Sermon Tone Analysis

Chapter 2

The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew and his Study guide.

Additional material taken from sources listed at the end

Read and summarize

Look for

— Prayers ( Blue )

— Promises ( Green )

— Warnings ( Red )

— Commands ( Purple )

Introduction

MacArthur

Matthew records the good news about the most significant events in all of history — the birth, life, sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

Each gospel writer wrote from a unique perspective and for a different audience.

As a result, each gospel contains distinctive elements.

Taken together, the four Gospels form a complete testimony about Jesus Christ.

Matthew wrote primarily to a Jewish audience, presenting Jesus of Nazareth as Israel’s long-awaited Messiah and rightful King.

He opens his book with a genealogy, which, unlike Luke’s, focuses on Jesus’ royal descent from Israel’s greatest king, David.

The primary purpose of chapters one and two is to establish Jesus’ right to Israel’s kingship.

To any honest observer, and certainly to Jews who knew and believed their own Scriptures, these two chapters vindicate Jesus’ claim before Pilate: “You say rightly that I am king.

For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world” ( Jn 18:37 )

Consistent with this purpose of revealing Jesus to be the Christ ( Messiah ) and the King of the Jews, Matthew begins his Gospel by showing Jesus’ lineage from the royal line of Israel.

If Jesus is to be heralded and proclaimed King, there must be proof that He comes from the recognized royal family.

McGee

— Each Gospel was directed to meet the needs of a particular group of people

— Matthew was written to the nation of Israel

— It is for religious people

— Recorded here is the fulfillment of four prophecies.

— The purpose of this chapter is to show how these Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled at the birth of Jesus

— Here are four (4) prophecies that were fulfilled at the time of Christ's birth:

(1) He was to be born in Bethlehem (see Mic. 5:2);

(2) He was to be called out of Egypt (see Hos. 11:1);

(3) There was to be weeping in Ramah (see Jer. 31:15); and

(4) He was a root from the stem of Jesse and therefore to be called a Nazarene (see Isa. 11:1)

Hendriksen

— According to God’s promise ( 2 Sam 7:12, 13 ) Jesus is the rightful heir to David’s throne

— He is the son whose throne will be “established forever” ( cf. 2 Sam 7:13, Lk 1:32, 33 )

— Matthew makes it clear that there is a close connection between chapters 1 and 2

— Chapter 1 has shown that Jesus deserves royal honor

— Chapter 2 shows that He receives it

Fools and Wise Men ( 2:1-12 )

— In this section we will meet both fools and wise men

— Two thousand years later men fall into one of these same categories

The Right to Rule

Matthew will provide three additional evidences of Jesus’ right to the throne of David

— The powerful king makers from the east, the magi, who pay homage to the infant Jesus, “He who has been born King of the Jews” ( 2:2 )

— The hatred of Herod the false king towards Christ the rightful king

— The fulfilment of four prophecies during Christ’s infancy as recorded by Matthew

Q: How do our traditions about “the wise men” compare with what the biblical text actually says?

The Arrival of the Magi ( 2:1-2 )

( 2:1-2 ) 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.”

— These events probably a few months after Jesus’ birth

— We know from ( 2:11 ) that the family is staying in a house rather than a stable where he was born ( Lk 2:7 )

— What a great example of God’s provision, planned centuries before Jesus was born

McGee

— The record doesn't tell us who were three wise men

— There should be doubt that three wise men would have disturbed Herod or have excited Jerusalem

— Maybe three hundred men would have done so?

— These wise men who came from the East evidently came from different areas

— They had been studying the stars, and when this new star appeared, they joined forces and came to Jerusalem

Going Deeper

— We know this as at least 40 days later because when she made her offering of purification ( Lk 2:21-27 ) she offered a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” ( Lk 2:24 ) instead of the normal lamb ( Lev 12:6-8 )

— if the magi had visited before her purification she could have bought a lamb, but they were poor

— The magi probably arrived within two years of his birth because Herod ordered all males under two years of age to be killed

— We don’t know how many magi arrived, some have speculated three because they gave three gifts

— During the middle ages they were numbered as 3 and given names

— Casper

— Balthazar

— Melchior

( 2:1 ) wise men from the East

— Historians tell us that no Magi mastered science, agriculture, mathematics, history and the occult

— No wonder that they are called “wise men”

— The fact that they came from the East would have been assumed by most people in NT era

— Magi were part of the priestly-political class of the Parthians (Iran) who lived east of Palestine

— These magi ( or magicians or astrologers or possibly Zoroastrian scholars from Persia ) may have had knowledge of the Hebrew OT that could be traced back to Daniel ( cf Dan 5:11 )

( 2:2 ) “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?

— The Greek construction suggest that they were questioning everyone they met ( present participle )

— They apparently assumed everyone in Judea would know the baby’s whereabouts

— They much have been more than a little shocked that no one seemed to know what they were talking about

Herod the King

— Herod was the king of Jerusalem but only by the “right” of military force

— He was not Jewish but an Edomite

— He had no right to be the Jew’s king but married Mariamne, from a prominent Jewish family

Going Deeper

— Mariamne was a heiress to the Jewish Hasmonean house

— The Hasmonean family reigned Judea from 140 until 63 BC at the conquest of Pompey

— In 37 BC Herod took the title of King of Judea

— In the same year Cleopatra married Mark Anthony

— Herod’s mother in law Alexandra asked Cleopatra for help in making Mariamne’s brother Aristobulus a high priest

— Herod was so fearful that this family member might take the throne that he ordered him assassinated

— He then had Mariamne 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

— He had all of the distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested shortly before his death with orders that they all be killed the moment he died — in order to guarantee that there be mourning in Jerusalem

— That was only exceeded by his order to kill all male children under 2 years of age ( Matt 2:16 )

The Agitation of Herod ( 2:3-8 )

( 2:3-8 ) 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.”