The PowerPoint sermon can be viewed here.
The PowerPoint sermon can be downloaded here.
A. There is an old story about a woman shepherd who saw the wise men hurrying to the home of Joseph & Mary with their gold, frankincense & myrrh.
1.
She
asked
them
about
their gifts, and she learned that their gifts were for a King, and she
wept
because she had nothing to give the king.
2.
An
angel
took
pity on
her, touched the ground & up sprouted a rose, which the woman took
and
joyfully laid before the Child King.
B.
While
that
story
is nothing but myth,
it well illustrates how many might have reacted to the events narrated
in this
morning’s text. The common people in Judea, even if they had
known the
great events taking place, could never have brought to Jesus the gifts
the magi
bring.
1.
In
the
first
century,
gold, frankincense & myrrh were worth (in today’s value), six
hundred, five
hundred, and four thousand dollars per pound, respectively.
2.
The
magi
bring
to the
King of the Jews the greatest items of monetary value in their time.
a.
But,
these
were
also
gifts of health & long life.
1)
Frankincense
was
believed
to
cure everything from bad breath to skin infections &
was highly
valued in the ancient world. In fact, modern researchers have
found that
frankincense has wonderful antiseptic, antifungal, &
anti-inflammatory
properties.
2)
Myrrh
was
used
in antiquity for diaper
rash, baldness, obesity, and as an anesthetic.
3)
Gold
has
always
been believed to have
supernatural healing powers. Gold injections have been used as a
treatment to help people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
b.
Therefore,
we
see
the
magi bringing great, great gifts to Christ.
C.
In
fact,
the
importance of these gifts
likely has much to do with why Matthew records this visit.
1.
Matthew
writes
to
demonstrate
that Jesus is the King of the Jews, and the visit of the
magi
demonstrates that Jesus is truly the King of the Jews.
2.
In
the
ancient
world,
people expected a birth of a king to fit a set of criteria:
a.
Signs
in
the
heavens
announcing that the king had been born.
b.
That
the
king
would
be visited by counselors to a king & presented with gifts fit only
for a
king.
c.
That
the
new
king
would be involved with power struggles with other so-called great kings
(e.g.,
Herod the Great).
3.
Matthew
writes
something
like
a great attorney in this Gospel.
a.
He
stands
before
the
audience, his jury, and declares emphatically that Jesus is the Christ,
the
King of the Jews. He begins his book with such an affirmation:
“The book
of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”
(1:1).
b.
He
then
presents
evidence
throughout the book to demonstrate that Jesus Christ can be
none other
than the Christ.
1)
Jesus’
royal
descent
from
David is Exhibit A; his birth of a virgin as the fulfillment of
prophecy
is Exhibit B.
2)
And
this
morning’s
text is Exhibit
C—the birth of this great King takes place just as the first readers of
this
Gospel would have expected any king’s birth to take place.
4.
The
magi
in
this text
bring gifts that were only meant for a king in Jesus’ day—the gifts of
gold,
frankincense, & myrrh.
a.
However,
today,
we
cannot
give Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
b.
But,
I
submit
that
the magi bring three other more important gifts, and that we can give
those
same gifts to Jesus. Let’s take a look at the rich gifts that we
can
bring to Jesus.
A.
Wise
men
came
from the east to
Jerusalem.
1.
Quite
frankly,
I
was
a little surprised to find that the ESV retains “wise men” to refer to
these
visitors.
a.
The
Gr
is
“magi” from
which we get the English terms “magic” & “magician.”
b.
The
evidence
we
have
suggests that magi were part of a priestly class in what is now modern
day
Iraq.
1)
Kings
often
consulted
magi
for their skills in divination, astrology, magical powers, and
predicting
the future.
2)
Because
most
kings
firmly believed that
comets, meteors, & other heavenly phenomena were omens, these magi
would
have kept a close watch on the heavens & immediately noticed this
star.
2.
The
magi
men
come to
Jerusalem.
a.
On
the
one
hand, that
shouldn’t surprise us one bit, for as the capital of Judea, where else
would
the magi expect to find the King of the Jews?
b.
On
the
other
hand,
it’s very surprising that they come to Jerusalem.
1)
They
have
been
following
the star, and they get within six miles of where Jesus is,
& they
must stop and ask directions. The star then picks up pace again
&
takes the magi the ten miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
2)
There
have
been
many attempts to
ascribe this star’s appearance to simple scientific fact.
a)
Haley’s
Comet
has
often been seen as
this star; however, Haley’s Comet appeared in this region in 12 BC,
about 5-6
years too early to be the star.
b)
Jupiter
&
Saturn
appeared together
in the night sky in 7 BC and Venus & Jupiter appeared together in
the night
sky on August 12, 3BC.
c)
From
5-4
BC,
a birth
of a supernova was visible in that part of the world.
3)
If
I
were
to pick an astronomical
phenomenon which fit this, the supernova best fits the evidence.
But,
this is no ordinary event.
a)
We’re
not
talking
about several
astronomers seeing some brilliant event in the heavens; we’re talking
about
pagans from Iraq knowing that the Messiah has been born.
b)
If
this
were
some astronomical event,
the star would have had to be only a mile off the ground in order for
the magi
to follow it from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, an event that seems quite
unlikely.
B.
When
the
magi
arrive in Jerusalem, they
inquire as to where the King of the Jews was to be born.
1.
Herod
brings
his
the
chief priests & the scribes together. The Jewish leaders
answer that,
according to Micah’s prophecy, the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem.
2.
Matthew’s
purpose
in
recording
that the wise men needed directions seems to demonstrate the
two ways
God reveals himself.
a.
God
has
revealed
himself
in nature—like the star the magi saw.
b.
God
has
also
revealed
himself in Scripture—like the quotation from Micah.
C.
What
do
we
learn from the magi?
1.
We
see
that
the magi
put forth a lot of effort to go from Iraq to Bethlehem.
a.
If
they
came
from
Baghdad, the magi would have traveled nearly 550 miles by camel,
donkey,
foot—across a desert—to get to Jesus.
b.
When
the
magi
can go
no further, they stop & ask directions.
2.
How
much
effort
are
we really to put forth to serve the Lord?
a.
What
if
we
would need
to travel over 500 miles to lay our gifts at Christ’s feet? Would
we be
willing to go, or would we rather sit at home?
b.
God
expects
us
to be
people who put forth some effort.
1)
“We
are
his
workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10).
2)
Js
2:14-17.
c.
Are
we
putting
forth
effort to do the will of God?
A.
The
star
led
the magi to the place
where the child was.
1.
I
have been taught
from a very early age that the magi did not go to the stable in
Bethlehem.
a.
That
is
certainly
possible.
Matthew does not even mention that Jesus was born in a
stable.
b.
Furthermore,
many
have
believed
that Jesus was likely about two when this took place,
since Herod
gathered information from the magi & then killed all the males two
years
& younger.
2.
That
is,
I
will
readily admit, quite possible. But, it is not the only
explanation.
a.
Matthew
certainly
seems
to
imply that the magi did go to Bethlehem.
b.
It
could
be
that the
star appeared about two years prior to the birth of Christ & the
magi arrive
in Jerusalem shortly after the birth of Christ.
c.
In
the
second
century,
Justin Martyr said that Joseph & Mary took up temporary
residence
in a cave near Bethlehem. That is certainly possible since so
many people
lived that way in the first century.
B.
Regardless
of
where
the family was, the
star the magi had seen led them to the house where child was with Mary
his
mother.
1.
While
we
might
be
somewhat surprised to find no mention of Joseph here, Mary was Jesus’
primary
caregiver, of course, and in the Jewish world, she would have been the
one most
likely to have been mentioned.
2.
When
the
magi
saw the
Christ Child with Mary his mother, they fell down & worshiped him.
a.
The
Gr
term
used for
worship here is the term that means to fall down before one greater
than
yourself & to give him homage.
b.
We
do
not
know what
the magi might have understood about Jesus at this point.
1)
We
know
that
they
understood him to be the King of the Jews, for that is exactly for whom
they
were looking.
2)
Because
they
learn
his birthplace from
prophecy, the magi very likely understood precisely who Jesus is.
3)
The
magi
understand
that this Child is
greater than they, and they fall before him in worship.
C.
Jesus
often
received
worship.
1.
When
Jesus
walked
on
water & calmed the storm, “those in the boat worshiped him, saying,
‘Truly
you are the Son of God’” (Mt 14:33).
2.
After
the
Ascension,
the
apostles “worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy”
(Lk
24:51).
D.
How
is
our
worship of the Christ?
1.
Do
we
worship
him as
faithfully as we should?
a.
Quite
frankly,
we
need
to do a better job in worshiping the Christ.
b.
There
are
some
who
come if they’re in the mood, if they don’t have anything else going on,
or if
it’s not too inconvenient.
c.
There
are
some
of you
who do the best you can with the circumstances you have.
1)
Some
of
you
have
trouble driving after dark. You’re not here on Sunday nights
because of
it, but you worship faithfully otherwise.
2)
Some
of
you
have health difficulties
that make being here on Sunday morning a gigantic effort.
3)
While
you
may
not understand the
example you leave, your life of faithfulness encourages those of us in
better
health to follow your pattern.
d.
But,
there
are
others
who have no physical difficulty, worship with the people of God is just
too
much—there’s always more to do than worship.
e.
Jesus
is
far
greater
than he. He deserves our worship. How can we deny him what
he is so
due?
2.
But,
being
here
physically
is just part of the equation.
a.
While
we
must
worship
outwardly as God desires, our heart must also be attuned to God.
Jesus
put it this way: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship
in
spirit and truth” (Jn 4:24).
b.
Where
are
our
hearts
as we worship?
1)
Do
we—like
the
magi
long ago—fall down before Christ & acknowledge him as so much
greater than
we?
2)
Or,
do
we
mouth the words of the songs
thoughtlessly? Do we allow our minds to wander during the Lord’s
Supper
to how long the preacher is going to go? Do we concentrate on the
inspired pages of Scripture as they’re proclaimed, or do we think about
the big
game this afternoon?
E.
Are
we
giving
to Christ the gift of
worship?
GIFT THREE:
THE GIFT OF OBEDIENCE, v 12
A. Like Joseph, the magi were instructed on the right thing to do.
1.
Herod
had
every
intention
of destroying the Christ.
a.
Herod
told
the
magi,
“Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him,
bring me
word, that I too may come and worship him” (2:8).
b.
We
know
that
was
nothing but a ruse, for when Herod realized the magi went home a
different way,
he “became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in
Bethlehem
and in all that region who were two years old or under” (2:16).
2.
God,
however,
had
sent
his Christ into the world with a set purpose & he was not
going to
allow Herod to stand in his way.
a.
He
sent
a
dream to
the magi to instruct them to return to their country a different
direction.
b.
He
sent
a
dream to
Joseph to instruct Joseph to take the Christ Child to Egypt until the
threat
was over.
B.
The
magi
get
their dream & they go
a different way to get home.
1.
Think
about
the
meaning
of the magi’s obedience.
a.
I
know fully that God
sent Jesus into the world to redeem mankind & nothing was going to
detract
him from that mission.
b.
But,
what
if
the magi
had not obeyed their dream?
1)
The
magi
go
back to
Herod & inform the king precisely where the Christ is & Herod
doesn’t
need to slaughter all the male children two & under—he just kills
one.
a)
The
Christ
doesn’t
grow & have the
normal human experience—full of temptation, suffering, &
hardship—he
doesn’t die at Golgotha and doesn’t rise from the dead three days later.
b)
We
would
gather
this morning as people
full of sin & headed straight to Satan’s hell.
2)
However,
the
magi
obey the dream &
thus play a small part in moving the story of man’s redemption moving
forward.
2.
We,
like
the
magi,
need to be those who obey God.
a.
Jesus
says,
“Whoever
does
the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sisters and
mother” (Mt
12:50).
b.
“And
the
world
is
passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God
abides
forever” (1 Jn 2:17).
3.
It’s
obvious
that
the
magi’s obedience keeps God’s will moving as he desired.
a.
Granted,
God
in
his
power & sovereignty would have saved man regardless of what the
magi
did. Yet, the magi’s obedience plays an important part in that
scheme of
redemption.
b.
We
must
never
underestimate
the power of our obedience.
1)
If
I
refuse
to lie
when my supervisor wants me to, I might lose my job, but I could also
bring a
co-worker to Christ.
2)
If
I
come
to Wednesday night Bible
study, although the weather’s not good & I have much to do, I can
teach my
children that God must be priority one.
4.
How
is
our
obedience
this morning?
A.
Like
any
good
author, Matthew writes
this passage with irony dripping off the pages.
1.
Here
are
pagan
astrologers—something
God has forbidden among his people—and they come
to
worship at the feet of the Christ.
2.
The
Jews,
the
ones to
whom the Christ had come, ignore his entrance into the world
altogether.
Even when the earthly King of the Jews was made aware that the Messiah
had
come, he only wants to know where he is to kill him, not to worship him.
B.
With
whom
do
we identify more in this
passage?
1.
Are
we
those
who
should know so much about the Christ since we have been redeemed by his
blood
but we do not give him the gifts he so rightly deserves?
2. Or, are we willing to give Jesus the gifts of effort, worship, & obedience? Do you need to give him the gift of yourself this morning?