Introduction
They say there are 3 kinds of people:
Those who MAKE things happen.
Those who WATCH what happens.
And those who WONDER what happened.
And in our Bible reading today there are 3 kinds of people.
Those who HATED what happened.
Those who MISSED what happened.
And those who LOVED what happened.
How are you responding to Christ this Christmas?
Main Body
There is more we don’t know about the Magi than what we do know. We don’t know which country they came from. We don’t know what nationality they were. We don’t know how many of them there were. We don’t know exactly how they knew the star was indicating that Jesus was about to be born. All we do know is that they came from the East. They were probably men of noble birth, like Daniel and his colleagues in Babylon. Men who had studied the stars, interpreted dreams, and advised Kings. All we do know is that they knew a King was born. And from this we see more proof that God desires people of all nations to love and worship his Son Jesus. We see that God literally moved the stars in the universe to get these men worshipping his Son.
Today I want us to contrast 3 responses to the birth of Jesus.
The response of Herod, who hated what happened.
The response of the Religious, who missed what happened.
And the response of the Magi, who loved what happened.
1. The Hatred of King Herod
First, consider the hatred of King Herod. He was king of the Jews. But he wasn’t a Jew! He was an Edomite. Related to the Jews but not Jewish. And he’d wormed his way into power. He’d persuaded the Romans to let him rule over Galilee and Judea. To try and make himself more acceptable to the Jews he’d married a Jewish girl. And he was carrying out a huge project to rebuild the Temple. So Herod was an unstable politician. And trying desperately to hold on to power.
When the Magi told him they’d come to worship a new king, it’s not surprising that Herod was, v3, disturbed.
So Herod talked with the Jewish religious leaders. He wanted to find out what the Bible said about the Messiah. Learning of the ancient prophecy by the prophet Micah, he sent the Magi off to Bethlehem. He wanted them to let him know when they found the Messiah. He said he also wanted to worship the new king. But Herod had hatched a murderous plan. He only wanted to kill this so-called King of the Jews.
There are many people in the world today like Herod.
Jesus makes them feel uncomfortable.
Jesus is a threat to them.
They feel like Jesus might take something away from them.
Jesus might change the way they live.
Jesus might take away their power.
They are afraid they may have to stop being self-centred and become Christ-centred.
These people aren’t interested in Jesus’ claim to be king. They won’t take any time to see if it may be true. They’d just rather Jesus was out of the picture. There are a lot of people like Herod today in the UK today.
2. The Indifference of the Religious
Secondly, consider the indifference of the religious. The chief priests and teachers of the law. They are the ones Herod asks about the Bible. He says, ‘Hey where does it say the Messiah/Christ is going to come?’ And they knew where. They tell him, ‘Well, it says in the Micah 5 verse 2 that he’ll come from Bethlehem…’
They know the chapter and verse well. These are the theologians, the believers; they call themselves God’s people. But after verse 6, where are they? They’ve disappeared! The foreigners seek out Jesus. The ordinary, smelly old shepherds seek out Jesus. But the religious people – they couldn’t be bothered!
This is meant to make us search our hearts.
Those of us who know the ‘Book’.
Those of us who are regulars at the ‘Temple’.
See, the principle here is this: Sometimes head-knowledge is a cover-up for proud resistance against God. These people know all ABOUT God, but there’s no passion FOR God. Passivity is
just as bad as hostility. And they miss what God is doing.
3. The Worship of the Magi
Finally, consider the worship of the Magi. And as I read these verses, I have to ask myself if I worship Jesus like they do…
Verse 2, it was a determined worship. This is an amazing story of those who travelled miles and expended huge amounts of effort. Why? They were seeking to know Jesus. That reminds me of what Paul says in Philippians 4… One thing I want: I want to know Christ. How determined are you to worship? Do we wake up and say, how can I glorify Christ my King today? We need to be determined in our worship.
Verse 10, it was joyful worship. When they drew close to Jesus they were overjoyed. True worship always has joy in it. The joy of seeking and finding Christ. The experience of seeing in Him something so wonderful, so beautiful and so satisfying that we are filled with joy.
Verse 11a, it was humble worship. When they came to Jesus they bowed down in front of Jesus. What a sight! What was Mary thinking as these strange travelers worshipped her child? Did they speak to him, did they kiss him, or did they simply bow in silent awe? They were humble before him. There is no worship without a humble heart. We will seek God but not find him without humility.
Verse 11b, it was costly worship. When they came to Jesus they brought Gold, Incense and Myrrh. In other words, they brought the best they could bring. Gold for a King; Incense for a priest; and Myrrh for embalming the dead. Perfect gifts for the KING who would INTERCEDE for us by DYING on a cross for our sins.
When we give gifts in worship we’re showing God something. We show him that we are not simply out for what we can get from him. To paraphrase John Piper, we’re saying, ‘You are my treasure, Jesus. Not this gold - but You. I will give gold up, but I’ll never give up You.’
On a Sunday morning, as you walk through the doors of the church, WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING?
Some of us have been doing the January sales.
Some of us have been down to the Shopping Mall…
I hate the sales! I feel like I’m in the middle a stampede of charging elephants. You go to get that shirt you need, and end up buying that golf-ball cleaner because it’s reduced to 1.99. (Even though you don’t play golf.)
We live in a consumerist society. Buy, buy, buy. Get, get, get. This way of thinking even gets into church. We come for what we can get. Well I hope we get a lot……friendship, love, spiritual food…
But I hope we’re here mostly because we’re seeking to know and worship God.
Conclusion
My dear friends, there are three types of people here in our text.
Herod, who hated what happened;
the Chief Priests, who missed what happened;
and the Magi - who loved what happened.
My heart’s desire for HBC - for you and for me - is that we’ll grow to be more and more like the Magi.
