T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
1236
hold had notice of the coming of the King! The wise men came saying, “Where is he th a t is born king of th e Jew s?” Herod was made a king, bu t Jesus was bom a king. They spake w ith assur ance. Matthew alone records th is visit. I t is a Jew ish scene and deals w ith th e King and the kingdom, (Isa 9:6, 7) « F o r unto, us a child is born, unto us a son is g iv e n ; and the governm ent shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called W on derful, Counsellor, The m igh ty God, The everlastin g F a th e r, The Prince of P eace. Of the increase o f his governm ent and peace there sh all be no end, upon the throne of D avid, and upon his kingdom , to order it, and to establish it w ith ju d g ment, and w ith ju stice from henceforth even fo rever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts w ill perform this.” • (2 ) The H atre d of a K ing, vs. 3-8 “Herod * * * was troubled.” Herod th e king was troubled. The wise men were not wise in coming to Jerusalem . It was the scene of earthly greatness b u t not of heavenly knowl edge. Herod was th e head of the Herodian dynasty, the first and worst of th a t family. He was an Edom ite w ith an Ishm aelitish mother,— a cold, cal culating, unprincipled, selfish and wick ed ruler. His crown was th e g ift of th e Roman emperor and he felt it was none too secure. It was not strange th a t he should have felt uneasy a t th e men tion of th e King of th e Jews. He had risen through th e fall of th e Maccabean princes, and now th ere comes an heir to the throne of David. “Uneasy lies th e head th a t wears a crown.” He was a king bu t a slave to Satan, and had good reason to be troubled at th e news of another king. Evil men have reason to fear Him. (Jno. 11:47, 48) “ Then gath ered the ch ief priests and the Ph arisees .a council, and said, W h at do w e ? fo r this man doeth m any m iracles. I f w e let him thus alone, a ll men w ill believe on him ; and the Rom ans shall come and tak e a w a y both our place and nation.” He called together th e ecclesiastical council of the Jews,— a bbdy composed of seventy-one members, including the
Outline: (1) The H eralds of th e King, vs. 1, 2. (2) The H atred of a King, vs. 3-8. (3 ) The Honor to th e King, vs. 9-12. (1) The H eralds of th e K ing, vs. 1, 2 “Behold, th e re camé wise men.” This is a story about kings; th ree wise kings (for so trad ition names th e Magi), one wicked king and one Won derful King. The,w ise kings came from the E ast, from a far LESSON country, perhaps from EXPOSITION Chaldee o r Arabia. T. C. H orton T radition says th e re were th ree, represent ing Europe, Asia and Africa. They were probably astronom ers or astrolo gers. They were star-gazers, bu t they were also seers, and gazing into th e heavens brought them a vision which, well repaid th eir gazing. ,G reat events were supposed to be forecast by some heavenly phenomena, and th is was certainly tru e of th a t g reat event, th e b irth of Christ, for not only was th ere a sta r for th e men of the E ast, b u t-th ere was an open heaven and angelic visitors for th e shepherds of Bethlehem . The sta r was a symbol of the sceptre, a symbol of power (Rev. 22 :16 ) and our Lord is called th e “root and offspring” of King David, and the “ b righ t and morning sta r.” The sta r also suggests the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The sta r was to speak of and lead to Jesus, and th is is th e office of the Holy Spirit. The sta r was in the heavens guiding, and was proph esied by Balaam , (Num. 2 4 :17 ). “ I sh all see him, hat not n ow ; I sh all heliold him , but not n igh ; there sh all come a sta r out of Jaco b , and. a Sceptre sh all rise out of Israel, and sh all sm ite the corners of Moab, and destroy a ll the chil dren of Sheth.” All heavenly guidance is in accord w ith Scripture., The wise men were moved by a divme influence and follow ed the heavenly light. - S trange th a t not one of the school of th e Pharisees should have seen th e sta r; th a t not one of Herod’s house
Made with FlippingBook HTML5