“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.