FINDING The KING-II—Matthew 2:1-12
The North Star-Pole Star-Polaris is not the brightest star in the heavens. In fact, there is nothing to be drawn to it at all.
It can always be found by lining up the ‘handle’ stars of the Little Dipper or Last 2 dim obscure stars of Cassiopeia.
Why is it important...because theNorth Star can be used for navigation
It does not move but all other stars rotate around it.
It is the Key to finding all other compass points because it signifies true North!
It may be obscure to most but for those needing direction, it is life-changing!
God doesn’t want you to miss the main event, 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—Those who find the King, Perceive....
His OBJECTIVE/Direction(:3-6)
Explanation:(:3-6)
:3—“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, & all Jerusalem with him.”
Roman historian Tacitus(wrote a history of the Roman Empire spanning 14-70AD) wrote of the mindset of those times—“...there was a firm persuasion that at this very time the east was to grow powerful & rulers coming from Judea were to acquire a universal empire.”
The shepherds had previously & widely declared the birth—of “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”(Lk. 2:11,17). Herod must have discounted it altogether or hoped it would come to nothing.
Herod was ~25yrs. old when he became governor of Galilee in ~37 BC. He held power only as bestowed upon him by the Roman senate, who officially declared him ‘king of Judea’ in 40BC. Herod gave himself the official title ‘King of the Jews.’ He was not himself a Jew(he was Idumean/Edomite). He is responsible for restoring the Temple in Jerusalem(~20BC-63AD). After a drought he saw fit to sell gold in order to feed the people. However, he had become a brutal, domineering, paranoid & exacting ruler, willing to do anything in order to keep his position. He built the Judean fortress of Masada.
“He was a consummate politician”...“His paranoia was legendary”—J. MacArthur
Herod had 10 sequential wives. Had one of his wives(Mariamne I) killed, & also had 2 of his own sons killed. Herod’s “troubled” state was no doubt further exacerbated by having others from outside his sovereignty recognize this “King of the Jews” as the Messiah(“Christ”)(:4).
That “all Jerusalem” “was troubled” was a statement of the populace’s fear of Herod’s rule. “All Jerusalem” also possibly held a guilty fear of not having recognized the Messiah’s coming or more probably, they had a fear of a challenge to their religion.
“Troubled”—tarassw—Aorist Passive Indicative—1) To agitate, trouble (a thing, by the movement of its parts to & fro)—1a) To cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, disturb his equanimity, 1b) To disquiet, make restless, 1c) To stir up, 1d) To trouble—1d1) To strike one's spirit with fear & dread, 1e) To render anxious or distressed, 1f) To perplex the mind of one by suggesting scruples or doubts. Strong—of uncertain affinity; To stir or agitate(roll water).
:4—“And when he had gathered all the chief priests & scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.”
‘...Herod probably got together not the Sanhedrin since "elders" are not mentioned, but leaders among the chief priests & scribes, not a formal meeting but a free assembly for conference.’—RWP
A statement of the political climate of Israel, in that there was no continual expectation of the Messiah in their political machine, though it was obviously available.
The connection is made here to recognize “the King of the Jews”(:2) as “the Christ.” Did Herod see himself as the Christ since he was considered ‘King of the Jews’ by the Romans?
“The imperfect tense[of “inquired”](epunthaneto) suggests that Herod inquired repeatedly...” “...Herod probably got together not the Sanhedrin since "elders" are not mentioned, but leaders among the chief priests & scribes, not a formal meeting but a free assembly for conference.”—RWP Thus he took some time discovering the information.
“Gathered”—sunagw—1) To gather together, to gather; 2) To bring together, assemble, collect; 3) To lead with one's self. Strong—To lead together, i.e. Collect or convene; specifically--To entertain(hospitably).
“Inquired/Demanded/Asked”—punyanomai—1) To enquire, ask; 2) To ascertain, by enquiry. Strong—To question, i.e. Ascertain by inquiry (as a matter of information merely; & thus differing from erwtaw, which properly means a request as a favor; & from aitew, which is strictly a demand for something due; as well as from zhtew, which implies a search for something hidden; & from deomai, which involves the idea of urgent need); by implication--To learn(by casual intelligence) Used 12X.
:5—“So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:”
:6—“‘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.’”
The priests & scribes specifically related information gleaned from Micah 5:2(& probably Gen. 49:10). Thus there was a certain expectation of the Messiah’s arrival.
*Mic. 5:2—“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah[House of Bread & Fruitfulness], Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Gen. 49:10—“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”
“Shiloh”—hlyv—from hlv[To be tranquil, i.e. secure or successful]; Tranquil; ‘Shiloh,’ an epithet of the Messiah.
Thereby both the magi as well as Herod knew the very city from which ‘the King of the Jews”/Christ/Messiah would arise.
“Shepherd”—poimainw—1) To feed, to tend a flock, keep sheep—1a) To rule, govern—1a1) Of rulers, 1a2) To furnish pasture for food, 1a3) To nourish, 1a4) To cherish one's body, to serve the body, 1a5) To supply the requisites for the soul's need. Poimainw is the wider, boskw is the narrower term; the former include oversight, the latter denotes nourishment; poimainw may be rendered “tend”, boskw specifically “feed.”
Argumentation:
Lk. 1:67-79—“Now his[John the baptist] father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, & prophesied, saying: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited & redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness & righteousness before Him all the days of our life. And you, child[John the baptist], will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness & the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Jn. 3:14-17—““And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Lk. 9:56—“For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.”
1Jn. 3:8—“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
Jn. 16:7-11—““Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, & of righteousness, & of judgment: “of sin, because they do not believe in Me; “of righteousness, because I go to My Father & you see Me no more; “of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Jn. 9:39—“And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, & that those who see may be made blind.””
Jn. 1:29—“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, & said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Lk. 4:17-21 “And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Then He closed the book, & gave it back to the attendant & sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.””
Lk. 19:10—““for the Son of Man has come to seek & to save that which was lost.””
Illustration:
True story—The Fortner’s son was disciplined one day by making him sit outside on the porch steps for a while/The son mumbled to his Momma, “I might be sittin’ on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside!’/He had missed his mother’s lesson & thus missed the opportunity to change his ways-direction/OBJECTIVE
We owned a very fine house in NC(before we moved to Carrabelle, FL)/However, it was ‘too fine’ for our budget & we were thus ‘House Poor’—‘our biggest sin’ in my eyes/We had stupidly acquired a house which maintenance was way above our means/We had missed the OBJECTIVE of Christian living & that is to honor God thru Christ in every aspect of who we are/OBJECTIVE
Application:
?You Perceived His OBJECTIVE?
?You found the King? CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Boy leaving the circus before it starts.
Action:
Those who find the King, perceive His....
2. OBJECTIVE/Direction(:3-6)
1. SIGNS(:1-2)
Pt. 2 only! Presented 12/06/2015pm 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
