Echos from the Manger

Intro

What this series is about

The response to the coming of Christ.

How do we as believers respond to Christ and His coming?

Donnie’s Disney story

Was told they were being given a free vacation to Disney

Most of you have been to Disney but there’s a difference between normal Disney and rich person Disney

They start by being picked up for the airport in a limo

They get to Disney and stay at the fanciest hotel and are given their wrist bands

They are told all expenses are paid for

They get all the fast passes for every ride, they go to all of the fancy restaurants to eat

They are swiping their wrist bands everywhere and buying those over priced ice creams and drinks and food

When they were done with their vacation their bill came to their hotel

Somewhere around $25000

They thought they had to pay it

Called the person who paid for everything and the person said “it’s all paid for”

Get back home and their dogs had been taken to the groomer and their whole house had been cleaned

Point

They had been blessed beyond their wildest dreams with an amazing gift

They didn’t understand in the beginning just how much they were going to be blessed but in the end they realized how incredible this gift was they had received

PRAY

Before we get started tonight I have to make one point up front.

I’m going to talk about the wisemen not understanding who Jesus fully was in His full deity.

What I mean by that is the wisemen would not have had the full knowledge of

Context

Matt. 2:1 “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,”

After: Most likely 1-2 years after Jesus was Born

Key figures:

In the days of Herod the King

Herod was the king of Israel at this time but did not come from a royal bloodline

Jews saw him as a false king

Which will be the reason why Herod is opposed to Jesus birth as the King of the Jews

Wise men came from the East

These wisemen had dedicated their life to studying stars and prophecies

They would have known about the prophecies regarding the Jewish messiah

When they see a bright star in the sky that correlates with the time that was prophesied that Jesus would arrive they understand that the Messiah had finally been born

Their response to this event was fairly radical

They travel from their home which was most likely 500+ miles away

It would not have been an easy or a quick journey for them but this shows their dedication to honoring the messiah and that they knew this event was truly significant even if they didn’t understand fully just how great this event was

Wisemen Response

Matt. 2:2 “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.””

The wisemen had come to worship Jesus as king of the Jews

They would have understood that this was the messiah that was prophesied about in the Old Testament because of their years of study

This is further emphasized in Verse 10-11

Matt. 2:10-11 “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 worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”

They rejoiced because they had found the king of the Jews

They gave Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh

For the Bible Scholar

Many people have attributed these gifts to mystical meanings

Gold: His kingly status

Frankincense: His divinity

Myrrh: Anointing for His death

There is no biblical evidence for this theory however, they still represent great wealth and honor being given to Jesus and the wisemen clearly recognizing Him as king of the Jews who was sent by God as the Messiah

However these wisemen most likely would not have understood Jesus’ divine nature as we do today.

They would not have understood everything this little boy would do for the world

They thought (like Herod) that this messiah would be an earthly ruler

The wisemen knew that a new ruler had been born

One prophesied about for hundreds of years and they had come to honor him as the new king

Even though they did not understand the full gravity of the gift that had been given to our world through the birth of Jesus they knew that this event was unlike any they had seen before because of the timing of the prophecies about Jesus birth and the miraculous star that appeared to show them the way

The wisemen chose to celebrate this event as a miraculous gift from God

Herod on the other hand allowed his sin and fear to rob him of the joy of celebrating Jesus birth

Herod’s Response

When Herod was told about the king of the Jews he became afraid

Herod was not the true king of Israel and everyone knew it

He became afraid for his throne

This is why in vs. 3 it says

Matt. 2:3 “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;”

Herod desired to keep the throne for himself and to hold on to his power

He was blinded by his own sin and his own ambition and when Jesus was born, instead of worshiping God that the messiah had come he begins devising a way to kill the new king

Matt. 2:4-8 “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.””

Herod did not desire to worship Jesus, instead he wanted to find him to kill him

We find out later in this story the lengths Herod is willing to go to so that he can maintain the lifestyle he loves.

Matt. 2:16-18 “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.””

Herod was so blinded by his sin that he was willing to kill every young boy 2 and under to ensure that no one could threaten his throne.

We as believers are often times like Herod.

No you may not be thinking about killing a bunch of people for your own power

But what are you unwilling to give up to worship Jesus fully as king?

What is getting in the way of you fully surrendering to Jesus?

Like the wisemen, Herod would not have fully understood the true divinity of Christ

Meaning they would not have understood that this baby was God in human form come to save them of their sins

However the wisemen understood Jesus to be the messiah

The one promised by God to come from the line of David as the true King

Herod initially did not understand who this messiah was

As is evident in His questioning of the priests and scribes about the birth of the messiah

Once the priests and scribes told him about where the messiah would be born, instead of seeking to glorify Jesus as the messiah Herod decided to kill the threat to his throne out of fear

Herod missed out on the joy that was given to us as a gift through the birth of the messiah

Our Response

We see that both Herod and the wisemen responded differently to the news that a new king of the Jews had been born.

Neither of them fully understood just who Jesus was or the gift that we had been given through the messiah.

Once again remember they did not fully understand that Jesus was God who had come in flesh to this earth to save us from our sins

They thought an earthly ruler had been born, one who would reclaim Israel for God’s people.

To the wisemen that was good news and they greeted Jesus with excitement and joy

Herod allowed his sin and fear to lead him to responding with violence and anger toward Jesus being born

But neither of them fully knew the world changing event that had just occured

BUT you and I do and that should be good news for us!

We understand just how great of a gift we were given.

That the king of the Jews was actually the king of the universe and He had come down to die on the cross for you and I and make a way for us to be saved from our sins

The name king of the Jews is used one more time in scripture and it is at the end of Jesus life

Matt. 27:35-37 “And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”” “And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.””

This is Jesus, King of the Jews

What we understand that these other men we learned about tonight did not was that this man hanging on the cross wasn’t just king of the jews, of the nation, or of this world.

He was Jesus, the King of the Universe, born to us to die on the cross and save us from the eternity of sin and death.

Had the wisemen known the full reality of who Jesus is their response to Him would not have changed but they would have realized that there is no amount of gold, frankincense, or myrrh that could be given to honor the God of the Universe wrapping himself in flesh to die on the cross for the salvation of the whole world.

This is not to take away from the wisemen recognizing Jesus as the messiah but its a reminder that they were willing to give the most lavish gifts in the world to honor and praise Jesus without the full knowledge of who He was.

Now that we do know and understand the magnitude of the gift that has been given how much more should we give to Jesus?

Answer: Our whole lives

What can you give the God who created everything?

You give Him your whole life.

That’s why we surrender ourselves to Him

Herod was unable to give up his pride and position to worship Jesus as messiah.

What are you unwilling to give him that you haven’t already

how much you life is spent given to your own satisfaction rather than being satisfied by Jesus

And the amazing news is that is all that He asks of you

That you would fully surrender yourself to Him

Your selfish desires, your sin, your pride everything would be given up because He gave everything to save us.