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10182017WiseMenSearchForAndFindTheKingOfTheJewsMatt2.1-12DonRuhl

 

 

Wise Men Search For and Find the King of the Jews 

Matthew 2.1–12

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • October 18, In the year of our Lord, 2017

  1. Matthew 2.1–2 | Wise Men from the East

    1 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, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

    1. What did the wise men say they had arrived to find?
    2. How did the wise men know about His star?
    3. What did they want to do?
  2. Matthew 2.3–6 | Jerusalem Troubled

    3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

    6 “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
    For out of you shall come a Ruler
    Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

    1. Why would Herod be troubled at the announcement of the wise men?
    2. Why would all Jerusalem be troubled at the announcement of the wise men?
    3. What do you think of Herod gathering the chief priests and scribes to find out from them where the Christ would be born?
      1. Were the chief priests and scribes part of the number of Jerusalem troubled by the announcement of the wise men?
      2. I doubt it, because they would be happy to have the Christ arrive and break Rome’s rule, at least according to their expectations of the Christ?
    4. What passage did the Jewish leaders quote to Herod?
      1. Does it surprise you that he did not submit to the prophecy, for it showed a greater force at work?
      2. It should not surprise us because people contradict the word of God all the time.
  3. Matthew 2.7–8 | Herod’s Deception

    7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

    1. What did Herod want to know from the wise men?
    2. What did he tell them to do?
    3. What did he say he wanted to do?
  4. Matthew 2.9–12 | Wise Men Worship a Young Child

    9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen 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 exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way (Matt 2.1–12).

    1. How did the wise men know in which house the Christ was?
      1. Could this star have been a normal star?
        1. No, because it moved.
        2. In what direction had it moved from Jerusalem to Bethlehem?
      2. Also, it stood right over the exact house, which no one in the heavens now can be said to do something of that nature.
      3. How high must this star have been?
      4. Star is simply meaning a bright light in the sky.
    2. If Jesus was born in a stable, why did the wise men find Him in a house?
      1. Later Matthew shows that Herod had all the young boys 2 and younger, slaughtered, meaning that Jesus was not a newborn when the wise men arrived.
      2. Apparently Joseph had moved the family to a home, perhaps one belonging to family, since Mary had a newborn and needed to recover.
    3. What did Joseph and Mary think when the wise men fell down and worshiped the young boy?
    4. They also worshiped Him by bringing what to Him?
      1. They brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
      2. Does that mean there were three wise men?