IN MANY NATIVITY SCENES COMMEMORATING THE BIRTH OF JESUS ONE CAN ALWAYS CATCH A GLIMPSE OF “THE WISE MEN”. WE SEE THEM REPRESENTED ON CHRISTMAS CARDS, WE HEAR AND SING SONGS SUNG ABOUT THEM AND THEIR COURAGEOUS JOURNEY. MOST HOLIDAY SCENARIOS SUGGEST THAT THESE MEN (WHO TRADITION SAYS WERE 3 IN NUMBER) VISITED JESUS WHILE STILL IN THE MANGER. BUT IS THIS WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY TEACHES? MATTHEW IS THE GOSPEL WRITER WHO RECORDS THIS MUCH SPOKEN OF EVENT. BIBICALLY, IT IS FOUND IN OUR TEXT AND SERVES AS A PROCLAMATION SPRINGBOARD FOR THIS MESSAGE TODAY! THIS BIBILICAL REVELATION IS BOTH INTERESTING AND OF PRACTICAL SPIRITUAL VALUE. LETS TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THESE "WISE" MEN.
I. THERE ARE INTERESTING FEATURES OF THIS STORY.
A. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT MATTHEW DOES NOT TELL US.
1. WHO THESE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST WERE?
2. SOME THINK THEY WERE A GROUP OF PRIEST FROM PERSIA. OTHERS BELIEVE THEY WERE ASTROLOGERS FROM BABYLON.
3. YET OTHERS SURMISE THAT THEY WERE JEWS WHO REMAINED IN BABYLON AFTER THE EXILE AND KNEW THE OLD TESTAMENT PREDICTIONS OF THE MESSIAH’S COMING.
4. SOME SAY THEY HAD A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM GOD DIRECTING THEM TO THE MESSIAH. BUT THE BIBLE RECORDS THEM BEING DIRECTED NOT ONLY TO THE SAVIOR BY A STAR, BUT ALSO BEING DIRECTED OUT OF HARM’S WAY IN RETURNING HOME.
B. HOW MANY WERE THERE? (MYTH VERSUS MYSTERY)
1. PLEASE NOTICE THAT NO ACTUAL NUMBER IS GIVEN.
2. THERE ARE 3 TYPES OF GIFTS MENTIONED IN 2:11, BUT THE QUALITY OF GIFTS DOES NOT NECESSARILY IMPLY THE QUANTITY OF GIVERS. JUST BECAUSE THERE WERE 3 GIFTS, IS NOT A QUALITATIVE FACTOR IN DETERMINING HOW MANY MEN WERE PRESENT. IF THERE WERE 3 WISE MEN OR KINGS AS WE IMPLY IN OUR SONG, WOULDN’T THEY HAVE HAD AN ENTOURAGE OF PEOPLE WITH THEM?
C. WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF THE STAR?
1. WAS IT ACTUALLY A STAR.
2. WAS IT THE PLANET JUPITER, SO OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE BIRTH OF KINGS?
3. WAS IT A CONJUNCTION OF JUPITER AND SATURN IN THE SIGN OF THE FISH?
4. OR WAS IT AN ERATIC COMET.
D. HOW DID THESE WISE MEN CONNECT THE STAR WITH THE BIRTH OF THE KING OF THE JEWS?
1. HAD THEY BEEN TAUGHT BY JEWS OF THE DISPERSION TO EXPECT THE MESSIAH?
2. HAD THEY BEEN GIVEN SPECIAL REVELATION FROM GOD NOT RECORDED IN THE SCRIPTURES? MORE THAN LIKELY, THE FORMER STATEMENT IS SPECULATION SINCE THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY THAT GOD GAVE THEM SPECIAL REVELATION IN SEEKING JESUS.
II. WHAT LEGENDS HAVE ARISEN OUT OF THIS STORY?
1. WE ARE TOLD THAT THESE WISE MEN WERE THREE KINGS FROM THE ORIENT.
2. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT TRADITION SAYS THEIR NAMES WERE MELCHIOR, BALTHASAR, AND CASPAR
3. THAT THEY VISITED JESUS TOGETHER WITH THE SHEPHERDS ON THE NIGHT OF HIS BIRTH.
A. BUT THEIR VISIT WAS ACTUALLY SOME TIME LATER. APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS LATER THAT THEY VISITED HIM. MAT. 2:1, 16.
B. THEY VISITED MARY AND THE CHILD IN A HOUSE, NOT A STABLE. MATT. 2:11
C. LEGEND (TRADITION) SAYS THOMAS LATER BAPTIZED THEM.
NOW, HERE ARE THE BIBLICALLY REVEALED FACTS! THE BIBLICAL RECORD SAYS LITTLE ABOUT WHO THESE MEN WERE. PERHAPS BECAUSE THE EMPHASIS IS UPON WHAT THEY DID NOT WHO THEY WERE. THEY DID NOT COME TO SIMPLY BE “REMEMBERED” OR HAVE THEIR NAMES SET IN STONE IN THE HISTORICITY OF JESUS’ BIRTTH. THEY SAID THEMSELVES…. 2:11. “WE HAVE COME TO WORSHIP HIM.”
III. OTHER LESSONS TO BE LEARNED.
A. IT IS EASY FOR FICTION TO BE TAKEN AS FACT.
WE HAVE SEEN WHAT PEOPLE HAVE DONE WITH THE STORY OF JESUS’ BIRTH. WE HAVE HEARD THEM SAY THERE WERE 3, BUT THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY THAT! THE NAVITITY SCENES HAVE THEM SURROUNDING THE MANGER, BUT THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY THAT. THAT’S LIKE SAYING THAT THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT IN THE GARDEN WAS AN APPLE…OR THAT BAPTISM IS POURING OR SPRINKLING WHEN THE WORD MEANS IMMERSION. WE MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO TAKE FICTION TO BE FACT, AND WE MUST NOT ALLOW HEAR-SAY TRADITIONS TO TAKE THE PLACE OF TRUTH!
B. SECONDLY….WE ARE REMINDED THAT GOD’S PEOPLE CAN OFTEN BE FOUND IN THE LEAST EXPECTED PLACES! THESE MEN ADMITTED THAT THEY CAME TO WORSHIP HIM. WE MUST NEVER ASSUME THAT GOD’S PEOPLE ONLY CONSISTS OF THOSE WE KNOW. JUST LOOK AROUND YOU TODAY. DO YOU KNOW EVERYONE ON THE PEW WITH YOU? OR IN THE CHURCH TODAY? IF YOU DO NOT, DOES THAT MEAN THEY ARE NOT GOD’S PEOPLE? JESUS HIMSELF SAID “OTHER SHEEP I HAVE THAT ARE NOT OF THIS FOLD”. GOD HAS MANY MORE DISCIPLES THAN THE ONES LISTED IN OUR CHURCH DIRECTORIES. GOD HAS PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. JUST BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW THEM, DOESN’T MAKE THEM ANY LESS SERVANTS OF GOD.
C. THIRDLY…OFTENTIMES, THE VERY ONES WE CONSIDER THE MOST RELIGIOUS, ARE NOT THE ONES WHO ARE ALWAYS “RIGHT”. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE RELIGIOUS FOLKS WERE TOO BUSY PROTECTING THEIR TERRITORY TO BOTHER WITH HONORING CHRIST. CAN YOU IMAGINE HEROD THE KING, BEING AFRAID OF A BABY? IT SEEMS THAT HEROD WAS GUIDED BY A COVETEOUS SPIRIT IN PROTECTING HIS THRONE, THAN BY THE FEAR OF A REBELLIOUS BABY. ONE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND SCRIBES WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TO GO TO BETHLEHEM. CERTAINLY, THEY KNEW OF THE PROPHECY. BUT IT WAS UNKNOWN STRANGERS FROM A DISTANT LAND WHO RESPONDED IN WORSHIP! …NO WONDER JOHN WROTE IN HIS GOSPEL…”HE CAME TO HIS OWN, AND HIS OWN DID NOT RECEIVE HIM”. JOHN 1:11. SADLY THE SAME IS OFTEN TRUE TODAY. SOMETIMES FOLKS IN THE CHURCH SHOW LESS LOVE AND LESS FAITH THAN THOSE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH. THERE IS A GREATER WILLINGNESS TO FOLLOW TRADITION, BEFORE WE ACCEPT TRUTH!
D. FOURTHLY…THEY WERE OPERATING OFF OF HEAD KNOWLEDGE, BUT HAD NO GRACE IN THEIR HEARTS!
THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND SCRIBES WERE QUICK TO PROVIDE HEROD THE ANSWER TO HIS QUESTION OF THE BIRTHPLACE WHEREABOUT, BUT THAT DID NOT STOP HEROD FROM COMMITTING THE SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENT FIRST BORNS. THE CHIEF PRIEST AND SCRIBES SEEMED MORE READILY OBEDIENT TO HEROD, THAN THEY WERE TO THE PROPHETIC WORD! THEY KNEW ABOUT CHRIST, BUT DID NOT WORSHIP HIM. THEY DIDN’T GO TO BETHLEHEM, AND SOME OF THEM NEVER DID COME TO BELIEVE IN HIM DURING HIS INFANCY NOR HIS MINISTRY YEARS! BUT THE BIBLE SAYS THAT IF WE ARE TO BE TRUE WORSHIPPERS….. WE MUST GROW IN GRACE AND IN KNOWLEDGE 2 PETER 3:18. THEY COULD NOT WORSHIP HIM, BECAUSE THEY FAILED TO MEET THE 2 BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF SINCERE WORSHIP! GOD IS A SPIRIT….THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM, MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH! THAT MEANS IN OUR WORSHIP APPROACH TO GOD WE NEED THE RIGHT ATTITUDE (SPIRIT), AND THE RIGHT INFORMATION…(TRUTH) . CERTAINLY THEY HAD THE RIGHT INFORMATION,……BUT DID NOT EXERCISE ENOUGH GRACE IN THEIR HEARTS TO STAND ON GOD’S TRUTH! ARE YOU WILLING TO STAND ON THE TRUTH OF GOD’S REVEALED WORD?
E. FIFTH POINT…THE WISE MEN MAKE A GREAT EXAMPLE OF PERSEVERANCE AND SPIRITUAL DILIGENCE…
1. CONSIDER WHAT IT COSTS THEM TO TRAVEL…IN MONEY, TIME…. CONSIDER THE DANGERS THEY HAD TO FACE.
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO MAKE SUCH SACRIFICES JUST TO WORSHIP HIM?
2. WHAT ABOUT OUR DILIGENCE…ARE WE INTIMATELY SEEKING CHRIST…..ARE WE SERIOUSLY SERVING CHRIST? ARE WE READILY WORSHIPPING CHRIST? SOME CHRISTIANS WON’T EVEN TAKE THE TIME TO COME TO A SECOND SERVICE ON ANY GIVEN SUNDAY (RAIN OR SHINE), LET ALONE MAKE A JOURNEY TO FIND THE CHRIST BY MAKING A LONG DISTANCE TRIP TO “FIND AND WORSHIP JESUS”. BUT THESE WISE MEN SET A GOOD EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUAL DILIGENCE AND PERSERVERANCE! AFTER ALL, HE IS A REWARDER OF THEM THAT DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM! ARE YOU A DILIGENT SEEKER?
F. FINALLY…LOOK AT WHAT THE “WISE MEN” DID!
1. THEY BELIEVED ON HIM …THEY HAD NEVER SEEN HIM PRIOR TO THEIR JOURNEY. THEY DIDN’T COME WITH PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS ABOUT WHAT A KING SHOULD LOOK LIKE, OR WHERE A KING SHOULD LIVE. WHEN THEY FOUND HIM THEY WORSHIPED HIM.
2. THEY WERE NOT HAMPERED BY THE UNBELIEF OF OTHERS! WE MISS OUR BLESSINGS WHEN WE ALLOW THE DICTATES OF UNBELIEVERS TO ORDER OUR STEPS! NEITHER HEROD, OR THE SCRIBES, OR CHIEF PRIESTS COULD KEEP THEM FROM THEIR GOAL! BUT THEY STOOD THEIR GROUND THAT THEY WERE GOING TO FIND JESUS. THEY BELIEVED THE PROPHECY EVEN MORESO THAN THOSE WHO PREACHED IT!! (MICAH 5:2) LEARN TO STAND ON WHAT HE SAYS! NO MATTER WHAT OTHERS SAY OR THINK!
3. THEY RESPONDED IN WORSHIP!
IT’S ONE THING TO SEEK HIM, ITS ANOTHER THING TO SERVE HIM! THEY WEREN’T EXPECTING GOD TO COME LOOKING FOR THEM, TO EXPLAIN HIMSELF, OR TO SEND A BURNING BUSH TO PROVE WHO HE IS. THEY DID NOT EXPECT GOD TO GIVE THEM GIFTS! THEY CAME SEEKING……AND EXPERIENCED THE PROMISE OF THE WORD….”SEEK, AND YE SHALL FIND”. THEY FOUND A BABY AND A MOTHER AND FATHER. THEY DIDN’T SEE ANY MIRACLES EXCEPT A STAR THAT WAS TIED INTO A PROPHECY GIVEN ISRAEL! JESUS DIDN’T GET A CHANCE TO PREACH TO THEM OR TEACH THEM…BUT THEY BELIEVED AND RESPONDED TO THEIR BELIEF! THE BIBLE SAYS….“THEY FELL DOWN AND WORSHIPPED HIM” THEY DID NOT COME FOR WHAT THEY COULD GET…BUT THEY CAME FOR WHO HE WAS. AND GOD HONORED THEIR FAITH, BECAUSE GOD SAW TO IT THAT IT WAS RECORDED IN HIS WORD TO REMIND US OF THE EXAMPLE OF THEIR FAITH AND DILIGENCE. EVERYTIME YOU READ THIS PASSAGE ABOUT THEIR JOURNEY TO FIND JESUS, …. THEIR FAITHFULNESS IS LIFTED UP.
LET US BE WISE MEN AND WOMEN…. LET US KEEP THE FAITH. MAY WE BE DILIGENT ABOUT SERVING GOD. THOUGH THE WORLD AROUND US MAY REMAIN UNBELIEVING…LET US NOT BE ASHAMED TO WORSHIP HIM. WE HAVE MUCH MORE REASON TO BELIEVE AND WORSHIP…. WE KNOW ABOUT HIS MIRACLES…. WE KNOW ABOUT HIS TEACHINGS….……WE KNOW ABOUT HIS SACRIFICE. WE KNOW ABOUT HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION…WE’VE BEEN BLESSED WITH MUTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO “FIND” HIM…NOT IN A MANGER, OR IN BETHLEHEM, BUT WE HAVE FOUND HIM IN THE DAILY CONTEMPORARY EXERCISE OF OUR FAITH! WE FOUND HIM IN OUR VALLEYS, AND ON OUR MOUNTAINTOPS. WE FOUND HIM AS NEWBORN BABIES CRIED, AND WE HAVE FOUND HIM EVEN IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH. BUT WE FOUND HIM ALIVE AND WELL! WE DID NOT FIND THE BABY,..BUT WE HAVE FOUND THE RESURRECTED CHRIST! AND WE MUST WORSHIP HIM……. WE MUST SERVE HIM. NOT SIMPLY BECAUSE WISE MEN STILL SEEK HIM, BUT BECAUSE WE NOW KNOW HOW UNWISE IT IS N
