COMMENTARY OF BLESSED THEOPHYLACT, ARCHBISHOP OF BULGARIA, ON THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The name "Jesus" is not Greek, but Hebrew, and translated means "Savior", for the word "yao" in the Hebrews refers to salvation.

Christ.

Christs ("Christ" in Greek means "anointed one") were called kings and high priests, because they were anointed with holy oil poured from the horn that was placed on their heads. The Lord is called Christ both as King, because He reigned against sin, and as High Priest, because He Himself offered Himself as a sacrifice for us. He was anointed with true oil, the Holy Spirit, and anointed above others, for who else had the Spirit as the Lord? In the saints the grace of the Holy Spirit was at work, but in Christ it was not the grace of the Holy Spirit that was at work, but Christ Himself, together with the Spirit of One Essence with Him, performed miracles.

Son of David.

After Matthew had said "Jesus," he added "Son of David," so that you might not think that he was speaking of another Jesus, for there was another famous Jesus, the leader of the Jews after Moses. But this one was called the son of Nun, and not the son of David. He had lived many generations before David, and was not of the tribe of Judah from which David came, but of another.

Son of Abraham.

Why did Matthew put David before Abraham? Because David was more famous; he lived later than Abraham, and was a glorious king. Of the kings, he was the first to please God and received a promise from God that Christ would arise from his seed, which is why everyone called Christ the Son of David. And David actually retained the image of Christ in himself: just as he reigned in the place of the rejected and hated Saul, so Christ came in the flesh and reigned over us after Adam lost the kingdom and power that he had over all living things and over the demons.