Monday, December 26, 2011
The Three Stooges?
I contend that the 3 wise men were not so wise.
Matthew 2: Wise Men from the East
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ' But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.' "
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
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16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 " A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more."
Please Note… They were late!! Possibly up to 2 years late.
Now, being from the region of Babylon, where Daniel had prophesied of the birth of Christ, they could have figured the year of the birth of the Lord.
Daniel 9:21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:24 " Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.25 " Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.26 " And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
And yet, they were still 2 years late.
Well I guess this tells us that its not too late for you to come to Jesus! You may have been as silly as stooge in delaying coming to Christ, but its not too late for you to come to Christ right now. You can come to Him and find Him as your Saviour and redeemer. You can come to Him and have the forgiveness of all your sins past present and future. You would be really silly to put it off any longer though wouldn’t you!
The Good News is that even if you are late you can still come to Jesus. But come now before its too late!
Please Note.. They were Odd Folks.
These wise men were from Persia, Iran! They weren’t Jews. They were stargazers! They may have been into horoscopes! well .. guess what.. Many odd people have come to Jesus. the Good news is that even if you are odd you can still come to Jesus! He wont reject you! “Whoever comes to me I will not cast them out!” (John 6:39)
And if you are not sure of this, just take a look around you. There are plenty of odd people in this church! The good news is that if you are odd you can still come to Jesus.
Please Note: They went to the wrong person. They went to Herod. You may have gone to the wrong person. You may have gone to worship Mary. What a waste. Its Jesus who is the Saviour. You may have gone to a church! Church folk won’t save you. Sometimes we make real mistakes in finding our way to Jesus. What really matters is that you come to Jesus!
Matthew 1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
Only in Jesus is there saving from sin, forgiveness for our sins. Only in Jesus can God be with us, for us, and even indwell us!
The Good News is that whatever mistakes you make in coming to Jesus, you should still come to Jesus! He will receive you and give you eternal life.
John 3: 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
