I Wish I May...

I Wish I May...
December 1, 2010 1:00 PM -0600
Manuscript
Outline
Notes
Stars have always instilled a sense of hope. But the one star that embodied real hope leads real wise men and women straight to Jesus.

Thesis: If we would claim the hope represented by the Christmas star, we must pursue Jesus as the magi did.

Objective: Call believers to seek Jesus, respond to Him and His message, and worship Him as God and King to know hope.

  1. We must seek Jesus (1-2).
    1. We must go out of our way (“from the east came to Jerusalem” (1); If we want to find Jesus, we need to be willing to get up and leave our comfort zone to find him.).
    2. We must own Him as king (“king of the Jews” (2); If we want to find Jesus, we need to look for a king. He is not just a baby, nor a friend. He would rule in our lives, and we must want Him to do so.).
    3. We must not overlook the signs (“We saw his star” (2); If we want to find Jesus, we must pay attention to the “signs” that God has erected to point the way. Life experiences, people, Scriptures, and even our consciences can point the direction to Jesus.).
  2. We must respond to Jesus (3-8).
    1. We must respond emotionally (“he was disturbed” (3); Herod was disturbed by the news of the messiah's birth. We can respond similarly, or we can respond with joy and gladness, an eagerness to encounter Him and make Him Lord in our lives.).
    2. We must respond intellectually (“called together all the people's chief priests and teachers o the law” (4); Herod started researching to figure out where the messiah was to be born, bringing in people who would know far more than he did so that he could study the matter and find out for himself.).
    3. We must respond practically (8; Herod responded by sending the Magi to find Jesus so that he could hunt Him down and kill Him. This is plain and simple rejection. Sometimes, we don't reject so violently, but we still reject. The alternative, of course, is to embrace and worship Him, as the Magi did in vs 11.).
  3. We must worship Jesus (9-12).
    1. We must make Him our King (“gold” (11); The gift of gold represented wealth and power. As part of real worship, we must make Jesus our king by giving Him charge of our life.).
    2. We must make Him our God (“incense” (11); The gift of incense represented the worship in the temple. As part of real worship, we must make Jesus our God by trusting Him to have power.).
    3. We must make Him our Savior (“myrrh” (11); The gift of myrrh represented the lowly life and, ultimately, death that Jesus would like. As part of real worship, we must make Jesus our Savior by embracing the gift of His life, which was sacrificed for us.).

Ryrie

  • (1) Bethlehem “is five mi (eight km) S of Jerusalem.”

  • (1) “This was Herod the Great, whose family, though nominally Jewish, was in reality Edomite. He was king, with Roman help, from 37-4BC. He built the Temple in Jerusalem that Christ knew.”

  • (1) The Magi were “wise men from the east [who] were experts in the study of the stars. Tradition says that they were three and that they were kings, but we do not know that for certain.”

  • (4) “teachers, or scribes, who belonged mainly to the party of the Pharisees, functioned as members of a highly honored profession. They were professional students and defenders of the law (scriptural and traditional), gathering around them pupils who they instructed in the law. They were also referred to as lawyers because they were entrusted with the administration of the law as judges in the Sanhedrin.”

  • (6) ruler = “an earthly king, though a supernatural one”

  • (9) “The star reappeared and led them to the exact house in Bethlehem."

Reflecting God

  • (1) Gethlehem is “a village about 5 miles south of Jerusalem. Matthew says nothing of the events in Nazareth. Possibly wanting to emphasize Jesus' Davidic background, he begins with the events that happened in David's city.”

  • (1) “It is called 'Bethlehem in Judea' to emphasize that Jesus cme from the tribe that produced the line of Davidic kings. That Jews expected the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem and to be from David's family is clear from Jn 7:42.”

  • (1) “Herod the Great, to be distinguished from the other Herods in the Bible. Herod was a non-Jew, an Idumean, who was appointed king of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 BC and gained control in 37. Like most rulers of the day, he was ruthless, murdering his wife, his three sons, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle and many others – not to mention the babies in Bethlehem. His reign was also noted for splendor, as seen in the many theaters, amphitheaters, monuments, pagan altars, fortresses and other buildings he erected or refurbished – including the greatest work of all, the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, begun in 19 BC and finished 68 years after his death.”

  • (1) The Magi were “probably astrologers, perhaps from Persia or southern Arabia, both of which are east of the Holy Land.”

  • (1) “Since [the Magi] were looking for the king of the Jews, they naturally came to the Jewish capital city.”

  • (2) “king of the Jews” “indicates the magi were Gentiles. Matthew shows that people of all nations acknowledged Jesus as 'king of the Jews' and came to worship him as Lord.”

  • (2) The star the magi saw was “probably not an ordinary star, planet or comet, though some scholars have identified it with the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.”

  • (4) chief priests = “Sadducees who were in charge of worship at the temple in Jerusalem.”

  • (4) teachers of the law = “The Jewish scholars of the day, professionally trained in the development, teaching and application of OT law. Their authority was strictly human and traditional.”

  • (6) “The prophecy from Micah had been given seven centuries earlier.”

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