Who "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1: 11), now moves His

Son to a place of safety in Egypt until Herod dies.

Who were the "wise men from the east" (Matt. 2: 1)? We must first rid ourselves of

tradition. The N.T. does not say there were three, nor that they were kings. Some things

which are stated and illustrated on Christmas cards are pure fancy. They were called

Magi and we cannot be sure of the derivation of this word. There were Magi among the

Medians, Persians and Chaldeans. It is the same word as "magician" and is linked with

Simon Magus (Acts 8: 9, 11) and of Elymas (Acts 13: 6, 8). Those who came to

Jerusalem were not of this class, but they evidently studied the heavens. It is even

possible that they were Jewish proselytes who knew of the Messianic hope and what they

had seen in the heavens was so extraordinary as to suggest the birth of some great Person.

Herod, thoroughly agitated by the news, demanded from the chief priests and scribes that

he be told where this Christ would be born. Epunthaneto (enquire) is the imperfect tense

and suggests that Herod enquired repeatedly, showing his disturbance of mind. The

Jewish leaders who knew the letter of the O.T. had no difficulty in telling him that this

had been revealed in Micah 5: 2.  Matthew gives a paraphrase of this verse, but there

was no doubt that the place of birth was Bethlehem of Judaea, ". . . . . for thus it is written

by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the

princes of Juda; for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel

(Matt. 2: 5, 6). The word governor means a Ruler or Prince, and the A.V. misses the full

meaning of poimenei which means "shepherd" although it puts "feed" in the margin.

Israel were the "sheep" of the Lord's pasture (Psa. 79: 13) and this figure is constantly

used of them in the Old Testament.

The Lord Jesus is the good Shepherd (John 10: 11). He is the "great Shepherd"

(Hebrews 13: 20), and the "chief Shepherd" (I Pet. 2: 25). The verbal form is used again

in Rev. 7: 17. When He re-commissioned Peter after His resurrection He told him to

"shepherd" the lambs (John 21: 16) and we should not forget that our word "pastor"

means shepherd. The One that was born in Bethlehem will most certainly rule His people

Israel, but it will not be as it were with an iron rod, but the devotion of a good shepherd

caring for and protecting his sheep. The tragedy of the Shepherd's first Coming was that

the sheep rejected His loving rule and murdered Him, but the story and its fulfillment will

be very different at His Second Coming as this Gospel shows. The earthly people Israel

are in the very centre of God's earthly kingdom purposes. Matthew is careful to put them

there and not one jot or tittle of the law or the Word which reveals this will fail

ultimately.

Herod now calls the wise men, but conceals his murderous motives. He pretends that

he will go and worship the young Child, if they will find out accurately where He is. He

might have succeeded if God had not intervened, but the redemptive plan of the ages is

too great, too wonderful and important to be ruined by the vindictive rage of a Herod

under the control of Satan.

The star which had guided the Magi still went before them (again the imperfect tense

in the Greek, "kept on in front of them"). Their joy was great when they found the holy