Thursday
Nights
September
29, 2022
Introduction
Two weeks ago we did a bit of introduction to Matthew
as both a book and a person, so I won’t say much tonight other than to remind you that Matthew
was a Jewish tax collector who decided to follow Jesus. We also looked at the magnificent, complex, and
beautiful genealogy of Jesus that Matthew laid out that stretched from Abraham to David to
Babylon and then to Jesus.
Last week we started to look at the birth of Jesus Christ and how God sent an angel
to Joseph to let him know that his wife was carrying a very special baby.
2:1-12 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,
:1 after Jesus was
born
Be careful not
to think that the events in this chapter happened the day after Jesus was
born. We’ll see they take place a bit
later.
:1 Herod the king
There were many
men (and women) named “Herod”, but this is the first one.
This is the
fellow known as “Herod the Great”.
He and his relatives ruled for years over the Roman province called Palestine.
He was born around
74 BC. He was
appointed “king” of Judea in 39 BC by the
Roman Senate at the
request of Mark Antony (Richard
Burton’s part in Cleopatra).
The “Antonio Fortress” in Jerusalem was built and named by Herod after his benefactor,
Mark Antony.
Herod wasn’t
Jewish. He was a descendant of Esau, an
Edomite.
His bloody reign, high taxes, and love of Roman customs alienated him from
the Jews, but he tried to make them happy with great building programs throughout the land of
Israel.
He built a
great palace in Jericho.
He built an
entire city on the coast, and named it Caesarea to
please His Roman pals.
He built the
complex of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea.
He built a huge
fortress and palace south of Jerusalem called “The Herodion”, from which you
can see Jerusalem, and which is very, very close to Bethlehem.
Probably his
most famous building project was the remodeling of the second Temple which had
been constructed in Ezra’s day. Today,
all that’s left of that Temple are the huge stones that formed a retaining wall
on the south side of the complex. The
rest was destroyed by Rome.
He died at age
70 in the year 4 BC. This means that
Jesus’ birth had to be before 4 BC.
He was considered skilled in war, wise, but also paranoid and cruel. He married a Jewish
wife, but because of his suspicions he eventually had her and her two sons
killed.
Emperor
Augustus reportedly said it was better to be Herod’s pig than his son, for a
pig had a better chance of surviving in a Jewish community.
:1 wise men from the East
wise men
– magos (“magician”) – the name given by the
Babylonians (Chaldeans), Medes, Persians, and others, to the wise men,
teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams,
augers, soothsayers, sorcerers etc.
This visit by the magi fulfills:
(Isaiah 60:3 NKJV) The Gentiles shall come to your
light, And kings to
the brightness of your rising.
Our Christmas
traditions say there were “three” wise men, but you won’t find that number in
the Bible. We get that number from the number of
gifts given to Jesus.
There may have been two, there might have been twenty. They probably came with a caravan of camels, horses, and
servants.
:2 saying, “Where is He who
has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star
in the East and have come to worship Him.”
:2 we have seen His
star in the East
At Christmas we
often see displays of the shepherds and wise men standing around
Jesus in a stable with animals. This is
probably not accurate.
Luke’s account
tells us the shepherds showed up on the night of the birth (Luke 2:1-20)
From what Herod does later in our chapter, it seems that the wise men gave some indication as to
the time of birth of the baby, and that they had arrived two years after the
birth (Mat. 2:16).
I don’t think Joseph and Mary would have lived in a stable for two
years. By this time
they’ve settled down, they’re living in their own house (Mat. 2:11) or living
with relatives.
When you set up
your nativity scenes this Christmas, perhaps you ought to put the wise men a
bit farther from the manger, maybe in the next room.
:3 When Herod the king heard
this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
:3 Herod … was
troubled
:3 he was troubled – tarasso
– to agitate, trouble (a thing, by the movement of its parts to and fro);
to cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, disturb his
equanimity
Herod was already
one paranoid guy. He was constantly
worried that someone was going to overthrow him. And now there’s a mysterious new king?
Jerusalem was also troubled because there’s no guessing what a frightened
Herod might do.
:4 And when he had gathered
all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them
where the Christ was to be born.
:4 the chief
priests and scribes
In the “Complete
Jewish Bible” (a Jewish oriented translation), this is translated:
“the head cohanim
and Torah-teachers”
:4 inquired – punthanomai
– to enquire, ask; to ascertain, by enquiry
:4 where the Christ
was to be born
The word
“Christ” means “anointed”.
This is the Greek word for “Messiah”, the “anointed one”.
This was a term
used for kings and priests, but it was used in a special way to refer to a
coming Savior, THE
Anointed One. Many of the Jews were
expecting the Messiah to come and kick out the Romans.
Most of us are
familiar with the Jewish revolt in AD66 that ended with the destruction of
Jerusalem by Rome. But in 132 AD, a second Jewish revolt was led by a man known as Simon bar Kokhva, and many of the Jewish scholars in his day thought that HE was the
Messiah.
The title “Messiah” was not unique to Jesus. Others tried to claim it.
:5 So they
said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
:6 ‘But you,
Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not
the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
:6 Bethlehem,
in the land of Judah
Bethlehem
– (see map) this city in Judah is about six miles south of Jerusalem.
I’ve already mentioned the “Herodion” built by Herod, just three miles from Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is
the town where King David was born.
Its name means
literally “House of Bread”.
If you are traveling north through the wilderness of southern Judah, you
will pass a zone of land where the desert begins to transition into land that
can be cultivated and farmed. Bethlehem lies right on
that border between the desert of Judah and the farmland.
This is pretty cool considering that Jesus called
Himself “The Bread of Life”, and He was born in a town we might called “Bakery”.
The Jewish scholars did their homework well and they came up with a
prophecy from Micah 5:2.
(Micah 5:2 NKJV) “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are
little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you
shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings
forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
I find it fascinating that we have no record of any of these Jewish
scholars going along to Bethlehem to see if the Messiah was actually
there.
Lesson
How far will you go?
Even today, there are people who will talk as if they are interested in
knowing God, but they don’t want to leave their “comfort zone” to find Him.
The Jewish scholars in Jerusalem were unwilling to walk the 6 miles to
Bethlehem.
Herod was
unwilling to make that walk, even though one of his fortress/palaces (the
Herodion) was very close, only three miles away. You can see Bethlehem across the valley from the Herodion.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 16:24 NKJV) Then Jesus said to His disciples,
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me.
It’s not “comfortable” to deny yourself.
It’s certainly not comfortable to take up a cross.
But it’s definitely worthwhile to
follow Jesus.
During the pandemic, many of us have finally gotten comfortable just
staying at home and doing things online.
I’m not saying you’re a lesser Christian for watching this online, but
could it be time for you to get out of your comfort zone and come back to
church in person where you can serve, pray for others, encourage others, and
worship with others?
When we are there gathered as a church, worshipping Jesus, He is there.
:7 Then Herod, when he had
secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
We’re going to see that they probably replied that they had been tracking
the star for about two years.
:8 And he sent them to
Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you
have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him
also.”
:8 search – exetazo
– to search out; to examine strictly, enquire
:8 carefully – akribos
– exactly, accurately, diligently
:8 that I may come
and worship Him
I wonder if his
nose grew just a little like Pinocchio.
Remember, you can’t trust Herod. He
has no intention to worship this new king.
:9 When they heard the king,
they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before
them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
:9 the star which
they had seen
What was this thing?
Some have
suggested it might have been something like a supernova, a comet, or a planet. Yet by this verse, this thing was apparently
moving southward towards Bethlehem.
Stars and heavenly bodies move east to west, not north to south.
Somehow the
star appeared originally to them, then they lost sight of it, requiring that
they stop at Jerusalem and ask for directions.
I know some who
think that because they stopped and asked for directions, they were not wise
“men” but wise “women”. J
My response is that if they were wise “women”, they would have arrived on
time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and
brought practical gifts like diapers.
Back to the star … It seems best to see this as some sort of special, supernatural
phenomena made just for this event.
Perhaps it was even the Shekinah glory of God, like the pillar of fire
at night that led the Israelites through the desert.
:10 When they saw the star,
they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
:10 they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy
Can you imagine their joy? Searching for all these years, finding some
answers in Jerusalem, and then seeing the star actually
indicate the place where the child was.
:11 And when they had
come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother,
and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they
had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense,
and myrrh.
:11 come into the
house
Joseph and Mary had settled down in Bethlehem and were living in a house, not a cave or a barn.
:11 fell down and worshiped Him
worshiped
– proskuneo – to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in
token of reverence; to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the
forehead as an expression of profound reverence
Lesson
Wisdom Worships
Sometimes I get the feeling that some folks don’t understand worship.
They think it’s not intellectually stimulating.
They think they don’t need to participate in the music.
And I have to say it’s seen in the fact that they show up late to church,
just in time to hear the message.
Yet here, the “Wise” men are falling down to
worship. Oh how
I love this.
There used to be a bumper sticker that said: “Wise men still worship Him”
They recognized this small child as something special.
I absolutely
love my grandson Micah. He’s two. About the same age Jesus was.
He’s super cute.
He’s smart. (Play “Micah Wiggles” video)
But I can’t imagine anyone falling down
to worship him.
These men had
followed this astronomical event, they had heard of an ancient prophecy, then
they actually found this child, the promised one.
And they fall down to worship.
There was a movie called “Son of God” that has a scene in it where the wise men arrive at the
manger, present their gifts, and then as they bow before the child, everyone else present in the
manger (including shepherds) all bow down.
I love the picture, though it’s not quite historically accurate.
Are you a wise
person?
Have you learned how to regularly bow before the King of Kings?
:11 gifts to Him:
gold, frankincense, and myrrh
Side note: Did you notice that
“worship” involves “giving”. When the
offering is received at church, it’s not an inconvenient addition to the
service. It’s part of worship.
Gold
This is a gift
for a king.
This might have been what financed Joseph and Mary’s trip to Egypt.
Frankincense
The gift for a priest.
This was one of
the ingredients in the holy incense, which was to represent the prayers of the people
before God.
(Exodus 30:34 NKJV) And the Lord said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte
and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet
spices; there shall be equal amounts of each.
It was also used with some of the sacrifices in the book of Leviticus.
Myrrh
Another priestly gift, this was part of the holy anointing oil:
(Exodus 30:23 NKJV) “Also take for yourself quality
spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much
sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and
fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane,
The anointing
oil was a picture of the Holy Spirit, and it was used to indicate God’s touch
on people or things.
Kings,
priests, and tabernacles were all anointed with this special oil that was not
just myrrh, but also mixed with other spices.
Myrrh was also
used in burials. The simple idea was to
help mask the awful smell of a body decaying.
Jesus’ body was wrapped up in a mixture of myrrh and aloes.
There may be a prophetic hint at Jesus’ death in this gift.
Frankincense
and Myrrh are substances that are typically imported from the land of
Arabia. When we’ve visited Petra in
Jordan, they have a
little spice shop at the end of the canyon where you can buy these spices that
have been brought up by the same route that the Israelites traveled when they
came from Egypt.
I’ve got samples with me here in the studio. The raw spices are typically
ground up and mixed with oil to create a fragrance. The oils are a bit more
fragrant than the raw spice.
The early church Fathers understood
the gold to be symbolic of Christ’s deity, the frankincense of His purity, and
the myrrh of His death.
:12 Then, being divinely
warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their
own country another way.
There was something wonderful
and godly about these wise men.
God spoke to them and they never
let Herod know what had happened.
2:13-15 Escape to Egypt
:13 Now when they had
departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying,
“Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there
until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
:14 When he arose, he
took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,
:15 and was there until
the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord
through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
:14 departed for Egypt
Joseph and his family were probably able to survive because of the gifts
that the wise men brought Jesus.
:15 Out of
Egypt I called My Son
Matthew is now quoting the
prophet Hosea,
(Hosea 11:1 NKJV) “When Israel was a child, I
loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
Like we saw last week, here’s
another example of how a prophecy
can have more than one target. Hosea is
talking about the nation of Israel having been in Egypt as slaves for four
hundred years, but Matthew saw the connection of “out of Egypt” and “My Son”, and realized that it was fulfilled by Jesus as well.
Side Note:
Some of us Bible teachers like to make broad statements such as, “Egypt
is always a type or picture of the flesh or sinful life”. But it’s not really that way in every case.
Joseph wasn’t sinning in taking
his family to Egypt, he was obeying the angel’s instructions and protecting his
family.
2:16-18 Killing Babies
:16 Then Herod, when he
saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent
forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all
its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had
determined from the wise men.
:17 Then was fulfilled
what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
:18 “A voice
was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel
weeping for her children, Refusing to be
comforted, Because they are no more.”
:16 put to
death all the male children
Do you see why Herod had
such a reputation of being a paranoid megalomaniac?
All the male children two years
old and younger are put to death.
Right now, that would
include my three grandsons. (and if you think I’m going to pass up an
opportunity to show you more grandchildren pics …)
:18 Rachel
weeping for her children
Matthew is quoting from:
(Jeremiah 31:15 NKJV) Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and
bitter weeping, Rachel
weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her
children, Because they are no more.”
In Jeremiah 31, the prophet is
speaking of a future for the nation after they have been devastated by the
Babylonians.
The
weeping over children was speaking about the Babylonian devastation. Ramah was a town five miles north of
Jerusalem (Bethlehem was about six miles south). Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin,
the tribes living in that area, all of which were carried off to Babylon.
But in Jeremiah 31, the
main point wasn’t the Babylonian devastation, but to paint a picture of hope in
what was to come.
(Jeremiah 31:17 NKJV) There is hope in your future, says
the Lord, That your
children shall come back to their own border.
Matthew now connects this verse
from Jeremiah with what had happened in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem may not seem to have
had a connection with Rachel. Bethlehem was a part of Judah, which was
descended from Leah, not Rachel.
But if you look a little closer
to the history, the actual Rachel
died at Bethlehem (Gen. 35:19) – there is a connection with her and Bethlehem.
(Genesis 35:19 NKJV) So Rachel
died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Herod killing the children
became known in history as “The
Massacre of the Innocents”.
Even though this was a tragic
event, it was similar to Jeremiah’s prophecy in that what seemed tragic
at the moment would end with hope.
Jesus the Messiah had been born
and He was rescued from Herod’s soldiers.