Partakers Christmas Thought 28 December 2021 – Christmas 31

Partakers Christmas Thought

28 December 2021

The Wise Men and Jesus

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 when it rose 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 Messiah 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 shepherd 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 search carefully 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 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. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped 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. (Matthew 2:1-12)

Today we look together at the Magi, or the Wise Men as they are also known. These men were travelling towards Christmas and probably for quite a long time, for it seems they originated in what we now call Iran but used to call Persia. These Wise Men, or Magi, were belonged to a type of priestly group. They were men who studied the night skies for signs of what was going to happen. They were aware of ancient writings and promises that had been made long before they were born, and looked to see where and when they would be fulfilled. Those who visited Jesus had seen a clear sign that an ancient promise was shortly coming to pass. No wonder, then, that these Wise Men burst into Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, with the question, ‘Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We’ve seen his star. . we’ve come to worship him.’

‘A star will come out of Jacob; a sceptre will rise out of Israel.’ (Numbers 24:17)

In the podcast today we continue looking at Christmas and today we look at the Wise Men and Jesus .Come and listen to find out more about these Wise Men, the benefit of the gifts they gave and possible insights into the life of the adult Jesus.

 

Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file

You can now purchase our book about the story of Christmas by clicking or tapping on this link here which will take you to Amazon!