In Search Of Messiah. Matthew 2

2025.01.12. Sermon Notes. Matthew 2. Seeking the Messiah. Wise men seek HIM.

IN SEARCH OF MESSIAH. MATTHEW 2

William Akehurst, HSWC

BIG IDEA: Who were the Wise men? And what happened in their search for the King of the Jews? How do you acknowledge this King of the Jews? With Acceptance or Rejection?

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 2:1-23, Micah 5:2, Daniel 2:48, Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 11:1, Micah 5:2, Psalms 68:29, Psalms 72:10-11, Romans 1:16, Hosea 11:1, Jeremiah 31:15, John 1:45-46, Isaiah 53:2-3, Numbers 6:1-21

VS 1-2 WISE MEN FROM THE EAST COME TO HONOR JESUS.

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.”

BETHLEHEM

Bethlehem was the ancestral home of King David.

Bethlehem was a little town about six miles to the south of Jerusalem. Originally known as Ephrath or Ephratah.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

BIRTH OF A KING

“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. ‘When Jesus was born, there came wise men from the east,’ and so on. There is infinite power even in an infant Savior.” (Spurgeon)

HEROD

In the days of Herod the king also known as Herod the Great.

Herod was indeed great as a ruler, builder and administrator; in other ways great in politics and cruelty.

While the exact date of the Birth of Christ is unknown, Jesus was born before the death of Herod the Great, which is probably to be dated in 4 BC.

WISE MEN

Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.

These travelers are called wise men, which in the ancient Greek is magoi.

They were not kings but wise men, which means they were astronomers.

There were not only three, but probably a great company.

They didn’t come on the birth night, but rather months or as much 2 years later.

Being from the East, they would have been among Jews who were exiled from Judah and Israel centuries before to the Babylonian Captivity.

SECRET OF THE MAGI.

The secret Identity of the magi around Jesus birth is significant.

These mysterious men just showed up and while the Bible calls them either Magi or Wisemen, and it says they’re from the east.

And even more mysteriously, it says they followed a star, and already knew that a King was born.

Jesus was that King.

So who were these guys?

Rewind 600 years before the birth of Christ, an Old Testament prophet named Daniel who is taken Captive in Babylon, which is due…East, of where Jesus was born.

And Daniel chapter 2 says that the King of Babylon, king Nebuchadnezzar, made Daniel the chief of the Magi or Wiseman. RabMag or Rabbi Teacher of the Magi (wise men)

Daniel 2:48 Then the king (Nebuchadnezzar) 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 would have taught the Magi/Wisemen of his day about the Star.

And in ancient Babylon, Magi believed the appearance of a new star was the sign of the birth of a significant king.

So apparently, 600 years before Jesus is born. Daniel starts teaching the Babylonian Magi these prophecies about a king that was going to come who would set up an eternal kingdom.

And he would have taught them verses like Numbers 24:7 that says a star will come out of Israel. And those men believed the word of God and they handed it down from generation to generation to generation for 600 years and the Magi at Jesus’ birth are probably descendants of those men.

STAR

Numbers 24:17

17 “I see Him, but not now;

I behold Him, but not near;

A Star shall come out of Jacob;

A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,

And batter the brow of Moab,

And destroy all the sons of tumult.

For we have seen His star in the East:

GOD guided the astronomers by a star. This was also in fulfillment of Numbers 24:17: A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel. This was widely regarded by ancient Jewish scholars as a Messianic prediction.