Matthew 2:1–12

A Royal Priest

The wise men (‘Magi’) visited Jesus. This visit showed three things about Jesus. He is a king. He is a priest. He is God himself. It suggested something else too. He would suffer greatly because he always obeyed God.

Matthew did not tell us about Jesus’ birth. He had a main interest. He wanted to explain why it was important. He did this by describing some strange events. They happened after Jesus’ birth.

Jesus’ birth was exactly as the OT had said that it would be. The prophet Micah lived more than 800 years before Jesus. Micah had promised that a great ruler would come. His birth would be in Lesser Bethlehem. (Lesser means less important.) This was the place where David was born. (Read Micah 5:2.) The people knew that it would be after the time of the exile. But, nobody had come. So, the people were still waiting (verses 4–5). But this small village was exactly where Jesus was born!

Matthew recorded the gifts that the Magi (wise men) brought. So, he must have thought that the gifts were important. He believed that each one shows us something special.

• Gold shows us about royal things. This is true even today. But, in the OT, it was also a sign that something was holy. There was a lot of gold in the temple. (Read 1 Kings 6:20–22.)
• Frankincense is a perfume. (This is a substance with its own special good smell.) People used it in ancient times. Jewish priests used it in the Temple. It was one of their duties. In OT times, their main duty was to bring gifts to God for the people. Usually, the gifts were perfect animals. The animal died instead of the person who brought it. It was as if the people were paying a price to God. The payment was for their sin. The people knew that they deserved God’s punishment.
• Myrrh was another perfume. (This is a substance with its own special good smell.) In Bible times, people used it to reduce pain. They used it when they buried people too. It helped to make the funeral less awful. In the OT, myrrh was also a sign that people were loyal to God.

Matthew believed that these gifts were signs. They showed the fact that Jesus was a holy king. He obeyed God. Because he served God, he would suffer and die.

Perhaps Matthew wanted us to think about something else too. People had different reactions to the news about Jesus’ birth. King Herod knew and believed God’s word. Herod had no doubts that the Magi would find the Christ in Bethlehem. He said, ‘When you find him’ (verse 8). But Herod was more interested in himself. He had his own ambitions. So, he tried to defeat God!

Also, there were the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They had a different problem. They were professional Bible experts. But they failed to use the OT in their own lives. They showed little interest in the Magi’s news. All of the OT points to Jesus. But these men still had no interest in him.

The Magi (wise men) had little knowledge about Jesus. But they travelled great distances. They dealt with many difficulties. They really wanted to find him. When they first saw him, they gave him honour. Yet, he was only a tiny baby. These men ‘ worshipped’ Jesus. Worship is for God only. Matthew tells us that the baby was God himself. In some way, even the Magi knew this!

Questions

1. People in this passage had different reactions to Jesus. What lessons can we learn from them?
2. Jesus came into this world for a purpose. He came to obey his Father. He came to serve us. He also died for us. What does this mean for the life of your church?
3. We must tell the Good News (gospel) to other people. What does this passage tell us about the gospel’s contents?

More explanation

Herod

The Bible mentions several people who were called Herod. Herod the Great ruled Israel at the time of Jesus’ birth. Herod the Great was born in 73 BC. (Note: BC means Before Christ. Christ means Messiah.) Herod killed many people. So, he was always afraid that someone would kill him. At the time of his death, he had evil plans. He was planning to kill more than 3000 people. He had already killed his wife and his sister’s husband. He even killed his mother and some of his sons. This was because he was afraid of them.

All this explained Herod’s reaction to the report of the Magi (wise men). It helps us to know why the news affected ‘all the people in Jerusalem’ too. When Herod worried, other people usually suffered! Soon, the mothers of Bethlehem would know this. They would suffer from the cruelty of the king.

Maybe Herod was worried most about something that the Magi said. They spoke about someone who was ‘born as the king of the Jews’. Herod knew that he was not the proper king. He became king by using evil methods.

Jesus was born a short time before Herod’s death. (Compare verses 1 and 19.) Herod died in the first quarter of 4 BC. Jesus was probably born in 5 BC.

The Magi and the star

Magi were religious leaders. They were the wise men in Persia and Media. This is now Iran and other countries near there. We do not know how they knew about Jesus. Perhaps it was by a dream. Maybe it was similar to the dream in verse 12.

We do not know what star the Magi saw. Many people have tried to identify it. Some of them suggest that it was Halley’s Comet. (Note: ‘Comet’ comes from a Greek word ‘kometes’. It means a star with a long tail.) But this appeared in 12 BC (Before Christ.) So, it was too early to show Jesus’ birth. Another comet is more likely to be the star. The Chinese recorded a comet in 5 BC. It would have been like the star in verses 9 and 10. Its tail would have pointed down ‘over’ Bethlehem. (We know more details about this comet. See the ‘Tyndale Bulletin’ 43.1, 1992.)

The chief priests and the teachers of the Law

These men were religious and political leaders. They ruled in ancient Judea. Judea was a part of Israel. They met together in a group. The name of this group was the Sanhedrin.

The chief priests included the present and previous High Priests. They also included priests from whom they would choose the new High Priest. They were all members of another group. The name of this group was the Sadducees.

Also, there were the teachers of the Law. ‘Scribes’ is another name for them. (Some English translations of the Bible use this name.) They must make sure that people obeyed the laws. They must also teach God’s words. They were the experts in Jewish religion. They were usually Pharisees.

(Note: Pharisees and Sadducees: There is more information about these two groups. It is in the section for Matthew 3:4–10.)