Matthew 2 Unexpected signs, unstoppable God.

I think we know the story of Matthew Chapter 2. It is the lesser known Christmas story.

Matthew (2) … Jesus is the King of Kings

Matthew 2:1–2 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, 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.”

The Christmas story in Matthew assumes that you know the details of Luke 2 with Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem No room and the manger and angels. It doesn’t talk about that at all. Just after Jesus was born in Bethlehem. I have heard that it was said that Jesus was a two year old boy at the time of this event. He doesn’t have to be two and I highly doubt that He was two but more on that in a little bit.

I had two points last week.

1 The Christmas story shows us that Jesus is King of the Jews.

Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

The Messiah had to come from the line of Jesse, be the son of King David.

2 Jesus was prophesied… yet still a surprise.

I know that we don’t see it that way. The day I wrote this Bob and I were sitting down, and were talking about Isaiah 53 is clearly talking about Jesus and the modern Jews have to actively surpress the passage, I believe that Daniel 9 predicts the time

The star is an unexpected turn.

Numbers 24:17 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.

I have a Star Gazing. I have my telescope and I am always trying to find constellations and keep up with star news. I have a love hate relationship with it. When I see something cool a binary star a comet, a solar eclipse Jupiter Satrun. It is exciting. But there are lots of clouds in Binghamton. I live in Binghamton. I want to move to Port Crane up on Bally hack. I will someday. But I have been looking for T Corona Borealis (The blaze star for months now) it goes Nova every 80 years. Not exact but within that ballpark. I am waiting for it to explode and become a new star in the sky. When it does I want to see it. To picture those wise men. It was obscure enough that everyone wasn’t going crazy. But it was clear enough to get the wisemen’s attention and for some reason they knew to follow this star.

The wise men are most likely connected way back to Daniel.

Daniel 5:11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.

I like to picture that the work of Daniel had so much influence on Babylonian Persian culture that it led these wise men to the star hundreds of years later.

This prophecy of the star is just hidden in the OT. I believe that most of the prophecies concerning Christ birth are hidden gems. Blink and you will miss them. But this book is alive. I think that when Jesus comes back this Bible is going to come alive with information all of us glanced over. This book is truly the living Word of God.

It took a lot of faith to follow that star.

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

One of the Bible’s greatest acts of faith is Abraham dropping everything to follow the commands of God to go to the promised land. I believe in like fashion it was a great act of faith to follow a star to the promised land.

Every time I have something interesting in the astronomy world. I invite people to see it. My wife goes because she has to. My kids do it to appease their dad. You probably won’t it’s boring. I don’t think I could tell my wife we are going to Jerusalem because God told me through a star that I had to pack and go on an adventure. What is God calling you to do? Witness to your neighbor. Give money to a Christian endevor, leave everything behind and go to the mission field?

Herod was bothered by the prophecy of the star.

Matthew 2:3–4 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 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.

Herod directs the wisemen to Bethlehem.

Matthew 2:5–6 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘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.’ ”

My big question is why didn’t the priests and scribes go. These wisemen had more faith than the religious leaders.

Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem is the clearest prophecy in Matthew.

Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

But still people aren’t lining up out side of Bethlehem to see the baby born. To usher in the age of the Messiah. Here is my thing. Jesus is coming like a thief in the night, how are we going to have every little detail in perfect place if Jesus first coming caught them off guard. I just want to be ready. I say all that because people will say to me Jesus has to come back in 2 years if He doesn’t He owes me an apology. NOPE! I think Jesus is coming back. I need to be ready. It is imminent it could be today. It looks like the world is groaning for His return and I just keep singing What if it were today. But He knows when.

The Devil’s ways are sinister.

Matthew 2:7–8 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.

This reminds me of a scam caller. He is acting interested but has sinister motives

The devil is subtle, crafty.

(Ask the Holy Spirit to guard your heart)

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

I jest about the scam caller, but it isn’t a laughing matter and what Herod was up to wasn’t anything to laugh at either.

The Wisemen rejoiced at the star.

Matthew 2:9–10 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

I want you to see the reaction of these wisemen to a star. It’s just a star. I think stars are amazing. I will tell you why I am fascinated by stars. I see dozens of stars at night. Hundreds maybe thousands when I point my telescope into the sky. I see binary stars stars of different magnitude and color. and I think of Genesis 15 when God is talking to Abraham and says your descendants will be like the stars of the sky. That is a bold statement. One galaxy has billions some trillions of stars and there are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. I don’t know how that all works out but I trust the living God but for some reason this star amongst the trillions gets these wisemen’s attention.

Hollywood stars are just men.

Isaiah 2:22 Sever yourselves from such a man, Whose breath is in his nostrils; For of what account is he?

My wife and I have a cute term its called loving the water Beatle! When people get too excited about a hollywood star or singer of famous person, it comes from Max Lucado's Hermie a common caterpillar TV show.

They rejoiced at the star, but worshipped the Christ.

Matthew 2:11 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.

You may have met Tom Cruise, big deal, I am going to meet the king of kings.

Wisemen warned!

Matthew 2:12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

God was protecting the Christ child from wicked Herod. I am about to make my case that I don’t think Jesus was 2 at this time. But I Jesus was vulnerable and

The Devil’s desire is always to destroy the work of Christ.

Revelation 12:4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.

I believe that Herod was a tool of the devil to devour the Child as soon as it was born.

Joseph warned!

Matthew 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

This is the third time in the short time of the book of Matthew that the Messiah child is protected by an angel in a dream, interesting. I always pay attention to threes in the Bible.

Joseph obeyed immediately.

Matthew 2:14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

When did Joseph obey? Immediately!!!! He didn’t wait a week, he didn’t even wait until morning. He obeyed right then and there. You may say well I would have too. I have had a few times in church. Were someone has said to me, Pastor I wanted to get up and go to the altar I felt God was telling me to, but I didn’t I tell them, next time kick the devil off and just follow the calling of the Holy Spirit.,

Jesus was in Egypt until Herod’s death.

Matthew 2:15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

I was reading a commentary by John MacArthur that said Herod died in 4 BC. it is common knowledge that Christ was not born in the year 0 AD or BC whichever way you want to look at it. But He was born a few years before that. I went looking and most scholars think Herod either died in 4 or 1 BC. That doesn’t give a lot of time for this entire saga to take place, especially if Jesus is two at the beginning of the story.

We have another hidden gem of a prophecy.

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

This verse is prophetic of Christ, but I don’t think that a lot of people reading it, would have recognized it as such. I have read Hosea and I don’t think I would have tied this verse to the Messiah. How can he from Bethlehem and called out of Egypt?

Jesus was in danger from Herod.

Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

Does this verse say Jesus was two? No, but it does imply that Jesus was most likely two. I think this story did not happen on the night the angels sang, but I also have doubt that Jesus was crawling when this happened. For Him to leave to Egypt stay there for a while and the Massacre of the innocents and the death of Herod to occur before 4 BC or even 1 BC I don’t think you could say that Jesus was two it is hard for me to swallow that information.

The saddest prophecy fulfilled.

Matthew 2:17–18 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”

(Jeremiah 31:15)

says pretty much the same thing we read in Matthew. Do you want to be a prophet. Sounds like a glamerous job but some times the message was difficult

Why didn’t God send an angel to every home in Bethlehem. Would they have listened. Why didn’t God warn all the Jews in Germany Get out!

We can learn from Joseph’s obedience.

Matthew 2:19–21 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

Jesus needed to go to Bethlehem and Egypt and finally to Nazareth. God chose the right man for the job, the only reason Jesus ended up following prophecy is because Joseph obeyed the voice. The Sovereign God new that the Messiah was ready for the job at hand.

God used Archelaus to get Jesus to Nazareth.

Matthew 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.

Who was Archelaus. Well when Herod died his three son’s split his kingdom. The Herod we will read about later was one of them and he wasn’t a nice man, but he wasn’t as brutal as his brother. He was so brutal Rome had to remove him from office, to make way for pontuius Pilate to take over. But God had him in place to turn Jesus to Gallilee proving that God can use anything to get the job done.

This is the 4th time Jesus was protected by a dream

Jesus of Nazareth.

Matthew 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

I have focused on how Jesus was prophesied but unexpected for a couple of weeks now. This is the verse that started me on this journey. He shall be called a Nazarene.

Jesus was from nowhere ville.

Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

You will not find a verse in the Old Testament that says Jesus would be from Nazareth per se. I have even had people say that this verse means he would be a nazarite. Nope that isn’t what this means. Dr David Jeremiah connects Isaiah 53:3 to Matthew 2.23 and the meaning is that Nazareth made Port Crane look like a metropolis. Nazareth was NOTHING! Jesus wasn’t raised in the big city or a palace, he was raised in the tiniest town in all the land.

My entire point is don’t under estimate the workings of God.

He used a virgin a star wisemen from far away and Nazareth,

He protected Jesus from Joseph Herod Archaelaus Massacres and Egypt.

God is Sovereign, If we didn’t have Matthew we wouldn’t have seen any of it.

What I want you to take away from today. Is God works in mysterious ways. You can not put the God of the sand and the stars in a box. Trust Him be obedient surrender your will and follow Him trust me He works all things together for God to those who love God. He may put a random cashier in your path today, protect you from an accident, use a lost cell phone to protect you from disaster. We hardly know what He is doing to save us and our children behind the scenes. God is Sovereign, trust that He knows what He is doing