I Have Seen The Light

"I Have Seen the LIGHT!¡¨

Matthew 2:1-12 page 681 in pew bible

Dr. Larry L. Thompson (2002)

¡§We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him!¡¨

¡§After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem [2] and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." [3] When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. [4] When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. [5] "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: [6] "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel." [7] Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. [8] He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." [9] After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. [10] When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. [11] On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. [12] And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.¡¨

INTRODUCTION

One of the favorite Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant specials in past years has been the quartet singing the song, ¡§I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT.¡¨ It is a marvelous play on words referring to the light which led the Magi to the Messiah. In one of the absolute highpoints of the Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant, Joseph is seen emerging from the cave holding the NEW BORN KING. He is soon accompanied by Mary and he holds the baby in the air, all the lights focus on the PRIDE OF THE PAGEANT, the Savior as the wise men make their way into the worship center bringing their gifts the angels come flying in from everywhere to join in this magnificent picture of praise. The LIGHT HAS REVEALED THE TRUTH¡K THE KING IS BORN.

The purpose of the LIGHT of this Bethlehem Star was to authenticate and announce the incarnation and to draw men to worship the newborn Messiah and King. The beautiful story of the LIGHT of Bethlehem was intended by Matthew to focus our attention on the Babe of Bethlehem. The star is mentioned four times in this passage (Matthew 2:2, 7, 9-10) and nowhere else in the New Testament. Let us examine three biblical truths about the Light of Christmas which points us all to the PRIDE OF THE PAGEANT:

I. IT WAS A DIRECTIVE LIGHT (2:2)

¡§The wise men said, ¡§Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him¡¨ (Matthew 2:2).

These wise men, or Magi, would never have been able to find, see, and know the young King Jesus had it not been for the LIGHT OF GOD¡¦S STAR. Have you ever sat down with your open Bible and attempted to map out the journey taken by these Magi? Whether they came from Mesopotamia, Chaldea, Persia, or Arabia, the first observation is that these ancient pilgrims would have had a difficult distance to travel. God¡¦s Light¡K

1) DIRECTED THEM TO GO THE DISTANCE:

We read that ¡§there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem¡¨ (Matthew 2:1). Had they not been directed by that providential star they might never have attempted the lengthy journey implied in the phrase ¡§from the east to Jerusalem,¡¨ but they were drawn irresistibly to come and worship the young King. This LIGHT was so compelling that no distance, no matter how vast, could deter them. What a challenge as well as indictment this is to those of us who have the facilities for rapid transportation, by car, train or plane, in the Western world! How this story condemns us for our feeble excuses for not attending church regularly, for complaining about the request to honor Sunday evening and as well as Sunday morning and for our failure to go the distance and gladly following Christ wherever His LIGHT directs. God¡¦s Light¡K