1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:28,240 We'll be looking, Lord willing, at the first 12 verses of chapter 2. 2 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,040 Now, if you would, out of respect for the reading of the Word of God, would you stand 3 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:41,880 as we look at the text this morning? 4 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:48,480 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, wise 5 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:53,120 men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born King of the 6 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:59,880 Jews? For we have seen a star in the east and have come to worship him. Now when Herod 7 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:06,000 the King heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And when he gathered all 8 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:11,520 the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ 9 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:18,240 was to be born. So they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, 10 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:23,440 That you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are not the least among the rulers of Judea, 11 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:29,320 for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod, when 12 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:34,240 he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And 13 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,720 he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the young child, and 14 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:43,920 when you have found him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship him also. Now 15 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,040 when they heard the King, they departed, and behold, the star which they had seen in the 16 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:54,600 east went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they 17 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,600 saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the 18 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:07,280 house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshiped him. 19 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:14,200 And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, 20 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:19,960 and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in the dream that they should not return to Herod, 21 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,640 they departed for their own country another way. Let us pray. And again, I'm going to 22 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:27,840 ask you to take a moment of silence and ask God to speak to your heart from the sacred 23 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:29,840 word this morning before I pray. So let's bow. 24 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:56,440 Father, it is good to be still before you, to be still, to be quiet, to know not only 25 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:01,760 that you are God, but Lord, that you desire to speak to your people. But Lord, there are 26 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:08,280 many things that vie for our attention, our affection. Lord, many things that come in 27 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:15,760 and choke out faith. So Father, this morning, Lord, I would ask for a holy ha-she-rapped 28 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:22,640 attention, Lord, that we might hear from heaven, we might hear the word of God. Lord, we don't 29 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:28,600 need to hear from me, Lord, we need to hear from heaven. We need to hear you, Lord. I 30 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:35,520 pray that the Spirit of God would use these words to strengthen and encourage and nourish 31 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:40,080 faith in the lives of your people. Oh, Father, I beg of you, Lord God, that you might wake 32 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:48,000 up the deaf and the blind and the dead, Lord, to the reality and glory of Christ. Lord, 33 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:53,000 help us to worship you right. And we need you, God, help us, Lord, we beg of you, we 34 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:58,160 beg for your presence and for your Spirit. Lord, let us be desperate for you to behold 35 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:06,920 the glory of Christ, Lord, your divine Son, the Savior of the world. God, let us worship 36 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:17,960 him this morning, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Many, if not most, 37 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:23,800 and I believe probably all people, at some point in your life, you have experienced what 38 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:32,640 it's like to be rejected. Everyone does. Rejection is painful. But it's even more painful when 39 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:40,320 it comes from family or close friends. It feels treacherous. The worst type of rejection, 40 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:45,720 though, is to be rejected by those who are supposed to love you. I've talked to a few 41 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,680 people on different occasions going through a divorce, counseling them, and they have 42 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:56,240 said that it would have been easier for them emotionally had their spouse died than to 43 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:03,840 reject them, that divorce was that hard. But today we're going to see that our Lord also 44 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:14,200 understands rejection all too well. Isaiah wrote of him in verse 3, said, He is despised, 45 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:21,640 rejected by men. He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We hid as it were our 46 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:27,900 faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. And friends, that would be, 47 00:05:27,900 --> 00:05:31,760 that would almost be acceptable for talking about a man. If you were saying, if Ryan McKee 48 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:37,840 were the subject of that, okay, that's not so terrible. But the one who is despised, 49 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:43,160 the one who is rejected, the one who is not esteemed, is the preeminent, the divine Son 50 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:48,240 of God Himself. One of the saddest verses in all scriptures and found in John 1-11, 51 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:56,680 He came to His own. He wanted to, He came to them and yet His own did not receive Him. 52 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:04,560 He came to the house of Israel. Israel rejects Him, resolutely rejected Him. The Lord Himself 53 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:12,960 said a prophet basically has honor everywhere except in his own country, among his own relatives, 54 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:18,680 and even in his own house. And that's where exactly the Lord was rejected. So from the 55 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:23,680 very beginning, from the outset of the life of Christ, we see a foreshadowing somehow 56 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:33,560 that insiders, those closest to Him in proximity, will reject Him and outsiders and foreigners 57 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:43,240 will receive Him. See, Israel as a nation saw Him as an imposter, yet miraculously many 58 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:49,880 Gentiles saw Him as the Messiah. This division was prophesied even shortly after His birth. 59 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:54,440 I mean, this was not to be unexpected. When we read over in Luke 2, which is a companion 60 00:06:54,440 --> 00:07:00,640 passage here, we read about Simeon, this devout man who had a prophecy that was absolutely 61 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:05,320 astounding in its implication. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was 62 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:14,520 Simeon, just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 63 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,760 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before 64 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:27,000 he had seen the Lord's Christ. We'll skip down to verse 34. Then Simeon blessed them, 65 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:34,720 blessed Joseph and Mary and the child, and said to Mary his mother, behold, this child 66 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:41,480 is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which will be spoken 67 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:47,880 against. Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also so that the thoughts of 68 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:53,880 many hearts may be revealed. Simeon saying, this child, he's talking to Mary, this child 69 00:07:53,880 --> 00:08:00,280 that you have born is a sign. A sign that many is going to speak against, many is going 70 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:08,520 to blaspheme it. And he warned, he said, many will fall with this child and many will rise 71 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:15,080 with this child. What does that mean? Simeon is saying that your response to this child 72 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:21,200 will determine your destiny. As you recall, Matthew's purpose in writing this gospel, 73 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:25,880 this is a letter, he's wanting to write with a purpose in mind, and it was to strengthen 74 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:32,320 the faith of Jewish believers, but it was also to convince Jewish unbelievers that this 75 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:39,800 child, that Jesus, is the Christ. Now he started in chapter one, we looked at that a few weeks 76 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:44,680 ago, with the Ancestry showing that this child is both the son of Abraham and the son of 77 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:50,900 David. Meaning he is the fulfillment of all the sweeping promises made to both Abraham 78 00:08:50,900 --> 00:08:59,440 and David in their respective covenants. Matthew also detailed that extraordinary virgin conception 79 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:04,600 and subsequently virgin birth, which was a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy of chapter 80 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:09,240 seven, verse 14. But as we turn the page in our Bibles, we come to chapter two. Again, 81 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,760 there are no chapter divisions in the original autographs, but we see that our Lord has just 82 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:19,960 been born and up to this time, there's not, up to this point, he has not uttered a word, 83 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:27,360 he has not done one single act, he has not performed any miracles at all yet, and yet 84 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:34,720 in this passage we see that his birth provoked foreigners to come worship him, and it provoked 85 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:43,980 a Jewish king into a maniacal, murderous rage. Indeed, this is a sign. So let's look at verses 86 00:09:43,980 --> 00:09:50,120 one and two again. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judah, in the days of Herod the 87 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:55,240 king, that's important, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, where is 88 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:59,920 he who's been born king of the Jews? We have seen a star in the east and have come to worship 89 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:06,440 him, proskeneo, true worship there. So chapter one ends with our Lord's birth, but we have 90 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:10,880 not been given any further details. We don't even know where the child was born. We have 91 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:15,880 not yet been told. But chapter two opens and says, no, the child was born in Bethlehem, 92 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:21,600 and you and I know the story and that sounds so familiar, oh little town of Bethlehem. 93 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:27,720 But why Bethlehem? Joseph and Mary did not live in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary lived in 94 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:34,320 Nazareth. So why were they in Bethlehem at the time for Mary to give birth? Because normally 95 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:39,520 at the end of a pregnancy you don't travel too far from home, and yet they did. So why, 96 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:45,600 why were they in Bethlehem? Luke two tells us, and it came to pass in those days that 97 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:50,360 a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. There's 98 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:56,120 a census taking place. This census first took place while Carinius was governing Syria. 99 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:02,040 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee 100 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:07,500 out of the city of Nazareth, that's where he lived with Mary, into Judea to the city 101 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:13,680 of David, which is called Bethlehem. Why? Well, he was of the house and lineage of David, 102 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:21,540 that's chapter one, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 103 00:11:21,540 --> 00:11:27,600 Joseph was a descendant of David. So now he had to return to his ancestral city. He had 104 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:33,040 to go back up to Bethlehem, the city of David, in this case to be registered in this Roman 105 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:38,240 census. That's why he was there. So while he was there, we know that she gave birth. 106 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:44,880 Now Bethlehem, the name Bethlehem actually means house of bread. It's interesting isn't 107 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:51,760 that the bread of life is born into the house of bread. But even more importantly than that 108 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:57,160 suggestion, we have the prophecy of Micah, which is actually given here in Matthew chapter 109 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:05,880 two, Micah five two. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands 110 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:12,100 of Judah, because Judah was going to bring the Messiah, yet out of you shall come forth 111 00:12:12,100 --> 00:12:21,360 to me the one to be ruler in Israel, who's going forth are from old, from everlasting. 112 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:26,680 The Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem because it was foretold by the prophet Micah, but 113 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:34,640 Jesus wasn't from Bethlehem. He was from Nazareth. What do you find here? I love this. God moved 114 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:40,400 a pagan king, Julia Caesar here, Caesar Augustus, God moved in the life and heart of a pagan 115 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:47,280 king to take a census over in Israel that would require Mary and Joseph to go back to 116 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:53,440 Bethlehem at just the precise time that she was to give birth to this child. He is moving 117 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:59,400 what you see here, what looked like a simple government act, a census, proved to be the 118 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:08,040 tool the Lord used to have prophecy fulfilled. God himself was moving heaven and earth to 119 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:13,600 providentially fulfill his will concerning the arrival of his son. He wants the nations 120 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:20,160 to know about the birth of this child, and he's doing everything there. So we see God 121 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:26,520 from the very beginning, he's in control. He is always in control, and he is moving 122 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:32,800 history along just as he has decreed. There was no way, friend, that that child would 123 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:38,080 not be born in Bethlehem. Whatever it took, when Mary had to deliver, it would take place 124 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:42,800 in Bethlehem. Now Matthew's Jewish readers would not, no doubt, they would understand 125 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:48,500 the import and significance of that town because if you're Jewish, you know the prophecies. 126 00:13:48,500 --> 00:13:51,040 If you're a Gentile, that probably doesn't mean a whole lot to you because you don't 127 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:57,440 understand why Bethlehem, why is that so needed? And yet what seems to be an insignificant 128 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:03,780 detail being born in Bethlehem, it is further confirmation, it is further proof that this 129 00:14:03,780 --> 00:14:12,480 child born to Mary, born to Joseph, is the Lord's Christ. He is the Savior sent from 130 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:18,080 God. And that's the point that Matthew's driving at. He wants the whole world to know, 131 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:25,000 especially Jewish readers, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah sent from God to be the Savior 132 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:31,560 of mankind. Now Mary and Joseph, if you looked at them, they probably looked like any ordinary 133 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:38,640 couple, but this was no ordinary child. The child that she had just given birth to was 134 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:47,800 the king of the Jews. And to everyone's surprise, a group of wise men, Magi, showed up from 135 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:54,600 the Orient, from the East, seeking to find this child. It is surprising that the first 136 00:14:54,600 --> 00:15:01,120 people showing any interest in this child are not Jews. They're Gentiles. No doubt 137 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:06,000 the time the Magi arrived, that Jesus had already been probably one to two years old, 138 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:11,440 or at least several months old. Why? Because the distance that the Magi traveled would 139 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:21,200 have been slow, and it would have been dangerous. Who were they? Foreign astronomers, astrologers, 140 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:26,280 a priestly class. Now we don't know exactly where they were from, and we don't know how 141 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:32,160 many there were. We know there are three wise men, well there are three gifts. But we know 142 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:37,560 they were from the East, and many believe from the land of Babylon. That's Persian Empire, 143 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:42,600 that's today Iran or Iraq. Now the Magi, you need to understand this, were some of the 144 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:47,280 highest ranking officials in Babylon. They were skilled in math, they were skilled in 145 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:52,920 science, they were particularly skilled in astrology. They dabbled though in the occult. 146 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,620 They were known for their ability to interpret dreams, and you also saw that in the book 147 00:15:56,620 --> 00:16:03,320 of Daniel. But remember there's this one time that none of the wise men could interpret 148 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:08,720 a dream of the king, King Nebuchadnezzar. And so what did he say? You're all going to 149 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:17,080 die. And at that point, Daniel rose, interpreted the dream, and saved many of their lives. 150 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:21,960 Well because of this act, Daniel was promoted. He came to be well respected, well known in 151 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:29,600 the Babylonian Empire, especially among the Magi. Now for this reason, many scholars believe 152 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:34,680 that the Magi learned about the one true God from Daniel, who would have wielded incredible 153 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:41,440 influence in that time. He also would have told them about this coming king, this messiah, 154 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:46,080 and he would have given them some prophecies surrounding the child. Now we know later, 155 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:50,000 once they had 70 years had expired, the Jews were actually free to go back to the land 156 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:57,540 of Israel. But many desired to stay in Babylon, and they intermarried. So the Jewish influence 157 00:16:57,540 --> 00:17:03,380 stayed strong, and no doubt messianic expectations would have remained strong. And now we're 158 00:17:03,380 --> 00:17:09,120 talking about five, six hundred years later. So what happens? You have these wise men, 159 00:17:09,120 --> 00:17:17,340 you have these Magi. Where do they go? They go to Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. Why? Well 160 00:17:17,340 --> 00:17:22,560 think about it. If you assume that the king had been born, you naturally assume he must 161 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:28,760 have been born in Jerusalem, the capital city. So they arrive in Jerusalem, they begin asking 162 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:34,560 questions. Where is this child who had been born king of the Jews? Do you find it interesting 163 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:39,920 that no one in Israel was asking that question? No one was asking where is the king of the 164 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:49,080 Jews. Instead you have a nation that should have known was oblivious to the birth of this 165 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:54,360 king. So the first people, again see the foreshadowing, the first people who had come to worship 166 00:17:54,360 --> 00:18:03,800 him were outsiders, Gentiles. Insiders seemed to be indifferent. So now King Herod's going 167 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:09,600 to react to this arrival. Look at verses three through eight. When Herod heard the king heard 168 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:15,200 this, he was troubled. All the Jews went with him. Now that's an understatement. So he gathered 169 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:19,720 chief priests, scribes, he wanted to know where the Christ would be born and they told 170 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:25,320 him. Verse seven he says, okay now tell me exactly when did the star appear? And verse 171 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:31,560 eight he says very infamously, will you all go find that child and let me know where he 172 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:37,000 is so that just like you I will come and pay homage to him. I will also come and worship 173 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:43,240 him. So Matthew introduces to another king figure. Here's King Herod. Now this Herod 174 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:48,920 is not Herod Antipas when Jesus was crucified. That would be this Herod, it's his father. 175 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:53,960 This is Herod the Great. He's not great in any sense of the word. They called him Herod 176 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:59,320 the Great because he had expansive renovation projects and building projects all over Israel 177 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:04,400 and Palestine. In fact the temple, he rebuilt the temple and so the temple at the time of 178 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:12,680 Jesus was called Herod's temple, later destroyed by the Romans. So he's half Jewish. He was 179 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:20,200 not ethnically a Jew, he was ethnically an Edomite. Remember the Edomites, the descendants 180 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:25,280 of Esau. So he's not ethnically Jewish so that's one of the reasons the Jews despise 181 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:31,440 this guy but they had much reason to despise him. His father was a politician, had been 182 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:36,400 appointed by Julius Caesar and so when this Herod, Herod the Great, he goes over to Rome 183 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:44,480 in around 40 BC and he meets Octavian who would later become Caesar Augustus. So Octavian 184 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:49,280 likes him, Mark Anthony likes him and they declared him and conferred on him this title, 185 00:19:49,280 --> 00:20:00,240 get this, King of the Jews. Herod was a shrewd but paranoid politician. He was known for 186 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:06,360 his cruelty and merciless behavior. He's paranoid, he's always on the lookout for insurrection 187 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:12,520 and those who might be seeking his throne. He had 10 wives, many different children and 188 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:18,360 he was suspicious and paranoid of them. His favorite wife Miriam, he had killed. He also 189 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:24,680 had at least three and possibly four of his sons executed. It was either Caesar or Antonin, 190 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,200 I can't remember which now as I was reading about this, one of them made this quote, it 191 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:34,840 had better, it would have been better to be the swine of Herod than the son of Herod. 192 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:40,280 So Herod was ruthless. He had his brother-in-law who was a high priest killed by drowning. 193 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:45,960 He then had his mother-in-law executed. He was so evil that shortly before his death 194 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:50,440 he took the most illustrious, respectable citizens of Jerusalem, he arrested them and 195 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:57,400 imprisoned them. Now why did he do that? He knew that no one was going to mourn his death. 196 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:02,440 So he gave orders that when he died, these upstanding citizens whom he had imprisoned 197 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:07,800 were to be executed so that he could guarantee there would be mourning in Jerusalem when 198 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:14,040 he died. This is this Herod. Now you're going to see later, not today, Lord willing next 199 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:19,840 week, it's the same evil man who ordered all the male children in Bethlehem, two years 200 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:28,240 and younger, to be murdered. That's this man. He's despicable. He's a ruthless man. He's 201 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:34,840 seeking to maintain power and position as king of the Jews at all costs. I think it's 202 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:41,680 interesting. You have a man seeking to maintain power while the all-powerful one is lying 203 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:47,760 in weakness and human frailty. You see political power at its worst and divine power at its 204 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:53,760 best. So you can start to see his surprise, his fear, his paranoia. You have a caravan 205 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:58,480 of Eastern magi stroll into Jerusalem and they're looking for a child who was born 206 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:05,200 and they claimed he was king of the Jews. Now what was Herod's title? He was king of 207 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:14,400 the Jews. Again, foreshadowing, foreigners seeking this child, Israel and Herod himself 208 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:19,080 seem perplexed and have known nothing about it. Now verse three tells us that Herod and 209 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:24,640 all Jerusalem were troubled, Greek is terrazo and that means stirred, agitated. They're 210 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:33,240 anxious. Herod is a paranoid person by nature. The rival of these Eastern men only exacerbated 211 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:39,720 his problem so no doubt his anxiety and his paranoia were through the roof right now. 212 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:45,400 One commentator said this, the magi were important and powerful in the East so they probably 213 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:51,840 arrived with a large caravan of servants and soldiers which made their presence even more 214 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:58,560 unsettling to Herod. Do you see what Matthew is doing? He's setting up a contrast between 215 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:07,060 the humanly appointed king of the Jews who is a life taker. Contrast that with the divinely 216 00:23:07,060 --> 00:23:16,120 appointed king of the Jews who is a life giver and who will allow his own life to be taken. 217 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:19,760 Do you see the kingdom of man, the kingdom of God? Are you starting to see what Matthew 218 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:25,560 is doing? See Herod now, he knew that this child that these wise men were seeking still 219 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:30,680 had to be very young so he called all the leading religious officials in Jerusalem to 220 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:37,120 him and said, now where is this messiah feigning interest? Where is he going to be born? And 221 00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:40,960 of course they know how to answer correctly. They tell him it's Bethlehem. Why? Well that's 222 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:47,920 the birthplace that Micah had prophesied 700 years earlier. Now Herod decided I'm going 223 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:53,360 to do a little reconnaissance mission of mine. I'm going to start seeking. Verse 7, he secretly 224 00:23:53,360 --> 00:24:00,720 calls the Magi by again and he says, now when did this star appear? Now we are told that 225 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,960 earlier the Magi informed Herod they had seen his star in the east. Now let's just clear 226 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:09,240 up some confusion about the Christian story. The text at that point does not say that the 227 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:14,320 star moved and guided them to Jerusalem. They were in the east and they said they saw his 228 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:19,720 star. Now they saw this star and they somehow connected it to messianic prophecy and they 229 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:24,520 decided we need to head to Jerusalem to find this child. We're not given a lot of information 230 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:30,320 about that. So Herod, he's desperate. He wants to know more about the timing of this birth. 231 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:35,880 How old would this child be? Well he's wondering does this child already pose a threat to his 232 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:40,320 position? So that's why later you will learn just in case he's just going to wipe out a 233 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:46,040 group of young boys. Herod says, now tell me the whereabouts. When you find him, you 234 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:53,480 go find him, you let me know where he is because I also want to come and worship him. He pretends 235 00:24:53,480 --> 00:25:01,560 he's feigning this. Now verse 9 through 12, these Magi, they find Jesus. When they heard 236 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:07,780 the king, they knew the prophecy, they departed. Now notice the text, and behold the star which 237 00:25:07,780 --> 00:25:14,040 they had seen in the east. Now it goes before them till it came and stood over where the 238 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:18,760 young child was. Now they were surprised as when they saw the star, they rejoiced with 239 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:25,760 exceedingly great joy. Then they come into the house and pay homage, they worship. So 240 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:32,040 now immediately when they find out that Jesus is not in Jerusalem but in Bethlehem, they 241 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:38,600 leave. Bethlehem is only five miles outside of Jerusalem. It's not a long way. But how 242 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:42,520 would they know which house the Lord was in? He was not still in a manger, guys. This is 243 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:47,800 months ago. They were in a house at this point. How would they know which house was his? Now 244 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:54,400 at this point, the text tells us the star that they had earlier seen reappeared and 245 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:59,440 would now guide them to where the Christ was. Now there has been much debate on what this 246 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:04,240 star was. Probably more debate on the passage about the star than anything else. Some say 247 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:09,200 what was the comet or a meteor? Some say because they know that there's an alignment of two 248 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:13,560 planets, Saturn and Jupiter, that took place around that time and that would have made 249 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:20,320 a great sign in the sky. Others say no, it was just a supernatural star. Others say it 250 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:27,560 was the Shekinah glory of God. Now here's where we can be dogmatic. We don't know. 251 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:34,000 Whatever it was, it had been providentially directed by God to lead these magi to the 252 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:40,960 Messiah. Now I think a case can be made, now hear me out here, that it was the Shekinah 253 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:46,000 glory of God that was leading them. We read, and there's many reasons, I've tried to put 254 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:50,320 this in more succinct fashion. First of all, do you remember where was the Shekinah glory? 255 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:56,480 It was over the temple. It filled the temple. Who's this child to be born? He's the temple. 256 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,800 He's the true temple, the place where God and man meet. But anyways, in Luke 2, 9, you 257 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:05,840 know the Christmas story, behold an angel of the Lord stood before them, that's shepherds, 258 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:11,440 and the glory of the Lord shone around them, the glory of the Lord shone around them, and 259 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:15,960 they were greatly afraid. If you go back to the Old Testament, God's glory was manifested 260 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:21,440 by light, blazing light, ineffable light. Do you remember when Saul, when he meets the 261 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:27,520 risen Christ on the road to Damascus, that light was so bright, it blinded Saul. In fact, 262 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:33,160 we are told in Acts chapter 9, it was brighter than the sun. In Matthew 17, when our Lord 263 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:38,240 is transfigured before Peter, James, and John, we are told that Christ's face shone like 264 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:45,560 the sun, and his garments became white as light. In Revelation, the book of Revelation, 265 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:49,920 the final New Jerusalem, that eternal dwelling place, we are told there will not be a need 266 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:56,440 for the sun or the moon. Why? Because the glory of God will be the light. But here's 267 00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:00,160 what I think is most convincing to me. This is what made me really think this is reading 268 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:06,400 through this in St. Corinthians 4. Paul writing, he says, it is the God who commanded light 269 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:13,200 to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge, 270 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:23,180 now notice, of the glory of God, where? In the face of Jesus Christ. The glory of God 271 00:28:23,180 --> 00:28:30,920 resides in this child. I believe it is very reasonable, I would even say probable, that 272 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:36,060 the star or the light that the Magi had seen was the Shekinah glory of God leading them 273 00:28:36,060 --> 00:28:40,280 to Christ. And you're like, well, wouldn't everyone have seen it? Do you remember back 274 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:46,360 when Israel was being led out of Egypt? The light to them was light, and to Egypt it was 275 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:54,920 darkness. What was light to the people of God was darkness to the opponents of God. 276 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,760 Because God must reveal the sun. I think it's the same thing of the glory of God in the 277 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:04,160 face of Jesus Christ. Some people see him and desire him as this glorious one because 278 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:08,400 God has revealed it to them. He shows them light. So I think that's exactly what it was. 279 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:13,120 Now I do know it's not any ordinary star. Why? Because notice the text. These Magi, 280 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:19,560 they are professional astronomers, and they were amazed and rejoiced exceedingly when 281 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:23,160 they saw the star reappear. If this is just some star they're tracking, stars are very 282 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:28,480 consistent. They are exceedingly rejoicing. Like, wow, there it is again. We see it once 283 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:35,480 more. So they're rejoicing, and it says exceedingly. So what happens? Now they finally find the 284 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:42,320 house with the child. They go in. The Magi find the Christ, and here's what's interesting. 285 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:51,720 They fall prostrate before the child, worshiping him, proskoneo again, giving him gifts. These 286 00:29:51,720 --> 00:30:01,000 powerful, influential, Eastern dignitaries, they humble themselves before a child. No 287 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:10,400 more than two, perhaps one years old. Why? Because this child was God in the flesh. He 288 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:16,840 was the Messiah sent from God to save his people from their sin. The fact that they 289 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:24,120 worshiped him and they were not rebuked testifies to the deity of this child. They are not rebuked 290 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:29,000 for falling down. That's exactly what they should have done. Now Charles Wesley in the 291 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:34,000 Christmas hymn wrote it so poignantly. Do you remember that line that says, veiled in 292 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:44,080 flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity, pleased as man with men to dwell, 293 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:51,480 Jesus our Emmanuel. Now this doesn't stop there. This worship, this adoration continues. 294 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:56,440 Now this Magi, they bring gifts to our Lord. Yes, they were very expensive, which some 295 00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:00,920 people say that's probably how that Mary and Joseph funded their trip to back out of Egypt, 296 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:06,320 because you're going to see they have to flee. But they were gifts befitting the birth of 297 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:12,200 a king. Gold, anytime a royal family member was born, a royal figure was born, one of 298 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:18,080 the gifts that would be given by dignitaries would be gold, just common. You have frankincense, 299 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:24,280 a very expensive spice as well, but this was primarily used in priestly worship. So you 300 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:30,480 have a king, you have priestly worship, still expensive but not as expensive as frankincense. 301 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:40,760 But this was used in ancient times as an ointment to bury the dead. If these gifts are signs, 302 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:46,280 I believe they are, Matthew takes the time to write about them, then what you see is 303 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:55,240 a priestly king who would die. Matthew is once again proving to anyone who's going 304 00:31:55,240 --> 00:32:03,280 to read this gospel, the child born to these humble parents in Bethlehem is the king of 305 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:12,000 the Jews who would save his people by his bloody death. And you might be saying, so 306 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,840 what? How do you, what's this for us? I want you to think with me about the birthplace 307 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:21,960 for just a minute as we close. I told you earlier, Bethlehem means the house of bread. 308 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:27,480 Bethlehem was also known as the place of sheep. It's a shepherding town. It's the city of 309 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:33,800 David. David was the great shepherd king, right? Now the first mention of Bethlehem 310 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:38,840 is actually in Genesis 35. It's where Rachel was actually buried. Do you know what Rachel 311 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:44,760 means? It's a U, it's a female lamb, it's a U lamb. Where was she buried? At Migdal 312 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:52,160 Eder. Okay, that's a Hebrew name and it just simply translates tower of the flock. According 313 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,920 to Jewish history, and I looked at several articles and I found all of them supporting 314 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,840 this, a lot of information from reputable sites like the Gospel Coalition and others 315 00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:04,460 who say this. I found one who disapproves, but I'm one of the many that said it. According 316 00:33:04,460 --> 00:33:11,680 to Jewish history, it was at Migdal Eder in Bethlehem that unblemished firstborn male 317 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:15,680 lambs were born and they would wrap them because these were going to be sacrificial lambs. 318 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:20,120 Do you remember if you're going to sacrifice a lamb at Passover, you had to sacrifice a 319 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:24,120 lamb without blemish. Passover would take place in the spring so you would have all 320 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:28,800 these lambs being born around wintertime. So they wrapped in cloths, they brought to 321 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:37,040 Jerusalem so they could sacrifice them. Micah, you know 5-2, Micah 4-8 says this, and you 322 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:41,800 know tower of the flock. In Hebrew that's Migdal Eder. That's again where Rachel would 323 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:46,800 have been born, or buried, excuse me. The stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you 324 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:56,120 it shall come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. 325 00:33:56,120 --> 00:34:02,160 Micah tells us that this kingdom, this king, is somehow going to come from the tower of 326 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:06,960 the flock, Migdal Eder. Where is Migdal Eder? It's in Bethlehem. When the Lord Jesus of 327 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:12,680 Pears on the scene, do you remember how that prophet John the Baptist announces his arrival? 328 00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:19,360 Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We do know that when he 329 00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:24,600 was born he also was wrapped in cloths, we're told swaddling cloths. Later Mary and Joseph 330 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:30,120 would bring this child, this Lamb of God, in their arms and present him before the priest. 331 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:39,600 In fact they had to do so. Why? What's all this saying to us? That this child is the 332 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:50,600 true Passover Lamb who by offering himself as the final and ultimate sacrifice would 333 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:58,280 live up to his name and save his people from their sin. Do you remember Simeon I told you 334 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:02,320 just kind of in the beginning? He made that prophecy. He said many are going to fall and 335 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:09,320 many are going to rise on account of this child. Friends that is still true today. You 336 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:17,880 will fall and fall permanently and irreversibly if you reject this child. Amen. Irreversibly 337 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:25,960 you will fall. Headlong into eternal destruction. And you will rise and you will rise eternally 338 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:31,800 and irreversibly if you receive and accept him and the gracious offer of salvation that 339 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:37,560 he gives. This is the point of Matthew, this is the point of this church, this is the point 340 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:42,360 of God moving heaven and earth to announce the arrival of the Son. There is no other 341 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:50,020 one. This child, he alone is the Christ, the Messiah. He is the true King of the Jews. 342 00:35:50,020 --> 00:35:56,400 He is the only and unique and exclusive Savior of the world. So that means if you are here 343 00:35:56,400 --> 00:36:01,740 today, if you are to be saved, there is no other way ever possible for you to come before 344 00:36:01,740 --> 00:36:07,400 God and be rescued from your sin unless you come through him in repentant faith. That's 345 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:13,240 it. And here's the appropriate response. Do you know how, how do I know if I've seen Jesus 346 00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:17,320 truly? Here's the appropriate response. You're going to see him and when you see him through 347 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:20,760 the eyes of faith, just like the Magi did, you know what you're going to do? You're going 348 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:27,360 to fall down before him, prostrate, worshiping him, giving him honor just as his Magi did 349 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:34,200 because he's the worthy one. That's what Matthew is saying. Worship your King, church. Understand 350 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:41,160 what God has done for you in giving you Christ. What a blessed hope we have. We're going to 351 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:47,520 stand and we're going to sing two songs. First of all, just right now we're going to sing 352 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:53,120 one. We're going to sing a hymn that we normally do at Christmas. And that line that Charles 353 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:59,680 Wesley wrote is just too good. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity. 354 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:15,040 We're going to stand and sing.