Wise Men, Wicked Men . . . and Us, Part 2

Most families have favorite stories they like to tell on each other.

Some of them are quite funny, and in fact, with a little embellishment, they grow better with time. And while our clever ability to finesse a storyline makes our memories more entertaining, those same skills cause damage to history that's far more important, such as Biblical history. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll exposes a couple of the false narratives we've accepted that bear no resemblance to the original. He titled today's message, Wise Men, Wicked Men, and Us, and we begin with prayer. Our Father, you are in heaven, and your name is to be hallowed everywhere. In a world in which it is besmirched, scoffed at, ignored, we in this place gather to hallow your name, to acknowledge that you are holy as none other, that all things you do are good and right, though often mysterious and inexplicable to us, that the way you guide us is according to your plan, not ours. The way you use us and place us in unique places for those irreplaceable moments when we have the pleasure of speaking your name, there we experience the joy of your will fulfilled.

Joy is what it is. By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise continually that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to your name. We give you thanks, not because it is the season of the year to do so, but because the heart that has been changed is a heart full of gratitude, and our list is endless.

From the very pulse in our veins, the beat of our hearts, breath in our lungs, thoughts in our brains, all of it made possible through your creative hand as you have put us together in a way that would please you. You have given us a heart to love you, a mind to know you, and a will to obey you. May those things converge this day as we love and learn about you, which will lead us to worship you like those who came from afar centuries ago. We pray that during this time of the year we will have the scales removed from our eyes, thick scales brought on by tradition and myth and legend, and replaced with the clear vital truth of your word.

May we learn to treasure this word as we would gold or silver. May we search for an understanding with patience and diligence. May we be found faithful students of yours, disciples of your Son, messengers of your spirit in this world that has lost its way.

Our Father, I pray that you will deliver us from a negativism that often characterizes the Christians, finding only fault around us. May we see the beauty in this earth. May we see the significance in others, the dignity of humanity, the value of each life. May we realize that it is the tune of music in our hearts that prepares us to sing the songs of Zion. Come, thou fount of every blessing, tune our hearts to sing your praise. Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Thank you for those who fight for our liberty and keep us safe.

So many unknown to us in dangerous and difficult places. For those who have been incarcerated for their faith, for those strong and courageous voices of yours in dangerous places, under the threat of those who would take their lives, give them courage to press on. And for those among us who are under the swarming guilt of shame, remind us, Lord, that you are one who forgives.

As far as East is from West, you remove our transgressions from us. Oh, to grace, how great a debtor daily we're constrained to be. And today we give you thanks for your forgiveness. And now for the privilege of giving, remind us, Lord, that these represent your money, not ours. May we handle it with absolute integrity.

May these funds be used only for your greater purposes. As we realize we serve a faithful God who does all things well, and remind us that even in our giving, we are doing that which is eternal. Thank you for the privilege of worship today, for the joy of learning, the pleasure of your presence. In the name of Jesus, we pray. All his people said, Amen. You're listening to Insight for Living.

To study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scripture Studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. And now let's resume the message titled Wise Men, Wicked Men, and Us. Someone has put it well that education is nothing more than going from an unconscious to conscious awareness of your ignorance. You realize what you don't know or the things you thought were so just ain't so. So what have we heard about the story of the arrival of the wise men? Well, stop and think. How many wise men came from the East?

Well, we've learned all our lives. We've been told there were three of them. Nothing in the scriptures ever says here or elsewhere that there were three of them.

It's assumed because they brought three gifts. Now, what does the scripture teach? First, there's an unknown number of wise men. And there were only two kings.

According to what we read, one is called the King Herod and the other is the baby, the newborn King of the Jews. How about when they arrived at the place where they saw him for the first time? We have only verses 10 and 11 to guide us in the scriptures.

No other place covers that subject in that particular detail. For example, move ahead to verse 10. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy and they entered the house. How would they know way over in Persia that there was a king born in Jerusalem or near there?

How would they know where to go? Since we're never told the star was with them all the way, only that it was there to announce his birth and later, when they're trying to find the specific location, it appears over Bethlehem. We know that this is the Son of God in light of what we have learned in other sections of scripture. We know that this child is in fact the promised Messiah. But we know that he isn't a baby because he's not called a baby when the Magi first look at him.

How about the monster? He's called King Herod in verse 1 and later Herod the King. What do we know about King Herod? Well, it's fascinating to do a study about him. There are several Herod's mentioned in the New Testament.

He's the first one of the group. He came to be known as Herod the Great. Herod gave new meaning to narcissism. He was a man of enormous ego and insane suspicion and jealousy. He was a builder, which endeared him to many of the Jews because he built a number of places that would entertain them. He built theaters. He built racetracks. He built other structures for their entertainment. He built a temple that came to be known as Herod's Temple. The most remarkable thing he built was the impregnable fortress known as Masada, which is located in the wilderness of Judea. The place where later numerous Jews died rather than to be conquered by those who had come to control them. A word about his jealousy.

Hold on tight. You'll know now why I call him a monster. He was afraid for his position and power. Fearing his potential threat, that is the threat of others who were growing in power, he had the high priest Aristobulus, who was his wife's brother, drowned. Interestingly, after that he provided a magnificent funeral for the now dead high priest where he pretended to weep. He then had Mariamne, his wife herself, killed and then her mother murdered. Two of his own sons murdered. If you can believe it, five days before Herod's death he had a third son executed. One of the greatest evidences of his blood thirstiness and insane cruelty, listen to this, was having the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested, corralled together in one place, imprisoned there and held until shortly before his death. Understand, they were guilty of nothing. But here's the reason he did it. He knew no one would mourn his death by then. So he gave orders for all of those who were now considered prisoners to be executed the moment he died in order to guarantee that there would be mourning all across the city of Jerusalem.

That barbaric act was exceeded in cruelty only by the slaughter of all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its environs from the age two and under, Matthew 2 16, which we'll look at next time. That's the king. One king is holy, one is evil beyond imagination. One king is a child, another is a madman.

Interesting how their paths were about to converge. Let's focus now on the Magi. That's the word used in Greek and also in many translations. Your Bible may read, during that time some of the men from eastern lands arrived and they may be called their Magi, that is the Greek word for it. Who were these Magi? They were not kings, though they were people of great respect. Tradition tells us that there were three and they had names.

Caspar, Balthasar and Melchior. We do not know that to be true, but that's what legend teaches us. They represent, says the legend and myth, that they were the three sons or representatives of the three sons of Noah. Hence, one is often pictured in nativity scenes as dark-skinned, as an Ethiopian. A 12th century bishop of Cologne, not from the Virgin Islands I might add, a bishop from Cologne in the 12th century claimed to have found their skulls.

That also has remained a part of traditional information. The truth is, all we know for sure is what we find here in the second chapter of Matthew. Everything else is assumed, is not based on the scriptures. We're never told there were three, they are never called kings. And by the way, it has never revealed the mode of transportation, though they're always shown on camels. They may have been on camels, they may have arrived in a royal entourage carried by slaves. They may have been brought there on gilded carts, pulled by animals from the area from which they came.

Most likely they came from the Persian Empire. They were skilled in philosophy, ancient medicine, and natural sciences. They were keenly interested in the stars. Most of the Magi were students of astronomy, which often led them into astrology, a mixture of both.

Some ultimately became soothsayers, fortune tellers, people of the magical arts, and frequently turned into charlatans. These men are not in that category, though they were intrigued by the star. Notice they saw his star from wherever they were. We know nothing more about the star. Oh, I realize, and I've read it all through this week about the star.

It's this, another said with equal dogmatism, it's that. Or there was a comet that was here, or it's a form, it was, it was Jupiter that in that year was very bright. I don't believe any of that. In fact, I can't say for sure because that's not what scripture teaches. I'm intrigued about this star because they saw that star when they first became aware of the birth of the King of the Jews, but they don't see the star again until they're wondering where he is and it appears, notice, over Bethlehem. Nothing in scripture says they followed it all the way to Jerusalem. Then how did they know to come to what the Romans called Palestine, which I think is a crucial question. How would they know in Persia that a king of the Jews is born way over there in Israel? During that period of time in history, you'll find this fascinating, there was widespread expectation of the coming of one who would be a great deliverer, a great king. Roman historian Suetonius, writing of the time around the birth of Christ, get this, wrote, there had spread over all the east, which would be where they were in some part of the east, an old and established belief that someone from Judea, that's the county where Jerusalem is located, someone from Judea would come and rule the world, wrote this historian. Another Roman historian named Tacitus wrote, and I quote, there was a firm persuasion that at this very time rulers coming from Judea were to acquire a universal empire.

Interestingly Tacitus wrote it in plural, rulers, not just a ruler. The Jewish historian Josephus, whom you've heard of, reported in his work Jewish Wars that about that time, the time of Christ's birth, the Jews believed, and he himself being Jewish, would know this, the Jews believed that one from their country would soon become ruler of the habitable earth. All of that is fascinating information, though it is not set forth clearly in the scriptures, it doesn't make sense and helps explain how those living in the east would be aware of a king born west of them and would explain their reason for interpreting the brightness of the star. Perhaps I should return and tell you what I believe about the star. I believe it is evidence of the glory of God. I believe the brilliance of the light appears as a star in heaven, much like the light that shone down on the holiest of all when the tabernacle was completed and the Shekinah glory of God filled this holiest place. And then when the temple is built and the glory of God fills this holy place, it is the brilliant resplendent light of Shekinah, the glory of God.

I believe it is in the heavens and evidence of the glory of God that finds its appearance at the time of his birth and then later at the place of his location when they go looking for him. Now then, look at the passage of scripture. They wanted to know where is the newborn king of the Jews. Herod didn't know. He was not aware of this information. He didn't know the scriptures. But he had with him counselors who did study the scriptures and so he was deeply disturbed when he heard this.

Why? Because he's insanely jealous. He's suspicious of anyone who would become king in his place. It reads that everyone else in Jerusalem was disturbed. I think that's because of the entourage. Suddenly there is an entourage moving into their city from a place far away and they're all coming together, some of them armed.

That would disturb any of us if such an entourage appeared in our city. They're disturbed by the presence of all of this and so King Herod calls for his counselors and says to ask them where is he supposed to be born. Notice they knew. They knew their Bible, that is the Old Testament, and they quote from Micah chapter 5 verse 2.

Look at this. In Bethlehem in Judea they said, for this is what the prophet wrote. Now they're the prophet. They're able to quote him. You, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.

Notice not Palestine but Israel. And if you check that and check the date of that, that prophecy is given some 700 if not more years before the star appears and the babe is born. They knew the prophecy and so they quoted.

Now watch closely. Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men. This is never discussed in any story about the wise men and their arrival.

It's a very important part of it. He calls them together. The public isn't invited. It's a private gathering and we notice he learned from them the time when the first star appeared. If you could read the sentence in the Greek you would read words like exactly the time. He wanted to know precisely when did you first see that star. What's the big deal? Well he's determining the age of the child or attempting to. They think back of when the star first appeared. They want to know where is the child now that we're here. He wants to know when did you see the star. So they have this personal conflab together and the star that they had seen.

Go back if you will. He told them after they had answered when the star first appeared he told them go to Bethlehem which he had learned about from his counselors. Search carefully for the child. A similar sentence appears here.

In other words carefully or exactly. Make sure you find the child and once you find him come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too. You and I know as we read this that that was a ruse that was the sequel. If he wanted to worship him so greatly he would have gone with them but he doesn't. He's making his plans to kill him. These colorful details contained in scripture illustrate how Jesus was born into a politically charged era not unlike our own. Not everyone was pleased to meet Israel's new king. You're listening to Insight for Living and in the event you missed any program in Chuck Swindoll's brand new study of Matthew remember you can catch up by streaming the audio directly from our website.

You'll find all the information at insightworld.org. Behind the scenes we're quite excited about this new series called The King's Arrival. We're praying that thousands perhaps millions around the world will join us in this exciting introduction to Israel's long-awaited king. In the coming weeks and months Chuck Swindoll will guide our global audience through Matthew's account of Jesus' birth, his entire ministry on earth, right through his parting words commonly known as the Great Commission. Along with the daily program Insight for Living Ministries has prepared a number of additional resources for you and each one is designed to help you dig deeper into God's word on your own and to apply the principles to your daily life. For example the online Searching the Scriptures studies will complement each sermon. This gives you a way to explore the passage on your own and to take notes of what you're learning.

You can even print out the document and share it with friends. To search the scriptures with Chuck go to insight.org studies. Finally along with the release of this brand new series on the daily program Chuck has recently released his verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Matthew as well.

It comes in two hardbound volumes. Alongside the verses in Matthew you'll also gain access to charts, maps, photos, key terms, and of course Chuck's practical insights. To purchase Swindoll's Living Insights commentary on Matthew call us. If you're listening in the U.S. dial 1-800-772-8888. That's 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org store. Chuck Swindoll's brand new study through the book of Matthew continues Wednesday right here on Insight for Living. The preceding message wise man wicked man and us was copyrighted in 2014 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.