NEW TESTAMENT CRITICAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWO

Part I

Verse 1: “Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. Sometime after Jesus was born, some magi from the east came to Jerusalem.” It is interesting to note that most Jewish and Christian scholars now estimate that Yeshua was born somewhere between 8 to 4 BC. The reason is because Dionysius Exiguous, the sixth-century monk who set up the modern calendar, made an error in determining the date which was not corrected until later. This is why the Jewish community and secular scholars customarily denote the period from 1 AD (“Anno Domini,”) meaning: “in the year of the Lord,” onward, as “CE” (“Common Era”). And the years before the birth of Christ was always referred to as BC, meaning “before Christ,” now has become “BCE” (before the Common Era) to avoid relating dates explicitly to the Messiah. So often, people are led by what they perceive to be the case, rather than the evidence in the case. This helps us to make better sense from historical data when we calculate the events under Herod the Great (circa 73 – 4 BC), who founded the Herodian dynasty which ruled Israel from 37 BC until the war with Rome in 66–70 AD. Herod himself was a man of great physical energy and ambition. His career came to the notice of historians in 47 BC in Syria and the Galilee through a combination of military successes, political organization and bribery of Roman superiors, which enabled him to replace the last of the Hasmonean rulers, King Antigonus, when the latter died in 37 BC (possibly as a consequence of one of Herod’s bribes). Therefore, if Herod died shortly after the innocents were slain when Yeshua was only two years old (which would be in 4 BC, then this means that Yeshua was possibly born in 6 BC. It is also important to note that Matthew specifically says that the wise men came to Jerusalem. Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem. Too often we see this event presented much like the traditional manger scene. But we must note that these visitors did not go to the stable in Bethlehem, they went to Herod’s palace in the city of Jerusalem. We also have an interesting variety of identities given to these men. One of the oldest Hebrew versions of Matthew calls them “astrologers.”¹ In Luther’s German Bible, which had a great influence on the early English versions, they are called “Weisen vom Morgenland” (Wise men from the East), which is what the King James Version names them. In the Greek these men are called “magos” hence the term “Magi” for the visitors from the east at Christmas time. And in the Aramaic Version they are referred to as “Magians”. Our English word “magician” comes from this root word. They were not known as kings, but rather astrologers. In ancient days kings would call their wise men and astrologers to help interpret their dreams on how successful they might be on certain ventures, including war. This may be what led one Jewish philosopher to call the prophet from Mesopotamia, named Balaam,² a “magos” because he was “very celebrated for his skill in divination…who was initiated in every branch of the soothsayers’ art. And he was celebrated and renowned above all men for his experience as a diviner and prophet, as he had in many instances foretold to many people incredible and most important events.”³ It should also be pointed out that in addition to Tamar, Rahab and Ruth who were non-Jewish women involved in Jesus’ family tree, these magi were non-Jewish Persians. Adding another Gentile factor to the mix. What may have led this same philosopher to consider Balaam a magi was what Balaam said in his last prophecy, “I see him coming, but not now. I see him coming, but not soon. A star will step out from the family of Jacob. A new ruler will arise from the Israelites.”⁴ One Jewish scholar renders the first part of this verse this way: “What I see is not for now; what I behold will not be soon.”⁵ This scholar goes on to say that the star referred to here as “an allusion to the great name that the Messiah will make for Himself on the whole globe.”⁶ He then refers to the scripture that says: “Then Adonai will be king over the whole world. On that day Adonai will be the only one, and his name will be the only name.”⁷ So we can see that this star was already part of Jewish lore about the coming Messiah King. You would think that with such expectation on the part of the Jews for the coming Savior, they would have recognized Jesus immediately, especially when He started teaching, “in My name.”⁸ But even more so when He told them, “I and the Father are one.”⁹ Perhaps this was another factor in Jesus’ commission for His disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. The only Jewish king we know of in the Bible who was a student of the stars was King David of Israel. How felicitous that his descendant, the KING of Kings, would be born in his home town to which the Magi were eventually lead by a star. Some scholars have suggested that the Bethlehem spoken of here is the one we read about in Joshua that was in the territory of Zebulun, which would put it in Galilee near Kiryat Tivon, around 6 miles north-west of Nazareth.¹⁰ But this would certainly preclude the wise men from going out of their way to Jerusalem since they were led by the star. Even one noted Jewish chronicler, mathematician, historian, astronomer and astrologer stated that Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem of Judah, which is about six miles from Jerusalem.¹¹ Also, a well-known Jewish traveler named Benjamin wrote about his visit to this area in 1575 AD: “From Jerusalem it is two parasangs¹² to Bethlehem, which is called by the Christians Beth-Leon, and close thereto, at a distance of about half a mile, at the parting of the way, is the pillar of Rachel’s grave, which is made up of eleven stones, corresponding with the number of the sons of Jacob. Upon it is a dome resting on four columns, and all the Jews that pass by carve their names upon the stones of the pillar.” This traveler says that this was also attested to by a Muslim known as Edrisi,¹³ who was born in Sabtah (now Ceuta, Spain), around 1100 AD. He wrote in 1154 AD, “The tomb is covered by twelve stones, and above it is a dome vaulted over with stones.” The traveler continues: “At Bethlehem there are two Jewish dye shops. It is a land of brooks of water, and contains wells and fountains.”¹⁴ And an early Christian apologist (100 – 165 AD), wrote, “Now there is a village in the land of the Jews, thirty-five stadia [circa 4 miles] from Jerusalem, in which Jesus Christ was born, as you can ascertain also from the registers of the taxing made under Cyrenius, your first procurator in Judaea.”¹⁵ However, knowing that Christians held Bethlehem in high esteem because Jesus was born there, we see in a polemic Jewish writing that they had little respect for this village. As a matter of fact, one ancient Jewish story goes this way:

“Once a Jew was plowing and his ox snorted loudly. An Arab who was passing by and heard the snorting said to him: ‘Jew, Jew. Unharness your ox, and unhook your plow and stop plowing. For today your Temple was destroyed!’ The ox snorted again. The Arab then said to him, ‘Jew, Jew. Harness your ox, and hook up your plow. For today the Messiah-king was born!’ He said to him, ‘What is his name?’ The Arab replied, ‘Menachem,’ meaning “consoler.” He said to him, ‘And what is his father’s name?’ The Arab said, ‘Hezekiah.’ He said to him, ‘Where is he from?’ He said to him, ‘From the royal capital of Bethlehem in Judea.’ So the Jew went and sold his ox and sold his plow. And he became a peddler of infants’ clothing. And he went from place to place until he came to that very city. All of the women bought from him. But Menachem’s mother did not buy from him. He heard the women calling, ‘Menachem’s mother, Menachem’s mother, come buy some clothes for your child’…The Jew said to her, ‘We are sure that on this day it was destroyed, and on this day of the year it will be rebuilt. Do not abandon the child. Provide for him; She said to the peddler, ‘I have no money.’ He said to her, ‘It doesn’t matter to me. Come and buy for him and if you have no money, pay me when I return’.”¹⁶

It is said that later this farmer turned peddler returned to Bethlehem and went looking for the mother and her child Menachem. When he did not see the baby, he said to her, “What happened to the infant?” She said to him, “Since the time you saw him a spirit came and carried him up and took him away from me.” A Rabbi named Bun was asked what this story meant, and he said, “Why must we learn this that the Messiah was born on the day that the Temple was destroyed from a story about an Arab? Do we not have explicit Scriptural evidence for it? Lebanon with its majestic trees will fall.¹⁷ And what follows this? There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse.¹⁸ Right after an allusion to the destruction of the Temple the prophet speaks of the Messiah.” This same story is repeated in other Jewish literature.¹⁹ Also, St. Jerome spent quite a bit of time in Bethlehem in Judea. He certainly would have researched any suggestions that the place where Jesus was born lay in another part of Israel. Jerome commented that “Bethlehem” means “House of Bread,” and it was there that the “Bread which came down from heaven” also was revealed.²⁰ Just think, this little village would have gone unnoticed and perhaps ignored by tourist to this day, had it not been for the fact that a baby named Jesus was born there over 2000 years ago. If His being born there could do that to a sleepy little village, then what a change can He make when He is born in one’s heart! But the skepticism on the part of some was already alive even during our Lord’s early ministry. It was this type of thinking and theorizing that Jesus encountered wherever He went. No wonder His being called the Messiah met such resistance by some, and made fun of by others. It also may explain why after healing several people He told them not to tell who did it because it would interfere with His trying to spread the good news of God’s new covenant for the salvation of His people. But what about King Herod Antipas who is mentioned in the text? He was considered a member of the Hasmonean Dynasty before it became the Herodian Dynasty. In fact, a British barrister and legal academic, and also the British-appointed attorney-general of Mandatory Palestine and a lifelong Zionist, wrote this on the relationship between Herod Antipas and Julius Caesar:

“A happier era seemed to be dawning for the Jews when Julius Caesar became dictator. At the beginning of the civil war between him and Pompey, Hyrcanus, at the instance of Antipater, prepared to support the man to whom he owed his position; but when Pompey was murdered, Antipater led the Jewish forces to help Caesar, who was hard pressed at Alexandria. His timely help and his influence over the Egyptian Jews recommended him to Caesar’s favor, and secured for him an extension of his authority in Palestine, and for Hyrcanus the confirmation of his political leadership over the Jews. Joppa was restored to the Hasmonean domain, Judea was granted freedom from all tribute and taxes to Rome, and the independence of the internal administration was guaranteed. Caesar, too, whatever may have been his motive, showed favor to the Jews throughout his Empire. Mommsen²¹ thinks that he saw in them an effective mixture of cosmopolitanism and national decomposition, and to that intent gave them special privileges; but this seems a perverse reason to assign for the grant of the right to maintain in all its thoroughness their national life, and for their exemption from all Imperial or municipal burdens that would conflict with it. It is more reasonable to suppose that, taking in this as in many other things a broader view than that of his countrymen, Caesar recognized the weakness of a world-state whose members were so denationalized as to have no strong feeling for any common purpose, no passion of loyalty to any community, and he favored Judaism as a counteracting force to this peril”.²²

Through this we can see how God was influencing the cultural, religious, and political forces into the balance and substance needed for His Son to come into the world to accomplish the greatest feat ever attempted, the salvation of mankind from certain ruin and everlasting punishment. At no other time in the history of the part of the world, would it have been more right or possible for Jesus to be born so that he would minister as He did, gather the disciples that He did, have the effect on Jerusalem and the Temple that He did, and set into motion what would become the church. We should never see this as a matter of happenstance. It was all part of God’s eternal plan.