Small Town Savior - Week 3 - 12/15/24

Matthew 2:1-18
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 saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 

6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, 

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; 

for from you shall come a ruler 

who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. 

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, 

weeping and loud lamentation, 

Rachel weeping for her children; 

she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Matthew’s Gospel includes a narrative about wise men from the east and the reigning king of Judea, Herod the Great. We find the men following a celestial phenomenon that would lead them ultimately to Bethlehem, where they would find Jesus as a young child. This journey would have them cross paths with Herod, who was made King of Judea by the Romans and considered at that time, because of Judea’s mostly Jewish population, King of the Jews. The wise men would bring Jesus gifts and worship him, while the response from the chief priest, the scribes, and Herod the King were quite different. 

The Faith Of Outsiders
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Matthew 2:1–2 “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 saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.””
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At the time of Jesus’ birth, there was a general expectation that a ruler would come from this region.
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A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Volume 1 ((iii) Exegesis) The story of the star and of magi from the east seeking a king would not have been foreign to the ancients. In the first place, according to both Suetonius and Tacitus, at the turn of the era there was abroad the expectation of a world-ruler to come from Judea 

People in general were looking for a savior - not only Jews who were living under Roman rule.
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Clarification on the Wise men: There is no indication that they were kings or that there were only three.
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The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 24: Matthew (The Witness of the Wise Men) It is believed that the magi came from Persia and were a tribe of priests. Herodotus says that the magi were originally a tribe of Medians who had tried to overthrow the Persian Empire but failed and became among the Persians a priestly tribe much like the Levites in Israel. These magi became the teachers of the Persian kings and were skilled in philosophy and science. They were known as men of holiness and wisdom and were interpreters of dreams. 

This is the first indication that gentiles would also worship Jesus and his own people would end up rejecting him.  They traveled for the purpose of finding the new king and worshiping him with gifts. 

Matthew 2:9–11 “9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” 

The gifts, although probably not intended, would be a foreshadowing of Christ as King, Priest, and Sacrificial Lamb. Gold was a gift fit for a king, frankincense for a priest who would use the perfume in temple sacrifices, and myrrh for preparation of the dead. It would be similar spices that the women would carry to the tomb of Jesus on the morning of the third day.
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The attitude of the wise men is found in stark contrast to that of the insiders in Jerusalem. 

The Ignorance of Insiders
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Matthew 2:1–6 “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 saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”” 

The wise men were confident that the astrological anomaly was leading them to a significant find in the region, but they were not aware of the prophecies that pointed directly to Bethlehem in Judea. They were seeking the new king of the Jews but had no knowledge beyond that.
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The irony is thick in this section of Matthew’s account. The people with the right genealogy and knowledge failed to recognize or worship Christ as King, but foreigners without the full story had prepared gifts and were willing to bow down in his presence.  The Jewish chief priest and scribes showed no interest even after being informed by people outside of their culture and field of expertise.
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The danger for modern church attenders is that we can become so familiar with the story that we fail to worship. The story is memorized, but there was never any devotion to Christ that would elicit worship. God will not settle for less; he will simply invite others. 

Matthew 22:1–8 “1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.”
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Matthew 22:9–10 “9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.” 

A simple head knowledge of who Christ is and what he has done is not sufficient unless it leads us to worship.

The Fear of the Powerful
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Matthew 2:16–18 “16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.””
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Herod was at this time a paranoid ruler constantly in fear of losing his position. He was at best half Jewish and not in his position because of his heritage but because of his loyalty to Rome. There was no guarantee of royal lineage for his children, and the older he got, the more paranoid he became. He had one of his wives, his mother, and two of his sons murdered, and when he was approaching death, he had some of the elite citizens of Jerusalem arrested with an order to execute them upon his death so as to ensure there would be tears shed when he died. Augustus, the Roman Emperor, said it was more safe to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son.
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If Herod believed the chief priest and scribes, along with the confirmation of the arrival of the magi inquiring about the event, he would be in full panic mode. God was now supplanting his rule that was propped up by the Romans with the one true king.
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Herod’s response is the most drastic of all. The wise man came to worship, the chief priest and the scribes at this time seem unconcerned, but Herod is in full defense mode, willing to wipe out a generation of young boys from a small, otherwise insignificant town outside the center of power in Jerusalem.  When power is the thing that we are most concerned to protect, it will be the people around us that will pay the price.
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Jesus is the example of a true leader who will willingly sacrifice himself for the sake of those around him.  When God sends Jesus, he does not arrive to the powerful or intelligent in Jerusalem who are unconcerned or fearful. He arrives in the small town of Bethlehem, where outsiders freely come and worship, and when the insiders ultimately kill him, he rises again to invite outsiders to worship.