Notes on Matthew 2.1-12 Epiphany Sunday January 5
Five groups of people feature in this passage.
1. The Magi: They were astronomers and astrologers from somewhere east of Judah, maybe Persia, or Babylon, we don’t know. They are very impressed with a new star they see in the sky. They think it is connected with a new king of the Jews. So significant is it that they travel to pay their respects to the new king. They travel to the Jewish capital, ask directions and are told to go to Bethlehem. When they find the child they offer gifts and show their respect by bowing down and giving worship. The gifts are nit symbolic. They are just very good gifts appropriate to a foreign king.
Notice that the star does not provide them with enough information. It just starts them off on their search. They need help from the people in Jerusalem who know the story of the Messiah. The worship of the child is also very elementary. They don’t know much. There is much more to learn about this king. Later others will take the whole story of the King Jesus to their land, and from there it will be taken further east as far as China.
2. Herod the Great: was a great builder. He was also very cruel and ruthless. When he hears that the Magi are looking of a new king of the Jews, he connects this with the Messiah. He asks the scholars about where the Messiah is to be born. He does this privately. He also speak to the Magi privately. He wants them to find the child and tell him. He says he wants to worship the child, but he really wants to kill him (2.16). He is simply opposed to any rule but his own (like all human beings).
3. The Religious Scholars: the chief priests and the teachers of the law are asked where the Messiah is to be born. They know the prophecy of Micah. They also know what the Magi are searching for, because all of Jerusalem knows. But they don’t seem to have any interest in connecting the two things. They don’t seem to be interested in the birth of the Messiah. They seem happily caught up in their own religious world. As though their religious action and knowledge was an end in itself. They may be like the person who thinks, “What we know is all we need to know.”
4. The child Jesus (and Mary his mother): although he doesn’t say anything the child is the centre of the story. He attracts:
- respect and worship from the foreigners
- deadly opposition from Herod the ruler
- passive non- interest from the religious leaders
But according to Micah, he is the ruler who will shepherd God’s people. The Messiah, God’s anointed ruler and saviour.
5. The readers: We are part of this story too. As we hear the story, we need to decide what we will do about it. Will we:
- passively ignore it, leave it in its Christmas box
- be hostile to this king, even in a polite way
- pay our respects, but keep our independence
- do what the Magi pointed us to: to worship him with our life
Dale