The Wise Still Seek, the World Still Hates, and God Still Saves
Text: Matthew 2:1-23
By: Ken McKinley
(Read Text)
We know from our text that Jesus wasn’t born in the year “Zero”. He was probably born around 6 or 5 B.C. we know this because Herod was still king when Jesus was born and Herod died in March or April of 4 B.C. Our modern calendar was developed by Dionysius Exiguus, his calculations are off by 5 or 6 years. And we know that Jesus was about 2 years old when Herod ordered the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem, which happened just before he died. We also know that his Herod’s son, Herod Antipas ruled Galilee from 4 B.C. to 39 A.D. Now sometimes people will use these historical facts and try to dispute the Gospel accounts of Christmas, but they’re missing some facts themselves. The Gospel writers never gave any dates, they gave events, and the events that they write about line up perfectly with the historical account. It was Dionysius Exiguus (which by the way means Dennis the Short) who made the mistake when he created our modern calendar, about 500 years after the birth of Jesus.
Over the past three Sunday’s we’ve looked at the Christmas story. We looked at how Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem for Augustus’ census; we’ve looked at how there was no room at the inn and so Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger, we’ve looked at how the angelic host announced His birth to the shepherds in the field.
But the story of Jesus doesn’t end with Him lying in a manger.
Turn with me to Luke 2:21-38 (Read).
Jesus was circumcised 8 days later according to the command of God given in Genesis 17:12 and according to the Law given in Leviticus 12:3. It was at that time that He was given the name Jesus, the name that the angel told Mary she should name Him. Mary herself had to be pronounced clean by the priests, in accordance with the Law, just like every other Jewish mother. And then she presented Jesus to the Lord. That’s important because these earthly parents of Jesus observed all the requirements of the Law.
Then Luke introduces us to two people, Simeon and Anna. They were both devout believers and were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. So Simeon blessed God and then gave a prophecy to Mary concerning both Jesus and herself. He said Jesus is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel. Many people were looking for a political savior, a physical king who would help them throw off the yoke of Roman bondage. To the people like that, Jesus would result in their “fall,” to the Pharisees, those legalistic religious leaders, who had twisted the Scriptures in so many ways over the years, Jesus would result in their “falling.” But Simeon also said that Jesus was destined for the “rising” of many as well.
Now; like the Scriptures say, this was 8 days after Jesus was born, and Mary and Joseph were taken aback by this, but what they didn’t know is that God was bringing another surprise their way, let’s look at our text again (Read vss. 1-7).
Wise men came from the East to worship Jesus. Now there are several things we should see here. First of all, these “wise men” are gentiles. They aren’t Jews, they are from the east, probably Persia (Modern day Iran). They were Magoi, that’s the actual word that we translate into “wise men,” in other words they studied astrology, medicine, religion, and a type of eastern philosophy. Again history tells us that these Magoi usually traveled in large groups. Even if there were just three men, they would’ve had an entourage of slaves, apprentices, and other workers. There may have been 50 or more in the group of Magoi. We often think there were three of them, because they brought three types of gifts. And that’s another thing we should look at. When the wise men came, they came to worship, and in worshiping, they brought gifts. Worshiping the Lord is not just limited to singing hymns and choruses. Our entire church service should be one of worship. The songs we sing, the music that’s played, the tithes and offerings we bring, the preaching of the Word. It’s all included in worship.
So these wise men, say, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews, for we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him…” Now remember, Herod was extremely paranoid, and afraid of loosing power in Judea. So he starts asking questions and says, “When did you first see this star?’ And when they tell him, he tries to be tricky and says, “Well go on and search for Him, and when you find Him, come back and tell me where He is, so I can worship Him too.” Now look at verse 9 of Matthew 2 (Read). The star went before them. In other words; the star was moving from north to south, from Jerusalem to Bethlehem! It moved, and then stopped, over where the “young Child” was. So Jesus wasn’t a baby anymore, He was a “young Child,” at this time, and this “star” led these wise men all the way from Persia, or where ever it was they had come from, and then suddenly stopped over the home Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were staying in. Now here’s what’s incredible to me. The Chinese astronomical tables make mention of the appearance of a star or comet in 6 B.C. over the Middle East, specifically the land of Israel.
Now this “star” may have been an actual star, it might have been a comet, it might have been an angel, it might have just been some kind of display of God’s glory, like what shone around the shepherds in the fields. The point is that it was God’s doing. God sovereignly and supernaturally led GENTILES to His Son, so that they could worship.
Look at verse 11 (Read). How about that? They had traveled hundreds of miles by riding camels or mules, and when they saw Jesus they fell down and worshiped Him.
We come in the comfort of our cars, and sit in a comfortable church, but do we worship? Did you come this morning expecting to worship Him? Look what else these wise men did, “they opened their treasures and presented gifts to Him.” Three types of gifts: Gold is a gift that was often given to a king, and it was presented to the King of Kings on that day. Frankincense was a gift for a priest, and Jesus is our great High Priest, the mediator between God and man. And Myrrh was a gift for one who was about to die, it was used in the preparation of the dead for burial. These were “Wise Men.” And wise men still worship the Lord today. In-fact Scripture says in Psalm 53 it’s the fool who says there is no God. These men saw God in the flesh, and worshiped Him accordingly.
The Wise Still Worship, but also… the World Still Hates. Look at verses 12-18 (Read).
God warns the wise men, and then He warns Joseph. So Joseph listens and most likely uses the Magoi’s gift of gold to pay for the 75 mile trip to Egypt and their housing there while they wait for Herod to die. But in the meantime Herod murders all the infant boys two and under in the town of Bethlehem. Now I’ve heard scholars say that the number of boys killed in Bethlehem was anywhere between 20 and 200. But the point is that Herod is no different than the rest of the world. The world still hates. The world still resorts to murder to avoid what they perceive as an inconvenience; 40 million babies have been aborted for this reason.
Mankind has not changed since the birth of Christ, or since the fall of Adam if you want to get technical. The world hates Jesus Christ. Sure most people wouldn’t come out and say that, they will tolerate the nativity scene; but if Christ gets in their way, if He interferes with selfish and sinful ambition, or if His gospel demands they repent, or if His gospel preaches the intolerant message that there is no other way to be reconciled to God other than through His Son Jesus Christ, then the problems start to arise.
I honestly believe that this is what’s behind the efforts to remove Christ from Christmas. Or at the very least, to keep Him in the manger. But He didn’t stay in the manger. He grew up, and He died on a cross. That is what He was born to do. To die for our sins, yours and mine. To redeem mankind and reconcile us to God.
You see; the wise still seek Him, the world still hates, and God… God still saves. Some people react to Jesus the way Herod did, others respond the way the wise men did. Herod was afraid that Jesus was going to interfere with his life, his goals and his ambitions, and if you want to be honest, He would’ve. Jesus would’ve demanded Herod repent and turn to God. So Herod reacted with hatred and hostility. You see, people don’t have much of a problem with a baby in a manger, but they realize that that baby grew up, and that baby became a man, a man who demanded that they turn from sin and selfishness. A man whose very presence on the earth is a condemnation to sinful lifestyles and behaviors. Because if we were not sinners, Jesus would not have had to come. Luke 19:10 says that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came because God loves us so much He doesn’t want to punish us for all eternity in hell, so Jesus took our punishment on the cross, and died for our sins, so that we might have life everlasting.
Other people are indifferent. Christ means nothing to them. Remember Herod asked the priests and scribes where Christ was to be born, and they knew… it was in Bethlehem, but they themselves never went to worship Him. They knew the Scriptures that spoke of the Messiah, but their knowledge wasn’t mixed with faith. As Jesus grew, the Pharisees rejected Him, the Jewish people rejected Him; and this rejection wasn’t due to ignorance, but in our text we see only a few of the Jewish people worshiping Him, shepherds and then a couple of devout believers 8 days later, and then Gentiles led to Him and they worship Him.
Wise men still worship Him though, and bow before Him, but a time is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father in heaven. But these wise men were wise, because they didn’t wait for that day. They came and set their hearts on Jesus. They were willing to risk it all and worship the Lord.
CLOSING AND PRAYER
