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This is a message based on Matthew 2 which is the story of the "Wise Men" coming to worship the Christ child.
Written excerpts:
Introduction:
The story of the “wise men” from the East is an interesting part of the
Christmas story in the Bible. I am aware that the events of this story actually
took place “after Christmas” (i.e., the birth of Christ), but we are going to talk about it today in preparation for Christmas.
With the Lord’s help I hope to provide several details about the
account to help us understand the story better, then I want to conclude by
drawing some practical applications for our own personal journey with Christ.
Let us examine this story that is recorded only by Matthew by answering
several questions.
1. Who is Matthew writing to
and why?
Most Bible scholars describe the book of Matthew as being written
primarily to Jewish readers.
There are four prominent themes that show up in a book that was written
for Christians with Jewish roots and background.
First, Jesus is the Messiah, the
long-awaited King of God's people. Second, Jesus is the new Abraham, the
founder of a new spiritual Israel Israel
It is important to understand who the recipients were because Matthew
is the only one that speaks about this event. It seems evident therefore, that
he felt this event (visitation of foreign dignitaries) helps confirm the point
that Jesus is the new King of God’s people.
2. When did this event happen?
v. 1 - “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem
Herod was what you might call a “very colorful fellow!”
“Historical sources reveal Herod to have been extremely paranoid. He
had three of his own sons and one of his wives killed because he feared they
were plotting to overthrow him.” Wesleyan Bible Commentary
It’s no wonder he slaughtered all the baby boys in Bethlehem
Historians tell us that Herod the Great died in the year of 4 B.C.
This event would have taken place prior to his death, so it had to be
earlier than 4 B.C. Some suggest the winter of 5 B.C.
It also is thought by many commentators that it must have happened up
to two years after the birth of Christ, because of Herod’s decision to kill all
baby boys under the age of two after he inquired of the wise men about the time
they saw the star.
It is important to note that “Jesus was called a Child (paidion,
here in vv. 9, 11) rather than a newborn Infant (brephos, [babe] Luke
2:12). The Bible Knowledge Commentary
The only discrepancy could be that the “star” appeared before the birth
of Christ in order to get the wise men to their destination at an appropriate
time to worship him.
3. Who were the “wise men?”
magos occurs only in Daniel 2:2,10 and describes
a group of people possessing knowledge of Babylonian religious and magical
arts, whom Nebuchadnezzar summoned to interpret his dream.
- HCSB Study Bible
- HCSB Study Bible
Other writers describe their origin as being Persia ,
or some other regions around Babylon or Persia
They probably practiced a combination of astrology, magic, and other
pagan religions.
4. Why did they come?
·
“The
irony in the passage is difficult to miss: The Jewish King Herod in Jerusalem attempted to slaughter baby Jesus born in nearby
Bethlehem
It is certainly interesting to think about the possibility that they
were going on information that they would have received from their ancestors
who were contemporary with the prophet Daniel.
This emphasizes the importance of serving God wherever the Lord allows
us to be “transplanted.”
They came to worship Him, and present gifts to Him. With what little
information they had, they still understood that He deserved honor and
reverence. They had understood, perhaps by divine revelation, that He deserved
their best efforts in getting there and in giving of gifts.
5. What was the star?
·
Some
claim it was a planetary body as we normally think of with the term “star,”
including a comet or a conjunction of planets such as Jupiter, Saturn &
Mars.
“Astronomers have been able to determine that these
two planets [Jupiter & Saturn] appeared to overlap each other in the Pisces
constellation in 7 b.c. Since Jupiter was the planet of royalty, Saturn the
planet of Palestine Bethlehem
·
Some
have raised the possibility that it was some type of miraculous light, perhaps
something like the pillar of fire God used to guide the Israelites out of Egypt
It does seem that it had to be something distinct from a bright star as
we think of stars, because they are so far above the earth, it could hardly
pinpoint a single house. (Like chasing the proverbial “pot of gold” at the end
of the rainbow. It looks like it is “right over there” until you get there and
then you realize the bow is still just as far away as it was.)
6. What lessons can we learn
from this event?
·
HCSB Study Bible - “…the summons of the magi to visit Jesus demonstrates God's
intention to save Gentiles from their futile religions.”
As this writer implies, we need to remember that no one has a “lock” on
the grace of God. He is not willing that any should perish, and in this case,
that even means pagan priest-magicians from a distant land.
God has always been in the business of drawing the undesirables and the
unlikely people into His love and salvation.
Jesus said that He did not come for the righteous, but for the sinners.
·
Hard Sayings
of the Bible - “Now the meaning of the story
becomes clear. God speaks to some pagan astrologers by means of natural
revelation through the language that they would understand (either a planetary
conjunction or a comet or some other astronomical phenomenon). They respond in
faith and travel a long distance seeking the king to honor and worship....
Meanwhile the Jewish people have the Scriptures that clearly indicate the
birthplace of the Messiah, yet far from carefully watching that town, even when
confronted by the magi they respond with upset and anger rather than faith.”
Simple faith in God’s leading brought about much better results than
the religious bigotry of those who were the “experts in the Scriptures.”
It is so amazing to see how God draws pagans (those we normally think
of as being outside the realm of faith) and He causes them to put His own
people to shame.
If we’re not careful, our faith can become nothing more than an
academic knowledge of the Word with little or no real desire to know the Author
of the Word.
·
We can
learn a lot from these foreign astrologers by following their example of
commitment (traveling the great distance); their devotion (they worshiped him);
and their sacrifice (gave gifts that were costly).
Conclusion:
Have you ever had the occasion to have a complete stranger make you
feel ashamed by his response to something that you just took for granted, but
after seeing his/her reaction of sheer delight or awe, you were made to realize
what a treasure you had but didn’t realize?
I think we should view this visit of the Wise Men in the same manner.
These pagans can help us improve our worship and devotion to the Messiah, the
King of kings and Lord of lords.
The title I used for the message was: Wise Men Still Seek Him.
The term “wise men” was originally understood in a little different way
than we would normally use the term today.
However, these men definitely would have been considered the “scholars”
of their time.
I believe that God wants us to follow their example. Anyone that is
truly wise, will seek to know God, especially through His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ.
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