In his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ. He says, "The chance that any man might have ...fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000." (one hundred quadrillion) Stoner suggests that "we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly... Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up [that one marked silver dollar.] What chance would he have of getting the right one?" Stoner concludes, "Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man,...providing they wrote them in their own wisdom."
-Peter Stoner, Science Speaks.
What we’re going to see today are a great deal of fulfilled prophecies, events in Jesus life that fulfilled things that were written about him hundreds of years before his birth. But that is not our main purpose today, our main purpose today is to view the birth of Jesus from a unique perspective.
We’ve examined the saga of the birth of Jesus from several different perspectives. First, we looked at Mary and how the pregnancy affected her life. We then examined how Joseph was affected and how his life was changed forever. Then we looked at the shepherds who were working that night when Jesus was born, and they went and saw the birth of Jesus.
Now we come to the moment just after the birth of Jesus, when a whole new set of people are going to come into the picture.
Previously we’ve been talking about average everyday people, Mary and Joseph, and the shepherds. Now, we’re going to see how the political elites and the expert class of society respond to the birth of Jesus.
As per usual, we are wanting to see ourselves in these events. The goal of this series, Living Christmas, is to see how we would react, and how these events impact our lives today.
Starting in Matthew chapter 2, verse 1, it says, “2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] 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.”
We see here Magi, it’s a word that means an astrologer, not an astronomer, but an astrologer, a magician, someone making a practice of studying signs in the stars at night.
There’s so much we don’t understand about the magi, we know they were most likely oriental, from the eastern part of the world, and they were experts in their field of study. We know they saw a special star that led them to believe the Jewish messiah had been born. And they followed this star to Israel and met with King Herod who was in charge of the nation at that time.
Next, verses 3-4:
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.”
King Herod is deeply troubled. The word spread across the capital city of Jerusalem about this coming of the wise men. Herod called together all the leaders of the Jewish faith, for a special meeting.
Verse 5-6:
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.’[b]”
King Herod discovers that the messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Really what we’re witnessing here, is the efforts of the enemy in the world.
We have an enemy whose name is the devil, or Satan, which means “the adversary.” While God is at work in our lives, guiding us, helping us, protecting us, and building us, we have an enemy who seeks to deceive us, tear us down, disrupt our lives, and cause problems. His ultimate goal, as the enemy of our souls is to bring us to hell with him.
Satan would be able to say “mission accomplished” if you were to end up in hell after judgment day. He and his demons successfully deceived you, to bring you into the place of suffering with them.
They know they are doomed already, they can’t escape God’s judgment, though they believe their last hope is the anti-christ who will one day be born upon the earth, so in their madness and hatred and envy, they seek to see us destroyed.
Do not let the enemy deceive you. Herod attempts to deceive the magi.
Verses 7-8, “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.”
The enemy is stirring up King Herod against the birth of the newborn Jesus. He is stirring up an enemy with the purpose of creating a string of events in the world that will destroy Jesus before he can complete his mission.
Next, verse 9-10: 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.”
The magi follow the pathway of the Lord. The star leads them to exactly where they are supposed to be.
Similarly you and I can allow the star to lead us. Which star do you mean? The star of the Holy Spirit. We can let the Spirit lead us to where we’re supposed to be. Through prayer, and careful study of the word, daily devotions, and quiet time with God, the pathway will be clear.
The result in our hearts will be like the Wisemen: Joy.
Verses 11-12: 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.”
This is the reason why many believe that there were 3 magi. We don’t actually get a number of the magi. But we do know there were three gifts. So it would make a certain amount of sense to say that each magi would want to bring their own gift. But we don’t know for certain there were really just three. There may have been more in the delegation.
Much has been said and written about the meaning of the gifts. They certainly are rich with meaning.
The gold represents the fact that Jesus is King, the promised king of Israel.
The frankincense represents Jesus’ deity, he is the Lord, God in human form, and incense represents the fragrance of the prayers of the many who longed for the coming of Jesus.
The myrrh represents Jesus’ mortality, he is a human being, the son of man, and chosen one to be offered as sacrifice for the sins of the world.
The magi worshiped the newborn Jesus. Only the Lord God almighty should be worshiped. That’s who Jesus is, the Lord of glory, born into human flesh. The star leads them to exactly where they belong, at the feet of Jesus.
Similarly, in our lives, if we allow the Spirit to lead us, the Spirit will lead us to Jesus time and time again. The Spirit always works to lead us closer and closer to our dear friend and Lord Jesus. His love is amazing!
Notice that these events with the magi took place after the birth of Jesus. Often in our Hollywood depictions and paintings and videos of the birth of Jesus, it’s pictured that the shepherds and the magi were there on the same night, but that isn’t actually correct.
That is where the story of the magi ends, they find the baby Jesus, they worship, they give gifts, and then they depart.
For the second half of the account, we’re going to see what Joseph and Mary had to do, to avoid the plot of the enemy against the newborn Jesus.
Verses 13-15 say this: 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.”
Again, we see prophecy being fulfilled, first Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Second, Jesus lived in Egypt. This could only happen by God’s command.
Again, I want you to notice the interplay between the attempts of Satan, and the workings of God.
Often in our lives, we will be doing what God wants us to do, but the enemy will attack and try to cause a problem or controversy, so if we’re wise believers, we turn to God in the struggle and ask God for help. Then God delivers us from the clutches of the enemy, after we’ve suffered for a short while, and leads us to safety.
The same thing happens here. Joseph and Mary obey God, Jesus is born, Herod attacks, the Lord leads them to safety in Egypt.
Next, verses 16-18:
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. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”[d]
Again, we see prophecy fulfilled. From the scroll of Jeremiah, a horrible thing occurs, Herod has all the children under 2 murdered in the city of Bethlehem. The city of Bethlehem had about 300 people living in it, so were talking of dozens of kids under the age of 2, most likely 10-20 children killed. It could’ve been more, we’re not certain. But any child so young dying is unthinkable.
This is the enemy’s work. And we see it in the world everyday, murders, violence, misery, suffering, abuse, and neglect.
Yet we have to remember what happened to those children after they were killed by Herod. They woke up in heaven. Babies go to heaven if they die. How do I know that?
2 Samuel 12:23, David speaks of his child who died, and he says, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” Meaning, David knows that he will see his child again when he dies.
That’s why I tell people who have lost children, you will see that child again, in heaven. Even if your beset with guilt over an abortion from your past life. You will see that child again as well. You will see them in heaven.
How do I know that? My grandma Pat when she was dying, she saw a little girl waiting for her. My aunt told me about it. My grandma’s first daughter had been stillborn. Yet she would see her again.
Sometimes when we get angry about the injustice of the world, we want to get mad at God. But that isn’t right. We need to see the eternal picture. They are not gone. If they knew Jesus, or died before the age of accountability, we will see them again in heaven. The spiritual world is real, as real as the physical.
Next, in verses 19-20:
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
Again, another visit from an angel, in a dream. God will speak to us in dreams, if he chooses to. Expect the unexpected. You never know what God might be saying to you, or calling you to. Now you shouldn’t attempt to interpret omens, or astrology, or tarot cards, or practice divination. Those things are strictly prohibited by the Bible, we should not seek hidden or secret knowledge. The scroll of Deuteronomy says that, chapter 14. We end up receiving from demons that way, and it corrupts our spirit. And why would we need to consult rocks or trees when we go directly to the God who made it all?
I recall I once had a tarot reading done, before I was a Christian, and I asked the question if I would ever be ok in my life. That’s how broken I was. And sure enough the answer foretold what seemed to be accurate things. Because its communion with demons, demons know things about our destiny and future. But we shouldn’t consult those things, we should consult God instead. And God will show us the pathway ahead.
I was always curious about those things, that’s our hunger for the spiritual and supernatural, but let God fulfill that longing for the supernatural, don’t seek it in places you shouldn’t be looking. God will give you dreams, visions, spiritual gifts, mountaintop experiences, and amazing experiences of His glory and love and power.
Joseph obeys the command of God.
Lastly, verses 21-23:21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.”
Joseph fears returning to Judea, so instead he goes to Galilee, again, warned in a dream, he went to Galilee, in a town called Nazareth. And again, this fulfilled the prophesy of scripture that say Jesus would be called a Nazarene.
Everything in it’s right place. Every prophecy of the Old Testament fulfilled about the birth of Jesus. Only God could do that. The things written about Jesus were written hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. It’s miraculous.
It should cause us to believe. It should cause us to be amazed. It should cause us to worship Jesus along with the magi.
When you go through spiritual warfare and are attacked by the enemy, recognize the process that happened in the birth of Jesus.
The victory comes through God.
The victory comes under attack by the enemy.
We face pain and struggle from the enemy.
We cry out to God in the pain and struggle.
God provides a way of escape from the enemy’s clutches.
God leads us to a safe place for a season.
When the enemy’s defeat is complete, we come home
We find ourselves in a new season at the conclusion of the trial. (paradise)
In conclusion today, in our mess, down here on Earth, Jesus comes and gets close to us in it.
“Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!" The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!" The King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself to you and me. The Bible calls Him, "the unspeakable gift!"
-Source Unknown.
