Matthew 2

From: Words of Truth: Volume N3

Matthew 2 • 7 min. read • grade level: 8

The previous chapter has shown us that the One of whom it speaks was everything that their own Scriptures could lead a Jew to expect. He was at once the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, Jehovah the Saviour, and Emmanuel Himself.

In the chapter before us we get the effect of His presentation to man. Three classes are before us. The Roman king, the chief priests and scribes of the Jews, and the wise men from the East. The effect of His coming, in each, is not a little remarkable. With the Jew, there was calm, stolid indifference; with the king, outrageous cruelty; with the wise men, unfeigned adoration. And surely, in the spontaneous outburst of joy that came from them, one can discern that God was about to glorify His Son by means of the Gentiles, when the Jews would not “have this man to reign over them;” (see Isa. 49:1¹Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1).6).

Bethlehem was the scene of His birth. It had been the place that witnessed the death of Rachel; where the Son of the mother’s sorrow (Benoni) became the Son of the Father’s right hand (Benjamin)—Gen. 35:16-20¹⁶And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷And it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. ¹⁸And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. ¹⁹And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. ²⁰And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day. (Genesis 35:16‑20). —a beautiful figure of Him whose death caused a sword to pierce through His mother’s soul (Luke 2:35³⁵(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:35)); but who, in resurrection, took His place at His Father’s right hand (Mark 16:19¹⁹So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)). Bethlehem, too, was the abode of Boaz (“in him is strength”), a manifest type of the One who becomes, through redemption, the Husband of the friendless one who comes up from among the Gentiles—Israel returning from her banishment (Isa. 54:5⁵For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. (Isaiah 54:5)). All was quiet at Jerusalem when the wise men came from the East to inquire, “Where is he whose star we have seen in the East?” And here we have a manifest allusion to Num. 24:17¹⁷I 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. (Numbers 24:17)— “I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh. There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall arise out of Israel,” &c., &c. Balaam was from the East (23:7); God had preserved His prophecy; long had “wisdom’s children” waited for the star; and now, at length, it had come to gladden the hearts of those who, taught of God, were ready to receive it. What brought joy to them, however, was a source of much trouble to Herod, who trembled for his throne; and the first thought in his mind is— “How can I destroy the child that is to dispossess me?” He refers, therefore, at once, to the religious rulers whose Scriptures, he knew, could give the necessary information. Mic. 5:2²But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2) is the passage they refer to; which tells not merely of His birthplace, but His kingdom. Herod, then, calls the wise men again; and, with the utmost subtlety, tells them to go and find the Child, under the pretense that he might come and worship Him also. And now they have a fresh instance of God’s attention to them—for the very same star that they had seen in the East, suddenly re-appears, and directs them to the actual place where the young Child is. And now, with unfeigned thanksgiving,—the Babe being the one object of their adoration,—they fall down and worship Him, and accompany their praises with gifts of the most costly kind: a beautiful figure to us of how “the kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts: yea, all kings shall fall down before him” (Psa. 72:10-11¹⁰The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. ¹¹Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. (Psalm 72:10‑11); compare also 1 Kings 10; Isa. 9:1-9¹Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. ²The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. ³Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. ⁴For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. ⁵For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. ⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. ⁸The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. ⁹And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, (Isaiah 9:1‑9)); and also an example of how, in true worship, we lose sight of everything but Christ.

And now God, in His protecting care, warns them to depart to their own country by another way, to escape the fury of Herod. Their mission is ended, and they return home satisfied, for they have been in company with Him who alone can give perfect satisfaction. And surely, before we go further, we may well pause a moment to wonder at the number of instruments God uses to accomplish His purpose. The Star (and compare with this Josh. 10:12-14¹²Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. ¹³And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. ¹⁴And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. (Joshua 10:12‑14); 2 Kings 20:8-11⁸And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day? ⁹And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? ¹⁰And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. ¹¹And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz. (2 Kings 20:8‑11), showing how God commands creation in a moment): the angel, the dreams, and Joseph and the wise men. And no wonder; for the object of His interest was His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Joseph then is warned in a dream of the danger that awaits the child, and in simple obedience to the Word of God departs into Egypt, where he remains till Herod’s death; and his faith is worthy of the highest praise (comp. ch. 1:24). All this, however, is but the accomplishment of the counsels of God. It has ever been so. He who said to the sea, “Hitherto shalt thou come but no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed” (Job 38:11¹¹And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? (Job 38:11)), only uses the rage of Satan to fulfill His own purposes. John was sent to Patmos that God might teach him the Revelation; the thief’s legs were broken that he might be that day with Jesus in Paradise; Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the children of Israel, were gathered together against Jesus to do whatsoever God’s hand and God’s counsel had determined before to be done (Acts 4:27-28²⁷For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, ²⁸For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. (Acts 4:27‑28)); and so here God had determined inasmuch as Israel had failed so signally to retain her place as God’s witness in the world to recommence her history in the person of His Son, and therefore permits Herod’s rage to be the cause of His banishment. A famine had in old time been the cause of Israel’s descent to Egypt; persecution now sends the true Son and Firstborn of the Father (Ex. 9:22²²And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. (Exodus 9:22), Matt. 3:17¹⁷And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17), Col. 1:15¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (Colossians 1:15)) to the same place. And thus the prophecy of Hos. 11:1¹When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. (Hosea 11:1), has its full accomplishment in Him. We see now the twofold character of evil developed in Herod—corruption and violence. Such were found in Satan at the time of his fall (Ezek. 28:16-17¹⁶By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. ¹⁷Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. (Ezekiel 28:16‑17)), and such has ever been found in those who have listened to his enticements.

Corruption we read of in Eve, violence in Cain; in Gen. 6:11¹¹The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. (Genesis 6:11), “the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” All through the book of God we find the same, until in the Revelation the beast expresses violence, while the woman expresses corruption. Herod had tried in vain to destroy the child by subtlety, he now equally fails by violence. Twice in figure in Scripture this scene is brought before us, once when Pharaoh (Ex. 1) commanded all the male children to be destroyed; and again when the great red dragon (Rev. 12) Satan, in figure urging on the Roman power, stands before the woman (the Jewish nation) ready to devour her child as soon as born. And thus Jeremiah’s prophecy is fulfilled (c. 31:15); and it is worthy of remark that this slaughter takes place, according to Jeremiah, immediately previous to the establishing of the new covenant in the hearts of the people. We know, however, that owing to the rejection of their Messiah this has not yet been accomplished.