The Wise Guys Series

Matthew 2: 1 – 12

The Wise Guys

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, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 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.’” 7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” 9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

If you ever channel surfed on your TV with your remote you may have come across a program that begins with a warning. For example, I love to watch the history channel. On one such program called the ‘World At War’ I am able to see a time progression of Hitler’s rise to power to his demise. Sadly toward the end of the series the program shows the grim pictures of concentration camps. Thus, the program will have a announcement that viewers should be warned of the graphic contents of the program which are pretty horrible.

Today, I am going to give you an announcement also before beginning this study. You views of Christmas pasts might be shaken when you get a clearer version of what the bible says in regards to our Lord’s birth as compared to how we have been taught.

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,

When you visit some homes during the holiday season you might see some ‘mangers’. Well, they are called ‘mangers’ but they are a little more than the name. You see Joseph and Mary could not find any room to stay so the innkeeper offered them a spot where the animals were at.

Luke 2:1-7, “2 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

You see they probably stayed on the side of the inn in an enclosed stall. They didn’t have this pretty well heated and decorated wooden structure. The ‘manger’ which we see as this cute wooden crate with nice straw wasn’t exactly the way Joseph and Mary saw it. In fact if you travel to Israel you can actually see ‘mangers’ They were and are carved out stone fixtures that the animals drank water from.

Now as we review Matthew’s version we read about the Wise Men. We will see that Herod had thought them to be ‘Wise Guys’ because we will find out that they tricked him.

Now around our Christmas mangers you see the shepherd’s kneeling before the manger where Joseph and Mary are looking at the baby Jesus also. And you will also see the three wise men with the other statues. This isn’t accurate. You see that the ‘Wise Men’ did not show up until later. In fact it was probably about 2 years after our Lord Jesus was born when they came to see the baby born king of the Jews.