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Matthew Chapter Two

 
The Visit Of The Wise Men (2:1-12)
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. Common to many nativity scenes commemorating the birth of Jesus is
 the presence of "three wise men"...
 a. Implied is that these men, three in number, visited Jesus while
 still in the manger
 b. Is this what the Bible really teaches?
 
2. Matthew is the gospel writer who records this visit...
  a. Which is found in Mt 2:1-12
 b. Which serves as the text for our study today
 
[This story of "The Visit Of The Wise Men" is both interesting and of
practical value. Having read the text, let's first note some...]
 
I. INTERESTING FEATURES OF THIS STORY
 
 A. FOR WHAT MATTHEW DOESN'T TELL US...
 1. Who exactly were these "wise men from the East"?
 a. Some think they were a group of priests from Persia
 b. Others believe they were astrologers from Babylon
 2. How many were there?
 a. No actual number is given
 b. Three types of gift are mentioned (Mt 2:11), but quality of
 gifts does not necessarily imply the quantity of givers!
 3. What was the nature of the "star"?
 a. Was it an actual "star"?
 b. Was it the planet Jupiter, often associated with the birth
 of kings
 c. Was it a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the Sign of
 the Fish?
 d. Was it a comet acting erratically?
 4. How did these wise men connect the star with the birth of the
 king of the Jews?
 a. Had they been taught by Jews of the Dispersion to expect
 the Messiah?
 b. Had they been given special revelation from God not
 recorded in the Scriptures?
 
 B. FOR WHAT LEGENDS HAVE RISEN...
 1. That these wise men were "three kings from the Orient"
 2. That their names were Melchior, Balthasar, and Caspar
 3. That they visited Baby Jesus together with the shepherds the
 night of His birth
 a. But it was some time later (up to two years!) - Mt 2:1,16
 b. They visited Mary and the child in a house, not a stable! 
 - Mt 2:11
 4. That they were later baptized by Thomas
 
[The facts are the Biblical record says little about WHO these men 
were. Perhaps because the emphasis is upon WHAT they did: "We have
come to WORSHIP Him." (Mt 2:2,11) What is important is that Jesus is
worthy of worship, which can only mean that He is truly DEITY (cf. 
"Immanuel", or "God with us")!
 
But there are other lessons that can be gleaned from "The Visit Of The
Wise Men"...]
 
II. LESSONS TO BE LEARNED
 
 A. IT IS EASY FOR FICTION TO BE TAKEN AS FACT...
 1. We have seen what people have done with the story of Jesus' 
 birth
 a. Making the number of the wise men to be three
 b. Having them visit Jesus in the stable
 2. There are other examples
 a. Making the "forbidden fruit" in the Garden to be an "apple"
 b. Depicting baptism in the Bible as pouring or sprinkling
 -- We need to be like the Bereans (Ac 17:11), and make sure we
 get the facts straight!
 
 B. THERE MAY BE TRUE SERVANTS OF GOD IN PLACES WHERE WE MIGHT NOT
 EXPECT TO FIND THEM...
 1. The Lord may have many "hidden ones" (i.e., hidden to our 
 knowledge) like the wise men
 2. Their history on earth may be as little known as that of 
 Melchizedek, Job, Jethro
 3. We must not assume that God's people consists only of those we
 know about, listed in "our" directories
 a. There can be many faithful Christians in other countries
 b. We may not know about them, but God does! - 2 Tim 2:19
 -- Though unknown to us, we can still pray for them!
 
 C. IT IS NOT ALWAYS THOSE WHO HAVE THE MOST RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGES,
 WHO GIVE CHRIST THE MOST HONOR...
 1. One would think the chief priests and scribes would have been
 the first to go to Bethlehem, hearing rumors that the Savior
 was born
 a. But no, it was a few unknown strangers from a distant land
 b. As John wrote in his gospel, "He came to His own, and His
 own did not receive Him" - Jn 1:11
 2. Sadly, the same is often true today
 a. Those in the Lord's church often show less love and 
 adoration than those in the denominations of men
 b. Children of Christian parents often show less interest than
 many children of non-Christians
 
 D. THERE MAY BE KNOWLEDGE IN THE HEAD, WHILE THERE IS NO GRACE IN
 THE HEART...
 1. The chief priests and scribes were quick to provide Herod the
 answer to his question
 a. But as far as we know, they did not act on such knowledge
  b. They did not go to Bethlehem, and some never did come to
 believe in Him
 2. What about us today?
 a. We may knowledge in the head (we know the truth), but do we
 have grace in our hearts (do we act on it)?
  b. We need to always grow in grace and knowledge - 2 Pe 3:18
 
 E. THE WISE MEN ARE A SPLENDID EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUAL DILIGENCE...
 1. Consider what it must have cost them to travel
 a. In money
 b. In time
 c. In dangers
 2. What about our diligence? Are we willing to pay the price...
 a. To find Christ?
 b. To serve Him?
 c. To worship Him?
 -- They traveled at great costs and risk to worship Jesus; many
 Christians won't even take the time to attend a gospel meeting
 or a second service on Sunday!
 
 F. THE WISE MEN ARE A STRIKING EXAMPLE OF FAITH...
 1. They believed in Christ...
 a. When they had never seen Him prior to their journey
 b. When the scribes and chief priests were unbelieving
 c. When all they saw was a little child on a mother's knee!
 1) Without miracles to convince them (except the star)
 2) Without much teaching to persuade them
 -- Yet they "fell down and worshipped Him"
 2. This is the kind of faith God delights to honor!
 a. For God saw fit to record their example of faith for us
 b. And every time this passage is read, their example of faith
 is honored!
  -- As Jesus said later, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you
 have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
 have believed." - Jn 20:29
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. May the faith and diligence of the wise men serve to inspire us to
 greater service to our Lord!
 
2. Though the world around us may remain careless and unbelieving, 
 let's not be ashamed to believe in Jesus and confess Him
 
3. We have much more reason to believe Him and worship Him...
 a. His miracles, His resurrection from the dead
 b. His teachings, His death on the cross for our sins
 
Are we willing to make the effort to find, worship, and serve this 
great King? As stated on a popular bumber-sticker:
 
 "Wise men still seek Him"
 
NOTE: Some of the main points for this lesson were taken from
"Expository Thoughts On The Gospels" by J. C. Ryle.

The Early Years Of Jesus (2:13-23)
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. A remarkable feature concerning the gospel records is their
 brevity...
 a. Especially related to the early life of Jesus, following His
 birth
 b. Mark and John relate nothing about this period of Jesus' life
 c. Only Matthew and Luke record something about the first thirty
 years
 
2. Other than the visit of the wise men, Matthew records only...
 a. The flight to Egypt - Mt 2:13-15
 b. The massacre by Herod - Mt 2:16-18
 c. The return to Nazareth - Mt 2:19-23
 
3. Why did Matthew record only these three events? Are there any
 lessons to be gleaned from what we know of the early years of Jesus?
 
[In an effort to answer such questions, let's take a few moments and
first examine the text of Mt 2:13-23...]
 
I. MATTHEW'S ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY YEARS OF JESUS
 
 A. THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT...
 1. Precipitated by the angel's warning - Mt 2:13-14
 a. Joseph was told to take Mary and the Child to Egypt
 b. For Herod was seeking to destroy Jesus
 2. Remaining there until the death of Herod - Mt 2:15
 a. The sojourn and eventual departure from Egypt fulfilled
 prophecy - Hos 11:1
 b. For the exodus of Israel alluded to in Hosea was evidently
 a type or shadow of the Messiah's own call out of Egypt
 
 B. THE MASSACRE OF THE INFANTS...
 1. Herod's angry decree - Mt 2:16
  a. Having been frustrated in his original plans - Mt 2:7-8,12
 b. Ordering the death of all male children, two and under, in
 Bethlehem and surrounding districts
 2. Jeremiah's prophecy - Mt 2:17-18
 a. This terrible calamity had been foreseen - Jer 31:15
 b. For the exile of Israel alluded to in Jeremiah was likewise
 a type or shadow of the grief that would be experienced
 again in the region where Rachel was buried
 
 C. THE RETURN TO NAZARETH...
 1. Joseph was directed via dreams - Mt 2:19-22
 a. First, to return to Israel, for Herod was dead
 b. Then, to go to Galilee instead of Judea, for Herod's son
 Archelaus was reigning in Judea
 2. Residing in Nazareth, another fulfillment of prophecy 
 - Mt 2:23
 a. The prophecy "He shall be called a Nazarene" was based
 upon the words of several prophets ("which was spoken by
 the prophets")
 b. There are at least two possibilities as to what is meant...
 1) "It may be that this term of contempt (Jn 1:46; 7:52) is
 what is meant, and that several prophecies are to be
 combined like Psa 22:6,8; 69:11,19; Isa 53:2-4."
  - Robertson's Word Pictures
 2) "Verse 23 alludes to Isa. 11:1, which states that a
 "branch" (netser, Heb.) will grow out of the roots of
 Jesse (cf. Jer 23:5). Under this view, "branch" and
 "Nazarene" share the same root (nzr, Heb.), and "branch"
 refers to the coming ruler of Davidic descent. Although
 they used a different word, other prophets also spoke of
 the Messiah in terms of the "branch" (Jer. 23:5; Zech
 3:8; 6:12), and Matthew could legitimately say that this
 prediction was "spoken by the prophets" (vv. 6, 15)."
 - Believer's Study Bible
 
[It should be apparent that Matthew selected those events in Jesus' 
early life which were foretold by the prophets. This assisted him in
his purpose to show his Jewish readers that Jesus was truly the Messiah
for Whom they were looking! Now for a couple of...]
 
II. LESSONS TO BE GLEANED FROM JESUS' EARLY YEARS
 
 A. WORLDLY RULERS ARE OFTEN OPPOSED TO GOD'S RULE...
 1. This is seen throughout Jesus' life and the period following
 a. Herod the Great, upset at His birth - Mt 2:1-3,16
 b. Herod Antipas, who had John imprisoned and beheaded 
  - Mt 4:12;14:1-12
 c. The leaders of Israel
 1) Who plotted against Jesus - Mt 26:3-4; 27:1-2
 2) Who attempted to cover up His resurrection - Mt 28:11-15
 3) Who sought to prevent the apostles from telling their
 story - Ac 4:1-3,18; 5:40; 24:1-5
 2. We should not be surprised if the same should happen to us
 today
 a. Jesus warned that such might happen - Jn 15:18-20
 b. Satan will certainly do all that he can to stop us
 1) He was behind the efforts to persecute Christ and His
 church - Re 12:3-5,17; 1 Pe 5:8-9
 2) He made use of kings to war against the Lamb and His
 followers - Re 17:12-14
 3) And will do so again - cf. Re 20:7-9
 -- But as prophesied, all such efforts are for naught! - cf. Psa 
 2:1-12
 
 B. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS CAN'T HINDER THE ADVANCE OF GOD'S WILL...
 1. Jesus' beginnings did not prevent Him from doing great things
  a. Even though He lived in exile and relative obscurity at the
 beginning (in Egypt)
 b. Even though He was raised in a town despised by others
 (Nazareth)
 2. The example of Jesus' humility ought to inspire us
  a. To accept the mind of Christ, especially in relation to our
 brethren - Ph 2:5-8
 b. To accept whatever area of service we might have in life 
 - cf. Psa 84:10
 -- For those who humble themselves will be exalted at the right
 time - cf. 1 Pe 5:5-7
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. What we know of Jesus' early years is very little
 
2. But it is sufficient to confirm that He was truly the Messiah...
 a. Who would be "despised and rejected by men" - Isa 53:3
 b. Against whom "the kings of the earth set themselves" - Psa 2:2-3
 
3. And it should be sufficient to remind His disciples...
 a. That we can expect the same treatment - 2 Ti 3:12
 b. That we seek to emulate the same example of humility and 
 willingness to suffer for the will of God - 1 Pe 2:21
 
Are you willing to humbly serve and even suffer persecution for Jesus
"the Nazarene"?

－－《Executable Outlines》