Matthew 2

1 – 2

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star from the east. We came to worship Him.”

The book of Numbers showed us that there would be a star to show that the Messiah was coming. God was showing the Jews that non-Jews would also worship the Messiah.
I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the far future. A star will rise from Jacob; a king will emerge from Israel. Numbers 24:17

3 – 6

When King Herod heard about this new king of the Jews, he was troubled. And all the people in Jerusalem were worried too. Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ would be born.
They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. Micah wrote about this in the Scriptures:

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are important among the rulers of Judah. A ruler will come from you. He will be like a Shepherd for My people, the Israelites.’”

It is sad to see that these men knew what the Bible said about Jesus but were not interested in going to see Him. This shows us that there are people who know more about the Bible than we do but they do not care about living by what they read. Micah 5:2

7 – 8

Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men from the east. He learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. Then Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem. He said to them, “Go and look carefully to find the child. When you find him, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too.”

Herod had killed his wife and sons. It was said that it was safer to be Herod’s pig than his son. The devil used Herod to try to kill Jesus.

9 – 12

The wise men heard the king and then left. They saw the same star they had seen in the east. It went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. They went to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary.

They bowed down and worshiped the child. They opened the gifts they brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they went home to their own country by a different way.

This could not have been a normal star because it stood over the house. It was probably an angel because no record of such a star has been found. If everyone could see this star then Herod would not need the wise men to find Jesus. Some say that the visit was two years after Jesus was born.

The gifts make us think: have we given our money and our prayers and our hard times to Jesus?

13 – 15

After they left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Herod will start looking for the child to kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to return.”

So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother. Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This was to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord had said through the prophet. The Lord said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”

Hosea said this would happen. I have called My Son out of Egypt. Hosea 11:1

16 – 18

When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was very angry. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in all the area around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with the time he learned from the wise men.

So what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah came true: “A sound was heard in Ramah [Bethlehem]. It was painful crying and much sadness. Rachel cries for her children, and she cannot be comforted, because her children are dead.”

Jeremiah said that this would happen (Jeremiah 31:15). It is proven that babies hear us talking before they are born. They respond to their mother’s voice more than to others. They feel pain when they are hurt. They move towards music when they hear it.

People who kill babies say that these are not human beings. They kill them in the most evil ways they can think of. Some babies are killed after they have taken from the mother and are out on a table. Evil men say that they have to let these babies die to protect the mother’s health even though the baby is on the other side of the room!!! God will judge those who do these things. Millions have been killed and their body parts sold. Anyone who does not see this as evil has a demon speaking to them!

Obadiah shows us how bitter the family of Esau was against the Jews. Herod was from this family and so his family also killed John the Baptist and James the brother of John.

19 – 23

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. This happened while Joseph was in Egypt. The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to Israel. The people who were trying to kill the child are now dead.”
So Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel.

But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea. Archelaus became king when his father Herod died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee. He went to a town called Nazareth and lived there. And so what God had said through the prophets came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

History tells us that this new king was killing Jews and it was not safe near Jerusalem. Joseph was led to go to Nazareth which was a city that the Jews looked down on. There are many Scriptures that showed that Jesus would be looked down on. Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 4:2