Chrsitmas with the Wisemen
Notes
Transcript
Last week we discussed in length Christmas through the eyes of the shepherd’s. This week we will move to the wisemen. As we look in the scripture this morning we will see the aspects of the wisemen that we should exemplify in our lives. The Holiday season can often times become about us and what we like and what we want and how we feel. The reason for this time of year as a believer is to re-center our hearts on seeking Jesus. Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 2. While you turn in your Bible I wanted to share my dad joke of the week.
You know what would have happened if there had been three wise WOMEN instead of three wise MEN, don’t you? The three wise WOMEN would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the Baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and given practical gifts.
The Magi were from afar and traveled a distance to see Jesus. Before we get started I want to clear up a few myths. First the Bible does not state that there were 3 wise men. We ascribe it s 3 wise men because 3 gifts were given. There would have likely been far more and they would have had a caravan with them. Second, the wisemen were not present in the manger scene. The wisemen because of their traveling did not arrive at the time Jesus was born. There is some evidence that they did not arrive until Jesus was one or two years old. Third, they were not kings. The wise men would have come from a group of men in the Babylonian kingdom who were used to interpret dreams and perform rituals. They would have needed the Kings approval to travel and to offer gifts to Jesus. The wise men were likely form Babylon and traveled to bring Jesus gifts to celebrate His arrival and they likely knew about the messiah because of the teachings and writings of Daniel that were left in Babylon. When we talk about the wise men we are not talking about men who were a part of the Jewish upbringing and were searching for a messiah. These men were outside of the Jewish culture. The wise men represent the gift of Jesus to the world outside if Jerusalem. This morning in our Scripture I want us to see three things from the aspect of the wise men. First, the wise men searched for Jesus. Second They worshiped Jesus. Third they gave their gifts to Jesus. If you have your Bible stand with me as we read Matthew 2:1-11
1 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 saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘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.’ ” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 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.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 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.
The Wise Men Searched
The Wise Men Searched
1 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 saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘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.’ ” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 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.”
We often talk about the wise men and we talk about the gifts that they brought and those gifts have a prophetic meaning to them. This morning though I want to talk about the wise men and what they went through to see this gift to the world and to be a part of the plan of God. First remember these men were not Jews they were gentiles and were from the outside world. Worse than that they came from a society that would be listed as a pagan society. They would have been viewed as complete outsiders. Second these men traveled a long way. When the wise men saw the star they would have had to go to the king of Babylon and request his approval to travel with a caravan. This was an important part of the trip because without the kings approval they would have traveled 1700 miles without the protection of the king. After getting approval to go see this new king they would have gathered gifts to present to the king. These men went through a lot to come and worship the king. After getting approval and gathering their offerings to the king they then had to make the trip. The wisemen would have traveled 1700 miles to bring their gifts and to worship Jesus. They would have made this trip on camels and a camel on a good day can cover 25 miles. This means if things were perfect and there were no delays it would have taken them 68 days to travel to see Jesus. When they finally made it to town they went to Jerusalem to the kingdom because where else would the king of the Jews be born. Could you imagine Herods surprise? These guys show up with this caravan and they are here to celebrate Herod’s son, except Herod has not had a child. They tell Herod that they saw the star rise and they came to worship him. Herod then calls in the religious leaders and asks them where the messiah is supposed to be born and they tell him right were Jesus is supposed to be. Herod tells the wisemen that the king was not born in his kingdom but that they should go to Bethlehem and when they find the child to report back to him. Notice that Herod did not offer to go find the child and bring the child to them, he sent them and guess what they went. These men traveled 1700 miles to worship Jesus and when they did not find him they were sent somewhere else and they sought Jesus to worship him. These men searched and sought out Jesus. Why is it that we live in a world of people who are inconvenienced to go to Worship one day a week to celebrate Jesus? The wise men stopped at nothing to find Jesus. We lice in a world and a time when people look for any reason that gets them an excuse to not be at church and to worship. I am not telling you that this is the only place that you can worship and that God does not work outside of this building but I am saying that we need Christians who are willing to be a little more like the wise men and stop at nothing to seek the worship of our king. Where are you in your life? Do you seek worship with the king? Let’s not even talk about Sunday, what about your daily time in the Bible or time praying to the Father? We need to be more like the wisemen. Most people are not 1700 miles from their church and are not riding on camels so what excuses are we going to use next?
A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran she prayed, ‘Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late! Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late!’
While she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again!
As she ran she once again began to pray, ‘Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late…But please don’t shove me either!’
Are you running to Christ? It seems to me that we have lost the heart of the wisemen in our society. We do not seek Christ as we should, we get comfortable and complacent in our lives. We forget how great a gift Jesus was to us. The scriptures tell us that we should seek the Lord.
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
We are to seek Jesus like the wise men. Are you seeking Him in your life or are you like the rest of the Jews at the time and the religious leaders at the time who wasted the opportunity to be a part of God’s plan. They missed out because they were not seeking Jesus. What are you missing in your life because you are not truly dedicated to Him? The Wise men Sought Jesus but they also Worshiped Him.
They Worshiped
They Worshiped
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 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.
The wise men first sought Jesus and when they found Him they fell down and they worshiped Him. Remember what they would have gone through to find Him. They would have been through a whole lot by this time. The first thing they did was to Worship Jesus. They did not ask for a room to stay in, they were not worried about food, they were not worried about rest. They wanted to Worship. When we seek Jesus with all our hearts and with actual commitment it results in us falling in Worship to Him. We talked last week about not just doing the movements and expecting to experience worship but actually living the life and experiencing worship as a part of our obedience to God. These men knew what worship really was because they had given so much to get to Jesus. The things they would have faced to get to Jesus could have ranged from Bad weather, to risking their lives in the wilderness with wild animals. What about just the simple inconvenience of stopping their lives for 3 months to find Jesus and worship Him. They experienced worship because they were willing to sacrifice to get to Jesus. If you want to experience real worship what are you willing to sacrifice to experience it?
Eric Fellman speaks of meeting a Chinese couple in Hong Kong, while traveling to China. "A friend took me down a narrow alley to a second-floor flat to meet a man recently released from prison in China. I knew I would be pressed to carry Bibles and literature on my trip. But I was hesitant and tried to mask my fear with rationalizations about legalities and other concerns.
A Chinese man in his 6Os opened the door. His smile was radiant, but his back was bent almost double. He led us to a sparsely furnished room. A Chinese woman of about the same age came in to serve tea. As she lingered, I couldn't help but notice how they touched and lovingly looked at each other. My staring apparently didn't go unnoticed, for soon they were both giggling. "What is it?" I asked my friend. "Oh nothing," he said with a smile. "They just wanted you to know it was OK--they're newlyweds." I learned they had been engaged in 1949, when he was a student at Nanking Seminary. On the day of their wedding rehearsal, Chinese communists seized the seminary. They took the students to a hard-labor prison. For the next 30 years, the bride-to-be was allowed only one visit per year. Each time, following their brief minutes together, the man would be called to the warden's office. "You may go home with your bride," he said, "if you will renounce Christianity." Year after year, this man replied with just one word; "No." I was stunned. How had he been able to stand the strain for so long, being denied his family, his marriage, and even his health? When I asked, he seemed astonished at my question. He replied, "With all that Jesus has done for me, how could I betray Him?
Are you ready to experience real worship in your life? Real desire for Christ. A passionate and effective life in Christ? Be willing to sacrifice for Him.
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
We are to be a people who continually seek God and as a result worship and praise His name. When you understand the greatness of God it results in true worship.
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
We must be willing to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, loving others as ourselves and seeking Christ in all things, then we will experience the same worship that the wise me experienced.
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
This is not a prosperity gospel scripture but rather a scripture that tells us that if we are not willing to sacrifice for God we will not experience the fullness of worship and His spirit in us. If you sacrifice little and commit to little you will experience little in your faith. Some in here this morning need to be more committed to the living sacrifice we are called to. If you are here this morning and you were not moved to a place of worship, do not start asking about the music walk thought the back hallways and walk into the bathrooms and look in those big mirrors and ask yourself are you seeking Jesus the way you should in your life? Are you not experiencing worship because you are not committed to seeking Him in your life? The wise men sought Jesus, they Worshiped Jesus, and they gave their best gifts to Jesus.
They gave their best
They gave their best
11 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.
The wise men offered Jesus gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. These were very valuable gifts at this time and it is actually debated that these gifts helped fund Mary, Joseph, and Jesus’ trip to Egypt. These were not cheap gifts. The gifts brought to Jesus were thought to have been 4 months wages for a wise man in the Babylonian kingdom and they brought three gifts. That means these men brought a whole years wage and laid it at the feet of an infant! Think about that, it seems crazy doesn’t it? Christmas brings us to the thoughts of gifts because we want people to know we are thinking about them. Could you imagine someone gifting you a whole years salary? I bet you wouldn’t be re gifting that one would you. What things are you offering to God? Are you re gifting to God? Giving Him the things that are left over? The wise men did not do that. They gave their best to God. Are you giving your best to God?
As we get ready for all the Christmas parties everyone is getting gifts and thinking about what they are getting others. I was gifted through a party at work a gift that I really was not thrilled about and so I went and put it in my closet and let it sit there. When the next year came around I remember getting some gifts for some of my friends at work and remembered I had a gift up in the top of my closet. I wrapped the gift and placed a name on the gift and took it to work with me. I was excited to give the gift to a buddy of mine at work. As I got to work I gave him the gift. He opened the gift and I was expecting excitement or enthusiasm but instead he had this puzzled look on his face. I was not sure what to say I kind of just stood there. After an awkward moment he looked up and asked if I had just gifted him the same gift he had given me last year. I couldn’t find the words, I stood there in silence. You know that feeling when you are so embarrassed you can’t talk but it really does not matter if you could because they can see it on your face? This was that moment. He started laughing and could not stop. When he finally caught his breath I shared that awkward laugh and he told me that someone had given it to him 2 years ago and that is why I got it last year. I was honest with him and let him know that I simply forgot that he was the one who gave it to me.
Christmas is about one and only one gift and that was Jesus to the world. It brings us to a point though of reflecting on what we are giving God. Are you giving Him your best? Are the things you give to God costing you anything? The inconvenience of loving others you may not like. The going out of your way for a neighbor who was not kind to you, the giving to others who do not deserve it. What things are you giving to God in your life, are your gifts costing you anything? Don’t be like me and give a gift that cost you nothing.
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
God blessed us first, the gift of Jesus was free to us. The least we can do is to give back to God the best in our lives.
17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.
Anything you give God came from His blessing in your life. You are not really giving Him anything you are simply giving Him back things that He blessed you with.
11 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.
The wise men sought Jesus, they Worshiped Jesus, and they gave their best to Jesus. Are you living as the wise men? Are you seeking Jesus in your life? Are you experiencing worship because of your sacrifices? Are you giving the best of you to God?
