"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"
Chapter Two
Unlike Luke, Matthew does not record events related to the day of Jesus’
birth. But he does describe the visit of the wise men who followed the
star to find the infant child and to worship Him (1-12). Warned by an
angel in a dream, Joseph takes Mary and Jesus to Egypt, escaping the
massacre of infants by an enraged Herod (13-18). After the death of
Herod, Joseph and his family return to settle in the village of Nazareth
(19-23).
POINTS TO PONDER
* The details of the visit of the wise men from the East
* Fact versus fiction related to the birth of Jesus
* Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by the events in this chapter
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What are the main points of this chapter?
- The visit of the wise men - Mt 2:1-12
- The flight to Egypt and massacre of infants - Mt 2:13-18
- The return from Egypt and residence at Nazareth - Mt 2:19-23
2) Why had the wise men from the East come to Jerusalem? (1-2)
- They had seen the star of the King of the Jews and had come to
worship Him
3) How did the priests and scribes determine the location of Christ’s
birth? (4-6)
- From Mic 5:2
4) How did the wise men find the young Child? Where did they find Him?
(9-11)
- Heading to Bethlehem, they followed the star; in a house with Mary
His mother
5) Why did Joseph and his family flee? What prophecy would be
fulfilled? (13-15)
- Warned by an angel to go to Egypt, in order to escape Herod’s
effort to destroy Jesus
- "Out of Egypt I called My Son" (Hos 11:1)
6) What prophecy did the slaughter of the innocents fulfill? (16-18)
- That spoken by Jeremiah the prophet (Jer 31:15)
7) What prompted Joseph and his family to return? Why to Galilee?
(19-22)
- An angel told Joseph of Herod’s death, and told him to return to
Israel
- Hearing that Herod’s son ruled over Judea, they turned aside to
Galilee
8) Where did the family settle? What prophecy did that fulfill? (23)
- In a city called Nazareth
- "He shall be called a Nazarene" (no one prophecy in particular)