Our reading is from Matthew chapter 2 verse 1 to 12. That's on page 9666.
! After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked,
where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star 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 Judea.
For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
When 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 too 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.
Amen.
Good morning, everyone.
For those of you that don't know me, I'm Ray.
I have the honour of sharing the Lord's word with you today.
Will you join me in a prayer as we look at the word together?
Father, thank you for the wonderful, true story of Christ coming to this world.
To be born as a baby, to live as a man and to die as a saviour for us.
Open our eyes this morning, open our hearts, Lord, that we may hear your word and we may respond in the right way.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Well, last week we looked, if you were here, we looked at Matthew chapter one, verses 18 to 22.
And we saw that central to the passage was that the birth of Jesus.
Jesus was a fulfilment of what God had promised through the prophets years before.
We again see that this week in chapter two, the verses one to 11 that Lucia read to us.
But the surprises in this week's passages are the responses of those who witnessed his birth.
So we'll work through this together.
OK, right now I've got the hand of the clicker, hopefully, hopefully be OK.
So the story as you as it was read to us by Lucia, if we follow it, it's something like a dramatic film script.
Now, if you've been watching the TV over Christmas, it's kind of one of those unnecessary, unfortunate, necessary things, isn't it?
You see the films Home Alone 2 was on yesterday.
Home Alone was on yesterday.
And whether you like it or not, you've got to admit it is pure fiction.
All right. It's beyond the realms of possibility.
This is like a dramatic film script, but it is truth.
It is gospel truth.
That's a wonderful thing we're looking at today.
A child is born to an obscure poor family in a small rural village in Judea in humble circumstances.
But this child produced extreme reactions from the influential and from the wealthy.
A king in nearby Jerusalem wanted to kill him.
And a strange nobility from another country fell down and worshipped him.
If we really understand this morning who Jesus is, it should produce a profound reaction in us as well.
It doesn't matter who we are, what age, what background or education, ethnicity, religion or any other label or way you like to see yourself.
Whoever we are, when we come face to face with the claims of Jesus, there must be, there will be a response.
Nobody can hear the gospel story and stay neutral.
Verse one sets out the scene for us and we're introduced to the three main characters of the story.
We have here, well, let's read the verse.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem.
So here we have the three main characters, Jesus, Herod and the Magi.
The passage presents them each with a defining characteristic.
I think this is true and not something I've made up, but this is how I see it, okay?
The promised child, a troubled king and wise visitors.
So we're going to look at those in turn now quickly.
The promised child.
Who was this child?
We saw in last week in chapter one, verse 21, that his name is Jesus.
But in the passage we're looking at today, we're told his name in terms of what he would do more of a title.
The wise men called him King of the Jews.
Verse two, Herod called him the Messiah.
Strangely in verse four, the chief priests and scribes quote the prophet Micah,
who called him a ruler who would be a shepherd.
In verse six.
So Jesus is King, Messiah and ruler promised years before by the prophet sent by God, the father for his people.
Just want to look very, very briefly with you now at what these titles mean.
Very briefly.
The promised king.
He was God's king to lead his people.
To govern them with justice, but also mercy.
The promised Messiah.
He was the Christ, the one anointed by God, anointed for a purpose.
Again, chapter one, verse 21, to save his people from their sins.
He was also the promised ruler.
He was a ruler who strangely we hear from this passage was to be a shepherd.
Putting all this together.
He was no ordinary child, but God's chosen king sent to rule his people.
Promise to God's people for centuries before in the scriptures.
So why a shepherd.
Why a shepherd.
Prophecy that the religious leaders are paraphrasing.
is found in Micah chapter 5 verses 2 to 5 which describes not only where he would be born
but what he would do and this is where the shepherd comes in in what he would do how he would do it
not sure if you can see that on the screen but it's the words of Micah chapter 5 verses 2 to 5
and I'll read those to you but you Bethlehem Ephrathah though you are small among the
clans of Judah out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel whose origins are
from of old from ancient times verse 3 then tells us that there's a woman who will bear a son
and the Israelites that were away from the other body of Israelites would come together
verse 4 says he will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord in the majesty of the
name of the Lord his God and they will live securely for then his greatness will reach to the ends of
the earth so where does this ruler shepherd come from we're told to be born in Bethlehem
but Micah tells us more in verse 2 he says out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over
Israel now this is it whose origins are from old from ancient times so we're told that this baby was from
ancient times in other words he existed long before his birth John chapter 1 tells us that he was in the
beginning what with God you may recall that verse and with God he co-created the universe
so Bethlehem was not the start of Jesus's life
so what would he do he will rule his over his people and how would he do it he would do it as a
shepherd verse 4 Micah says he will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord
so his mission was from the Lord and he would stand in the strength of the Lord displaying the majesty
of his father and his rule his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth this was a promise
made to God's people of Judah about 700 years before Jesus was born which we continue to see unfold now
today 2025 as people from every nation across this globe now accept the rule of Jesus the king
with that mission and that power God promised God's promised ruler would stand and shepherd his flock
so the important question for us this morning is how should we respond to that shepherd ruler
we're going to see how the two groups Herod and the wise men responded first of all Herod
now he's a troubled king who was he historians call him Herod the Great he was installed by the Roman
senate as king of Judea or king of the Jews he was known as a ruthless man who even had his wife
and his three sons executed he thought his wife was trying to poison him so he got rid of her before
he thought she could get rid of him
at this point I've got to say this is the guy we are not to follow all right this is not the example
we are supposed to follow he was also a Jew and he would have been familiar with some of the prophecies
and and the expectation of the coming Messiah
so we're now going to take up the story again in verse 2 if you're reading in your bibles it's page 966
or hopefully I thought it was going to be here on the screen so if you've not got your bibles you'll
just have to listen along here
there it is sorry where is the one who has been born king of the Jews
we saw his star when it came when it rose and have come to worship him
when king Herod heard this he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him
when he 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
but this is what the prophet has written
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
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 too may go and worship him
why was Herod disturbed
and that word disturbed can mean
agitated or troubled
the reason is because in verse 2
the visitors
the Magi
were looking for another king of the Jews
not that one day this king would rise to power and perhaps become a king
but this king was born a king
Herod was installed as a king by the Roman Senate
Jesus was born as king by divine order
a completely different order of king
this is why he was worried
so he calls the wise men secretly
he plays them along and he pretends he wants to worship the child as well
later chapter 2 verse 16
we see his real ambition
he hatches a plan
to get rid of the child
but in so doing
he would wipe out
all the boys in Bethlehem
aged 2 and under
Herod knew the scriptures
he knew who the child was
but he determined to get rid of him
he would not tolerate
what he saw as a rival
to his throne
but in so doing
he rejected God's king
and God's rule
let me take you back to Genesis chapter 3
Herod's
reaction
though very extreme
has been the story of mankind
since Genesis chapter 3
Adam thought he knew best
he disobeyed the one God had given
the one rule God had given him
and we still do that today
look frankly we may not be as bold as Herod
but we often still want to be king
or queen
we still want to make the rules
we do not want to live subject to God
or under his rule
I wonder whether you can relate to some of this
we don't want to kill the king
but we may behave as if he wasn't there
and therefore
if he's not there
we needn't be subject to him
we may be troubled or agitated
when we hear of the exclusivity
of the rule of King Jesus
that there can't be any rivals to him
such as friends
such as
even family
there can't be rivals in
the things we have as a priority
maybe work or studies
everything must be
subject to him
if Jesus is king
he's king over all
but those of us
that have come under that rule of Jesus
those of us
who have submitted to him
we do know him to be a shepherd
one who cares for his sheep
he leads his sheep
he feeds his sheep
he protects
and provides for them
so that's Herod
he wanted to get rid of Jesus
the last group in the story
who also knew who Jesus was
but their response was completely opposite
the Magi
I call them the wise visitors
and I read to you those
I have that
yeah
I read to you that text
if you may be able to follow it on the screen
or if not in your Bible
starting at verse 9
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
so who were these visitors
they're called Magi
in the text here
their precise meaning of that word
is a little nuanced
it can mean several things
but verse 2
shows us that
they were probably people
who studied the stars
some kind of astronomy
and they also studied
the ancient scriptures
including of course
the Old Testament prophecies
we pick that up from verse 2
they followed the star
and sought the child
born king of the Jews
we're told they were from the east
we're not told exactly
where in the east
and that doesn't really matter
but the point is
they were strangers
they weren't Jews
they were foreigners
from another country
they were rich
highly educated
and respected
by those in their region
we sometimes think of them
as being three guys
with crowns on camels
in fact I might have got
a picture of that somewhere
I've got a picture of that
no that was the one before
there they are
three guys on camels
going across the desert
but it wasn't quite like that
these were rich guys
who were very influential
they would have had
servants with them
they would have had
camels behind them
carrying
the various things
they needed for the journey
it was a big retinue
and they would have made
quite a big impact
as they came to Jerusalem
and although
not part of God's people
they recognised Jesus
as one greater
than themselves
their response was
completely opposite
to Herod's
they couldn't wait
to see the king
I don't know
whether you've ever
asked yourself
as you've read this account
but why does
Matthew include them
in the gospel account
they're strangers
you know
in some senses
they shouldn't have been there
or maybe a better question
is
why does God
include them
in the events
of the saviour's birth
and I think it's precisely
because they were
outsiders
it's because the gospel
is not just
for the Jews
Jesus wasn't just
king of the Jews
the gospel
is for all people
whoever we are
whatever nationality
background
rich
poor
secular religious
whoever we are
we all need
a saviour
so it's for us
all of us
and it's for you
so when they see
the star again
in verse 10
it directs them
to the house
where Jesus was
and we read
in the
NIV
that they were
overjoyed
now
if you have
an English standard
version
it puts it
a bit more flowery
and I like this
it says this
they rejoiced
exceedingly
with great joy
all right
that's pretty
overjoyed
isn't it
that's pretty good
that's pretty accurate
to how
how they responded
when they went
into the house
they prostrated
themselves
so they fell
flat
on the floor
and worshipped
before Jesus
now this
is the right
response
to the king
of kings
this is the
right response
to the king
at Christmas
and always
joyful worship
falling on our
faces in wonder
and submission
that God's ruler
come to earth
in humility
as a helpless
baby
how much did
they understand
about Jesus
how much did
they understand
about the king
we don't know
exactly
but the gifts
they bought
were not only
very costly
but they also
were loaded
with prophetic
meaning
they bought
gold
a suitable
gift
for a king
so they were
saying by
presenting this
king
this gift
he is a king
they bought
frankincense
which is an
incense used
by priests
in worship
of God
so by giving
him this gift
they were saying
he is God
myrrh
is a gum
resin
which was
used
in embalming
dead bodies
so they were
saying by
presenting this
gift that he
was born
to die
did they know
it was so that
he would save
his people
from their
sins
we don't
know
but their
limited
knowledge of
the king
was enough
to produce
awe
wonder
and joyful
worship
how much
more
with our
knowledge
of Jesus
through
the gospels
through the
cross
through the
resurrection
through the
ascension
how much
more should
we fall
prostrate
before him
in humble
but joyful
worship
i'd like to
show you a
little picture
to illustrate
this
this is
emerald pool
in dominica
it's probably
my favourite
place on the
planet
you can
probably
appreciate
some of its
beauty just
by this
picture
but look
if i was
to tell
you how
you get
to it
you'd
be surprised
you get
to it by
leaving the
hot caribbean
sun
trekking
down through
the cool
rainforest
and you're
surrounded by
towering
trees
and beautiful
fauna
you can hear
birdsong
and as you
get closer
to the
waterfall
you can hear
the increased
sound
building up
of this
waterfall
and then it
comes into
sight
and this is
what you
see
so i think
maybe now
you appreciate
even more
than just
the picture
you have a
little more
knowledge
but let me
tell you this
the only way
you can
fully appreciate
it is to
go there
if you ever
get the
opportunity
i recommend
it
you get the
full experience
you don't just
hear you don't
just see
but you are
you are
you are there
to experience
it
so we can have
some knowledge
of the poor
or a fuller
knowledge
but experience
brings more
wonder
and in a
similar way
the wise men
had knowledge
of who
jesus was
but we
have a
fuller
knowledge
through the
new testament
we know
more of who
he is
what he
came to
earth to
do
his ascension
and his
rule in
heaven now
but beyond
head knowledge
if we've
experienced
jesus
forgiving us
and bringing
us into
god's
family
being our
kind shepherd
we of all
people
should fall
to our
knees in
joyful
worship
so let me
just draw
this to
a conclusion
we've seen
that the
arrival of
god's
promised
king
provoked
heart
responses
of
aggression
from
herod
and
adoration
from the
wise men
we're left
with some
questions
perhaps some
personal
questions
what is
our heart
response
to jesus
god's
king
messiah
and savior
have you
experienced
this forgiveness
this
reconciliation
to god
the purpose
for the
king coming
have you
experienced
that yourself
he came
for you
and you
can
receive
that
forgiveness
and that
new life
even today
lastly
we should
all be
moved
in joyful
worship
my question
is are we
moved in
joyful worship
as we
look at
jesus
today
let me
pray
father
we
christmas
time
we're
faced
with so
much
myth
and so
much
things
that aren't
true
but are
exciting
in various
ways
but lord
when we
dig deep
into the
real
christmas
story
we see
the king
of the
universe
being born
as a
baby
born to
die
as a
messiah
who gives
his life
for his
people
father
help us
today
and going
forward
to have
the right
reaction
to the
king of
the jews
the king
of the
universe
jesus
amen
as
Thank you.