Would you turn with me in a Bible to Matthew chapter 2?
We are looking at Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 through 12 this morning.
It's the story of the wise men, as it's traditionally known.
If you're looking in one of the Pew Bibles, page 807 is where you'll find it, Matthew 2, starting at verse 1.
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 Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.
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.
Many people are preparing to travel long distances this time of year.
Perhaps you are looking forward to finishing the semester
and heading home to visit family.
Or perhaps you're staying here
and looking forward to friends or family visiting you.
Or maybe you're just not going anywhere at all,
and nobody's visiting you, and it's simpler that way.
Now let me ask, what motivates people
to embark on long, difficult, or even dangerous journeys?
Sometimes it's a desire to be reunited
with long-lost friends or family members.
Sometimes it's curiosity to be a world traveler,
bring back memories and photographs and souvenirs
and all kinds of interesting things.
Sometimes it's for the sake of expanding a business,
attending a conference, or for training or networking.
Well, in this morning's passage, we see a group of people,
the wise men, or the Greek word is the magi,
sometimes known as the magi,
they embark on a long, difficult, dangerous journey.
Now we're not certain where they came from.
They might have been from Persia.
There was lots of interest in astrology and stars in Persia,
or from Babylon perhaps, or perhaps from southern Arabia.
But either way, from any one of those three locations,
they would have had to travel a thousand miles or more
to get to Jerusalem.
Now even if they were riding on camels,
going 30 miles a day,
which is about the fastest you could go,
the journey would have taken at least a month each way,
without any of the modern traveling comforts
that we take for granted,
without any reliable police force
to protect them from robbers on the road,
without any call boxes or cell phones in case of emergency.
And the purpose of their journey
is to see a little kid
who is not related to them by blood,
who is not from their ethnic group or their nation,
who is probably too young to speak a word to them.
Now, babies are cute,
but you know what?
Now, they all look about the same.
Okay, parents, right?
Your own child is obviously the cutest in the world, right?
I mean, with that exception,
you know,
I don't know, they're all pretty cool,
but you wouldn't travel a thousand miles
for a whole month just to see an unusual baby.
And then when they arrive,
they bow down before him,
unload their most valuable possessions,
and return home empty-handed.
See, if you read this story,
you might be asking yourself,
why in the world
would they go all the way
in order to do that?
Well, according to the story,
the child whom they seek
is destined to be a king,
the king of the Jews,
as they say in verse 2.
But still, that raises a question.
Why would the elite members
of Persian or Babylonian
or Arabian society
care to visit the future king of Judea?
It would be like
President Obama
sending a delegation
of his cabinet advisors
to go on pilgrimage to Swaziland.
There's a small country
in southern Africa
that still has a hereditary monarchy
to bring lavish gifts
to the heir to the throne
and to declare
their undying loyalty to him.
It just wouldn't make sense.
Judea was a small province.
These were the elite members
of more powerful societies.
Why would they do this?
Well, the point of the whole story
is that this child whom they visit,
Jesus,
is destined to be
not only the king of the Jews,
but the king of all the world.
Now, last week we saw
in the end of Matthew 1
that Jesus is the savior.
That's what his name means.
Jesus, Joshua,
the Lord saves.
That he's come to save
or rescue his people
from their sins.
And we saw that Jesus is Emmanuel.
That he's God
who's come to live with us.
And here in chapter 2,
Matthew wants us to see
that Jesus is
not only the savior,
not only God with us,
but he is the king
of all the nations of the world.
Do you notice how many times
Jesus is referred to
as the king
in this story?
Verse 2,
king of the Jews.
Verse 4,
the Christ.
That word means the Messiah
or the anointed one.
Verse 6,
a ruler,
a shepherd.
Of course,
Jesus is implicitly
contrasted with Herod,
who is the king,
referred to as king
in verse 1,
3,
and 9.
Now in this story,
we see three groups of people
who respond in three different ways
to the news
about this newborn king.
We see Herod,
who is hostile.
Herod is willing
to chase after Jesus
to get rid of him.
We see the chief priests
and scribes
who are complacent.
They don't travel anywhere.
They just stay put.
And then we see the wise men,
who are worshipers.
They travel a long way
in order to seek this child,
in order to devote themselves
completely to him.
Now as we consider
their three responses,
the question for us is,
how do we respond to this news
that Jesus is the king?
So first,
let's look at Herod.
Herod is hostile to Jesus
because he's threatened
by Jesus.
Now at first,
Herod pretends
to be interested.
He says,
go and search for him
so that I too
can come and worship him.
But really,
Herod just wants
to get rid of Jesus.
And if you read later on
in the chapter,
that becomes very clear.
Verse 16,
when he can't find Jesus,
he makes a decree
to kill all the baby boys
in the region
under two years of age.
Now we know
not only from this story,
but from other
historical accounts
that Herod
was paranoid,
jealous,
and ambitious.
He was known
as perhaps
the greatest builder
in Jewish history.
He expanded the temple,
constructed great fortresses,
made a whole new city,
the port city of Caesarea,
built large ships,
but he also murdered
one of his wives
and two of his sons
and many others
who weren't related to him.
According to the Jewish historian
Josephus,
when Herod became ill
and realized
he was about to die,
he was so concerned
that no one would mourn
his death
that he gave an order
that a large group
of distinguished men
should be killed
at the time of his death
so that the displays
of grief that he craved
would take place.
Thankfully,
this order was not
carried out.
Now in one sense,
Herod is the hardest character
in this story
to relate to
because he's so cruel.
And merciless.
But there's one thing
that Herod understood
very clearly
and very accurately.
Herod understood
that you cannot have
two kings
reigning over
the same place
at the same time.
Herod had ruled
for 30 years
over Judea
and Jerusalem.
He was called
king of the Jews
and he loved
to rule his kingdom.
He loved to be in charge
and he knew
that if some child
who wasn't even
related to him
was prophesied
to be the next
king of the Jews
that his days
were numbered
and his authority
was limited.
That's why he was
immediately troubled
by the report
of a new king.
If this Jesus
was the true king
chosen and appointed
by God
then Herod must
bow his knee
to Jesus.
And that's the last
thing that he wanted
to do.
And so Herod
did everything
he could
to get rid
of Jesus.
Now probably
none of us here
express hostility
to Jesus
through physical
violence.
But let me ask
that Jesus' claim
to have universal
and unlimited
authority
trouble you.
In other words
is there some
part of your life
where you do not
want Jesus
to be king?
Is there a territory
where you want
to be in control
and you want
to make the final
decisions and you
do not want
anyone including
Jesus to tell you
otherwise?
Maybe it's your
career ambitions.
You feel threatened
if anything gets
in the way of them.
Or your
sex life.
Jesus' commands
seem unreasonable
and restrictive.
Or your money.
You just
want to ignore
what Jesus
says about money.
You might feel
threatened
in some
part of your
life by Jesus'
commands or even
simply by his
presence.
Jesus said
no one can
serve two
masters.
Either he will
hate the one
and love the
other or he
will be devoted
to the one
and despise the
other.
In other words
Jesus is either
Lord of all
or he is not
Lord at all.
And in all his
madness and
cruelty this was
the one thing
that Herod
rightly perceived.
And he responded
by trying to get
rid of Jesus.
Of course
Herod's attempt
failed.
And the good
news is every
attempt to get
rid of Jesus
will ultimately
fail.
Because Jesus
is Lord.
And one day
every knee will
bow before him.
And every tongue
will confess either
willingly or
unwillingly that
he is Lord.
Herod's life
ended with him
trapped in his
own fear,
paranoia,
and ambition.
he died a
terribly painful
death.
Because he
was never
and he did
not turn
and be
reconciled
to this
Lord.
So Herod's
example is a
warning.
And I pray
that we may
not be like
Herod.
That we may
not be hostile
to Jesus'
authority and
trapped in
our own
self-centered
ambitions.
Christians.
But maybe
we don't
feel like
Herod,
but the
second group
of people
we see in
the story
are the
chief priests
and the
scribes.
Now the
chief priests
and the
scribes are
not actively
hostile to
Jesus.
They don't
try to get
rid of him,
but they
don't show
any interest.
They're
complacent.
They're
apathetic.
Herod comes
to them with
a question.
Where is the
Messiah to be
born?
And they
answer immediately,
quoting chapter
and verse
from the
Bible.
They know
the Bible
well.
In fact,
they quote
from Micah
and they
connect it
with what
God had
said in
2 Samuel 5
to David,
that he
would be
the shepherd
of the
people Israel.
They can
even string
two Bible
passages
together from
two different
parts of
the Old
Testament.
And surely
they had
heard the
report of
the wise
men.
Verse 3
says that
all Jerusalem
was troubled
by the
report,
so surely
they knew
where the
question was
coming from.
There's
this news
that a
new king
has been
born.
Perhaps
he's the
Messiah.
And Bethlehem
is only six
miles away
from Jerusalem.
You could
walk there
in two
hours.
And yet,
they don't
seem to
bother to
go and
check it
out.
They don't
go anywhere.
They answer
the question,
they know
the Bible,
but they
don't seek
after Jesus.
You see,
it's possible
to know
the Bible
very well
and to
be able
to quote
it,
to impress
everyone
else,
and still
have a
heart that
is cold
and indifferent
toward Jesus.
You know,
you can do a
Master's of
Divinity.
You can do a
Ph.D.
in Biblical
Studies.
You can
become a
pastor or a
seminary
professor and
end up
skeptical and
critical and
cynical of
everyone else
in the church
who hasn't
been enlightened.
Now, if
you're a
Div school
student, you
might be
saying, well,
yeah, that's
true.
I feel like
that's true of
some of my
professors.
They know a
lot of Bible
and ancient
texts, but
they don't
love Jesus.
But you
know, I'm
not talking
about your
professors.
Because they're,
for the most
part, probably
not here today.
I want to
speak to you
who are
here.
If you're
in Divinity
School, are
you attending
to your
spiritual life
while you're
studying?
You're growing
in knowledge
about the
Bible and
about theology
and church
history.
Are you
seeking just
as diligently
to grow in
your obedience
to God,
in your
devotion to
Jesus,
in your
dependence on
the Holy
Spirit, in
your service
to God's
people?
love.
The
Apostle Paul
says, mere
knowledge puffs
up.
It can make
you proud.
But love
builds up.
Love seeks to
strengthen the
whole community.
Now, I've been to
seminary myself.
love.
I understand.
It's a
challenging
place.
You see, the
problem for many
people who study
religion in an
academic context is
that their knowledge
increases greatly,
and their Christian
maturity increases
only slightly, if at
all.
And so there's this
increasing gap where
you have all this
growing knowledge that
you're not living out,
life.
And that's a
spiritual danger
whenever that
happens.
And it opens the
door to things like
pride and hypocrisy.
Going to seminary or
divinity school can be
one of the most
spiritually challenging
times of your entire
life.
Almost nobody expects
that or thinks of it
that way.
It's a spiritual
battleground.
So, brothers and
sisters, be aware of
the spiritual battle
that you are involved in
every day.
Don't sacrifice your
devotion to Jesus on
the altar of academic
respectability and
success.
Don't let your life
become so dominated by
the demands of your
classes that you end up
with all A's, but
never get meaningfully
involved in the life of
a local church, God's
people, who Jesus died
for.
You see, God has
brought you here.
Students, God has
brought you here so
that you can learn from
an elderly person who
has walked with Jesus
their whole life.
So that you can come
alongside a new
Christian believer and
be challenged by their
spiritual fervor, even
as you encourage and
train them.
So you can learn to
communicate biblical truth
in a way that four and
five-year-olds can
understand if you serve
in children's ministry.
Christian.
Now, if you're not in
div school, if you're not
in seminary, if you have
no plans to go there, pray
for your brothers and
sisters who are.
And come alongside them
and encourage them in their
love for Jesus.
You know, even if you're not
studying religion, the
culture of many academic
institutions fosters a
mindset of critical
thinking, where you're
expected to write papers
making persuasive arguments
that you don't even
believe.
And it can foster a kind
of complacency, a kind of
smugness, a kind of
distance, as if all
knowledge is a game.
And the goal of gaining
knowledge is to impress
others.
But if that's what
knowledge is all about,
it's empty.
It's meaningless.
The scribes give a
technically correct answer,
but they don't get
anywhere.
In their complacency, they
miss out on Jesus.
Let's not miss out.
So we see Herod, who is
hostile.
We see the chief priests,
who are complacent.
And finally, we see the
wise men, who come to
worship.
Now, most of us, when we
hear the word wise men or
wise people, we generally
have positive ideas.
But in the minds of
faithful Jews or early
Christians, wise men would
have been seen in an almost
entirely negative light.
The most unlikely
candidates to perceive
spiritual truth.
Now, the term wise men is
a translation of the
Greek word magi.
It's where we get the word
magic or magician.
And in other contexts,
magi refers to
astrologers who looked for
meaning and guidance in the
movements of the stars.
or sorcerers or wizards who
dabbled in the occult.
Or pagan priests or
advisors to pagan kings.
In fact, throughout the
Bible, references to magi,
apart from this passage, are
almost overwhelmingly
negative.
So Pharaoh's magicians in
Exodus attempt to duplicate
the plagues.
In Daniel, King
Nebuchadnezzar's magicians try to
interpret his dreams
unsuccessfully.
In the book of Acts, Simon,
the magician in chapter 8,
amazes the people with his
magic and tries to convince
them that he's somebody
great.
In Acts 13, there's a guy
named Alemus who's a magician
and false prophet who seeks to
turn people away from the
gospel of Jesus.
In Acts 19, the Christian
believers in Ephesus who had
practiced magic confessed their
sins and burned their books.
Of all things.
So if you were an early
Christian and you gathered
with other Christians and you
heard this story read for the
first time that a group of
magicians came all the way from
who knows where and worshiped
Jesus, you'd be surprised.
It would never be a story that
you would make up because it
would be so unexpected.
It's sort of like saying the
local horoscope reader came to
church and gave their whole
fortune in the offering.
You sort of think, what's going
on?
That sounds a little weird.
But they were drawn.
Even though they were in some
people's minds the most unlikely
candidates to perceive the truth,
they were drawn to seek Jesus.
They were drawn by this star.
Interestingly enough, God
communicates to them in a way
that they understood.
They spent a lot of time looking
at stars.
They probably had some
superstitious beliefs about
stars, but they see this star,
which is something that they can
understand, and yet it points
them to seek something that they
don't yet understand.
It wasn't an ordinary star.
Not only did it rise, it went
before them and came to rest over
the place where the child lay.
The star behaves a little bit like
the pillar of fire that led the
Israelites through the wilderness
at night, and the pillar of cloud
by day.
In other words, it was a supernatural
guidance of some kind.
It wasn't just an unusual comet.
Now they're led by this star.
And the Magi seek after Jesus
with great eagerness and diligence.
They travel for hundreds of miles
over dangerous roads.
They leave behind the comfort and
security of their home country.
They come to Jerusalem and they ask
for directions.
Now when's the last time you've seen
a group of several grown men
asking for directions, willingly?
I wasn't among them.
Right?
And when the local religious leaders
are complacent, they're not
deterred by that.
They're not discouraged by the
complacency of the religious leaders.
They keep following the star all the
way to Bethlehem.
They find an ordinary house in an
unassuming small town.
But when they reach their destination,
they're not disappointed by
how ordinary it is.
They're overjoyed.
And then they bow before Jesus
and present him with lavish offerings
fit for a king.
You might ask, what motivated them?
What drove them to do this crazy trip?
They saw that this child, Jesus,
is a priceless treasure like nothing
else.
And so when they saw him, it was worth it.
It was worth all the trouble of the
journey.
And when they finally got there, they
rejoiced.
It says they rejoiced exceedingly with
great joy.
That's like more superlatives than you
can possibly grammatically
put in the same sentence.
Rejoice.
It could have just said they
rejoiced.
That would have been enough.
It could have just said rejoice
exceedingly.
Rejoice exceedingly with great joy.
They're jumping up and down.
I don't know how they expressed it.
However they expressed their joy,
they were overjoyed.
And they presented Jesus with their
most precious treasures.
You see, they began the farthest
away.
But they ended up in the presence of
the king himself.
That's the irony.
Jesus is ignored and rejected by the
people who are closest to him.
Who know the most about him.
Who live just around the corner.
And can access him most easily.
And he's sought after and found by
people who are far off.
Who are foreigners and outsiders.
Now maybe you're here.
Maybe you're from a part of the world
where very few people are Christians.
Or maybe you're from a family
where nobody else believes that Jesus
is the Messiah.
Maybe you've come here to New Haven
for a time and for some reason
you're drawn to learn more
about Christianity.
Or maybe you just came to church
because a friend invited you.
And you thought, why not?
I respect my friend.
I'll come along with him.
Well, this story is good news for you.
Because it says that Jesus wants to
include people in his kingdom,
in his family,
from every part of the world.
Christianity is not just a religion
for Western people.
It is not just for people who grew up
with Christian parents.
Christianity is for people from all
nations.
And all backgrounds.
If you don't yet believe in Jesus,
keep on seeking
until you find the truth about him.
God might not send you
a bright light in the sky.
But maybe he has put
a Christian friend
in your path.
Or a book.
Or something
to draw you
to seek after
this Jesus.
This is the most important thing
that you can learn
while you're here in New Haven.
It's about this Jesus.
So let me encourage you
to seek after him
until you find.
Even in the Old Testament,
God had always planned
to shine his glory
to the ends of the earth.
The people of Israel
were called to be a light
to the nations.
And a few times
in the Old Testament
we see this theme.
In 1 Kings 10,
the Queen of Sheba
comes from far away
bringing gold
and spices
to King Solomon.
And she praises him
for his wisdom.
Isaiah 60
says,
Nations shall come
to your light
and kings
to the brightness
of your rising.
They shall bring gold
and frankincense
and they shall bring
good news.
The praises of the Lord.
The Lord.
You see,
the wise men
were fulfilling
that very pattern.
And at the end
of the Bible,
Revelation 21
says that
the same thing
will happen
in even greater number.
The kings of the earth
will bring their glory
into the new Jerusalem.
The nations
will present
their most valuable treasures
to Jesus,
the King of kings
and Lord of lords.
You know,
why do you present
valuable gifts
to someone?
Why do you
buy something
for somebody else
for their birthday
or for Christmas
or for some occasion?
It's because you value them.
It's because you want
to honor them.
It's because they're worth
all the money
you pay for that gift
and a lot more.
And the wise men
brought their most
precious gifts
to Jesus
because he was
worth it
to them.
And Revelation
says that
in the new Jerusalem
there will be no need
of sun or moon
because the glory
of God
gives it light
and its lamp
is Jesus the Lamb
who will reign
forever and ever.
You see,
the picture we see
of the wise men
coming and being
and joyfully
bringing their treasures
to Jesus
is only
a glimpse
of what will happen
one day.
And on that day
the Christmas carol
will have its fullest meaning.
Joy to the world.
The Lord is come.
Let earth receive
her king.
Now until that day
we're on a long
painful
dangerous
journey.
As we walk
through the wilderness
of life on earth
and sometimes
the journey
seems to go on
and on
through strange lands
uninhabited deserts
deserts
chaotic
inns
sometimes the road ahead
might seem very dark
but brothers and sisters
as we walk this road
dark as it may seem
at times
may we look forward
to the day
as the wise men
ardently longed
to see this king
may we look forward
to the day
when we will see
the king
Jesus
in his beauty
when we will see him
face to face
and when
we will dwell
in his light
and his joy
forever.
Let us pray.
Almighty God
you revealed
your son Jesus
to the nations
of the world
by the leading
of a star.
We pray
that you would
lead us
to long
for your presence
Lord
to do
whatever it takes
to seek
after you
knowing that
you have
promised
that to all
who seek
they will find
because Lord
we don't seek
you on our own
initiative
wise men
sought after you
because they were
drawn by a star
and Lord
we seek
after you
because you
have drawn us
so Lord
we pray
that you
would encourage
us
to
seek after you
with all
of our hearts
knowing that
you have
promised
one day
to return
and to reveal
your glory
in all
its fullness
to everyone
who looks
to you
we pray
this in
Jesus name
amen