A Greater Story

3 major elements.

The Wise Men

Matthew 2:1–2 (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.”

You may have heard of the wise men before, you likely have seen them in a nativity set whether you own one and set it up each Christmas or you have seen them in the shopping centres. They’re key figures in the Christmas story of Jesus’ birth. The three wise men, as we sing “We three Kings of Orient Are” according to the old Carol. One problem, it doesn’t say three. We think three because of the three gifts that we will get to later on. We also consider them kings but again the text doesn’t say they are kings. So who are these ‘wise men’?

We know they travelled from afar, from in the east. They are ‘wise men’ so perhaps sages or seers or magicians. Not like modern Las Vegas David Copperfield types. These are men rather that kings and princes would have inquired to when they were concerned or worried about the future. Trying to find wisdom or seek favour with their gods. Entire kingdoms and empires would have changed trajectory based on their sayings. They were powerful, important members of their societies both politically and religiously.

So, irregardless of how many of them actually came, we can know that they likely would have had a huge entourage. They wouldn’t be on their own on a single camel, that’d be too dangerous on those ancient roads. They’d have to have guards, servants, camels to carry the tents they slept in, to carry the food for the journey for everyone involved plus clothes and other essentials. It would have been quite the affair.

Now imagine, this caravan of camels and their riders making their way through the streets of Jerusalem! As they approached the palace of Herod, they would have drawn the attention of the entire city. Word would have spread. At this time ikn history, Jerusalem was considered by their Roman overloards as a backwater, provinical town. It’s most important drawn card was the temple to a God they had no concern for. Members of royal or cultural significance rarely stopped by. I imagine the scene from Shrek 2 when Shrek and Fiona arrive in Far Far Away. All of the citizens recognise the carriage of the princess Fiona, they stop, stare, turn to eachother with anticipation and begin following. By the time the carriage pulls up at the Palace, thousands of people are following, anxious to know what has caused this visit. Yet, we get a glimpse of their shock and astounding.

The Wise Men, are more aware of what God is doing, than God’s own people. “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” WHAT?! “For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him!” You’d think, if God’s people have been anxiously waiting upon the fulfillment of His promises, the city had have been emptied already. It’s people flocking the roads to Bethlehem to bow down and worship their Saviour-King. Instead, they’re totally unaware. And these Eastern seers had to inform them of the work of their own God. I could imagine their disappointment, their heart-break “I was so unaware” “If only I had not been so busy to recognise”.

Matthew 2:3–6 (ESV)

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.’ ”

So Herod is troubled, had he failed in his leadership? He is supposed to be king and a new oneking has been born? So he gathers all the chief priests and scribes and they read to him one of the prophets Micah. Note that, none of them are recorded as saying “Yes we saw the star! We tried to tell you!” They don’t even mention the star as they probably also had not noticed or made anything of it.

The second element, the star.

The Star

Matthew 2:7–10 (ESV)

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.

Herod injects himself into the story, as if he had any part to play. He is not aware of what God is doing, rather, as we will hear in the weeks to come, he has nefarious intent in his desire to know where to find this new king. If he was troubled when he first heard of the birth, now he is feeling threatened. Herod is the archetype of the self-obsesed, insecure leader. He doesn’t want some new kid on the block to take his light. Even if the new born king has been ordained by God. Herod doesn’t care for God and want Him in his story. This is the King Herod show, and the show must go on.

It’s a glimpse for us, into the shadowy reign of the powers of this world. We are told in scripture, that there are evil powers within this world which contribute to the pain, suffering and brokenness we all experience.

Sin.

We are all full of sin and under the influence of sin in this world.

Romans 3:9–18 (ESV)

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”

“Their throat is an open grave;

they use their tongues to deceive.”

“The venom of asps is under their lips.”

“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

in their paths are ruin and misery,

and the way of peace they have not known.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

This could sound to you like quite an intense passage, especially if you’re new to faith and church. Even still, to many of us this passage seems to be far removed from describing us. We’d mostly agree that we are good people. However, we have to understand somethings- Firstly, most us have grown up in societies which have been dominated by Christian ethics. Just the other day, I was having a conversation with an extended family member who isn’t christian. We were discussing me working as a Pastor and he was explaining to me that he didn’t really recognise his need for religion as he was generally happy. He then said,

“I just live by this motto- treat others as you want to be treated!”

I shared with him how he was actually quoting Jesus himself and how this teaching from Jesus was actually quite radical and is not shared by many other cultures or religions. Despite not knowing Jesus, he had been quite deeply shaped by Him. Yet, whilst this may be our experience, in our western, deeply christian culture, this passage from Romans quite accurately describes many other contexts in the world. We had Dave Meirs here a couple months ago from OpenDoors. I subscribe to their newsletter and, if you can stomach it, I encourage you to sign up to. You will hear endless horrible, awful stoires of what much of the world is like. Where peaceful, generous and kind Christians are beaten, tortured and murdered for their faith in Jesus. That’s the reality of our world apart from Him.

Secondly, we hear in scripture passages about the most severe sins, we don’t relate because they seem like anomalys- yes, to us in a judeo-christian, western society but this is the state of our world. Murder, hatred, violence, lynchings, abuse, rape, corruption, so on and so forth has been the heartbeat of human culture since the dawn of time. This severity of sin isn’t the anomaly, our western conext is the anomaly.

So while our context might not be best desricbed by some of the lines from Romans, I’d like to draw your attention to the last one. “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” It means we do not revere Him. We pay no attention or respect, we don’t seek after Him or ask what He would have us do. It’s the best description of humanity in terms of were we stand before Him. Whether you believe in Him or not, He is the Holy LORD God of all Creation. In Him, by Him and through Him all things were made and are. He deserves it all, yet we have given Him nothing. Rather the opposite is true, we take what is rightfully His for ourselves. This is what sin truly is. Rebellion against God.

2. The False king, Satan.

Secondly, if you believe in God, or could consider with me that God is real, you must accept this truth- so to is His opposition, His enemy, the false King Satan.

Ephesians 2:1–2 (ESV)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Satan is real, he exists and for reasons that we have only a glimpse of, rebelled against God and has spent his time attempting to disrupt and distract God’s people.

Isaiah 14:12–13 (ESV)

“How you are fallen from heaven,

O Day Star, son of Dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground,

you who laid the nations low!

You said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;

above the stars of God

I will set my throne on high;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

in the far reaches of the north;

For a time, Satan has been allowed to rule in a limited capacity over the world. As Paul wrote in the Ephesians passage, “the Prince of the Power of the air”. Even Jesus recognised Satan as a ruler of this world. Foretelling of His own death-

John 14:30–31a (ESV)

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me

Jesus, Son of God, born according to the prophecy to a world broken and full of darkness, under the reign and rule of the fallen One, the False King Satan. What do we make of all this?

Jesus says the the false one is coming for Him, yet he has no claim as Jesus is without sin and does not belong to this world though He is in it. Yet, He will submit himself to the will of His Heavenly Father and hand Himself over to Satan to die. Satan, eager to quench his thirst for violence and hatred does not foresee his doom is at hand. Jesus, being without sin, is not under the penalty of death- His opting to go under the punishment of sin, without sin, allows him to absorb the sins of all of those who trust in him.

What seemed to be victory for Satan, became his undoing. Jesus’ death on the cross served not only as a disarming of Satan’s power, taking away his right to rule over the forgiven, but Jesus’ resurrection from death asserts Him as the Son of God and the rightful ruler of the world.

Satan, once the bright, morning star has fallen. Jesus words are captured by John at the end of Revelations;

Revelation 22:16 (ESV)

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

We siong carols about the star, it seems like a feature of Christmas. Upon the tree, shining bright. Yet, it is a signifier of such great importance, that;

The rising of the True Star of the King, signifies the setting of the false Morning Star.

The dawn of the reign of Christ, signifies the end of Satan’s.

I mentioned three major elements to this story, we have the wise men, the star and finally we have the gifts.

The Gifts

Matthew 2:11–12 (ESV)

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.

I don’t know what you’re experience with baby showers is, but sometimes some of the gifts are a bit questionable. I’ve turned to reddit, not because a number of you were in attendance to our baby shower, but rather the examples are just unbelievable.

A fishing rod- for bub or dad?

5lb bag of bird seed, a bird box and binoculars.

A variety box of… rubber things used for contraceptive means.

Lastly, a nappy cake! Nappies, hair brushes and other various useful baby things all super glued together so everything is destroyed trying to pull it apart.

Crazy!

I couldn’t imagine the looks and feelings being experienced by Mary and Joseph when they saw those gifts. Remember also, these two are peasant class, not royalty. Gold, frankincense and myrrh as gifts to a baby.

The writers of the NT were intent on two things- they didn’t miss when they tried to hit and the included everything with intent. It’s very likely, as there were possibly many people with the wise men, that there were also more gifts. Clothes, food, etc. More practical things. He could have also just said ‘gifts’, plural. However Matthew, the writer, intentionally writes these three and in this order.

Gold. As the signifier of Jesus’ royalty. To us this day a King is born. Gold was often a gift given by vassals to the ruler as a sign of loyalty and fidelity. A recognition of that person, and their families, preeminence as ruler.

Frankincense. A resin used in burning as part of the perfume for the sanctuary in the temple. A recognition of Jesus’ divinity and deserving to be worshipped. It had a second use, as part of the sacrifical offering within the temple. This ties us to the last one.

Myrrh. A spice used in anoiting and sanctifying the tent and its furniture, but most commonly used to the embalming process of the dead. Myrrh would be present at both Jesus’ crucification and burial.

These are strange gifts for a baby, particularly one born to a peasant family. Yet, in the conext of Jesus they make perfect sense. King, Deity and Saviour. This is what Matthew intended to point out to us in his narrative account.

The caravan of welthy, powerful people travelling far distances to come before the Saviour King born in a manger. To offer to him gifts of splendour. Pointing to his coming as not just freedom from human overlords but rather the evil one. Freedom from death and despair, bringing hope, joy and peace to all people.

For us, it’s also a reminder to keep our eyes open. To stay awake. To not be like those in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus birth.

There are many stories in this room today. Many different contexts and struggles and personalities. In our modern culture, we are told that our individual experience is what matters most. Be happy, build wealth, live a good life. However, there is a Greater Story happening here. If you missed our Christmas services, Pastor Brad talked about Jesus’ name, Immanuel, which means God with Us. The Christmas story really is all about, how the eternal LORD God of all things desired to draw close to us. He is near to each of us, no matter how far from Him we feel, what we have done or what has happened to us. God is near.

His Kingdom is also near. As the new year approaches, we are launching into this new series in the Gospel account of Matthew, “The Way of the King”. We are not just invited, but called, to seek first His Kingdom and partner with God. To live for Him, devote our lives to Him. We talk a lot about this phrase “life and life in abundance”. Eternal life but also an abundant life here on earth.

My fear, is that we live like those in Jerusalem at the arrival of the wise men. Unaware of what God is doing. Too busy to pay attention, too focused on our lives to listen. Not only could we risk not doing what God is asking us to do, but we could also be missing out on the joys. The joys of loving those who have otherwise been unloved, to support the mercy ministries here in our community of abroad, of sharing meals over our kitceh table or even better- the sharing of the Gospel with our friends and family. The joys of seeing those once lost, directionless or without foundation to make the commitment to follow Him and recieve that long awaited eternal value and worth from the God of all things. Would you consider that, what it would mean for you? To not be so concerned with the worldly order of things to pay attention to the divine. We just may see friends, family and neighbours come to a knowing faith and be baptised here.

This is my task for you:

If you do not yet believe, know this: the LORD has drawn near to you. To know you and call you his child. Nothing you have done will separate you from His love. Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 8:38–39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The things of this world we can enjoy, but they will never satisfy like knowing Him does.

If you do believe, New Years approaches. What does God have for you to do? How is he calling for your attention? As we close today, can I invite you to pray this prayer “LORD, what are you calling me to do?”.