This workshop leader’s Bible study
is a historical, theological, and contextual introduction to the Wise Men
rotation of
·
A historical context for understanding the Bible
story.
·
A Biblical context for reading and teaching the
story.
·
The theological basis for the concepts to be
taught to the children.
In
It will be helpful to have a
chalkboard, whiteboard, or flip chart for writing down questions or
observations during the Bible study.
Note: This is not a comprehensive study of the
text, but only a few notes to help provide context and background for workshop
leaders. Consult titles cited in the
reference list at the end of these notes for more information.
Scripture:
Matthew 2:1-12
“Those who walked in the dark have seen a bright light. And it shines upon everyone who lives in the land of darkest shadows.” Isaiah 9:2 CEV
·
If workshop leaders do not know each other, give
them an opportunity to introduce each other and say which workshop they will be
leading.
·
Begin the Bible study by praying for God’s
guidance as teachers begin a new rotation.
Ask a workshop leader to read the text aloud. Since this rotation focuses on an entire chapter, you might want to divide the reading among three or four workshop leaders.
Ask the workshop leaders what
questions came to mind as they heard the story or read it before the Bible
study. Write down any questions that
arise and will need to be answered during the Bible study.
Background on Matthew
Scholars believe that Matthew was written anonymously around 90 AD in Antioch by a Greek-speaking Jewish-Christian who was probably a teacher in his community (Boring, 107). The church later attributed the Gospel to Matthew to offer legitimacy. The Gospel was probably written " to give direction to the community in a time of transition" (Spivey and Smith, 98). Matthew is the only Gospel to actually use the term church to describe the community of believers (Boring, 97). It is believed that Matthew's community was a wealthy urban community that had been dealing with a great deal of transition in the Jewish faith and leadership and began to turn its mission towards Gentiles (Boring, 100).
Genre
Matthew is a Gospel, a unique and
new genre. It is a narrative whose
intention is to tell about the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ
and to describe the community of believers who follow this Jesus. It is a historical document in the sense
that it deals with a particular person (Jesus) in a particular context (Boring,
90).
Structure
Matthew is made up primarily of 5 speeches or discourses by Jesus embedded in a narrative. Both the narrative and the speeches are important. Eugene Boring offers the following outline in his commentary (pp. 120-124):
I. The Conflict of Kingdoms Initiated and Defined 1:1-12:21
A. A title for the gospel 1:1
B. Jesus as Messianic King: Son of David and Son of God 1:2-25
C. Conflict with the Kingdom of this age 2:1-23
D. Jesus in relation to John the Baptist 3:1-4:17
E. The Call of the Disciples 4:18-22
F. The Authority of the Messiah 4:23-9:35
G. The Disciples authorized and sent 9:36-10:42
H. The Ministry of Jesus in relation to John the Baptist 11:1-19
I. Conflict with the Kingdom of this age 11:20-12:14
J. The Servant King 12:15-21
II. The Conflict of Kingdoms Developed and Resolved 12:22-28:20
A. Conflict, Decision, and Gathering the True Community 12:22-50
B. Speaking in parables 13:1-52
C. The Formation of the new community amid continuing conflict 13:53-17:27
D. Life together 18:1-35
E. Conflict and ultimate polarization 19:1-22:46
F. The Judgment Discourse 23:1-25:46
G.
Jesus' Passion and Resurrection 26:1-28:20
Themes
Matthew is concerned with three main themes in his gospel.
· The Conflict of Kingdoms and the nature of the kingdom of God: As Eugene Boring notes we see the “kingdom of God in the present, in conflict with the evil kingdom of this age, but ultimately triumphing over it” (112).
· The identity of Jesus Christ: Jesus is portrayed as the divine Son of God, the new king who will inaugurate a new kind of kingdom, and the fulfillment of law and scripture.
· The identity of the true people of God: They are characterized by discipline and forgiveness and are sent “in mission as representatives of Christ and with His authority” (Boring, 112).
MATTHEW 2:1-12
Overview
The story of the magi’s visit to
Jesus is unique to Matthew “and has no relation or points of contact with the Lukan birth story” (Boring, 140). This lesson is assigned to the celebration of
Epiphany on January 6 each year.
Epiphany means to show forth or make manifest and on Epiphany we
commemorate the showing forth of Christ to all the
world (www.saintgeorgeschurch.com
and www.saintjames.org). In the story of the wise men, Christ is made
manifest to the entire world (the Gentiles) as symbolized by the pagan magi who
follow the star to Jesus. Epiphany is a
time for us to consider the ways in which we can reach out and spread the light
of Christ to all the nations of the world.
During the season of Epiphany, which lasts until Lent begins, we also
commemorate Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of his public ministry with the
miracle at the marriage in
Interesting
Words/Phrases/Ideas
V.1-2:
·
Matthew starts by giving us the setting – where
and when. The fact that Jesus was born
in
· “Magi” is the Greek word for wise man, astrologer, magician or sorcerer. (Note it does not mean king.) They were probably of “a priestly class of Persian or Babylonian experts in the occult, such as astrology and the interpretation of dreams” (Boring, 141-142). Most importantly for us, they are Gentiles and yet have come obediently to worship this newborn “King of the Jews”.
· The movements of the star would lead us to believe that it was not a natural phenomenon – it was God working miraculously through nature. “Pagan beliefs associated the birth of a new ruler with astral phenomena, and a broad stream of Jewish tradition related the hope for the Messiah to the ‘star out of Jacob’(Num 24:17)” (Boring, 142).
V.3 Herod “serves as a foil for the
V. 4 Matthew introduces the chief priests and scribes setting us up for the conflict that will arise later between the hypocritical leaders and Jesus (142).
V. 5-6 The scripture quote is from Micah 5:2 and 2 Samuel 5:2. The Magi have been obediently following the star and they now seek help in finding Jesus. As Boring says “Revelation outside Scripture motivates them to obey the one God; yet, they do not find their way to Jesus without Scripture” (143). The magi’s obedience is contrast against the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leaders who do nothing.
V.9-12
·
Gold, frankincense and myrrh are appropriate
gifts for royalty. Frankincense and
myrrh “are expensive aromatic gum resins, not native to
· “Like the star motif, the dream motif portrays God, who is not mentioned in the story, as being active unobtrusively and ambiguously behind the scenes” (Boring, 143).
Themes
·
The Conflict of Kingdoms and the nature of
the
·
The identity of Jesus Christ: Already, Jesus is being identified as the
King of the Jews. Also Matthew is making
the point that Jesus was born in
· The identity of the true people of God: For Matthew, the time to reach out to the nations and tell them of Jesus is now. As Boring says in his commentary, “the final inclusion of all nations in God’s saving plan is not to be left to the end of time” but instead we should act now to bring them into the fold of the people of God (144).
Ask each workshop leader to summarize his or her workshop. As they do so, point out the concepts that each lesson reinforces. Ask workshop leaders if they have any questions about the logistics or practical application of their lesson.
Apostles’
Playhouse: Using a shadow
screen, the children will retell the story of the Wise Men through a costumed
pantomime to show how God can lead us to Jesus and that we are called to offer
our gifts. The children will demonstrate
through the use of shadows and light that Jesus is the light of the world
Creation Station: The children will learn about the special star that God created to lead the Wise Men to Jesus. They will create two separate three dimensional stars – one to keep and one to give away as a gift.
Good News: The children will hear the story The Fourth Wise Man, by Henry Van Dike and Susan Summers which tells of a fourth wise man who offered more than one gift to people he met along his journey in search of Jesus. They will discus how we can offer our gifts to Jesus and others and then will choose gifts to give away.
Holywood: The children will view the video “Jacob’s Gift” and think of a gift to give to one of God’s children. They will make a bright star as a reminder of their gift and of Jesus who is the light of the world.
Praising Puppets: Through a skit the children will learn about
the many ways that they can offer their gifts to Jesus and to others.
Return to the questions that were
gathered at the start of the hour. Have
they been answered? Are there any
further questions about the Bible story or about the lessons?
Close the Bible study with a
prayer.
Boring, M.
Spivey, Robert A. and D. Moody Smith. Anatomy of the New Testament. (New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 1995). pp. 97-129.