Contents
• The Magi follow a star
• The Magi make King Herod aware of King Jesus
• King Herod’s jealousy and rage
• Satan tries to thwart God’s plans.
• Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt
Before reading this commentary, I encourage you to first read the text of Matthew chapter two.

Verses 1-12 and 16-18

I find the story of the Magi from the east following a star until it stood over the place where Jesus had been born to be fascinating. Were they the only ones who could see this star? One would think that such a sight would bring out all of Jerusalem if everyone was able to see this traveling star. And the fact that the star “stood” over the place where Jesus was, causes me to suspect that this star was something far greater than a distant twinkling object in outer space. I suspect that this star was actually an angel which they described as being like a star in the night sky, but not a distant object high in the sky, but actually leading them and finally standing directly on top of the location where Jesus was.

The king James, the ESV and the NLT versions of the Bible describe these as Wise Men, However, it seems, at least from our position of hindsight, that they may have been displaying a bit of naivete in the fact that the first person they go to see upon arriving in Jerusalem in order to inquire about the new King, is the current King. Did they not consider that he might be unwilling to give up his power, and might be inclined to do harm to a political rival? The wise men came to King Herod wrongly assuming that he would be as equally excited as they about finding a new King.

On the other hand, we know from history that King Herod was around 73 years old when Jesus was born. Herod is obviously approaching the end of his life and Jesus is a new born baby, just beginning his life. It should have been obvious to King Herod that there wasn’t going to be any overlap between their two kingships. And maybe that’s what the Magi were thinking when they sought out King Herod. But as it turns out, King Herod was so fearful of losing his power that he was willing to send orders that every boy under the age of two in Bethlehem be killed. What also perplexes me about this story is that the soldiers under King Herod’s command were willing to obey the king’s orders to go and kill every boy under the age of two in Bethlehem. What sort of cowardice, barbaric, heathen would obey such an order? But yet they did.

But this is a familiar story. Remember what happened in Exodus Chapter 1?

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile…(Exodus 1:22a)

Pharaoh ordered that all baby boys be thrown into the Nile river where they were presumably eaten by crocodiles.

Remember, Moses was the one who, through God’s intervention, lead the Israelites out of the bondage of slavery. Moses represents Jesus bringing us out of the bondage of sin.

So when Moses was born, Satan persuaded the government (meaning pharaoh), to kill babies. This was Satan, trying in vain to thwart God’s plans. Then when the Messiah was coming into the world, Satan again persuaded the government, (this time King Herod), to kill the babies in Bethlehem.

Where do we see today, a government passing laws to kill babies? Why is that happening? Satan is trying, still to this day, to thwart God’s plans. In the United States of America today, one million babies a year die in abortion. Why? What’s going on?

Acts 2:17 says:

In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. (Acts 2:17)

Did you see that? Sons and daughters will prophesy and young men will see visions when God pours out his spirit in the last days. These are the last days; and so we see Satan doing the same thing again. When God wants to do a work through someone who was prophesied about in scripture, Satan comes along and tries to kill them when they’re a baby.

Verses 13-15 and 19-23

Joseph was warned in dream to flee. “Get out of here”. And Joseph got up in the middle of the night, gathered Mary and Jesus and left Bethlehem traveling all the way to Egypt in order to hide from King Herod. Sometime later, after Herod dies, they returned to Israel and again, being warned in a dream, Jesus’s parents settled in Nazareth, which fulfilled the prophecy that said “He will be called a Nazarene.”

And later when Jesus is grown and begins his ministry, Nathanael, one of the twelve disciples is going to ask, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” which further reveals to us Jesus’s humble origins.