Why would God place this Scripture in their hands and bring these pagan Gentiles to worship Jesus? He did this to show from the beginning that it would be the Jews who by and large would reject their Messiah and the Gentiles who would accept and worship Him. Remember what John said about Jesus at the beginning of his gospel: "He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him." On one occasion, a Roman centurion showed remarkable faith in Jesus. Jesus' response to this Gentile shamed every Jew that was present: "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness."
Is it not remarkable that those men and women who had grown up with the Old Testament Scriptures, being taught in the synagogues, singing songs of the long-awaited Messiah - none of them came with the Gentile Wise Men to see the new King? Even the Scribes and the Priests, the religious leaders of the day, chose not to accompany the Wise Men.
In a similar way, there are many men and women today who grew up in Homes where they learned the Scriptures, heard the Word of God preached on Sunday mornings, and sung the hymns of the faith - yet when they reached an age where they could truly come to know the Messiah, they chose not to. It is a tragedy. And you may be one of those people. If so, let me plead with you: Come to Christ! Don't be a fool and reject the greatest gift ever given to you! You have heard the glories of Jesus proclaimed in your childhood, don't forfeit them in your adulthood!
Evil King Herod (v.3-4)
The Herod referred to in this passage is commonly known as Herod the Great, not to be confused with the Herod that will be in power during most of Jesus' ministry 30 years later - Herod Antipas, Herod the Great's son. Herod the Great was not a Jew, but an Idumean - a Gentile. He was a sly politician, and had managed to convince the Emperor of the Roman Empire to declare him King of the Jews. Though the people of Israel despised him, he kept them in submission through violent force.
Indeed, Herod the Great was a very violent man. On one occasion, fearing that he might be a potential threat, Herod had his brother in law drowned. He then held an extravagant funeral where he sobbed and wailed dramatically. Later he had his wife, his mother in law, and two of his sons killed. Towards the end of Herod's life, his third son began talking about his plans for when he succeeded his father as king. Herod found this annoying, and had him killed as well. Days before his death, Herod began to despair that no one in Jerusalem was going to weep over his death. Seeking to amend the problem, he ordered that all of the most prominent citizens of Jerusalem be arrested and taken to the arena. He then ordered that at the moment of his death, all of these prominent men were to be executed as well, so that he could ensure that there would be mourning in Jerusalem. Fortunately, the order was not carried out.
This is the king that these wise men came to and asked, "Where is the new king being born?" You can see why Jesus was in danger. Moreover, you can see why all of Jerusalem was troubled at what they heard. When the Wise Men brought word of a new king, the Jewish people began fearing what their maniac king might do.
The Prophecy Fulfilled (v. 5-6)
Matthew is consistently reminding us how Jesus' life fell directly in line with the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Biblical scholars tell us that Jesus fulfilled at least 330 of the Old Testament prophecies. In this chapter alone, Matthew points out four of these fulfilled prophecies. In this particular passage, the prophecy is a prediction of where the Messiah was to be born.
Micah 5:2 had long been regarded by almost all of the Jews as being a Messianic prophecy. Everyone was expecting the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem. But notice: Joseph and Mary would not have been in Bethlehem had Caesar Augustus - hundreds of miles away in Rome - not decreed a census. God used Caesar to bring about the fulfillment of His Word. One cannot help but think
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