Matthew 2 Devotional

The King No Tyrant Could Stop

“On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.”Matthew 2:11 (BSB)

Two responses to the newborn King fill Matthew 2. Magi from the east come asking where he is, so they can worship him (2:2). When they find the child with Mary, they bow down and open their treasures (2:11). King Herod hears the same news and is disturbed (2:3). He claims he wants to worship too, while he means to find the child and kill him (2:8, 2:13).

The chapter does not hide the cost of Herod's rage. He orders the death of every boy in Bethlehem two years old and under, and Matthew answers with Jeremiah's picture of Rachel weeping for her children (2:16-18). Scripture lets that grief stand. Yet Herod cannot reach the child. Again and again God warns Joseph in dreams, sending the family to Egypt and later to Nazareth (2:13, 2:19-23), and each step fulfills what the prophets said. No ruler can overturn God's plan to save. Jesus is a King to bow before, not a rival to keep at a distance.

To think about: Where are you still treating Jesus as a rival to your own rule, and what would it look like to bow before him there today?