Sunday, December 17, 2000   

INTRODUCTION: One of the great purposes of the Gospel of Matthew is to present Jesus Christ as the virgin born King: the King of the Jews sent to offer Himself to the Jews as their Messiah.

In Matthew, Christ is recognized as the "Lion," "the lion of the tribe of Judah." The Lion symbolizes supreme strength and kingship. The lion is known as the king of the jungle. Christ is the strong sovereign king who will rightfully sit upon the throne of David.

The wise men upon seeing the star in the east journeyed to the Holy Land to worship the child Jesus.

     I. VERSES 1-2, THE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST

           A. The scripture tells us that these wise men were from the east.

                 1. They came from Babylon, Persia. This is where the book of Daniel was written.

                       a. Daniel had been carried away captive to Babylon. He became the most important man of wisdom during the reign of several rulers.

                       b. Daniel, without doubt, influenced these wise men as he had the generations before them.

                 2. These fellows were wise men because they sought the Messiah, the king whom Daniel had written about.

                        a. Wise men still seeks Him.

                       b. Will you be wise and seek the Lord Jesus?

     B. We have been taught by tradition that there were three wise men.

           1. There were three gifts (verse 11), but this does not mean there were only three wise men.

           2. There are those who have been influenced by the novel Ben Hur written by Lew Wallace. Ben Hur is a good book, but it is not inspired.

            3. There may have been only three wise men, but probably there were more.

     C. "Wise Men" is translated from the Greek word Magi.

           1. Young's Concordance says that they were: "Persian astronomers or wise men."

           2. Peloubet's Bible Dictionary says that "Daniel himself was a prince and chief among this very class of wise men." His prophecies were made known to them...

      D. These wise men had spiritual minds for they knew that the Savior was to be born, and they journeyed to worship him.

           1. They came at great expense and great trouble as they traveled from the east through the desert to see the child Jesus.

            2. Ezra 7:9 tells us that it took Ezra and those with him four months to travel from Babylon back to Jerusalem.

II. VERSE 2, THE STAR, HIS STAR

      A. Verses 2, 7, 9, and 1 0 speak of this special star.

            1. Verse 2, the wise men said: "We have seen his star in the east." Whose star did they see? His star!

           2. They saw the star known as "His star," the star of Jesus. The star that said the Savior was born.

     B. The star that appeared in Persia (verse 2), also appeared to them at Jerusalem and went before them leading them to the child Jesus in Bethlehem.

            1. Some have suggested that this may have been a comet, planet, or meteor.

           2. The Greek word for star in Matthew 2:2 is aster which according to John Broadus would indicate a single star. The word used for a group of stars is astron.

      C. Folks have tried to figure out which star lead the Wise Men: I believe God prepared a star, a special star, His star to lead them.

            1. In the book of Jonah, He prepared a fish.

           2. Here God prepared a star, His star to signal the birth of God's Son: "The creator of all the fiery hosts of the heavens!" (Rice 93).

      D. The Wise Men by faith recognized the star and its significance.

III. GUIDED BY THE BIBLE

      A. These Wise Men had to hear about the coming King. They learned of the Messiah either from the scriptures or from a man of God.

            1. They were believers, and believers are those who have heard and accepted the truth (Romans 10:14).

           2. God's plan is for men to hear the Word of God from others or read the Word.

                  a. Cornelius was a devout man, but he was not saved until God sent Peter to preach the Gospel to him (Acts 10).

                  b. In Luke 16:27-31, we read that Abraham would not send Lazarus to preach to the rich man's brothers for they had the Bible.

      B. Could it be that they read Daniel 9:25-26! I believe they did.

            1. In Daniel 9:25, the Wise Men found plainly the time when the Messiah would come:

                 a. Sixty-nine weeks of years.

                 b. 483 years after the royal command went out to restore Jerusalem in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

                  c. They were looking for His star when it appeared.

            2. From Daniel 9:26, they knew that this one whom they sought was born to die. He would not die for Himself but for sinners.

           3. These men read the scriptures, the book of Daniel for sure. From the scriptures, they learned when the Messiah was to be born.

      C. The Wise Men were not the only ones who realized that the coming of the Messiah was at hand.

            1. In Luke 2:26, God revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Christ.

           2. In Luke 3:15, we read that when John the Baptist came, the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not."

            3. After Jesus had worked many miracles, the people said: "When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?"

           4. The religious world, the scribes and Phadsees, knew of the promise of the Messiah for all Jerusalem was troubled when the Wise Men asked where Jesus would be born (Matthew 2:3).

      D. The star was sent by God as a witness, a witness to verify the inspired, infallible Word of God.

            1. In Psalm 19, we find that the Word of God is greater and more perfect than the bodies of heaven.

                 a. Verses 1-6 speak about the heaven and the firmament shewing God's handiwork.

                 b. Verses 7-1 0 tell us that God's Word is right: it is perfect!

           2. If the Wise Men from the East would travel hundreds of miles on the testimony of the book of Daniel, how ought we to serve God and live for Him for we have the Old and New Testaments with thousands of promises to guide us.

IV. VERSE 11, THE FAITH OF THE WISE MEN

      A. The gifts of the Wise Men tell the story of their faith, gifts fitting for the King, gifts with great spiritual significance.

            1. The Wise Men were aware of the special witness of "his star," and they fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 60:3.

           2. The Magi were honored as royalty in Persian society. They brought gifts for another King, King Jesus.

      B. The three gifts:

            1. Gold - the gold was given as a token of His royalty. He is the King of Kings.

                 a. Gold is the universal money. Being brought to Jesus, it symbolizes that He is the creator and owner of all things.

                 b. In the holy of holies in the temple, everything was gold or covered with gold. Gold is fit for the worship of a king.

           2. Frankincense - is an incense and symbolizes prayer and praise offered to Christ as God.

                  a. They believed Jesus was the Son of God.

                  b. They worshiped Christ and praised Him.

                  c. Are we to get all wrapped up in the modem commercial Christmas? No. Worship Christ.

            3. Myrrh- this speaks of His death. He was born to die.

                 a. The body of Jesus was wrapped for burial.

                 b. The myrrh also points to the Passover where the lamb was roasted with bitter spices. So the myrrh speaks of suffering, of death, and of the prices of sin.

CONCLUSION: The Wise Men were lead to Christ by the Word of God. My prayer is that you, like the Wise Men, will find Him too.