1st Coming - Understanding Prophecy
by
D. Yamartino
Page 58 of  57

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy (58:11)

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:1-11 (58:12)

To many, these words of Matthew indicate that it was common knowledge where the Christ would be born. At first glance, then, it seems that the Bethlehem prophecy was indeed understood, and that as we can see here, it did lead people to the Christ (58:13)

Let's look closely, however, at how the Magi were led to Christ. First of all, they had somehow come to believe that the king of the Jews had been born. We are not told how they had come to this belief, but we do know that they somehow had knowledge of this. Had one of the wise men had a dream? Were they visited by an angel or the holy ghost? We do not know. And how were they inspired to know that the star that appeared in the East had anything to do with His birth? The New Testament does not say (58:14)

Furthermore, not only did they believe that He had been born, but they knew of His exalted station. They had come not merely to visit Him; nor to pay their respects: no, they had come to worship Him. They knew that He was divine. They had set out from their homes, traveling for a sacred purpose, and were so certain that they would find Him that they had prepared themselves for their expected meeting to the extent that they were carrying with them precious gifts to lay before Him. They had no doubt that they would find Him (58:15)

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