Pastor Melinda Song
Matthew 2:1-12,
NKJV
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem
of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to
Jerusalem, 2 saying,
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in
the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the
people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by
the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, inthe land of Judah,
Are
not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For
out of you shall come a Ruler
Who
will shepherd My people Israel.’”[a]
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from
them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search
carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring
back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When
they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in
the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child
was. 10 When
they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the
house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and
worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts
to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then,
being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they
departed for their own country another way.
INTRODUCTION
In Matthew chapter 2, the Christmas story has jumped
ahead about two years. Matthew chapter 1 closed with the baby Jesus being born
and named, but now in chapter 2 Jesus is called a “child” (2:8,10) and the
family is living in a house in Bethlehem.
By comparing the birth stories of Jesus in Matthew and
Luke it appears that Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem where Jesus was
born. Then they presented Him at the temple before heading back to Nazareth
(2:39). Later on they decided to move to Bethlehem as that’s where they were
living in Matthew 2.
Then came “wise men from the East.”
A. Who Were The Wise
Men?
Not much is known about these wise men. We are used to
singing:
"We three kings of Orient are
bearing gifts, we traverse afar..."
They weren't kings and neither were there three of
them.
These men are described as "Wise men" (NRSV,
KJV) or "Magi" (NIV). The word is magos,
"a Persian or Babylonian wise man and priest, who was expert in astrology,
interpretation of dreams, and various other occult arts."
They came from "the east”, probably from Babylon,
Persia or the Arabian desert. At any rate, they were men of wisdom and learning
from an exotic, far away land bringing a caravan into the capital city of the
Jews, seeking a newborn king.
The Biblical record says little about who these men
were.
B. How Were The Wise
Men Wise?
They were wise to seek Jesus
v.
2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in
the East and have come to worship Him.”
There are numerous theories on what the star was.
People have speculated that it could be a
supernova, an explosion in an
existing star that for several weeks or months gives out a great deal of light.
However, there is no historical record of a supernova just before Jesus' birth
date.
Or it could have been a comet but astronomers have
calculated that Halley's comet would have been visible in 12-11 BC, which was
years before Jesus' birth at around 6 BC.
There was a conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars
that occurred in 7-6 BC, and mention seems to have been made of this in some
ancient texts but there is no evidence that such a conjunction of planets would
have been actually referred to as a "star."
We just don't know enough to say authoritatively
exactly what the Star of Bethlehem was.
The Magi, although Gentile, may have linked the star to
“the King of the Jews” through studying the OT and other Jewish writings. They
could have been exposed to some Old Testament prophecies from some of the Jews
who had settled in the east during the Babylonian exile.
They were watching and waiting for signs of the
fulfilment of Number 24:17 which says, “A star will come out of Jacob; a
scepter will rise out of Israel.” So when God sent the star that pointed the
way to Jesus, left their homes, their families, and at great expense travelled
hundreds of miles to follow the star in search for the King of the Jews.
Even today, 2,000 years later, wise men still come to
Jesus!
Application: We each must make our own journey to find Jesus, to meet
him personally, and make him a living reality in our lives.
Today we are glad to have four great examples in our
midst today who are following in obedience to Jesus through water
baptism.
If you have been waiting to come to Jesus for
salvation, delay no longer, just come to Him today! He waits to save those who
will call on Him!
For those of us who are already Christians…
Daniel
12:3
Those
who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament,
And
those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
You can be the star lighting the way for many to come
into salvation.
They were wise to worship Jesus
v. 11 And when they had come into the
house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and
worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts
to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
When they saw Jesus, they worshipped Him. Why? Because
He is God and He is worthy of worship and He demands worship and we are happier
when we worship Him.
The purpose that these Gentiles from a faraway land
travelled perhaps hundreds of miles was to worship a baby born of peasant woman
in a manger. The point of this story is that we ought to worship Jesus as
well.
Application: Christians are not simply those who believe in Jesus.
Christians are those who know, love, trust and worship Jesus. Christianity and
Christmas is about worship of a God who loves us so much that He came and dwelt
among us.
This story teaches us what real worship involves. Real
worship always involves giving.
These Magi brought Christ their best gifts, gifts fit
for a king. They were willing to use their TREASURES to make the long journey
to see the King. They also carried fantastic treasures of gold, incense, and
myrrh to present to Christ.
The Magi used the gifts of their TALENTS too! They were
men who knew the heavens. They understood that the star they were seeing was a
special sign and then acted on that knowledge.
The Wise Men were wise, because they gave Jesus their
gift of TIME. They took time off to make a journey of maybe months or years to
Bethlehem.
These gifts represent a great sacrifice. The Magi gave
the best they had. They came to the Messiah prepared to give. If we want to
experience Jesus, then we must worship him and make sacrifices to put him first
in our lives. We must be willing to sacrifice our time, our talents, and our
treasure for Christ.
They were
wise to obey God
v. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a
dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country
another way.
The Lord commanded to return to their country by
another route – it may have been an unfamiliar route, or less convenient, or
more costly, or more dangerous one. They are sensitive to God’s leading and
they are more than willing to submit to His plans and respond with obedience
when He speaks.
Application: Sometimes what God calls us to do is unfamiliar and
inconvenient and uncomfortable, sometimes it’s risky or costly or dangerous but
if we want to really experience Christ we must submit to his Lordship.
CONCLUSION
The wisdom of Christmas is this:
1. The wise seek Jesus
2. The wise worship
Jesus
3. The wise obey God
As God called the wise men to Christ by a star in the
sky, He continues to call people to Himself through His servants and the word
of God.
We are led to the same Christ as were the Magi, not for
the gifts that we would bring to Him, but for the gifts that He would give to
us, the gifts of forgiveness and life and salvation that are greater than all
of the gold, frankincense and myrrh in the world.
Christianity and Christmas is about worship. The Savior
has come. He has called us out of the darkness of sin. He has delivered us from
the darkness of death. He has given us his Son. Wise is the man who worships
the Christ the Lord in humble faith!
On this Christmas Day, let us worship Jesus because of
Who He is.
