The Slaughter of the Innocent (Jer. 31:15; cf. Matt 2:16-18)

It was a great joy for the shepherds and the Magi to see the birth of the Saviour. They praised and glorified the Almighty God for the fulfilment of the prophecy before their eyes. Nevertheless, Matthew recorded that soon after the birth of Jesus Christ, there was great sorrow in Bethlehem. Every family had to weep for their baby boy two years old and under.

What was happening in the city of Bethlehem? Matthew recorded that Herod slaughtered the innocent (every baby boy two years old and under) (Matt 2:16). Herod did this foolish act because he realised that he had been deceived. The Magi who had promised that they would come back to him after their visit to the newborn King, never appeared. He was kept waiting like a fool for news from the magi, while they had gone another way as “being warned of God in a dream that they should not returned to Herod (Matt. 2:12). As a result, he “judged them by his own standard.” He slaughtered every baby boy in Bethlehem in order to make sure that the newborn King would die. This was the jealousy of Herod, for he knew that he was the only king that reigned in Israel. His hatred grew when he knew that the writings of the prophet Micah had prophesied that there would be a king born in Bethlehem who would lead His people (Matt. 2:6). Christ will be the only king who will lead His people to victory and prosperity. He was chosen by the Father to be the King for Israel before the foundation of the world.

The Old Testament book shows that the slaughtering of the innocent in Bethlehem had been predicted by the prophet Jeremiah hundreds of years before. In other words, it was the fulfilment of the prophesy given in Jer. 31:15 that says, “Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.” Although the context of the book of Jeremiah is talking about the calamities that would happen to Israel for her unbelief and wickedness, it was also a prophecy that would be fulfilled as recorded in the gospel of Matthew. Many people might not agree on this truth and claim that Matthew had made a mistake in this issue but the truth is he did not. One may rightly say that “the idea is not merely superficial; inconsolable weeping in Bethlehem. The inner cause of the two weepings is identical, and thus the one is poured into the other make the vessel full.”

Matthew understood the context of the book of Jeremiah and saw its fulfilment in the early life of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. The name Rachel was mentioned by Jeremiah to show how eager she was to have children, but in Jer. 31:15 she is figuratively pictured as being alive, watching the wretched multitude gathering in Ramah, listening to their weeping and seeing how some of them are being killed. Matthew saw an identical event happening in Bethlehem as he quoted from the book of Jeremiah.

Therefore the prophecy in Jer. 31:15 clearly shows what would happen during the early life of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. The slaughter of the innocent by king Herod was predicted in the Old Testament long before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly Rachel is pictured as being alive once again to weep for the slaughtering of those infants, because during her lifetime, she desired so much to have children.