STAR OF BETHLEHEM MYTH: The star led the Magi to Bethlehem.
- We’ve all seen this in a hundred Christmas plays.
- Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen to be the way that the Bible actually says the story happened.
- This morning I want to talk about the way the Bible says the story actually happened and what the spiritual truth is that we can pull from that story.
THE BIBLICAL TRUTH: The star led the Magi to Nazareth.
- Matthew 2:2-7, 9, 11, 16; Luke 2:21-22, 39.
- Piecing that together:
a. The Magi come to Jerusalem and are told the prophecy is for the child to be born in Bethlehem.
- Matthew 2:2-6.
- As noted last week, they didn’t follow the star to Jerusalem. Rather, they saw the star that was a sign to them that someone had been born King of the Jews, so they came to Jerusalem because that’s the capital of Israel.
- The scholars are right that the prophecy said Bethlehem was the birthplace.
b. The Magi had seen the star when Jesus was born, but then still had the whole journey in front of them.
- Matthew 2:7.
- Likely they saw it on the day He was born.
c. The star reappears as they leave Jerusalem. Why? Because it was necessary to lead them in the right direction, so they wouldn’t go the direction they’d been told.
- Matthew 2:9.
d. Two additional reasons from Matthew that we know there’s been a lapse of time: (1) it says the Magi found the Christ Child in a “house” (v. 11) and not a stable or cave, and (2) when Herod realizes he’s been deceived, he slaughters all the children under two years of age (v. 16), in accordance with the time he’d learned from the Magi.
- We know the trip from Jerusalem to Nazareth would not have taken an especially long time.
e. In Luke, we are told that Jesus’ parents soon after His birth went to Jerusalem (Luke 2:21-22) and then having offered the required sacrifice returned to Nazareth (2:39).
THE CHOICE: Trust God’s direction even when it doesn’t totally add up.
- Matthew 2:8 (sent to Bethlehem) vs. 2:9 (to the place).
- Of course, the Magi likely had never been to Israel before. I wonder if they were traveling along following the star and presuming that they were, like the scholars had said, heading to Bethlehem. They travel for a while, then ask a fellow traveler, “How much farther up this road is Bethlehem?” The man looks quizzically at them, then says, “Bethlehem is that way! You’re heading toward Nazareth.” They look at each other and wonder what’s going on, but they know they must continue to follow the star, since it’s a clear sign of God’s leading.
- There are moments in life when what people tell us and what God is leading us toward don’t add up.
- Some of the pieces of pursuing this:
a. We have to trust that He’s smart.
b. We need to remember that He’s come through for us before.
c. We need to know that He sees the big picture, the hidden connections.
- Imagine you’re in a football game with Peyton Manning. He looks over the field and audibles to send you deep instead of the crossing route that the original play called for. Maybe you don’t see what he sees, but you trust his deep football knowledge that he sees something you don’t.
- In your life, God sees things you don’t and sometimes sends you in a direction that doesn’t initially make sense to you. You’ve got to trust His vision is greater than your’s.
- Similar example: playing a chessmaster who is working several moves ahead. Some of his choices don’t make sense to you, but he’s working a plan you don’t understand.
- Another example: me and the kids walking somewhere. I’m usually going to see who we’re looking for first because of my higher perspective.
d. We should remember that humans have limited understanding and perspective.
e. God knows what He’s doing.
- This is part of walking by faith. Faith requires that we trust even when the evidence is unseen.
- Following God requires accepting counter-intuitive thinking sometimes.
- Of course, the missing piece of the puzzle for them seems obvious to us: the fact that the baby was born in Bethlehem did not mean that He had to stay in Bethlehem.
- This is a big part of the reason that the star reappeared: they again needed divine guidance.
- Their logical conclusion that the first step of their journey was to go to the capital of Israel served them well. They went there and in so doing had gotten closer to the child.
- Now, as they honed in actually being in His presence, the advice of those around them as well as their own logical conclusions would have misled them. And so God at that needed moment gives them the guidance they need to get to where they need to go. He reintroduces the star right when they need it.
- But, of course, that also means that it introduces the conflict of choosing between what makes more sense and where God is leading.
TIMES WHEN WE FACE THIS:
1. In a specific life situation, divine leading in a direction that isn’t what you expected.
- Some possible examples:
a. A great job offer comes up that’s what you’ve been looking for, but it requires you to move out of state. That’s not a big deal for you, but as you pray about it you sense God saying to stay put.
b. You’re normally fairly reserved, but when the bulletin notes that the church is looking for people to share testimonies occasionally in worship, you feel God pushing you volunteer.
c. You keep thinking about someone all day. Normally, you’re not one to send a “thinking of you” email, but you feel like God wants you to check in that person.
- Three of the things that often are in play here:
a. Others’ advice and expectations.
b. Your own logic.
c. Your own desires.
- There will be moments when you have to choose: God’s direction or human advice (whether your own or someone else’s).
2. Things in the Bible that you don’t fully understand.
- Matthew 16:24-26.
- There is teaching in the Word that we believe to be true because the Bible is true, but we don’t really understand.
- An example is Matthew 16:25 about losing your life to save it. That means that God is going to call us to do some things that cause us to have to give up things we love and requires sacrifice from us. It means that is the path to deeper life.
- That may not make sense to us. We may struggle with why that’s the way God says life works. Yet we still are required to pursue it.
3. Things in the Bible that you just don’t want to do.
- Matthew 5:23-24.
- There is teaching in the Word that we understand but we just don’t want to do.
- An example is Matthew 5:23-24 where we’re told to leave our gift at the altar and go make things right with our enemy. That’s not hard to understand – we just don’t want to do it. We want them to come to us. We want them to apologize first.
- God expects us to simply obey it, even if it’s something that we don’t want to do.
HOW TO PRAY: “I do not need clarity of understanding – just clarity of direction.”
- What do I mean by this?
- There are going to be times when God’s leading doesn’t add up. That’s just a fact of our spiritual journey. Not only does it not make sense right now, it may not make sense for quite a while. Maybe until halfway through your journey; maybe not until you reach your destination; maybe not until Final Judgment.
- I wish I could tell you this morning that if you ask God for clarity of understanding (“God, help me understand why you’re leading me this way”) that He would unfailingly grant that. It’s just not true, though. He might, but in the vast majority of situations He probably won’t.
- You will likely have to walk forward with clarity of understanding as to why He’s leading you in this direction.
- What you can ask for is clarity of direction.
- “Father, even if I don’t understand why you’re leading in a particular way, make it clear to me that this is the direction that You are leading. I will go where You lead – just make it clear to me that this is where You are leading.”
- That’s a prayer that God is far more likely to answer. Not in every single situation, but much more likely.
- “I want to go where You lead – just make Your direction clear.”
- One thing that we need to keep in mind as we trust God and follow Him: His vision is not only better – His plan is greater.
- As we trust His direction, we are going to end up with greater fruitfulness and impact in our lives. He wants to move us to a place of blessing and abundance.
- We need to pursue this, not with reluctance and discontent, but with excitement and anticipation. God is guiding us. He is leading us toward something.
- And, like the Magi ended up at the feet of the King of Kings, we too will end up arriving at greater places that we ever could have come up with on our own.
