Lesson from the Wise men

Matthew 2:1-12

For this lesson we are going to be looking at the visit of the wise men to see Jesus. We will first look at some of the facts concerning this visit. Then we will use the example of how the wise men worshipped Jesus to gain some insight on our worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Facts about the visit of the wise men:

Many people assume because of the three gifts that there were three wise men, but the truth is that the bible does not say how many wise men were in the group from the east. It is also common thought that they were from the east, hence the song, “We three kings of orient are”. But they were not from the far east as we think of the east, they were from Babylon most likely. That is how they would have known that the star represented Jesus and knew that it was time for his birth (Numbers 24:17 ; Daniel 9:24-27). The last fact that we will see is that they did not visit on the night of his birth with the shepherds. Note that Mary and Joseph are in a house not a manger, and Jesus is referred to as a young child, not a baby. This also explains why Herod had all the babies killed from 2 years old and under (Matthew 11:16-17).

Some things we can learn from the worship of the wise men:

1)  The object of their worship (Verse 2)

• Note that the wise men understood who and what Jesus Christ was.
• We must first realize that Jesus Christ is the only one worthy of our worship and that if we will not worship him now, we will one day when it is too late (Philippians 2:9-11).

2)  They sought him diligently (Verses 1-10)

• We must seek out Jesus Christ in our worship. This must be done not just on Sunday or Wednesday but every day.
• One of the greatest places to find Jesus is in the Scriptures (John 5:39)

3)  They gave of their treasures (Verse 11)

• The first time we see the word wordship is in Genesis 22:5 and note that it is connected with sacrificing.
• We must give out of our treasures. This could include money, time, talents, etc.

4)  They rejoiced in their worship (Verse 10)

• Many times, we look at worship as a job or chore, but we should be like the wise men and rejoice at the fact that we have such a person worthy of worship and the opportunity to give something in our worship (Philippians 4:4)

Let us learn from the example of the wise men and worship the Lord Jesus who is worthy of our worship.

Lesson from the Wise men : Handout

Matthew 2:1-12

1)  List some of the facts from the lesson regarding the visit of the wise men.

2)  List some things that we can learn regarding worship from the worship of the wise men.