"bethlehem"

Last week, we covered Joseph’s first dream in Matthew 1 and its related tie-in to Isaiah's prophecy. For Matthew's intended Jewish readers, we uncovered many details that would shock them. If you missed last week, you can listen to it as a devotion at fruitportcrc.org.

Today, we’ll cover the familiar story of the wise men’s arrival. Matthew's target audience will be shocked yet again. To appreciate this even more, we'll eliminate a few obstacles along the way. Sometimes tradition adds to what the Bible reveals. Other times, the romanticism behind Christmas cards and Nativity scenes leads us astray.

Remember Matthew's overall goal. He is trying to persuade his fellow Jews that Jesus is the Messiah - the Son of David. He does so grounding Christ’s arrival to to fulfillments of Old Testament prophecy.

Last week, Matthew tied Jesus' conception and birth to Isaiah 7:14.

SLIDE 1: THEREFORE…

Like last week, we’ll begin with the second prophecy Matthew uses from Micah 5:2.

SLIDE 2: BUT

"Context as they say is king." A Jew in Matthew's day would know Micah’s backstory whereas we do not. Israel had a long history of rejecting God's prophets. In modern standards, Micah was a hick prophet from a the fringes of Israel. Revealing God’s plan for exiling Israel, Micah portrays God leaving his temple home to battle against Israel. That’s when King Hezekiah faces an Assyrian threat.

In Second Kings 19, Jerusalem was threatened by King Sennacherib's invasion. The Assyrian king belittled God. He called Israel’s God weak and helpless. As the people cowered in fear, King Hezekiah knew God’s judgement was behind this. He took Micah's judgement prophecy seriously. He entered the temple, confessed their sinfulness and prayed for Jerusalem to be spared. What a turning point this was.

That very night, the angel of the Lord put to death 185,000 Assyrians. Looking upon King Hezekiah with mercy, God delayed the exile until a later king. What emerged for a time at least was a great spiritual revival in Judah. To qualm their fears that their future was doomed, the kingdom in time would be restored. God returns to his old Covenant promises revealing a greater king to come.

REPEAT SLIDE 2: BUT

Hundreds of years later, this very verse was quoted to King Herod by the chief priests and teachers of the law. His urgent question was triggered in Matthew 2 by the unexpected arrival of wise men to Jerusalem. These very wise men asked King Herod for directions to the newborn king.

SLIDE 3: WHERE

Hopefully you appreciate the shock in this story. Or does being familiar with the story removes our shock? But not for Matthew's audience.

There’s questions for answering: Why would the wise men go to Jerusalem? After all we know Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The shocking truth is that the wise men didn’t know. The prophecies they had access to mention nothing about where the king was to be born. They only had this indicator of this unusual star related to a new king's birth. No wonder they went to Jerusalem and questioned King Herod. They didn’t even have access to Micah’s prophecy – but Herod did through the chief priests and teachers of the law.

But if they didn’t have access to Micah’s prophecy how did they know? Why would they connect the special star in the sky to a king's birth? Scripture must be the answer, but how? Scholars presume that remnants of Daniel’s writings in exile were available to them. Add to that Balaam from the Old Testament also lived in this region. He was hired by the king to pronounce spiritual curses on Israel. But God intercedes and blesses Israel through Balaam’s own mouth including this hopeful prophecy about a star. Perhaps this is the text they used.

SLIDE 4: I SEE

What a shock it would be for the Israelites to know that their Scriptures are being used by these foreign wise men from the East. The resilience of God’s word would stun Matthew’s readers that even Gentiles were moved to respond. Scripture reveals the wise men were from the East. Most likely, this was Persia or modern-day Iran where stars followers were common. That would mean they traveled at least 800 miles or more to see the Christ child! No wonder Herod and Jerusalem were shocked by their arrival. Nothing like this had happened before.

King Herod is supposed to be an insider. But he is clueless. Instead, God uses foreigners to bring the Gospel birth announcement to King Herod. It all began with the question Where? Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

Herod had not the slightest idea where this king was to be born. So he turned to his experts. Familiar with the prophecy, they answered Herod with Micah 5:2 – the hope prophecy given hundreds of years earlier to King Hezekiah.