Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 2:12

"And being warned [of God] in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way." — Matthew 2:12 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: The wicked Herod, now made cruel by fear, is determined to commit a horrific deed. But how could he trap the one who had come to eliminate all deceit? His scheme is thwarted, as the text says next: “And being warned.”

St. Jerome: They had offered gifts to the Lord, and in return, they receive a corresponding warning. This warning (in Greek, “having received a response”) is given not by an Angel, but by the Lord Himself, to show the high privilege granted to the merit of the Magi.

Glossa Ordinaria: This warning is given by the Lord Himself. It is none other than He who said, “I am the way” (John 14:6), who now teaches these Magi the way they should return. This is not to say the Infant actually speaks to them, so that His divinity would not be revealed before the proper time and so that His human nature would be seen as real. But it says, “having received an answer,” for just as Moses prayed silently, they too, with a pious spirit, had asked what the divine will commanded. They were to return “by another way,” because they were not to associate with the unbelieving Jews.¹

St. John Chrysostom: Consider the faith of the Magi. They were not offended, nor did they say to themselves, “What need is there now for flight, or for a secret return, if this boy is truly someone great?” This is true faith: it does not ask for the reason behind a command, but simply obeys.²

Pseudo-Chrysostom: If the Magi had been seeking Christ as an earthly king, they would have remained with Him after they found Him; but they only worship Him and go on their way. After returning home, they continued to worship God more steadfastly than before and taught many through their preaching. And when Thomas later reached their country, they joined him, were baptized, and lived according to his preaching.ⁱ

St. Gregory the Great: We can learn a great deal from this return of the Magi by another way. Our true country is Paradise, and after we have come to the knowledge of Christ, we are forbidden to return to it by the same way we came. We left this country through pride, disobedience, pursuing worldly things, and tasting forbidden food; and we must return to it through repentance, obedience, by despising worldly things, and by overcoming carnal appetite.³

Pseudo-Chrysostom: It was impossible that those who left Herod to go to Christ would then return to Herod. Those who have left Christ for the devil through sin, however, often return to Christ. This is because the innocent person, who does not know evil, is easily deceived; but once he has tasted the evil he has embraced and remembers the good he has left behind, he returns to God in repentance.

Conversely, one who has forsaken the devil and come to Christ seldom returns to the devil. Rejoicing in the good he has found and remembering the evil he has escaped, he returns to that evil only with great difficulty.

1. ord.
2. Hom. 8
3. Hom. in Ev. i. 10. 7