Matthew 2:1-12

Why would Herod the king have been so upset about three "yeah-hoos" arriving from the east, into Jerusalem, and on camelback? Because Herod knew the magi were:

• Powerful king-makers from the east
• Looking for a King
• Looking for the true King of the Jews

Herod's imagination must have started to go berserk. His paranoia seemingly was confirmed because the magi went to the palace!

And the magi said,

What they asked was a combination of a question and a statement. Their question included two facts:

1. There is a King of the Jews, and
2. He has been born.

Think about this: the magi assumed that Herod would have known. They were from the east -- they were king-makers from Persia. They knew that it was time for the true King of the Jews to be born. They knew He was going to be born. Do you not think that Herod and everybody else in Jerusalem would have been in the know? That was what the magi expected.

Remember that the magi knew the exact day the Messiah would come and would announce Himself as King. They did not know the date of His birth; however, they knew it was close.

Apparently, there were unusual events in the sky about the time of Jesus' birth, at least it seems that way.

First, let us determine when Jesus of Nazareth was born. Traditionally, His birth is said to be in 4 B.C. I believe it is more accurate to go to 5 B.C.

Why? We know Herod died in March, 4 B.C. Josephus wrote that Herod died of a loathsome disease (I would say that dying of worms eating you is pretty loathsome), and this is confirmed by the New Testament.

So, Herod died in March, 4 B.C., and we know Jesus was born before he died. It seems as though Jesus was born five or six months before Herod died. Therefore, a good estimation of Jesus' time of birth is September or October, 5 B.C.

During this same time, the skies showcased heavenly body activity in various parts of the world. In the month of October, 5 B.C.:

And there is very good evidence these events occurred at the time of Jesus' birth. However, none of these heavenly occurrences was the star that guided the magi to Jerusalem.

That is not the description of a natural star. This star was one that God made with a special light. Think about it. The star guided the magi from Persia to Jerusalem to Bethlehem to the house where Jesus was. How many of you have ever seen a star do that? Obviously, it was not a normal star.

Let us combine Matthew and Luke to get the chronology. We do not want to make the mistake of thinking that Christmas greeting cards give us the true picture. The order of events was as follows:

1. Jesus was born in Bethlehem on (estimated) October, 5 B.C.
2. That night angels announced Jesus' birth to some area shepherds who went to the manger straight away.
3. Eight days later Jesus was circumcised.
4. Forty days later Jesus was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem and was presented before the priest. The trip from Bethlehem to the Temple was about five miles. They returned to Bethlehem. By this time, Joseph (Jesus' virtual father) and Mary (Jesus' biological mother) were living in a house -- they were no longer at the manger's location.
5. At this point, the magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem.

If the magi were following the star and the star was leading them to Jesus, then why did the star go to Jerusalem?

When Herod heard what? When he heard:

Basically, it is easy to understand why. The magi were powerful king-makers. And what were they doing at that specific point in time? Looking for the king. Where were they looking? In the land of the Jews. Of course, Herod was threatened!

And the whole city was upset…

Why was all Jerusalem upset? Once again, they would not have been upset if three ordinary men on camelback had ridden into Jerusalem. Instead, a huge force entered the city.

Above all, whenever Herod got upset, then all Jerusalem did too. And for good reason! The city would pay for Herod's troubled emotions; during those times he had anti-social tendencies like killing people at random.

Herod knew the magi from the east were looking for a King. And he knows they have good reason for looking in Judea. By now, Herod probably knew that Messiah was to be a descendant of Abraham, David, and Solomon.

Why did Herod know with certainty?

• He had no legal authority to be the King of the Jews.
• He knew the magi were looking for the One who had the legal right to be the King of the Jews.

Herod had a diabolical plot to prevent the Baby from becoming the King of the Jews. First, however, he needed more information.

Herod knew the Messiah was to come, but he did not know a lot of the specifics. However, he did know two things:

1. He knew there were specifics, and
2. He knew where to go to get the answers…

Some students of the Bible believe that when Herod called together the chief priests and scribes that he called together the Sanhedrin. In fact, we know this is incorrect, because Herod killed the Sanhedrin.

Herod asked the right people, the chief priests and scribes, to get more information. The chief priests were the ones who conducted the Temple duties. The scribes were the scholars and the authorities on the Bible (what we refer to as the "Old Testament").

Many (not a few, but many) of the scribes had memorized the entire Old Testament. They would get a scroll and, with no help, write out the entire Old Testament. They would start at Genesis and inscribe all the way to the end!

These individuals knew the foretold prophesies about the Messiah. They knew every prophetic detail by memory. They knew when the Messiah would be presented as King, because it was foretold in the Book of Daniel. They knew where He would be born, because it was prophesied in the Book of Micah. And these books were included in the Scriptures they laboriously memorized and inscribed.

This is a specific that Herod needed about the Messiah.

Since there were two Bethelehems -- (1) a Bethlehem in Galilee, and (2) a Bethlehem in Judea -- then the Scriptures could not leave this shadowy. It had to be clearly understood where the Messiah would be born.

The chief priests and scribes easily provided Herod with the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah: Bethlehem of Judea.

Now they quote Micah 5:2:

This was a tragic situation. Look what the chief priests and the scribes knew. Look what they just said. We know that they knew. Why? Because they just said it!

They knew the prophecies of Micah and Daniel. But while they were saying the very prophetic words they knew so well, the prophecies were being fulfilled before their very eyes. Their Messiah had been born, He was about four months old, and He was living a mere five miles south of where they stood. They were completely oblivious!

The scribes were oblivious. The chief priests were oblivious. Jerusalem was oblivious. And their Messiah, the King of the Jews, had been born.

The only ones who knew He was alive were Rome's Herod and the magi from the east. Though Herod was trying to kill the Messiah, magi, who are pagans -- Gentiles -- welcomed Him. They sought out the King of the Jews.

Think about it. The magi went hundreds of miles just to see a Baby. And Jerusalem did not go five miles south to see their own King.

The reason Matthew points this out is that Jesus was not accepted by Israel but accepted by Gentiles. And this was only the beginning.

The leaders of Israel were indifferent; they were apathetic. However, Israel did not stay apathetic about Jesus. For example, the scribes talked about in this Scripture are indifferent at this point. They can accurately quote the prophecies, but they do not care. However, later when these same scribes meet with Jesus, they were openly hostile.

Everybody has to confront that issue. One always begins with apathy -- indifference -- and he will continue so until the issue is forced with him, and then, oftentimes, he will become hostile.

Amazingly, you can tell somebody the claims of Islam. They might believe it or they might not. If they do not, they get mad. The same thing with Hinduism. I have never seen somebody get hostile about being presented the claims of Hinduism.

However, you present the claims of Messiah Jesus to somebody and they either believe them or they do not. And sooner or later, they get hostile!