Matthew 2:1

Matthew 2:1

Matthew chapter 2 is a very familiar passage in the Bible that is often remembered and read in the holiday season of Christmas. Matthew 2:1-2 says, "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, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."

The wise men are mentioned here, and the word that is translated "wise" is not the word that is usually translated "wise", but is actually the word “magi”. “Magi” is a word that is probably of Babylonian origin and for this reason the wise men may have come from Babylon, what is today the country of Iraq. They were astrologers and they were respected for their scholarship and understanding.

The study of the stars has been considered a science from earliest antiquity, and has always intrigued mankind. We know that several hundred years before the birth of Christ many Jews were taken as captives to Babylon and there they prospered. Perhaps copies of the Old Testament scriptures were left in Babylon, or perhaps these magi were themselves Jews, descendants of those who had gone to Babylon in chains so many years before. We can only speculate.

There is one and just one prophecy about the Messiah in the Old Testament that associates the Messiah with a star. It says in Numbers 24:17, "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel." By some unknown means, God gave these wise men the wisdom to equate the astrological event that they witnessed with this scriptural prophecy about the Messiah.

God probably used the heavens to declare the arrival of His Son on the earth for a couple of reasons. It would be symbolic of the fact that the hope for mankind is not of this world, but is otherworldly, and therefore the coming of the Son of Man is heralded by a sign from the heavens. Remember that Jesus told His disciples, "My kingdom is not of this world." It is also true that Jesus came for the whole world. He came so that everyone might have the opportunity to be saved from their sins. Therefore, announcing His birth by a star, that could perhaps be seen by all the world, is also symbolic of the fact that He came for all the world.

The first coming of Jesus was accompanied by a spectacular astrological event, and so shall be His Second Coming. Jesus said in Matthew 24:29-30, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

There are a lot of things about these wise men that we do not know, but there are also three major things about them that we do know. 1. They sought and they found Jesus Christ. 2. They gave of their best to Jesus. 3. They obeyed God. Evidently once the magi became aware of the star that announced the birth of Jesus, they became determined to visit Him for the purpose of knowing Him, worshipping Him, and honoring Him. The wise men said in verse 2 of Matthew chapter 2, "we are come to worship Him." They had a significant desire to worship Jesus. They had gone to no small expense and trouble to travel from their home country for the purpose of worshipping Jesus Christ. Only the Spirit of God could have revealed to them the true character of Jesus as the Son of God, and given them the desire to bow down and worship Him.

Salvation today is very similar to what was experienced by the wise men. It is the power of the Spirit of God that reveals to humans that they are not complete unless they come to and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. All who seek will find. Wise men still seek Him.

The Bible says that the wise men gave to Jesus gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. They gave Him gold because gold was a gift fit for a king. Frankincense was an aromatic incense that was used in the temple worship by the priests, and so perhaps is symbolic of the priestly nature of the ministry of Jesus Christ. Myrrh was also an aromatic substance that was sometimes used in the embalming of the dead, and so; perhaps was symbolic of the death that the Christ-child would one day suffer for us all.

The wise men honored Jesus with gifts. We also honor Him for the same things that these gifts represented. We honor Jesus as the King of Kings; in whom is centered our hopes for a world to be transformed according to His promises. We honor Him as our Priest, because through Him we have access with confidence into fellowship with God. We also honor Jesus for the death that He died for our sins, because we know that it is only by the horrible death that He suffered that we have the opportunity to live forever with Him, instead of what otherwise would happen to us.

Matthew 2:3-12 says, "When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 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. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way."

In Matthew chapter 2 there is a very evident contrast between the two kings that are mentioned. There is King Herod and there is King Jesus. King Herod is typical of those who seek power in the kingdoms of this world. He is ruthless and deceitful. He is conniving and vicious. He is extremely insecure about his hold on power, and he is willing to step on anyone to get what he wants.

In verse 8 Herod said to the wise men, "Go and search diligently for the young child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also." We know that Herod was lying to the wise men. He had no intention of worshipping Jesus but actually wanted to kill the baby Jesus, because Herod was afraid that Jesus would be a rival for his throne. As with most fears, it turned out that the fears of Herod were unfounded.

One of the lessons that we can learn from King Herod’s bad example is that deception and dishonesty lead to hell. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." In order to come to know the truth, we need to be set free from the lie. The great lie of the world’s system is that you are O.K. without God. The great lie of the world is to deny that you need to repent of your sins and turn to Jesus for forgiveness. Those who are under the sway of this lie easily become liars themselves.

If there is a difference between those that are God’s children and those that are not, it is their relationship to the truth. Jesus spoke of the devil and said, "He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it." Those who are under the sway of this world, and who have not yet been enlightened by the gospel, have been deceived by the power of evil. And those who come to know the truth about Jesus must be willing to not only seek the truth about God, but also to admit the truth about themselves: that they are a sinner in need of a savior.

Nathaniel met this requirement of being a seeker of truth. When Jesus saw him he said, "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile." Being a truthful person is a requirement to becoming saved, and it is also a requirement to being a witness for the Lord. Ephesians 4:25 says, "Let every man speak truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another." Truth is also mentioned as part of the armor of a Christian that is needed for the spiritual battles that we will face. Ephesians 6:14 says, "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth."

But King Herod was not a believer, and he was not a truthful person. He did therefore lie, and tried to deceive the wise men. And they would have been deceived if it had not been for God, and verse 12 says, "And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod." In some ways we do live in a cruel and wicked and deceitful world. Believers are often warned in the New Testament to not be deceived. There are plenty of ideas out there and plenty of people out there that will deceive you. Ephesians 5:6 says, "Let no man deceive you with vain words..." First John 3:7 says; "Little children, let no man deceive you..." The only way that we can avoid being deceived by the liars and deceivers of this world is by doing exactly what the wise men did: make sure that we get our instructions from God about where we go, what we do, and why we do it. Don’t do what you do because of what some human has told you. Do what you do out of service to God because you believe it is what God would have you to do; and then the things that people may say to you will be of a lot less consequence.

If we rely upon God, we certainly can have confidence that He will keep us from being deceived with the rest of the world. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that gives to all liberally..." Psalm 32:8 gives the promise, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."

We learn another valuable lesson in Matthew chapter 2, which is about God’s providence and protection. King Herod was a powerful king. He was deceitful. He was even cruel and murderous. But God protected the wise men and the baby Jesus from any harm. "If God be for us, who can be against us." You and God make a majority. If the whole world be against you and you walk with God; then you will come out on top. You can dig your heals in, fold your arms across your chest, rely upon God, offer your enemies God’s mercy instead of vengeance, and then watch your enemies fall one by one. It will happen just as assuredly as the day follows the night.

There are people today just like King Herod, who are deceitful and opposers of God, and even murderous. But you have nothing to fear. Their efforts will be futile; just like those of King Herod. We must not forget that we were once included in their numbers until the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ did shine into our hearts. We actually should ask God to give us compassion for these lost ones who are headed for an eternity without God. As a matter of fact they are headed for the same destiny as the evil one who has deceived them. Revelation 20:10 says, "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

In the first two chapters of Matthew we were given quite a lot of detail about the arrival of the Son of God into this world. At the end of Matthew chapter 2 we find Mary, Joseph, and Jesus settled safely into the town of Nazareth. Then approximately thirty years pass, and we know nothing else from Matthew until John the Baptist arrives on the scene. Matthew 3:1-2 says, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent, ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

In Matthew chapter 1, we are shown very clearly that Jesus came in the lineage of King David. In Matthew chapter 2, we are then shown the baby King Jesus receiving homage from the wise men and gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In Matthew chapter 3, we now have a spokesman for the king telling us very clearly how we can become members of this great and majestic kingdom; of which Christ is the king.

The way to become a member of the kingdom of Christ is to repent. It is the only way. There is no other way into the kingdom than to repent. We are commanded to repent. John the Baptist said, "Repent ye." This is an imperative. It says in Acts 17:30, "God now commands all men every where to repent." There is no alternative, other than destruction. Jesus said, "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish."

The reason that we need to repent is because we are all sinners. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Believers are not better than unbelievers. The main difference between believers and unbelievers is that believers have repented of their sins, and have received the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ. Hopefully the unbelievers will also obey the command to repent before it is too late for them.

We have all received from Adam a sinful nature, whereby we all so easily do what we ought not to do. It is so often easier to do what is wrong than what is right. It is easy to be selfish instead of generous. It is easy to be cruel instead of kind. It is easy to be deceitful instead of honest. It is easy to worry instead of having faith. It is easy to be vengeful instead of merciful. It is easy to be overcome by one of the multitude of passions that can come our way, instead of being in the proper control of ourselves at all times. If there is a problem that we all have, it is the sin problem. Whatever our race and whatever our nationality, we all have the sin problem. If there is a problem that needs to be corrected in our nation, it is the sin problem above all the others. John the Baptist was right. "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Should you find the capacity to repent of your sins, then you will receive the benefit: total and complete forgiveness and a glorious entrance into the kingdom of God. There is no room for self-righteousness in Christianity, because believers know that they are only sinners saved by grace; and they serve Jesus out of appreciation to Him who died for them, and gave them the opportunity to repent.

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