In the past two studies, we have gone through the first chapter of the gospel of Matthew which outlined how God’s Christ is coming into the world: from a special genealogy, from the line of King David, and born of supernatural virgin birth. In Matthew 2:1-12, we will read of the early years of baby Jesus Christ and for the first time, witness how different people respond to him differently.
Now, what comes to mind when we think of the word joy? It is a feeling or state of being that we crave and long to have. We see it in spending time with our favourite people, eating our favourite food, planning for our favourite holiday destination, watching our favourite football team. Deep joy can delight and define us, and also set us apart from other people. Can you remember the last surreal experience of joy and happiness you experienced? How did it change your day — both how you looked forward to it, and how you were impacted by it afterward?
In our passage today, we will see the reactions of two starkly different groups as Jesus Christ is born, that of the Jewish King Herod, and the Babylonian magi. In them we witness the stark contrast of how they respond to good news of great Joy — the nations take joy in God’s true King while prideful men do not.
The nations take joy in God’s true King (Matt 2:1-2, 6)
From Matthew 2:1, we see that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the days of Herod the King. Why is this significant? Regarding His birth, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea – the same place where his predecessor King David was born and where all the chief priests and scribes were aware the Messiah was prophesied to come from in Micah 5:2 (Matt 2:6). The Messiah who comes from Bethlehem will rule the people of Israel, shepherd them in the Lord’s strength (by his power) and in the majesty of his name (by his authority). His greatness will reach the ends of the earth. He will deliver his people from their enemies and be their peace.
This further crystallizes the picture laid out in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1 and the angel’s prophecy to Joseph later in the chapter. As King David’s greater successor, Jesus shepherds God’s people and rescue his people from their sins. While Matthew 1 situates Jesus in time, Matthew 2 situates Jesus in space.
This took place in the days of Herod (Matt 2:1b). This is significant because Jesus, the greater King David arrives at a time where a present King exists – Herod. This “Herod” is not a king anointed by God, but a steward (or puppet) appointed by human authorities in Rome. Moreover Herod is not even truly a Jew by descent. He is an an Edomite (son of Esau, and thereby lays no claim to either the Abrahamic nor Davidic promise. Essentially, he is a false king – one appointed by political compromise and human interests. The wise men’s question surrounding the identity of the “King of the Jews” set in play a clear tension between God’s true shepherd king (no older than an infant – 18 months and below) and a megalomaniac and vicious king hell bent on preserving his throne and legacy.
Thus, the opening verses of Matthew 2 set the stage for us. Jesus the true king and his kingdom rule is coming into the world, and it will face opposition kingdoms and powers. Will he also find faith and fervour? What comes next?
We read that Wise Men or Magi from the East arrive (Matt 2:1-2). They were likely to be Babylonian priests. To understand who they, are, we need to go back to the Old Testament, to the book of Daniel. From Daniel 4, we see that the prophet Daniel was the chief Magi of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon who interpreted dreams amongst other supernatural acts. Thus, these were men who were considered to be “wise” and are often associated in a high social standing for their abilities and wisdom, especially in astronomy.
Here, they came for a specific reason -- to look for the King of Jews after seeing His star and have come to worship this King (Matt 2:2). This prophecy was most likely, Old Testament Scriptures that speak of the Davidic Messiah, and in particular Numbers 24 speaking of His star rising and Daniel 9 giving us His divinity as the anointed Son of Man (divine figure). But from their gifts, perhaps they also knew Isaiah 53 that speaks of the lamb of God, slain for us. How did they even know of such a prophecy? It is most likely that of Daniel’s legacy, including his messianic prophecies in Daniel 9, which prophesies of a “anointed one” (messiah) or prince. This knowledge could have easily been passed down through the lineages of Magi.They may have also known other parts of the Jewish Scriptures brought over by Jewish exiles, like Numbers 24:17-19 that speaks about the star of Israel’s King. Nonetheless, they travelled about 1450km to reach Jerusalem because of biblical prophecy, at least 500 years old just for a hint at the Messiah — testifying to their faith in the Scriptures and longing for Messiah.
Some Bible scholars reading Matthew 2 have also concluded that the moving star that came to rest (Matt 2:9) on the house where Jesus was was most likely a comet of some sort that shone brightly and moved across the sky for them to track. Furthermore, Numbers 24 best explains the “star” as having a “sceptre” like quality and could be referring to a comet with a tail, pointing to the right house. There’s an amazing explanation of this by Colin Nicoll in “The Great Christ Comet”. Whatever it is, the supernatural phenomenon seen here, like the shekinah glory of God’s presence in the fire and cloud of Exodus, was a work of God that providentially led the magi to Jesus. God was directly doing the work of leading.
What can we learn from these? Firstly, see how the first persons to whom are revealed the birth of the true Jewish King are not Jews but their archenemies who brought them into exile (Babylonians) or at least unclean Gentiles, and likely, idol-worshipping astronomers. Not only were the magi privileged recipients of such revelation, but they act upon it and travel great distance to pursue this king, with the goal of worshipping him. Notice that the wise men came with full confidence that this was a “born king of the Jews”. Kings are not born, princes are born then crowned. But this Jesus is no ordinary human king, but his kingly status was inherent from his birth. And these wise men were aware of that, and they recognised his kingship though they would have had their own king. They came to pay allegiance and submit to Israel’s divine king.
In God’s infinite wisdom, His Son Jesus was born in the bloodline of God’s covenantal people Israel. Yet, his mission reaches far beyond Israel to the whole world, and we see here that even those who were once God’s archenemies are drawn in. His “saving of sins”(Matt 1:21) goes beyond the Jewish race but to all peoples. God truly is a missional God.
Today, we as Gentiles are as privileged as these wise men to have received the grace of God to know His Son Jesus Christ and longed to share in that joy. We do not just have access to one particular prophecy but to the entirety of God’s word. The Wise Men did not have all the Scripture! But we do! As such we should be thankful for God’s rescue. We should also share His heart to reach the lost and tell the nations of Christ. Let us proclaim Christ to the nations and to those around us wherever we are!
In Matthew 2:10-12, we read of how the wise men rejoiced exceedingly with great joy at seeing the star — the navigation to finding Jesus (Matt 2:10). Note how the word joy is stressed three times within 5 words: rejoice (to celebrate in joy), exceedingly (to celebrate it beyond to a massive degree and to be overjoyed), and with great joy (to be overjoyed). They were joyful at the star, and they had not seen Jesus. They were glad to see the star, and probably were excited because they were almost there.
When they finally saw the child, the wise men fell down and worshipped when they saw the child Jesus with his mother, Mary (Matt 2:11a). This was a form of reverent joy, for they did not see themselves worthy to stand in the presence of the child Jesus. We are told that they worshipped Jesus, that is not just about singing praises on a Sunday, but as the greek translates: express in attitude or gesture one’s complete dependence on or submission to a high authority figure. In other words, the wise men put aside their noble status and submitted their lives and allegiance to the child Jesus.
It is important to note that Jesus here is no more than 2 years old. How stark would that scene look! It would be almost surreal for anyone to worship a toddler who is running around with his diapers on, but the wise men knew and were fully convinced that this toddler Jesus is no ordinary toddler but God’s own Messiah.
They did not just worship him in name but brought him gifts. In all likelihood there were probably more than three gifts) (Matt 2:11b). They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, and each item was significant. Gold was a symbol of royalty and of worth. God’s royal temple, built by King Solomon at the height of the Davidic dynasty was overlaid with gold, in particular, the Most Holy Place – only the King had gold (c.f. Exo 30:22-26). The magi knew a king was being born.
Frankincense was a key ingredient in the incense placed in Israel’s tent of meeting and then in the temple as a sign of God’s holy presence dwelling with man, treated as most holy (c.f. Exo 30:34-35). This was used in the burning of incense as a symbol of the priestly intercession on behalf of God’s people to God. It suggests to us that the magi knew the baby to be born would be intercessor between man and God, as the final and greatest High Priest
Myrrh is a shocking and surprising item to bring as it was a key ingredient in God’s sacred & holy anointing oil used in the temple overlaid with gold (Exo 30:37-38). This oil anoints essentially everything within the holy place and consecrates them to be most holy. However, it was most commonly, associated with death, foreshadowing the anointing of Jesus’ body for burial (Jn 19:39), as he suffers the penalty of mankind’s sin. Eventually, this child will be the worthy sacrifice that sinners may be counted sinless and justified before God.
Crucially, both the incense and anointing oil were very specifically not for ordinary human usage, to use it for any other purpose would be sacrilegious and worthy of being “cut off from God’s people”. Yet, we see the wise men bringing these holy items to Jesus, to worship him, and rightfully so, for Christ is indeed God’s holy king. Evidently, the Magi knew their scriptures that the Messiah would be born King, priest and sacrifice. Importantly, that knowledge translated into deliberate faith and action to seek him and find him.
What joy do we have toward our king, priest and sacrifice Jesus Christ? Just as how the wise men experienced great joy in approaching who they truly believed and understood to be God’s messiah and the salvation he brings not just to them but the whole world, we will only know the true joy of Christ if we truly know him and give ourselves to him.
This joy comes from knowing Jesus as King, exalted with authority over our lives and the whole world. It comes from knowing Jesus as priest, interceding before a holy God for our needs and sins. Finally, it comes from knowing Him as sacrifice, dying for our sins in our place to absolve us of our deserved punishment.
(B) Prideful men refuse the joy of the true King (Matt 2:3-8,12)
Matthew also records for us how Herod and the Jewish leadership responded to the wise men’s enquiry and how their motives were different from the wise men. We see how Herod was troubled at direct threat to his throne (Matt 2:3a), summoned all his resources to investigate the matter (Matt 2:4) and sought to deceive the wise men as bait and reconnaissance to help him neutralize this threat under the guise of “worship” (Matt 2:8). Herod believed that his reign was threatened and sought to humanly prevent the political turnover. In his mind, he did not even consider that such an act would be opposing God and His will.
All Jerusalem were similarly troubled at a seemingly direct threat to Herod – likely the influence of political gossip and “coffeeshop talk” (Matt 2:3b). Matthew does not give us a lot of information about why they responded in this way, but they either feared Herod’s potential harsh clamp down and what he would do in the face of a direct threat to power. Or they feared the devil they did not known – were the foreign wise men ushering in yet another political power? Either way, they were not interested in the agenda of God and the establishment of the Davidic kingdom, the purity of their religion, or their standing before a holy God – their functionally atheistic hearts were so far away from considering God’s agenda
The chief priests and scribes expressed understanding from their training and education in the Scriptures that the prophesied Christ was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Matt 2:4-5), and that he would be a shepherd King who restores Israel (Matt 2:6). Despite their training and understanding, the religious leaders were wilfully and deliberately ignorant of Messiah and were not interested in His coming and more interesting in currying favour with Herod, the power of the day. They did not seem interested in finding this Messiah, let alone worship Him.
There’s a warning here for those of us who know the Bible — information doesn’t make you desire God or His agenda. We may know but we may not have joy! Woe to you if you know the Bible and you use it to advance yourself. We may know a lot about God but not know Him or desire Him.
The response of the people of the land — Herod, Jerusalem and the chief priests and scribes — contrasted to the wise men’s response. The wise men earnestly and painstakingly sought to searched for King Jesus in order to worship him – they left their homes and went out. However, King Herod and the Jews were blinded to the joy that they could receive in Christ as they were only saw him as a threat to their status quo, even though they were privy to trustworthy prophecies, under a broken kingdom and political persecution. The chief priests and scribes were even worse – their religion informed their learning but did not change their hearts.
How do we respond to the in-breaking of King Jesus? Are we like the wise men, who hang onto a 500 year old prophecy and a star sign, travel long distances and back breaking efforts if only to catch a glimpse of God’s king Jesus as an infant. Or are we like Herod and his fellow Jews, given countless promises, reminders and a written word, only to kick the good news of King Jesus down the drain for our current treasures, status and power.
How did Herod’s threat to God’s Messiah play out? Herod’s plan was nullified supernaturally by two dreams, to the wise men and to Joseph (Matt 2:12-13). Dreams are given by God to reveal His purposes and plans. Just as the latter was specifically told to keep faith with a pregnant Mary, God was intervening. This reflects that God is deeply committed to making His kingdom plan comes to pass – that King Jesus will indeed shepherd his people and not be thwarted by the ingenuity and cunning of evil man. These are not random but ordained events, proving God’s word.
Today, we witnessed how the nations take joy in God’s true King while prideful men do not. These differences in attitude toward Jesus is not bound in knowledge, access but in faith. While the Gentile Magi travel thousands of kilometres, cut across political and racial divides, to worship Jesus with exceeding joy. Yet, King Herod and the Chief Priests and Scribes, deliberately deny Jesus and in seeking to preserve their status and power, plot to kill him.
Just as how the wise men experienced great joy in approaching who they truly believed and understood to be God’s messiah and the salvation he brings not just to them but the whole world, we will only know the true joy of Christ if we truly know him and give ourselves to him.
For some of us, we may have been Christians for many year and the faith and understanding of who Jesus is can seemingly grow stale. That though we know in our head that Christ is our Saviour King, Great High Priest and sacrificial Lamb, the joy and thrill experienced by the Magi seems to elude us. Why is that so? Perhaps we are more like King Herod than we think we are, too busy and concerned with building and preserving our sandcastles of wealth and status, which is here today and gone tomorrow and a chasing after the wind. No wonder we are so dissatisfied, jaded and meaningless! Let us decide today to rekindle that joy in the Lord.
How should we respond in light of this passage? Firstly, know Jesus as your King. See how He is exalted with authority over all the universe and every living thing. Humbly acknowledge our humanity and limited nature, humbling ourselves before him.
Know Jesus as our high priest. He intercedes before a holy God to provide your every need, every comfort and every peace to his beloved people in his will. We have to acknowledge the holiness of God and the chasm between God and us. In doing so, we have a greater appreciation and joy for Jesus’ intercession and will cling to him.
Lastly, knowJesus as our sacrifice. He died for your sins in our place, and took upon Himself all our filth and unspeakable sins, and nailed it upon the cross, that we may be free from its power and death . We repent of our sins while knowing that only Christ and not our own attempts at righteousness and all the labour of our hands can ever bring us to God. We trust that God is deeply committed to making His kingdom plan comes to pass, amid the wilful rebellion and plotting of sinful man.
What is your daily attitude toward our King, priest and sacrifice Jesus Christ? How can you take joy in Jesus Christ and guard your heart against the pride of Herod? What is God speaking to you today about your faith and joy in him?