Sometime early in this century it became fashionable to use the expression “war on Christmas” to cover everything related to any kind of controversy about the observance of Christmas in our culture. While some of the issues that fall under that heading certainly ought to be of concern to us as disciples of Jesus, I think that frankly some of the things that Christians want to label as a “war on Christmas” have done nothing but make us look pretty foolish. Arguing about whether people should say “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays” or boycotting Starbucks because they’ve removed snowflakes or poinsettias or Christmas ornaments that were on their Christmas cups in previous years really does nothing to point people to the true meaning of Christmas or advance the gospel. In fact, those kinds of petty arguments probably do more to harm the advancement of the gospel than to promote it.
But there certainly is a much more profound and deeper “war on Christmas” and, as we’ll see this morning, that war is really nothing new. Not surprisingly, many people have been waging war on Christmas since right after Jesus was born.
This morning we’ll look at the account of some events that actually occurred a while after the birth of Jesus even though they are usually associated with that first Christmas. While the text does give us some clues about when these events occurred, we can’t determine their exact timing, although it is likely that they took place between one and two years after the birth of Jesus.
Once again this morning, there is no “fill-in-the-blank” outline in your bulletin. There is plenty of room for you to make your own notes if you want but once again my hope is that we’ll use this text to imagine what it would have been like to be part of these events and take a fresh look at them. We’ll be reading from Matthew chapter 2 this morning, so you can open your Bibles to that chapter and follow along or you can follow along on your bulletin insert.
I’ll begin reading in verse 1:
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
In these first two verses, we’re introduced to two of the main characters in this account. We’ll come back to King Herod in just a moment when we discuss his reaction to the birth of Jesus.
But let’s look first at the other main characters introduced here - the “wise men”. Without a doubt these are the most misunderstood characters in the entire Christmas narrative. We’ve certainly perpetuated a lot of the myths about them through our music and manmade traditions. You’re probably familiar with some of those.
For instance one popular Christmas song begins with the words “We three kings of Orient are…” As we’ll discover this morning, these men were not kings, although they were certainly kingmakers. They were not from the Orient, at least as we would define that term today. And we don’t know how many of them there were, although it’s almost certain there were more than three.
Early church tradition held that there were twelve of them, even though there is really no Biblical or historical support for that number either. The number was later reduced to three, perhaps because it’s too hard to fit twelve wise men into the Christmas pageant. In the middle ages the church even gave names to these three wise men – Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar - and some have claimed that their skulls were miraculously preserved and that they are still on display in a jewel studded glass case in the great cathedral in Cologne.
The Greek word that is translated “wise men” is actually “magoi” and it describes a group of priests and kingmakers that came from the earlier empires of the Medes and the Persians. We get our English word “magic” from that Greek word and as we learn more about these magi this morning, we’ll see why that is so appropriate. So I’m going to refer to them this morning as “magi” rather than “wise men” since that more accurately reflects who they were.
Today, we make a sharp distinction between astronomy – the scientific study of celestial objects, space and the universe - and astrology - the religious worship of those celestial bodies based on the idea that they determine human events. However, the lines were not nearly so clear in the time of Jesus. The magi were stargazers who incorporated both disciplines into their practices.
They were considered the “wise men” of their time and their teaching became known as “the laws of the Medes and the Persians”, a phrase that is used in the Biblical books of both Daniel and Esther. The magi not only served as the top advisors to the Persian kings, but they actually came to be known as kingmakers since any prospective Persian king first had to master their scientific and religious practices and be approved by the magi before taking the throne. There is little doubt that Herod was aware of that reputation, which helps to explain the way he responds to them when they enter Jerusalem.
But the question here is why these men would be willing to make a long, arduous journey that may have taken a year or longer to come search for a Jewish king? To answer that question, we need to go back to the time of the exile of the Jews in Babylon hundreds of years earlier. Among those who were taken into exile there were a group of Jewish teenagers who were likely handed over to the magi to be trained in their ways. Among them was someone with whom all of us are familiar – Daniel.
Daniel made such an impression on King Nebuchadnezzar that he was promoted to be in charge of all the magi (Daniel 2:48). He was so powerful and respected that when Darius, the Persian king, conquered Babylon, he retained Daniel in that role. Knowing what we know about the character of Daniel and his love for God, it’s not hard to imagine that over the long period he was in charge of the magi, he would have taught them about his God, including the prophecies of a future king who would come to save His people. And it is likely that at least some of the Scriptures that predicted that Messiah would have made their way into the religious teaching of the magi.
Before we go any further, it would be good for us to pause for a moment and reflect on how one person who is devoted to God like Daniel can have such a long-lasting legacy. I’m pretty sure at the time Daniel had no idea the impact his faithfulness would have on these magi hundreds of years later. I hope that his example will be an encouragement to us to serve God faithfully right where we are, understanding that God can use our service to influence others for Him long after our life here on this earth.
In the culture of that day, unusual astronomical events were regarded as an omen of some remarkable event and they had often been associated with the birth or death of important men, especially kings. So when a special star rose and was observed by the magi, it’s not surprising that they associated it with the birth of the Jewish Messiah and immediately began to make preparations to go and worship this newborn king.
There has been a lot of speculation about the nature of that star. Some present day astronomers have done some calculations that lead them to conclude that this was the conjunction of two or more planets, which is actually pretty similar to what we could observe on our morning sky a month or so ago when Jupiter, Venus and Mars all appeared very close together in our morning sky. Others have speculated that what the magi saw was the same glory of God that the shepherds in the field saw the night Jesus was born. The fact is that we really can’t be dogmatic about any of those ideas. All we can really conclude based on the Scriptures is that somehow God used this star, whatever it was, to lead these magi to Jesus.
The preparations for the journey would have been extensive since the expedition would likely have taken over a year. The travel of the magi would have been much different than our traditional picture of three men wearing turbans travelling on camels. As Persian dignitaries, these magi would have likely travelled in a large caravan, riding on Persian steeds rather than camels. The magi themselves would have worn long cone-shaped hats like those we associate with a wizard. There would have been servants to cook and a large division of soldiers to protect them as they travelled through foreign lands. So their arrival in Jerusalem wouldn’t have gone unnoticed.
We also see here that the magi came for the specific purpose of worshiping the Messiah, which is really incredible if you think about it. And because they had come with that intent, we’ll see that they had also taken the time to gather appropriate gifts to bring as an offering to this Jewish king.
Let’s pick up the account in verse 3:
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Let’s meet our second main character in this account – King Herod. Although he was raised, at least nominally, as a Jew, Herod was actually an Idumean who had been born into a family that had a history of siding with whoever was in power at the time in order to obtain their own political power. When his father was killed by poisoning in 43 BC Herod began to emerge as his father’s political heir. While serving as the governor in the region of Galilee he had earned favor with the Romans by putting down a rebellion and thwarting further dissension. Having proven himself to be an asset to Rome, he was given the title “King of Judea” by the Roman Senate in 40 BC and began his rule in Judea three years later after the resolution of a civil war and some power struggles within the Roman Empire.
While in power, Herod developed a well-deserved reputation for being ruthless in his attempts to remain in complete control, even murdering his own family members on several occasions. So when this large delegation of kingmakers from outside the Roman Empire came to Jerusalem looking for another “king of the Jews”, it’s pretty easy to understand why Herod was troubled. And based on his reputation, it’s not hard to understand why all of Jerusalem was troubled right along with him.
So Herod immediately jumped into action and assembled the Jewish religious leaders to ask them where the Messiah, the Christ, was to be born. The reaction of those religious leaders is by far the most puzzling of all the people associated with the birth of Jesus and I’m convinced they actually represent how most people respond to Christmas – with great apathy.
Think about, these were the religious leaders of a Jewish people who had been waiting for God to send His Messiah into the world for many generations. They knew the Scriptures and were immediately able to recite the Biblical prophecies that taught that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And yet, at least as far as we know, they didn’t care enough to walk about five miles to Bethlehem to find out if indeed those Scriptures had been fulfilled.
There are a lot of people in our world today who are a lot like those religious leaders. They know the Christmas story. Many of them are even familiar with the Scriptural accounts of the birth of Jesus and understand intellectually that He came to be the Savior of the world. They might even sing songs about all those things and go to church on Christmas Eve.
But when it comes right down to it, they are too busy living out their lives the way according to their own desires and plans so they just don’t have time to give Jesus more than just a passing thought. It’s not that they bear any over animosity toward Jesus, they just aren’t willing to completely commit their lives to Him. They don’t mind celebrating the birth of a humble baby who was laid in an animal’s feeding trough, but they fail to think about the significance of that birth and of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that followed. So they treat Christmas with great apathy.
Equipped with the information he needed from the religious leaders, Herod now summons the magi to meet with him. We’ll pick up the account in verse 7:
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
Perhaps that encounter went something like this.
[Show video]
Obviously, Herod had no intention of worshipping Jesus. He just wanted the magi to do his dirty work and find the child so that he could do what he usually did – kill anyone who threatened his power. At that point, it appears that the magi had no idea how they were being used by Herod so they proceeded to Bethlehem to do what they had set out to do from the very beginning – worship Jesus.
Let’s continue in verse 9:
After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
There are a couple of clues here that make it clear that this event occurred some time after the birth of Jesus. By now, Jesus is no longer laying in a manger in a stable. He and Mary are now in a house. And Matthew also refers to Jesus as a “child” using a Greek word that literally means “little child” rather than the Greek word for a “baby.”
When the magi finally came to the house where Jesus was, their immediate response was one of great joy. They had finally found the newborn king that was the object of their long, difficult voyage. And as soon they saw Jesus, they immediately fell on their face before him in a position of humble worship that was appropriate for a king. And how did they express their worship to Jesus? With an offering of valuable material goods.
That is one of the ways that we continue to worship Jesus today. Each week we include a time for all of us to give an offering of our valuable material possessions because that is an important way to show our adoration of Jesus in a practical, tangible way. Obviously we do that today with our money, but for the magi, the gifts they gave represented that which was most valuable to them.
I think we’re all familiar with the intrinsic value of gold throughout history. But we’re probably a bit less familiar with frankincense and myrrh.
Frankincense came from the bark of the Boswellia tree, a small tree that grew in Arabia. It was used as a fragrance and perfume and it also had medicinal uses. It was also used by the priests in the worship of God in the tabernacle and later in the Temple.
Myrrh was taken from a small thorn tree that also grew in Arabia. It was used primarily as a perfume, but it was also mixed with wine and used as an anesthetic. It was also used in embalming due to its ability to mask the odor of a decomposing body.
It is likely that these valuable gifts were of practical value to Jesus’ family as they were probably used to support them when they had to flee to Egypt after the visit of the magi.
These gifts also had important symbolic meaning, some of which the magi probably hadn’t even considered:
• There is no doubt they understood that gold was a gift that was fit for a king. Throughout the Scriptures and secular history, gold was frequently associated with a king and it was a fitting gift for the one who had been born “king of the Jews.” But by presenting gold to Jesus, these Gentile magi were demonstrating that the kingship of Jesus extended beyond just the Jews. He was their king as well.
• As I mentioned, frankincense was used by the priests for worship. It pictured the role that Jesus would fulfill as our great high priest in being our mediator between us as God.
• Myrrh was certainly the strangest of the three gifts. It pointed ahead to the fact that this king would one day suffer and die for His subjects.
While the Jewish religious leaders had responded to the birth of Jesus with great apathy, these Gentile magi went to great trouble to respond to that same event with genuine adoration. And that kind of adoration was costly to them in terms of their time and their treasure. We’ll return to that idea in a moment.
The magi were about to return to Herod in response to his request to let him know where he could find Jesus, when God intervened. We see how that occurred in verse 12:
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
We won’t read the entire account, but a few verses later, we learn why God had warned the magi not to return to Herod. We saw earlier that when these kingmakers had entered into Jerusalem with their large traveling party, Herod was troubled. The idea that there could possibly be another “king of the Jews” was something that Herod was not about to allow. So he responds to the birth of Jesus with great animosity. If there was ever truly a “war on Christmas”, this was it.
Herod ordered that all the male babies in Bethlehem and the surrounding region who were two years old or younger be killed. Herod was going to do all he could to make sure that no baby was going to grow up to usurp his power. Ironically, not only was Herod unsuccessful in ending the life of the Messiah, he ended up dying shortly after this event anyway, bringing his power to an end.
Herod treated the birth of Jesus with animosity because it threatened his position, his power and his plans. While most people in our culture today wouldn’t go as far as Herod in their animosity toward Jesus, they, too, go to great lengths to make sure that they remain the ruler of their own lives rather than submit to the kingship of Jesus.
The account that we’ve looked at this morning reminds us that there are three possible ways each of us can respond to Christmas. The first two could accurately be called a real “war on Christmas”:
• Frankly, I can’t imagine that there is anyone here this morning who would choose to respond like Herod, with open animosity toward Jesus. If that were the case, you probably wouldn’t be here. But there are probably some elements of what motivated Herod to respond like that which do keep a lot of people from experiencing the true meaning of Christmas. It is rather easy to get caught up in protecting our own power, our own position and our own rights to an extent that we reject making Jesus the king of our lives because we want to be our own king.
• We can choose to be like the religious leaders and respond with apathy. We might understand the Scriptures not only about Jesus’ birth, but about His life, His death and His resurrection as well. We might even go to church regularly and give generously and even serve in a position of ministry. But if the truth be told, we’re really too busy living our lives like we want to live them to make Jesus our king and put Him at the center of our lives. It’s not that we really hate Jesus, we just don’t really love Him enough to put Him in charge of our lives.
The third and final possible response is the only one that keeps us from waging a “war on Christmas”:
• We can choose to be like the magi and be wise enough to respond to Christmas with genuine, heartfelt adoration of the Christ. But, as the magi demonstrated, there is a cost associated with that kind of genuine love for Jesus.
Like the magi’s journey to Bethlehem, a life devoted to the adoration of Jesus is costly and requires preparation and often takes us through difficulty. It means that we’re willing to set aside our own preferences and comfort in order to worship Jesus by giving Him the very best of our time and material resources. My prayer for all of us this Christmas is that we’ll adore Jesus like that not just for a day or even a month, but for a lifetime.
