The Glory of Those Who Come to Worship - The Wisemen
The Glory of Christmas • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 7 viewsBig Idea: The glory of Christmas is seen in those who come to worship
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
Play Video - The glory of Christmas - Wiseman (Skit Guys)
Read Matthew 2:1-6
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,
saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
Big Idea: The glory of Christmas is seen in those who come to worship.
Outline
Outline
Big Idea: The glory of Christmas is seen in those who come to worship
Who they were
Why their visit was significant
What their gifts meant
Sermon Body
Sermon Body
Who they were
Who they were
Most of our translations say, wise men. The NASB, and Darby bible are the only ones that I looked at that actually called them Magi.
The AMP bible puts in parenthesis that these men were astrologers. They studied the stars and the sky and this is how they became aware that a star was in the night sky that did not use to be there.
These Magi, these wise men, were students of astrology (at least some of them) among other things. This is the key question of the morning?
Magi – who are they?
Some of you may recall from either last year or two years ago when we studied this in SS. I will attempt to review some of that here this morning.
There is a great deal of legend and myth around them while very little is actually said. There is never mention of the exact number of them that came.
Magi is the name of an ancient tribe of people who were priests of the Medes (The Median People).
Magi were priests to the Mede people.
The magi were not kings but political advisers.
Jeremiah 39:1-3
In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it.
In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city.
Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar's empire. Vs. 3 – Nergal-Sharezer – a high official or chief of the Magi sat in the key office of the court of Nebuchadnezzar at the beginning of the great empire.
Rab – Chief
Mag – Magician, Magi, Wise man
Acts 13:6-8
When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.
He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
Vs. 6 – Paphos; Jewish Sorcerer (Magi)
Vs. 8 – Elymas – A sorcerer (Magi)
Different offshoots but same thing
Daniel 1:19-20
And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king.
And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
Vs. 20 – Magicians – Magi
Daniel 2:1-2; 10
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.
Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.
2:1-2 – Vs. 2; Magicians (Magi), Vs. 10;
Daniel 5:1-12 (Specifically verses 11-12)
King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.
Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.
Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.
Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.
The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation.
Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.
The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change.
There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers,
because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”
Daniel, a god fearing man, had become chief advisor, chief wise man, chief magi to Nebuchadnezzar.
Also include in the book of Daniel is one of the most incredible prophecies pertaining to Christ.
9:24 – The most unbelievable prophecy in all of the OT tells the exact day that Jesus would walk into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Daniel 9:24-27
“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.
Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.
And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
The magi knew when the Messiah was coming.
Daniel's influence on the magi can be seen throughout all history.
The Megastonis – The upper class of the magi whose job was to select and train kings.
The magi are the king makers. They came because of a 600 year old prophecy foretelling the coming of Christ.
There were not three of them that came. There were likely dozens, hundreds, thousands.
They did not come alone. They came with an Arabian escort to protect them.
They did not ride camels but Arabian steeds and were white. They were priests.
They came to worship Jesus. You don't worship Kings. They knew who Jesus was and they came to worship Him.
Worship is the expression that naturally takes place when the creature recognizes his creator.
Flash forward to Matthew 2 again and we begin to understand the significance of the wisemen’s visit.
Why their visit was significant
Why their visit was significant
Matthew 2:7-18
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt
and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Herod was troubled and all Israel with Him.
Do you see why he was troubled?
The magi were powerful, influential, and notable people. They were coming to worship a king that was born. This would be troubling to any king and people.
Herod was afraid of another king who would come and steal his throne. He knew what the arrival of the Magi meant and they told him they had come to worship a king, king of the Jews.
They came to WORSHIP THE KING.
Herod felt threatened. He was afraid of losing his power, his throne.
What did he do, he killed all baby boys age 2 and under.
This is also evidence supporting the fact that it most likely the magi did not show up at the cradle the night he was born but rather sometime later.
What their gifts meant
What their gifts meant
Matthew 2:11
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
They brought him their worship and their honor! This was the King of Kings! This was not a king of their making, but the KING of all! They fell down and worshiped him!
This falling down bears the idea of falling prostrate, flat out on ones face. These wise men, this royal dignitaries got on the ground in a dirty stable to worship! Their importance, their worth, their power, their significant meant nothing in light of the king of kings laying in the manger before them!
They presented some gifts. Each of these gifts are representative of who they knew him to be and were given out of faith, out of a heart that recognized God and worshiped him as such.
Gold – Gift of a King; Picture of Royalty
Frankincense – Picture of worship. Frankincense does not grow in the east. It had to be imported.
Myrrh - Shows up three times in Christ's life. Birth, death on cross, and burial. Myrrh speaks of suffering. It smells beautiful but only smells when it is crushed. Speaks of His sacrifice.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Big Idea: The glory of Christmas is seen in those who come to worship
Who they were
Why their visit was significant
What their gifts meant
ADVERTISEMENT