Matthew 2:4, commentary and pictures

Herod gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people and demanded of them where Christ the Messiah should be born, asking what the sacred books taught on the subject. They answered that He should be born in Bethlehem of Judea, as named by the prophet, from which would come the promised ruler to govern Israel. The inquiry belongs to the visit of the Magi seeking the newborn Messiah, who had learned from Hebrew prophetic writings that His coming was near and whose questions stirred public interest and turned attention to the prophecies. Herod questioned them because envy and fear made him see the infant king as a rival with a claim to the kingdom that threatened his throne, so while presenting himself as seeking to honor Christ he intended through cunning to destroy Him. Although the chief priests and scribes could identify Bethlehem from prophecy, they showed no joy or recognition but surprise, fear, contempt and indifference, remaining spiritually blind and rejecting Him, while the shepherds and the Magi from a heathen land heeded the light they had received and came to worship Him with costly gifts.

The Inquiry at Jerusalem

Herod gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together and demanded of them where Christ, the Messiah, should be born, asking what the sacred books taught on the subject. Their answer identified Bethlehem in Judea as the place named by the prophet, from which would come the promised ruler to govern Israel. The answer came from prophetic Scripture, with Bethlehem in Judea given as the foretold birthplace of that ruler of Israel.

The inquiry belongs to the visit of the Magi seeking the newborn Messiah, who had learned from Hebrew prophetic writings that His coming was near. Their arrival with questions about the promised Saviour stirred public interest and turned attention to the prophecies and to the birth that had just taken place. They expected the chief priests and scribes to know of His coming, and their search for knowledge involved consulting religious teachers and searching the Scriptures and tracing prophecy to learn when Christ would come.

Herod questioned them because envy and fear made him see the newborn prince and infant king as a rival with a claim to the kingdom that threatened his throne. While presenting himself as seeking to honor Christ, he intended through cunning to thwart the threat and destroy Him. God reached the Magi in a different way than He reached the shepherds, through the heavens they were studying. Angels appeared as a star, and the star moved before them as they followed it, with signs and wonders in the heavens guiding them from a distant country to Jesus to give Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Bethlehem, where the infant Jesus was worshiped by wise men from the East, was also the birthplace of David more than a thousand years earlier.

Light Known but Rejected

The questioning over where the newborn King was to appear took place in Jerusalem among its religious leaders, yet it drew from them no joy and no recognition. What met the visitors instead was surprise and fear and contempt, along with apparent ignorance and indifference. That cold response stood in sharp contrast to Herod's intense interest and to the earnest search of the wise men. The reason lay in the condition of the nation, for the Jewish people were so occupied with their own ambitions that no preparation had been made to receive Him and they did not know of His coming.

Although the chief priests and scribes could name Bethlehem from prophecy as the appointed place, that knowledge did not lead them to recognize or accept Him. They did not know the Son of God, but remained spiritually blind. Even when the star and the heavenly hosts bore witness to Him, the priests and rulers rejected the evidence of His divinity. In contrast, the shepherds and the Eastern Magi from a heathen land heeded the light they had received, and God revealed truth to them. While the leaders failed to recognize the time of their visitation despite having light and knowledge, the heavenly host proclaimed His advent, the Magi came to worship Him, and the wise men brought Him costly gifts.

The verse therefore shows that people may know prophetic words yet fail to welcome their fulfillment. It warns against expecting a temporal, worldly reign of the Messiah. His birth took place in a humble setting, and that lowliness was according to the plan of redemption. By passing through the stages and temptations and needs of human life He sanctified every part of human experience and showed that people need not continue in sin.