Wise Men

Scripture: Matthew 2: 1-12

¹  Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,^] and we have come to worship him.”

³ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. ⁴ He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

⁶ ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
    are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’^]”

⁷ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. ⁸ Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

⁹ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Introduction

As you know, I am an incurable list maker. Today, I have a list of things that WISE MEN DO and they come right from the scripture. It is not my list and that is what makes it worth sharing.

• WISE MEN SEEK JESUS:
  “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? [V.2] These wise men are probably students of Daniel. They are highly intelligent, scholarly men. No doubt men of great wealth and they are GENTILES. Are you not glad that Jesus came to save the world–rich or poor, shepherd or kings, Jews and Gentiles, the elites and the lowly.
• WISE MEN ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS AS KING
  “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,and we have come to worship him.” [V.2] Herod was a cruel man who had wives and children [his own] executed. Herod was an Idumaean which means he was only half Jew. The Idumaeans were descendants of Esau the hedonist, but he was familiar with prophecy, that the Jews were waiting on a DAVID LIKE king to appear and deliver them from their oppressors. Herod felt threatened. The WISE MEN are Gentiles and they are seeking to worship the King of the Jews yet the Jews show little or no interest in what the WISE MEN have to say. Jesus is born less than 6 miles from where they are standing and they never check it out: UNBELIEVABLE! What gross pride and indifference!
• WISE MEN CELEBRATE JESUS:
  When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!  [V.10] The AV reads, “They rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” Exceeding Joy is more than we can contain–it overflowing joy. The Greek word for GREAT is Mega and refers to weight and size. The Williams Translation reads…”They were thrilled with ecstatic joy.” I seen a picture of this exceeding great joy, ecstatic joy a few weeks ago when Alabama came from behind and won the SEC championship game. The entire room erupted with ecstatic joy.
• WISE MEN WORSHIP JESUS
  They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  [V.11] Their bowing was an acknowledgement that Jesus {Child} was greater, that He indeed was their Sovereign, their king. But bowing doesn’t authenticate worship, giving does! As an act of worship, they presented their gifts: Gold [king], frankincense [priest] and myrrh [savior].
• WISE MEN SEEK TO PLEASE GOD RATHER THAN MEN
  When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.  [V.12] Herod is a type of the devil: Herod was a liar and a murderer just like Satan. Satan is the prince of this world system, he wants you to bow to him, not Jesus. He loathes Jesus. He hates Jesus with all of his being because Jesus is the center piece of heaven and Satan became jealous. He wants to be the center. There is a huge difference between the prince of this world and the PRINCE OF PEACE. Jesus loves you: Satan only wants to use you to get at Jesus. Don’t let him con you into bowing to this world.