Here’s my latest video for busy women who want to learn more about the Bible:
Any views, likes, and comments on Youtube are appreciated, and I would love if you could pass this content on to a woman in your life who wants to learn more about how to understand the Bible.
A few notes on Matthew 2:1-12:
Main point: Jesus is THE King. And like the pagan priests who came to bow before Him, all will bow to Him in the end.
Passage break down:
- Wise men come from Jerusalem seeking Jesus (v. 1-2)
- Herod’s plotting (v. 3-8)
- Wise men find Jesus (v. 9-12)
The Greek word we translate as wise men is “magoi” which might make you think of a “magician.” The wise mean came from a high caste of pagan priests, who used astrology, wisdom literature, and magical incantations to understand the present times and make predictions.
The wise men knew the appearance of a new star meant a powerful ruler was being born, and brought gifts of items used to build Solomon’s temple. It can be argued that this connects Jesus with Old Testament kings.
Further reading:
Philippians 2:9-11
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Micah 5:2 (prophesy that Matthew cites) in context:
Chapter 4
In that day, declares the Lord,
I will assemble the lame
and gather those who have been driven away
and those whom I have afflicted;
7 and the lame I will make the remnant,
and those who were cast off, a strong nation;
and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
from this time forth and forevermore.
8 And you, O tower of the flock,
hill of the daughter of Zion,
to you shall it come,
the former dominion shall come,
kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Now why do you cry aloud?
Is there no king in you?
Has your counselor perished,
that pain seized you like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you shall go out from the city
and dwell in the open country;
you shall go to Babylon.
There you shall be rescued;
there the Lord will redeem you
from the hand of your enemies.
11 Now many nations
are assembled against you,
saying, “Let her be defiled,
and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh,
O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn iron,
and I will make your hoofs bronze;
you shall beat in pieces many peoples;
and shall devote[c] their gain to the Lord,
their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
Chapter 5
1Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
on the cheek.
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
Classic Reads 