THE WORSHIP OF JESUS
Matthew 2:1-12
A REMINDER OF CHRISTMAS
V:1-2. "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem
in Judea , during the time of King Herod, Magi from the
east came to Jerusalem .
2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king
of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
A. You should never take the Word of God lightly.
1. The Jews who
had been given the Word of God and made responsible
for teaching
the Word paid little attention to the Word.
2. Two years
earlier (according to verse 16) shepherds had been informed
that a king
of the Jews were born by angels.
3. The shepherds
immediately went to the place where the baby Jesus was
born.
4. The shepherds made
it known to the city that Jesus , the long awaited Messiah
was born
(Luke 2:17 ).
5. The Jews who
knew the scripture, did not make effort to see the baby Jesus.
6. They had the
testimony of Anna and Simeon in temple when Jesus was
dedicated at eight days of age.
7. The ruling
Jews had no interest in this life changing information.
B. Gentiles ( the Magi)
from another nation took note of the star that marked
His birth and
perhaps confirmed its significant with the Word of God.
1. The Magi were
astronomers and religious men
2. By their
calculations the star they saw in the sky pointed to Bethlehem .
THE BIRTH CONFIRMED BY SCRIPTURE
V:3-5. " When King Herod heard this he was disturbed,
and all Jerusalem with him.
4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests
and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5 "In Bethlehem
in Judea ," they replied, "for this is what the
prophet has written:
6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no
means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who
will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"
A. For those who study the Word, God has a way of reminding
us of the Word.
1. God has a way
of making us research the Word.
2. Two years after
the Jews heard the news of Jesus birth, God used strangers from
foreign
country to remind them.
B. 1. When Magi came looking for the new born king of the
Jews, King Herod
got upset.
2. Herod forced
the leading Jews to research the scriptures to confirm
the Magi's
conclusion.
3. By searching
the scripture leading Jews determine that the king would be
born in Bethlehem . (Micah 5:2, Nu 24:17)
4. By
searching the scripture they determined the time of His birth to
near the time
the Magi saw the star. (Daniel 9:24).
JESUS THE SUPER STAR
V:7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from
them the exact time the star had appeared. "
A. Having searched the scriptures, and knowing the truth
about the Messiah,
the experts on
the Old Testament, the Jews, were still unaffected by the
knowledge of their
new king.
1. Herod was
upset about the new king.
a. Herod made
plans to get rid of any opposition to him.
b. To make
sure his plan was not broadcast, he met with the Magi
in
secret.
2. The Magi were
excited to hear about the new King.
a. Upon first
sight of the star, they made plans to visit the king.
b. They
traveled a long distant to get to Bethlehem .
B. The birth of Jesus
was the fulfillment of a promise to the Jews.
1.The Jewish
leaders saw the baby as no threat to them and nothing to
be concerned
about.
2. Because the
religious leaders showed no excitement about the Christ,
the
community, showed no interest.
SEARCHING FOR JESUS
V:8. " He sent them to Bethlehem
and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find
him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
A. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
1. To appear as
if he wanted to worship, Herod ask the Magi to
come back and
tell the location of the child once they found Him.
2. It would be
strange for current king to worship his successor.
B. Without the Word of God guiding your life, your
environment becomes
your norm.
1. The Roman
government was corrupt., therefore the Jewish government
of religious
affairs was corrupt.
2. The life of a
man was only worth what you could gain from it.
a. John the
Baptist was beheaded for dance of a young girl.
b. The life of
a Jewish citizen was only worth what the Jewish
leaders
could gain from it.
c. Jesus, a
Jewish King was a threat to the Jewish leaders corrupt
authority.
C. Herod intended to kill Jesus, a baby of two years or less
to protect
his position.
1. His position of
king was not in jeopardy.
2. Jesus did not
come to be a physical king but He came to
to the
spiritual king of all believers.
THE LORDS GUIDANCE
V:9-10. " After they had heard the king, they went on
their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it
stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. "
A. Notice, God did not light up the guiding star until after
the Magi had left Herod.
1. God used the
Magi to announce to Herod that a king was born and to
remind the
Jewish leaders of the prophecy of Jesus birth.
2. The Magi was
never lost because they had the spirit of God guiding them.
a. God does
not tell us what full story of our life is.
b. If we trust
Him, He will guide us in the right direction.
c. The steps
of a good man are ordered by the Lord.
B. The Magi's first stop was Jerusalem .
1. They knew this
because of the position of star when they first
saw it's
appearance.
2. Their next stop
was Bethlehem because the guiding
star reappeared
in the sky.
3. When God is
directing our path, we are never walking in the dark.
C. When God gives us evidence of His presence in our lives,
we ought
to rejoice.
1. God is always
presence in the life of a believer.
2. Sometime God
has to remind us when we are looking to the
wrong people
for directions.
3. Herod and the
Jewish experts had no idea where to find Jesus.
4. But God who is
omniscience, knew the exact location of the child.
WORSHIP FROM THE HEART WITH GIFTS
V:11-12. " On coming to the house, they saw the child
with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened
their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of
myrrh.
12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to
Herod, they returned to their country by another route. "
A. One of the things we need to do is correct our normal
nativity scene.
1. The Magi or the
wise men never saw Jesus in the manager at His birth.
2. The Magi saw
Jesus as a child, one to two years old.
3. The Magi saw
Jesus in a house, not a manager for animals.
B. The Magi did come to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the
king of the Jews.
1. The Magi came
bearing gifts.
2. We really don't
know how many Magi were traveling together.
3. What we know is
they brought three types of gifts.
4. The three types
of gifts may be symbolic of the characteristics of Jesus.
a. The gold
may represent his kingship.
b. The incense
may represent the mercy seat, the atonement of our sins.
c. The myrrh
may represent His death.
C. What God has for us, no one can take.
1. Herod intended
to kill Jesus once the Magi told him the location.
2. But God
directed the Magi not to go back to Herod, but to go in a
different
direction.
3. No one can stop
you from getting to Jesus.
4. No one can come
to Jesus unless the Father draws him/her.
5. On our journey
through this life, we must be in constant
communication
with the Father.
6. God has places
for us to go that He does not always tell us
beforehand.
THANK GOD FOR JESUS
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lessons, follow me on facebook or
visit my blogs, revmmitchell.com and
goodnewsrevmmitc.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment