Prophecy fulfilled despite foolishness

Matthew 2:16-23

a. The result of man’s foolishness (인강의 어리석음의 결과)(2:16-18)

b. The result of God’s wisdom (하나님의 지혜의 결과)(2:19-23)

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BODY

a. The result of man’s foolishness (2:16-18)

i. Verse 16 starts with Herod. When we go think of Herod, we are told of Herod asking the magi to report to him so that he too could go worship him in verse 8. But in verse 16, we find the real reason as to why Herod wanted to know the whereabouts of Jesus.

ii. It was bizarre that Herod wanted to worship Jesus because of what was hinted in verse 3. Remember that when Herod heard the news that the King of the Jews was born, he was troubled by the news. It was the opposite reaction of the magi from verses 1-2. The magi came into the scene in chapter 2 with excitement. When they saw the star, they were so fascinated by it that they traveled this long distance to come worship the newborn King.

iii. But in verse 3, the contrast shows that Herod and his men were not excited, but rather troubled. This goes to show his troubled emotions. We now find out what Herod’s real intention was. So in verse 16, when Herod found out that he was tricked by the magi. What does it mean here that he was tricked? The word here means ridiculed, mocked. Why would Herod feel this way? Herod was thinking that these men would respect that he was the king. He expected that they would listen to what he asked of them. But the fact that they ignored his response, by not reporting to him, he felt disrespected. How could they not listen to what he had asked them to do? This response by the magi causes a reaction from Herod.

iv. Herod’s reaction is that he becomes enraged. Why is this important? It is the exact opposite of the magi’s response. But what’s amazing here is that this response tells us that it fulfills a prophecy. So what prophecy is fulfilled?

v. Verse 17 tells us that this prophecy was fulfilled. This quotes Jeremiah 31:15. So what was the prophecy. The prophecy states that there was great mourning and weeping. Then says, Rachel weeping for her children and that she would refuse to be comforted because they were no more. This is an interesting prophecy because the context of Jeremiah 31:15 goes back to Jeremiah 27. In Jeremiah 27, the prophecy is given that Israel will be driven far away from their land and they will be under the yoke of the king of Babylon. This tells us that they will be exiled into Babylon. God explains to Jeremiah what will happen, where false prophets will tell them that they will not be taken to Babylon. God tells them not to listen to them because they are false prophets. What God is ensuring here is that they will be taken as slaves into Babylon. But the beautiful message here is, even though you are exiled, the last verse in 27:22 tells us that He will restore them back to their place. But when we go back to Matthew 2:18, it speaks of the exile where Rachel would weep for Israel. It should be noted that Ramah was the place of departure for exile so weeping and mourning is happening in Ramah because Israel is being taken into exile (추방). Rachel is weeping because she was buried near Bethlehem which probably was near the spot where the exile happened in Ramah.

vi. So when we think about the exile happening, what would cause great weeping and mourning in Matthew 2:18? If we go back to verse 16, it tells us that Herod, after hearing that he was mocked, goes out and kills all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity.

vii. Scholars (학자) have stated that probably there was a population of 1000 people in Bethlehem, so if that were true, roughly hardly more than 20 babies could have been killed that were around 2 years old and male. This would probably be the reason that many people don’t find this incident in history because 20 babies being killed was nothing in Herod’s history. Historians have found out that Herod was known for killing rivals who tried to take his throne from him, even to the point that he murdered his three eldest sons who tried to take his throne from him. So it would make sense that murdering 20 male babies is nothing and is not accounted (기록) for.

viii. We remember this killing of the children through what happened during Israel as well. In Exodus chapter 1, after a new king who didn’t know Joseph became king, Pharoah made the lives of the Jews harder. He made them to do hard labor and later called for the murder of all Hebrew male babies that were born, to be cast into the Nile (Exodus 1:22). This leads us to Chapter 2, the birth of Moses, and when Moses is born, God raises Moses to save His people. Here in this scene, similarly to the murdering of baby boys, God would do the same thing. Just as He raised Moses from this moment, God shows that He would also raise another savior who would redeem His people. To be faithful to His promise of 1:21, God would save Jesus from death so that He would fulfill His calling from God.

ix. But the astounding thing about this prophecy is the fact that Herod acted out of anger. This is an important point for us to consider. It tells us that man’s behavior and actions align with God’s sovereignty (주권).

x. One of the most interesting areas (주제) of theology is studying God’s sovereignty. How could God be sovereign over everything? Is God sovereign over everything? Well this passage clearly shows God’s sovereignty. Herod kills babies out of anger, and fulfills the prophecies that were prophesied before his time. But which prophecy is fulfilled? We might look at Jeremiah 31:15 as a prophecy that tells us these babies being killed was prophesied. Mothers weeping for their lost children in the exile and mothers watching their first sons being murdered was fulfilled. But the prophecy in Jeremiah 31 doesn’t speak on that. Rather, it tells us of what happens after. Starting in verse 27, it tells us of the new covenant. The prophecy that was fulfilled in Jeremiah 31 is not so much the murder of children, but that God would be their God and that they would be His people. But not only that, God promises that He would forgive their iniquity and their sin, I will remember no more. That’s the highlight of fulfillment. God would be their God through the person of Christ and that we would be His people through Christ, but not only that, through Christ, He would forgive their iniquity and our iniquity and remember our sin no more. This prophecy tells us exactly what Immanuel is; God with us. Despite Herod’s foolishness, God would fulfill His promise.

b. The result of God’s wisdom (2:19-23)

i. Verse 19 skips to the future, where it tells us now Herod had died and an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Egypt and calls him to go back into the land of Israel. Last week, we saw this was exactly the same picture of Moses being told after he had run away to Midian to return back to Egypt because the people who were seeking his life were dead.

ii. Interesting to read in Exodus 4:20, after hearing this, he returned back to Egypt on a donkey. Similarly to this, Joseph goes back to Israel in 2:21 and came back to the land of Israel.

iii. Verse 22, So when Joseph and his family were heading back to Bethlehem, he hears that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father, it tells us that Joseph was afraid to go there. If we knew what type of king Herod was, the Bible tells us Archelaus was worse. He was such a terrible king that Joseph was afraid to go back to Bethlehem because that might mean the identity of Jesus would somehow become known and Archelaus would do the same thing his father tried to do, to kill Jesus. This ultimately causes

iv. After he was afraid to go back, God warned him in a dream which caused him to go to the regions of Galilee, verse 23 and they came and lived in a city called Nazareth. Then the difficult statement of this was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he should be a Nazarene. The reason why I said this was difficult because it says prophets. It’s not one prophet, but the theme of the prophets.

v. The other reason why it’s difficult because there is no mention in the Old Testament that states that Jesus will be from Nazareth. So what can this mean? It seems probable that Isaiah 11:1 is what they are talking about because of the word branch. The branch (가지) can mean the messiah.

vi. I think the better reason though is because of what it says in John 1:46. When Nathanael sees Jesus, he asks the question, “what good can come out of Nazareth?” You see, the reason I think this prophecy is important is because of this question. Jews during that time didn’t have a high view of Nazareth. It was a agricultural city and nothing was significant there. So for the Messiah to come from there is significant. It goes to show us that God uses insignificant people and places to do His work. It is another reminder that God came here for sinners not perfect people. It helps us to understand that salvation isn’t just for those who deserve it. Rather, it’s for those whom God chooses. That’s how the Gospel reveals the wisdom of God. Jeremiah 9:23-24 reminds us that God wants us to know that God is the one who exercises lovingkindness. Salvation is God’s choice and for us to receive that salvation, helps us to understand how great a gift it truly is.

3. CONCLUSION