Good morning.
Please turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean.
I am one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.
It's my great joy and privilege to preach God's Word to you this morning.
If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.
We'd love to give you a copy that you can have, and you can use that while you're here
also.
So I see a hand here for Elder.
Could someone grab the Bible for him?
Yeah.
Okay.
I think...
He's got it.
He's not good.
You got it?
Oh, I think he's getting you one, too.
Yeah.
It's good.
That'd be great.
Thank you, Gabe.
Elder, if you could raise your hand.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
Matthew is the first book in the New Testament.
Matthew, chapter 2.
We're in verses 1 to 12.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father, we humble ourselves before your Word again.
Amen.
We are your servants.
I am your servant.
We have gathered not to hear a man speak.
We've come to be addressed by our King.
So, Lord, speak to us from your Word in the reading and preaching of your Word.
Humble those who have yet to pledge their allegiance to you who are in this room.
Exalt the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.
And remind us again of what kind of King he is.
The King of mercy.
The King of grace.
That we might serve him with gladness.
And fall before him in worship.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
If you are able, please stand for the reading of God's Word.
I will read from Matthew 2, verses 1 to 12.
Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King,
behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?
For we saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship him.
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the
Christ was to be born.
They told him,
In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet.
And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judea, are by no means least among the rulers of Judea.
For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,
Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may come and worship him.
After listening to the king, they went on their way.
And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him.
Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
It's a joke among pastors that this passage spoils some of our favorite Christmas carols.
I know one that I've sang twice already this season is We Three Kings.
And first, this passage tells us that these wise men come to visit Jesus, but that they are not kings.
Technically, they are not kings, even though they are kingly people, as you can see, from their retinue,
from the treasures they bring, their wealth and prestige.
But they're not kings.
And secondly, this passage never tells us there's three of them,
even though we like to sing that there's three wise men or three kings.
Traditionally, we assume that there were three magi because of the three gifts.
But the text never actually tells us that.
We just know that there's more than one because magi is a plural term.
But more than spoiling some of our Christmas carols,
this passage intends to upend our expectations of what a king is supposed to be,
what the messianic king should be.
Who is Jesus the Christ?
Who is he really?
And what kind of king is he?
This passage teaches us that Jesus is the servant king
who deserves our worship and fealty.
And we're going to examine the three main characters in the passage in turn.
First, the searching magi.
Second, the troubled king.
And third, the worshipped child.
First, we meet the wise men from the east.
It says in verses 1 and 2,
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?
For we saw his star when it rose,
and we have come to worship him.
The actual word that translated wise men here is magi.
The magi were originally members of the Persian priestly caste,
and they served as advisors to the king.
The magi were scholars and priests who specialized in astrology
and the interpretation of dreams
and various forms of divination and the magical arts occasionally.
They're similar to the Babylonian court magicians and astrologers we see in the book of Daniel.
And these magi were renowned throughout the Greco-Roman world for their skills and divination.
And everyone in the Greco-Roman world knew that the best magi were from the east.
And these are magi from the east, east of Jerusalem, that is.
That's why it's remarkable when in 1 Kings 4.30, it notes that Solomon,
King Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people in the east,
because that's what the east was known for.
Persia, Babylonia, although that region.
That these wise men practiced astrology is clear from the context in verse 2.
It says,
For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.
Some people argue that the magi saw planets in retrograde motion,
or maybe two planets that are in conjunction, like Jupiter and Saturn.
Some people argue that they saw a comet or a supernova.
And still others argue that it's a miraculous star that defies natural explanation.
It's impossible to be sure because the Bible doesn't really tell us those specifics.
What is important, however, for us to know is that this star recalls the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24, verse 17.
He said,
I see him, he's prophesying.
I see him, but not now, but not near.
I behold him, but not near.
A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.
He shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
This was understood by the Jews as a messianic prophecy,
because both the star and the scepter are symbols of kingship.
And Balaam, like these magi, was a diviner from the east.
1,400 years after Balaam's prophecy,
once again, diviners from the east come to Israel, God's people,
and they say that they have seen a star that represents the rise of the king of the Jews,
the birth of the king of the Jews.
So in the ancient world, astrology was a popular science.
It's actually becoming increasingly more the case here, even today.
But obviously it's discredited nowadays in so many ways.
But back then, even emperors took astrology very seriously.
So when a comet appeared that supposedly predicted the demise of Emperor Nero,
he was so afraid that he was going to fall, that he was going to die soon,
that he killed a whole bunch of nobles
in a desire to fulfill that prediction in the stars, in the heavens,
so that he himself can be spared.
So the magi were taken very seriously in this culture,
and so their arrival creates an understandable stir.
It says in verses 3 to 4,
The wealthy magi presumably arrived with an entourage.
Since verse 11 tells us that they came bearing not just three loan gifts, but treasures.
They probably had some people to help them with that.
Their arrival likely was no ordinary affair that people were used to seeing day to day,
but something that happened rarely.
So their world-shaking announcement that the king of the Jews has been born
causes, it troubles the king, Herod,
and it troubles all Jerusalem with him.
But note that while these magi knew that the king of the Jews has been born,
they didn't know where exactly the king of the Jews has been born,
which is why they arrived with a question in verse 2,
Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?
And the answer to that question does not come from other wise men,
but from Scripture, from God's Word.
The chief priests and the scribes tell King Herod,
remind him of a prophecy in Scripture, in verses 5 to 6,
In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet,
And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
This is an abbreviated quotation of Micah 5, verses 2 to 4,
which prophesied that the Messianic king would come and be born in Bethlehem.
And having figured out the location,
the king Herod now summons the wise men,
and then he sends them to Bethlehem to search diligently for the child.
And it's in that search in the right city
that they are guided again by the star later on.
Matthew could have easily omitted this story of the magi,
as Mark and Luke and John, in fact, do.
They do omit this story.
But Matthew includes it here for a couple reasons,
to illustrate a couple things.
And first, God's grace towards sinners.
Second, God's grace toward all nations.
Think about it for a minute.
How can it be that these Gentiles,
and not just any Gentile,
but these pagan astrologers
are able to discern from observing the stars
that the king of the Jews has been born?
Isn't that remarkable?
Astrology is expressly forbidden in Scripture.
Deuteronomy 18, 10 to 11 says,
anyone who practices divination,
or tells fortunes, or interprets omens,
or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a necromancer,
or one who inquires of the dead,
is an abomination to the Lord.
These magi are, by definition,
an abomination to the Lord.
In Isaiah 47, 13,
the prophet Isaiah mocks those who gaze at the stars,
who divide the heavens and gaze at the stars,
in hopes of discerning the future.
The reason why the Bible forbids all forms of divination
and astrology is because they are all attempts
to learn what God has not revealed to us.
Because they are attempts to control
what is outside of our control.
We want God to speak on our own terms.
We want to find a way around God
to find certainty and assurance
where God has not offered it.
So these magi are sinning,
and they are doing wrong.
Yet God is so gracious
that he reveals himself
even to these pagan astrologers
who are stumbling about in the darkness
looking for the light of the truth of God.
God arranges the stars
so as to reveal his son, Jesus,
to bear witness to his son, Jesus Christ,
so that even the magi can come to know him.
Some of you are here this morning
because you are seeking God.
You are searching for God,
like these magi.
But you have not yet found him.
Maybe you have dabbled in other religions,
like these magi.
Maybe you have even tried out
various forms of divination.
You need to stop trying to find God
in your own way.
You need to stop trying to
jerry-rig your spiritual life.
And you need to start reading the manual.
Because God has revealed himself to us
in the way of salvation,
in his word.
The magi knew that the king of the Jews
has been born,
but only from scripture can they learn
that this king is the Messiah,
the promised Messiah,
the long-awaited Messiah
who will save his people from their sins,
as we saw in Matthew 1, 21.
No matter where you have been in life,
no matter what you have done in life,
no matter what kind of dark secrets
you harbor and you hide
from those around you,
Jesus the Christ is able to save you
from your sins.
Even people who are an abomination to God,
because of their sins,
like you, like me,
God in Christ can save us from our sins.
So that those who once were an abomination
because of their sins are changed,
they are chosen,
they are made treasure of possessions
and beloved sons and daughters of the living God.
And secondly,
the story of the magi teaches us
that God's grace extends beyond the Jews
to all nations.
In the Old Testament,
the East is where the pagan nations
that are excluded from God's promise
and plan live.
The East, right,
if you remember from Abraham's story,
Abraham is the father of the Jews,
but Abraham had other wives besides Sarah,
and he also had other sons besides Isaac,
who was God's chosen line
through whom the messianic king would come.
And because Abraham knew
that the promise of God for him
would be fulfilled through Isaac's line,
in Genesis 25, verse 5 to 6,
he gives everything he has to Isaac,
and then he just gives his other sons
some gifts and sends them away.
And where does he send these sons away to?
He says he sent them away from his son Isaac,
eastward, to the east country.
This is a poignant phrase
because after Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden,
humanity is exiled out from the east of the Garden
because that's where the entrance is
to the Garden of Eden.
And in Genesis 4, 16, it says,
Cain went away from the presence of the Lord
and settled in the land of Nod,
east of Eden.
In this way, east of Eden,
east of the promised land,
is a painful reminder of sin.
It represents humanity's separation from God,
their alienation from God.
But now, because the promised Messiah has come,
and the descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
the true son of David has come,
through him God reconciles all nations to himself,
even from the east.
In Christ Jesus,
all those who put their faith in Jesus for salvation
become children of God through faith.
That's why it says in Galatians 3, 28, 29,
there is neither Jew nor Greek,
neither Jew nor Gentile.
There is neither slave nor free.
There is no male and female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you are Christ's,
then you are Abraham's offspring,
heirs according to promise.
Even those from the east
can be counted heirs of Abraham,
according to the promise.
In light of this,
it is no coincidence
that these magi bow down before Jesus
and present as gifts to Jesus
gold and spices,
frankincense and myrrh.
Because in 1 Kings chapter 10,
when Queen of Sheba,
who also comes from the east and the south,
paid homage to King Solomon in Jerusalem,
she brought gold
and a very great quantity of spices.
Jesus is being portrayed
as the new and better Solomon,
the true and greater son of David.
In fact, Jesus says that explicitly
in Matthew 12, 42.
He says that the Queen of Sheba
will rise up at the judgment
and condemn the faithless generation.
For she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon
and behold,
something greater than Solomon is here.
And that's Jesus.
It was prophesied that the nations
would come and bow down
to the Messianic king
and that they would present gifts to him.
Psalm 72, 10 to 11,
it says this,
that the royal son,
the king that God has chosen,
it says of him,
may the kings of Tarshish
and of the coastlands
render him tribute.
May the kings of Sheba
and Seba bring gifts.
May all kings fall down before him.
All nations serve him.
And what do these magi from the east do?
They fall down before Jesus in worship
and they bring gifts
and pay him tribute.
Likewise, it says in Isaiah 60,
verse one through six,
arise, shine for your light has come
and the glory of the Lord
has risen upon you.
For behold,
darkness shall cover the earth
and thick darkness the peoples.
But the Lord will arise upon you
and his glory will be seen upon you
and nations shall come to your light
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
All those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense
and shall bring good news,
the praises of the Lord.
Everything's prophesied.
They bring magi,
what gifts,
gold and frankincense.
They bring good news,
the tidings that the king of the Jews
has come to save his people.
But yes,
more than just that,
the presence of the magi here
in this scene tells us
that this king
is no king of Jews only.
He is no regional king like Herod.
He is the universal king,
the sovereign king,
the king of kings.
His name,
every tongue will confess
and before him
every knee will bow.
And that's why
when we pray together
as a church
during prayers of the people,
we don't merely pray
for our own locality.
We pray for the nations
because Jesus is king
not only among Americans
but among all peoples
and among all nations.
I was contacted this week
by a fellow
Williams College alum,
class of 1965,
so he's a lot older than me.
And he's writing a book
on the history
of Williams College
and Williamstown,
which also includes
the history
of the Haystack Movement.
For those of you
who don't know,
the Haystack Movement
commemorates,
it's on Williams College campus,
it commemorates
the prayer meeting
that several Williams College
students partook in
next to a haystack
in 1806.
It was there
that these students
made a commitment
to spread the gospel
among the foreign nations.
And they were instrumental
in the founding
of the American Board
of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions,
which is the first
foreign missionary society
in the United States.
It's that organization
that sent out
Adoniram Justin
and Luther Rice
as the first official
foreign missionary
sent out
from the United States.
I happened to be
a student at Williams
in 2006
during the bicentennial
celebration
of the event.
And because of that,
I had written some op-eds
and this alum
got a hold of those op-eds
and tracked me down,
saw that I was a pastor
and wrote to me
asking for some comments
about the Haystack Movement
and the monuments
so that he could include
it in his book.
And I was sad to hear
that apparently,
this is what he told me,
that the Haystack Monument
had been crudely defaced
in 2018
and in 2023
by people
who think
that missionary work
is inherently imperialistic
because they don't believe
that anyone
should impose
their religious beliefs
on anyone else.
But here's my problem
with that view.
If Jesus
is a local
deity,
if Jesus
is a regional king,
then yes,
that makes sense.
When you're in the U.S.,
you're under the authority
of the President
of the United States
of America.
When you go to China,
you're under the authority
of the President
of China.
Sure,
local kings
and local rulers,
that makes sense.
But Jesus
is not a local king.
Jesus is not
a regional king.
Jesus
is the king
of kings
over all
the earth.
That's why
we do not have
the luxury
to say to people,
well,
Jesus is for me,
but maybe he's not
for you.
We do not have
that luxury.
This is why
we cannot say,
well,
Jesus is for
our country,
but maybe not
for yours,
maybe not
for your culture.
We can't say that.
Because Jesus'
kingship
demands
the allegiance
of every single
person on this earth.
He deserves it.
And that's why
we must share
the gospel
with our neighbors.
That's why
we must make
disciples
of all nations.
Christians.
So on the one hand,
it's right when
people say,
well,
Christianity is not
primarily a political
religion.
That is true
because Jesus said
in John 18,
36,
my kingdom
is not of this world.
In his first coming,
Jesus did not come
to establish
an earthly kingdom.
But on the other hand,
Christianity is
profoundly political,
radically subversive,
subversive
because it creates
a people
whose primary
allegiance
is not to
any earthly king
but to King Jesus.
And this is why
all throughout history,
autocrats and despots
have feared
Christians
and have sought
to control
and subjugate
Christians
because they know
our loyalty lies
to someone else.
and that's why
it makes sense
in verse 3
when it says,
when Herod the king
heard this,
he was troubled
and all Jerusalem
with him.
Herod the king
mentioned here
is Herod the first.
Wikipedia calls him
Herod the great
but I do not give him
that favor.
He is Herod the first.
He was a Roman
Jewish client king.
Most of the time
the Bible mentions
King Herod,
it's referring to
his son
King Antipas
or Herod Antipas
or to his grandson
Herod Agrippa
but in the early
chapters of Matthew
when Herod's mentioned
it's Herod the first.
He rose to power
largely because
of his father's
good relations
with Julius Caesar.
He carried favor
with the Romans
and got himself
appointed as the
provincial governor
of Galilee
and eventually
through many brutal
tactics and after
many murders
he eventually became
sole king of Judea
with the approval
and permission
of the Roman Senate.
So immediately
when Herod hears
the retinue of Magi
asking where is he
who has been born
king of the Jews
Herod is troubled
because you see
Herod was not born
king of the Jews.
He was appointed
king of the Jews
by the Romans
and despite his
rebuilding of the
Jewish temple
and his many projects
and his pretensions
of being the savior
of the Jews
he did not come
from the messianic line
as Jesus did
as Matthew took pains
to show us
in chapter 1
of his book.
And according to
second century historian
Julius Africanus
Herod destroyed
all of the Jewish
genealogical records
that were preserved
in the public archives.
Why?
Because he was
he was shamed
embarrassed
by his
Edomian heritage
because he was
descended
not from Jacob
Israel
but from Esau.
Not from the chosen line
but from the excluded line.
He feared
that someone
one day
would show up
with an actual
royal lineage
and say
I am the king
of the Jews.
In fact
Herod
was such a paranoid
and suspicious man
in general
that he killed
two of his ten wives
and three of his sons
he executed
for suspicion
of treason.
So Herod's head
already full
of murderous plots
is already spinning
in full gear
in this passage.
He wants to know
he inquires
the Magi
in verse 7
what time
did the star
appear?
I mean who cares
what time?
Why do you want to know
what time
the star appeared?
Because he wants to know
how old the child is
so he can find him
and kill him.
That's what we'll see
next week.
And he tells
the Magi
in verse 8
go and search
diligently
for the child
and when you have
found him
bring me word
that I too
may come
and worship him.
hypocrisy.
He has no intention
of bowing down
to another king.
He is just
recruiting the Magi
to be informants
in his secret service.
Imagine yourself
in Herod's shoes
for a minute.
The Magi
from the east
comes
with a lot
of fanfare.
Where is he
who has been born
king of the Jews?
For we saw
his star
when it rose
and have come
to worship him.
What did you say?
Did you say
king of the Jews?
That's me.
Did you say
he was born
king of the Jews?
Interesting.
You say
you saw a star
and you've come
to worship him?
To pay your respects
to him
and bow down
before him?
Well you never
came to my inauguration?
You never came
to bow before me?
And notice
that the Magi
are never
described
in this passage
as falling down
before Herod
as they do
before Jesus
who is still
a mere child.
Herod
is seething
with murderous
anger
beneath his mask
of cordiality
because he is
troubled.
He is threatened.
He knows
there can only
be one.
In 333 B.C.,
Alexander
the king
of Macedon
thoroughly
defeated
Darius III,
king of Persia
at the Battle
of Isis.
He decimated
the Persian army
and then he took
Darius' mother,
wife,
and daughters
all captive.
A complete defeat
for Darius.
The demoralized
Darius
before the next battle
proposed a truce
to Alexander
offering him
all the lands
west of the Euphrates,
his daughter's hand
in marriage,
his son,
Ocus,
as a hostage,
and 30,000 talents
as ransom price
for the rest
of his family.
But Alexander
famously rejected
his offer saying,
heaven cannot
brook two sons
nor earth
two masters.
In other words,
this land
is not big enough
for two kings,
Darius.
there can only be
one supreme ruler.
Alexander didn't want
a part of the Persian
empire.
He wanted all of it
under his rule
and eventually
he does conquer
all of Persia.
we see a similar
conflict here
in Matthew 2.
Look at how many times
Herod is called
king in this passage.
Verse 1,
in the days of Herod
the king.
Verse 3,
when Herod
the king
heard this.
Verse 9,
after listening
to the king,
Matthew is making
this contrast
and this conflict
between King Herod
and King Jesus
very obvious.
Who is the real
king of the Jews?
Matthew's answer
is also very obvious.
It's Jesus.
The Magi are given
two contradicting
commands
from these two kings.
King Herod
tells them
to report back
to him
once they have
found this child
king,
the Christ.
But God
warns them
in a dream
not to return
to Herod
in verse 12.
And which king
do they obey?
Of course,
King Jesus.
They departed
to their own country
by another way.
They take the long
way around
because there can be
only one king.
Our world today
has many rulers
and many kings
but the heavens
and the earth
will only brook
one king
in the end.
And that's
King Jesus.
Many of our lives
we live
as
wannabe kings.
We want
no one else
telling us
how to live,
what we can do
and what we cannot do.
We obey God
as long as
it fits
with our will,
our desires.
But as soon as
there's a conflict
of wills,
our will
trumps God's will
and we betray
the reality
that we think
of ourselves
as the highest
authority,
not God.
God.
But there can only
be one.
Heaven cannot
brook two sons
nor earth
two masters.
Where does
your loyalty
lie?
Our sinful
flesh
resists
the kingship
of Jesus.
I know
this
because
every day
I must
wrestle
with my
selfish desires.
Every day
I am faced
with many
decisions.
King Jesus
wants me
to be
patient here
but
King me
wants
everything
my way
right now.
King Jesus
wants me
to listen
well to
other people
to be
slow to
speak
but quick
to hear
but King
me
wants to
blabber on
and on
and make
the conversations
all about
me.
King
Jesus
wants me
to subordinate
my desires
and my
dreams
under
his
purposes
and
priorities
but King
me
wants to
subordinate
his word
and his
will
under my
dreams
and my
desires
because
no way
I'm giving
that up.
Do you
know how
smart I
am?
Do you
know how
gifted I
am?
Do you
know what
kind of
heritage
I have?
No,
I'm not
giving
that up.
there can
only be
one.
When was
the last
time you
believed the
Bible even
when you
came across
something that
offended your
sensibilities?
When was
the last
time you
obeyed God's
word even
when you
came across
something that
you really
didn't like
and didn't
want to
do?
Do you
this is
why
reading the
Bible is
always a
moral exercise
not just a
mental one or
an intellectual
one because
every time you
read this
book God's
word you're
faced with
a choice
and there
can only
be one
king.
Is your
primary allegiance
to an
earthly king
or a
political
party or
is it to
king Jesus?
Is your
primary allegiance
to another
man or
another woman
in your
life or
is it to
king Jesus?
Is your
primary allegiance
to yourself
or to
king Jesus?
If you're
like me you
fight this
every day.
I call
myself a
servant
of the
king.
I am a
servant of
the king
by his
grace.
And I
want to
honor him
and I
want to
pay homage
to him
and I
want to
see all
people
prostrate
and lie
down and
worship
him but
every day
I get in
the way.
Every day
I get in
the way.
and I
have to
die
again.
No
Sean.
That's
not your
place.
Fall down
before him.
is king
Jesus
really
worthy
of our
wholehearted
worship
and absolute
fealty?
Yes he
is.
And let
me show
you why.
We're already
seeing that
Jesus is no
ordinary
child and
that he
is no
ordinary
king.
That these
foreign
dignitaries
travel a
long distance
to come
and pay
homage to
him and
they prostrate
themselves
before him
in worship
which is a
sign of
abject
submission
because you
can't do
anything when
you're lying
flat on the
ground.
You can't
defend yourself.
You're
completely
and helplessly
at the
mercy of
the person
you are
buying down
to and
that's the
gesture that
they bring
to this
king.
And they
do that to
him when
he's still
a child.
And that
picture of
these important
people,
these
VIPs,
prostrate
before a
child Jesus
is a
wonderful
illustration
of what
Jesus teaches
us in
Matthew 18
1-4.
When his
disciples ask
him,
who is the
greatest in
the kingdom
of heaven?
Jesus tells
them,
he calls to
him a
child,
puts him
in the
midst of
them and
says,
truly I
say to
you,
unless you
turn and
become like
children,
you will
never enter
the kingdom
of heaven.
Whoever
humbles himself
like this
child is the
greatest in
the kingdom
of heaven.
Jesus is a
king who
has humbled
himself, the
son of God
who took on
human flesh
and has
become a
son of man.
He came to
our world as
a baby and
grew up as a
toddler.
This Jesus
literally became
a child.
And if we
want to be
great in the
kingdom of God,
we must emulate
his humility.
theologian and
biblical counselor
David Paulison
once summarized
Christian
sanctification
succinctly this
way.
This is what it
means to become
sanctified, to
become more, to
grow as a
Christian, to
become more
childlike toward
God, our
Father, and to
become more
Christlike toward
other people.
It's simple that
way, isn't it?
In the natural
realm, the more
we grow, the more
independent we
become.
But maturity
works backwards
in the spiritual
realm.
The more we
grow, the more
dependent on God
we become.
The more humble
and prayerful and
dependent we
become.
The more we
recognize our
own, that our
own righteousness
is woefully
inadequate, the
more we cling
ever more to
the righteousness
of Christ alone,
more and more to
the mercy and
grace of God
alone, we become
more dependent as
we grow, not
less.
And the
worshipped child
king is also a
wonderful illustration
of Matthew 20,
25 to 28, when
Jesus says, you
know that the
rulers of the
Gentiles lorded
over them and
their great ones
exercise authority
over them.
It shall not be
so among you.
But whoever
would be great
among you must
be your servant,
and whoever
would be first
among you must
be your slave,
even as the
son of man came
not to be served,
but to serve,
and to give his
life as a ransom
for many.
When we behold
King Jesus in his
incarnation, in the
frailty and
vulnerability of this
human child we see
in Matthew 2, we see
clearly that Jesus
came not to be
served, but to
serve and to give
his life as a
ransom for many.
Jesus is called
the king of the
Jews, right, in
verse 2.
Jesus is never
again called the
king of the Jews
in the rest of the
gospel of Matthew
until we get to the
very end, chapter 27,
when Jesus is being
tried and crucified
to give his life as
a ransom for many.
In Matthew 27,
Pilate calls him the
king of the Jews,
and the soldiers
twist together a
crown of thorns and
put it on his head
and put a reed on
his right hand as a
mock scepter, and
then they kneel
before him and mock
him saying,
hail king of the
Jews.
And when Jesus is
crucified, they put a
sign above his head
which reads, this is
Jesus, the king of
the Jews.
This parallel
acclamation from
chapter 2 to
chapter 27 of Jesus
being hailed as the
king of the Jews
invites a stark
contrast.
Think about this.
If you only read
Matthew 2, 1 to 12,
you didn't know the
rest of the gospel
story, don't know
the rest of Matthew,
would you imagine
that Jesus' life
would end like that?
He's the king of the
Jews.
His birth was
foretold thousands of
years before he came.
He's the fulfillment of
all of the Old Testament
prophecies.
His birth was
announced by a star
in heaven.
The magi from the
east came to pay
homage to him and
they fell down before
him and worshipped
him.
How would you
imagine that story
to unfold?
Oh yes, he's
surely going to be a
great one.
He's going to conquer
kingdoms.
He's going to have
kings bow their knees
before him.
He's going to be the
first, the greatest.
But Jesus came to be
the last, to be a
servant king, to give
his life as a ransom
for many.
only myrrh he receives
at the end of his life
in John 19, 39, is the
myrrh that they use as a
spice mixture when they
bury him.
Why does King Jesus do
that?
It would be so painful
for me if I were there
in the first century
to watch Jesus endure
what he endures, the
shame, the pain, and the
humiliation.
Jesus, you don't deserve
that.
You deserve honor.
Your feet should never
touch this dirty earth.
Right up my shoulders.
Let us carry you
everywhere you go.
They don't deserve to
talk to you like that.
Let me have a word with
them.
But Jesus endures all of
it.
He dies a sinner's death
on the cross because he
knows that that is the
only way he can subdue a
rebel heart because he
knows that our hearts are
in rebellion against his
kingship, the kingship of
God.
So he rules us at the cross.
He dies for our sins on the
cross so that we can be
freed from our slavery to
sin so that we can be
transferred from the kingdom
of darkness to the kingdom of
the light of God and the
kingdom of his beloved son.
God.
That can only happen because
Jesus died for our sins and was
raised from the dead.
God.
Do you know a king like that?
No.
There's no king like that.
There's only one.
God.
And that's why he's worthy of
all our worship and all our
fealty and the loyalty and
allegiance of every nation and
kingdom on earth.
Let's pray together.
Father.
Oh, Father, what precious gift you
have given us in Jesus Christ,
your son.
Oh, Lord, we praise you that
castaways that we are and we
deserve to be.
That you have made us a kingdom.
That you have given us a king in
Jesus.
Oh, Lord, we serve him.
We worship him.
We bow before him.
And we love him.
Help us to do so more and more
as Jesus deserves.
For your glory, God.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.