Matthew Chapter 2 Bible Teaching

Welcome to the Yeshuan verse by verse Through Matthew. Today we will hit chapter 2 from the Apostolic Record where Matthew, the only Gospel writer includes information about the wise men, called magi and three kings, came to visit. Verse 1 3 Jan 20 Matthew 2 Now when Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying According to the historian Josephus there was a Bethlehem seven miles northwest of Nazareth (Josephus, Antiquities XIX. 15). This Bethlehem of Judah (which means house of bread) was where Ruth's lived with Boaz (Ruth 1:1) and it was also the home of King David, a descendant of Ruth and an ancestor of Yeshua (see, Matthew 1:5) who was born there and anointed king by Samuel (see, 1st Samuel 17:12). Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem from Nazareth because it was the original family home for both of them and it is thought it was a custom to bear a child in the place of parental origin. Luke 2:4,6-7 add more depth to the story saying, 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. {taxed: or, inrolled} 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Back to Matthew 2 we read mention of this happening in the days of King Herod. This king was known as Herod the Great and he reigned somewhere from 74BC to about 4 BC when he died. Therefore, the idea that Yeshua was born in 0 or 1 CE is not possible according to Matthew and so it appears that He was actually born closer to 6 or 5 BC instead of OBC. We will return to Herod the Great in a minute. But back to verse 1 we also read about wise men that came from the east. The Greek term there translated wise men is “magi” who are found in ancient biblical history. Many believe that Matthew seems to be describing astrologers. Since these men came from the east they could have been from anywhere in Arabia, Babylon, Persia, or elsewhere but most probably they were from Babylon as it was home to great practices in astrology. We have reference to these areas being filled with astrological arts and such all the way back in 1st Kings 4:30 where it reads, speaking of Solomon’s wisdom And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. I think that it is important for us to realize that these children of the east country and all the wisdom of Egypt represented actual powers and insights from various realms of inquiry and interpretation but that God explicitly lead the Nation out and away from these powers. I maintain that they are all counterfeits to the real McCoy but this is not to say that they were not a force that didn’t work – they worked – then and they work today in this work through others who pursue magic and power through such. I also maintain that Christ had the victory over all such things back in that day and the fact that these gentile wise men from the east known as magi was emblematic that even they would pursue, find, gift and worship Him. On January 6th of this year the world of catholic, orthodox an Lutheran and Anglican realms celebrate a day they call Epiphany which represents three physical manifestations from Christ’s life where he is presented or manifested to the world as Savior- The first manifestation speaks to this event recorded in Matthew alone and it is that of Him being manifested to the Gentile representatives of the world first – and that means to these magi. The second manifestation to the world of Him would be at His water baptism and the third was when He preformed His first miracle changing water into wine at Cana. What is symbolic of the wise men account it 1, they were gentiles indication that He was not just Savior of the Jews but the whole world. There are numerous interpretations of the star and its meaning, configuration, and origin ranging from it really being just a group of angels (Ellen G White) to Satan leading the magi soothsayers to him so Herod could kill him (Jehovah’s Witnesses) to planets intersection and all sorts of other views. Because Matthew writes that these magi brought gifts, worshipped the child (as the Greek terms describe Yeshua as a child when they arrived instead of a baby) and since the Magi were warned to not go visit Herod after their visit, I maintain that this was a sign in the sky, a literal fulfillment of another passage in the Old Testament called the Star Prophecy which is found in Numbers 24:17 that says I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. The idea that these wise men were “kings” comes from a liberal interpretation of Isaiah 60:1-6 and says, 1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of YAHAVAH is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but YAHAVAH shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of YAHAVAH. Additionally, Revelation, in describing the New Jerusalem above says, Revelation 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. So, the belief is that there were three of these Gentile Astrologers who followed the new star in the sky until it led them right to the place where the baby, who was believed to have been a young boy when he was located. Legend suggests that the names of these wisemen were Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior but there is no real basis for any of these popular ideas but who knows. There is also the idea that these men were actual progeny of Abraham who had concubines that bore him sons as we read in Genesis that after Abraham gave all he had to Isaac the son of Promise it says, Genesis 25:6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. As a Yeshuan, we gently maintain, from faith and our own logic not by revelation from God, that a Spiritual Epiphany took place this past January 6th 2026 where the Spirit of the Resurrected Lord manifested more greatly in the hearts of people of faith and that His love (and unity) would begin to rise in the hearts of all who seek Him and that His Spiritual presence was from that day forward going to show or manifest in the hearts of all true seekers of God until we all come to a unity of the faith via peace, love and understanding. Take that for what its worth. Ok verse 2 where the wise men from the east ask, 2Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. This does not mean the star was in the east otherwise they would have traveled east. It means they were in the east when they saw it and traveled west. The Magi asked, “where is the one born king of the Jews? And it appears that they had a system of some sort in the stars which pointed to the birth of the Messiah. As a secular example of the stars fortelling something huge in the world Cicero (in his book, De Divin. i. 47) refers to GRAPHIC “the constellation from which, on the birth night of Alexander, Magians foretold that the destroyer of Asia was born.” The question becomes does the Bible permit star gazing, astronomy and the like? Not at all, but but it strongly condemns astrology (fortune-telling using stars) and/or the worship of celestial bodies, differentiating them as God's creations for signs, seasons, days, years, and timekeeping but not for “divination or guidance.” Deuteronomy 4:19 warns against worshipping the "host of heaven," but books like Job and Psalms speak of stars in awe, reflecting God's power and glory. So, Astronomy Studying the stars to understand God's creation, for navigation, or to mark seasons is approved of but Astrology seeking personal guidance, fortune, or destiny from stars, is considered idolatry and divination and God prohibits them in that day and age. . Genesis 1:14-15: "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.”. Deuteronomy 4:19: "And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.”. And in Job 38:31-33: God challenges Job with questions about constellations like Orion and the Pleiades, showing His mastery over them. When the Magi said that they came to worship the Christ the word best means that they came to honor him as a prince, or a king, not as God. The original word implies no more than to prostrate one's self before another; to fall down and pay homage to another which was the mode in which honor was paid to earthly kings and this is what they wished to pay to the new-born King of the Jews. The notion that He was God with us unfolded over time as even the apostles lacked this understanding initially. Verse 3) 3When Herod the king heard this he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Herod was an extremely evil man who had obtained the kingdom by means of bloodshed. He appears to have been alarmed by the news that a star appeared and that this was regarded by wise men from the east as proof that the King of the Jews was born (which to his paranoid mind may have been read as “I am going to be threatened by this event/person.” It is improbable that “all of Jerusalem” was alarmed by this but that this more directly indicates that Matthew as subject to what I call, Hebrew hyperbole. I say this because if all of Jerusalem was alarmed then it seems that Yeshua would be tracked and watched closely through His young life by hundreds if not thousands but this does not seem to be the case because He appears to have experienced a life of relative obscurity until His time arrived. 4And when he (Herod) had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he questioned them where Christ was to be born. By the phrase, “the chief priests” it seems that this included the high priest and his deputies but could also have included the heads or chiefs of the twenty-four classes which King David had divided the sacerdotal families, (according to 1st Chronicles 23:6; 24:1; 2nd Chronicles 8:14; 36:14; Ezra 8:24). By “the scribes,” the meaning would be men learned and skilled in the law as well as and members of the great council called the Sanhedrim, which was composed of seventy-two men of repute. The scribes were also called “lawyers” of the nation who kept the records of the courts, the registers of the synagogues, composed articles of contracts and sale, and created bills of divorce. In addition to being called lawyers they were also called doctors of the law, (Luke 5:17). On this occasion, Herod, knowing of their expertise on all things related to Old Testament prophecy, sought to ascertain where this king was to be born so he could kill him. (verse 5) 5They said to him, (Quoting Micah 5:2) In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not least among the rulers of Judah: for out of you will come a ruler that will govern Israel, my people. Later in John 7:40 we read that the origin of the Messiah was a confusing issue to them then as John writes John 7:40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? 43 So there was a division among the people because of him. Apparently not happy with the information the scribes and chief priests had given them we read at verse 7 7Then Herod privately called the wise men and inquired of them what time the star appeared. And this appears to have been Herods desire to know the general age of the infant King who threatened Him. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and diligently search for the child and when you have found him bring me word that I too may come and worship him. Talk about human evil – that dude was one of the worst and yet . . . he was the one who had the temple in Jerusalem enhanced during a reconstruction period and which is known as the second temple. (verse 9 -11) 9And once they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceeding with great joy. 11And when they went into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. Again, the Greek young child does not convey infant so we know time had passed. And opening their treasures, they then offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Tradition – namely Catholic Tradition claims that these specific gifts had application to the who these wise men believed the child to be as Gold represented his kingship and royalty; with Frankincense being a temple incense that burned pointing to His divinity and supreme singlular priesthood; and Myrrh, which was a burial spice, foreshadowing his suffering, death, and humanity. The Psalmist may have spoken prophetically of this gift giving happening to Christ the true temple joining the human race as it says Psalms 68:29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee. Of course, the bringing a bearing of gifts to royalty is found all through the Old Testament. (Verse 12) 12And being warned ___ in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed to their own country in another way. Many versions (including the King James) add, “of God” in that space on the screen but the Greek is “chrematizo” (has zero reference to God (theos). Chrematizo best means, to furnish what is needed, meaning, to act toward, in this case, through a dream. The implication is certainly that the information given was from YWHW, which justifies the addition of the references in some texts but that is not what the text says. 13And when they were departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Rise and take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I bring you word for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him. Egypt is about sixty miles from Jerusalem. Herod’s jurisdiction would have reached only to the river Sihon so beyond it the Christ-Child would have been safe. 14And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt 15And remained 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. This prophecy comes from Hosea 11:1 where it appears to speak of YAHAVAH calling his Nation out of Egypt through Moses. Of course, we remember when Israel as a Nation came to Egypt back in Genesis and how God called Moses to lead them out of the symbol of dark sinful bondage. This is a significant reference that Matthew makes because what many people don’t know or really understand is that Yeshua was called Israel meaning He alone embodied the Nation that never unitedly grasped onto YAHAVAH in obedience to the Law and never truly turned from idols over their long sordid history. Christ the individual was not just God with us, in other words but was literally the promise of God to actually and totally BE Israel or God’s true Son. Hosea the prophet ministered during the eighth century BC and focused his attention primarily on the northern kingdom of Israel. During the early part of Hosea’s ministry, Jeroboam II ruled over Israel and the northern kingdom enjoyed a good deal of prosperity. But spiritually and morally, the Israelites were bankrupt, having fallen into idolatry that would ultimately cause God to drive them out of their land in 722 BC. The people were in a sad condition indeed, and part of what made it so tragic was that the people had failed to be what God called them to be—a royal priesthood and a light to the nations. This failure occurred despite God’s having graciously adopted Israel as His son, as Hosea 11:1 indicates. Israel was not true to its filial identity and was finally cast out of the land. But Hosea also saw that God’s anger against His people would not last forever; He would provide a renewed Israel who would serve the Lord faithfully (vv. 2–12; see 2:14–23). That hope for a new Israel—a true Israel that would embody all that God called Israel to be—persisted across the centuries into the Apostolic Age. This hope was finally fulfilled in the incarnation of God’s true Son by nature, birth and origins – Yeshua the Messiah. Here in chapter 2 Matthew tells us that Jesus fulfills Hosea 11 that He is the true Israel, the faithful Israel who succeeds where old covenant Israel failed. Like ancient Israel, we are seeing that He also “came up out of Egypt,” passed through the waters (of baptism), and was tested in the wilderness But unlike old covenant Israel, Yeshua passed the test and is the only human to own the title to be called God’s only begotten Son. All the Nation in that day had to do was repent, receive and believe on Him and in this way they would become TRUE ISRAEL, which Paul makes clear in Romans 9. It is doubtful that Hosea knew what he was writing in chapter 11:1 but this is yet another example of Matthew using the Old Testament text to explain Yeshua’s identity to His own. (Verse 16) 16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was furious and he sent and killed all the male children that were in Bethlehem and in all that region, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had questioned the wise men. 17Then it was fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, Jeremiah, who said, 18In Rama was there a voice heard of lamentation, and weeping, and Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted because they were no more. Okay, wrapping today up we face two issues in the thing Matthew writes. First of all, archaeologists have yet to excavate the archives of the Jerusalem beyond the year 4 BC so there is no secular record of this event! Even more troubling is Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus didn’t mention this event either. That said he does record numerous other murders from the command of the man that certainly prove he was entirely capable of doing such a thing. There are several possible explanations as to why Josephus did not record this event. First, Josephus, writing at the end of the first century AD may not have been aware of the slaughter in Bethlehem at the end of the first century BC as there are other pivotal events from the first century AD that Josephus does not record. For example, the episode of the golden Roman shields in Jerusalem which was the cause of the bad blood between Herod Antipas and Pontus Pilate mentioned in . Luke 23:12 is omitted) and it was the Jewish philosopher, Philo of Alexandria that recorded this event (Embassy to Gaius 38:299–305; Maier 1969: 109–21). Additionally, Josephus got some of his information from Nicolas of Damascus who was Herod the Greats friend and personal historian and Nicolas may not have recorded such a terrible deed as a means to not further tarnish the reputation of his friend any more than he had too. Second, and the most likely reason however is “the massacre” might not have been as large as later church history records. I mean the Martyrdom of Matthew states that 3,000 babies were slaughtered but the Byzantine liturgy places the number at 14,000 and the Syrian tradition says 64,000 innocent children were killed. But William F. Albright, the dean of American archaeology in the Holy Land, estimates that the population of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth to be about 300 people and that the number of male children, two years old or younger, would be about six or seven. While horrible this would hardly be a newsworthy event in light of what else was going on at the time. Paul L. Maier has pointed out, “Josephus wrote for a Greco-Roman audience, which would have little concern for infant deaths. Greeks regularly practiced infanticide as a kind of birth control, particularly in Sparta, while the Roman father had the right not to lift his baby off the floor after birth, letting it die” (1998: 179). Josephus, even if he knew of the slaughter of the innocents, would have deemed this episode unimportant in light of all the other monumental events going on at the time of the death of Herod the Great, thus not including it in his writings. Based on the date of Jesus’ birth provided by Clement of Alexandria (ca. 200 AD), Jesus would have been born on May 14, 6 BC (Faulstich 1998: 109–12). The wise men from the east do not arrive in Jerusalem to visit Herod and then go on to Bethlehem until at least 50 days after the birth of the Lord Jesus, but more than likely it was a year to a year and a half later. When Mary performed the ritual of purification for her firstborn in the Temple (according to Luke 2:22-24) she offered two turtledoves, the offering of the poor. If the wise men had already arrived with their gold, frankincense and myrrh, Mary would have been obligated (according to Leviticus 12:6) to offer a lamb and would have had the means to do so. Herod dies in March of 4 BC, just under two years from the birth of Jesus right before he dies, Herod realizes nobody will mourn for him at his death. He hatched a diabolical scheme to make sure everybody will morn at his death, even if it was not for him. He ordered all the notable Jews from all parts of his kingdom to come to him in Jericho under penalty of death. He placed them in the hippodrome of Jericho and left instructions for the soldiers to kill all the notables upon his death (Antiquities 17:174–181; LCL 8:451–55; Netzer 2001: 64–67). Fortunately, after the death of Herod, his sister Salome countermanded the order and released the Jewish leaders. Ironically, Herod died on the Feast of Purim and there was much rejoicing at the death of Herod the Wicked (cf. Esther 8:15–17; Faulstich 1998: 110)! Five days before he died, Herod executed his oldest son Antipater (Antiquities 17:187; LCL 8:457–59). During that time period he also executed, by burning alive, two leading rabbis and then executed their students for participating in the “eagle affair” in the Temple (Antiquities 17:149–167; LCL 8:439–49; Wars 1:655; LCL 2:311). 19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying 20Rise, take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel for those who sought the child's life are dead. 21And he rose and took the child and his mother and went into the land of Israel. At his death Herod left three sons (Archelaus, Philip and Antipas) and the kingdom was divided between them. Archelaus was given Judea, Idumea, and Samaria; Philip received Batanea and Trachonitis, and Antipas received Gallea and Perea. Each of these men were called “Herod” and these are the individuals who are referred to in the New Testament during the ministry of the Yeshua and the apostles. CLA: (see, Herods, The) 22But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judaea in place of Herod his father, he was afraid to go there, and being warned of YHWH in a dream he turned withdrew to the district of Galilee: In terms of cruelty Archelaus was similar in temperament to his father. At one of the Passover celebrations he had 3000 people put to death in the temple and city. After reigning nine years he was banished to Gaul by Augustus, the Roman emperor, where he died. Joseph apparently knew of his character, and fearing that Yeshua would not be safe in his jurisdiction, he hesitated going there, and was directed by God to go to Galilee. At this time the land of Palestine was divided into three parts: GALILEE (on the north), SAMARIA (in the middle), and Judea (on the south). Galilee was under the government of Herod Antipas, who was mild by comparison, and hence Yeshua was “of Galilee.” 23And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth so that what was spoken by the prophets, He will be called a Nazarene, would be fulfilled. Here in lies another issue if you will. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, etc. The words here are not found in any of the books of the Old Testament; and there has been much difficulty in ascertaining the meaning of this passage. Some have supposed that Matthew meant to refer to Jg 13:5, to Samson as a type of Christ; others that he refers to Isa 11:1, where the descendant of Jesse is called "a Branch;" in the Hebrew Netzer. Some have supposed that Matthew refers to some prophecy which was not recorded, but handed down by tradition. But these suppositions are not satisfactory. It is a great deal more probable that Matthew refers not to any particular place, but to the leading characteristics of the prophecies respecting him. The following remarks may make this clear: 1st. He does not say, "by the prophet, as in Mt 1:22; 2:5,15; but "by the prophets," meaning no one particularly, but the general character of the prophecies. 2nd. The leading and most prominent prophecies respecting him were, that he was to be of humble life, to be despised, and rejected. See Isa 53:2,3,7-9,12; Ps 22:1. 3rd. The phrase "he shall be called," means the same as he shall be. 4th. The character of the people of Nazareth was such that they were proverbially despised and contemned, Joh 1:46; 7:52. To come from Nazareth, therefore, or to be a Nazarene, was the same as to be despised, and esteemed of low birth; to be a root out of dry ground, having no form or comeliness. And this was the same as had been predicted by the prophets. When Matthew says, therefore, that the prophecies were fulfilled, it means, that the predictions of the prophets that he should be of humble life, and rejected, were fully accomplished in his being an inhabitant of Nazareth, and despised as such. Tune in at 10am as we have our second teaching in what we are calling, Sunday Schooled.