Christmas Breakfast
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Wise Men(Magi)
Wise Men(Magi)
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
Who were the wisemen:
Magi-
Of Persian decent
Most likely came from Modern day Iraq or Iran
Parthian priests/Astronomers
Used astrology to predict events pertaining to weather patterns and cyclical events
800-1200 mile journey
They were not there at the manger scene as normally depicted
They were extremely well respected in their times
The Bible never mentions them as kings
They were more like a Priest and scientist of those days
The Magi were so powerful in the East that Kings that without their endorsement it would have been difficult to become or remain king
They weren’t just random travelers
Came to Jerusalem to observe an astronomical phenomenon:
A new star
A star that had been predicted hundreds of years before their arrival
The star was a declaration of a new King, The king of the Jews
The KING OF KINGS
How did they know about this star?
17 “I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of tumult.
Balaam was a prophet from the town of Pethor a neighboring town Persia
Daniel’s Prophecy
Scholars believe King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Daniel in Daniel 2 over the Wise men or Magi
In Daniel 9
Prophesied the timing of the Coming of the Messiah
For almost 600 years they had been studying and trying to predict the coming of the Messiah
The First thing that made the wiseman Wise:
They read and Believed the Word of God
-If we want to be wise we need to not only study God’s word
-But be stewards of it
-Obey what it says
2. They sought after Jesus
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
They travel 800-900 miles
Which would’ve taken 4-5 months travel time on old roads
Nice part about God is when we look for him, we find him
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
3. They worshipped him
-The whole reason for their journey was so that they could worship him
-The word worship here is to designate the custom of prostrating oneself before persons and kissing their feet, the hem of their garment or the ground
-Can you imagine the that to a toddler
-They bowed down and worshipped him
-Before he did anything, but simply for who he was
4. The wiseman recognized His worth
-Think of the resources and the commitment you have to have to put your life on hold to meet a baby and turn around
-They knew that Jesus was worth the Journey
-Notice they recognized Jesus’ worth before he had done anything
-He’s worth everything
The gifts:
These weren’t just boxes, this was caravans worth
Gold- was a gift for the king
Frankincense- was used for the worship or anointing of a priest
Myrrh- was actually used for embalming and as a pain relief, which actually in a direct or in direct played a very important role in Jesus’ later life
5. Finally they listened to God rather than men
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
Herod had bad things planned if he were to find Jesus
He actually has all male children under the age 2 to be murdered
Because of Joseph and the wiseman’s obedience to God they were able to avoid that
We have to be people that listen to God rather than the voice of man
Recap:
We read and believe the Word of God
We seek after Jesus
We worship Jesus
We recognize the worth of Him in our lives
We listen to God rather than Man
I believe wiseman and woman are still seeking him today
Pray