Matthew 2
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Today we continue with Matt and look at chapter 2. Revision from last time: who can remember Matthew 1? What was it about? Birth of Jesus Christ. 1st half of chapter 1 – His genealogy. It showed He fulfilled the requirements to be Messiah – Son of David, Son of Abraham, but genetically not son of Joseph – whose Son? - Son of God. Then in 2nd half gives more details - Jesus’ conception is not from a man but from the Holy Spirit in a mysterious way we cannot understand. But according to Jewish law, Joseph “adopts” Him (names him, takes Mary as his wife) so Jesus’ shares Joseph’s genealogy as a descendent of David. Jesus’ birth fulfills a number of OT prophecies and in 1.23 we saw one of these
from Isaiah 7:14.
Chapter 2 which we look at today has a few more. Jesus is of divine origin – come from God in order to save us from our sins. Matthew 1.23 “Emmanual” – God with us. Matthew 1.21 “Jesus” = “The Lord Saves” – He came to save His people from their sins. But who are His people? Who are Jesus’ people? The Jews? That’s what the Jews thought. Now we go into chapter 2 and we see more interesting things. We start to see who really are God’s people. We see Jesus as the true king of the Jews as opposed to an imposter who claimed to be king of the Jews. We see Jesus’ birth and infancy fulfil a number of Old Testament prophecies in remarkable ways. We can see the sovereignty of God over everything - even over the evil plans of evil men who would try and kill Jesus.
Chapter 2 famous at Christmastime. Matthew 2:1-12 - It has the story of the magi – wise men who came from the East to give gifts to the baby Jesus. Verses 13-18 - It has the flight/escape to Egypt. Verses 19-23 - It has the return to Israel and Jesus’ family settling in Nazareth. These three stories form the natural divisions in this chapter. But overriding all, we see God’s protection over the young Jesus. Not only this – but this is part of the plan – fulfilling scripture. From capter 2 we can learn more about who Jesus is. Who He is for. And we can learn about the sovereignty of God – nothing can disrupt His purposes.
Chapter 1 finishes with a very brief account of Jesus’ birth – basically He was born and Joseph named Him “Jesus” – that’s all! Nothing about stables or no room at the inn – that’s all in Luke. Matthew says very little about the circumstances of Jesus’ birth.
Then as we open chapter 2 – it is set after the birth of Jesus. How long we don’t know but sometime within 2 years after his birth (2.16). So lets now have a close look chapter 2
Matthew 2:1 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.
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, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
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.”
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, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
It starts with the well known story of the Magi – or wise men – visiting Jesus. When read it, we probably think of three splendidly dressed kings on camels with expensive gifts following a star. Well some of these things are true – but not all mentioned in the text! No mention of camels! No mention that is was 3 magi! No mention that they were kings! But they did bring expensive gifts, they did come from the East, they did follow a star. We need to unravel Christmas carols and tradition from the biblical story! And also – there is much in this story we don’t think about at Christmas.
In these verses, we see a contrast in acceptance of Jesus between the heathen magi and the people of Israel. We see the comparison between the rightful king – Jesus – and an usurper – Herod the Great (explain the different Herods – it was Herod the Great’s son, Herod Antipas, who was the Herod later on in Jesus’ life and when Jesus died and who beheaded John the Baptist). We see the fulfillment of prophecy in that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. We see Jesus is worshipped. We see God’s protection over Jesus. Many of these themes set the story for the subsequent life and ministry of Jesus.
So, who were the Magi, these wise men? Magi – sorcerers, magicians – astrologers, wise men. In other parts of the Bible, these sorts of people are pagans who follow false gods. So what has happened here? Why suddenly do they do the right thing and come to worship Jesus? Well it is not explained why- very few details. But what is interesting is that the non Jewish magi, from the East, recognised Jesus was king of the Jews, and worshipped Him, whereas Herod, also the king at that time of the Jews, did not recognise Jesus, and instead wanted to kill Him.We see again, right at the beginning of the Gospel, Gentiles accepting Jesus, while not all Jews do.
The Magi come to Jerusalem and ask Herod where the “King of the Jews” is. Now notice Herod reaction. Who was Herod? He was the king of the Jews! But what sort of king? He was an Idumean,
(you might remember from our Genesis series - the Idumeans are Edomites, descendents of Esau, Jacob’s brother). Herod had on the face of it become a Jew religiously to keep the people happy, although his adherence to the Jewish Law was very patchy to say the least! But he was not descended from David, he was not entitled to be king according to Old Testament – God’s rules. Remember that according to the Old Testament, all kings of Israel must be descended from David. Herod was an usurper. In contrast, the Magi in verse 2, look for “the one who has been born King of the Jews.” Jesus is the rightful king. We have seen this in chapter 1 from His genealogy. How does Herod respond to the request of the Magi? Verse 3 – he was disturbed! He did not welcome this! He obviously saw Jesus as a threat to his rule. The fake king, the usurper, rightly felt threatened by the rightful king. And also all Jerusalem was disturbed too! They did not welcome Jesus, the real king of the Jews, while the foreign, gentile, Magi did. Herod pretended to want to worship Jesus in verse 8, but in fact wanted to kill him (verse 13). Now Herod didn’t know where the King of the Jews – or the Messiah was supposed to be born, so he had to ask the chief priests and the teachers of the law who told him in verse 5, that it was to be in Bethlehem and in verse 6 they quoted Micah 5.2.
So here we see another prophetic confirmation of Jesus birth - where He was to be born. But here in Matthew only part of Micah’s prophecy is recorded. If we read the whole prophecy:
Micah 5
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace.
What a wonderful prophecy about the coming of the ruler of Israel! Notice, His origins are of old,
from ancient times, indicating that Jesus is older than He appears – in fact, older than time itself! Notice this ruler will shepherd His flock, and His people will live securely. Notice, His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. He will not be just ruler of Israel but to the whole earth! Notice in verse 5 – He will be their peace!
So here again we have wonderful fulfilment of prophecy, of the one who would rule to the ends of the earth, and bring the earth peace! And how the earth needs peace, as wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on, as tensions in the Korean peninsular escalate, and even here, as people live with a lack of peace with their family, friends, spouses, children, even no peace with themselves. Oh how the earth needs peace!
So lets go back to the Magi. They find Jesus, and worship Him. That is, they recognise who Jesus is. He is not just as a king, but someone to be worshipped. You don’t worship a king, but you do worship God. So we see the magi saw that Jesus was more than just a king. Jesus deserved worship and only God is to be worshipped.
In the meantime, Herod hatches his evil plot to kill Jesus. And now we see God’s protection over Jesus. And note that these events, this attempt by Herod to kill Jesus, it didn’t take God by surprise. Far from it, these were actually divinely ordained event that had been predicted beforehand in Scripture. Herod’s attempt to kill Jesus, Jesus coming out of Egypt, Jesus’ family settling in Nazareth instead of Bethlehem, were all prophesied in Scripture written hundreds of years beforehand.
Now in verse 12, the Magi are warned in a dream not to go to Herod and they return a different route. And in verse 13 – Joseph also warned. It seems as though Joseph acted very quickly as Joseph and his family left that very night for Egypt. It seems like a close call, except we know with God, nothing is a close call. When Herod found out that the magi hadn’t gone back to him, he was furious and ordered the massacre of all boys 2 years and under in Bethlehem and surrounds. Bethlehem was pretty small, so they estimate this was probably only 20 boys, but if that was one of your boys it was enough! And again we have a quote from the Old Testament. In Mattew 2.18, Matthew quotes a prophetic prediction from Jeremiah. This is an incredibly heartbreaking passage, but if we go to Jeremiah 31 where the quote comes from, and keep reading we will see hope too:
Jeremiah 31
15 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.”
16 Thus says the LORD:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the LORD,
and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 There is hope for your future,
declares the LORD,
and your children shall come back to their own country.
So we see a great tragedy here, but we also see a great hope, and indeed we see that through Jesus, great hope comes into the world. In our time, and indeed in the times right up to the return of the Lord, we will see great tragedies in this world. Earthquakes in Haiti. Civil unrest in the Ivory Coast. Miners killedin New Zealand. Asylum seekers drowning near Christmas Island. And most of us have witnessed tragedies in our own lives, or those we love. But there is a hope for our future. Jesus has come. And He will return, and when He sets up His eternal kingdom, then all tears will be dried, then there will be no more tragedy. But in the meantime, we must not despair, and understand that despite the evil plans of sinful men like Herod, who may prevail for a time, that ultimately God is in control. As we can see that here in Matthew 2. We see God’s sovereingty
So Joseph and his family fled to Egypt as refugees. We also live in a land that has experienced refugees. And indeed some of you have been refugees, or are descended from refugees, people who’ve fled for their lives to another land. So the young Jesus and His family fled for their lives to Egypt. And they had to stay there until the danger in Israel passed, until Herod died a few years later in verse 19.
No internet news then so an angel had to tell Joseph that Herod was dead and it was safe to return. And so we find another fulfilment in prophecy in verse 15 when they returned from Egypt - “out of Egypt I called my son,” - which is from Hosea 11. So they headed for Israel but Joseph heard that Herod’s son Archelaus was reigning in Judea, so he went to Nazareth in Galilee instead.
When Herod the Great was king, he was king over the whole of Israel – Judea, Galilee and other places. But when he died the Romans, who ruled over the whole area (Herod was a vasal king under them) split Herod’s kingdom into four parts, and gave Judea to Herod’s son Archelaus, who was just as bad as Herod – so bad in fact that several years later he was removed from power by the Romans. But the northern part – Nazareth – was ruled by another of Herod’s sons – Herod Antipas, who we meet later on the Gospels. Herod Antipas was no angel but he wasn’t nearly as cruel as Herod the Great or Archeleus, so it was safer to live there, under Herod Antipas. Again, this was confirmed in a dream and thus Joseph took his family to live in Nazareth in Galilee. So Jesus grew up a Galilean from the town of Nazareth. And this fulfils another prophecy, as it says in verse 23: “He shall be called a Nazarene”
Summary
So what have we seen in this chapter? In many ways we have seen a continuation of chapter 1 - that Jesus is the promised one, He is the real and rightful King of the Jews. Even strangers from a long way away recognised this. They recognise that not only is Jesus king of the Jews, but they worship Him, meaning that they recognise His divinity - that is, that Jesus is God. But not all are pleased. Herod is frightened. The real king frightens all usurpers, like Herod. They are threatened by the rightful ruler. Herod tries to kill Jesus, but through a series of dreams, God warns the Magi and Joseph and thus protects Jesus.
But this is not a matter of God just managing to keep ahead of Herod’s evil plans, for in fact these events were prophesied hundreds and hundreds of years before. It was prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, and as we shall see later in chapter 4, He would come from Galilee, 100 or so kms to the north. Jesus would be born in a time of great tragedy– the massacre of the innocents in Bethlehem - and He would be called out of Egypt.
We can see here the infancy of the Messiah, the Son of God, who despite the evil plans of the ruler of the land at that time was protected as prophesied in the word of God. What can we learn from this passage today? We can learn that:
- Jesus is the real Messiah, as prophesied in Scripture
- Jesus is not just for Jews, but for all. The wise men from the East, non Jews, recognised who Jesus was when most Jews didn’t.
- No plans of evil men can out–thwart the plans of God. God is sovereign. Sometimes in life we wonder what is going on. Things don’t go according to plan and evil seems to prosper, but God is in control even when it doesn’t look like it. It certainly must not have looked like it to the poor mothers in Bethlehem... yet even in the midst of that tragedy, Jesus had escaped in order to grow up. And then in God’s perfect timing it would be His turn not to escape, and to die in our place, and to save us from our sins.
This chapter also sets the stage for Jesus’ ministry. Straight after chapter 2, chapter 3 begins about 30 years later with John the Baptist and Jesus ministry. But already we can see that Jesus is a special child, prophesied long ago, to be the Messiah, the King of the Jews. Jesus – the Lord saves – Emmanuel, God with us.
