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 when it rose and have come to worship him.
When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him.
When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law,
he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet has written.
But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.
For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him, report to me so that I may go and worship him.
After they had heard the king, they went on their way.
And the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshipped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Let's pray.
Father God, we thank you for this wonderful, true historical account of the early years of Jesus.
And particularly this account of the Magi as they come to worship Jesus.
We pray that we would not just fill our minds with information nor mere facts,
but that our hearts would be moved and stirred to worship you as the Messiah.
Teach us today why and what it means to worship you.
May we see you in all your greatness and in all your glory.
And may we too be overjoyed at meeting Christ afresh.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, Matthew's account introduces us to perhaps the most well-known visitors to Jesus
in the whole story, the Magi.
And three things we're going to learn from them and from this passage as we follow their journey to Jesus.
Here's the first.
Who the King is.
Right at the beginning, there's a question mark about who is the true King.
Have a look at verse 1.
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?
Now, something is not right when you go to the King of the land and ask the King, where is the King?
It's like knocking on the door of Aras Anukteron and asking Michael D. Higgins,
can you tell me where the President of Ireland is?
So, who is the King?
Well, first, Herod claims to be the King.
Herod was installed, historians tell us, as King over Judea by the Romans.
He was a ruthless character.
He killed off members of his family who were a threat to his power.
He had no problem disposing of them.
He ruled with an iron fist.
So, when we read in verse 3, when King Herod heard this, when he heard that there was another king born,
he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him.
When King Herod's kingship was threatened, there was every reason for people to be in fear.
In fact, if there was any hint of rebellion, he sent in his hit squad.
And the events that follow in chapter 2 prove it.
At the end of verse 13, the dream that had come to Joseph,
and in the dream he was told, end of verse 13,
that Herod is going to search for the child, that is Jesus, to kill him.
Verse 16, when Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious.
And he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and in its vicinity,
who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
A massacre of baby boys.
It was a nasty, nasty piece of work.
He was a power-hungry, ruthless tyrant.
So Herod claims that he is the king.
But the visit of the Magi would have us look to Jesus.
Because they claim that Jesus is the king.
Now we don't know a lot about the Magi.
Tradition calls them the three wise men.
I was talking to somebody during coffee and they said,
we certainly need a lot of them.
And three kings.
That's another way they're referred to.
Probably because there are three gifts mentioned.
But the fact is, we don't know a whole lot about them.
We don't know how many there are.
And nothing tells us that they actually were kings.
Verse 2 just tells us they were Magi.
People who studied the stars.
We might call them astrologers today.
And while their identity is unclear,
their mission is absolutely clear.
Look at verse 2.
They've come from another country to Jerusalem
and they ask the king,
where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?
We saw his star when it rose
and we have come to worship him.
Now no one gets to be born a king.
You become a king.
To have the right to a throne,
you have to wait until the present king dies
or the king abdicates
or there's some kind of overthrow of the kingdom.
You are not born a king.
You become a king.
But yet the Magi, as they come,
are claiming that this child,
whose star they have followed,
in verse 2,
is born king of the Jews.
They're claiming that Herod,
well, you're not the king,
but Jesus is the king.
Now he's not just king of the Jews,
but Jesus is king of all people and all nations.
Well, how do we know that?
Well, there are two things, I think,
that from this text
that point to this fact that Jesus is king,
not just of the Jews,
but of all people.
Firstly, the Magi are not Jews themselves.
They've come from the East,
but yet they want to worship King Jesus.
Why would someone from another culture
and another country
want to worship the king of another people?
You don't worship another king
unless you're sure that the king
is also your king too.
Second, the Magi are also staking their life on it.
They don't just think this is true,
they're actually ready to put their life
on the line for it.
If Herod was ready to kill all the boys under two,
then you can be quite sure
he would put these foreigners to death
even for questioning his kingship.
The fact is, by asking Herod,
where is the true king,
they run the risk of being put to death themselves.
You see, Matthew is wanting us to see
that the one born king of the Jews,
Jesus, is the king.
But not just king of the Jews,
he's king of the Magi,
he's the king of all peoples and all nations.
And the problem is with that,
people don't like it.
And we often don't like it either.
Because I want to live as king.
You see, Herod, in his role and in his position of authority,
can't stand another person taking his place as king.
He sees it as a threat to his rule.
In fact, he'll do anything it takes to keep his kingship.
Even if that means the death of innocent two-year-old boys.
He will massacre whoever stands in his way.
Anything to keep hold of power.
But perhaps what is even more disturbing
is the fact that I am Herod.
And you are Herod.
Because I want to be king of my life
and king of my world.
I want to be the one who makes up the rules.
And no one is going to tell me how I should live.
No one, especially King Jesus,
will tell me what I can do
and what I can't do.
In fact, we stand alongside the crowd
who cried for the blood of Jesus.
It comes later in Matthew's Gospel
where Jesus has been arrested
and he is before Pilate.
Let's read what's on the screen.
What shall I do then with Jesus
who is called the Messiah?
God's chosen king, Pilate asked.
They all answered, crucify him.
Why?
What crime has he committed, asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, crucify him.
You see, every time we fight
against the kingship of Jesus,
every time we disobey his word,
when we turn our backs on what he has to say to us,
we stand with those who called and cried out
for the death of an innocent man.
Like Herod,
we have sought to get rid of Jesus
to maintain our self-autonomy.
Jesus is not just king of the Jews
or just king of the Magi.
He is born king of my life
and he's born king of your life.
So first,
who is the king?
Well, Jesus is our true king.
Second,
why we worship this king.
Well, there's two things that show us
why we should worship Jesus as king.
First,
there's the extraordinary events
around the birth of Jesus Christ.
when Herod hears that there's another king,
he calls in all the religious experts
in verse 4.
When he had called together
all the people's chief priests
and the teachers of the law,
he asked them
where the Messiah was to be born.
And being religious experts,
they knew the answer.
Verse 5,
in Bethlehem in Judea,
they replied,
because this is what was written
by the prophet,
the prophet Micah.
Verse 6,
But you,
Bethlehem,
in the land of Judea,
are by no means
least among the rulers of Judah.
For out of you,
out of Bethlehem,
will come a ruler
who will shepherd
my people Israel.
Now that quote,
verse 6,
comes from the prophet Micah.
Written over
700 years before
the coming of Christ.
Predicting
that the Messiah,
the king,
God's saving king,
would be born
in a town called Bethlehem.
Well you say,
what's so unique about that?
I mean,
hundreds of babies
could have been born
in Bethlehem
since that prophecy.
So how do we know
that Jesus
is the one being talked about?
How do we know
Jesus is the one
who is to be born
the king?
Well something
had got the Magi's attention.
Verse 2,
We saw his star
when it rose
and have come
to worship him.
Verse 9,
And after they had heard
the king,
they went on their way,
and the star
they had seen
when it rose
went ahead of them
until it stopped
over the place
where the child was.
Now that's extraordinary.
They don't have access
to Google Maps.
They have just a star.
And as astrologers,
there has been
something different
in the sky.
There is something
unique about this star.
something that's different.
It moved
so that they could
follow it.
We're not quite sure
how or what,
but it moved
in a particular direction
that they could follow.
And it was at a level
or a height,
I guess,
where it stopped
right above
where Jesus was.
So they knew
this was the place
where Jesus was.
These are
extraordinary things.
A prophecy made
700 years before
and a star
that pinpoints
the exact location
of this child.
At the very least,
we have to stand back
and be amazed
at extraordinary events
such as this.
This is no
ordinary child.
This is the Messiah
who is to be
worshipped.
It isn't just
the words of God,
but also
all of creation
through the stars
themselves
that point
to the very fact
that Jesus
is here.
So first,
we have the
extraordinary events
as to why we should
worship.
Then who Jesus is
because Micah
not only tells us
where the king
will be born,
but what this king
will be like.
Let's read
verse 6 again.
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 shepherd
my people Israel.
Bethlehem.
you might as well
call it
Bally
go backwards.
Not a lot
goes on
in this small
town of Bethlehem
and not a lot
comes out of
Bethlehem either.
But yet,
what is considered
to be least
amongst everybody
in all the talk,
it's a least place,
it's a nothing place.
Yet,
the prophet
tells us,
verse 6,
out of you,
out of backward,
unimportant,
insignificant Bethlehem
will come a ruler
who will shepherd
my people Israel.
Now,
Matthew identifies
Jesus
as being
this shepherd.
A little later on
in Matthew,
we read this,
when Jesus saw
the crowds,
when he saw
the crowds,
Jesus had
compassion on them
because they were
harassed
and helpless
like sheep
without a shepherd.
You remember
the reading
Ralph read
from Ezekiel?
The people
were leaderless.
They were left
to themselves,
nobody looking out,
everybody just
looking out
for their own self.
And as Jesus
looked out
on the world,
as Jesus looked out
on the people,
he saw lives
broken and ruined
by sinful behaviours
and selfish choices.
Literally,
heading towards
hell
and not even
knowing they were
in danger.
that's what it
means.
They are
harassed
and helpless.
They're going
in every direction
but the right
direction.
And just like
sheep need
a shepherd
to lead them
and direct them
and show them
the way to
safety,
so we need
a shepherd king
who will lead us
and bring us
to safety,
bring us
to a place
of security,
bring us
to a place
of peace
and joy.
And that's
what Jesus,
the true shepherd,
did.
He is the shepherd
of the people.
Just as Ezekiel
had pointed forward
to,
God said,
I will.
I will come
and rescue
and bind up
their wounds.
I will heal
them.
I will restore
them.
I will lead
them.
And so Jesus
is that
promised
shepherd king
who came
to give
his life
for us
on the cross,
who rose
again
from the grave
defeating death
and giving us
true life.
You see,
many people
will see Jesus
as insignificant
and unimportant.
The Christmas
celebrations
will go on
but Jesus
doesn't get
involved
or isn't
included
because,
well,
he's from
Bethlehem.
Backward,
unimportant,
insignificant.
But yet,
he is the
great shepherd,
the one who
has given
his life
so that we
might have
life.
This is
the Messiah
who has
come into
the world
for you
and for me.
He is
the king.
who is
to be
worshipped.
You see,
Jesus
is worth it.
Look at
verse 10.
Look at
the response
of the
Magi.
Verse 10,
when they
saw the
star,
they were
overjoyed.
When we
examine these
extraordinary
events,
a 700-year-old
prophecy,
a moving
star,
when we
see that
Jesus is
the great
shepherd who
loves us
and gives
his life
for us,
we will
not be
disappointed.
We will
be overjoyed.
In other
words,
when we
come to
Jesus,
it is
beyond what
our imagination
could ever
take in.
In fact,
it is only
those who
worship Jesus
experience
true and
lasting joy.
Look back
at these
religious
experts in
verse 4.
They had
all the
scriptures,
they had
all the
knowledge about
where Jesus,
the Messiah,
God's chosen
king,
was going to
be born.
They only
needed to be
asked and
they knew
it straight
away.
Oh yeah,
Micah,
the prophet,
Bethlehem,
you'll find
him there.
But they
don't move
an inch,
do they?
They don't
follow after
the Magi.
They just
stay put.
They would
not worship.
But look
at the Magi.
These were
pagans,
non-religious
people.
They didn't
have a Bible.
Well,
they had
heard about
the king
of the Jews,
but they
didn't have
the privilege
of having
the scriptures.
They didn't
have great
teachers to
teach them
about the
coming Messiah.
But what
little knowledge
they did
have,
what they
saw from
creation
itself,
they acted
upon.
They
followed the
star and
they were
not disappointed.
They were
overjoyed.
How much
more privileged
are we
today
in 2018
to have
the fullness
of God's
revelation?
All the
scriptures,
the account
of Matthew,
all of it
written down
for us,
the gift
of his
Holy Spirit
to lead
us and
to show
us who
is the
true king.
God's
Lord's
and we
could name
all the
different people
and all the
different folk
who came
to visit
Jesus,
where it
happened,
when it
happened,
who he
is.
But we
can stay
put where
we are
in our
seats
and not budge an inch
and worship the true Messiah.
We just go home and carry on our lives
as per normal.
Nothing changes.
Just full of religiosity,
full of knowledge in our heads,
but never in our hearts.
We only experience true and lasting joy
when we follow with the Magi
and worship him
and we will be overjoyed.
Jesus is worth it.
So, who the King is,
why we worship the King,
and then third, how we worship the King.
The Magi, it's crystal clear,
have come to worship Jesus.
We see that at the end of verse 2.
We saw his star when it rose
and have come to worship him.
Now, worship, to worship someone or something,
is to give them the highest value
or the greatest worth.
So, it's not surprising that in the New Testament,
the word worship is only ever used
in relation to God.
No one else receives worship.
No one else is deserving of worship.
Worship is set apart for God alone.
And Matthew helps us to understand
how we should worship Jesus,
God's King, the God-Man.
Two things we see from verse 11.
First, we submit to Jesus.
Verse 11.
On coming to the house,
they saw the child with his mother Mary,
and they bowed down and worshipped him.
Bowing down, that physical act of bowing down
is to lower yourself before someone
who is greater than you.
I mean, they're before a child,
an infant.
But they bow down,
lowering themselves.
In other words,
they are acknowledging that this child
who they come before
has authority and power over them.
And when we bow down to someone,
we are saying,
they are worth trusting.
You deserve my total allegiance
and unwavering loyalty.
Yes, there were other folk there.
Mary was there.
I assume Joseph was there too.
But only Jesus gets the worship.
The one born a King.
And that is exactly what is expected of us.
Worship is not just singing songs
for 20 minutes on a Sunday.
It includes our singing.
But worship is submitting yourself to Jesus.
It's bowing down to him.
Bowing our lives to him 24-7.
The one who deserves and demands
our total allegiance
and unwavering loyalty.
In bowing down,
we are submitting to his word,
to the authority of God's word.
It's living a life that says daily,
your will be done.
Not my will be done.
It's surrendering our self-autonomy.
This willing and wanting ourselves
to rule over our life.
It's putting that to one side.
Turning from it in repentance.
And joyfully obeying Jesus.
So how do we worship this King?
We submit to him.
Second,
we serve Jesus.
Look at the rest of verse 11.
Then they opened their treasures
and presented him with gifts of gold,
frankincense,
and myrrh.
Now,
an awful lot has been said
about the meaning of these gifts
and their symbolism.
Some talk about gold
being of value,
great treasure,
frankincense,
gold for a king,
frankincense for deity,
myrrh,
speaking of his death
and his burial.
But Matthew doesn't actually say
anything about their meaning,
so we can't be quite sure
about that.
But the emphasis seems to be
on their treasures
and gifts.
The point is that
what they bring
is valuable
and precious.
The Magi have sought
to give their best treasures.
They opened their treasures
and presented him
with gifts.
In other words,
nothing is too extravagant
for Jesus.
And this is what
getting to the heart of worship
is all about.
So let me ask us all a question.
What is it that you most treasure
in your life?
Think about it for a minute.
What is your greatest love
or possession?
or who do you value the most?
Maybe it's your spouse
or your child.
Maybe it's your house
or your job.
Because whatever you value
the most,
whatever you set up
to be having
the greatest value,
that is what you worship.
It's what you give your life to.
It's what you serve.
It's what you dedicate
your time in doing.
The account of the Magi
is telling us this,
that there is only one person
who is worth our worship.
Only one who deserves
our service.
Therefore,
everything else
and everyone else
is to be given over to him.
All our desires,
all our hopes,
all our wishes,
all our dreams
are to be put
and sacrificed
to him.
He is to be
our greatest treasure,
our greatest value.
And if he is
our greatest treasure,
then it demands
our very life itself.
Listen to what Jesus said.
Just flick forward
to Matthew chapter 10.
Matthew chapter 10.
Verse 37.
As we read these verses,
just think of that question.
Who do you treasure the most?
What is your greatest value?
What's of worth to you?
Verse 37.
Anyone who loves
their father
or mother,
this is Jesus speaking,
anyone who loves
their father
or mother
more than me
is not worthy of me.
Anyone who loves
their son
or daughter
more than me
is not worthy of me.
No one.
Not even your closest spouse
or child
can come before
your first
primary love
of Jesus.
Verse 38.
Whoever does not
take up their cross
and follow me
is not worthy of me.
If you cannot
sacrifice
and let go
of your treasures
and take up
your cross,
you're not worthy of me.
whoever finds
their life
will lose it
and whoever
loses their life
for my sake
will find it.
Jesus is saying,
you must give
your life
to me.
That's what worship is.
Give your life
to me.
Submit to me
as your true shepherd.
Serve me
as your true shepherd.
The one who gave
his life for you.
The one who will
lead you in paths
that are plentiful.
The one who will
give you life
in all its abundance.
Life
where you will be
overjoyed.
Jesus is the king
and the king
is to be worshipped.
He is worth it
because he has given
his all,
his everything
for us.
Let's pray.
As we pray,
let's just take
a moment
in the quietness
to reflect
on those things
that we
value
and treasure
more
than the Lord
Jesus.
Ask him
to help us
to surrender
those things
to him
and that we
would give
our life
to him
in complete
surrender.
Amen.
Father, we are
sorry.
Sorry for
playing
Herod,
for wanting
to rule
over our
own life
and to
protect
our self-autonomy.
Father,
please forgive us.
We run
afresh to you,
the true
shepherd king
who loves
us
immensely,
who has
given his life
for us,
who has
given us
life
in all
its fullness.
And so
we come,
Father,
we bow
before you.
We submit,
we surrender.
We give
our life
as our gift
to you
to say
thank you.
Thank you for
being our
king.
help us
that we
would worship
you rightly
and honor
you
for who
you are.
And may
the world
also follow
in the steps
of the
Magi.
May people
we meet
this season
see
the greatness
of Jesus
and may
they bow
down
and be
overjoyed.
We pray
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.