King Herod and the Magi ( Story of 3 Wise Men )

My family and I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!!

Bible Study Lesson from Matthew 2:1-16

In this part of the Christmas story the wise men, nobody knows if there were three, search for the baby Jesus. King Herod wanted the Magi to return to him after they found Christ and report His location but they took a different route home.

2:1 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 in the east 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 Christ 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 be the shepherd of 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 make a careful search 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 in the east 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 and of incense and of myrrh.

12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,

15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

The Magi and King Herod - How Many Wise Men Visited Jesus?

A quick Christmas trivia question ... How many wise men were there? Three? (Answer at bottom)

There Can Be Only One King

The chief priests and teachers of the law were aware of Micah 5:2 and other prophesies about the Messiah. The Magi's news troubled Herod because he knew the the Jewish people expected the Messiah to come soon (Luke 3:15).

With that said, Herod was not in the line of David so many Jews hated him already. He knew if this child was allowed to grow it would mean trouble for him. His goal at this time was to put down a possible revolution which could take away his kingdom and his life.

Herod, like many kings of the day, was paranoid that someone was always plotting to overthrow him so he became ruthless to those he suspected and to any who opposed him.

Expectations

Most Jews expected the Messiah to be a great military and political deliverer, like Alexander the Great. Herod's counselors would have told him this. Add the new information to his already paranoia along with some realistic warnings and you have a recipe for disaster. No wonder this ruthless man took no chances and ordered all the baby boys in Bethlehem killed.

The Role of God

On the other hand, God had other plans. The details of God's plan are in the verses above about the dream, the wise men deciding to take a different route, flight to Egypt, etc. so I won't go into detail about these.

Power of God

I would like to mention that no matter what Herod planned to do to crush a power coming into being, God is in control of the entire situation and His will is final! Some would call this a mere coincidence or chance happening but I believe that God will work His plan in all situations. No king on earth is powerful enough to curtail what God wants to do.

How about your life?

Are you listening to what God has planned for you or are you destined to be a wandering generality? He has a defined purpose for your life just as He does for mine - if we only listen.

A. How many wise men? Not sure, the Bible doesn't really give a number. Sorry!

Love in Christ

- Bob

Christmas Story Contents

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