The Wise Men Did Not Come to Worship Christ in the Manger

7/30/2019 The Wise Men Did Not Come to Worship Christ in the Manger

1/3

www.chroniclewatch.com Page 1

The Wise Men Did Not Come To Worship Christ in The Manger

One things we must remember when trying to point to scriptures is context. In the scriptures the church

today teaches a false truth about the birth of Christ, for the wise men did not come to worship Jesus on

his BIRTHDAY, they came later to pay homage to the King, Jesus Christ the Messiah. The wise men did

not go to the manger where Christ was born, they went to the house of Mary to worship the King

(Jesus); they paid homage to him and gave him gifts, not due to his birth, but due to the fact that he was

the king of the Jews.

Let us start with verse 1;

Matthew 2:1 KJV Now when Jesus was born () in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of

Herod the king, behold, there came wise men () from the east to Jerusalem,

The word "was" is important, because it is talking about a past action; for the word

(gennethetos) is Aorist, passive - past tense action of the virgin birth.

It should read "Now Jesus having been born ( - past tense) in Bethlehem"; he was already

born when these three wise men came: Not mere shepherds, but magis ().

- masc. noun. Magi, the name for priests and wise men among the Medes, Persians and

Babylonians. Great, powerful men (see also mgas [G3173], great, derived from the same stem).

Magi specialized in the study of astrology and enchantment and thus were known as enchanters,

magicians (Dan_1:20; Dan_2:2, Dan_2:27; Dan_5:7). In the NT they represent the name of the

Magi, wise men from the East, most probably from Persia or Arabia, who came to salute the

newborn Messiah.

These men did not come to give birthday gifts, they came to pay honor to a king with three very specialgifts with important meaning.

Now, let us move to verse 11 to see the account of what transpired on the visit of these three wise men.

Matthew 2:11 KJV And when they were come into the house ( - not a manager), they saw

the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had

opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

- house - A building, house, dwelling. Okos had a broader range than oika. Okos is the

whole of person's possessions, his whole estate, whereas oika is simply his residence and only

occasionally includes its contents.

There is no position stated, according to the scriptures, that these three wise men saw Jesus when he

was born, nor saw him at the manger as taught by the church today, this is a false teaching and sadly

confuses many.

The word is stating that these men went to the place of residence, not a stable at the inn.

Next, please look at the phrase "unto him gifts", what does this mean?


2/3


unto him gifts This expression, used frequently in the Old Testament of the oblations presented

to God, is in the New Testament employed seven times, and always in a religious sense of

offerings to God. Beyond doubt, therefore, we are to understand the presentation of these gifts

by the Magi as a religious offering.

This was not birthday gifts as we know it, this was a religious offering to royalty.

1. gold - token of His royalty

2. frankincense - used in sacrificial offerings; in token of His divinity

3. myrrh - perfuming ointments; His sufferings

It was not about getting what you want, or a birthday cake; it is about Christs divinity.

gold, frankincense, and myrrh Visits were seldom paid to sovereigns without a present

(1Ki_10:2, etc.; compare Psa_72:10, Psa_72:11, Psa_72:15; Isa_60:3, Isa_60:6). Frankincense

was an aromatic used in sacrificial offerings; myrrh was used in perfuming ointments. These,

with the gold which they presented, seem to show that the offerers were persons in affluent

circumstances. That the gold was presented to the infant King in token of His royalty; thefrankincense in token of His divinity, and the myrrh, of His sufferings; or that they were designed

to express His divine and human natures; or that the prophetical, priestly, and kingly offices of

Christ are to be seen in these gifts; or that they were the offerings of three individuals

respectively, each of them kings, the very names of whom tradition has handed down - all these

are, at the best, precarious suppositions. But that the feelings of these devout givers are to be

seen in the richness of their gifts, and that the gold, at least, would be highly serviceable to the

parents of the blessed Babe in their unexpected journey to Egypt and stay there - that much at

least admits of no dispute.

The question then remains, who then came to the manger?

It was the shepherds, not the wise men.

Luke 2:7 KJV And she (Mary) brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling

clothes, and laid him in a manger (); because there was no room for them in the inn (lodging

place).

- manger - fem. noun. A manger or crib at which cattle are fed.

Luke 2:8 KJV And there were in the same country shepherds (- not the wise men) abiding in

the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

- shepherds - Shepherd, one who generally cares for flocks.

Luke 2:9 KJV And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them (the shepherds, not the wise men who

brought the gifts to the king), and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were

sore afraid.

Luke 2:10 KJV And the angel said unto them (the shepherds), Fear not: for, behold, I bring you

good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.


3/3


Luke 2:11 KJV For unto you (you shepherds, Israel) is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,

which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:12 KJV Andthis (the virgin birth, ref. Isaiah 9:6 , the fulfillment of prophecy) shall be a sign

unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Luke 2:13 KJV And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising

God, and saying,

Luke 2:14 KJV Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:15 KJV And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the

shepherds (restating who the them are, they are not the wise-men from the east) said one to

another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the

Lord hath made known unto us.

Luke 2:16 KJV And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in amanger.

Luke 2:17 KJV And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told

them concerning this child.

Luke 2:18 KJV And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the

shepherds.

No gifts brought by the shepherds at the manger.

Luke 2:19 KJV But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:20 KJV And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they

had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

I hope from this that you will be able to see that birthdays have no place in Christianity as they are not

scriptural based. They are traditions of men, and of flesh; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and

the pride of life.

If we be followers of Christ, then we must die to self and live for Him.

Agape all and phileo...
http://www.chroniclewatch.com/corrupted-manuscripts/articles/who-exactly-is-isaiah-96-referring-to/http://www.chroniclewatch.com/corrupted-manuscripts/articles/who-exactly-is-isaiah-96-referring-to/http://www.chroniclewatch.com/corrupted-manuscripts/articles/who-exactly-is-isaiah-96-referring-to/http://www.chroniclewatch.com/corrupted-manuscripts/articles/who-exactly-is-isaiah-96-referring-to/http://www.chroniclewatch.com/corrupted-manuscripts/articles/who-exactly-is-isaiah-96-referring-to/http://www.chroniclewatch.com/corrupted-manuscripts/articles/who-exactly-is-isaiah-96-referring-to/http://www.chroniclewatch.com/corrupted-manuscripts/articles/who-exactly-is-isaiah-96-referring-to/

The Wise Men Did Not Come to Worship Christ in the Manger

Documents

Transcript of The Wise Men Did Not Come to Worship Christ in the Manger