The Adoration of the King
Notes
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The Wise Men Come to Worship the King (2:1–12)
Arrival (1-2)
Arrival (1-2)
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
Herod the Great was a descendant of Esau and, therefore, a traditional enemy of the Jews. He was a convert to Judaism, but his conversion was perhaps politically motivated. It was toward the close of his reign that wise men from the East came in search of the King of the Jews. These men might have been pagan priests whose ritual centered around the elements of nature. Because of their knowledge and predictive powers, they were often chosen as counselors to kings. We do not know where they lived in the East, how many there were, nor how long their journey lasted.
Their names are thought to be Caspar, Melchior and Balthazzar. And if we chose to pay the fee, we can see their bones today in the shrine behind the altar in the cathedral in Cologne in Germany. All extra biblical and pure fantasy.
The Roman historians, Suetonius who writes, “There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world.” And Tacitus has also written that, “There was a firm persuasion that at this time, this very time, the east was to grow powerful, and rulers coming from Judaea were to acquire universal dominion.”
2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
It was the star in the East that somehow made them aware of the birth of a King, whom they came to worship. Possibly they were familiar with OT prophecies concerning the Messiah’s arrival. Perhaps they knew of Balaam’s prediction that a Star would come out of Jacob (Num. 24:17) and connected this with the prophecy of seventy weeks which foretold the time of Christ’s first coming (Dan. 9:24, 25). But it seems more probable that the knowledge was communicated to them supernaturally.
Various scientific explanations have been offered to account for the star. Some say, for instance, that it was a conjunction of planets. But the course of this star was highly irregular; it went before the wise men, leading them from Jerusalem to the house where Jesus was living (v. 9). Then it stopped. In fact, it was so unusual that it can only be accounted for as a miracle.
Star – [astera]
Prophesied by Balaam
17 “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
This is the same glory that led Israel from Egypt
16 The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.
The glory will return
30 “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
The glory will remain
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
Agitation (3-7)
Agitation (3-7)
Arrival (1-2)
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
This was Herod the Great, called king by the Roman senate because of the influence of Mark Antony. Herod was a cruel and crafty man who permitted no one, not even his own family, to interfere with his rule or prevent the satisfying of his evil desires. A ruthless murderer, he had his own wife and her two brothers slain because he suspected them of treason. He was married at least nine times in order to fulfill his lusts and strengthen his political ties. But by this time Herod was a murderous old man, and insanely jealous. And any kind of rivalry he could not stand. He was a lovely character. He had murdered his wife. He had murdered his mother-in-law. Well, perhaps that’s not so bad you might say [laughter]. But he had murdered one of his sons and then two more of his sons.. Herod was not a full-blooded Jew; he was actually an Idumaean, a descendant of Esau
2:3 When Herod the king heard that a Baby had been born who was to be king of the Jews, he was troubled. Any such Baby was a threat to his uneasy rule. All Jerusalem was troubled with him. The city that should have received the news with joy was disturbed by anything that might upset its status quo or risk the displeasure of the hated Roman rulers.
Application: Worship of Jesus will agitate some people…worship anyway!
4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
2:4–6 Herod assembled the Jewish religious leaders to find out where the Christ was to be born. The chief priests were the high priest and his sons (and perhaps other members of his family). The scribes of the people were lay experts in the Law of Moses. They preserved and taught the law and served as judges in the Sanhedrin. These priests and scribes promptly quoted Micah 5:2 which identified Bethlehem of Judea as the King’s birthplace. The text of the prophecy in Micah calls the city “Bethlehem Ephrathah.” Since there was more than one town called Bethlehem in Palestine, this identifies it as the one in the district of Ephrathah within the tribal boundaries of Judah.
5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
Why didn’t the magi know this passage? The Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity before Micah was written. Also they studied the sky not the Hebrew scripture.
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.
What does the Bible record about a bright appearance in the sky around the birth of Jesus? The shepherds of coarse! That is when these magi saw the “shining.”
Acting (8-10)
Acting (8-10)
Arrival (1-2)
Agitation (3-7)
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”
2:7, 8 King Herod … secretly called the wise men to determine what time the star first appeared. This secrecy betrayed his sadistic motive: he would need this information if he was unable to locate the right Child. To cover up his real intention, he sent the magi on their search and requested that they send back word to him of their success.
9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.
2:9 As the wise men set out, the star which they had seen in the East reappeared. This indicates that the star had not guided them all the way from the East. But now it did guide them to the house where the young Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
2:10 Special mention is made of the exceedingly great joy of the wise men when they saw the star. These Gentiles diligently sought for Christ; Herod planned to kill Him; the priests and scribes were (as yet) indifferent; the people of Jerusalem were troubled. These attitudes were omens of the way in which the Messiah would be received.
This star leads to Christ in spite of the religious leaders of the day, in spite of the enmity of the king, in spite of the indifference of the people, the star leads the wise men to the Lord Jesus. These men had to surmount the obstacles of the clergy in order to reach the Savior
The magi were seeking the King; Herod was opposing the King; and the Jewish priests were ignoring the King. -Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 14). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Adoration (11)
Adoration (11)
Arrival (1-2)
Agitation (3-7)
Acting (8-10)
11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
2:1, 2 It is easy to be confused about the chronology of the events surrounding Christ’s birth. While verse 1 may appear to indicate that the magi arrived during Mary and Joseph’s stay in the stable at Bethlehem, the combined evidence points to a time one or two years later.
The house - maybe the same house that had the manger in which Jesus was born. The upper room would now be less crowded.
At least 33 days after Christ’s birth. If Joseph and Mary had these costly gifts when they went to the temple they would not have been poor and would have offered more than just 2 turtle doves.
“The Child” – is put first and has the preeminence because Jesus always is first.
P. T. Forsythe, one of the great men of a generation or two ago said, “The world finds its consummation not in finding itself, but in finding its master. Not in coming to its true self, but in meeting its true Lord and Savior. Not in overcoming, but in being overcome.”
How did they worship? Did they have a praise band and “feel the Holy Spirit moving”? No, they gave. They gave their gifts, they gave their submission, they gave their praise by magnifying this Child and acknowledging who He was, and they probably gave their attention to hearing about His birth.
Modern worship is many times about how the worshiper feels and what the worshiper “gets” from the experience. True worship is what the worshiper can give to his/her Lord. It is not about how the worshiper feels but how God feels about their worship.
2:11 When they entered the house, the magi saw the young Child with Mary His mother. They fell down and worshiped Him, offering costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Notice that they saw Jesus with His mother. Ordinarily mention would be made of a mother first, then her child, but this Child is unique and must be given first place (see also vv. 13, 14, 20, 21). The wise men worshiped Jesus, not Mary or Joseph. (Joseph is not even mentioned in this account; he will soon disappear entirely from the Gospel record.) It is Jesus who deserves our praise and worship, not Mary or Joseph.
The treasures they brought spoke volumes. Gold is a symbol of deity and glory; it speaks of the shining perfection of His divine Person. Frankincense is an ointment or perfume; it suggests the fragrance of the life of sinless perfection. Myrrh is a bitter herb; it presages the sufferings He would endure in bearing the sins of the world. The bringing of gifts by Gentiles is reminiscent of the language of Isaiah 60:6. Isaiah predicted that Gentiles would come to the Messiah with gifts, but mentioned only gold and frankincense: “… they shall bring gold and incense. And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.” Why was myrrh omitted? Because Isaiah was speaking of Christ’s second advent—His coming in power and great glory. There will be no myrrh then because He will not suffer then. But in Matthew the myrrh is included because His first coming is in view. In Matthew we have the sufferings of Christ; in this passage of Isaiah, the glories that shall follow.
Avoidance (12)
Avoidance (12)
Arrival (1-2)
Agitation (3-7)
Acting (8-10)
Adoration (11)
12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
2:12 The wise men were divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so they obediently returned to their homes by another route. No one who meets Christ with a sincere heart ever returns the same way. True encounter with Him transforms all of life.1
Are you Herod – hating and hostile toward Jesus
Are you a scribe – indifferent to the truth of God’s word that points to Jesus
Or are you a magi – worshipping and seeking the King of Kings Our precious Lord Jesus?
If so, what are you giving to Him?
Rab-mag—chief of the magi; brought with the expedition in order that its issue might be foreknown through his astrological skill. Mag is a Persian word, meaning “great,” “powerful.” The magi were a sacerdotal caste among the Medes, and supported the Zoroastrian religion.2
teach … tongue of … Chaldeans—their language and literature, the Aramaic-Babylonian. That the heathen lore was not altogether valueless appears from the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses; the Eastern Magi who sought Jesus, and who may have drawn the tradition as to the “King of the Jews” from Da 9:24, &c., written in the East. As Moses was trained in the learning of the Egyptian sages, so Daniel in that of the Chaldeans, to familiarize his mind with mysterious lore, and so develop his heaven-bestowed gift of understanding in visions (Da 1:4, 5, 17).3