Matthew 2:1 - Meaning and Application

It was a mark of humiliation for the Lord Jesus that, even though he was the Desire of all nations, his coming into the world was hardly noticed. His birth was quiet and unimportant in the eyes of most people. In this, he emptied himself and made himself of no reputation. If the Son of God was to enter the world, we might have expected great ceremony, with crowns and royal power laid at his feet. But the Jews expected a Messiah like that, and the gospel shows something very different.

He came into the world, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. In taking on human nature and coming to save sinners, he willingly gave up the public honor that was truly due to him as God made flesh. Even so, in the middle of his lowly birth, some light of his glory still appeared. Though his power was hidden, enough signs were given to show his greatness and to leave the Jews, above all, without excuse for their blindness (Habakkuk 3:4).

The first people to notice Christ after his birth were the shepherds (Luke 2:15), who heard glorious things about him and spread the news widely, to the surprise of all who heard it (Luke 2:17, Luke 2:18). Later Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit, spoke about him to all who were willing to listen (Luke 2:38). One might think these signs would have stirred the people of Judah and Jerusalem to welcome the long-awaited Messiah with joy. But as far as we can tell, he stayed in Bethlehem for nearly two years, and no more public attention was given to him until these wise men came. Nothing will wake up people who are determined to stay careless. How great was the spiritual blindness of those Jews, and of many who call themselves Christians!

This inquiry about Christ happened in the days of Herod the king. This Herod was an Edomite, made king of Judea by Augustus and Antony, the leading Roman rulers of the time. He was known for lies and cruelty, though people gave him the title Herod the Great. Christ was born in the 35th year of Herod’s reign. This matters because it shows that the scepter had now departed from Judah, and the ruler’s staff had gone from between his feet. It was now the time for Shiloh to come, and for the peoples to gather to him (Genesis 49:10).

The wise men are called Magi, or magicians. Some take that name in a good sense, because among the Persians the Magi were their philosophers and priests. Others think these men were involved in unlawful arts, since the word is used that way of Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9, Acts 8:11) and Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:6). If so, their coming to Christ was an early sign of his victory over Satan, because people who had once served the devil became the first to worship the infant Jesus. His triumph over the powers of darkness was shown very early.

Whatever they had been before, they began to be truly wise when they sought after Christ. We know three things about them. First, they were Gentiles, not part of Israel’s commonwealth. The Jews did not care for Christ, but these Gentiles searched for him. Many times those who have the most access to the means of grace are furthest from the goal itself (Matthew 8:11, Matthew 8:12). The honor these Gentiles gave to Christ was a hopeful sign of what would happen when those who were far off would be brought near by him.

Second, they were learned men. They were students of curious arts, and good students should become good Christians. Learning reaches its true purpose when it leads a person to Christ. Third, they were men from the east, a region known for divination (Isaiah 2:6). Arabia is called the land of the east (Genesis 25:6), and the Arabians are called men of the east (Judges 6:3). The gifts they brought were products of that land. The Arabians had already shown honor to David and Solomon, who were types of Christ. Jethro and Job also came from that region. Beyond this, we should not say more. The traditions of the Roman Catholic Church are empty, such as the claim that there were three of them, that they were kings, and that they are buried in Cologne, which is why they are called the three kings of Cologne. We should not try to know more than Scripture tells us.

What led them to search for Christ was the appearance of an extraordinary star in their eastern country. They had never seen anything like it before. They took it as a sign that an extraordinary person had been born in Judea, over which country the star seemed to hover, like a comet or a meteor in the lower air. Because it was so unlike ordinary stars, they understood that it meant something unusual. When God shows unusual signs in creation, we should ask what he means by them. Christ had foretold signs in the heavens.

Christ’s birth was announced to the Jewish shepherds by an angel, and to the Gentile philosophers by a star. In both cases, God spoke in a way suited to them and in language they could understand. Some think the light the shepherds saw shining around them the night after Christ was born was the very same light that later appeared to the wise men as a star. But that is hard to accept, because the star they had seen in the east appeared again much later and led them to the house where Christ was. It was like a lamp set up on purpose to guide them to him.

The idolaters worshiped the stars as the host of heaven, especially in eastern lands, where some planets were even named after false gods. Scripture speaks of a special star they honored (Amos 5:26). In this way, the stars that had been misused were turned to their proper use, leading people to Christ. The gods of the nations became his servants. Some think this star reminded the wise men of Balaam’s prophecy that a star would come out of Jacob, pointing to a scepter that would rise out of Israel (Numbers 24:17). Balaam came from the mountains of the east and was counted among their wise men. Others think their search was stirred up by the general expectation in eastern lands that some great prince was about to appear.

The wise men then continued their search by coming from the east to Jerusalem, looking more fully into this Prince’s birth. They did not think, “If such a prince has been born, we will hear soon enough in our own country.” Instead, they traveled a long way just to find him. Those who truly want to know Christ and find him will not mind effort or danger in seeking him. We learn the Lord as we keep pressing on to know him.

Their question was, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” They were not asking whether such a child had been born, because they were sure of it. What they wanted to know was where he was. Those who know something about Christ always want to know more about him. They called him King of the Jews, because that was the title the Messiah, the promised Savior, was expected to bear. He is born a King, the Ruler and Protector of all true Israel.

They expected an easy answer and thought all Jerusalem would be honoring this new King. Instead, they went from place to place and found no one able to tell them. There is more deep ignorance in the world, and even in the church, than we often realize. Many people we expect to point us to Christ are strangers to him themselves. They ask like the bride in the Song of Songs, “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” yet still gain no help.

They also said they had seen his star in the east, and that was why they came. If people asked, “Why do you seek him?” their answer was ready, “We have come to worship him.” They believed he would in time be their king, so they wanted to honor him early, along with those around him. If God has given us even a little light about Christ, then we should make it our business to worship him. Have we seen Christ’s star? Then we should work to honor him.

News of this search at last reached the court, and when Herod heard it, he was troubled (Matthew 2:3). He knew the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and the time set for his coming by Daniel’s seventy weeks. But because he had ruled so long and so well, he hoped those promises would never come to anything, and that his own kingdom would go on forever. So the thought that this King had been born, right when the promised time had arrived, deeply disturbed him. Wicked hearts that are set on the world fear nothing so much as Scripture being fulfilled.

Herod, an Edomite, was troubled, but Jerusalem too should have rejoiced that her King had come. Instead, most of the city was upset with Herod. Only a few who were waiting for Israel’s comfort were likely glad. The rest feared the birth of this new King would bring war or disturb their sinful comfort. They wanted Herod, not the Messiah. Many people foolishly choose the slavery of sin over the glorious freedom of God’s children because they dread the change that true rule in the soul would bring.

Herod and Jerusalem were troubled because they wrongly thought the Messiah’s kingdom would clash with earthly power. But the star that announced him as King showed that his kingdom was heavenly, not from this world. The kings of the earth, and the people with them, oppose Christ’s kingdom because they do not understand it and are mistaken about it.

Herod then sought help from the chief priests and the scribes (Matthew 2:4-6). The chief priests were teachers by office, and the scribes were scholars of the law. Their lips were supposed to keep knowledge, and the people were to ask the law from their mouths (Malachi 2:7). It was commonly known that Christ would be born in Bethlehem (John 7:42), but Herod wanted a formal answer from the right people. He gathered all the chief priests and scribes and asked where, according to the Old Testament, Christ was to be born.

The question was honest in form, but Herod asked it with a wicked purpose. The priests and scribes had no trouble answering. They all agreed that the Messiah must be born in Bethlehem of Judea, the city of David, to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). Bethlehem means “house of bread,” a fitting place for the one who is the true manna, the bread that came down from heaven and was given for the life of the world.

They supported their answer with Micah 5:2. Bethlehem was small among the clans of Judah, a place of little account in one way, but it would not be least in honor. Its greatness was not in many people, as with other cities, but in the greatness of the ruler it produced. Though it was small in some respects, it had this honor above all the cities of Israel, that Christ Jesus, the one man whom the Lord recorded in his book, was born there (Psalm 87:6).

Out of Bethlehem would come a ruler, the King of the Jews. Christ will be a Savior only to those who are willing to receive him as their ruler.

Bethlehem was the city of David, and David was Bethlehem’s greatest honor. So it was fitting that David’s Son and heir should be born there. Bethlehem also had a famous well by the gate, the one David once longed to drink from (2 Samuel 23:15). In Christ, we not only have enough bread, and more than enough, but we may also come and freely take the water of life.

Notice here how Jews and Gentiles share what they know about Jesus Christ. The Gentiles learned the time of his birth from a star, and the Jews learned the place of his birth from the Scriptures. In this way, each could help the other. We would gain much more knowledge if we did the same and freely shared what we know. People grow rich by trading goods, and in the same way, when we share knowledge, others will share with us. Then many will talk, run to and fro, and knowledge will increase.

Herod’s bloody plan was stirred up by this inquiry (Matthew 2:7-8). Herod was now an old man and had ruled for thirty-five years. This king was only newly born and seemed unlikely to do anything important for many years, yet Herod was jealous of him. Crowned rulers cannot bear the thought of successors, much less rivals. So nothing less than the blood of this infant king would satisfy him. He would not let himself think that, if this newborn child was truly the Messiah, then opposing him would mean fighting against God, which is both foolish and dangerous. His passion had taken control of his reason and conscience.

See, first, how cleverly he laid his trap (Matthew 2:7-8). He secretly called the wise men and spoke with them about the matter. He did not openly admit his fears and jealousy. It would shame him to let the wise men know, and it would be dangerous to let the people know. Sinners are often troubled by secret fears they keep to themselves. Herod asked the wise men when the star first appeared, so he could plan his next move. Then he sent them to search further and told them to bring back word. All this could have seemed harmless if he had not hidden it under a show of religion, saying that I may come and worship him also. The greatest wickedness often hides under a mask of piety. Absalom, King David’s rebellious son, covered his plot with a vow.

See, too, how strangely he was deceived and made foolish in this. He trusted the wise men and did not choose other agents who would have been loyal to him. Jerusalem was only seven miles away. How easily he could have sent spies to watch the wise men, who could have been there as quickly as they were, ready to destroy the child! God can hide from the eyes of the church’s enemies the very methods by which they could easily destroy the church. When he means to lead rulers away in defeat, he makes the judges foolish.