The Mystery of the Magi
Notes
Transcript
Series: exploring the miracles surrounding the birth of Christ. Did they really happen? How can we be sure? If they did, why? And what do they tell us about the child that they pointed to and prepared for?
More importantly, do these Christmas miracles have anything to say to us? About us?
We’ll be looking at... (backwards!)
Magi/Star - how does the star of wonder guide us to the perfect light of Christ so that we might worship him as the true king?
Angelophanies - are the messages of the angels still speaking today, pointing us to Christ, calling us to respond?
Virgin - what does the virgin conception of our Saviour say to us about how God can use the lowliest of servants in impossible circumstance?
Today. Magi = Unlooked for visitors, following unexpected signs, bringing unprecedented gifts, offering unwavering worship.
From this we can recognise the star for what it is, respond with joy, and resound with worship.
Recognise the star
Recognise the star
Matthew (writing primarily for Jewish readers), introduces some surprising characters.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’
“We saw his star when it rose.”
Fascinating! For two key reasons:
These are not the people we’d expect to come looking for the Messiah
These are not the people we’d expect to come looking for the Messiah
For a start, they are non-Jewish. Matthew has deliberately chosen to include them in his account, knowing that their inclusion would be offensive to his Jewish readers.
But they’re not just any non-Jewish people!
“Magi from the east.” Traditionally wise men, or kings (three, if you believe the carols!)
Magi means exactly what you probably think it means - magician, sorcerer. They were Persian priests, practicing many different kinds of so-called magic. Astrology, interpreting dreams etc.
(Have come to be associated with Zoroastrianism.)
Definitely not the people we might expect to find travelling thousands of miles to meet the infant Jesus.
And apparently, it was through some kind of astrology that they came to Jerusalem. Which means that...
This is not the method by which we’d expect them to discover the Messiah
This is not the method by which we’d expect them to discover the Messiah
“We saw his star when it rose.”
There have been many attempts to identify this star. A supernova? A planetary alignment? A comet?
No one can be certain.
And because this is so unusual, some question whether it even happened at all.
That may be, in part, because it sits so far outside of our cozy evangelical comfort zone!! Reading the stars seems a bit too Mystic Meg for us, a bit too horoscopy.
But why shouldn’t the One who flung stars into space, use those stars for his own ends, to announce one of the most momentous occasions in history, the human birth of the divine Son of God?
Matthew was challenging Jewish perceptions of non-Jewish people, and the idea that anyone who practiced astrology or dreamed dreams was automatically excluded from the blessings of God.
Matthew is showing us early in his gospel account, that Jesus is truly for everyone.
Not a particular nation. Not a particular ethnicity. Not a particular language or culture. Not a particular economic background. Not even a particular religious background!
Whatever religion these men practiced, they crossed field and fountain, moor and mountain to bow the knee to an infant, professing him to be the king.
Which says something to us, doesn’t it?
In our cozy little evangelical bubble?
With our systematic theologies gathering dust on the shelves, our doctrine-filled hymns, our orthodox basis of faith, our safe, steady style of worship.
These are all good in their place!
But we must be careful to leave room for mystery and awe, for God to act in unexpected ways through and in unexpected people.
He does not show favouritism. Neither should we.
I heard of someone who had visited a church recently having had a dream about Jesus and the last judgement. She was told in no uncertain terms by the church leader, “We don’t do dreams here.”
We might not, but God does!! He can. He has. Who are we to question his ways, his choices, his purposes?
We need to be prepared for God to work in unexpected ways and not have an evangelical hissy fit if he does!
Of course, we need discernment. Of course, we look for signs of true faith in the true gospel.
But we must not be surprised if he uses extraordinary, mysterious means to do his saving work.
Maybe you’re here today having had a “strange” experience? Welcome! We’re glad you’re here! And we look forward to helping you discover Jesus.
And it's important to say that while God can use extraordinary signs and events to point us to Jesus, his ordinary method of communicating with us is through the words he has spoken in history that have been recorded in the Bible.
As think about the magi, we need to recognise the star for what it was - a sign from heaven, from the hand of God.
And then we must respond with joy.
Respond with joy
Respond with joy
The magi “saw his star when it rose.” For whatever reason, they associated this star with the King of the Jews. So naturally they travelled to Jerusalem to find him.
They spoke with Herod, who had other motives for finding this child.
When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
But he directed the magi to nearby Bethlehem, having been told about the prophecy in Micah 5:2.
There’s more mystery, as they appear to follow the star...
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
More mystery! In what sense did this star go ahead of them until it stopped? We probably have images from nativity plays and story books/videos, of three kings on camels trotting behind a fast moving star that stops right above a stable where a newborn Jesus lies!
The truth is probably a lot more mundane. An astronomical phenomenon of some kind, recognised by the magi, somehow guided them to Bethlehem. How?
We can’t know. But that doesn’t mean that we should dismiss it as a made-up element in a made-up story.
Remember, Matthew is writing primarily for a Jewish audience. If he wanted to appeal to them, convince them to believe in Jesus as Messiah, he wouldn’t include non-Jewish star-gazing pagans! That alone gives this an authentic feel to it.
In any case, notice the reaction of the magi when they see that the star is still in the sky...
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
What brought about this joy?
Possibly they had thought their journey wasted in Jerusalem. A dead end. A wild goose chase. They’d made a mistake, misread the signs, game over.
So, when the star reappeared, they regained confidence that they were on the right track, their journey was not a waste.
And it seems that there are many today who feel as though they have been searching and searching for meaning, purpose, identity. Many in younger generations who have been exposed to so many opposing worldviews, tried many of them, and found them lacking.
They are still looking for real answers to real questions.
The church finds itself in an interesting position! Because many young people are turning to the church, to Jesus, to see if he might be what they are yearning for.
Again, if that’s you, great! I hope that we help you find true life and joy in Jesus. We hope that you can rejoice because your search is successful!
As a church, we need to be careful to listen to what this generation is saying, and not dismiss them, or downplay their search for meaning and identity etc.
Instead, we should rejoice that the Lord is calling people to himself through whatever means.
And all this should cause us to...
Resound with worship
Resound with worship
That’s the climax of the Magi’s journey...
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
With the mention of Jesus and Mary, the story suddenly feels familiar again.
Except, please don’t imagine a stable with a newborn Jesus in the manger!
This is likely around two years after his birth (cf. the Herod’s instructions in v16).
It seems Joseph & Mary remained in Bethlehem following the birth, in a house!
In any case, the Magi found them.
And upon seeing the child Jesus they did two remarkable things:
First, they bowed down. A sign of deep devotion, reverence, humility.
A remarkable thing for them to do!
While they were not kings, they were probably high ranking officials in a Persian court. Yet, here they are in an obscure town in Judea, most likely in an ordinary house, prostrating themselves before what must have appeared to be an ordinary-looking child of about two. The kind in our creche right now!
Second, they worshipped him. Taken alone, the bowing down could be seen as simply paying homage, or showing honour.
But placed next to the Greek word προσκυνέω it is unmistakably an act of lowly worship.
Whatever they believed about this child, whatever they understood about him, Matthew intends for us to agree that their response was the only right response to Jesus.
And of course, probably the most famous part of all this, is the gifts that were offered.
Gold, frankinsense and myrrh. Rich treasures, fit for a king.
We might read symbolism into them, but Matthew doesn’t spell anything out. His goal is for us to recognise Jesus as God’s King, Messiah and Lord, and to worship him ourselves, offering our lives as our gifts.
What a scene this must have been!!
Again, it would have been very jarring for Matthew’s Jewish readers. Pagan star-gazers worshipping what is claimed to be the Jewish Messiah! Throwing themselves down, debasing themselves for a little child.
And bringing these exotic gifts with them too.
It might have seemed too extravagant, perhaps even blasphemous.
To which we might say, if Jesus truly is the King that God has sent, the Son of God no less; if he truly is the one who has come to rescue the lost, then surely no gift is too extravagant, no act of genuine worship too elaborate.
It maybe reminds us that worship is expressed in different kinds of ways in all kinds of different cultures.
It was a joy in the summer to have our international celebration. And we got a small taste of African worship!!
I get the impression that it was somewhat toned down for a British middle-class audience!
I strongly suspect that true African worship is much more expressive and exuberant. I say, bring it on!
And let’s remember that God is calling all kinds of people to himself from all kinds of different backgrounds and cultures. If he chooses to bring them into our fellowship, we may need to be prepared to welcome different kinds of expression in worship, prayer, etc.
Are we ok with that?
Don’t mistake me - we value the Word of God, we take seriously the instructions about worship being ordered and accessible and understandable.
But I think we can see from the Magi that God is ok with calling people from different, even questionable, backgrounds into his kingdom and into his church.
Are we? Are we ready for that?
Are we prepared to be challenged by people who come at things in alternative ways?
We can say- - Doesn't matter how someone comes to find Jesus. Now that you have, let me tell you all about him!
We can imagine Mary and Joseph doing just that.
And perhaps as they did, the worship grew, the praise resounded, the glory of king Jesus shining brighter than an star.
We have the joy of inviting people to meet the real Jesus this Christmas. And we can expect to welcome some unexpected people who might have already been drawn to Jesus in some unexpected way.
As we do, let’s lift Jesus high.
