Category: Matthew

God keeps His promises. God made a way to protect Jesus for the task he had laid before him.

Matthew 2:13–23

¹³ 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.”

¹⁴ When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, ¹⁵ 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.”

¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”

¹⁹ Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ 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.” ²¹ Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

²² 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. 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.”

There is not much information about Jesus’ early life. Matthew soon completed his account. He did this in three short paragraphs. These are in verses 13–15, 16–18 and 19–23.

Herod realized that the wise men were not coming back. He acted immediately. Herod wanted to be sure that nobody else could be king. So, he killed all the children who were younger than 2 years of age. Nothing not Satan, men or women cannot stop God’s plans. Satan had been trying to stop the curse way back in Genesis, all those centuries, but could not do it. Genesis 3: 14-15

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

Satan was using Herod as his hands to find the Messiah and kill him. Herod himself would die soon. Jesus escaped his evil plan. God told Joseph about the danger before it happened. So, he could take the child and Mary to Egypt. This was the nearest safe place.

When Herod died, Joseph could return with his family. He did not want to go back to Bethlehem. This does not surprise us. The new ruler was Archelaus. He was as bad as his father, Herod. He had already killed 3000 people. So, Joseph was anxious. But God understood this. He told him to return to his former home. This was in Nazareth. God was protecting and caring for Joseph, Mary and the baby. He can do the same for us too.

All of God’s prophecies in the Old Testament come true in Jesus. Each of the three short paragraphs ended by repeating words from the Old Testament. Matthew tells us that they came true in Jesus.

There is one more thing to notice here. Joseph obeyed God. But this was not always easy. First, there was the fact that Mary was having a baby. Then there was the birth of Jesus. These events completely changed his life. Sometimes, he was confused and anxious. He did not know what to do. He only knew that God had helped him before.

At other times, he knew part of God’s plan. But he did not know all of it. (Compare verses 20 and 22.) It was hard for him to marry Mary. She was having a baby. People did not understand. They spoke against him. But, Joseph still learned something important. It was this. To obey God was the best way. God protected him, even in times of great danger.

How Matthew used the Old Testament

Matthew says that these Old Testament passages refer to Jesus. But at first, they do not seem to have anything to do with him!

Verse 15 repeats Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” There, the prophet showed how God saved Israel’s people. They were in Egypt. He brought them back to their own land. This had happened many hundreds of years before. So, some people cannot understand how the passage could refer to Jesus.

But the writers of the New Testament used the Old Testament, they saw similar things that tied the Scripture to Jesus’ life and work. Careful study will show this. They knew Jesus matched with the whole history of the Israel. He even lived it all again.

God brought the Jews out of Egypt. He wanted them to bring God’s salvation to the world. They failed to do this. But Jesus would succeed. So, He too went to Egypt and returned from there. This was to show that he had come to save the world. He had come to bring the knowledge of God to all people.

Read verse 18. He repeated Jeremiah 31:15

¹⁵ This is what the Lord says:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,
    mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”

It told about a sad time in Bethlehem. The young people of the village would go away into exile. So, the words could not be about Herod’s murder of the babies. But Jeremiah’s words were a message of hope. The enemy would destroy the land. But there was still hope. God would save his people. He had not forgotten His people. He would not remove His promises from them.

Again, Matthew saw that those days and his own days were similar. Once, God had brought hope to a sad people. He saved them. Now, in Jesus, God had done it again. Jesus still brings hope to desperate people. He saves them from the results and the power of their sin. This was the hope for which the world was looking.

Matthew repeated some words of the prophets. So, he was probably thinking about several passages. In fact, Nazareth was a very small village. People ‘despised’ it. This means that it was very unimportant to them. People thought that it had nothing of value. (Read John 1:45–46.) Many times, the Old Testament said that people would ‘despise’ the *Messiah (Christ). (Read Psalm 22:6–8, 13; 69:8, 20–21; Isaiah 49:7; 53:2–3, 8; and Daniel 9:26.) These verses describe good people. They also describe the Messiah. People ‘despise’ them both.

Matthew realized something. It was about the language of these verses. They referred especially to Jesus. (Compare Matthew 12:24; 27:21–23, 63; Luke 23:11; John 1:11; 5:18; 6:66; 9:22, 34.)

Questions

1. Think about Joseph’s experience. Use the lessons of his life in your own situation.

2. How does this passage encourage your church group? How does God guide a group of Christians (believers)?

3. Think about the cruel murders in 2:16. There is so much suffering in the world. Is there something that you could do? How could you show that the Christian message has an answer?

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 2:1–12

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is He who has been 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 heard this, 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 inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵ So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

⁷ Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

⁹ When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly 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 gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

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 Old Testament 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. This was the place where David was born. Micah 5:2 says,

“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.”

The people knew that it would be after the time of the exile. But, nobody had come. So, the people were still waiting. 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. Gold for a King.

Frankincense is a perfume. Jewish priests used it in the Temple. It was one of their duties. Frankincense for a Priest.

Myrrh was another perfume, but one used for preparing the bodies of the dead. It helped to make the funeral less awful. Myrrh was also a sign that people were loyal to God. Myrrh for a Sacrifice.

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. Matthew might have 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 Old Testament in their own lives. They showed little interest in the Magi’s news. All of the Old Testament points to Jesus. But these men still had no interest in him.

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

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 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.

The Wise Men and the star

Magi or wise men were not religious leaders. They were the wise men in Persia and Media. This is now Iran and other countries near there. They were astronomers and studied the skies. We do not know how they knew about Jesus, maybe they had studied the prophecies or maybe it was a shared in a dream.

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.

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?

God became human for us. Jesus was God. He was also completely human. The story of his birth showed how this could be true. God promised to send the Messiah. Jesus is the Christ. Matthew has told us this. He has shown us that Jesus had the right family. He was the son of Abraham. He was the son of David too. Now we want the story to begin!

Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew tells us two great facts about Jesus’ birth here. First, a virgin gave birth to Jesus. Second, Jesus’ strange birth was special. It had special meaning.

Joseph and Mary had agreed to marry. This agreement would be for a year. Then there would be the marriage. It was during this year that Joseph found out about something. Mary was going to have a baby. Of course, he thought that she must have had sex with another man.

God’s law demanded action. Joseph wanted to give honor to God in his life. But, he did not act before he had thought about it. Then, he had a very clear dream. He knew that it was from God. An angel brought a message to Joseph. It was hard to believe it. Mary was going to have a child. But she had not had sex with another man. She was still a virgin! Her child belonged to God in a special way. He was from the Holy Spirit. This was exactly what God had said would happen. The angel reminded Joseph about this. He would have known the words from Isaiah 7:14.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel

Joseph acted very bravely. He obeyed God’s message. He married Mary. Probably, some people laughed at him. They would think that there had been sex before marriage. They might think that he was not obeying God’s laws. Other people might accuse Mary. They might say that she was a wicked woman. It is not always easy to obey God!

Matthew explained why this strange event happened. God became a man. He did this to ‘save his people from their sins’ (verse 21). Men and women can do many good things. But all people have sinned. Men and women are unable to help themselves. People need someone who will rescue them.

Customs of Jewish marriage

There were three periods to a Jewish marriage. First, there was the ‘engagement’. This was often while the couple were still children. The parents would use someone else to arrange it. The couple might not even see each other. Marriage was a serious matter. You could not trust the emotions of young people.

The second period was the ‘betrothal’. This was an official agreement. It was between the two young people. It meant that the engagement should continue. Up to this time, it could end. After the betrothal, they could not end the agreement. It lasted one year. During this time, people spoke to them as if they were man and wife. But they did not live together. Divorce was the only way to end it. Joseph and Mary were in this period when we first hear about them. The marriage was at the end of the year of betrothal.

Joseph was a good man. This meant that he obeyed God’s law. Some laws spoke about women who had sex with many men. There should be a public meeting about the matter. Then there should be a divorce. (Deuteronomy 22:23–29.) By the time of Joseph and Mary, the Jews did not kill people for this sin. But, there was another way to deal with it. The law seemed to allow a ‘secret’ divorce. (Deuteronomy 24:1–2.) Joseph was a kind man. So, he decided to have this kind of divorce. That would mean that Mary’s shame would not be so bad.

Birth by a virgin

Matthew told how a virgin gave birth. In verse 23, Matthew repeated Isaiah 7:14. He used the word ‘virgin’. We know that the Bible is true and these two writings generations apart refer to Jesus

Think about it

God called Joseph to do a very brave thing. Is there any part of your life where you are like Joseph? What could you learn from this passage to encourage you?

Christians believe that Mary was a virgin. (She had not had sex with any man.) They teach that it is true. Why do you think that this is important?

We live in a world where people often suffer. What message does this passage give you? What does it suggest that your church could do about it?