The Wise Men
(Matthew 2:1-12)
2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR FROM YOU WILL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’ ”
7 Then Herod secretly called for
the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”
9 After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place
where the Child was to be found.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
Facts about the wise men:
1. They were from the Middle East-probably where Iran or Iraq is today.
2. They were not at the Manger. (Matt. 2:11) They came into the house where the young child was.
3. Evidence does not reveal how many there were. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh were typical gifts for a king.
4. It was probably sometime after the birth of Christ before they arrived. (Matt. 2:16) Herod killed all the male children age two and under.
Introduction:
These men who came in search of the Christ Child were probably astronomers from Arabia or
another eastern country, Therefore, referred to as wise men. I believe they were wise for some.
other reasons.
1.Wisemen still Seek Him
I used to see this phrase several times during Christmas. True wisdom always recognized the existence of God. These men knew that there was a higher power--a God-- and they sought to find Him and
worship Him.
The fool has said in his heart there is no God," the Bible says. (Psalm14:1) The Psalmist says, "The
heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1)
Let me tell you what little I know about the universe. The earth makes a complete rotation on its axis every 24 hours. It, along with eight other planets, that make up our solar system revolves around the sun every 365 1/4 days. The earth is tilted at a perfect 23 degrees angle. A few degrees off one-way, so I have heard, we would burn up, a few degrees off the other way and we would freeze. Our solar system and many others make up our galaxy, called the Milky Way, which along with many other galaxies, moves through space at an incredible speed toward what scientists know only about as the black hole. If you believe all this just happened, then I have some oceanfront property in Arizona that I'd like to sell to you. It takes a bigger fool to believe that
there is no God than it does to believe there is a God.
Our Nation has taken God out of our government and our schools and placed Him in the private sector of our lives, along with many other gods. As a result, we are on a downward plunge spiritually and morally. We need the wisdom that those men had. We need to recognize Him for who He is and worship Him and pay Him the honor that is due to Him. My prayer is that our leaders will have the wisdom to seek the Lord. When and only when we do this as our forefathers did and these wise men did, our Nation will change its direction.
2. He reveals Himself to those who seek Him
These men set out searching for Jesus, and God sent a star to lead them to where he was. Jesus
always reveals Himself to those who seek Him. He may not be revealed by a special star in the
heavens. We have the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and His Church to lead us in our search for Him.
Do you realize all the obstacles that they had to overcome to find Jesus? They had to travel 3,000
miles by foot or by camel. They had to face a king who had only a political interest and an
indifferent group of religious 1eaders.
You will have many obstacles to find Jesus. You will have the world will oppose you coming to
Jesus. Some Christians will be indifferent to you finding Jesus.
If you want to know Jesus, seek Him with all your heart, and God will reveal Him. Stars, so I
am told, appear to move from East to west. Bethlehem is south of Jerusalem, so this star had to
move south. I believe that God will change heaven and earth to reveal Jesus to those who
earnestly seek to find Him.
3. Those who find Him and worship Him have their direction changed.
It is not enough to seek Him and find Him. A lot of people are wise enough to know there's a God. We must worship Him. We must not only give our treasures; we must give Him our hearts. I know these men were never the same after finding and worshiping the Christ.
Not only were those men wise enough to worship Him. They made Him the Lord of their life. What
we worship becomes our god. What becomes our god becomes our life, even our processions.
My friend, it's not enough to acknowledge Him as God; we must bow before Him, make Him Lord
of our personal life.
Conclusion:
Let me ask you a question, "looking back now; how would you rate 2023?" It's been one the most challenging years I can remember. I'm not sure that 2024 will be any better.
Do you need to change the direction of your life? Then find Jesus, worship Him, and make Him the
Lord your life, and I promise you 2024 will be a better year. You'll go a different way.
I think Christians also need to look again at the Manger afresh and anew before leaving Christmas
behind. We need to remember why He came and what He did for us. When we get a grip on what
His coming meant for us, surely, we will fall to His feet and worship Him. We will walk differently
in the New Year. I hope that each of us will pause and look again in the Manger and have our
direction changed because we are wise enough to seek and worship the King. Others may change their direction when they see the way us Christians walk.
