The Greatest Story Ever Told [Star of Bethlehem]
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One of the most spectacular events in “The Greatest Story Ever Told” involves a star. The angels appearing to Mary, Joseph, Zacharias, and the shepherds was amazing. And Mary being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to bear the Son of God, well there are no words for that. But a single star leading men from the east to Jerusalem in search of a King, well that’s pretty spectacular in itself. Let’s look at this Star of Bethlehem.
Text; Mt. 2:1-12
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.”
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.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
8 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.”
9 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.
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.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
Star- [aster] a celestial body that can be seen from earth. A ball of flaming gas.
There has always been a mystery about this star. Only once did this star shine so bright and guide men from the east to the Christ Child. And then when this stars job is complete it is seen no more. Matter of fact, this is the only reference in the Scriptures concerning this star.
So what was this star?
Some scholars have argued that the star was an unprecedented astronomical event, such as a supernova, comet, or a spectacular alignment of the planets. In the 17th century Johannes Kepler suggested that the explosion of a distant star (supernova) would emit extraordinary light. While many such explosions are recorded each year (few visible to the naked eye), none are known from the time of Christ.
Halley’s comet was first sighted and recorded in 240 BC and, if calculated at 77-year intervals, would have appeared in Judea in 12–11 BC. Premature to Christs’ birth at 4 BC.
The ancients practiced astrology, plotting the constellations and the course of the planets. Rare planetary conjunctions were studied and interpreted. For instance, in 7 BC Jupiter and Saturn came together in the zodiac constellation of Pisces (this occurs every 257 years). According to this view, Jupiter was associated with the world ruler, Saturn with the region of Syria-Palestine, and Pisces with the last days.
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). In Tyndale Bible dictionary (p. 1223). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
Or it could have been a one time star that God placed in the sky for the most spectacular event in human history, the birth of our Savior!
Let’s look at the four times this star is mentioned in the scriptures.
1. His Star in the East; 1-2
1. His Star in the East; 1-2
These wise men ‘Magi’ [astronomers] saw a star “rising in the east”. A new star they had not seen before. This tips them off to a great event taking place.
There are a variety of possibilities as to their specific origin (Babylon, Persia, Egypt, and the Arabian desert have all been mentioned). The only thing we know for sure is that they were from the east for that is where they saw His Star.
They also knew this star was very important for they came looking for the “King of the Jews” to worship Him. How did they know of the coming of Jesus?
This reference to a “star” has an Old Testament background in the story of Balak and Balaam in Numbers 22. The book of Numbers recounts the journey of God’s people from Mount Sinai to the edge of the promised land, and as they journeyed they grew in power and might. This scared Balak, the king of Moab, so he called for Balaam, a magician—a seer. Balaam had been summoned from the eastern mountains to curse the house of Jacob and the people of Israel, but as the story continues, God makes clear to Balaam that he is not to curse the Israelites but to bless them. Balaam obeyed God and blessed Israel three times. Balaam’s final speech begins in Numbers 24:16–17:
Platt, D. (2013). Exalting jesus in matthew. (D. L. Akin, D. Platt, & T. Merida, Eds.) (Mt 2:2). Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.
16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
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.
These astronomers do what we all do, study about the subjects we like and learn. They had read the writings of Balaam [astronomer] and when they saw this star in the east, they knew it had something to do with the King of the Jews [scepter] and they came to check it out, worship him.
Even the priests and scribes confirm this when Herod asked them [v.4-6]
2. What time the Star Appeared; 7-8
2. What time the Star Appeared; 7-8
Now Herod wanted to know the timing of the first sight they had of the star so he could know the age of the Child and kill him [v.16]
But there is an OT prophesy from the Book of Daniel that gives the exact time that Christ would be born.
24 “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.
25 “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
If these men were from the Persian or Babylonian area they would have been exposed to the writings of the Jewish prophet Daniel, who had been the chief of the court seers in Persia. So when they saw the star in the east, they would have calculated the timing and as the prophesy of Balaam and Daniel come together, they knew for certain that the King of the Jews, the Messiah [Savior of the world] had arrived. [Rebuilding of Jerusalem, Christ coming, crucifixion, second coming]
3. The Star Appeared and Moved; 9-10
3. The Star Appeared and Moved; 9-10
When they were ready to go to Bethlehem, 5 miles south, according to the scriptures of where this Ruler would be born, the star appeared and guided them there.
It’s amazing that nobody in Jerusalem noticed this bright star. Not Herod, the priests, scribes, nobody but these wise men. And the scriptures never say that the star guided them to Jerusalem, but they saw the star in the east and set out to seek the king.
[10] “When they saw the star”, it seems the star had gone after they started their journey and reappeared, only to the wise men, to guide them to the house where Mary and the young Child Jesus were and worshiped Him.
Science is based upon facts. So lets looks at some facts about stars.
Stars don’t move. They are stationary objects unless the are burning out.
Stars don’t move and then stop as would a vehicle. It is very unlikely a star would stop at a designated point as this one did over a specific house.
Star don’t shine, go out and then shine again as this one did.
Stars always look as if they move from east to west due to the rotation of the earth. This star moved to the south to go to Bethlehem.
So what was this star?
The term “star” could be another way of saying an angel guided the Magi. In the Scriptures stars and angels were often closely identified with each other. The phrase “heavenly hosts” was also used interchangeably for both.
7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!
20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
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.
So we see angels can be called stars as well. But this star moved and was only seen by the wise men. How do we account for this.
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.
22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.
Close;
The star of Bethlehem in was likely an Angel of God or a manifestation of the Shekinah Glory of God. The Shekinah, which literally means “dwelling of God,” was the visible presence of the Lord. Either an Angel or the Shekinah Glory would fit the phenomenal actions of The Star of Bethlehem. It shouldn’t surprise us that God would use a miraculous sign to signal the birth of His Son, the Light of the World.
These wise men were Gentiles. Remember what Simeon said about Jesus as he blessed God at the circumcision of Christ;
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
Those with eyes to see rejoiced with exceedingly great joy! How about you?