THE HOPE
OF THE WISE MEN
Matthew 2:1-12
The Main Idea
The Magi followed the directions of God’s Word to Jesus and submitted to Him as their King. We should follow in their footsteps!
Outline
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF HOPE
The Magi were looking forward to the coming of
the King of the Jews because God told them He was coming!
JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF HOPE
When the Magi found the King, they found Jesus!
WE GAIN HOPE
WHEN WE CHOOSE TO FOLLOW JESUS
INTRODUCTION
Christmas is the season of hope.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas if you could measure hope with some kind of instrument like a weather balloon you would find the atmosphere crackling with hope.
“I hope I get an iPod for Christmas.”
“I hope I get Tickle Me Elmo.”
“I hope I get a Lexus.”
This kind of hope is a wish for something good that is sometimes fulfilled but often not. While we may be disappointed if we don’t get what we hope for the consequences are usually not devastating.
New Years is also a season of hope, but this kind of hope is usually less trivial.
“I hope I get to keep my job this year.”
“I hope I beat my cancer this year.”
“I hope we get pregnant this year.”
Hope.
Even the sound of that word can lift your spirits when you’re down. Hope keeps you going when life seems to be going nowhere or going in the wrong direction.
Hope gives you something to cling to when you’ve lost your job, or your health, or someone you love. Hope is a spark inside your soul that tells you that tomorrow things will be better.
Hope is like having an anchor in the future.
But the problem with hope is that it is always based upon uncertainty. For example, we may say “I hope it will not rain tomorrow.” That kind of hope is a wish, not a certainty. We can hope all we like for something, and all the indications may be that it will come true, but life is unpredictable and things can change at the last moment to dash all our hopes.
In the Bible, however, there is a unique kind of hope that is never a wish. It is always based upon an absolute certainty. You can hope for these things with the utter confidence that they will happen. It’s the kind of hope that the Wise Men of the Nativity Story had. The hope of the Wise Men was based upon what God had promised. And, since God always fulfills His promises, we can look forward with absolute hope.
But what were the Wise Men hoping to find when they traveled all the way to Bethlehem in that first Christmas season? They were hoping to find the King who will bring an end to war and suffering and injustice. They were hoping to find the King who would bring everlasting love and joy and peace to this world.
But how did they know He was coming? And what did a star have to do with their search? And what has all of this to do with me?
It has to do with me because hope is one of the strongest motivators in the human soul. Even hope built on the slightest possibility of something good can keep you going. But the best kind of hope is hope that is anchored to a certainty. That’s what Biblical hope is all about! The Bible talks a lot of about hope in order to encourage us when life goes wrong.
This kind of hope is always inextricably tied to Jesus. If we believe in Him we have the hope (certainty) of eternal life. If we follow him, we have the hope (certainty) of His guidance, protection, provision and care every day of our lives. Jesus is the anchor that links us to the promises of God that lie in the future for God’s people.
This lesson was illustrated for us by the Wise Men, or Magi, who visited Jesus when he was a child. The Magi arrived in Jerusalem after a long, expensive and difficult journey. What brought them to Jerusalem was not a wish but a certainty. They were certain that the king of the Jews had been born and they had come to worship him.
The Wise Men teach us that . . .
· God is the source of hope
· Jesus is the fulfillment of hope
· We gain hope when we follow Jesus
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF HOPE
THE MAGI WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE COMING OF
THE KING OF THE JEWS BECAUSE GOD TOLD THEM HE WAS COMING!
Mt 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.”
The Magi Were God-Fearing Gentiles Who Were Looking Forward To The Coming Of The Jewish Messiah!
Much of what has been written about the Magi is based upon speculation or traditions that may have no basis in fact. For example, they were not kings but were rather advisors to kings. Here are some things we need to know about the Magi.
The Magi were from either Persia or Babylon. The word Magi comes from the Greek word magoi which is in turn a Persian word for a select set of priests. These priests functioned as the religious, civil, and political counsel to the kings of Media and Persia. In time their power grew to the extent that they became the “king-makers” whose duties included the election of the king of the realm. Their education included a mix of astronomy, astrology, science, and religion.
They studied the stars and the influence of the stars on the lives and destinies of people and nations. They were interpreters of dreams – as Daniel and his friends in the book of Daniel joined a group of wise men there.
The group of Magi who searched for the newborn King were men who had been influenced by the Jews and were looking forward to the coming of the King of the Jews. The fact that they undertook such a difficult journey in order to worship Him strongly suggests that they believed in the God of the Jews.
They learned of God primarily through the prophet Daniel. As a young man Daniel had been taken to Babylon as a prisoner of war but, because of his faith in God, he had risen to become an advisor first to the king of Babylon. He later continued in this role as advisor to the king of Persia after the Persians conquered Babylon. Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were probably called Magi, and one of the titles given to Daniel was Rab-mag, the Chief of the Magi.
Some commentators say that the Magi were astrologers and that God therefore used astrology to at least start them on their journey. But that is probably not the truth. Given their obedience to God, Daniel and his fellow Israelites would not have been involved in astrology. Their wisdom came from God Himself. They had such a powerful influence on the Persian culture that centuries later these wise man believed in the God of Israel and were waiting for the coming of the Jewish King.
How did they know that there was a King of the Jews coming? Daniel told them! Well, actually, God told them through Daniel.
The Magi Were Looking Forward To The Coming Of The King Of The Jews Because God Told The World He Was Coming!
Speaking through the prophet Daniel God told the world that His King (Messiah means anointed one) was coming.
There is only one passage, and only one, in the whole of the Bible that foretells the time of the Messiah’s (first) coming. The passage is Daniel 9:24-26.
The angel Gabriel (the same angel who visited Mary) told Daniel that the King would come 483 years after a decree was issued to rebuild Jerusalem. Given Daniel’s position as the chief advisor in the Persian court it seems likely that he told the rest of the advisory council about this prophecy.
No doubt (the Magi) had studied the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Old Testament – and through this they came into contact with the messianic hope.
The Persian king Artaxerxes Longimanus was the one who issued the decree to rebuild Jerusalem on the date we now call March 5, 444 B.C. By calculating the years that had passed since the issuing of the decree the Magi were able to estimate that the coming of the Anointed One was drawing near.
It is significant that while the Magi had done the math and were looking for the coming of the King, the Jewish religious leaders had not done so and were oblivious to the fact that the King of the Jews had been born in obscurity just a few miles away.
Since the Magi were looking forward to the coming of the King, God sent them a supernatural signal that confirmed the arrival of Jesus: a unique star.
(By the way, Daniel’s prophecy came true to the day! As Gabriel had prophesied, 483 years after the decree was issued, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and allowed the crowds to acclaim Him as the Anointed one!)
God Used A Supernatural Star To Start The Magi On Their Journey
Regardless of whether God used an existing astronomical phenomenon or created one for the occasion, its function on behalf of the Magi was supernatural in that it announced the birth of the King.
We are not sure how they put the star together with the birth of Jesus. Perhaps in the readings of the Greek Old Testament they came to the prophecy of Balaam and to that cryptic reference in Numbers 24:17: “I shall se him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh; there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.”
The star may easily have been a supernatural creation of God. The whole narrative of the birth of Jesus is accompanied by supernatural phenomena such as the appearance of angels. Or it may have been a natural phenomenon that others had seen but had not associated it with the birth of the Messiah.
Contrary to the way it is usually portrayed, the star did not lead them by moving ahead of them across the sky.
I do not believe they followed the star on the journey – that is not what the text says. The star appeared in the east and then disappeared. It reappeared later when they were searching exactly where to find Jesus.
Dr Hugh Ross, an astronomer, suggests that the star may have been a phenomenon called a recurring nova. This is a star that undergoes several explosions, emitting bursts of brightness several times over a period of months or years.
However He did it, God used the star to signal to the Magi that the King had been born. The hope of the Magi was strong enough to compel them to undertake a costly and difficult journey to find Him. Their journey may have covered 1,000 miles and taken four to five months.
The Magi Came to Jerusalem Because It Was The Jewish Capital
It was not necessary for the star to lead the Magi to Jerusalem. Since they were looking for the king of the Jews they naturally came to the Jewish capital city. In order to emphasize that Jesus was born of the royal line of David, Matthew points out that He was born in David’s hometown of Bethlehem in Judea, which was just a few miles from Jerusalem.
When they arrived, the Magi upset the whole city. Given their status, the Magi probably traveled with an escort of cavalry and a large entourage. While they may have used camels to carry their luggage, the Magi probably rode on horses. Their arrival must have created quite a stir.
But it was their question that disturbed the city.
Herod (And All Jerusalem) Was Disturbed By The Magi’s Quest
Mt 2:3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 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:
Mt 2:6 “ ‘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.’’”
Herod the Great had not been born king of the Jews and was not even a Jew. He had been appointed king by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C. He was a cruel and dangerous man who killed everyone around him who threatened his position as king.
Among those he had killed were:
· Three of his own sons
· His favorite wife, Mariamne
· His mother-in-law
· His brother-in-law
· His uncle
· Three hundred court officers who protected the execution of two of his sons
Herod was disturbed at the Magi’s question because he did not want any rival for the throne. All of Israel was disturbed because when Herod was disturbed he disturbed everyone around him! They knew that there was going to be trouble.
Herod Consulted With All The Jewish Scholars
The religious scholars knew the prophecy that told where the King would be born. It was recorded in the writings of the prophet Micah seven centuries earlier.
Mic 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.
It is amazing that even after the religious leaders told Herod of the prophecy none of them bothered to accompany the Magi to find the child. It was only a journey of four to five miles. This reveals their spiritual deadness in contrast to that of the Magi.
Herod Investigated The Time Of The Star’s Appearing In Order To Estimate How Old The Child Was
Mt 2:7 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.”
Herod found out the exact time the star appeared in order to estimate the age of the child. He then sent the Magi to Bethlehem to search for the child, lying to them that he also wanted to come and worship him.
Summary: God Is The Source Of Hope
God was the source of the hope of the Magi. He guided them by His Word and by His star.
While the star was unique to the Magi, God’s Word is available to guide every one of us. The Bible was written by God to guide us into a relationship with Him and to guide us as we live in relationship with Him. Just as the Magi studied God’s Word so we too gain great benefit by personally immersing ourselves in the pages of the Bible.
One thing that the Bible clearly declares is that Jesus is the fulfillment of the hope of all people. He forgives our sins and grants eternal life to all who believe in Him.
JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF HOPE
WHEN THE MAGI FOUND THE KING, THEY JESUS!
Mt 2:9 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. 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.
The Star Guided The Magi To Jesus’ House!
Bethlehem is about four miles south of Jerusalem. Up until now the star had led the magi from the east to the west. Now it seems like it took a left turn and headed south! Some think it was a reappearance of the Shekinah glory of God that had led the children of Israel through the wilderness and that it even may have emitted a beam of light to reveal the house.
What is more likely is that the star did not move but became visible again as the Magi left Jerusalem and headed toward Bethlehem. Then it faded from visibility when the Magi came to the house where Jesus and his family lived.
The Magi did not find Jesus until some months after he was born and found him in a house not the stable. A clue to this fact is that Herod asked the Wise Men when they had first seen the star and then sent his soldiers to kill every Jewish boy under the age of two years. This doesn’t mean that Jesus was two years old but that Herod allowed enough room for error to be certain that he killed this challenger to his throne.
In a moment we are going to watch a film clip from the movie The Nativity Story which shows the Wise Men arriving at the manger. Nativity Scenes usually include the Wise Men around the manger because they present a synopsis of the whole Christmas story. The makers of the movie The Nativity Story chose to portray the Wise Men at the manger for the same reason – they wanted to keep viewers focused on the beauty of the whole birth narrative.
The Magi Worshipped The Child With Gifts That Foreshadowed The Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus
The Magi bowed down and worshipped the child! They had not come just to satisfy their curiosity but to worship Him as they would worship God.
They then presented their gifts as an act of worship of the child (the Greek word for presented indicates an offering made to God). The fact that they gave three gifts does not mean that there were only three wise men. There could have been just two or many more than three.
The three gifts the Magi brought foreshadowed the person and ministry of Jesus.
Gold for His royalty. In the Scriptures gold was a symbol for royalty and also signified the glory and deity of God. It and was thus an appropriate gift to give to God the Son.
Frankincense for His deity. This was a sweet incense that was used in connection with some of the offerings in the Temple, it’s aroma rising to God as a prayer.
Myrrh for his humanity. Myrrh was an embalming ointment which would be wrapped in the garments of the deceased. It signified the fact that Jesus was born to die.
Furthermore, these gifts also had a practical value, for they provided for the family during the time when they had to flee to Egypt.
The Magi Did Not Go Back To Herod
Mt 2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
In the past, God guided people through many different means. He had used His Word and a star to guide the Magi. Now He used a dream to send them back home by a route that bypassed Herod.
Summary
We have learned from the Magi that . . .
· God is the source of hope
· Jesus is the fulfillment of hope
WE GAIN HOPE
WHEN WE CHOOSE TO FOLLOW JESUS
What are you hoping for this Christmas?
A cell phone?
A new house?
A Porsche?
Did you know that God has hopes for you this Christmas? And that no matter how extravagant your hope may be, what God hopes for you is far, far, far more valuable!
Here are some of the things God hopes for you:
God hopes you will believe in his Son Jesus so that He can give you everlasting life.
God hopes you will let him safely guide you each step of your journey through the coming years.
God hopes you will believe in Jesus’ second coming.
The Wise Men found Jesus. You can find Him and receive the gift of eternal life today!
The ultimate hope of every human being is that there is life after death. People who battle a disease like cancer hope for remission or cure. But even if we are cured, of one disease, we will all eventually die. The Christmas season tells us emphatically that Jesus came to give us life everlasting.
Listen to Jesus’ very own words:
Jn 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus was born to die - and when He died on the cross it was to take the punishment for our sin. But Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the dead to offer all who believe in Him resurrection life. Jesus has already entered into heaven to open the way for us.
Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.
The sanctuary behind the curtain is the place where God lives. When we believe in Jesus our souls have Him as our anchor in heaven.
The Wise Men Were Led By God - And He will guide you every day of your life!
The overall lesson we learn from the Magi is that we gain what we hope for when we follow God’s direction in life. God no longer uses stars and dreams. But He still speaks through the Bible and, most important of all, He reveals Himself through Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-4).
Through the Bible God guides us more directly than He guided the Wise Men. He hopes you will let him safely guide you each step of your journey through the coming years. God has given us something far more powerful than a star to guide our way. He has given us his Holy Spirit to lead us step by step through life. As we keep in step with the Spirit, He produces qualities in our lives that only God can give:
Galatians 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
As we follow Him, God the Spirit guides us in living lives that are fruitful, joyful and eternally meaningful.
The Wise Men found Jesus at His first coming. When He comes again will He find you watching for His coming?
The Magi were watching for the first coming of Jesus. The New Testament writers tell us to live like Magi who are watching for His second coming.
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
The hope (certainty) of eternal life should motivate those who believe in Jesus to live morally pure lives. We do this not to earn a place in heaven but to live like citizens of heaven while we are still on earth.
Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
The blessed hope is that day when Jesus returns to bring an end to all suffering and death. Jesus came the first time, just as the Scriptures said He would. That’s why we know that Jesus will come again!
The Wise Men worshipped Jesus with their gifts. We have been given gifts with which to worship Him.
The Magi demonstrated their faith in Jesus by bringing Him gifts. We have gifts to give Him as well.
The first gift He wants is the gift of ourselves. Paul tells us to offer our bodies to Him as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).
We have financial gifts, which we give to Jesus every time we give to someone who is in need.
We have spiritual gifts to offer, which we give to Jesus by serving one another (Romans 12:3-8).
CONCLUSION
The Magi followed the directions of God’s Word to Jesus and submitted to Him as their King. Let us follow in the footsteps of the Wise Men and worship and serve our king!
Show the video clip from the movie The Nativity Story of the Magi’s worship of Jesus.
Film Scenes 169-170
The Magi arrive at the stable and worship the child.
