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Scott's Reference Library
Matthew 2:1 through Matthew 2:12 (NIV)
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod,
Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been
born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship
him.”
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When
he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law,
he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they
replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the
star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful
search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may
go and worship him.”
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had
seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the
child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the
house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and
worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of
gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go
back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
VERSES 1-8
Those who live at the greatest distance from the means of grace often use most
diligence, and learn to know the most of Christ and his salvation. But no
curious arts, or mere human learning, can direct men unto him. We must learn of
Christ by attending to the word of God, as a light that shineth in a dark place,
and by seeking the teaching of the Holy Spirit. And those in whose hearts the
day-star is risen, to give them any thing of the knowledge of Christ, make it
their business to worship him. Though Herod was very old, and never had shown
affection for his family, and was not himself likely to live till a new-born
infant had grown up to manhood, he began to be troubled with the dread of a
rival. He understood not the spiritual nature of the Messiah’s kingdom. Let us
beware of a dead faith. A man may be persuaded of many truths, and yet may hate
them, because they interfere with his ambition, or sinful indulgences. Such a
belief will make him uneasy, and the more resolved to oppose the truth and the
cause of God; and he may be foolish enough to hope for success therein.
VERSES 9-12
What joy these wise men felt upon this sight of the star, none know so well as
those who, after a long and melancholy night of temptation and desertion, under
the power of a spirit of bondage, at length receive the Spirit of adoption,
witnessing with their spirits that they are the children of God. We may well
think what a disappointment it was to them, when they found a cottage was his
palace, and his own poor mother the only attendant he had. However, these wise
men did not think themselves baffled; but having found the King they sought,
they presented their gifts to him. The humble inquirer after Christ will not be
stumbled at finding him and his disciples in obscure cottages, after having in
vain sought them in palaces and populous cities. Is a soul busy, seeking after
Christ? Would it worship him, and does it say, Alas! I am a foolish and poor
creature, and have nothing to offer? Nothing! Hast thou not a heart, though
unworthy of him, dark, hard, and foul? Give it to him as it is, and be willing
that he use and dispose of it as it pleases him; he will take it, and will make
it better, and thou shalt never repent having given it to him. He shall frame it
to his own likeness, and will give thee himself, and be thine for ever. The
gifts the wise men presented were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Providence sent
these as a seasonable relief to Joseph and Mary in their present poor condition.
Thus our heavenly Father, who knows what his children need, uses some as
stewards to supply the wants of others, and can provide for them, even from the
ends of the earth.