Today, I want to present to you what the Holy Spirit and I have studied together this week. It will cause some of you to scratch your heads and it will cause some of you to get mad at the Pastor, but I am still going to continue.
The four different Gospel accounts of Jesus’s birth come to one conclusion—Jesus is sufficient.
Intellectually, according to Matthew, the Christmas story is rooted in history.
Morally, according to Mark, the Christmas story requires our repentance.
Emotionally, according to Luke, the Christmas story invites our worship.
Rationally, according to John, the Christmas story restores our relationship with God.
What scripture records is that there were members of the magi that came to see Jesus; not in the manger, but at home. The King James Version records wise men. But it does not report there were only three. The early Roman church decided that there were three wisemen who came to visit baby Jesus.
Another thing that could cause this confusion is our greeting cards. Greeting cards used to be really popular, but because of social media they have taken a backseat. However, I still think they are important, because the recipient is faced with the true meaning of Christmas. In all of my greeting cards I make sure that they include a bit of scripture in them.
However the illustrators and writers of the cards can partly be blamed for false teaching. They wanted to cover all of the basics; so, they included everyone. As you know, there is not a lot of people who sit down and read the Scriptures for themselves. So, they can easily be tricked! Today, I would say, there are more people who profess to be Christians: then, who actually follow Jesus. And we have a falling away from church. So, where are the people learning about Jesus?
King James Version of Scripture teaches that there were wisemen; however the NKJV teaches that they were magi, who came to visit Jesus. The Scriptures do not inform us that there were just three men with three trinkets. Today, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to teach us some true details surrounding the birth of our Savior.
Let’s read a little bit in Matthew chapter 2!
Matthew 2
New International Version
The Magi Visit the Messiah
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,(A) during the time of King Herod,(B) Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?(C) We saw his star(D) when it rose and have come to worship him.”
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 Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem(E) in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
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 shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”(F)
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 search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose 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.(G) Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts(H) of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned(I) in a dream(J) not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The magi are a group of elite Group of Wiseman who came to worship Jesus. We find that reflected in verse eight. King Herod wanted the magi to report back to him where are the child was found. Then, according to verse 11 the magi fell down and worshiped Jesus. They acknowledged that the king had been born and he was worthy of warship.
According to Matthew chapter 1 verses one through 17 explain that Jesus was in the royal bloodline of King David. Jesus is those royalty according to the lineage of David and according to our heavenly father. Matthew 1:23 says: “behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
The Magi were middle eastern king makers. They were the ones to assign kings. Now, let’s trace the Maja in the Old Testament to help us understand what is going on here. Maja was the name of a tribe. It was a priestly tribe; which, was very religious. Some historians have traced the then back to Abraham and the Chaldean‘s, through Babylon, and now in the story of Jesus.
They know about the birth of Jesus Christ, because of Daniel. Daniel extended his role as Prime Minister during the time of captivity in Babylon. Jews were spread out what we know as the Fertile Crescent. Some of them intermarried with the Babylonians and some of them stayed. We know that Daniel was one of those who stayed. Because of the Israelites who stayed in Babylon knowledge of the old testament spread throughout the Middle East. The magi lived in the Middle East and according to scripture they came to meet Jesus from the east.
Nebuchadnezzar surrounded himself with different wisemen. King Nebuchadnezzar assigned the Jewish prophet Daniel to the high office of “chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners” (Dan. 5:11). In other words, Daniel was appointed Chief of the Magi.
Not only was Daniel chief of the Magi, but his prophecies became known throughout the ancient Near East. Even the Romans were aware of his prophecies of a coming king of Israel.
This means that the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 equal 490 prophetic years (bringing us up to the time of Calvary), so even after hundreds of years, Daniel’s prophecy of the coming Messiah could have been known to the wise men, and this would explain why they were able to discern the when and where of the Messiah’s birth.
Daniel along with Jewish society believed that Jesus would be the Messiah and he would set up an earthly kingdom that no man could touch. Daniel taught the magi all about Jewish history and culture. They all thought that Jesus would come and be ruler of the world. The magi wanted to be involved in The rulership.
The magi or the wisemen came from the Middle East. The land of the Middle East was opposite of the land to the west. Rome was in the west and the Middle East (where Iran is today) would’ve been to the east of Bethlehem. The Magias were a group of elite priests, who are also government officials, from the Middle East.
Now, the Holy Ghost got me thinking, studying, and researching this topic. Men of government authority were always accompanied with an entourage. This entourage consisted of, but was not limited to the following: soldiers, bond servants, and slaves. They also owned elite horses, animals, spices, camels. They were wealthy men.
What we know is that they were men from the east. We don’t officially know the number of magi. We also do not know the amount of gifts they brought. It could have been small trinkets, but more likely it was a large amount. We can speculate that Jesus’s family may have used these items to fund their plight in Egypt.
This gives us hope today, because God never leaves or forsakes his children. He always provides especially if he commands us to do something. He always goes before us and prepares the way.
According to history, King Harold, was a terrible man. He killed his three sons to keep them from Being king. He thought that his wife was going to overthrow him; therefore, he killed her also. So, when he saw the magi and their entourage he was perplexed! He was very interested in Jesus, because he wanted to kill him. He did not want anyone to take his throne.
Now, I want to add a side note here: we know that our God is all knowing and omnipresent. We know that Satan or the devil is sly and uses trickery, but he is not all knowing or always present. King Herold wanted the King of the Jews dead. So, the devil put the plot to kill all baby boys two and under in his head, because he did not know where to find Jesus.
According to Scripture, if we are one of God’s children he will warn us. For example, Matthew 2:12, ESV: And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Today, if you are a child of God you house the Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost was sent to comfort us and teach us all things. We must learn to to listen to him and then obey!
If you have not been born again; then you do not have the Holy Spirit. In order to be saved from the wrath of God you must believe, accept, and confess.
