FINDING The KING-III—Matthew 2:1-12
Attention:
There was a time in my life when I had the American Dream in hand. But I realized very quickly that it wasn’t enough. It is not what I needed in the depth of my soul. I needed vastly more than political freedoms & even temporal loves!
I was satisfied in every temporal realm but was bankrupt spiritually. Such bankruptcy messed up all that temporal, passing stuff.
I had missed the King. I had put other things in His place.
God doesn’t want you to miss the King.
Magi traveled from the east to pay homage to the newborn King of Israel.
Jesus is worthy of discovery.
The King of Israel is worthy of careful searching.
Who are those who discover Jesus?
8 characteristics of people who find Jesus.
This morning we found that Those who find the King, perceive His....
1. SIGNS(:1-2)
2. OBJECTIVE/Direction(:3-6)
3— Those who find the King, Perceive....
His CIRCUMVENTION(:7-8, 12)
Explanation:(:7-8, 12)Prevention/Opposition
:7—“Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.”
Herod himself, “secretly” approached the magi in order to discover the time frame within which the birth had occurred. Evidently he already had hatched a plan to destroy the baby who was obviously his better. See :13-15 as well as :16.
*Circumvention works both ways. In fact, Jesus came to earth in order to undo the work of Satan., which He accomplished(Heb. 2:5-18)
Heb. 2:5-18—“For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory & honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory & honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things & by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies & those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I & the children whom God has given Me.” Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh & blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, & release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful & faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” “Secretly/Privily”—layra—Adverb—1)Secretly. Strong—privately. Used 4X.
“Called”—kalew—
“Determined”—akribow—Aorist Active Indicative—1) To know accurately, to do exactly; 2) To investigate diligently. Strong—To be exact, i.e. Ascertain. Used 2X.
“Time”—cronov—1)Time either long or short. Time in general. Strong—A space of time(in general, & thus properly distinguished from kairov, which designates a fixed or special occasion; & from aiwn, which denotes a particular period) or interval; by extension--An individual opportunity; by implication--Delay
:8—“And he sent them to Bethlehem & said, “Go & search carefully for the young Child, & when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come & worship Him also.””
Finding Bethlehem as Messiah’s birthplace, Herod sent the magi there, pretending to be concerned for a personal desire to worship also. He wanted them to personally “bring back word” of “the young child’s” location. Herod hid the truth from the magi, that he actually wanted his competitor “King” destroyed(:16).
In this way, Herod would have someone else do his dirty work.
“Sent”—pempw—Aorist Active Participle—1) To send—1a) To bid a thing to be carried to one, 1b) To send(thrust or insert) a thing into another. Pempw is the general term(compared with apostellw) & may even imply accompaniment(as when sent from God). Strong—apparently a primary verb; To dispatch(from the subjective view or point of departure, whereas ihmi[as a stronger form of eimi] refers rather to the objective point or terminus ad quem, & stellw denotes properly, the orderly motion involved), especially on a temporary errand; also--To transmit, bestow, or wield.
“Go”—poreuomai—Aorist Passive Deponent Participle—1) To lead over, carry over, transfer—1a) To pursue the journey on which one has entered, to continue on one's journey, 1b) To depart from life, 1c) To follow one, that is: become his adherent—1c1) To lead or order one's life. Poreuomai expresses motion in general, often confined within certain, limits, or giving prominence to the bearing; hence the, regular word for the march of an army. Strong—To traverse, i.e. Travel (literally or figuratively; especially--To remove[figuratively--Die], live, etc.).
“Search/Inquire”—exetazw—1) To search out—1a) To examine strictly, enquire, 1b) Enquire of someone. Strong—To test thoroughly(by questions), i.e. Ascertain or interrogate. Used 3X.
From—ex—a primary preposition denoting origin(the point whence action or motion proceeds), From, out (of place, time, or cause; literal or figurative; direct or remote)—&— etazw—To examine.
“Carefully/Diligently/Careful/Accurately”—akribwv—Adverb—1) Exactly, accurately, diligently. Used 5X.
“Young child”(See :9)—paidion—Noun Neuter—1) A young child, a little boy, a little girl—1a) Infants, 1b) Children, little ones, 1c) An infant—1c1) Of a (male)child just recently born, 1d) Of a more advanced child; of a mature child;, 1e) metaph.--Children(like children) in intellect. Paidion refers exclusively to little children. Paiv, teknon denote a child alike as respects to descent & age, reference to the latter being more prominent in the former word, [but] to descent in paidion. Paiv is also often used of a servant. The number of years covered by the term paiv is quite indefinite. Its diminutives paidion & paidarion are used without appreciable difference to denote a young child. Strong—A childling(of either sex), i.e. properly--An infant, or by extension--A half-grown boy or girl; figuratively--An immature Christian. “Found”—euriskw—2nd Aorist Active Subjunctive(possibility/potentiality)—1) To come upon, hit upon, to meet with—1a) after searching--To find a thing sought, 1b) without previous search--To find(by chance), to fall in with, 1c) Those who come or return to a place; 2) To find by enquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny, observation, to find out by practice & experience—2a) To see, learn, discover, understand, 2b) To be found i.e. to be seen, be present, 2c) To be discovered, recognized, detected, to show one's self out, of one's character or state as found out by others (men, God, or both), 2d) To get knowledge of, come to know, God; 3) To find out for one's self, to acquire, get, obtain, procure. Strong—To find (literally or figuratively).
“Bring back word/Bring...word again/Report”—apaggellw—1) To bring tidings (from a person or a thing), bring word, report; 2) To proclaim, to make known openly, declare. Strong—To announce.
From—apo—a primary particle; “Off,” i.e. Away(from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative)—& the base of:—aggelov—A messenger; especially--An “angel”; by implication--A pastor.
“Come”—ercomai—2nd Aorist Active Participle—1) To come—1a) of persons—1a1) To come from one place to another, & used both of persons arriving & of those returning, 1a2) To appear, make one's appearance, come before the public; 2) metaph.—2a) To come into being, arise, come forth, show itself, find place or influence, 2b) Be established, become known, to come(fall) into or unto; 3) To go, to follow one. Ercomai denotes motion or progress generally, & of any sort, hence to “come” & arrive at, as well as “to go.” Strong—middle voice of a primary verb(used only in the present & imperfect tenses, the others being supplied by a kindred [middle voice]eleuyomai; or [active]elyw; which do not otherwise occur); To come or go(in a great variety of applications, literally & figuratively).
“Worship/Do homage”—proskunew—Aorist Active Subjunctive—1) To kiss the hand to(towards) one, in token of reverence; 2) among the Orientals, esp. the Persians--To fall upon the knees & touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence; 3) in the NT by kneeling or prostration--To do homage(to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication—3a) Used of homage shown to men & beings of superior rank. Strong—To fawn or crouch to, i.e. literally or figuratively--Prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore).
:12—“Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.”
After the presentation of the gifts, the magi were warned in a dream, that they should not return to Herod as previously requested of him(:8). They returned to their own country without informing him.
*Not recognizing circumvention/opposition brings us to a skewed view of Jesus as well as the entire scheme of God’s creation & salvation.
There will always be those who seek to undercut God’s truth for their own truth.
There is a temptation among the elect to compartmentalize their personal faith for fear of having it tainted by sin. Ironically, they do this to their detriment & to the detriment of their own faith. Protecting themselves to such an extent that they do not share it but rather protect it from others!
“Warned”—crhmatizw—1) To transact business, esp. to manage public affairs; 2) To give a response to those consulting an oracle, to give a divine command or admonition, to teach from heaven; 3) To assume or take to one's self a name from one's public business. Strong—To utter an oracle, i.e. Divinely intimate; by implication--To constitute a firm for business, i.e. generally--Bear as a title:-- be called, be admonished(warned) of God, reveal, speak. Used 9X.
“Dream”(see :13, 19)—onar—A dream. Used 6X.
“Departed”—anacwrew—1) To go back, return; 2) To withdraw—2a) So as to leave a room, 2b) Of those who through fear seek some other place, or shun sight. Strong—To retire. Used 14X
From—ana—a primary preposition & adverb; properly--Up; but (by extension)used (distributively)--Severally, or locally--At (etc.)—&—cwrew—To be in (give)space, i.e. intransitively--To pass, enter, or transitively--To hold, admit(literally or figuratively).
Argumentation:
Mat. 10:16—“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise[shrewd] as serpents & harmless as doves.”
Mat. 10:35—“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. “For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, & a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; “& ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
Eph. 6:11-13—“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh & blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, & having done all, to stand.”
Jn. 17:11-19—“Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, & I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; & none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, & these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; & the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”
Christians are to be in the world but not of the world.
Illustration:
Circumvention—To ‘go around’/by-pass what is in place:
Black market
Swiss bank accounts
Illegal drug involvement
Radar detectors
Drinking &/or drugging drivers(Driving While Impaired)
Busy-ness
Avoiding the life available thru prayer.
The devil’s mission is to circumvent God’s work in the world!
Jesus came to Circumvent our sinfulness!
In 2015, Chinese house churches are thriving/Why?—If you meet in an openly Christian environment, you become a governmental target... because Communism is based & built on a belief that there is no God, & they will therefore not tolerate any institution that honors God above the state!/Obvious opposition to strict despotic Communism/CIRCUMVENTION
WWII/Nazi informants/People choose self preservation over preservation of others/Rat on family members/CIRCUMVENTION
Overweight/numerous health issues/Heart problems/PREVENTIVE medicine/CIRCUMVENTION
Application:
?You Perceived His CIRCUMVENTION?
?You found the King?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Satisfied in every temporal realm but bankrupt spiritually. I had missed the King.
Action:
Those who find the King, perceive His....
3. CIRCUMVENTION(:7-8, 12)
1. SIGNS(:1-2)
2. OBJECTIVE/Direction(:3-6)
Pt. 3 only! Presented 12/13/2015am to:
FBCCbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pts. 2-3 Presented 12/27/2009am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf NC 27054
