Sermon Tone Analysis
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The Wise Men Come to Worship the King (2:1–12)
Arrival (1-2)
Herod the Great was a descendant of Esau and, therefore, a traditional enemy of the Jews.
He was a convert to Judaism, but his conversion was perhaps politically motivated.
It was toward the close of his reign that wise men from the East came in search of the King of the Jews.
These men might have been pagan priests whose ritual centered around the elements of nature.
Because of their knowledge and predictive powers, they were often chosen as counselors to kings.
We do not know where they lived in the East, how many there were, nor how long their journey lasted.
Their names are thought to be Caspar, Melchior and Balthazzar.
And if we chose to pay the fee, we can see their bones today in the shrine behind the altar in the cathedral in Cologne in Germany.
All extra biblical and pure fantasy.
The Roman historians, Suetonius who writes, “There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world.”
And Tacitus has also written that, “There was a firm persuasion that at this time, this very time, the east was to grow powerful, and rulers coming from Judaea were to acquire universal dominion.”
It was the star in the East that somehow made them aware of the birth of a King, whom they came to worship.
Possibly they were familiar with OT prophecies concerning the Messiah’s arrival.
Perhaps they knew of Balaam’s prediction that a Star would come out of Jacob (Num.
24:17) and connected this with the prophecy of seventy weeks which foretold the time of Christ’s first coming (Dan.
9:24, 25).
But it seems more probable that the knowledge was communicated to them supernaturally.
Various scientific explanations have been offered to account for the star.
Some say, for instance, that it was a conjunction of planets.
But the course of this star was highly irregular; it went before the wise men, leading them from Jerusalem to the house where Jesus was living (v.
9).
Then it stopped.
In fact, it was so unusual that it can only be accounted for as a miracle.
Star – [astera]
Prophesied by Balaam
This is the same glory that led Israel from Egypt
The glory will return
The glory will remain
Agitation (3-7)
Arrival (1-2)
This was Herod the Great, called king by the Roman senate because of the influence of Mark Antony.
Herod was a cruel and crafty man who permitted no one, not even his own family, to interfere with his rule or prevent the satisfying of his evil desires.
A ruthless murderer, he had his own wife and her two brothers slain because he suspected them of treason.
He was married at least nine times in order to fulfill his lusts and strengthen his political ties.
But by this time Herod was a murderous old man, and insanely jealous.
And any kind of rivalry he could not stand.
He was a lovely character.
He had murdered his wife.
He had murdered his mother-in-law.
Well, perhaps that’s not so bad you might say [laughter].
But he had murdered one of his sons and then two more of his sons.. Herod was not a full-blooded Jew; he was actually an Idumaean, a descendant of Esau
2:3 When Herod the king heard that a Baby had been born who was to be king of the Jews, he was troubled.
Any such Baby was a threat to his uneasy rule.
All Jerusalem was troubled with him.
The city that should have received the news with joy was disturbed by anything that might upset its status quo or risk the displeasure of the hated Roman rulers.
Application: Worship of Jesus will agitate some people…worship anyway!
2:4–6 Herod assembled the Jewish religious leaders to find out where the Christ was to be born.
The chief priests were the high priest and his sons (and perhaps other members of his family).
The scribes of the people were lay experts in the Law of Moses.
They preserved and taught the law and served as judges in the Sanhedrin.
These priests and scribes promptly quoted Micah 5:2 which identified Bethlehem of Judea as the King’s birthplace.
The text of the prophecy in Micah calls the city “Bethlehem Ephrathah.”
Since there was more than one town called Bethlehem in Palestine, this identifies it as the one in the district of Ephrathah within the tribal boundaries of Judah.
Why didn’t the magi know this passage?
The Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity before Micah was written.
Also they studied the sky not the Hebrew scripture.
What does the Bible record about a bright appearance in the sky around the birth of Jesus?
The shepherds of coarse!
That is when these magi saw the “shining.”
Acting (8-10)
Arrival (1-2)
Agitation (3-7)
2:7, 8 King Herod … secretly called the wise men to determine what time the star first appeared.
This secrecy betrayed his sadistic motive: he would need this information if he was unable to locate the right Child.
To cover up his real intention, he sent the magi on their search and requested that they send back word to him of their success.
2:9 As the wise men set out, the star which they had seen in the East reappeared.
This indicates that the star had not guided them all the way from the East.
But now it did guide them to the house where the young Child was.
2:10 Special mention is made of the exceedingly great joy of the wise men when they saw the star.
These Gentiles diligently sought for Christ; Herod planned to kill Him; the priests and scribes were (as yet) indifferent; the people of Jerusalem were troubled.
These attitudes were omens of the way in which the Messiah would be received.
This star leads to Christ in spite of the religious leaders of the day, in spite of the enmity of the king, in spite of the indifference of the people, the star leads the wise men to the Lord Jesus.
These men had to surmount the obstacles of the clergy in order to reach the Savior
The magi were seeking the King; Herod was opposing the King; and the Jewish priests were ignoring the King.
-Wiersbe, W. W. (1996).
The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 14).
Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Adoration (11)
Arrival (1-2)
Agitation (3-7)
Acting (8-10)
2:1, 2 It is easy to be confused about the chronology of the events surrounding Christ’s birth.
While verse 1 may appear to indicate that the magi arrived during Mary and Joseph’s stay in the stable at Bethlehem, the combined evidence points to a time one or two years later.
The house - maybe the same house that had the manger in which Jesus was born.
The upper room would now be less crowded.
At least 33 days after Christ’s birth.
If Joseph and Mary had these costly gifts when they went to the temple they would not have been poor and would have offered more than just 2 turtle doves.
“The Child” – is put first and has the preeminence because Jesus always is first.
P. T. Forsythe, one of the great men of a generation or two ago said, “The world finds its consummation not in finding itself, but in finding its master.
Not in coming to its true self, but in meeting its true Lord and Savior.
Not in overcoming, but in being overcome.”
How did they worship?
Did they have a praise band and “feel the Holy Spirit moving”?
No, they gave.
They gave their gifts, they gave their submission, they gave their praise by magnifying this Child and acknowledging who He was, and they probably gave their attention to hearing about His birth.
Modern worship is many times about how the worshiper feels and what the worshiper “gets” from the experience.
True worship is what the worshiper can give to his/her Lord.
It is not about how the worshiper feels but how God feels about their worship.
2:11 When they entered the house, the magi saw the young Child with Mary His mother.
They fell down and worshiped Him, offering costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
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