what will you give? matthew 2:1-12

What Will You Give?Matthew 2:1-12

What Will You Give?Matthew 2:1-12

Searching for a King…Finding the SaviorSearching for a King…Finding the Savior

God Communicates in CreationGod Communicates in Creation

• The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world. The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it. Psalms 19:1-4 (NLT)

What the Bible says about the Stars What the Bible says about the Stars

• 1 Then Job spoke again: 2 "Yes, I know this is all true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in the eyes of God? He made all the stars—the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky. Job 9:1-2, 9 (NLT)

Ursa- The BearUrsa- The Bear

Ursa- The BearUrsa- The Bear

Orion- The HunterOrion- The Hunter

Orion- The HunterOrion- The Hunter

PleiadesPleiades

Pleiades(No Magnification)Pleiades(No Magnification)

What the Bible says about the Stars What the Bible says about the Stars

• 26 Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway, 27 and been secretly enticed in my heart to worship them? 28

If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven. Job 31:26-28 (NLT)

Astrology DefinitionAstrology Definition

• "...a form of divination based on the theory that the movement of the celestial bodies—the stars, the planets, the sun and the moon—influence human affairs and determine the course of events.“

– The New Columbia Encyclopedia

Astrology is IdolatryAstrology is Idolatry

• "And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. Deuteronomy 4:19 (NKJV)

God Communicates in CreationGod Communicates in Creation

• The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world. The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it. Psalms 19:1-4 (NLT)

Simulated Crowning of RegulusSimulated Crowning of Regulus

Conclusions of the Wise MenConclusions of the Wise Men

• A new King of Judah was born• He fulfilled the prophecies of Job, David,

Isaiah, Micah and others• Herod’s religious advisors interpreted

Scripture that said the new king would be born in Bethlehem.

• But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting." Micah 5:2 (NKJV)

Jesus was ~3 Years Old when the Magi Visited

Jesus was ~3 Years Old when the Magi Visited

• Joseph and Mary were living in a house (v. 11)

• Jesus is referred to as a child, not an infant (v. 11);

• Herod murdered all the male children two years old and under (v. 16)

• According to Luke 2:24, Joseph and Mary gave an offering of two turtle doves when Jesus was presented at the Temple. They did not give gold, frankincense, or myrrh.

Reactions to Jesus ChristReactions to Jesus Christ

• Hostile Curiosity

• Jealous Indifference

• Genuine Belief