Many of us may be quite familiar with the accounts of the Christmas story that we see in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Today we’ll be in Matthew 2:1-12.
Many of us have some great memories formed around Christmas.
Almost always those memories include gifts.
Have you ever thought about why we are so excited to get/give gifts?
What is the price of a gift?
Well it depends, on where you stand.
Some gifts are quite simple and cheap, but heartfelt, others are quite costly and complex, and some…some are not actually gifts at all, but burdens.
But the price of the gift is usually born by the giver…except in the case of Ralphie…he fully paid the price of that gift.
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We’ll see throughout this series, the greatest gift ever, which is God come down to live with us…Immanuel, was born as a baby. He was a child, then a teen, then a man…always God, newly man.
He never sinned, and gave us a priceless gift that we could never have paid for ourselves…you see He paid something He didn’t owe, and gave us something we didn’t deserve, and could never have paid for ourselves anyway….and that is why He is the greatest gift of all.
Matthew 2:1-12
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 Jerusalem,2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After 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. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And 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. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
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Now After
Verse 1 says:
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 Jerusalem,
The first two words say “Now After”.
Let’s not skip past that.
Look at Luke 2:1-2:
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Quirinius
We can look at the time that Quirinius was appointed governor which is known (Late 6 BC/Early 5 BC).
“Now After”
this is after the birth of Christ in the town of Bethlehem of Judea.
Why do they say Bethlehem of Judea.
Bethlehem
Two towns named Bethlehem in Ancient Palestine:
Bethlehem of Galilee (near Nazareth) and Bethlehem of Judea.
Interesting, because Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census, and they were there when Jesus was born.
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The Maggi
Next we see in this verse that the visit of the Maggi occurred when Herod was the King.
King Herod
He did some horrible things to people in Judah. He was the appointed King, installed by the Roman Emperor because of “Political and Familial” ties.
He was an Idumean (or of the people of Edom), but had converted to Judaism. He ruled Judah and Israel from 37-4 BC.
So we can really narrow down the visit of the Maggi to a time when Jesus was about 1 or 2 years old.
He was born in 6 BC, and the visit came at the end of Herod’s reign likely around 4 BC.
Look at what the Maggi said in verse 2.
“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
They traveled 800 miles following a star to worship the new born King, a baby/toddler.
There was a little k king on the throne in Jerusalem, but the Big K KING was born in a stable. The wise men came and worshiped.
・Babylon to Jerusalem (800 Miles)
・40 days of following the star
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The fulfillment of the prophecy in Micah
Our text goes on to say:
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
The chief priests and Scribes were summoned, and they quoted for Herod the prophecy in Micah.
Micah 5:2-5a says:
2But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace.
Christ is the only possibility for the fulfillment of this prophecy!
Ephrathah
More than 700 years before, it was declared that He will be born in Ephrathah! Ephrathah is the ancient name for Bethlehem of Judah, distinguishing it from the other Bethlehem.
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Herod summoned the wise men to himself.
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
He had called the Maggi to the King of Judea. These men who were on a 800 mile mission, hit pause in their schedule, to go visit Herod.
Well the Maggi left the palace and continued on their mission.
9 After 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. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
The star
There is some conjecture among modern scholars as to what is this star that the wise men had seen.
Some posit that it was an alignment of Jupiter Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. Some explain it by saying it is a supernova occurring around the time of His birth.
But none of these explain the phenomenon of the star moving when they left Herod and coming to rest over where the child was.
For this reason, I believe that this was a supernatural phenomenon, placed by God to lead the wise men to His son.
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The fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah
11 And 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.
Here are Maggi, who are not Jewish, who have traveled hundreds of miles, laying eyes on Jesus, Fully God and Fully Man.
Their response was appropriate. They saw Jesus and fell down and worshiped Jesus.
And the gifts that they brought Him are more than appropriate.
Gold: a gift for His royalty
Frankincense: a gift for His deity
Myrrh: a gift for his Humanity
Not only are these gifts appropriate, this event was also prophesied about in Isaiah 700 years before.
Look at Isaiah 60:1-6:
1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
So we see the right worship of these educated men. They laid down gifts commensurate to the attributes of Jesus, the Son of God.
12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
It is God saying,
Here HE IS!!!!
My Son!
The chosen one of Prophecy.
The wise men received the message with great Joy!
They said, Herod…you can’t steal my joy!
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He is more precious than gold
So here we are thousands of years later, reading the account of the birth of Christ as depicted in the Gospel of Matthew.
Maybe it took you some time to get here (meaning in your spiritual walk).
But does the revelation of Christ inspire worship in your heart?
Do you realize that you are in the presence of Royalty?
He is more precious than gold. He is not only born King of the Jews…
He is the King of Kings.
The prophets knew it, the wise men knew it.
I know it. Do you?
Have you received this gift?
He is truly the greatest gift ever, and He is worthy of our worship.
So as you give your gifts this season, recognize that when you do this, it is symbolic of the expressed love of God.
He has given us a gift of unsurpassed value, in sending His son…fully God and fully man, more precious than gold.
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Discussion Questions:
- What in your mind is most profound about the coming of Christ as presented in Matthew 2:1-12?
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- What is the greatest gift you have ever received? Where is that gift today? Do you still have it?
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- Which of the qualities of Christ rises to the top of your heart as you worship Jesus? His Royalty? His Deity? His Humanity? Explain why this is the quality that you focus on.
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- How can you use the act of gift giving this season to not only share your love, but share the love of Jesus?
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