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The First Sunday After Epiphany
January 10, 2010
The Visit of the Wise Men from the East
TEXT: NKJ Matthew 2:1 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 have seen His
star in the East and have come to worship Him." 3 When Herod the king heard
this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered
all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them
where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of
Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a
Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.' " 7 Then Herod, when he had secretly
called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he
sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child,
and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship
Him also." 9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which
they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where
the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly
great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child
with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened
their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12
Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod,
they departed for their own country another way.
The Wise Men Were from Babylon
TEXT: NKJ Matthew 2:1 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 have seen His
star in the East and have come to worship Him."
Historians who study such things have determined that the wise men came from
Babylon—this was an area that studied the things of the sky such as astrology
and especially astronomy—they would also have the prophecy of Daniel during the
captivity that took place some 600 years prior—Daniel would have surely told
them the things of the Old Testament—Daniel was placed in charge of all the wise
men of Babylon
NKJ Daniel 2:48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and
he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator
over all the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel had quite a reputation in Babylon—when the handwriting appeared on the
wall of the banquet hall, the queen reminded the king that Daniel was a man of
God who had a history of interpreting the meaning of dreams—and he was given
charge of the wise men of Babylon
NKJ Daniel 5:11 "There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the
Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom,
like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your
father -- your father the king -- made him chief of the magicians, astrologers,
Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
Why Was Jesus Born at This Time?
We discussed before the fact that Jesus was born at a time when the Romans had
conquered the know world—and that meant no wars—there was for just a short
period of history true world peace—peace in a physical sense—Satan was still
very active
But there is another reason for the timing of God sending His Son at this
particular time—it is the fulfillment of a prophecy established by Jacob as he
blessed his sons just prior to his death—as he was speaking to his son Judah he
said this
NKJ Genesis 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from
between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the
people.
At the time of Jesus’ coming there was a Gentile king placed over the Israelites
by the Roman government—King Herod—an Edomite—had been at war with the Jews for
about 30 years—constantly trying to strike down the Jews and control them—a
non-Jewish king sat in reign over the Jews—therefore the timing of Jesus’ coming
into this world is when the scepter was departing from Judah—Jesus, the Christ,
came to establish His Kingdom
There was no hope of getting rid of King Herod—Jacob’s prophecy had been
fulfilled—the time was at hand for the coming of the King of the Jews—the
scepter was now departed from Judah—a stranger was ruling the Jews—and Herod was
in the process of replacing the priests of the temple and instructing how to
worship—he was replacing God with himself
Isaiah’s Prophecy is Fulfilled by the Wise Men
Why did God have to use these wise men to show the Baby Jesus—the Promised
One—the Messiah—to the people that were called God’s people?—As we discussed
before—Bethlehem is very near to Jerusalem—and the shepherd’s words would surely
have found their way to all attentive ears in the area within a short period of
time—but because of the necessity to wait for Mary’s days of purification—6
weeks according to the Law—Mary, Joseph, and the Child would remain in Bethlehem
for that time—during this time the wise men would arrive seeking the Child—the
new king
The supposed wise men of God’s Law—the rabbis, Pharisees, and learned Scriptural
scholars had not recognized Jesus as the Christ when announced by the
shepherds—so God sent these wise men from Arabia to fulfill Scriptural
prophecy—perhaps they would see God’s Son through the message of these
foreigners—the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was read in every synagogue every
week—and Isaiah said this
NKJ Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD
is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep
darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be
seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles 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 nursed at your side. 5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy; Because the abundance of the sea shall be
turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. 6 The multitude of
camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those
from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall
proclaim the praises of the LORD.
Jesus is the Light of the world—His birth announcement to the Jews was made by
the bright light of the angel speaking with the shepherds—the birth announcement
to the Gentiles was made by the bright light of the star which led the wise men
from the East to the place of His birth—Isaiah’s prophecy speaks of the
light—the Lord rising over man—and those bring the gifts from Sheba—a place in
Arabia—Jesus—the Light of the world indeed—His birth announced to the Jews
through the Angel in the field—and that same birth of that same Savior announced
to the Gentiles using a star—each announcement made in a way that the recipient
of the announcement would understand that this was truly God speaking to them
Consider the opening verses of the Gospel of John—and we recognize who Jesus
is—and the symbolism of the birth and the birth announcement becomes clear—He is
the Light—but not everyone will see the Light
NKJ John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through
Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the
life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not comprehend it.... 10 He was in the world, and the world was
made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His
own did not receive Him.
Why Did the Star Stop at Jerusalem?
The Jews were very familiar with the Scriptures—they were awaiting the
Savior—Simeon and Anna were awaiting the Baby in the temple—why did the star
stop at Jerusalem?—worldly wisdom might lead us to the years of King
Solomon—when the Queen of Sheba came to see the wisdom of Solomon—she wanted to
know all things—she came to the center of the Jewish government—Jerusalem—to
seek the King—now the wise men seek the new king who was known by the star in
the sky—and they come look for Him in Jerusalem
The spiritual symbolism of this part of the story lies in how we truly find
Christ—we do not find Him via the wisdom of this world—we find Him using the
Scriptures—to continue this spiritual understanding—let’s return briefly to the
announcement of the birth—the angel spoke to the shepherds and told them they
would find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes—there was no further
announcement—any man who would seek the Child would have to peel back the layers
of Scripture (the swaddling clothes) to see Him—in His ministry, Jesus taught
us—
NKJ John 5:37 "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You
have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 "But you do not
have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and
these are they which testify of Me. 40 "But you are not willing to come to Me
that you may have life. 41 "I do not receive honor from men. 42 "But I know you,
that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 "I have come in My Father's
name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will
receive. 44 "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not
seek the honor that comes from the only God? 45 "Do not think that I shall
accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you
trust. 46 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about
Me. 47 "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
The wise men came looking for the King of the Jews—and they were told where the
Scriptures state He would be—if He existed, He would have to be in Bethlehem—if
we seek our Savior—we must also seek Him in God’s Word—and not in the teachings
or opinions of man—we know from Paul’s letters to the Church that we need to
test every teaching against God’s Word
NKJ 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
The star ended at Jerusalem to give us another view of God’s grace—when the wise
men asked where the Child might be—the only place anyone could recommend to seek
Him was in the Scriptures—when the birth of Christ was announced to the Jews by
the shepherds in the field—the Jews did not make the easy stroll to visit and
worship Him in Bethlehem—a 6 to 10 mile walk—but the Gentiles were given a sign
in the sky—they had faith—they made the long and difficult trek to worship
Him—just as Jesus told us latter
(Matthew 8:11-12 NKJ) "And I say to you that many will come from east and
west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12
"But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Let us all be fools in the eyes of the wise of this world—and wise in the eyes
of God—seek the Savior in the Word—seek the Light in the darkness of the
world—give directions to all who want to know where to find Him—He is wrapped in
the Scriptures
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!