The Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 2:11-18)

(The Wise Men Present Gifts to Jesus)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. How many wise men came from the East to see Baby Jesus?
2. Why did the wise men bring Jesus gifts, and what did the gifts represent?
3. Why did the wise men decide not to return to Herod?
4. Why did Jesus’ parents decide to leave Judea and go to Egypt?
5. Joseph and Mary were poor people. How were they able to go to Egypt and spend up to a year or more there?
6. There is a problem in Matthew 2:18. The problem is that Rama is not Bethlehem; it was 30 miles to the East of Bethlehem where children under two were put to death by Herod?
7. How is the Jeremiah problem reconciled?
8. What is the positive side of Matthew’s quote from Jeremiah concerning weeping and sorrow?

Introduction

In today’s study, the wise men bring gifts to Jesus. Traditionally we think of only three wise men, but there were probably many of them. They had traveled likely by camel, going an average of about 10 miles per day, and it is not sure where they were coming from or how far. It was from the East; Therefore, it was several hundred miles through desolate country. It is hard to imagine traveling that far by camelback over rugged and sometimes desolate terrain to see Jesus. That kind of dedication is somewhat rare today. Some Christians won’t venture out on Sunday morning in the rain to worship Jesus. Jesus does expect us to sacrifice in our dedication and service to Him. We will see that later in the study.

Matthew 2:11-12 “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.”

The star leads the wise men to where Joseph, Mary, and the Child Jesus are. According to Christmas cards, the wise men were at the manger with the shepherds, but here it says they were in a house; it makes sense they are in a home instead of a stable at this point. It’s been at least a year since the wise men first saw the star. Jesus is not an infant in a manger anymore; by now, he’s a toddler, and the family has found a home to rent after the crowd who came to Bethlehem for taxing purposes are gone home.

After worshipping the Lord, the wise men gave Jesus gifts, for it was the custom that day. When dignitaries from a foreign land came to pay respects to a more excellent king, they brought gifts. It wasn’t proper to give a king just any gift. It must be a gift worthy of them, something that reflects their honor and importance. They gave Jesus gifts that symbolized His glory. Because there were three types of gifts, people assume there were three wise men, but there were probably many.

The first type of gift they gave Jesus was gold: Obviously, gold was precious at that time, just as it is today. Gold was a symbol of Kingship. We don’t know how much gold they gave Jesus, but even a tiny amount of it was precious. One Roman gold coin of that day, called an aureus, would be worth about $3,300 today. So, Jesus’ family probably received a considerable amount of money. God the Father providentially provided money to cover their traveling expense and the money they would need to become established in Egypt. Maybe we sometimes forget that it is God who provides our needs. We need not be anxious or worried about not having all we need. God is a loving and dependable God.

The second type of gift was a valuable spice called frankincense: Frankincense is a resin produced from the sap of certain trees in Arabia and Africa. When burned, it creates a strong odor. It was the main ingredient in the incense God commanded burned on the altar of incense in the tabernacle, Exodus 30:34. The priests would burn the frankincense, and its smoke would rise in front of the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, and drift over into the Holies of Holies, in the presence of the mercy seat of God; in that way, burning incense became a picture or symbol of our prayers. Revelation chapter 5:8 (KJV) tells us that our prayers rise like incense to God: “And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God….”

The third type of gift they gave Jesus was myrrh: This was not a gift you would think suitable for a baby; nevertheless, Jesus was a special baby. Myrrh is another resin spice that comes from the sap of a different tree. Myrrh is also native to Arabia and was quite expensive. Myrrh was also used in the tabernacle service, Exodus 30:23. But its most common use was in making an anointing oil used on dead bodies in preparation for burial. It was to help cover the odor of a decomposing body for the time being. They would also prepare the body with spices and oil. Jesus’ body received this treatment after He died. So, these men bring Jesus a symbol of His coming death, a death that would become a payment for their sin as well as our own.

What faith these men had in Jesus! These wise men, perhaps from Babylon, Israel’s former enemy, traveled a long distance to worship the Jewish Messiah. They were gentiles but also true believers. They were willing to acknowledge Jesus’ coming death as a sacrifice for their sins. These men knew Jesus was their eternal King, their High Priest, and their Sacrificial Lamb. They gave Him gifts to represent all three. And in the process, God used these men to make Jesus’ poor family temporarily financially stable.

The wise men decided not to return to Herod because they were warned in a dream. In last week’s study, Matthew showed us the contrast between Herod’s reaction to Jesus and the wise men’s response: Herod called himself the king of the Jews, even though he was not a true Jew, and he was not interested in having the true king of the Jews as His Lord, or have Jesus, take over his throne. His concern was obviously for the future because he was at the end of his life. He had already killed three of his sons to make sure they did not inherit the throne.

Herod was neither in David’s genealogy to be heir to the throne, nor was he in the genealogy of Abraham through Jacob to be a part of the promised nation of Israel. Jesus is the promised King through David’s family line, and He is God’s promised Savior from Abraham’s family line to all countries. Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of Abraham.

Matthew 2:12-13 “And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.” The wise men did not know the character of Herod nor his evil intentions. They probably thought he was sincere when he said he wanted to worship Jesus. Nevertheless, God warned them in a dream to go a different way home.And when the wise men were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the LORD by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”

As the wise men depart, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream. For the second time, Joseph receives instructions from an angel. The first time an angel told Joseph that Mary’s story about being pregnant by the Holy Spirit was true. The second time, the angel warns Joseph he must flee to Egypt to escape Herod Because Herod will try to kill baby Jesus. The threat is imminent, so the angel tells Joseph to get up immediately from his sleep, not to wait for the morning but to go that night. Herod’s plan to kill the children below two years of age would begin the next day. Joseph obeys the angel and wakes Mary; they pack their things and start their journey to Egypt during the night.

Matthew 2:14-15, “When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt. So, they were in Egypt until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the LORD by the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” The Bible does not say where their destination was other than Egypt. It was only 60 miles to the Egyptian border where they would be safe from Herod and out of reach of Herod’s authority. The journey would take 3 or 4 days. It would be several months before Herod died, as we see in verse 15. 

The lavish gifts the wise men provided, worth thousands of dollars, would keep them until they returned to Israel, where Joseph would set up his carpenter shop. In v.25, Matthew says that Jesus’ time spent sojourning with His parents in Egypt fulfilled prophecy concerning the Messiah. Matthew quotes from the prophet Hosea: Hos. 11:1 (KJV), “When Israel was a youth I loved him, and I called My son out of Egypt.” The above is an instance in Scripture where there is a near and far fulfillment of prophecy. In Hosea 11:2, God refers to this son as “they,” meaning Israel. Just as Jacob traveled into Egypt, so did Jesus shortly after His birth.

God often used symbols and historical events in the Old Testament to point to Jesus the coming Messiah: The account of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt is one of those events. Many events of the Exodus story relate to the life of Jesus in Matthew:

1. Moses is a picture in the Bible of Jesus: Pharaoh sought to kill Moses, and he fled Egypt. When Herod seeks to kill Jesus, his family runs with Him from the promised land.
2. In Matthew, Pharaoh commanded that every male Hebrew child be killed by casting them into the Nile: king Herod ordered every male Jewish child killed in Bethlehem. Moses was rescued by his mother, placing him in a basket in the Nile to be rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter. Jesus was rescued by His mother taking Him across the Nile.
3. Both stories relate to similar events: In Exodus, Pharaoh dies, and Moses returns to free His people, Israel, from bondage.

In Matthew, Herod dies, so the family of Jesus is told to return so Jesus can free His people, Israel, from the bondage of sin. Both in Exodus and Matthew, an angel of the Lord said return because he who seeks your life has died. Moses returned, just as Jesus returned.

Matt. 2:16-18 “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”