Father, we thank you that you're so good.
And Lord, as we sang this morning,
that you are pleased to manifest your glory among us.
And Lord, we thank you for that.
We thank you that you came down from heaven
in the person of your son, Jesus,
to make God known to us.
And Lord, I pray that as we open your word this morning,
that your word would bear much fruit
and that your word would cause us to worship you
and to love you more and more.
I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
So you may be seated.
Now, some of you know me pretty well,
and you know that I'm a fairly timid fellow.
I'm not naturally drawn to say hello to strangers
at the grocery store or at the coffee shop
or at the gym where I go.
But it's not my natural bent.
But I try to make an effort
because I want to be an evangelist.
I want to open doors to have opportunities
to share the gospel with people eventually.
And so one of the things that I do
is I try to intentionally start the conversation with people.
And one of the things that you all know
from meeting new people
is that you eventually get to the topic
of what do you do for a living?
And as you know,
I'm a pastoral intern here at the church.
And so I just tell them that that's what I do.
I work for a church,
and I'm a pastoral intern.
And usually at that point,
their faces kind of get a little bit,
they kind of drop a bit,
and the conversation goes to a halt.
And if I had the technology
of like a very, very small microphone,
I could put it next to their ear,
I could hear their thoughts,
and it would sound something like,
don't you know that there are more worthwhile things to do,
more worthwhile pursuits in this life,
like science and achieving good government?
Like you would do much better
to contribute to the progress of our society
if you spent more time on these things,
if you focused on this.
Now it's a good question.
I mean, it's a good point.
And really what the question is,
is that why don't you Christians as myself,
why don't Christians as myself
devote themselves to the here and now,
things that contribute to the progress of our society,
or at least as defined by the average Canadian.
So if you have your Bibles with you,
the text that we're looking at today
will actually help us engage with that question
and hopefully provide an answer.
So we're going to look at Matthew chapter 2,
beginning at the first verse.
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.
Now just pausing here for a moment,
this is our setting.
This is where the,
this is the setting of the story
where we're getting acquainted with the characters
and the different places.
So we start with Jesus,
who's from a small town,
and he has a bit of an awkward story.
If you read,
if you take a minute after the service today,
you read just the last part of the chapter
before this chapter,
you get a sense that,
you know,
if Jesus were in a playground
with the other kids in Bethlehem
and they asked,
where are you from?
It would take a minute
and then two, five minutes,
he would start talking about
the hypostatic union of God and man,
and they would just go like,
what is this kid all about?
And so he has,
he's a bit odd in the neighborhood.
And then you have King Herod,
who is the king of Judea,
and he's part of one of the most,
most advanced governments
that the world,
in that part of the world,
has ever seen.
The most powerful governments
and the most advanced forms of governments
that the world has seen.
And then you have the Magi
that are from the East,
and the Magi,
so here it says
that they were called the wise men,
but the Greek word is Magi,
and it's a bit different.
It's not that they were just
more wise in the culture.
They practiced things like,
you know,
divination and astrology.
So in other words,
they were the most technologically advanced
in the society,
in the culture,
because they observed the stars
and they could interpret the future
based off of what they read.
So we get a few markers
in this first verse
that Matthew is trying to tell us a story,
but he's also trying to tell us
a true story.
And before we get into
the narrative of the story,
the narrative of the text,
you might be wondering,
okay, so if you're familiar
with the four Gospels,
you might be wondering,
like, there are the Magi
in Matthew's Gospel,
but not in the other Gospels.
Like, does that mean that,
you know, this is just an invention?
Can I really trust
that the Magi,
the story of the Magi
really happened?
And I'll just give a little bit
of an analogy before we jump in.
So when my parents and I moved to,
and my siblings,
when we moved to Orleans
about almost 30 years ago,
we got to meet some of our neighbors
and they told us
that the Trudeau kids
used to play in the house
where we moved,
that they used to come
and they used to, you know,
play in the pool and all that
because their nanny,
that's where she lived.
She lived in the house
where we lived.
And so, like,
how are we supposed
to take their word for it?
Well, you know,
we could ask another neighbor
and say, like,
is it true that the Trudeau kids
used to, like,
come to our house and play?
And they would say,
oh, of course.
Like, you should have been there.
Like, two hours before they came,
the streets were full of black cars
with tainted windows
and, you know,
they would just park
in front of our yard
and leave their engine running
for about four hours
before the kids were done
and then they'd eventually leave.
And so it was a very remarkable event.
You know,
they don't just send the kids
there on their own.
They send security with them.
And so with the Magi here,
you have a story
of these delegates
who left Babylon
and went to Jerusalem
and they didn't go on their own.
There weren't three of them
with three camels.
There were a lot more
and probably a lot more camels
than there were people
with equipment,
with maybe armor
and maybe some beautiful colors
to show that they were from a royal,
that they represent the royalty
of where they came from
and had food and drink
and sandals and all that.
So there was a big group of people
traveling in the desert
and they were arriving in Jerusalem.
So it's a fairly remarkable event
that you could ask someone
in Jerusalem at that time
and they would say,
oh, of course I remember the Magi.
So with that in mind,
let's look at the text again
and then we'll move on
to see what the story has to say.
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.
Now just pausing here
for another moment.
So you can just imagine
this large caravan
coming into Jerusalem,
going through the gates
and making their way
to the temple of Herod,
go up the stairs,
they get into the room
where Herod is sitting
on his throne
and has all his advisors,
the chief priests
and all these different people
who are around him
and the Magi go
and they address Herod
and they say,
Herod,
we've come to make a trade
from our country
and we want to have
a peace agreement
and we give you these gifts
to honor you.
No, that's not what happens.
Let's read that again
in verse 2.
It says,
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.
And you can just imagine
there's a really
awkward silence,
a cold silence.
Now you might be wondering,
hold on Jonathan,
like isn't Herod the guy
who killed his,
you know,
three of his sons,
who killed his favorite wife.
Wasn't that his reputation?
Couldn't he just have
said a word,
snapped his fingers
because he didn't like
what they had to say?
You know,
the security come,
they take the Magi away,
clean the floor,
nothing's ever happened,
nothing ever happened here,
let's move on.
Couldn't he have just done that?
So why did he listen to them?
So I mentioned
a little bit briefly earlier
that the Magi
were the astrologers
who had an authoritative voice
in their culture,
kind of like the scientists today,
that, you know,
they have an authoritative voice,
they speak to politicians
and people listen to them,
we consult them.
These Magi
who were astrologers,
they were the voice of progress
in that culture.
When they spoke,
people listened.
And even though
they weren't always
actually right.
So it's kind of like
when you go to a party
or you're at work
and you have a conversation
with someone
and they tell you something
and you're like,
where is that coming from?
Like, none of that is,
like, logically coherent
and you're about to speak
and then they say,
well, we know this
because science says so.
And you're like,
well, I'm not going to be the jerk now
who's going to try to say,
well, no,
because science
doesn't actually work that way.
Like, it has authority
in our culture
and that's just kind of the way
that we interact
with one another.
And so here the Magi
are the voice of progress,
the voice of cultural authority
in that day.
And they say,
and they speak of their findings
and Herod has their attention.
So what are they saying
to Herod?
Well, we see in the first part
of what they say,
well, where is he who has been born
king of the Jews?
Okay, Herod is king of Judea,
he's king over the Jews.
What's going on here?
But then it says,
for we saw his star
when it rose
and have come to worship him.
And basically what they're saying is,
Herod,
your time's up.
Where's the new king?
Someone's been born.
The stars have told us.
The gods of the spiritual realm
have spoken
and the stars have aligned.
Your time is up.
Where's the other king?
A new emperor
is about to come
and will take over.
And for the first time,
since worshiping his own power
and his own progress
and his own reputation,
Herod comes face to face
with the expiration of this quest
of becoming like God.
So Andrew,
can we have our first point
at this time?
At the root of sin
is a desire to be like God.
At the root of sin
is a desire to be like God.
Now whether it's a desire
to be powerful
or a desire to manipulate events
or people in our lives
to have a result that we want
or to receive praise
and recognition from others,
to be accepted,
there's this underlying current
that feeds all of these
different dispositions
that we have
that is a desire
to be like God.
And for the first time here,
Herod is realizing
his frailty
that he is not the God
that he thought
that he was,
the God that he imagined
over and over in his mind
that he could become,
but that he is frail
and that he's toast.
His last moment
is about to come.
So what does he do?
Well, let's look at verse 4.
So Herod,
here's the news,
or verse 3.
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.
So Herod is consulting
the Jewish leaders
of that time
and to see,
so he believes
what the Magi are saying.
They spoke of the king
of the Jews,
where is he to be born?
And so here,
the word Christ,
which appears the first time,
for some of us
it might be unfamiliar.
It basically says
the one empowered by God
to do God's will
among God's people.
And so we get a sense
of divine authority,
this divine ruler
who's to come
and is going to take
Herod's place.
And so what do the scribes
and leaders tell Herod?
Well, let's look at verse 5.
They told him,
in Bethlehem of Judea,
for 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.
So just like that,
introducing Jesus
into the conversation
has put a solid halt
to Herod's progress
in this world
of becoming a god
and becoming
this very powerful
king who has
his way
all the time.
And because
here we're introduced
with a prophecy
that God spoke
about 700 years
before this very event,
about 700 years
before through
the prophet Micah,
he speaks this word
that God made a promise
to bring a king
and a ruler
and here Herod is
confronted with
the fact that
God spoke
and God
is acting
upon his promise.
And who can
fight against that?
And so he realized
that he created
this illusion
that he can control
his life
and his destiny.
Andrew,
can we have our next
point, please?
So sinful pride
removes me
from the real world
where the Lord
is God
and I am not.
Sinful pride
removes me
from the real world
where the Lord
is God
and I am not.
Now I'm qualifying
pride here
because there are times
when we're proud
of a kid
or a neighbor
or whatnot
and that's okay,
that's fine.
Here,
pride is the idea
of being rebellious
against God
which removes us
from the real world
where God
is the Lord
where the Lord
is God
and I am not.
And part of the Lord
being God
is his ability
to oversee
the events
in life.
We think
that we can oversee
things,
that we can manipulate
things
behind the scenes
but ultimately
God is God.
God is the one
who has vengeance
for evil
and Herod
as we see
in the next verse
is going to
want to have
his own vengeance.
So we'll look
at verse 7 here
and to get a sense
of his sinful pride
which removes him
from the real world.
So verse 7,
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.
So you can imagine
Herod hears the news,
he's troubled,
all Jerusalem with them,
he takes a Snickers
or pops a Tic Tac
and he collects his thoughts
and his emotions
and then he decides,
he makes a decision,
okay,
I'm going to manipulate
the events.
So we see here
God's word was not enough.
God's word that was spoken
700 years prior
to the event
about a promise
that would happen
that is being fulfilled
at that very moment
before his very eyes
was not enough for him.
So he tries to manipulate
the events.
He tries to go behind the scenes
and have his way still.
And what's really fascinating
about this,
as I was reading this this week,
as I was coming to grips
with this truth
that Herod is not accepting
God's word
and he's going against God's word
even though God's word
is huge.
It was written 700 years
before the event
and it's so precise.
And as Christians,
we have the benefit
of having God's word written.
And as we read this,
what we're reading
is not just like any other novel,
any other story
or piece of history.
This is essentially
the perspective of eternity
written down
from God's interventions
in real life
and teaching us his way,
God revealing us
his way for life.
And as Christians,
we have the benefit of that,
that we can know God truly
because his son has revealed God
and through his word written,
we can know him.
And how lightly do I take
his word in my daily life
and how lightly do I take
setting apart time
to read his word?
So that's a bit of an aside,
but what's really striking
is also how the Magi
received God's word
with gladness.
We see that in verse 9 and on.
So after Herod makes a deal
with the Magi,
after listening to the king,
the Magi 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.
And when they saw the star,
they rejoiced exceedingly
with great joy.
This, I think is,
I didn't see it
in the commentaries,
but I think this is where
Happy Camper comes from,
where they were exceedingly,
they rejoiced exceedingly
with great joy.
That's very, very, very happy.
And going into the house,
they saw the child
with Mary, his mother,
and they fell down
and worshipped him.
And so what we see here
is a moment of eternity.
We sang this earlier on
in the songs
that in eternity,
people are bowed down
before God,
worshipping God.
And we see a glimpse
of eternity
being acted out
in time and space
in this life
that we experience
when the Magi
are finally arrived
to Jesus
to worship him
and bow down.
Now some of you
got really distracted
with the cool star
and want to know more.
And so there,
just as we get into that,
we'll just spend
a couple minutes
just to look at the star.
There are things
in the Bible
that are open-handed,
things that are
not super, super clear,
that we should have our,
we shouldn't have
a tight grip on them
and have Christian freedom
to believe these things.
And we can, you know,
argue but not split
over these things.
And there are things
that we hold on
that are close-handed,
that we hold on
because they are
absolutely true
and very, very clear
in the Word.
And this part of the star,
this part of the story
with the star
is not a place
where we hold on
very, very tightly
because it's not very clear.
Matthew, in a way,
veils it
in the way that he writes.
So it's,
so yeah,
some people believe
that it's a comet.
Some people believe
that the stars aligned
within a certain constellation
and, you know,
through science
we can find out.
Other people believe
it's just simply a vision
from God
that he gave them
and that God
worked sovereignly
through this vision
so that they could
encounter him.
But the point here
is that
since Matthew
is veiling it
in the way
that he's writing,
he's not putting
too much attention
towards it.
Just to give
an analogy,
another analogy,
in this,
in these paintings here,
it would be like
saying in this painting
in the middle
with Jesus,
it would be like
saying this painting
is about Jerusalem
in the back.
Everyone would say,
no,
it's about Jesus.
Everyone's kind of
looking towards Jesus,
the focus is in Jesus.
And so,
in this story,
if we look,
if we focus on the star
and we make it
a deal breaker for us,
we're missing the point.
And the point is this.
Andrew,
can I have the next slide?
The point is this.
God draws unfit people
in unlikely ways
to worship him.
God draws unfit people
in unlikely ways
to worship him.
Now,
this isn't
an absolute rule,
but this happens.
God will sovereignly
work through events
in the natural world,
in supernatural events
as well,
to draw people
who aren't fit
to worship him.
And
at the heart
of Christian worship,
at the heart
of people
practicing the Christian faith
is an awe of God
where we constantly
ask the question,
why me?
Why me, God?
Like,
how is it that you
reveal yourself to me?
Like,
I didn't do anything
to deserve this,
and yet you've shown
your love to me.
That's how the core
of Christian worship
is awe of God
that he would do
such a thing.
Now,
you might be wondering,
what makes me unfit?
Like,
why am I not fit
to be a Christian,
not fit to worship God?
Well,
we see in this story
the Magi
worshipped different gods.
They worshipped
the natural world.
They worshipped
different spirits
in the invisible world,
practicing divination.
Before I was a Christian,
I worshipped music.
That's what I worshipped.
And
I ascribed
immense value
and power
to music
over my life.
It had the,
had such authority
over who I was
and how I felt
and how I thought
of the world.
And that was my God.
And I believed it.
I actually uttered
those words,
music is my God.
And so,
what makes me,
as someone who worshipped
music,
worthy of,
you know,
what makes me fit
to worship God?
Well,
I'm unfit
to worship God.
And yet,
God draws us
in unlikely ways
sometimes.
And we see in the story
here with the Magi
that he draws
the Magi
through a star.
Through a star
that moved
and found
Jesus.
And so,
they made their way
to Jesus
in that way.
And,
just a bit
of my story,
God spoke to me
in a musical concert
at the National Arts Center
just a few blocks
away from here,
probably a year
before my conversion.
And if I were
to share
that experience
with the Jonathan
of today,
I would probably
be cringing
at what I was saying
because it was
so unclear.
But all I knew
is that I experienced God.
That's what I knew
for sure.
But my experience
wasn't too clear.
And if this is true,
if God really does
draw people
who are unfit
in unlikely ways,
if God really does that,
then that means
that God
is already having
conversations
with those people
that we meet
at the Starbucks
or at the gym
or at work
or our neighbors.
That God is already
having these conversations,
these divine moments
with these people.
And whether they
understand
what is happening
or not,
these things are happening.
Creation
is actually a witness
of God
to the common person.
And so our job
as Christians
who want to share
the good news of Jesus
is actually
sometimes more simple
than we think.
Sometimes it's just
as simple as
chiming into a conversation
that God is already
having with people.
And even before
we even got there
and were able to share
the gospel message.
And so our job
is to simply
give a little bit
more detail,
give the revealed
specific word
of God
which he has revealed
through Christ
and in his church.
And so here's
the next point.
Andrew,
if I could have
the next slide.
True and good progress
is only true and good
when it leads to Jesus.
True and good progress
is only true and good
when it leads to Jesus.
Now progress
isn't a bad thing.
And by the way,
like,
I totally support
God's word.
And I would encourage
anyone,
any Christian
who wants to be
a mathematician
or a scientist,
I'm like,
I would say go
into that world
and be the best
Christian that you can
or in law
or in government,
go for it.
I would say that
this is where
Jesus is calling you,
you should go for it
and be faithful
and be the best Christian
that you can
in that environment.
But it would have
really been a disaster,
it would have been
a sad story
if the Magi
would have followed
the star,
continued in their ways,
and all the way
till it stopped
on the house
where Jesus was
and they would have
gazed at the star
and they would have
gone back home
and that they wouldn't
have encountered Jesus.
It would have been
a tragedy
if that were the case.
But we see that
all their activity
in this world,
their search for meaning,
their search for
transcendence
actually had
an end point
that their progress
in life,
their search for
greater technology
and all that
actually had a point
of reference
which was in Jesus.
And Herod's story,
on the other hand,
is quite sad,
yet he was thought
as the leader of progress
by the Romans.
He saw his progress
and he wasn't able
to achieve it
because he was working
against the Lord's will.
There is an ultimate
ruler and shepherd
that has come
into the world
who is Jesus.
And so with all this talk
about progress
in our culture,
I would just like
to invite you,
if you haven't
considered Jesus yet,
that Jesus
is the one
whom all truth
and goodness
point to.
Now whether it is
our search for
meaning or
transcendence
through science
and spirituality,
these different
activities that we can
try to find
this higher meaning
to life,
this purpose of life,
or whether it is
finding peace
in our society
through good government.
And these things
are only truly
satisfied in the person
of Jesus
who has come
to make God known.
And that is why
we have a cross here
because Jesus,
when he came to earth,
was not just to live
a good life,
he lived a good life
and he lived
the perfect life.
And that was
part of his mission.
And the other part
of his mission
was to die on the cross
so that we could
receive God's forgiveness,
that we could be
made right with God.
And I'll invite you
to stand
and we'll come
to a time of conclusion
here.
If I can have my
next slide,
please,
as well.
So true and good
progress begins
when I live my life
to honor Jesus
as Lord.
True and good progress
begins when I live
my life
to honor Jesus
as Lord.
See,
our only progress,
our only hope
for progress
is when we
humble ourselves
before God
one by one.
When we put our hands
in the hand of Jesus
and say,
Jesus,
here's my life.
I want to live for you.
And that we lay
our hopes
before Jesus
and our fears
and our joys
to him
so that he sends us
out into the world
and live in the real world
where the Lord
is God
and that we are not.
Let us pray.
Lord God,
we thank you
that you indeed
came down from heaven
and that you
became incarnate
by the Holy Ghost
in the person of Jesus
and we thank you
that,
Lord,
we can know you,
we can know eternal life
even now
and we thank you
that,
Lord,
you've accomplished
everything for that,
for us to have eternal life,
that we can trust you
and we can trust
your perfect life
and that you died
on the cross
for our sins
and that is actually true
and actually happened
in history
so that for all eternity
we will be made right with you
and we will dwell with you.
Lord,
I pray that these things
would be made more real
to us today
and on this week.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.