Confirmation of Jesus Being the King – the Messiah by Worship

GRACE THROUGH FAITH COMMUNITY CHURCH


TEXT: Matthew 2:1-11
THEME: Confirmation of Jesus Being the King – the Messiah by Worship
TITLE: The Visit of Magi – The True Worshiper of the King (Part 1)
PROPOSTIONAL STATEMENT: The Character of the True Worshiper

I. INTRODUCTION
A. The Wrong Perspectives about the Magi
• They are only three when they traveled from the east to Jerusalem
• They are kings because they had presents
• Their name was Melchor, Gaspar, Baltazar
B. The Effects of Wrong Perspective
Christmas Day had been commercialized
They have the wrong conception of giving and receiving
Many believe that Christmas is for children because of what Jesus received from them
Christmas is not all about the worship of the King but all about greed, selfishness and idolatry
C. The Background
• Jesus in this account was not infant He was about 2 years old when the Magi arrived
• They were not in the manger when the Magi visited the King

Matthew was the only one who recorded the account of the visit of the magi. He presented that Jesus is the promised King ratified by the king makers.
II. BODY
A. THE MAGI
The Biible has limited information about the Magi. The only reference the Scripture has explicitly is they came from the east. This is where came the word magic. They were sorcerer, shaman (Simon Magus in Acsts 8)
1) Their Ancestors
a) The Four Empires
• The Babylonian Empire
• The Medo-Persian Empire – Daniel 5:28 (The Writing on the Wall)
• The Greek Empire – Alexander the Great
• The Roman Empire – Ceasars
b) The Origin
• They from Babylonian Empire and continues to Medo-Persian Empire – Book of Daniel
• Tracing their ancestors of Medes- even during the time of Abraham
• They were astrologers- Abraham was a moon worshiper. God used the stars to describe the promise to Abraham
c) The Influence
• During Roman Empire, the served as the most influential group in politics
• They became the adviser of the royalty and earned the reputation of being the wise men (Esther 1:13)
• They have a priestly role almost the same in Judaism – sacrifice, food to take and not to take and even the garments.
• They are the one who examine whether a certain man are qualified to be a king.
d) The Mentor
• Daniel was the reliable person who influenced people during the Medo-Persia
• Daniel was called Rab-mag, the Chief of Magi. He has the great influence regarding the vision of the Coming of the King
• Daniel imparted the prophecy about the coming King to the Magi group
2) Their Arrival
a) Their Country
• The only information the Bible has is that they were from the east.
• Persia or Iran is the most possible country of the Magi
b) Their Number
• Most of us believe they are three because of the number of gifts. But they are not three
• They were great in numbers. They traveled in caravan
c) Their Intention
• Their intention is to find the King of the Jews who has been born so they may worship Him
3) Their Assurance
a) The Prophecy
• Bethlehem (House of Bread) where the Messiah will be born (Micah 5:2)
4) Their Astral Guide
• The astral guide tells us that Jesus was not an infant or a new born baby anymore.
o Herod found the exact time the star had appeared (v.7)
o Herod ordered to kill allthe boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years under (v.16)
o The time of circumcision happened first befor the magi arrived (Luke 2:21)
• The astral guide tell us that it is not a star
o The first appearance was when they were in their country 9v.2,7)
o The approximation of almost two years based on the killing of the boys ages two under
o The second appearance of the astral guide was during their travel to Bethlehem and they followed it.
o The star stopped over the place where the child was (v.9)
• The astral guide tell us that it was the glory of God

5) Their Adoration
a) They Worship the King with Enthusiasm (v.1,9)
• They traveled a verly long distance to worship the King
• They were very eager to see the King
b) They Worship the King with Excitement (v.10)
• They were overjoyed
c) They Worship the King with Esteem (v.11a)
• They bowed down before the King
d) They Worship the King with Endowment (v.11b)
• Gold - symbolizes Jesus as King
• Incense – symbolizes Jesus as Priest
• Myrrh – symbolizes the Jesus as Sacrifice

III. CONCLUSION
This is the third confirmation about the promised Messiah the King. First His genealogy, second the virgin birth and the third is the Gentlie acceptance. This is to examine whether we are true worshiper of the King now that we believe that Jesus Christ is the King.
For God’s Glory
08/29/10