King of the Jews. — KEN D. MILLER

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. – Matthew 2:1-12 ESV

Matthew is out to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah of the Jews. He has provided a genealogical record showing that Jesus was a Jew, having descended directly from Abraham, the great patriarch of the Hebrew people. But, not only that, Jesus was a direct descendant of King David, from the tribe of Judah, making Him a legal heir to the throne. But Matthew makes it clear that Jesus was not just an ordinary man who could lay claim to David’s crown, because of His birth-right. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin girl. He was the God-man. And He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies which had long predicted His coming. In chapter one, Matthew quotes from Isaiah 7:14, clearly believing that Jesus was the ultimate subject of the prophecy.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14 ESV

The birth of Jesus had been a miracle, a supernatural work of God that had set Him apart as more than just a man. His birth had God-ordained, Spirit-empowered, and out-of-the-ordinary. And in chapter two, Matthew continues to support his claim that Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah by quoting from the book of Micah.

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. – Micah 5:2 ESV

Matthew has established to whom Jesus was born, proving His Hebrew lineage and royal pedigree. Now, he deals with the place of Jesus’ birth. Once again, Matthew utilizes Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah to support his claim that Jesus was the one God had foretold and the Jews had long-awaited. Jesus was born in in Bethlehem of Judea, a small and seemingly insignificant city located in the land of Judah. But Bethlehem, which means, “house of bread,” was far from insignificant. It was the birthplace of David, the king. We know from Luke’s Gospel, that Joseph and Mary had traveled to Bethlehem in order to satisfy a royal decree by Caesar Augustus that each Jew should travel to their ancestral town in order to be registered.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. – Luke 2:4-5 ESV

King David had been born in Bethlehem some 1,000 years earlier and Matthew wants his readers to know that Jesus, the rightful heir to David’s throne was born in the very same place. From this obscure village had come the great king, David. And from this same unexpected spot had come the King of kings and Lord of lords – the Messiah.

But Matthew reveals that when Jesus came, there was another king reigning: Herod. Commonly referred to as Herod the Great, this man was an Idumaean or Edomite, a descendant of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. While Esau had been the first-born and legitimate heir to his father’s inheritance, God had chosen to replace him with Jacob. And God, speaking through the prophet, Malachi, reminded the descendants of Israel that it would be through Jacob, not Esau, that His love would manifest itself.

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob's brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated.” – Malachi 1:2-3 ESV

Herod, an Edomite, was not a descendant of Jacob. And the only reason he was on the throne was because the Roman Senate had placed him there in 40 B.C. He was a puppet king, answering to the Romans and despised by the Jews. So, when Jesus was born, there was a usurper to the throne, masquerading as the king of the Jews. And his presence would prove to be dangerous for the newly born Messiah.

The story of the magi or wisemen is meant to support Matthew’s claim of Jesus having been the Messiah. These men were foreigners and most likely astronomers, who had somehow discovered the prophecies concerning the coming king of Jews through their study of the Hebrew Scriptures. We know little about these men, including where they came from. But they had traveled a great distance to find “he who has been born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2 ESV). Naturally, having arrived in Israel, they had made their way to Jerusalem. There, they raised the curiosity of Herod, the ruling king, with their questions about this newly born king of the Jews. Herod did his homework and discovered for himself the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Sending for the Magi, he persuaded them that he too wanted to worship this new king and asked them to send word of his location once they had located him.

“Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” – Matthew 2:8 ESV

Following a “star” – what must have been a supernatural cosmic sign provided by God, the Magi found the child and worshiped Him, showering Him with expensive gifts fit for royalty. These Gentile foreigners bowed down before an obscure, unknown infant located in a nondescript village in the middle nowhere. They had no clue as to the real identity of this Jewish baby boy. They were not worshiping Him as the Son of God or the Savior of the world, but as “he who has been born king of the Jews.” God had revealed to them Jesus’ kingship. These non-Jews were among the first to recognize the royal pedigree of this Jewish baby boy born in relative obscurity to a young virgin girl. And having worshiped Him, they went their way, refusing to reveal to Herod the baby’s location because of a warning they had received from God in a dream.

It’s interesting to note that the Magi did not ask for the location of the one who was to become king of the Jews. They referenced him as “he who has been born king of the Jews.” He was king by right. He had been born a king, not appointed one like Herod. They were declaring this child to be the rightful king of the Jews, a fact that did not escape Herod and which caused him great anxiety.

And it should not escape us that, when Herod wanted to know more about this coming king of the Jews, he assembled “the chief priests and scribes of the people” and “he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born” (Matthew 2:4 ESV). It was these religious leaders and experts in the Hebrew Scriptures who referred him to the words of the prophet Micah. The Jewish religious leaders knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but they had no idea that this long-awaited event had just taken place. It was a group of Gentiles from a distant land whom God gave knowledge of the truth concerning the birth of Jesus and the privilege of worshiping the newly born King of the Jews.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Ken Miller