Ready to Open My Treasures
Matthew 2:2
Ages ago, some pilgrims - we call them Wise Men or Magi - set out on a long and uncertain journey in search of the promised Messiah. Their quest was gloriously rewarded, thanks to that guiding star.
Whatever led you here this morning, I believe God is delighted we’re gathered, and I pray your search will be rewarded beyond your expectations.
Today we celebrate Epiphany. The word itself is not found in the Bible but it’s certainly a biblical concept as it means “manifestation". When you hear it used today it typically refers to an illuminating discovery.
It was in the fourth century when many Christians began to place a larger emphasis on commemorating the revealing of Jesus to the Magi. They appear to be the first Gentiles or non-Jewish people to worship him.
When the Magi arrived in Jerusalem they 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." (Matthew 2:2, NIV)
These Gentiles who came from a distant land to find and to worship Jesus have some important lessons to teach us. They are an example and can inspire us in some valuable ways.
1. They inspire us to believe in His royal birth.
“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”
(Note: for helpful details about Magi, see the article in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible)
Magi were important men in the ancient empires of Persia and Media. They were highly educated in a wide range religious writings, philosophy, astronomy and other disciplines. They were the highest of the priestly class. They were not kings but served as wise counselors and advisors to kings, as Daniel served Nebuchadnezzar in such capacity.
In Persia the Magi held a dual office – priestly and political. Some composed the upper house of the council whose duties included choosing the king.
So this group entering Jerusalem may have been seen as king-makers. They were not just three wealthy travelers on their camels. In fact we don’t know if there were three of them, or two, or eight. It’s traditionally assumed there were three because of the three gifts given to Jesus, and because of a later (extra-biblical) legend giving them names; Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar
If they kept with traditional oriental stately splendor, it was probably a large entourage, including an armed escort sufficient to ensure their safety.
Herod’s fear is understandable. Israel was a small buffer state sitting between two powerful empires – Rome and Persia. Now these Wise Men are asking, “Where will we find him who has been born the king of God’s people?”
That may have been insult they directed at Herod. He had secured his position as king of the Jews from Augustus Caesar by scheming and bribery. Now a band of Persian “king-makers” has arrived in his capital city asking about one who is king of the Jews by birth-right. That had to be very troubling to Herod.
But we soon find their mission was not political.
Magi were familiar with the Hebrew prophecies of the Messiah. They would likely have been particularly aware of those by Daniel who lived and held a high position in their land.
So these Gentiles came to find this person of royal birth, the king of God’s people. They are an example and inspiration to us. Do you believe in Jesus’ royal birth? Are you unashamed of that belief? Have you sought him and found him?
2. They inspire us to follow his radiant light.
“We saw his star in the east and have come…”
Verses 9-11; “…the star… went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw [it], they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary…”
What about Joseph? It’s my speculation that he may have been at some carpentry job in or around Bethlehem. There was no place for them to stay when they first arrived in Bethlehem. But after Jesus was born, there was no need to hurry back north to Nazareth. So perhaps Joseph soon found a house where they could stay for a while, and he would have needed to find work.
This is one inaccuracy with our nativity scenes. The Wise Men did not arrive at the stable where Jesus was born. I don’t think it’s a big problem that we put them in our nativity scenes. One point of such scenes may be to visually illustrate that people of every class and every race are welcome in Jesus’ presence.
There are some interesting speculations about the star. Some think it was the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Some describe in great detail some other astronomical phenomenon. We simply don’t know details of this miracle. What we do know is that these Magi saw some unusual star or light that caught their attention and which God used to draw them to Jesus.
Many years later, Jesus said, “When I am lifted up… I will draw all kinds of people to myself.” This unique light, lifted up, drew Gentile Wise Men in a manner that they could find Jesus.
That’s the light that truth sheds on our path, drawing us to Jesus and enabling us to follow his ways. So are you living in His Light – obeying what it reveals? “…you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. So live as children of light 9(the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 …find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness….” (Ephesians 5:8-11, NIV)
Are you living under His Light, lifting it up and letting it shine in such a way that other people are drawn to him? Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
And so, the Magi are again an example and inspiration to us that we will follow the light of truth, find Jesus and light the way for others.
3. They inspire us to present him our rightful treasures.
“[we]… have come to worship him.”
“…they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11, NIV)
On entering Jesus’ presence, their response should also be ours. First, they bowed down and worshiped him. Second, they opened their treasures to him. I think the first phrase speaks of worship that is internal and spiritual. The second phrase speaks of worship that is external and material.
“Worship” means to bow or prostrate oneself in reverence and adoration.
First, they bowed down and worshiped, opening to Jesus their inner and spiritual treasury. In worship we open and give the Lord our heart, our affection, our devotion. We open and give the Lord our mind, our thoughts, our motives, our will.
1 Peter 2:5 tells us we are “…a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” What are these spiritual sacrifices? Listen to some of the Scriptures that express them.
Jesus said that the first and greatest command is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
At the dedication of the temple, Solomon said, “Give yourself to God …with whole-hearted devotion & with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart & understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, you will find him…” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
We are challenged in 1 Corinthians 7:35 (NIV) “…live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.”
Paul urged us to offer prayers. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6, NIV)
These are the internal and spiritual offerings of worship.
But we must also come to him in worship, prepared to open our treasures that are external and material.
It says they opened their “treasures”. The word is “thesaurus” which is a “depository of wealth”.
For this trip, the Wise Men needed a treasury, just like when you travel or go on vacation you need plenty of cash, money in an account that you can access with a debit card, or a credit card with sufficient funds available.
But in their advance preparations they placed in their treasury special gifts they’d present to Jesus.
They packed a supply of gold for him. That’s a fitting tribute given to honor kings. It expresses the willing submission of material wealth in his service.
They packed some incense, which was burned at times of prayer. The sweet smelling smoke rising was a visible symbol of faith rising to God and pleasing to him.
They included Myrrh, a mix of expensive and fragrant spices used in burial and expressing faith that even in death, the fragrance of life prevails.
Could these gifts imply that the epiphany of the Magi included recognizing Jesus as King? …as God? …as Savior?
These three treasures were high value commodities and were easy to transport. They would be ideal to help sustain Joseph, Mary and Jesus when they had to flee to Egypt and stay until it was safe to return home.
By the way, these gifts may offer evidence that the Magi arrived at least forty days after Jesus’ birth. We read in Luke 2:22 that Mary and Joseph went to temple in Jerusalem to make the sacrifices required in Leviticus 12 upon completion of her days of purification. Though a Hebrew baby boy’s circumcision was on the eighth day after his birth, his mother’s “purification” was complete forty days after the son’s birth.
The two required sacrifices were a year-old lamb and a pigeon or dove. But if the family could not afford the lamb, they could offer another pigeon or dove instead. It appears that Mary and Joseph offered the two birds (Luke 2:24).
Given the godly character and profound joy of Mary and Joseph, I find it hard to think that they would have made the less costly sacrifice if they had a supply of gold, incense and myrrh hidden at home.
But the important question is what do you come to worship intentionally prepared to offer? What external and material treasures are you ready to give the Lord?
Offer Your Words; “…let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15, NIV)
Offer Your Money; Here are a few principles from Paul’s teaching about financial giving in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9:
God supplies what we need and wants us to be generous toward others.
Give with a purpose; to honor God and help people.
Give with gratitude and gladly, not with reluctance, or resentment, or because you’re manipulated to give, or to get some honor for doing it.
Give regularly.
Give in proportion to your income.
The Wise Men planned ahead and put in their treasury special gifts they wanted to present to Jesus. Do you prepare before worship to give your offering – thoughtful, purposeful, proportional, cheerful? Or when we start the offering, do you scramble for whatever you can find in your wallet, minus the cost of lunch? Or do you just say, “Oops” and let it pass?
Offer Your Body; “…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NIV)
“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer… the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.” (Romans 6:13, NIV)
Offer Your Service; “…let us have grace, by which we offer service that is pleasing to God…” (Hebrews 12:28)
Offer Your Whole Self; “…present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” ( 2 Tim 2:15, NIV)
The Magi are an example & inspiration. They planned a journey. Their intent was to find the newborn king and to worship him. They carefully prepared and saw it through.
They bowed before him and worshiped him with internal, spiritual expressions of honor.
So must we, offering our hearts, our minds, our will, our devotion, our prayers.
They opened their treasures and offered external, material expressions of worship. We must also, offering our financial resources, our bodies, our service, our words that cause praise to him.
Do you prepare in advance for your worship by asking yourself even before you come to the place of worship, “What will I give today… both material and spiritual?” Or do you come without thinking about what you’ll give while hoping and expecting to get something out of the service?
Have you ever thought to yourself, or said to someone else, “I didn’t get anything out of the worship service today”?
Many of us have thought it or said it at one time or another. Perhaps we should examine if it would be correct to follow that with, “I didn’t put anything into the worship service today.”
This service is nearly completed and we'll soon go on our way. There's still time to put something into it. Before our prayer, please take a few quiet moments to think about two things. First, what treasure - internal or external, spiritual or material - can you still offer Christ before you leave here today? Second, what might you do to more intentionally prepare yourself for your next opportunity for worship?
(moments of silence)
Prayer:
Father, thank you for enriching and inspiring us today by the example of those ancient Wise Men. By your Spirit, raise up within each of us a keen longing…
To Seek Jesus, knowing he is the royal king of God’s people. He is my king.
To follow his light, living in obedience to what it reveals so that others may be drawn to find Him.
To worship him, prepared in advance to do it intentionally and thoughtfully so that I can open to him all my spiritual treasures and offer to him material gifts that result in honor and glory and recognition of your grace.
