Matthew Chapter 2 Part 1

The wise men are directed by a star to Jesus—Joseph takes the child to Egypt—Herod slays the children in Bethlehem—Jesus is taken to Nazareth to dwell.

 1Now when Jesus was ^aborn in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a ^asign; ^bBehold, a ^cvirgin shall conceive, and bear a ^dson, and shall call his name ^eImmanuel.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a ^achild is ^bborn, unto us a ^cson is given: and the ^dgovernment shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, ^eCounsellor, The ^fmighty ^gGod, The ^heverlasting Father, The Prince of ⁱPeace.

Micah 5:2 But thou, ^aBeth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of ^bJudah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ^cruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from ^deverlasting.

 2Saying, ^aWhere is he that is born ^bKing of the Jews? for we have seen his ^cstar in the east, and are come to ^dworship him.

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

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

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

 6And thou ^aBethlehem, in the land of ^bJuda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a ^cGovernor, that shall ^drule my people Israel.

JST 4  And when he had gathered all the chief priests, and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them, saying, Where is the place that is written of by the prophets, in which Christ should be born? For he greatly feared, yet he believed not the prophets.
5  And they said unto him, It is written by the prophets, that he should be born in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus have they said,
6  The word of the Lord came unto us, saying, And thou, Bethlehem, which lieth in the land of Judea, in thee shall be born a prince, which art not the least among the princes of Judea; for out of thee shall come the Messiah, who shall save my people Israel.

 7Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

 8And 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.

 9When 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.

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

 11¶And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and ^afrankincense, and myrrh.

Lev 2:1 And when any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:

 12And being warned of God in a ^adream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

 13And 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.

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

 15And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of ^aEgypt have I called my son.

 16¶Then Herod, when he saw that he was ^amocked of the wise men, ^bwas exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and ^cslew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the ^dcoasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

The wise men, familiar with the prophecies that foretold the birth of Christ, and recognizing the signs that had been given, came into 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.” ( Matthew 2:1, 2 .) Herod, thinking that the promised Messiah would be a threat to his kingdom, sent soldiers to destroy every child two years old and under in Bethlehem. But an angel had warned Joseph and he had taken Mary and the child Jesus to Egypt.

The wise men arrived in Jerusalem when Jesus was a young child. They were directed by Herod’s court to Bethlehem. “And when they were come into the house [Jesus was no longer in a stable], they saw the young child [no longer a babe] . . . and fell down, and worshipped him.” ( Matthew 2:11 .) Then the wise men, because an angel warned them not to return to Herod, departed into their own country by another way. When Herod saw that the wise men did not return, he sent his soldiers to kill every child “two years old and under.” ( Matthew 2:7, 16 .)

John the Baptist was a small child, just six months older than Jesus, who also lived with his parents in the vicinity of Bethlehem when Herod gave out the order to murder the babies. John escaped murder by the selfless courage of his father, Zacharias. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught:

“When Herod’s edict went forth to destroy the young children, John was about six months older than Jesus, and came under this hellish edict, and Zacharias caused his mother to take him into the mountains, where he was raised on locusts and wild honey. When his father refused to disclose his hiding place, and being the officiating high priest at the Temple that year, was slain by Herod’s order, between the porch and the altar, as Jesus said.” ( Teachings, p. 261. Compare Matthew 23:35 .)

Zacharias died, then, to save his son; he died a noble martyr, perhaps the first of the Christian era.