Matthew 2

It was necessary that Jesus would fulfill all Old Testament prophesies concerning the coming Messiah. One of the recurring topics in prophetic oracles was the promise of a coming day when Gentiles would joyfully worship the God of Israel. There are certain hints of this even in the days of the prophets themselves, and there are more glimpses into this reality during the life of Jesus, but it is especially after His ascension into heaven that the ministry of the Word to the Gentiles begins in earnest. Even after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, it was not an easy thing for Jewish Christians to realize that the Lord Jesus had come to save not only the circumcised, but also the uncircumcised. The hints of this worldwide role of the Messiah begin to be seen from His earliest years, when wise men from powerful empires in the east saw signs of His arrival and came to worship Him.

They may have expected to find everyone sympathetic to their search for the true king of the Jews. In any case, they picked the wrong man to tell of their mission when they went directly to Herod, speaking about a star in the heavens that they believed to be a signal of His appearing. This Herod hated any thought or possibility of a supposed Messiah King.

He was troubled by these visitors and all Jerusalem with him. This city of the great king apparently did not want the real King to come at this time. Nor did the priests and the scribes. They rightly informed Herod from Scripture concerning the birthplace of the Messiah, namely the town of Bethlehem, the city of David, not far from Jerusalem. Herod summoned the wise men again to tell them the news, claiming that he too wished to worship this child. Of course, his plan was entirely different from his false declaration.

These wealthy, foreign Gentiles were soon delighted at the renewed appearance of the star that had guided them, which now the Lord used to bring them to the very house where our Savior was living. There they saw His mother Mary and they fell down and worshiped him, giving Him gifts of great worth, as one day the wealth of many Gentiles would be freely offered to this King of the Jews. The life of the Savior of the world was protected through a dream, and these men returned to their land by another route, avoiding any further encounter with Herod. At the time, a heavenly messenger warned Joseph concerning the murderous intentions of the king, and the family was kept in Egypt in safety in imitation of the flight of the family of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, where he met a different Joseph so many centuries earlier.

There this little flock of three remained until the death of Herod, when God would call His Son out of Egypt, as He had done so long ago through the ministry of Moses. The Son of God was living out the pathway of God’s covenant people, identifying with them in their need and fulfilling an amazing word from the Scriptures, now shining brightly with a more particular meaning, since it was truly the Son of God individually who was being called out of Egypt, and not just the nation spoken of as a “son” of God. In the meantime, before His death, Herod had ordered the heartless murder of all of the boys two years old and younger living near Bethlehem. Such was his hatred of the Lord’s Messiah. Here we see an antichrist spirit, and a contest between two kings. Yet the more obviously powerful king was soon dead, and the young and supposedly weak boy Messiah was kept alive. He was once again divinely protected through an angelic messenger to His stepfather, leading the family to return to the land that was the home of Mary and Joseph prior to the birth of Jesus, Nazareth in the region of Galilee.

In all of these things we see the fulfillment of Scriptural jewels tucked away in various Old Testament writings by the Lord Himself. These are blessings recorded for us who read the account of the life of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel. The entire New Testament church should be strengthened by these words that assure us that the Son of Mary is truly the Son of God. This would have been a great surprise to almost every observer from that day, yet it was not a surprise to the Almighty who had planned these events and had placed markers of His faithfulness and wisdom in the words of holy men of old.

Even men from among the Gentiles knew enough to interpret the signs in the heavens that surrounded the arrival of a great King. They not only found Him—they also worshiped Him. Surely they were moved by the hand of the same Almighty God who inspired the writing of the Hebrew Scriptures. At a great cost to themselves, and at the risk of their lives, they traveled far to find the King of kings, who would one day reign over a far greater kingdom than Herod could have ever imagined.

The death of the children of Bethlehem provides us with an early glimpse of something we will see more fully in another chapter of this story, for this baby King would not enter the fullness of His reign without facing more of the hatred of many men against the Lord and against His Anointed. Even His death would be a central part of God’s good plan for the display of His glorious mercy and His wonderful justice. This King would die for us, and many Gentiles, as well as many Jews, would serve and worship Him forever.