Day #276

Sermon - Audio
Matt 2 & Luke 2:39-52 - Reading
Matt 2 & Luke 2:39-52 - Audio

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Daily Reading Matthew 2 & Luke 2: 39-52

Notes today come from the New Bible Commentary:

Matthew 2:1-12 The visit of the Magi.

Magi were astrologers, who played a prominent part in court life in many eastern states, as advisers to kings. Their insights were derived from sophisticated astronomical observation combined with the sort of 'interpretation' which present-day horoscopes provide. By such calculations made in the east (probably Mesopotamia, mod. Iraq) they had concluded that an important royal birth had taken place in Palestine, which called for a 'state visit'. Matthew clearly sees this as an acceptable Gentile response to genuine revelation, despite its dubious means.

The sharp contrast between these well-motivated foreigners and the unscrupulous jealousy of Herod , the official King of the Jews (and all Jerusalem with him), foreshadows the response which official Judaism will make to Jesus, and the future welcome of Gentile believers into the true people of God.

In the whole episode Matthew finds rich material for meditation on the fulfilment of Scripture. The formal quotation of Mi. 5:2 shows how Jesus' birthplace indicates his status as the coming ruler, and the star probably echoes Balaam's prophecy of a 'star ... out of Jacob' (Nu. 24:17). The coming of foreign dignitaries from the east to Jerusalem reminds us of the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, the son of David, bringing gifts of gold and spices (1 Ki. 10:1-13), and of the prophecies of similar visits in the future in Ps. 72:10-11, 15 and Is. 60:1-6 (v 6 'gold and incense').

Notes.1King Herod ('the Great') died in 4 bc. This episode did not necessarily take place immediately after Jesus' birth, but within two years of it (16), so that Jesus' birth was probably not later than around 6 bc. 2 Many natural explanations of the star have been offered, including a comet (Halley's appeared in 12 bc), a nova or supernova (there was a prominent one in 5/4 bc according to Chinese records), or a planetary conjunction (that of Saturn and Jupiter in 7 bc would have suggested to Babylonian astrologers the idea of a king in 'the Westland', as they called Palestine). One or more of these may have contributed to the quest of the Magi, but v 9 suggests something out of the ordinary. 6 The quotation adapts the text of Mi. 5:2, partly by weaving in words from 2 Sa. 5:2, on which Micah's prophecy was based. 12 God communicates by a dream to another Gentile in 27:19. Like the star, it is a means of communication which would have been familiar in their culture. The only other such dream-revelations Matthew records are given to Joseph (1:20; 2:13, 19, 22).

2:13-23 Childhood travels.

The rest of ch. 2 focuses on the geographical movements of the infant Messiah, from his birthplace in Bethlehem to Egypt, then back to Judea and on to Galilee, where he is established in the village which was to give him his title, Jesus of Nazareth. This section is remarkable both for its frequent formula-quotations (15, 17-18, 23) and for the recurrent dreams by which Joseph was guided from place to place (13, 19, 22). Both these features suggest that Matthew's primary concern was to show that these changes of location were not haphazard but were directed by God and had been foreshadowed in Scripture (notice that each of the formal quotations in ch. 2 contains a place-name: Bethlehem, Egypt, Ramah, Nazareth). Clearly geography matters!

Why is this? A clue may be found in the reaction of Jews to the suggestion that the Messiah might be from Galilee (Jn. 7:41, 52), or still worse, from Nazareth (Jn. 1:46). Everyone knew that the Messiah was to come from the Judean village of Bethlehem, so how could Jesus of Nazareth be taken seriously? To this objection Mt. 2 provides the answer. Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem, as Scripture required, but by a series of divinely guided and scripturally justified movements found his way eventually to Galilee, so that the Messiah could after all be called a Nazarene.

Luke 2.39-52 The Passover visit of Jesus to the temple

The age of twelve was normal for instructing a boy for entry to the religious community of Judaism, and therefore for a meaningful visit to Jerusalem. Jewish men were required by the law to keep the three annual festivals in Jerusalem, but only the Passover was strictly observed. Whole families would go up to Jerusalem, with an estimated 60,000-100,000 visitors packing themselves into a town whose normal population may have been no more than 25,000. People travelled in large groups for companionship and security on the way, and it is not surprising that Mary and Joseph did not worry unduly about Jesus on the first day's journey home. After a day spent in returning to Jerusalem they found him in the temple, which was a set of courtyards and buildings used not only for offering sacrifices but also for religious teaching and discussions (cf.Acts 5:25). His intelligent discussion with the teachers was an indication of the wisdom that he would show later. The story does not mean that Jesus was trying to instruct them, but rather that they were impressed by his unusual promise as a pupil.

Jesus' reply to his parents was in effect: 'You ought to have known where to find me, namely in my Father's house.' (The translation 'about my Father's business' is less apt.) It shows that from an early age Jesus was aware of an intimate relationship to God as his Father in a way which went beyond the normal religious consciousness of a devout Jew (cf.10:21-22), and that he was putting this relationship first in his life-although he was careful to continue to obey his parents. But the incident showed them that their son had a character and role that went beyond their understanding. His perfect growth as a boy continued right through his adolescence and young manhood (like Samuel, 1 Sa. 2:26, and John, Lk. 1:80).

D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition, 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994). Lk 2:41.