In Jesus Holy Name January 6, 2008
Epiphany Matthew 2:1-3 Redeemer
“O Worship the King, The New Born King”
In the Lutheran Hymnal there is a hymn with a similar title as the one chose for the message today. The words of the hymn, “O Worship the King”, could well have been on the lips of the wise men who came to Jerusalem to bring gifts to the new Jewish King.
“O Worship the King.
O gratefully sing (of) his power and His love
O tell of his might, sing of his praise
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.
With true adoration we shall sing his praise.”
Let me read how Matthew recorded the event. “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, magi, (magi were astrologers of the ancient world), from the east came to Jerusalem 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.” When Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with Him.”
Can you believe it? The King was disturbed at the birth of a baby. Was the baby born with a machine gun in one hand and a hand grenade in the other? Why would Herod be disturbed by the birth of a baby? Herod had an army. Herod had more than a few fortresses to protect himself. Herod had a body guard. Herod had the backing of Rome. How could a Baby born in Bethlehem stable make him afraid?
Then I started to think. You know over the centuries various rulers, when they came to power have done their best to eliminate their opposition. They did all they could to remove from consideration any individual who might be competition for their crown. Murder was the best option.
In 1483 England’s young Prince Edward V and his little brother were locked away in the Tower of London by their uncle. That same uncle declared himself King. Immediately following his coronation, the little princes disappeared.
Three hundred years later in 1795 after the French Revolution beheaded King Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette, the rebels were left with a decision: “What to do with the royal son?” He was locked away. The ten year old boy stayed in prison until the cruel treatment of the jailer hastened his death.
All these rulers realized that a young prince a descendant to the throne could grow into a powerful troublemaker. From a practical standpoint the young royals had to die.
No student of history should be surprised by Herod’s response. A new Jewish king? Although he was king of a Jewish nation. He was not Jewish. He was half Jewish. No matter how much Herod improved the economy, building a new Harbor and buildings at Caesarea, and expanding the Temple mount with new buildings, the Jews did not like him. So Herod ruled by fear. Jealous, merciless, suspicious and ruthless, Herod made sure no one challenged his kingship.
Over the years he had drown his wife’s brother, the High Priest. He killed his favorite wife, her mother and three of his own sons. When Herod got disturbed, everybody got disturbed.
With that kind of track record, Herod’s reaction to the news brought to Jerusalem by the Wisemen, is not shocking. Not knowing himself where the child was born he forwarded the question to the religious leaders of Jerusalem. They didn’t miss a beat. “Bethlehem, in Judea. That’s what the prophets wrote.”
The star led them and came to rest over “the place where the child was. When they saw the star they were overjoyed.” But the baby was no longer in a manger. Mary and Joseph and the baby had moved into a house. The movie provided a great, enduring visual. It looked like the Christmas card. The cave, the shepherds, the baby in a manger and the wise men with their camels. Not so. Matthew writes: “On coming to the house they saw the child…and they worshiped him.” After their visit…an angel told them not to return to Jerusalem so they went home another way.
Herod was not happy. All Jerusalem was disturbed. And rightly so. Since the days of Herod, other rulers have been disturbed by the baby.
The religious rulers, who knew the prophecies, did their best to ignore the infant Jesus. Today modern religions have taken the indifference of the ancient priests and transformed it into the hatred of Herod. Modern religions and nations are afraid of the baby.
When the Russian Bolseviks murdered the Czar of Russia and his family…they also did their best to eliminate the Christ child. For over 60 years they sought to stamp out message of Christianity and install the theology of atheism. Even in present day China those who worship the infant Jesus are arrested and jailed.
Islamic Saudi Arabia forbids followers of the baby from bringing their bibles into the country. Islamic Iran arrests and holds without trial, whose who would follow the baby. In some Buddhist nations the education and economic rights of the baby’s followers are denied these government services.
What can be so frightening about a baby that would make world religions and rulers tremble? The Bethlehem Baby didn’t stay a baby. He grew up. He began doing astonishing things, miraculous things. He healed lepers, and the lame, the blind and deaf. He fed thousands of people with a few fish and loaves of bread. He stilled storms with just two words. Why is he so dangerous to religious scholars and rulers?
He told stories of shepherds, slaves and Samaritans; of lost coins, lost sheep and lost opportunities. But when he grew up he is not remembered as a great Philosopher, or an accomplished healer, or a brilliant Storyteller. He said: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will never die.” He said: “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, except through me.” Ravi Zacharias in his Book “Jesus Among Other Gods” writes: “Every word of that statement challenges the fundamental beliefs of the Indian culture from which I come, and in reality, actually stands against an entire world.” Hinduism and Bahaism have long challenged the concept of a singe way to God.
He claimed to forgive sins. The Jewish religious leaders wanted to stone him because he claimed that he was God in flesh. Jesus claimed to be the promised Messiah. Jesus claimed to be the Savior of the world. Jesus successfully fulfilled all of God’s laws that the rest of humanity found impossible to keep. With these words Jesus is saying that He is carrying all of humanity’s sins so that all who believe on Him as their Substitute and Redeemer will be saved.
Jesus claimed that we can personally know God and that absolute nature of His truth. Agnostics deny that possibility. Our culture calls for tolerance. Yet truth can not be sacrificed at the altar of pretended tolerance. All religions, plainly and simply, can not be true. Some beliefs are false and we know them to be false.
If these claims of Jesus are true, then all other religions are fake and other religions and rulers of the world need to be afraid.
Let me tell you what Jesus did immediately after he made his claim to be the Savior or the world. He went to the gravesite of one of His dearest friends, a friend who had been dead for three days. Jesus had the stone taken away from the tomb’s entrance, and then, having made a prayer of thanksgiving to His Father in heaven, he called out to His deceased friend. “Lazarus, come forth.”
We could have called all day, but with that one command of Jesus, Lazarus did come forth. Wrapped like a mummy, Lazarus came forth from that tomb, alive, healthy and healed. This action of Jesus tells the world that he has power to overcome death.
I think you can have only two reasonable reactions to the words of Jesus and His resurrection. You can either, like many that day at the gravesite of Lazarus, believe Jesus is your Savior; or you can like some who witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus and chose to plot how to eliminate Jesus.
When Jesus was born, there were two reactions: Wise men came and worshipped Jesus as Savior; Herod tried to kill Him. When he preformed miracles there were two reactions; people believed in Him, or they said he was possessed by the Devil.
If you don’t know the story of Jesus, let me tell you the rest. Those people who tried to eliminate Jesus, did eventually succeed. They paid off one of His disciples to betray Him; they railroaded Him through mock trials; they manufactured evidence against Him; they encouraged the crowd to call for his death. The Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate had Jesus crucified and nailed to a cross, suspended between heaven and earth. There Jesus suffered and died. Do you believe this?
If Jesus had been a mere man, he would have stayed dead. Dead is what happens to a man when his heart is punctured by a Roman spear. But Jesus, along with being a Man, is also the Son of God. That’s why on the third day after His murder, His sacrifice for us accepted by God, Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus came back to life. Do you believe this?
There are only two reactions to the resurrection of Jesus; either you believe it, or you must try to stuff Jesus back into His tomb and act as if nothing extraordinary happened.
