The Wiseman’s Gifts
Text: Matthew 2:11
Introduction:
WISE MEN
- We know very little about the wise men, magi
- The wise men were astronomers, they studied the stars
- The must have known the OT - you don’t just wake up one day and decide to travel hundreds of miles following a star.
- Some believe they were from present day Iran or the Orient - hundreds of miles away.
- The arrived after the manger scene . . . up to 2 yrs later
- It would have taken quite some time to travel all that way
- exact location wasn’t know, that’s why they went to King Herod
- What better place to look for a King than a palace
- They were seeking the King
KING HEROD
- He wasn’t the rightful heir to the thron of David
- He wasn’t a full blooded Jew - Jews didn’t like Him
- He was appointed King by Rome
- He was suspicious and ruthless - even had his own wife and two brothers killed because he suspected treason
- He was disturbed, he felt threatened
- He opposed this King
THE PRIESTS
- the chief priests and teachers
- they studied the OT from childhood
- they were copyists of Scripture, trained to teach and apply the OT Law
- They were the “experts”
- prophecy was being fulfilled before their very eyes and they were uneffected
- They ignored the King!
- They were five miles away from the birth of their Messiah and they choose not to worship
* The Wise Men were looking
* Herod was opposing
* The Priests were ignoring
How will you respond to the Jesus?
Your decesion will determin your destiny.
We need to come as the wis men - excited, responsive, and bearing gifts.
1. A Gift for A King
- There was no reason for these wise men to go and honor any other king but their own.
- They recognized the Christ child as King of the Jews and gave a gift worthy of King.
- The significance is that this was the King of Kings!
- Gold - One of the most valuable treasures
- They were personalizing Him as their King
- When we personalize Christ as our King, we give him our most valued treasure - freedom, control of our life
- Lordship - giving Him control of every area of my life
- All our decesions are made with our Lord’s guidance
?? Why should I make Jesus my King?
What does a King do?
1. Provides for His people
2. Protects His people from enemies
3. Gives them governing Principles to live by
This is what Herod and any other King was trying to do for his people. He was jealous and didn’t want to give it up. He didn’t want to lose control. He didn’t want to give up his kingship.
- We at times are the same way! We don’t want to give up our kingship - the control of our own lives. Don’t oppose the King as Herod did. Make Him Lord and King today!
2. A Gift for Deity
A. Frankincense - a resin or sap from a tree. It is very fragrant when burned, and was therefore used in worship.
B. Exodus 30:1-8 speaks about the “altar of incense” in the Holy of Holys in the Tabernacle. It was used for burning God’s special incense and symbolic of acceptable prayer.
NOTE: This was an everyday occurance for the high priest.
- Lev. 16:12 also shows the OT practice of burning incense before God as a means of worship.
C. Worship is giving honor and worth to God for who He is - His essence and character
With the offering of this gift - worship - we recognize Christ as deity, God incarnate, God the Son
When we worship, it’s like burning a sweet fragrance to God. Worship pleases God - He enjoys it - He wants it! He “inhabits” the praises of His people.
The Priests, of all people should have been doing just that! They were witnessing OT prophecy come to fulfillment and yet they refused to worship as the wise men did. They were five miles away from the birth of the long awaited Messiah, yet were unmoved - unmotivated - uneffected.
Lets be honest, sometimes where not effected either. We come to church - into the very presence of God, and yet we don’t worship Jesus. Whether it’s intimidation, peer presure, or the distractions of life - we neglect giving the gift of worship.
Application: It’s not just singing. Worship has everything to do with attitude! Worship is when your heart lines up with what your lips are professing!
When I sing “In the secrete...” I live it
When I sing “Take my heart and form it...” - I make an attempt to do just that - change my lifestyle....
3. A Gift for a Saviour
Myrrh - also a resin or sap from a tree, considered a spice. The name denotes bitterness.
A. Anointing
1. One of the ingredients of the holy ointment used to anoint the Temple and the High Priest (Ex. 30).
2. Symbolically we can see this as being a sign of the anointing of Christ as our Great High Priest (Heb. 2:17)
“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”
Read also Heb. 10:11-12
- What was the job of the High Priest?
To make daily intercession to God on behalf of the people.
To make sacrifices to atone for sin.
Jesus accomplished this once for all as our Great High Priest. He daily interceeds on our behalf to the Father (Heb 7:25). He is our advocate, mediator.
Interceed = “to stand in the gap on someone else’s behalf”
B. Death and Burial
John 19:39-40 shows Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus preparing Christ’s body for burial with myrrh and aloes.
With this gift of myrrh we can see the reason Christ came to earth, to offer up his life as our Great High Priest - making that once for all sacrifice - interceeding for us to his Father.
Closing Application:
What about you? What do you have to offer the King?, the Son of God, our Saviour?
We must respond as the wise men did.
Heads bowed!
1. We must make Him King- respond to the message of Christ, seek Him out and make Him KING.
- Call for salvation
- Call to make Him Lord and King
2. We must worship - When the wise came into the presence of the Christ child, they bowed and worshiped. They worshiped Him because of who he was - deity, God incarnate - the Messiah. We too must honor God in our worship. We must come daily and worhsip Christ for who he is and what he has done, and what he will continue to do in our lives.
3. We must sacrifice - The wise men gave Christ elaborate expensive gifts. Jesus doesn’t need that from us. But what he does want will cost us something. It cost Him his life on the cross. He wants our life lived for Him. He want us to take up our cross and follow him. He wants us to sacrifice our lives in order to share with others how He sacrificed His.
