Searching for Joy

This Isn’t a Christmas Cantata

I really like Nativity Scenes, they are probably one of my favorite decorations we put up every year.

But Nativity scenes and Christmas cantatas aren’t the most accurate retellings of the Christmas Story.

The shepherds Luke tells us came to visit Jesus after the angelic announcement come likely only a few hours after he is born.

But the wise men we read about in our passage today don’t come until Jesus is maybe 2 years old.

But in every Nativity I have ever scene, the wise men and the shepherds both stand around the makeshift crib along with cows and donkeys.

There is a reason Luke and Matthew’s accounts of Jesus life include details that the other doesn’t.

They were both writing to different audiences for different reasons.

Matthew is writing to Jewish people, some of which have trusted in Christ as the Messiah, and others who are weighing the cost of following Jesus.

Matthew is confronting their question: is Jesus really the Messiah Should I believe? Is he with it?

And his answer so far is yes.

Matthew 2:1-12 is a building section that also includes a counter question for the readers to consider.

It is building the prophetic witness that Jesus is the Messiah by tracing the prophecies given about the Messiah in the OT.

Also, Matthew is telling the story of how Jesus got to Egypt as the prophet Hosea said.

But at the same time, Matthew seems to be confronting readers with counter question.

what will you do with Jesus? How will you respond?

The question of faith.

He presents responses to Jesus in these 12 verses, all ways people have responded to Jesus throughout history, and still do respond to him even now.

I want to look at the first three as: Threats to finding the Savior.

Then look at the faith of the wise men to show that their story reveals to us something really powerful about God's plan and purposes and how these Christmas revelations stoke joy filled faith

Matthew 2:1–12 CSB

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. 5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet: 6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” 7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.” 9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

Destructive Threats

1) THREATENED HOSTILITY

In 37 BC., some 30ish years before the birth of Jesus, Herod the Great was made King of Judea.

He was half Jewish and had risen to power by fighting for the Roman Empire and conquering their enemies throughout the lands of Israel.

He was wealthy, politically gifted, and knew how to make the Romans emperors happy.

But he was also quite paranoid, power hungry, and ruthless.

Later in his reign he is thought to have killed many close associates, his own wife, and at least 2 of his sons, all because he felt they threatened his authority.

So it is really no surprise that when the wise men show up on his doorstep, asking where to find the “king of the Jews”, he would be pretty troubled by the thought of someone being called “King” other than him.

The world, like Herod, is progressively becoming more hostile to the message of Jesus.

It often feels like it is becoming more and more costly, and even dangerous, to be a Christian in our culture.

Herod, and our modern culture, see Jesus and His claim to be King as a threat.

He is a threat to their authority over their own lives.

Personal autonomy says “I decide for myself what is true, what is good, and what is best for me.”

So the idea that there is a way of life that God has designed for us to live, a way of truth that God has defined for the world, and a way of goodness that is rooted in Jesus, our sinful human hearts refuse to submit.

This hostility we experience isn’t new, Jesus told us it would be a part of the life of those that choose to follow Him.

And though it is a threat to our joy in Christ, I don’t believe it is the most damaging threat.

2) AGGRAVATED OPPOSITION

There was another threat mentioned with Herod in verse 3, “All Jerusalem.”

The people of Jerusalem were those the Messiah was promised to, the ones He came to save.

And as Matthew points out, they, like Herod, were “troubled” (agitated, frightened) by the news of Jesus’s birth.

The very ones who should have been looking for, longing for, and praying for the Messiah to come, were disturbed when they hear of the possibility that He had come.

They aren’t necessarily hostile, but, it seems, they are concerned that what these wise men are saying is going to mess up what is comfortable, secure, and stable around them.

Maybe they feared Herod (which ends up being a valid fear once we get to verse 13).

Maybe they feared Rome, which also makes a lot of sense.

But it is also likely that, like many of us now or before we met Christ, they feared the possibility that their lives were going to change.

That what was comfortable, secure, and stable around them was about to collapse.

Though it might seems like the greatest hindrance to someone coming to faith in Jesus is hostility toward the Gospel and blatant refusal to submit to Jesus.

What keeps most people who hear the gospel from trusting Christ is not wanting to give up the lives they believe are satisfying them.

The idea of a Savior sounds good, but their need for a Savior is clouded by the temporal and deficient satisfaction the world offers.

They wanted the Messiah, they just didn’t want Him to mess up their lives.

This is obviously a huge threat to joy in Christ, but maybe not the most destructive.

3) SPIRITUAL APATHY

King Herod, having heard about the supposed “King of the Jews” calls upon the the Religious leaders in Jerusalem in order to find out the credibility of the news.

These were most religious people in all of the Jewish faith.

Learned, faithful, scholarly, and righteous.

They knew God’s Word better than anyone else, and had devoted their life to studying, teaching, guiding, and holding the Jewish people accountable to God Word.

So when Herod called, they came, and when he asked them about the Messiah and where they should be looking for this one said to be Him, they knew exactly where he should go looking.

But why didn’t they go with the Wise men?

All of Jerusalem were talking about the baby, who seemed to be checking all the boxes given in the OT for how the Messiah would come.

Why didn’t they drop what they were doing and run to the little town of Bethlehem to see if this baby was the one they had been waiting for for generations?

“The magicians came from distant lands because they saw God’s writing in the stars, but the shepherds of Israel would not be bothered to travel six miles down the road when staring at the prophecies in Scripture.”

For these Religious leaders, they, in a sense, had stopped looking for a Savior, because they had come up with a way they could, through their own obedience, knowledge, and religious rituals, make themselves right with God.

Sure they desired the Messiah to come, but not for them, for the world. And, in a sense, to affirm how well they had done in being good Jews.

They weren’t apathetic toward religion, just apathetic toward Christ. And that is perhaps the most dangerous place to be.

This is us if we aren’t careful.

If we don’t keep the awe of God in front of us.

If we don’t stop searching and seeking the Savior.

Christmas Revelations

In contrast to these three responses to Jesus, there are the Wise Men, the Magi from the East.

It is believed these men were wealthy, powerful, learned men likely from Babylon (modern day Iraq).

They were astrologers, looking to the stars for truth and understanding.

For years, they had watched the stars, taken note of how they moved and how their light varied at times.

At some point, they discovered a star that was unlike any star they had studied before.

This start seemed to be leading them to something, and they came to believe, likely from some Jewish people left in Babylon, that this star must be leading them to the Messiah, the King of the Jews.

So they set out on what was likely at minimum a 4 month journey following a star, not really knowing where it was leading them.

But ultimately finding someone who would alter the world forever.

The faith these Wise Men show us is incredible and challenging, but it is also quite powerful to stoke joy-filled faith in our hearts and lives as we consider these 3 revelations.

The first thing we see is:

1) Jesus is GOOD NEWS for ALL.

These wise men from the east were pursuing a star they believed led them to someone who was vitally important, not only to the Jews, but to them as well.

That He was worth finding, worth bringing expensive gifts to in order to show how much they valued Him, and worth protecting from the evil king Herod who wanted Him dead because of who people were saying He was.

Again, Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience, encouraging them to believe in Jesus, to give their lives to following him as the Messiah promised in the OT.

But he is saying here what will be made even clearer as Jesus ministry grows and His Church finds it’s beginning, that Jesus isn’t just good news for the Jew, He is for EVERYONE.

No one is outside the scope and the reach of the Gospel.

I think Matthew wants us to see that Jesus is good news for Herod and all those who feel threatened and are hostile toward the things of Christ.

Paul makes the case that every one of us, at some point before we trusted in Christ, pursuers of the world and hostile to the things of Jesus.

But God!! being rich in Mercy, saved us out of our hostility and welcomed us into His family.

I think Matthew wants us to see that Jesus is good news for “All of Jerusalem”

That security and contentment isn’t found in keeping thing comfortable, familiar, and safe.

But that through Christ true joy and lasting satisfaction can be found.

I think Matthew wants us to see that Jesus is good news for the hyper religious.

That performance does earn you a ticket to heaven.

That your self-righteousness is robbing you from truly enjoying Jesus.

And your legalism is presenting a gospel that is FAR from Good News.

And it is obvious Matthew wants us to see that even the most wayward, the most distant, and the most sinful of people need to hear about Jesus, because He is Good News to them as well.

2) People are SEEKING and SEARCHING.

It might seem at times that Jesus is the last thing on people’s minds.

That there are too many distractions, too many reason not to believe, too many voices speak for anyone to hear the message of Christ.

But there was a group of wealthy, powerful, and intelligent men in the East who were searching for someone they didn’t really know, but believed He was important enough to travel months in order to meet Him.

That is true today as well.

Every day we are around people who are searching for truth, searching for hope, searching for peace, searching for restoration, searching for answers to life’s biggest questions.

They don’t know it, but they are searching for Jesus.

I came to faith in college. If you had told me as a senior in high school that in 4 years i would be pursuing a career in ministry, I would have laughed in your face.

But there was a desire in me to know what was true, real, and worth living for.

I thought money, relationships, and wordly comforts were the places one found something worth living for.

But those were empty promises.

Just like the wise men, people are seeking and searching, even the most unsuspecting.

3) God is DRAWING people to HIMSELF.

Perhaps the most profound revelation we see here is God’s pursuit of the Wise Men.

At some point in there looking at the heavens, a star appeared that they hadn’t seen before.

God used their interest in astrology to guide them.

And that star led them to Bethlehem, to simple house, where there lived a simple family, but who had anything BUT a simple child.

matt 2 11

Matthew 2:11 CSB

11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

God had led them to the Savior.

And He wasn’t a baby in a manger at this point, but a 2 year old toddler, likely bouncing around the house smiling and hugging his mom.

But they understood that this child was worthy of worship, worthy of gifts, and worthy of their devotion.

There was no room for hostility, no room for aggravation, and room for apathy.

What will be your response?

The profit Jeremiah recorded the words of God to the exiles in Babylon:

Jeremiah 29:13 CSB

13 You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

Interesting that 600 years later, a group of men from Babylon went on a search, led by God’s providential hand, and found God exactly where He was.

Perhaps your search has brought you here today?