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Book messages «Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 1) Vol. 15: Study on Matthew»
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Matthew chapter two

  This chapter may be divided into two sections: verses 1-12 are concerned with Herod's plot to kill, and verses 13-23 describe Jesus' flight.

  Verse 1:"In the days of Herod the king." Herod was an Idumaean (Mark 3:8), an Edomite, a descendant of Esau. He was made king, a tetrarch (Luke 1:5). At Herod's time Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. This is related to the first census, as recorded in Luke 2:1-2. From the political viewpoint, the census was a decree from the Caesar. From our viewpoint, it was God's fulfillment of biblical prophecy. (At that time Joseph lived in Nazareth.) The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah (Prov. 21:1). If the census had been taken earlier, Joseph and Mary would have returned to Nazareth immediately after they were registered. If the census had been taken a little later, they might still have been traveling on the way. However, under God's sovereignty, as soon as they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary delivered the child.

  "Magi from the east arrived." According to Greek, the magi were persons of morality or principle, like the Hindu "holy men." The phrase the east does not indicate what place it was east of; it should refer to east of Jerusalem, east of Judea.

  Verse 2:"He who has been born King of the Jews." This seems to indicate that the Lord Jesus was only for the Jews; however, those who first came to seek for the Lord were Gentiles. It was declared from the mouths of Gentiles that the Lord was the King of the Jews. From this verse we can see that the Lord's work was for both the Gentiles and the Jews. "We saw His star at its rising." The Bible does not give us proof of how the magi from the east learned of the Lord's birth, but we have some hint. ("Light" — Isa. 60:3 "He" — Psa. 72:4). The Gentiles also had prophets, Balaam being one of them. He was one of four prophets who prophesied the most concerning the Lord Jesus (Num. 24:17). Perhaps these prophecies had spread in the east. Perhaps the magi from the east read the prophecy in Daniel. In his captivity in Babylon, when Daniel prophesied concerning the seventy weeks, he spoke the things concerning the Lord Jesus (Dan. 9:24-25). "To worship Him" was not to worship as one would worship God but to worship the Lord with the highest honor given to a human being.

  Verse 3:"When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him." For Herod to be troubled was somewhat reasonable, but for all Jerusalem also to be troubled was truly strange. From the time of Malachi to that time was a period of about four hundred and thirty years. During that period the Jews were suffering, and they were expecting the Messiah to come. When they heard this news, they should have rejoiced. Instead, they were troubled. This is for no other reason than that they were not genuinely seeking the Savior. (A Christian who expects the Lord to come or who expects to be raptured should take this as a warning — Prov. 4:23; 25:28.) Verse 3 says that Herod was troubled inwardly (the motive); verse 7 shows us that he took action outwardly (the scheme); and verse 16 is the result of the troubling (the killing).

  Verses 4-6 indicate that biblical prophecy is one thing and revelation is another thing, that teaching is one thing and revelation is another thing. One may have the words of the prophets, but he still needs the heavenly star. One may have the knowledge of the Scriptures, but he still needs the divine revelation. If man is not hungry, God does not give. Perhaps the magi from the east were people who waited on God and were seeking. If one has only dead knowledge, he is merely a Pharisee. Even though he understands the word of the Scriptures, he has never seen the light from heaven. The star appeared in heaven to show the magi that there was a Savior, but it was through the Bible that they could find out the details. On the one hand, they needed the heavenly star; on the other hand, they needed Micah's prophecy (Micah 5:2). By this we can see that there are certain conditions for the receiving of God's revelation: (1) waiting and (2) desiring.

  The second half of Micah 5:2 says, "And His goings forth are from ancient times, / From the days of eternity." This shows that the One born in Bethlehem is God. When the Lord said, "Before Abraham came into being, I am" (John 8:58), they wanted to stone Him because they did not acknowledge Him as God.

  Verse 7:"Then Herod, secretly calling the magi, determined accurately from them the time that the star appeared." Things done "secretly" are not necessarily wrong, but they usually cannot avoid becoming something of darkness. Christians may have secrets, but they should not have darkness. Herod "determined accurately" the time that the star appeared. By that time probably more than a year had passed, the evidence for which will be given later.

  Verse 8:"And sending them to Bethlehem, he said, Go and find out accurately about the child. And when you find Him, report to me, so that I also may come and worship Him." Herod's intention was not to worship Him, but to kill Him.

  Verse 9:"And after they heard the king, they went their way, and behold, the star which they saw at its rising led them until it came and stood over the place where the child was." There is no mention here that any scribe or Pharisee followed the magi. The magi could come from the east and find Bethlehem, but the scribes and the Pharisees would not go from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. This shows that the Gentiles wanted the Lord, but the Jews rejected Him. We should understand the Bible with our mind. At the same time, we also should seek inwardly to know the power of God. Andrew Murray said that it is a pity for someone to have a great deal of Bible knowledge yet keep it merely in his fleshly mind.

  "The star which they saw" was the same star they saw the first time. If we want to know the certainty of God's leading, we need a second revelation of the star after its first revelation. This is a principle: the second appearing of the star is a confirmation that its first appearing is correct. God said to Abraham, "Unto a land that I will show thee" (Gen. 12:1). If we took the first step, yet we do not have "I will show thee" as the second step, we were probably wrong in our first step. The revelation after a revelation is a confirmation that we are on the right way. This is a principle: always verify a revelation with a follow-up revelation.

  Verse 10:"And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." In contrast, when the people in Jerusalem heard the news, they were troubled. Our attitude toward the Savior is an indication of the degree of our spirituality. One characteristic of the Lord is that He requires man to love Him. A Christian should not only believe in the Lord but also love the Lord. If one who believes in the Lord is not affected by the Lord in his inward emotions and feelings, he is not worthy to be called a Christian.

  Verse 11:"They...saw the child." Here it does not say "a baby." This shows that a period of time had passed since the event mentioned in verse 9. The magi's traveling required some time because transportation was not convenient then. Herod had inquired previously concerning the time that the star appeared, but eventually those whom he killed were children who were two years old and under. Furthermore, this verse mentions "the house," not a manger. House is a particular word used in Matthew. This is the first time it is used. It might have been a house rented by Joseph; perhaps at that time they lived alternately between Nazareth and Bethlehem. These things may prove that the time when the magi came to see the Lord was not when the Lord was newly born.

  That the magi from the east came to see the Lord shows that the Lord is King. Moreover, they went into the house to worship Him. The Gospel of Mark writes concerning the Lord as a slave; therefore, it does not give a record of His birth. The Gospel of Luke portrays the Lord as a man; therefore, it gives an account of His birth. It also tells us that those who came to see Him were shepherds, common people. He was born in a manger, but He was not the son of a manger. The Gospel of John unveils the Lord as God; therefore, instead of mentioning His birth, it only says, "The Word became flesh."

  Gold signifies the divine nature, frankincense denotes delight, and myrrh is used for the dead. Isaiah 60 mentions only gold and frankincense, not myrrh. Because Isaiah is a book on the Lord as the King in the millennium, it mentions only gold and frankincense. Here the magi presented myrrh, signifying that the coming of the Lord this time was for Him to go through death. Fittingly, the gold provided the travel expenses for Joseph to flee from Herod. How wonderful is God's doing!

  Verse 12:"And because they had been divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed by another way to their country." One who has seen the Lord cannot return to Herod.

  Verse 13:"Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, Arise, take the child and His mother and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to seek the child to destroy Him." "Until I tell you" indicates that God's leading is step by step.

  Verse 15: "And was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, `Out of Egypt I called My Son.'" Instead of performing a miracle for His Son, God told Him to flee. From the time of His birth, the Lord had to flee. He did not resist. His word to Christians who are to suffer persecution is: "When they persecute you in this city, flee into another" (Matt. 10:23). "Out of Egypt I called My Son." This is a word spoken by God to Israel. When the children of Israel were no longer able to bear it, they fled. Isaiah 49:3 shows us that the Lord and Israel are one. It seems that the Lord was the last Israelite; He included the Israelites in Himself. Israel was exceedingly wicked; therefore, the Lord had to go to the cross.

  Verses 16-18:This portion is quoted from Jeremiah 31:15. Rachel was buried in Bethlehem, which means "house of bread." "Rachel weeping for her children" is a modifying clause. Because Herod had killed so many children of Bethlehem, it seemed to cause Rachel to come out of the grave to weep for her children. Ramah was about two hundred yards away from Bethlehem.

  Verse 19:"And when Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt." Man is nothing; once he dies, everything of him comes to an end. Herod had caused others to die, but now he himself died. God did not perform a miracle so that His Son might remain; rather, He called His Son out of Egypt.

  Verse 20:"Saying, Arise, take the child and His mother and go into the land of Israel, for those who seek the life of the child have died." "Go into the land of Israel" indicates that the Lord still had to be an Israelite.

  Verse 22:"But because he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; and having been divinely instructed in a dream, he departed into the regions of Galilee." We need not only the Lord's leading but also common sense. God only commanded Joseph to go into the land of Israel; He did not tell him where to stay. At that time, if he had gone back to Jerusalem, he would have had trouble. However, because he had this common sense, while he hesitated, he was led by God and departed into Galilee. The land of Galilee was a large region. Matthew 4:15 reads "Galilee of the Gentiles," indicating that Galilee was a place with a mixed population of Gentiles and Jews. The first three Gospels contain mainly records of what the Lord spoke in the land of Judea, whereas the last Gospel contains mainly records of what the Lord spoke in the land of Galilee.

  Verse 23:"And he came and settled in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazarene." In the Bible, no prophet ever prophesied that the Lord would be called a Nazarene. Nothing good can be from Nazareth (John 1:46). Therefore, to call the Lord a Nazarene is to despise Him and consider Him low. The prophecies of the prophets concerning the Lord implied that He is lowly and low (Isa. 53:2-3; Psa. 22:6).

  Chapters one and two include five quotations from the Old Testament, with three kinds of fulfillment: (1) 2:6 and 2:15 would be fulfilled — they were of the same situation; (2) 2:17-18 was fulfilled — literally; and (3) 1:23 and 2:23 should be fulfilled — a fulfillment in teaching.

  In chapter two, concerning God's leading, there is the need of (1) Bible knowledge, (2) heavenly revelation, (3) man's common sense, and (4) faith, waiting, and obedience.

  These two chapters mention three characters:

  First, Joseph — having great faith. (1) For a virgin to be with child is against the natural law, yet he believed (1:24). (2) Even though he needed to flee with Jesus, the Son of God, he still believed (2:14). (3) He obeyed God's command and returned to the land of Israel (2:21).

  Second, Herod — (1) He was troubled because of Christ's birth (2:3). (2) He envied the Lord (2:7). (3) He sought to destroy Jesus (2:16). This shows how Satan transfigures himself into an angel of light.

  Third, the magi — (1) They had the knowledge of the Scriptures. (2) They had a seeking and waiting attitude. (3) They had the revelation of the Holy Spirit. (4) They had the expression of honoring the Lord. (5) They did not take the same way back.

  The conclusion: God's ways are higher than man's ways (Isa. 55:9).

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