Matthew 4:4-7

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4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" ~ Matthew 4:4-7

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 4 where the Lord Jesus is in the wilderness, having been driven there by the Holy Spirit. In the previous verses, on the heels of going 40 days and nights without food, the devil tried to prompt the Lord Jesus to turn the stones into bread. The enemy is always ready to attack when we are most vulnerable and at our weakest point. The cohorts of the devil will always tempt us in the area where we struggle the most. We do well to stay away from those areas where we know that we are weak and we could easily be tripped up.

In v.4 of today's passage we read, "But He answered and said, It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

In this first temptation, the devil was trying to get the Lord Jesus to question God's provision. The devil, trying the deceive the Lord Jesus, asked Him, "Since You’re the Son of God, what are You doing being hungry?" In response, the Lord Jesus demonstrated the utter necessity of being defined by God. While the devil tried to trip Him up, the Lord Jesus remained on firm ground by simply shrouding Himself in the truth. Here, the Lord Jesus quoted a portion of Deuteronomy 8:3 which reads, "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord."

The book of Deuteronomy came at the end of Israel's forty years of wandering in the desert as they prepared to enter into the promised land. Likewise, the Lord Jesus quoted this verse at the end of His forty days of testing in the wilderness. Just as humility defined the Lord Jesus before winning this battle with the devil so must humility be welcomed into our souls if we are to be successful over the calculated onslaughts of the enemy. The key for us being humble is to be defined by the Lord. We are defined best by Him when His word is being obeyed by us. Interestingly, the very first words that proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus after He began His ministry rested on the absolute authority of God's Word. 

Notice that the Lord Jesus didn’t argue with the devil. He didn’t even respond to the devil's affirmative declaration that He was the Son of God. Instead, He quoted that which is substantive and true. He knew He was in a battle of cultures, that of the evil one and that of His Father in heaven. We, today, are involved in the same battle. This is why we must be defined by God's word. When this is the case, we will resemble Him. In this case we will grant safe haven in our souls to humility which is the couch that enables us to be defined by God best. And, similar to how food sustains our bodies, the Word of God sustains our being. 

In v.5-6 of today's passage we read, "5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

With this second temptation the devil was trying to get the Lord Jesus to question God's protection. It is not until we are truly vulnerable with God that we will truly know God's protection. I find it amazing that the Lord Jesus allowed the devil to take Him up to Jerusalem and stood Him on the pinnacle of the temple. This was the next step involved in dismantling the stronghold that the devil had established over sinful man. And, in order to free us the Lord Jesus had to engage with the enemy and then defeat him. This is something you and I cannot do, only the Lord can do this. This is why our weaponry mentioned by the Apostle in Ephesians 6 describes in detail the Lord Jesus Himself.

With that, we read next, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down." Again, this is a first class conditional sentence revealing that the devil knew the identity of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God. While standing on such a high spot, the enemy appealed to the pride that he wrongfully assumed was in the Lord Jesus. This is why this temptation didn't accomplish its desired end. Interestingly, the devil quoted a portion of a messianic passage found in Psalm 91:11 which reads, "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways." But the slithery one did not cite all of the verse. This was not enough to trip up the Son of God. The devil left out the words, "to keep You in all Your ways" and then went on to quote all of Psalm 91:12. The devil wasn't convinced that the ways of the Lord Jesus were the ways of God, but they were and they are evermore. The devil was trying to deceive the Lord Jesus which was impossible. The devil tore a verse out of its context to make a point that was not supported by the surrounding context. This is how the enemy works and if we are not well versed in the Bible, we are in danger of being deceived ourselves.

Also, the Lord Jesus could have come off the pinnacle of that temple and perhaps He would have been immediately accepted by the people but He didn’t come to this earth to be accepted, He came to die. He came to be rejected. He didn’t come for a popularity contest, He came to be killed so that our sin could be atoned for once and for all. What an unbelievable story which when believed establishes us firmly into the family of God. And, nothing, not even our sinfulness can change that.

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "Jesus said to him, 'It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" 

The word "again" here is really important. Here is discovered the secret behind our defense against the distorted tactics of the enemy. Only as we enter into the unity of Scripture, as it balances, completes, and explains itself, are we alarmed to the error and deception of the devil. Thus, we must continue to learn the Scriptures so that we can battle with it. In a subtle moment of instruction, the Lord Jesus countered the devil with another verse in its proper context. 

The Lord Jesus refused to tempt the Lord God because faith which depends on the extraordinary isn’t faith at all. If we can’t believe without the extraordinary, then we don’t understand the purest definition of faith. Faith that doesn’t believe without the extraordinary isn’t faith, it’s doubt looking for proof and most often it is looking in the wrong place. 

So, the Lord Jesus refused the way of the extraordinary, and He trusted His Father in every way. This is the way, this is the truth and this is the life that we all have longed for since our beginning. A.W. Tozer once brilliantly said, "True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie."

Matthew 4:1-3

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1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  Matthew 4:1-3

Today, we transition in our study of Matthew to chapter 4 which begins with the temptation that the Lord Jesus Christ endured at the hands of the devil. As was necessary at the baptism of the Lord Jesus, we will see that humility was much needed as He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for those forty days and night. 

In Proverbs 22:4 we read, 

"Humility is the fear of the Lord; 

its wages are riches and honor and life." 

When we fear the Lord, it doesn't mean that we are scared of Him. Rather, it means that we have remembered that God alone is all-powerful and it is out of that understanding that we acknowledge that only He deserves all glory and all honor. The fear of the Lord reminds us that we should not hold ourselves in the same light or position that God righteously deserves. Amazingly, this is what the Lord Jesus did in relation to the Father and the Holy Spirit during His baptism and His temptation.

Matthew's choice of the word "Then" at the beginning of v.1 reveals that this passage is not to be disassociated from the previous passage where the Lord Jesus was baptized by His cousin John the Baptist. He knew that His baptism was to fulfill all righteousness. In the Law of Moses, God put forth precepts to be followed. Those precepts included following the words of God’s prophets who spoke on His behalf. The Lord Jesus came to heed the call of the prophets who spoke on the behalf of the Trinity. In His baptism, the Holy Spirit came upon Him and the voice of the Father acknowledged that the Lord was His Son and that He stood approved by Him. With that, the Lord Jesus began His ministry, steeped in humility. 

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

I find it most interesting that the ministry of the Lord Jesus began with a time of testing at the hands of the devil. Matthew informs us that the Lord Jesus was "led up by the Spirit into the wilderness." According to Mark’s gospel the Holy Spirit drove the Lord Jesus into that desolate desert. It is so hard for our fallen human minds to understand but the Lord Jesus was a real human being, which means He grew spiritually by learning to be dependent upon the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus demonstrated to us by being led by the Holy Spirit that He needed to be empowered from day one with and by the Holy Spirit. Every major facet of the life of the Lord Jesus was a Spirit event, so much so that we need to see that the more Christlike we become, the more Spirit-led we will be. 

The Lord Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the "wilderness"  which throughout the Bible is seen as the place of testing. The arena of Judea that the Lord Jesus was led was especially barren, and walking through it, even for a day, is challenging for the mind and the body. The testing the Lord Jesus endured was incredibly intense, and His reliance upon God was absolutely paramount. Humility was a must for the Lord Jesus for as we will see, it was the goal of the evil one to interest Him in pride.

The word "devil" literally means "slanderer." This word is not a name, it is a description of the one who lives to expose us to his posture which is pride. Again, it was of utmost importance that the Lord Jesus embraced humility by being led by the Holy Spirit because the goal of the enemy was to trap Him with pride. The Lord Jesus was daily armed by God through His humility. At His baptism the Lord Jesus humbled Himself before the Father and during His temptation in the wilderness He humbled Himself to the leading of the Holy Spirit. These two events served to determine who would define the Lord Jesus in advance of His ministry.

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry."

The Lord Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert where He was to be tested by the devil. And then, "He fasted." The word translated "fasted" describes a period of self-denial to meet a set of divine purposes, primarily to show believers the utter necessity of dependence upon God. And, it was during His time of fasting that the miraculous nature of the Lord Jesus was placed on prominent display. And, God miraculously sustained Him as He submitted Himself to the Father and the Holy Spirit. This was of utmost importance because through His testings the Lord Jesus fulfilled all of the law and the prophets, being sustained by the power of God through the Holy Spirit.

In v.3 of today's passage we read, "Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, 'If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.'"

The Lord Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. This obviously made Him hungry. The Lord Jesus was tempted in three ways that practically mirror what happened with Adam in the Garden of Eden, as we will see. The devil began the temptation with, "If You are the Son of God." Since this portion of the sentence was written as a first class conditional sentence, it is best translated, "Since You are the Son of God." The devil fully acknowledged the Lord Jesus to be the Son of God and he approached his work based on that premise. And so, the devil continued with "speak, that these stones become bread." 

Here, the tempter tested the humanity of the Lord Jesus, not His deity. This is so very important for us to understand given the fact that Adam had forfeited his rights to the devil while in the Garden of Eden. In Hebrews 4:14-16 we read, "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

When he successfully tempted Adam, the devil gained possession of the authoritative rights of mankind to this earth by causing Adam to sin. After the Lord Jesus, the Man, prevailed over the devil, the rights of mankind were restored. It was of utmost importance that the Lord Jesus overcame these temptings of the devil because by doing so, there was the transferring of the rights that God originally gave to man. If the Lord Jesus, however, had relied on His deity to overcome the works of the devil, there would be no transfer of the rights. Sin is what necessitated the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. His state as a Man was challenged by the enemy during those forty days and nights. It happened this way so that the Lord Jesus, the man, could restore the dignity of man which had been lost so long before.

In Matthew 3:17 we heard the voice of God the Father from the heavens audibly proclaim that the Lord Jesus was the Son of whom He had approved. Looking around at all of the stones in His extreme hunger, it was an enormous temptation for the Lord Jesus to appease Himself by using His divine power to satisfy His human needs. But it would have marred the entire purpose of His incarnation had He given in to the temptation. When He resisted the temptations, the Lord Jesus was well on His way to provide salvation for all willing of heart to embrace the humility that is required for us to be saved. The Lord Jesus earned our right and ability to embrace the humility to be saved.

Matthew 3:13-17

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13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." ~ Matthew 3:13-17

Today we complete our study of Matthew 3 where we have been introduced to the older cousin of the Lord Jesus Christ, John the Baptist. John was the voice crying out in the wilderness preparing the way for the Messiah to come to Israel. Previously, John warned his hearers of the impending doom spoken of by the Old Testament prophets. John's message was that of repentance. His goal was to get the people to see that their sin was not permanently atoned for and they needed a Savior. It was John's God-given job to point the people to the Lord Jesus Christ whom he identified as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

In v.13-15 of today's passage we read, "13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?' 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he allowed Him."

The baptism of the Lord Jesus performed by John the Baptist was a public event for anyone there to see. The Lord Jesus Christ departed from Galilee to begin His ministry "at the Jordan River." The Lord Jesus came to John "to be immersed by him." From that point on, the Messiah would become the central point, the focus of God would be on the Lord Jesus who fulfilled everything requirement in the Old Testament to procure man's salvation. This made the Lord Jesus the Savior of all who would believe on Him.

When the Lord Jesus came to John to be baptized by him, John tried to prevent Him from being baptized because John's baptism was a baptism of repentance and John knew the Lord Jesus had no need to repent for He had never sinned. In addition, John, despite being the prophet of the Lord, realized his unworthiness to baptize the Lord Jesus. John knew that he was just a sinful man, therefore he was acutely aware of his need to be baptized by the Lord Jesus. 

John ended up baptizing the Lord Jesus which marked the beginning of His ministry at age thirty. The baptism of the Lord Jesus was part of what He did for His people to be declared righteous by God. Without His baptism sinful man's ability to repent from his sin and turn to God would be impeded. Just as on the cross the Lord Jesus received the punishment of our sin, so, in His baptism, He represented before God the very sinful people whom He came to save.

For years it was inculcated into the Jewish culture to confess their sins at the temple, taking along a sacrifice as mandated by the Law of Moses. They went to the priests who ministered the law before God. The system was designed for this by God, and it was brought forth through the hand of Moses. Along with any individual confessions of sin, there were various sacrifices each day, month, and year. On the Day of Atonement, all the people were to refrain from work and to afflict their souls. There was nothing in the law that said, "When the Messiah comes, He will be exempt from the statutes, rules, and ordinances of the law."

John was called as a prophet and his message was to call the people to turn from their wicked ways and redirect their lives to be defined by God. Rote observance of the rituals of the temple did not change their hearts toward God. However, they were required by the law and the people were to submit to them. These were all ministered by the priests. John was of the priestly class, being a son of Zechariah. Since the Lord Jesus was required to observe the rules and rituals of the law, and since God had called John to supplement those rules and rituals with the people’s inward reconsideration of their sinful condition through baptism, then it was right for the Lord Jesus to be baptized by John.

On the Day of Atonement, the Lord Jesus had no need for atonement, but being born under the law, He had a need to observe the day accordingly. With John’s baptism, the same need existed to fulfill all righteousness, meaning those things which God had ordained had to be upheld. A true prophet of God under the law was called forth to do the will of God in accordance with the law. All righteousness demanded that the Lord Jesus enter into John’s baptism regardless of His sinlessness.

In v.16-17 of today's passage we read, "16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"

The purpose of baptism was a symbolic thorough cleansing from one’s past. Only immersion provides the proper symbolism for this teaching. The meaning of baptism in the Greek means "to immerse." The Lord Jesus went to John who immersed Him in the Jordan River. From there the Lord Jesus then ascended out of the Jordan. "And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'" According to John's Gospel, at that point John saw the Spirit of God descending upon the Lord Jesus as a dove and alighting upon Him. Thus, this event signified to all that the Lord Jesus was the coming Messiah. When the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus, His earthly ministry began. 

As noted when the Lord Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, the Father spoke from heaven. This was the first of three times that the voice of God was heard in this way. The other two instances happened at His Transfiguration and again during the week of Passion. With His words the Father  proclaimed that the Lord Jesus was His Son sent to earth from heaven. In Matthew 1:18 God had already said the Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit thus He was His Son.

Finally, the voice from the heavens declared, "in whom I am well pleased." This was an audible and a legal approval from God the Father to the Lord Jesus. In this case, God formally sent forth His Son to accomplish the redemption of all sinful man. The Lord Jesus was the chosen instrument to overcome the works of the devil and to restore sinful man to Himself. As everything reproduces after its own kind, it is understood that the Lord Jesus is thus God and Man. Here, we see that the Lord Jesus is the Son of the Father in heaven. The voice of the Father is not the same manifestation as that of the Spirit because the Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus and yet the voice was heard from the heavens. 

This passage reveals with clarity the Trinity. Even though the Bible never uses the word Trinity, here, it was on clear display for all to see. The baptism of the Lord is notable because through it He identified Himself with sinful man even though He never once sinned. The Lord Jesus was baptized so that all righteousness might be fulfilled. That means His baptism symbolized the sinners’ baptism into His righteousness, dying with Him and rising free from sin and able to walk in newness of life. His perfect righteousness would fulfill all the requirements of the Law for sinners who could never hope to do so on our own.

Matthew 3:7-12

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7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ~ Matthew 3:7-12

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 3 where the narrative has moved along about 26 years to the Jordan River where the cousin of the Lord Jesus, John the Baptist, was preaching a message of repentance and that the kingdom of God was at hand. Many of those who went out to hear John believed his message and were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Baptism is an outward declaration of an inward change of heart. In today's passage, Matthew, while speaking of John, turns our attention to what John had to say to the Jewish religious leaders.

In v.7-10 of today's passage we read, "7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

The Jewish religious leaders in that day believed that since they were born Jewish, they were automatically included in the family of God. Since they believed it was about them, they taught the people that a literal obedience to the written law and to an unwritten tradition was a must for any Jew. It was evidence that they were in the family. But, no amount of goodness earns or maintains the acceptance before God. It is only through the Lord Jesus that we are made and maintained right with God. Since it is impossible for anyone to obey God perfectly, the "hypocrisy" of the Jewish religious leaders numbed their conscience toward the Lord and made them "incapable of repentance."

The religious leaders questioned John's authority, doctrine, intent, and theology. Since so many people were coming to him, the Jewish religious leaders saw John as a threat to their power. In response, John identified them as a "Brood of Vipers" akin to the serpent who introduced sin to man in the Garden of Eden. Brood means offspring. The Jewish religious leaders were the offspring of the serpent also called the devil. So, John "warned" the religious leaders of their phoniness. The word "warned" is a compound word signifying "to exhibit under the eyes." This word is only used six times in the New Testament. John used this hard hitting word to draw the attention of the religious leaders to the coming wrath of God which had been prophesied by the Old Testament prophets. 

The wrath of God is something that cannot be dismissed when the Bible is read. To sin is to miss the mark with God. In this, His judgment must be issued. The very holy nature of God demands judgement of sin. This is why the Lord Jesus had to ransom us through His death. The religious leaders saw no need for God's forgiveness and so they rejected God's provision for forgiveness and atonement of sin. For those who reject this free gift means that God's wrath, by default, remains upon them. The religious leaders of Israel were offered God's forgiveness through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ, but most of them rejected it. 

This is why John the Baptist challenged them to "bear fruits worthy of repentance." The word fruits is a metaphor used to describe that which comes from an individual to describe his essence. The Lord Jesus would later say that the state of a tree would determine the state of the fruit born by that tree. The point of John’s baptism was for people to reconsider their state before God, whether they were acceptable before Him or not. To the honest and humble, repentance was most necessary because they understood that no one can be good enough. For those who were baptized, they did so out of their honest reconsideration of their condition before God. The religious, on the other hand, were sons of the devil and were defined by the phony.

John’s words signified the impending judgment of God and every tree not producing good fruit would be cut down. John's message would be that which God used to point the people to the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. One thing we always notice about John the Baptist is that he always pointed people to his cousin. John knew that he was the forerunner to the Messiah. John knew that he was just the messenger and that the Lord Jesus was the message. 

Unbeknown by most, the Lord Jesus would be the antitype to all the lambs that were sacrificed since the Exodus in the Old Testament. And everyone who would turn to the Lord Jesus would be like the tree that produced good fruit. Interestingly, the trees mentioned in the Bible provide for us understanding. The fig, for example, consistently speaks of one's connection to God. The olive tree reminds us of the spiritual privileges that God gave to the people of Israel. The acacia tree is incorruptible, picturing for us the incorruptible Man and His work on our behalf, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

John the Baptist had just told the religious leaders that any tree that did not bear good fruit would be cut down and thrown into the fire. Like all of the Old Testament prophets, John's calling was to get the people to repent from themselves and turn to God for forgiveness. John employed a metaphor that all in that day clearly understood. If a man had slaves, the lowliest job for the lowest slave would be to wait for the master to come through the door into the house. When he arrived, this slave would take his masters shoes off and then proceed to wash his feet. The Lord Jesus said of John, "Of all of the prophets, John the Baptist was the greatest," and yet, in his words John was unworthy to lift the sandals of the Lord Jesus. 

John next noted that the Messiah would "baptize them in the Holy Spirit." This baptism was of utmost necessity because without the indwelling Holy Spirit, there would be no connection for sinful man to God. For man to be restored to God, man's sin had to be atoned for and God's Spirit had to awaken his spirit to God. The baptism the Lord provides was compared by John with "fire" which describes the effects of accepting the Lord Jesus as our Savior through faith in His work on the cross. Even though we still live in these corruptible bodies, the purification that has come through believing the gospel is once and forever for the believer. That which was impure and which separated us from God has by the Lord Jesus been removed from us.  

John told the people that the Messiah would come with His "winnowing fan" in His hand. A winnowing fan was used to toss freshly harvested wheat into the air, where the useless chaff could be blown clear by the wind. The heavier wheat would fall back to the ground and be gathered up. In John's metaphor, the wheat represents those who repent and look to the Christ for salvation, while the chaff symbolizes those who reject Him. John declared that unbelievers will burn with unquenchable fire, referring to the eternal judgment of God's wrath mentioned by the Old Testament prophets. For the willing of heart, the Lord Jesus would earn and provide for them complete purification from sin. God Himself came to rescue sinful man out of our mess that we created in the Garden of Eden. The difference between the saved and those who are not is that the saved humbly and honestly express our need to God for His help and we have received from Him His salvation.

Matthew 3:1-6

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1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.'" 4 Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. ~ Matthew 3:1-6

Today, we transition into Matthew 3 where the fast forward button has been pushed and now we find ourselves witnessing the coming of the long awaited messenger of the Lord, John the Baptist. At the end of the previous chapter we learned that the Lord Jesus grew up in the Galilean city of Nazareth. According to Luke's gospel, John the Baptist was the cousin of the Lord Jesus. He was also the hinge between the Old Testament and the New, between the story of Israel and the story of the Lord Jesus Christ who came to enact the New Covenant.

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!'"

The events in this chapter happened some years after the death of Herod the Great. It was at that time that John the Baptist came as the herald of the coming Messiah. The name John is a contraction of two Hebrew words meaning  "The LORD has been gracious." John came "proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea" a message of repentance from trying to make it through this life apart from God. John also came heralding the coming of the Messiah. 

John introduced the concept of "repentance" which literally means  "to exercise the mind to the point of observing and comprehending." Thus, repentance means "a change of mind." John's message of "repentance" signified a mental assertion that the thought process of the people had been incorrect and needed a change in the opposite direction. The emphasis in all of John's messages was on a change of mind. 

While many believe repentance is to feel sorry for sin, a more accurate understanding of this word is that we come to the end of depending on ourselves to get life right. Many, incorrectly use the word repentance in a manner that is synonymous with removing sin from our life. The concept of repentance has been so misapplied that it no longer means to reconsider but to repair through action, something that is impossible for sinful man. The problem with this is that it makes the idea of repentance one of "fixing our life of sin before God will accept us." This is not the biblical understanding of salvation. The process of salvation is to hear the word, believe it and through reconsideration of who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done, depend upon Him for our salvation. 

In v.3 of today's passage we read, "For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.'"

John, the older cousin of the Lord Jesus, was the fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by Isaiah that there would be a forerunner to the Messiah. Understanding that, Matthew next wrote, "A voice of one hollering in the wilderness." John's message of turn from depending upon ourselves to turn to the Messiah whom we depend upon for our salvation was like the rebar of a newly paved street that would last on into eternity and beyond. 

Repentance is not a work we do to earn God's salvation. No one can repent and come to God for salvation unless God pulls that person to Himself. Repentance is something God gives and it is only possible because of His grace. No one can repent unless God grants repentance. All of salvation, including repentance and faith, is a result of God drawing us, opening our eyes, and changing our hearts. It is God’s patience and kindness that leads us to repentance.

In v.4-6 of today's passage we read, "4 Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins." 

John’s appearance and his food are equated here with his ministry. He came in the form of Elijah as a forerunner of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. John came preparing the way for the messianic ministry of the Lord. His words were words of coming judgment. Everything about how John is described is given to show us hints of what has already been learned from a full study of the Old Testament. 

The people of Jerusalem, despite having all of the religious leaders in that area, were spiritually bankrupt and hungry and wanted to know God. It was evident to the people who heard John's message that he spoke on the behalf of the Lord. Thus they believed and evidenced that belief by being baptized in the Jordan River for all to see. The New Testament order is always "believe and be baptized." It is not the means by which we are made right before God, baptism is God's way of having us proclaim to all others that we have by believing in His Son become right with Him.

This is the first time the word "baptized" is used in the New Testament. It is a transliteration of the Greek word meaning "to submerge." Baptism signifies full immersion. John was immersing the people "in the Jordan River" who had come to repent of their sin and were crying out to God. The word Jordan means "death" which is what sin delivers to us. John symbolically prepared the people for the coming of their Messiah by submerging them in the waters of death. 

Baptism is merely an "object lesson" of how our sins were washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Both archeology and church history testify that immersion was the mode of baptism used in the early church. The symbolism is best pictured by immersion. According to Romans 6:3-4, it pictures the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, baptism also pictures the believer's identification with the Lord Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. Our baptism announces that the old us has passed away, behold, the new us has been raised to eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Matthew 2:19-23

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19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead." 21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene." ~ Matthew 2:19-23

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 2 where we have been considering the three responses to the birth of the Lord Jesus: the faith of the Magi, the indifference of the Jewish religious leaders and the faer of Herod. In our last study, Matthew cited Jeremiah 31:15 which is a prophecy about the women of Bethlehem mourning for their children. With that now complete, Matthew points us to the next main event, the death of Herod.

In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.'"

Herod died in Jericho a horrible death whereby he suffered for years from chronic kidney disease which caused a rare infection that caused gangrene in his genitals. Josephus wrote that the pain of Herod's illness was so bad that it led him to attempt suicide by stabbing. His attempted suicide was thwarted by his cousin. Herod left three sons, and his kingdom was at his death divided between them. To Archelaus was given Judea, Idumea, and Samaria. To Philip was left Batanea and Trachonitis. And, to Antipas was given Galilee and Perea. Each of the three sons of Herod were also called Herod.

After Herod's death Mary's husband Joseph had another dream wherein God told him to return his family back to Israel. This time, however, it was outside of the land of Canaan. This proves God can speak to us anywhere at any time. It also proves that this story bears all the marks of a literal historical account, all designed to point us to the Savior of the sinful world, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In v.21-22 of today's passage we read, "21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee."

Joseph had come a long way. He once was a man who was looking for a way to secretly divorce Mary but now he was perfectly obeying each revelation that God gave to him in his four dreams. Interestingly, from this point until Matthew 12, Mary will not be mentioned again. Even then she will be mentioned in passing. Clearly the Lord Jesus is the one we should be focusing upon. This is the consistent teaching throughout the Bible. The Lord Jesus shows up in all of its 66 books. 

In his book, Gospel Formed, Jeff Medders observes that in Genesis to Deuteronomy is discovered the foundation for the Lord Jesus. In Joshua to Esther is to be discovered the preparation for the Lord Jesus. In Job to the Song of Solomon is the longing for the Lord Jesus. In Isaiah to Malachi is the expectation of the Lord Jesus. In Matthew to John is the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. In the book of Acts is the continued work and spreading of the fame of the Lord Jesus. In Romans to Jude is about living for the Lord Jesus. In the book of the Revelation is about the return, reign, and rule of the Lord Jesus.

By looking to the Lord Jesus, we will not look elsewhere. Thus, we will avoid idolatry, immorality, and all other types of sin. By looking to the Lord Jesus, we will be defined by Him. When we are found actively looking for Him in all things, we will be best positioned to make sense out of an otherwise chaotic and confusing life.

When Joseph and his family arrived back in Judea they learned that Herod's son Archelaus was now in power. Archelaus possessed a cruel and tyrannical disposition similar to his father. At one of the Passovers he caused 3,000 of the people to be put to death in the temple and city. For his crimes, after he had reigned 9 years, he was banished by Augustus, the Roman emperor, to Gaul, where he died. Through this final dream that God gave to Joseph, the Lord directed his steps to take his family to Galilee. As the Lord Jesus grew up in Nazareth, more prophecy would be fulfilled in and through his life. 

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'"

Nazareth was a small town, situated in Galilee, west of Capernaum, and not far from Cana. It was built partly in a valley and partly on the downward slope of a hill. According to John 4:46, Nazareth was a place, at that time, known for its wickedness. This man who grew up in Nazareth has fulfilled 300 Old Testament prophecies. That is enough for me to believe that He is the One all the Old Testament prophets pointed us to.

In Isaiah 9:1-2 we read, "1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined." 

That light is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. His death and resurrection are at the foundation of the gospel. The prophecies that He fulfilled concerning His death and resurrection speak loudly to validate His message. According to Exodus 12:21-23, we discover Him as the Passover Lamb. In Exodus 12:46, we learn that none of His bones would be broken. In Leviticus 17:11 we were told that He would die and pour out his blood for the atonement of sins. In Numbers 21:9 we see that He would be lifted up. In Psalm 22 we were told that He would be forsaken and mocked and that He would thirst while on the cross and that mouth would be dry and that His hands and feet would be pierced. The Lord Jesus Christ has met every criteria to be the Savior of the world.

Matthew 2:16-18

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16 When 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. 17 Then 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." Matthew 2:16-18

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 2 where we are given three responses to the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. The Magi demonstrated their faith in the new born king by traveling two years from beyond the Euphrates River. The Jewish religious leaders were just ten miles away from where the Messiah was born and they were indifferent to Him. Then there was Herod who was fearful and so threatened by the Lord Jesus that he sought to eliminate Him.

In Revelation 12, Satan is described as a dragon that was desperate to destroy the coming Child "who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron." In Revelation 12 we learn that Herod was carrying out the desires of Satan. In Revelation 12:4, we read "the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it." Satan was working through Herod to try to kill the Lord Jesus at His birth but to no avail. This only proves that the righteous sovereign plan of God will never be thwarted. 

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "When 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."

Once Herod realized that he was outwitted by the Magi, he went maniacal. The word translated as "outwitted" is a contraction of two words, "in" and "play" which literally means "to mock someone." Almost every use of this word in the Bible describes the mocking directed to another. Particularly, this word was used to describe the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman soldiers when they mocked the Lord Jesus while He was on His cross. In today's passage, it was Herod's understanding that the Magi mocked him when they departed to their own country without providing him the information he requested. Because of this, Herod was "exceedingly enraged." This word translated "furious" is used only here in the Bible. It signifies to be full of anger and seething with rage. 

Herod's anger resulted in him giving the orders "to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under." These children had done nothing deserving of death. Therefore, they were innocent in the sense that Herod unjustly had them killed. The fact that Herod did this stands as a witness to his depravity. Before we get on our high horses, though, we must be careful because such wickedness is within all of us. And, the more that we are aware of this the better. It is only due to the fact that God is in my life that I do not act on the depravity that I find within my soul more than I already do.

Sadly, in our world today, the Herod's of this world are those who support the killing of unborn children through abortion. They are the ones who target young minds for perverse agendas, like transgenderism, and who abuse little children through sexual perversion. When left unchecked evil metastasizes into maniacal chaos bent upon destruction. Of course, this is the agenda of the evil one. In John 10:10 we read, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

In v.17-18 of today's passage we read, "17 Then 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.'"

The horrible event of the killing of these children fulfilled a prophecy concerning the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem. God didn't cause this to happen, He just knew in advance this would be what Herod would do at this time. Matthew cited Jeremiah 31:15 as is seen here in v.18. Ramah was a city located five miles north of Jerusalem on the border between the Old Testament kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Jeremiah spoke of Rachel, the wife of Jacob, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin weeping to symbolize all the Jewish mothers who were weeping over their children being taken away in the Babylonian captivity in 586 B.C. Matthew quoted this passage to point us to the Jewish mothers in Bethlehem who were weeping over their children being taken away from them in death by Herod.

This passage reminds us that it is impossible to avoid the spiritual conflict that is daily raging around us. These Jewish two year old boys and younger did not deserve to die at the hands of a madman, but were murdered nonetheless because he desperately tried to destroy the Lord Jesus who was a threat to his kingdom. In one sense this was the work of a king who wanted to destroy a potential rival, but in another sense, this was the work of Satan who wanted to destroy God’s Son. Amazingly, God yet gave Herod another opportunity to side with the truth.

When the Magi came to Jerusalem and met with Herod, he was given, yet again, an opportunity to repent and to turn to God. The Magi didn’t need to approach Herod. We read later that the star actually came to rest over the very house where the Lord Jesus was located. If they had just kept following the star, they would have eventually found their way to the Lord Jesus. But they entered Jerusalem, and they spoke with Herod. That gave Herod and the spiritually bankrupt religious leaders in Jerusalem another opportunity to get right with God. The grace, mercy, and love of God is only accessed by those who are willing enough to humble themselves before Him. It is these who are the only ones who will enjoy these aspects of God but for those who reject Him, they will experience His wrath.

Matthew 2:12-15

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12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 13 When 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.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where 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.” ~ Matthew 2:12-15

Today, we return to our study of the book of Matthew. While Matthew 1 gives us the good news of the birth of the Savior, Matthew 2 gives us the different reactions to the birth of the Savior. The Magi were moved by the Scriptures to make a two year long journey in search of the Savior. The Magi, with biblical faith in their hearts, gifts in their hands, and worship in their spirit stopped at nothing to get to the virgin-born Savior. In stark contrast, the religious leaders yawned, even though they were experts on the Scriptures. They didn’t have to travel a long distance, they were near where it all happened. They had the promises that it was going to happen, but none of them made a move to journey in His direction. And then, there was Herod who was threatened by the Lord. Excitement, indifference and fear are the three responses in today’s passage of the birth of the King.

In v.12 of today's passage we read, "And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route."

The Magi came to worship the King. Then, after being divinely warned by God through a dream that Herod was a threat to their lives, the Magi traveled back home a different way. There are six different dreams recorded in Matthew’s gospel. There are a total of 21 dreams in all of the Bible. God led the Magi into His will for them through a dream. This begs the question: Does God still speak to us through our dreams? In Joel 2:28 we read, "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." If God chooses to speak to a person in a dream, the message of that dream will be consistent with, and will not contradict the teachings of the Bible. The obedience of the Magi saved their very lives.

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "When 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.'"

Then there is yet another dream. This dream through which God instructed Joseph was to take Mary and the Lord Jesus down to Egypt. Egypt was southwest of Judea about 60 miles and it was at that time a Roman province. There were many Jews still living in Egypt, holdovers from the days of Jacob’s son Joseph. God told Joseph, the husband of Mary, to take his family to Egypt and to remain there until He gave to him further instruction. 

In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where 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.'"

Joseph and his family made their departure at night. The focus here in this verse is on the obedience of Joseph, even though the Lord Jesus was the primary focus of the passage at large. There is one Mediator between God & men, the Man Christ Jesus the Lord. Joseph heard the word, and he immediately obeyed. The same Lord who spoke to Joseph through His messenger speaks to us today through a variety of means but primarily through His word. In fact, His word will always bear the litmus test to such revelation.

A word is used here in v.15 that is never used again in the Scriptures: It is the word "death." Of course, there are other words translated used in the Bible, but this one is only used this time. And, in this case, this word described Herod's death which was awful. As for the event itself, many have difficulty with the dating of Herod’s death. Herod died in the thirty-seventh year of his reign. We are not certain as to the year Herod began his reign, and hence it is impossible to determine the time that Joseph remained in Egypt. The best chronologers supposed Herod to have died somewhere between two and four years after the birth of the Lord Jesus, but the specific date has not been determined.

The words, "that it might be fulfilled, having been spoken by the Lord through the prophet," indicates that God foresaw these events and spoke of them in advance, using the prophetic word to provide His people with the assurance that what had come to pass was a part of His unfolding plan. The dream that Joseph had, their trip to Egypt, and then their return wasn’t something that occurred on the spur of the moment. Rather, it was intended to happen this way so that God could fulfill His word concerning these matters. 

As for what was spoken through the prophet, "Out of Egypt, I called my Son," this prophetic word is a reference to Hosea 11:1 which reads, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son." Matthew saw in the verse from Hosea a parallel to what happened to the Lord Jesus. None of the surrounding text follows this thought, and yet, it is repeated by Matthew because of his understanding that what happened to Israel in the Exodus was a type fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. The type was Israel who had traveled down to Egypt as recorded in Genesis 46:3. According to Exodus 3:8 Israel was called out of Egypt by the Lord. And, according to Exodus 4:22, Israel is the Lord’s firstborn son. Likewise, the Lord Jesus went down to Egypt. He was called out of Egypt by the Lord. And, He is God’s only begotten Son. 

When we read through the Old Testament, Israel is given as a type of the coming of the Lord Jesus again & again. They are equated to a vine, while the Lord Jesus described Himself as the true vine. They were to be a sort of light to the nations, while the Lord Jesus said He was the Light of the world. While the temple was the place where God would dwell among His people, the Lord Jesus was the true Temple and dwelling place of God. On and on throughout Scripture, such patterns are seen. But not all of them are explicitly highlighted in the New Testament. 

In citing the words of Hosea as Matthew did in this verse, it is a call for those who read Scripture to look for other such connections as well. The Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of what Israel anticipated. In understanding this, and in looking for types and pictures from the Old Testament Scriptures, we can gain a fuller understanding of the Person and the work of the Lord Jesus as detailed in the New Testament. One of the things about properly elicited typology from the Old Testament is that it helps settle what is to be considered sound theology in the New. It is argued whether there is still a role in the world for Israel the nation or has the church replaced them.

In properly understanding types and pictures from the Old Testament, it becomes perfectly clear that Israel the nation has a future role in redemptive history. Like the Jewish religious leaders we can choose to believe in a god of our own making or we can believe in the God of the Bible with whom we are often perplexed because we lack all of the knowledge it takes to believe. Like Nero, we can improperly fear God or we like the Magi can bow down and worship with reverence. The choice is clearly ours.

Matthew 2:3-11

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3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah. Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also." 9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ~ Matthew 2:3-11

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 2 where the Magi have come from the east of Jerusalem on a two year trip to worship the King of the Jews, the Lord Jesus Christ. When they arrived in Jerusalem the Magi inquired from the Jewish religious leaders where the King of the Jews would be born. Evidently, the Jewish religious leaders told Herod of the Magi's inquiry and that alarmed him deeply. In today's passage, we are given the details of how Herod responded to the coming of "the King of the Jews."

In v.3 of today's passage we read, "When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him."

Herod’s father was named Antipater who had helped Julius Caesar win a battle over the Egyptians, so Julius Caesar gave to Antipater the area of Judea to rule over as a gift. Antipater then put his son Herod in charge who was then given a Roman army to rule over Judea. Herod at that time gave to himself the title, "The King of the Jews." When Herod discovered that the Magi had traveled so far to make a visit to the child they referred to as "the King of the Jews" he was literally shaken to his core. All of Jerusalem was disturbed because they knew how erratic Herod was when he was threatened.

Herod came from the other side of the Dead Sea in the country of Jordan. He was an Idumean which made him an Edomite, a descendent of Esau. The Jews hated Herod. Since Herod was so hated by the Jews, he did a lot of things to try to garner their favor. For example, he built for them a temple in Jerusalem. He also married a Jewish girl. 

Since Herod was so paranoid, he sought to kill anyone who threatened his kingdom. In fact, he eventually killed his wife because he didn't trust her. He killed his two oldest sons so they couldn't take his throne. He also killed his brother-in-law because he thought he was trying to steal his kingdom. It was so bad that when Herod was on his deathbed, he ordered all of the prominent citizens of Jerusalem to be executed when he died, this would mean there would be mourning in Judea when Herod died. All of this explains Herod's paranoia when the Magi came. 

In v.4-6 of today's passage we read, "4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah. Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

Bethlehem is where King David had grown up. This is why Bethlehem is known as the City of David. Bethlehem means the place of bread, it was the breadbasket of Israel. The best wheat was grown in those valleys around Bethlehem. In v.5-6 Matthew quoted Micah 5:2. This meant God had told all who cared to know that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Along with their study of Micah 5:2 and other Old Testament passages like Daniel 9 the Magi from the east knew the whereabouts and the timing of the Messiah's birth. So, they came seeking "the King of the Jews."

Sadly, the religious leaders of Israel did not make the short trek to Bethlehem when the Lord Jesus was born. Like them, we can know a lot about the Bible, we can even quote chapter and verse and yet miss the main point which is a personal relationship with God. The religious leaders of Israel were inoculated with a knowledge of the Bible and they were rendered immune from God. They got just enough of the Bible but they were inoculated to the truth. Being exposed to the truth isn’t enough. We must repent and allow God penetration into our heart. The only avenue through which we can access a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ is only through humility. Humility allows us to give up on our way and embrace God's way.

In v.7-8 of today's passage we read, "7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.'"

Earlier to this moment, Herod had secretly petitioned the wise men to determine from them what time the star appeared to them. He sent them to Bethlehem, instructing them to search carefully for the young Child and once they had found Him, to bring back word to him, that he might come & worship the Lord also. Herod pretended to be a worshipper. It is people like Herod who will hear the words "Depart from me for I never knew you" from the Lord Jesus. Our faith in the Lord Jesus enables us to move into such a relationship with the Lord that He knows us in a relational way resulting in our access into His presence eternally.

In v.9-11 of today's passage we read, "9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

At this point, the baby had become "the young Child." And, the Magi worshipped the Lord Jesus only. They didn't worship anyone else, including Mary. And, when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him including gold, frankincense and myrrh. These three gifts were the richest of gifts that could be offered to a newborn king. They gave to the Lord Jesus gold which stood for His kingly status. Within the Tabernacle and the Temple was the Most Holy Place also known as the Holy of Holies. It was the place where the priest would encounter the presence of God and offer a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. The Most Holy Place and the altar within it were completely overlaid with gold.

The frankincense given to the Lord Jesus points us to His divinity, and the myrrh His sacrificial death. Frankincense is a gum resin that priests offered with the meal offering. It denoted the Lord Jesus as the great high priest. Interestingly, frankincense hardens into these little crystals and it doesn't give off its scent except when crushed. When it is crushed, it gives off a sweet aroma. In Isaiah 53:5 we read, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Like frankincense, myrrh was made from a gum resin, dried and compressed and burnt to produce an aromatic smell. Myrrh was also used as an embalming fluid. When the Lord Jesus died, 100 pounds of spice myrrh it says and aloes were mixed for His burial. And, without His sacrifice there would be no hope for any of us because we would still be found in our sin. It was through His cross that God forgave us of our sin. This means that having trusted in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, hope remains supreme because our sin has been forgiven.

Matthew 2:1-2

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1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." ~ Matthew 2:1-2

Today, we return to our study of Matthew. The second chapter of Matthew's gospel begins with, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea." With these words, Matthew points us to the prophecy found in Micah 5:2 which reads, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."

Micah was a contemporary of the prophet, Isaiah, and his book is of a similar style. The book of Micah is often called "Isaiah in miniature" because it is a much briefer presentation of essentially the same message as the prophecy of Isaiah. Micah means "Who is like YHWH?" When the wise men came out of the East looking for the one born king of the Jews, they asked, "Where is he that is born king of the Jews?" The chief priests of Israel said to the wise men, "You will find him in Bethlehem." The chief priests knew this because 700 years before, Micah had informed them.

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem."

It was "in days of Herod the king" that this happened. Judea was a province of the Roman Empire which the Romans had seized about 63 years before the birth of the Lord Jesus. Herod received his appointment to rule Judea, and had reigned at the time of the birth of the Lord Jesus for 34 years. Herod was commonly called "Herod the Great" because he had distinguished himself by displaying great talents in governing and defending his country. Many of the Jews liked Herod because he helped to repair their Jewish temple. 

The words, "Behold, wise men" in v.1 have been widely misunderstood. Although in most manger scenes the wise men were at the birth of the Lord Jesus. This is inaccurate information as we will see that they arrived up to two years after the baby Jesus was born. In fact, there were more than three wise men, perhaps as many as 12. These wise men came from the east of Israel where the great empire that replaced the Babylonians was located. Daniel and his friends had been exiled to Babylon in 605 BC. However, Babylon was overrun by the Medes & Persians. When Babylon was destroyed, the new empire received all of the ancient Jewish writings which would have been incorporated into their empire. The Bible does not say how many wise men there were. The Bible does not mention their names, because their names do not matter. What matters is what they did when they arrived in Bethlehem. What matters is that they sought out the Lord Jesus Christ and they honored and worshiped Him.

A careful reading of Isaiah 44 reveals they possessed the book of Isaiah. Therefore, the ancient prophecy of a coming Messiah would have been known to these wise men. Of them, Matthew notes that they were "from the East." This prepositional phrase is most accurately translated "from sun risings." And note that the verse goes on with, "they came to Jerusalem." This means they saw the star from the east as they looked to the west and they followed it. Then, the Magi asked about "the King of the Jews." It is significant that they didn’t inquire specifically about the Messiah. Then, they asked where the King would be born. They were biblically informed about the Messiah. Many today reject the Lord Jesus because they are biblically ill-informed about Him.

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.'"

The words of the wise men came in the form of a question, but their words are also just as much were an assertion. By stating it as they did, they proclaimed that they were certain that the person they were looking for existed. Their question wasn’t, "Has He come?" Rather it was, "Where is He?" Understanding this, they continue with, "has been born?" Again, their question was an assertion. They did not ask, "Where is the King who has been coronated?" Instead, their question was about His birth. Amazingly, God arranged the sky to announce the coming of His Son. He used the stars to shout the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. He directed nature and the nations toward His purpose of solving mankind's problem with sin and death.

The Magi had studied Daniel 9 and their study prompted them to accept that a divinely appointed birth had taken place for the One who was the Messiah and who would be the "King of the Jews." The reason for their worship of Him is next explained in their statement, "For we have seen His star" which was referred to in Numbers 24:17-19. God spoke to the Magi in a language they understood. From studying this star they were able to decipher the general whereabouts of the coming King by His star.

The Jewish religious leaders attempted to hide the fact that the Lord Jesus fit the biblical narrative. Had they really been students of the Old Testament and had they believed its message, they would have been there in Bethlehem to greet the Messiah. By doing as they did, they established the assertion that the Lord Jesus was not the promised Messiah although He fit every description given by God in His word. These supposed men of God missed the fact that their Creator had woven Himself in the robe of virgin flesh.

The Bible records the facts, and they are sufficient for us to know that Christ has come according to the plan and purposes of God. The spiritual journey made by the Magi is a journey that is required of anyone who is to enter the kingdom of God. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Regardless of who you are, where you grew up, whether you are wealthy or poor, to know the Lord Jesus is to bow down and to become low, to recognize your sinfulness and your helplessness, and to receive God’s free gift of forgiveness of sin through His grace. God’s Word says that one day everyone will be a worshiper. Every knee will bow, but for those who have resisted the Lord Jesus as King, it will be too late. For the truly wise we do well to bow and worship while there is still time.