Matthew 2:9-12 - They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy

2:9-11

The Magi left Herod and were guided by the star to the place where Jesus was. They were filled with joy when they realised that they were being guided to where the king was, and when they came to the house where Jesus was they bowed down and worshipped Him. Remember that it was an infant that they saw, not a mature man, yet they bowed down and worshipped. They gave the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Note that Mary and Jesus were in a house, not the manger. This was some time after the birth. Gold is a fitting gift for a king. Frankincense was frequently used by priests in the temple, and myrrh was used to embalm the dead. Jesus was the king, the great high priest, whose greatest act would be to die for us all.

2:12

Herod had told them to report back to him. Men were plotting to kill Jesus, as they would throughout his ministry, and today many men plot to destroy His body the church. Men are plotting, but God is in control, and He acts outside what men are doing. So here He warned the Magi not to go back to Herod, so they returned by a different route. It is easy to become anxious or frightened by the plotting of men, but a better reaction is for us to worship the Lord.

Jeremiah 6:21-26 - Put on sackcloth

6:21-23

So the Lord would frustrate the ways of the people. Parents and children, neighbours and friends would stumble over the obstacles. More seriously, a great army was coming to attack them. The north was the direction of attack from Babylon. The army was well equipped and fierce, they could expect no mercy. The army comes to attack “Daughter Zion”. This is an appalling thing for Jeremiah to say, but is a severe warning to any of us who say “the Lord would never do such and such a thing”. Are you sure? The Bible makes it clear that while God is slow to anger, there comes a point where judgement is inevitable.

6:24-26

The people had heard about the Babylonians. They had started on conquest, and while they were still some way off, news of their conquests had reached Jerusalem. Jeremiah has instruction for the people, obe is not to go out to the fields, for there is danger all about. The other is to put on sackcloth and ashes. This was not time for bravado, or false optimism.

Matthew 2:3-8 - From you shall come a ruler

2:3-6

There is a great contrast between Herod, the worldly king, and Jesus. Herod lived in a palace and was supremely insecure in his position. Jesus was an infant, born in a manger. His life was under threat from birth, yet He was supremely secure in His position. One sought to protect and enrich himself, the other gave His life and Himself for others.

So when Herod heard of the Magi looking for a king he felt threatened and wanted to know where this king was to be born. Herod obviously had very little Biblical knowledge. The chief priests and teachers of the Law did know, as Micah 5:2 says the “one who would rule over Israel” would come from Bethlehem.

2:7,8

Herod wanted to know more details, not so he could go and worship the King (unlike the Magi), but so he could kill him. He then asked them to report back to him once they had found the exact location of Jesus, pretending he too wanted to worship the king.

Ps 31:20 says that God protects us from the intrigues of men. Men will plot and scheme, but God is our protector.

Jeremiah 6:17-20 - We will not listen

6:17

It was not as though God had not warned them. He sent prophets to bring the word of God to them, to call them back to God’s ways. He called them to listen to the word of the Lord, but they refused. People sometimes say that God has not provided enough evidence, that He has hidden Himself. But the truth is that we have hidden from God, have turned away from Him.

6:18-20

Israel was meant to be a demonstration of God’s goodness, a demonstration of what a nation under God looks like, and so encouraging other nations to seek to follow God. Instead they had disobeyed God. So they would indeed be a demonstration, but a demonstration of what happens to a people who disobey God. The nation of Judah had focused on sacrifices, they thought that going though the motions, the rituals of religion, would mean they were OK. But their hearts were far from God, their lives were ungodly. We need to watch ourselves for this. If we are drifting away from God we can sometimes console ourselves that we are still going through the motions. This does not please God. God wants our hearts, our lives. He wants living sacrifices.

Matthew 2:1,2 - Wise men from the East

2:1

Matthew focuses on almost entirely different details than Luke, so put together we have a more complete picture. So there are no shepherds in Matthew, and no Magi in Luke. Matthew simply states that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. This was very important from Matthew’s perspective, for the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem (Mic 5:2). David also came from Bethlehem. This happened during the time of King Herod. Herod lived until 4 BC. Now Jesus was born sometime between 6 and 4 BC. Our calendar was set up by Dionysius the Humble or Small in the 6th century, and he got his dates slightly wrong. 

2:2

Traditionally there were three wise men or “kings”. However, the Bible does not give the number of them. The figure three comes from the three gifts. There are all sorts of theories about what the star was. Was it a star? A supernova? A comet? The junction of two planets? I don’t know, and to be honest don’t care. If you want to know more about this then you can search for it on the internet. People considered the heavenly bodies to be important. Apparently there was a nova at the time of Julius Caesar’s death. So God used the cosmic event to draw the Magi to Jesus. They seemed to know about the king of the Jews. This might have been due to the time the Jews spent in exile in Babylon and other places. These Gentiles coming to seek the King of the Jews is symbolic of the gospel going out to all the world.

Jeremiah 6:13-16 - All are greedy for gain

6:13-15

“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain”. There is a tendency to associate sin with the rich and powerful, and it is true that they have a special responsibility, for they can influence more people. But all mankind has sinned, including the least. However, the criticisms here are focused on the leaders, especially the religious leaders. “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious”. Religious leaders who overlook the fact of sin are in serious dereliction of their duty. Judah was heading towards disaster because of her sinfulness. So it is with this nation. “Peace, peace when there is no peace”. It is nice to speak comforting words, but if there is no peace then it is a cruel thing to do, and a deceitful thing to do. There are many preachers who preach lies. So the liars will be brought low by the Lord. We must never be a sin affirming church.

6:16

God calls on everyone to “stand at the crossroads and look”. To consider our ways. It is the ancient ways that lead to peace. Here it meant going back to the Law. In today’s society we would do well to consider our approach to sexuality, and to gender. God’s ways maybe derided as old-fashioned or dated, but they are far wiser than the nonsense that our society is promoting. God’s ways are good ways. And when we follow His ways we will find rest for our souls. The world’s ways lead only to confusion and pain. “But you said “we will not walk in it”. Sadly this is what our society is saying as well.

Matthew 1:24,25 - And he called His Name Jesus

1:24,25

The angel of the Lord had appeared to Joseph in a dream. Joseph woke up and did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do.  So he took Mary to be his wife. We can imagine the difficulties this might have caused, as no doubt neighbours would have talked and gossiped. Joseph, however, had no sexual relations with Mary until after the birth of Jesus. Matthew is stressing the reality of the virgin birth. As noted earlier, the quote from Isaiah is not used as “proof” of the virgin birth. However, Matthew and Luke both state quite clearly that it was a virgin birth.