King of Kings - Matthew 2:1-12

Good evening and welcome to our Christmas Eve service

My name is Stefan Wilson

I am the pastor of preaching and teaching here at Harvest Bible Church… and it is not lost on me that there are people in this room who don't typically attend Harvest, but you came because you were invited and because you would love the person who invited you and we are just so glad that you're here

Church family I am also excited to be with you

And I am excited to open up God's word for just a few minutes so would you go ahead and take out your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 2

Maybe you don't have a Bible or you didn't bring one

There should be a Bible under a seat nearby or you can also use your phone, that's fine as well

We take the Bible seriously at Harvest Bible Church, so let's all make sure that we have our eyes on a copy of God's word.

We have been in the Gospel of Matthew as a church and have been talking about how Matthew’s goal in his Gospel is to show us that Jesus is the king who reigns over all and to show us what it looks like to live in his kingdom.

Kings/queens - How do you respond?

And in our text today, Matthew is going to show us what it looks like to respond to Jesus as the King of Kings

So let’s give this text our full attention

Matthew 2:1–12 ESV

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, 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.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “ ‘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.’ ” Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 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.” 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. 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. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

These are God’s words for us

Big idea: Every heart must respond to Jesus as the King of Kings.

There is no such thing as indifference to Jesus

You either see him as King or you do not, which is to reject him as king.

No opinion about Jesus is an opinion about Jesus - It is a way of saying he is not king.

So every heart must respond to Jesus as the King of Kings, one way or another.

And we are going to see three responses that we need to see and understand so that we can be sure to respond rightly.

Because Jesus is King:

All must acknowledge him (2:1-2)

It is common to hear people write Jesus off as a myth

As if he is no different than Zeus or Odin or any other mythological figure

But the biblical authors write about Jesus historically and the details of his life can be verified.

Matthew tells us plainly, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod, the king.”

So everyone has to acknowledge the existence of Jesus

But Matthew wants to go beyond that

He brings the wise men into the picture to highlight the significance of his birth.

He goes on in v. 1… “Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 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.”

What the wise men are highlighting and what Matthew wants us to see is that we not only need to acknowledge the event of Jesus’ birth, but also its significance.

How do these wise men help us to identify the significance of Jesus birth?:

While there is a lot of mystery surrounding the exact nature of this group of men, here’s what we can know about them based on the Greek word, Magi, translated, “wise men” that Matthew uses to describe them

They were educated people from the nations east of the Roman Empire

They knew the writings of surrounding nations and they studied the night sky

And they believed that the stars represented the birth and reign of kings

And in the book of Num. 24:17, there is a prophecy of a coming king of Israel that says,

“a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.”

And the star they saw in the night sky, they refer to it as “His star who is born king of the Jews”

I have no idea what it looked like, but it was significant enough that when they saw it, they were aware what it meant.

By seeing this star, they knew that the prophecy about a king of Israel was being fulfilled.

Listen: It is easy to write Jesus off as a myth or as just another person in history, but when you are confronted with the historicity of his birth and the significance that his contemporaries assigned to his birth, you cannot just write him off.

We have to acknowledge him and then ask, “So what am I going to do about it?”

And so, second, Because Jesus is King…

Some will reject him (2:3-9)

Look at v. 3

Matthew 2:3 “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;”

Thanks to historians in the first century around this time, we actually know quite a bit about Herod who was king of Judah at this time

He was incredibly paranoid that someone would try to steal his throne. So paranoid in fact that he even had his own sons killed for fear that they might try to take his throne.

And this was well known at the time and so when everyone starts hearing that a new king has been born, it no doubt makes everyone uncomfortable because everyone knows how paranoid Herod is.

You know that one relative that when you all get together for the holidays everyone knows, “Don’t talk about that one thing…”

“Don’t talk about the election if Uncle Dennis is there…”

And then the boyfriend who doesn’t know, brings up the election…

And everyone gets really uncomfortable…

That’s basically what is happening - Everyone knows Herod is paranoid and now there is talk of a new king…

And everyone is on edge.

What is Herod going to do?

Well we actually learn what Herod is going to do

He plans to kill the baby

Look at v 8…

“Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

And then, in v. 16, when the wise men leave by a different way so that Herod doesn’t know where the child is, we learn that Herod has all of the children in the region killed in order to ensure that the newborn King can’t take the throne.

It’s precisely the kind of thing that historical accounts of Herod said he would do.

Now, I want you to notice something:

Herod goes to the most extreme extent to protect his throne

He must not know who this baby is, right?

Wrong!

Look what he does when the wise men say that the King of the Jews has been born - v. 4

Matthew 2:4 “and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.”

Matthew 2:5–6 “They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “ ‘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.’ ””

We cannot miss this:

He hears that the coming king has been born and he goes to Scripture to find out where it was supposed to happen.

He is affirming that this baby is the coming Messiah.

He knows what God has said

He is aware of the fact that this baby is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament that all Israel had been waiting for

And he is so troubled by it that he wants to kill the messiah

Do you see it?

He is not denying that Jesus is the coming King

He is not arguing that the wise men got it wrong.

He believes it is true… and he doesn’t want it to be true.

Why?

Because it is threatening his own kingdom, his own view of himself as king.

And listen: all who ultimately reject Jesus do so for the same reason.

Not because he isn’t king over all, but because they don’t want him to be king

When I want to be king of my own life and try to make this world into my own little kingdom

I will feel threatened by Jesus because I will see his kingdom as competition to my own.

And I will reject him in order to protect my own kingdom.

And if that is you, if you have been stiff-arming Jesus because of what you think you’ll lose or because of what you are trying to get in this world

The truth that you need to be confronted with is that seeking to build your own kingdom is not what you were made for

It will never fulfill you like you think it will.

You and I were made to live in God’s world according to God’s way

Only when I see Jesus as King of kings and submit to him as such will my life be truly fulfilling because only that life is the life I was made for

Which leads to the final response:

Because Jesus is King:

Some will embrace him (2:10-12)

The wise men depart from Jerusalem and something interesting happens

The star had originally led them to Jerusalem and they weren't sure where to find the baby. They had only made it as far as Jerusalem

But then after they leave the star now guides them to Bethlehem and ultimately to the place where Jesus was.

So the star appeared, then apparently disappeared, and then reappeared.

How did this work?

I don't think Matthew wants us to figure out precisely how it worked

I think he wants us to understand that there is something supernatural that is helping them to get where they need to go

This may have been an actual star in the sky that God supernaturally used to guide them

Or it could have been a supernatural event that resembled a star that God used to guide them where they needed to go

Regardless, Matthew is showing us that they wanted to find Jesus to worship him, and so God ensured that they found Jesus.

Herod wanted to find Jesus to kill him, so he won’t find him.

The wise men want to find Jesus to worship him, and so they do.

Listen: When you desire to worship Jesus as king, God will lead you straight to him.

He says this through the prophet Jeremiah - “You will seek me and you will find me, when you seek me with all of your heart.”

And when Jesus is what you want, when you find him, you’ll embrace him.

So what does it look like to embrace him?

It looks like joy

Matthew 2:10 “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”

The heart of the person who embraces Jesus rejoices when they are led toward him.

The one who doesn’t want Jesus sees anything that leads to Jesus as something to avoid or something burdensome

But the person who wants to worship Jesus sees that which leads to him as something to rejoice about.

Oh sure, the world will mock you for reading your Bible and coming to church and being with God’s people

But the person who embraces Jesus doesn’t care what the world thinks - They just want to be with Jesus and so they rejoice at anything that brings them closer to him.

What or who in your life is leading you toward Jesus? Rejoice that God has put those things in your life to lead you to Jesus.

Second, finding and embracing Jesus

It looks like worship

v. 11a - “They fell down and worshiped him”

These wise men, when they find what they were truly looking for, respond in worship

We all give our hearts to something - We all pursue the thing we think will give us fulfillment and satisfaction

And we all know what it is like to be let down by things that couldn’t deliver.

All people understand this, which is why centuries ago, Augustine wrote, “We were made for you, O God, and our hearts are restless until they are found in you.”

When you embrace Jesus as King of Kings, you have found the one thing that you were made for and that will satisfy your soul

And the result is worship.

And third, finding and embracing Jesus as king

It looks like Generosity

v. 11b - “Opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

These gifts were costly for these wise men, but they offered them freely because when you find the king who is worthy of worship, he is more valuable than any other treasure.

The heart that responds to Jesus by embracing him let's go of anything in this world that would keep them from him.

When you're living for your own kingdom like Herod, you hold on tight to the things that you treasure most

But when you embrace Jesus and his kingdom, then even those treasures are simply a means of living for him

And so you can hold them loosely and give them generously for his purposes because you want what he wants and so you give what he deserves.

And the right response to Jesus as the king of Kings is to embrace him, joyfully, worship fully, and generously.

So how will you respond to Jesus as King of Kings?

He is the King of Kings, born king of the Jews, reigning as King over all.

May we all embrace him this Christmas and every day forward.

Amen.