Respond to God’s Son

KEY VERSE: “When they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” —Matthew 2:11

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Matthew 2:11

JESUS WAS BORN in the land of Judea, during the time Herod was king. Some time after his birth, some “wise men” followed a star to Jerusalem from the east and asked, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” King Herod and all Jerusalem were greatly disturbed at this, and the king called together the priests and scribes, anxiously inquiring where the Christ was to be born.—Matt. 2:1-3

They told him the words of the Prophet Micah: “Bethlehem … out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel.” (Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:5,6) Herod then secretly called the wise men and sent them to search for the child, ordering the travelers to bring back word to him when they found the child so that he too might come to pay him reverence. (vs. 8) In reality, Herod was fearful of the arrival of a new ruler who might possibly replace him, so he was making plans to do away with the child when he was found.

Journeying on, the wise men followed the star until it stopped over the place where the child was. They went into the house and “saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him. … When they had opened their treasures, they presented him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”—vs. 11

God, in his foreknowledge, warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, so they set out to their own country by another route.—vs.12

After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, directing him to take the child and his mother and escape into Egypt. Because Herod was going to search for the child to destroy him, God told Joseph to remain safely in Egypt until further notice.

Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod: “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my Son.” (Matt. 2:15; Hos. 11:1) This prophecy pointed forward to Jesus, saying that he was ‘called out of Egypt’, a symbol of the world, to give his life as a ransom for Adam and all mankind.

“Then Herod, perceiving that he had been deceived by the Magians, was greatly enraged; and dispatching emissaries he slew all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its vicinity from the age of two years and under.”—Matt. 2:16, Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”—vs. 18

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to return to Israel, for those who sought the child’s life were dead. “He arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.” (vs. 21) They went to Nazareth—a city not associated with the Messiah—where Jesus grew to manhood.

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