FINDING The KING-I—Matthew 2:1-12
Attention:
Read from ‘Coastal Connection’—the holiday calendar selection regarding local town’s 'Christmas' festivities. Not much to bring the true message of Christ’s birth to others! Mostly about cooler weather & Santa & ignorant delight.
God doesn’t want you to miss the main event...the King.
Do you consider yourself perceptive?
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/perceptions of people who find Jesus.
1— Those who find the King, Perceive....
His SIGNS(:1-2)
Explanation:(:1-2)
: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,”
What follows in this chapter takes place sometime(2 yrs. more or less(some say 6mths.(?))—cf. :16) after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.
“born in Bethlehem of Judea”
5-6 miles south of Jerusalem, as opposed to Bethlehem of Zebulun(Josh. 19:15).
Also the location of 1)Rachel’s burial (near Ephrath—Gen. 35:19, 48:7); 2)Ruth’s meeting Boaz(Ruth 1:22--2:6); & 3)David’s hometown(1Sam. 17:12-15, 20:6, 2Sam. 23:15).
“in the days of Herod the king”
Herod(the Great) was “king” when these events took place. Herod born 73AD Herod was appointed ‘prefect of Galilee’ in 37BC & ‘King of Judea’ in 40BC.—EBC/NAC/
Some suppose that due to erroneous dating by the 6th century scholar Dionysius Exiguus, whose faulty calculations helped shift BC/AD dating from that based upon the foundation of Rome, it appears that Jesus would have been born in ~4BC(traditionally assumed), the same year of Herod’s death(:19-20).—WBC/EBC
Some “wise men”(magoi) traveled to Jerusalem “from the East,” that is, they traveled from another country far outside Israel’s borders.
We do not know the date of their arrival nor their number nor their names. It is possible that these “wise men” were the result of Daniel’s influence via his capture, resettlement & subsequent promotion by Nebuchadnezzar(Daniel became “ruler over the whole province of Babylon & chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon”—Dan. 2:48-49).
In the 7th century BC “wise men/magi” are a tribe within Media(Bordered by Iran, Iraq(Tigris River), Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan & Caspian Sea).
Involved in various occult practices(astrology, sorcery, dream interpretation, etc.) resulting in their being adept astronomers. The Magi were among the highest ranking advisors & officials in the Medo-Persian empire & on into Babylonian empire during Daniel’s time.
“Born”2X—gennaw—Aorist Passive Participle—1) Of men who fathered children—1a) To be born, 1b) To be begotten—1b1) Of women giving birth to children; 2) metaph.—2a) To engender, cause to arise, excite, 2b) in a Jewish sense--Of one who brings others over to his way of life, to convert someone, 2c) Of God making Christ his son, 2d) Of God making men his sons through faith in Christ's work. Strong—To procreate(properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively--To regenerate.
“Wise men/Magi”—magov—A magus— 1a) the name given by the Babylonians(Chaldeans), Medes, Persians, & others, to the wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, augers, soothsayers, sorcerers etc., 1b) The oriental wise men(astrologers) who, having discovered by the rising of a remarkable star that the Messiah had just been born, came to Jerusalem to worship him, 1c) A false prophet & sorcerer. Strong—a Magian, i.e. Oriental scientist; by implication a magician. Used 6X.
“Came to”—paraginomai—1) To be present, to come near, approach; 2) To come forth, make one's public appearance. Strong—To become near, i.e. Approach(have arrived); by implication--To appear publicly.
From—para—a primary preposition; properly--Near; i.e. (with genitive case)--From beside(literally or figuratively), (with dative case)--At(or in) the vicinity of (objectively or subjectively), (with accusative case)--To the proximity with (local [especially--Beyond or opposed to] or causal--On account of])—&—ginomai—a prolongation & middle voice form of a primary verb; To cause to be(“gen”-erate), i.e. reflexively--To become(come into being), used with great latitude(literal, figurative, intensive, etc.).
:2—“saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East & have come to worship Him.”
These “magi” made their trek in order to “worship” the true “King of the Jews”(Jesus).
These must have had this information foretold them in their own land. According to the “wise men,” the “King of the Jews” had a representative “star,” which they had observed. Being astrologers, they would have been attentive to such an occurrence.
*Baalam’s prophecy of Num. 24:17—“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star[bkwk ko-kawb'] 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.” This would be the One to whom Balak(king of the Moabites) would ultimately answer.
“Star”—bkwk ko-kawb’—probably from the same as Nwbk[To heap up/Hilly] (in the sense of rolling) or hwk[ To prick or penetrate/To blister(as smarting or eating into)] (in the sense of blazing); A star (as round or as shining); figuratively--A prince.
“Seen”(see :9, 10, 16)—eidw/oida—2nd Aorist Active Indicative—1) To see—1a) To perceive with the eyes, 1b) To perceive by any of the senses, 1c) To perceive, notice, discern, discover, 1d) To see—1d1) i.e. To turn the eyes, the mind, the attention to anything, 1d2) To pay attention, observe, 1d3) To see about something 1d31) i.e. to ascertain what must be done about it, 1d4) To inspect, examine, 1d5) To look at, behold, 1e) To experience any state or condition, 1f) To see i.e. have an interview with, to visit; 2) To know—2a) To know of anything, 2b) To know, i.e. get knowledge of, understand, perceive—2b1) of any fact, 2b2) the force & meaning of something which has definite meaning, 2b3) To know how, to be skilled in, 2c) To have regard for one, cherish, pay attention to(1Th 5:12). Eidw/oida denotes to see with the mind's eye, signifies a clear & purely mental perception. Strong—a primary verb; used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent optanomai & oraw; properly--To see(literally or figuratively); by implication (in the perf. only)--To know.
“Star”—asthr—1)A star. Strong—probably from the base of strwnnumi[To "strew", i.e. spread (as a carpet or couch)]; A star(as strewn over the sky), literally or figuratively.
Can be used figuratively to mean any brilliance or radiance.—J. MacArthur.
“Worship”(see :11)—proskunew—Kneeling or prostration to do homage(to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication. From —prov—1)To the advantage of; 2)At, near, to, towards. & —kuwn—A dog.
Argumentation:
Lk.11:29-30—“And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, & no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.”
1Pet. 1:3-5—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible & undefiled & that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Mat. 5:13-16—““You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out & trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. “Nor do they light a lamp & put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, & it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works & glorify your Father in heaven.”
Mat. 24:32-33—of the end of the age—“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender & puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near--at the doors!”
Lk. 7:22-23—[Jesus to John’s deputation]“Jesus answered & said to them, “Go & tell John the things you have seen & heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.””
Illustration:
Our trip thru GA to NC Thanksgiving Week 2015/Once above Montecello, FL was GPS dominated, GoogleMaps/The turns are listed with road names & there is a voice which tells us where & when to make those turns as our car’s position is tracked by satellite/We picked up two FL cars traveling together & it was obvious they were using the same directions as us/In one town—I believe Sandersville(?)—we were to turn on a certain named road, which was listed/However as we approached that particular road I saw the street name was not the same as the one listed on the phone!/But the voice kept telling us to turn right/I made the decision to turn right & then right again etc., etc., & it became immediately clear that the voice was correct though the street name was different/Whew!/In the mean time we lost the FL cars—maybe they followed the streetnames!?/her SIGNs
Building FSU’s Doak-Campbell Stadium/Huge well-constructed all the frills/Evidently FSU’s football-athletic program is doing well!/his SIGNs
Buying Sam’s 4X4 Jeep Cherokee with a lift-kit & giant tires/Sign welcoming us to Mint Hill/Road signs—I-485 exit 41, Albemarle Road—Wilson Grove-Mint Hill Rd.—Wilson Grove Rd.—Lebanon Rd.—Street # on mailbox/his SIGNs
Finding a new medical doctor/You ask around/Are people generally happy with their experience?/Does the Dr. show genuine concern, honesty, or does he-she act as if he’s doing people a favor?/his SIGNs
The church can be perceived as the efforts of many caring country clubber ‘religious’ people...BUT she can also be seen for what she truly is...the work of God in us, by His Holy Spirit, thru our faith in Christ!/His SIGNs
Helicopter salvation/Turn away all the opportunities
Application:
?You Perceived HIS SIGNS?
?You found the King?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Coastal Connections' descriptions of local public 'Christmas' holiday celebrations.
Action:
Those who find the King, perceive His....
1. SIGNS(:1-2)
Pt. 1 only! Presented 12/06/2015am to:
FBCCbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pt. 1 only! Presented 12/27/2009am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf NC 27054
