This morning I want to invite you to join me in reflecting upon the timeless invitation that lies beneath all the activity of this season;…the invitation to COME AND BEHOLD HIM.
As one of the great Christmas anthems declares so beautifully
“O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem
Come and Behold Him, Born the King of Angels
O Come Let us Adore Him, O come let us Adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
Come and behold Him, come let us adore Him: As this sovereign call is once again poured out in a special way upon the earth, I can’t help but think of how often this simple calling gets confused…(illus) A businessman while in Japan. Disney should stick to their mergers on earth
selfish ambitions get in the way (humorous story)..Of course had it wrong…it’s Santa, not Jesus who only gives according to who is naughty or nice. A far clearer picture of our journey to behold him comes in MATTHEW 2: 1-12; 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 in the east and have come to worship him.”
What took place in this wonderful journey is a bit different than some of the images portrayed in popular traditions….often imagine 3 Kings coming to the stable setting where our Lord was first born, but actually…These were not Kings; Magi were a tribe of Medians from the Persian empire in the East, they had become something of a priestly tribe, much like the Levites were in Israel: teachers and instructors to the Persian Kings They were known as men of holiness and wisdom; skilled in philosophy, medicine, and natural sciences…and in the simplicity of their sciences…they looked to the stars because clearly there was God given order in their arrangement and movement. Also need not limit them to three; the traditional image of 3 was simply drawn from the fact that 3 types of gifts were offered. Perhaps most surprisingly, Scripture does not portray them coming to that first night in the stable setting…but rather sometime later, the text describes them coming to a house rather than a stable, and to a young child rather than a “baby.” (Eventually Herod is found ordering the death of all boys under the age of 2 which may indicate that their journey and pursuit of the child was as long as 2 years.)
…but we need not yank those figures out of our nativity scenes; they were indeed wise men, adorned in prestigious dress, and among those who first cane to find Jesus.
AND THERE ARE SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT TRUTHS GOD REVEALS TO US IN THIS JOURNEY OF THE WISE MEN; SEVERAL TRUTHS THAT WILL BE HELPFUL TO US IN OUR OWN JOURNEYS TO COME AND BEHOLD HIM.
First; the process by which they were to come reveals much about our own search for Jesus; The Magi’s search reminds us that; GOD PLACES A DESIRE IN OUR HEARTS TO FIND JESUS.
It may seem to us extraordinary that those men should set out from the East to find a king, but the strange thing is that, just about the time Jesus was born, there was in the world a strange feeling of expectation of the coming of a king. Even the Roman historians knew about this. Not so very much later than this Suetonius could write, “There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world.” Tacitus tells of the same belief that “there was a firm persuasion…that at this very time the East was to grow powerful, and rulers coming from Judaea were to acquire universal empire.” The Jews had the belief that “about that time one from their country should become governor of the habitable earth.” So these wise men were filled with desire to find him.
Still today, beyond our pursuits of simply trying to be “spiritual,” even more deeply we long for God to come and break into our lives; to penetrate the silence and guide us. Still today, wise men and women seek him and don’t find rest in their journey until they find him. Example Shourie
God stills stirs the souls of the earth to seek Him perhaps that is why you are here today…and when we do, we find next, as the Magi did, that…GOD SPEAKS OUR LANGUAGE
To those men who sought divine order in the stars, he leads them by a star…still today, God is revealing Himself in ways as diverse as our own needs.
Doug (Grant) Jeopardy…Study the Scripture, followed the Scripture, found a Savior.
Dean (Mellor) Developing a consulting business to help companies develop success…he was prompted to seek broader spiritual foundations and principles…following after those principles he found a Savior.
Many of us who felt the rebellious stirs of the 60’s, feeling that established ways needed a shaking, we found the rebel who made sense of it all, and in Him a Savior.
• To those feeling confused and seeking recovery, he becomes Wonderful Counselor
• To those weak, Mighty God
• To those who feel orphaned by their father, he is Everlasting Father
• To all who are troubled; he is Prince of Peace
…When the Word of God became flesh; God proved how profoundly He would speak our language and in so doing, we are reminded thirdly, that
GOD OFTEN FINDS THOSE FARTHEST IN DISTANCE ARE CLEAREST IN THEIR DESIRE.
We can find encouragement in the coming of these Magi, these wise men from the east. God was immediately drawing those from the inhabited ends of the earth; for as had been spoken, this was “good news of great joy for all people.” It was to a waiting world that Jesus came, and when he came, the ends of the earth were already being led to Him; a symbolic reminder that he will not return until he is known in every nation and among all people. and those farthest removed from religious traditions are found to be the most persistent and perceptive of all (perhaps they would have a special appreciation for one who was also a long way from home. It is like those who go cross country to see a special point of interest that those living nearby often forget about; the same holds true for the spiritual journey (sinners and tax collectors and religious outcasts gave their lives for Jesus; Saul who persecuted Christ’s followers would later become the Apostle Paul proving even more zealous in serving Christ…)
Which naturally leads us to the 2nd major point on outline, that of
2) BEHOLDING HIM…recognizing and reckoning with Him. We find in vv. 3-8 a great contrast in those who sek to behold him and what it reveals of our own recognition of Him. We find that THERE IS NO NEUTRAL RESPONSE TO SEEING JESUS
It came to the ears of Herod that the wise men had come from the East and that they were searching for the little child who had been born to be King of the Jews. Any king would have been worried at the report that a child had been born who was to occupy his throne. But Herod was doubly disturbed. Herod was half Jew. He had made himself useful to the Romans in the wars and civil wars of Palestine, and they trusted him. He had been appointed governor in 47 B.C.; in 40 B.C. he had received the title of king; He had wielded power for long. He was called Herod the Great, and in many ways he deserved the title. He was the only ruler of Palestine who ever succeeded in keeping the peace and in bringing order into disorder.
But Herod had one terrible flaw in his character. He was insanely suspicious. He had always been suspicious, and the older he became the more suspicious he grew, until, in his old age, he was, as someone said, “a murderous old man.” If he suspected anyone as a rival to his power, that person was promptly eliminated. He murdered his wife Mariamne and her mother Alexandra. His eldest son, Antipater, and two other sons, were all assassinated by him. Augustus, the Roman Emperor, had said, bitterly, that it was safer to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son.
It is clear how such a man would feel when news reached him that a child was born who was destined to be king. Herod was troubled, and Jerusalem was troubled, too, for Jerusalem well knew the steps that Herod would take to pin down this story and to eliminate this child. Jerusalem knew Herod, and Jerusalem shivered as it waited for his inevitable reaction.
Herod summoned the chief priests and the scribes. The scribes were the experts in scripture and the law. The high priesthood was confined to a very few families. They were the priestly aristocracy, and the members of the select families were called the chief priests. So Herod summoned the religious aristocracy and the theological scholars of his day, and asked them where according to the scriptures, the Anointed One of God should be born. They quoted the prophet Micah---Bethlehem. They knew what was to be at hand, but proved “actively indifferent.” So here we have two aggressive responses, the priests passively aggressive, a king actively hostile.
What we so easily forget today, IS THAT THEY HAD IT RIGHT, THIS CHILD BORN OF God had come to be King and Priest; a King and priest of heavens mercy who would mess up our false sense of power and prominence.
He had come to restore us from that foolish choice represented in the garden long ago, when as God’s children we first tried to take rulership over God our creator and heavenly father; and human existence was left in a state of sin and shame.
That is why Jesus came into the world; to forgive us our sins, free us from our shame, and restore the proper rulership of God.
That is why God did this strange and wonderful thing we celebrate…the incarnation of Himself as Son among us. Only as God sent among us could He provide a sacrifice for sins could He restore humanity from its shame could He impart the life of submission…To behold him is to reckon with our need for his life to reign upon our own; to accept him is to accept his forgiveness of sin, his freedom from shame, and to allow his life to lead us in submission. Even at his birth, God reveals to us in that THERE IS NO NEUTRAL RESPONSE TO SEEING JESUS. In a world that often tries to cover our sin and shame in progressiveness and pretense, we are wise to remember the priest in their active indifference; their passive aggressive response to Jesus. In a generation boasting of individual power, we do well to remember King Herod in his hostility to heaven’s merciful King.
For 2,000 years we’ve tried to neutralize the least neutral event of human history;
This event not only divides the dating of human history it divides and reveals every human heart.
AS WE BEHOLD HIM, IT IS HE WHO BEHOLDS US; revealing what is in our hearts….Challenging as He may be to our pride and pretense THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT HEAVENS MERCIFUL PRIEST, KING AND SAVIOR WELCOMES THE HUMBLE OF HEART…SO we see in conclusion the Wise Men’s Response; recognizing who He is, they honor Him..
There is the great response to Jesus, to Him whose birth we celebrate; WHEN THEY SAW HIM…THEY BOWED DOWN AND WORSHIPPED HIM.
In their gifts, they honored him more appropriately than they could have even understood.
For GOLD, WAS CONSIDERED BY CUSTOM TO BE THE MOST FITTING GIFT FOR A KING.
FRANKINCENSE was the sweet perfume used by PRIESTS in the Temple.
MYRRH was a precious spice used to anoint those who were to die, an appropriate gift for this child who would one day give His life for them.
EACH WAS OF GREAT VALUE, REMINDING US THAT WHEN WE FIND HIM, WE OFFER HIM OUR BEST. And finally, we are reminded that WHAT WE FIND WILL CHANGE OUR DIRECTION. As God instructed them, so they are led away from Herod’s trappings, and return by another route. And so it is that God reminds us today, what is at hand in COMING TO BEHOLD HIM. For we see hearts that were thankful, and hearts that were threatened hearts filled with adoration and hearts filled with a vision, hearts left heeding the Father, and hearts left hardened.
Let us turn in our own hearts now and COME AND BEHOLD HIM
PRAYER invitation
