BEHOLD

BEHOLD
Wise to Worship
Good morning! We are in the second week of our series called BeHold!  
Matthew 2:9-11New King James Version
1 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, 2 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.”
Behold is used 1,298 times in the King James version of the Bible. It is derived from the Greek which has the literal translation of; be sure to see or in our words, “don’t miss this”. 
Ezekiel 12:2 New King James Version
2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.
Mark 8:18 New King James Version
18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
So during this series I want us to ask God to open our eyes. Behold what is in front us right now, this very moment in time. Don’t miss it. 
PRAYER

Matthew 2:1-6, 9-10 New King James Version
2 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, 2 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.”
Who are these “wise men”?
The term translated as “wise me” in the text is magoi, which has come to be known in English as magi. 
Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, described the magi as “a priestly caste among sixth century Medes.”. In general, the magi were specialists in medicine, astronomy, and other related fields.
By the time of the Prophet Daniel, a special caste of astrologers and astronomers was formed in the of Chaldea, who were referred to as “Chaldeans”.
Daniel 2:2 New King James Version
2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
Now if you remember the story of Daniel. Israel had been captured by the Babylonians. The king of Babylon had a dream and told them to interpret it despite him not telling them the dream. They all failed.
Daniel was called before the king and said this: 
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets…
God not only showed Daniel the king’s dream, God interpreted it as well.  
47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
This meant that Daniel, the Jewish prophet, had leadership over of those who would later be termed, the magi. 
Psalm 19:1 NKJV
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork”
So now the Chaldeans had expertise in astronomy (not the same as astrology, please note), and access to the truth about the God of Israel. Daniel and his friends had been educated by the Chaldeans, but they also had the Torah and some of the prophets (Daniel 9:2). Plus, Daniel had a personal visit from an archangel telling him exactly when the Messiah, the King of the Jews would come.
Here’s what Gabriel said:
Daniel 9:26- New King James Version
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

Daniel, one of the ancient magi of the Chaldeans, gets the heads up about the timing of Messiah’s coming, and the fact that would be “cut off” before the destruction of the second temple. 
Counting from the order to rebuild Jerusalem, it would be 7 weeks + 62 “weeks” – 483 years.
This gives the time frame.
In the year 445 BC the King of Persia, Artaxerxes, gives Nehemiah the required order to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. (Nehemiah 2:1-8), and the countdown begins and brings us to here…verse 3
Matthew 2:3-6
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
I want you to notice how the religious react. Religious people will stand off from afar and watch you as you make the journey to follow Christ. 
9 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. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
They continued on their journey, following the star! And the star led to the Bright and Morning Star!!!
Revelation 22:16 New King James Version
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
Don’t give up! Don’t let distractions take you away from following the Holy Spirit. 
 11 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.
They finally reach their destination….what’s interesting is they came with gifts already prepared. 
How many of you come ready to give of yourself to Christ for church service? Ready to worship? How many songs does it take? 
Their gifts are significant: 
Gold: Kingship of God. 
Gold in the Bible is symbolic of God.  It represents the most precious of metals and is extremely rare in its purest form. The furniture of the Tabernacle features gold, symbolically pointing to Christ and His deity.  The Ark of the Covenant was constructed of acacia wood (symbolic of Jesus’ humanity) and overlaid with gold (symbolic of His divinity).
Gold reminds us that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This world is happy with Baby Jesus but they are very uncomfortable with King Jesus. 
Revelation 19:13-16 New King James Version
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

Frankincense: 
Frankincense is an aromatic, clear resin obtained from trees in northern India and Arabia (Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20).  It is used in incense and perfumes, and was treasured for its aroma and healing properties.  
This incense was burned before the LORD daily (Exodus 30:7) in the tabernacle and was added to sacrifices and offerings as “a pleasing aroma to the LORD (Leviticus 2:2).” 
Frankincense represents Jesus’ role as our Priest and our substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. It foreshadows his perfect life and wrath-satisfying death on behalf of sinners before a Holy God. 
Revelation 5:1-7 New King James Version
 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Myrrh: 
Myrrh, in the Old Testament, was an ingredient in the sacred anointing oil of the tabernacle and the priests. Each priest and tool used in worship in the temple was consecrated, or set apart, in a ceremony using this oil.
In the New Testament, myrrh is closely related to Jesus’ death. On the cross Jesus is offered, “wine mixed with myrrh” (Mark 15:23) which he refused. It has been suggested that myrrh has some anesthetic properties, which means the pain and torment of the cross would have been dulled. Jesus refused this concoction so that his sacrifice and endurance of the wrath of God for us would be complete.
The other place myrrh shows up is in Jesus’ burial,
“Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.” – John 19:39-40
Myrrh is a gift that reminds us that this baby, or toddler perhaps by the time the Wise Men showed up, has been born for a purpose. He is a baby born to die. The gift given to him at the beginning of his life will be buried with him. 
Myrrh points us to the finished work of Christ as our sins are bound with him into the tomb where they remain forevermore for those who trust Jesus for salvation by faith. Only the victorious Savior Jesus emerged from that tomb. Our sins were crucified with him, 
Revelation 12:11 New King James Version
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 
Romans 8:1-2 New King James Version
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

STAR
Studying the skies around the time of the birth of Jesus using NASA technology, Rick Larson discovered an extremely rare triple conjunction: 
The “king” star (Regulus) crossing the “king” planet (Jupiter) within the constellation of the lion (Leo), “king” of the animals, three times.1
King, king, king. 
The message was all there.