Sunday Sermon Matthew 2:7-12

Last week we learned about the wise-men or the magi and in this we learned that there was both good and bad magi in the days of Jesus and it is clear that these were good wise-men seeking after the Lord.

We also learned that Herod had called all the chief priests and scribes, the religious leaders of the church together and he asked them where the Messiah was to be born and they replied to him part of Micah 5:2 in Bethlehem.

What was sad about Herod asking where the Messiah was to be born was that the chief priests and scribes knew and they just kept on doing what they always did and I would like to pick up here church.

They knew he would be born in Bethlehem, but they did not stop and go seek Him who was only 5-6 miles away. They were in Jerusalem and Jesus the long awaited Messiah was in Bethlehem.

This is a picture church of what going though the motions, holding up our traditions and rituals week after week can do to us.

They knew where he was to be born, but they were not seeking.

If you knew Jesus was going to be born just 5-6 miles away, would you be making a trip to that place often? Or would you just continue like nothing was going to happen?

The sad thing is that there are many today doing the same thing with the soon return of Jesus, they are going through the motions and their oil lamps are running dry because they are stuck in a religious trap.

Let’s quickly Read Matthew 25:1-13

Church, there were 10 virgins and only 5 were ready for the coming of the bridegroom!

Oil here represents the Holy Spirit, it also represents the oil in the menorah in the tabernacle of meeting when the priests would keep it burning and never let it go out.

Exodus 27:20 NKJV

“And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.

Is your lamp burning continually? Or have you hid it under bushel?

We also call the menorah the lamp stands mentioned in Revelation church:

Revelation 2:5 NKJV

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

I think it is important the understand that this is not John’s message to the church at Ephesus, but rather Jesus speaking to the church.

Take a look, the writing is in red!

The church has known for 2,000 years that Jesus is coming again, and yet many believers have become lethargic and drowsy.

laThey are no longer excited about the soon-coming of the Lord.

As a result, there is little effective witness given that the Lord is returning...

Are you excited about thew Lord’s return? Or have you become lethargic and drowsy?

Church, when the bridegroom and bride appeared, half of the bridesmaids were unable to light their lamps because they had no oil. “Our lamps are going out!” they cried.

The bridesmaids who had oil were able to light their lamps and keep them shining bright.

It was they who entered into the wedding feast and not the foolish girls who had no oil.

This suggests that not every professing Christian will enter heaven, for some really have not trusted Jesus Christ sincerely. Without the Spirit of God and the Word of God, there can be no true salvation.

Isaiah 42:3 NKJV

A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.

Bruised-rāṣaṣ- means to crush, to be crushed into pieces, oppressed, discouraged, to break and struggle

A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench: This is another reference to the gentle character of Jesus.

A reed is a fragile plant, yet if a reed is bruised, the Lord will handle it so gently that He will not break it.

And if flax, used for tinder to start a fire, does not flame but only smokes, He will not quench it into extinguishing. Instead, the Servant will gently blow on the smoking flax, fanning it into flame again!

"We call ourselves Christians church, but if you are like me, sometimes you are desperately ashamed of how dimly your light burns. There is far more smoke than fire: so little prayer, so little real testimony, so little time in the Word, so much depression and discouragement. But the Lord says He will not extinguish the smoking flax."

Jesus sees the value in a bruised reed, even when no one else can.

He can make beautiful music come from a bruised reed, as He puts His strength in it!

Though a smoking flax - used for a wick on an oil lamp - is good for nothing, Jesus knows it is valuable for what it can be when it is refreshed with oil.

Many of us are like the bruised reed, and we need to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man (Ephesians 3:16).

Others are like the smoking flax, and can only burn brightly for the LORD again when we are drenched in oil, with a constant supply coming, as we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 40:29–31 NKJV

He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Let us not be like the chief priests, the scribes, and the 5 virgins that ran out of oil church, but rather be like the wise men in this story, the 5 virgins whose oil lamps were full.

How many hours a week do you spend on useless things that do nothing but feed your flesh?

How many hours do you spend with Jesus?

Could you imagine if you decided this year, this day to spend more time with the Lord what could happen?

Matthew 2:7 NKJV

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.

Note: he called them secretly and wanted to know what time the star appeared, but did not ask what the significance was.

It was enough for him to know only that the sign pointed to the birth of someone who could be a threat to his own power and position. The time of the star’s appearance would indicate the age of the child who had been born.

Here we see that ignorance is not bliss, because this star would lead them to the Christ!

I think it is important for us to remember that Herod was troubled and he was troubled because he was living in a constant state of paranoia.

Paranoia is driven by fear and anxiety and we know as God’s people that he has given us a remedy or a prescription for it right here:

Philippians 4:6–7 NKJV

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Herod’s goal here was to discover the age of the Child as verse 16 reveals, for he was fearing for the kingdom that he had built

Matthew 2:16 NKJV

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.

Matthew 2:8 NKJV

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.”

So here we see Herod commission the wise men to go find the Child

Search- exetazo- to scour v., to examine carefully, to investigate, to inquire well. — to search or seek out diligently and carefully.

Carefully-akribos-mindfully adv. — in a careful and deliberate manner, accurately, precisely, exactness, and again diligently.

We see the same word here:

Ephesians 5:15–16 NKJV

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

But notice he wanted them to bring back word, so he could go and worship him!

Herod did not want to worship the Messiah, but as we seen in verse 16 he wanted to kill him.

Is is clear when the wise men came into Jerusalem that they were asking if anyone had seen baby Jesus and they must have talked about the star in the East to the people and Herod clearly got wind of this and sadly God’s people were not the least bit excited:

Thought 1. What a shock! Some expect to find “the newborn king” in the lives of those who profess to be God’s people, and they are unable to find Him! Too often they are forced to go elsewhere or some even give up on their search.

Thought 2. God used an evil man, Herod (without his knowing it), to help the wise men in their search. Any person who seeks the newborn King will be led by God to Him—no matter who God has to use to help the seeker.

Are you searching carefully each day for this Child? Are you worshipping him whole heartedly or is there something in your heart that is preventing you form doing this?

Herod was a wicked man searching for the Messiah, how much more should we?

Matthew 2:9–10 NKJV

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 love this text!

They followed the instructions that Herod gave and we see here again, that God is using a wicked man to fulfill his plan.

Church, God is God and can use whatever means necessary to get our attention and direct our steps.

Proverbs 16:9 NKJV

A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

You can read in Numbers 22 about how God spoke through a donkey to Baalam as he was out of the will of God:

Numbers 22:28 NKJV

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

Beware, God might place a donkey in your life to get your attention or to keep you going the right direction church, like he did Balaam...

The minute that the y departed to find the Child, guess what church? The Star appeared.

So, the wise men go to Bethlehem, but why doesn’t anyone else go as well? If Messiah has been born, why aren’t the chief priests and the scribes going?

Bethlehem is only five or six miles away from Jerusalem.

One suggestion was that these wise men saw the Shekinah glory of God. The Israelites were led for forty years through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Could it have been something like this?

Matthew 2:11–12 NKJV

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.

The Star lead them to the Lord!

Note: they are not in a stable, but rather a house.

When the wise men showed up, they didn’t go to a manger. It’s possibly two years later, and Joseph and Mary were living in a house by this time.

On the night that Jesus was born, there were no other kings present. There were shepherds who were despised people and considered unclean by Jewish standards, there was a borrowed manger, but the wise men weren’t there at this time.

Note: the young Child:

The young child – paidion – a young child. Matthew does not use the word used in Luke for “babe” (brephos) (Luke 2:12). The child is older than in Luke’s account.

gold – we all understand what this yellow stuff is...

frankincense – made from the yellowish resin of the Boswellia sacra tree found in Arabia. The resin was dried and used in incense and the holy anointing oil. Incense in the Bible is used in relation to prayer. In Bible times it was actually more valuable than gold.

myrrh – made from the reddish gum of a plant called commiphora, also found in Arabia. It was found in the holy anointing oil, in perfume, and in embalming.

What’s the significance of the gifts?

There are prophetic hints that Gentile leaders would one day give gifts to the Messiah:

Isaiah 60:6 NKJV

The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.

It has been suggested that the gold was given to Him as a king, the frankincense because of His role as a priest, and the myrrh was a hint of His coming death.

The early church Fathers understood the gold to be symbolic of Christ’s deity, the frankincense of His purity, and the myrrh of His death.

We see the wise-men give gifts unto the Lord here, how much more should we?

How about this year we give our gifts of gold, frankincense , and myrrh as well:

Gold – You can give to Him from your resources. This will involve things like our financial giving church, but much more importantly our time.

I have seen many be freed from bondage and depression by getting out of themselves and serving others.

Frankincense-You can give Him your worship. You can draw close to Him. You can pray. David wrote:

Psalm 141:2 NKJV

Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Keep in mind that people in Bible times valued this more than gold.

Myrrh- When we think of the wise men giving myrrh, we think about it reminding us of this Child who would one day die for the sins of the world. I think we could also think about how we follow Jesus in laying down our lives as well.

Matthew 16:24 NKJV

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

I wonder if some of us are a little too sensitive when it comes to giving of our gold and frankincense because we haven’t learned yet to lay down our lives for Him.

Are you seeking this Child, do you know this Child? If not, today is the day of salvation.

May this year be a year that we give more, pray more, and die more to self!

Because Jesus said:

Matthew 16:25 NKJV

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

May we find life everlasting and walk in such a way that God is glorified in word, in thought, and in deed!

Prayer

Benediction

Romans 15:5–6 ESV

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Bless You!

Your Mission Starts Now!

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