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.”
Bethlehem
בית לחם Beth-lechem, in Hebrew, signifies the house of bread. And the name may be considered as very properly applied to that place where Jesus, the Messiah, the true bread that came down from heaven, was manifested, to give life to the world. But לחם lehem also signifies flesh, and is applied to that part of the sacrifice which was burnt upon the altar. See Leviticus 3:11-3.3.16; Leviticus 21:6. The word is also used to signify a carcass, Zephaniah 1:17. The Arabic version has [Arabic] Beet lehem, and the Persic [Persic] Beet allehem: but [Arabic] lehem, in Arabic, never signifies bread, but always means flesh. Hence it is more proper to consider the name as signifying the house of flesh, or, as some might suppose, the house of the incarnation, i.e. the place where God was manifested in the flesh for the salvation of a lost world. (Clarke) [tried to verify Clarke’s etymology of Bethlehem with limited time and had no success]
What was the star?
Who were the "wise men?"
What were the wise men doing?
The ancient world correlated the birth of important men or events with astrological occurrences. God revealed to them in a way they would understand. In a sense they represent the world seeking and finding the Jewish Messiah. This " star" may have related to the prophecy of Num. 24:17: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel.” (Utley in Matthew; see also Smith)
ILL:
Wisdom given.
APPL:
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.’”
Herod was considered to be crazy.
- “In the days of Herod the king — This was HEROD, improperly denominated the GREAT … .”
- According to Sc “At the age of fifteen Herod was appointed to the government of Galilee. B.C. 40 the Roman senate made him king of Judea.” (Scofield)
- " … that little short monster. He was a little over four feet tall, and as really short little guys probably suffered a tremendous ego problem." (Smith)
“… he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” Herod the Great was so cruel and unpredictable that when he was upset, everyone was afraid! A notable example of his cruelty was that when he was near death, he was afraid no one would mourn his passing, so he imprisoned many Pharisees who were to be crucified when he died. This would ensure that the day of his death would be a day of grieving. The order was not carried out, but this illustrates his character. (Utley in Matthew)
Herod’s consternation was probably occasioned by the agreement of the account of the magi, with an opinion predominant throughout the east, and particularly in Judea, that some great personage would soon make his appearance, for the deliverance of Israel from their enemies; and would take upon himself universal empire.
SUETONIUS and TACITUS [respectively], two Roman historians, mention this. Their words are very remarkable: (Clarke)
There was a firm belief among many that it was contained in the ancient letters of the priests, that at that very time the East might have power, and set out to take possession of the affairs of Judea. What intricacies they had foretold of Vespasian and Titus. (Clarke, translated by Google)
An old and unwavering belief had spread throughout the East, that it was in fate that at that time Judaea had set out to take possession of the property. That this was commanding the Romans, so far as the event aforesaid was afterwards made clear, the Jews, leading them to them, rebelled. (Clarke, translated by Google)
He also was horribly cruel and paranoid. He thought that his sons and his wife, Miriam, were plotting against him, so he had them all put to death. Then he began to miss Miriam, so he built a big monument to Miriam because he missed her after he had killed her. They used to say, “It’s safer to be Herod’s pig than to be his son,” because he was always paranoid that his sons were trying to take over his throne. So he was having them killed all the time and wiped out most of his sons because of his paranoia. He was a very insecure little fellow and that is why these big fortresses that he built, and would seek refuge in the fortresses. (Smith)
Now in time, he realized that as the result of his own cruelty and meanness, no one would weep when he died. And he couldn’t stand the thought of no one weeping when he died, so he gave orders that when he died all of his top officials were to be killed, executed, because he wanted people to mourn when he was dead. And he knew they wouldn’t mourn for him, so in order that there would be mourning when he died, he ordered all these popular officials to be put to death when he died. Fortunately, when he died, they had enough sense to realize, well, why should we obey his order; he’s dead? And the other officials were not executed and thus he went unmourned. (Smith)
Chief priests and the scribes of the people.
- > It appears that Herod at this time gathered the whole Sanhedrin, in order to get the fullest information on a subject by which all his jealous fears had been alarmed. (Clarke)
- Sanhedrin Council
- Scribes = lawyers
- > The word is often used by the LXX. for a man of learning, especially for one skilled in the Mosaic law: and, in the same sense, it is used by the New Testament writers. (Clarke)
- > The scribes were so called because it was their office to make copies of the Scriptures; to classify and teach the precepts of oral law (See Scofield " :-") and to keep careful count of every letter in the O.T. writings. Such an office was necessary in a religion of law and precept, and was an O.T. function … . (Scofield)
- > To this legitimate work the scribes added a record of rabbinical decisions on questions of ritual (Halachoth); the new code resulting from those decisions (Mishna); the Hebrew sacred legends (Gemara, forming with the Mishna the Talmud); commentaries on the O.T. (Midrashim); reasonings upon these (Hagada); and finally, mystical interpretations which found in Scripture meanings other than the grammatical, lexical, and obvious ones (the Kabbala); not unlike the allegorical method of Origen, or the modern Protestant “spiritualizing” interpretation. In our Lord’s time, to receive this mass of writing superposed upon the Scriptures was to be orthodox; to return to the Scriptures themselves was heterodoxy–our Lord’s most serious offence. (Scofield)
Prophecy fulfilled
[I agree with Utley:] It must be remembered that they are given in a mindset of OT prophecies. Jesus surely fulfilled these OT expectations, but moved beyond them. These blessings must be seen as precursors of the gospel. (Utley in Luke)
This was an allusion to Micah 5:2. It was not an exact quote from the Masoretic Text or the Septuagint. This specific prophecy gives strong evidence for the inspiration of the Bible. Micah wrote approximately 750 years before Christ’s birth yet he predicted the small village where the Messiah would unexpectedly be born. The most powerful empirical evidence for an inspired Bible is predictive prophecy which is unique to Scripture! (Utley in Matthew)
Responses to THE NEWS of the world
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.
Presuppositions determine interpretation. I believe in the supernatural, although I cannot always explain why or how. The star moved and stopped! It must not have been so spectacular that many others saw it or recognized its significance. These men were trained in what to expect in the night sky. This phenomena did not fit a standard pattern. Therefore, it was not solely a natural phenomenon. This mixture of the natural and supernatural is similar to the plagues on Egypt. (Utley in Matthew)
ILL:
Barclay quotes William Temple, the renowned Archbishop of Canterbury, as defining worship as quickening the conscience by the holiness of God, feeding the mind with the truth of God, purging the imagination by the beauty of God, opening the heart to the love of God, and devoting the will to the purpose of God. (Barclay)
APPL:
My commitment to worship.
Deep commitment to be at the feet of Jesus.
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.”
Man
If the wise men had not come
God has middle knowledge.
ILL:
APPL:
Our enemy is relentless.
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.
There may be an etymological connection between the names Nazareth and the Messianic title “Branch,” which is netser in Hebrew (cf. Isa. 11:1; Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Zech. 3:8; 6:12; Rev. 5:5; 22:16). This interpretation is evidenced by the fact that no prophet ever foretold of Jesus being born or raised in Nazareth … . (Utley in Matthew)
God took an active role in protecting Jesus.
Barclay. “Archbishop of Canterbury.” “Worship,” Bible.org, Website cited (Vol. 2, p. 117). R. Mounce, Matthew, p. 151, https://bible.org/node/16100.
Bible, ESV (in bold type)
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Calvin, John. “Commentary on Matthew 2”. “Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible,” 1840-1857," https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cal/matthew-2.html.
Clarke, Adam. “Commentary on Matthew 2.” “The Adam Clarke Commentary,” 1832, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/matthew-2.html.
Scofield, C. I. “Scofield Reference Notes on Matthew 2.” From the “Scofield Reference Notes,” 1917 Edition, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/srn/matthew-2.html.
Smith, Charles Ward. “Commentary on Matthew 2”. “Smith’s Bible Commentary”, 2014, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/csc/matthew-2.html.
Utley, Bob. “Luke 1.” From the series, "Luke the Historian: The Gospel of Luke,” Bible Lessons International, 2013, https://bible.org/seriespage/luke-1.
Utley, Bob. “Matthew 2.” From the series, “The First Christian Primer: Matthew,” Bible Lessons International, 2013, https://bible.org/seriespage/matthew-2.
Jesus is The A & The Ω