Unwanted Gift
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Communion: The second candle represents faith and is called "Bethlehem’s Candle." Micah had foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, which is also the birthplace of King David.
If the Messiah was not born, there would be no salvation. No forgiveness of sin. We all would still be accountable to God’s Holy and righteous wrath.
We celebrate this coming Christmas having the faith and knowledge of his precious birth.
And now for us that have accepted the free gift of salvation found in Jesus we remember through holy communion his sacrifice for us.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
The people who missed Christmas -
Background on Herod -
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
Bio of King Herod:
Both Herod's grandfather and his father were political officials in Judea. Both had close ties to the Romans. When Herod's father came to the aid of Julius Caesar after the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, Caesar made Herod's father the governor of Judea.
In 47 BC Herod's father made Herod governor of Galilee. As governor, Herod won favor with the Romans by his dealing with hostile revolts. At the same time his actions were censured by the Great Sanhedrin.
He was ambitious and power hungry. Working and scheming both Rome and Jewish leaders. (Sound like today’s politicians? )
Eventually he was granted more and more power and given an army by Rome and gave himself the self proclaimed “king of the jews”.
2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
Disturbed: agitated - No one is going to take what I have built.
All Jerusalem with him? - A great delegate from far away have shown up asking were is the King? What did they miss?
4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
Okay, get all the Jews old testament experts in here now!
KJV: He didn’t ask; he demanded. He said, “I know that you have the Scriptures and in them you have a record of a Messiah that is coming. I want to know where He is to be born.”
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
Secretly? Maybe he was trying to bury this story because he had plans.
Then Herod inquires what was the exact time the star appeared. (One of the puzzle pieces to the nativity story) We will see later why he wanted to know the exact time.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
Magi… you have given me the time of his birth (would have been close to a year)
Here is the place: Bethlehem. (The other puzzle piece to the nativity story)
Find him, report back to me, so I can worship him as well.
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
We will come back to this next week.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Why were they warned? The wise men had assumed that Herod was sincere and wanted to come down and worship Him.
What was going to happen? Herods secret was not a secret to God.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
Another “White Elephant” gift for Joseph. - More about this trip to Egypt next week.
Why did they need to leave? A devious plot to kill Jesus.
Herod wanted to get rid of this “Unwanted Gift”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
Herods true motives are reveled.
The Massacre of the Innocents:
Everett Ferguson argues that the story makes sense in the context of Herod's reign of terror in the last few years of his rule,[12] and the number of infants in Bethlehem that would have been killed – no more than a dozen or so – may have been too insignificant to be recorded by Josephus, who could not be aware of every incident far in the past when he wrote it.
How many children were killed? American archaeology in the Holy Land, estimates that the population of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth to be about 300 people. Estimates are between 6-20.
The historians explained a recurring pattern in the life of Herod. He would hear a rumor that somebody was going to bump him off and take over his throne, but Herod would kill that person first. He would then go into depression. After awhile he would come out of his depression and would build, build, build. He would hear another rumor and would kill that person, then go into another depression. After awhile he would come out of this depression and would build, build, build. This cycle repeated itself a number of times in which numerous people were killed, including one of his ten wives as well as three of his sons! The shrinks diagnosed Herod the Great as a paranoid schizophrenic.
Is Jesus a wanted or unwanted gift in your life. Will you continue to keep yourself on the throne of your life or will you let Jesus rule and reign?