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2:1-12
When Jesus was two years old.
Time passed, and soon it was around about two years since Jesus had been
born in Bethlehem. He was now living at Nazareth. At that time a man called
Herod was the ruler of the district of Judea. He was called a king, but he was
only there because the Romans allowed it. Herod was in fact a descendant of
Esau, a branch of Abraham's family tree which the Jews did not like to associate
with, and he was sometimes called 'Great", though not for all the right
reasons. He also liked to call himself a Jew, but this was mainly for political
power.
Anyway, about two years after Jesus was born, when he was living with his
parents in Nazareth, several astrologers, called Magi arrived in the country.
They came from somewhere north-east of Palestine and arrived at Jerusalem
looking for someone they called the King of the Jews. They chose Jerusalem
because it was the most likely place, being a renowned city, and also the place
where so many illustrious kings, such as David and Solomon had ruled from.
"A king has been born to the Jews" they said, "We saw a
star appear in a certain constellation, marking his birth. . . we have come to
worship him!"
Herod was a power-hungry man, and he did not like the thought of some
rival upstart being born so close to him. Satan, of course, was also annoyed,
because he wanted to destroy the Jewish people, and Satan was the power behind
Herod. When the people of Jerusalem heard about the coming of the magi, and the
reaction of Herod, they began to fear the worst. Was Herod about to unleash
another cruel outburst on the city?
Herod decided to track down this "king", so he called together
the Jewish scholars, including the priests, and asked them what they knew about
this "king" from their Old testament prophecies.
It did not take them long to find the correct reference. Micah 5:2
clearly stated that "Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, though a very small
place, will produce a very great ruler". Micah even specified the exact
place : Ephrathah - a great help to
Herod, because there were actually several Bethlehems in Palestine.
Having worked out exactly where this "king" was to be born,
Herod had a secret conference with the Magi. He, unlike the Magi, had no desire
to worship his rival, but he couldn't tell the Magi this. Instead, he pretended
that he wanted to worship the new king too, so he started off by asking them how
long ago the star had appeared.
"About two years ago" they said.
"Good" said Herod, "Now, according to the book of Micah,
he will be somewhere in the town of Bethlehem, Ephrathah, in the Judean district
. . . so hurry along and find the him, then come, then tell me where he is, so I
can join you in your worship."
The Magi were relieved that Herod was so keen to worship the new king.
They headed off eagerly for Bethlehem, but on their way there the star appeared
again. It was so bright and wonderful, they knew it was the same one which had
appeared to them the first time. But instead of guiding them to Bethlehem, it
turned north and moved away from Jerusalem!
Puzzled, but sure that they were doing the right thing, they followed the
star northwards for about 80 km until it dropped down to a small town called
Nazareth and hovered over the roof of a peasant's house.
The Magi were amazed and excited, not only because the star was so
beautiful, but also because of the glorious miracle they were seeing.
They went to the house and cautiously entered it. When they had come into
the room, there before them they saw a child, a little boy, and close to him was
his mother. As soon as the Magi saw the boy they fell to the floor and bowed to
him, worshipping, while Mary watched in wonder.
When the Magi had finished acknowledging the kingship and authority of
Jesus, they brought out of their bags gifts for Him : gold, frankincense and
myrrh. (These would all be practical helps for the home - gold to buy food and
other items, frankincense to serve as a medicine, and myrrh to add a sweet
perfume to the house).
Now the Magi were ready to go back to Herod and tell him where the new
king was, but God, who knew what Herod was up to, intervened. He spoke to the
Magi in a dream, warning them not to go back to Herod. Instead He told the Magi
to go home another way, so they set off from Nazareth and went home by a
different road.
2:13-14
Jesus goes to Egypt
Not long after the Magi had set off for their own country, God sent a
message to Joseph, to warn him of
Herod's "Search and destroy" campaign. "Get going!" said the
angel, "Herod is looking for your son Jesus with the intention of killing
him! Go to Egypt until I tell you to return!"
Joseph obeyed instantly. He packed his things and escorted his family out
the door and off down the road. Neither he nor Mary knew how long they would
have to be refugees, or even where they would live, but they trusted God and did
what He required. In this way, the child Jesus was preserved from death until
His proper time to die had come.
And as they travelled south west from Palestine, a prophecy began to be
fulfilled. God said, through Hosea 11:1 "I have called My Son out of
Egypt", and although when He first said this He was referring to Israel,
His Hebrew nation at the time of the Exodus, a second meaning can also applied.
Jesus was also God's Son, and it wasn't long before He too was called out of
Egypt, but not as a delivered Israelite - rather, He would come as the great
Deliverer!
1:16-18
Herod's massacre
Herod waited and waited for the Magi to return from Bethlehem, but of
course they never showed up, so he sent soldiers to enquire as to their
whereabouts. He soon learned that the Magi had slipped out of his deadly
clutches and disappeared off to the north. He was so enraged at this that he
ordered a general massacre, targeting all male children from the age of two and
under, in Bethlehem and the surrounding districts. He determined the probable
age of the child he wanted to kill by the reckoning of the Jewish Bible
scholars. (It is likely that they used the book of Daniel chapter nine, which
gives the date of Jesus' birth exactly to the year, counting from the decree of
Cyrus) About 26 children were killed, and great sorrow descended on the area.
In fact this event - the massacre - was predicted hundreds of years
before it happened, by Jeremiah (31:15) when he described it this way :
"From Ramah comes a wailing, moaning sound, There is great sorrow in this
district. I hear Rachel crying because her children are dead, and her heart is
broken."
1:19-23
Jesus comes back from Egypt
Time passed, and eventually Herod died, so it was now safe for Joseph and
his family to be repatriated. An angel came to Egypt to give Joseph new
instructions : "Time to move out" the angel said, "Take Jesus and
Mary and return to Palestine. Herod is dead and his killers have been called
off."
Joseph was relieved. He gathered his belongings together again, loaded up
the pack-animals and set off for Palestine. But on the way he caught some
unwelcome news : Herod's son
Archelaus had taken the throne.
Joseph was troubled by this. He could hardly expect good treatment from
this new king of Judea, especially after what the old king Herod had done . . .
but while Joseph was thinking anxiously about these things, God sent an angel to
him.
"Don't go near the region of Judea" warned the angel, "Its
too risky. Galilee is much safer!"
Joseph was so relieved. He turned off the main road into Galilee and
found a place to live in an obscure little town called Nazareth. It was the
perfect place to be because hardly anyone considered the place of any value. It
was called the "low-life" of Palestine, where the riffraff hung out,
and the no-hopers. Hardly the place to find a king! (John 1:46)
In fact, if I may add a little comment here, Nazareth was spoken of by
several of God's prophets when they said "He shall be called a
Nazarene". But you won't find these words written anywhere because it would
have been a perfect clue for the enemies of God to use to track the child down.
(Just as they tracked his birth-place down to Bethlehem).
But on the other hand, the prophets did describe the Messiah in terms of
being "despised and rejected" (Isaiah 53:3) and again in Psalm 22:6 -
"He will be a worm and not a man, despised and rejected", so God left
us in no doubt as to the general climate in which Jesus would grow up.