TBR Bible study -- Matthew 2

Matthew 2

The Visit of the Magi

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" ​

7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On 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 and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

13When 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." 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where 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."

16When 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. 17Then 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

19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and 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."

21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But 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, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

 

magi (a magus)

1. 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.
2. the oriental wise men (astrologers) who, having discovered by the rising of a remarkable star that the Messiah had just been born, came to Jerusalem to worship him

The magi, also known in a more traditional sense as the three wise men, were not what you'd call "locals". According to this definition of the Greek word "magos" above, the term comes from roughly the Arabian peninsula at the closest, and possibly as far away as the Orient! Either way, that's a heck of a long trip on a bunch of camels. And even though modern nativity scenes shows the wise men there along with the shepherds next to the baby Jesus in the manger, that's not how it went down. Jesus was at least a year old, possibly two, by the time the magi finally got there.

An interesting note regarding the "star"... Modern astronomers have offered several theories as to what it actually was, but the most plausible explanations I've seen to date are either some type of nova or supernova, or an alignment of several planets, the most significant being Jupiter.

 

The original Greek word, tarasso, translated here as "disturbed" in a more literal sense is closer to agitated, unsettled, or anxious. And there are a couple of very good reasons Herod an several other Jews might be anxious upon hearing the news the Messiah had possibly been born.

1. The coming of the Messiah means Herod's gravy train is all but over. Herod had survived by catering to both the Roman empire and the Jewish Pharisees (religious leaders), and there was a LOT of politics involved.

2. The Messiah wasn't just the real king of Israel: He was the one who was supposed to restore the Jewish people back to a place of prominence and righteousness in the world. There had been a lot of compromises made to keep peace with the Romans, and Israel has a history of 'straying' from their own doctrine from time to time. This was one of those times.

 

Yeah, right.

 

Verse 16 reveals Herod's true intentions for little Jesus, and it definitely wasn't worship.

Three times in this chapter, Matthew refers to prophecy being fulfilled. Fulfillment of prophecy is really the litmus test for the Jews regarding the debate over whether or not Jesus really was/is the Christ. There were dozens, if not hundreds of prophecies given over the centures regarding the birth, life, and death of the Christ. Matthew is attempting to check off as many of those boxes as he can here.

 

After waiting until the death of the king who had signed Jesus' death warrant, Joseph and Mary made the long trip back home only to find that Herod's son, Archelaus, had taken over for his father. According to historical record, Archelaus was absolutely ruthless. At one point he ordered the slaughter of hundreds of pharisees in a "cleansing" effort. Pharisees were really the only class of people under him who were in a position to even think about challenging his authority. So Joseph makes the call to settle in Nazareth to avoid the wrath of Herod Archelaus.

 

This chapter really boils up some tension with the issue of 'Providence' - that God is 'in charge.' It's a little disconcerting that here comes the Messiah, the prophesied one who will save the world, and he has to flee before the threat of Herod.

Even more disturbing is that while God protects his son, he does not protect all the other little boys under the age of 2. Doesn't anybody else have a problem with that?

My whole wrestling with this passage led me to a sermon, which I'll spare you from, but basically came down to this:

1. God does not kill or harm the children, Herod and his army does. It is Herod who commits evil (though it is God who does not intervene when He has the power to do so).

2. God allows free will, and the exercise of that free will, even to atrocious extents, for a time. But then there will be the judgement. This story is less about God's compassion for the children than it is about Herod's choice to commit an atrocity.

3. Though Jesus does heal of physical ailments and raise people from the dead, his primary purpose while on earth is the cross - to defeat death (I'll be glad to explain that more, if wanted/need-be).

4. Jesus' humanness includes being a) vulnerable, and b) being a refugee. Jesus spent his early years as a 'stranger in a strange land.' Joseph's trade as a carpenter may have made things a little easier in Egypt, but they still would've been cultural and ethnic outsiders or, dare I say it, "aliens."

 

The thing that always gets me about this, is the fact it brings back the debate of free will versus destiny. If all the things have been prophesied then wouldn't it be considered destiny? Its really kinda confusing.

 

I agree. The extreme "Providence" or "Soveriegnty" of God belief is, in my opinion, the most damaging to the body of Christ today. It takes all responsiblity off us and places it all on God.

 

That's good stuff - I've heard it surmised that the Magi were from Persia and that they had been taught the prophesies from Daniel, which had been handed down from generation to generation.