The Christmas That Wasn't Series

Back in November, Jeanie and I received a newsletter from an organization called SAT-7. SAT, I assume stands for satellite, because that is the means by which they broadcast the Gospel via television programs into Muslim dominated countries in the Middle East. SAT-7 is the largest provider of Christian television programs in places like Iran and Afghanistan, places where there are virtually no Christian Churches or Christian missionaries. It told of a revival going on among Muslims in Iran, and thousands coming to Christ both there and in neighboring nations such as Afghanistan.

It told one really exciting story. I quote from their newsletter; “A call came to the SAT-7 television counseling center from a young man in Afghanistan . . . The man told the telephone counselor that what he saw and heard on SAT-7 was disturbing. The Christians on his TV screen were not at all like had been taught. They spoke his language, weren’t evil and deceiving, but loving. And they had a joy and peace about them that he found strangely attractive.

“Like so many around him, he didn’t have a clue who Jesus is. But somehow he knew there must be something better than the obligations of his beliefs and the terror practices he witnessed of radicals. He told the counselor that he was stunned and wanted to learn more. The SAT-7 counselor well remembered the call: “He was so impressed by Jesus that he wanted to know where He lived, so this man might meet Jesus!” A few days later he called again, this time with a friend. He, too, was deeply moved.

“A week later, another call came from the same phone number. This time there were 25 young men crammed into the same tiny apartment. The men were seeking Truth and hope . . . asking questions, listening to the counselor’s answers and most importantly, hearing the Truth of God for the first time in their lives!

“They described the apartment as being jammed with people. Some were even sitting in the bathroom, in the kitchen, or on one another’s laps! They each listened intently to the Gospel, the amazing news that God loved them, and they could be forgiven of their sins. After the counselor answered all their questions, ALL 25 RECEIVED CHRIST, PRAYING OVER THE PHONE IN UNISON!”

“Then a week later, they called again. Now there were 50—all influenced by SAT-7, listening to the counselor. . . . How they all managed to fit into that confined apartment, I have no idea. But as before, the others who had joined them were questioning all that they had been taught, profoundly moved by the person and character of Christ.”

An amazing story of Muslims, living in darkness, with little clue as to whom Christ is, responding to the sliver of light that had been shown them, and receiving, of all things, the gift of Christmas, the eternal life and love that Jesus of Nazareth alone offers.

It’s reminiscent of the very story we have read in the Gospel of Matthew tonight. A few men from deep in the Middle East, pagans who had somehow heard of the Jewish Messiah, who came with what little light they had about Jesus, from hundreds of miles away, and found him in an amazing, even miraculous way.

Who were these magi, the wise men now of Christmas Card fame, who came seeking the King of the Jews 2,000 years ago? Well, they were Gentiles, they were pagans, probably from just about the same area that these young men in Afghanistan were from. Most scholars believe they were probably Persians, and the word magi identified them as wise men who were likely astronomers, those who studied many things, but especially the stars in the night sky.

But the question we ought to be asking about this story are these: How did these men, of all people from far away, know the Jewish Messiah had been born? And how is it that the Jews themselves did not know of this stupendous event that had occurred in their midst? And more than that, what lesson would God have us learn from both them, and the Jews that they encountered in Jerusalem about how to find the Savior and the forgiveness and eternal life He offers.

So how did the Magi know when the Jews didn’t? Well, first, let’s look at the reason that they cited. They said in verse 2 that they had seen the King’s star in the east. In other words, they are saying that a star appeared in the night sky that they interpreted as being a sign that the King of the Jews had been born. How could they have known?

Well, first of all, because most of the Jews had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon some 600 years earlier, the Jews had taken their Old Testament Scriptures with them. Among them would have been a prophecy uttered by one of their own, a Mesopotamian prophet by the name of Balaam which is found in Numbers 24:16-17. It simply said, “The oracle of him who hears the words of God, And knows the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered. 17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.” In other words, Balaam had seen a mighty warrior of Israel who could be described as the Almighty, who would come at the time a star would come forth from Jacob (another name for Israel), as a scepter shall rise from Israel—a scepter being a ruler’s staff, indicating that this one who would be Almighty God would also be the king of Israel. These magi, who were always watching the skies, interpreted this as meaning that a star, special star, would arise over Israel at the time of this great king’s coming. And so they were always looking to their west, from their position directly to the east of Israel, from Babylon or Persia, modern-day Iraq or Iran, for a star that would suddenly appear, that was not typically there, that would the sign of the coming King of the Jews.