He¡¦s Worth Searching For!
Matthew 2:1-12
December 21, 2003
Introduction
In this last Sunday before Christmas, I wanted us to look at a part of the Christmas story that we are all familiar with, or at least in a sense. As we look at the story of the wise men, I want to ask you a trivia question: how many kings from the Orient visited Jesus at the manger?
Answer: none!
Did you know the Bible doesn¡¦t mention kings coming to the manger? Or anywhere else for that matter. Really!
So where do we get our information about these visitors to the manger?
Well, the Bible tells us about these visitors, and we¡¦re going to look at them this morning, and hopefully, we¡¦ll walk away a little better informed.
But more than that, I want to point out some things we can take with us and apply to our own lives, okay?
So let¡¦s turn to our passage for today, Matthew 2:1-12. If you¡¦re using the Bibles in the seats, this is on page 681.
MT 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
6 " `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.’ "
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9 After they had heard the king, 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. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 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 and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
(Prayer)
This morning I want to explore three questions regarding the Magi and their search for the King of the Jews, Jesus Christ.
These three questions are listed in the note-taking guide in your bulletin, and I truly hope that as we go through this, you¡¦ll do more than just fill in the blanks.
My fervent hope is that by the time we leave here today you¡¦ll find a reason to worship the Savior, just as they did.
Let¡¦s get started by first looking at¡K
1. Who were these guys?
„Y Probably astrologers.
The word ¡§magi¡¨ is actually the plural of the word meaning magicians, astrologers, etc.
Dr. John MacArthur writes about the importance of the magi: ¡§Because of their combined knowledge of science, agriculture, mathematics, history, and the occult, they became the most prominent and powerful group of advisors in the Medo-Persian and subsequently the Babylonian empire. Historians tell us that no Persian was ever able to become king without mastering the scientific and religious disciplines of the magi and then being approved and crowned by them.¡¨ (The Gospel According to Matthew, p.27)
„Y From the ¡§east¡¨ ¡V probably Babylon (modern day Iraq) or Persia (modern day Iran).
This was the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, where the magi were prominent.
„Y They did not come to the manger, but to a house, some time after the birth.
Verse 11 tells us they came to a house, not a manger. And it was in Bethlehem. For the first couple years of Jesus¡¦ life, the family lived in Bethlehem.
The point here is that given the time of the star appearing, and the time it would have taken travelers to get to Israel, Jesus may very well have been a toddler rather than an infant.
We also have a clue because of the time frame Herod gave when issuing his command to destroy all boys two years and younger.
I came across this as I was researching this message, and thought you¡¦d enjoy it.
If the wise men had been wise women:
1. They would have asked for directions 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 something practical for the family to eat ¡V like a casserole. (SermonCentral.com ¡V Joel Smith)
Okay, so we know a bit more about them, but there¡¦s another question we need to ask:
2. What brought them to Jesus?
What caused these guys to leave their country and look for the King of the Jews?
They were interested in more than the star. For some reason they felt compelled to find the one to whom the star pointed.
They wanted to find ¡§The King of the Jews.¡¨ How would Persians know about a Jewish king in Israel?
NOTE FOR THOSE READING THIS MESSAGE: FOR THIS NEXT SECTION, I AM GRATEFUL TO REV. DAVID DYKES
My guess is that they read the ancient writings of Daniel. Almost six hundred years earlier Daniel had been deported to Babylon when Jerusalem was conquered.
He did more than survive a den of lions; he became a very influential leader in the kingdom. Daniel wrote his prophecies about 500 years before Jesus was born. In chapter 9 he predicted from the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem by King Cyrus of Babylon (Medo-Persia) until the birth, life, and death of the Messiah (King of the Jews) to be a specific period of time, which some say is 483 years.
These magi knew exactly when the official decree for Jerusalem to be rebuilt was given, so they simply calculated the time and that¡¦s why they were looking for a king at that particular time.
They knew when, they just didn¡¦t know where. That¡¦s why they stopped by Jerusalem to ask, ¡§Where?¡¨ The answer was found in Micah¡¦s prophecy: He would be born in Bethlehem in Judea. (Source: The First Star Trek, a message by David Dykes, SermonCentral.com)
But I think they took their journey for more than just to satisfy their curiosity. It says they came to worship the baby. Remember that because we¡¦re going to come back to that later, okay?
The third question as it relates to the magi is this:
3. Why is this important to me?
It¡¦s important because these guys represent a lot of people today, including you and me. So let me give you four characteristics about the magi that can help us see why their journey to find Jesus is important to us:
„Y They were interested in spiritual things.
I tend to think that unless you make a real effort to suppress it, you will at times ask yourself if there¡¦s not more to life than just getting through the day.
And generally these thoughts take on a spiritual direction. Why did God put me here? What¡¦s my reason for existing?
Just the other night on the CBS Evening News, they profiled a lady who is pretty carefree in her lifestyle, but when asked about her ¡§purpose¡¨ in life, she got quiet and teary, and said that she did not know what her purpose was, or why she was on earth. She said she hopes to find out someday.
I wanted to shout through the TV, ¡§You were created by God for His purposes! And you can find out about them by coming to Christ!¡¨
Next week we are going to begin preparing you for our spiritual growth campaign starting in February.
And in that campaign, we are going to explore the five purposes the Bible says we were created for.
If you know someone who has been asking these types of questions, invite them to come along with us, because we¡¦re going to answer those questions!
I think everyone is interested in spiritual things to an extent, and the magi were no different! They were interested in spiritual things.
But where do we find the answers? Some turn to drugs, some to harmful relationships, some to televangelists, some to astrology, or whatever.
Apparently the magi were astrologers, as we noted at the beginning of the message.
If you are putting your hope in the stars and in astrology, take a lesson from the Magi. They found the answer in Jesus.
The second characteristic about the magi that relates to many people is that¡K
„Y They probably didn¡¦t understand everything involved.
Does anybody here claim to have God all figured out? How about the Bible ¡V you got that all figured out?
Even within Christianity we don¡¦t have everything all figured out.
Well these guys certainly did not understand all there was to understand regarding the child in Bethlehem.
All they knew was that someone called the King of the Jews was to be born, and they came to give Him honor and reverence in worship.
They didn¡¦t look to see if this was convenient, or if it fit real neatly in their theological package from their home church ¡V they just came to worship.
Jesus said that if we obey Him, He and the Father show themselves to us. In other words, if you want to figure out God, we start by obeying and then He opens our minds to Him all the more.
I don¡¦t pretend to have everything figured out, but I have found Jesus¡¦ words to be true. The more obedient to Him I am, the more I learn about Him, and the more I love Him.
The third characteristic about the magi we can take to heart in our own lives is this:
„Y They were persistent in their search.
They didn¡¦t give up until after they had found Jesus.
They asked where to find Him, and they went.
Sometimes I think that the reason a lot of people don¡¦t find God is that they quit looking too soon.
God said that we¡¦ll seek Him, and we¡¦ll find Him when we seek Him with all our heart.
That¡¦s not easy. It¡¦s hard, because it means rearranging priorities in light of our search for God, just like these wise men.
They had paying jobs back home, and maybe had hobbies, like playing on the Persian bowling league or the softball league, or whatever 1st century Persian magi did back then.
But they put that on hold while they searched for Jesus. And they found Him, because they were persistent in their search.
And the last characteristic about these magi, these wise men, that we can relate to is this:
„Y When they found Him, they worshiped Him.
Remember verse 11:
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
You know, God put something inside everyone of us. That something is a need to worship.
Every culture known to man worships something or someone. Atheism is a man-made philosophy that tries to root out that innate desire and bent to worship.
These guys were no different than anyone else in that they worshiped and wanted to know just who to worship.
And they found Jesus.
Have you found Jesus, and have you surrendered to Him in worship, like the magi did?
I truly hope so.
Conclusion
Let me ask you a question: do these four things sound like you? If so, then take heart.
We call these guys ¡§wise men.¡¨ So what does that make you? Wise, if you¡¦re determined to find the Savior.
Contrast their response to Christ to King Herod¡¦s. Herod decided that Jesus was a threat to him and his reign, so he sought to destroy the baby.
Is Jesus a threat to you? Does He threaten the status quo of your life? Is He a danger to your agenda?
Let me encourage you to seek Him out. You¡¦ll find out that rather then being a threat, He¡¦s actually more interested in you and your well-being than even you are.
In fact, in searching for Him, you¡¦ll discover something very ironic, and that¡¦s this: Jesus is also searching.
He said He came to seek and save the lost. If you will ¡§look¡¨ hard enough, you¡¦ll discover Him looking for you, and when He ¡§finds¡¨ you, you¡¦ll hear His invitation:
MT 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
So if you haven¡¦t given your life to Christ yet, let this be the Christmas season, and let this be the day.
As you think of the wonderful gifts you will receive this year, consider the gift that God gave when He sent His Son for you and me, to give the gift of forgiveness and eternal life to all who would just reach out and take it.
I¡¦m going to pray right now, and if there is anyone here this morning who would like to finalize their search for the Savior by calling on Him for forgiveness and eternal life, then you can pray along with me, okay?
(Pray)
(See me for materials after the service)
And for all among us who have been following Christ for awhile, I pray that God will use this Christmas to give you and me a new and deeper appreciation for the wonder of Bethlehem.
