Matthew 2:1 ( ESV )
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men£ from the east came to Jerusalem,
- Bethlehem of Judea-The town was about 6 miles south of Jerusalem. Its name means the House of Bread. Jesus would call Himself the Bread of Life. Jn. 6:3.
- Now we will see a contrast b/w two characters of the Bible who show us the conflict b/w those who wish to follow the king and those who do not want Him to reign within their lives.
The Two are that of Herod and the
Wisemen.
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HEROD-RULED B/W 37-4 B.C. AND WAS A RUTHLESS RULER WHO MURDERED EVEN HIS OWN SONS AND WIFE. HE WAS A DESCENDANT OF EASU AND MAY HAVE BEEN MARRIED AT LEAST 9 TIMES. (ONE PERSON SAID HE WOULD RATHER BE HEROD'S DOG THEN HIS SON.) IT WAS DURING HIS TIME THAT THE TEMPLE WAS ONCE AGAIN REBUILT.
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WISE MEN-OR MAGI. THESE WERE MEN WHO WERE SPECIALIST IN THE AREAS OF ASTRONOMY, SACRED WRITINGS AND THE PURSUIT OF WISDOM. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW MANY THERE WERE BUT ENOUGH TO WHERE IT TROUBLED THE CITY IN VERSE 3. THEY HAD COME FROM FAR AWAY AND PROBABLY SOMEWHERE AROUND THE PERSIAN AREA.
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Matthew 2:2 ( ESV )
2saying, “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.”
- The word, " saying" has the idea that they were constantly asking about where He was. They were in pursuit of this infant.Think about it.their QUESTION was," where is he who has been born king of the Jews". This question was from a group of Gentiles. These would be the first fruits of the Gentiles._______________________________________________________________________________________
THE STAR
- It was not a natural thing but supernatural.
- it was a phenomenon that would sometimes appear and at other times disappear.
- They might have seen it in light of looking at Numbers 24:17, "I see him, but not now, I behold him, but not near: a STAR shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel: it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Seth.
- Many have linked it to the idea of the Shekinah glory of the OT.
- These men's main desire was to worship this child king. Think about this in contrast to verse 3.
- Herod was troubled at the idea of the birth of a king that would replace his throne.
- Sad part of the passage was ALL of Jerusalem was troubled as well. The very ones whom He wanted to be their king but they refused Him. John 1:10
Matthew 2:4-6 ( ESV )
4and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5They 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.’ ”
He gathered the chief priest (The
ones in charge of the temple activities) and the Scribes (Interpreters of the
Word.). The amazing part is that these men knew the prophesy yet they
themselves even as Jews were less concerned about it then the men from the
east. Think about it only 5-6 miles away their Messiah was born and they
wanting power so much with Herod that they did not even look into it.
·
The quote is from Micah 5:2 The rest of the passage states, He was, " from of old from ancient days," and would come from Bethlehem. MacArthur rightly declares the passage as also as proclaiming the Deity of Christ. Bethlehem was a small town but
not insignificant as it would produce the Messiah. He would be the Shepherd
king in contrast to them as false shepherds of Israel. Ez 34. He would be the
Good Shepherd.
·
As priest they were only concerned
about their status in the world and cared not for the souls of the sheep. He
though would be a shepherd who would feed the flock.
THE GREAT PRETENDER HEROD
Matthew 2:7-8 ( ESV )
7Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
8And 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.”
·
He did this secretly as he tried to
keep the information from others as he did not want his real motives to be
known as yet.
·
Why was it so important that he find
out what time the star had appeared? He would be able to get an idea of how old
this king would be, before He ordered the slaughter.
·
He sent them almost like a show. If this
was he real motive why did he not go it was only 6 miles or at least send an
envoy with them. Keeping it low key like this would keep him out of the
picture.
·
Worship-There will always be those
who claim to want to worship Him but they do not.
·
The sad part though also as far as
we know there was not one Jew who even volunteered to go with them.
k
KEYS TO PASSAGE: SATAN WILL ALWAYS TRY TO THWART GOD'S PLANS BY USING PRETENDERS.
GOD'S PLANS WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL.
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