As the young men were marched toward Babylon, the Jewish mothers of Ramah came out weeping for sons they will never see again. But more than this, it was the seat, above all others in the land, frequented by Gentiles Galilee ("the circuit") of the Gentiles. But when Herod was dead,[he died shortly thereafter], behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. For those who seek the little child's life are dead." But, again, we must remind ourselves that what seems strange to us seemed in no way strange to those for whom Matthew was writing in his day. When it was a question, at a later day, of His servant Peter, who, prompted by Satan, had fallen into human thoughts, and would have dissuaded his Master from the cross, He does say, "Get thee behind me." Evidently Jewish unbelief, even where there was an acknowledgment of the Messiah, turned upon this, that the Jew looked upon the Messiah purely according to what He deigns to become as the great King. 22 Matthew 2:22 "But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:" King James Version (KJV) < Previous Verse Next Verse> View Chapter Matthew 2:22 Context The first in verse 6 is a direct prediction. Nelson, the great admiral, always treated his vanquished opponent?, with the greatest kindness and courtesy. Archelaus lived from about 23 BC to about 18 AD. I pray the Lord that what has been put, however scantily, before souls may at least stir up enquiry on the part of God's children, and lead them to have perfect, absolute confidence in that word which is of His grace indeed. Jeremiah 31:9; Jeremiah 31:20 refers to Israel = Ephraim as Gods dear son and also introduces the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34) the Lord will make with his people. He said that he, too, wished to come and worship the child; but his one desire was to murder the child born to be king. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. Now, it is evident, that if there were in fact more links in each chain of generation than these fourteen, all above that number must be omitted. At the death of Herod, (B.C. Would he have put forward the name of Thamar in such a connection? Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular. (ii) There was the reaction of the chief priests and scribes, the reaction of complete indifference. Rome would consolidate its power later. Having been warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee. They have said it was a conjunction of planets, and they have come up with many different speculations as to what astronomically constituted the star of Bethlehem. Balthasar was swarthy, with the beard newly grown upon him, and it was he who brought the gift of myrrh. They recognized the phenomenon as looking for the star of Jacob; they instinctively, I may say, certainly by the good hand of God, connected the two together. Oh, what a withering refutation of the foolish men of the West! Four days before his death in 4 BC, However, my aim is also that we should have before us our Lord, His person, His teaching, His way, in every gospel. Deny it they might as to doctrine and fact now; they could not alter or efface the real features from the genealogy of the true Messiah; for in no other line but David's, through Solomon, could Messiah be. Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. Herod had placed a golden eagle over the Temple entrance which was perceived as blasphemous. We have already seen that Herod was a past master in the art of assassination. As we had His miracles all put together, as I may say, in the gross, so with His discourses. And the other officials were not executed and thus he went unmourned.Now in those days when. Luke 2:39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. It is clear how such a man would feel when news reached him that a child was born who was destined to be king. He was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the Samaritan, brother of Herod Antipas, and half-brother of Herod II. Evidently, therefore, the omission was not careless or ignorant, but intentional. But I apprehend that the real force of the passage is, "By His knowledge shall my righteous servant in struct many in righteousness." Matthew wanted to continue to prove that Jesus was the promised Messiah who fulfilled what the prophets had predicted. To Jewish difficulties all this pointed with peculiar fitness. In some accounts, he could be a son of Aegyptus either by Eurryroe, daughter of the river-god Nilus, [2] or Isaie, daughter of King Agenor of Tyre. And God did not call me to speculate. Now the name Mesori means the birth of a prince, and to those ancient astrologers such a star would undoubtedly mean the birth of some great king. 18.A voice was heard in Ramah It is certain that the prophet describes (Jeremiah 31:15) the destruction of the tribe of Benjamin, which took place in his time: for he had foretold that the tribe of Judah would be cut off, to which was added the half of the tribe of Benjamin. He had to do that, if he was ever to understand the life of ordinary people. These mothers were like Rachel, lived near Rachel's grave, and many of them descended from Rachel; and therefore their lamentations are elegantly represented by Rachel's weeping. THE HOMAGE OF THE EAST ( Matthew 2:1-2 continued). Here, at the very starting-point, the Holy Ghost points out the divine and eternal glory of Him who deigns to come as the Messiah. was not a Jew- his father an Idumean and his mother Arabian. Into the details of the discourse on the mount I cannot enter particularly now, but would just say a few words before I conclude tonight. She did not understand. MATTHEW 2:16 16 Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outfoxed by the wise men, wa s furious; and he sent forth and slaughtered all the boys who were in Bethlehem and in all of its vicinity, from two years old and under, according . They have a very interesting lecture on the star of Bethlehem.But just exactly what did take place that constituted this special sign in the sky is a matter of many men's speculations. It is surely the lesson of simplicity to learn this from God, and, once learnt, to apply it steadily as a help of the most manifest kind; full of interest, as well as of the weightiest instruction, in examining all the incidents as they come before us. This is the nature of religion. They learnt the scriptures as to it. But among the crowd of those who came to him was Jesus. Then the word which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "A voice was heard in Rama, weeping and much lamenting, Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be comforted, for they were no more.". Matthew 3. Then was the cry in Ramah heard to Bethlehem (for those two cities, the one in Judah's lot, and the other in Benjamin's, were not far asunder); but now the prophecy is again fulfilled in the great sorrow that was for the death of these infants. As it stands now, the passage wears this most awkward appearance, that Satan, though commanded to depart, lingers on. There was literally another reason lying on the surface, that required certain names to drop out. It was precisely what the believing Israelite did learn; even as it was just the rock of offence on which unbelieving Israel fell and was dashed to pieces. Matthew 2:22 Archelaus. As when he was in the womb, he was witnessed to by a child's leaping in the womb for joy at his approach, so now, at two years old, he had contemporary witnesses to him of the same age. From that time the Magi ceased to have any ambitions for power or prestige, and became a tribe of priests. In the second of these chapters (Matthew 6:1-34) composing the discourse, two main parts appear. (verses Matthew 7:1-4.) (iii) Myrrh is the gift for one who is to die. If Jehovah called Moses up to the top of one mount) He who then spake the ten words sat now upon another mount, and taught His disciples the character of the kingdom of heaven, and its principles introduced as a whole, just answering to what we have seen of the facts and effects of His ministry, entirely passing by all intervals or connecting circumstances. In later times the word Magus developed a much lower meaning, and came to mean little more than a fortune-teller, a sorcerer, a magician, and a charlatan. "Go," he said, "and make every effort to find out about the little child. Miracles we have elsewhere, no doubt, and prophecies occasionally; but where is there such a profusion of them as in Matthew? We have read how he had carefully enquired of the wise men when they had seen the star. Caesar Augustus that Matthew 2:22 in all English translations. It is a lovely story, and this much, at least, is true, that no gift which Jesus receives is ever forgotten. Lower down we have another. Meanwhile, in a country to the east, men known as Magi (people who study the stars) had worked out that a new king was born in Judea and they came to Jerusalem looking for him (Matthew 2:1-2). Caesar raised him up and stated that Archelaus "was worthy to succeed his father". It is impossible that God could do what even we should be ashamed of. These are two perfectly distinct things; because, where it is a question of righteousness, it is simply a person brought to a point. Having been warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee. This is another important truth; for thus was to be fulfilled the word, not of one prophet, but of all "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." The practical object is equally obvious. Hence we read as the very first "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 1 Samuel 16:2 And Samuel said, How can I go? Five Lessons At Christmas. But when they reached it, where were faithful souls awaiting the Messiah? This violation of the Mosaic law, along with Archelaus' continued cruelty, roused the ire of the Jews, who complained to Augustus. Archelaus was removed by the Roman emperor Augustus when Judaea province was formed under direct Roman rule, at the time of the Census of Quirinius. It shows Jesus at the door of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth. Now, looking at the gospel of Matthew as a whole, and taking the most enlarged view of it before we enter into details, the question arises, what is the main idea before the Holy Ghost? They were the priestly aristocracy, and the members of these select families were called the chief priests. For the wisest purposes, I have no doubt, the Spirit of God has arranged and conveyed it to us as one whole, without notice of the interruptions, occasions, etc. And he knew they wouldn't mourn for him, so in order that there would be mourning when he died, he ordered all these popular officials to be put to death when he died. Then he began to miss Miriam, so he built a big monument to Miriam because he missed her after he had killed her. Secondly, there are certain critics who hold that this slaughter cannot have taken place because there is no mention of it in any writer outside this one passage of the New Testament. Justification is by faith of Christ, we know; and as far as the efficacious work on which it depends is concerned, it is clearly in virtue of what Christ has suffered for sin and sins before God. And, when you have found him, send news to me, that I, too, may come and worship him." Desire for His truth, desire for His glory, carries me out into a certain path that exposes me to suffering. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, NT Gospels: Matthew 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was (Matt. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. One day his mother took him on her knee and began to darn his stockings. He refused to allow any harm to come to Jesus or his parents. It is strange that Josephus does not relate this story; but he wrote long after St. Matthew, and it is probable that he therefore would not relate it, because he would not so far countenance the Christian history; for he was a zealous Jew; but, to be sure, if it had not been true and well attested, he would have contested it. 13 Cling to discipline. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. About 11 B.C. In their sad way to an alien land they pass Ramah, and Ramah was the place where Rachel lay buried ( 1 Samuel 10:2); and Jeremiah pictures Rachel weeping, even in the tomb, for the fate that had befallen the people. Nor was he a man over fond of his own children, or of their preferment, having formerly slain two of his own sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, and his son Antipater after this, but five days before he himself died; so that it was purely to gratify his own brutish lusts of pride and cruelty that he did this. That quarter of the land was regarded as the scene of darkness; yet was it just there that God suddenly caused light to arise. He presents Jesus not merely as a legislating prophet-king like Moses, but greater by far; for it is never forgotten that the Nazarene was the Lord God. But Jesus looked at those who came to the waters of Jordan, and saw their hearts touched, if ever so little, with a sense of their state before God; and His heart was truly with them. He could be generous. Joseph was the descendant of David, the king, through Solomon: the Messiah must therefore, somehow or other, be the son of Joseph; yet had He really been the son of Joseph, all would have been lost. So then Jesus was "the Man born to be King." Jesus Is Born - a Video Devotional. So Bethlehem's pinpointed as the birthplace. Archelaus asked for moderation and told the crowds that all would be well if they would put aside their animosities and wait until he was confirmed king by Caesar Augustus. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. Here, again, if I be not mistaken, righteousness and grace are found alternating; for the exhortation against a censorious spirit is grounded on the certainty of retribution from others, and paves the way for an urgent call to self-judgment, which in us precedes all genuine exercise of grace. When his mother died, Sir James Barrie could write, "I can look back, and I cannot see the smallest thing undone." "In the original context, Jeremiah is speaking of an event soon to come as the Babylonian Captivity begins. They wish to do what they like, and Christ will not let them do what they like; and so they would kill him. The two supplementary blessednesses at the end rather confirm the case, though at first sight they might appear to offer an exception. If in one who was of that sacerdotal succession where the proofs were rigorously required, where a defect in it would destroy his right to the exercise of spiritual functions if in such a case there might legitimately be an omission, clearly there might be the same in regard to the Lord's genealogy; and the more, as this omission was not in the part of which the Scripture speaks nothing, but in the centre of its historical records, whence the merest child could supply the missing links at once. There is thus the lesson of wisdom and patience even before the enemy; the excellent, matchless grace of patience in trial; for what more likely to exclude it than the apprehension that it was Satan all the while? It is probable that the blessed Jesus was at this time not a year old; yet Herod took in all the infants under two years old, that he might be sure not to miss of his prey. He was loyal to Rome. Later legends have been busy with the wise men. Out of the mouths of these babes and sucklings God did perfect his praise; otherwise, it is not good to the Almighty that he should thus afflict. Now of course, it's significant that Rachel actually died there just on the outskirts of Bethlehem and her tomb is there at Bethlehem. He names in certain cases the mother, and not the father only; but never without a divine reason. Compound of heros and eidos; heroic; Herod, the name of four Jewish kings. The cave in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem may be that same cave, or it may not be. Both were a prelude of the salvation which was shortly to arrive. II. Sometimes it was called The Way of the South, and sometimes the Road of the Sea. How thwarting to mere Jewish expectations of the Messiah! divided Herods kingdom among them and gave Archelaus about half of it, comprised of In His condescending love, He would lead hearts that were prepared of Him to desire the Messiah, and come from the ends of the earth to welcome Him. The Jews had the belief that "about that time one from their country should become governor of the habitable earth" (Josephus: Wars of the Jews, 6: 5, 4). Archelaus, an Egyptian prince as one of the 50 sons of King Aegyptus. Accordingly, I think it was owing to special considerations of this sort that Matthew was led to reserve for us the great lesson, that our Lord had passed through the entire temptation not only the forty days, but even that which crowned them at the close; and that only when an open blow was struck at the divine glory did His soul at once resent it with the words, "Get thee hence, Satan." It does not speak evil of others except when necessary, nor then does it take pleasure in it. It didn't stand over where the baby was, but it stood over where the "young child was". These people were known as the Herods (the word Herod means "son of the hero"). Herod Archelaus (Ancient Greek: , Hrids Archelaos; 23BC c.AD 18) was the ethnarch[1][2] of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, including the cities Caesarea and Jaffa, for nine years[3] (c.4 BC to AD 6). It is not "justify" in the ordinary forensic sense of the word, but rather instructing in righteousness, as the context here requires, and as the usage of the word elsewhere, as in Daniel 12:1-13, leaves open.