From: Micah 5:2-5a (NAB - Micah 5:1-4a)
The Messiah, the saviour who will be born in Bethlehem
Assyria repulsed
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Commentary:
5:2-4. The scenario, darkened for a moment in the previous three verses (4:9-5:
1), becomes bright again with the announcement of a “ruler” or governor in Israel,
who will be born (”come forth from” O Bethlehem, the city of David, a city in the
region of “Ephrath” (Gen 35:16). The region is often distinguished from its leading
city (cf. 1 Sam 17:12), but in some passages the region and the city are treated
as one and the same (Gen 35:19).
There are many contrasts here, a typical feature of salvation oracles: the future
king will have humble origins, for he will be born in a small town (”you … who are
little” in v. 2 could also be translated as “you … who are least”); still, Bethlehem
is not without honour, for it was the birthplace of David and is therefore the place
that guaranteed one’s belonging to the line of David; this ruler comes from an an-
cient line, but to perceive his presence one must wait until “she who is in travail
has brought forth” (v. 3); all he will do is tend his flock, yet the benefits of his rule
will extend to the ends of the earth (v. 4). No contemporary king could match this
description; the prophet is referring to the future Messiah-king. There are many
elements in this passage that link it to the messianic passages in Isaiah (Is 7:
14; 9:5-6; 11:1-4) and to passages about the future offspring of David (2 Sam 7:
12-16; Ps 89:3).
Jewish tradition read this passage as a messianic prophecy, as can be seen
from passages in the Talmud (Pesahim, 51, 1 and Nedarim, 39, 2). The New
Testament contains clear references to it: for example, the verses in the Gospel
of St John that report the opinion of Jesus’ contemporaries as to where the Mes-
siah would come from: “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture
said that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the
village where David was? (Jn 7:40-42); but Matthew 2:4-6 is the main text that
applies the prophecy to Jesus: the evangelist subtly ennobles the city of David
(he says: “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means least
among the rulers of Judah”, instead of Micah’s “who are little” or “least” — in or-
der to enhance the figure of Jesus, the Messiah).
Going along with this interpretation in St Matthew, Christian tradition has seen
the Micah passage as an announcement of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The Fa-
thers developed many arguments to try to convince Jews that Jesus was the
expected Messiah. For example, Tertullian wrote: “Since the children of Israel
accuse us of grave error because we believe in Christ, who has come, let us
show them from the Scriptures that the Christ who was foretold has come […].
He was born in Bethlehem in Judah, as the prophet foretold: But you, O Beth-
lehem, are by no means least . . . (v. 2)” (”Adversus Iudaeos”, 13). And St Ire-
naeus said: “In his day, the prophet Micah told us of the place where the Christ
would be born: Bethlehem, in Judah. O Bethlehem . . . , who are little to be a-
mong the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth from me one who is to be
ruler of Israel. Bethlehem is also in the homeland of David, and Christ comes
from the line of David, not only because he was born of the Virgin, but because
he was born in Bethlehem” (”Demonstratio praedicationis apostolicae”, 63).
5:5-6. “This [the Messiah who will be born in Bethlehem] shall be peace” (v. 5).
In the same way as “Egypt” was synonymous with “bondage”, now Assyria has
come to symbolize the oppressive nation. This oracle, then, comes prior to the
appearance of Babylon on the horizon of the chosen people. A Christian reading
of the passage sees in it a description of any crisis experienced by the people
of God or by a sincere believer, who looks to his Lord for peace. Ephesians 2:
13-14 echoes 5:4: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been
brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both
one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility.”
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Hebrews 10:5-10
Christ’s Offering of Himself Has Infinite Value
“Sacrifices and offerings Thou hast not desired,
but a body hast Thou prepared for Me;
[6] in burnt offerings and sin offerings Thou hast taken no pleasure.
[7] Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do Thy will, O God,’
as it is written of Me in the roll of the book.”
[8] When He said above, “Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sa-
crifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered ac-
cording to the law), [9] then He added, “Lo, I have come to do Thy will.” He aboli-
shes the first in order to establish the second. [10] And by that will we have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
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Commentary:
5-10. This passage carries a quotation from Psalm 40:7-8, but one taken from
the Greek translation, the Septuagint, not from the Hebrew. Where the Hebrew
says, “Thou hast opened My ears”, the Greek reads, “a body Thou hast prepared
for Me”. The difference is not substantial, because the Hebrew expression points
to the docility and obedience of the speaker, who is the Messiah Himself. The
Greek translation gives the sentence a more general meaning: God has not only
opened the ears of the Messiah; He has given Him life as a man (cf. Philippians
2:7). The words of this Psalm “allow us as it were to sound the unfathomable
depths of this self-abasement of the Word, His humiliation of Himself for love of
men even to death on the Cross [...]. Why this obedience, this self-abasement,
this suffering? The Creed gives us the answer: ‘for us men and for our salvation’
Jesus came down from Heaven so as to give man full entitlement to ascend (to
Heaven) and by becoming a son in the Son to regain the dignity he lost through
sin [...]. Let us welcome Him. Let us say to Him, ‘Here I am; I have come to
do Your will’” ([Pope] John Paul II, “General Audience”, 25 March 1981).
The author of the letter, elaborating on the text of the psalm, asserts that the
Messiah’s sacrifice is greater than the sacrifices of the Old Law, unbloody as
well as bloody, sin-offerings as well as burnt offerings as they were called in the
liturgy (cf. Leviticus 5;6; 7:27). The sacrifice of Christ, who has “come into the
world”, has replaced both kinds of ancient sacrifice. It consisted in perfectly do-
ing the will of His Father (cf. John 4:34; 6:38; 8:29; 14:31), even though He was
required to give His life to the point of dying on Calvary (Matthew 26:42; John
10:18; Hebrews 5:7-9). Christ “came into the world” to offer Himself up to suf-
fering and death for the redemption of the world. “He knew that all the sacrifices
of goats and bulls offered to God in ancient times were incapable of making sa-
tisfaction for the sins of men; He knew that a divine person was needed to do
that [...]. My Father (Jesus Christ said), all the victims offered You up to this are
not enough and never will be enough to satisfy Your justice; You gave Me a body
capable of experiencing suffering, so that You might be placated by the shedding
of My blood, and men thereby saved; ‘ecce venio, here I am, ready’; I accept
everything and in all things do I submit to Your will. The lower part of His human
nature naturally felt repugnance and reacted against living and dying in so much
pain and opprobium, but its rational part, which was fully subject to the Father’s
will, had the upper hand; it accepted everything, and therefore Jesus Christ began
to suffer, from that point onwards, all the anguish and pain which He would under-
go in the course of His life. That is how our Divine Redeemer acted from the very
first moments of His coming into the world. So, how should we behave towards
Jesus when, come to the use of reason, we begin to know the sacred mysteries
of Redemption through the light of faith?” (St. Alphonsus, “Advent Meditations”,
II, 5).
The Psalm speaks of “the roll of the book”: this may refer to a specific book or
else to the Old Testament in general (cf. Luke 24:27; John 5;39, 46, 47).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.