Magicians, Murder, and the Messiah

You think you know the story of the wise men. You don't.

They weren't at the manger. They weren't kings. There weren't three of them. And they were pagan priests from Persia who practiced what the Old Testament calls sorcery.

So how did they find Jesus before the religious leaders in Jerusalem did? And what does that tell us about who Jesus came for? In this message, we dig into Matthew 2:1-12 and uncover:

Who the Magi really were (Persian Zoroastrian priests, not kings)
How Daniel influenced them 500 years earlier
The prophecies they followed (Daniel 9, Numbers 24:17)
Why they traveled over 1,000 miles to worship a baby
Why Herod killed children "two years and under"
The scandal: outsiders recognized Jesus while insiders stayed home

This is Week 2 of our Christmas series "NATIVITY: The Christmas You Never Knew."
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 2:1-12
SERIES OVERVIEW:
Week 1: Prostitutes, Foreigners, & Adultery (Matthew 1:1-17)
Week 2: Magicians, Murder, and the Messiah (Matthew 2:1-12)
Week 3: The Lost Tribe, the Long Wait, and the Word Made Flesh (Luke 2:25-38)

ABOUT BIBLE RETHINK:
I'm Kene Panas, Lead Pastor at Coastal Community Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California. My goal is simple: slow down to consider what you've been taught and understand if that's really what the biblical author was trying to communicate.
We explore cultural background, study the original languages (Hebrew & Greek), and dig deeper into Scripture to find what's really there.
SUBSCRIBE for weekly sermons and Bible studies that make you rethink what you thought you knew.

CONNECT:

Coastal Community Fellowship - Fountain Valley, CA
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