MATTHEW 2

MAGI

AND THE MYSTERIOUS GUIDING STAR OF THE

KING

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2:1-2

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and 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.'

We learn from Luke's account of the birth of Christ, that Joseph and Mary were made to leave Nazareth by a decree of Caesar Augustus wherein all Jews were required to report to their home town of origin to register in Caesar's census. Joseph was of the line of David and Bethlehem was the city of David. That was why the Joseph family arrived in Bethlehem in Judea at the precise point in time when Mary went into labor and delivered Jesus, her firstborn son. This fulfilled Micah's prophecy about Messiah...

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Micah 5:2 (NASV)

I love that prophecy, by the way. Not only is it explicit as to where the Messiah was to be born ... but it is also explicit as to exactly who the Messiah was ... he would be none other than the everlasting and eternal God, himself ... come to Earth in flesh.

Matthew's account also reminds us that Bethlehem was in the territory of Judea. King David was of the tribe of Judah and, according to the Davidic Covenant, Messiah ... his descendant ... would be of that tribe as well (Genesis 49:8-12). Jesus completely fulfilled these prophetic requirements. He was both Messiah, the Savior of Israel, and well as its long awaited King ... the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. As we have it in Revelation 5:5-6,

Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.' Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Now, let's look at Matthew's account of these wise men ... or Magi.

      First, notice that here in Matthew is the only place in the Bible where their story found. It is a fascinating account. Actually, the traditional Christmas pageant presenting 3 wise men accompanied by the hymn, We Three Kings of Orient Are, is historically inaccurate. Scholars estimate that what actually arrived in Jerusalem on that long ago starry night ... searching for the new born king of the Jews ... was actually a caravan of possibly a hundred or more Magi from the east. And, the star they had been following was their amazing accompanying phenomena. Magi were astute astrologers and when this new star had appeared in the heavens, it could not be ignored. And soon, the Magi discovered it was far from a normal star as well. By brilliance and mobility, the star didn't behave like any other star they had ever observed. Further, it actually moved in such a way that it clearly indicated it was to be followed. And, follow it they did. In addition, the Magi came to the conclusion that their amazing new light in the heavens corresponded to the birth of a new king on Earth. Organizing a caravan, they followed the star and it led them to Israel and ... having stopped there ... they concluded the new king was, in fact, the king of the Jews.

I suspect the awesome brightness of the Magi's heavenly phenomena was also indicative that the newborn one they were seeking was far more than the king of the Jews ... but was, in fact, the light of the world. As Jesus later put it in John 8:12b,

...'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'.

     Second, notice the star led the Magi to the city of Jerusalem. Therefore, they concluded that the new king had been born there. Now, I have a question. Why do you suppose the star went to Jerusalem and not directly to Bethlehem? Answer: Jerusalem was the ancient, God-appointed capital of Israel and the city from which all the Davidic kings of Israel had reigned. It was also the religious capital of the Jewish people where their temple was located. Therefore, the star brought the Magi to Jerusalem first ... in order to notify Israel and its political and ecclesiastical leaders that their long anticipated Messiah had been born. One can only imagine the stir that was created when these Magi from the east spread out across the city asking their question and declaring their mission. 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!

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2:3-8

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

Make no mistake about it, when the news of the Magi with their questions and declarations reached the ears of King Herod, he was greatly concerned. Out of the blue, a threat to his throne and to the throne of his line was on his doorstep. His counter-attack was instant and threefold...

    1. He called in the chief priests and teachers of the law to find out precisely where Messiah, King of Jews, was to be born. The answer he received was clear and biblical. Jewish leaders knew exactly where Messiah was to be born. "Bethlehem," they said, and proceeded to quote Micah 5:2 to Herod...

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.

    2. He called for the Magi secretly to inquired of them the exact time when the star they had followed had first appeared. He needed that information in order to determine the age of the new king that had been born. Herod, you see, was already formulating a plan to murder the Jew's Messiah and king and, with the information supplied by the Magi, he would be able to determine who and who not to kill. As we will see when we get to verse 16, Herod took no chances ... giving himself plenty of leeway when he ordered the death of all infant males ... 2 years and younger ... who lived in Bethlehem.

There is a graphic picture of this Satan-inspired plot displayed in the vision the Apostle John saw pictured in Revelation 12. Here, is his description of what he saw...

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman (Israel) clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born (Herod's plot). She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Revelation 12:1-5

    3. He craftily enlisted the help of the Magi in finding the newborn king. Purporting that he too wanted to find and worship the new king, Herod instructed them to proceed to Bethlehem, locate the child, and report back so that he might go and worship him as well. To this, the grateful but unsuspecting Magi, readily agreed.

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2:9-12

After 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. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On 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. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

As the Magi began to depart, the star moved out before them heading straight for that ancient city where king David had been born and where David's descendant, the ultimate Ruler of Israel, was born as well. Arriving at Bethlehem, the star stopped above a specific house there. Upon entering, the Magi were met by a woman and her child ... not a man and his son. In Galations 4:4-5, we read,

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Wish we could have been there to see it. What an occasion for rejoicing and worship was laid before them. At long last, there he was ... the Jew's own Messiah and King even ... God in the flesh ... as the prophet Micah put it, testifying, whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting! Truly, Shiloh (Rest) had at long last come (Gen. 49:10). Christ Jesus came ... from eternity to time ... from spirit to flesh ... from God to Man ... born of a woman ... from glory to peasantry ... from pure deity to taking on humanity ... from Law Giver to Law Obeyer. Incredibe! The One who had given the Law had placed himself under the Law that he might redeem those who were under the Law!

Luke's account tells us that it was Jewish shepherds who, being directed by angels as to where to find this child, were the first to see the Messiah ... but it doesn't say that they worshipped him. Rather, they saw ... and then they departed and went everywhere talking about their experience. But here, we find it was a host of Gentiles who were the first to worship Jesus the Christ and presented him with kingly gifts. How appropriate. For, it was God's plan from the beginning, you see, that this child would also be the Savior of the world! As you have it in Isaiah 42:1, 6-7,

Behold! My Servant  whom I uphold,  My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

The Magi from the east were the beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy. As we have it in First John 2:2,

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

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2:13-15

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.'

As soon as the Magi had departed, the Lord took control of the Herod situation. Preserving the Magi as well as the young child, Jesus, he told them not to report to Herod but to simply go home by another route. Then, knowing Herod's bloody and vicious plan to exterminate the child, God warned Joseph to pack up and go to Egypt. In the for what it's worth department, those costly gifts the Magi had given to Christ was doubtless God's way of financing the trip and the years the Joseph family would stay in Egypt. Our God never fails when it comes to taking care of his own. This was certainly true of his Son, and it is true of you and me, as well, dear saint. As we have it in Philippians 4:19, 

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I'm reminded of a song my old professor, Dr. John Mitchell, would enter his classrooms singing in his thick Scottish brogue. Here are the words:

Cheer up. Cheer up. Ye saints of God!

There's nothing to worry about. ("aboot" ... his pronunciation)

There's nothing to make you feel afraid.

There's nothing to make you doubt. ("doot" ... his pronunciation)

Remember Jesus never fails,

So, why not trust him an shout. ("shoot" ... his pronunciation)

You'll be sorry you worried at all,

tomorrow morning!

Matthew says this part of the life of Christ fulfilled the scripture, Out of Egypt I called My Son (Hosea 11:1). At first glance, this scripture is referring to when God called his people, Israel, (my son) out of slavery in Egypt. However, the Spirit of God informs us here that when he directed Hosea to speak those words, he had two things in mind and the primarily thing was when God's own Son would be called out of Egypt. This is a instance of a double fulfillment of prophecy in Scripture. It is fascinating when the Lord interprets his own Word to us, is it not?

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2:16-18

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

This was a horrendous event in lives of the inhabitants of Bethlehem when Herod's soldiers entered the city and carried out their gory job. It would be hard to imagine a more horrifying, callous and evil thing than what the parents of those young male children ... two years and under ... experienced that day. Jeremiah the prophet predicted this future atrocity. His reference to Rachel weeping for her children cites the ancient mother of Joseph ... but the incident in mind is the wailing of her far distant and future descendants (in their territories of Ephriam and Manasseh), grieving the cruel loss of their young sons taken by Herod's soldier's swords. 

Clearly, a great deal more was involved at Bethlehem that day than merely Herod's part in the death of all of those young males. Make no mistake about it, Satan was the instigator of this atrocity, just as he is behind the atrocities against God's people today. The recent death of countless little innocents who were slaughtered in Israel by the terrorist organization, Hamas, comes to mind. Also, the many little Christian children who were slaughtered in front of their parents by the Islamic State of the Levant (ISIL or ISIS). Truly, as we have it in Proverbs 12:10b,

...the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

When such things occur, we need to keep in mind that they are sourced in the spirit world and in spiritual warfare. As we have it in Ephesians 6:12,

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

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2:19-23

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 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.' Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 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.'

After Herod died, once again God spoke to Joseph through a dream instructing him to take Jesus and his mother and return to the land of Israel. Apparently, they were headed back to Bethlehem but, being warned in yet another dream, Joseph altered his course and returned to their original home in Nazareth. This fulfilled the prophet Isaiah's words in Isaiah 11:1,

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

The name, Nazareth, meant branch. It was just a little berg that, no doubt, lived up to its name ... not even large enough, or of sufficient importance to be called a bush! It was just a little branch. When Philip told his brother, Nethaniel, that he had found the Messiah, he said,

We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph; And Nathanael said to him,"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." John 1:45b-46

My, how that little town has impacted our world, aye?! Out of it, a carpenter's son named Jesus, came ... God's Branch ... who sprung up out of the lineage of Jesse ... of the royal line of King David. The one of whom Jacob said,

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (the prophetic name for Jesus that means Rest) comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

 

... and of whom the Psalmist also writes,

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

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