Today, we begin a short Christmas series entitled The Characters of Christmas. All throughout the story of Christmas, there are major and minor characters who play an important role in making the story of Christmas great theatre.
Now, I love to watch a good movie, and I imagine many of you are the same way. As some of you know, one of my favorite movies is the Back to the Future trilogy. Now if I had Doc Brown’s DeLorean, his time machine… …if I could fire up the flux capacitor, the Y shaped illuminated tubes inside the DeLorean…. … then I would choose to skip over the Wild West of the 1800s, the sock-hops of the 1950s, and go straight back to Bethlehem courtesy of time travel. I would want to see all the great characters of Christmas, the wise men, the angels, and Mary and Joseph. And while Doc Brown’s DeLorean doesn’t exist, I do hope this series will cause us all to travel back in time.
If you have a Bible, turn with me to Matthew 2, if you will. Quick programming note: this message might be a little different as I’ve asked our worship pastor, Danny Koonce, to help me today. Throughout the message, we will stand and sing some of our favorite Christmas carols. Are you ready to do a little singing this morning?
The Gospels
Now, if you’ve tried to read about the story of Jesus’ birth from just one of the four Gospels, then you’ve discovered two things. First, no one Gospel tells you everything about the birth of Jesus. Second, some Gospels do not tell you anything about the birth of Jesus. So you really have to read all four gospels to get the whole picture of Jesus’ birth.
Watch in the next few moments because the people you expect to welcome Jesus reject Him… … while those who you’d expect to reject Him worship Him.
Today’s Scripture
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, 2 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.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘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.’ ” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 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.” 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. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 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. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” 19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2:1–23).
1. Herod the Great, the Villain of Christmas
When Herod’s name is mentioned, you should think of The Grinch. This is Herod the Great, and he’s original Grinch that almost stole Christmas
1.1 When Jesus was Born
Immediately we discover that our story happens AFTER Christmas: “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…” (Matthew 2:1).
Now, we are not exactly sure when Christmas truly is - it may have been December 25 or may not have been. The Bible doesn’t give us a precise date for the birth of Jesus. Nevertheless, today’s story happens sometime later after the birth of Jesus, maybe even a year later.
1.2 Who was Herod the Great?
We are introduced to Herod the Great in Matthew 2 when the Magi alert him that there is a rival king born in Bethlehem. Now, six different members of Herod’s family show up in the New Testament, so I cannot blame you for not keeping precise track of all of them. Here’s how to spot this Herod: he was all about moving up. Nearly everything Herod did was to move up, to increase his power. Get this: he had killed his wife because of a perceived threat as well as his several sons over time. He would extort, blackmail, kidnap, torture, and execute people for more power.
1.3 Herod’s Paranoia
Herod hears a report about the wise men showing up looking for Jesus. Yet, Herod doesn’t actually meet the wise men until verse 7. But, when the Magi show up asking around town, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews,” this acted like a dog whistle for Herod.
1.4 Killing Infants
While the Magi will come with worship in their hearts, Herod comes with murder on his mind. He will do everything in his power to kill the baby born King of the Jews. History tells us Herod issued two commands to be performed upon his death. First, to execute the recently imprisoned Jewish elders so that the people would be mourning during his death; And second, to execute his son, Antipater. His paranoid nature was a result of his need for power, and consequently, when the Magi told him the “king of the Jews” had been born, he killed every child under the age of two in Bethlehem in an attempt to eradicate any rivals.
Again, this is the original Grinch that tried to steal Christmas.
“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch. You really are a heel
You’re as cuddly as a cactus, you’re as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch
You’re a bad banana with a greasy black peel!”
His cruelty was on a different level.
“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (Matthew 2:14).
1.5 The Elevator
Does Christmas stress you out? I am reminded of a woman who was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles, looking for a gift that had sold out days before. Her arms were full of bulky packages when an elevator door opened. The elevator was full. The occupants of the elevator grudgingly tightened ranks to allow a small space for her and her load. As the doors closed, she blurted out, “Whoever is responsible for this whole Christmas thing ought to be arrested, strung up, and shot!” A few others nodded their heads or grunted in agreement. Then, from somewhere in the back of the elevator came a single voice that said: “Don’t worry. They already crucified him.” Well, if you think you’re stressed, imagine being Joseph and Mary bringing their child all the way to a foreign land in Egypt!
1.6 Fleeing Herod
We get our English word, “fugitive,” from the Greek word for “flee.” Now Joseph is being asked to take a mother and a little baby 75 miles (which was the distance from Bethlehem to Egypt) and then another 100 miles into Egypt to get to a place of safety in that country. Traveling with a baby made the trip not only more slow but also more dangerous.
Does it surprise anyone that an angel who was more powerful than Herod and his armies would tell Joseph to flee? God could have protected His Son in many other ways and in many other places (even in Bethlehem or Jerusalem) right under Herod’s very nose. He could have blinded Herod’s soldiers where they couldn’t have found His Son. He could have destroyed them with this same angel that told Joseph to flee. Why did God choose to do it this way? To fulfill the words spoken by the prophets years before, as verse 15 says, “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2:15b).
I want to invite you to stand and let’s sing, What Child is This?
1. Herod the Great, the Villain of Christmas
2. The Bible Experts, the Fools of Christmas
2.1 Everyone Points to Bethlehem
Remember this statement: you can have the book in your hands but no faith in your heart. We are familiar with the saying, “The smartest guy in the room.” You know, sometimes Ph.D. stands for a phenomenal dud.
“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘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’” (Matthew 2:3-6).
Here was a group of religious men who were thought to be intellectually superior but spiritually complacent. Pause and consider with me that those who were far off came near … … while those who were near ended up being far-off.
Earlier, I said that when Herod asks the experts, the priests, where the Messiah was to be born ... they immediately knew: “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet…” (Matthew 2:3-5)
There are “Bethlehems” in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Georgia, and even Texas. In fact, I located 28 towns named Bethlehem around the globe and in the United States. They have streets named Manger Avenue and Shepherd Street. But none of this confused these men, for they knew precisely what Bethlehem was intended – precisely. They didn’t need a lifeline, and they didn’t phone a friend. When King Herod asked, they would have found the scroll marked Micah and then quoted Micah 5:2: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2).
The people you expect to welcome Jesus reject Him… … while those who you’d expect to reject Him worship Him.
2.2 Why Wouldn’t You Go?
Here’s a question: If you knew the location, why wouldn’t you investigate the location? Why wouldn’t you travel to Bethlehem? Why didn’t they visit when these foreign dignitaries were prompted to arrive in town? Would you not travel six miles simply out of curiosity? Surely just one of these priests… Surely just one of these preachers would say, “Hang on a minute, and I’ll go with you.” Why were the first visitors to see the baby Messiah astrologers rather than the people who knew the Bible best? Surely these priests noticed the star above. And yet, they didn’t pack a bag, and they didn’t move an inch.
Remember this, you can have the Bible in your hands but no faith in your heart.
The wise men were religious outsiders who traveled a good distance while the religious insiders were sitting on the front porch of Bethlehem but failed to take another step. The religious insiders watched the religious outsiders pass them by. Jesus would later say, “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you’” (Matthew 21:31b).
2.3 O Little Town of Bethlehem
But let me tell you the story of one who did go to Bethlehem, and it made all the difference in the world for him. Phillip Brooks was one of America’s greatest preachers in the 1800’s. He was often referred to as “the prince of the pulpit” and was a big man standing in at 6’4” and 300 lbs. In 1865, Brooks made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve, he rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and visited the usual sights in the village. Then he went east to the traditional Field of the Shepherds. As darkness fell, he stood for a while by the cave where the shepherds saw the angels and the glory of God. He then went to a worship service in what is now known as the church of the nativity, which was built in AD 326, and worshipped from 10 p.m. at night until 3 a.m. in the morning. He said it was one of the greatest experiences in all of his life. Three years later, in 1868, he was searching for a new Christmas carol for his children to sing in their Sunday school Christmas program. He sits down to write a poem about his powerful experience. He gave a copy of his poem to his organist and Sunday school superintendent, Lewis Redner, and asked him to compose a simple melody that children could easily sing. Redner struggled with this for several days. Finally, on the evening before the program was to be given, he said he awakened in the middle of the night and sat down and wrote the music and the melody. He said until he died, he knew it was a gift from heaven. We now know that song as “O Little Town of Bethlehem” that song perfectly captures the beauty of Christmas.
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie; above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
Then we all know the last stanza:
O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today! We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell; o come to us, abide with us, our lord Immanuel!
I invite you to stand and let’s sing O Little Town of Bethlehem
1. Herod the Great, the Villain of Christmas
2. The Bible Experts, the Fools of Christmas
3. The Magi: the Outsiders to Christmas
The Magi found their way to Bethlehem: “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” (Matthew 2:11).
Note how Matthew says the “house” because Mary, Joseph, and Jesus are probably not still in their original location because of the amount of time that has elapsed – may be more than a year has gone by. Jesus might have said His first words and taken His first steps by the time these Wise Men arrive. The Magi represents the outsiders to Jesus and the Christmas story. They are the ones who are the least likely to get the real reason for Christmas. They are still a lot of outsiders when it comes to Christmas.
3.1 Who Were the Magi?
Now, there’s a lot that we don’t know about these wise men. For example, we don’t know how many there were. Some say there were three because there were three types of gifts. Perhaps, but the Bible doesn’t say with specificity. We certainly don’t know they rode on camels. They may have. Some scholars say they probably rode Arabian horses. We really don’t know. We do know their caravan was big enough that everyone noticed when they arrived: “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him…” (Matthew 2:3). Most likely, the Magi are probably astrologers from either Persia or Babylon. All we really need to know about these Magi is found in verse 2: “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” (Matthew 2:2). The only time we hear these men speak, they say in effect, “Could you point the way to Jesus, the One who was born King of the Jews for we have come to worship Him.”
Everyone is shocked that this group would worship Jesus. But here’s what we do know, the Magi had to fight their way the religious insiders in order to find Jesus.
3.2 Christmas Music
Every year, I check what the top Christmas songs are. Recently, I discovered that the top five Christmas songs according to Billboard Charts are:
5) The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole
4) A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives
3) Rockin Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee
2) Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms
1) All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey.
In fact, Carey’s song won a Guinness World Record in recent weeks because it was the highest-charting holiday song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Her song was the most streamed track on Spotify for 24 hours, earning her the title “Queen of Christmas.” Evidently, you can be the queen of Christmas without so much as a mention of the King of Christmas. Get this: The Washington Post ran an editorial a year ago where they ranked the top 100 Christmas songs. By my count, less than 10% of the songs listed there focus on Jesus.
Does it surprise you to know that the best-selling songs about Christmas don’t mention Christ of Christmas?
3.3 Religious Insiders
Back to our story, all the experts knew precisely where the King of the Jews would be born, but it was the Gentiles who worshiped him first. Of all the people bowing down to Jesus, offering Him “gold and frankincense and myrrh,” it should have been those who knew the Bible best. We cannot be like these Bible experts, these religious insiders. Years later, the next generation of Bible experts would seek to mute the praise of Jesus on Palm Sunday. Jesus responded in effect, “Praise of me is inevitable. For if these individuals are silent, the rocks will cry out in praise.” We cannot get in the way of those who are looking for Jesus. “Gold and frankincense and myrrh” will be offered Him – will it be my hands that offer Him gifts? Will it be my knees that bow before Him? Will it be my lips that declare His praise? We must point the way to both Bethlehem and Calvary.
Would you join me in singing, O Come, All Ye Faithful
Conclusion
Go back to those holiday and Christmas songs again. They tell us there are lots of people who want the warmth of Christmas, but they have yet to find the furnace that provides the joyful heart of Christmas. Again, most of these songs don’t mention the birthday boy! Imagine if I said to you, “I’m so happy you’re birthday is coming up. I cannot wait to celebrate it with you. We are going to throw a massive part, and I have rented out half of Joe T. Garcia’s to celebrate. I’ve even got George Straight to come to sing for us!” You would probably say, “Wow! That’s great! When’s the party? What time should I be there for my birthday party?” Would you be surprised if I said, “No thanks, we are going to have your party without you”? What happens when everyone throws you a birthday celebration, but they forget to invite the birthday boy? That’s exactly what happens for many who celebrate Christmas. If our singing and our celebrating around the holiday season doesn’t acknowledge the star of Christmas, then surely we need to be told the reason for the season.
