The Child Jesus

Continuing a study of the Gospels:

(Matthew 2:1) Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, (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.”

Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, so called because there was another Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulon.  This Bethlehem was a small town about six miles south of Jerusalem.  Jesus was born during the reign of Herod, called Herod the Great, the first with that name.  After His birth there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem inquiring about the newborn King of the Jews.  The ancient historians write that during this time there was a prevalent expectation that some remarkable person was about to appear.  The Jews were looking for their Messiah, but they expected Him to arrive as a king who would deliver them from their Roman bondage.  This expectation spread to other countries, so it was natural that these wise men should come looking for a king.  These wise men who came to Jerusalem had seen a remarkable star all the way from where they had been in the east, which they took to mean an extraordinary person had been born in Judea.  They came seeking to worship the newborn King as a king, not as God, but as honoring an earthly king.  It is interesting to note that men came from afar to see this king because they had known the expectation of Him, but the Jews closest to the event did not seem to take much notice.  

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

When Herod the king heard about these wise men seeing an extraordinary star and coming to see the newborn King of the Jews, he was very much troubled, for he was a foreigner who had taken the kingdom by force.  He would certainly have been alarmed at the news of a remarkable appearance of a star that would prove that indeed a new King was born and would depose him.  All Jerusalem was troubled, as well, Herod's friends and supporters for the same reason Herod was troubled, but the rest of Jerusalem probably just feared what Herod might do that might result in war or some other sort of commotion.

(4) And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

After hearing the news, he gathered all the chief priests, and scribes who were men learned in the law, and demanded they tell him where this Christ was to be born. 

(5) And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, (6) 'And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of you shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.'"

The chief priests and scribes told Herod that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea, referencing the prophecy of Micah, which literally read in Micah 5:2, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth to Me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."  The priests and scribes called the coming Christ a Governor, and the word literally meant "leader"; they said He would rule His people, and the word translated as "rule", "poimaino", was a form of the word "shepherd", and literally meant to tend or feed the flock.

(7) Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

Then Herod summoned the wise men who had come from the east seeking the newborn king, and met with them secretly.  He asked them exactly when the star had appeared.  The scripture says he diligently inquired, meaning he must have taken great pains to determine the exact time.

(8) And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child, and when you have found him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship him also.”

Herod then sent the wise men to Bethlehem, where the birth of the newborn king they had originally inquired about, was to have been.  He told them to search diligently for the child, and when they had found him, return to him and tell him where they had found the child, so that he might also go and worship the child; at least that is what he told them.

(9) When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

After meeting with the king and hearing what he had to say, they departed from him, and saw the star they had seen in the east, and it went before them, guiding them to the child.  Whether the star literally moved, or it was just before them and they followed it to the place where it hung over where the child was, it was a precise guide to take them directly to the child.

(10) When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

This seems to suggest that they had lost sight of the star that had led them from the east to Jerusalem.  It seems they had gone as far as they could to Jerusalem when they had to ask for directions to the child, so when they saw that same star again, guiding them, they were overjoyed.

(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 to Him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

When they reached the house that had stood under the star, the wise men went in and found the young Child with His mother, Mary.  They fell down and worshiped him, not as God, but bowing and giving homage as King of the Jews.  They presented Him with gifts, as was the custom in the east when meeting a person of distinction.  They gave Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Frankincense was a very fragrant incense, and myrrh, a spice used in perfumes and medicines.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that some suggested these gifts were emblematic of the divinity, regal office, and manhood of Christ.  They offered incense as to their God, gold as to their king, and myrrh as to a human body.

(12) And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

After seeing the Child and offering Him gifts, the wise men departed to return to their own country.  However, they had been warned in a dream by God not to return to Herod, so they went back another way.

(13) And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I bring you word, for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."

After the wise men had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to take the Child and Mary, His mother, and flee to Egypt.  They were to remain there until God brought further word because Herod would be seeking the Child to kill Him. 

(14) When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed into Egypt.

When Joseph awoke and rose up from his dream, he took the Child Jesus and Mary, His mother, apparently still in the night, so he had acted immediately to take them to Egypt.

(15) And was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt have I called My Son."

Joseph, Mary, and Jesus stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod, fulfilling a prophecy spoken of the Lord through the prophet Hosea, that precisely in Hosea 11:1, read, "When Israel was a Child, then I loved Him, and called My Son out of Egypt."  The statement at the time of Hosea speaks of God bringing young Israel out of Egypt under the direction of Moses.  However, by this scripture, we understand that Hosea was actually prophesying that God would call His Son Jesus out of Egypt, and that God bringing His people out of Egypt during the exodus was symbolic of God bringing His Son out of Egypt.  So much of the Old Testament was symbolic of God's plan of sending Jesus from the beginning.

(16) Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its coasts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Herod felt he had been mocked by the wise men when they did not return to him, and he was exceedingly angry.  He had all the children two years old and younger in Bethlehem to all its borders killed, choosing that age based on his conversation and the information he had received from the wise men regarding the time of the appearance of the star.

(17) Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, (18) "In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are no more."

Once again there is a fulfillment of prophecy, this time spoken by the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:15, "Thus says the LORD, 'A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were no more.'"  Ramah was a town in the tribe of Benjamin, very near Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah.  Between these two places, and near to both of them, was the grave of Rachel, and because Ramah belonged to Benjamin, a son of hers, Rachel is here representing all the Jewish women in these parts mourning the loss of their infants in this massacre by Herod.

(19) But 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.”

After Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord again spoke to Joseph in a dream, telling him to return to Israel with the Child Jesus and His mother, Mary, because those who had sought to kill Jesus were dead.

(21) And he arose, and took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

Joseph arose from his dream and did just as the angel of the Lord had told him, and took Jesus and His mother Mary back to the land of Israel.

(22) But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; however, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside to the parts of Galilee.

The angel had first told Joseph just to return to Israel, no specific place.  However, when Joseph went back to Judea from where he had come when he went to Egypt, he found Herod's son Archelaus reigning and he was afraid to stay there.  Evidently, God spoke to him in another dream, guiding him to 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."

Joseph brought his family to the city of Nazareth, again fulfilling a prophecy, said to be spoken by the prophets, plural, so it seemed to be a common acknowledgment that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.  The closest language of a prophecy to this seems to be before the birth of Samson, when the angel of the Lord prophesied to Samson's barren mother, “For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5).  Again, as with so many Old Testament scriptures, the events were symbolic of the coming Christ.  Most early Biblical scholars believed the prophecy in verse 23 was more of a consensus of many prophets.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, wrote:

The character of the people of Nazareth was such that they were proverbially despised and contemned...(he referenced John 1:46 suggesting nothing good came out of Nazareth).  To come from Nazareth, therefore, or to be a Nazarene, was the same as to be despised, or to be esteemed of low birth; to be a root out of dry ground, having no form or comeliness. This was what had been predicted by all the prophets. When Matthew says, therefore, that the prophecies were “fulfilled,” his meaning is, that the predictions of the prophets that he would be of a low and despised condition, and would be rejected, were fully accomplished in his being an inhabitant of Nazareth, and despised as such.