And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.”He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”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.And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out exactly concerning the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word, that I also may come and worship him.
5 sermons cite this verse
I'd like you to have a seat. So I grew up, this is the, here we are, the last Sunday in Christmas season. It reminds me of this, this is the whole thing. I grew up in Brainerd, Minnesota, which is the vacation area of, one of the vacation areas of Minnesota. and one of the things we have, our claim to fame is that Brainerd is the quote-unquote birthplace or the home of Paul Bunyan. So if you know the tall tale of Paul Bunyan, tall tale, we recognized that we had a thing called Paul Bunyan Amusement Park and it was in my hometown, in town basically, kind of right on the outskirts of town, Paul Bunyan Amusement Park and we begged our parents to be able to, that we could go to Paul Bunyan. They never took us, never, the only time we ever got to go to Paul Bunyan amusement park was when the cousins came to visit, which was relatively rare. And they would say, okay, now we can go to the amusement park. It was one of those situations where I'm like, but we live here. We should be able to go here all the time. Now, obviously, if you've ever been to Paul Bunyan amusement park, you know that it's not, as an adult, it's not that big. It's kind of a small thing. But as a kid, it was the place I wanted to go more than anything. But it seemed like one of those situations where it was so, so close to home that it was too close to home, …
… look back at verse seven with me when the wise men showed up then herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared and he sent them to bethlehem saying go and search diligently for the child and when you have found him bring me word that i too may come and worship him now class did herod really want to worship jesus kids did herod really want to worship Jesus? No. Okay. This is the audience participation part of the program. Did Herod really want to worship Jesus? No. Herod was pretending worship while intending murder. Herod had been installed by Rome as a puppet king of Israel. And historians tell us that Herod was paranoid about losing his power, like psychotically paranoid. For example, when Herod was first inaugurated as king. He invited all of his family's rivals or anybody they owed money to, to a big inauguration bash as a show of peace, a new regime. But when he got them all there, he surprised ambushed them and had them all killed. A few years later into his reign, Herod had his wife killed because he thought she was conspiring against him. Then shortly after that, he had all three of his sons killed because he thought they were conspiring against him too. Y'all, even the Roman Emperor Augustus was reported to have said you would be better off as one of Herod's pigs than you would as one of his sons. In other words, you'd have a higher chance of surviving. Oh, …
Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem to go search carefully for the young child. And when you have found him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship him also. When they heard the king, they departed. Listen, and behold the star. There it is again. Keeps showing up. Which they had seen in the east went before them. Till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Notice this. That was outside. 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 opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then being divinely warned in a dream, they would not return to Herod. They departed to their own country another way. So I want to talk to you about this star. The star of the story is Jesus. It's not the star, but the star plays an important part in your life, whether you recognize it or not. …
… Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me so that I too may go and worship him. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star that they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warmed in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Let's talk about a few good men as we look at the wise men. I think I can say without fear of debate or denial that the wise men are critical to the account of the birth of Jesus Christ. …
… Judah. For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod called the magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared he sent them to Bethlehem and said go and search carefully for the child as soon as you find him report to me so that I too may go and worship him after they heard the king they went on their way and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was when they saw the star they were overjoyed on coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they were turned to their country by another route. You may be seated in God's presence. I want to put a tag on this text and for a few moments with your prayers, I want to raise the question, do you need directions? Do you need directions? …