Matthew Chapter 2
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The Magi Visit the Messiah
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Matthew Chapter 2 is a captivating part of the New Testament that sheds light on the incredible events surrounding the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In this chapter, we encounter the Magi, wise men who journey from the East to Jerusalem, following a miraculous star that signals the birth of the "King of the Jews."
These Magi, inspired by their faith and guided by the star, seek out the newborn Jesus to offer gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their actions symbolize the recognition of Jesus as the divine King and Savior of all people, transcending boundaries and cultures.
However, there's also a dark side to this story as King Herod, threatened by the news of a potential rival, seeks to destroy Jesus. This leads to the tragic event known as the "Slaughter of the Innocents," where Herod orders the massacre of young children in an attempt to eliminate any competition to his throne.
God's providence shines through in the midst of this turmoil, as Joseph receives angelic guidance in dreams, leading him to escape to Egypt with Mary and Jesus to protect them from Herod's cruelty. This demonstrates God's watchful care over His Son and His plans.
Ultimately, after Herod's passing, Joseph receives another angelic message instructing him to return to Israel. Instead of settling in Judea where danger still lurked, they make their home in Nazareth. This choice fulfills a prophecy, highlighting that Jesus would be known as a Nazarene.
Upon reading this passage, I noticed a few things that just would not let me ignore them:
4 prophecies were mentioned as being fulfilled
Jesus was born in Bethlehem
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”
The quote here comes directly from Micah Chapter 5, which reads:
1 Marshal your troops now, city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
on the cheek with a rod.2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
The New Testament frequently refers back to prophecies from the Old Testament, often echoing or directly quoting those prophecies to emphasize the fulfillment of God's promises through Jesus Christ. As you read more into the gospels you will actually begin to see this more often that you would initially realize. This connection between the Old and New Testaments highlights the continuity of God's plan throughout history. Jesus is the fulfillment of every prophecy!
Joseph moves his family to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Joseph's decision to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt set the state for the fulfillment of the prophecy in Hosea 11
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
Joseph’s actions also demonstrates his obedience to God’s divine guidance and his role as a protector of his family. It highlights the lengths to which God goes to ensure the safety and fulfillment of His plan. The journey to Egypt and subsequent return to Israel underline Jesus' identification with the people of Israel and foreshadow the larger narrative of salvation and deliverance that Jesus would bring about through his life, death, and resurrection.
Herod commits genocide while trying to be rid of Jesus
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
So this one is less of a prophecy fulfillment and more of a direct relation to an event that occured in the times of Jeremiah to provide the reader with a better picture of the mood set by Herod’s actions. Herod’s aggressive search for Jesus and his desire to kill the child at any cost let many families in such devastation. Just as Rachel wept for her children during the Babylonian exile, the mothers in Bethlehem were now weeping for their children due to the horrific events orchestrated by Herod.
Joseph moves his family to Nazereth
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
The prophecy mentioned in this verse refers to the prophecy in Isaiah 11. Although Isaiah does not directly mention the Nazarene, it does mention that “a shoot will come from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit.”
A BRANCH will bear fruit… In Hebrew the word used for branch is Isaiah is “nëtzer”.
וְיָצָא חֹטֶר, מִגֵּזַע יִשָׁי; וְנֵצֶר, מִשָּׁרָשָׁיו יִפְרֶה.
w'yätzä choţer miGëza yishäy w'nëtzer miSHäräshäyw yif'reh
Since Hebrew in that time was only written in consonants, this word would have appeared as NZR (ענף) which consist of the same consonents as within Nazarene.
It is also very possible that this fact of Jesus being called a Nazarene fulfills a fifth prophecy in Psalm 22:6-7 and Isaiah 53:3, both mentioning that the Messiah will be scorned and dispized by the very people he came to deliver. In that time, Nazareth was a small town with a bad reputation for being no good. Nathanael comments in John 1:46 before meeting Jesus for the first time “Can anything good come from there?” Little did he know about the man he was about to meet, thanks to his brother Philip.
The relationship between Jesus and Herod mimics the relationship between Moses and the Pharaoh during Exodus Chapter 1.
Sort of… In Exodus 1 we see that the king of Egypt saw that the Israelite name was growing in numbers. This growth was perceived as a threat by the Pharaoh of Egypt. Exodus 1:9-10 says, "Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us." The Pharaoh expressed concern that the Israelites might join forces with Egypt's enemies in case of war and rebellion. He feared that they might side with Egypt's foes and rise against Egypt. Exodus 1:10 states, "Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." Pharaoh then decided to take oppressive measures to control the Israelite population. He imposed forced labor and harsh bondage upon the Israelites to keep them under control and to prevent them from becoming too strong. When these efforts did not prove to be effective, he proposed to thin out Israelite nation by ordering the Hebrew midwife to kill each newborn boy they delivered. The midwives, however, did not agree to this. Therefore, Pharaoh resorted to having all the male infants killed using military force.
Similarly, Herod found Jesus to be a threat. According to Carson “he loved power… and resented the fact that many Jews considered him a usurper.” Naturally, with how high of a station he held, Herod was also very paranoid. At any moment he could be taken down by someone who wanted what he possessed. So we can only imagine why when three stranger magi show up at his door step saying “We are looking for the newborn King of the Jews” Herod might have thought
Please recognize that this is a David Lee Roth joke reference and not something racial or malicious. If you are interested in seeing where this reference came from, take a look at David Lee Rose’s music video - Yankee Rose. Now back to business.
David Guzik comments that the further reason Herod was so disturbed was his chances of being accepted by the Jews was in jeopardy with the presence of this new king. If the nation of Israel got wind of this child’s existence, he would be cast of and replaced. In every way, Jesus was the rising opponent, the Israelite nation to his Egyptian rein. This kid had to go! But because the wise men left him without any more than “This child exists in this general area of your kingdom”, he took matters into my own hands. “If I kill all the boys matching the child’s age and gender, surely I will kill the boy in the process.”
Yeah-no!
Just as Moses’s mother saved him from Pharaoh’s wrath, Joseph too protected Jesus from Herod’s wrath through heading God’s warning and moving his family to Egypt (of all places).
Thank you for joining me on this journey of reading through the book of Matthew. If you are interested in learning more about this chapter from the professionals, feel free to check out the links below. These also some of the same references I used while studying this chapter.
Are you in need of a bible to follow along with? Might I suggest the following options:
Alabaster Co. Book of Matthew - This is actually the book that I am using currently. It provides you with ample space to take notes and relaxing images to bring your heart at ease while reading God’s word.
If you have questions or comments about the passage that you would like to talk about, please feel free to comment below, connect with me via text, or message me on Facebook messenger. My desire was to use this venue as a way to study with others on a long-distance scale. I would be honored if you joined me
