Matthew 2

Notes from BSF

THE MAGI -- NOT HEROD -- CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF JESUS (Matthew 2:1–18)

Many anticipated the birth of Jesus

The Magi
They came to worship Jesus, the King of the Jews, presenting Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

King Herod
He pretended to want to worship Jesus, but in reality, he wanted to kill Him.

Who were the Magi?
There were magi in Nebuchadnezzar's court. There were magi who followed the star to welcome the birth of Jesus. What is the significance of their presence?

Daniel was the Chief of the Magi (Rag-Mag)
The magi were valuable not for their skills in astrology (Jeremiah 39:3, 13). Their primary skill was in the interpretation of dreams. The title for the Chief of the Magi is Rag-Mag. There was such a title in Nebuchadnezzar's court, and he appointed Daniel that position:

Daniel 4:9
When Daniel deciphered Nebuchadnezzar's dream here, Daniel was already the Chief of the Magi.

Magi was a Persian sect, a hereditary Persian priesthood -- And Nebuchadnezzar put a Jew in charge of them! This obviously did not go well with the magi.

After taking over the Babylonian Empire, Darius the Great established the magi as the state religion of Persia. Why? Because the head of them was tied to the inner court -- that head may very well have been Daniel.

The Christmas story: It's not 3 magi on a camel cutely pictured on Christmas cards
The magi that showed up on the day of Jesus's birth were a group of Persian magi in all pomp and circumstance. They came because of political power struggles. Rome and Parthenon (Eastern Roman Empire) were at odds with Judea stuck in the middle.

Near the birth of Christ, political powers started to shift with the old Persian king dying and such. In comes the magi parade to ensure safe entry into Roman territory -- The Persian Empire was strong, and the magi had the power to appoint a king who could push either Rome or Parthenon to power.

When the magi party entered Jerusalem, Herod and the whole city were in uproar. They knew this was a political move, with Jerusalem caught in the middle -- Jerusalem was placed under the rule of Herod, who was appointed by Rome. Herod didn't receive much support from Rome, especially when Rome was fighting off Parthenon. Herod had no idea what was going on and didn't know if the magi came as friend or foe.

Clearly, the magi that arrived on scene weren't just 3 guys on a camel. This was a major military escort.

Understanding the political turmoil during this time, we can see why Herod was nervous. He was given the title, king of the Jews, yet depending on how things were between Rome and Parthenon, he had power or he didn't. He had no real clue what was going on, and His Roman support was essentially non-existent. Augustus was getting old, and Tiberius was retired. There was basically no military leader in Rome -- The Roman Empire was in a transition of power.

The Jews had no sympathy with Rome and thus no sympathy with Herod. They were comfortable with the Parthenon Empire, because they enjoyed more freedom with them. Worse for the Roman Empire, the Jews were ready to revolt. However, not all was peachy with Parthenon. Parthenon was also in turmoil as well.

With Herod caught right in the middle of this and with his declining health, we can empathize with him a bit. What a thankless job he had! He was placed in charge of a state (Jerusalem) that was volatile on its own. Worse, its fate laid between two contending empires! And now, there was this formidable gang of Persian magi coming in with enough forces to destroy the whole city! They were king makers, ready to align with whichever empire was the strongest!

Matthew 2
When the magi met Herod, they asked who the King of the Jews was (Matthew 2:2). This was a pointed insult. Herod was appointed King of Jews. His appointment was given by Rome, a power that was very distant from Jerusalem. Worse, Herod was not BORN of a king of anything.

Herod was confused about the magi's question (Matthew 2:3). He was confused because he was not a Jew (He was an Edomite!) and did not understand what was going on. Why is a bunch of Persian magi asking about the birth of the king? To find some answers, they didn't consult the stars or astrology. They figured out the Persians were looking for the Christ, and so they consulted the Old Testament (Matthew 2:4).

They found the answer in Micah 5:2 -- Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. This verse prophesied Jesus' deity, humanity,and kingship -- Micah 5:2 was written 5 centuries BEFORE Jesus' birth!

Herod pretended to work with the magi (Matthew 2:7-8), but in reality had a plan of his own (Matthew 2:12, where God revealed to them that it was not safe to return to Herod).

Daniel may have passed down the knowledge about the birth of Jesus to a secret sect of the magi
How did the magi know about the birth of Jesus? How did they know to bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh? How did they know about the significance of this baby? (By the way, because they came bearing three gifts, this was why the common misconception is that there were only 3 magi.)

Scholars suspect that when Daniel was placed in charge of the magi, he also established an inside group that he could trust and shared with them Daniel 9 and equivalent prophecies so that they would know the time by counting the days. This selected group of magi stayed true to Daniel's word and when the day had come, they visited Jesus on the day of His birth. They brought 3 items that proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God who had come to bring salvation to mankind: Gold = deity; frankincense = priesthood; myrrh = embalming for death.

It is important to note that this is a THEORY. There is no direct proof of this -- just a lot of supporting circumstantial evidence.

God communicated with the magi with a dream (a language that Daniel had trained them in so that they could understand -- remember, the magi were trained to interpret dreams) and told them not to return to Herod (Matthew 2:12). 

Herod's fear that the magi were looking to replace the king was valid. In fact, the magi did replace the king in two years. However, the group of magi that inquired about Christ were the selected group of magi that had been anticipating the birth of the Christ -- They were not here for political gains; they were here for the King of Kings!

We can glean much from the above, but looking forward, it is clear that knowing the times is rewarding. The Magi knew when Christ was going to be born because they followed the wisdom of Daniel. Through the study of Scripture, they knew the birth of Christ was prophesied hundreds of years earlier. And by following the Word closely, they were able to welcome the birth of Christ. We, too, should study the Bible closely and understand the times. Christ will return, and we want to be ready when that happens!


JOSEPH MOVES THE FAMILY TO NAZARETH (Matthew 2:19–23)

Jesus came from a “despised” place, as it has been said of Nazareth:

John 1:46, NKJV
Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Many of us do not come from a prominent background. Jesus grew up in a small town in absolute obscurity. Worse, because he had no biological father, he grew up a foreigner to his own family, a strange to his half-brothers (Psalm 69:8). Jesus' childhood was far from glorious, to say the least. 

We have a God who knows exactly how hard life is because he personally went through it. He was tempted; he was mocked; he suffered. As God of the Universe, the Creator of all, why did God become man to endure all this? To save us from sin. It weren't the nails that kept Jesus on that Cross. It was his love for you and me.

1 Corinthians 1:18, NKJV
For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

God looks at the bigger picture (salvation of mankind) whereas man often looks only at what’s in front of us. We focus on the short-term, losing sight of the big picture for the details -- Hence, foolishness. 

God created everything we know -- and then, sacrificed his only Son to save us from eternal damnation. Trust God's wisdom. Depend on his love!

God will never lead us astray. We may not understand why he takes us to certain places, but we should always trust that he is always leading us to the best place for us (Romans 8:28).