Christchurch, Brid 30-12-01
“Let us examine our attitudes to Jesus.” Mt 2: 1-12
Story: There was a curate who used to preach on his pet subject "Love" every Sunday, until one day the Churchwarden collared him.
“Curate”, he said as church wardens are wont to do “you preached a good sermon today but can’t you give us something new.”
So the Curate agreed to preach the following Sunday on the book of Revelation.
The following Sunday he got up into the pulpit and started on Revelation but was soon back to his favourite topic of "Love".
The Churchwarden in desperation picked up a copy of the Book of Common Prayer and hurled it at the pulpit.
Unfortunately his throw is not strong enough and he hit a young lady in the front row on the back of the head.
As she went down, she was heard to say: "Hit me again, I can still hear him."
I have to admit, there is a temptation, amongst preachers to speak on their pet subject. Why – because it is easier that being stretched to find something new.
So rather unwisely I asked Jonathan if he had any subject that he would like me to preach on tonight.
When e-mail came back that he’d like me to preach on the story of the three wise men – I groaned.
Not only wasn’t it my pet subject, but it was a subject that I could hardly muster up anything on - except the story I had recently read in Readers Digest.
Story: “What would have happened if there had been three wise women instead of three wise men.
1. They would have asked for directions to the stable locally instead of going to Herod.
2. They would have arrived on time and helped deliver the baby
3. They would have cleaned the stable and brought practical for the family to eat – like a casserole.
4. And there would have been peace on earth!”
As that didn’t seem particularly edifying, I was forced to go away and pray about what the Lord would have me share on this evening.
And it seemed to me that the Lord wanted me to focus on the different attitudes of Herod and of the Magi to Jesus. And compare the gifts they brought - and then see what we can learn from them.
So let’s look at the three major characters of the story.
1. JESUS
It is interesting that the one title used about Jesus in the story is that of King of the Jews.
It is a title used about Jesus at the beginning of his life and also at the end. Mt. in the story of the Magi records it as follows:
“Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked “Where is the one who is born King of the Jews?”(Mt. 2:2)
And of course, Jesus’ death ended with an affirmation that he was King of the Jews nailed on the Cross above him. Lk records it as follows:
“ There was written a notice above him (on the Cross) which read “King of the Jews” (Lk 23:38)
For both Herod and Pilate incidentally too, the “King of the Jews” was a threat to their kingdoms.
For the wise men, the ’King of the Jews’ was to be worshipped.
2. HEROD
2.1 The history of the man
Let me give you a little background of this “delightful” little man.
The Jews hated Herod because of his successful alliance with Rome. He had been appointed king by the Roman Senate in 40 BC and had gained control of the country by 37 BC.
So the fact that the Magi called Jesus - King of the Jews was a direct threat to Herod.
And Herod was paranoid. He had three of his sons, his wife and his mother-in-law put to death because he saw them as threats to his power.
Indeed the Roman Emperor, Augustus said, “It was safer to be Herod’s pig than his son”.
His murderous streak didn’t end with his death either. Just before he died, he ordered some of
Jerusalem’s most distinguished citizens to be arrested on trumped up charges and sentenced to death.
Their execution was to take place the minute he died. Herod knew no one would mourn his passing, but wanted to make sure that people mourned the day he died.
Because he was half Jew and half Idumean (i.e. a non-Jew), the Jews didn’t accept him, though he did to curry the favour of the populace by rebuilding the Temple.
He was a terrific architect. Rabbis often used to say:
"He, who has not seen the Temple, has not seen a beautiful building!"
And if any of you have been to Masada, you will have seen Herod’s magnificent palace - hewn into the side of the mountain – a feat of engineering that is breathtaking!
By and large, Herod was an evil man, but he did have his moments of kindness.
During the famine of 25 B.C., Herod melted down a gold plate he owned to use to purchase corn to feed the starving people. (Barclay, p. 19)
Which just goes to prove that even an evil man can rise to an occasion and do the right thing.
It is interesting that Herod became king when he was 33 years old – the same age as Jesus when He died on the Cross.
But Jesus’ kingship was a sacrificial kingship, where the king gave his life for his people.
Herod’s in contrast was despotic, where his people gave their lives for the King’s delusions.
His was a kingdom based on cruelty and fear. Jesus’ kingdom was based on love.
2.2 What was Herod’s attitude to Jesus?
He saw Jesus, the King of the Jews as a threat to his kingdom.
Some people still see Jesus as a threat to their kingdom.
Story: Paul Little was speaking to a student one day who had many questions about Christianity. After he had answered the student’s questions to the student’s satisfaction, Paul Little then asked him:
“Would you like to become a Christian?”
“No” the student answered, “It would cramp my style of living”
Jesus was a threat to Herod’s kingdom, a perceived threat to his autonomy. Is he a threat to mine?
And what was the gift that Herod brought to Jesus with that attitude?
He brought DEATH. As we read in Mt. 2:16 when he killed all the boys in Bethlehem under the age of 2.
The only way he could enjoy (if that is the right word) his kingship was to lash out and kill. He grasped onto what he had.
Jim Eliot, one of the missionaries killed in Ecuador in the 1950’s said:
He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep
To gain what he cannot lose.
Herod wanted to hold on to what he had got so much so that he missed out on meeting the PRINCE of PEACE – Jesus.
2. THE WISE MEN (or MAGI)
Let’s move on to the Wise Men.
2.1 The history of the wise men
Very little is known about the Wise Men or Magi.
Matthew doesn’t even record how many of them there were.
All the Bible tells us is that they came from the East to Jerusalem. And so it is more than likely they were NOT Jews.
Tradition has it that they were Magi from Persia, once a mighty country where modern Iran and Iraq now are.
What is known about the names and number comes from legends and what exactly Magi were from information gleaned from history about the Persian kings.
In the second century, a church father named Tertullian suggested that these men were kings because the Old Testament had predicted that kings would come to worship him.
He also concluded that there were three kings based on the number of gifts mentioned, gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In the sixth century, someone decided that their names were Melchior, Baltazar and Gaspar.
Popular myth calls them astrologers but that wasn’t necessarily so.
It is generally accepted that “the Magi were a priestly caste (in the Persian Empire), numerous enough to be regarded as one of the six tribes of Media” (based on J.D. Davis Dictionary of the Bible p. 489).
You will recall - in the book of Daniel, when King Darius is tricked into throwing Daniel his friend into the lion’s den - a reference to the law of the Medes and the Persians.
It is these Medes from whom most probably the Magi were descended. Their racial identity went with their profession.
The Magi worshipped the elements of fire, air, earth and water, especially fire.
The only temples they had were fire temples, generally on the roofs of houses, where they kept the sacred element burning day and night – a bit like the Eternal Flame in Arlington Cemetery over President John Kennedy’s grave.
And the term Magi is the base from which both of our modern words “magician” and “magistrate” are derived.
I have often wondered why God revealed himself to the Magi – people who practised magic that was expressed forbidden in the OT. It seems to me that there are two reasons.
1. My first reason is that the Gospel - that Jesus’ birth heralded - is for all the world – not just to the Jews but also to the non-Jews.
We don’t have to wait until we are living a “morally good life” before God seeks us out.
If moral perfection was God’s criteria, I doubt any of us would be sitting in church today.
God accepts us “warts and all” – and these Magi, I am sure, had big warts!!!
2. My second reason is that these Magi were SEEKING God – indeed far more that the Jewish
leadership was.
King Herod was out to kill Jesus.
The chief priests and scribes of the people were- at best – ambivalent to Christ. They did nothing to go and find Him.
The Magi were actively seeking him out.
God honours an inquiring spirit within a person.
3.2 What was the attitude of the Magi to Jesus?
I’d like to focus on 3 right attitudes the Magi had
3.2.1 They followed God’s guidance
The first right attitude was that the Magi followed God’s guidance. They followed the star
“ We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” (Mt. 2:2)
They recognised that God was leading them somewhere special with the star.
And even though they didn’t know the destination they were prepared to step out.
Story: Following the leading of the Lord can be quite risky.
I was at a Christian Conference just outside Berne on Saturday in May 1994, when I met a Texan called Harold Fox. I asked him what he did for a living and he said he was a prophet!
Rather tongue in cheek I asked him “Have you got a word from God for me” to which he replied, “ Yes, you won’t be in Switzerland much longer”
I thought this guy was out to lunch and on the way home, told my wife Maddy what I thought.
I had, after all, things were going swimmingly for me. I had a good and safe job working as a patent agent in a Swiss multinational called Sandoz in Switzerland. And a lovely house in Switzerland with a swimming pool. Why would I want to move?
Well, the following Wednesday, I got a phone call from a head hunter (totally independent of Harold Fox) asking me if I was interested in a job in England.
I was just about to put the phone down when I remembered the prophecy.
And one thing led to the other and I was offered the post at Head of the Group Patent Department of Reckitt and Colman.
And my safe job? Within 6 months, Sandoz spun off the Chemicals Division – which was that part of their business where I had been working in the Patent Department. Those left in my group was on tenterhooks for about 6 months wondering if they would have a job.
Then Sandoz merged with Ciba Geigy and so the rest of the Sandoz Patent Department started to worry if they would have a job at the end of the merger.
When I went back to visit a few years later, someone asked me if I’d had inside knowledge about to warn me to get out when I did. And I said yes, but little higher than Mr. Moret the MD!
3.2.2. They sought Jesus for the right reasons
The second right attitude that the Magi had was that they came “to worship him” (Mt. 2:2)
This challenges me.
Why do I come to worship the Lord?
1. Is it because it is my job. The clergy only work on Sunday don’t they?
2. Is it because I get a lift through the week from the worship, praise and fellowship here?
The Magi came to worship the King of the Jews – a little baby in a cradle for whom he was.
I think I’ll just park that thought with you.
3.2.3 They gave Jesus of the very best that they had.-
The third right attitude that the Magi had was that they brought the very best they had.
They bought costly gifts to Jesus
I would like to focus on the gifts they brought, because - if the Scripture bothers to record them so carefully - there must be a reason for doing it.
The gifts were: gold, frankincense (translated in the NIV as incense) and myrrh
1. Gold
Gold indicates Kingship. What is more fitting than gold for a King!
If Jesus is to be the King in my life, then I am challenged by the thought: What gold can I bring to Jesus today?
What do I hold onto as precious that I can give to the Lord.
A few years ago, the Gold that I let go of was my secular career.
Story: For those that don’t know me, I had a very good job in Reckitts. Yet God called me to give that all up.
My story starts back in about 1994, when I was still in a member of a Pentecostal Church.
I had been asked at work “Where would you be prepared to go for Sandoz?” and was discussing this with Maddy, my wife.
I said to her:
Well, I’ll go anywhere in the English speaking world except England.
But if I go back to England, I’ll never go to an Anglican church.
And if I ever go to an Anglican church I’ll never become a vicar.
As they say. Make God laugh – tell him your plans.
When I came back to England in 1994, I managed to avoid coming to an Anglican church until 1996, when Garry Carter talked me into at least trying this place called Christchurch.
So I came - just to keep him quiet and found that I really quite liked it and stayed.
In March 1997, I told Maddy that I thought the Lord was calling me to become a vicar in the Anglican church and she said: “Great! - the Lord showed me that two months ago”.
The selection process took about a year until the final ABM selection conference in June 1998.
During that year, I had three confirmatory prophecies from people who did not know that I was thinking of going into the Church.
1. Some of you might recall Steve Hepden Conference on Prophecy in 1997 here in Christchurch.
At the end of the Conference he said “Mr. And Mrs. Dale. Get ready to pack your bags and leave.” There are some of you here who may remember this!!
2. Then there was Maggie Leverett, wife of an FGB speaker at the Christmas FGB Chapter meeting in 1997, who told me out of the blue “God is calling you to be a priest.”
3. The third was Bruce Collins here in Christchurch itself
Two weeks before the final ABM selection Conference, I came into the evening service here at Christchurch. I prayed as I walked in “Lord give me a confirmation that I am doing the right thing”
As Bruce Collins got up to preach he said: “I have been bothered by this all through the service. So before I speak, I’ll say it anyway.”
Pointing at me he said “You in the blue jumper” and I said “Me?”
“Yes you – the Lord is calling you into deeper leadership.”
That was the gold – my precious job - which I brought to the Lord in 1997.
I wonder if the Lord is calling any of you to offer up your “gold” tonight?
2. Frankincense
Why did they give frankincense to Jesus?
Frankincense was an ingredient used by the priests in temple worship to blend with the smell of the
sacrifices.
To me it signifies Jesus’ priestly role.
Jesus was the King of kings, but he was also the "great high priest."
Hebrews 2:17 puts it well when the writer says, "For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people."
Jesus wants us to offer up our lives as a sacrifice holy and acceptable to God (Rom 12:1).
What is the sacrifice God wants. I think, in this particular case it speaks of our quiet time we spend with Jesus - in the quiet of our rooms in prayer and Bible Study.
This is the hardest time I find to find. As we live busy lives, this is the first thing that gets pushed to the bottom of the pile.
Most things we do are tangible – but prayer doesn’t seem to be. And we like to do things that we can
measure
And yet prayer – and our Quiet Time - is that priestly offering that God is delighted with.
Just as he was delighted with the frankincense of the Magi.
3. Myrrh
In Jesus’ time, people used Myrrh to embalm their dead. A thoughtless gift, you might say for a baby shower?
Not for this baby. These wise men, in their wisdom knew that Jesus was born to die.
Hebrews 10:10 says, "And by that will, we have been
made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
When I think of myrrh, I am challenged to consider mission.
You might find sharing the Good News painful at times – the rejection by family and friends.
I do - but dying on the Cross wasn’t much fun either.
Mission is all about letting people know the Good News of Jesus and what his death has done for us.
Story: You might wonder why I am working in 15 parishes in the backwoods of rural Norfolk, instead of a Charismatic church in suburbia.
I think one of the reasons, besides feeling called there by the Lord, is the opportunity for mission.
I don’t have to go into the highways and byways to compel them to come in to church – there are Christians, non-Christians, agnostics and atheists in our congregations - already sitting in the pews on Sunday morning. And we get a good turnout in the village. In Bale for example, where I live about 20-25% of the village come to church
Yet in some of these churches, they rarely hear a clear Gospel message preached on a Sunday morning. They might get a pious thought – or a history lesson.
Yet when the Gospel is preached, people are glad to hear it.
Please pray for more Evangelical-Charismatic clergy to go into these parishes to bring the word of God to them.
4. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I’d like to leave you with a few ideas from the presents that the Magi brought to Jesus.
What are the presents that we can bring to Jesus - our gold, frankincense and myrrh?
1. Gold
Let’s consider our “gold” that we can bring to Jesus.
How tightly do we hold onto those things that we treasure
– for me it was the security of my job
– for others like St. Francis of Assisi it was his wealth that he gave up.
Do we hold what God has given us loosely – like an egg in our hand or do we hold on to it tenaciously.
2. Frankincense
Let’s consider the “frankincense that we can bring. It does not just relate to our worship on Sunday – though this is an important thing but I suggest to our time with the Lord
Let us not neglect spending time with Jesus,
in prayer – confessing our sins and praying for others and in Bible Study.
3. Myrrh
Myrrh reminds me that Jesus came to die on a Cross – to bring all of us into a new relationship with God. He preached to Good News to all people.
And the one commission that he has given his church is to preach the Gospel.
Is this a gift that God is calling us to give – to share with our friends and family – in the workplace.
You might feel you have to wait till you are good enough? Don’t the Lord can use us warts and all.
