Matthew
Chapter 2
Homage of the Magi
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, during King Herod’s reign, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.
They asked:
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw the rising of his star in the East and have come to honor him.”
When Herod heard this, he was greatly disturbed, and everyone in Jerusalem with him.
He immediately gathered a meeting of all high-ranking priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Messiah would be born.
“In the town of Bethlehem in Judea,” they told him, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are by no means the least
among the clans of Judah,
for from you will come a leader,
one who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod secretly called the wise men and inquired about the exact time the star appeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem with these instructions: “Go and get accurate information about the child. As soon as you have found him, report to me, so that I, too, may go and honor him.”
After the meeting with the king, they set out. The star they had seen in the East went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.
The wise men were overjoyed when they saw the star again.
They entered the house, and when they saw the child with Mary his mother, they knelt and worshiped him. They opened their bags and presented him with their gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh.
In a dream, they were warned not to go back to Herod, so they took a different route back to their home country.
Flight into Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents
After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said: “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the child in order to kill him.”
Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left that night for Egypt,
where he stayed until Herod’s death. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled:
Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod discovered that he had been duped by the wise men, he became furious. He ordered the killing of all boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding areas. This decision was based on what he had learned from the wise men about the approximate time when the star appeared.
In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled:
A cry is heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation:
Rachel weeps for her children.
She refuses to be comforted,
for they are no more.
Return from Egypt
After Herod’s death, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said:
“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel because those who tried to kill the child are dead.”
So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
But when Joseph heard that Archelaus had taken over his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. Joseph received further instructions in a dream and moved to the region of Galilee.
There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way, what was said by the prophets was fulfilled:
“He shall be called a Nazorean”.
Commentaries
Homage of the Magi.
A beautiful episode from Jesus’ childhood that has captivated and continues to fascinate the imaginations of both believers and non-believers, as well as theologians, painters, and poets. Set against a backdrop of history and legend common to ancient peoples, the evangelist offers a reflection in the form of a staged story that already contains, in embryonic form, everything he will share throughout his Gospel: Jesus is the fulfillment of Israel’s promises and the hope of all nations; he is the Messiah-King and Son of God, now revealed as a fragile, vulnerable, and needy child, the son of Mary; his presence elicits rejection from his own people and acceptance from those who are distant and foreign.
Flight into Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents – Return from Egypt.
History, legend, and theology come together again in this episode, with which Matthew concludes his presentation of Jesus. The cruelty of Herod, which affected the newborn and his family, is a historical fact of those turbulent times. The evangelist records this not as a historian but as a theologian who reads history, interprets it in the light of the Word of God, and then weaves it into a dramatic narrative.
Like Moses, Jesus is saved from imminent death; he must flee with his family. The massacre of the innocent recalls the killing of the Israelite children (cf. Ex 1:15ff) and Rachel’s mourning (cf. Jr 31:15). His return from Egypt fulfills the prophet’s prophecy: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos 11:1). In this way, the evangelist depicts Jesus as the new Moses, who, through a new Exodus, will lead his people—enduring exile and persecution—toward a new and ultimate liberation. And this liberation is not only for his people, Israel, but for all nations of the earth.