Matthew Chapter 2
It is interesting that God allowed different writers of the gospels to tell the story of the birth of Jesus from different angles. Matthew did not write about Jesus’ birth like Luke did, instead he wrote about how Herod the Great tried to kill Jesus after He was born.
Herod was paranoid about anyone who would try to take his rule away from him.
Herod was in his later years and had become cruel and had fits of rage and jealousy and even killed close relatives and associates especially if he thought they were trying to take his power from him. Wise men coming a great distance led by a star to come and worship a baby, did not sit well with Herod.
“A stir begins as soon as Christ is born. He has not spoken a word; he has not wrought a miracle; he has not proclaimed a single doctrine; but ‘when Jeus was born,’ at the very first, while as yet you hear nothing but infant cries, and can see nothing but infant weakness, still his influence upon the world is manifest. ‘When Jesus was born, there came wise men from the east,’ and so on. There is infinite power even in an infant Savior.” [Spurgeon]
Let's Reflect
1. Matthew does not tell us how many wise men came to worship the baby. He does tell us why they came. They came to worship a king. How did they express the title of the king they were looking for?
2. We often talk about how terrible the Israelite people were, in that they were continually disobeying God. But notice the faith of these wise men. Being from the East they may have heard about the coming Messiah when the Jews were exiled in their land. They had been studying scriptures well enough to recognize the signs of the coming Messiah. Keep in mind there had been approximately 400 years between the writings of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Jewish people passed their faith in God from generation to generation. They passed along the hope of a coming Messiah. It makes me question, how well are we passing on the truths of scripture to our next generation? These wise men were probably astrologers. What sign had the wise men seen that moved in the sky to show them the area where Jesus was born?
3. When the wise men came, they approached the man in charge to learn the whereabouts of the infant. They asked Herod the Great who instantly became jealous and murderous toward the thought that someone else in his providence might be worshipped. He called all the chief priests and scribes of the Jewish faith together, and asked where the Messiah was to be born. They of course knew the answer, it was found in scripture. The answer was found in the Old Testament in Micah 5:2. What town did the prophecy say He would be born in?
4. What the chief priest and scribes did not realize was that the answer they had given this wicked man would set off a series of events that was horrific. What order did Herod put in place, in an attempt to kill the baby who was to become the Messiah of the Jews?
5. Herod thought he would find the exact house where the baby was born. How did he think he would do that? See verse 8.
6. Instead, God protected Him (Jesus), more than once. By what means?
7. Herod was angry when the wise men did not return to him with the exact address. His horrendous killing spree began.
8. When Herod was dead, an angel once again gave Joseph direction. He told him it was safe to leave Egypt and go back to their homeland. Not too far into their journey back home, Joseph was given another dream and warned about the danger of the next Roman ruler who was the son of Herod. It was unsafe to go to their hometown area, they went instead to a city. What was the name of the city?
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