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Teaching Text: Matthew 2: 1-23
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod,Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 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.”
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 Messiah 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 shepherd my people Israel.’”
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 search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
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. 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 giftsof gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
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.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,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.”
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. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
“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.”
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egyptand 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.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 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, 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.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Friends of God | The Kingdom of God Moving Along Lines of Friendship in the Life of Jesus
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
If you were alive in 2000 - what was your picture of what 2025 would be like?
What are you inspired by recently?
What is a challenge or worry or grief your mind returns to a lot these days?
What are one or two things you hope for next year?
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
– Mary Oliver
Jesus was born into the real world
Whatever you are facing today, let that be a comfort to you.
Let us to go for a moment or two with our imagination into the experience of these people we meet in this story.
The Magi
There is much we don’t know for certain about them but we can make some very educated guesses.
An Ancient Priesthood of the Medes
The Supreme Priestly Caste of the Persian Empire
Magi were involved in choosing royal succession for the Parthians.
Almost certainly traveled with an Entourage – all the pomp of a royal procession and a heavy guard for their valuables and as a statement
Asked who was “Born King of the Jews” – a direct insult to Herod
Posed a specific threat to Herod
Came Bearing expensive gifts
No gifts mentioned for Herod
There is a reasonable chance the process of looking for this child’s birth had been passed down among their ranks since the time of Daniel’s exile to Babylon.
We know the Prophet Daniel was given the Title of Chief Magi by King Darius
We can imagine the difficulty of the journey…
How many times did they lay awake, camping in the mountains, doubting the sign that started their journey?
How many times did they want to give up, head back to Babylon, where they were known and respected?
How many times did they wonder if they were losing it, or if it would all even be worth it if they made it?
If they might face danger.
Sometimes, God works a miracle: We take the whole journey in a single moment (shepherds).
God accelerates His work in our midst.
BUT often, God calls us to walk a journey: It Involves risk, doubt, hard questions, setbacks, and disappointment…what is required is to keep putting one foot in front of the other because the hope that pushed your first step is real and is worth it.
2025 will be a year of single days. There will one moments of inspiration. There will be dark nights?
Can you keep the vision God has given you in community and take one step at a time?
When they see Jesus they
humble themselves
They bowed down and worshipped Him
They offered their gifts to him - the gold for a king, frankescence for a priest, and the myrrh to prophesy his death
Then they returned another way - they put their allegiance to Jesus above anything they has seen before
Herod
Herod has a long protected rise to power that involved lots of violence to secure his place
But in a crucial moment of that journey he had appealed to Rome for help and apparently Ceasar Augustus had a favorable impression of Herod and so he named him King of the Jews.
The highest political and military power in the world had called Herod King, but he still had to come back and violently win his place
And he was never secure. He was a maniacal and paranoid leader. Always afraid of losing what he had.
His life is a testimony to us that the world is not enough.
We are not made to be satisfied with an identity less than one we have received from God.
But play this out for a minute. Herod believed enough in the story that he called together the priests and wisemen.
He asked where Messiah was going to be born. He seemed to know this was God and yet he was so entrenched in his own kingdom that he could only squirm and howl and strike out.
What has your heart today?
Can you imagine Herod pacing late at night in this palace, in his silk robes, a plaque from Ceasar on his wall?
And nothing but fear.
“Because here's something else that's true. In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship - is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive.
If you worship money and things-if they are where you tap real meaning in life-then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. On one level, we all know this stuff already-it's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, bromides, epigrams, parables: the skeleton of every great story.
The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness. Worship power-you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart-you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on.”
– David Foster Wallace
Herod wreaked havoc in the world and eventually was eaten alive from the inside by a stomach disease.
But his story confronts us with the question WHAT HAS YOUR HEART?
Mary and Joseph
Mary and Joseph were on the run. And you have to wonder…
After all that happened around Jesus birth could they now be having to leave all they knew?
Did Mary wonder why Jospeh received the dream to flee after she had been visited by the angel?
Did they argue or debate?
Did they have a plan? How did they show up in a new city with their young child and no family support?
Can you imagine them standing in line, back aching, questions in their mind, wondering how they ended up here.
God had spoken in a dream. Was that enough?
Here is the thing about the dream of God though
God had a long range plan to bring redemption to the world.
God was speaking to those who would listen.
The wise ones were seeking Jesus
NT Wright summarizes the arch of the story Matthew is telling us…
“There is another way as well in which this story points ahead to the climax of the gospel. Jesus will finally come face to face with the representative of the world’s greatest king—Pilate, Caesar’s subordinate. Pilate will have rather different gifts to give him, though he, too, is warned by a dream not to do anything to him. His soldiers are the first Gentiles since the Magi to call Jesus ‘king of the Jews’, but the crown they give him is made of thorns, and his throne is a cross. At that moment, instead of a bright star, there will be an unearthly darkness, out of which we shall hear a single Gentile voice: yes, he really was God’s son.
Listen to the whole story, Matthew is saying. Think about what it meant for Jesus to be the true king of the Jews. And then—come to him, by whatever route you can, and with the best gifts you can find.”
– NT Wright
Begin this year coming to Jesus. He has come to you.
Keep taking steps even when the way is challenged.
Bring your gifts and open them to God - they may be used to point to the deep reality of the world’s story
Watch if you heart has been captured by another god - you can return home today
Make a plan to come to the feet of Jesus every day in 2025. If you miss one. Begin again.
We want to help and walk with you. We have Groups, Reading Plans, Prayer Resources, places to serve,
We have the Seconds Course starting this month. A course on how to follow Jesus in practices.
Join us in following Jesus. This baby born to turn the world upside down , the redeem and heal it.
Pray
Parents:
Ask your kids what that are scared of right now?
Ask them what they hope for this year and direct their thought towards, relationships, experiences, growth.
Pray with them and offer the year up to
