Sunday Morning Service

Matthew 2 (click title for audio access)

"Who Will Sit On The Throne?" • 4.18.10 • Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- The coming of Christ into the world caused a great stir in Joseph and Mary's lives, but that won't be all. The ripple effect carried into places all over the world at that time.

- Christ's coming was not very public in terms of marketing, but it was not really private either.

- Jewish shepherds, lowly men, saw angels in their fields on the night of His birth

- The glory that they saw in the sky was not isolated to their vision.

- Far off in the East, a mysterious group of Persian Wise Men observe something strange, that they identify with royalty. Their journey takes several months, but it began that night.

- Soon this baby Messiah, God in human flesh, has already begun to draw visitors to Himself.

˚ "A stir begins as soon as Christ is born. He has not spoken a word; he has not wrought a miracle; he has not proclaimed a single doctrine; but ‘when Jesus was born,’ at the very first, while as yet you hear nothing but infant cries, and can see nothing but infant weakness, still his influence upon the world is manifest...There is infinite power even in an infant Savior." Charles Spurgeon

- Jesus Christ makes a difference! He will not stay isolated. He will not be relegated to a passive issue in the lives of anyone who is exposed to Him.

- Today, as we continue our study in the book of Matthew, we'll see in history just how the men of the world responded to Him then and how similar that response is today.

Text

• Matthew 2:1-6 : "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, 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.' When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 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. So they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘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.’" : As much as 2 years have passed since the end of chapter 1. - Jesus was born in a small village. Bethlehem was a only 6 miles from Jerusalem. It was the home of King David and the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

- Other than those facts, nothing really signifcant happened there.

- Bethlehem fell under the jurisdiction of Herod the Great, a 35 year veteran ruler of Judea. History tells us that was 4 feet tall and he had at least 10 wives! He was murderous old man!

- He killed one of his wives, her mother and his 3 sons thinking that they were plotting to take over his throne! Caesar Augustus said of him, “It is safer to be Herod’s pig than his son.”

- Herod, realizing at his death that nobody would mourn him, ordered that certain Jewish noblemen would be killed so that there would be mourners at the same time as His death.

- His name would have been more suitable had it been "Herod Not So Great!"

- About that time, a large caravan of Magi, complete with armed guard and escort, came from the East. "Magi" was a catch all phrase for astrologers, philoshophers and magicians.

- It's been speculated that these Magi were descendants of the prophet Daniel's magi from Daniel 5:11.

- Their question, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews," reached the ears of Herod, "troubling" he and all of Jerusalem with him.

- The word "troubled" refers to a disquieting of soul. An agitation to their souls occured.

- Herod was troubled because of what he had gone through to maintain his power. The people were troubled because they feared what he might do.

- Herod held a reception for the religious leaders to gather information about the birthplace of the Messiah. They know the scriptures. They would know where to turn for this information.

- in this case they turn him to Micah 5:1-4, which foretells the birthplace of Jesus and that He will shepherd His people. So what did they do with this information?

- The scribes and Pharisees jumped on the first camel to go see for themselves! Nope! They got on the phone and checked with a relative in Bethlehem? Nope.

- They did not even look in the direction of Bethlehem to see if it could possibly be true. Sadly, thier knowledge of God's Word did not propel them to go and search themselves.

- There is a warning here isn't there? It's possible to know the scriptures, but not know the one that the scriptures speak of!

- Please remember that we learn the Word to love the Word! That should be our goal.

- For these comfortably compromised religious leaders, the six mile trek was not worth making.

- Contrast this with the Magi, who have come a long way, at a large cost to themselves just for a glimpse of what the scribes and Pharisees are willing to ignore.

• Matthew 2:7-12 : "Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 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.' 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. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 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. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way." : Herod asks them to do the dirty work with the pretense of wanting also to worship Him. His rouse with the Magi initially seems to have worked.

- The magi found the star which they had been the reason for their journey.

- Much has been made about Christ's star. I recently watched a television program that addressed potential astronomical phenomena that might account for this star.

- It's been Jupiter and Saturn in formation, it's been Aries. Halley's comet has also been blamed. This phenomena however, is not naturally occurring.

- Notice the words, "till it came and stood over." In other words, this was a moving star. It would be much more in line with another celestial phenomena from the Old Testament.

- I suspect that this was the same pillar of fire that covered the camp of Israel, the Shekinah glory of God Himself. God was making a very public statement to those who were looking.

- They indeed found the infant Jesus with Mary in the house. This does not jibe with our manger scenes! The word "young child" puts this event a few years into Christ's earthly life.

- Their gift of gold was a gift intended for royalty. Frankincense speaks to priestly activity. Myrhh speaks to death! Myrhh was basically embalming fluid!

- The gifts were very telling regarding their feelings about this wonderful child.

- After this experience, the Lord intervenes and tells the Magi not to give away the location of Jesus to Herod and they flee the scene.

- Note that God helped the Magi, both with a sign in the heavens, as well as a dream in the night. This is the second time that God has come in a dream in the book of Matthew.

- God has left His Word in prophecy to the religious people. Here in the absence of His Word among the Magi, God met them in ways that they could understand, ie. through celestial signs.

• Matthew 2:13-15 : "Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.'" : The Magi were not the only ones with a dream visit. Joseph also received warning from the Lord.

- This led to a night flight down into Egypt, about a 75 mile journey. During the intertestamental period, Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in Egypt.

- There was a large group of Jewish people that lived there during this same time.

- God protects Christ in the nation of Egypt, just as He had done with the nation of Israel in the beginning. The Lord grew Israel as a nation in a place where the racial sensitivities were such that no Egyptian would have anything to do with a foreigner.

- Here, He brings Jesus back into that place, a place synonymous in the minds of the Israeli's with their birth and with their introduction to their powerful God.

- Matthew is showing us that Jesus is the perfect intention of God in Israel's experience.

- He is the true Israel, who has been brought out of Egypt to show the ultimate power of God.

• Matthew 2:16-18 : "Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 'A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.'" : When Herod learned that the Magi were gone, it sent him into a murderous rage.

- This was nothing new for Herod, who was a violent man with little regard for any human's life, including that of his own family, especially in the latter years of his reign.

- Herod became more and more paranoid. We can see that paranoia here.

- His answer? Murder! Here he murders, as the Pharoah had done in ancient times, the young children of the people of Israel, a satanically inspired act, meant to snuff out the Messiah.

- This is such a heinous, but one unattested to in secular history. This points both to Bethlehem's insignificance and to the constant terror that Herod brought upon the people.

- God knew these people and He had foretold that this would take place in Jeremiah 31:15.

• Matthew 2:19-23 : "Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.' Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'" : Josephus, the Jewish historian wrote about Herod's death this way:

“Herod died of this, ulcerated entrails, putrified and maggot filled organs, constant convulsions, foul breath and neither physicians nor warm baths led to recovery.” Josephus

- I have never heard of anyone dying of "foul breath!" That's pretty bad!

- By the way, please notice the progression of Herod's story: At the beginning of the chapter, he is reigning comfortably. In the middle, he is rejecting Christ and His rule.

- At the end, Herod the Great is dead and Jesus is alive! This is the way it always is!

- Christ has outlived everyone that thought they could snuff Him out!

- The immediate threat to Jesus’ life has passed. For Joseph, that means another dream, another visitation. Joseph was a big sleeper! Another reason to like the guy!

- He gets called out of Egypt in a dream, but then discovers that Herod's son Archelaus was ruling in Judea! This was hardly a step up. Archelaus proved the saying, "Like Father, Like Son!

- This isn't recorded, but I imagine that Joseph got his pajamas on, drank some warm milk and went to sleep! Sure enough, in yet another dream, God warned Him to turn aside.

- This brought them to Nazareth, which would later be identified as Christ's hometown.

- I might have picked a more glamorous place. Nazareth suffered from an ill reputation all of it's days. Jesus came to be identified as Jesus of Nazareth.

- You'll note here that Matthew says that this fulfilled prophecy. Make sure you observe that verse 23 diverges from the usual form. It speaks of a general teaching from the prophets.

- Usually, there is a specific prophet in mind. Here, the general concept was shared throughout the Old Testament. He would be despised and rejected by men. Being fromNazareth would help!

Conclusion

- As we close today, I want us to consider these three responses that are exposed for us today in this scripture. There are those who are completely opposed to Christ

- These people will go to great lengths to rid their consciousness of Christ. What harm will they do to people around them who expose Christ to them?

- Herod did not want to bow the knee to this Jewish baby. This baby would not be King over him. Christ would not have a place of power in his life and in his world.

- Then there are those like the religious leaders of that day. They are indifferent, unconcerned about Christ and who He represents.

- They will relegate Him to a place that doesn't threaten the claim to their own life.

- They might enjoy a few facts about Him and maybe even take part in some "traditional services" but He is kept at arms length.

- Then there are the Magi. They are the ones that are drawn to the Lord, who take the long and costly trip. These are the ones who get to see Jesus.

- Jesus is the King and that demands a response from us.

- Some will respond with rage and hatred. They will seek to destroy the Lord's influence in their lives.

- Some will respond with indifference. They are too consumed with their own lives, too comfortable with their own decisions to really be concerned with this Jesus.

- Some like the Magi will find Him and rejoice with exceeding joy, unmatched in any way.