Matt: Chapter 2

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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: Micah 5:2
(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.’”

The imagery of Jesus being a shepherd is used throughout scripture symbolizing how he is to lead and take care of his flock.

(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.” That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one. In some fashion, Herod can be compared to that of one who intentionally will not seek to follow Christ. Many seek to follow their own way of living, they seek to be their own God and king. Jesus is a worthy king to follow however, just many will not see past their own selfish desires in an attempt to follow 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. It is only assumed there were three wise men due to three gifts, there could well have been more. This is mentioned in Isaiah 60:6 in saying – A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD. (12) And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

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 fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, Hosea 11:1 “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

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: Jeremiah 31:15
(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 killed every child under the age of 2 years. Due to the small size of Bethlehem (and therefore small number of children), differences in views of how important children were, and other cultural differences there is no historical evidence of this happening. This in no way creates doubt as to whether it happened partly due to the fact that this would not have been against Herod’s character. Herod was known to go to any extreme in order to keep his power, even to the point of killing his wife and sons.

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. Joseph listened to what God said, no wonder he was chosen to raise the Son of God. I wonder what opportunities God would put in our lives if we did just he same. (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, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Much of this text deals with prophecies being fulfilled about the birth of Jesus. All of the Old Testament leads up to the life of this person. The book of Matthew is an excellent gateway between the New Testament and the Old Testament in that it ties everything together effectively.