Matthew 2
I. \\#Matt 1:1-3:17\\ The Presentation of the King
A. \\#Matt 1:1-2:23\\ The Offering of the King
1. \\#1:1-17\\ The King is Offered to the Reader
2. \\#1:18-25\\ The King Is Offered to Joseph
3. \\#2:1-11\\ The King Is Offered to the World
4. \\#2:12-23\\ The King Is Offered to Herod
I. \\#Matt 1:1-2:23\\ The Offering of the King
A. \\#1:1-17\\ The King is Offered to the Reader
B. \\#1:18-25\\ The King Is Offered to Joseph
C. \\#2:1-12\\ The King Is Offered to the World - The mentioning of the wise
men coming to pay homage to Jesus may seem a little out-of-character for
a Jewish/Christian Bible; however; when a king was born in antiquity, it
was common for nations to send ambassadors to welcome the new-born
prince and to congratulate the king. The coming of the Magi demonstrates
that other nations recognized the coming of the greatest of all Jewish
kings, and yea, even the King of all the World.
1. \\#1\\ The birth of Christ
a. "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea"
(1) This minor phrase records all the details that Matthew will
give concerning the actual birth of our Savior.
(2) This reinforces the thought that Luke and Matthew compliment
each other (See comments on Matthew 1:18-25 of previous
chapter).
b. "in the days of Herod the king"
(1) This sets the time.
(2) Herod was king from 37BC to 4 BC.
(3) A tyrannical king who freely killed to maintain his reign,
not only enemies but family and friends as needed.
(4) Herod’s father was an Edomite, a descendent of Esau. The feud
between these two nations dates back to Esau and Jacob, but
it was renewed when Israel asked permission to travel through
Edom to get to the Promised Land \\#Num 20:14\\. Edom
refused. Ultimately, the two became bitter enemies, each
seeking the total destruction of the other.
2. \\#1-2\\ The arrival of guests
a. \\#1\\ "there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem"
(1) "wise men" - The Greek word is the MAGOS from which we get
our word magician. Magicians in those days were
philosophers, priests, or astronomers. They were held in
esteem and common in Persia and Arabia, the area from which
they most likely originated.
(2) "from the east" - Indicating a general direction not a
specific location, perhaps kept vague to allow these
ambassadors to generally represent the world at large.
(3) "to Jerusalem" - The capital of the Israel. These royal
ambassadors no doubt expected to arrive at Israel’s palace.
b. \\#2\\ "Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews… and are
come to worship him"
(1) There is no doubt who these men expected to find, the newly
born King. How much more they may have known of the Infant
is unclear. but it stands to reason they would not have made
such a long trip if they had not expected this Child to be
Someone special.
(2) "worship" - While applied to God, it is also applied to man
\\#Matt 18:26\\.
c. "for we have seen his star in the east"
(1) They had seen the star while they were in the east. The star
was in their western sky.
(2) This star could hardly be a normal star, for no single normal
star can direct a traveler to a city or home. How this star
appeared or directed them is a mystery and can only be
attributed as a miracle from God.
(3) The question to be asked is, "How did these men know that the
star meant a Jewish King had been born?" That is also
unclear, but some possibilities are:
(a) Perhaps God told them. It is evident from the selected
details mentioned either in Luke or in Matthew, that
no writer is giving ALL the facts. Just as Matthew
does mention the angel that appeared to Mary and Luke
doesn’t mention the angel that appeared to Joseph,
perhaps neither writer mentioned an angel that may have
appeared to the wise men.
(b) Perhaps these religious wise men knew the Old Testament
and took the star to be a fulfillment to Balaam’s
prophecy.
Numbers 24:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh:
there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
i. Christ, the Jewish King, is both the Star and the
Scepter of this prophecy.
ii. One of the kingdoms known for having Magi was
Persia.
iii. Ancient Israel was ruled over for a time by Persia
\\#Dan 5:30-6:28\\. Daniel was an advisor to the
Persian king and may have left an abiding influence
on the Persian religious culture.
3. \\#3-8\\ Information needed
a. \\#10\\ "When they saw the star, they rejoiced" - Apparently, the
star was somehow hidden from the wise men for a time. That does
not necessarily mean that it totally disappeared. Perhaps the
cause was something as simple as a cloudy sky.
b. \\#2\\ "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" - The star
being removed and the journey being almost complete, the wise men
went to the palace to inquire of the birth of the new King. That
was a sound and logical action.
c. \\#3\\ "When Herod the king had heard these things"
(1) "he was troubled" - The birth of a new King was news to
Herod, and the thought of a new king greatly troubled him.
(2) "and all Jerusalem with him" - And when the city heard of what
had happened, as Jewish servants in the palace were bound to
disclose, then all of Jerusalem was disturbed as well.
(3) Herod’s zeal for gaining and keeping the throne were known
through out the city. They feared, with good cause, what
Herod might do next.
d. \\#4-6\\ "he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the
people together"
(1) Herod must have surmised from the fact the wise men were being
guided by a star (which perhaps they knew about through the
Old Testament) that this threat would not be from a Roman
rival but from a religious one. He thus gathered the
religious leaders to see where they believed a Jewish,
religious leader might arise.
(2) \\#5\\ "they said unto him" - Herod must have been somewhat
relieved to find they all agreed as this would make it easier
for him to seek out the threat and eliminate it.
(3) \\#5-6\\ The answer given was based on…
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands
of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in
Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
e. \\#7-8\\ "when he had privily called the wise men"
(1) No doubt to keep word from getting out into the city, Herod
meet the wise men alone.
(2) "enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared"
(a) Herod seemed to want something in exchange for the
information he was giving, the time the star appeared.
(b) Here the villainy of Herod is revealed. This information
would help Herod in determining how old the new King
might be IF his plan to get the wise men to lead him to
the Child did not work.
(3) \\#8\\ "Go and search diligently for the young child: and…
bring me word" - Herod decided that these men would make
better locators of the Child than he would. Of course, his
plan was always to kill anyone that might rival his throne.
4. \\#9-11\\ A journey completed
a. \\#9\\ "the star… came and stood over where the young child was"
Once the wise men continued their journey, the star became visible
and directed them not only to the town but the very house where
Jesus was.
b. "they presented unto him gifts" - Once there, they honor the Christ
Child.
5. Conclusion - The wise men traveled from far, either by receiving a
personal invitation from God or by understanding a Bible passage that
others may not have known. They represent Christ being offered to the
non-Jews, that is, the world. These men traveled hundreds of miles to
worship the newly birthed King. Like Mary and Joseph, the wise men
chose to accept the offer of a new King.
D. \\#2:12-23\\ The King Is Offered to Herod
1. \\#12-13\\ God sends warnings
a. \\#12\\ "And being warned of God in a dream" - God warns the wise
men, as well no doubt as Mary and Joseph, of Herod’s plan so that
they do not take the location of Messiah back to him.
b. \\#13\\ "the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream" -
God gives further warning to Joseph to "flee into Egypt."
2. \\#14-15\\ Joseph flees to Egypt
a. \\#14\\ "When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by
night" - Joseph obeyed "when he arose," likely to mean
immediately; and departed by night so that fewer people would
know when they left or in what direction.
b. \\#15\\ "And was there until the death of Herod" - Not very long
as Herod died in 4BC. (Remember the birth year is normally given
as 7BC to 3BC).
c. The time in Egypt fulfilled the prophecy of…
Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of
Egypt.
d. While the Old Testament Jews would have taken the reference to
God’s Son to be Israel \\#Ex 4:22,23\\, God obviously meant it to
refer to Jesus.
3. \\#16-18\\ Herod’s recourse - Herod had left himself a back-up plan.
a. \\#16\\ "according to the time he had diligently inquired of the
wise men" - Herod slew all the children in and around Bethlehem
from two years old and under.
b. "Bethlehem" - It is supposed that Bethlehem was not a very large
town. That being the case, it is estimated that between 12 and
50 children were slain.
(FourFold Gospel Commentary, J.W. McGarvey, Grand Rapids, MI, 1914: Notes on
Matt 2:16.)
c. \\#17-18\\ This fulfilled…
Jeremiah 31:15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and
bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her
children, because they were not.
4. \\#19-23\\ Joseph settles in Nazareth
a. \\#19\\ "But when Herod was dead" - After this heinous act, Herod
soon went to meet God.
b. "an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph" - As God
directed Joseph to leave, so God directs him to return
\\#20-21\\.
c. \\#22\\ "when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the
room of his father Herod"
(1) After the death of Herod, his territory was divided into
quarters with his sons ruling over at least three parts.
(2) Fearing that Archelaus might be much like his father, Joseph
did not want to return to Israel.
(3) "being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the
parts of Galilee" - Again, God steps in to give Joseph the
guidance that he needed.
d. \\#23\\ "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth"
(1) Nazareth is a small village in the northern part of Israel
where it is very mountainous.
(2) This city will become Jesus’ home city, although He will not
spend much time there for this is the city that will never
accept Jesus as more than a carpenter’s son.
(3) "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets,
He shall be called a Nazarene."
(a) Matthew seems to refer to an Old Testament prophecy;
however, there is no Old Testament passage that makes
this prophecy.
(b) Matthew does not tell us the name of the prophet who
made the prediction, and God did not preserve whatever
writing that prophet may have made for the Scriptures.
(c) The fact that we cannot verify the prophet or the
prophecy does not make Matthew’s statement in the less
reliable. The Scripture corroborates enough of
Matthew’s statement to more than demonstrate Matthew as
an inspired, preserved gospel.
5. Conclusion - The King was offered to Herod, the king of Israel, but
Herod rejected Him. Of course Jesus was not coming to set up an
earthly kingdom at this time so Herod need not have feared Christ’s
coming. While Herod’s actions in no way reflect on the people of
Israel, it is sad to know that in the end, the nation of Israel will
make the same decision.
<Outline
Index> <Close Window>
