Matthew 2:1-12
News of the King’s birth
Open your Bible to…
Pray
Intro
√ Messiah
Last week we looked at the unique Birth of the King, that is, that He was born of a virgin!
Matthew’s point is that Jesus’ unique birth, a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy….
…is further evidence that Jesus is the promised Messiah!
This week Matthew presents to us the response of the people in his day to the News of the King’s birth. Some…
Looked for King (vs. 1-2)
Troubled by the King (vs. 3)
Ignored the King (vs. 4-8)
Worshipped the King (vs. 9-12)
Ultimately, how those people responded to the news of the King’s birth is predictive of how they would also respond to Him and His message!
Ap. Everyone has to deal with Jesus
Looked for the King (vs. 1-2)
Matt.2:1 Now after
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold,
wise men from the East came to
Matt.2:2 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.”
√ Looked for the King
Matthew tells us that in the days (or months) after Jesus was born that “wise men” came seeking Him that they might worship Him!
Who were these guys?
1) Wise men
The word in the original text is “magos”, which means…
“a Magian, that is, an Oriental scientist; by implication a magician:-- sorcerer, wise man.”
Some have suggested that they may have been astronomers, but the reality is that we really don’t know who these guys were, or what they did for a living!
Or how many there were! Tradition suggests that there were three wise men (because there were three gifts presented to Jesus)…
…but the Bible doesn’t tells us how many there were, nor their names!
What we can be sure of is this…
They were Gentiles
They came from the East of Jerusalem
They sought the King
So, while our curiosity may not be satisfied regarding the identity of these men the most important characteristic of their lives was that they…
…sought the King.
2) Followed a star
Vs. 2 records the words of these wise men and what it was
that motivated them to leave their homeland and come to
“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.”
That is, these wise men had seen some sign in the heavens that they interpreted to mean that the Messiah King of the Jews had come!
What star did they see?
“His Star”!
Ex. The prophecy of Balaam
Balak, the king of
Num. 24:15 So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son
of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
Num. 24:16 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:
Num. 24:17 “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.
That is, the prophecy speaks of a coming King, but not in the days of Balaam or Balak…
…rather, in the future a King (Scepter) shall arise out of Jacob (Israel) whose coming would be marked by a Star.
What kind of a star? We’ll cover that at the end of our study!
The important truth that we want to glean from this section of our text is that at the time of Jesus’ birth there were some who…
…looked for the King!
Troubled by the King (vs. 3)
Matt.2:3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him.
√ Troubled by the King
Herod, the false king in Israel, and those in Jerusalem had a very different reaction than the wise men to the news of the Kings birth.
Matthew tells us that they were “troubled” literally…
“to stir, to agitate, like rolling water”
Ex. Your boss wants to talk to you privately!
Doesn’t matter what the subject is, good or bad…
…now all you can think about is what he might say to you!
Your stomach gets upset (stirred up)
You can get your mind off it
You can’t sleep
That’s what “troubled” means.
√ Why were some troubled?
Herod, this would have been “Herod the Great (4 different “Herod’s mentioned in the New Testament) was troubled because he was the king who occupied the throne in Jerusalem…
…but it wasn’t his to occupy!
While he was a son of Abraham, through Esau, he wasn’t truly Jewish because he couldn’t trace his lineage to Jacob (Israel).
Also…
He wasn’t a son of David
Therefore he did not have the legal right to the throne or to the title “king of the Jews.”
So, news that a real king of the Jews had been born was a direct threat to his future employment (and life!)…
…thus, he was troubled.
Ignored the King (vs. 4-8)
Matt.2:4 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.
Matt.2:5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for
thus it is written by the prophet:
Matt.2:6 ‘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.’”
Matt.2:7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men,
determined from them what time the star appeared.
Matt.2:8 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.”
√ Ignored the King
You may not readily see this because it would seem like Herod along with religious leaders in Jerusalem were active and very attentive to the news that the King of the Jews had been born.
Observe their behavior…
Herod asks the religious experts where the king was to be born (note that Herod calls Him “Christ” – that is he had a Messianic expectation!)
The religious experts tell him “in Bethlehem”.
Herod sends the wise men looking.
But notice, not one of them is recorded as actually walking the 5 short miles to Bethlehem to see if the king was there!
The promised Messiah in Whom all Israel hoped was reported to have been born just across the valley and no one goes to check it out!
My point exactly, they ignored the King!
Ex. The president comes to Fayetteville and invites you to meet him over dinner at Ella’s, but you decline because it’s “too far to drive”.
√ Why did they ignore the king?
The Bible doesn’t give us any explanation as to why Herod and the religious leaders didn’t go to Bethlehem.
However, regardless of their reason, I’d suggest that there is no good reason to ignore King Jesus!
That is, whatever excuse they might offer it simply wouldn’t wash because there is nothing that they could have been so busy with that would be of higher priority than to go and…
…look for the King!
Ex. Too busy to look for the King
When Jesus was born the very people that should have been looking for the King, the religious leaders…
…were too busy with their lives to walk the five miles to Bethlehem to look for the king.
That’s a serious indictment against the people of God!
Unfortunately the same attitude is seen among God’s people today!
Ap. Too busy to look for the king
The primary reason that Christians are supposed to gather together on a weekly basis is that we might…
Look for the King through the study of His Word
Worship the King because of the love He has shown us
Yet, what I see demonstrated in the lives of many of God’s people today is the same attitude displayed by the religious leaders when the news of the king’s birth reached their ears…
…they’re simply too busy with everything else to look for the King.
What we do with our time is a reflection of the condition of our heart.
Bottom line is that people do what they want to do. So, excuses are just that…
…excuses.
√ Bethlehem – the birthplace of the king
Note that when Herod asks the religious experts where the King would be born that they are able to give him an answer – Bethlehem!
Matthew 2:5-6 reads…
“So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘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.’”
The prophet they are quoting is Micah (5:2). Very important because this is one more piece of evidence that would prove to the Jewish person that Jesus was in fact the Messiah!
He had to be born in Bethlehem!
Not…
New York
Babylon
London
My point is that if you find a prophecy that declares that Messiah the King was born anywhere except Bethlehem…
…then you have yourself a false prophet.
Ex. The false prophet Alma (Book of Mormon)
Alma 7:9 But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, saying -- Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth.
Alma 7:10 And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.
Jerusalem is close, about 5 miles, but it is not Bethlehem! The point, God tells us all through the Bible that we are to test everyone (Deut. 18:20-22) who claims to speak for Him.
If what they say comes to pass 100% of the time then they are a true prophet of God.
If what they say does not come to pass 100% of the time then they are a false prophet.
We have two prophets, Micah and Alma, one was right, one was wrong…
…who then speaks for God and who does not?
√ The name says it all
Bethlehem literally means…
“House of bread”
…a fitting place for the Bread of Life to be born!
Additionally, Bethlehem was the place where…
Boaz lived and married Ruth
David was born and raised
Where Samuel went looking for the king
So, Bethlehem is the place where the Messiah was born, yet as we’ve noted most people ignored the King.
Worshipped the King (vs. 9-12)
Matt.2:9 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.
Matt.2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great
joy.
Matt.2:11 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.
Matt.2:12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not
return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
√ Worshipped the King
The forth response of the people who lived at the time of the King’s birth was that some…
…worshipped the King!
“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him” – Vs. 11
The word “worship” is the Greek, proskuneo and literally means…
“to lean toward to kiss”
The picture is of a person who bows down on their knees, and then kisses the feet of the one whom they seek to honor…
…not what one would expect a Gentile nobleman to do to a Hebrew child living with a poor family!
√ Gifts for the King
Matthew tells us that the wise men also presented the King with some very expensive gifts, but not gifts that one would normally give to a child!
Ex. Baby blanket, crib, toys!
Rather, the wise men present Jesus with…
Frankincense
Myrrh
Many scholars suggest that these gifts are symbolic of the character and ministry of Jesus. That is…
Gold = King (perfection)
Frankincense = Priest (incense of the Temple)
Myrrh = Savior (fragrance for embalming)
It is also likely that the heavenly Father prompted these gifts as a means for Joseph to provide for his family when they were forced to flee to Egypt.
√ The glory of the King
One more interesting fact that Matthew reveals is the nature of the Star that the wise men followed, note vs. 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.”
At first pass my assumption would be that the star they had seen in the East, and that they now followed to where Jesus lived…
…is a natural star like the North Star, Polaris.
Ex. Many suggest that it was a natural phenomena
Conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, or a comet. Perhaps it was!
But, consider the following…
1) “Star”, astare, in Greek is used both literally and
figuratively (i.e. Rev. 22:16).
2) The star was first seen from the East, reappeared
(vs. 9) and led them to the house where Jesus was
living.
3) Natural stars don’t appear, disappear, then reappear.
4) The star led them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem (vs. 9).
Bethlehem is south of Jerusalem…
…natural stars travel east to west across the sky.
Could it be then that the star the wise men followed was the Shekinah glory of God!?
The same glory that led the children of Israel for 40 years in the wilderness, appearing as a cloud by day, but a fire by night!
Whichever, the result was the star led some to worship the King.
Close
√ How have you responded to the King?
Matthew presents to us the response of the people in his day to the news of the King’s birth. Some…
Looked for King (vs. 1-2)
Troubled by the King (vs. 3)
Ignored the King (vs. 4-8)
Worshipped the King (vs. 9-12)
In which group do you find yourself today?
Troubled by the King, ignoring the King?
Looking for Him so that you might worship Him?
Know this, you’re in one group or the other because the King requires us to chose for ourselves whether we are for Him…
…or against Him.