God Wants Us To Worship Like The Wise Men Series

God Wants us to Worship Like the Wise Men

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - December 31, 2012

(Revised September 8, 2020)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 2, as we turn our focus to the Wise Men. We sing about three Wise Men who went to see Jesus, but the Bible doesn't tell us how many there were.

*We also put the Wise Men in our Manger scenes, even though they don't really belong there. By the time they got to Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary had already moved into a house. And based on what the Wise Men told King Herod, Jesus may have been two years old when they finally saw Him.

*But the Wise Men are an important part of the Christmas story, and they can help us learn how to truly worship the Lord, so let's read their story in Matthew 2:1-12.

MESSAGE:

*Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson is famous for his novels like "Treasure Island," and "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Stevenson also wrote "A Christmas Prayer" that begins with these words:

"Loving Father,

Help us to remember the birth of Jesus,

that we may share in the song of the angels,

the gladness of the shepherds,

and the worship of the wise men." (1)

*God surely wants us to share in the worship of the Wise Men, and tonight's Scripture can help us do it.

1. FIRST: WE MUST GO THE DISTANCE TO SEEK GOD.

*In vs. 1-2, the Wise Men surely went the distance to seek the Lord. There the Bible says:

1. 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.''

*These men had been searching for the Lord long and hard. They had probably been on the road for two years, and had come 400 to 500 miles on camel or on foot. All of that effort: Why did they do it?

*From a human point of view, the Wise Men already had everything they could have wanted: Education, wealth, power, and prestige. They certainly had prestige because they were ushered in to see King Herod in Jerusalem. And the King didn't see just anybody, you know. The Wise Men also must have had great wealth, because they were able to give great treasures to Jesus.

*These men had everything the world could offer, but there was something missing in their lives. They had a spiritual hunger that drove them to the highest goal. They were seeking the King of Kings! Seeking to find Him, seeking to know Him, seeking to get close to Him, seeking to worship Him. And this is the greatest goal we can ever have in life.

*But with all that effort, they still had not found Him. It would have been so easy for them to give up. I can imagine lesser men giving up and whining: "Two years on the road! I'm getting tired of this! Let's go home."

*But the Wise Men didn't give up! They kept on searching for the King of Kings. So in vs. 2, we see them asking, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" And when they kept on searching, they found the King.

*Church: So will we! God promised that we would find Him in Jeremiah 29:13. There the LORD said, "You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart."

*The Wise Men finally found the real King in Bethlehem. Aren't you glad that we don't have to go to Bethlehem to find Him? But where are we going to find the King of Kings? Where is the right place for our worship?

*Jesus tells us in John 4. There the Lord was trying to lead a lost and lonely woman to living water, to salvation, to Him! Jesus showed her that He knew all about her 5 husbands. He knew all about the way she had wrecked her life, so she knew that Jesus was somebody special.

*Then maybe out of curiosity, or maybe trying to change the subject away from her sin problem, the woman asked Jesus about the proper place of worship. Listen to part of the story in John 4:19-24:

19. The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.

20. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.''

21. Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.