Matthew 2 -- A Little Fact-Checking About Christmas Lore

My commentary reminds us that some of our Christmas images are somewhat inaccurate.  There were wise men who sought out Jesus because of the star, but they weren't kings.  We don't know how many there were, either.  People assumed there were three because of the three gifts mentioned.  "But when their caravan arrived in Jerusalem, there were enough of them to trouble the whole city."  They were also Gentiles.

"King Herod was not a full-blooded Jew; he was actually an Idumaean, a descendant of Esau.  This was a picture of the old struggle between Esau and Jacob that began even before the boys were born," it said.

"The magi were seeking the King; Herod was opposing the King; and the Jewish priests were ignoring the King.  These priests knew the Scriptures and pointed others to the Savior, but they would not go to worship Him themselves!  They quoted Micah 5:2 but did not obey it.  They were five miles from the very Son of God, yet they did not go to see Him!  The Gentiles sought and found Him, but the Jews did not."

By the time the wise men arrived, "Joseph had moved Mary and the baby from the temporary dwelling where the Lord Jesus had been born.  The traditional manger scenes that assemble together the shepherds and wise men are not true to Scripture, since the magi arrived much later."

Herod wanted to destroy the newborn King.  God warned Joseph to flee to Egypt with his family.  "Egypt was close.  There were many Jews there, and the treasures received from the magi would more than pay the expenses for traveling and living there."  I'd never even thought of what became of them!  And Joseph's obedience fulfilled another prophecy:  "I called My Son out of Egypt."

The wise men, warned by God, went home a different way, so Herod didn't learn from them where Jesus was living.  To cover his bases, Herod had all boys under two in Bethlehem killed.  My commentary estimated the number to be close to twenty, based on the size of the town.

Herod died in 4 B.C.  His son Archelaus took his place.  "The Jews discovered that, in spite of his promises of kindness, Archelaus was as wicked as his father.  So they sent a delegation to Rome to protest his crowning.  Augustus Caesar agreed with the Jews and made Archelaus an ethnarch over half of his father's kingdom ... Joseph knew that he and his family were no safer under the rule of Archelaus than they had been under Herod the Great ... Common sense told him to be careful; faith told him to wait.  In due time, God spoke to Joseph in a dream, and he took his wife and her Son to Nazareth, which had been their home earlier."

God Himself was sovereign, weaving the prophecies into the life of His Son, proving that He was the Son of God.  Thank You for bringing my Savior to this world, Father, to pay for my sins to assure me of life forever with You!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford