1NOW WHEN Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men [astrologers] from the east came to Jerusalem, asking,
2Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east [a]at its rising and have come to worship Him.
My favorite preacher, J. Vernon McGee, said there were prophecies in Eastern religions about a coming Messiah. I haven’t checked that out yet…A quick google didn’t reveal anything significant…
4So he called together all the chief priests and learned men (scribes) of the people and [b]anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5They replied to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are not in any way least or insignificant among the [c]chief cities of Judah; for from you shall come a Ruler ([d]Leader) Who will govern and [e]shepherd My people Israel.
Here is one of the prophecies surrounding the Messiah that seem hard to fit together — as to how they could possibly be talking about the same person — but Matthew shows how it easily unfolds with Jesus.
13Now after they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Get up! [[k]Tenderly] take unto you the young Child and His mother and flee to Egypt; and remain there till I tell you [otherwise], for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him.
14And having risen, he took the Child and His mother by night and withdrew to Egypt. 15And remained there until Herod’s death. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, Out of Egypt have I called My Son.
And another prophecy about another area:
22But because he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being divinely warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.
23He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: He shall be called a Nazarene [Branch, Separated One].
