According to the gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem. King Herod was also known as Herod the Great, and his ruling was not genuine. According to scholars, the Romans often chose a local ruler over people they conquered, and they chose Herod. Herod spared no one to protect his power, including his own wife and several of his sons. This same approach was planned once he heard the news of a newborn “king of the Jews”. Israelites grew up being taught about the coming “Christ,” a king over Israel who would make all things right again. Any rumor of a born king, or savior, would be extremely powerful among the Jewish people.
Herod didn’t want Christ to come to power while he was king, and he decides to try and stop this newborn king from coming to power. Herod gathered priests and scribes to answer the question of where Jesus was to be born. He knew that these people knew Israel’s Scriptures. Their answer in verse 6 came from prophecy, and Herod then knew where to send them to find the newborn (Jesus).
Herod had the wise men come to him secretly because he was scheming. He believed the star appeared when Jesus was born, and needed this information to “narrow down“ which baby was his rival (doesn‘t that sound insane??) Once Herod had this information, he sent the wise men to Bethlehem to find him. His tale of wishing to worship him is simply not true, but a way to further scheme k*lling Jesus to protect his power.
Not everyone agrees on exactly how to interpret the details of the star. In my opinion it seems to be a truly supernatural phenomenon. The joy these men experienced came from the fulfillment of a promise of a savior for Israel, and the chance to see Him in person (even as a baby!) The wise men did not arrive at the birth of Jesus, but up to two years later. I have a hard time thinking about travel back then. It would have taken months to travel from city to city, explaining the time it took to reach Jesus. It’s unknown if the men knew of Herod’s plan, but either way, God interrupted their journey back to report their findings by warning them in a dream, and they did not return to Herod. God will do the same for Jesus and His earthly family in the next few verses of Matthew.
When Herod realized the wise men were not returning with information about Jesus, he was furious. He killed all of the male children under 2 in hopes that he would kill Jesus as originally planned (earlier mentioned the wise men took about 2 years to reach Jesus, so Herod was just estimating the age).
After this, Joseph shows incredible faith in his obedience to God. He obeys each instruction that comes to him, including the last direction of settling in Nazareth.
Below is the second chapter of Matthew.
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Matthew 2:
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[b] and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
The Flight to Egypt
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Herod Kills the Children
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
The Return to Nazareth
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.