THE PERSON AND LIFE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Lesson Three

EVENTS AFTER THE BIRTH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Scripture reading: Matt. 2:1-23

Burden to Impart:

The baby Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, even God Himself. He came to be the Savior of the world and is therefore the most important One in the universe. God made the birth of His Son known to both the Jewish shepherds (His called people) and to the Gentile magi (who were not His called people), to the simple and to the wise. These ones treasured Christ's birth. They sought Him and, as the Lord Jesus promised (Matt. 7:8), they found Him. But Satan also knew of Jesus' birth. The Devil was working through the evil King Herod to attempt to destroy Christ, even as a baby. God, however, guided Joseph, and preserved Jesus' life. God safely hid His treasure, His beloved Son, far away in Egypt and then later in the despised town of Nazareth.

Memory Verse: "Where is He who is born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him" (Matthew 2:2).

Facts to Teach:

1. The Jewish shepherds were informed about the birth of Christ, the Savior and King of Israel, directly by an angel sent from God (Luke 2:9).

2. The Gentile wise men (the magi) realized that the long awaited King of the Jews had been born because they had seen "His star in the east" (Matt. 2:2).

3. The wise men saw the star and then came to Jerusalem to inquire where the King of the Jews should be born. Jerusalem was the capitol of the land of Israel. Herod the king heard of the seeking of the wise men and became troubled, so he asked the Jewish chief-priests and the scribes where the Christ would be born.

4. The chief-priests and scribes who were the religious Jewish scholars knew the prophecies about where their Messiah, the Christ, should be born, but they had no heart to go and find their newborn King. Instead, they merely informed King Herod where He would be born. King Herod then directed the wise men to go to Bethlehem where Christ would be born. He told them to return to him and inform him so that he could also go to worship the Lord. This was Herod's deceit. Actually, he wanted to kill the new baby-King.

5. Once the wise men left Jerusalem, they were guided by the star directly to the place where Jesus was. They worshipped Him when they found Him and gave their treasures to Him.

6. God warned Joseph in a dream to leave Bethlehem and to flee to another country, Egypt, in order to save Jesus' life. When the wise men did not come back to inform King Herod where Jesus was born, he became enraged. Since he could not know which baby was Jesus, he ordered his soldiers to kill all of the baby boys under two years of age. This was Satan's plot to destroy Christ.

7. After King Herod died, the Lord again spoke to Joseph in a dream and led him and his family back to the land of Israel.

8. Once in the land of Israel, the Lord again warned Joseph in a dream and he went far away from Jerusalem, to Galilee, to a despised city called Nazareth.