All I want for Christmas is Jesus
Matthew 2:1-12
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
12-24-2025
Harry
It was the biggest night of the year in a little town called Cornwall. It was the night of the annual Christmas pageant. All the children get to try out for the roles in the Christmas story, and everybody wanted a part.
Which leads us to the problem of Harry because he wanted to be in the play, too, but he was...well, he was awkward. The directors knew Harry would be crushed if he didn't have a part, but they were afraid he might mess up the town's magic moment if he did.
Finally, they decided to cast Harry as the innkeeper and gave him only one line: “I'm sorry, we have no room.”
The night of the pageant the church was packed, as usual. backstage, Harold was being personally coached by the nervous directors: “Now remember, Harry when Joseph says, ‘Do you have a room for the night?’ what are you supposed to say? Hesitantly, Harry said, “I'm sorry. We...We have no room.” The directors looked at each other somewhat hopefully. They’d done all they could.
The Christmas pageant unfolded according to plan. Finally, Joseph and Mary arrived, and Joseph knocked on the door of the inn. Backstage, the directors were just out of sight, coaching Harry to open the door. However, the door was stuck! The whole set shook as Harold tried to get the door open. When he finally did, Joseph asked his question on cue: “Do you have a room for the night?”
Harry froze…you will have to wait until the end of the sermon for the rest of the story.
Wise Men Seek Him
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
This is a very familiar scene for us at Christmas. In fact, we just sang the Christmas carol, “We Three Kings of Orient Are.”
Unfortunately most of what we know about these seeking worshipers, come from legend and Christmas songs.
We are told that this happened in the time of Herod so we know it was about 6 (7) BC.
Who were these men? Scripture calls them “Magi.” These were a spiritually elite group that surrounded the throne in Babylon, not in the Orient.
They are a very old sect, dating back to Abraham. When the Israelites were deported to Babylon, Daniel and his three friends were taken into the palace. Daniel is listed at the head of the Magi.
They studied the stars and they were highly influential.
They are not kings but king makers.
These men traveled between 800 and 1,000 miles and stopped in Jerusalem to ask for directions, another Christmas miracle.
How many were there? We have no idea.
They asked a startling question: “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?”
How did they know about this? The Jews had been in Babylon for at least 500 years (starting with Daniel) and you know they shared the prophecies of a Messiah King with these men.
What was the star? Many smart people have speculated on this phenomenon. Some say it was a comet or a supernova.
Or that it is the “Christmas star” [the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn] that is visible in the night sky right now for the first time in 800 years.
But this “star” moved and led them to Bethlehem. How? Again, we don’t know.
We do know that they did not visit Jesus when He was a baby like many movies and nativity scenes depict.
Their journey took between one and two years so Jesus would have been a toddler when they finally arrived.
Why is there so much in this story that we don’t know? Why didn’t Matthew give us more details? Because he wants us to focus on what the wise men were focused on.
Why did these Gentle pagans make a 1,000 mile journey through deserts and mountains?
Remember that Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience and tells them that the first people to seek the Messiah were from another nation.
Look at verse two again. Read it with me:
“We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.”
They studied the stars, they were the experts. And they knew the ancient prophecies like Numbers 24:17:
“A star will come out of Jacob, a scepter will rise out of Israel.”
The reason we are not given more information about this group in the Christmas story (Luke doesn’t even mention the wise men) is because it’s not about them. It’s about a God that was leading them straight to Jesus.
Let me ask a simple question. Are you willing to seek after Jesus? How far are you willing to go? To these wise men, no distance was too far, no cost was too great.
Jeremiah wrote these encouraging words:
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
The Sociopath Ruler
“When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Matthew 2:3)
Remember that there weren’t three wise men. There was probably an entire caravan that included guards and servants. They probably didn’t ride camels but Arabian horses.
One of the definitions of the word Magi is one who “dresses in a bizarre manner.”
Imagine a huge caravan of men dressed spectacularly with a large group following them.
They are obviously important people and they are asking where they can find the ‘King of the Jews.”
Word must have reached Herod and Matthew tells us that he was disturbed. This is an understatement!
Herod was known as the “king of the Jews!” He was brilliant, a great builder, loved opulence, famous orator, crafty, cruel,. and completely insane!
He had his favorite wife killed and murdered two of his sons.
All of Jerusalem was shocked as well. Because they knew that he wouldn’t stand for this. Heads would roll. There is only one King and even though he was sick, he wouldn’t surrender his throne to anyone, especially a baby!
Jesus is threatening to those who want to stay on the thrones of their lives.
A Prophecy Fulfilled
Herod , ever the politician, consults the Jewish priests and teachers of the law and asks where the Messiah would be born.
“When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “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 shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:4-6)
Without hesitation, probably from memory, these Jewish religious leaders quote the prophecy of Micah 5:2 and combine it with the words of 2 Samuel 5. The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem.
So all the chief priests and religious people packed a picnic lunch and hike five miles to Bethlehem to check the wise men’s story out?
Nope. They didn’t even send a delegation to see if it was true. They had head knowledge but not faith.
They were completely indifferent. They had paperwork to get done. They had religious duties to attend to. They didn’t have time to go to Bethlehem. They just didn’t care.
Perhaps that’s you tonight. Maybe you know the Christmas story well in your head but your heart hasn’t been changed by the story. Tonight is your night.
The Sinister Plot
“Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” (Matthew 2:7-8)
Herod responds the only way he knows how. He only worships himself. He lies and manipulates the wise men and then plots to kill Jesus. This baby King must be eliminated.
At the end of this section, we are told that the wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod and they returned to their country another way.
By this time Joseph had taken Jesus and Mary to Egypt.
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning,?Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” - (Matthew 2:17-18)
He had all those children murdered to try to hold on to his throne. Can you imagine the extreme pain and sorrow this caused the families in Bethlehem?
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” (Matthew 2:9-10)
It seems as if the star had disappeared for a while and now it reappears and “went ahead of them” and stopped over the house where Jesus was.
Apart from the revelation and guidance of God, they could have never found Christ on their own.
When they saw the star, the text literally says that they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy! This is quadruple joy! Joy to the 4th power!
They might have sung Joyful, Joyful, we adore you!
The star led them right to Jesus’ front door.
O Come Let Us Adore Him
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
When they saw the child, they fell on their faces and worshipped. This means to “kiss and intensely adore.”
One commentator said it this way:
What Herod craved, Jesus received.
They are about to give Jesus gifts but first things first - they gave Him their hearts.
I can imagine how overwhelmed they were. They were tired from the long journey and probably a little anxious about Herod’s request.
Everything they had studied led them to this little guy with black curly hair, dark eyes, and a sagging diaper. They must have smiled at the sight.
John Piper says that they ascribed
authority to Him - King of the Jews.
dignity to Him - they fell to the ground in worship
they came with exceedingly great joy
They worshipped sacrificially
Christmas means very little spiritually if you do not follow the wise men’s lead.
The three gifts are what is most familiar to the story.
?Honestly, what strange gifts to give a toddler - a bar of gold, a container of frankincense, and a flask of myrrh?
The gifts meant something. They were symbolic. They were costly. They were personal.
Gold to represent His Royalty. In Babylon, you would never approach a king without gold.
Born a King on Israel’s plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign
Frankincense to represent His Divinity. This was used in the temple to worship God.
Frankincense to offer have I;
incense owns a Deity nigh;
prayer and praising, voices raising,
worshiping God on high
Myrrh is the strangest gift of all. It is basically embalming fluid. It was used to anoint dead bodies.
Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume
breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
They got it. They understood, as much as they could at the time, that this baby was born to die.
Video: The Fourth Magi Video
Harry Continued
Harry froze. From backstage, came a loud whisper: “I'm sorry. We have no room.” Harry eventually mumbled, “I'm sorry. We have no room.” And, with a little coaching, he shut the door.
The directors heaved a sigh of relief - prematurely. As Mary and Joseph disappeared into the night, the set suddenly started shaking again, and the door opened.
And, in an unrehearsed moment that the whole town would never forget, Harry went running after the young couple, shouting as loudly as he could, “Wait! Wait! You can have my room!”
Harold may have understood the real issue of Christmas better than anyone there that night. How can you leave Jesus outside? You have to make room for Jesus. That may be the issue for you this Christmas Eve. What will you do with the Son of God who came to earth to dwell with you and within you?
Maybe Jesus has been knocking on the door of your life for a long time. Don't leave Him outside any longer. Open the door right now and say, “Jesus, I cannot keep You out any longer. Come on in. You can have my room. You can have my life.”
[Communion]
Ending Song: Silent Night
