that
around
the
around
bright
them.
The
by
people
in
THEM,
BRING
JOY,
PEOPLE.
DAY
SAVIOUR,
AND
YOU;
WRAPPED
IN
THERE
A
HEAVENLY
SAYING,
HIGHEST,
WILL
word
His
celebrating
the fact that the One who would destroy
the works of the devil was finally here!
Once something has come into the earth
from heaven, the kingdom of darkness
cannot get it out!
The meaning of verse 14 is huge: "Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men." Notice, it
doesn't say, "good will among men" but
"good will TOWARD men"! They were
saying, "The sacrifice is here. The war
between heaven and earth is over! In a
little over 33 years, death, hell and the
grave will bow their knee and confess
that Jesus is LORD to the glory of God
the Father!" Notice that there were no
wise men present at the manger. Why
not?
Let's go to Matthew 2:1-8:
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, saying, Where is he
that is born King of the Jews? for we
have seen his star in the east, and are
come to worship him. When Herod the
king had heard these things, he was
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief
priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where
Christ should be born. And they said
unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for
thus it is written by the prophet, And thou
Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not
the least among the princes of Juda: for
out of thee shall come a Governor, that
shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod,
when he had privily called the wise men,
enquired of them diligently what time the
star appeared. And he sent them to
Bethlehem, and said, Go and search
diligently for the young child; and when
ye have found him, bring me word again,
that I may come and worship him also.
It does not say "three wise men." There
were three gifts, but these men were
kings. Even if there were only three, they
would have had a huge company of
people with them. They had come from
afar, through areas of war and danger.
They must have needed military
protection from thieves, etc.
Notice in verse 8, Jesus was not a baby
but a young child. Now there's nothing
especially wrong with displaying the
three wise men and Jesus as a baby in
a nativity scene. It's a composite
presentation, but the true story is far
greater than that. Verse 16 lets us know
that Jesus was about 2 years old.
Verses 11-13 are extremely important:
AND WHEN THEY WERE COME INTO
THE HOUSE, THEY SAW THE YOUNG
CHILD WITH MARY HIS MOTHER,
