Understanding The Bible |
Who Is Jesus?
Part-5
By Joan A
Deering
“Now after Jesus
was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,"
[Matthew 2:1a]
[1]
Herod was the king in Jerusalem
at the time Jesus was born. “Herod” is a title not a name people were born with.
This particular Herod was referred to as Herod the Great.
“behold, magi from
the east arrived in Jerusalem,..."
[Matthew 2:1b
The term Magi
[2]
was used as the name for priests and wise men among the Medes, Persians, and
Babylonians.
"...saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” Matthew [Matthew 2:1b-2]
It is a possibility
the Magi came from Babylon because the prophet Daniel was taken to Babylon by
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He besieged Jerusalem and brought a great number
of people from there back as captives to Babylon. It’s possible the Magi heard
of the events over time while Daniel was in
When Herod the
king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And
gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired
of them where the Messiah was to be born. They
said to him, “In
The New
International version uses the word
disturbed
which described how Herod the king reacted to the
information from the scribes and priest. We will go further with this in Part-6
of “Who is Jesus.”
These following verses are from the referenced Old
Testament writings. These show some of what the chief priests and scribes
were referring to when they answered Herod in Matthew 2:3-5.
Rejoice greatly, daughter of
Shout in triumph, daughter of
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is righteous and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
[Zechariah 9:9]
‘And
you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd
My people Israel.’”
[Matthew 2:6
The Matthew verse
quoted above is from the Old Testament book of Micah 5:2 foretelling of the
Messiah (Hebrew: Anointed One; Greek: Christ; Jesus)
to be born in Bethlehem Judea.
“Behold, the days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely
And do justice and righteousness in the land.
[Jeremiah 23:5]
[1] All
Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible
[2] The
New Unger’s Bible Dictionary,
copyright 1957 The Moody Bible Institute
2022-02-04 1230