Sermon notes

INTRODUCTION
Jesus is the “son of David” (Matthew 1:1), and therefore “King of the Jews” (2:2). Inevitably, His advent provokes fear and rage from other pretenders to the throne, like Herod.

THE TEXT
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? . . . ’” (Matthew 2:1-12).

EXODUS
Matthew begins his gospel with an allusion to Genesis. The end of chapter 1 focuses on Joseph, a righteous man who dreams (1:20), flees to Egypt with his family (2:14), and returns (2:21). We have moved from Genesis to Exodus, and the story of the wise men and Herod is set in this Exodus context. Pharaoh had his court magicians; Herod is surrounded by the chief priests and scribes (2:4). Pharaoh killed innocent Hebrew children; so does Herod (2:16-18). Israel has become an Egypt, and Jesus, the new Moses, has to flee to Egypt for safety.

WISE MEN
Meanwhile, the Gentile magi are coming to worship Jesus. Matthew’s genealogy includes four Gentile women, anticipating the inclusion of Gentiles in the new Israel. The story of the wise men reiterates this theme. Stars represent rulers, and the appearance of a new star tells the magi that a king has been born (cf. Numbers 24:15-19). The magi follow the star to Jerusalem, just as Israel had followed the pillar of cloud and fire from Egypt. They are the true Israel. The magi come to pay homage to King Jesus, like the Queen of Sheba who came to see Solomon’s court (1 Kings 10) and in fulfillment of prophecies about the Gentiles streaming to Jerusalem to offer their riches to the God of Israel (Isaiah 60:4-9).

HEROD AND JERUSALEM
Herod and the Jewish leaders are troubled (v. 3). Herod cannot rejoice at the news of a new king, whom he sees as a rival to his own power. Rather than receive Jesus, Israel’s leaders prefer to play the role of court scribes to the bloodthirsty power-monger, Herod. Jerusalem confirms its reputation as the city that kills prophets; she will be left desolate as a result (cf. Matthew 23:37-38). The contrast in Matthew is not simply between Jew and Gentile. Jesus, after all, gains a wide following among the Jewish people. Multitudes follow Him and become His disciples. The division is within Israel as well as between Israel and the Gentiles. Leaders in Israel, part of the establishment, residents of the capital city, reject Jesus; those on the margins receive Him.

RULER FROM BETHLEHEM
Fulfilling prophecy, Jesus is born in Bethlehem, the “house of bread” and the city of David. Micah 5, quoted in Matthew 2:6, tells the story of siege, the birth of a child who will deliver Israel and bring peace (Micah 5:1-5). In contrast to the devour shepherd, Herod (cf. Ezekiel 34), Jesus comes to “shepherd My people Israel” (Matthew 2:6).