2v1-12

AFTER THE BABY IS BORN…

Matthew 2:1-12

Three responses to the Christ child…

Rebellious People Abhor Him

Herod—Because he was not Jewish, but Idumean (Edomite), Herod married Mariarune, heiress to the Jewish Hasmonean house, in order to make himself more acceptable to the Jews he now ruled. He was a clever and capable warrior, orator, and diplomat. In times of severe economic hardship he gave back some tax money collected from the people. During the great famine of 25 B.C. he melted down various gold objects in the palace to buy food for the poor. He built theaters, race tracks, and other structures to provide entertainment for the people, and in 19 B.C. he began the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem He revived Samaria and built the beautiful port city of Caesarea in honor of his benefactor Caesar Augustus (Octavian’s title). He embellished the cities of Beirut, Damascus, Tyre, Sidon, and Rhodes, and even made contributions to rebuilding work in Athens. He built the remarkable and almost impregnable fortress of Masada, where in A.D. 73 nearly a thousand Jewish defenders committed suicide rather than be captured by the Roman general Flavius Silva.
But Herod was also cruel and merciless. He was incredibly jealous, suspicious, and afraid for his position and power. Fearing his potential threat, he had the high priest Aristobulus, who was his wife Mariamne’s brother, drowned-after which he provided a magnificent funeral where he pretended to weep. He then had Mariamne herself killed, and then her mother and two of his own sons. Five days before his death (about a year after Jesus was born) he had a third son executed. One of the greatest evidences of his bloodthirstiness and insane cruelty was having the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested and imprisoned shortly before his death. Because he knew no one would mourn his own death, he gave orders for those prisoners to be executed the moment he died-in order to guarantee that there would be mourning in Jerusalem. That barbaric act was exceeded in cruelty only by his slaughter of “all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its environs, from two years old and under” (Matt. 2:16) in hopes of killing any threat to his throne from the One the magi said had been born King of the Jews.
They feel threatened by Him (3)
Herod’s concern is understandable: as an Edomite (cf. Mal. 1:4) and a Roman appointee, he was vulnerable to the claims of a king of the true Davidic dynasty.
Especially in light of his intense jealousy and paranoia, any mention of another king of the Jews sent him into a frenzy of fear and anger.
Because the magi at this time were still powerful in the east, it is likely that they traveled with a large contingent of soldiers and servants-causing their presence in Jerusalem to seem even more threatening to Herod. Because of their wealth, prestige, and power, they had the appearance and demeanor of royalty-which is why they have long been traditionally pictured and sung about as kings from the Orient.
As already mentioned, their number could have been considerably more than three. To Herod, the appearance of this impressive company portended a renewed political threat from the east. And though He was by now some seventy years old, he wanted to maintain his position and power to the end, and did not want to spend his last years in warfare.
That all Jerusalem with him was also troubled may indicate that their concern, like Herod’s, was political and military. Perhaps they too viewed the magi as the precursors of another conquest by the Parthians, who had sent this forward body ahead to discover and perhaps even crown some new king that would rule Palestine.
It is more likely, however, that the concern of the populace was not directly about the magi but about Herod’s reaction to them. By bitter experience they knew that Herod’s agitation usually meant maniacal bloodshed. He did not bother to identify his enemies carefully. Anyone even suspected of doing him harm or of threatening his position or power was in considerable danger. In his sweeping carnage many totally innocent people were often destroyed. The people’s fear for their own safety was well founded.
Herod feared for the throne, which was not really his, and Jerusalem knew what Herod’s fear meant. It meant rebellion, bloodshed, and terrible suffering.
Loss of position
Loss of power/influence
Loss of control
Loss of pleasure
They want to extinguish Him (13, 16)

Religious People Ignore Him (4-6)

All Jewish priests were of the priestly tribe of Levi and, even more particularly, descendants of Aaron, the first high priest. In some ways the priests were like the magi, having considerable political as well as religious power.
First among the chief priests was the high priest. According to Old Testament law, there was to be but one high priest at a time, who served for life and whose special and unique duty it was to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement and offer sacrifice for all the people. But by the time of Christ the office had become subject to political favoritism and even purchase, High priests were appointed and removed at the whim of various rulers. Consequently, there were often several living at one time.
Another of the chief priests was the captain of the Temple, who was appointed by and responsible to the high priest. Among his powers, approved by the Romans, was that of arrest and imprisonment. He therefore was allowed to have a rather large contingent of soldiers, all Jewish, at his disposal, who acted as the Temple police. He ranked second to the high priest in authority.
Others included the Temple treasurer, and other Temple overseers and officials. Together with the high priests and the captain of the Temple, they formed the priestly aristocracy often referred to loosely as the chief priests.
By New Testament times they had become little more than a group of corrupt, religiously oriented politicians. From the time of Jesus’ birth to His crucifixion they are shown by the gospel writers to have been in opposition to the true revelation and work of the Lord.
The scribes were primarily Pharisees, authorities on Jewish law, scriptural and traditional, who were often referred to as lawyers. They had considerable prestige among Jews, and were recognized as the key scholars of religious Judaism. They were conservative theologically, held a literalistic view of Scripture, and were generally legalistic and strict in regard to both ceremonial and moral law. Those of the scribes who were Sadducees were liberal in their interpretation of Scripture, not believing in such things as the resurrection and angels (Acts 23:8). Whether conservative or liberal, however, the scribes of Jesus’ day were alike in their opposition to Him.
Contrary to what many, perhaps most, unbelieving Jews today think, those ancient teachers of Israel knew that the coming Messiah, the Christ, would be more than a godly attitude or the personified perfection of the Jewish kingdom.
The Messiah would be a real man born among men, sent to rule men. Those chief priests and scribes had a far from perfect idea of what Christ would be like and of what He would do, but they had more than enough knowledge to have enabled them to recognize Him when He came and to know that they, like the magi, should worship Him.
They knew, but they did not believe. Consequently, a few years later their initial indifference to Jesus would turn to rejection and persecution. These who now ignored Him would soon become His hateful, venomous murderers.
They ignore His deity
They ignore His exclusivity
Evolutionists, secularists, etc.

Righteous People Adore Him

Few biblical stories are as well known, yet so clouded by myth and tradition, as that of the magi, or wise men, mentioned by Matthew. During the Middle Ages legend developed that they were kings, that they were three in number, and that their names were Casper, Balthazar, and Melchior. Because they were thought to represent the three sons of Noah, one of them is often pictured as an Ethiopian.
The only legitimate facts we know about these particular magi are the few given by Matthew in the first twelve verses of chapter 2. We are not told their number, their names, their means of transportation to Palestine, or the specific country or countries from which they came.
The magi became skilled in astronomy and astrology (which, in that day, were closely associated) and had a sacrificial system that somewhat resembled the one God gave to Israel through Moses. They were involved in various occult practices, including sorcery, and were especially noted for their ability to interpret dreams. It is from their name that our words magic and magician are derived.
Because of their combined knowledge of science, agriculture, mathematics, history, and the occult, their religious and political influence continued to grow until they became the most prominent and powerful group of advisors in the Medo-Persian and subsequently the Babylonian empire.
We learn from the book of Daniel that the magi were among the highest-ranking officials in Babylon. Because the Lord gave Daniel the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream—which none of the other court seers was able to do-Daniel was appointed as “ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon” (Dan. 2:48). Because of his great wisdom and because he had successfully pleaded for the lives of the wise men who had failed to interpret the king’s dream (Dan. 2:24), Daniel came to be highly regarded among the magi. The plot against Daniel that caused him to be thrown into the lions’ den was fomented by the jealous satraps and the other commissioners, not the magi (Dan. 6:4–9).
Because of Daniel’s high position and great respect among them, it seems certain that the magi learned much from that prophet about the one true God, the God of Israel, and about His will and plans for His people through the coming glorious King. Because many Jews remained in Babylon after the Exile and intermarried with the people of the east, it is likely that Jewish messianic influence remained strong in that region even until New Testament times.
“Wise men/magi from the east”— (the word literally means “from the rising” of the sun, and refers to the orient).
We are not told how the God of revelation caused the magi to know that the King of the Jews had been born, only that He gave them the sign of His [the One called King] star in the east. Almost as much speculation has been made about the identity of that star as about the identity of the men who saw it…
Since the Bible does not identify or explain the star, we cannot be dogmatic, but it may have been the glory of the Lord-the same glory that shone around the shepherds when Jesus’ birth was announced to them by the angel (Luke 2:9).
The Lord guided the children of Israel through the wilderness by “a pillar of cloud by day…and in a pillar of fire by night” (Ex. 13:21).
On the Damascus road, just before Jesus spoke to him, Saul of Tarsus was surrounded by “a light from heaven” (Acts 9:3), which he later explained was “brighter than the sun” (26:13).
Both the Hebrew and the Greek words for star were also used figuratively to represent any great brilliance or radiance. At the end of the New Testament He refers to Himself as “the bright morning star” (Rev. 22:16). It appears that this “star” was visible only to the eyes for whom it was intended to be seen-that appeared to the magi in the east and later guided them to Bethlehem.
They had genuinely seeking hearts, hearts that the Lord promises will never fail to find Him (Jer. 29:13).
That the star was not a physical heavenly body is again evident from the fact that it was able to stand directly over the house where Jesus and His family now lived-which for obvious reasons could not be possible for an actual star.
The magi were overwhelmed that the special star reappeared to them. It seems almost as if Matthew was at a loss for words to describe their ecstasy. The original text piles up superlatives to emphasize the extent of exhilaration they felt, thus indicating to us their uniquely strong interest in this great event.
Evidenced by their…
Humility
In His wonderful grace God had led them to His Son and allowed them to see Him face to face. Charles Wesley captured the experience in his beautiful Christmas hymn: “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate deity; pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel!”
Matthew is careful to say that the magi worshipped Him, that is, the Child, not His mother. They knew better than Cornelius, who attempted to worship the apostle Peter (Acts 10:25), and the crowd at Lystra who tried to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:11–13).
Only Jesus, who is God, is worthy of adoration!!
Generosity
Their giving was not so much an addition to their worship as an element of it. The gifts were an expression of worship, given out of the overflow of adoring and grateful hearts.
Giving that is generous but done apart from a loving relationship with God is empty giving.
Throughout history gold has been considered the most precious of metals and the universal symbol of material value and wealth. It was used extensively in the construction of the Temple. It was also a symbol of nobility and royalty. Here we see the King of the Jews, the King of kings, appropriately being presented with royal gifts of gold.
Frankincense was a costly, beautiful-smelling incense that was used only for the most special of occasions. It was used in the grain offerings at the Tabernacle and Temple (Lev. 2:2, 15–16), in certain royal processions (Song of Sol. 3:6–7), and sometimes at weddings if it could be afforded.
Origen, the great church Father, suggested that frankincense was the incense of deity. In the Old Testament it was stored in a special chamber in front of the Temple and was sprinkled on certain offerings as a symbol of the people’s desire to please the Lord.
Myrrh was also a perfume, not quite so expensive as frankincense but nevertheless valuable. Some interpreters suggest that myrrh represents the gift for a mortal, emphasizing Jesus’ humanity. This perfume is mentioned often in Scripture, beginning in Genesis (37:25; 43:11). Mixed with wine it was also used as an anesthetic (Mark 15:23), and mixed with other spices it was used in preparation of bodies for burial, even Jesus’ body (John 19:39).
Those were the magi’s gifts to Jesus. Gold for His royalty, frankincense for His deity, and myrrh for His humanity.
F.W. Boreham made an interesting suggestion in his story “The Lost Chronicles of Sufi-Abbas”: One of the three wise men felt sure that what the world needed was a King, one who could rule the nations with authority and power, put down unrighteousness, and bring prosperity and peace to mankind. So, certain that the star would lead them to a King, he brought a royal present, a gift of gold, the peculiar treasure of kings.
The second wise man, knowing that the world’s ideas of God were warped, thought that God needed to come down here in human form and show the world what He was really like. So, wanting God to be manifest in the flesh, he brought frankincense, a gift for deity since incense was used for worship.
The third hoped that the star would lead them to a Savior. This wise man knew that the world was a sinful place, sadly in need of One who would take on Himself the weight and guilt of the sins of mankind and atone for them. So, convinced that such a great Savior must also be a great sufferer, he brought myrrh, a gift for One destined to die since the spice was used to embalm the bodies of the dead.
“They came to Bethlehem,” wrote Boreham. “And when they saw that the star had but led them to a baby in a woman’s arms, all three were at first overwhelmed with chagrin and dismay.” Then they heard Mary sing the song recorded by Luke: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour…” (1:46-47, italics added).
“The Lord!” cried the first wise man. “Then I have found my King!” And he presented his gift of gold.
“In God!” exclaimed the second wise man. “Then I have found my God!” And he presented his gift of frankincense.
“My Savior!” chorused the third wise man. “Then I have found my Savior!” And he presented his gift of myrrh.
Conformity