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Home , Herod the Great, Magi

Matthew 2 , King Herod, and the Worship of King January 3, 2021

Introduction: Many people have read the Dr. Seuss poem “The Who Stole .” The Grinch came to the realization that "Maybe Christmas," … "doesn't come from a store." “Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!” We live in a culture that predominantly thinks Christmas comes from a store, whether brick and mortar or online. Some may have asked last month, “How can we celebrate Christmas in the midst of a pandemic or in midst of having lost my job? The answer in part is that we celebrate that Christmas (celebration of the Incarnation) means a LOT more than a store! God’s plan for, and accomplishment of redeeming a people for His own glory is not dependent on health or commerce! King Herod didn’t “steal” Christmas, but you might think he came close to ruining Christmas, except for God’s Sovereign Plan and Sovereign Grace. He tried to “steal Christmas” by killing the Lord Jesus ! But as Nebuchadnezzar declared, [God] does according to His will…none can stay His hand.

As you saw on the front cover artwork on the bulletin, and the page 2 explanation, Henry Ossawa Tanner created this piece, Flight into , in 1923 as a representation of his favorite Biblical story. “It expresses his sensitivity to issues of personal freedom, escape from persecution, and migrations of African-Americans from the South to the North.” (Excerpt from the label at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection Online. See bulletin p. 2 for attribution.) God spoke through a dream to the Magi and through an of the Lord in a dream to Joseph to thwart the murderous plans of Herod against Jesus through the flight to Egypt of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

I. The Plan of God for Jesus, the , to be born to Mary was a plan established in eternity. A. There were numerous prophecies about the lineage of the Messiah as Richard Smith preached last week, the place of birth, that He would be virgin born, etc. Isaiah 7:14; 9:2,6-7 (lighting of Candle on ) Galatians 4:4-6; Genesis 3:15 By the time of most of these had been fulfilled. B. When the Magi arrived in , it didn’t take much for the Jewish chief priests and scribes to come up with the text from Micah 5:2 and tell Herod that the Christ was to be born in , in the land of Judah. (The Ruler who will shepherd My people .). You can think about the star, but don’t go further than Scripture. C. By the visit of the Magi, Jesus had most likely been alive for at least 6 months, possibly a year or longer. His mother and Joseph would have gone to the temple for the sacrifices associated with the birth of the first born male (:22-24) and he was now living in a house (Matthew 2:11) not a stable. If they had the gifts of , and they would have offered the prescribed lamb, and not the turtledoves or pigeons for those without means. The scenes and Christmas cards are wrong… no star over manger (quite possibly a cave), no Magi there, we don’t know how many, we don’t know their names. There is so much about them we don’t know. What we do know is most important thing- they fell down and worshipped the child and gave gifts fit for a King, a Priest and a dying & resurrected Savior. The most important thing for you – worship King Jesus! D. Ephesians 1:3-14 He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Romans 9 Nothing stops God’s plan.

II. Herod tried to “steal Christmas” by attempting to kill the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised King of Israel! A. King was a profoundly disturbed man, with great gifts and great flaws. He was incredibly jealous. B. When he learned of a possible rival to the title of King of the Jews, he wanted to eliminate the rival as quickly as possible. C. He blatantly lied to the magi, indicating that he would come and worship the new king, while all the while Herod wanted to destroy this rival to his own personal sovereignty. D. When the magi didn’t return and Herod realized that he had been tricked, he became furious and killed all the male children in Bethlehem that were two years old or younger. The sound of loud weeping and wailing went up from the area as the young children were killed by this wicked man who was trying to “steal Christmas” and destroy the “new- born King!” Every male child that was killed suffered from a heinous crime. However, the number of children that age in Bethlehem would probably not be very great and would not seem historically notable compared to the killing of his own family members. (A variety of people have suggested: Little town of Bethlehem… maybe 1,000 people, birthrate possibly 30 a year, high infant mortality at the time, only the males… maybe 20?) don’t have to defend myths about no historical record of thousands of deaths. E. This murderous action was consistent with this evil king’s choice to murder members of his own family. He even loved his own wife to death i.e. he killed her as well. More below.

III. In all of this we see that the Triune God rules and reigns! While the kingdom of Herod came to an end quite quickly, the Kingdom of Jesus continues to spread. A. These Magi, pagan Gentiles, from (Persia?) were outside the visible people of God – Israel. They would be people no one would expect to come and worship Jesus. God took the initiative and brought these magi to worship King Jesus. Who do you think could not possibly come to worship Jesus? Will you pray for their conversion, and as you have opportunity, give an account for the hope that is within you? When we began the plans for the Hershey PCA church many years ago, it was with the prayer that God would use this church to bring people to Himself in the Hershey community and people from different cultures, as God would bring “world missions” to our doorstep. Each week we pray for a www.Joshuaproject.net people group. (I use the app virtually every day) – I’m overwhelmed… how will these people ever come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? The same way Maji would come to worship King Jesus! God is the one who changes hearts. He turns hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. Ephesians 2 – dead in trespasses and sIns, made alive! Commit to pray! B. Herod made the mistake of being so proud that he would not worship and submit to the King who had all authority and rule, even the Lord Jesus Christ. What he did not understand, and what majority in the world do not understand, is that the day is coming when “every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord!” Philippians 2:9-11 C. This is similar to King Nebuchadnezzar, of whom we read in the beginning of the worship service (Daniel 4), who was so filled with pride that he looked around at all that he had done, and did not realize that God was really in control. BUT God did a marvelous work in King Nebuchadnezzar’s life, lovingly and graciously driving him to despair, and then by God’s continued mercy and grace, N. worshipped and praised God! D. This King Jesus rules in the world today, even where people do not acknowledge Him as King. Just because someone says that Jesus is not King, or someone does not acknowledge Him as King, does not mean He isn’t King. As Martin Luther wrote in the Christmas Hymn we sang, “All praise to thee eternal Lord… choosing a manger for thy throne, while worlds on worlds are thine alone.” He IS Lord! E. We live in a world (throughout all history) where people don’t want a King over them, they want to be autonomous and do as they please. The makes it clear that to persist in this view leads to eternal death in hell after physical death. This is the ultimate concern, more than a pandemic… all die and face God. F. Sinners – sInners (all of us) need to come confessing our rebellion against God, asking forgiveness, (and through the undeserved gift of saving faith) trusting in Jesus the Messiah, to worship Christ, the “new-born” King! This must be proclaimed in Hershey and the World!

Pastor John MacArthur wrote in his commentary on Matthew 2 about Herod the Great: appointed Herod's father, Antipater, to be procurator, or governor, of under the Roman occupation. Antipater then managed to have his son Herod appointed of . In that office Herod was successful in quelling the Jewish guerrilla bands who continued to fight against their foreign rulers. After fleeing to Egypt when the Parthians invaded Palestine, Herod then went to Rome and in 40 B.C. was declared by Octavian and Antony (with the concurrence of the ) to be king of the Jews. He invaded Palestine the next year and, after several years of fighting, drove out the Parthians and established his kingdom. Because he was not Jewish, but Idumean (an Edomite), Herod married Mariamne, heiress to the Jewish Hasmonean house, to make himself more acceptable to the Jews he now ruled. He was a clever and capable warrior, orator, and diplomat. But he also was cruel and merciless. He was incredibly jealous, suspicious, and afraid for his position and power. Fearing a potential threat, he had the high priest Aristobulus, his wife's brother, drowned-after which he provided a magnificent where he pretended to weep. He then had Mariamne herself killed, and then her mother and two of his own sons. Five days before his death (about a year after Jesus was born) he had a third son executed. One of the greatest evidences of his bloodthirstiness and insane cruelty was having the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested and imprisoned shortly before his death. Because he knew no one would mourn his own death, he gave orders for those prisoners to be executed the moment he died. Thus he guaranteed that there would be mourning in Jerusalem. That barbaric act was exceeded in cruelty only by his slaughter of "all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its environs, from two years old and under" (Matthew 2:16). By that action he hoped to kill any threat to his throne from the One the magi said had been born King of the Jews.

From Bob: But all the cruelty of this man—could not stop the eternal plan of God for the redemption of men and women, girls and boys, through the righteous life and perfect substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even as the children of Israel lived under harsh conditions of Egypt and the like, and Christians lived under harsh conditions of Rome (including Herod, Nero, etc.) we must never despair and think that God is not on the throne!