Men: Wise & Foolish

Matthew 2

Introduction

I've had the honor to see many of our recent presidents, vice presidents, and candidates for this office over the last 20 years. It's always amazing to me the preparations that take place and the respect and honor that is associated with their presence.

We have this innate sense that we need to show honor for the fact that they came to visit. A lot of times I see local dignitaries present gifts - something that means a lot to them and represents something significant about the local area.

Well, imagine you are Mary and Joseph. They've already had it hard enough - Mary being pregnant outside of marriage - probably ostracized by family - leaving Nazareth and traveling alone to a town where they barely found a cave in order to have the baby - all the while knowing that this baby was special - but other than a group of rag tag shepherds - no one has paid them much mind.

Until one day - when a large caravan arrives at the front door - and very important people arrive that have journeyed hundreds of miles to honor that baby. It must have been exciting and fulfilling - at last someone else sees and recognizes what God told us.

But as we're going to see as we study chapter 2 or Matthew - that joy would be short-lived, replaced with fear and another flight to safety.

Verse 1 - 2

Matt 2:1-2
2:1 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."

It's intriguing that Matthew skips right over the birth of Jesus - we go from Joseph obeying the angel to stay betrothed to Mary - to the words: "After the birth." The question is, why?

Scholars don't offer us many clues - I have a suggestion - that is, Matthew's point is about the pedigree and position of the King Jesus. So we go from his family tree, which certifies that He is in the line of David - to his father obeying God so the child's line will be complete - to the proclamation of His kingdom by the visiting "wise men."

Not only does His family line point to His kingship - but now others, independent from the family and even from the nation, step forward to worship Him and give credence to His kingdom.

Look what they say: "where is the one who is born King of the Jews?"

The Magi

Now - who were the Magi? We're going to crush several myths today - and the Magi is one of them. The term was used originally of those who were of the priestly caste in Persia and Babylonia. Later it became the word used for any sorcerer or charlatan. But Matthew uses it to denote honorable men from an eastern religion. Myth #1 They were not kings - and we don't know their names.
(Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar)

They probably heard about the Christ from either Jewish exiles, or from the writings of Daniel the prophet who served as Prime Minister of Babylon and who prophesied about the coming of Messiah.

The Star

Verse 2 says they followed a star. Many have theorized about this star - some say it was a supernova, or a comet, or even an angel. We simply don't know - but we do know that these men followed this "star" but then somehow it disappeared when they arrived at the Jewish capitol of Jerusalem.

I think the reason is that God wanted the King Jesus proclaimed - not just to the family of the king, but to His nation. God was putting Herod on notice, and using an on again, off again star to get the job done.

Side Note

On a side note - do you sometimes wonder why God seems to be doing the things He is in your life? Do you follow Him and then suddenly feel like He's abandoned you? Don't panic - just continue to proclaim His Lordship in your life no matter you are - because you don't know what or where He's going to use you next.

So since the star disappeared, the Magi come to Jerusalem to find out more information - probably assuming that since they are searching, the rulers of the nation would no doubt know where He was.

Verse 3

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

Herod was disturbed - well I hope so. He had good reason to be disturbed. Herod - who was actually an Arab descended from Esau - was appointed to the throne by Rome. He considered himself Jewish by religion as his people had been forcefully converted a century earlier.

Herod was probably mentally unstable by this time - and worried that a Jewish baby born in the royal line might overthrow him. Herod had no right to the throne as Jesus did.

Myth #2 - the Magi did not come alone, riding on three donkeys. They probably had an entourage with them some have suggested was in the hundreds.

Verses 4 - 6

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.'"

It is odd that the scribes would know so surely where the Messiah was to be born - in David's town of Bethlehem, but wouldn't do anything about it.

Verses 7 - 8

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 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."

Of course, Herod has no intention of "worshiping" the child - but wants to kill him.

Verses 9 - 10

9 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.

The star "appeared" to move - but the distance from Jerusalem to Bethlehem is only 10 miles so any star would have to be less than a mile high in order to actually appear to move. It's more likely then that this "star" was a supernatural appearance - like the pillar of fire for the Israelites during their journey from Egypt.

Verses 11 - 12

11 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.

Myth #3 - the Wise men came with the shepherds to the manger on Christmas Eve. Sorry. It's more likely that Jesus was at least two years old. We find two of the reasons for this here -

1. The word "Child" is used - in Greek Paheedeeon - a childling. Whereas in Luke 2 Jesus is called an "infant" or Brephos - on the night of his birth.
2. The Magi come to a "house" not a stable. By this time Mary and Joseph have taken up residence in Bethlehem.

The Gifts

The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were three valuable items often imported from the east. They of course have significance far beyond their value.

One commentator put it this way -

Gold - Jesus the King
Frankincense - Jesus the Son of God
Myrrh - signifying that He would die (they used myrrh in burials)

Gold is obvious -
Frankincense is incense made from the sap of the Boswellia tree found in southern Arabia. It was used to make incense to burn in temples - that may be why it was thought to signify deity.

Their posture was the same as would have been afforded a god or king - clearly they knew this person was VERY VERY special.

Verse 12


We think that after the dream they just packed up their three donkeys and went another way - but given the size of their entourage and the fact that all main roads went to Jerusalem - they would have had a difficult time getting away without Herod seeing them. They would have most likely gone way south to Hebron, then over to Gaza and north through Nazareth and then on out of the country that way.

Verses 13 - 15

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

God again speaks through dreams - this time telling Joseph to get out - quickly. God even reveals to Joseph why - in contrast to earlier.

This points up the fact that when we need to know something - God will tell us. Conversely when He only tells us what to do, not why or the background - then there is a reason.

Verses 16 - 18

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 "A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more."

Here is another reason why we know that Jesus wasn't a baby - that Herod has the boys killed who are 2 years old and younger.

Now this is truly an awful thing and I won't want to minimize it. But just keep in mind that scholars indicate the carnage was limited to around 25 due to the estimated size of Bethlehem at that time.

This is of course very much like what another king - Pharoah - did to the Hebrew babies back in Egypt. Kings who are in positions of power will go to any extreme to hold on to that power.

Now I know that none of us would even think of doing something this awful - but I want us to think about the positions of power in our lives - our jobs, our social circles, our church, our civic clubs, our status by means of our money - what is your reaction when you feel threatened? Do you strike out - maybe not with physical violence - but maybe with a cutting word about that individual, or a campaign to discredit them. Give heed to the words of Jesus after beginning His public ministry.

Luke 14:7-11
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

I wonder if Jesus thought about the Magi, who humbled themselves before Him - and about Herod who had to be humbled by God.

Verses 19 - 23

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

We don't know how much time elapsed while Joseph, Mary and Jesus were in Egypt - but indications are it was a short time. Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. If Jesus was around 2 years old when the Magi came to visit - that puts his birth at about 6 B.C.

Joseph didn't return to Judea because Archelaus was the son of Herod the Great and his Samaritan wife Malthace. He was a bad ruler and exhibited the same ruthless tendencies as his father - so Joseph rightly avoids the area. Archelaus was later deposed by the Romans.

It seems as if Joseph intended to live permanently in Bethlehem until the Lord changed his plans - sending him back to Nazareth instead (which is where he lived formerly).

The text at the end - "he would be called a Nazarene" is of unknown origin. Its possible that this is a play on words with the Hebrew word for branch, or if you change just a few letters in Nazareth, you get Nazarene - which was a sect of people very devoted to God.

What I find interesting here is that God moved Joseph into harms way purposefully - then rescues him out of it and brings him back to another place. Why? Why didn't God just ordain that the Messiah would be born somewhere where He and His parents wouldn't be in danger?

In the context God was declaring the birth of a new ruler - and he wanted the present rulers to know for certain - the only way to do that was put the new king right under the noses of the present rulers.

For us there is a lesson here - we complain when bad things happen that God couldn't be guiding us because look what happened. But in reality sometimes God puts us in harms way in order to accomplish His greater purposes - and we need to just do our best to hear Him and not worry that everything go perfect according to our plan.

What we learn:

1. Contrast the "wise men" who traveled thousands of miles to worship the Messiah, versus the Jewish religious and political leaders who would not even travel 5 miles. We need to be sure that we do not need to be impressed to be moved. Don't use the importance of a person, their position, or what you get out of it to determine whether you pay attention. Sometimes the littlest things can be the most important to God.

2. Don't worship God for what you get out of it. Worship Him because He is worthy. Don't look for excitement or Holy Ghost "goosebumps" or a way to boost your status or a way for God to do something for you.

3. Grief. Matthew points out the sobbing and weeping that occurred after the massacre of the Bethlehem boys. It brings up the subject of grief - something many of us have experienced in these past weeks after the tragedy in New York and Washington D.C. Grief is not to be denied (they are in a better place) nor ignored (it'll get better if I just carry on). We need to, like Rachael pictured here, grieve with those who grieve - you shouldn't and you can't explain the unexplainable - but you can just be there for a literal shoulder to cry on.

4. Herod misunderstood why Jesus came. Jesus didn't want Herod's throne - he wanted to be the king of Herod's life. We sometimes think obeying Jesus means giving up what we hold dear - it really means that we give up the right to control our lives - and anything He asks us to give up He will give back tenfold with better things.

5. For the Magi - finding the Lord brought great joy. Becoming a Christian doesn't mean we put on a long sour face and wear black robes.

6. The Wise Men showed us a pattern for approaching the Lord

o They prepared for the journey - they knew enough to want to approach this new king (just as we find out about Jesus and want to meet him)
o They bowed before Him, humbling themselves before someone who is greater (even as we bow our lives to Him)
o They gave expensive gifts - to me it signifies acknowledging who He is, and giving our lives to Him
o They worshiped - they formed a relationship
o They obeyed - the fruit of that relationship and giving of themselves was that they obeyed God just as it should be with us.