December 26, 2021 - Matthew 2:1-12 - Merry Christmas
December 26, 2021
Lessons Learned
Matthew 2:1-12
By Wayne Gaeddert
1. Matthew was written to Jews to prove that Jesus was their Messiah and King.
2. The wise men’s gifts:
Gold- Symbolized the deity of the Christ child, a fitting gift for a king.
Frankincense- Symbolized the purity of Jesus.
Myrrh- points to His death, since people use myrrh for embalming.
3. Frankincense is an aromatic resin from Boswellia trees, it’s used in perfumes and as incense for religious purposes.
4. Myrrh is produced from the sap of small thorny flowering trees of the incense-tree family. These trees grow up to 9 feet tall on parched rocky hills. It is used as a fragrance, in incense, as a fixative in cosmetics, and in embalming.
5. ‘Herod the Great’ was a foreigner (to Israel) who was granted the title ‘King of Judea’ by the Roman Senate. In contrast, Jesus was born ‘King of the Jews.’
6. The magi were from the east. Most likely the Jewish exiles (Daniel and others) told the Babylonians and Persians of a Jewish King that was to be born.
7. God gave the magi a sign (a star) to reveal to them the King of the Jews they had heard about had been born.
8. God reveals himself to those who seek Him.
9. The magi were not distracted by the fact that the Romans were ruling the territory.
10. The chief priests and scribes had no interest in making the short five-mile trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to worship the one the magi had traveled a great distance to worship and honor with gifts.
11. We don’t know how many magi there were, but Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled by their arrival and question.
12. The magi found the child (not a baby) in a house (not a stable).
13. According to the decree of Herod to kill all the boys who were two years old and under, Jesus was probably around 1-2 years old.
14. Had Mary and Joseph not stayed in Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus, the magi would not have been able to find Jesus.
15. The magi saw the child with His mother, but the scripture says, they worshiped Him, not the mother.
16. The magi traveled a great distance and brought gifts for the purpose of worshiping. What sacrifices do you make to worship Him?
17. Why are people still troubled by Jesus today? After all, the Bible says:
Come unto me all he that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28
I am the bread of life. John 6:35
I am the good shepherd. John 10:14
I am the resurrection and life. John 11:35
I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6
18. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.” Micah 5:2
19. Bethlehem means house of bread.
20. The humble life of Jesus:
Jesus was born into a peasant family, in a lowly stable, in a small town that was not noteworthy of anything.
He grew up in the town of Nazareth, which was described as, ‘can anything good come from Nazareth.’
21. The testimony of the shepherds (Luke 2) must not have been believed by the chief priests and scribes in Jerusalem.
22. Notice the importance of scripture to direct the wise men to where the one born King of the Jews could be found.
23. Application:
Jesus will be found by those wanting to worship Him.
The whole point of the wise men’s visit was to worship. We can worship by giving of our time, talent, and money to honor Him.
The wise men gave their best gifts to the one they came to worship.