In the video below, John Piper offers some fascinating insight into how to think about Old Testament quotations in the New Testament. In Matthew 2, King Herod asks the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah is to be born. They respond by quoting Micah 5:2 … sort of.
Piper takes a close look at the text of Micah 5:2 and the quotation of it in Matthew 2:6. He carefully observes all the differences between the two passages, and he asks interpretive questions, such as “Why is this part different?” and “Why is that part different?”
He then proceeds to answer his interpretive questions from the literary context of the rest of Matthew’s gospel, and he comes up with a surprising answer. Piper himself acknowledges that you won’t find this answer in any commentary. But as you examine the Scripture for yourself, do you find his answer plausible?
Check it out!
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