Lessons of the Christmas Story
#1 – What We Can Learn from the Magi
Matthew 2:1-12
December 10, 2006
(Idea for this message from AboutSunday.com)
Introduction
Before I get into the message, I just wanted to explain the bulletin insert.
Obviously it’s not the usual note-taking guide I’ve given you for the last number of years.
Believe it or not, I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my communication from the platform.
Not because I want to known as a good preacher, but because I want to make sure that God speaks to you without my faulty lips getting in the way.
One of the ways that I think I can help is to help you meditate on the purpose or main point of the message, then challenge you to think of ways to put it into practice.
So I’ve put some blanks there, but not like I used to.
The first one asks you what you think the main point of the message is. I’ve got a main point for the messages, and it’s tempting for me to just put it there.
But I’ve also learned that what I think is the main point may not be what God is trying to communicate to a particular individual.
So I want to leave it blank, so you’ll have the freedom to put down what you think God is trying to communicate to you.
The rest of the blanks are designed to help you put some feet on what God’s trying to say to you.
I would suggest using this through the week, asking God to help you fill in those blanks so you can get the most benefit from our times here on Sundays, okay?
By the way, if you have suggestions for improving this, I’d welcome your input.
One of the dangers of contemporary Christianity is that we tend to live with a sanitized view of how God works.
We think we’ve got it all figured out, especially in terms of how God speaks, who He speaks to, and how He leads people in a given situation or circumstance.
We look at certain people we meet and think, “God could never speak to that person – he’s not what a Christian should be…”
Or, someone comes up to us and says, “I think God’s leading me to do this…” And we think, “Get a grip, man. God wouldn’t use you for something like that!”
Another, and in my opinion, more authentic scenario is this:
“God could never speak to me like He speaks to so and so over there. They’ve really got it together.”
Or, “God could never lead me to do something for Him, because I don’t fit the mold those others do.”
I know how it feels to have those thoughts, because I had to fight them all the time early in my Christian life.
I’d look at myself and see a nerdy kinda guy from the reservation, not very good-looking and only a marginally talented musician in spite of the fact that I was a music major.
I had lousy communication and relationship skills, and majorly ignorant of the way things work in the world.
And even as I began to mature in my walk with Jesus, I made mistakes and hurt people.
I’d love to say I’ve become perfect in these things, but I haven’t.
But as college progressed, I wondered if God really had anything for me. And I didn’t know how to find out.
God had already been speaking to my heart through the Scriptures and He was molding my character to be more Christ-like, but I sincerely wondered if God would lead me to any type of real significance for Him.
I wasn’t worried about a vocation – I knew that God could use anybody in any job or career. I just wanted to know if my life would count for God.
And so I was asking whether God would speak to me and lead me like I saw Him speaking and leading some of my fellow students.
Well, it took a while, but I came to the conclusion that God would to speak to me and lead me.
And also came to the conclusion that God can do it with absolutely anybody.
Our Scripture passage today is a wonderful illustration of that.
Matthew 2:1-12 (p. 681-682) –
1 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."
I love that! “We’ve just traveled a bajillion miles and we’re still not sure where to go.” Obviously the Israelite AAA hadn’t sent them a map.
Then panic time hits for Herod…
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."
What a snake this Herod was. He wasn’t fooling anybody for very long, not even the Magi, as we’ll see in a moment.
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.
Important thing to note here. These guys weren’t there to just check out the source of the supernatural sign they’d been following. They were there to worship the child.
How many people who say they want to know about Jesus are looking to become worshipers of Jesus? My hope is that all of them would say that. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. But with these guys, that was the case.
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.
Christmas trivia question for you: how many kings from the orient came to the manger?
Answer: NONE!
Did you know that? Really! In spite of the song, it’s important to know that as far as we can tell, there was nothing royal about the Magi. We don’t really know where they came from with any certainty, and it’s pretty certain that by the time they got to see Jesus, He was a toddler.
Now back to what I want to show you from this passage, and I hope that this truth will stick to your hearts and minds for the rest of your lives.
God speaks to anyone who will listen and He leads anyone who will follow.
This is what I think we can learn from the Magi.
Who were these guys? They weren’t Jews, most likely. They weren’t the religious leaders of Israel. They weren’t the philosophers and important political figures.
They were pagan astrologers who saw a star, and knew that the Creator was up to something.
God spoke to these pagan astrologers we call the Magi who had no idea what they were really getting into.
They were undoubtedly familiar to a degree with the promise of the Messiah, which leads us to believe that they came from an area where some Jews remained after their exile to Babylon was ended, though we can’t be certain where they came from.
God had already spoken to His own people through the prophets and the Scriptures. But with few exceptions, they didn’t seem to get it.
But these guys knew that God was up to something special, even if they didn’t totally understand the implications.
So God allowed them to lay their eyes on the Messiah and worship Him as a small child.
God spoke to them because they were willing to listen and He led them because they were willing to follow.
And they became major players in the story. We read about them in Scripture and we even sing about them, albeit erroneously.
Scripture is filled with examples of God taking obscure people and speaking to them, then leading them to do or say something.
In fact, He seems to do this so often that I think it’s the rule not the exception.
There’s only been one virgin birth. One resurrection of Jesus. There’s only been one Pentecost. There’s only been one parting of the Red Sea.
But there’s lots of times when God takes ordinary people and does extraordinary things in them and through them.
Why? Because God will speak to anyone who will listen and lead anyone who will follow.
This is incredibly good news, people! This means that everyone in here is eligible to hear from God and be led by Him.
No matter who you are. No matter what your background. No matter your vocation. No matter the physical or economic barriers. No matter your social status. No matter your educational level.
God is willing to speak to you and He’s willing to lead you if only you are willing to let Him do it.
You don’t have to be some super-spiritual person. You just have to be willing to listen and follow.
What about you? Are you willing to listen to God? He speaks in lots of ways – people, circumstances, even dreams, according to Scripture, and of course, the Bible, through which all these other ways need to be filtered. If a dream or a person tells you to do something that’s contrary to God’s Word, then it’s not from God, that’s for sure.
A couple weeks ago I gave you some ways to get the Word of God into your life so it can impact you.
And I can tell you that if you’re not actively engaged in Scripture, hearing God is going to be a lot harder.
Are you willing to be led by God and follow Him?
You may not know where He’s leading. The Magi sure didn’t. All they knew was that God was leading them to find the King of the Jews.
Folks, we have an advantage the Magi didn’t have. We have the completed Scriptures. We have everything we need to hear from God so He can lead us. The only question is whether or not we’ll listen and follow.
God won’t force us to do those things. We need to come to Him ourselves.
So let me just end with an invitation to open your heart.
Open your heart to God, allowing Him to speak to you through the Scriptures and submitting to His leading, no matter where it may finish.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. God the Creator knows what’s best for you. But you need to trust Him to take you where He wants, for your good, and for the sake of His kingdom.
Let’s pray.
