Originally posted December 2019
Matthew chapter 2, verse 1 starts with Jesus being born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king. Thus, time and place are given – and in agreement with Luke.
Nevertheless, there are indications that the events recorded in Matthew, are not simultaneous with Luke 2, but are from a time somewhat later. In verses 9 and 11, Jesus is no longer a babe, but a child, and verse 7 indicates that the appearance of the star to the Magi (the wise men), occurred some time ago. Lastly, Herod´s allowing for a period of 2 years, would hardly have been necessary, had it been known that the birth was recent.
The exact date for the birth of Jesus is unknown. Herod died in 4 BC. This puts the date of Jesus´ birth at approximately 6 BC, allowing for 2 years.
HEROD THE GREAT
The Herod mentioned in the Gospel, is Herod the Great. He was not a Jew, his father Antipas being of Edomite descent, his mother Cyprus an Arab. Herod was appointed King of the Jews in 40 BC by the Roman Senate. He came to power in 37 BC when he conquered Jerusalem, and ruled until his death in 4 BC. However, he was hated by his Jewish subjects for his title, King of the Jews, because of his Edomite blood.
You can read about the Edomites here:
Herod is famous for his building projects, among them the temple in Jerusalem, which he built in order to please the Jews. In this and in other respects, he was a shrewd politician.
He built several fortresses. The most famous of these being Masada, which played such an important role in the Jewish war against the Romans, who captured it some 77 years after Herod’s death.
Photo taken by me in 2010
If you want to see a good video:
What really happened at Masada?
Herod was also known for his cruelty, which extended to executing several of his own family; his own wife Mariamne and her two sons – because of their Hasmonaean blood (which made them acceptable to the Jews as heirs to the throne – whereas Herod the King of course was not, in Jewish eyes). The paranoid fear and suspicion motivating these killings fits well with the Herod we meet in Matthew´s Gospel and with his murdering of the infants of Bethlehem.
This is a good article on Herod, if you would like to read some more about him:
THE VISIT OF THE WISE MEN
The wise men from the east in chapter 2, verse 1, are properly called Magi (neither wise men, astrologers or kings is a very accurate translation) – a term originally referring to a caste of Persian priests whose role among other things was to interpret dreams. They were learned men, scholars of their time. Here they appear as astrologers seeking a guide to major events through the movement of the stars.
FROM BABYLON?
The name Magi, implies that they were from Persia; that they have an interest in the stars implies Babylon; their gifts imply Arabia. To say that they were from Babylon may not be far wrong. The gifts they bring are gold, frankincense and myrrh (see Isa. 60,6); gifts in the ancient world for royalty or deity. We can interpret the gold as representing Jesus´ kingship, the frankincense as a symbol of his priestly role, and the myrrh as a prefiguring of his death and embalming.
Babylon also fits well for their origin for another reason: they have some knowledge of the religion of the Jews and their messianic expectations. There would have been a Jewish community in Babylon following the Jewish exile there.
Their reference to “king of the Jews”, and their need to enquire about the birthplace of the Messiah, indicate that they were Gentiles.
It is not known how many there were. The traditional number 3 is due to the 3 gifts they bring. Later Christian tradition has called them kings, because of Ps. 72,10; Isa. 49,7 and 60,3.
The fact of a comparable visit by Magi to the emperor Nero in AD 66 (Dio Cassius 63.7; Seutonius, Nero 13), provides historical credence to this story; that it is not simply a legend, as some would have it.
THE STAR
The Magi observed his star when it rose, and have come to worship him/pay him homage! The idea that deaths and births of great figures were accompanied by phenomena in the stars was widely accepted in antiquity.
But probably from Matthew´s perspective, the star refers to this prophecy:
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth (sons of tumult). Numbers 24,17
This is one of Balaam´s oracles against the enemies of Israel, on their way through the wilderness to the land of Canaan; a prophecy which the Jews took to be a prophecy of the Messiah.
There have been attempts to find astronomical phenomena from that time, that would fit the observations of the Magi. However, the best solution is to view the star as a supernatural phenomenon that the Magi saw.
A good article to read about this is:
THE HOMAGE FROM THE GENTILE WORLD
But the point of the visit of the Magi, is that they as Gentiles come to worship him, or pay him homage. They bring the homage of the Gentile world to the Christ. This also is fulfilment of prophecy: Isa. 49,7 and 60,3. See also Ps. 72,10-11.
THE TWO KINGS
What´s going on at a literary level? Answer: Two kings are being compared. The one illegitimate, and a cruel murderer, the other the real King of the Jews; the Prince of Peace of Isaiah 9,6. There are clear parallels here to Exodus 1 and 2; to Moses and to Pharaoh, the evil king of Egypt who decrees that all male children born of the Hebrews, shall be killed. Matthew is here setting up Jesus to be a new Moses. This is a theme he will develop further on in this chapter.
BETHLEHEM, BIRTHPLACE OF THE MESSIAH
That Bethlehem of Judea was commonly accepted as the birthplace of the Messiah is indicated by John 7,42. Matthew´s Old Testament fulfilment prophecy is a combination of Micah 5,2 and 2 Sam. 5,2 (but read from v.1 for context).
“And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel” Mt. 2,6
A NOTE ON JESUS AND THE TRIBE OF JUDA!
That Jesus was born in Bethlehem of the house and lineage of David, implies also that he was of the tribe of Judah (Jacob/Israel´s fourth son). This is important for the author of the letter to the Hebrews. In chapter 7, it is argued that Jesus being of the tribe of Judah, of whom Moses said nothing about priests (the priestly tribe being the tribe of Levi), was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (you will find him in Genesis 14,17-24); not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life (Heb. 7,11-28).
In Genesis 49,9, Jacob/Israel blesses his son Judah, calling him a lion. In the next verse, verse 10, there is a very important messianic prophecy that I did not mention in my blog post on the Messiah. These verses are taken up in Revelation 5,5, where Jesus is called: The Lion of the Tribe of Judah!
OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON
After the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem, being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they depart to their own country. An angel appears to Joseph (again) in a dream, warning him to take his family to Egypt, as Herod is seeking to destroy the child. He is told to remain there until the death of Herod. The flight to Egypt, and the subsequent return first to Judea, then to Nazareth, document why Jesus´ home town was Nazareth (then, a known fact).
Though there is no neat datum by datum correlation between the story of Jesus´ escape from the evil king Herod, and the flight into Egypt with subsequent return – and the story of Moses´ escape from Pharaoh, and his flight out of Egypt, and subsequent return, there are sufficient parallels for any first century reader of Matthew´s Gospel to make the connection: Jesus is the new Moses!
But this is as far as Matthew goes along this line. He doesn´t develop the theme any further.
Instead a new, and to my mind more meaningful theme is suggested by the fulfilment prophecy in Mt. 2,15, which is cited from Hosea 11,1:
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”
In Hosea, this is not a prophecy, but a glance back on Israel´s history, remembering how God rescued the people of Israel (here called “my son”) out of Egypt, taking them by way of 40 years in the wilderness, to the land of Canaan.
But Matthew uses this as prophecy, a glance forward to the true Son of God returning from Egypt. The thought here is that of the solidarity of the true Son of God with the historical people of Israel, who went down to Egypt to escape famine, and came out again under Moses. Jesus is not here pictured as the new Moses, but as the new Israel; in whom is the new people of God!
This theme is developed further in Matthew chapter 4,1-11 with the testing of Jesus for 40 days in the desert – which parallels Israel´s testing for 40 years in the wilderness. The primary focus here is on Deuteronomy 6-8, 3 times qouted by Jesus in answer to Satan´s suggestions. It is a description of the lessons God put before the Israelites in the wilderness before their mission of conquest of the promised land, when he tested them (Dt. 8,2) as when a man disciplines his son (Dt. 8,5). Where Israel failed, the Son of God was victorious. However, this is not a victory won for himself! Matthew wants to say that Jesus was made one with his people, in his journey into Egypt, in his coming out of Egypt, and in his testing in the desert – so that he could identify fully WITH THEM, and win the victory FOR THEM!
This last paragraph has taken us out of Matthew´s prologue (chs 1-2), and into chapter 4. But the quotation from Hosea in Mt. 2,15 invites us to follow Matthew to the next step, in his train of thought.
MATTHEW AN ANTI-SEMITE?
One last point must be made, which I attach some importance to! Matthew is sometimes in the scholarly world and beyond, accused of antisemitism! This is ironic, given 1) that he most probably was a Jew, and 2) that he certainly was writing to Jewish Christians – and e.g. shows how Jesus upheld the permanence of the Law as an expression of God’s will (see 5,18).
Nevertheless, it is true that Matthew is sharply critical of certain aspects of the Jewish religion of his day. Witness his recording of Jesus´ scathing attack on the scribes and the pharisees in chapter 23.
And the talk of Jesus being the New Israel; implying that the Christian Church has supplanted the Jews as the people of God, has led to what is known as replacement theology.
But has God then rejected his people (since the Jews practically wholesale rejected their Messiah)? asks Paul. His answer is: “By no means!” (Rom 11,1).
This is a difficult issue which in my opinion has to be solved by a study of Romans chapter 11, where Paul deals with the Church´s relationship to its Jewish roots!
But, to say that Matthew is an antisemite is an anachronism, and inaccurate – critical of the religious authorities of his time, yes! So was his Master!
This is not the end of the matter though! Christians, both Catholics and Protestants have persecuted Jews through the centuries, precisely on the basis of faulty conclusions they drew from texts they found in the New testament – among them I am sure, parts of the Gospel of Matthew. As Christians today, we need to be mindful, and sensitive to this history!
