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■ 마태복음 2장
1. 헤롯 왕 때에 예수께서 유대 베들레헴에서 나시매 동방으로부터 박사들이 예루살렘에 이르러 말하되
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king , behold , there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem ,
2. 유대인의 왕으로 나신 이가 어디 계시뇨 우리가 동방에서 그의 별을 보고 그에게 경배하러 왔노라 하니
Saying , Where is he that is born King of the Jews ? for we have seen his star in the east , and are come to worship him .
3. 헤롯 왕과 온 예루살렘이 듣고 소동한지라
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled , and all Jerusalem with him .
4. 왕이 모든 대제사장과 백성의 서기관들을 모아 그리스도가 어디서 나겠느뇨 물으니
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together , he demanded of them where Christ should be born .
5. 가로되 유대 베들레헴이오니 이는 선지자로 이렇게 기록된 바
And they said unto him , In Bethlehem of Judaea : for thus it is written by the prophet ,
6. 또 유대 땅 베들레헴아 너는 유대 고을 중에 가장 작지 아니하도다 네게서 한 다스리는 자가 나와서 내 백성 이스라엘의 목자가 되리라 하였음이니이다
And thou Bethlehem , in the land of Juda , art not the least among the princes of Juda : for out of thee shall come a Governor , that shall rule my people Israel .
7. 이에 헤롯이 가만히 박사들을 불러 별이 나타난 때를 자세히 묻고
Then Herod , when he had privily called the wise men , enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared .
8. 베들레헴으로 보내며 이르되 가서 아기에 대하여 자세히 알아보고 찾거든 내게 고하여 나도 가서 그에게 경배하게 하라
And he sent them to Bethlehem , and said , Go and search diligently for the young child ; and when ye have found him, bring me word again , that I may come and worship him also .
9. 박사들이 왕의 말을 듣고 갈새 동방에서 보던 그 별이 문득 앞서 인도하여 가다가 아기 있는 곳 위에 머물러 섰는지라
When they had heard the king , they departed ; and , lo , the star , which they saw in the east , went before them , till it came and stood over where the young child was .
10. 저희가 별을 보고 가장 크게 기뻐하고 기뻐하더라
When they saw the star , they rejoiced with exceeding great joy .
11. 집에 들어가 아기와 그 모친 마리아의 함께 있는 것을 보고 엎드려 아기께 경배하고 보배합을 열어 황금과 유향과 몰약을 예물로 드리니라
And when they were come into the house , they saw the young child with Mary his mother , and fell down , and worshipped him : and when they had opened their treasures , they presented unto him gifts ; gold , and frankincense , and myrrh .
12. 꿈에 헤롯에게로 돌아가지 말라 지시하심을 받아 다른 길로 고국에 돌아가니라
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod , they departed into their own country another way .
13. 저희가 떠난 후에 주의 사자가 요셉에게 현몽하여 가로되 헤롯이 아기를 찾아 죽이려 하니 일어나 아기와 그의 모친을 데리고 애굽으로 피하여 내가 네게 이르기까지 거기 있으라 하시니
And when they were departed , behold , the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream , saying , Arise , and take the young child and his mother , and flee into Egypt , and be thou there until I bring thee word : for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him .
14. 요셉이 일어나서 밤에 아기와 그의 모친을 데리고 애굽으로 떠나가
When he arose , he took the young child and his mother by night , and departed into Egypt :
15. 헤롯이 죽기까지 거기 있었으니 이는 주께서 선지자로 말씀하신 바 애굽에서 내 아들을 불렀다 함을 이루려 하심이니라
And was there until the death of Herod : that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet , saying , Out of Egypt have I called my son .
16. 이에 헤롯이 박사들에게 속은 줄을 알고 심히 노하여 사람을 보내어 베들레헴과 그 모든 지경 안에 있는 사내아이를 박사들에게 자세히 알아 본 그 때를 표준하여 두 살부터 그 아래로 다 죽이니
Then Herod , when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men , was exceeding wroth , and sent forth , and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem , and in all the coasts thereof , from two years old and under , according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men .
17. 이에 선지자 예레미야로 말씀하신 바
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet , saying ,
18. 라마에서 슬퍼하며 크게 통곡하는 소리가 들리니 라헬이 그 자식을 위하여 애곡하는 것이라 그가 자식이 없으므로 위로 받기를 거절하였도다 함이 이루어졌느니라
In Rama was there a voice heard , lamentation , and weeping , and great mourning , Rachel weeping for her children , and would not be comforted , because they are not .
19. 헤롯이 죽은 후에 주의 사자가 애굽에서 요셉에게 현몽하여 가로되
But when Herod was dead , behold , an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ,
20. 일어나 아기와 그 모친을 데리고 이스라엘 땅으로 가라 아기의 목숨을 찾던 자들이 죽었느니라 하시니
Saying , Arise , and take the young child and his mother , and go into the land of Israel : for they are dead which sought the young child’s life .
21. 요셉이 일어나 아기와 그 모친을 데리고 이스라엘 땅으로 들어오니라
And he arose , and took the young child and his mother , and came into the land of Israel .
22. 그러나 아켈라오가 그 부친 헤롯을 이어 유대의 임금 됨을 듣고 거기로 가기를 무서워하더니 꿈에 지시하심을 받아 갈릴리 지방으로 떠나가
But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod , he was afraid to go thither : notwithstanding , being warned of God in a dream , he turned aside into the parts of Galilee :
23. 나사렛이란 동네에 와서 사니 이는 선지자로 하신 말씀에 나사렛 사람이라 칭하리라 하심을 이루려 함이러라
And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth : that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets , He shall be called a Nazarene .
■ 주석 보기
【마2:1 JFB】마2:1-12. Visit of the Magi to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
The Wise Men Reach Jerusalem—The Sanhedrim, on Herod's Demand, Pronounce Bethlehem to Be Messiah's Predicted Birthplace (마2:1-6).
1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea—so called to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulun, near the Sea of Galilee (수19:15); called also Beth-lehem-judah, as being in that tribe (유17:7); and Ephrath (창35:16); and combining both, Beth-lehem Ephratah (미5:2). It lay about six miles southwest of Jerusalem. But how came Joseph and Mary to remove thither from Nazareth, the place of their residence? Not of their own accord, and certainly not with the view of fulfilling the prophecy regarding Messiah's birthplace; nay, they stayed at Nazareth till it was almost too late for Mary to travel with safety; nor would they have stirred from it at all, had not an order which left them no choice forced them to the appointed place. A high hand was in all these movements. (See on Lu 2:1-6).
in the days of Herod the king—styled the Great; son of Antipater, an Edomite, made king by the Romans. Thus was "the sceptre departing from Judah" (창49:10), a sign that Messiah was now at hand. As Herod is known to have died in the year of Rome 750, in the fourth year before the commencement of our Christian era, the birth of Christ must be dated four years before the date usually assigned to it, even if He was born within the year of Herod's death, as it is next to certain that He was.
there came wise men—literally, "Magi" or "Magians," probably of the learned class who cultivated astrology and kindred sciences. Balaam's prophecy (민24:17), and perhaps Daniel's (단9:24, &c.), might have come down to them by tradition; but nothing definite is known of them.
from the east—but whether from Arabia, Persia, or Mesopotamia is uncertain.
to Jerusalem—as the Jewish metropolis.
【마2:1 CWC】In this lesson there are four divisions.
The Genealogical Table, 1:1-17.
The Announcement to Joseph, 1:18-25.
The Flight into Egypt, 2:1-18.
The Return, to Nazareth, 2:19-23.
I. We learned the value of genealogical tables to Israel in the Old Testament. This value applied to the separation into families and tribes with reference to the possession of Canaan; but it had a peculiar application to the Messiah also. He must come in the line of Abraham through David (v. 1), and no Israelite could be interested in one claiming to be He of whom this was not true. That Matthew should lay stress on this, and give the "generation" in detail is one evidence that his Gospel was addressed to Israel rather than the Gentiles. Neither Mark nor John gives a genealogy, and Luke's table (3:23-38), written for the Gentile, is a different one, and for a special reason does not pause at Abraham, but extends back to God, through Adam.
Reference will be made to Matthew's table again when we reach Luke's Gospel, but verse 16 is important, showing that "Joseph the husband of Mary" was legal heir to the throne of David, for the genealogical table following David's time is that of the kings. And also that although "the husband of Mary," he was not the begetter of Jesus as in the preceding cases. The changed expression is significant, "Mary, of whom was born Jesus." The latter did not come of natural generation, but in the manner indicated in the next chapter.
The "Mary" in this instance is always identified in the New Testament as the mother of Jesus, but there are five other Marys. "Mary Magdalene" (눅8:2); Mary, the mother of James the less and Joses, the wife of Alpheus and a sister of the Virgin (마27:56; 막15:40; 요19:25); Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus (눅10:39); Mary the mother of John Mark (행12:12), and another Mary, associated with Paul in Rome (롬16:6).
"Jesus" is the family name of our Lord (눅1:31), the same as "Joshua" in the Old Testament, and means "Saviour" (v. 21); but "Christ" or "The Christ," in His official designation. "Christos" is the Greek form of the Hebrew "Messiah" (단9:25, 26), and means "The Anointed One." In the Old Testament, the prophet, the priest and the king were all anointed with oil, but Jesus their great antitype was anointed with the Holy Spirit (3:16).
II. Under "the announcement to Joseph," notice the testimony to the virgin birth (vv. 18, 20). Had Jesus been begotten after the flesh He would have been a sinner like us, and incapable of being our Saviour. And yet had He not been the legal descendant of Joseph, and heir to the throne, the Jews would have been justified in rejecting Him. Behold the wisdom and power of God! Compare the predictions of the virgin birth. 창3:15; 사7:14; 렘31:22, and the corresponding account in 눅1:28-35.
"His people" (v. 21) means in the first place the Jews, and then all who accept Him as their Saviour by faith.
Verses 22 and 23 are peculiar to Matthew, who, in writing instinctively for Israel, is careful to connect the events of Jesus' life with the Old Testament in which they believed and which contained His credentials.
III. "The flight into Egypt" is divisible into:
The visit of the wise men (vv. 1, 2).
The testimony of the priests and scribes (vv. 3-6).
The worship of the babe in the manger (vv. 7-12).
The warning to Joseph (vv. 13-15).
The slaughter of the little children (vv. 16-18).
1. This "Herod" is Herod the Great, an Edomite and appointee of Caesar. He was a cruel and despotic man, and his practical usurpation of the throne, and tyranny over the people, explain his apprehension (v. 3), on hearing that a true King of the Jews was born.
The "wise men" ("Magi" in Greek), were Gentile astrologers, occupied with occult things, foretelling events from the stars, etc. (단2:48), and earnest seekers after truth. Kepler, the astronomer, thought the "star" was a constellation of Jupiter and Saturn, but it is more likely to have been a miraculous sign from God. Nor is it necessary to suppose that it led them all the way from their eastern home, because verse nine indicates that when they started from Herod towards Bethlehem it reappeared to them. The way they came to expect a great King is suggested by their probable acquaintance with Balaam's prophecy in Numbers 23 and 24 and the predictions of Daniel.
2. The conduct of the priests and scribes illustrates a common phenomenon, viz, the truth held in the mind but having no power in the life. They knew where the Messiah should be born, but lacked the interest to inquire whether this were He. Their quotation (v. 6) is from 미5:2, although its rendering suggests that it was taken not from the Hebrew, or Greek Septuagint, but probably a Chaldaic paraphrase.
3. Herod's interest (vv. 7, 8) was the grossest hypocrisy, but what a contrast is borne to it by these Gentiles worshipping, not the child's mother, but the child! Some find a significance in their gifts, "gold" representing royalty, "frankincense" purity, and "myrrh" suffering.
"We three kings of Orient are," is a line of a familiar hymn alluding to this visit, but is misleading, since there is nothing to indicate that they were kings, or that their number was limited to three. Another error is traceable to the picture representing them as worshiping a babe in a manger, whereas it is not unlikely that Jesus was a year old at this time. The reasons for thinking so are (1) that 눅2:30 says, "when they had performed all things according to the law * * * they returned * * to Nazareth," while Matthew speaks of their going into Egypt after the departure of the wise men. (2), The shepherds in Luke 2, found "the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger;" but the wise men "saw the young child with Mary" in "the house." Possibly His parents returned to Nazareth after His birth, and then at the recurrence of the Passover the next year came down to Bethlehem again.
4. In the subsection designated as "The warning to Joseph," two prophecies find fulfillment. In verse 15, 호11:1, and in verse 18, 렘31:15. The first found an approximate fulfillment in Israel, which in the Old Testament is sometimes called God's Son (출4:22; 렘31:9); but, according to the law of double reference, it has here an ultimate fulfillment in Christ who is often identified with Israel. The second causes Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, to personify Israel weeping for her children slain by Herod's sword. This weeping, in a sense, has continued ever since and will not end until Israel at last looks "upon Him whom they pierced" and mourns because of Him.
IV. "The return to Nazareth" demands attention because of the words "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet He shall be called a Nazarene" (v. 23). The meaning is not clear because no one of the prophets calls Him by this name. However, all the prophets speak of Him in one way or another, as the despised or rejected One, and this in the eyes of a Jew is what it meant to be a dweller in Nazareth. The whole of Galilee was despised by them because it held so many Gentiles, but Nazareth was despised even by Galileans themselves. (Compare 요1:46.)
【마2:1 MHCC】Those who live at the greatest distance from the means of grace often use most diligence, and learn to know the most of Christ and his salvation. But no curious arts, or mere human learning, can direct men unto him. We must learn of Christ by attending to the word of God, as a light that shineth in a dark place, and by seeking the teaching of the Holy Spirit. And those in whose hearts the day-star is risen, to give them any thing of the knowledge of Christ, make it their business to worship him. Though Herod was very old, and never had shown affection for his family, and was not himself likely to live till a new-born infant had grown up to manhood, he began to be troubled with the dread of a rival. He understood not the spiritual nature of the Messiah's kingdom. 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.
【마2:2 JFB】2. Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?—From this it would seem they were not themselves Jews. (Compare the language of the Roman governor, 요18:33, and of the Roman soldiers, 마27:29, with the very different language of the Jews themselves, 마27:42, &c.). The Roman historians, Suetonius and Tacitus, bear witness to an expectation, prevalent in the East, that out of Judea should arise a sovereign of the world.
for we have seen his star in the east—Much has been written on the subject of this star; but from all that is here said it is perhaps safest to regard it as simply a luminous meteor, which appeared under special laws and for a special purpose.
and are come to worship him—to do Him homage, as the word signifies; the nature of that homage depending on the circumstances of the case. That not civil but religious homage is meant here is plain from the whole strain of the narrative, and particularly 마2:11. Doubtless these simple strangers expected all Jerusalem to be full of its new-born King, and the time, place, and circumstances of His birth to be familiar to every one. Little would they think that the first announcement of His birth would come from themselves, and still less could they anticipate the startling, instead of transporting, effect which it would produce—else they would probably have sought their information regarding His birthplace in some other quarter. But God overruled it to draw forth a noble testimony to the predicted birthplace of Messiah from the highest ecclesiastical authority in the nation.
【마2:3 JFB】3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled—viewing this as a danger to his own throne: perhaps his guilty conscience also suggested other grounds of fear.
and all Jerusalem with him—from a dread of revolutionary commotions, and perhaps also of Herod's rage.
【마2:4 JFB】4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together—The class of the "chief priests" included the high priest for the time being, together with all who had previously filled this office; for though the then head of the Aaronic family was the only rightful high priest, the Romans removed them at pleasure, to make way for creatures of their own. In this class probably were included also the heads of the four and twenty courses of the priests. The "scribes" were at first merely transcribers of the law and synagogue readers; afterwards interpreters of the law, both civil and religious, and so both lawyers and divines. The first of these classes, a proportion of the second, and "the elders"—that is, as Lightfoot thinks, "those elders of the laity that were not of the Levitical tribe"—constituted the supreme council of the nation, called the Sanhedrim, the members of which, at their full complement, numbered seventy-two. That this was the council which Herod now convened is most probable, from the solemnity of the occasion; for though the elders are not mentioned, we find a similar omission where all three were certainly meant (compare 마26:59; 27:1). As Meyer says, it was all the theologians of the nation whom Herod convened, because it was a theological response that he wanted.
he demanded of them—as the authorized interpreters of Scripture.
where Christ—the Messiah.
should be born—according to prophecy.
【마2:5 JFB】5. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea—a prompt and involuntary testimony from the highest tribunal; which yet at length condemned Him to die.
for thus it is written by the prophet—(미5:2).
【마2:6 JFB】6. And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda—the "in" being familiarly left out, as we say, "London, Middlesex."
art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, &c.—This quotation, though differing verbally, agrees substantially with the Hebrew and the Septuagint. For says the prophet, "Though thou be little, yet out of thee shall come the Ruler"—this honor more than compensating for its natural insignificance; while our Evangelist, by a lively turn, makes him say, "Thou art not the least: for out of thee shall come a Governor"—this distinction lifting it from the lowest to the highest rank. The "thousands of Juda," in the prophet, mean the subordinate divisions of the tribe: our Evangelist, instead of these, merely names the "princes" or heads of these families, including the districts which they occupied.
that shall rule—or "feed," as in the Margin.
my people Israel—In the Old Testament, kings are, by a beautiful figure, styled "shepherds" (겔34:1-10, &c.). The classical writers use the same figure. The pastoral rule of Jehovah and Messiah over His people is a representation pervading all Scripture, and rich in import. (See 시23:1-6; 사40:11; 겔37:24; 요10:11; 계7:17). That this prophecy of Micah referred to the Messiah, was admitted by the ancient Rabbins.
【마2:7 JFB】The Wise Men Despatched to Bethlehem by Herod to See the Babe, and Bring Him Word, Make a Religious Offering to the Infant King, but Divinely Warned, Return Home by Another Way (마2:7-12).
7. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men—Herod has so far succeeded in his murderous design: he has tracked the spot where lies his victim, an unconscious babe. But he has another point to fix—the date of His birth—without which he might still miss his mark. The one he had got from the Sanhedrim; the other he will have from the sages; but secretly, lest his object should be suspected and defeated. So he
inquired of them diligently—rather, "precisely."
what time the star appeared—presuming that this would be the best clue to the age of the child. The unsuspecting strangers tell him all. And now he thinks he is succeeding to a wish, and shall speedily clutch his victim; for at so early an age as they indicate, He would not likely have been removed from the place of His birth. Yet he is wary. He sends them as messengers from himself, and bids them come to him, that he may follow their pious example.
【마2:8 JFB】8. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently—"Search out carefully."
for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also—The cunning and bloody hypocrite! Yet this royal mandate would meantime serve as a safe conduct to the strangers.
【마2:9 JFB】9. When they had heard the king, they departed—But where were ye, O Jewish ecclesiastics, ye chief priests and scribes of the people? Ye could tell Herod where Christ should be born, and could hear of these strangers from the far East that the Desire of all nations had actually come; but I do not see you trooping to Bethlehem—I find these devout strangers journeying thither all alone. Yet God ordered this too, lest the news should be blabbed, and reach the tyrant's ears, before the Babe could be placed beyond his reach. Thus are the very errors and crimes and cold indifferences of men all overruled.
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east—implying apparently that it had disappeared in the interval.
went before them, and stood over where the young child was—Surely this could hardly be but by a luminous meteor, and not very high.
【마2:9 MHCC】What joy these wise men felt upon this sight of the star, none know so well as those who, after a long and melancholy night of temptation and desertion, under the power of a spirit of bondage, at length receive the Spirit of adoption, witnessing with their spirits that they are the children of God. We may well think what a disappointment it was to them, when they found a cottage was his palace, and his own poor mother the only attendant he had. However, these wise men did not think themselves baffled; but having found the King they sought, they presented their gifts to him. The humble inquirer after Christ will not be stumbled at finding him and his disciples in obscure cottages, after having in vain sought them in palaces and populous cities. Is a soul busy, seeking after Christ? Would it worship him, and does it say, Alas! I am a foolish and poor creature, and have nothing to offer? Nothing! Hast thou not a heart, though unworthy of him, dark, hard, and foul? Give it to him as it is, and be willing that he use and dispose of it as it pleases him; he will take it, and will make it better, and thou shalt never repent having given it to him. He shall frame it to his own likeness, and will give thee himself, and be thine for ever. The gifts the wise men presented were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Providence sent these as a seasonable relief to Joseph and Mary in their present poor condition. Thus our heavenly Father, who knows what his children need, uses some as stewards to supply the wants of others, and can provide for them, even from the ends of the earth.
【마2:10 JFB】10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy—The language is very strong, expressing exuberant transport.
【마2:11 JFB】11. And when they were come into the house—not the stable; for as soon as Bethlehem was emptied of its strangers, they would have no difficulty in finding a dwelling-house.
they saw—The received text has "found"; but here our translators rightly depart from it, for it has no authority.
the young child with Mary his mother—The blessed Babe is naturally mentioned first, then the mother; but Joseph, though doubtless present, is not noticed, as being but the head of the house.
and fell down and worshipped him—Clearly this was no civil homage to a petty Jewish king, whom these star-guided strangers came so far, and inquired so eagerly, and rejoiced with such exceeding joy, to pay, but a lofty spiritual homage. The next clause confirms this.
and when they had opened their treasures they presented—rather, "offered."
unto him gifts—This expression, used frequently in the Old Testament of the oblations presented to God, is in the New Testament employed seven times, and always in a religious sense of offerings to God. Beyond doubt, therefore, we are to understand the presentation of these gifts by the Magi as a religious offering.
gold, frankincense, and myrrh—Visits were seldom paid to sovereigns without a present (왕상10:2, &c.; compare 시72:10, 11, 15; 사60:3, 6). "Frankincense" was an aromatic used in sacrificial offerings; "myrrh" was used in perfuming ointments. These, with the "gold" which they presented, seem to show that the offerers were persons in affluent circumstances. That the gold was presented to the infant King in token of His royalty; the frankincense in token of His divinity, and the myrrh, of His sufferings; or that they were designed to express His divine and human natures; or that the prophetical, priestly, and kingly offices of Christ are to be seen in these gifts; or that they were the offerings of three individuals respectively, each of them kings, the very names of whom tradition has handed down—all these are, at the best, precarious suppositions. But that the feelings of these devout givers are to be seen in the richness of their gifts, and that the gold, at least, would be highly serviceable to the parents of the blessed Babe in their unexpected journey to Egypt and stay there—that much at least admits of no dispute.
【마2:12 JFB】12. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed—or, "withdrew."
to their own country another way—What a surprise would this vision be to the sages, just as they were preparing to carry the glad news of what they had seen to the pious king! But the Lord knew the bloody old tyrant better than to let him see their face again.
【마2:13 JFB】마2:13-23. The Flight into Egypt—The Massacre at Bethlehem—The Return of Joseph and Mary with the Babe, after Herod's Death, and Their Settlement at Nazareth. ( = Lu 2:39).
The Flight into Egypt (마2:13-15).
13. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother—Observe this form of expression, repeated in 마2:14—another indirect hint that Joseph was no more than the Child's guardian. Indeed, personally considered, Joseph has no spiritual significance, and very little place at all, in the Gospel history.
and flee into Egypt—which, being near, as Alford says, and a Roman province independent of Herod, and much inhabited by Jews, was an easy and convenient refuge. Ah! blessed Saviour, on what a checkered career hast Thou entered here below! At Thy birth there was no room for Thee in the inn; and now all Judea is too hot for Thee. How soon has the sword begun to pierce through the Virgin's soul (Lu 2:35)! How early does she taste the reception which this mysterious Child of hers is to meet with in the world! And whither is He sent? To "the house of bondage?" Well, it once was that. But Egypt was a house of refuge before it was a house of bondage, and now it has but returned to its first use.
and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him—Herod's murderous purpose was formed before the Magi had reached Bethlehem.
【마2:13 MHCC】Egypt had been a house of bondage to Israel, and particularly cruel to the infants of Israel; yet it is to be a place of refuge to the holy Child Jesus. God, when he pleases, can make the worst of places serve the best of purposes. This was a trial of the faith of Joseph and Mary. But their faith, being tried, was found firm. If we and our infants are at any time in trouble, let us remember the straits in which Christ was when an infant.
【마2:14 JFB】14. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt—doubtless the same night.
【마2:15 JFB】15. And was there until the death of Herod—which took place not very long after this of a horrible disease; the details of which will be found in Josephus [Antiquities, 17.6.1,5,7,8].
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying—(호11:1).
Out of Egypt have I called my son—Our Evangelist here quotes directly from the Hebrew, warily departing from the Septuagint, which renders the words, "From Egypt have I recalled his children," meaning Israel's children. The prophet is reminding his people how dear Israel was to God in the days of his youth; how Moses was bidden to say to Pharaoh, "Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, My first-born; and I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me; and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born" (출4:22, 23); how, when Pharaoh refused, God having slain all his first-born, "called His own son out of Egypt," by a stroke of high-handed power and love. Viewing the words in this light, even if our Evangelist had not applied them to the recall from Egypt of God's own beloved, Only-begotten Son, the application would have been irresistibly made by all who have learnt to pierce beneath the surface to the deeper relations which Christ bears to His people, and both to God; and who are accustomed to trace the analogy of God's treatment of each respectively.
【마2:16 JFB】16. Then Herod, &c.—As Deborah sang of the mother of Sisera: "She looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots? Have they not sped?" so Herod wonders that his messengers, with pious zeal, are not hastening with the news that all is ready to receive him as a worshipper. What can be keeping them? Have they missed their way? Has any disaster befallen them? At length his patience is exhausted. He makes his inquiries and finds they are already far beyond his reach on their way home.
when he saw that he was mocked—was trifled with.
of the wise men—No, Herod, thou art not mocked of the wise men, but of a Higher than they. He that sitteth in the heavens doth laugh at thee; the Lord hath thee in derision. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong (시2:4; 욥5:12, 13). That blessed Babe shall die indeed, but not by thy hand. As He afterwards told that son of thine—as cunning and as unscrupulous as thyself—when the Pharisees warned Him to depart, for Herod would seek to kill Him—"Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to-day, and to-morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" (Lu 13:32, 33). Bitter satire!
was exceeding wroth—To be made a fool of is what none like, and proud kings cannot stand. Herod burns with rage and is like a wild bull in a net. So he
sent forth—a band of hired murderers.
and slew all the children—male children.
that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof—environs.
from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently—carefully.
inquired of the wise men—In this ferocious step Herod was like himself—as crafty as cruel. He takes a large sweep, not to miss his mark. He thinks this will surely embrace his victim. And so it had, if He had been there. But He is gone. Heaven and earth shall sooner pass away than thou shalt have that Babe into thy hands. Therefore, Herod, thou must be content to want Him: to fill up the cup of thy bitter mortifications, already full enough—until thou die not less of a broken heart than of a loathsome and excruciating disease. Why, ask skeptics and skeptical critics, is not this massacre, if it really occurred, recorded by Josephus, who is minute enough in detailing the cruelties of Herod? To this the answer is not difficult. If we consider how small a town Bethlehem was, it is not likely there would be many male children in it from two years old and under; and when we think of the number of fouler atrocities which Josephus has recorded of him, it is unreasonable to make anything of his silence on this.
【마2:16 MHCC】Herod killed all the male children, not only in Bethlehem, but in all the villages of that city. Unbridled wrath, armed with an unlawful power, often carries men to absurd cruelties. It was no unrighteous thing with God to permit this; every life is forfeited to his justice as soon as it begins. The diseases and deaths of little children are proofs of original sin. But the murder of these infants was their martyrdom. How early did persecution against Christ and his kingdom begin! Herod now thought that he had baffled the Old Testament prophecies, and the efforts of the wise men in finding Christ; but whatever crafty, cruel devices are in men's hearts, the counsel of the Lord shall stand.
【마2:17 JFB】17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying—(렘31:15, from which the quotation differs but verbally).
【마2:18 JFB】18. In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not—These words, as they stand in Jeremiah, undoubtedly relate to the Babylonish captivity. Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, was buried in the neighborhood of Bethlehem (창35:19), where her sepulchre is still shown. She is figuratively represented as rising from the tomb and uttering a double lament for the loss of her children—first, by a bitter captivity, and now by a bloody death. And a foul deed it was. O ye mothers of Bethlehem! methinks I hear you asking why your innocent babes should be the ram caught in the thicket, while Isaac escapes. I cannot tell you, but one thing I know, that ye shall, some of you, live to see a day when that Babe of Bethlehem shall be Himself the Ram, caught in another sort of thicket, in order that your babes may escape a worse doom than they now endure. And if these babes of yours be now in glory, through the dear might of that blessed Babe, will they not deem it their honor that the tyrant's rage was exhausted upon themselves instead of their infant Lord?
【마2:19 JFB】19. But when Herod was dead—Miserable Herod! Thou thoughtest thyself safe from a dreaded Rival; but it was He only that was safe from thee; and thou hast not long enjoyed even this fancied security. See on 마2:15.
behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt—Our translators, somewhat capriciously, render the same expression "the angel of the Lord," 마1:20; 2:13; and "an angel of the Lord," as here. As the same angel appears to have been employed on all these high occasions—and most likely he to whom in Luke is given the name of "Gabriel," Lu 1:19, 26—perhaps it should in every instance except the first, be rendered "the angel."
【마2:19 MHCC】Egypt may serve to sojourn in, or take shelter in, for awhile, but not to abide in. Christ was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to them he must return. Did we but look upon the world as our Egypt, the place of our bondage and banishment, and heaven only as our Canaan, our home, our rest, we should as readily arise and depart thither, when we are called for, as Joseph did out of Egypt. The family must settle in Galilee. Nazareth was a place held in bad esteem, and Christ was crucified with this accusation, Jesus the Nazarene. Wherever Providence allots the bounds of our habitation, we must expect to share the reproach of Christ; yet we may glory in being called by his name, sure that if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him.
【마2:20 JFB】20. Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel—not to the land of Judea, for he was afterward expressly warned not to settle there, nor to Galilee, for he only went thither when he found it unsafe to settle in Judea but to "the land of Israel," in its most general sense; meaning the Holy Land at large—the particular province being not as yet indicated. So Joseph and the Virgin had, like Abraham, to "go out, not knowing whither they went," till they should receive further direction.
for they are dead which sought the young child's life—a common expression in most languages where only one is meant, who here is Herod. But the words are taken from the strikingly analogous case in 출4:19, which probably suggested the plural here; and where the command is given to Moses to return to Egypt for the same reason that the greater than Moses was now ordered to be brought back from it—the death of him who sought his life. Herod died in the seventieth year of his age, and thirty-seventh of his reign.
【마2:21 JFB】21. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel—intending, as is plain from what follows, to return to Bethlehem of Judea, there, no doubt, to rear the Infant King, as at His own royal city, until the time should come when they would expect Him to occupy Jerusalem, "the city of the Great King."
【마2:22 JFB】22. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod—Archelaus succeeded to Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; but Augustus refused him the title of king till it should be seen how he conducted himself; giving him only the title of ethnarch [Josephus, Antiquities, 17.11,4]. Above this, however, he never rose. The people, indeed, recognized him as his father's successor; and so it is here said that he "reigned in the room of his father Herod." But, after ten years' defiance of the Jewish law and cruel tyranny, the people lodged heavy complaints against him, and the emperor banished him to Vienne in Gaul, reducing Judea again to a Roman province. Then the "scepter" clean "departed from Judah."
he was afraid to go thither—and no wonder, for the reason just mentioned.
notwithstanding—or more simply, "but."
being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside—withdrew.
into the parts of Galilee—or the Galilean parts. The whole country west of the Jordan was at this time, as is well known, divided into three provinces—Galilee being the northern, Judea the southern, and Samaria the central province. The province of Galilee was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, the brother of Archelaus, his father having left him that and Perea, on the east side of the Jordan, as his share of the kingdom, with the title of tetrarch, which Augustus confirmed. Though crafty and licentious, according to Josephus—precisely what the Gospel history shows him to be (see on 막6:14-30; Lu 13:31-35)—he was of a less cruel disposition than Archelaus; and Nazareth being a good way off from the seat of government, and considerably secluded, it was safer to settle there.
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