Matthew 2:1–12

¹ 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.

Commentary

Vs. 1-2 “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.”

Jesus Christ’s birth in Bethlehem of Judea was no accident, but was the fulfillment of God’s prophecy spoken through Micah the prophet (see Matt 2:6 quoting Micah 5:2). While the location of Bethlehem itself is historically significant since Bethlehem was also the birth place of David, God’s chosen king upon which the Lord Jesus Christ’s throne would be established forever. Even the name Bethlehem means: *“house of bread” a house then which would be the birthplace of the Bread of Life! (John 6:35). Now Jesus Christ’s birth takes place during the days of Herod the then “king”; who is also referred to as Herod the great; the cunning and ruthless governor of Judea who by his posturing amongst the Romans who instilled him there as ruler had himself proclaimed “king” of the territory of Judea. Now it was this Herod whose father the Romans also instilled before him to keep the Jews in subjection to them. Now Herod himself was not a Jew by birth, but an Edomite, (or Idumean); and thus he was a descendent of Esau, whose people the Edomites became the enemies of the Jews whom the Lord Himself will destroy forever (Isaiah 63:1-6). And so though Herod was a convert to Judaism, and at times he showed much interest in their religion (consider Mark 6:20), this Herod like his father before him, was no ally of God, nor of His plans and purposes in the earth. But he was first and foremost an ambitious and unscrupulous man, who by his own craft and cunning not only advanced himself to the Romans, but also through the same ruled the Jews whom he did much to placate during his tenure with his building programs and his beautifying and expanding their Temple by which he brought himself into “favor” with the religious leadership of the Jews. That said the Jews as a whole never accepted Herod as their king, and so Herod though ruling Judea as their “king” maintained his position there not through the loyalty of ordinary Jews to himself, but rather only by Rome’s ongoing might and support of himself by which he ruled and crushed any and all dissension and dissenters with an iron fist. Yet in spite of all Herod’s attempts to control and subjugate the Jews, there were always potential rivals and uprisings that were an ever present threat to his tenure and reign. And so when the wise men (magi) having seen Jesus’ star in the east (consider Num. 24:17) follow it into the land of Judea, and they come to Herod to inquire of as to where the King of the Jews had been born so that they could worship Him (vs. 2), Herod must have been shaken to his very core at this news that the true King of the Jews had been born in his territory. 

Vs. 3-6 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.’ ” 

And so with the magi news of the birth of Christ the King of the Jews (and all of all who believe in Him) both Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled; a seemingly strange parallel to joy of the wise men and shepherds who diligently sought out and rejoiced at the revelation and their discovery of the Christ infant Child until one considers that this is exactly how those of this world will react when Christ returns for the judgment of it, before setting up His everlasting Kingdom (Rev. 1:7). Therefore if Herod and those of Jerusalem were the people of God their response would’ve been like the magi who proclaimed Jesus’ arrival to them. Instead they were only troubled, because their “service” and “religion” was not about living for and in anticipation of God’s Promised Redemption; theirs was only about maintaining the status quo, and thus their own privileged positions within it. Contrast them then with Anna and Simon in Luke 2:25-38.  

Vs. 4-6 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.’ ”

Therefore with the news of the birth of Christ the King, Herod gathers all of the chief priests and scribes together, for these were the authorities in the law of God, (not that they believed the Word of God, but they were the “scholars” of it, consider John 5:39-46). And so having assembled the religious authorities of the Jews, Herod inquires of them where the Christ was to be born. Now Herod’s inquiry of them was not that of a seeker, of someone whose heart and soul God has stirred so that they might in hope seek and find the Lord Jesus Christ for themselves. No Herod’s inquiry of them was purely sinister in nature, so that in finding out the birth place of the Christ he could as we will soon see seek to destroy the Child Christ before He could become a Man, and thus become God’s people’s Ruler and King. Now the spiritual reality of this is seen in (Rev. 12:13-17). For just as there is a physical realm where the battles for men and woman’s souls and lives takes place, there is also an invisible spiritual realm where these realities are also playing out, where all the players are seen as they truly are. Herod then having inquired of them then is informed by them that God’s prophecy declares that Christ’s birth was to take place in Bethlehem (see Micah 5:2) where Joseph and Marry were now staying with the Child Jesus, Marry having given birth to Him there.

Vs. 7-12 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.

When Herod was informed as to the birth place of the Christ by the chief priests and scribes he sets out a plot to destroy the Christ. Now in order to do this he first secretly calls the wise men to himself; so as not to alert anyone as to his scheme; and so he will further inquire of them when they had seen His Star in the east. And having determined the location and time of the birth of the Christ, Herod under the guise of wanting to also seek and worship Him, now tells the wise men: “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.” ^{vs. 9}

The wise men then being ignorant of Herod’s evil intentions set out for Bethlehem. Now as they are travelling the Star which the wise men had originally seen in the east, and thus brought them to Jerusalem, again goes before them. This was no natural phenomenon then; this was the Hand of God guiding them so as to bring them to the birth place of His Son. For they (unknown to themselves) had been chosen by God to be the first ones to honor His Son’s Presence and Arrival here on earth, something which neither Herod nor all of the Satanic powers of darkness working through his own evil will could ever destroy, and keep God from fulfilling His Word and Purposes through His own Son. Thus the Star guided the wise men to the house and stood over it where the infant Christ was now staying in the care of Joseph and Mary. And with their discovery of the Child’s exact location, even before entering the house, the wise men rejoiced with exceedingly great joy, for having traveled many miles in a perilous journey in search of God’s King, they in finding Him rejoice with an exceedingly great joy!, Something which you yourself may also do if you have been on your own life’s journeys and pursuits, and yet unknowingly seeking for what only God can give you that will fully satisfy you! And having found Christ the King, the Savior of the world, they enter the house and find the young Child with Mary His mother, (a poignant scheme indeed God in flesh being nurtured and cared for by His own creation), and having come into Christ’s Presence they fall down and worship Him, and Him alone, presenting their gifts not to Mary, but to the Christ alone, honoring Him alone, as the Scripture states; …“And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” ^{vs. 12} Now in the Believers Bible Commentary there is a wonderful exposition on the gifts they presented and their significance, there it states: “The treasures they brought spoke volumes. Gold is a symbol of deity and glory; it speaks of the shining perfection of His divine Person. Frankincense is an ointment or perfume; it suggests the fragrance of the life of sinless perfection. Myrrh is a bitter herb; it presages the sufferings He would endure in bearing the sins of the world. The bringing of gifts by Gentiles is reminiscent of the language of Isaiah 60:6. Isaiah predicted that Gentiles would come to the Messiah with gifts, but mentioned only gold and frankincense: “… they shall bring gold and incense. And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.” Why was myrrh omitted? Because Isaiah was speaking of Christ’s second advent—His coming in power and great glory. There will be no myrrh then because He will not suffer then. But in Matthew the myrrh is included because His first coming is in view. In Matthew we have the sufferings of Christ; in this passage of Isaiah, the glories that shall follow.”

Having then found and honored the Christ greatly, and thus fulfilled God’s purposes for them, God warns them in a dream not to return to Herod, and with that they depart and return to their own country by another way so as not to be found by Herod or any of his agents (vs. 12). And so like the wise men each and every individual will have an opportunity to enter into Christ's legacy, and unlike Herod, be on the right side of history and eternity, which side shall you be on?  

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Additional Resources Consulted
MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Edited by Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995.

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