Sermon Central
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Christmas Sunday 2019 - Who Are The Wise Men? Series
Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Dec 21, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: In the account of the Wise Men in Matthew 2 we see a grand variety of characters. All who are living can be placed somewhere in the spectrum of characters ranging from Herod to the Magi. Let's examine ourselves to see where we fit into the narrative.
Christmas Sunday 2019 – Who Are the Wise Men?
Please stand as we read our newest memory Scripture together …
“To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy –
“To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
And our memory refresher verse(s) for today is(are) …
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Please open your Bibles to Matthew 2:1-12
The season of Advent is a time of waiting to celebrate the birth of Jesus; the moment in history when the Son of God became the God-Man. As it says in John 1:14, “And the Word (the Second Person of the Trinity) became flesh and made His dwelling among us …”
But today we are going to kind of skip right over that and take a look that occurred after Jesus’ birth; the arrival of the Wise Men.
So, how did we get to the point where the Wise Men came to see Jesus?
(Tell briefly in own words the following)
Gabriel and Mary
An angel and Joseph
Caesar’s census and the trip to Bethlehem
Jesus presented at the temple
Now we come to the point where the Wise Men enter the picture
Read: Matthew 2:1-12
(Prayer for help)
Now, let’s go through this passage again with a little more of a careful examination …
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem …”
Magi is a Greek word for those with advanced knowledge of astronomy, astrology, and various types of sciences and philosophies.
Who are these Wise Men or the Magi as they are called in some translations of the Bible?
No one really knows for sure but what we do know is …
Babylon …
We know that when Judah was taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians, they took the gold and silver furnishings of the Temple and they took the sacred writings as well as some of the Jewish scholars.
The Babylonians kind of “collected” religions as they conquered nations.
Great respect was given to the God of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar because of the great acts He did through His faithful servants Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Many of the Wise Men in those times were also astrologers who often believed that stars would signal the birth of a great person or ruler.
Now, we see in the Old Testament just such a prophecy, a prophecy that the Wise Men of the east might have known about.
The prophecy says, “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”
Who wrote that prophecy?
Was it Daniel? Was it Isaiah or Jeremiah? Was it King David? Was it Moses the Law Giver? Was it Abraham, Isaac or Jacob the patriarchs of Israel? Was it Noah the builder of the Ark? No, it was none of these …
It was been Balaam, a wicked prophet. But even though he was wicked the God of Israel chose to speak through him when he was called on to curse the armies of Israel by Balak.
OK. Based on the evidence we have we can safely assume:
- Some wise men saw a star that was so dramatically different that they were driven to find a reason for the star
- The wise men had access to Jewish Scripture
- They found the prophecy of Balaam
- They were so driven by this amazing star and the prophecy that they went in search of an answer to the question that was burning in their hearts.
- And … what was that question?
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:2)
This is NOT a question Herod wanted to hear!
What? Someone has been born King of the Jews?
There has been a star? Did anyone here see a star?
You’re going to do what? You’re going to worship Him?
I am King Herod and no one worships me! Sometimes they grovel. Sometimes they whine and whimper but no one actually worships me!
“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.”
You bet Herod was troubled! He would murder his own sons if he thought they were a threat to his position!
