Christmas season has begun because we have finished with Thanksgiving. And we all know that the day after Thanksgiving marks the start of Christmas. What are some of your favorite aspects of the Christmas season?
Matthew 2:1-12
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi 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.’ ” 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.
The Bible does not tell us specifically who these three men were, but an Armenian tradition holds that the three wise men were Balthasar of Arabia, Melchior of Persia, and Gaspar of India. Regardless of where, exactly, they were from, what we do know is that they were from the “east”.
Now, think about how they knew about the birth of Jesus. In verse two, they tell the people of Jerusalem, “We saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship Him.”
Put yourself in their shoes. How did they know about the birth of the new king in Israel?
Well, first, they believed that the Jewish Messiah King would come. How would they have known THAT? They must have read the Scriptures, and in there, seen prophecies of the coming Messiah King. They had SCRIPTURAL KNOWLEDGE.
The Old Testament, which is what they would have had, talks a lot about the coming Messiah King. But it’s not exactly like they would have had the resources we have today to look it up. So what does this tell us? It means that these men spent a lot of time in the Scriptures. Like the man in Psalm 1, they studied it day and night.
Second, they must have had their eyes open. They were EXPECTANT. They had a sense of what to look for. They were paying attention.
Psalm 119:18 – “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”
1 Peter 1:13 – “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”
1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 – “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
These three passages use different terminology to talk about the same thing: “open my eyes”; “minds that are alert”; “let us be awake and sober”. They all mean: PAY ATTENTION.
So what, exactly, should we have our eyes open for? What should we be paying attention to?
And third, they put their belief and knowledge into action. When we do this, it is called TRUST. Belief is what is in your head. Trust is belief put into action. Can you think of a situation in your life where you put your belief into action, where it became trust?
These wise men had belief based in Biblical knowledge. They paid attention and had expectations that God was going to show up. And then they acted on that Biblically-based belief. And when they did, it led them to Jerusalem.
Now, when they got there, they did something else. They inquired specifically about the newborn king and when they went to Bethlehem and found Him, they did something remarkable. They brought Him gifts. Why did they do that?
This was a sign of respect and adoration and worship. They knew they weren’t going to meet some random baby. They were going to worship the Messiah King. They understood Jesus’ significance. Their response was one that we should all have – to come before Him in worship and reverence and to offer Him our very best.
Discussion Questions
1. What does the Christmas season typically look like for you?
2. In what way is Christmas significant for you?
3. How can you enter this Christmas season with expectations that God will show up? What will you be looking for?
4. In what ways can this Christmas season reflect the actions of the wise men – adoration, worship, and giving your very best to God?
Matthew 2:1-12
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi 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.’ ” 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.
The Bible does not tell us specifically who these three men were, but an Armenian tradition holds that the three wise men were Balthasar of Arabia, Melchior of Persia, and Gaspar of India. Regardless of where, exactly, they were from, what we do know is that they were from the “east”.
Now, think about how they knew about the birth of Jesus. In verse two, they tell the people of Jerusalem, “We saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship Him.”
Put yourself in their shoes. How did they know about the birth of the new king in Israel?
Well, first, they believed that the Jewish Messiah King would come. How would they have known THAT? They must have read the Scriptures, and in there, seen prophecies of the coming Messiah King. They had SCRIPTURAL KNOWLEDGE.
The Old Testament, which is what they would have had, talks a lot about the coming Messiah King. But it’s not exactly like they would have had the resources we have today to look it up. So what does this tell us? It means that these men spent a lot of time in the Scriptures. Like the man in Psalm 1, they studied it day and night.
Second, they must have had their eyes open. They were EXPECTANT. They had a sense of what to look for. They were paying attention.
Psalm 119:18 – “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”
1 Peter 1:13 – “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”
1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 – “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
These three passages use different terminology to talk about the same thing: “open my eyes”; “minds that are alert”; “let us be awake and sober”. They all mean: PAY ATTENTION.
So what, exactly, should we have our eyes open for? What should we be paying attention to?
And third, they put their belief and knowledge into action. When we do this, it is called TRUST. Belief is what is in your head. Trust is belief put into action. Can you think of a situation in your life where you put your belief into action, where it became trust?
These wise men had belief based in Biblical knowledge. They paid attention and had expectations that God was going to show up. And then they acted on that Biblically-based belief. And when they did, it led them to Jerusalem.
Now, when they got there, they did something else. They inquired specifically about the newborn king and when they went to Bethlehem and found Him, they did something remarkable. They brought Him gifts. Why did they do that?
This was a sign of respect and adoration and worship. They knew they weren’t going to meet some random baby. They were going to worship the Messiah King. They understood Jesus’ significance. Their response was one that we should all have – to come before Him in worship and reverence and to offer Him our very best.
Discussion Questions
1. What does the Christmas season typically look like for you?
2. In what way is Christmas significant for you?
3. How can you enter this Christmas season with expectations that God will show up? What will you be looking for?
4. In what ways can this Christmas season reflect the actions of the wise men – adoration, worship, and giving your very best to God?
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