We opened by singing the first verse and chorus of “We three kings of Orient are”
“We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar. Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. CHORUS: O, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright. Westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.”
It was a star of wonder, a star of night, a star with royal beauty bright - and when the Wisemen saw that star FROM the East they went… and they stopped at Jerusalem to ask for directions. What is interesting is what we read in Matthew 2:3 - “When Herod the king heard this, he was TROUBLED, and all Jerusalem with him.”
Wait a minute! Israel had been waiting for the coming of the Messiah for centuries. Alfred Edersheim (a prominent source of information on Jewish life in the days of Jesus) states that the Jews yearned for the return of kingdom. And the Jewish Talmud speaks of the coming Messiah who would rebuild the Temple, and the gather back the scattered people of Israel (https://www.foi.org/2021/04/01/the-messiah-who-was-israel-expecting/). In fact, there were several false Messiahs that popped up around the time of Jesus as had been predicted by the prophecies of the book of Daniel - and these false Messiahs were followed because of this dream that the coming Messiah who would lead them to greatness.
So now, there’s this entourage from the East, looking for the Newborn Messiah. And this is not some rag-tag band of travelers. There probably way more than just 3 wisemen knocking at the gates of Jerusalem. Because of the dangers of travel in those days, one man speculated that “at a minimum they would have brought a full military escort along with their servants. And the total party could have amounted to more than 300 people.” (Bill Brian)
Here at the gates of Jerusalem is an impressive and powerful foreign delegation. And they’ve come bringing what they thought was good news. "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
And the reaction from the King - and everyone else was - they were troubled. They knew of the prophecies of the Messiah. In fact they EVEN knew where he was to be born. We’re told that when King Herod gathered the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them where the Christ was to be born, they replied, “In Bethlehem in Judea, for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” Matthew 2:4-6
They knew! And yet they couldn’t be bothered to travel the 8 miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to check it out.
And it’s not as if they’d not heard rumors of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. About 2 years before this we’re told that “there were in the same country… shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. (Luke 2:8-17)
It was only 8 miles from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. Surely, SOMEBODY in the city would have been curious! Surely, SOMEBODY would have gone and checked it out! But NOBODY bothered to make the trip. Why not? Why didn’t somebody just go to Bethlehem after the angels appeared to the Shepherds? Why did everybody miss that opportunity to go and find Jesus?
And then, why did they miss that same opportunity 2 years later when the Wisemen appeared at their front door? Well… John 1:11 tells us – “(Jesus) came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
It helps to understand that Jerusalem was an important city. This was the capital of Israel - the seat of power. This was where the King, the priests, the Scribes and the Pharisees hung out. Two years before, when folks heard that angels had appeared to mere shepherds… they scoffed. Everyone had a good laugh and went back to living their lives. The very thought that God would send angels to common shepherds was absurd. Why Shepherds but NOT the politicians and religious leaders of Israel? That was 2 years ago when the angels met the shepherds. (Pause) But now, a foreign delegation from the east has come, and you’d think that the important and prominent leaders of Israel would be filled with excitement and joy. But, the King, priests, pharisees, and other religious leaders were not all that excited, and they did not beg to go to Bethlehem with the Wisemen.
Part of the reason was they’re too important. They didn’t want to find Jesus because they were powerful and prestigious. They didn’t really NEED a Messiah. They had all they wanted. They’d gotten to the point where they didn’t go to worship at Temple because they wanted to know God better. They went to worship to the Temple because that’s what religious people did! They desired religious ritual… but not a Messiah. And so they missed their opportunity to find Jesus.
ILLUS: I knew of a church once that was very important. All the best people in town went there – doctors, lawyers and politicians. Their building was decorated in the beautiful mahogany and brass and there was a massive pipe organ behind the pulpit. They hired the best preachers, and they were very proud of who they were and what they had.
(PAUSE) Now, there WERE good Godly people there but, somewhere along the line, they became impressed with themselves and they began to allow sin and nastiness to hide in the pews. At one point they rarely even opened their Bibles. They got to the point where they weren’t looking for Jesus anymore. They knew about him… but didn’t look for Him. And that’s what might have happened at Jerusalem… they were troubled because they knew about the coming Messiah AND they weren’t interested anymore.
Or perhaps they were troubled because they doubted that he was ever coming. I mean, those prophecies had been given 100s of years before. MAYBE people just stopped believing He was coming so they just gave up. MAYBE the people of power in Jerusalem had gotten to the point where they mocked and scoffed at the idea that the Messiah was coming. And they LIVED the way they pleased. You need to realize that the leaders in Jerusalem were not nice people!
Peter told us in II Peter 3:9-11 “The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness.” In other words, if you believe God’s promises - that Jesus is coming back you’ll at least TRY to live a holy and godly life.
But if you doubt God’s promises??? Jesus (speaking of His 2nd Coming) warned: “If a servant says to himself, ‘My master is DELAYED in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.” Luke 12:45-46
That’s interesting… Jesus tells us that when people begin to DOUBT God’s promises they tend to live as they please. And I’m thinking Jerusalem had gotten to the point where they doubted God. They didn’t think the Messiah was coming - so they didn’t go looking for Him. So they missed their opportunity.
And when people stop looking for Jesus… they tend to live as they please.
One last thought: there’s one word in the story/wisemen that caught my attention. “When Herod the king heard this, he was TROUBLED, and all Jerusalem with him.” Matthew 2:3
The Greek word for “troubled” means: “Uncomfortable”, “Disturbed”, “Uneasy”. I wonder if the reason they didn’t go looking for Jesus was because He threatened their lifestyle. The very thought that the Christ had been born in Bethlehem made them uncomfortable and uneasy.
ILLUS: Speaking of the 2nd coming of Christ, C.S. Lewis wrote: “God will invade. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage, the play is over.” In other words, folks get “troubled” by Jesus when He comes into their lives He calls for a change in how they live.
Herod (in particular) was threatened by the idea that a new King was born. Israel already HAD a king… and that was Herod, and he had no intention of sharing the throne. It wasn’t healthy for anyone to threaten Herod.
ILLUS: One person noted that Herod "The Great," was a bad, cruel and evil man who thought nothing of killing even members of his own family. If Herod suspected that anyone might be a rival to his power, that person was immediately put to death. And the older Herod got, the more paranoid he became. He murdered his wife and his mother-in-law. And he even killed three of his sons. The Roman Emperor Augustus said that it is was "safer to be Herod's pig than to be Herod's son." (Kenneth Sauer)
Now, the rest of Israel’s religious and political leaders weren’t much better. They depended on Rome for the power they had. And the idea that there was a Jewish King that Rome hadn’t appointed (like Herod) that might not set well with them, and the Romans would come and wage war and remove those in power… that would be the religious and political leaders who were troubled by the birth of a new King.
The point is, nobody seemed to want this child to upset their lives so they missed their opportunity to find Jesus along with all He promised. But that wasn’t true of the Wisemen. They’d already traveled 100s of miles, a trip that would have taken nearly 3 months - just because THEY WANTED to find Jesus.
CLOSE: But there one last part of their story that puzzled me. After they left Jerusalem we’re told: “… they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” (Matthew 2:9)
But, if the star guided them to the exact spot where Jesus was in Bethlehem, what were the wisemen doing in Jerusalem? Why didn't the star lead them ALL the way to Jesus in the 1st place?
Well, I think it was because God wanted the Wisemen in Jerusalem. When the Wisemen went there, God was putting Jerusalem on notice. Yeah… Jerusalem didn’t really want Jesus, and Jerusalem would ultimately kill Jesus. But God still wanted them to know.
I mean… Jesus took HIS message TO Jerusalem; Jerusalem was where the Passover was celebrated; Jesus died and rose from the dead IN Jerusalem; Jerusalem was where Pentecost took place; and the Church began IN Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the center of everything God had in mind for His people. In fact… in Psalm 87:2-3 Jerusalem is called the “City Of God”
In ancient times, Jerusalem was considered to be the center of the world. It was where the Jews believed God resided. It was where the Temple and their worship of God was centered. And Jews outside Jerusalem even prayed toward Jerusalem.
(PAUSE) And that’s why the Wisemen went there. God wanted to put this great city on notice that a mighty prophecy was about to be fulfilled, because the promised Messiah had COME.
Christianity has always been about telling others about Jesus. Putting them on notice (if you will) that God has kept His promise. And Christmas has allowed us a yearly opportunity to declare that our King has been born. Jesus came to teach us about God, and to show us God’s love for us. “For God so loved the world (loved THEM) that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
And while we celebrate Jesus in our churches where we can worship as the Wisemen did, we must never forget that those who scoff, and mock, and are “disturbed” by that news, are the very ones who need to hear about Jesus. Just like the folks in Jerusalem. We need to find a way to ask others if they know the way to find Jesus… then share your faith. (INTRODUCE invitation cards)
A preacher named James Merritt told of being in Jerusalem and taking a taxi down to the old city. The cab driver was a young Jewish man by the name of Asi. He wanted to witness to this man, and so he began to ask him questions about his faith. Then he asked him this question: “what do you believe about the messiah?” He said: “I believe the most important thing that can ever happen to Israel is for messiah to come.” He said: “why do you believe that?” And he said: “Because he will bring peace. And we want peace in our homes, we want peace in our hearts.”
