Sermon Tone Analysis

Today we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus the Christ!

As we celebrate, I thought it would be good to focus on a part of the account of Jesus life that occured sometime after his birth, even up to two years after.

The coming of the Wise Men.

We find this account in Matthew 2:1-12.

While you are turning there, I want to point out a feature of Matthew.

This gospel was written with a Jewish audience in mind.

Matthew wanted his fellow Jews to recognize Jesus for who He is, the promised King!

His gospel has more quotes and allusions to fulfilled Old Testament prophecy than any other gospel as he attempts to show Jesus as the coming King to the Jews.

Matthew begins this right in the very first verse of the gospel!

He starts with ‘son of David’, and moves on to ‘son of Abraham’.

Why?

These are the two major covenants that were made about Christ.

The first was with Abraham.

So why mention David first?

Because it was the prophecy to David that he would have a descendant with an everlasting kingdom.

A king from the kingly line of David who would rule over Israel and the world.

As you follow through the gospel of Matthew, He is presenting Jesus as the promised Messiah, the King who would sit on the everlasting throne.

However, after demonstrating and showing that he was the king, he was rejected by the Jews.

So, he begins teaching in parables about the Kingdom and what it was going to be like.

He taught that this kingdom would include others as well as the Jews, and that it was going to come later, when he would return.

And, as he continues on and explains how he was going to die, he also transitions to showing how he is going to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant, that he would be a blessing to the whole world, ultimately sending his disciples into the world to make disciples.

So, Matthew’s primary emphasis is that Jesus is the King fulfilling the Davidic Covenant, and then he shows Jesus fulfilling the Abrahamic Covenant, being a blessing to the whole world.

After showing the genealogy of Jesus on Joseph’s side, the royal line of David, he concludes with:

And then he moves into the actual birth of Jesus...

Notice now the third time he uses the title Messiah, this word literally means anointed.

Just as the kings and high priests of old were anointed, Jesus is the anointed King and priest.

As this term was used by the Jews, they were looking forward to the coming promised One who would be the anointed King.

Matthew is boldly, repeatedly claiming, “This is the anointed King!!”

He continues on...

And that brings us to the passage we are examining today, Matthew 2:1-12

Prayer

The setting

Jesus had been born in Bethlehem in Judea, the birth home of David.

Herod

Herod was king.

Herod, a descendent of Esau was ruling in Israel.

He was fierce, killing off anyone he perceived as a threat to his throne, including one his own wives and a few of his own sons.

The Magi and the prophecy about (true) King of the Jews

Astrologers

How did they know this…?

Balaam?

Daniel?

But what do you think this prophecy meant to Herod, an Idumean, or descendant of Esau, aka, Edom?

The prophecy of Bethlehem

The Mission

The Magi Worshiped Jesus

Gold - king

Frankincense - priest

Myrrh - prophet, lamb, sacrifice

Herod would not worship

He wanted to be king

Where were the Jews, the priests and teachers of the law?

They were more interested in worldly things, and would not have Jesus as their king.

What about you and me?

Will we be like the Magi, Herod, or the Jews?

The Magi, though of the world, recognized the King and worshiped, giving up their worldly goods for Him.

Herod wanted to be king.

The Jews wanted the things of this world, and would not have him as king.

Let’s worship the king.