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| | Scriptures do not say who the wise men were, where they came from, or how many there were. | | Scriptures do not say who the wise men were, where they came from, or how many there were. |
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| − | All that is known of them is that they brought gifts of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, for the baby Jesus (cp Mt 2:11-12). | + | All that is known of them is that they brought gifts of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, for the baby Jesus (cp Mt 2:11-12) |
| | + | '''[[2:3-5 Who prophesied Christ's birthplace?]]''' |
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| − | '''<div id="2:3-5 Who prophesied Christ's birthplace?">2:3-5 Who prophesied Christ's birthplace?<div>'''
| + | ''Back to [[Matthew Study]]''' |
| − | The Old Testament prophet Micah prophesied that Christ would be born in Bethlehem (cp Mt 2:6 with Mic 5:2). Bethlehem means "house of bread". It is not without significance that Jesus, the bread of life, was born in the house of bread (cp Jn 6:31-35).
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| − | '''<div id="2:13-15 What do we learn from this?">2:13-15 What do we learn from this?<div>'''
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| − | We learn from this that the threat of death hung over Jesus from infancy. He was born to die, but only in God's appointed time (cp Ac 2:22-23). The prophet quoted in V15 is Hosea (cp Hos 11:1).
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| − | '''<div id="2:16-18 What is the meaning of this prophecy?">2:16-18 What is the meaning of this prophecy?<div>'''
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| − | When the wise men did not return to King Herod to report the baby Jesus' whereabouts as arranged in Mt 2:7-8, Herod had all male children under two years old in Bethlehem and surrounding areas killed. He was afraid this new-born King – Jesus – would eventually take his throne (cp Mt 2:1-3, 7-8, 11-13, 16).
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| − | The death of these children fulfilled Jeremiah's prophecy in the Old Testament (cp Jer 31:15). Rachel was the second wife of Jacob, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She died giving birth to Benjamin and was buried in Ramah (cp Gen 35:1, 10, 16-19). In Jer 31:15 Rachel represents Israel weeping for the Israelites who were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon (cp 2Chr 36:10-20 with Jer 26:1-6). Matthew saw Rachel's weeping in Jer 31:15 as having a prophetic application to the Jewish mothers weeping over their children slain by Herod.
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| − | '''<div id="2:23 Where in scripture is this recorded?">2:23 Where in scripture is this recorded?<div>'''
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| − | This was spoken by the prophets, not written. There is no record of it anywhere in scripture.
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| − | '''Back to [[Matthew Study]]'''
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Scriptures do not say who the wise men were, where they came from, or how many there were.
All that is known of them is that they brought gifts of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, for the baby Jesus (cp Mt 2:11-12)
2:3-5 Who prophesied Christ's birthplace?
