Matthew

The birth of one destined to be king has been a big deal in any age.  And it was definitely a big deal in the time Jesus was born.  The birth of a king drew attention from cultural power structure of the day.  Those prominent in politics, religion and education would be most interested in a king or one to become king.  The simple thoughts and attitudes of a king could drastically change their world.   Therefore one might seek out the king and learn about him, bow before him and pay homage.  At least that would be normal for a normal king, a king whose kingdom was in this world.

"A stir begins as soon as Christ is born. He has not spoken a word; he has not wrought a miracle; he has not proclaimed a single doctrine; but 'when Jesus was born,' at the very first, while as yet you hear nothing but infant cries, and can see nothing but infant weakness, still his influence upon the world is manifest. 'When Jesus was born, there came wise men from the east,' and so on. There is infinite power even in an infant Savior." (Spurgeon)

But, what kind of king could be born in a humble village?  What kind of king was born of a woman not yet married, laid in a feed trough and later shuffled off to another country to hide?  What kind of a king grew up in the despised city of Nazereth?  This King is surely like no other king.  

³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 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.

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.' "

⁷ Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 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.".

This is Herod the Great that was ruling during this time.  He was appointed as 'King of the Jews by the Roman Senate.  Herod was actually from Edom and a convert to Judaism.   Herod was a successful ruler in many ways.  He strengthened the economy in poor economic times; he provided jobs in building the temple and in doing so, strengthened the nationalism of his people while under Roman rule.  Herod attained a balance of being king of the Jews while remaining loyal to Rome and not forgetting how he became king.  Regardless of any good Herod accomplished as king he was never widely accepted by the Jews.  The final years (13-4BC) of Herod's reign were characterized by executions, family disputes, war and conflict with Rome.  He had the Hasmonaean family killed and decimated the Sanhedrin.  He later killed around 300 court officers.  He also killed his wife, her mother and 3 of his sons.  Anyone that was perceived as being a threat to his power was killed. 

"Augustus, the Roman Emperor, had said, bitterly, that it was safer to be Herod's pig than Herod's son. (The saying is even more epigrammatic in Greek, for in Greek hus is the word for a pig, and huios is the word for a son)." (Barclay)

At one point in his final decade Herod placed a golden eagle, which was a symbol of Rome, over the temple gate.  This was a factor in him loosing even more of his Jewish supporters of which he had so few.  Some attest this to Herod's deteriorating mental state.  He had been a ruler that was sympathetic to the Jewish culture and religion.  But he seemed to have become paranoid and power hungry.  Even from his deathbed, in a cruel act driven by pride, he ordered the execution of some prominent Jews so that the nation would be in mourning when he passed away.    

Verse 2 tells us that the wise men came from the East looking for the one who was born King of the Jews.  As we noted, the Roman senate had already given Herod the title as 'king of the Jews".  For these men to call another the king of the Jews, and imply one was born into it, was a threat to Herod's throne and power.  He needed to know who this person was and who considered him king. 

The wise men were the magi.  These guys may have just been Babylonian astrologers, but they were likely much more.   It's not clear how they linked this star in the sky to the king of the Jews.  We have traditions that see this as 3 wise men when in reality we don't know how many there were.  This was probably a large caravan because they traveled a long distance.  The idea that they came to this newborn Jesus in the manger is probably also not likely.  This meeting with Herod and worshiping of Jesus was likely to be around a year after His birth.   

When Herod heard of this inquiry the magi had made he was troubled and all of Jerusalem.  Although many Jews despised Herod, he was a known factor.  Hearing of another king brought unrest and questions and worries.  When the king was troubled, everyone was troubled. 

Herod came to the understanding this king that was born was the Christ.  So, he gathered the chief priests and scribes to find out where the messiah was to be born.  The chief priests and the scribes understood that the messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.  They quoted the prophet Micah.  It's fascinating that they see the scriptures and can recite them but are incapable of making the connection of the scriptures to Jesus.

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.

This star may have come from the East, but the word translated to 'East' can also mean rising, or coming up.  It was a celestial body and even understood as a being by the Greek culture and their attesting stars and planets to gods.  There is no way we can know exactly how this worked; we can only know this star was supernatural because it led them from their land to the Child King they sought. 

This scripture was widely viewed by Jewish scholars as a messianic passage. 

 ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 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.

For these men to come from afar and recognize Jesus as a king was significant.  They recognized that there was something different about this king.  His kingdom would go beyond Judea and beyond this world.  They probably didn't understand much of this at the time, they simply knew this star meant something big was happening.

We should remember this isn't likely just 3 men.  There could have been numerous wise men.  And it was very likely that this was a caravan of many others who traveled with the magi.  Imagine this caravan pulling into quiet and humble little Bethlehem.  This was a big deal.  These men were prominent in their culture, probably used to having others respect and maybe bow before them.  But here they bow to Jesus and bring Him gifts.  It is said that in those days one didn't present themselves before a king without bearing a gift.

These gifts weren't unique just to Jesus.  They were bought, sold and traded in the region and any of them would have made a fine gift.  The combination of the three is however noteworthy.  Gold is currency of a king, the most valuable of metals and its value was universally understood.  Frankincense was the gift of a priest.  It was a incense and perfume used in the temple.  Myrrh was the gift for one that would die.  It was used to embalm bodies.  Jesus received gifts of a king and priest who would die. 

¹² Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Ignoring Herod's request could be detrimental to their health, especially given Herod's reputation and disposition.  Departing for their own country was the wisest course of action for these wise men. 

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."

Egypt was a natural place for Jews to flee.  Many had escaped to there for various reasons over time.  Because of that there was a Jewish presence in nearly every large city.  In Alexandria there were nearly a million Jews there.  It was clear that Joseph could escape to Egypt and blend in with the many Jews already there without drawing attention. 

This is not to say that Egypt was a great place to raise up a child that would one day be the messiah.  Egypt was a place known for its sorcery, witchcraft and magic; it was an evil place.  The Talmud says that ten measures of sorcery descended on the world, nine went to Egypt and one went to the rest of the world.  Those that dispute Christianity and try to explain away Jesus, claim that Jesus learned the secrets of magic and sorcery and that's how He did miracles when he returned to Nazereth in Galilee.

There is a legend centered on the flight to Egypt.  The story says that Joseph and Mary were on their way to Egypt with Jesus when they encountered robbers.  It wasn't unusual for these robbers to kill the travelers and steal all their valuables, this type of thing happened frequently.  But before this could develop, one of the robbers named Dismas saw the baby Jesus and felt there was something about him, something that touched his heart.  He refused to allow any harm to come to them and said to Jesus, "O most blessed of children, if ever there come a time for having mercy on me, then remember me, and forget not this hour."  As the legend goes, Dismas was one of the thieves' crucified beside Jesus where they met again.  It was there Dismas found forgiveness and mercy for his soul, and Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)

Another legend born out of this flight to Egypt is the story of Joseph, Mary and Jesus resting in a cave for the night.  A little spider saw the frost begin to form and in an effort to protect the baby Jesus spun a web across the opening of the cave.  Herod's soldiers arrived at the cave in search of them and were about to enter when one noticed the spider web, visible from the frost on it.  The soldier reasoned that no one had entered the cave because of the spider web.  The soldiers passed by.  The legend says that this is why we put tinsel on our Christmas trees.  It's a reminder of the spider's web, shiny with frost stretched across the entrance of the cave to protect Jesus from the cold and the soldiers. 

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry(a man who was already an evil murderer); 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:

Herod was apparently told by the wise men when this star first appeared.  From that Herod arrived at 2 years old being a safe age to make sure he killed all that could have been the king.  So, Jesus was probably about one and half when he was taken to Egypt. 

All the male children in Bethlehem two and under was probably about twenty to twenty five children.  This doesn't make it any less evil than were it more, it just gives us an idea of the extent of this evil act.  This would be a devastating event for any mother and father, but for it to happen to twenty five families in this quiet little town cause great mourning.  Matthew likens this mourning to the scripture in Jeremiah.  This scripture speaks of the Rachel weeping as the children of Israel went into captivity.  Bethlehem seemed as though it were a dark place of death but from the birth of Jesus new life was coming.

¹⁹ Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead." ²¹ Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

Herod would have died just a few years later, so Mary and Joseph didn't keep Jesus in Egypt too long.  He was probably around 4 years old when the angel told them to return to Israel.

²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. ²³ And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

Archelaus was Herod the Great's son and he had inherited this part of the kingdom.  Archelaus was as savage and evil and it was almost as if he wanted to establish is own standard of evil when he began his reign by killing 3000 people. 

Joseph was warned away from Judea and sent north to Nazareth in Galilee.  Almost immediately we hear the voice of Nathanael in John 1:46 say, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  This small town was 70 miles north of Jerusalem situated on the 3 sides of a hill.  We might be tempted to think of it as a little backwater town, but it was actually close to a major east west caravan route as well as near a major north south route.  Barclay said, "Jesus was brought up in a town where the ends of the earth passed the foot of the hilltop."

So Jesus grew up in Nazareth as the eldest son of Mary and Joseph.  It appears that Joseph died as Jesus was growing up.  But Jesus became a craftsman in the town.  He grew to understand jobs, responsibility, pain, suffering, bills, money, hard work, calluses, and all the things associated with ordinary life.   Jesus was faithfully living as a man, identifying with mankind in every way, so that he could represent us; so that he could become our propitiation. 

When we begin chapter 3 of Matthew Jesus will begin his ministry and be 30 years old.  This time of growing up was Jesus being faithful in the least before being faithful in the great work that was before him.  Every day brought him one day closer to the cross for which he was born.

Amen.

©2015 Doug Ford