Matthew 24 about temples or Houses of God and the end of the age

Today we start with a chapter where Jesus, after he has been discoursing all day in the courts of the temple, went out from the temple, going on his way to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples coming to him to show him the buildings of the temple. (Matthew 21:23; 24:3)

The apostle Mark let us know that the disciples particularly pointed out the stones of the temple, as well as the buildings.

“In that temple,”

says Josephus, the Jewish historian,

“were several stones which were forty-five cubits in length, five in height, and sixth in breadth”;

that is, more than seventy feet long, ten wide, and eight high. These stones, of such enormous size, were principally used in building the high wall on the east side, from the base to the top of the mountain. They were also, it is said, beautifully painted with variegated colours.

The Temple was renowned for its beauty and was considered to be one of the wonders of the world. It is written in the Talmud,

‘Whoever has not seen Herod’s Temple has never yet seen a beautiful building.’ (SB I,944).

We find the disciples on the Mount of Olives where they question the Nazarene in particular about his own future coming, the time of the desolation of God’s temple and its destruction and the sign of its advent and the end of the world (verses 1-3). They do not understand Jesus his predictions and cannot believe that the temple should be destroyed in their time. – The one by Herod I in 20 BCE. The new construction of the temple that was started was only really completed seven years before it was destroyed.

We are coming closer to the imprisonment of Christ. The writing here can well be talking about the last private school before their final gathering at the upper room. Jesus comes to talk once more about a future time, namely of the last things, and extends to the end of the world, modelled on the impending end of the Jewish Republic. But this private school is still somewhat linked to the previous lesson. – Jesus went out, as he said, and away from the temple,
in which he made the previous speech, of which the last words were that their house should be left deserted to them. Thus, these words refer back to chapter 23:38, where is mentioned that the House shall be left abandoned.

We shall find a discourse that foretells in the outset the destruction of Jerusalem (e. g., v. 15-21, v. 34); and in the conclusion certainly foretells the final coming of the son of man, with the gathering of all nations, the general judgment of mankind and the resulting permanent state of the good and the bad, (Matthew 25:31-46) in a way substantially equivalent to the predictive descriptions afterwards given by the apostles.

The question of the disciples in verse 3 was obviously misguided, because it attracts the response from Jesus

“Take heed that no man deceive you”.

which echoes the words of God to Zedekiah (Jeremiah 37:9) where he was anticipating a deliverance from the Chaldeans. – When the Romans were surrounding Jerusalem there would have been Jews who encouraged the people, falsely, saying that the Romans would not over throw the city.

Did the disciples think that the coming of Jesus, and the end of the world was to be very soon? Jesus goes to great lengths to let them in gently on the fact that the “time of the gentiles” was to come in the intervening period. (v. 6, 8, 14).

Today still many may wonder what an unfolding end with beginnings of birth pains and those rumors of wars may imply. They should remember it shall only be when the Good News of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

In this last of the five major sermons, Jesus focuses on prophetic and apocalyptic themes of judgment and the end times. The disciples have been listening to the prophetic judgment Jesus has issued on the religious leaders. They have images of collapsing temple buildings, of prophets pursued from town to town, of floggings, and of blood-soaked garments. They can imagine themselves blood-soaked. They wonder when this all will happen, and what it means.

Their master teacher Jeshua answers them to be careful that no one leads them astray, which we should take at heart also! We too must be be aware of it for many will come in Jesus name, doing as if they are the Messiah or the one who can bring people to salvation. Jesus warns for all those people, preachers and so called prophets who, by their talking and frigtening people will lead many astray. (Matthew 24:4-5,11)

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but should not directly be alarmed, for this must happen but it is not yet the end. In Scriptures many signs of times to come are notated. In the Book of books is written that nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are only the beginning of birth pains, it is to say the start of a generation which shall come to see more. (Matthew 24:4-8)

In Scriptures is told that God provides time for man to listen to His Words, and as such, first all over the world, shall the Good News being preached, before the worst battle commences. And we should know that those who preach the Good News and worship the Only One True God, Who is One (and not two or three), shall be mocked and laughed at, and even worse being hand over to persecution and being killed. They that pronounce the Name of the Only One True God  and the true name of the Messiah, Christ (Jeshua the Messiah) will be hated by all the nations because of Jesus and his Father’s name’s sake. (Matthew 24:9-14)

We shall have to face it that many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one other. All that leading astray might happen because of people prefering to listen to false prophets and human dogma‘s instead of listening to the the Word of God and the believe in the Biblical dogma‘s. It shall all happen also because lawlessness will multiply and the love of many will grow cold, by their selfishness.
Though we might have hope, because those who endures to the end will be saved. They that take time to listen to this Good News of the kingdom which shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, shall recognise the signs when there will be great trouble such as has not happened since the beginning of the world, the end will come. We must hear and listen to the words of Jesus Christ, know and believe that for the sake of the chosen, those days will be cut short.(Matthew 24:10-14, 21-22)

Even when false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and show great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen, we should be alert and keep tot he writings of Scripture and the call of God and His master teacher, because that last one told us beforehand. (Matthew 24:24-25)

We should know that it shall be with the coming of the Son of Man, being as lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, that we should come to see the signs clearly. Because immediately after the trouble of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
That is when the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. (Matthew 24:26-28, 29-30)
At that time all the tribes of the land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send out his angels with a great shofar, and those heavenly messengers will gather his beloved faithful elect from the four corners of creation, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)

This 24th chapter concludes with a parable of a fig tree. We too should learn from that parable from the fig tree. (Matthew 24:32-33)
Jesus tells them that story because he wants to warn that generation which will not pass away until all these things happen. Though it will pass away, Jeshua’s words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:34-35) But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, except the Father alone, because only Jehovah God is the Only God above all gods Who knows everything. (Matthew 24:36)

Afterwards Jesus also reminds his disciples of those days before the flood, when people enjoyed all the best things of life and were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. We may not forget that at that time they did not understand until the flood came and swept them all away, but then it was too late. So shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37-39) Then many shal be at work as well, but also find some one taken and the other one left. (Matthew 24:40-41) Therefore we all have to stay alert; for like Jesus and his disciples did not know the time of the end, we do not know what day our Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:42) But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:43-44)

The chapter ends by talking about the “Faithful Servant“, a subject that can also confuse or despair many, or use some to present their leaders as that only reliable servant.
Jesus questions

“ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” (Mt 24:45 NIV)

and then continues with telling that the faithful and wise servant, has to be some one who takes good care of that household to give them the necessary things at the proper time (Matthew 24:45-46)

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Preceding

Matthew 11:20-24 Encouragement for John and Reproach for cities 5 Reproached Cities a Lesson for Judgment Day

Matthew 12:33-37 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Judgment Day

Matthew 13:36-43 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Parable of the Zizania in the Field Explained

Matthew 13:47-50 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Parable of the Dragnet

Matthew 16 Calvin’s view

Matthew 16 Asking for signs from heaven

Matthew 16:1-4 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Signs of the Times

Signs of the last days when difficult times will come

Matthew 23:37-39 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Jerusalem, Jerusalem – Your House Is Abandoned!

Next:

Matthew 24:1-2 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Desolation, Oppression and the Parousia – The Setting

Photo from the blog of Aaron Richert, pastor of The Church at North Pole in North Pole, Alaska. From the article: Is Matthew 24 about the Rapture?

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Additional reading

1. Looking into the Future
2. Prophecies over coming days
3. Signs of the Last Days
4. Sign of the Times and the Last Days #1 The Son of man revealing
5. Sign of the Times and the Last Days #2 Wars, natural disasters, famine and false Messiahs
6. Signs of the times – “An object of scorn and ridicule”
7. The Rapture Wars
8. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go
9. Memorizing wonderfully 35 When the son returns it shall be As it came to pass in the days of Noah
10. Be not afraid of those trials which God may see fit to send upon thee
11. From pain to purpose

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The ice in the photo above reminded Tekoa Manning of judgment that often is described using hail. Mexico’s second-largest city, Guadalajara, has an Arabic name meaning ‘valley of stones and also, a valley of streams.’ – Photo from Obadiah’s Cave article Comfortably Numb

Related

1. Give Your Precious Time To God
2. The Events of 70 AD do not Fulfill End Times Prophecies Jesus prophesied that the Great Tribulation will be the most severe time in world history. It will surpass all other times of crisis. Some seek to minimize this prophecy by reducing it to symbolism or by seeing it as being totally fulfilled in 70 AD.
   The Great Tribulation will be so severe that God shortens it to three and a half years to keep the entire human race from being physically killed (Matthew 24:21-22). One million people died in 70 AD and in World War II, 50 million died.
3. This is Not the Way It’s Supposed To Be
4. Abundant Fruit (Matthew 24: 6, 11)
5. Famine
6. Storm Clouds
7. Stars Falling From the Sky: Figurative Language
8. Day 159: There will be wars
9. A Rising Called For!
10. Fear Not!
11. Be alert
12. Comfortably Numb
13. Trouble Such as Never Was before
14. “This Generation” Shall Not Pass Away “Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”
15. What Did Jesus Mean When He Said “This Generation Won’t Pass Away”?
16. The darker it gets
17. The Olivet Discourse: For Israelis Only?
18. The Olivet Discourse: 02 – The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
19. The Last Days Acceleration of Time
20. Study Guide for Matthew 24: (Matthew 24:1-2) Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple. (Mat 24:3) Jesus’ prediction brings up two questions. (Matthew 24:4-8) Jesus describes general world conditions during the period between His Ascension and the time immediately preceding His second coming. (Matthew 24:9-14) Jesus describes what His disciples must expect during the time between His Ascension and Second Coming. (Matthew 24:15) The sign: the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel.
21. 71. Yet when we understand the importance and what is said about this event – the abomination of desolation – we must give priority to this event, even more than the easiest interpretation of Matthew 24:34.

• • • It is the critical sign mentioned in Matthew 24.
    • It is the warning to flee mentioned in Matthew 24.
    • It is the sign of the consummation of all things in Daniel 9:27.
    • It is the sign foreshadowed by Antiochus Epiphanies in Daniel 11:31.
    • It is the precise marker of days to the end in Daniel 12:11.
    • It is the revelation of the man of sinin 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
      • It is the image of the beast in Revelation 13:14-15.

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1. Explaining Matthew 24
2. Matthew 24:1 // Reboot – The end of times
3. Matthew 24:3 And Olivet’s Structure
4. AND when you SEE these THINGS BEGIN
5. Apocalypse Talks: Temporary Temples – Matthew 24:1-8
6. Apocalypse Talks: The Fall Is Approaching – Matthew 24:9-14
7. Apocalypse Talks: Mitigating Disaster – Matthew 24:15-22
8. Apocalypse Talks: The Bigger Picture
9. Apocalypse Talks: The Mean Time
10. Armageddon, Part 3: Are there ‘signs’ that the end is coming?
11. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part I
12. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part II
13. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part III
14. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part IV
15. 11.24.19 Matthew 24 Part V
16. Matthew 24:12,13
17. Matthew 24:14
18. Matthew 24:23,24
19. Matthew 24:36-44 Sunday School Lessons and Activities
20. Matthew 24 and the Fig Tree Matthew 24:32-33
21. Three things that must happen before Jesus returns – Matthew 23:37-39; Matthew 24:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:3
22. End Times Q&A
23. Christ’s Coming Again to Judge
24. Timing of Christ’s second coming
25. Don’t Be Deceived (about the Coming of Christ)
26. The Parable of the Fig Tree
27. Mark 11 – Fig Tree
28. The Fig Tree Growing in a Vineyard
29. Being a good servant – talk-notes for 27th Oct 2019
30. Called or Chosen?
31. Paul Explains the Second Coming
32. Hope in the Second-Coming
33. We MUST Let our Light Shine!
34. Faith That Is Fruitful For God

Matthew 2:19-23 – Out of Egypt to Nazareth

Matthew 2:19-23 – Out of Egypt to Nazareth

MT2:19 Now when Herod finally deceased, look! an angel of YHWH appeared to Joseph in a dream while in Egypt, MT2:20 saying, “Get up and take along the young child and its mother and be on your way into the land of Israel, for those seeking the soul of the young child have died.” MT2:21 And so Joseph got up and took along the young child and its mother and entered the land of Israel. MT2:22 Joseph became afraid to depart when he heard that Archelaus[1] was reigning in Judea after Herod his father. But, after a divine warning in a dream Joseph finally withdrew into the area of Galilee.[2] MT2:23 Upon arriving Joseph[3] settled in a town called Nazareth so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled that [the young child] would be called a Nazarene.[4] [Isaiah 11:1]

[1] Archelaus: It means “ruler of the people.” (Jewish Antiquities, by F. Josephus, XVII, 194, 195 [viii, 2]).

[2] Galilee: The place name occurs 78 times in the Christian Bible and becomes the most productive area of Jesus’ ministry.

[3] Joseph: It is interesting in this account only Joseph is named and the object of attention, whereas Mary the mother of Jesus is not named.

[4] Called a Nazarene: There are several opinions on the meaning here. Some wish to parallel the word NAZORAIOS with the Hebrew Nazrite. Most see the meaning of Nazareth as “branch-town” (or, sprout-town) and so it is a play on the words root or branch applied to the Messiah. It is possible the name is from the Hebrew netser, meaning “sprout.” Compare Isaiah 11:1 and elsewhere. The word “Nazarene” becomes part of Jesus’ name. Even after his resurrection, and later appearance to Saul of Tarsus, Jesus identifies himself with the term “Nazarene.” Even the demons called him Nazarene. The early Christians were first called by the opposers “Nazarenes.” See Matthew 26:71; Mark 1:24; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6; Luke 4:34; 18:37; 24:19; John 18:5, 7; 19:19; Acts 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 22:8; 24:5; 26:9. Surely Jesus was, indeed, called a Nazarene.

Mark Heber Miller 21^st Century Version of the Christian Scriptures [NCMM] or Nazarene Commentary, 2000©

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Additional BS notes:

Herod the Great (74/73 BCE – 4 BCE), Roman client king of Judea

Herod born around 74 BCE in Idumea, south of Judea, had been apointed governor of Galilee at 25, and his elder brother, Phasael, governor of Jerusalem, by his father Antipater the Idumaean. He had captured Jerusalem and executed Antigonus. Herod took the role as sole ruler of Judea and the title of basileus (Βασιλεύς, “king”) for himself, ushering in the Herodian Dynasty and ending the Hasmonean Dynasty. He was granted the title of “King of Judea” by the Roman Senate, and took on an authoritarian attitude, having a secret police to keep everything under control.

Herod was responsible for the construction of the palace of Masada and the rebuilding of the temple on Temple Mount, a portion of which remains today as the Western Wall and re-established the Sanhedrin. In addition, Herod also built the harbor at Caesarea.

In the attempt to destroy the infant Jesus children of Bethlehem “from two years old and under,” were killed by his order. The Innocents have been venerated in the Christian Church as martyrs since ancient times. In the Eastern Church they are known as the Holy Children. The remembrance of this Infanticide in Bethlehem, venerated in the Christian Church as martyrs since ancient times, are known in the Eastern Church as the Holy Children, , in Belgium known as “Onnozele kinderen” (Innocent children) is celebrated on Holy Innocents’ Day, December 28, in England known as Holy Innocents formerly remembered on Childermas, celebrated in Spain and parts of Latin America in a similar way to April Fools’ Day.

Herod the Great divided his kingdom among his sons Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip. Archelaus (d. after 6 CE) ruled Palestine south of the Vale of Jezreel from 4 BCE to 6 CE; he was removed by Augustus after complaints by the Jews. Herod Antipas (d. after 39 CE), tetrarch of Galilee (4 BCE–39 CE) and Peraea, repudiated his wife, daughter of Aretas, to marry his niece Herodias, wife of his half-brother Herod Philip, whom she divorced to marry Herod Antipas and was the Herod who executed John the Baptist and who was ruling at the time of Jesus’ death.

Herod the Great disregarded many of the demands the Pharisees for the construction of the temple, which caught their anger. Simultaneously, the Sadducees, who were known for their priestly responsibilities in the Temple, were opposed to Herod because he replaced the high priests with priests from Babylonia and Alexandria (in an attempt to gain support from Jews in the diaspora).

At the end of Herod’s reign, anger and dissatisfaction were common feelings amongst the Jews. Heavy outbreaks of violence (such as riots) followed Herod’s death (4 BCE), in many cities including Jerusalem. All the grievances the Jews had toward Herod’s actions during his reign, such as heavy taxes and violating the rules, built up during the years before he died. Because of the treatment the Jews were receiving, they were ready to break free from Roman Rule. Herod’s leadership sparked such anger, that eventually it became one of the causes driving the Great Revolt of 70 C.E.

The Division of Herod’s Kingdom:Light green Tetrarchy (Judea) under Herod Archelaus,

Mauve Territory under Herod Antipas

Orange Territory under Herod Philip II

Grey Salome I (cities of Jabneh, Azotas, Phaesalis)

Dark green Roman province of Syria

Yelow Autonomous cities (Decapolis)

There’s no pre-birth travel involved for Joseph and Mary, and indeed the elaborate story of Archelaus’ rule over Judaea is later told to explain why the couple went to Nazareth. Joseph heard that Archelaus ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea (biblical Edom) from 4 BC to 6 CE, the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the Samaritan, the brother of Herod Antipas, and the half-brother of Herod Philip I had come to power after the death of his father, Herod the Great.

Herod Archelaus from Guillaume Rouillé’s Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum (16th century depiction)

Archelaus appeared to be kind to the populace in Jerusalem in order to appease their desires for lower taxes and an end to the (political) imprisonment of Herod’s enemies. Archelaus acted in every manner a King, before such title had been given by Caesar. He thought of himself highly and is said to have committed suicide after being banished. Archelaus received the Tetrarchy of Judea last will of his father, though a previous will had bequeathed it to his brother Antipas. He was proclaimed king by the army, but declined to assume the title until he had submitted his claims to Caesar Augustus in Rome. In Rome he was opposed by Antipas and by many of the Jews, who feared his cruelty, based on the murder of 3000; but in 4 BCE Augustus allotted to him the greater part of the kingdom (Samaria, Judea, and Idumea) with the title of ethnarch (not king).

Archelaus held, in honour of Zeus, nine days of games in Dion, a small Macedonian village on the slopes of Mount Olympus. Mount Olympus, in Greek mythology, was the home of the gods. While Archelaus’ games were not the famed Olympics, they are an example of the value the ancient Greeks placed on the connections between body, mind and spirit.

Dynasty of herod (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Vrouwen en kinderen van Herodes de Grote) – Women and children of Herod the great (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Preceding articles:

1. The Advent of the saviour to Roman oppression
2. Story of Jesus’ birth begins long before the New Testament
3. Nazarene Commentary to Zechariah and Elizabeth
4. Nazarene Commentary to An Angel Appearing to a Priest
5. Nazarene Commentary to Struck Dumb For Disbelief
6. Nazarene Commentary to Elizabeth Pregnant
7. Nazarene Commentary Luke 1:46-56 – Mary Magnifies God
8. Nazarene Commentary Luke 1:57-66 – Elizabeth Gives Birth To John
9. Nazarene Commentary Luke 1:67-80 – Zechariah’s Prophecy
10. With child and righteousness greater than the law
11. Matthew 1:1-17 The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
12. Matthew 1:18-25 – Genesis of Jesus Christ
13. Matthew 2:1-6 – Astrologers and Priests in a Satanic Plot
14. Matthew 2:7-12 – Pawns of Herod, the Magi Find the ‘Child’
15. Matthew 2:13-15 – Escaping the Slaughter by a Flight to Egypt
16. Matthew 2:16-18 – Slaughter of the Innocents
17. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:8-14 – Angels and Shepherds in the Night
18. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:15-20 – Shepherds Find the Infant Christ
19. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:21-24 – Presenting the Baby to God
20. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:25-35 – Simeon’s Blessing and Warning
21. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:36-38 – Anna’s Thanks before Those Waiting
22. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:39-40 – The Young Child Grows
23. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:41-50 – Twelve Year Old Jesus in the Temple

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Additional reading:

1. On the Nature of Christ
2. In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification
3. Counterfeit Gospels
4. Irminsul, dies natalis solis invicti, birthday of light, Christmas and Saturnalia
5. Nazarene Acts of the Apostles Chapter 1
6. Writers needed to preach to non-believers
7. Entry to Herodian Hilltop Palace unearthed

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Further related articles:

1. Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans
2. Herod Family and Pilate
3. Herod dynasty reigning in Palestine at the time of Jesus
4. Away in a Manger
5. The Flight to Egypt; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
6. Herod’s Opinion of Jesus
7. Herod’s Opinion of Jesus; Luke 9:7-9
8. Simply Irresistible: Augustus, Herod, and the Empire
9. Unearthed after 2,000 Years, the Tomb of Herod
10. Historians, Fans Defend the ‘Real King Herod’
11. Trip through Time / Merciless Ruler with a Grand Vision: Herod the Great…
12. Caesarea Mazaca
13. Spiritualism of the Games
14. Jesus and the Village Scribes: Galilean Conflicts and the Setting of Q
15. Reflections Today; Herod’s Opinion of Jesus; the Death of John the…
16. 2,000-year-old Palace Entryway Found in Judea

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Related articles

• Gateway to King Herod’s palace unearthed by archaeologists (ibtimes.co.uk)
  The entrance to King Herod’s 2,000-year-old palace has been discovered in Israel.

  Archaeologists have uncovered the colossal arched corridor leading to a magnificent entrance hall covered with frescoes during excavations at Herodium.

  The main feature is a 20-metre-high royal corridor with a complex system of arches, which would have allowed the king and his entourage direct passage into the palace courtyard.

  The Herodian Hilltop Palace, 10 miles south of Jerusalem, was built to celebrate Herod’s victory over the Parthian Empire from what is now modern-day Iran, according to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

  The excavations also found evidence of the vestibule occupied by Jewish rebels during the Great Revolt of 66CE-71CE. The arched corridor contained hidden tunnels dug by rebels from the second century CE as they conducted guerilla war against the Romans.

• Jesus or Herod? (mydelightandmycounsellors.wordpress.com) > Jesus Or Herod?
  In Matthew’s second chapter, we see that Jesus’ birth creates a conflict about who is King. It was in the time period of the reign of Herod the Great. Herod endowed his realm with massive fortresses and splendid cities, as well as a new Temple.
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  Consider what has become of these two kings. Herod the Great is dead and his rule is over. Conversely, Jesus is alive and well; sitting at the right hand of God. The Bethlehem child rules “over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:33 ESV) Men love to play God, but it is Jesus Christ who reigns.
• today’s birthday: Jesus (c. 4 BCE) (euzicasa.wordpress.com)
  The primary sources for the life and teachings of Jesus—the central figure of Christianity—are the Gospels, but references to his life also appear in the works of non-Christian writers of antiquity, including Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, and Josephus. Most scholars agree that Jesus was born just before the death of King Herod the Great in 4 BCE.
• A Christmas Wish For Leah (todaysanewday.wordpress.com)
• Archaeologists Unearth Spectacular Entryway to Herod the Great’s Palace in Israel (spd.rss.ac)
  Towards the end of last week, archaeologists in Israel announced the discovery of a spectacular entryway to King Herod the Great’s palace not far from the city of Jerusalem.
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  What’s interesting is that, by the looks of it, this entryway was never used by King Herod the Great or his subjects. On the contrary, researchers say that Herod ordered workers to backfill it when he decided to turn the complex into a royal burial monument and memorial mound.
• Herodium: The Palace and Tomb of King Herod (amusingplanet.com)
  Located 12 km south of Jerusalem, in the Judean desert, Herodium looks like an extinct volcano, but it really is a fort built by King Herod the Great between 23 and 15 BC. King Herod’s palace and fortress was built atop a natural hill, raised to a greater height by heaping earth around the walls, creating a cone-shaped mountain. The complex was surrounded by double walls seven stories high, within which Herod built a palace that included halls, courtyards and opulent bathhouses. At the base of the fortress was an impressive royal compound with magnificent gardens. A special aqueduct brought water to the desert from the area of Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem. Being the highest peak in the Judean desert, Herodium commanded a breath taking view, overlooking the desert with the mountains of Moab to the east, and the Judean Hills to the west.

  

• Archaeologists Find Royal Entryway To King Herod’s Hilltop Palace (io9.com)
  According to the archaeologists who discovered Heordium’s royal entryway, it is “an impressive corridor with a complex system of arches spanning its width on three separate levels.” The entrance led to a vestibule covered with elaborate, painted frescoes, while the arches buttressed the corridor’s massive sidewalls, permitting King Herod and his entourage direct passage into the palace’s courtyard. The 65-foot-long and 20-foot wide corridor has been preserved to a height of 65 feet by the entryway’s supporting arches.
• CiF Watch prompts correction to Indy claim that Western Wall is Judaism’s holiest site (cifwatch.com)
  We noted that the Temple Mount (where the First and Second Jewish Temples stood) is in fact the holiest site, while the Western Wall is merely the holiest site where Jews are currently allowed to pray.
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• 2,000-year-old Palace Entryway Found in Judea (israelnationalnews.com)
  By unearthing the corridor entryway, the original Palace vestibule was also exposed in all its glory, replete with painted frescoes. Also found was evidence, such as Jewish Revolt coinage and temporary structures, testifying to how Jews fighting the cruel Roman occupation in the Great Revolt (66-71 CE) used the site.

  Evidence of a later rebellion was also found in the corridor, in the form of hidden tunnels dug on the site during the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-135/6 CE) by Jewish rebels as part of their guerilla warfare against the Romans.

  These tunnels, which were partially supported by wooden beams, exited the fortress through the walls in openings hidden in the corridor.

  Shaul Goldstein, Director of Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority, said that in the future the corridor will be used to allow visitors to directly access the Herodium palace-fortress in the same way Herod entered it around 2,000 years ago.

• Despite the Headlines, It Is Safe to Visit Israel! (theoslotimes.com)
  Built on a rocky base that had previously served the Hasmoneans and Herod the Great, the Ottoman walls remain solid even today. Walking atop the ramparts one overlooks the Old City of Jerusalem, holy to three of the world’s major religions, and on the other side, the busy, modern thoroughfares.

Matthew 2:16-18 – Slaughter of the Innocents

Matthew 2:16-18 – Slaughter of the Innocents

MT2:16 Now Herod, realizing he had been out-smarted[1] by the magi was greatly enraged. He sent off [soldiers] into Bethlehem, and in the surrounding districts, and had all the boys from two years and under – by reason of the time carefully ascertained from the magi – slaughtered.[2] MT2:17 And so was fulfilled the thing spoken by the prophet Jeremiah,[3] saying: MT2:18 “A voice was heard in Ramah – much weeping and wailing – Rachel weeping for her children and she was unwilling to be comforted because her children were no more.” [Jeremiah 31:15]

21^st Century Version of the Christian Scriptures [NCMM] or Nazarene Commentary 2000© by Mark Heber Miller

[1] Out-smarted: Or, KJV: mocked; TCT: trifled with; LAM: tricked.

[2] Slaughtered: Or, WEY: massacred; BER: murder all the boy babies.

[3] Jeremiah: At Jeremiah 31:15. The prophetic context is the restoration of Israel after the Babylonian captivity. The Nazarene is later to quote Isaiah 61:1-3 which has a similar application giving it a second or spiritual application to his ministry.

Slaughter of the Innocents (detail) – between 1308 and 1311, Duccio (1260–1318) , tempera on wood, Museo dell’Opera metropolitana del Duomo

 

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Preceding articles:

Matthew 2:1-6 – Astrologers and Priests in a Satanic Plot

Matthew 2:7-12 – Pawns of Herod, the Magi Find the ‘Child’

Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:8-14 – Angels and Shepherds in the Night

Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:15-20 – Shepherds Find the Infant Christ

Matthew 2:13-15 – Escaping the Slaughter by a Flight to Egypt

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Related articles

• Murder of the Innocents (Repost – 2014) (unsettledchristianity.com)
  Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A cry was heard in Ramah– weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.” (Mat 2:16-18 NLT
• Matthew 02:01-23, “Responses to the Newborn King” (ezracommentary.wordpress.com)
  The Bible calls Him King of kings and Lord of lords. He is not nominated or appointed. He is not elected and he cannot be voted out of office. His kingship does not depend on your vote. He does not become king by some parliamentary procedure, and he cannot be removed from office by a motion of no-confidence. Jesus was born King. It is his nature to rule. Look at the prophecy of Micah again in v. 5-6,
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  Herod was a man who, because of jealousy, had killed his favorite wife. He had killed two of his own sons. Herod would accept no rivals. He would attempt to kill the newborn King.

  History has had its fill of men like Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and Saddam Hussein. This past few years we have seen rulers in North Africa and the Middle East and North Korea kill thousands of innocent people to maintain their position as ruler.

  King Herod would not hesitate to do away with a child who was born King of the Jews. So when Herod was troubled, everyone was troubled. Someone has aptly said that Herod was more interested in saving his throne than in saving his soul!

• Period plausibility and the gospel narratives (timescolumns.typepad.com)
  One of Matthew’s abiding messages is that Christ is the new Moses. Among much else, this accounts for the parallels between the infant Jesus and the Old Testament law-giver, who also evaded a slaughter of male Jewish babies when he was hidden in the bulrushes.
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  Jesus “is acting like the God who chose Israel in the first place. In the Old Testament God had chosen his cluster of slaves to be a people; and Jesus, in choosing his fishermen, tax collectors and prostitutes, repeats and re-embodies this moment of choice: he claims a creative liberty for himself that belongs strictly to God”. So here, on a Christian understanding, is a human life so shot through with the purposes of God that early believers could speak of it as God’s nature projected onto the screen of history. As the author of the Letter to the Colossians put it within a few decades of the crucifixion, in Christ, “all the fullness of God was embodied”.
• The Christmas Story (lestark1.wordpress.com)
  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.
• Prophecy Fulfilled: Flight Into Egypt (born2bfree.wordpress.com)
  Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
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  Judges 13:5 is many times referenced in relation to Matthew 2:23.  The similarity can be recognized when we see how, at the time referenced in Judges 13, because of their sins against Him, God had allowed the children of Israel to be brought into bondage to the Philistines.  Then, He raised up a deliverer in the man Samson, to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
• Hosea Say What? (christianreformedink.wordpress.com)
  Hosea (speaking for the Lord) is harkening back to the Exodus. He is remembering when Israel was just a little toddler of a nation, and God delivered them out of bondage in Egypt. “Many years ago, by Moses and the plagues and all that, I called my son Israel out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery”–that’s what Hosea 11 is about.

  But look again at Matthew. “Out of Egypt I called my son” here refers to God hiding Jesus away in Egypt to avoid Herod’s decree and then calling him back from Egypt when Herod is dead. This seems to be unrelated to anything Hosea was talking about. How can Matthew say this flight to Egypt fulfilled the words of the prophet Hosea when the two events seem connected by no more than the word Egypt? How can this possibly be a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy? Hosea say what?

• Remember the Dragon: Christmas is an Invasion (gospelbondservant.com)
  For those of us raised in middle America, this genocide was completely left out of our Christmas understanding. Our visions of the nativity were shaped by the lovely crèche displays in parks, church lawns, and on many coffee tables. And while I still love those tableaus very much, I am convinced they are an almost total re-write of the story.

  On the night before the military “massacre of the innocents,” as it has come to be called, another urgent moment took place:
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  I think if this had informed our understanding of the birth of Christ, it would have better prepared us for our own lives, and the events unfolding in the world today. I think far fewer of us would be so… puzzled by the way things are going. I think we would better understand the words of the grown-up Jesus when He said,

• Grief knows no color: Preaching peace on earth and goodwill toward men during a race war. (mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com)
  As surely as Herod ordered the death of baby boys in Bethlehem Satan has ordered the deaths of young black men and police officers in America.  After he has done his dirty work the devil sits back and laughs at how we choose sides and ignore him altogether.

  The best way, the fastest way and the only way to destroy America is set herself against herself in ravenous hate…hate that will eat us up alive, hate that will blind us to the one thing we should be doing right now.

  Why is all of this happening near Christmas?  To discredit its power and to seal our doom by cutting us off from the only hope we have.

• Sermon: “Covenants” (robertsmusings.com)
  From among a series of oracles of restoration of Israel from Babylonian captivity pledging the restoration of the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants.
• Conversion (youngcalvinists.org)
  Shia Labeouf, a popular Hollywood actor, recently claimed to have converted to Christianity. ” I found God but not in a flaky sort of way” is a sanitized version of what he said. It’s not very often that a celebrity claims to convert to Christianity, especially in the day and age we live in, where the Bible is often regarded as a folktale at best. What are we to make of Shia Labeouf’s conversion? Is it authentic? Is it sincere? God is ultimately the judge of such things, but I personally tend to doubt its sincerity.

Matthew 2:13-15 – Escaping the Slaughter by a Flight to Egypt

Matthew 2:13-15 – Escaping the Slaughter by a Flight to Egypt

MT2:13 After the magi had withdrawn, look! an angel of YHWH appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying: “Get up and take along the young child and its mother. Flee into Egypt![1] Remain there until I speak to you again. For Herod is about to seek the young child to destroy it.” MT2:14 So Joseph took along the young child and its mother and withdrew by night into Egypt. MT2:15 They remained there until the decease of Herod so that the word of YHWH by the prophet [Hosea] might be fulfilled, which says, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”[2]

[1] Egypt: There was a large Jewish community in Alexandria Egypt with its magnificent library and Hebrew shivas. This was a long journey by the classic trade route. Over fifteen centuries before the nation of Israel escaped out of Egypt and now its future King does the same.

[2] My Son: The Son of Yahweh as at Psalm 2:1-6. Hosea 11:1 (“When Israel was a boy, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”) is not a prophecy in the strictest since the context shows the prophet speaks of Israel as a “young man.” In Israel’s youth, the new nation was called out of Egypt. The whole experience was something of a parable which pointed to another “Son” who would go into Egypt and then be called back out. Matthew borrows the phrasing and applies it to young Jesus. Clearly the Son is not the same as Yahweh the one calling. The quote is from the Hebrew text and not the Septuagint, for the Greek reads: “… out of Egypt have I called (Israel’s) children.” One of those later children proved to be also Jesus.

Pieter Bruegel de Oude (1525–1569), Kindermoord te Bethlehem, olieverf op doek (111×160 cm) — 1566-1567. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wenen – Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569), Infanticide in Bethlehem, oil on canvas (111 × 160 cm) – 1566 to 1567. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Text of the Gospel of Matthew in the 21^st Century Version of the Christian Scriptures [NCMM] or Nazarene Commentary 2000©. This rendering by Mark Heber Miller may be considered a literal version with limited paraphrase.

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Preceding articles:

1. The Advent of the saviour to Roman oppression
2. Story of Jesus’ birth begins long before the New Testament
3. Nazarene Commentary to Zechariah and Elizabeth
4. Nazarene Commentary to An Angel Appearing to a Priest
5. Nazarene Commentary to Struck Dumb For Disbelief
6. Nazarene Commentary to Elizabeth Pregnant
7. Nazarene Commentary Luke 1:46-56 – Mary Magnifies God
8. Nazarene Commentary Luke 1:57-66 – Elizabeth Gives Birth To John
9. Nazarene Commentary Luke 1:67-80 – Zechariah’s Prophecy
10. With child and righteousness greater than the law
11. Matthew 1:1-17 The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
12. Matthew 1:18-25 – Genesis of Jesus Christ
13. Matthew 2:1-6 – Astrologers and Priests in a Satanic Plot
14. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:8-14 – Angels and Shepherds in the Night
15. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:15-20 – Shepherds Find the Infant Christ
16. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:21-24 – Presenting the Baby to God
17. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:25-35 – Simeon’s Blessing and Warning
18. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:36-38 – Anna’s Thanks before Those Waiting
19. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:39-40 – The Young Child Grows
20. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:41-50 – Twelve Year Old Jesus in the Temple

Upcoming article:

• Matthew 2:16-18 – Slaughter of the Innocents

 

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Related articles

• The depiction of Mary in Western art (timesunion.com)
  The first images that I showed were of the Virgin Mary, sculptures from the 12^th and 13^th centuries.  I mentioned that it was only in the 12^th century that images of Christ and Mary began to appear often in Western art. From this time on, they would be the dominant religious images in the Christian world, one male and the other female. The 12^th-century images that I showed  began with a hieratic Mary, a mother who held a child in her lap, with whom there was no personal contact, no intimacy.  This changed in 13^th-century images. There is interplay between the Virgin and infant Jesus, playful contact between a mother and her child.  I then turned from preliminary medieval images of Mary to scenes of the Nativity from the 16^th and 17^th centuries.
• Massacre of the Innocents (nation.com.pk)
  The Gospel of Matthews narrates the horrific Biblical account of the killing of infants by the then Roman appointed Jewish king of Israel, Herod, at the time of the birth of Jesus. As it turns out, a prophecy in the Old Testament, made by Jeremiah the prophet, spoke of the birth of a new king of Jews (Hazrat Isa A.S.), ‘who would be born on the night that a star comes out of Jacob’. When Jewish astrologers of the time, the Magi, informed Herod of the coming of this event, he ordered that every child under the age of two be killed in and around the town of Bethlehem. Herod had hoped that this Massacre of the Innocents would achieve two goals: 1) it would preserve the future reign of Herod’s progeny, and 2) it would wipe out the existence, message, and purpose of the promised Messiah. Herod failed in achieving both these objectives. Per the Divine Will, just before the Massacre of Innocents started, Joseph and Mary (Hazrat Maryam A.S.) took the child, and escaped to Egypt. And thus the prophet and his mission were preserved, only to return to Israel ten years later and proclaim the truth of God.
  Two thousand years later, five thousand kilometers away from the towns of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, in the Army Public School, Peshawar, another Massacre of the Innocents took place on Tuesday.
• The Nativity According to Matthew (davidscommonplacebook.wordpress.com)
  It is also not clear just what the Star of Bethlehem actually was. There have been several theories presented, but none of them are entirely satisfactory. The star might have been a supernova, perhaps in a nearby galaxy. There is no way to know for certain since any supernova remnant so far away would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to detect. It might also have been a comet. This is rather unlikely. Although a comet would behave much as the star is said to behave, hanging in the sky over a certain location for several nights, comets were universally perceived as being harbingers of disaster in ancient, and not so ancient, times. The most likely explanation is a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The astronomer Keppler discovered that there was indeed such a conjunction in the year 7 BC. The following year there was another conjunction of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. This might have been very impressive to the Magi. It may also be that the Star was a supernatural phenomenon and one that cannot be studied today.
• Prophecy in Israel and the Ancient Near East (reformedreader.wordpress.com)
  Is prophetism in ancient Israel simply one form of ancient Near Eastern prophecy among many? Is it distinct from other forms of ANE prophecy? If so, how? In his newly published Interpreting the Prophetic Books: An Exegetical Handbook, Gary V. Smith notes some similarities, but also some key differences between biblical and ANE prophecy. He also explains the frustration the true prophets of God felt when people disregarded their messages for the messages of the false prophets:
• Why Mary and her Immaculate Conception matter (manilatimes.net)
  Scripture tells of no supernatural feats by the Blessed Virgin, who lived simply as a mother and a spouse, caring for her Son, and accompanying Him in life and death.
• Being Spiritually Grounded (transformationlifestyle.wordpress.com)
  I want it to be known that lasting healing comes from God (YHWH), it is a gift to the believer paid for by the stripes on Yahushah’s back. (Isa. 53:5)
• Jesus… the Ubermensch? (existentialanswers.wordpress.com)
  I made a pretty bold claim that I believe Jesus of Nazareth is the best possible candidate to rightfully hold the title “Ubermensch.”
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  we must understand the assumption that Jesus believed in the Hebrew, monotheistic God (Yahweh, or, in Hebrew, YHWH). A monotheistic God is a divine, maximally great being, that is a single entity, and has the power to interact in the world. Jesus was not a polytheist (belief in multiple gods), a pantheist (belief that everything is part of an impersonal god), or an atheist (belief in no gods). I shall write from the assumption that a monotheistic God (YHWH) exists, because one cannot truly understand Jesus without this first assumption.
• Prophecy Fulfilled: Flight Into Egypt (born2bfree.wordpress.com)
  Herod instructed the wise men to return to him and let him know where Jesus was, so that he might “come and worship Him also.”  Herod had nodesire to worship Him.  Hisdesire was to destroy Him.  However, the wise men were warned by God in a dream to return home another way,rather than returning to Herod.  And God intervened also to warn Joseph.  The account of the family’s departure and returnis filled with prophecies fulfilled:Prophecy:

  Hosea 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

• Jerry Hwang on The Missio Dei in the Book of the Twelve (bibleandmission.redcliffe.org)
  Recent OT scholarship has increasingly recognised that the Minor Prophets were compiled by Hebrew scribes to be read as a cohesive anthology. While acknowledging that each book of the Minor Prophets exhibits a distinctive individuality, scholars continue to debate how to interpret the collection as a coherent whole. In this vein, I propose that the major themes of the Minor Prophets – land, kingship, the move from judgement to salvation, and the relationship of Israel to the nations – fine a unifying link in the missio Dei. The plan of God to redeem his entire creation is progressively unfolded in the Minor Prophets, in that the apostasy of God’s people in God’s land (Hosea; Joel) is but the first step in a history of redemption which culminates with the recognition by all nations that YHWH alone is worthy
• Hosea Say What? (christianreformedink.wordpress.com)
  It looks like Matthew is connecting the prophetic dots by the slimmest of connections.
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  Those who suggest Matthew is playing free association with Biblical prophecy–“Jesus came out of Egypt; here’s something in the prophets about coming out of Egypt; let’s put these two things together”–haven’t looked closely at how Matthew uses the Old Testament in his Gospel. More than any gospel writer, Matthew goes to great lengths to show that Jesus’ birth, life, and death, are rooted firmly in the Old Testament. Jesus was born of a virgin (fulfilling Isaiah 7:14). He was born in Bethlehem (fulfilling Micah 5:1-2). He was sought out to be killed by Herod (fulfilling Jeremiah 31:15). He was preceded by John preparing the way (fulfilling Isaiah 40:3). He healed diseases (fulfilling Isaiah 53:4). He spoke through parables (fulfilling Psalm 78:2). He came to Jerusalem riding on a donkey (fulfilling Zechariah 9:9). Matthew is very deliberate with his use of the Old Testament. So his citing of Hosea 11 must be more than just a loosey-goosey connection with the word Egypt.

Matthew 2:7-12 – Pawns of Herod, the Magi Find the ‘Child’

Matthew 2:7-12 – Pawns of Herod, the Magi Find the ‘Child’

MT2:7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and carefully ascertained from them the time[1] of the star’s appearing,[2] MT2:8 and sending them off to Bethlehem he told them: “Go your way and make a careful search for the young child[3] so you may report back to me so I can also[4] go and prostrate myself to the child.” MT2:9 But, having heard the king these [magi] went their way, and, look! the star[5] which they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood right above where the young child was. MT2:10 Seeing the star they rejoiced with a great deal of joy. MT2:11 And when they went into the house[6] they say the young child with his mother Mary. They fell down and prostrated themselves on the ground before the child. They opened the treasures[7] they brought and presented the gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.[8] MT2:12 However, the magi were given a divine warning in a dream[9] not to return to Herod, so they withdrew by another route to their own country.

 

[1] The time: This is no longer the time of the birth but about two years later. It is unlikely these Persian magicians time matters to be present at the birth in the manger. Rather, something else has led them on their long journey from the east. The classic image of the angels, shepherds, and wise men is mistaken. Apparently the timing of the observation of this “star” was two years before.

[2] The star’s appearing: Of great interest to astrologers and seemingly Herod believes in astrology. He has determined the place (Bethlehem) and now he knows the rough age. His plot grows more and more evil. Revelation 12:4 reveals the Satanic plot to devour the Christ Child upon his birth. This Satan does throughout the life of Jesus, including his death.

King’s College Chapel, Cambridge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

[3] The young child: This is no longer a newborn baby but rather according to the Greek a PAIDIOU, or young boy. By this time surely the little Jesus is walking and forming words.

[4] So I can also: Herod is lying. His agenda is murderous as events will show.

[5] Star: Note evidently this star now reappears. It is possible they have not seen this “star” for two years and thus the considerable joy on their part. Now it “appears” again and moves with them – it is not a comet, asteroid, or meteorite. It is highly unlike it is a super nova. The identity of this “star” is discussed in the notes on Matthew 2:2.

[6] House: Note it is not a “manger” but a house. The family has moved and possibly lived here for about two years.

[7] Treasures: The value is not stated, however, we may assume it was considerable and no doubt later is used in the trip to Egypt and life there.

[8] Frankincense, and myrrh: “Frankincense” is an African incense with a pleasurable odor. “Myrrh” was one of the ingredients in the priestly anointing oil. Jesus is offered wine drugged with myrrh at his execution so the incense appears in both his birth and death, including his burial (John 19:39, 40).

[9] Dream: RHM: instructed by dream; BAS: made clear to them. We see dreams are a divine instrument, and they occur in several contexts here in the opening chapters of Matthew.

Mark Heber Miller 21^st Century Version of the Christian Scriptures [NCMM] or Nazarene Commentary, 2000©

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Preceding articles:

1. The Advent of the saviour to Roman oppression
2. Story of Jesus’ birth begins long before the New Testament
3. Nazarene Commentary to Zechariah and Elizabeth
4. Nazarene Commentary to An Angel Appearing to a Priest
5. Nazarene Commentary to Struck Dumb For Disbelief
6. Nazarene Commentary to Elizabeth Pregnant
7. Nazarene Commentary Luke 1:46-56 – Mary Magnifies God
8. Nazarene Commentary Luke 1:57-66 – Elizabeth Gives Birth To John
9. Nazarene Commentary Luke 1:67-80 – Zechariah’s Prophecy
10. With child and righteousness greater than the law
11. Matthew 1:1-17 The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
12. Matthew 1:18-25 – Genesis of Jesus Christ
13. Matthew 2:1-6 – Astrologers and Priests in a Satanic Plot
14. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:8-14 – Angels and Shepherds in the Night
15. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:15-20 – Shepherds Find the Infant Christ
16. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:21-24 – Presenting the Baby to God
17. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:25-35 – Simeon’s Blessing and Warning
18. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:36-38 – Anna’s Thanks before Those Waiting
19. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:39-40 – The Young Child Grows
20. Nazarene Commentary Luke 2:41-50 – Twelve Year Old Jesus in the Temple

Upcoming articles:

• Matthew 2:13-15 – Escaping the Slaughter by a Flight to Egypt
• Matthew 2:16-18 – Slaughter of the Innocents

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Early life of Christ in the Bowyer Bible print 8 of 21. adoration of Jesus by the Magi. Vos (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Related articles

• Jesus or Herod? (mydelightandmycounsellors.wordpress.com)
  In Matthew’s second chapter, we see that Jesus’ birth creates a conflict about who is King. It was in the time period of the reign of Herod the Great. Herod endowed his realm with massive fortresses and splendid cities, as well as a new Temple.
• Matthew 02:01-23, “Responses to the Newborn King” (ezracommentary.wordpress.com)
  • No guns signaled his birth.
  • No decorations were put up in Jerusalem
  • No commemorative coins were issued.
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    Rome had appointed Herod king in 37 B.C. But the wise men had spoken of a supernatural star that had announced the birth of a king. Notice that they asked, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” They were not talking about someone who would be appointed king at some point in history. They were talking about one who was born king, one who by His very nature is King. The Bible calls Him King of kings and Lord of lords. He is not nominated or appointed. He is not elected and he cannot be voted out of office. His kingship does not depend on your vote. He does not become king by some parliamentary procedure, and he cannot be removed from office by a motion of no-confidence. Jesus was born King. It is his nature to rule. Look at the prophecy of Micah again in v. 5-6,
• The Virgin Shall Conceive And Bear A Son (todaysanewday.wordpress.com)
  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
• Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (dailytwocents.com)
  They arrived at the house where the star stood shining above,praised and worshiped then presented gifts to the child.They then went their way, never to return to Herod.
• Preparing for Christmas 2 – They followed a Star… (fortyandfantastique.wordpress.com)
  After so long without a prophet, and so many prophecies yet to be fulfilled, the Jewish people had to have been yearning for something to happen! But, as we learn in Matthew 2, it wasn’t just the Jews who noticed!
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  it must have taken some time for the Magi to travel from the East (some commentators speculate that they came from Persia) to see Jesus. Matt 2:11 states that the Magi came to a “house” not a manger.  According to the Jewish laws, a woman had a period of 40 days of confinement after giving birth to a male child (Leviticus 12:1-8) and then she was to take an offering to the temple. Luke 2:21-22 says that Mary and Joseph went to the temple to do this, so they had to have remained in Bethlehem at least that long. They departed for Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath sometime after this forty days and also after the visit of the Magi, as recorded in Luke, but before Jesus was 2 years old, because based on the Magi’s calculations, Herod killed all the male children 2 years old and younger, in order to be “sure” to eliminate Jesus as the “King” of the Jews. So Jesus was older than 40 days and younger than 2 years when the Magi visited Him.
• The day the Star stopped: Understanding Christmas (commdiginews.com)

  Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus (ca. A.D. 180 – ca. A.D. 250) is said to have been the first to claim that Jesus was born on the 25th of December. It turns out that Africanus might have had Jesus’ birthday confused with another prominent event in His life – the visit of the Magi, scholars and astronomers from Babylon who likely were intellectual descendents of the prophet Daniel.

  How could following a star lead somebody to the location of the Christ child? In order to understand the star-gazing journey memorialized in Christmas songs and fashion, we have to once again look to the Old Testament.

  The purpose of stars, planets, etc. was mentioned in the beginning – “for signs and for seasons and for days and years” (Genesis 1:14). The Scriptures say that the stars and constellations were named by the creator Yahweh, not by mankind (see Job 9, Isaiah 40:26, and Amos 8) – although different cultures ascribe a variety of stories to these preformed patterns in the sky.

• Jesus, Our Precious Gift: An Interactive Christmas Drama 2014 (amberdover.wordpress.com)
  I wrote a nativity play for our homeschool group. I also had an Advent craft and goodies for the kiddos.
• God’s Will (genesisone.wordpress.com)
  The prophecy was that the promised Messiah would come from Bethlehem, in Judea. This was affirmed by the religious leaders to Herod.
• One Thing’s Perfect (josephelonlillie.com)
  Christmases are never the same. They change from year to year, and they are never really perfect, no matter how hard we try to force them to be so
• Finally, the night has come~by rldubour (ourpoetrycorner.wordpress.com)
  In your thoughts you know the true meaning.The star of David and why the three wisemenCome seeing.A child was born in a manger that night.

  The Son of God to show us the light.