Matthew2
New International Version
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Matthew 2.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The wise men's search after Christ. (1–8). The wise men worship Jesus. (9–12). Jesus carried into Egypt. (13–15). Herod causes the infants of Bethlehem to be massacred. (16–18). Death of Herod, Jesus brought to Nazareth. (19–23).
vv1-8
Those who live at the greatest distance from the means of grace often use most diligence, and learn to know the most of Christ and his salvation. But no curious arts, or mere human learning, can direct men unto him. We must learn of Christ by attending to the word of God, as a light that shineth in a dark place, and by seeking the teaching of the Holy Spirit. And those in whose hearts the day-star is risen, to give them any thing of the knowledge of Christ, make it their business to worship him. Though Herod was very old, and never had shown affection for his family, and was not himself likely to live till a new-born infant had grown up to manhood, he began to be troubled with the dread of a rival. He understood not the spiritual nature of the Messiah's kingdom. Let us beware of a dead faith. A man may be persuaded of many truths, and yet may hate them, because they interfere with his ambition, or sinful indulgences. Such a belief will make him uneasy, and the more resolved to oppose the truth and the cause of God; and he may be foolish enough to hope for success therein.
vv9-12
What joy these wise men felt upon this sight of the star, none know so well as those who, after a long and melancholy night of temptation and desertion, under the power of a spirit of bondage, at length receive the Spirit of adoption, witnessing with their spirits that they are the children of God. We may well think what a disappointment it was to them, when they found a cottage was his palace, and his own poor mother the only attendant he had. However, these wise men did not think themselves baffled; but having found the King they sought, they presented their gifts to him. The humble inquirer after Christ will not be stumbled at finding him and his disciples in obscure cottages, after having in vain sought them in palaces and populous cities. Is a soul busy, seeking after Christ? Would it worship him, and does it say, Alas! I am a foolish and poor creature, and have nothing to offer? Nothing! Hast thou not a heart, though unworthy of him, dark, hard, and foul? Give it to him as it is, and be willing that he use and dispose of it as it pleases him; he will take it, and will make it better, and thou shalt never repent having given it to him. He shall frame it to his own likeness, and will give thee himself, and be thine for ever. The gifts the wise men presented were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Providence sent these as a seasonable relief to Joseph and Mary in their present poor condition. Thus our heavenly Father, who knows what his children need, uses some as stewards to supply the wants of others, and can provide for them, even from the ends of the earth.
vv13-15
Egypt had been a house of bondage to Israel, and particularly cruel to the infants of Israel; yet it is to be a place of refuge to the holy Child Jesus. God, when he pleases, can make the worst of places serve the best of purposes. This was a trial of the faith of Joseph and Mary. But their faith, being tried, was found firm. If we and our infants are at any time in trouble, let us remember the straits in which Christ was when an infant.
Key Words
δέ (dé): but, and, etc.
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs): Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites
γεννάω (gennáō): to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate
ἐν (en): "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.
Βηθλεέμ (Bēthleém): Bethleem (i.e. Beth-lechem), a place in Palestine
Ἰουδαία (Ioudaía): the Judæan land (i.e. Judæa), a region of Palestine
ἡμέρα (hēméra): day, i.e. (literally) the time space between dawn and dark, or the whole 24 hours (but several days were usually reckoned by the Jews as inclusive of the parts of both extremes); figuratively, a period (always defined more or less clearly by the context)
Ἡρώδης (Hērṓdēs): heroic; Herod, the name of four Jewish kings
βασιλεύς (basileús): a sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively)
ἰδού (idoú): used as imperative lo!;
Cross References
Matthew 2Directly quoted by the chief priests as the prophetic proof that Messiah must be born in Bethlehem.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Explicitly cited by Matthew as being fulfilled in Christ's flight to and return from Egypt.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Explicitly cited by Matthew to describe Rachel weeping for her children after Herod's massacre.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Balaam's ancient prophecy of 'a Star out of Jacob' which traditionally informed the wise men.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Verbal and structural parallel to Moses' return to Egypt when those seeking his life were dead.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Jacob's prophecy of the sceptre departing from Judah, occurring as Edomite Herod reigns.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Historical account explaining how Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Prophetic parallel of foreign kings bringing gifts of gold and tribute to the Messianic King.
Supported by John Calvin
Prophesies Gentiles bringing gold and incense to show forth the praises of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin
Illustrates the scriptural duty of priests to keep knowledge and provide law from their mouths.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Demonstrates the historical reality of early Christians being derisively labeled 'the sect of the Nazarenes.'
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identifies Bethlehem as Ephrath, linking Rachel's ancient burial place to the weeping in Ramah.
Supported by JFB
Demonstrates the common Jewish knowledge that Christ must come from the town of Bethlehem.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel account of the family returning to reside in their own city of Nazareth.
Supported by Matthew Poole