Download BIBLESTUDY MATTHEW 2

BIBLESTUDY MATTHEW 2
Background information
The long awaited birth of the Messiah is recorded in Matthew 2. The nation of Israel waited for centuries for God’s
anointed King to be born. What a wonderful day that was to be! Jesus’ birth, however, was not greeted with royal
gladness by the nation and its leaders. Instead, there was intrigue and conflict. The political and religious
establishment felt threatened by the coming of the Messiah. It was left to foreign people to welcome the newborn
King.
Who was Herod?
Herod the Great was king over Israel from 37-4 B.C. He was put into power by the Roman empire, who gave him
the title of king. Herod was wealthy, political gifted, an excellent administrator and clever enough to remain in the
good graces of successive Roman emperors. His famine relief was superb and his building projects (including the
temple, begun 20 B.C.) admired even by his foes. But Herod was also a very paranoid man. He ordered the death
of everyone who might present a challenge. This included members of his own family, even three of his own sons
and one of his wives whom he executed.
vs 1-2
1.
What was the significance of the town of Bethlehem, located about 5 miles from Jerusalem? See
1 Sam 16:1 and Micah 5:2, Ruth 4:11-14. Think also of what Bethlehem means.
2.
Who were the wise men and do we know how many there were?
3.
Why do you think the wise men, who were not Jews, were seeking Jesus?
4.
They asked for ‘He that is born King of the Jews’. Where else is this term used in the Bible?
5.
Vs 3-8
6.
What can we learn from the wise men? Even though we live in a callous and unbelieving world, how
can we be diligent as the wise men were?
Why would Herod and the inhabitants of Jerusalem be disturbed by the questions?
7.
What did the chief priests and scribes tell Herod and what does that tell us about their religious
convictions?
8.
Herod evidently puts more faith in the OT prophesies than the chief priests and the scribes. What was
his plan and why the secrecy?
9.
Why is it that those who hear the Gospel for the first time often trust and expect more than those who
have been grown up under the Gospel?
Vs 9-12
10.
The wise men followed the star. What would this star have been, an astronomical phenomenon?
11.
Find one prophecy in the Old Testament that speaks of the rising of a Star from Jacob.
12.
Where did the wise men find Jesus? Was the location different from where Jesus was born according
to Luke? How old do you think the Lord Jesus would have been when they found him?
13.
What gifts did the Wise men give Jesus and what is the theological significance of the gifts brought by
these men?
14.
What is worship? What is the impact of worship on the worshipper? What is your idea of worshiping
God?
15.
The Lord Jesus as a baby who needed all the things a baby needs, was still fully God and Creator and
to be worshiped. How is this humbling? Why did He do this?
Vs 13-18
16.
In vs 15 the Lord once again spoke to Joseph in a dream. Joseph obeyed (he was always quick to
obey God!), took his wife and Jesus and fled to Egypt, where they stayed until Herod the Great had
died. The quotation from Hosea 11:1 originally referred to Exodus 4:22-23. In referring to this passage,
Matthew is showing the parallel between Jesus’ life and the life of Israel, the covenant people of God.
What is the parallel between the birth of the nation of Israel in the Exodus out of Egypt and Jesus’
Messianic mission?
17.
After the slaughter of the innocent children Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31:15. Why this quotation?
18.
In this chapter, Matthew presents Jesus not only as a ‘new David’ (vs 6) but also as a ‘new Moses’ (vs
15). What comparison can be drawn between the story of Moses’ early childhood and Jesus’ early
childhood?
Vs 19-23
19.
How did the Lord Jesus end up in Nazareth?
20.
What was the opinion of people about Nazareth and can you find some scripture verses that tell us
about this opinion?
21.
How is vs 23 the fulfilment of another prophecy?
(the Hebrew word for Nazareth is Netzer, which means root or branch)
22.
Why did Matthew include this story in his Gospel (as Luke did not) and how is it relevant to us?
As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold
As with joy they hailed its light
Leading onward, beaming bright
So, most gracious God, may we
Evermore be led by Thee.
As with joyful steps they sped
To that lowly bed
There to bend the knee before
Him whom heaven and earth adore
So may we, with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy seat.
W. Chatterton Dix