The Coming Kingdom: Matthew 2.1-23 (2)
Pray Psalm 47.1-4.
Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the LORD Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves.
Selah
Sing Psalm 47.1-4.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
O clap your hands, you peoples all, with joy to God your songs intone!
Shout out to Him, and on Him call, He is the mighty, sovereign One!
High is the LORD, O, fear His Name! He rules, a King o’er all the earth.
Nations and peoples He has tamed, the heritage of His holy worth.
Read Matthew 2.1-23; meditate on verses 3-8.
Who was troubled? Why? What must that have been like?
Preparation
1. What did Herod do?
2. What did he learn?
Meditation
Wicked people do not find the Good News of Jesus good at all. It challenges their autonomy and threatens their settled way of life. Herod was “troubled” by the news that a “King of the Jews” had been born. And when Herod was troubled about something, the people he ruled became troubled as well. Herod was an unstable and violent man, who was not above taking extreme measures when he felt his authority was being challenged.
Matthew continues anchoring his narrative in the deep waters of the Old Testament by reporting the answer of the priests and scribes to Herod’s query concerning the place of the Christ’s birth. Their ready reply, quoting Micah 5.2, indicates that expectation of Christ’s coming was in the air at this time. People understood the message of the prophets, albeit imperfectly.
Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem to complete their mission, but insisted they return to give him the details concerning the whereabouts of the Child. Of course, he had no intention of worshiping Christ, but only of destroying Him. It is interesting to note in verses 3-8 how “King” and “Christ” were conflated in the minds of Jewish leaders. The King Who was to be born in Bethlehem would be the Christ, the Anointed One of Psalm 2, Who would come to rule His people and all the nations (cf. Ps. 49.8-12). This much they understood; yet they could not understand—and would not accept—the manner of His conquering and rule. Jesus came as the true and good Shepherd; the Jewish leaders were anything but. He would trouble their hearts as surely as He did Herod’s.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Herod gathered all the “great” minds of the synagogue—chief priests and scribes—to flesh out the information he had gleaned from the Magi. They already knew that he was “troubled” (Matt. 2.3) about this One Who might usurp his power, but despite this knowledge, they were eager to play along and give him all the information that he required to find the King and kill Him.
These men, knowledgeable of the Old Testament, certainly knew a similar story that had gone down between David and King Saul. David had fled for his life from Saul and gone to hide in the woods. The Ziphites (a clan from the tribe of Judah) were more than happy to out his whereabouts to “troubled” Saul.
So, they said to him, “Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.” And Saul responded, not unlike conniving Herod, “Blessed are you of the LORD, for you have compassion on me. Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you” (1 Sam. 23.19-23).
How terribly easy it is for the Church to get roped into governmental shenanigans, when said hearts are not right. When little deviations have crept into thinking, and health, peace, and tranquility are falsely assumed to be found at the “king’s” behest, and not at God’s.
One need only think back a few years, for a current events example: of lockdowns, masks, shots, and pastors waxing eloquent about what Jesus would do during a “pandemic”. The Church, sadly, was right in lockstep with all the talking points of the world. Not a shred of thought was given to what a Christians’ response truly could have been or should have been. Only doing what we were told to do. And now in hindsight, surely the Church sees, that we were led astray?
But are we any better prepared for the next disaster? Are pastors teaching their people how to live in God’s Kingdom and serve only Him? Are we being taught to search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17.11) to determine what is true and what is not? Are we being prepared to stand on our feet, dressed for Kingdom work (Eph. 6.10-20)? Or are we content to be just another generation of people responding to our own “troubled Herods”?
Our job is to proclaim to those “troubled” about the wrong things, the things that they should actually be troubled about. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3.23), but “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3.16). For indeed, Jesus was declared by a star, and born in Bethlehem, “a Ruler Who will shepherd” His people (Matt. 2.6).
We have Kingdom work to do “that has been prepared beforehand” (Eph. 2.10) for us to accomplish; and we must speak His Truth because He tells us to. But we must always be mindful of how easy it is to be “troubled” by the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
Trouble my soul, LORD, only over the things that trouble You.
Reflect.
1. As followers of Jesus, what should “trouble” our soul?
2. Should we expect that sharing the Gospel with someone might “trouble” their soul? Explain.
3. Is there a “good and right” way of troubling people’s soul? Explain.
Let us beware of a dead faith. A man may be persuaded of many truths, and yet may hate them, because they interfere with his ambition, or sinful indulgences. Such a belief will make him uneasy, and the more resolved to oppose the truth and the cause of God; and he may be foolish enough to hope for success therein. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 2.1-9
Pray Psalm 47.5-9.
Rejoice before the Lord in His sovereign greatness and power. Call on Him to “trouble” the souls of many so that their hearts will turn in love to Him.
Sing Psalm 47.5-9.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
God has ascended with a shout, the LORD with sound of trumpet bold!
Sing praise to Him, let praise ring out; let praise throughout the world be told!
God is the King of all the earth; sing praise to Him with glorious psalms!
He rules the nations by His worth, and on His throne receives their alms.
Princes of peoples gather all to Abraham and to our God.
Exalt the LORD, and on Him call. The earth is His, so praise our God!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast pushes on through our readings from Joy to Your World!. Our Crosfigell teaching letter continues its brief series on the early 6th-century Irish saint, Coemgen. The ReVision column considers how to grow the divine economy. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
