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| Chapter 2 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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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 that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, 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 demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My people Israel.’" 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the Wisemen, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also." 9 ¶ When they had heard the king, they departed; and lo, the star which they saw in the East went before them until it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding 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 unto Him gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13 ¶ And when they had 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 thou there until I bring thee 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 into 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." 16 ¶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the Wisemen, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew all the children who were in Bethlehem and in all the region thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the Wisemen. 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." 19 ¶ But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, "Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead who sought the young Child’s life." 21 And he arose and took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither. Notwithstanding, 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." |
v1-12 The Magi (Wisemen) visit. v1 Because of the census (an official count of the population), Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem, Joseph was a descendent of David who was born in Bethlehem. Luke 2:1-6. Judea was the name of the area but it reminds us that Jesus was a descent of the tribe of Judah. Herod the King was ‘Herod of Idumaean,’ an Edomite, often known as ‘Herod the Great,’ he was not a Jew and was put in charge by the Romans. Born 73 B.C. he was given the title "King of the Jews" in 40 B.C. by Rome. He died in 4 B.C. The Wisemen would have been astrologers, people who were the ‘scientists’ of the time, who studied the heavens and probably believed the stars and planets influenced or affected the life of a human, they would not have been considered evil. The Wisemen had seen a ‘star’ appear in the heavens and thought it indicated the birth of a special King - "the King of the Jews." There is no certainty of what they saw, many suggestions have been made. It is interesting Matthew’s remark in v9, "went before them until it came and stood over where the young Child was." Would a ‘star’ or event in the heavens be able to create this effect? v2-6 The Wisemen approach the official channels, Herod obviously feels threatened, and so did the Jewish leaders, was this the expected Messiah? Herod asks the chief priests and scribes about the Jewish prophecies. They quote from Micah 5:2. v7 Herod asks the Wisemen for more details then sends them to Bethlehem. v8 Herod referred to a "young child," indicating the Wisemen had been travelling for sometime. This would explain why Herod killed the children up to 2 years of age, v16. v11 Matthew refers to "the house" which again confirms the time delay, Mary and Joseph and the child were not now in the stable. Though the scripture does not mention how many Wisemen there were, it is assumed that as only three gifts were given there was only three Wisemen. Gold - signified the Kingship of Jesus. Frankincense - This was a resin obtained from the certain trees related to the terebinth, they are found in South West Arabia. The whitish-yellow produces a very strong smell if heated and was used in the holy anointing oil used in the temple worship, Exodus 30:34ff. Signifying His heavenly position, Son of God. Myrrh - Resin obtained from a small tree found in the Arabian desert and parts of Africa. The gum drips from the shrub onto the ground, where it hardens into an oily yellow-brown resin. Myrrh was part of the holy anointing oil Exodus 30 23-33. It was also used in purification rites and cosmetic preparations. The spice was offered to Jesus as part of a pain killing drink on the cross Mark 15:23 and used in His burial. John 19:39,40. Showing that Jesus was destined to die. v12 A special divine warning telling the Wisemen to avoid further contact with Herod. v13,14 Joseph is now given a divine warning and instruction to take Mary and the Child to Egypt for protection. There were many Jews living in Egypt and they would be safe. It appears that they departed the same night as the Wisemen. v16 Herod soon realized that he had been tricked and orders the murder of all children in Bethlehem and surrounding area up to two years of age. He was using the times given by the Wisemen as a guidance and making sure that the child was killed, it does not mean that Jesus was two years old at the time. v15 Hosea 11:1. v17,18 Matthew quotes from Jeremiah 31:15 which was reflecting the Israel’s exile. v19-23 Following Herod’s terrible death in 4 B.C. as recorded by Josephus history writings, God sends two divine messages to Joseph to return to Israel and live in the Galilee area, eventually settling in Nazareth. We have no record that God instructed Joseph to settle in this town but it would fulfill Old Testament prophecies which indicated that the Messiah would be despised because Nazareth would be a most unlikely place for a Messiah to come from. Isaiah 53:3; Psalms 22:6; Daniel 9:26; John 1:46. v23 "Nazarene" may be referring to Isaiah 11:1. The word "Rod" or Natzer is used for the Messiah’s place of origin. |
Easy English Translation
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