing the burden of the law we are increased in grace: Ephesians 4: "Doing the truth in charity, let us grow up in him" etc.: Colossians 1: "That you may walk worthy of God, pleasing in all things, bearing fruit in every good work." --In the seventieth place, Enoch, who is interpreted as dedication, because by advancing in merit and charity we arrive at the quiet of the mind, in which God dwells as in a dedicated temple: John 14: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him." And this one is borne upward to heaven through contemplation, just as Enoch, of whom Genesis 5 says: "He walked with God and appeared no more, because God took him"; and Wisdom 4: "Being pleasing to God" etc. - In the seventy-sixth place, Adam, who is interpreted as man, because the perfection of quiet and contemplation reforms in us the image of God, unto which man was made: Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image" etc. Contemplation reforms this: 2 Corinthians 3: "But we, beholding the glory of God with unveiled face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory"; and further on: "Although our outward man is corrupted" etc. - In the last place is subjoined God, toward whom we tend, in whom is the rest and end of all labors: John 17: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" etc.: and 1 Corinthians 15: "Then the end, when he shall have delivered the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall have abolished all principality and power and virtue"; and afterward: "That God may be all in all." For now that is true which is said in 1 Corinthians 11: "The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God"; now that other saying is true which is said in 1 Corinthians 3: "All things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's." "Since therefore from him and through him and in him are all things: to God himself, eternal and living, be all honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."