Matthew 2

Matthew 2:1-12

Chapter 3 Lessons from the Savior’s Birth “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.” Matthew 2:1-12 The first to take notice of and come to Christ after his birth were the shepherds, who heard of him by the angel of the Lord (Luke 2:8-20). After that, Simeon and Anna saw him in the temple and spoke of him by the Spirit of God, telling all who would hear who he is and what he had come to accomplish (Luke 2:21-40). Then, for nearly two whole years, no one else took notice of the fact that God had come into the world in human flesh! Apparently no one in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, or all of Judea believed the messages Simeon and Anna had declared or the word of Joseph and Mary concerning the Christ of God. Then, about two years after the birth of our Savior, “wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews?” Let us carefully observe the spiritual lessons conveyed to us in this inspired record of the visit of the wise men who came to Jerusalem seeking Christ. The history of these wise men and their visit to our Savior, like everything else in Holy Scripture, is recorded for our learning and our comfort and hope as we seek to glorify our God in this world (Romans 15:4). An Inspired Book The first thing that strikes me as I read Matthew 2 is the fact that the Book, the Word of God, must be as it claims an inspired Book, a Book written by the very finger of God. This one chapter is Matthew’s complete account of our Savior’s infancy. Mark and John tell us nothing, and Luke tells us very little about it. Why do Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us so little about our Savior’s infancy and childhood? Surely, this lack of information places a stamp of inspiration upon their writings. What they wrote was not their word, but God’s. Had they written only as men giving the record of a man highly esteemed by them, there would have been much more recorded about the Savior’s earliest years. What biographer has ever failed to do so, when those who could supply the information were at hand? If the Gospel writers did not write “as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21), they could not have restrained themselves from giving us greater details about the holy childhood of the “holy child Jesus.” The ancient Jews placed great importance upon childhood. They had eight different words to mark its various stages of development, ranging from conception to adulthood. For Matthew, who was a Jew and wrote specifically to identify Christ to his own countrymen, to omit everything about our Savior’s infancy and childhood, except what we have in these twenty-three verses, is remarkable. His silence cannot be explained by anything except the fact that he wrote this Gospel narrative by divine inspiration. Lest any should think I am making a fanciful stretch to demonstrate an evidence of the fact that the Word of God is just that — THE WORD Of GOD, inspired and inerrant, it should be noted those things which have been written about Jesus of Nazareth by other men confirmed it. Such writings (ancient and modern) are filled with speculations about his childhood. Mathew, Mark, and Luke, writing by divine inspiration, tell only enough to demonstrate that this man is the Christ promised and prophesied of in the Old Testament Scriptures. Prophecy Fulfilled Second, let us realize that every Old Testament prophecy concerning the advent of the Messiah has been precisely fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, in every detail. Let anyone honestly study the Old Testament Scriptures in which the person, advent, and accomplishments of the Messiah are foretold and then study the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth, and he will be forced to acknowledge this fact — Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of whom Moses and the prophets spoke (John 1:45). The Old Testament tailors a garment that will fit only one man. Find that man and you will have found the Christ of God, the Messiah. In this passage only one thing is mentioned in this regard. But this one fact of fulfilled prophecy is sufficient to demonstrate the point I am making. — According to the Old Testament Scriptures, Messiah must be born in Bethlehem of Judea prior to the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem — “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). The Jews fully expected the Messiah to be born at Bethlehem (Matthew 2:4-6; John 7:41-42). But Joseph and Mary were not residents of Bethlehem at the time she conceived or at the time she gave birth to the Lord Jesus. They were living in Galilee, in the city of Nazareth at the time (Luke 2:4). Yet, the Scripture must be fulfilled. Messiah must be born at Bethlehem. So God, who directs the thoughts of the king’s heart (Proverbs 21:1), moved Caesar Augustus to make a decree requiring that every man return to his hometown to pay his taxes (Luke 2:1-4). To my knowledge no such decree had ever been made before and none after. It was an absurd thing to do. But the scriptures must be fulfilled. Thus, while Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem to pay taxes, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, was born (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7). John Gill writes, “Bethlehem signifies the house of bread, and in it was born, as an ancient writer observes, the Bread which comes down from heaven: and it may also signify the house of flesh, and to it the allusion may be in 2 Timothy 3:16, “God was manifest in the flesh.”In the light of this one fact, only one who is a willfully blind and willfully ignorant fool would deny that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Christ of God, the Savior of the world. God’s Hidden Ones Third, we see here that our Savior has many “hidden ones” (Psalms 83:3) in the earth. We sometimes foolishly imagine that we know all that God is doing in the world and that we either know or know about all his people in the world. But nothing could be more absurd and further from the truth. Here the Holy Spirit tells us of wise men who came from somewhere in the east to worship the Son of God. We know no more about their lives than we do of Melchizedek, Jethro, or Job. But they were the servants of God. Even so it is today. Our God and Savior has a people scattered throughout the earth who serve him faithfully, who are altogether unknown to us; but their names are in the book of life. We need to constantly remind ourselves of this fact. We sometimes think the earth is barren because our own gardens are fruitless, but it is not so. The grace of God is not limited to certain races, tied to certain places, or restricted to certain families (Revelation 5:9). We know that God has an appointed means of grace by which he save his elect (Romans 10:17; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Peter 1:23-25). But he does not always act openly and obviously. He sometimes hides the means he uses and only shows us the result of his work. Sinners, like these wise men, are sometimes born of God in the dark places of the earth and made wise unto salvation. No doubt there are some traveling to heaven now of whom the church and the world know nothing. They are the Lord’s “hidden ones” They know Christ, and Christ knows them, and nothing else really matters! We must never imagine that God has left himself without a witness anywhere (Romans 11:1-5). We must never attempt to measure the length and breadth of God’s kingdom by our own yardstick. And we must never imagine that God is not working because we do not see him work, or that our labor is in vain because we do not see its fruit (1 Corinthians 15:58; Isaiah 55:11). The Objects of Grace Fourth, this passage demonstrates, as the scriptures constantly teach, that the least likely are often the most likely objects of God’s saving grace. The word here translated, “wise men”, would be better translated, “magi.” It is almost always used in a bad sense in the Scriptures. It refers to pagan astrologers, soothsayers, sorcerers, magicians, wizards, and fortunetellers. We are not told who these men were, or where they lived, or how they learned of Christ, only that they were from the east. Perhaps they had learned to expect Christ from the ten tribes who were once carried away into captivity. Maybe some prophet had passed through their land expounding the words of Isaiah, or Daniel, or David.

We simply do not know. But, as Matthew Poole wrote, “These were the first fruits of the Gentiles owning Christ as King of the Jews, whilst he came among his own, and they received him not; nor do I know anything more worthy of our observation concerning them.” God often passes by those who have, but neglect, the greatest privileges and opportunities, and saves those who seem to be beyond the reach of mercy (Luke 4:25-27). We would have thought the scribes and Pharisees, those men so learned in the facts of Scripture and religion, would have been the first to go down to Bethlehem as soon as the Savior’s birth was rumored; but it was not so (John 1:11). It is a sad fact, but a fact often confirmed by experience, that the hardest people on earth to reach with the gospel are gospel hardened rebels (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). Those who neglect the privileges and opportunities set before them to hear the gospel and learn of God court reprobation and judgment (Proverbs 1:23-33). God graciously saves those who are esteemed by men to be the least likely candidates for mercy (1 Samuel 16:1-12; 1 Corinthians 1:26-30). He passed by self-righteous Pharisees and self-complacent scribes, and saved some pagan magicians from a far eastern land. Knowledge Without Grace Here is a fifth lesson that must not be overlooked. — Many have heads full of knowledge whose hearts are altogether void of grace. When King Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where Christ should be born, they answered him immediately, demonstrating an accurate knowledge of the letter of the scriptures (Matthew 2:4-6). They knew where Christ was to be born; but they never went to Bethlehem to seek him! Their heads were full; but their hearts were empty. What a sad condition! The wise intellectual foolishly imagines that if he stores the barn of his brain with knowledge he has won God’s salvation, never realizing that “The Lord looketh upon the heart!” Great knowledge is good; but grace is better.

Knowledge alone saves no one. It is grace that carries men and women to glory. The Pharisees had knowledge, but no grace. Judas had knowledge, but no grace. Demas had knowledge, but no grace. Diotrephes had knowledge, but no grace.

Knowledge, no matter how accurate, that does not reach, and change, and rule the heart with grace is useless, damning knowledge! Faith and Works Sixth, we are here reminded that faith in Christ always shows itself by works. — “Faith worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6). — “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:18). Faith in Christ is more than mental assent to facts, doctrines, and propositions. Faith is a principle of life. These wise men are set before us as striking examples of faith. They believed God’s Word without any outward evidence to support it. They trusted Christ, though they had never seen him. They believed him and came to him, though the scribes and Pharisees believed him not. They trusted Christ and worshipped him as their God, Savior, and King when he was a baby on Mary’s knees! There was no halo over his head. There were no signs or miracles to convince them. They had nothing but the naked Word of God and the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. Yet, when they saw the Christ, they fell down and worshipped him (not Mary, but him) as their Savior and their God (v.11). We read of no greater faith in all the Bible than this. Blessed are those people who thus believe God, who dare to take God at his Word (without evidence) and walk accordingly! Believing God’s Word concerning his Son, these wise men were diligent in seeking him. They had made up their minds that they would go to Jerusalem to see him “that was born king of the Jews;” and they never rested until they had seen him. And when they came to worship Christ, they brought prepared gifts of worship, praise, and gratitude to him. C. H. Spurgeon wrote, “These choice offerings, especially the gold, would help Joseph and Mary to provide for the Royal Child, who was so soon to be exiled. God brought providers from the far East to supply the needs of his Son. Remember, Omnipotence has servants everywhere. Before the babe starts for Egypt, Oriental sages must pay his charges.” — All who worship Christ consecrate their substance to him, and worship him with sacrifices of love and gratitude. Such worship requires faith (Proverbs 3:9-10). Our Father’s Rule Seventh, we have in this passage a demonstration of that which ought to make our hearts rejoice. — Our heavenly Father rules all things in providence to accomplish his purpose of grace (Romans 8:28-30; Romans 11:33-36). He made a star to guide these chosen men to Christ the Savior (Revelation 1:20). He moved Caesar Augustus to make his decree concerning taxation. He prevented Herod from following these men to Bethlehem. He provided what Joseph and Mary needed to flee to Egypt. He warned these men in a dream not to return to their own country through Jerusalem. As he cared for Joseph and Mary, his servants, and our Savior who came into the world as his righteous Servant, so God’s servants in this world are the objects of his special and unceasing care. All who are his are the apple of his eye. You may safely cast all your care upon him, for “he careth for you!” These are the lessons the Holy Spirit here teaches us by recording this brief event in the history of these wise men and their Savior. The Holy Bible is God’s inspired Word. Cherish it as such. Every Old Testament prophecy concerning the advent of the Messiah has been precisely fulfilled in every detail by our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Savior has many “hidden ones” in the earth. The least likely are often the most likely objects of God’s saving grace. Many have heads full of knowledge whose hearts are void of grace. Faith in Christ always shows itself by works. Our heavenly Father rules all things in providence to accomplish his purpose (Romans 8:28; Romans 11:36).

Matthew 2:13-23

Chapter 4 Satan’s First Assault “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:13-23) From the beginning of time Satan has opposed his Creator. When God made known to his holy angels his intention to save sinful men by the blood and righteousness of Christ and thus to exalt manhood to the place of highest dominion over all creation, so that even the angels would be servants to chosen, redeemed sinners, Lucifer said, “No I will not be servant to man. I will be like the Most High” And he led one third of the heavenly host in rebellion against God and against the purpose of God. From the beginning of time Satan has been opposed to Christ and has attempted to nullify the purpose of God. And so it shall be until time shall be no more and the old serpent, the devil, is cast into the lake of fire. In the passage of Scripture now before us the Holy Spirit describes Satan’s first assault against the incarnate Christ, his first attempt to destroy the Savior and keep him from accomplishing the redemption of his people. But there is no cause for alarm or fear. Though Satan goes about the earth as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, all his devices and plans are easily foiled by our omnipotent God. Our God is so infinitely and totally sovereign that he is not only beyond the reach of Satan and able to foil the old serpent’s plans; but he even makes Satan’s deeds and devices subservient to his own great purpose of grace, as we shall see in this passage. The Narrative Matthew’s narrative of the historical events here recorded are easily and quickly perceived by the most casual reader. Matthew 2:13-15 describe our Savior’s flight into Egypt with his parents. Being commanded by the angel of the Lord to do so, Joseph took the young child and his mother and fled into Egypt to escape the fury of Herod. In Matthew 2:16-18 Matthew describes Herod’s slaughter of the infants in the realm of Bethlehem. Many translations and editions of the Bible place a caption above this passage and call it “the slaying of the innocents.” But that is not accurate. Though babies are innocent of willful transgression and have not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, they are far from innocent. All are born in sin and spiritual death (Psalms 51:5; Romans 5:12). Adam’s transgression is imputed to all and his nature imparted to all, so that from infancy we are estranged from God (Psalms 58:3) and full of enmity toward God (Romans 8:7). In his fury and jealousy Herod gave command that every infant in Bethlehem two years old and under be slain. It is almost beyond conception that such an order could be given, much less carried out. Greater, more barbaric cruelty cannot be imagined. Yet, in our day thousands of mothers murder their unborn children in their own wombs, not to protect a crown like Herod, but to avoid the inconvenience of an unwanted child! Matthew 2:19-23 tell us of our Redeemer’s return from Egypt and settlement of his family in Nazareth. After Herod died, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him to return with his family from Egypt, which he did and settled in the little town of Nazareth, where our Lord was raised as the carpenter’s son. Those are the historic events covered by these verses. But what do these verses teach us? What lessons do they unfold? What spiritual truths do they illustrate? The Angels The very first thing that confronts us in this passage is the ministry of the angels of God. Again and again in these first two chapters we are told, “the angel of the Lord appeared” to Joseph (Matthew 1:20; Matthew 2:13; Matthew 2:19). In those days angels of God were frequently used by God to be special messengers of grace. I do not hesitate to avow that God does not speak to men today by angels. He has spoken and speaks to us by his Word. We need no other Word from him (2 Peter 1:19-21). But that does not at all imply that the angels of God are inactive, or that they no longer serve God’s elect. I do not pretend to know a great deal about angels. However, I do know that the angels of God reverently wait at the throne of God to do his will (Isaiah 6:2). They encamp round about God’s saints to protect them (Psalms 34:7; 2 Kings 6:17). The angels of God are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). They attend the worship of God’s saints and the preaching of the gospel with keen interest, hoping to learn from us the wonders of redeeming, saving grace and love (Ephesians 3:10-11). And the angels rejoice every time a sinner repents of his sin, trusting Christ as his Savior and Lord (Luke 15:10). Inspiration Second, these verses of Scripture stand as an irrefutable testimony to the inspiration and divine origin of the Bible. I am fully aware of the fact that many today and throughout history have given vague words of prophecy that might be fulfilled in many different ways. And foolish men and women are certain that the lying dreamers and fortunetellers are inspired of God. But Bible prophecies are not vague representations of what might be. Prophecy in the Bible gives names and details with such clarity that, when the prophecies have been fulfilled, they stand as irrefutable proofs that the Bible is of divine origin and is divinely inspired, as it claims to be. Matthew, more than any of the other gospel writers, takes notice of the fulfilling of the Old Testament Scriptures by Christ. He does so because his gospel was the first to be published among the Jews, who held the Old Testament alone to be the Word of God. Everything he has told us thus far has been the unfolding of Old Testament prophecy. The birth of Christ at Bethlehem (Matthew 2:6) fulfilled Micah 5:2. The flight of Joseph into Egypt with the young child and his mother was necessary for the fulfillment of Num 24:8 and Hosea 11:1. Matthew Henry wrote, “It is no new thing for God’s sons to be in Egypt. They may be hid in Egypt, but they shall not be left there.” Though often found in the strange land and house of bondage, at the time appointed they are fetched out by almighty grace. All God’s elect, being children of wrath by nature, were born in a spiritual Egypt. But in conversion they are called out by effectual power. Even so, as Israel was brought out of Egypt and highly honored, Christ Jesus was brought out of Egypt that he might be brought up to glory. Thus the Scriptures were fulfilled. The slaughter of the infants by Herod fulfilled the words of Jer 31:15 – (Matthew 2:17-18). The fact that the Lord Jesus was raised in Nazareth as a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23) fulfilled the universal consensus of the prophets that he would be despised and rejected of men. “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Perhaps reference is here made to Isaiah 11:1. The word Branch is Natzar, from which the word Nazareth comes, which means a shoot, or a sprout. Being the divinely inspired, inerrant Word of God, the Bible alone is our rule of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Isaiah 8:20). “Thus saith the Lord,” is the standard by which all things in the church of God must be judged and determined. Believing men and women bow to the authority of Holy Scripture in all things. Our doctrine, the ordinances we observe, and the rules of conduct by which we live arise directly from the Book of God. We must neither add to the Scriptures by imposing upon God’s saints the customs of men’s creeds, confessions, and opinions, nor take anything away from the Scriptures by refusing anything taught in them. Enmity Against God Third, Herod stands before us as an example of the enmity of man’s heart against God and his opposition to Christ and his cause. The Lord Jesus came down from heaven to save poor sinners. What could be more noble and beneficial? But as soon as he came into the world Satan had Herod in place and inspired his heart with barbaric cruelty to “seek the young child to destroy him.” Reprobate interpreters of history tell us that Christianity has been the cause of great cruelty and bloodshed. But if they were honest they would say, “It has not been Christianity, but man’s opposition to Christianity that has been the cause of great cruelty and bloodshed.” Here are three things that we must never forget, or expect to change… The cross of Christ and the gospel of God’s free grace in him are an offence and stumbling block to unregenerate men (1 Corinthians 1:21-23; Galatians 5:11). While he was upon the earth, our Savior said, “They hated me without a cause,” and nothing has changed. The offense of the cross has not ceased. Men do not object to Christ being a Savior. The offense of the cross is that the gospel insists that Christ is the only Savior. Men do not object to Christ being a partial Savior. The offense of the cross is that the gospel declares that Christ alone is Savior. The gospel of God, the gospel we believe runs in direct opposition to the religious world in which we live. The gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ is contrary to all the natural religious sentiments of all men. To all men by nature, to all lost, unregenerate men, religious or irreligious, the cross of Christ is an offense. It is not possible to make the gospel palatable to lost men. Every attempt to do so, of necessity, involves compromise. It is not possible to faithfully preach the message of salvation by God’s free and sovereign grace through the merits of Christ’s sin-atoning death and imputed righteousness without offending those who reject and deny it. The great, powerful, influential men of this world, though they are almost always religious, are the foes, not the friends of righteousness. Josiahs are few. Herods are a legion. The cause of Christ does not depend upon and must never seek the power and patronage of political figures and civil government. It is written, “Put not your trust in princes” (Psalms 146:3). It is common today, as it has been throughout history, for churches and religious leaders to seek approval and authority from political leaders and by civil law. While we are and should be happy to be free from the fear of political persecution, believers ought to quietly submit to civil authority and never seek to promote and build the church and kingdom of God by civil law (Romans 13:1-7). Let those whose god is such a pigmy, that he needs the laws and swords of men to give him power, do what they will, we are to do everything within our power to lead a quiet and peaceable life with all men (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Divine Providence Fourth, in all that is recorded in these verses we are again reminded of the sovereign rule and wondrous mystery of divine providence. Satan wanted the Christ child destroyed. So he moved Herod with the rage of petty jealousy to kill him. But God had other purposes and designs, which he used Herod to accomplish (Psalms 76:10). Herod’s wrath forced Joseph to flee with the young child and his mother into Egypt to fulfill Holy Scripture. Herod’s slaying of the infants in Bethlehem, his hell-inspired, hell-bent slaughter of babies, was the means of God’s mercy to those who were slaughtered, the means by which he brought multitudes of elect infants into glory. Men often accuse those who believe the teaching of Holy Scripture with regard to election and predestination of teaching that babies go to hell. Such accusations are without foundation. I fully agree with C. H. Spurgeon’s comments on Matthew 2:17-18. “Our Rachels still weep; but holy women who know the Lord Jesus, do not now say concerning their little ones that ‘they are not.’ They know that their children are, and they know where they are, and they expect to meet them again in glory. Surely, if these women had but known, they might have been comforted by the fact, that though their little ones were slain, The Childrens’ Friend has escaped and still lives to be the Savior of all who die before committing actual transgression.” I will leave to the theologians to wrangle over their points of logical deduction and theological calculation. I simply tell you what I know. All God’s elect are saved and all babies dying as such are elect, chosen in eternal love, redeemed by precious blood, and saved by omnipotent, free grace. I cannot help thinking, “How good it was of our God to keep these maliciously slaughtered children from ever experiencing personal sin.” Robert Hawker’s comments on this passage are excellent. “In relation to the infants themselves; they were only removed from the evil to come. Had they lived to old age, they would have lived to have seen the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, which the Lord Jesus so mournfully foretold, when they would have said, “blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.” If those sweet babes who died for Christ died also in Christ; were they not such as John heard a voice from heaven concerning, saying, “blessed are the dead which die in the Lord” (Revelation 14:13)? And is it not said, “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalms 116:15)? And may we not without violence to the words suppose, that these little ones of Christ’s fold, were among that holy army John saw on Mount Zion, when he said, “I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their forehead” (Revelation 14:1-5)? I do not mean to suggest that infants are not sinners. They are. We are all born in sin. As the sons and daughters of Adam, we all have his nature. But the Scriptures speak of small children as those who have not sinned “after the similitude of Adam’s transgression” (Romans 5:14). I certainly do not want you to think, as ignorant people often do, that the Lord took those children to make them angels! — No! He took them to give them all the fulness of grace and glory with Christ, beloved of God, chosen by grace, redeemed by his precious blood, and born again by the power of his Spirit. Three Reasons Let me give you three reasons why I am confident that those children dying in infancy are saved by God’s grace. I mean by that that they are chosen, redeemed, sanctified, justified, and born of God. Our God is good (Exodus 34:5-6). No child will ever go to hell and suffer the wrath of God because of the sins of its fathers. — God does not send people to hell because of Adam’s transgressions, but because of their own (Ezekiel 18:20). The only example we have in Scripture of a child’s death, with comment concerning its state after death, is that of David’s son. David’s words concerning his son assure us that he was completely confident the child went to glory when he died (2 Samuel 12:23). Obedient Faith Fifth, Joseph here stands before us as an example of the obedience of faith. When the angel of the Lord said to Joseph, “Arise, take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt,” he did not pause to pack his bags, go on deputation to raise support, or solicit funds to make it possible for him to do what God commanded. He simply took his family to Egypt. When the angel of the Lord told him to return to the land of Israel, he returned. Matthew Poole wrote, “True faith always produceth obedience to the precept of it…They indeed believe not the Scriptures to be the Word of God, who take no care to live up to the rule of life prescribed in them.” — “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (John 2:5), conferring “not with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:15-16). The only thing that causes disobedience is unbelief. Precisely to the degree that we believe God we obey him. Christ’s Humiliation Sixth, this passage shows us a great example of the humiliation of our Lord Jesus Christ as our Mediator. When the Son of God lived on this earth he spent 30 of his 33 years in Nazareth, a small, obscure despised town in Galilee. No one lived in Nazareth except those who could not afford to live anywhere else. This is where the Son of God chose to reside. Let us learn from his example. We must never seek great things for ourselves (Jeremiah 45:5). It is not nearly as important as people imagine it is to have property, position, power, praise, and money. It is a very great sin to be covetous and proud. But it is no sin to be poor. As J. C.

Ryle put it, “It matters not so much what money we have, and where we live, as what we are in the sight of God. Where are we going when we die? Shall we live forever in heaven? These are the main things which we should attend.” The fact is great wealth is a great danger to any man’s soul. Those who seek the riches of this world know not what they seek. They are likely to fill our hearts with pride and chain our affections to this world.

Our Master said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God!” “How hardy shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God?” Seek not riches, but righteousness. Seek not money, but mercy. Seek not greatness, but grace. Death Seventh, we see in this passage that death is a great leveler. “Herod was dead!” Death enters the palace of kings just as it does the dens of paupers. None can resist its power. The murderer of helpless infants was himself helpless before the Lord God when the hour of his departure from this world had come. At the hour appointed, we too shall die. After death, we will stand before God in judgment. After judgment we will spend eternity somewhere, either in heaven, or in hell. Where will you spend eternity? Are you prepared to meet God? Am I? The only way to be accepted with the Holy Lord God is to be washed in Christ’s precious blood and robed in his perfect righteousness. For that, we must trust him. May God the Holy Spirit give us grace to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”