seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
a. Matthew 2:1 Traditionally wise men
b. Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2,4
The three kings visited Mary and Jesus in Bethlehem. They didn't get there on Christmas Eve.... they had to find the right place first. The three kings weren't really "kings". They were astronomers.... scientists.... and they were exploring the stars long before humans raised the first satellite dish to listen for signals from other planets. They were tracking a planetary alignment and it led them to search for someone truly spectacular.
When Mars and Venus got together in the sky on the 21st of this year.... it was like what happened back then. Back in the days of Jesus there were no street lights or cars or blinking traffic signals or billboards to clog up the night sky. When the stars shone back in the days of Jesus.... there was no pollution to hide them. The moon and the starts put on a beautiful light show every night. When the time was right.... and the star was directly over the spot where the Messiah was located... it would be perfect alignment and it would light up the world. Just like that fullest moon.... the alignment would make the night turn into day.... and that spot... that moment in time is what they were searching for.
Now the three "kings" were looking for a king.... so they figured they should look at the Palace where the king would reside..... and that's when they met that sad guy Herod. Herod was a little insane. He thought he was the center of the universe. He wanted to keep his position.... above anything on earth.... he wanted to be king.... the commentaries say he had his wife and her three sons murdered.... so they couldn't take his throne. He liked life the way it is and he was not going to be put out of the palace. If there was someone who might come after his throne.... then he would certainly dispose of them as quickly as possible. Herod was a little insane and he would do anything he could to be large and in charge. He loved to be worshiped and a new king was not in his plans.
When the three kings finally made it to Herod and told him what was happening.... Herod got shifty. He told the kings that he was interested in their findings and he wanted them to come back and let him know where this little guy born under such a perfect alignment might be. And then when the kings didn't come back.... Herod hunted for their location.... and then in a final effort to save his throne.... he had all babies born to the descendants of Jacob [Israel] ... under the age of three... slaughtered.
The last time a king wanted to destroy every male descendant of Jacob [Israel] was when Moses was almost murdered. That time... the government was just "cleaning" up the number of Jews.... they like to have children.... and children grow up to be soldiers. Pharaoh could allow that. Moses' mom put him in a basket and sent him floating down the Nile.... alone... and the Nile is a huge river.... with crocodiles.... but she thought Moses was safer there than in her arms with murderous soldiers there for the slaughter of babies. This is the carnage that was about to befall Bethlehem.... because the kings told Herod there had been a perfect alignment of the planets.... and a new king was born.
The three kings had three gifts for the new king. Gold, frankincense and myrrh were their gifts. In Sunday School I learned that the three gifts had a specific meaning.... the gold was the purity of the Christ Child... the frankincense was an herb that was generally burnt during the sacrifice of a lamb, and the myrrh was a sweet smelling perfume generally used at a wedding. I've read lots of other explanations over the years... but they all show that Jesus was destined for something big.
One interesting side note.... the Bible-studys.org commentary says that the Magi gave Joseph enough gold for the baby, Mary, and Joseph to live off of during their stay in Egypt. They knew what kind of man Herod was.... and they saved the life of little baby Jesus. These were indeed three good "kings".
Merry Christmas.....
