Bible Study series: Matthew 2:16-18. How are you at handling human-caused evil? Do you blame God or people?
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In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 2:16-18
16 Then Herod, seeing that he was tricked by the Magi, was very angry, and commissioned men to kill the children in Bethlehem and in its boundaries from two years and below, according to the time which he learned from the Magi. 17 Then the word spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying:
18 A sound in Rama was heard,
Much weeping and mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she did not want to be comforted, because they do not exist. [Jer. 31:15] (Matthew 2:15-18)
Commentary
Herod was a cruel ruler. His purpose was to eliminate a potential king–a rival, a replacement.
One wonders why God did not send down an angel to stop Herod, so Jesus and his parents could stay in Bethlehem. However, God has given some freedom to the world systems, and people are free moral agents. They have a significant degree of free will. God does not turn modern bullets into foam rubber when the gun is fired. He does not create a hedonistic paradise down here on earth. Mammals can attack, and humans are mammals with a soul and free will. They sometimes act as predators. God was training Joseph and Mary, the mother of Jesus, to be good parents.
They had to flee for their lives, for their son’s life. Prophecy also had to be fulfilled. He had to go down into Egypt.
In fact, all of us are training for reigning in the next world. This is why we go through tough times. Everything will be redeemed.
What Is Redemption in the Bible?
“men”: it was added for clarity.
Two years and younger or below (the Greek says “below”): Jesus was between six and twenty months old, at this time (Carson).
17-18:
Why Rachel weeping? Rachel’s tomb is nearby, and when the Judeans were deported in 587/6, Jeremiah depicts Rachel mourning as the Judeans leave their homeland. Rachel is the idealized matriarch of the Israelites. Turner carefully argues that Jer. 31:15 is not a prophecy that had to be fulfilled as some sort of fate; rather, this verse reflects the same weeping that happened in Jeremiah’s day and happened here (comment on v. 17). It’s about “patterned” fulfillment.
“they do not exist” means they are no longer around. Literally, “they are not.” Originally, the clause signified that the ancient Israelites were not in their homeland because of the exile, but here Matthew is speaking of the children’s death, so once more Rachel is weeping.
Even the killing of one child like this is awful, but Bethlehem and its surroundings did not have many children two years and younger. So the number was low.
This same child killing was done in Egypt, when the Hebrew midwives were told to kill the boys. This was Satanic, because Satan intended to kill Israel’s deliverer, Moses. Now the same Satanic spirit is manifesting against the life of Jesus. Murderous rage is also at work in the abortion of babies around the world. Killing children is intended to wipe out humanity, for Satan hates humanity.
Spiritual Sonograms: God Loves You and Your Baby
The main message in this pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea) or section or unit is that Jesus by his parents escaped and is about to return to rescue his people as the soon-to-be-revealed Messiah. He is their Messianic hope. The exiles returned from Babylon; Jesus will soon return to his homeland. Recall that Matthew’s genealogy mentions the deportation, and the return is implied. Jesus is Israel’s hope; maybe they will accept him as God’s Messiah. David’s throne will be occupied by the true Son of God. Even if Jesus’s generation of Israelites do not accept him, then Jesus is still reigning on the throne next to God. This is also the throne that God promised to David, which would last forever. Jesus takes his place on it, instead of David, and in fulfillment of the everlasting promise.
Grow App for Matt. 2:16-18
1. Are you prepared for persecution on some level? Today, Muslims kill Christians in Nigeria, for example, (and in other regions). How does one recover from unjust death of friends or family?
2. Do you pray for or support persecuted people?
RELATED
9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
Reconciling Matthew’s and Luke’s Genealogies: Mission: Impossible?
Common Details in Matthew’s and Luke’s Birth Narratives
SOURCES
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 