For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Ver. 16. For verily he took not] επιλαμβανεται. Or, for nowhere took he, q. d. We find not anywhere, either in the Scriptures or in any Church record.
But he took] He assumed, apprehended, caught, laid hold on, as the angel did on Lot, Genesis 19:16, as Christ did on Peter, Matthew 14:31, as men use to do upon a thing they are glad they have got and are loth to let go again. It is a main pillar of our comfort, that Christ took our flesh, for if he took not our flesh, we are not saved by him. But he not only took it, but overtook it by running after it, as the shepherd doth the sheep that is run away. A shepherd witha sheep upon his shoulder, engraved upon the communion cup, in the primitive times of the gospel, imported the same notion that here seems implied.