Wise Men (2:1-22)

The Gospel According to Matthew
Jesus for President (Part 4: Wise Men)

Following the War of 1812, Anglicans in America sought their own Seminary in NY City for training Episcopalian ministers. Clement Clarke Moore (author of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’) donated part of his estate toward the project. In 1857, a student of the seminary wrote “We Three Kings of Orient” as part of a Christmas pageant at the school.

Cleaning up the Clutter…
1. Do we know that there were three?
2. Do we know that they were kings?
3. Do we know that they were Oriental?
4. Do we know when they arrived?

Conjunctions & Contrasts…
1. Noble wise-men & lowly shepherds
“Magi” (1)
“And there were shepherds” (Luke 2:8)
2. Gentiles & Jews
“From the east” (1)
“living out in the fields nearby” (Luke 2:8)
3. Truth sought vs. Truth stagnated
“Where is the one?” (2)
“In Bethlehem” (5)
4. Wanna-be-Servants vs. Wanna-be-Kings
“We… have come to worship him” (2)
“When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed” (3)