“The more you read the Bible, and the more you meditate upon it, the more you will be astonished with it. He who is but a casual reader of the Bible does not know the height, the depth, the length and breadth of the mighty meanings contained in its pages.”  – Charles Spurgeon  

Matthew 2 – The King Revealed, Revered, and Rejected

Having shown us the birth of Christ, Matthew now shows us how Christ is received. He presents a startling contrast: while Gentiles go to great lengths to worship Jesus, the leaders of his people reject him.

The Arrival of the Wise Men 

Matthew 2:1–2

Some time after the birth of Jesus, some men came from the east looking for him. The only date given for this is “in the days of Herod the king”. Since he reigned from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C., that does not help us much. But, given Herod’s later actions, it would appear that this event occurred about two years after Jesus was born. He and his family are still in Bethlehem. 

These men are called wise men. Some versions (NIV) call them “Magi”, transliterating the Greek word “magoi”. They specialized in obtaining knowledge. This included astrology and ancient religious texts. They were probably from Babylon or Persia. 

They came to Jerusalem and asked “where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”. They had followed a star to Judea. Jerusalem was the capital and a residence of the king, so it was a logical place to look.

Much has been written about this star, trying to explain it in natural terms. The point Matthew makes, however, is that it is a supernatural, divine, event to guide the wise men to Jesus.

So we see, beginning with the birth of Jesus and his early life, God reached out beyond the Jews to reveal Jesus to the nations, the Gentiles. 

This is exciting! God, who had long worked only through and with the Israelites toward the restoration of the creation, now begins a new phase, working with the Gentiles, the rest of the world. And that leads to us! 

Paul would later write “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ”. (Ephesians 2:13)

The question arises, how did the wise men know there would be one born king of the Jews and that there was a star to guide them? The Bible does not to answer that question for us. 

We know, however, that the Jews were in exile in Babylonia, then in Persia when it conquered Babylonia. We know that many of them did not return to Israel when Cyrus let them. We also know that Daniel, the Old Testament prophet, rose to a prominent position in the Babylonian government and stayed in Persia when the exile ended.

So, it is likely the wise men had access to the Jewish writings, including Daniel’s prophecies, and realized one would be born who would have the throne of David, rule Israel as king, and be divine. As astrologers, they believed in signs in the heavens. When they saw one at the time they believed the king would be born, they took off to find him and worship him. 

Matthew alludes to Numbers 24:17, part of an oracle from Balaam: “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel”. The Jews regarded this prophecy as messianic. 

Herod’s Disturbance and Religious Indifference

Matthew 2:3–8

Matthew paused telling the story of the wise men to tell about King Herod’s reaction. When Herod hard about what the wise men were doing and saying, he was troubled. (3) He was the King of the Jews, appointed by the Roman Emperor. He was very jealous of his position and authority. he murdered his wife and some of his sons when he believed they plotted against him. He did not want to see a usurper born and recognized by other countries, much less his own.

All Jerusalem was troubled as well. This would have been a combination of those who might lose their power and wealth with a change of regime, and those who just knew that a troubled Herod could spell disruption and death for many others. And it did.

Herod was not actually a Jew. He was an Idumean, meaning he was of the line of Esau. Edom ceased to exist as an independent entity after being pushed out of its land in southern Jordan by the Nabateans in the 5th century B.C. This was prophesied by Obadiah and others. They migrated to southern Judah (Idumea). 

Not knowing scripture himself, Herod summoned all of the chief priests and scribes and asked them where this king might have been born. They told him it was Bethlehem, citing Micah 5:2. 

So Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and sent them to Bethlehem to look for the child and tell him where he was, under the guise of worshipping him. But, he intended to kill him. 

The Wise Men Find Jesus

2:9-12

So, the wise men left Jerusalem for Bethlehem. Notice that the Jewish leaders did not go. 

The star reappeared and came to rest over the place the child Jesus was living. The wise men “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” when they saw the star. As opposed to Herod’s jealousy and the people’s apathy, these Gentiles had immense joy just seeing the star that would lead them to Jesus!

We see that Jesus and his family were living in a house in Bethlehem. (11) The wise men went in, saw the child Jesus and his mother. Joseph is not mentioned. He might have been out working to support them.

The reaction of the wise men to seeing Jesus is breathtaking. They fell don on the ground (prostrated themselves) and worshipped him. They gave him lavish gifts. This reflects Psalm 72:10-11:

May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; 

may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!

May all kings fall down before him,

all nations serve him!

And, likewise, Isaiah 60:6:

A multitude of camels shall cover you,
    the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
    all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
    and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.

Some say the Greek word for “worshipped” does not mean worship, but paying homage to an important person. Yet, the KJV, NKJV, RSV, NIV, NASB, and ESV all say “worshipped”. 

Additionally, it is difficult to imagine these men following a star for hundreds of miles over many weeks, at great expense, to come and pay homage to the king of a small country that was nothing more than a vassal of the Roman Empire.   

It is a dramatic contrast to the Jewish leaders who did not even bother to go to Bethlehem.

God, in his wisdom and sovereignty, warned the wise men through a dream not to return to Herod. They obeyed and took another route back home to Persia. 

God protected his Son until the time he was appointed to die for our sins. 

As Jesus would later say, God is working. (John 5:17) He continued his work toward the new creation whose people worship him because of the work of his Son.  

More On The Virgin Birth

 The virgin birth is also confessed in the creeds. 

It is confessed in the:

1. Apostles’ Creed (“conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary”) and;
2. the Nicene Creed (“he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary”). 

THE OBEDIENCE OF JOSEPH IN THE BIRTH OF CHRIST - MATTHEW 1:18-25

We will see in this passage that the story in Matthew focuses on Joseph, whereas Luke focuses on Mary. 

Mary was “betrothed” to Joseph. Betrothal is a commitment to be married. The New International Version says “pledged to be married”. But, unlike our modern engagements, this is a formal agreement. It can only be dissolved by divorce.

Although the commitment was formal, it did not come with the privileges of marriage. The couple were not supposed to have sex until they were actually married. Sex outside of marriage was still considered a sin. The marriage did not occur until the groom and his attendants came to the bride’s house and escorted her to the groom’s house. There is a glimpse of that in the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. 

They did not have weddings like we do today. And, no, it was not like the wedding in the movie Fiddler On The Roof. 

So, Joseph had not had sex with Mary at this time. It was before “they came together”. (18) That phrase literally refers to Mary moving into Joseph’s house. But, that would be when they would first come together sexually.

Yet, Mary became pregnant. She was “found to be with child”. Her pregnancy had become noticeable. 

Since she had not been with Joseph, she would have been guilty of adultery, a violation of the seventh commandment. (Exodus 20:14) The punishment for that is death in the Old Covenant. “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death”. (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:23) 

This was a difficult situation. Israel prized its virgins and punished fornicators. Mary would be shamed and, possibly, punished. Joseph would be embarrassed and unable to marry Mary without being ostracized from the community. Since Joseph was a just, or righteous man, he could not do that. (19)

Joseph could have demanded that Mary be punished under the law. However, he had resolved to divorce her quietly. This means he would give her a certificate of divorce privately, with only the two required witnesses,  but not publicize it otherwise. 

Before Joseph could act on this, however, an angel appeared to him in a dream. The angel said Joseph did not need to get a divorce, for Mary had not committed adultery. He could take her to his home. Yes, she was pregnant, but the child conceived in her was not from a man, but from the Holy Spirit. (20) 

The angel addressed Joseph not only by his name, Joseph, but as son of David. This is to alert him of the significant role he plays in these events. He is a son of David working according to God’s will to bring the Greater Son of David into the world. 

The angel further instructed Joseph that Mary would have a son and he was to call his name Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins. (21) Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua. It means Yahweh saves or Yahweh is salvation. The name signifies that Mary’s son brings God’s promised salvation. 

That salvation is not from the Roman Empire, however. It is salvation from the sins of his people. (21) This is a reference to Psalm 130:8, which says “He (Yahweh) will redeem Israel from all his iniquities”. 

Joseph would have interpreted “his people” as being the ethnic Jewish people. We know, and Matthew will later show, that it refers to Jesus’ people, the Messiah’s people, who are all who believe in him.

Matthew (or the angel) tells us that the birth of Jesus, all that has occurred, fulfilled what God said through the prophet. He quoted Isaiah 7:14:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” 

Mary is the virgin and Jesus is the son. 

All of this has occurred according to God’s will and to fulfill what God said through the prophet Isaiah. 

Matthew then interpreted the Hebrew name “Immanuel” for us: it means God with us. (23)

Remember: Matthew is writing in Greek. So, here he assumes at least some of his readers do not know the Hebrew language, so it is necessary to interpret the name because the name has theological importance. It signals that this child will be God and will come and dwell among men and women. 

Despite the possibly grave circumstances, Joseph was obedient. He did not divorce Mary; he took her as his wife (married her). (24) This connects with the language of verse 20. The NIV connects well with the process of marriage at that time, saying he “took Mary home as his wife” (though the word “home” is not in the Greek text. 

Joseph did not have sex with Mary until after Jesus was born. And he named the child Jesus, as the angel had commanded. (24-25)

Why is the virgin birth necessary? 

(1) The Bible clearly asserts it.

(2) It fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah. 

(3) It makes true the statement that Jesus was fully God and fully man. He received his physical body from Mary as her biological child. His eternal, divine nature was His from all eternity past. Jesus had no sin nature inherited from Adam. He had a human nature, but not a sin nature.  

(Unless otherwise noted, quotes from the Bible are from the ESV@ Bible, The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

"If we have even a shadowy glimpse of the sovereign glory of God, it will compel us to fall on our faces in awe." 

Timothy Whitner. 

THE ORIGINS OF JESUS CHRIST - MATTHEW 1:1-17

Matthew is the first book of the New Testament in our Bibles. For a long time it was considered to be the first gospel written, though most scholars now consider Mark to be the first one. 

The early church thought it was written first in Hebrew or Aramaic. You will still see that argument pop up on social media today by those who want to attack the accuracy of the Bible. This comes from a statement written by Papias around 135 A.D., which is difficult to interpret. However, there are no ancient manuscripts of Matthew in Hebrew. Most scholars today believe it was written first in Greek. 

Since Matthew was a tax collector for the Roman government, he would have been able to read and write Greek, which was the language of commerce. Galileans also lived in close proximity to Greeks and had dealings with them. The fact that Matthew often quotes the Old Testament from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation, shows he knew Greek.

He would also be adept at making and keeping records. Given these abilities, and his being one of the Twelve, he was uniquely qualified to write about the life of Jesus with accuracy.

Matthew’s gospel was accepted and the most highly revered in the first three centuries of the church. It was regarded as Scripture. It was the most quoted by the early non-canonical writers, such as Ignatius. He quoted Matthew in a letter written around 110 A.D. Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch at the time he wrote the letter. 

Matthew and the other gospel writers, the Evangelists, sought to provide historical information. But each one had their own viewpoint and goals. Matthew had more than one goal, but one of his goals was clearly to show that Jesus is the Messiah the Old Testament promised and for whom the Jews were anxiously waiting. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the promised Immanuel.

Matthew also shows us that the Jewish leaders and many Jews, did not understand this or chose to reject it. Matthew also shows that the messianic kingdom has come, inaugurated by the life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus at his ascension. 

Matthew also shows that the community of those who believe, both Jew and Gentile, are the people of God. They participate in the New Covenant, receiving forgiveness from sins, and membership in the kingdom. 

The Genealogy of Jesus

1:1-17

This section begins a larger section that goes through 2:23 that we might title as “a record of the origins of Jesus Christ”. 

The first verse gives us titles for Jesus. First is his given name, Jesus. It is “Yeshua” in Hebrew. It means “Yahweh saves”. We see this in verse 21, where the angel tells Joseph to call the baby Jesus “for he will save his people from their sins”. 

Second is the title “Christ”. It means “anointed” and is the Greek equivalent of Messiah. By the time of Jesus, it referred to the one who would bring in the promised future, righteous, king who would reign over God’s people.

Other titles are “son of David” and “son of Abraham”. Although Abraham preceded David in time, Matthew mentions David first. The title “Son of David” is mentioned many times in this gospel. The reason is the importance of God’s covenant with David, including God’s promise that David’s descendant would occupy the throne forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-16) 

The Jews saw this as a promise of the coming anointed one who would deliver Israel from the Romans and restore their kingdom. They considered themselves still in exile. Although they were in their homeland, they did not rule it. They were not a sovereign nation. They were an unwilling vassal of Rome, which was in a long line of foreign nations ruling Israel. They needed a king to rescue them. So, Matthew began his gospel with this genealogy to proclaim that God’s royal line will be consummated in the coming of Jesus Christ. 

Isaiah’s prophecy further developed the picture of this Son in Isaiah 9:6-7. He said:

For to us a child is born, 

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be be no end,

on the throne of David and over is kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it.

So, the title “son of David” was seen by many to be messianic. 

Jesus is also “son of Abraham”. This is a given if he is son of David. So, why does Matthew mention it? 

God also made a covenant with Abraham. God promised that through Abraham’s offspring (or seed) all nations would be blessed. (Genesis 22:18) And, later, Matthew will connect this as he records Jesus commissioning his followers to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19) Matthew sends a clear signal that the Messiah is not just for the Jews, but also for the nations, the Gentiles. 

Matthew is claiming at the very beginning of his gospel that Jesus is the Messiah\Christ that has come in fulfillment of the promises to David and to Abraham. Jesus is the one who will bring blessings to all nations. 

Continuing the thought of “all nations”, look at the women mentioned in the genealogy. Ruth and Rahab, and possibly Tamar, were Gentiles, not Jews. Bathsheba, who was a Jew, was married to a Hittite and was likely regarded as one because of that. (See Ruth 1, Joshua 6, Genesis 38:6, 2 Samuel 11:3)

Most genealogies of the time only listed men. So, Matthew signals a new role for women in the New Covenant. Paul would later write “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) 

Matthew divided the genealogy of Jesus into three periods:

1. Abraham to David;
2. David to Babylonian exile; and
3. Babylonian exile to Jesus.

Verse 17 divides the genealogy into three sections of 14. There are names left out to get that. So the number 14 here must have symbolic, rather than literal meaning. Since a major point of the genealogy is to show that Jesus is a descendant (son) of David, it appears the grouping of 14 may also point to David. 

The Jews, and other ancient people, used a form of symbolism called Gematria. It ascribes number values to letters. Hebrew originally did not have vowels, only consonants. David has two Ds and one W. His name in Hebrew has a W instead of the English version of V. 

D had a value of 4.  W had a value of 6. The two Ds plus W equals 14. 

The genealogy also shows us God is faithful. He continued to work with his people even though they were not always faithful. Some had epic failures, such as David, with whom God made a covenant. Yet God kept his covenant promises. 

We see that Jesus is the point of the genealogy as he is the point of the Bible.