This is Jesus

Traditions - staying up last night to hear David Hobsons - Royal City

The First Noel is also one of my favourites

I love how each verse invites us to this first Christmas - the birth of the king

The Shepards and the foreigner Magi were welcome - open door - vision statement.

Recap - Matthew is pointing out that all are welcome, and the door is open to all

Main Point: This is Jesus, the King for everyone but no one expected

In today's reading, we are going to see not just the baby but the character of this king through the gifts these magi brought.

Who are the magi? Why did they follow this star? In the bible, we get the word Magi – meaning magician which in the day were wise men or experimental scientists. The word Magi is plural so we know there was more than one but possibly more than 3.

How did these non-Jewish Magi know about the star and the messiah? Well the area they were from was made up of ancient Babylon and when we look in the book of Daniel (one of the best books of the bibles), we see that in Isreal’s exile to Babylon, Daniel becomes chief administrator over the wise men.

But even before that, we find Balaam ‘an ancestor to the Babylonian wise men sent to curse Israel as they made their way to the promised land but he is denied by God and instead given the prophecy of a star these magi are now following.

Numbers 24:17 (NIV)

“I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not near.

A star will come out of Jacob;

a scepter will rise out of Israel.

Partner this with the prophecy in Daniel 9 which gave the wise men the window for when this king, the anointed one to restore and rebuild Jerusalem would arise.

This was their motivation to meet the Anointed One. motivation to travel a long way. The same distance as travelling from Melbourne to Sydney or Adelaide. Easy lapping Tasmania but on camel back.

Travelling into the unknown, hot days, long days, and then when they get to Jerusalem no one else seems aware of a messiah, a king being born.

The First Noel - we are invited on the humble journey to know King Jesus this first christmas.

Our journey in life can be hard, situations come on us that make us want to give up. But we are also to be motivated like the Magi to keep in mind this is the saviour that is inviting us into his presence.

The gifts that are presented also tell us about the type of man he will become and the character we are to each follow

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

Gold: was the most valued metal in the first century, as it is now.

We read in Matthew 2

"Born King of the Jews" means that Jesus was not King in waiting, but King from the moment he was born.

As we have spent this december in Matthew we can see that Jesus is the king no one saw coming. The type of King he represented was of a kingdom totally different to what was expected.

They were expecting a ruler, born in a royal house, with riches, status and command.

Yet they got a baby born in a manger with the animals, poor parents with no status.

A Jesus centred Kingdom of Love and Peace versus the Kingdom centred around self and controlling others.

We see how many kingdoms get off track whenever humans are in charge, especially those at work without God.

Mark Sayer observed that this generation wants the Kingdom with out the King. Meaning we want heaven on earth but not having to acknowledge the God that created it.

In bringing the Gold we recognise the crown belongs to Jesus.

Frankincense: was used as a perfume but also was the only incense permitted on the temple altar.

Whether they knew this or not they were fulfilling Zechariah’s words –

Zechariah 6:13 NIV

It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’

The writer of Hebrews spends a lot of time with this connection that Jesus is the heavenly priest that intercedes for us forever. This is worthy of our praise; he hears our prayers.

The busyness of Christmas time does have a knack of taking our attention away from the true meaning for the season. Stress of getting gifts, pleasing family, assisting in Christmas events, can all take our attention away from what we should be doing at Christmas, remembering the baby boy who was God in flesh and thanking him in prayer and praise for his everlasting priesthood.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer asked the question: Who will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, all honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger.

Myrrh: was the sap that exudes from a small tree found in the east of Israel. It was used as a perfume for garments, to make a bed smell attractive, incense and as a stimulant. It was also used to stifle the smell of decaying bodies.

The function of sap is to transport virtual nutrients from the roots to the ends of the tree and to help it stand tall. Similar to our blood that transports oxygen and nutrients around our bodies. To take sap is to sacrifice its function in the tree so that others can enjoy.

Both Frankincense and Myrrh are designed to give a pleasing smell, one is used in the Temple the other because of its strong scent is used to cover the smell of death.

On sixteen different occasions in the book of Leviticus, an “aroma” is mentioned as something pleasing to the Lord. Specifically, the aroma of a sacrifice is important to God.

The importance of a sacrifice’s aroma is not the smell but what the smell represents—the sacrifice of innocence for sin. Like prophet’s in the old testament who sacrifice their own needs for sharing a message from God to everyone, Jesus sacrificed his life for the sake of everyone being able to enjoy a relationship with God.

Hebrews 9:14–15 NIV

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Jesus is the sacrifice that sets us free.

So today is Christmas - not the first noel but you are still invited into the presence of Jesus.

I was going to finish with

What gift will you give today.

To lay down your crown of gold and instead give it to Jesus

commitment to keep your eyes on His guiding light

Be willing to give something of yourself to Jesus today

But the point today is that these are the gifts you are given. Because Jesus was born:

We are invited into His royal family, Into the eternity all because