THE KING’S BUSINESS
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cruelty and brutality of great men, yes, through their very wickedness, we see God’s purposes and words here fulfilled. In the coming of the Magi from the East to find and worship the new born King, we see an anticipation of the Gentiles coming to Christ. They were led on by a star be cause they were students of the stars, and God in His infinite condescension reached them by a leading they could understand. It was a dim light that led them on—starlight —but it was the best they had, and as tney followed it faithfully God gave them the fuller light, that of His revealed Word (v. 4-6), and following that they find the per fect light in Him who is “the light of the world” (John 8:12). To the new born King they brought the1best they had, “gold and frankincense and myrrh,”—gold because He was king; frankincense, because He was divine, and worship belonged to Him; myrrh, symbolical of the bitterness and sor row of death through which He was to pass. The scribes were well instructed from the Scriptures (vs. 4-6) and perfectly orthodox in the opinion they stated. They knew just where the Christ was to be-born, but for all their orthodoxy and Scripture knowl edge, they had no interest in His coming. There is much of that sort of Scripture knowledge and orthodoxy still. It did the scribes no good, but only added to their condemnation. The thought that the King had come troubled Herod and all Jerusalem with him (v. 3), and many in the Church today if they really thought that Jesus were coming tomorrow, instead of being rejoiced would be full of anxiety and care and worry and dismay; but the wise men “rejoiced with exceeding great joy,” and thereby showed that they were really wise. There is no greater joy to the true and wise heart than the thought of finding Jesus. Sunday, January 3. Matthew 2:13-23. In these verses we have one of the most striking illustrations in all history of the
the virgin birth was first suggested in the first book in the Bible, in the first prophecy of the Coming One. It was the “seed of the woman” and not the seed of man that was to bruise the serpent’s head (Gen. 3: 15). And Paul emphasized the truth that the Son of God was to be “born of a wo man" (Gal. 4:4). This suggests how every part of the Bible plays into every other part of it. The wonderful names and titles of Jesus in this chapter should be noted and medi tated upon—Jesus, signifying the Saviour; Christ, signifying God’s Anointed King, and in the light of Old Testament prophecy, in volving His deity; Immanuel, God with us. The one verse above all verses to be med itated upon and believed and appropriated is verse 21, “And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call His name JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins.” While Matthew emphasizes the fact that the Lord Jesus was to be the King of Israel, he also emphasizes the fact that He was to be a Saviour King. By “His people” in verse 21 is meant primarily the Jews. The Greek word here used signifying “people” commonly applies to “the people of God,” that is, Israel. Another Greek word, sig nifying “nations,’’ is commonly used of the Gentiles. Matthew sets forth the salvation that the Lord Jesus brought as belonging primarily to Israel, but we all become “His people” through faith in Him (Gal. 3 :7 and 26). Here in the very beginning of the Gospel we see that the salvation that our Lord brought was not merely salvation from the guilt of sin, but salvation from sin it self. Saturday, January 2. Matthew 2:1-12. One great truth that stands out promi nently in this passage is that of the cer tainty of God’s Word. The sure word of prophecy spoken more than seven centuries before through a man who was “borne along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. l:2 i) is here fulfilled to the letter. In spite of all the
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