§486The Father's only Son, conceived as man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, is "Christ", that is to say, anointed by the Holy Spirit, from the beginning of his human existence, though the manifestation of this fact takes place only progressively: to the shepherds, to the magi, to John the Baptist, to the disciples.123 Thus the whole life of Jesus Christ will make manifest "how God …

§528The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Saviour of the world. the great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.212 In the magi, representatives of the neighbouring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-f…

2. And why did they at all worship one who was in swaddling clothes? For if He had been a grown man, one might say, that in expectation of the succor they should receive from Him, they cast themselves into a danger which they foresaw; a thing however to the utmost degree unreasonable, that the Persian, the barbarian, and one that had nothing in common with the nation of the Jew…

'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.' See Matt. ii. 14-15 and Hos. xi. 1. Here again is prophecy fulfilled. In Hosea, God speaks of Israel as His son called out of Egypt; b…

'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.' See Matt. ii. 1-2. Consider the providence of God in this arrangement. The Magi were not Jews; they came from afar; they had …

Preface. 1. When false witnesses testified against our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, He remained silent; and when unfounded charges were brought against Him, He returned no answer, believing that His whole life and conduct among the Jews were a better refutation than any answer to the false testimony, or than any formal defense against the accusations. And I know not, my pious…

The Unity and Harmony of Scripture. Blessed are the peacemakers.... Matthew 5:9 To the man who is a peacemaker in either sense there is in the Divine oracles nothing crooked or perverse, for they are all plain to those who understand. Proverbs 8:8-9 And because to such an one there is nothing crooked or perverse, he sees therefore abundance of peace in all the Scriptures, even …

Covers Herod's appointment as king by Rome, his conquest of Jerusalem with Roman help, the murder of the last Hasmoneans, his building of the Second Temple (a massive expansion of Zerubbabel's temple), and his relationship with Augustus. Josephus's Herod is essential for understanding the political backdrop of Matthew 2.

Covers the final years of Herod the Great, his death (c. 4 BC), and the division of his kingdom among his sons: Archelaus (Judea), Antipas (Galilee), and Philip (northeastern territories). Josephus's account of Herod's death helps date the birth of Jesus. The division of the kingdom is directly reflected in the Gospels.

Josephus provides a compressed history from the Maccabean revolt through the reign of Herod the Great. Covers the political upheavals that set the stage for the Roman-Herodian world of the New Testament. Parallels and supplements the accounts in Antiquities 14-17.

1. When Herod, the first ruler of foreign blood, became King, the prophecy of Moses received its fulfillment, according to which there should not be wanting a prince of Judah, nor a ruler from his loins, until he come for whom it is reserved. The latter, he also shows, was to be the expectation of the nations. 2. This prediction remained unfulfilled so long as it was permitted …