Wise Men Still Seek Him

Well, in case you are curious as to why we have two different scriptures today, we are combining two different yet very important parts of Christ's life into one sermon today. Therefore you should expect to get out of church no later than 2:30 this afternoon. LOL! Just kidding! We are going to begin our time together by wrapping up the Christmas season with the story of the wise men visiting Jesus as a child and end with the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. So buckle up and hang on tight, ‘cause here we go.

As I said, we are going to start with the wise men coming to see Jesus, the one who is born King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As many of us already know, there is a good bit of time between when Jesus was born in Bethlehem and when the wise men came. Many of our Christmas decorations give us a false interpretation of this. We think that just because we see the wise men and the camels in the nativity that they visited Christ the baby in Bethlehem, yet this is not what the Bible tells us. Verse 2 is very explicit as to when the wise men came to see Jesus. It says, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem.” Most scholars will agree that Jesus was somewhere around the age of 2 when the wise men came to visit Him. In addition to studying the wise men coming to visit and adore Jesus, we are also going to spend a few minutes looking at the Baptism of Jesus. Our outline for this morning therefore will consist of three A’s. Arrival, Adoration, and Acknowledgement.

Our first point, Arrival. You can only imagine little toddler Jesus standing there before these wise men as He is presented these gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These things didn't rattle or taste good, so what was their purpose, baby Jesus might have wondered. I can't help but ask myself and also wonder, did Mary and Joseph know the significance of these gifts either. Back to the wise men themselves, we know that these gentlemen were astronomers who, among their daily night searchers, spotted a most unusual star. Yet I have to ask myself, what was it that made them desire to follow it? Did they know and sense within themselves that there was something special that lay underneath this star or was it merely pure curiosity that led these men away from their homes? No matter the reason, they followed it. I like to think about the star like a rainbow. Many of us have heard the age old tale about the pot of gold that supposedly lies at the end of a rainbow. At the end of the star that the wise men followed many years ago, stood the greatest treasure this world has ever known, the salvation of the entire world. Before we go too much further, let's look at what happened when these wise men got close to the location of Jesus.

We read, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem.” One website I found noted the distance in which these wise men traveled. It reads, “The Magi came from the East, it is believed from Babylon, so how long does it take to travel the distance. From Google Maps you can see the distance is about 1,150km, which is equivalent to over 700 miles. What was it that gave these men the endurance to travel so many miles to see what lies underneath this star? Did they have a sense that it was something special? You can't help but wonder.

As the wise men neared the location of Jesus, they stopped and asked for directions, which as you know is very surprising, because you know men never ask for directions LOL! Nevertheless they stopped at a pretty important place… none other than the palace of King Herod himself, who as we know is a pretty arrogant, self-centered individual. Therefore upon finding out about the fact that there is another king that this group of wise individuals have traveled for miles to pay homage to, King Herod becomes jealous, very jealous. This is a very pivotal point in the narrative we find in our text for today. As Warren Weirsbe explains, “It is no surprise that Herod tried to kill Jesus, for Herod alone wanted to bear the title “King of the Jews.” But there was another reason. Herod was not a full-blooded Jew; he was actually an Idumaean, a descendant of Esau. This is a picture of the old struggle between Esau and Jacob that began even before the boys were born (Gen. 25:19–34). It is the spiritual versus the carnal, the godly versus the worldly.

The magi were seeking the King; Herod was opposing the King; and the Jewish priests were ignoring the King. These priests knew the Scriptures and pointed others to the Saviour, but they would not go to worship Him themselves! They quoted Micah 5:2 but did not obey it. They were five miles from the very Son of God, yet they did not go to see Him! The Gentiles sought and found Him, but the Jews did not.” We must daily ask and assess our own selves to see if we are allowing our own pride and jealousy to steal the limelight that truly belongs to Christ. Why? Because He is the true light that we should all be seeking and worshiping daily. As one of my favorite little sayings says, “Wise men still seek Him.” Are you wise enough to follow Him today?

We soon see in the next few verses we see that this master plan of Herod’s is quickly foiled. But before we look at that let’s look at the highlight of our passage for today, Adoration! Which is our second point for this morning. We have seen the arrival of the wise men, now we are going to look at their adoration of Jesusl Picking up in verse 10, we read, “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.” Another interesting note here is that it is possible that the star was not always visible to the wise men as we see here that it appeared to them again as they neared the home of baby Jesus. Let’s face it, following Jesus is not easy. Sadly, we aren't born into this world and immediately given a map of how our entire lives will play out. In following Christ we don't always get to see the next step or the next step or the one after that. As is always true with the Christian faith, this is where faith comes into play. The wisemen knew that even on the nights that the star did not appear in the sky, that who they were seeking was more important. And the same is true for us today.

As the wisemen near the home of Jesus though, the star reappears, guiding them to the specific home of Jesus. As they entered the house, scripture says they saw Mary and Jesus and fell down and worshiped Him. I can only imagine that I would do the same at the sight of Jesus. One commentary I read said this, “Their response was the same response that Matthew wanted for his readers; they worshiped him.” This side of the birth of Jesus, His crucifixion, and resurrection, it is hard for us to sense the magnanimity of what Jesus did for us. But just as much as the wise men worshiped Jesus back then so much so does Jesus still deserve that same worship today. And I am sorry church but I don't feel as if Christ is receiving it. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think we need to be running up and down the aisles and jumping up and down, but what’s wrong with a raised hand or two every now and then, in praise and adoration for the One who came and died for you and for me. It is my prayer for Shiloh and every Chrisitan around the world that we would worship the Lord our God with the adoration and praise He truly deserves.

One more point I want to bring out here before we move on. How did the wise men worship Jesus? Well besides the basic features of worship such as bowing and silent reverence before Him, the wise men brought gifts. The only visitors we see in the Christmas story that actually brought gifts. But what were these gifts? I can tell you one thing, they weren't diapers, pacifiers, and baby wipes. No. Does anybody remember the gifts that the wise men brought to baby Jesus? Oh, yeah. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. So what’s up with that? Well, let me tell you. First, we have Gold. Gold was a gift that was fit for a king. Especially the greatest King of all, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Second, was Frankincense. This is one of those items that many of us today I feel like are pretty unfamiliar with. Frankincense is described as an aromatic gum resin, that when burned creates a strong and beautiful aroma. 2 points to make here regarding the gift of frankincense. First, this, as with the gold, was another common gift that was presented to deity. It is amazing to see how these men, even at this early stage of life for Jesus, knew that he was no ordinary child, but indeed the Son of God and the Savior of the World. In addition, we find from the Old Testament that Frankincense was a common incense offered in the Temple. Jesus was God’s sacrifice to the world and the reminder that soon enough, Frankincense would no longer have to be given for sins, because of the true blood of Lamb. Lastly, we see Myrrh. Another gift that many of us today are unfamiliar with. According to a website I found, “Myrrh is a fragrant spice derived from the sap of a tree native to the Near East. Like frankincense, it can be used as incense, but in the ancient world it also had wider usage as a perfume, anointing oil, and was even drunk as a medicinal tonic. Several different thoughts come to mind regarding this particular gift. My first thought was of Mary anointing the feet of Jesus. Secondly, I thought about the drink that Jesus was offered on the cross, and lastly, I thought about the mix of herbs and spices that the women had prepared for Jesus following his death. Each of these gifts that the wise men presented to Jesus this day, had a foreshadowing of the life of Jesus and the purpose in which He came to fulfill. I hope by spending a few minutes discussing these gifts they are not so uncommon anymore and provide a greater meaning to the story of the wise men. And oh, one more thing. You do know that there were more than 3 wise men, don’t you? We get the story of the 3 wise men today, simply because there were 3 gifts given. However, caravan’s during this day and time often consisted of many more than 3.

Now, for the foiling of Herod’s plan. No matter how grim or desperate a situation may be, we must always trust that God has a solution. In this case, it was a dream. We read in verse 12, “And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.” Amazing! It is interesting to look back throughout scripture to see how God has and continues to make ways through difficult and seemingly hopeless situations. Isaiah 43:16 recounts God making a way for his people across the Red Sea. It reads, “This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters.” In working on this particular point, I was reminded of a song. One of the lyrics reads, “He makes a way where there ain't no way, Rises up from an empty grave, Ain't no sinner that He can't save, Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus.” May our trust in the plans and workings of God be as strong as those of the wise men.

Well folks, we have reached our final point for this morning and our second scripture! Acknowledgement! Thus far our time together this morning has been focused on the story of the wise men visiting Jesus. We have looked at their arrival and their adoration of the King of Kings. Now we are switching gears to the other purpose of this Sunday, Baptism of the Lord. This is the third point in our sermon for this morning entitled, Acknowledgement. Thus far we have seen the arrival of the wise men, the adoration of the King of Kings, and lastly, we are going to see the Acknowledgement of Jesus as the Son of God.