[This sermon is contributed by Hal Seed of New Song Church in Oceanside, California and of www.PastorMentor.com. Hal is the author of numerous books including The God Questions and The Bible Questions. If you are interested in The Bible Questions Church-wide Campaign, please visit and watch Hal’s video at www.PastorMentor.com.]
Editor’s note: this is the Christmas Eve message found in the final chapter of "Future History: Understanding the Book of Daniel and End Times Prophecy." (www.futurehistorybook.com)
"Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many
gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon
and placed him in charge of all its wise men." – Daniel 2:48
For 3 billion people, the birth of Jesus is one of the most important celebrations of their entire year. In churches in every country on this planet, people gather to worship the child who became the Savior of the world. In many of those 3 billion homes, a family will have a little manger set up somewhere in their house. They’ll be a grouping of figurines with Mary and Joseph and Jesus, some angels, a few shepherds, and some wise men.
When you think about that scene, it makes sense for Mary and Joseph to be there, they’re the parents. Having the angels there makes sense, they’re the messengers of God. The shepherds are there because they’re the invited guests of the angels. Everybody there makes sense… except the wise men. Where did the wise men come from?
Their story is told in Matthew 2:1-12.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi
from the east came to Jerusalem an 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.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 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. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“’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.’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 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.”
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. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The wise men are the mystery guests of the Christmas story. I want to let you in on the mystery, because if you can understand the wise men, (who they were and why they came), then you will understand what has happened to our world as a result of the coming of the Christ child.
Who were the Wise Men?
1. They were court advisors to the King of Parthia.
2. They were descendents of the Babylonian wise men.
Here’s a map that might help you:
At the time of the birth of Christ, the two most powerful empires in the world were the Rome and the Parthia. The Romans had conquered the Greek Empire and taken over the western territories won by Alexander the Great. The Parthians had conquered the eastern lands, the former Persian Empire, previously ruled by the Babylonians. All three eastern cultures – Parthian, Persian, and Babylonian, had similar court structures and customs, with a king counseled by a group of priestly-cast wise men.
About 60 some years before the birth of Christ, the Romans defeated the Parthians for control over what we call the Ancient Near East. This land mass includes Israel. Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where the Christmas story takes place, were only a few hundred miles from the Parthian borders.
Parthia’s capital changed locations several times throughout its history. Most likely, the wise men came from the capital city, somewhere towards the northern part of the Empire.
How did they know about Jesus?
How did these advisors to the king of Parthia know that an important king was going to be born to the Jews? To understand that, you have to know something about Jewish, Babylonian, and Persian history.
In 605 B.C. the Jewish nation of Israel was overrun by the Babylonians and many of the nation’s brightest and best were dragged into captivity. Most were initially settled in a refugee camp outside of the capital of Babylon by the Chebar River. Some were brought into the Babylonian court to be assimilated into the ruling Babylonian culture. One of those brought into the court was a young man named Daniel.
Daniel, with the help of God, became the chief of the Babylonian wise men three years later. You can read about this in Daniel 2:48. Daniel lived a long life. He was part of the royal court for the next 66 years. So he lived to be at least 85 years old and served the Babylonian and Persia kings from 605 to 535 B.C.
Jerusalem initially fell to the Babylonians in 605 B.C., but over the next 20 years, the tiny nation continued to rebel. Every time it did, a Babylonian army would enter the country and round up more Israelites, taking them into exile. As a result, little pockets of Jewish communities got planted throughout the Babylonian empire. With these communities came their Scriptures.
Part of the reason the wise men knew about Messiah’s coming was because Daniel and community of Jewish exiles would have had scrolls of the Old Testament with them.
What Old Testament Scriptures Say about Messiah
Genesis 3:15 = Born of a Woman.
One of the Scriptures the exiles would have had was a copy of book of Genesis. In Genesis 3:15 is the very first description of the Savior who was to come. Genesis 3:15 indicated that mankind’s deliverer will be born of a woman. So the wise men know to look for someone newly-born when He comes. They come looking for a baby.
Isaiah 40-66 = A Suffering Servant.
The Jewish community would also have had a scroll of the book of Isaiah. The second half of the book of Isaiah is all about the Messiah who will come as a suffering servant.
Numbers 24:17 = A Star Rising out of Israel.
They would also have had a copy of the book of Numbers. Numbers 24:17 says that a star will rise out of Israel. One of the subjects all wise men studied in school was how to read the stars. They were great astronomers. They believed the cosmos communicated to them by means of star alignments and configurations. According to their thinking, people and nations were associated with certain stars and constellations. The Jewish nation, for instance, was associated with the constellation Pieces. Pieces is the fish. Centuries before, God had sent a prophet to these same peoples. The prophet Jonah was delivered to them by a huge fish, who spit him up on dry land just outside the city of Nineveh. So they associated Jews and fish.
At the birth of Christ, something happened in the constellation of Pieces that communicated to these Parthian wise men that the star of Israel had been born. So they packed their camels and donkeys, enlisted a few dozen servants, and traveled to the capital city of the Jewish Jerusalem. When they arrived, they asked where the king was to be born.
2 Chronicles 6:16 = Come as a king.
These wise men, through their resident Jewish community, would have had access to the book of 2 Chronicles. In 2 Chronicles, God promises Solomon that a descendent of his father David will rule forever. From this, the wise men know that when this one, born of a woman comes, he will be born of kingly lineage. Specifically, he’ll be a son of David.
Daniel 7:13 = Come as God and man
They also have the book written by Daniel, the long-deceased chief of the Magi. Daniel describes the Messiah as both a God and a man.
Isaiah 53:5-10 = Come to die.
In the middle of the suffering servant description, Isaiah describes how this king-God-man will die.
The Gifts of the Wise Men
When the wise men come to Jesus, they bring three gifts: Gold, which the gift for royalty, a gift for a king. Incense, which was for divinity, a gift you give a God. And myrrh, which is a funeral gift, a gift used for burial. Their gifts show amazing insight. At first hearing, you might think these gifts were a lucky coincidence. But they’re not. God set up the events of Christmas in such a way that you would know that He was carefully orchestrating each element of it, years in advance.
Nine months before Christmas, God sends an angel to tell Joseph and Mary about the birth of His Son. Christmas night, God sends angels to communicate with shepherds about the birth of His Son. Hundreds of years before Christmas, God sends a holy man – Daniel – to the eastern peoples to prepare their highest caste, their wise men, to respond to the birth of His Son. God communicates to wise men that the Messiah will be king and God, and that He will come to die. Through a combination of Daniel’s leadership, Hebrew Scripture, and the tailor-made revelation of a star, these wise men know as much or more about the nature of Messiah as the Jewish people. I believe that God did this so that people like you and me could have confidence that He was involved in the Christ of Christmas.
Why The Wise Men Came
According to Matthew 2:2, the wise men came to Bethlehem because they “…saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” According to Matthew 2:12, “…having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” I don’t know exactly what the wise men were thinking when they came to Jesus. We know they came to worship and bring gifts, but I doubt if it ever occurred to them that God might speak to them as they met His Son. I’m almost certain they had no prior thoughts of going home by a different way. But that’s what they did.
They came and worshiped. Part of their worship involved gifts, part involved bowing down. Those two actions have become a central part of Christmas in every nation of the world. People come to the Christ of Christmas and they give Him gifts. Churches all over the world receive offerings on Christmas that fund great good works in the name of Jesus. And in churches all over the world, people come and bow down to worship. They place their knees on the floor (either actually or figuratively) and say, “You are the Son of God, and I surrender my life to You.”
Not long after they bowed down, the Wise Men heard from God. That’s a common thing among Christ-followers. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” These men heard clearly enough to make a significant change in their travel plans.
Here’s what I want to suggest to you. I want to suggest that maybe one reason God brought the Wise Men to the manger was because He wanted to give a picture to you and me. These men where the first men from other nations to come to Jesus. Since that day, men and women from almost every nation, tribe and language have come. The followers of the Christ child outnumber the followers of any other nation, movement, or organization on earth.
The Wise Men were the first. They came not knowing exactly what to expect. They just knew that the Son of God was born and that they should bow down before Him. So they bowed. They wound up changed forever. They wound up hearing from God and going home another way.
This is why the Wise Men are the mystery guest of the Christmas story. Through them, God is saying, “Here is the picture I want people from every nation to emulate. I want them to come and bow down before My Son. When they do, I’ll build a relationship with them. I’ll start speaking to them. I’ll bring them home, home to me, home to heaven, by a different way than they would have imagined.”
The promise of God is, if you will seek Me, you will find Me. So come, worship, bow down and you will find Me.
Several years ago, I bowed down to Jesus, I gave Him my life, and He changed me forever. It was like He put a new heart inside of me. From my very first day I had a sense of joy, and hope, and I felt like I was doing what God wanted me to do for the first in my life. I now know I’m going home, home to heaven someday, not by my way, but by God’s way, the way He asks us to.
Maybe you would like to experience that same thing. Maybe you’d want to bow down before Jesus today. What I’m asking is that you consider giving your life to Christ and letting Him live with you.
To do that, there are two qualifications:
(1) You must admit that He is God and you are not. (That’s the “bowing down” part.)
(2) You must admit that you need Him. (That’s the “worship” part.) You must admit that you have done things that fall short of your (and His) moral standards, and therefore that you need forgiveness.
At the church I pastor, we end every message with a prayer. Here’s a prayer I’d encourage you to end your reading with:
Lord Jesus, today I want to do what the Wise Men did and say that You are God and I am not. I admit that I need You and want You in my life. Come into me, forgive my past, and live in me as my Leader and Savior from now on.
If you prayed that prayer, I’d like to hear from you. You can reach me at www.halseedbooks.com.
Merry Christmas!
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