2 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.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 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.

7 Then Herod, when he had priv-| ily called the wise men, inquired of

1 Dan. 2:2; Isa. 60: 3. 2 Num. 24:17.

miles south of Jerusalem, and was the ancestral abode of the house of David. -Herod; called the Great, an Idumæan, appointed king of Judæa by the Roman Senate B. C. 40. - Wise men; called Magi; a class of learned men devoted to the study of astronomy, medicine, and religion. An early tradition represents these to have been three kings. - The east; we, in the east, have seen, etc. The east is a general term, comprehending Persia, Arabia, etc.

2. His star. What this star was, and how it indicated the birth of Jesus, we do not know. It is commonly supposed to have been a luminous meteor resembling a star, the design of which was communicated to the wise men by a special revelation, perhaps in a dream like that which afterwards directed their return. Ver. 12. — Worship him; to pay him that homage which was customarily offered to kings or persons of distinction. Gen. 42:6.

3. Was troubled. Herod, a foreigner, and a usurper, feared a rival in one who was born king of the Jews; and the

8 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.

9 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.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

II And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts,3 gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in

3 Ps. 72: 10; Is. 60: 6.

people were alarmed at the prospect of fresh dissensions and bloodshed in consequence.

4. Chief priests, etc., i. e. the Sanhedrim. Note ch. 26: 3. - Should be born; i. e. according to the prophecies.

5. The prophet; Mic. 5:2. Matthew records the answer which the priests and scribes gave. They seem to have quoted the passage loosely, as if from memory, rather than in its exact words.

6. Princes; central or chief towns. -Rule; as a shepherd guides and tends his flock. 1 Chr. II: 2.

7. Privily; to avoid disturbance, and perhaps to prevent the parents of the child from taking alarm.

9. Went before them; doubtless they traveled by night, as was the Eastern cus

tom.

II. Worshiped him; him, not Mary. The practice of the worship of the virgin had not then begun.-Gifts; the orientals brought presents when welcoming a distinguished stranger, and especially when doing homage to a sovereign. Gen. 43:11; 1 Sam. 25:18; 1 Ki. 10:2.

a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13 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.

14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

:

15 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.

16 Then Herod, when he saw

-Frankincense and myrrh; fragrant and costly resins. Gen. 37:25.

14. Into Eygpt. The distance from Bethlehem was from 60 to So miles. The road was much frequented, and therefore comparatively safe. There was a large and cultivated Jewish population in that country, among whom they would find friends; and the timely gifts of the wise men would support them while there.

15. The death of Herod. Herod died in the year of Rome 750, four years before the common Christian era. How long this was after the flight is not known, probably but a few months. [The present era was fixed by the Abbot Dionysius Exiguus in the sixth century. He assumed that Christ's birth was in the year of Rome 754, which was four years later than Herod's death, and therefore from four to five years too late.]-The prophet; Hos. II: I. The language had original reference to the deliverance of the Hebrew nation, there personified as God's "son." It was one of those typical events (ch. I: 22) which foreshadowed this portion of the history of Christ.

16. Mocked; treated with contempt, trifled with. Children, i. e. male children, as the original indicates. -Coasts;

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.

17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

18 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.

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

20 Saying, Arise, and take the

suburbs, or vicinity. Bethlehem was a small village, and the number of male infants under two years of age among its population could not have been great, perhaps not more than twenty or thirty. Josephus does not mention the event, showing that in comparison with the other crimes of the tyrant it excited but little notice. The order, like all the proceedings of Herod in this case, was probably executed privately. The common impression as to the magnitude and the public horrors of this massacre is doubtless erroneous..

17. Jeremy; Jer. 31:15. The prophet describes Rachel weeping as she be

young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judæa 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 :

23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth:1 that it might

1 Luke 1: 26; 2:4

like grief at the murder of these babes. Rachel was buried at Bethlehem, and the ruins of a place called Rama are shown near her tomb.

20. They are dead; a quotation from Ex. 4: 19, where the plural occurs.

22.

Archelaus, like his father, was a suspicious and cruel tyrant. Nine years after his accession he was banished to Gaul for his crimes, by the Emperor Augustus. Galilee was under the rule of Herod Antipas, his half-brother (ch. 14: I; Luke 3:1; 23: 7), a prince of milder spirit though scarcely less profligate; and here in the obscure village of Nazareth, where they had before dwelt, the holy family found comparative safety.

23. Nazarene. There is no passage in the Old Testament containing exactly these words. But it was the repeated testimony of the prophets that the MesIsiah would be humble and despised. Ps. 22; Isa. 53. Such, in the estimation of the Jews, were the people of Nazareth. To say, then, that he was a Nazarene, was equivalent to saying that he was as lowly in condition and appearance as the prophet had predicted.

PRACTICAL THOUGHTS.

1. Persons who have had little religious training, or are destitute of present advantages, sometimes come to Christ before others much more favored.

3. Conscious guilt is always apprehensive. Its fears are a perpetual wit

ness in the soul to the certainty and justice of a coming retribution.

8. Wickedness often cloaks itself under the garb of piety.

9. God will guide those who are earnestly striving to honor him.

11. The pious poor may safely trust in him to provide for all their wants, both present and future.

16. It is impossible for wicked men, or wicked governments, to frustrate the benevolent purposes of Jehovah.

23. Christ's people should not be ashamed of poverty and obscurity.

He leads them through no darker rooms
Than he went through before."

CHAPTER III.

SECTION 13.-I. In those days. For a more exact designation of the time, see Luke 3: 1.- Wilderness; a wild tract of country eastward of Jerusalem, towards the Jordan and the Dead Sea. It was not strictly a desert, but thinly peopled and having extensive pastures.

2. Repent; literally, change your mind; turn from your wickedness unto God. Jer. 255; 35:15; Zec. 1:3; Mal. 3: 7.-Kingdom of heaven; the reign of the Messiah. Dan. 7:13. The time is near when the predictions of his coming and kingdom are to be fulfilled.

3. This is he. These are not John's words, but Matthew's explanation of his office and mission. The passage cited had original reference to the restoration

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and all the region round about Jordan,

6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the

1 Ch. 23:2. 2 Ch. 22:23. 3 Isa. 595 ch. 12:34; 23: 33. 4 Mal. 3:5; 4:1.

from Babylon. Note ch. 1:22. - Prepare ye the way. When an Eastern monarch set forth upon a journey, a herald was sent before him to announce his coming, to provide what was necessary for his accommodation, and call the people to pay him proper respect.

4. Camel's hair; coarse hair cloth; the recognized garb of a prophet. Zec. 13:4.- Meat; an old English word for food in general. - Locusts are expressly mentioned as lawful food, Lev. 11:22.

They are still eaten by the poorer classes throughout the East.- Wild honey. Deut. 32:13; 1 Sam. 14:25-27.

The

5. Jerusalem and all Judæa. motive which brought the whole Jewish people to hear John is to be found in the subject of his preaching. They understood him to announce, in the reign of the Messiah, the restoration of their old theocracy, the direct government of Jehovah, of which the prophets had been interpreters and ministers. His own appearance in the garb and character of a prophet, the first they had had for almost 400 years, was itself a confirmation of his message. Such an announcement was like a trumpet-note, appealing to their patriotism, the pride

of their ancient history, and their hopes of a more glorious future, under the reign of a son of David greater than Solomon. It is no wonder that the whole nation, then groaning under the bondage of Rome, was stirred with excitement and flocked to hear a message so welcome.

But John, with this announcement, called the people to repentance, preparatory to the grand event. This was after the manner of the former prophets. Note ver. 2. He reminded them that the Messiah was coming to be a judge as well as king; to punish as well as restore; and bade them repent, with works meet for repentance. See the third and fourth chapters of Malachi, which he particularly enforced and applied to this occasion. Ver. 12; Mark 1:2.

6. Baptized. It is not certain whether baptism was wholly a new rite, or one already in use in the reception of proselytes. But in either case, it was, as administered by John, new in its spiritual import; it was a symbol of repentance, denoting a change, not merely in outward relations, but in personal character. Confessing their sins. John also required abandonment of them, and reparation for the wrongs they had done. Luke 3: 10-15.

7. Pharisees and Sadducees; two of the chief sects of the Jewish people. Note ch. 22:23; 23: 2.-Generation; brood. -Vipers; deceitful and malicious persons. Ps. 58:4; Isa. 14:29; 59: 5. They came with the multitude for hypocritical and sinful purposes.

unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.1

II I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:2

12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

1 Ch. 7:19; Luke 13:9; John 15:6. 4:4; 44:3; Acts 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:13.

2 Isa.

14. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS.

Mark 1:9-11; Luke

3:21, 22.

13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14 But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water and lo, the heavens were

8 Mal. 4:1; Mark 9:43. 4 Ch. 17:27; Lu. 2:21; 4:16; 22: 14; Jno. 5: 1.

Winnowing Fan.

SECTION 14.-13. Jordan; the river Jordan. The place was Bethany or Bethabara. Jno. I: 28.

14. Forbade; earnestly dissuaded. He deemed it improper to administer to Jesus a rite which implied that he was a sinner.

15. Now; while as yet I am only a private individual, a member of the Jewish nation. Fufill; it is proper that I should comply with all divine requirements. John, as a prophet of God, was authoritatively calling the nation to repentance and baptism, and though Jesus did not need either on account of his personal guilt, yet he as a Jew would set the example of obedience. In the same spirit he performed all other duties required of his people,- circumcision, sacrifice, the temple and synagogue