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Remarkably, the calendar we all depend on was originally created around Jesus’ birth. Medieval creators tried to set Jesus’s birth at A.D. 1 in order to properly date events, however, they were slightly off. We know this because the death of Herod is recorded by Josephus in 4 B.C. Matthew and Luke both write in their Gospels that Herod was alive when Jesus was born, therefore, it couldn’t have been A.D. 1. Most agree it was either 4 or 5 B.C., with 5 being most consistent with Luke’s account of the Gospel.
Another interesting note surrounding Jesus’ birth is that there were several miraculous constellation experiences around this time. Many have speculated that the star (Mat 2:9) was one of these events. Halley’s comet appeared around 11 B.C. and another comet was uncovered in 5 B.C. Also in 7 B.C. was an extremely rare (once every 794 years) aligning of Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn within the constellation Pisces. All of this is interesting to explore, but the main truth is the prophecy that was fulfilled by this guiding star.
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
Numbers 24:17 NASB
I have always enjoyed John Ortberg’s commentary on Matthew 2. Here are some excerpts from his book, “Who Is This Man?”
This is not the kind of story you would write songs about. The night Jesus is born, all is not calm, all is not bright. That little baby does not “sleep in heavenly peace.” Herod sends soldiers to Bethlehem into the homes of peasant families who are powerless to stop them. They break in, and when they find an infant boy, they take out a sword and plunge it into that baby’s body. Then they leave.
Matthew underlined the pain of the gap between peasant and king: “Rachel weeping for her children.” The rabbis said that centuries earlier, the Jewish matriarch Rachel had been buried in Bethlehem near the major road leading out of Israel so that she could weep for the helpless exiles leaving their home.
Herod, who built cities and ruled armies, was called Herod the Great. No one called Jesus “the Great.” Jesus is repeatedly given a different title by Matthew: “‘Go and search carefully for the child’ … the place where the child was … they saw the child with his mother … ‘take the child …The title “child,” especially in that day, would be a vivid contrast with “king” or “great.” In the ancient, status-ordered world, children were at the bottom of the ladder.
Herod the Great made things happen. Things happened to the child Jesus. There is a reversal going on in this story. The next season of Jesus’ life is introduced with the phrase “After Herod died….” In fact, three times in chapter 2 alone, Matthew mentions the fact that Herod is dead. Matthew wants the reader to know: Herod the Great, with all his wealth, glory, power, and crown, is now Herod the Dead. Jesus said it wasn’t the child’s job to become like Herod. It was Herod’s job to become like the child. Greatness comes to people who die to appearing great.
-John Ortberg, Who Is This Man?