The Veiled Threat
November 5, 2005
Good morning,
This morning our scripture is from the first book of the New Testament. The New
Testament is in the last half of the Bible. We read Matthew 2: 1-13:
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi
from the east came to Jerusalem and the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where
is the one who has been born a king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and
have come to worship him.’
• The word Magi is translated wise men. The people who came from the East were
men of influence probably Kings of other nations. Their journey lasted about
three years and during that time they understand that Jesus is being born King
of the Jews. No one taught them, they had a communication with God. This may be
an intuitive knowledge stemming from their knowledge of the scripture and the
interpretation of their experience. Their spiritual insight was keen because
they look for the Messiah out side the temple. The Jews of the day expected
worship to happen in the Temple only. These men looked in the country side as
they followed the star. The word star means destiny in motion and so they were
following their destiny and that destiny would give them light “understanding”
about their King and themselves.
• The Magi demonstrate their spiritual insight with the gifts the bear. Gold the
metal of kings, incense representing prayers being lifted up to God, and myrrh,
an ointment used to prepare the body for burial.
• So now we have the destiny of Christ. Three years is an eternity to someone
walking or riding a camel. Christ is worshipped with the gifts of a king, gold.
His deity is understood with the prayers of incense. And in His birth he was
following his destiny to die. Christ was born to die for our sins.
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 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. In Bethlehem in Judea they replied,
‘for this is what the prophet has written: 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.’
• Compare the Magi with Herod. Herod was disturbed. The king thought that Jesus
was coming to unseat himself. But Jesus would later say, “My kingdom is not of
this world…”
• Herod sent others to worship for him. Those who worship God must go
themselves. We cannot send someone to worship for our selves.
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the
star had appeared. 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.
• This is the veiled threat. Some years ago a political candidate known to me
was given a veiled threat. One of the campaign volunteers said, “Watch your
back.” He did not say in a straight forward manner, “I am going to kill you.”
But that is what was meant.
• Here Herod veils himself the statement, “As soon as you find, him report to
me, so that I too may go and worship him.” Worship him, did Herod have the
spiritual understanding that this new king would be worthy of worship? This may
have been a slip of tongue revealing his spiritual insight. Or it may have been
a cover for his intentions to kill the baby. Why would Herod want to kill the
baby unless he had some insight that Jesus was born King of the Jews.
• The Magi have angels watching over them. “Herod is going to search for the
child to kill him.”
After they had heard the King, they went on their way, and the star hey had seen
in the east stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star,
they were overjoyed. 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. And having
been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they turned to their country by
another route.
• Moses is often considered a type of Christ. A type of Christ is a picture of
Christ in an Old Testament person. Moses is a type of Christ in that Pharaoh
tried to kills him just as Herod would try to kill Christ. Moses led the people
out of the bondage of Egypt as Christ leads us out of our sin. Moses was the man
of Mount Sinai and Jesus was the man of mount Calvary.
• The life of Moses predicts the births of Christ to be that like his own.
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.’
Like Mary we “meditate on these things in our hearts.”