Matthew 2:1-12 The Extended Family Portrait

Matthew 2:1-12 The Extended Family Portrait

Nathan Wakefield / General

Portraits of the King / Matthew 2:1-12

The guests who came to visit Jesus remind us that The Lion of Judah is King of Creation.

Theological Proposition/Focus: The guests who came to visit Jesus remind us that The Lion of Judah is King of Creation. We honor the King who came to us by recognizing His lordship and presenting our best to Him, just as the Magi did.

Christ Focus: This passage connects to the overarching narrative of Scripture, showing how God reveals Himself to all nations, pointing to Christ as the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning His universal kingship.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: This sermon can encourage Christians to consider how they recognize Jesus in their lives and what gifts they can offer Him in worship. It can also challenge them to reveal their faith in a world that often overlooks Christ's sovereignty.

Introduction

Image: Family Christmas Pictures

How does your family do Christmas pictures? Who all is involved?

Setting the Stage:

One of the things I always enjoy when we get to major church holidays is looking at the way different characters are portrayed. One particularly interesting group is the Magi.

Not all scholars agree on the details, but the story of wise men from the east is a classic.

We don't know the exact identity of these men nor do we know exactly where they came from. We don't know exactly how they knew to expect the King of the Jews to be born. We don't even know how many there were.

What we do know is that a group of significant men came from the East, and it is that story that we study today. These magi were not Jews but rather gentiles, reminding us that Jesus is for everyone.

Body

Seek the Sovereign — The birth of the Savior is an event of global significance (1-2).

The recognition of Jesus as a King is significant. The Magi traveled from afar to pay homage to a King they had never met. In this, we see God revealing Jesus as the King to all nations. We are encouraged to ask ourselves how we acknowledge Jesus' lordship in our lives and follow their example by seeking Him earnestly.

God's plan involves offering salvation to every person (1).

Verse 1 begins with a genitive absolute used temporally. That is, the events of Chapter 1 are the primary event, and what is described in Chapter 2 is made to follow-up on those events. Jesus is the main event, but we should not just stop with the birth of Jesus; there is so much more, and it matters.

With the stage set, we are ready to introduce the pivotal fact: a priestly class of magicians and astrologers known as Magi had arrived. These men had come to Jerusalem. What we learn is that worship of Jesus was something not just for Jews but for the whole world. What we also learn is that these men must not have been familiar with Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." since they arrived in Jerusalem, not Bethlehem.

Through this, I am reminded that God's plan was for Jesus to be accessible to everyone.

Jesus is the rightful King of the Jews (2a).

Matthew also helps us understand the time period and situation by telling us that all of this happened during King Herod's time. Herod the Great was born in 73 BC and was named King of Judah in 37 BC. Herod was known for his jealousy and paranoia.

The phrase, "It is safer to be Herod's pig than his son," is attributed to the Roman historian Suetonius and is an important example of how ruthless Herod was, even toward his own family. This saying plays on a word pun in Greek: hys (pig) and huios (son), highlighting Herod's reputation for ruthlessness, even towards his own family. Herod, a practicing Jew, would not eat pork (making pigs safe), but he did not hesitate to execute several of his sons whom he perceived as threats to his throne.

In verse 2, the magi make a significant statement: "Where is the one who was born the King of the Jews?" This statement was nothing short of offensive but also warrants a little more discussion of how Herod had gained the throne.

- Around 47 BCE, Herod was appointed governor of Galilee by his father, with Roman approval. He quickly demonstrated his administrative and military capabilities by suppressing banditry.

- After Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BCE, Herod aligned himself with the Roman general Mark Antony.

- In 40 BCE, with the support of Mark Antony and the Roman Senate, Herod was declared King of Judea. This appointment was partly a Roman strategy to counter Parthian influence in the region.

- Herod solidified his power through strategic marriages (including marrying a Hasmonean princess, Mariamne), extensive building projects, and maintaining strong ties with Rome, particularly after aligning with Octavian (Augustus) following the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE.

In other words, Herod was not the people's ruler but a shrewd politician. In contrast, Jesus was the rightful King of the Jews.

Jesus is worthy of universal worship (2b).

The ultimate slap in the face to Herod comes when these men of significance tell Herod that they are here, not to pay honor to Herod, but to worship this new King of the Jews.

Through some means, these astrologers saw something in the sky and assumed it was of significance for the Jewish throne. Various people have made various proposals for what the Magi saw: a supernova, a work of God, or something else, but what really matters of significance is that they saw something that led them to believe God was acting in Israel.

The proper response to the work of God is nothing short of worship.

Image: Events of Global Significance

It's not often that we're exposed to an event truly of global significance. Sure, we have major elections in superpowers. The Olympics are significant, but really, nothing compares to the birth of Jesus.

Shock at the Significance — The birth of the Savior is an event of local significance (3-6).

Herod's fear of the news of Jesus' birth reminds us that Jesus has local influence in addition to global influence. The local ruling powers were troubled when confronted with Christ's kingship. We are challenged to consider how the arrival of King Jesus might disrupt our lives and to stand firm in our faith despite opposition.

The Messiah was promised to come from the line of David and was incredibly significant to the Jews (3, Isaiah 9:6-7).

Some more details on Herod are helpful as we consider this next passage of Scripture. The text tells us that "When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed." The title "King" is significant; later in the text, Herod will be called by his name Herod (as in verse 7), but right now, Matthew wants to draw our attention to the contrast between the one "born king of the Jews" and "King Herod."

To better understand this contrast, let's look at Isaiah 9:6-7 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."

The rightful ruler of the Jews was to be a king descended from the line of David. Now a little more on Herod.

Herod was not a rightful king of the Jews. Specifically, he was not a descendant of Jacob, let alone David. Herod was an Edomite, that is, a descendant of Esau, Jacob's brother. For this reason, most of the Jews showed great hatred for Herod despite the things he had done for the region, like updating the temple.

If someone had been born King of the Jews, this was locally significant as there was a candidate to usurp the power to which Herod clung so tightly.

On the grand scale, Jesus was the Savior, but locally, accepting Jesus might have radically changed the power that Herod and other Jewish leaders held so tightly, and so all Jerusalem was disturbed at this news.

The Messiah was destined to rule (4-6).

We already looked at