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December 24, 2017

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

FAITHFUL SEEKERS OF THE KING MINISTRY INVOCATION

“O God: You have spoken to us with power in your Words. We receive those

words as law to our being. In Jesus’ Name… Amen.”

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AND UNDERSTAND

Contrast the role and motives of the magi with the role and motives of King

Herod; Appreciate the maji’s deep commitment to honor Jesus; and commit to

honor God on a daily basis by spending time in His Presence.

THE APPLIED FULL GOSPEL DISTINCTIVE

We believe in the indwelling of the Holy Ghost for all believers and that the

Holy Ghost verifies and validates the Believer as part of the Body of Christ.

Background Scripture –

Key Verse – Matthew 2:11

Lesson Scripture – Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1–12 (NKJV)

Visit of Wise Men

2 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.” 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.’ ”

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.” 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.

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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.

COMMENTARY

Verse 1—"Now when Jesus”; who has just been identified with Christ. In this

chapter, the narrative employs only those terms (“Jesus,” “young Child”) which

bystanders might have used. “Was born in Bethlehem.” The First Gospel, if

taken alone would give the impression that Joseph had no previous connection

with Nazareth. About the place where Joseph and Mary lived before the birth

of Jesus, the evangelist did not concern himself. “Of Judæa.” For the evangelist’s

purpose it was most important so to define it as to exclude Bethlehem of

Zebulun. The inhabitants of Bethlehem of Judæa, a market town of a fruitful

(Ephratah) district, live chiefly by agriculture, but also for several centuries have

manufactured images of saints, rosaries, and fancy articles.

From “the House of Bread” came forth “the true Bread.” In the days of

Herod the king. Herod the Great and Herod Agrippa II. We are almost

compelled by this phrase alone to recognize the date of Christ’s birth as falling

in the lifetime of Herod the Great. Herod the Great died in the spring of A.U.C.

750, our B.C. 4, and as our Lord was born at least forty days earlier, for the

purification in the temple must have taken place before Herod’s massacre of the

innocents, he cannot have been born later than the very beginning of B.C. 4, or

the end of B.C. 5. Indeed, upon the most natural deduction, he must have been

born some months earlier. “Behold, there came Wise Men from the East.” The

true order, as given in the Revised Version, lays the emphasis on the office, and

in a subordinate degree on the home of the strangers—"Wise Men from the East

came.” It was, perhaps, at first used with special reference to astrologers and

interpreters of dreams, and, passing from Babylonia to Media, it became the

name of the Median priestly order. Of the number and rank of those who now

came absolutely nothing is known. These Magi spontaneously submit to the

Babe. “From the East.” The proper home of the Magi would thus be Media, and,

from the length of time employed on their journey (ver. 16), it is probable that

by “the East” we must here understand Media or some other part of the

kingdom of Parthia, into which Media had been mostly absorbed, and in which,

in fact, the Magi were now greatly honored. “To Jerusalem.” The capital, where

this King would reign, and where information about his birth would most

naturally be obtained.

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Verse 2—Saying. The inquiry was on their lips at the moments of their

appearance. Where is? Not “whether there is.” The Magi show no signs of

doubt. He that is born King of the Jews; i.e. he that is born to be King of the

Jews. Whether he is king from the very moment of his birth is not stated. The

rendering of the Revised Version margin, “Where is the King of the Jews that is

born?” would imply this. With either form the bystanders could hardly help

contrasting him with their then ruler, who had acquired the kingship after years

of conflict, and who was of foreign extraction.

“King of the Jews” Notice: (1) This was, perhaps, Herod’s exact title. (2) They do

not say king of the world. They accept the facts that the Jews alone expected this

king, and that according to the more literal interpretation of the Jewish

prophecies the homage of the world would be rendered to him as the Head of

the Jewish nation. (3) The title is not used of our Lord again until the Passion,

where it is only used by heathen (4) The Jews themselves preferred the term,

“King of Israel” to which passages Luke 23:37, placing the gibe in the soldiers’

mouth, forms a significant contrast). The term “Jews” made them only one of

the nations of the earth; “Israel” reminded them of their theocratic privileges.

“For.” They state the reason of their certainty. We have seen at home. “His star.”

In the way of their ordinary pursuits, they learned of Christ. What this star really

was has been the subject of much consideration without any very satisfactory

result. The principal theories are: (1) It was the conjunction of Saturn and

Jupiter, which took place in May to July and again in September, B.C. 7. (2) It

was the rising of Sirius on the same day in the fifth, fourth, third, and second

years B.C. (3) It was some strange evanescent star such as Kepler saw in 1603–4.

(4) Astronomy can suggest nothing which satisfies all the conditions, and the

appearance must have been strictly miraculous. Since Professor Pritchard’s

article in the ‘Dictionary of the Bible,’ this last has been generally accepted in

England. A further question is—How came they to identify the star as “his”? i.e.

What made the Magi connect the coming of the King of the Jews with a star?

and what made them consider that this particular appearance was the one they

expected? The latter part of the question can hardly be answered, except on the

supposition that the star that they saw was in itself so extraordinary as to

convince them that no greater star could be looked for. To the former part

various answers have been given. (1) Balaam’s prophecy (Numb. 24:17) was

understood literally, and the knowledge of it, with its misinterpretation, had

spread to the Magi. (2) They had learned, by intercourse with Jews that these

latter expected a great King, and they had applied to his coming, as to all events,

the science that they themselves practiced. They believed fully in astrology, and

the Divine ordering that a star should appear to them was a condescension to

the then state of human knowledge. “To worship him.” Not as God, but as Lord

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and King (ch. 4:9, note). The prostration of themselves bodily before him was

not a Greek or Roman, but an Eastern, and it is said especially a Persian, form

of homage.

Verse 3—"When;” and when, Revised Version. There is a contrast between the

eager question of the Magi and the feelings of Herod. Herod the king. In the

true text the emphasis is not on the person (as in ver. 1, where the date was all-

important), but on the office as then exercised. The king visibly regnant is

contrasted with him who was born to be King. “Heard.” Through some of his

many sources of information, for “there were spies set everywhere.” He was

troubled; perplexed, agitated. Fully in accordance with his jealous and

suspicion character. For he had already slain, as actual or possible candidates

for the throne, five of the Maccabean princes and princesses, including his

favourite wife Mariamne (thus extirpating the direct line) and also his two sons

by Mariamne. Josephus mentions a prediction of the Pharisees towards the end

of Herod’s life, that “God had decreed that Herod’s government should cease,

and his posterity should be deprived of it.” The reason for the inhabitants of

Jerusalem feeling troubled is generally explained, by their fear, which was in

fact only too well justified by experience, that the news would excite Herod to

fresh crimes. It is also possible that many would shrink from the changes which

the coming of Messiah could not but bring. Present ease, though only

comparative, is with the unbelieving preferable to possibilities of the highest

blessedness.

Verse 4.—"And when he had gathered … together” The Revised Version, and

gathering together, suggests that there was no delay. “All the chief priests and

scribes of the people” In the absence of the article “before” we must take the

words, “of the people,” as belonging to both terms. The addition helped to bring

out the evangelist’s thought that the representatives of the chosen people (1 Pet.

2:10) were fully informed of the coming of Christ. The chief priests represented

the ecclesiastical and Sadducean part, the scribes the more literary and probably

the Pharisaic part, of the nation. The width of the term “all,” and the double

classification, seem to point to this not being a meeting of the Sanhedrin as such.

Herod called an informal and perhaps the more comprehensive meeting of

those who could assist him. “He demanded of them;” The tyrant could be

courteous when it served his purpose. Does the imperfect mark his putting the

question to one after another “Where Christ (the Christ, Revised Version)

should be born. the stress lay on his birth as an accomplished fact. Here on his

birth as connected with his origin. The present is chosen, not the future, because

Herod is stating a theological question without reference to time. Observe, in

Herod’s inquiry and subsequent action, the combination of superstition and

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irreligion. He was willing to accept the witness of stars and of prophecies, but

not willing to allow himself to be morally influenced by it. His attempt to kill

this Child was the expression of a desire to destroy the Jewish nationality so far

as this was severed from himself, and perhaps with it to uproot at the same time

a fundamental part of the Jewish religion.

Verse 5.—"And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written

by the prophet.” For “by” the Revised Version margin has “through” (ch. 1:22,

note).

Verse 6.—"And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the

princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people

Israel; and thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, art in no wise least among the princes

of Judah: For out of thee shall come forth a governor, which shall be shepherd

of my people Israel (Revised Version). In this quotation from Micah 5:2 notice

the following variations from the Hebrew, (1) “Land of Judah” for “Ephratah”;

an unimportant change in the terms of definition. (2) “Art in no wise least” for

“which art little to be”; a verbal contradiction probably, but also unimportant,

as the thought of the context in Micah is of Bethlehem’s greatness. (3) “Princes”

for “thousands.” (4) “For out of thee shall come forth a governor, which shall be

shepherd of my people Israel” for “out of thee shall one come forth unto me that

is to be ruler in Israel.” This is a paraphrase, with a paraphrastic addition from

2 Sam. 5:2 (7:7), in order to distinctly identify the ruler with Messiah. It must

also be noticed that the reference of the passage in Micah to Christ is fully borne

out by Jewish writers.

Though they generally explain the rest of the verse as referring to the long

lapse of time from David himself, they understand the ruler to be Messiah. But

it is not usual with Jewish interpreters to understand the reference to Bethlehem

as implying the place of Messiah’s own birth. They generally take it as referring

to the home of David, Messiah’s ancestor. And this is the more natural meaning

of the prophecy. If it be asked why St. Matthew does not give an exact and verbal

rendering of the Hebrew, the answer may be made that he probably gives the

current form of its exposition. The high priests and scribes would have

doubtless quoted it accurately in the process of weighing Micah’s statement, but

when, as here, they were only reproducing the result that they had arrived at,

they would care for only the substance of the prophet’s teaching. “In the land of

Judah;” “Bethlehem-Judah” would have presented no difficulty, for a town was

often distinguished by the apposition of the name of the district in which it was

situated; e.g.

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Verse 7.—"Then Herod, when he had privily called the Wise Men.” Secrecy was

doubly necessary. He would not publicly commit himself to acknowledging the

rights of the new King, and he would give no opportunity for others to warn the

Child’s parents of the dangerous interest that Herod was taking in him. The

stress is not upon Herod’s careful questioning, but on the exact information that

he obtained. “What time the star appeared.” Although this is not the literal

translation, it may, perhaps, represent the sense of the original. Herod supposed

that the birth of the Babe was synchronous with the first appearance of the star.

The translation, however, of the Revised Version margin, “the time of the star

that appeared,” better suits the exact wording

Verse 8.—And he sent them to Bethlehem. Thus, answering their question (ver.

2). And said, Go and search diligently for the young Child; and search out

carefully concerning. Herod bade them make precise inquiry as to all particulars

about the Child. The more details he could obtain, the more easily he could

make away with him. “And when ye have found him, bring me word again, that

I may come and worship him also;” the Revised Version rightly joins, I also—I

as well as you; I the king. It might well be at a secret conference with the Magi

that Herod said this, for no Jew would have believed him.

Verse 9.—"When they had heard the king.” There is a slight contrast in the

Greek, but they [for their part] having heard the king. “They departed;” went

their way (Revised Version). Took their journey “And lo, the star, which they

saw in the East.” They would, in accordance with Eastern custom, probably

travel by night. Observe that the joy they felt at seeing the star (ver. 10) implies

that it had not continued visible (ver. 7, note). They had fully used all means;

now they receive fresh Divine guidance. In the East (ver. 2, note). Went before

them. Continuously “taking them by the hand and drawing them on.” Not to

show them the way to Bethlehem, for the road was easy, but to assure them of

guidance to the Babe, over whose temporary home it stayed. The road to

Bethlehem is, and from the nature of the valley must always have been, so

nearly straight (until the last half-mile, when there is a sudden turn up the hill)

that the star need have moved but slightly. “Till it came and stood over where

the young Child was.”

Verse 10.—"When (and when, Revised Version) they saw the star, they rejoiced

with exceeding great joy;” “they were marvelously glad” Its reappearance was

the pledge of the full answer to their search, the full reward of their toilsome

journey. Contrast the indifference of the chosen people.

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Verse 11.—"And when they were come into the house.” For after the enrolment

the caravanserai would not be so crowded (Luke 2:7). But whether it was now

the caravanserai or a private house, we have no evidence to show. “They saw”

“The young Child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him”

(ver. 2, note). In this latter clause Mary is not mentioned. “And when they had

opened.” “Their treasures” (so the Revised Version); perhaps, more strictly,

treasuries, coffers. “They presented unto him gifts.” iah and Messiah’s people

by the Gentile nations (Isa. 60.; Hag. 2:7; Ps. 72:10). “Presented;” offered (Revised

Version).

Observe the three stages in this verse—vision, submission, consecration.

Gifts; without which one does not approach an Eastern monarch (cf. 1 Kings

10:2). Gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Wealth and delights, the material and

the æsthetic.

Verse 12.—"And being warned of God” s the final example of God’s mercy and

grace towards them, preserving them from probable death at Herod’s hands. ”In

a dream (ch. 1:20, note). “That they should not return to Herod, they departed

into their own country another way.” Perhaps eastwards by Bet Sahur and Mar

Sâba and Jericho.

RELATED DISCUSSION TOPICS

CLOSING PRAYER

My God: I am grateful to have found You and kept You in the forefront of my

being. Bless us continually with Your grace and mercy. They represent

bountiful blessings for all of us. Amen.