Notes from sermon given on 1/6/2007 at New Beulah UMC

Scripture Matthew 2:1-12

We see several groups of people in this scripture and different reactions to the world around them.

The three wise men we see represented in the manager scenes each year and we sing songs about them. The others, although just as prominent in their day are not hardly recognized today.

The wise men arrived after the birth according to the scripture. They may have been months later as they came from another land when the star first appeared. They may have been kings, rich people or most likely astrologers who watched and studied the stars. Upon arriving in Israel they went to logical place where king would be born and that was Jerusalem and leaders, which led them to Herod.

Think of the others in the story and how they had missed a star in the sky and the birth. How often do we miss eclipses and meteor showers and even comets? For most of us we could have see the Hale-Bopp comet a few years ago but did you? The religious and political leaders in Israel missed the birth of the Messiah.

Herod called for the religious leaders when the wise men arrived to ask about it. That was logical for him. The religious leaders knew the story and the prophesies and gave Herod the information but they missed it actually occurring. They gave the information to Herod and the wise men and only the wise men heard and understood and acted and interesting is they were the non-believers. The religious leaders still missed the story and failed to act. They could have gone to Bethlehem with the wise men.

Herod heard the information and was badly scarred. Think about it, the leader appointed by Rome with the Roman army behind him was scared to death (and may have been literally) by a little baby of earthly peasant parents. If you read further he was so scared of the "King of the Jews" as he was told the person was by the wise men, that he killed all boys under the age of two. He knew the exact time of the birth, the wise men told him when star appeared, but he killed for a two years birth period. Ironically Jesus was no challenge to him as Herod only lived a short time. We know that as the family went in exile to Egypt until he died and they were back in Jesus early childhood. How long exactly we do not know but before Jesus could have ruled as before he turned 12.

Wise men from another country, who would have chosen them to see the birth of the Messiah and worship him then? Yet they were the ones not the Jewish religious leaders or the political leaders of Israel that went and worshiped him.

Who would we be? Do we miss stuff non-believers see? See and participate in miracles as the wise men did.

Dwight

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