Matthew Chapter Two Study

 

The Visit of the Wise Men

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

 

6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

 

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

 

The King mentioned in this text is Herod I or Herod the Great and lived from 72 BCE to 4 BCE. He was a Jewish Roman client king who ruled the Herodian Kingdom of Judea.  He was known for the extensive building projects that he completed in the region, such as, the renovation of the second temple in Jerusalem, the construction of the defended fort at Masada and his palace Herodium.

 

The wise men who travelled from the East looking for the Messiah. Matthew calls them Magi and little else is known of their origins. It may be surmised that they had great wisdom and were aware of the prophecy of the coming of Messiah and also were aware of signs in the Heavens that indicated that the time was nigh. In this case a star of Jesus. They came to Jerusalem and enquired widely enough about the birth of Messiah to alert King Herod of the impending event and assembling his priests and scribes he ascertained that the birth of the ruler to come would happen in Bethlehem of Judah.

 

The prophecy that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judah quoted in Matthew chapter two verse six is found in the Old Testament book of Micah in chapter five verse two. It seems almost certain the wise men were aware of at least a part of this prophecy and knew to watch for the star. It must have been important to them as they embarked on a significant journey to see the Messiah and brought expensive gifts for the coming King.

 

Herod sought to craftily have the wise men locate the new born Jesus for him and return to with news of that location. Such, that he could move against the Messiah. The wisemen followed the star and found Jesus with His mother Mary and rejoicing they fell down and worshipped Him and gave Him the gifts they had brought with them. They were warned in a dream to avoid King Herod and returned to their country by another route. I perceive that these were not just magi but Men of Yahweh. The devil would not have sent righteous men to find and worship Jesus nor would he have warned them in a dream to avoid King Herod. They were obviously followers of Adonai Elohim (The Almighty Creator God), and when He gave them the dream, they obeyed him, avoided Herod and made their way home by a different route.

 

The Flight to Egypt

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

 

Knowing the threat that Herod meant to the child Jesus. God made plans to move Jesus, Mary and Joseph to safety. With this in mind he sent an angel to Joseph in a dream instructing him to move his family to Egypt and to remain there until he was told it was safe to return to Israel. Joseph did as he was told and took Mary and Jesus by night. He remained in Egypt until the death of Herod which fulfilled the prophecy from Hosea 11:1 'When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.' ESV

 

Notice, that God took care not to use overtly super natural methods to protect Jesus from the attacks of the devil. Rather, he warned using dreams and caused both the magi and Joseph to simply walk out of harm's way. He allowed nothing that would draw unwanted attention to the child beyond initially announcing that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.

 

Herod Kills the Children

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

 

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

 

Herod was well known to be jealous for his throne. Apparently killing family members and anyone that he felt represented a threat to his reign. There is a story that he gathered people of note to be killed after his death to ensure that he would have mourners for his funeral.

So, it is certainly not out of character for him to have ordered the slaughter of the innocents in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus. It is understood he did this after ascertaining the age of the Messiah from the wisemen. Apparently, he had all of the boy babies killed under the age of two in the Bethlehem and the surrounding region. The non-Christian writer Macrobius quoted Augustus Caesar as saying 'It’s better to be Herod’s pig, than his son' claiming one of his Herod's own children was put to death at the time as the slaughter innocents in Bethlehem.

 

Once again this event was described in prophecy in Jeremiah chapter 31 verse fifteen "Thus says the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Thus the event which is from the time of the captivity of Israel is also applied in this case by Matthew.

 

The Return to Nazareth

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene

 

In due time Herod the Great died and God sent and angel to Joseph once again in a dream to take Mary and Jesus back to Israel because those who sought Jesus life were dead. Joseph obeyed God once again and took Mary and Jesus back to Israel. He was intending to go to Judea but heard that Archelaus was King there and so retreated to settle in the area of Galilee after once again being warned in dream of the danger. So, they settled in Nazareth and Jesus became a Nazarene or as He is better known as Jesus of Nazareth. 

 

Reference List

 

Is there secular evidence Herod killed babies under the age of two? From <https://www.neverthirsty.org/bible-qa/qa-archives/question/is-there-secular-evidence-herod-killed-babies-under-the-age-of-two/> 12/10/24

 

Jeremiah Chapter Thirty One verse Fifteen From <https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Jeremiah%2031%3A15>

 

Matthew Chapter Two From <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mat/2/1/s_931001> 12/10/24