Jesus, The King

Jesus, The King

Sermon by Ken Baratta

Based on Matthew 2

INTRODUCTION

As we have been observing the text of the Christmas account in the New Testament, it has become quite clear that we are dealing heavily with the topic of prophecy; namely, the prophecy given to the Israelites in the Old Testament.

Some scholars believe there are more than 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. These prophecies are specific enough that the mathematical probability of Jesus fulfilling even a handful of them, let alone all of them, is staggeringly improbable — if not impossible.

Peter Stoner, former Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena College, was passionate about biblical prophecy. With 600 students from the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Stoner looked at eight specific prophecies about Jesus. They came up with extremely conservative probabilities for each one being fulfilled, and then considered the likelihood of Jesus fulfilling all eight of those prophecies.

The conclusion to his research was staggering. The prospect that anyone would satisfy those eight prophecies was just 1 in 1017 (one quintillionth). In his book, Science Speaks, he described it like this:

"Let us try to visualize this chance. If you mark one of ten tickets, and place all of the tickets in a hat, and thoroughly stir them, and then ask a blindfolded man to draw one, his chance of getting the right ticket is one in ten. Suppose that we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state.

Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote using their own wisdom.”

Fulfilled prophecy is quite a powerful indicator as to the divine involvement in the coming of the Messiah.

As we dig into Matthew 2 this morning, we must realize that these men were most likely acting on prophecy alone…they did not have the latest breaking news app on their iPhone or any reason to embark on their quest other than what they knew from the prophecy in the Old Testament. Seekers of the King (v. 1-3)

The wise men, or as we are more accustomed to: the Magi, were from the East (v. 1), which is the direction of Babylon and ancient Persia, and it is believed that they specialized in astronomy and astrology

Of all the people of the East, the Babylonians and ancient Persians had many opportunities to learn of the Jewish Scriptures, which contain multiple promises of the coming Messiah.

We learn from the book of Daniel that the magi were among the highest ranking officials in Babylon, of whom he had rule over (Daniel 2:48)

Daniel foretold the coming of the Messiah (Daniel 9:24–26)

Tens of thousands of Jews lived in Babylon during the time of the Exile (605–536 BC), and they maintained a large presence there for the following centuries. Therefore, the Magi may have been aware of the prophecy of Balaam (who was from the town of Pethor on the Euphrates River near Persia) in Numbers 24:17

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.

The Magi were exposed to the truth of the Word of God and curiosity is what led them to ask Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? (2:2)

They knew the prophecies

They saw the star…and they followed it

Place to Find the King (v. 4-8)

It is only natural for Herod to have been troubled at the statement that a king of the Jews was born…because in his mind, he is the king of the Jews.

Thus, this revelation presented a rival to his throne. He was so bent on holding the power for himself, that:

36 BC: He had his brother-in-law, Aristobulus III, drowned at a party because he feared his popularity among the people.

28 BC: He executed his brother-in-law, Kostobar, for conspiracy.

8-7 BC: He accused his sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, of high treason and had them executed.

4 BC: He had his son, Antipater, executed for scheming to have him killed.

Caesar Augustus It is better to be Herod’s sow than to be Herod’s son.

All Jerusalem was troubled with Herod because they knew this news would only cause trouble and disruption of whatever peace existed at the time.

Herod had a working knowledge of the expectations of the Jewish people, because he inquired about where the the Christ was to be born

There was a connection made in the mind of Herod from his star when it rose and the coming Messiah

The Messiah presented a real problem for Herod because He would certainly be the rightful heir to the throne in Israel, as a descendant of David

Herod was an Edomite, a descendant of Ishmael, and had no proper claim to the throne other than being appointed by Caesar

It is sad to see that a man who was ruling in the area where God’s people worshiped… had helped them renovate their temple… and was familiar with their expectations, was set on preserving his own power and legacy rather than being excited about the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise.

Offering for the King (v. 9-11)

The Magi traveled for over month, covering about 750 miles, in order to satisfy their curiosity and submit themselves to the Savior

However, their commitment did not stop at their worship

They didn’t show up in Bethlehem one night just to sing a few songs of worship to the Savior and then leave. They brought gifts to give to Him!

they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (2:11)

They didn’t come empty handed. They had something to give to the King

Their worship would have been incomplete if they simply showed up, bowed down, and left

Unfortunately, many people in our churches think it is okay to come on in and worship the King, empty handed, then leave

The fact is, we are expected to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Romans 12:1 tells us to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God

Malachi 3:8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.

Just like the gifts that we can bring and offer to the King, the gifts that the Magi brought were of special significance

Gold: The gift of gold was often reserved for royalty. The Magi told King Herod that they had come to see the one born King of the Jews.

Frankincense: Frankincense was used by the priests in their service to God. The gift of frankincense to the Christ child was symbolic of His priestly role, as mediator between God and man.

Myrrh: Myrrh had a variety of uses in the ancient Middle East, but the major use of myrrh was for burials. Myrrh was placed on the cloths used to wrap bodies for burial to help prevent the smell of decay following death. The Magi presented this gift to Jesus as a representation that He would one day die… conveying the fact that Jesus was born to die.

Plan to Snuff Out the King (v. 12-18)

Became furious… (2:16a)

Herod’s plan was foiled, so he reacted as only he was expected to react in such a situation…he reacted in a fit of rage

He could not stand for being one-upped by these Gentile star-gazers

Sent and killed… (2:16b)

Rather than going on to kill one child, he decided to kill all the male children 2 years of age and under.

This timeframe is the result of his private consultation with the Magi.

They must have told him it was about 2 years since they first saw the star, which is the parameter Herod uses to kill all the children in Bethlehem 2 years of age and under.

It is interesting to see that about 1400 years previous, there was another power hungry man that tried to thwart God’s plan in a similar fashion

Exodus 1:15-16, 22 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live”…Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

Despite this intent by Pharaoh, Moses would live and eventually lead God’s people out of bondage in Egypt

CONCLUSION

Herod tried with all he could to kill his enemy, the Messiah, by killing all the male children in Bethlehem

Jesus survived this attempted murder because He is God, sent at the appointed time, for the purpose of being Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)

God ordained in the beginning, when Adam and Eve first disobeyed, that a Deliverer would be sent to make things right again between God and man.

When we place our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior, He delivers us from bondage to sin, and the wrath of God, and brings us into His family

Consider the fulfilled prophecies regarding Christ. The probability is unable to be comprehended, yet, it happened. And it happened for the good of all mankind, that we might be delivered from the power of sin and death.