Matthew 2:1-3
1 Now when Jesus was born in
2 Saying, Where is
he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and
are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was
troubled, and all
The first to worship the babe
were the poor of the Israeli nation, lowly shepherds. They were symbolic of Jesus’ calling to
shepherd His people.
Luke 2:7-16
7 And she brought forth her firstborn
son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because
there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see
this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying
in a manger.
Zoroaster was an
Iranian who taught monotheism. He was
born in approximately 628 BC. One of his
converts was King Vishtaspa, and he may have been Hystaspes, the father of
Darius who became the king of the Medes and Persians.
How did Iranian
Zoroastrian Priests come to know about the birth of the biblically foretold
King of Israel?
At this point, I
must speculate. However, a little
research will lead you to the same conclusions.
At the time of
the Babylonian captivity, Zoroastrianism was a well established religion in
Persian. While the multi-god Babylonian
priesthood would have been thrown aside when the Persians captured
When they saw a
sign in the heavens concerning the One Who was born to be King of the Jews,
they came to honor Him and show their respect.
There is a point that
must be clarified. When the Magi said, we have seen his star in the east,” they
were not saying that the star was in the eastern skies. It may have been, but that is not the point. They were east of
Their presence in
Matthew 2:4-6
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In
6 And thou
Herod’s advisor’s pointed to
is Micah 5:2--- But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee
shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth
have been from of old, from everlasting (Heb. olam).
I pointed to the last word in
this verse because of its meaning. The
Hebrew word translated “everlasting” (Olam) indicates an unknown period of
time. It does not indicate eternity, or
anything eternal.
We can, to some extent, date
the physical birth of Jesus. But, we
cannot in any way date His “beginning.”
As God the Son, Christ pre-dates the beginning of creation.
Matthew 2:7-8
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men,
inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and
search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me
word again, that I may come and worship him also.
Herod summoned the Magi,
speaking to them privately. He asked
them about the exact time the star appeared.
Then, Herod sent them on the
Matthew 2:9-10
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they
saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young
child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy.
Having heard King Herod, they
went their way. In the ancient
languages, “hearing” assumed a positive response. The Magi must have agreed to return to Herod.
The star that they had seen
appeared and went on before them.
Eventually it came to rest over the house where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus
now lived.
When they saw, once again
became aware of the star, they rejoiced with great, exceeding joy.
The Greek text may indicate
that a casual observer could not readily see the star, or that the sight
required God’s intervention to see and understand its importance.
Many have searched for the
“Star of Bethlehem.” However, it is my
opinion that it was not a physical star.
Instead, the star was an indicator to those who were given the power to
see, just as Christians are given the power to see the truth of Christ Jesus
when those around them are blind to that truth.
Matthew 2:11 And
when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his
mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
This verse tells us that the
family now resided in a house (Gr. oikian-oikian). The Greek
text refers to a family dwelling. The
Magi did not visit immediately after Jesus’ birth, but perhaps one or two years
later.
Jesus birth in a stable was
real. It was also symbolic.
Jesus’ birth in a stable was
the Father’s way of telling us that His Son began human life at the bottom of
the latter. It was like a business
owner’s son starting in the family business by stacking boxes in the warehouse.
The Magi came into the house,
saw Jesus and Mary, and they fell down and worshipped Him (Gr. autoo-autw/singular, masculine). They did
not worship “them” or “her.”
It is very important that you
understand that although Mary is to be greatly respected---she is not worthy of
worship. Some teach that Mary is a
co-mediator with Christ. Such a teaching
is an ungodly abuse of Scripture!
At that point, the Magi gave
Him three gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. That has led to the theory
that there were three Magi.
Matthew 2:12 And being warned of God in a dream that
they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another
way.
Following the
Magis’ visit, God warned them not to return to Herod. They traveled back to
their own country by an alternate route.
Matthew 2:13-15
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to
Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and
flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek
the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his
mother by night, and departed into
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of
After the magi
left, a messenger of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him to take the
family and go to
Many people
discount Joseph. It is obvious that God
spoke to both Mary---and Joseph.
Immediately, Joseph did as
the angel commanded. The trip was made
in haste.
Jesus was taken to
They stayed in
It was during the time the
family lived in
Matthew 2:16-18
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding
wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in
all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time
which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy
the prophet, saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and
weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be
comforted, because they are not.
When Herod
learned that the Magi had deceived him, he was very angry to the point of rage.
His anger resulted in the slaughter of the innocents.
Herod arranged
for the murder of all the male children in
However, Old
Testament biblical prophecy speaks of such an event, the slaughter. Jeremiah
31:15---Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter
weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her
children, because they were not.
The Hebrew
Masoretic Text displays the identical chapter and verse designation as the
KJV.
Matthew 2:19-21
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream
to Joseph in
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his
mother, and go into the
21 And he arose, and took the young child and his
mother, and came into the
Following Herod’s
death an angel appeared to Joseph. This
time the angel told Joseph to take his family and return to
Again, Joseph did
as the angel commanded. That required
great faith.
Matthew 2:22-23
22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his
father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God
in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called
Joseph heard that Archelaus
was now the ruler over
God told Joseph, in a dream,
to go to
That may also refer to a
Nazarite.
Num 6:2
Speak unto the children of
A Nazarite is a separated
one, and Christ Jesus is the ultimate “separated one.”