WISE MEN STILL SEEK HIM-THE TRUE WORSHIPERS
Matthew 2:9-12 ( ESV )
9After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold,
the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest
over the place where the child was.
11And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother,
and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they
offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed
to their own country by another way.
·
Star that they had seen-Note
apparently before they got to Herod; it had disappeared and now reappears again
to them. The star led them to this very specific spot.
·
They rejoiced-It was now the end of
their journey. The one that they had sought was right before their eyes.
·
They go into a house not a stable so
time has passed since chapter one. They found their king not in a palace but
rather in a common home. Jesus was no longer a newborn babe.
·
I love their reactions the first two
things that they did was Fall down and Worship. What a curious sight it must
have been as these Gentile men knelt down and worshiped this Jewish boy.
·
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render
him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! 11 May
all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!
Psalms
72:10-11 (ESV)
·
Many believe there were 3 of these
men because there were 3 gifts but that seems to be reading into the story too
much. Look at what they give to this child king. GOLD-Symbol
of a king and that of Deity and Purity. Frankincense-Talks of a
priest-hood. Quite often this resin was used for incense at the altar. Ex.
30:9 Myrrh-This was
a perfume that was often used for a time of burial. These men offered up to the
king their very best. (What of us?) Some
commentators believe that these gifts were used to help them to flee to Egypt.
·
Warned-God will reveal his will this
way several times in this passage. (Some want to believe that this is how God
works today on a regular basis. Problems: Extra Revelation and the completion
of His Word.) We see that constantly through this passage when God reveals His
way to His people, they immediately obey. (Such was not the heart of Herod.)
FLEE
TO EGYPT
Matthew 2:13-15 ( ESV )
13Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared
to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee
to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for
the child, to destroy him.”
15and
remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had
spoken by the prophet, £“Out of
Egypt I called my son.”
·
Constantly we see how that God
wanted to lead Joseph. What is so beautiful in this passage is Joseph’s
obedience.
·
Egypt would have been about 90 miles
to the border from Jerusalem. It would
also be outside of Herod’s Jurisdiction. Many Jews still lived in this area.
·
Herod’s true heart is now revealed.
He did not want to worship the Lord. Herod wanted to destroy God’s plans and
reject the King of Kings.
·
By night-Not a sign of distrust but
Joseph saw the urgency of God’s plan and direction and immediately acted upon
it. (Think of us when we are warned of a storm or a hurricane coming our way.)
·
The prophecy of Hosea 11:1 was now
being fulfilled. The question though is why Egypt? Just as Moses through the power of God had
delivered God’s people out of Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land. The
Son of God, like his people, would come out of Egypt but as their spiritual
deliverer. He wanted to free them from spiritual bondage. He would bring light
into the darkness of the people’s hearts.
THE
CRYING OF RACHEL
Matthew 2:16-18 ( ESV )
16Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,
became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and
in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that
he had ascertained from the wise men.
18£“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel
weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no
more.”
·
When
Herod realized that he had not been told by the wise men what took place the
Bible tells us that he became furious. He was so thirsty for blood that he
would have all these children destroyed. He remembered his conversations with
the wise men and targeted all of those who were two years or younger. Bethlehem
was a small town so there may have been between 10-30 children of this age
group. How barbaric to destroy even one of their lives. Herod was declaring out
to God I NEED NO MESSIAH BUT ME.
·
Jeremiah-Another
fulfillment of scripture is now fulfilled at least from 600 years earlier.
·
Weeping
is brought up 2 xs in this passage.
Significance of Rachel: She becomes the personification of loss; her
last child Benjamin would cost her, her life in delivery, when her children (Israel)
were carried into exile there was weeping and mourning. Now in the town of
Bethlehem the children of Israel would be slaughtered. There is no comfort for
a woman who loses her beloved children.
BE
SENSITIVE TO GOD’S WILL!!
Matthew 2:19-23 ( ESV )
20saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of
Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place
of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he
withdrew to the district of Galilee.
23And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was
spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
·
When
Herod died-We are not told how many years had passed before this event took
place. We know this though, Joseph
stayed until he was told to move. Here is a man who does not waver from God’s
program.
·
Once
again He hears from an angel in a dream.
·
What
words of peace this must have been to Joseph to go back to the land of promise
and to bring back its true Messiah. The evil one is gone.
·
While
on His way to go back probably to Bethlehem he hears that Archelaus is now
reigning instead of his father Herod. (He was one of Herod’s sons who reigned
with much of the same cruelty as his father. He was so bad that Caesar would later
banish him to Gaul. More than likely on their way after hearing about Archelaus
they sought the Lord’s will and were warned in a dream so they withdrew to the
district of Galilee. They would still be
in Israel but not in Jerusalem or Bethlehem. SOMETIMES GOD’S PLANS INVOLVE A
CHANGE OF DIRECTION THAT WE DID NOT FORSEE. Our goal though is to be obedient
to whatever bumps in the road that he allows. We can follow Him and he will guide us.
·
Nazareth-In
the lower hills of Galilee, a small village between 200 to 1,600 people. An
obscure place for a king to dwell in but this was no ordinary king.
·
Nazarene-This
seems to be a general theme of the O.T. Prophets that Jesus would be despised
and rejected. Nazareth by many during Jesus time was looked down upon and despised.
Jn. 1:46 Can anything good come out of Nazareth. This would be true of how many
would look down upon him. Yet, another interesting thing is that this also
comes from the Nazarites which meant to be holy and devoted to God or separated
from. This would be the mark of his life
and should have drawn men to him but more than anything he was despised and
rejected even when He came unto his own. The beauty though is that this one
despite what men thought was the DEVOTED ONE OF GOD.
CLOSING THOUGHTS AND APPLICATIONS:
·
LIKE THE WISE MEN AM
I WILLING TO BOW MY KNEE BEFORE HIM?
·
AM I REALLY GIVING
TO HIM THE BEST THAT I HAVE?
·
WHAT ABOUT MY PRIDE?
IS HE TRULY THE EXALTED ONE?
·
DO I DELAY IN MY
OBEDIENCE TO THE LORD OR WILL I ACT LIKE JOSEPH?
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