2:1-2 When did the Magi visit Jesus in Bethlehem?74There are several factors that point to a time about a year after Jesus' birth. First, Matthew described Jesus as a "child"(Gr. paidion, v. 11), not an "infant"(Gr. brephos, cf. Luke 2:24). Second, Jesus' family was residing in a house (v. 11), not near a manger (cf. Luke 2:1-20). Third, Herod's edict to destroy all the male children two years old and under (v. 16) suggests that Jesus fell within this age span. Fourth, Joseph and Mary brought the offering of poor people to the temple when they dedicated Jesus about 40 days after His birth (Luke 2:24). After receiving the Magi's gifts, they could have presented the normal offering (cf. Lev. 12). Fifth, Joseph and Mary's decision to return to Judea from Egypt (v. 22) implies that Judea is where they had lived before they took refuge in Egypt.
Matthew carefully identified the Bethlehem in Judea, in contrast to the Bethlehem in Zebulun (Josh. 19:15), as the birthplace of Jesus. This was important because the prophecy of Messiah's birthplace was specifically Bethlehem of Judah, the hometown of King David (v. 6; Mic. 5:2).
"Herod the Great, as he is now called, was born in 73 B.C. and was named king of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C. By 37 B.C. he had crushed, with the help of Roman forces, all opposition to his rule. Son of the Idumean Antipater, he was wealthy, politically gifted, intensely loyal, an excellent administrator, and clever enough to remain in the good graces of successive Roman emperors. His famine relief was superb and his building projects (including the temple, begun 20 B.C.) admired even by his foes. But he loved power, inflicted incredibly heavy taxes on the people, and resented the fact that many Jews considered him a usurper. In his last years, suffering an illness that compounded his paranoia, he turned to cruelty and in fits of rage and jealousy killed close associates, his wife Mariamne (of Jewish descent from the Maccabeans), and at least two of his sons . . ."75
"Behold"(Gr. idou) is a Hebraic expression that Matthew used to point out the wise men. They are the focus of his attention in this pericope.
It is not easy to identify the Magi (from the Gr. magoi) precisely. The Greek word from which we get "magi"comes from a Persian word that means experts regarding the stars. Centuries before Christ's time they were a priestly caste of Medes who could interpret dreams (cf. Dan. 1:20; 2:2; 4:7; 5:7). Later the term broadened to include men interested in dreams, magic, astrology, and the future. Some of these were honest inquirers after the truth, but others were charlatans (cf. Acts 8:9; 13:6, 8). The Magi who came to Jerusalem came from the East. Probably they came from Babylon that had been for centuries a center for the study of the stars.76
"The tradition that the Magi were kings can be traced as far back as Tertullian (died c. 225). It probably developed under the influence of OT passages that say kings will come and worship Messiah (cf. Pss 68:29, 31; 72:10-11; Isa. 49:7; 60:1-6). The theory that there were threewise men' is probably a deduction from the threegifts (2:11). By the end of the sixth century, the wise men were named: Melkon (later Melchior), Balthasar, and Gasper. Matthew gives no names. His magoicome to Jerusalem (which, like Bethlehem, has strong Davidic connections [2 Sam 5:5-9]), arriving, apparently . . ., from the east--possibly from Babylon, where a sizable Jewish settlement wielded considerable influence, but possibly from Persia or from the Arabian desert. The more distant Babylon may be supported by the travel time apparently required . . ."77
The magi's question (v. 2) was not, Where is He who has been born to becomeKing of the Jews? but, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? Jesus' status as Israel's king did not come to Him later in His life. He was born with it (cf. 27:37). In this respect He was superior to Herod who saw the young child as a threat to his throne.78
What Jesus' star was remains problematic. Some scholars have suggested a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. Others believed it was a supernova (a star that explodes and emits unusual light for several weeks or months), a comet, or some other planetary conjunctions or groupings. Still others believed it was something strictly supernatural. Whatever it was, it was the same star that guided the Magi to Jesus' house in Bethlehem or at least to Bethlehem (v. 9).79
"Could it be that the star' which the Magi saw and which led them to a specific house was the Shekinah glory of God? That same glory had led the children of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years as a pillar of fire and cloud. Perhaps this was what they saw in the East, and for want of a better term they called it a star.'"80
Probably the Magi connected Balaam's messianic prophecy of a star that would rise out of Judah (Num. 24:17) with the Jewish King. Balaam evidently originated in their part of the world (Num. 23:7). The Jews in Jesus' day regarded Balaam's oracle as messianic.81
The Magi's statement that they intended to "worship"the new King does not necessarily mean that they regarded Him as divine. They may have meant that they wanted to do Him homage. However in view of chapter 1 we know that the new King was worthy of true worship. "Worship"(Gr. proskyneo) occurs 13 times in Matthew and is something the writer stressed. Apparently the Magi recognized the King as Israel's Messiah.
2:3-6 This news troubled Herod because he was very aware of the Jews' desire to throw off the Roman yoke and his own rule in particular. He was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, and the prospect of a Jewish Messiah's appearance was one he could not ignore. The rest of Jerusalem's citizens became disturbed because they realized that this news from the Magi might lead Herod to take further cruel action against them. This is what happened (v. 16).
Herod assembled Israel's leaders to investigate the Magi's announcement further (v. 4). The chief priests were mainly Sadducees at this time, and most of the scribes ("teachers of the law,"NIV) were Pharisees. The chief priests included the high priest and his associates. The high priest obtained his position by appointment from Rome. The scribes were the official interpreters and communicators of the law to the people, the lawyers. Since these two groups of leaders did not get along, Herod may have had meetings with each group separately.
Notice that Herod perceived the King the Magi had spoken of as the Messiah (v. 4). Some of the Jews--particularly the Essenes whom Herod did not consult, but not the Sadducees and Pharisees--were expecting a Messiah to appear soon because of Daniel 9:24-27.82Daniel had been a wise man in the East also.
"Matthew adroitly answers Jewish unbelief concerning Jesus Christ by quoting their own official body to the effect that the prophecy of His birth in Bethlehem was literal, that the Messiah was to be an individual, not the entire Jewish nation, and that their Messiah was to be a King who would rule over them."83
"In the original context of Micah 5:2, the prophet is speaking prophetically and prophesying that whenever the Messiah is born, He will be born in Bethlehem of Judah. That is the literalmeaning of Micah 5:2. When a literal prophecy is fulfilled in the New Testament, it is quoted as a literal fulfillment. Many prophecies fall into this category . . ."84
Matthew's rendering of the Micah 5:2 prophecy adds the fact that the Ruler would shepherd the Israelites. This statement, from 2 Samuel 5:2, originally referred to David. Thus Matthew again showed the connection between the prophecies of Messiah and the Davidic line, a connection he also made in chapter 1. Perhaps the religious leaders put these passages together in their quotation. Such seems to have been the case. The quotation is free, not verbatim from either the Hebrew or the Greek (Septuagint) texts.
2:7-8 Evidently Herod summoned the Magi secretly to avoid arousing undue interest in their visit among Israel's religious leaders (v. 7). He wanted to know when the star had appeared so he could determine the age of the child King.
Under a pretext of desire to "worship"the new King, Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem as his representatives with orders to report what they found to him. His hypocritical humility deceived the wise men. He must have sensed this since he sent no escort with them but trusted them to return to him.
It is remarkable that the chief priests and scribes apparently made no effort to check out Jesus' birth as the Magi did.
"It is strange how much the scribes knew, and what little use they made of it."85
Their apathy contrasts with the Magi's curiosity and with Herod's fear. It continued into Jesus' ministry until it turned into antagonism.
". . . the conflict on which the plot of Matthew's story turns is that between Jesus and Israel, especially the religious leaders."86
"Except for Jesus himself, the religious leaders are the ones who influence most the development of the plot of Matthew's story."87
2:9-12 Perhaps "the"star (v. 2), whatever it was, was so bright that the wise men could see it as they travelled in daylight. Travel at night was common to avoid the heat, so they may have made the five-mile trip south to Bethlehem at night. Nevertheless this would have been winter, so they probably travelled during daylight hours.88
The star could have identified Bethlehem as the town where Jesus abode, and the Magi could have obtained his exact location from the residents. On the other hand, the star may have identified the very house where Joseph and Mary dwelt. This seems more likely in view of verse 11. God supernaturally guided the seekers so they found the Messiah. God's provision gave them great joy (v. 10).
The reaction of the wise men to discovering "the child"and His mother was to bow and worship Him. Notice that they did not worship Mary nor did they worship Jesus through Mary.
It was customary in the ancient Near East to present gifts when approaching a superior (cf. Gen. 43:11; 1 Sam. 9:7-8; 1 Kings 10:2). The wise men produced these from their "treasures"or coffers. The expensive gifts reflected the great honor the Magi bestowed on the Christ child. The gold probably financed Joseph and Mary's trip to Egypt (vv. 14-21). Frankincense is a gum obtained from the resin of certain trees that was particularly fragrant. Myrrh was also a sap-like substance that came from a tree that grew in Arabia. People used it as a spice and as a perfume often in embalming as well as in other applications. Many commentators, ancient and modern, have seen symbolic significance in these three gifts. Some have said gold suggests royalty while others have seen deity. Some say incense represents deity while others believe it better represents perfect humanity. Most expositors view myrrh as prefiguring Jesus' death and burial. It is unlikely that the Magi saw this significance, but Matthew may have intended his readers to see it. This act by Gentile leaders also prefigures the wealth that the Old Testament prophets said the Gentiles would one day present to Israel's Messiah (Isa. 60:5, 11; 61:6; 66:20; Zeph. 3:10; Hag. 2:7-8). This will occur in the fullest sense at the Second Coming of Christ.
God supernaturally intervened to keep the Magi from returning to Herod who would have then been able to target Jesus precisely. Dreams were a common method of divine guidance during the Old Testament economy in which Jesus lived (cf. Num. 12:6).
Several contrasts in this section reveal Matthew's emphases. Herod, the wicked Idumean usurper king, contrasts with Jesus, the born righteous king of Israel. The great distance from which the Magi travelled to visit Jesus contrasts with the short distance Israel's leaders had to travel to see Him. The genuine worship of the wise men contrasts with the feigned worship of Herod and the total lack of worship of the chief priests and scribes. The Gentile Magi's sensitivity and responsiveness to divine guidance contrasts with the insensitivity and unresponsiveness of Israel's leaders.
"The first to worship the King in Matthew's Gospel are Gentiles, an implication of the last command of the Messiah. The supernatural stellar manifestations attest the divine character of the person of Jesus. Matthew also notes the fact that the Magi who worship the Messiah of Israel are forced to take refuge from Bethlehem. This, too, is a hint of the future antagonism of Israel to their King."89
". . . he [Matthew] contrasts the eagerness of the Magi to worship Jesus, despite their limited knowledge, with the apathy of the Jewish leaders and the hostility of Herod's court--all of whom had the Scriptures to inform them. Formal knowledge of the Scriptures, Matthew implies, does not in itself lead to knowing who Jesus is . . ."90
"Even though Israel is cognizant of the prophecies, they are blind to spiritual realities. The King of Israel is worshiped by Gentiles, while His own people do not bother to own Him as their King. The condition of Israel is clearly implied in the early verses of Matthew's Gospel. They are cold and indifferent."91
"The Gentile wise men worship the King of the Jews; the Jews are apathetic; and Herod is concerned only for his throne. Herod's interest in his own political well-being marks the attitude of the governmental authorities throughout the remainder of the Gospel."92
