Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 2:3-6

"And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written through the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah: For out of thee shall come forth a governor, Who shall be shepherd of my people Israel." — Matthew 2:3-6 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: As the Magi seek a Redeemer, so Herod fears a successor.

Glossa Ordinaria: "The King," he is called, though in comparison with Him whom they are seeking he is an alien and a foreigner.¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Herod "was troubled" when he heard that a King was born of Jewish lineage, fearing that, since he was an Idumaean, the kingdom would return to native princes, and he and his descendants would be expelled.

Great station is always subject to great fears. Just as the boughs of trees on high ground move when even the slightest wind blows, so men in high positions are troubled by small rumors, while the lowly, like trees in the valley, remain at peace.

St. Augustine of Hippo: If His birth as an infant makes proud kings tremble, what will His tribunal as a Judge do? Let princes fear Him who is sitting at the right hand of His Father, whom this impious king feared while He still rested at His mother's breast.²

St. Leo the Great: You are troubled, Herod, without cause. Your nature cannot contain Christ, nor is the Lord of the world content with the narrow bounds of your dominion. He, whom you did not want to reign in Judea, reigns everywhere.

Glossa Ordinaria: Perhaps he was troubled not on his own account, but for fear of the displeasure of the Romans. They would not allow the title of King or of God to anyone without their permission.³

St. Gregory the Great: At the birth of a King of Heaven, a king of earth is troubled. Surely, earthly greatness is confounded when heavenly greatness shows itself.⁴

St. Leo the Great: Herod represents the Devil, who instigated him then and now tirelessly imitates him. For the Devil is grieved by the calling of the Gentiles and by the daily ruin of his power.⁵

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Both have their own causes for jealousy and both fear a successor to their kingdom: Herod fears an earthly successor, the Devil a spiritual one. Even Jerusalem is troubled, though it should have rejoiced at the news that a Jewish King was said to have risen.

But they were troubled, because the wicked cannot rejoice at the coming of the good. Or perhaps they were afraid that Herod would unleash his wrath against the Jewish people on account of a new Jewish King.

Glossa Ordinaria: "Jerusalem was troubled with him," as if willing to favor the one it feared; the common people always pay undue honor to a tyrant. Observe the diligence of his inquiry. If he found him, he would do to him what his later actions revealed; if he did not, he would at least have an excuse for the Romans.⁶

Remigius of Auxerre: They are called Scribes, not from the employment of writing, but from their interpretation of the Scriptures, for they were doctors of the law. Observe, he does not inquire where Christ is born, but where He should be born. The subtle purpose of this was to see if they would show pleasure at the birth of their King. He calls Him Christ because he knew that the King of the Jews was the Anointed One.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Why does Herod make this inquiry, since he did not believe the Scriptures? Or if he did believe, how could he hope to kill Him whom the Scriptures declared would be King? The Devil instigated Herod, who believed that Scripture does not lie.

Such is the faith of demons, who are not permitted to have perfect belief, even in what they do believe. That they believe is because the force of truth constrains them; that they do not fully believe is because they are blinded by the enemy. If they had perfect faith, they would live as if they were about to depart from this world soon, not as if they would possess it forever.

St. Leo the Great: The Magi, judging as men, sought in the royal city for Him whom they had been told was born a King. But He who took the form of a servant, and came not to judge but to be judged, chose Bethlehem for His birth and Jerusalem for His death.⁷

Theodotus of Ancyra: Had He chosen the mighty city of Rome, it might have been thought that this change in the world was brought about by the might of its citizens. Had He been the son of the emperor, his power might have aided Him.

But what was His choice? Everything that was lowly and held in low esteem, so that in this transformation of the world, His divinity might be recognized at once. Therefore, He chose a poor woman for His mother and a poor country for His homeland. He had no money, and a stable was His cradle.⁸

St. Gregory the Great: Rightly is He born in Bethlehem, which means "house of bread," for He is the one who said, "I am the living bread who came down from heaven."⁹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: When they should have kept the mystery of the King appointed by God secret, especially from a foreign king, they immediately became not preachers of God's word, but revealers of His mystery. And they not only revealed the mystery, but also cited the passage from the prophet, namely, Micah.

Glossa Ordinaria: He quotes this prophecy like those who give the sense and not the exact words.¹⁰

St. Jerome: The Jews are blamed here for ignorance, because while the prophecy says, "Thou Bethlehem Ephrata," they said, "Bethlehem in the land of Judah."¹¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: By cutting the prophecy short, they became the cause of the murder of the Innocents. For the prophecy continues, "From thee shall go forth a King who shall feed My people Israel, and His day shall be from everlasting." Had they cited the whole prophecy, Herod would not have raged so madly, since he would have considered that it could not be an earthly King whose days were spoken of as "from everlasting."

St. Jerome: The following is the sense of the prophecy: You, Bethlehem, of the land of Judah, or Ephrata (which is added to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in Galilee), though you are a small village among the thousand cities of Judah, yet out of you shall be born Christ, who will be the Ruler of Israel.

According to the flesh, He is of the seed of David, but He was born of the Father before all worlds; and therefore it is written, "His goings forth are of old." And, "In the beginning was the Word."¹²

Glossa Ordinaria: The Jews dropped this latter half of the prophecy. They altered other parts, either through ignorance (as was said above) or for clarity, so that Herod, who was a foreigner, might better understand it. Thus, for "Ephrata," they said, "land of Judah."

And for "little among the thousands of Judah," which expresses its smallness compared to the multitude of the people, they said, "not the least among the princes." They did this, wishing to show the high dignity that would come from the birth of the Prince, as if they had said, "You are great among the cities from which princes have come."

Remigius of Auxerre: Or the sense is: though little among cities that have dominion, yet you are not the least, for "out of you shall come the Ruler, who shall rule My people Israel." This Ruler is Christ, who rules and guides His faithful people.

St. John Chrysostom: Observe the exactness of the prophecy: it is not that He will be in Bethlehem, but that He will come out of Bethlehem, showing that He would only be born there. What reason is there for applying this to Zerubbabel, as some do? For his goings forth were not from everlasting, nor did he come from Bethlehem; he was born in Babylonia. The expression, "art not the least," is further proof, for no one but Christ could make the town where He was born so illustrious.

After that birth, men came from the farthest ends of the earth to see the stable and the manger. The prophet does not call Him "the Son of God," but "the Ruler who shall govern My people Israel." For this is how He needed to condescend at first, so that they would not be scandalized, but would preach such things as related more to salvation, so that they might be won over.

The phrase, "Who shall rule My people Israel," is said mystically, referring to those of the Jews who believed; for if Christ did not rule all the Jews, the blame is theirs. Meanwhile, the prophet is silent about the Gentiles, so that the Jews might not be scandalized.

Mark this wonderful arrangement: Jews and Magi mutually instruct each other. The Jews learn from the Magi that a star had proclaimed Christ in the east; the Magi learn from the Jews that the Prophets had spoken of Him long ago. Thus confirmed by a twofold testimony, they would look with more ardent faith for the One whom the brightness of the star and the voice of the Prophets equally proclaimed.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The star that guided the Magi to the spot where the infant God was with His Virgin Mother could have led them straight to the town. But it vanished and did not show itself to them again until the Jews themselves had told them "the place where Christ should be born": Bethlehem of Judea.¹³

In this, they are like those who built the ark for Noah, providing others with a refuge while they themselves perished in the flood. Or they are like the stones by the road that mark the miles but cannot move themselves.

The inquirers heard and departed; the teachers spoke and remained still. Even now, the Jews show us something similar. For some pagans, when clear passages of Scripture that prophesy of Christ are shown to them, suspect them of being forged by Christians and so consult Jewish copies. Thus they leave the Jews to read unprofitably, while they themselves go on to believe faithfully.

1. ord.
2. Serm. 200, 2
3. ord.
4. Hom. in Evan., 1, 10
5. Serm. 36, 2
6. ord.
7. Serm. 31, 2
8. Serm. 1, ap. Conc. Eph.
9. Hom. in Evan., 8, 1
10. ord.
11. Epist. 57
12. Mich. v. 2
13. Serm. 374. 2, 373. 4