The Wise Men Have Seen a Great Light
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Rev. Jim Bogle, given January 6, 2008
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Matthew 2:1-3
1: Now when Jesus was born in
2: Saying, Where is he that is born King of
the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and
are come to worship him.
3: When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all
The birth of Jesus Christ is recorded in two books
of the Bible, the book of Matthew and the book of Luke. Luke speaks of the
shepherds, the light of the glory of the Lord, the heavenly host, and the
manger, while Matthew speaks of the wise men, the Star, the gifts, and a house.
This morning, as we look at Matthew’s recording of
the birth of Christ, we will see that the experience of the wise men, even
though they came to visit the Christ child some time later after his birth (possibly
18 months or even two years later), is directly related to the experience of
the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem as recorded in the book of Luke.
They both experience light and they both respond to
that light.
Jesus came into this world to bear the sins of all the world, to be the Savior of the world; to be not only
“the Glory of His people
John 8:12
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life.”
Matthew 2:1, 2
1: Now when Jesus was born in
2: Saying, Where is he that is born King of
the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and
are come to worship him.
“We have seen his star in the east…” They saw His
star, but they were not seeing it at that moment. The star was not shinning
over them, or they would not be in
In Numbers 24:17, the wayward prophet Balaam was
moved by the LORD to prophesy “there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre (Ruler) shall rise out of Israel,” This was a
prophecy of the coming of the Messiah of Israel; the King of Israel that would
rule the world justly and bring everlasting peace!
The wise men of the east remembered that
prophesy…though they were Gentiles, they believed the
prophesy of Balaam, and were anxiously watching for that star to shine
forth.
Today the Israelite’s national flag is a white field
with a blue, six-pointed star – the Star of David. Yet the Israelites still do
not realize that that Star has come in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I want you to note four things about these wise men
– THESE WISE MEN ARE GENTILES: yet
(1) They knew
about the coming of the Israelite Messiah;
(2) They were
familiar with Israelite Scriptures;
(3) They
associated the bright and miraculous light that they saw in the east with
prophecy;
(4) And most
importantly, they responded to the light.
These wise men from the east were more
noble than the Priests, scribes, and the Pharisees because they believed
God’s Word, and looked anxiously toward the coming birth of
John 8:12
I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life.
The shepherds of
And yet how sad it is that...
There is no report that the priests saw the light: there
is no report that the scribes saw the light. And there is certainly no report
that Herod saw any light, or that many in
Matthew 2:3
3: When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all
These wise men were in town asking, “Where is he that
is born king of the Jews?” Herod was king of the Jews, by Roman appointment. The
Jews, even though they didn’t consider Herod much of a king, nor care at all
for Roman domination, certainly didn’t want to upset the status quo. As long a
Herod was quiet,
But now these strangers have come to town looking
for a new born king.
Herod was paranoid about his kingship. A cruel and
crafty snake-in-the-grass, married nine times, he murdered one of his wives and
two of his brothers-in-law because he thought they were plotting to take his
throne. So when the wise men come looking for a newborn king, this was
something for all of
But there’s another, and even more important, reason
for the people to be troubled about the report of the coming of the Christ
child; If the report of their Messiah’s coming was
true, they weren’t ready…
And here is the most valid reason of all for fear to
fall heavily upon
Question! Are you ready this morning for the coming
of Christ?
The Jews were highly religious people,
They practiced their
religion daily
But
their hearts were far from God.
Matthew 15:8 [Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah]
This people draweth
nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with
their lips; but their heart is far from me.
How far is our heart this morning from the Lord
Jesus Christ? If He were to come today, would we be ready for His coming?
Matthew 24:44
Therefore be ye also
ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 25:13
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day
nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
If there was ever a more striking point to be made
about the birth of Jesus Christ it would have to be the unpreparedness of the
people for His coming.
Yet these wise men were not caught off guard – they
were watching for the star.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-6
2: For yourselves know perfectly that the day
of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3: For when they shall say, Peace and safety;
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child;
and they shall not escape.
4: But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that
that day should overtake you as a thief.
5: Ye are all the children of light, and the
children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6: Therefore let us not sleep, as do others;
but let us watch and be sober.
Many were not ready for the coming of Christ. The
Scripture says all
The wise men asked the question, “Where is he that
is born king of the Jews”
Matthew 2:4-7
4: And when he had gathered all the chief
priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ
should be born.
5: And they said unto him, In
6: And thou
7: Then Herod, when he had privily
called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
We must remember, or keep in mind the fact that the
wise men are now arriving at least 18 months to 2 years after the actual birth
of Christ. They saw the star approximately two years earlier.
What happened at that time?
Luke 2:8-9
8: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9: And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon
them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore
afraid.
A glorious light shone down from heaven over the
fields of
When Herod was satisfied with the wise men’s report,
the Bible says:
Matthew 2:8
8: And he sent them to
THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE WORLD’S WILLFUL
REBELLION, AND FOOLISH REJECTION OF THE WORD OF GOD:
HEROD HAS THE TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIPTURES
HEROD HAS THE TESTIMONY OF
THE SCRIBES AND PRIESTS
HEROD
HAS THE TESTIMONY OF THE WISEMEN
AND YET HIS ONLY RESPONSE IS, NOT TO WORSHIP THE NEWBORN
KING, BUT TO DESTROY HIM.
The world has been trying to drive the God of
Abraham out of the hearts and minds of people for millennia. People today may
find the name of Jesus offensive, they may try to rid themselves of the
testimony of the church and the powerful and convicting message of the Gospel
of Christ, but they will never rid themselves of the one day coming judgment
wherein they will kneel before the King of Kings and the LORD of Lords, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and confess Him as Lord.
Herod hated Christ and he had no intention of
worshipping Him.
Matthew 2:9-11
9: When they had heard the king, they
departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw 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
exceeding great joy.
11: And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped
him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Herod was not there when the wise men presented
their gifts. The priests and scribes were not there. The people of
The wise men were there. And often seen on
billboards or inscribed on Christian trinkets or printed on shirts, is the truthful
phrase, “Wise men still seek Him.”
The priest and scribes were religious...but they
weren’t very wise.
Herod was a king, holding great authority, but he
wasn’t very wise.
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
wisdom
Note the actions of the wise men:
1.
The wise men came to worship the newborn Messiah
(their hearts were in the right place),
2.
They were not ashamed to admit that that was
their TRUE goal (that should be our goal as well),
3.
They had traveled a long way (some won’t travel
around the block to worship Christ),
4. And they brought him gifts (Gold, Frankincense, and myrrh),
a. The gold speaks of His birth. He is born a king,
b. The frankincense speaks of the beauty and fragrance of his life,
c.
Myrrh speaks of his death. It is a precious spice for embalming.
In Isaiah 60, verses 1-6 speak of the Millennial Reign
of Christ and the coming again of the Gentiles to worship King Jesus as he
governs the world from
Isaiah 60:1-6
1: Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and
the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
2: For, behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and
his glory shall be seen upon thee.
[THERE IS A GREAT LIGHT
SHINING AGAIN IN
3: And the Gentiles shall come to thy light,
and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
4: Lift up thine
eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to
thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy
side.
[GENTILE WISE MEN AND
WOMEN ARE COMING AGAIN TO THE LIGHT.]
5: Then thou shalt
see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear,
and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee,
the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
[ALL THE NATIONS OF THE
EARTH SHALL BE GRAFTED INTO THE FAMILY OF ABRAHAM.]
6: The multitude of camels shall cover thee,
the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
all they from
[THEY DO NOT BRING MYRRH. JESUS
WILL NEVER HAVE TO BE EMBALMED AGAIN. THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD. THIS IS TRUTH.]
Are you rejecting the word of God today!
Isaiah prophesied who
would be coming.
Daniel
prophesied when He would be coming.
Micah
prophesied where he would be coming.
Zechariah
prophesied how he would coming.
All
prophesied WHY he was coming.
Are you rejecting the Word of God today?
The Wiseman didn’t...the shepherds didn’t...Mary and
Joseph didn’t…AND GOD SHOWED THEM GREAT THINGS.
Jeremiah 33:3
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
The Jews were not ready: When Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judea, very few were truly ready for his coming. Although many were aware of the prophecies of
his coming, they were still caught completely by surprise when they heard the
news.
Will you be ready when Christ comes again? WHEN
JESUS COMES AGAIN, HE WILL COME QUICKLY!
Matthew 24:27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
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