Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / The Three Wise Men - The Gospels

Transcript

The Three Wise Men - The Gospels · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And when they were come into the house,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: and myrrh. Matthew 2.11 Father, as you begin to move
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: through my life, I thank you that like in the
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: story in Matthew, you are sending signs and signals to
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: wise men and women who are called to bring gifts
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: and resources into my life to help establish my purpose.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: I thank you that, as they come, there will be
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: continued confirmation that your provision and your protection will never
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: run out on the journey of my destiny. When others
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: seek to destroy me, like Herod, I declare that you
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: will supernaturally give me the indicators of when it's time
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: to leave the place or relationships that I'm currently with.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: I declare that no harm will come to me or
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: those I love. I declare that safety is all around me.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: I am protected and covered by your love. And I
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: am forever grateful to be your child, Lord. In Jesus' name.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with me today. Continue listening for
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: an incredible Bible story. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: Many choices in life can be scary, but your health
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: care shouldn't be one of them. Did you know that
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: traditional insurance isn't your only option to take care of
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: your medical costs? Christian Health Care Ministries is created for you,
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: believers who expect more from their health care. Embrace a
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: faith-based alternative that puts you in control. Plus, experience flexibility
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: to pick your provider of choice with programs as low
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: as $ 92 per month. Enroll today at chministries.org slash pray.
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: In our last story, we witnessed the humble birth of
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: our hero, Jesus. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: the census, and Mary began to go into labor. There
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: was no room for them anywhere in town, so Mary
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: was forced to give birth in a stable. Her labor
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: pain brought forth the greatest hero the world will ever know,
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: the only Son of Man, the Messiah. The Christ child
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: was visited by shepherds, and a man of God named
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: Simeon prophesied that he would be the light of the
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: new world. Now we see Jesus being honored by wise
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: men and endangered by a king. He is adorned with
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: gifts and threatened with death, inspired by the gospel.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: Hello, everyone. In our previous episode, we heard how Jesus
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: was born in Bethlehem, how he was visited by shepherds,
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: the first to receive the news of his birth, besides
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: the parents themselves. Mary and Joseph, and how they went
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: away telling others all that they had seen and experienced
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: at the manger, and they worshiped God. Today, we'll hear
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: of visitors from afar who arrived many months after Jesus' birth,
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: looking for the one they had heard foretold and whose
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: star they had seen rising in the night sky to
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: guide them to the King of Kings. Their presence will
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: incite paranoia and fear in King Herod, And Joseph will
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: flee with Mary and Jesus into Egypt. So, let's hear
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: this exciting adventure in God's Word.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: The desert sand was cold underneath the evening sky. A
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: caravan of camels walked in formation underneath the eastern stars.
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: Riding on the camels were three wise men from the south.
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: They were scholars and astronomers that had tracked the stars
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: closely for any abnormalities. When they discovered that there was
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: a new bright star resting over Judea, they wasted no
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: time in packing their things and leaving. The wise men
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: rode for weeks, traveling by night in order to follow
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: the strange stars. Old scrolls and prophecies spoke of this star.
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: This star was a sign, a sign of the new
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: king of Israel, a sign of the Messiah. As they
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: drew closer to Judea, they began to hear whispers in
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: the streets. Apparently a few lowly shepherds rambled on about
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: their encounter with angels and witnessed the newborn king of Israel.
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: The wise men knew they were on the right track.
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: If it was a king that was born, truly the
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: current king would know of his whereabouts. So the men
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: traveled to the palace of Herod. The wise men were
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: very wealthy, so Herod welcomed them into his courts with
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: open arms. How may I serve you? he asked cordially.
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: They asked.
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: We have followed his star and have come to worship him.
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: King Herod winced at their words. He had heard rumors
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: from the shepherds about a newborn baby. However, Herod was
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: the king of the Jews, and he would not allow
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: for a child to cause any sort of chaos. He
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: hid his silent rage from the wise men and called
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: for one of the priests. Where is the Messiah supposed
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: to be born? Herod asked. That would be Bethlehem, my lord,
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: the birthplace of David, he responded. Herod smiled and pulled
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: the wise men in close. My friends, this is a
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: most joyous occasion. Go to Bethlehem. There you should find
• 6:01
  Speaker 4: the child, and when you find him, please send word
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: back to me. Herod gave a slithering smile. I would
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: love to worship him as well. The wise men departed
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: for Bethlehem. Herod watched them leave. As the door closed,
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: his smile turned quickly into a scowl. He would not
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: let any child, Messiah or not, threaten his power. Mary
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: was tending to the baby while Joseph tended to the fire.
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: They had found themselves a nice home to stay in
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: while Mary recovered and nursed the child. The air was
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: cool outside, but their home was filled with warmth and love.
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: Joseph kissed Mary's forehead and then bent down to kiss Jesus' nose.
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: The baby cooed and the couple smiled down at him.
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: As the family shared a moment of tenderness, they heard
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: a knock at the door. Joseph got up to answer
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: and saw the three wise men draped in expensive robes
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: standing outside. We have come to see the king, one
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: of them said. So Joseph let them inside. They saw
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: him resting in the arms of his mother and bowed.
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: Mary watched as these men of power and knowledge worshipped
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: at the feet of her child. Her and Joseph were
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: beginning to realize just how special this moment was. The
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: men brought in a small chest. In it were three gifts, gold, frankincense,
• 7:25
  Speaker 4: and myrrh. Unbeknownst to the wise men, these gifts would
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: represent the royalty, divinity, and death of Christ. In these
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: presents were hidden secrets to the life and death of
• 7:36
  Speaker 4: God's chosen king. After giving the gifts, the men said
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: goodbye and returned to their home. They did not tell
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: Herod where the baby was, for the Lord had revealed
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: to them his cruel intentions. Meanwhile, Herod stood in paranoia.
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: The heart of the ancient pharaoh came upon him, and
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: he came up with a truly cruel plan.' Captain!' he yelled.
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: The captain of the city guards came to the throne
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: at attention. Herod stood up. His eyes were red with rage.
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: An ancient evil boiled out of his heart. I want
• 8:09
  Speaker 4: the head of every boy under the age of two.
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: Spare no one. So the guards spread across the nearby
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: cities in Judea, ripping babies out of their mother's arms.
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: The streets ran red with infant blood, and the Lord
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: wept over Herod's cruelty. Joseph awoke in the middle of
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: the night from a nightmare. Sweat dripped down his head
• 8:29
  Speaker 4: and back. He looked quickly at his wife beside him
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: and a child resting in her arms. Joseph was panting.
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: The Lord had appeared to him in a dream and
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: telling him to flee with his family to Egypt. Joseph
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: got up from the bed and looked out the window.
• 8:44
  Speaker 4: Screams could be heard in the distance. The sound of
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: crying infants and wailing mothers echoed from miles away. Joseph
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: knew that this is what he was called to do,
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: protect Mary and protect the child. He gathered up all
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: their belongings and loaded them onto the donkey. Then, gently,
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: Joseph picked up his wife and the infant in his arms.
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: He rested them softly on the donkey and and then
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: led them away to Egypt. There they found refuge until
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: Herod met his bitter end.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: This is a very exciting passage of scripture. A caravan
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: of men is traveling from the east following a star
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: that they had seen rising in the night sky. They
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: knew there was great significance to this sign, this star
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: in the heavens, that a king had been born in Judea.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: The men from the east were most likely from Babylon,
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: and they represent the lasting impact of God's people, specifically
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: the prophet Daniel. Now the former conquerors were traveling across
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: the desert to Judea to pay honor to the promised Messiah.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: It is also a reminder that Jesus came not only
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: for the Jews, but from people all over the world.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: As they entered Judea, they sought out the Jewish ruler
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: to ask about this special child, this king that was
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: to be born. They did not know that King Herod
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: was not looking for or interested in another king. In fact,
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: he was a paranoid ruler who gripped his power with
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: white knuckles as someone who feared losing it. The wise
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: men asked, where is this child, the Messiah, the one
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: born king of the Jews? Herod asked his priests, who
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: looked in the scriptures, to show him that the prophecies
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: told of Bethlehem, the city of David, as the birthplace
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: of the Messiah. So he sent the wise men there,
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: asking them to find the baby and return to tell
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: him where he was so that he too could worship.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: Of course, this was never Herod's intention. He wanted to
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: stop the threat to his power. This was an evil
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: king who would later murder his own sons so he
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: would stop at nothing to protect his throne. The travelers
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: entered into Bethlehem and found Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. They
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: bowed before the child and lavished gifts upon him, gifts
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These treasures are deeply symbolic.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: The gold spoke to Christ's royalty, the frankincense signaled the
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: divinity of the child, and the myrrh foreshadowed the Messiah's death.
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: Imagine how strangely surreal this visit must have been for
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: Mary and Joseph. They knew that their child was special, yes, supernatural,
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: the Son of God. But his arrival had not been
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: marked with grandiosity, but much to the contrary, with humility.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: But now these nobles from far, far away had come
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: to bow before their child, hailing him as king. These
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: mysterious men from afar departed in awe of what they
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: had seen. But they didn't return to Herod because God
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: warned them in a dream. Instead, they took another route home.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: When Herod discovered their trickery, he was enraged, so he
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: ordered the death of all the small children among the
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: Jewish people. Just as the Pharaoh had ordered the slaughter
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: of Hebrew babies in the time of Moses, Herod ordered
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: his guards to kill every male child under two in
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: the region. It was a time of great sorrow and
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: fear and lamentation brought about by an evil man's failure
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: to recognize the new king. He, of course, is rejecting
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: the Savior, the only one that could bring hope to
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: him and to the rest of the world. But just
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: as God had rescued Moses, he stepped in to protect
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: his only son, warning Joseph in a dream. Joseph knew
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: he had to get out with his family far from there.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: So in fact, he journeyed to Egypt where he stayed
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: until it was safe to return home with Jesus the Messiah.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: This was all in fulfillment to God's word, which as
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: we've seen, never fails. In Matthew 2.15, we read how
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: this was prophesied by Hosea. This was to fulfill what
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: the Lord had spoken by the prophet, out of Egypt
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: I call my son. When they returned, Jesus was now
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: a young boy and as we'll hear the next time,
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: His wisdom and understanding was already astounding to those who
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: heard him speak. Dear God, we thank you for your word,
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: for your hand of protection and provision for Joseph, Mary,
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: and Jesus. We thank you for always bringing about your
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: perfect plan of salvation. Thank you for sending your Son,
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: the Lord Jesus Christ, into our world to be our
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: Savior forever and ever. Amen. Thank you again for listening
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham,
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: pastor in Dallas, Texas. You can download the Pray.com app
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: and make Bible study and prayer a priority in your life.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with someone else.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: And if you want more resources, I would love for
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: you to contact us at jackgram.org. God bless you and
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: have a great day.