| Back to Home Page | Back to
Book Index |
Matthew Chapter
Two
I. Content of the Chapter
I. Worship to the king from wise men
A. Wise men came from the East. (1-2)
B.
Wise men asked the way in
C.
Wise men followed the guidance of the star and saw the king. (9-10)
D.
Wise men worshipped the king and presented their gifts to Him. (11)
E.
Wise men returned another way. (12)
II. The flight of the king
A. The king fled to
B. Herod massacred male children. (16-18)
C. The king returned to
II. Verse by Verse commentary
Matt. 2:1 “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in
the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to
YLT: “And Jesus having been born in Beth-Lehem of Judea, in the
days of Herod the king, lo, mages from the east came to
Meaning of Words: “
The Background: “Herod the king”, the Edomite------Herod the
Great in history, was tetrarch of
“
Literal Meaning: “wise men from the East”, the East may
include the
Spiritual Meaning: “in the days of Herod the king” represents
that the darkness reigns at that time. “Herod the king” represents Satan, the
king of this world, who is against Christ. “Herod” represents the tool used by
Satan. Satan used many people and political power to resist Christ and murder
Christians.
“
“Wise men from the East”, “wise men”
represents those who love the Lord truly and pursue Him regardless of any
price; “the East” presents the gentile places in which people do not know the
Lord. To provoke God’s elect to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles
(Rom. 11:11).
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) “In the days of Herod the king” shows
that most of the kings of the world are against the Lord and Herod the king
reigned the place where the Lord was born.
2) Now it is the power of darkness and is
also the time the Lord would com back. As the situation was during His first
coming, so will it be during his second coming.
3) After the most darkness of the time, the morning
comes. The moment the Lord comes, the morning comes as the dayspring form on
High has visited us (Luke. 1:78).
4) During His second coming, He will come to the
assembly (“
5) “Jesus was born in
6) “
7) The reason why the assembly is full of bread is
that Christ is the king in the assembly. Whenever the assembly does not magnify
the Lord, the spiritual famine will come out in the assembly.
8) “Wise men from the East came to
9) The one who follows the Lord should have
insights different from the world------we should walk with Him in the
inattentive and unknown places.
Matt. 2:2 “saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of
the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’”
YLT: “saying, `Where is he who was born king of the Jews? for
we saw his star in the east, and we came to bow to him.'”
Literal Meaning: “we have seen His star in the East”, some
scholars believed that it might be the overlapping phenomenon of Satum and
Jupiter. However, according to the description “the star went before them” in
verse 9, it should not be a natural star, planet or comet, but a supernatural
phenomenon.
Spiritual Meaning: “He who has been born King of the Jews”, “the Jews”
are God’s elect and they represent all the people that belong to God. Jesus
Christ came into the world to be the king of those who believe in Him.
“We have seen His star in the East.” The
star of the heaven symbolizes the heavenly revelation and guidance as well as
the enlightenment and guidance within us by the Holy Spirit. In the time of
darkness, a group of people who loved the Lord with pure hearts lived a life
before God, with their eyes looking upon the heaven. Therefore, they received
the heavenly revelation and light from God.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) The wise men saw the star personally but
came to ask others “where is He?” This shows their incorrectness. The one who
has seen the star should hold on the star all the time.
2) The star did not appear in the
a) God rejected the
religionists who kept the regulations and ceremonies on the surface but did not
long for the Lord in their heart.
b) The Holy Land, Holy
City, Holy Temple, Holy Bible, Holy Priest and other Holy things, though may
help us to know the true God, may become the block if our attitude towards
these things are wrong.
c) The knowledge of
the Bible is very important. However, knowledge alone without revelation and
vision (“star”) is of no effect.
3) Christ came into the world to be the king. He
will establish His throne in the hearts of those who believe in Him and reign
over them.
4) Wise men coming from far way to worship the King
denotes that Christ is the king of all the lands and worthy of the worship from
the world.
5) Wise men from the East made a long and difficult
journey to worship Him. It shows that only those who have received the
revelation and vision can pursue the Lord Jesus at any price and revelation is
what enables men to worship truly.
Matt. 2:3 “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled,
and all
YLT: “And Herod the king having heard, was stirred, and all
Literal Meaning: “When Herod the king heard this, he was
troubled.” His trouble may probably come from his fear of the threat to his
throne for he was not Jewish.
“All the
Spiritual Meaning: “When Herod the king heard this, he was
troubled” symbolizes that the lower parts of the earth was troubled.
“And all
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Christ does not have accord with Belial
(2Cor. 6:15). When the king of the heaven was born, the king of the earth was
troubled. When the one of God comes, the one of men will be troubled.
2) If Christ reigns over our hearts, the
king of the world will do nothing to us. Therefore, Satan does his utmost to
usurp the Lord’s position in our hearts.
3) In the world you
have tribulation but in the Lord you may have peace (John. 16:33). We should
never be afraid to pursue and love the Lord for the greedy of the peace and
prosperity of the world.
4) “And all
5) If we are merely
nominal Christians who love the world, perhaps when He comes back, we will be
troubled.
6) A natural man
believes that the time Christ comes, he will lose his enjoyment from the world.
Therefore, he stays a respectable distance from the Lord.
Only those who love the Lord will welcome Him during His second coming.
7) When the Lord comes
back, what He will ask is not our ideals or words, but our true spiritual
situation. If we are estranged from the coming Lord, still have some hidden
sins, admired people or other things, and do not have the spirit of ascent or
the intimate fellowship with Him, we may probably be troubled when He comes
back.
Matt. 2:4 “And when he had gathered all the chief priests
and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to
be born.”
YLT: “and having gathered all the chief priests and scribes of
the people, he was inquiring from them where the Christ is born.”
Literal Meaning: most of “the chief priests” were Sadducees
and the high priest was selected among them.
Most of the “scribes of the people” were
Pharisees and they studied the law of the Old Testament.
“Where the Christ was to be born.” Any
one who even knew a little about the Jewish knowledge would know that the one
who was mentioned by wise men from the East that “He who has been born to be
King of the Jews” (v.2) was Christ (the Messiah).
Spiritual Meaning: “
“The chief priests” symbolizes the
religionists such as pastors and ministers.
“Scribes of the people” symbolizes the
theologians who study the law, the letters and the commandments.
“It is written by the prophet” (v.5)
symbolizes the traditional religious knowledge.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) We may probably not have revelations or
meet the Lord even if we are familiar with the Bible and know many knowledge
and teachings.
2) The chief priests and scribes represent
those who have connection with Christ in religion. They recognize Christ
literally but they do not have spiritual connection with Him. They only have the
knowledge of Christ but do not touch the reality of Christ. Religion regards
Christ as a learning and principle to study and does not have any spiritual
contact or fellowship with Christ. This is the mistake made by many
religionists today.
Matt. 2:5 “So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it is written by the prophet:”
YLT: “And they said to him, `In Beth-Lehem of
Literal Meaning: “they” means a group of people and they were
familiar with the Bible.
“In Bethlehem of Judea” is a definitely
right answer.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Anyone who knows a little about the Bible
would know that Christ will be born “in Bethlehem of Judea”. Reading the Bible
intellectually only makes people know Him rather than long for Him.
2) The chief priests and scribes recited the
Bible with their brains while the wise men sought Christ out with their hearts.
One would rather be filled with the love to Christ than be filled with the
knowledge of the Bible in his mind. One would rather remember the savior than
recite the verses of the Bible fluently.
3) We’d better both be
wise men and scribes. If we can only be one of those two, we would prefer to be
wise men.
4) The scribes only taught
others by the Bible and forgot to teach themselves. We should search the
written word (the Bible) by the attraction of the living word (Christ).
Matt. 2:6 "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel."'
YLT: “And thou, Beth-Lehem, the land of Judah, thou art
by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for out of thee shall come
one leading, who shall feed My people Israel.'”
Literal Meaning: this verse of the Bible was quoted from Mic.
5:2. The chief priests and scribes were familiar with the knowledge of the
Bible so that they answered fluently and correctly.
“Shepherd” includes guide, protect and
feed.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Wise men from the East had the star in
the heaven but did not have the words of the prophet. They had revelation in
principle but did not have guidance in detail. When we have God’s revelation in
us, we should compare it with the truth of the Bible and then we will
understand the will of God clearly.
2) As long as the attitude towards the
knowledge of the Bible is right, the knowledge will be useful in need.
Therefore we should let the word of God dwell in us richly for contingent need
(Col. 3:16).
3)
4) The Lord, the king of heaven, do not dominate
His people by power but shepherd, care for and protect them in love (Eph.
5:25,29).
Matt. 2:7 “Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise
men, determined from them what time the star appeared.”
YLT: “Then Herod, privately having called the mages,
did inquire exactly from them the time of the appearing star,”
Literal Meaning:
“when he had secretly called the wise men.”
It shows that Herod walked in darkness and made use of the wise men to get the
information he wanted.
“Determined from them what time the star
appeared.” Actually, Herod used this way to estimate the age of the child.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) The enemy always walked in secret and in
darkness.
2) Believers should walk in the light and
abstain from every hidden thing.
Matt. 2:8 “And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and
search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back
word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.’”
YLT: “and having sent them to Beth-Lehem, he
said, `Having gone -- inquire ye exactly for the child, and whenever ye may
have found, bring me back word, that I also having come may bow to him.'”
Literal Meaning:
Herod pretended to worship the Lord in the
aim to gain the definite information about the place of the birth of the Lord
by cheating.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Herod said to “worship Him” with his lips
but intended to kill Him (see v.16) in his heart. He has righteousness on his
lips but murder in his heart. He used lies and falseness to cover his malicious
intention. How many are the Herodians today! Those who intend to destroy the
assembly in the false name of worship are found everywhere.
2) The lackeys of the evil regime on earth
and the leaders with ulterior motivates of heresy usually make use of the
coverage of “worshipping God” to resist Christ and destroy the assembly.
3) For Satan himself
transformed himself into an angel of light, it is no great thing therefore his
ministers transformed into Christians (2Cor. 11:13-15). Today, in the assembly
there are many false believers who say one thing but mean another.
Matt. 2:9 “When they heard the king, they departed; and
behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came
and stood over where the young Child was.”
YLT: “And they, having heard the king, departed, and lo, the
star, that they did see in the east, did go before them, till, having come, it
stood over where the child was.”
Literal Meaning:
“they departed.” Note that the chief priests
and scribes did not follow the wise men to seek and visit Christ. It shows
their indifference to the birth of Christ and they did not long for Christ.
Spiritual Meaning:
“the star …went before them,” “the star”
indicates God’s enlightenment and guidance in our spirits (see the spiritual
meaning in v.2). When believers care about the things and words of the Lord,
there will be enlightenment arisen in their spirits to guide them as morning
star arises in their hearts (2Pet. 1:19).
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) “The star which they had seen in the
East” is the star which they had seen for the first time (v.2). When one obeys
the revelation and guidance for the first time, there will be follow-up
revelation and guidance. Only when Abraham followed God’s revelation at first,
getting out of his land and from his kindred and from his father’s house, then
he received the further guidance (Gen. 12:1).
2) The wise men made a mistake to go to
3) While Herod,
scribes and
4) None of the scribes
or Pharisees followed the wise men to
5) We should not read
the Bible only for teaching others. We should read the Bible for being guided
by Him.
6) “Till it came and
stood over where the young Child was.” All the heavenly revelations lead men to
Christ and to see Christ instead of any other teachings or doctrines.
7) Many ministers do
not bring others to the Lord but bring others to themselves. This kind of
people is definitely not “the star” on the hand of the Lord (Rev. 1:20).
8) The knowledge of
the Bible only gives us the guidance in principle (showing that He will be born
in
9) We should never
rely on our minds to believe Christ in words nor in history and we should know
and worship the living and true God in spirit and truth.
10) “And stood over
where the young Child was.” The star did stop till the destination. The
guidance of God has the beginning and the end all the time.
11) Unless we find the
Lord, there will be no rest in our hearts. How great it is to find that only
the Lord Himself is where we should stand over.
Matt. 2:10 “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceedingly great joy.” YLT: “And having seen the star, they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy,”
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Anyone who receives the heavenly
revelation and enlightenment will invariably rejoice with exceeding great joy.
2) Christ is the fountain of joy. Whatever
helps us to touch the Lord will make us rejoice.
3) Anyone who seeks the Lord out will rejoice. The
hardship of the long journey was not of fruitless effort and finally the
hardship turned to exceedingly great joy.
4) If the feelings
of a believer towards the Lord are always cold and he is never affected by Him,
he is probably not worth being called a Christian. A normal Christian should
not only believe in the Lord but also love the Lord.
Matt. 2:11 “And when they had come into the house, they saw
the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when
they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.”
YLT: “and having come to the house, they found the child with
Mary his mother, and having fallen down they bowed to him, and having opened
their treasures, they presented to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and
myrrh,”
Literal Meaning:
“when they had come into the house, they saw
the young Child.” The wise men “had come into the house” instead of the manger
outside. What hey saw is not the Babe (see Luke. 2:16) but “the young Child”.
It shows that there must be a period of time after the birth of the Lord.
Today in the world of Christianity, it
is commonly believed that there were three wise men. It is speculated by the
number of the gifts. This speculation is not reliable.
Concerning the oriental customs at that
time, “gold” is the gift presented to kings, “frankincense” is the gift
presented to priests and “myrrh” is the gift presented to the dying ones.
Spiritual Meaning:
In Bible, “gold” symbolizes dignity and
honor of the divinity; “frankincense” symbolizes the sweet savor of
resurrection; “myrrh” symbolizes the bitterness of death. These three gifts
express three features of Christ: He is the word becoming flesh, that is He is
God coming into the world to be a man (“gold”); He suffered the death for the
sinners (“myrrh”); finally He was raised up and highly exalted
(“frankincense”).
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) They came into the house to see the young
Child. If one is willing to see Christ, he has to come into the assembly or the
spirit.
2) “Saw…worshiped…presented” is the
spiritual order: our true worship comes from the seeing of the Lord; whoever
worship the Lord truly will naturally present all to Him.
3) “They saw the young
Child with Mary His mother.” Note that the young Child was recorded at first
and Mary His mother second. It shows that the young Child is greater than His
mother. He might have the first place in all things (Col. 1:18).
4) “They fell down and
worshiped Him.” They saw the young Child with Mary His mother but they only
worship the Child instead of His mother. It denotes that we should do the
homage to Christ only (Matt. 4:10).
5) Our presentation to
the Lord depends on our knowing to the Lord. The more we know Him, the more we
would present to him. If we know the preciousness of the Lord, we will present
the most precious gifts to Him willingly.
6) We should devote
our best and wholeness to the Lord who loves us and delivered himself up for
us.
7) The will of
surrendering comes first and then the kneeled knees; the love of the devotion
comes first and then the gifts for presentation.
8) “Frankincense”
symbolizes the sweet savor of life and behavior (see 2Cor. 2:14-15). There were
three features when Jesus Christ was on earth: the glory of God------“gold”;
the perfectness of life------“frankincense”; the death of
overcoming------“myrrh”.
9) God the Father knew
the need of the flight of the whole Joseph’s family and had sent the wise men
to present gold to them. If we dare to keep the words of God, He is responsible
for all we need.
10) The treasure will
be of little use if held in our hands. But once being put in the hands of the
Lord, the treasure will perform its function to fulfill the will of God.
Matt. 2:12 “Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they
should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.”
YLT: “and having been divinely warned in a dream not to turn back
unto Herod, through another way they withdrew to their own region.”
Literal Meaning:
“they should not return to Herod. Because
Herod harbored malicious intensions, they would be probably made use of by him
to be the guiders.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Everyone who has met the Lord should not
return to those (“Herod”) who are used by the devil.
2) We must obey God rather than men (Acts.
5:29).
3) The moment we have the
guidance of God, we have to obey the guidance immediately.
4) We’d better not settle
what to do and how to do in our hearts before we know the will of God. Our
schedule should be changed immediately if it is not the will of God. We should
not be hardened to disobey God concerning our self-respect.
5) One having obtained the Lord should walk
“another way”. One should walk differently after he has believed in the Lord.
6) Once devoted to the Lord, one should never walk
the former way. Every time we meet the Lord in the spirit, we are led unto a
new way.
Matt. 2:13 “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of
the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, take the young Child
and His mother, flee to
YLT: “And on their having withdrawn, lo, a messenger of the
Lord doth appear in a dream to Joseph, saying, `Having risen, take the child
and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and be thou there till I may speak to thee,
for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.'”
Literal Meaning:
The guidance in dreams were mentioned many
times in Matt.1 and Matt.2, because at that time the spirit did not dwell in
men to guide them, therefore, the supernatural omens in dreams were needed.
Today, believers have both words of God and testimony of the Holy Spirit, if we
return back to seek for the supernatural omens in dreams, we probably may be in
danger of going astray.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) The Lord had to flee when He was a child.
He sojourned for us to let us enjoy rest in Him.
2) The flight of the Lord showed the aspect
of Christ as Lamb------who stepped aside without any argument and overcame
finally. The road of the Lord is to overcome by stepping aside. When believers
encounter tribulations and persecution, they should obey the spirit of Lamb.
3) Satan does his utmost to dispose of Christ’s
position in our hearts, otherwise, Satan will directly forbid us to be
witnesses of Christ.
4) Today, believers seldom receive the guidance
from the Lord in dreams. But the Holy Spirit dwells in us as a Comforter who
will teach us all things (John. 14:26).
5) God did not do his strength to protect Jesus
from the flight. Today if we encounter some tribulation and adversities, it is
well-pleasing in God’s sight (Matt. 11:26) instead of God’s ignorance.
6) Joseph was entrusted by God with this important
mission and left his own country. If we are willing to serve the Lord, we
should not hope for a stead and calm life.
7) “Until I bring you word” shows that God guides
men step by step. We have to obey the first guidance and then there will be the
second.
8) We should wait for the word of God quietly
(“stay there until I bring you word”) in everything. We should stay if without
the word from God. This is the attitude that those who are willing to serve the
Lord should have.
Matt. 2:14 “When he arose, he took the young Child and His
mother by night and departed for
YLT: “And he, having risen, took the child and his mother by
night, and withdrew to
Literal Meaning:
“by night” the night might be the one Joseph
had the dream.
“Having arisen” shows the immediate
obedience.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Once we have the guidance from the Lord,
we should trust and obey it immediately. This is the way we could be preserved
by the Lord.
2) It is the time we obey the guidance of
the Lord when it is dark (“night”) and full of troubles all around.
3) In many times we fall into dangers, tribulations
and entanglements resulting from our unbelief and disobedience. The one having
the guidance of the Lord probably walks by night while the world has the calm
and smooth way.
Matt. 2:15 “and was there until the death of Herod, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
‘Out of
YLT: “and he was there till the death of Herod, that it might
be fulfilled that was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, `Out of
Egypt I did call My Son.'”
Literal Meaning: The “was there” in this verse is the obedience of Joseph
and the “stay there” in verse 13 is the commandment of God.
“It
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet” has been
mentioned four times in this chapter (v.5, 15, 18, 23). It denotes that the
situation after the birth of Christ was prearranged by God.
“Out
of Egypt I called My Son” originally indicated that God had called out Israel
out of Egypt (Hos. 11:1) It has been applied by Matthew to the Lord Jesus,
showing that the experience of Israel in the Old Testament is the type of
Christ.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) “And was there until…” shows that after
we have obeyed God’s first guidance, we should wait and hope for God’s second
guidance. We should wait for the Lord, look upon the Lord and follow the Lord
at every step.
2) Sometimes we should obey God’s word
immediately (v.14) and sometimes we should wait for God’s time patiently. One
may delay when he should follow Him immediately and one may make haste when he
should wait for the Lord. In these both occasions God’s schedule may be
hindered.
3) It is emphasized in the Book of Matthew that “it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the Prophet”. It shows
that all the deeds of the Lord are in the will of God. Christ is the
fulfillment of the will of God.
4) The prophets spoken by God towards the
5) Sometimes we may encounter tribulations.
However, as long as we have the words of God, we can wait for the time of God
at rest because all the promises of God in Him are Yes and in Him are Amen
(2Cor. 1:20).
Matt. 2:16 “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by
the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the
male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years
old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise
men.”
YLT: “Then Herod, having seen that he was deceived by the
mages, was very wroth, and having sent forth, he slew all the male children in
Beth-Lehem, and in all its borders, from two years and under, according to the
time that he inquired exactly from the mages.”
Spiritual Meaning:
“male children under two years old and
under” represents Christians who love the Lord with pure heats. The massacre of
male children by Herod seemingly shows the cruelty and selfishness of humanity.
Actually, the true reason is that Satan was about to block God’s schedule of
redemption.
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) The massacre of male children by Herod
shows that Satan always hates and wants to kill the overcomers (Rev. 12:4-5).
2) The world hates us because we are not of
the world (John. 15:19). Anyone who loves the Lord and does not love the world
will be hated by the world.
Matt. 2:17 “Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah
the prophet, saying:”
YLT: “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the
prophet, saying,”
Literal Meaning: this verse means that the fulfillment is the
same with what was spoken by the prophet in spiritual meaning. But it is not
the true aim of this prophet.
Matt. 2:18 “’A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation,
weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be
comforted, Because they are no more.’”
YLT: “`A voice in Ramah was heard -- lamentation and weeping
and much mourning -- Rachel weeping her children, and she would not be
comforted because they are not.'”
The Background:
Rachel was buried firstly in
Literal Meaning: “Rachel” represents the mother of all the
male children being killed.
This verse has its implied meaning: Jeremiah
used Rachel as the mother of
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) One shall suffer great bitterness if he
has rejected Christ. There will probably be “lamentation, weeping and great
mourning” in the place where there is no Christ.
2) Believers should put their eyes upon the
future------today there is bitterness, but glory will come in the future;
weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Ps. 30:5).
Matt. 2:19 “Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in
YLT: “And Herod having died, lo, a messenger of the Lord in a
dream doth appear to Joseph in
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) “Herod was dead!” Though the power of the
darkness did its utmost to destroy the one who came form God, ultimately Christ
lives forever and Satan himself was dead.
2) Anyone who gainsays and withstands God
will perish ultimately because only He is the king.
Matt. 2:20 “saying, ‘Arise, take the young Child and His
mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's
life are dead.’”
YLT: “saying, `Having risen, take the child and his mother, and
be going to the land of Israel, for they have died -- those seeking the life of
the child.'”
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Men may be fierce in a short time. Men’s
life is too short to resist the everlasting God.
2) The history of the assembly is longer
than the lifetime of those who wanted to destroy the assembly.
Matt. 2:21 “Then he arose, took the young Child and His
mother, and came into the
YLT: “And he, having risen, took the child and his mother, and
came to the
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Joseph was formerly alone and free and
now was entrusted by God to take his wife and the young Child all around
{“arise, take” (v.13), “took by night” (v.14), “take” (v.20), “took, and came
into” (v.21)}. He did bear heavy burdens.
2) The value of a believer before God
depends on whether he is approved of God and entrusted with responsibilities.
God may not commit spiritual responsibilities to those who live leisurely and
carefreely.
3) “Then he arose.” Joseph’s obedience shows that
he knew God and trusted in God’s words. Only those who know God and trust in
Him will obey His words.
Matt. 2:22 “But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning
over
YLT: “and having heard that Archelaus doth reign over Judea
instead of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither, and having been
divinely warned in a dream, he withdrew to the parts of Galilee, “
The Background:
after the death of Herod the Great, the land
of the country was divided into three parts given his three sons to reign.
“Archelaus” was the king of
“
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) Joseph “was afraid to go there”. It shows
that he was thoughtful. Obeying the will of God does not mean one should be
unthoughtful. On the contrary, one should be thoughtful to obey the will of
God. One should use his thoughts to comprehend the will of God and make sure
whether it is from God.
2) We
should not only have the guidance of God but also have common sense. God
commanded Joseph to return to the
Matt. 2:23 “And he came and dwelt in a city called
Literal Meaning: there are two explanations about “He shall
be called a Nazarene.” from many Bible exegetes:
1) The
pronunciation of “Nazarene” is similar to “Nazarite” (Num. 6:2) in Hebrew. It
may denote that He is the true Nazarite separated to God (John. 17:9).
2) The
pronunciation of “Nazarene” is also similar to “stem” (Is. 11:1) in Hebrew. It
may denote that He is a branch out of Jess’s roots.
“Nazarene” was not mentioned in the Old Testament
and here the prophets were plural. So the most reasonable explanation is that
the hidden meaning of the prophecies of the Messiah by the prophets was
fulfilled------He was “despised of the people” in the world (Ps. 22:6, Is.
49:7, 53:3). Being a “Nazarene” of
Enlightenment in the
Word:
1) The believers should not have respect of
persons. (
III. Outlines of the Spiritual
Lessons
Men’s Different Reactions towards the Birth
of the King
I. Herod the king:
A. He was troubled (v.3) ------he has
enmity towards the king;
B. He was treacherous and cheated the
wise men (v.7-8) ------he made use of others’ goodwill to harbor evil
intentions;
C. He massacred male children (v.16-17)
------he massacred the innocent to protect his throne.
II. All
A. They feared men instead of God;
B. They were satisfied with their calm life and were afraid to be
implicated.
III. The chief priests and scribes------were
indifferent (v.4-6):
A. They only know Christ
intellectually;
B. They did not follow the wise
men to seek out the Lord because they did not long for the Lord.
IV. The wise men:
A. They saw the star (v.2)
------they had spiritual revelations;
B. They came from the East (v.1)
------they had long and hard journey regardless of any price;
C. They had come to worship Him
(v.2) ------they feared God;
D. The star went before them (v.9)
------they had clear guidance of the Holy Spirit;
E. They worshiped the young Child
(v.11) ------they truly believed in Christ;
F. They presented gold,
frankincense and myrrh to Him (v.11) ------they correctly knew and worshiped
Christ and presented their most precious gifts to Him willingly;
G. They obeyed the guidance of God
definitely (v.12).
The Beliefs of Several Kinds of People
I. The belief of the
whole
II. The belief of
the chief priests and scribes was intellectual and professional (v.4-6);
III. The belief of
Herod is hypocritical and to make use of others (v.7-8);
IV. The belief of
wise men is true and effective:
A. They had the spirit and
their own desire (v.2);
B. They had the teaching of the
Bible (v.5-6);
C. They had clear guidance from
the Holy Spirit (the star) (v.9);
D. They presented their gifts to
the Lord (v.11);
E. They changed their ways (v.12).
Ways Used by God to Guide the Believers
II. By the star
(v.9) ------the Holy Spirit and the spirit in His words;
III. By dreams
(v.12) ------unusual revelations.
The Spiritual Meanings of the Four
Prophecies in Matt. 2
I. The prophet that
out of
II. The prophet that
out of
III The prophet that
Rachel wept for her children (v.18) ------it is a type that the believers
suffer with the Lord in the world;
IV. The prophet that
He shall be called a Nazarene (v.23) ------it is a type that the believers,
though being despised by the world, will be highly exalted by God ultimately.
To See His Second Coming from His Birth
I. The time and
place of the second coming of the Lord:
A. “In the days of Herod the king” (v.1)
------the night is far spent the day is at hand (Rom. 13:12);
B. “In Bethlehem of Judea” (v.1)
------the judgment begins from the house of God (1Pet. 4:17).
II. The situation
appearing during the second coming of the Lord:
A. “Wise men from the East…to worship
Him” (v.1-2) ------those who love the lord and have a vision love His
appearing;
B. “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled” (v.3) ------because
the devil knew he has a short time (Rev. 12:12);
C. “And all
D. The chief priests and scribes of the people did not seek Him out (v.
4-6, 9) ------they only have the knowledge of the Bible but not longing for the
Lord;
III. What will
happen when the Lord comes back:
A. The devil “was exceedingly angry”
(v.16) and ultimately “was dead” (v.19) ------the devil will be taken away;
B. “All male children from two years old
and under were put to death.” (v.16) ------those who love the Lord with pure
heats will be persecuted;
C. “An angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream.” (v.13, 19, 22) ------the Lord will send His angels to guide
and protect us;
D. “It might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the Lord through the prophet.” (v.15, 17, 23) ------every word of the
Lord will be fulfilled.
IV. The second
coming of the Lord is concealed:
A. It was said that He would come
out of
B. He was supposed to be born in
V. What shall we do
to seek and see His second coming?
A. We should see the star in the heaven
(v.2) ------we should take heed of His words (2Pet. 1:19) to receive heavenly enlightenment
and guidance;
B. We should not follow men’s natural
thoughts (v.1-2);
C. We should accept the guidance of
truth in the Bible (5-6);
D. “The star…went before them” (v.9)
------we should closely follow the living guidance by the Holy Spirit;
E. “They had come into the house.”
(v.11) ------we should stay in the assembly and abide in the spirit.
VI. The result of
seeing the Lord:
A. “They fell down and worshiped
Him. They presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (v.11) ------they
truly worshiped Him;
B. “They departed for their own
country another way.” (v.12) ------they ran another way.
The Obedience of
Joseph
I. The immediate obedience. (v.14)
II. The enduring obedience. (v.15)
III. The prudent obedience. (v.22)
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren