Chapter 2 verses 1-12 Read the Bible verses
King Herod was chosen by the Romans to rule over part of the Jewish lands.
Wise men came to the King asking about a baby just born. They said that the baby would grow up to be the king of the Jews.
The wise men knew the words of the Old Testament and what the prophets said about a Messiah.
They also studied the stars and saw that the stars were in a special pattern. One special star seemed to be a “sign” for them.
They believed that this meant that a special person had been born somewhere in the Jewish land.
They came to King Herod to get more information. King Herod called his own wise men to give him advice and ask them what they knew about it. He found that there were prophecies about a king or Messiah who would be born in Bethlehem.
But King Herod was paid by the Roman government to be king over the Jews. He did not want to hear that a king or Messiah was born somewhere.
Herod told the wise men to find the baby and then come and tell him because he wanted to worship him also. That was not true, but Herod wanted to find out where the baby was.
The wise men went on their way. A star appeared to guide them to Bethlehem. They entered a house where the child was. They gave the child gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The Bible says that the wise men found the child in a house , not a stable, so it seems that some time had passed since the child was born. Jesus may have been 1 or 2 years old.
When it was time for the wise men to return to their home, God warned them not to go back to Herod to tell him.
Chapter 2 verses 13-23 Read the Bible verses
After the wise men were gone, an angel came to warn Joseph. The angel told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt. They were to stay in Egypt until the Lord told them to come back.
Joseph took his family to Egypt. Since Joseph was not a rich man and was now going on a long journey, he would need money. He would be living in a strange land for some time. He didn’t know for how long. Maybe he would not be able to find work right away. He was a carpenter or a builder.
God had provided for them to have enough money. The gifts that the wise men brought would keep them until he could get work or go back home. The gold could be used, and the frankincense and myrrh were expensive perfumes and spices that could be sold for money.
God knows ahead of time what we will need. He sends it to us just in time. It is enough to take care of the need.
When Herod learned that the wise men went home without telling him about the baby, he was very angry.
He was determined to kill Jesus. Since he did not know exactly where the baby was, he decided to kill all the baby boys in the Bethlehem area.
He sent soldiers out to kill all baby boys 2 years old and under. This makes us believe that Herod must have thought that Jesus could be as old as 2 years.
So in the area all around Bethlehem, every baby boy 2 years old or under was killed. Jesus was safe in Egypt. What a sad time this was! Mothers and fathers were weeping for their sons!
You can imagine what the Jewish people thought of Herod. If they hated him before, they really hated him now.
Years later King Herod died.
After the king died, an angel came to Joseph and told him to go back home. Then Joseph heard that the new king was just as bad as the one who died. He was afraid to go to the area of Judea. So Joseph took his family to Nazareth in Galilee.
In the Old Testament hundreds of years before Jesus was born, prophets of God told some things that would happen when the Messiah was born.
They said that “Rachel would weep for her children.” Jeremiah 31:15 Rachel was Jacob’s wife. She was like the “mother” of the Jewish people.
They said that “out of Egypt I have called my son” Hosea 11:1
They said, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” Judges 13:5
The Jewish people should have been able to see the things the prophets had said about the Messiah’s birth had come true, but they did not make the connection.