Matthew 2 - Worthy of Worship
In the first chapter of Matthew, the Son of God became flesh and fulfilled the prophecies that He would be a Jew, of the line of David, and born of a virgin. Jesus fulfilled all of these prophecies, and as Matthew continues his account, he includes more Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. Would Jesus fulfill these as well? Matthew loves to quote the Old Testament, and here is a basic outline of the prophecies included in chapter 2:
- Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, fulfilling the prophecy in Micah 5:2.
- Jesus was called out of Egypt, fulfilling Hosea 11:1, which is applied to both Israel and the Son of God (Jesus).
- Weeping and mourning for the death of children at the hand of Herod, which fulfills Jeremiah 31:15.
- Jesus would be called a Nazarene, which fulfills extra-Biblical prophecies based on either Him being despised (Psalm 22:6, Isaiah 53:3 - Nazarene=despised); the true Nazirite; or the Branch (Hebrew, netzar) in Isaiah 11:1. See Matthew Henry's commentary.
Although not all of these were understood Messianic prophecies, there are over 300 Old Testament prophecies that refer to the Messiah's first coming. The mathematical probability that 8 of those prophecies could be fulfilled in one man in all of history is 1 in 10 to the 17th power. That's a 1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 chance of anybody fulfilling just 8. Jesus Christ fulfilled over 300. How's that for some mind-bending mathematics? You can read more about how some really smart guy figured that out if you click here.
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| I love how many of Renaissance artists depicted this scene with a whole slew of wise men. |
You would think that with the coming of the Messiah, the people would rejoice, but even the scribes and chief priests seemed less than eager to welcome Him. Sure, they knew the Scriptures and the prophecies, but had they really grasped it? Or had their legalism and hypocrisy blinded them to the Truth? Unfortunately, this is something we'll see over and over again in this Gospel - the religious leaders acting as blind guides, unable to see that the Light of the world had come to set them free. They wanted a conquering king who would set them free from the oppressive hand of the Roman Empire. What they didn't realize was that their bondage was not to an Emperor or foreign rule, but to their own sin, and all their efforts at righteous living were just like filthy rags compared to God's holiness.
When we come to God, or when God shows up in our lives, making Himself known and getting our attention, I pray we respond like the magi and not like the chief priests and scribes, or worse, like Herod. Do we seek Him until He may be found? Do we bow down and worship Him? Do we give Him the best we have to offer? Or, since He is not like the God we wanted or imagined Him to be, do we disregard Him? Do we oppose Him if He makes us uncomfortable or makes us set aside our own agenda? I pray that when He comes, we will recognize Him and see Him as He is. And, seeing Him as He is, how could we do anything but fall on our faces in worship?
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6 comments:
Amy,
Very well written. I hope my life can be like that today. So many things get in the way of truly worshiping Him daily. Bringing my best gifts to him.
One thing that has always stood out in the chapter is that Herod had to be a very selfish person. To think if he believed the Christ child was to be born, that he could take care of it himself. To wipe out all the male children, such irrational and self-centered thinking.
On a silly note, why do you think after Herod was dead, God didn't just tell them to go to Nazareth instead of Israel in the first place?--Jenn
Hmm... interesting question. It doesn't say that Joseph had a dream telling him to go back to Israel, it just says that after Herod died, they returned. So maybe God didn't speak quite so audibly this time since it wasn't so urgent. And you know, when God directs us, sometimes He doesn't show us the whole picture or 3 steps ahead, He just shows us the next step we're to take. Maybe it was that way with Joseph - he knew it was time to return to Israel, but God hadn't showed him yet that it was not to the region of Judea. Do you have any ideas?
Amy,
In my NKJV it reads, "Now when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise take the young Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel...."
I do agree with you though. The thing that matters is that Joseph immediately obeyed and went. Sometimes we don't need to ask questions when God speaks but just go! Maybe he was just told to go to Israel but in a more general sense not specifically like I read it. Luv Ya! Jenn
You're right! I read it too fast and totally missed it! But yeah, I guess technically they did go back to Israel, just probably not where Joseph had expected to go.
The thing that I had tried to comment on earlier was the obedience of Joseph - in both chapters.....how obedient he was when he heard from the Lord. So many times in my own life, I will question, hyper-analyze, doubt and ruminate way too much on my own figuring it all out-trying to muster up in my own flesh some sort of wisdom which isn't wisdom at all - just foolishness and sinfulness - so much so that I will lose what the Lord had originally spoken to me. How sad that is and it is my loss. Oh to be obedient - trusting Him and knowing He has it all worked out...always & forever!
Beloved Messes' Mom ~
Mom, you're so right. Most of us would hear "with child by the Holy Spirit" and say, "well, that's not possible; I must have heard wrong." I can totally relate - you know I over-analyze everything! How many times have I missed out on God's blessing because I didn't witness to someone, pray with someone, or give to someone when I knew I heard that still, small voice telling me to? I think about the Gospel of Mark and how many times "immediately" is used... immediately the disciples followed Him - no hesitation. I pray we may have that kind of obedience.
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