Lesson 8 – The Visit of the Wise Men

The Wise Men came to see the Savior and honor Him with gifts. In church, we see the Savior in His Gifts of Word and Sacrament, which honor and bless us.

Opening

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

This lesson will use the Bible, the Bible Exploration Guide and the Lesson 8 Leaflet from the Student Pack. The front cover shows how the artist sees the Wise Men visiting the baby Jesus. Also paper and colored pencils or crayons will be needed.

Review the Faith Words on page 4 of the leaflet.

In the weeks following Christmas, the Church continues to celebrate for twelve days. The 12 Days of Christmas ends with the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Epiphany is sometimes called the Gentile Christmas or Second Christmas, and it marks the visit in Bethlehem by the Wise Men. That visit is the topic of this lesson.

Listen to the hymn "Jesus! Name of Wondrous Love".

Prayer: Dear Lord, Your love for all people is so great that You led the Wise Men by a star to Bethlehem to worship You. Please help us to learn more about You from Your Word as we study our Bible lesson. In Your name we ask it. Amen.

Shortly after His birth, Jesus was presented in the temple in Jerusalem. Simeon and Anna worshiped and blessed Him. Then Joseph and Mary took Jesus back to Bethlehem and probably moved into a house.

The Magi came to visit Jesus sometime after His birth, although how long after the birth is unclear from Scripture.

God Speaks

Read Matthew 2 then follow the directions on page 2 of the leaflet to complete the journey of the Wise Men.

The correct order of the pictures:

• The Magi begin their journey from the East (Matthew 2:1) - The Wise Men could have come from Persia (modern-day Iran) or Babylon (Iraq) or even somewhere else in the East. The Magi went first to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem. Locate these cities on the map on pages 8-9 of the Bible Discovery Guide.
• The Magi   in Jerusalem and ask King Herod where the new king is. (Matthew 2:2-7) - God led the Magi to Jerusalem. The Magi weren't sure who they would find. They were looking for the new king of the Jews. They were led by a star to this place.
• The Magi travel to Bethlehem and find Jesus. They worship Him (Matthew 2:8-11) - When the Wise Men told Herod who they were looking for, Herod was not happy about this He told the Wise Men that he wanted to worship Jesus, but he did not, he only wanted to destroy Him, so he told the Wise Men to come back and report to him where they found the child.
• The Magi return home by another route (Matthew 2:12) - The Wise Men did not do as Herod asked, because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they returned to their home by another route.
• An angel warns Joseph in a dream to flee (Matthew 2:13) – Learning from the angel that Herod would try to kill Jesus, Joseph took Mary and Jesus from Bethlehem immediately.
• Mary and Joseph take Jesus to Egypt, where He is safe from King Herod (Matthew 2:14-15) – Read the Old Testament prophecy about Jesus in Hosea 11:1, which is fulfilled in this event.

In Matthew 2:16-23, another prophecy from the Old Testament was fulfilled in this event.

Also read Jeremiah 31:15. Ramah was about five miles north of Jerusalem. In Jeremiah's time, God's people were taken away from the land of Israel into captivity in Babylon. There was much weeping.

Why did Herod decide to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem? He was probably afraid that his position as king was going to be taken away by this new king of the Jews, so he had all the boys two years old and younger in Bethlehem killed.

But Jesus was safe. Why? An angel warned Joseph in a dream to take the child to Egypt.

On December 28 each year, the Church commemorates, or remembers, those baby boys who were killed in Bethlehem. This is called the Festival of the Holy Innocents.

Read Matthew 2:19-23 again.

After Herod died, what did Joseph, Mary, and Jesus do? They returned to Nazareth. This is where Jesus spent His childhood. He lived with His mother and Joseph, and He most likely learned Joseph's trade, which was carpentry. Locate Galilee and Nazareth on the map in the Bible Discovery Guide, pages 8-9.

We Live

If you could describe Herod in one word, what would it be? Some choices would be selfish, jealous, hateful, and a murderer. Herod's actions indicate that he was ambitious. He loved his power as king and wanted to keep it at all costs. Herod was a tricky, cruel king. He tried to kill Jesus by killing all the baby boys in Bethlehem-just so he could remain king.

It is a tragedy to hear and know that human lives of all ages are taken by murder. God requires us in the Fifth Commandment to help and support our neighbor in every bodily need.

Who do you think we are like in this story? We are probably more like Herod than we may think. We are not murderers, but when we call someone a bad name, hit someone, or when we hate someone, that sin is just like murder in God's eyes. And when we don't feel like reading the Bible or hearing God's Word, we are acting just as hard-hearted toward God as Herod was. Like Herod, we do not want to worship the Savior, Jesus. Like Herod, we want to be the most important. In sin, we hate God.

But the Good News is that Jesus came for sinners like us who don't love Him, who don't want to worship Him, and who think we are the most important. Because we are so important to Him, God sacrificed His own Son for us. He died on the cross and rose again to bring us back to God.

 He did not come for the righteous, but for us-the sinners. He came to save us!

What led the Wise Men to the Savior? The star showed the way to their.

How did the Wise Men feel as they followed the star and then found their Savior? What leads us to the Savior? God's Word leads us to Jesus. When God's Word is read and preached in church, we are led to Jesus, just as the star led the Wise Men to Bethlehem to see the Savior and honor Him.

Complete the activity on the top on page 3 in the leaflet.

Closing

Complete the Epiphany crossword puzzle on page 3 of the leaflet.

Answers are:

• 1 Down-Magi
• 2 Down—star
• 3 Down-myrrh
• 4 Down-Egypt
• 5 Down- gold
• 4 Across-Epiphany
• 6 Across-Bethlehem.

Because God used a star to guide the Wise Men to Bethlehem to worship Jesus, a star is a common symbol for this event. It reminds us of God's precious gift of love in sending Jesus to be our Savior from sin.

In His life on earth, Jesus demonstrated that love over and over again as He revealed Himself to be God's Son. We see the Savior in His Word and the Sacraments when we come to church. When God's message of salvation in Jesus is spread throughout the world, the Holy Spirit brings more people to faith in Jesus.

Again listen to the hymn "Jesus! Name of Wondrous Love".

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for blessing us through Your Means of Grace. Please help us to spread Your Word to those around us and to point others to You. Through You, Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.