01 - A Shining Star By Pastor Jeff Wickwire Notes

Light Of The World

Christmas 17

“A Shining Star”

Matt. 2:1-2, 9 “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, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him...9 and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.”

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The theme for this Christmas season is, “Jesus—the Light of the World.”

When you study the gospel records surrounding the Lord’s birth and life, you often encounter the word “Light.”

We’re told that a Shining Star pointed to Him.

And brilliant angels announced Him.

And a ministry of revelation light flowed through Him.

He even called Himself, “the Light of the world,” and promised that “...if you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, for living light will flood your path” (John 8:12 LB).

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I want to take the next few weeks leading up to Christmas to explore each of those 3 examples of Christ’s birth surrounded with “light”, beginning with the STAR that pointed to Him.

The story of the star actually takes place when Jesus is around two years old...

The word used to describe Jesus when the wise men arrive at his home is not brephos, meaning newborn, but paidion, meaning child.

In Matthew’s account, a strange and beautiful star led Persian wise men, not to a stable, but to the house of Mary and Joseph.

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Now, these wise men from Persia were not Jewish, but Gentile.

And they were not primarily occultic astrologers, but were astronomers—scientists.

We’re told they came from ‘the east’—so were probably from Babylon or Persia.

It so happened that in the normal course of their routine gazing into the heavens, they had seen hanging in the night sky over the land of Israel a star that was brand new and highly unusual.

The star had appeared at the moment of Jesus’ birth, and was clearly visible from a great distance away.

The magi knew that this star was defying natural law.

To see a star rising in the west over Israel was not normal, because stars don’t rise in the West—they rise in the East.

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It was so highly unusual that, though Israel was around 800 miles from where they were, this star was so intriguing, so mysterious, so unique that they literally became star-struck!

And the Bible also suggests that they were at least vaguely familiar with one of the OT prophecies that connected the coming of Messiah with a star.

For instance, one prophecy says:

“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel...” (Numbers 24:17)

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By the time they reached Jerusalem they clearly understood that this star was prophetic of the Messiah that was to come, for they told King Herod, “We have seen His star in the East.”

It was His star—the star of the Messiah.

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So....they were so star-struck they decided to go on a star-search.

They packed up their stuff and headed out on a very long journey of around 800 miles and many months of travel to see where the star led.

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Now, the story of the star and the wise men’s pursuit of it is filled with important truth about God, and how He reaches out to mankind.

First, notice how...

I. God entered their world to bring them into His world

These were astronomers—not shepherds, not businessmen, not politicians, not farmers, they were astronomers...

And so God approached them in a way best suited to grab their attention!

What better way to reach scientific astronomers than through a brilliant, never before seen star!

LISTEN—God knows just how to get your attention!

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We see in the Bible that God used many methods to speak to those He was trying to reach...

Hebrews tells us, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past...”(1:1)

He spoke to the shepherds watching over their flocks by an angel.

To Simeon who eagerly awaited the arrival of Messiah, God spoke by the Holy Spirit.

God spoke straight to the heart of the old widow, Anna, when she saw the baby Jesus.

To Saul of Tarsus He spoke by a blinding light.

To Moses out of a burning bush.

To Abraham by a voice.

To Balaam God spoke out of a donkey.

To Peter He spoke by a vision from heaven.

And to these wise men God spoke through a Star!

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The bottom line is: God knows how to get your attention!

He changes methods, but never the message!

He knows how to come into your world, how to enter your space, how to get your ear long enough to hear Him calling:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20).

So we see that God uses different means and venues to reach people without ever compromising the message.

For these wise men, God used a star!

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Then we see that...

II. God’s guidance will always lead to God’s Son...

We’re told that the wise men traveled toward the most likely place over which they had seen the star.

And their journey led them to Jerusalem.

And in Jerusalem they encountered the cruel King Herod, who feigned interest in finding and worshipping the Christ child just as the wise men were.

But in fact he was threatened by the arrival of ANY king who might overshadow him.

Herod’s own chief priests told him that the Christ Child was to be born in Bethlehem, so Herod said to the wise men:

“When you find Him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship Him also” (Matt. 2:8).

Interestingly, it says that as soon as they set out for Bethlehem, the beautiful star appeared again and stood directly over the house where young Jesus was.

Matthew records, ““...it came and stood over where the young Child was” (2:9).

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Notice!

The star didn’t point them to a Jewish Temple,

or guide them to an OT rabbi,

it didn’t lead them to some serene country setting to enjoy,

or to a house of idolatry where all the false idols of Rome were daily worshipped...

No....The star led them to the house where Jesus was and STOPPED.

God had no better place to take them,

no other destination in which to lead them,

no other solution for the hunger of their hearts than to guide them to the place where Jesus was!

And God’s answer for the human race hasn’t changed.

The Bible says, “God...has in these last days spoken to us by His Son...” (Heb. 1:2)

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Now, in closing, if it wasn’t a real star, then what was it?

I have a good candidate...

The Bible says that when the Children of Israel were led out of Egypt and began their journey through the wilderness, “The Lord guided them by a pillar of cloud during the daytime and by a pillar of fire at night” (Ex. 13:21).

The pillar of fire was the shekinah glory of God, the very presence of God.

The glory of God, like a fire in the sky, led them to God’s destination.

I believe the shekinah glory of God is what the wise men saw, and the glory of God led them to the Glorious Son of God!

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LET’S PRAY