God With Us: Who Is This King? Matthwe 2:1-8, 13-20

Intro: Good morning FE, we are glad you are here worshipping Jesus the king with us. My name is Josh Aguilar, I am one of the elders here at FE. This Christmas season we are looking at the theme God with us through the different people which encountered Jesus the messiah. Last week we looked at Mary, Elizabeth, and John, Elizabeth’s baby in the womb and how they recieved the news God is with us. We looked at the joy the Holy Spirit produces joy in them to the point that Elizabeth’s baby leaped with joy in her womb when, Jesus, the messiah, arrived. As we will see today, everyone does not receive the news of Jesus’ arrival with joy.

Can I ask you to think for the rest of our time here this morning, what is worship? I would like us to think about this because worship is at the center of our passage today. As we think about worship can I point out two elements of Christian worship which are necessary when we worship God.

Jesus says in John 4:24

John 4:24 ESV

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. What does it mean to worship in spirit? When we worship God in spirit, I believe it is referring to our heart, our internal response to God, is it in sincerity, is it a heart felt response to God, are our affections set on who God is and what he is worth or is our worship just external actions, coming to church, singing some songs with no heart felt response? Here is the problem we face as humans, in order for us to worship with sincerity, in order to have affections towards God, we need the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts, transform our hearts with the truth, which leads to the second aspect of worship, truth.

Jesus said true worshipers will worship in spirit, a heart which is sincere and affections or emotions are upward towards God. Jesus also said, in truth, so in order to properly worship, we must know who we worship. There are some who want to make worship just an emotional experience and think theology/doctrine hinders worship. But when Jesus says true worshippers will worship in truth, he is pointing to the fact that doctrine/theology doesn’t hinder worship, but it brings depth to your worship because the more we know about who God is and what he has done, the more we see his infinite value and worth. Which grows our affections and heart worship towards him, We need the heart and the head when we come to worship the king. To truly worship in spirit and truth, we need to be transformed by the Spirit of God, or in the words of Jesus in John 3, we need to be born of the Spirit. I encourage you to go home and read John 3 and if you have any questions reach out to me, Alfredo or Dave.

In what attitude do you come when you come to worship? What attitude do you have in response to Jesus the king, who wants to rule and shepherd you? The attitude you ask this question, who is this king? with, is important. You can ask, who is this king, where can I find him? Or you can who is this king and where can I find him? Let’ dive in to our passage this morning...

Matthew 2:1–8 (ESV)

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;

Después de nacer Jesús en Belén de Judea, en tiempos[a] del rey Herodes, he aquí, unos magos del oriente llegaron a Jerusalén, diciendo: ¿Dónde está el Rey de los judíos que ha nacido? Porque vimos su estrella en el oriente y hemos venido a adorarle. Cuando lo oyó el rey Herodes, se turbó, y toda Jerusalén con él.

I. Distressed By God’s Presence

A. Herod The Great

There are a few Herod’s in the Bible, the Herod we read about today is known as Herod the great, the Herod you read about later on during Jesus’ adult life is the son of Herod the great. Herod the great was a great soldier, orator and a builder. His first 24 years as king, you can say were successful. There was peace in the land, which impressed the Romans. there were several building projects he completed, an amphitheater, theatre and he made the temple more magnificent than Solomon’s temple. Herod was Idumean, which is the Greek name for a territory located south of Judea, it was the ancient land of Edom, so Herod would be considered by the Jews of his day as “half Jew”. He married 10 women and had 15 children by them.

Herod, considered his kingship in the same line as David and Solomon and in his final years became a very paranoid tyrant, very concerned about losing his kingdom. He built a fortress that provided refuge whenever he felt threatened. Josephus, a 1st century Jewish historian tells us, he executed two of his son’s due to rumors of a rebellion. This is the Herod the Great, the wiseman come to asking “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”

B. Troubled by God’s Presence

As we see in our narrative the wise men come to Herod asking for the one who has been born king of the Jews because they have come to worship him. This information troubled King Herod because he is the king, in Herod’s eyes there is no other king worthy of the throne, besides himself. I can imagine him thinking, “what do you mean someone was born king of the Jews, I am the king of the Jews, why didn’t you come to worship me?” Who is this king?

Notice all Jerusalem is troubled as well, they are troubled and afraid what Herod the Great will do because they know he is a paranoid tyrant. So when Herod inquires about where the messiah is prophesied to be born, they tell him Bethlehem of Judea.

Herod is threatened and troubled by God’s presence, because Herod the Great wants to be the ruler of the Jews, Herod wants the power, Herod wants to be the all powerful king, Herod wants to sit on the throne, he wants to be the sovereign of Israel.

But before we judge Herod too harshly, let me read a quote by Tim Keller,

In every heart, then, there is a little “King Herod” that wants to rule and that is threatened by anything that may compromise its omnipotence and sovereignty. Each of us wants to be the captain of our own soul, the master of our own fate.

Tim Keller, Hidden Christmas

Maybe you are thinking no not me, but let me ask you this question, whenever you are confronted with a command to obey and you do not like the command or maybe you are in a stressful situation and disobedience is an easy way out, do you choose obedience to the king or disobedience?

Why?

Because we want to be the captain of my own life, I want to be the master of my own fate. We have all been there before, we choose self-centeredness and self-righteousness over being Christ centered over Christ’s righteousness. This Christmas are you asking who is this king? Who does he think he is? or are you asking who is this king? Where is he so I may surrender and worship him?

II. Self-Centeredness Leads to Indifference or Opposition to God’s Presence.

Let’s continue reading,

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.”...

13 - 15 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

4- 8 Entonces, reuniendo a todos los principales sacerdotes y escribas del pueblo, indagó de ellos dónde había de nacer el Cristo[c]. 5 Y ellos le dijeron: En Belén de Judea, porque así está escrito por el[d] profeta:

6 «Y tú, Belén, tierra de Judá, de ningún modo eres la más pequeña entre los príncipes de Judá; porque de ti saldrá un Gobernante que pastoreará a mi pueblo Israel».

7 Entonces Herodes llamó a los magos en secreto y se cercioró con ellos del tiempo en que había aparecido[e] la estrella. 8 Y enviándolos a Belén, dijo: Id y buscad con diligencia al Niño; y cuando le encontréis, avisadme para que yo también vaya y le adore.

13-15 Después de haberse marchado ellos, un[f] ángel del Señor se le apareció* a José en sueños, diciendo: Levántate, toma al Niño y a su madre y huye a Egipto, y quédate allí hasta que yo te diga; porque Herodes va a buscar al Niño para matarle[g]. 14 Y él, levantándose, tomó de noche al Niño y a su madre, y se trasladó a Egipto; 15 y estuvo allá hasta la muerte de Herodes, para que se cumpliera lo que el Señor habló por medio del profeta, diciendo: De Egipto llamé a mi Hijo.

A. The Chief Priests and the Scribes

I find it interesting that in the Christmas narrative, the birth of the messiah, we discover that the people who are rejoicing over the birth of the messiah the king of the Jews, are Mary and Elizabeth, Joseph and the shepherds, the wise men from the east they are unlikely cast of characters. The people who should be watching and searching for the king of the Jews, the messiah who was to come are not even concerned about it, the chief priests and the scribes.

We read when Herod summons the chief priests and scribes and ask them about where the messiah is to be born, they give him the information and move on with their day, as if nothing happened. Immanuel, God with us has been born, the King of Kings has arrived, the long awaited messiah is here and the chief priests, the scribes are indifferent to the news. We also read the rumors of the messiah was born travelled all though Jerusalem, and yet the wise men from the east, Gentiles, are the ones who show up to worship the King. I do not know why that is, maybe they were afraid for their lives, maybe they were just busy with what is going on around them, or maybe they didn’t want to give up their power and position , if it is self preservation, or too busy, or concern for their position and power, it is still selfishness. Their selfishness led to indifference to the news that the king of the Jews had been born.

Are you so consumed with your self that you are indifferent to God’s presence through his word in your life? Does God’s presence through his word, in worship or through the church not as important to you as it once was? Sometimes we can get so consumed with the pursuits of power, get too busy or let fears create an indifference in us that we can miss the presence of God with us and the work of God he is trying to accomplish in our world, like the chief priest, scribes and Jerusalem. May the Spirit of God bring the joy of his presence and the beauty of Jesus to those who are indifferent to it.

B. Herod the Great

While self - centeredness led the chief priests, scribes and those in Jerusalem to indifference, Herod’s self centeredness led him to opposition. He was in fear of losing his position and power that he schemes and lies to the wisemen, “let me know where he is so I can worship him as well.” Herod wants to get rid of Jesus, he doesn’t want to ruled by another.

There are still those who are indifferent and those who oppose Jesus. Are you here today and in one of those groups, Jesus is calling you to repentance and faith. Jesus, God with us has come he has come to rule and shepherd his people. The king has arrived, God with us, let this Christmas be the time when you consider what it means for God to be with us through the person of Christ and discover what it means to come and worship the king in spirit and in truth.

III. Self-Centeredness Will Not Stop The Plan of God

Matthew 2:13–20 (ESV)

16 - 20 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.”

But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”

16 Entonces Herodes, al verse burlado por los magos, se enfureció en gran manera, y mandó matar a todos los niños que había en Belén y en todos sus alrededores, de dos años para abajo, según el tiempo que había averiguado de los magos. 17 Entonces se cumplió lo que fue dicho por medio del profeta Jeremías, cuando dijo:

18 Se oyó una voz en Ramá, llanto y gran lamentación; Raquel que llora a sus hijos, y que no quiso ser consolada porque ya no existen.

Retorno a Nazaret

19 Pero cuando murió Herodes, he aquí, un ángel del Señor se apareció* en sueños a José en Egipto, diciendo: 20 Levántate, toma al Niño y a su madre y vete a la tierra de Israel, porque los que atentaban contra[h] la vida del Niño han muerto.

We see Herod’s self-centeredness and opposition to God’s plan led him to murder every male child 2 and under. Herod’s self-centeredness lead to destruction. His rejection of the king and his selfishness leads to a most evil response to the news that Jesus has been born. Truly a sad day in the history of Israel.

Your selfishness may mot lead the mass murder of children like Herod, but the road of self-centeredness leads to destruction, it may not be on the scale of Herod the Great, but where is your self-centeredness leading you today?

Are you rejecting the rule of King Jesus?

Are you fleeing from the presence of God with us?

How is this impacting your life and the lives of those around you?

Herod tried to stop the plan of God by the mass murder of children, but as we can see Herod was not the sovereign ruler of the world. God is and his plan to save his people form their sins, will not be stopped. His plan to build a community of true worshippers who will worship in spirit and truth, will go forth. Self-centeredness will not stop the plan of God. The invitation this Christmas is, to come and worship the king, the true, righteous and good king who will rule and shepherd with grace, mercy and truth. O come let us adore him today.