ES013 Matthew 2:1-16 The examples of the wise men

Matthew 2:1–16 NKJV

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.” 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. 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.’ ” 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.” 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. 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. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. 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.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 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.” 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.

INTRODUCTION:

Did somebody say that Christianity was just for the ignorant circle of people? Both church and secular history testify that men of great learning in every age of the world have been devotees of God. Men who are distinguished for their scientific knowledge are believers in God. And perhaps, today, there are more so than at any other time.

If the Bible had not said so, we would still have recognised that these great men of learning from the East were wise, because they came seeking Christ!

I mentioned this, of sorts, in the Wednesday meeting for our Nativity’s, carols and Christmas Cards are not always Scriptural! They often show three kings; the Bible tells us they were Wise Men. They depict three kings; but we are only told they presented three kinds of gifts. How many were there? We simply are not told but the entourage was huge and made Jerusalem very nervous - there could have been 300 wise men; then that surely would cause Herod to be concerned. Usually the setting for their visitation is the manger, whereas Scripture tells us that the end of their search was the “house” where “the young child was.”

Their guiding sign is usually truthfully portrayed: they followed a star. In those days men had no compasses or radar. They did not follow the Pole Star or Southern Cross like sailors; they had God’s special star to guide them, a new star that heralded the birth of an important person. Twentieth-century scientists now believe that such a star appeared in the heavens at the very time indicated by Scripture but even if they couldn’t find the star, one appeared.

The goal of their search is also indicated on our cards and other Christmas decorations—the Lord Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with us. They did not come to worship Mary. But the One who had been born by virgin birth. Their real goal was Jesus Himself. Caesar “came, saw and conquered.” These wise men came, saw, and worshipped. They gave their gifts and then returned to their homeland with the good news.

There are two important sets of questions to ask ourselves regarding the story of the Wise Men. One set has to do with the Wise Men themselves; the other is concerned with the Saviour whom they sought.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WISE MEN

Who Were They?

They are called in Greek “Magoi.” The term Magi is misleading in that it makes us think of magicians! However, we know now that

they were members of the Persian priestly caste; they had to be present to speak the sacred words at sacrifices; they were the interpreters of special signs. Heraclitus says that they were the rulers of a distinctive religion. Their religious ideas are thought to be strongly influenced by philosophy; There was a close, ...connection between philosophy and religion. (TDNT)

They were astrologers. In the modern sense they were astronomers—students of the heavenly bodies, rather than sooth-sayers, fortune-tellers, and writers of horoscopes.

Where Did They Come From?

The Bible tells us that they came from the “East.” And this, as I have just mentioned means they were from Persia which is present-day Iran. The Book of Daniel speaks of “wise men of Babylon” so may be they were from there as the Persian Empire stretched West at the time.

When Did They Come?

They arrived when Jesus was in a “house” and up to two years old (the age at which Herod decreed infant males should be slaughtered). That is why the Wise Men asked, “Where is he that was born” …, that is, “has been born some time ago,” not “born this very day,” as the shepherds acknowledged. It could have been as soon as six weeks after, though highly unlikely seeing what Herod did, all the way up to 2 years. Mary and Joseph plainly stayed in Bethlehem after His birth for a journey with such a young child after His birth would have been dangerous and then settled there with Joseph using his skills as a carpenter. And then the star reappeared to help the Wise Men find the house they were in.

What Presents Did They Bring?

They brought:

gold to acknowledge that He was king;

frankincense to acknowledge His priesthood (used in the tabernacle and temple as incense); it is the fragrance of His life; and

myrrh, which was used in embalming bodies, to acknowledge His humanity—a prophet, a preacher and teacher; it is the fragrance of His death.

They brought three gifts to emphasise that he had a three-fold office: prophet, priest and king.

Why did they come?

This, perhaps is the most important question of all concerning the wise men. The star indicated to them that a King had been born. How could they have known? Maybe God directly revealed it to them or maybe they got an understanding from Scripture where it says:

Numbers 24:17 NKJV

“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.

Of course, when they arrived in Jerusalem to talk of a King that had been born this was another reason for Herod to be agitated and jealous. Herod was only considering his own position rather than being wise like these men from the East. Even after being told of the prophecy that came from God that the King would be born in Bethlehem how did he think he could go up against God? This was true throughout the life of Jesus - as a child he was sought out to be killed and then, as an adult. They were successful, in God’s time, to kill Him but let me let you in on a secret: God always wins! Jesus escaped to Egypt as a child and then escaped death by rising from the dead. Herod was deceitful rather than delight-full. His heart should have turned to worship.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SAVIOR

Where Can We Find Him Today?

We have no star in the heavens though Heaven declares Him, we have nothing within us other than our conscience to tell us we will be judged, we have no experience to guide us though history shows a guiding hand but what we do have are the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit who cannot but speak and glorify Jesus, and we have the preached message of salvation calling for Him to be worshipped.

How Can We Find Him Today?

We can find Him that when looking within at our own sinful hearts, realising our dire need of Him. The Wise Men admitted their ignorance by asking along the route. We must have the same desire as Job: “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him!” No longer do we go to a crib but to a cross. The baby of Bethlehem grew to be the man of Calvary. It was for this reason He was born.

When Can We Find Him Today?

The Wise Men found Him as soon as they could! They did not linger on the way. They did not wait until He had grown up and become a man. The sooner the better is the correct time, for to delay may be too late. Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation. The Holy Spirit “will not always strive with man.” So find Him while you feel the influence of the Holy Spirit at work in your life. One day He who came to earth the first time at Christmas is to come a second time, and then it will be too late to find Him as Saviour, for He will come as Judge. He shall reign as King of kings.

What Do We Do When We Find Him Today?

The Wise Men fell down at the sight of Jesus and despite their own greatness they bowed down in a real sense of humility in worship. So he also deserves our worship, having died to save us. Friends, whilst most of us know that this is why He came sometimes the shine has gone off our faith and we are all too familiar with the story. We mosey along comfortable with how things are.

Yet, Jesus is the King. Yet, He humiliated Himself to a death of the most cruel nature suffering insane torture of His body and of His soul.

Psalm 22:1 NKJV

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?

The question I asked: “What do we do when we find Him today?” is not quite right. He sought and found us. He allowed Himself to be found. Just like the wise men were shown the way by a star, the pathway to him is clearly lit. We are to repent, to change, to turn around to Him; what Jesus did by coming at Christmas, by living His life, by dying on the cross, and by rising again and by ascending back to His Father, we are to believe that He came for us, for you and I individually; and we are to accept Him into our lives so that He truly becomes our King.

Then we present our lives to Him. He has given us the gift of Himself. Our response should be like the Wise Men who presented their gifts. We, too, must give Him a gift: ourselves; all that we are and have. Nothing less than total surrender will do for the King of kings and Lord of lords and Sovereign Monarch of incredible love.

Are we as wise as the men who came from the East? If so, whether we have trusted Him yet or not, now is the time to dedicate our lives to the One who dedicated His life to us.

After this next hymn/song we will be coming to the table to consider again all that Jesus as done. If you have not asked Jesus into your life now is the time to do it.

Let’s pray.

Communion

Jesus is King. He was not recognised as such when He came the first time except by some strangers. His own people rejected Him and killed Him. This One Man’s death has had a profound affect upon the world far surpassing anything else in history. Yet He knew that was the reason He had come to be born. Leaving the comfort of home in Heaven He descended to earth to show us the way. Born into this world.

Isaiah 53:2–6 NKJV

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 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. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Jesus took our place on the cross for our sins for our peace. Can we withhold anything from Him now?

Let us pray:

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NKJV

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

Jesus is King. This will become plainly obvious when Jesus returns. He’ll not return as this helpless baby but with glory, pomp, and majesty the such we have never seen before with power, with brightness, with triumph and as Judge of the living and the dead.

Benediction

1 Timothy 1:17 NKJV

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Bibliograhy

Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Beitzel, B. J., & Lyle, K. A. (Eds.). (2016). Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Gospels. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Blomberg, C. (1992). Matthew (Vol. 22). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Brisco, T. V. (1998). Holman Bible atlas. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Cameron, J. D. (1976). Sermon Outlines for Special Occasions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Elwell, W. A. (1995). Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Hayden, E. W. (1978). All-Occasion Sermon Outlines. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Kittel, G., Bromiley, G. W., & Friedrich, G. (Eds.). (1964–). Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

(2011). The Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament. Logos Bible Software.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 09:12 02 December 2017.