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Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 1<\/span><\/sup><\/strong>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, <\/span>2<\/span><\/sup>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.” <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 9<\/span><\/sup>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. <\/span>10<\/span><\/sup>When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. <\/span>11<\/span><\/sup>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.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Behind the Words<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The words \u201cwise men<\/span>\u201d are translated from the Greek magos<\/span><\/em>, which refers to a priest or wise man among the Medes, Persians and Babylonians. In Daniel 2:48<\/span><\/strong> you will find that Daniel was made the leader of the magi. It is believed by some that these magi were following a prophesy of Daniel which predicted the birth of the king of the Jews.<\/p>\n The expression \u201crejoiced with exceedingly great joy<\/span>\u201d loses its effect in English, because we tend to read it as \u201cthey were glad.\u201d However, it is much more than that. It is translated from the Greek echar\u0113san charan megal\u0113n sphodra<\/span><\/em>. Echar\u0113san<\/span><\/em> is the verb form of charis<\/span><\/em>, which means \u201cdelight or joy.\u201d The verb form means to express that joy, hence, \u201crejoice.\u201d The next word, charan<\/span><\/em> is a form of charis<\/span><\/em>. When Greek repeats a word in both verb and noun form it implies intensity. In English we would say, they joyfully rejoiced. The next word, megal\u0113n<\/span><\/em> is a form of megas<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201clarge\u201d or \u201cgreat.\u201d Here it is describing charis<\/span><\/em>, so it is saying \u201cthey joyfully rejoiced greatly.\u201d Finally, the word sphodra<\/span><\/em>, means \u201cto a high degree.\u201d Putting this all together we see that the text says, \u201cthey joyfully rejoiced exceedingly greatly.\u201d It expresses the utmost in joyful exuberance!<\/p>\n Meaning Explained<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Most nativity scenes show three kings offering gifts to the Christ child who is lying in a manger surrounded by the stable animals. However, a careful examination of the text along with Luke 2:21, 22<\/span><\/strong> and Leviticus 12:1-8<\/span><\/strong>, reveals that Mary and Joseph remained in Bethlehem for at least 40 days after Jesus\u2019 birth in order to fulfill the law. If Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with the Christ child immediately after the Magi departed, there wouldn\u2019t have been time for the purification, if the Magi came to the stable.<\/p>\n Also, note that verse eleven says \u201cwhen they (the Magi) had come into the house \u2026<\/span>\u201d The word translated \u201chouse<\/span>\u201d is oikos<\/span><\/em>, which refers to the family dwelling place and is never used in reference to a stable. Finally, the word translated young Child in verse eleven is not the word that means \u201cnew born infant,\u201d it simply means \u201cbaby.\u201d<\/p>\n Application <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Many of the things we think we know about these magi are, in fact, either speculation or downright untrue. We don\u2019t know if they were kings (they probably weren\u2019t). We don\u2019t know how many of them there were. We don\u2019t know their names! And, they didn\u2019t come to the stable! But we do know that they were seeking a prophetically foretold king of the Jews and that they got incredibly excited when they knew they were about to come into His presence.<\/p>\n Is this how you view the Child who came into this world to die for your sins? Is this how you view God?<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2008 Will Krause. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –<\/p>\n <\/span>If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, you can call the church phone (618) 614-3070 and leave a message telling us your name and e-mail address or you can send an e-mail to:![\"signature\"](\"..\/..\/signature.gif\")
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