A New Kind of Saviour

Running towards or Running away (wise men/Herod)

Christ has moved towards us....

2. Bring a gift, or Take a gift (wise men/Herod “King of Jews”

You are the gift Jesus came for...

3. Encounter Christ changes direction in life, or keep going as is… (wise men/Herod)

*religious knew Bethlehem but never moved…

It all started like this (Matthew writes while the church grows)

, “Time had come…”

Roman road, Greek language

What kind of Saviour are you hoping for?

*Further out to sea the older I get.

Wise men and a Wicked King

Wise men on a journey---a modern day project.

· We can overcome…. Self-empowerment, economics, military, “just be good” religion.

Herod—enemy of faith.

· OT/NT/ Present Day--- stamping out any marks of a Saviour.

People in power were disturbed, people waiting in hope were excited.

Christ for us—Us for Christ

1. Humble: rejectable

2. Vulnerable: crying out—birth and death.

3. Present: messy to draw near, more silent listening

Key: More than saving, position to help us grow. (unlike father-figure who fixes everything with no interest in our development). (Phil 2)

Magi find Christ, life takes them a new direction (away from Herod).

Jesus becomes model of Israel as light to the nations… Moses parallel…

We are the gift in God’s eye… we bring ourselves to Him.

3 Marks of the Manger

1. Jesus comes to us in Humility: The manger scene shows Jesus came to serve rather than be served. He doesn’t stand from afar not wanting to get His royal robe dirty. Rather, he moves into our neighborhood, gets into the messy troughs of life, takes on flesh to be right there with us.

2. Jesus comes to us in Vulnerability: God came in the form of a tiny baby. He’s no powerful tyrant or dictator shouting out his demands. His little cries as a babe invite us to love and embrace Him.

3. Jesus comes to us in Weakness: God chose to be born into poverty, to start the party by inviting the low class shepherds of society to hear good news. His perfect love revealed in weakness still draws wise men to come.

Matthew 2:1-12 reads: “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. When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 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. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”

The “Wise Men”, posture of searching the skies for meaning and purpose

Every one of us has probably been awestruck by an incredible star-filled sky. Like the wise men, maybe a beautiful night’s sky inspired wonder about life. The wise men held a posture which searched the skies for meaning and purpose. Within the ancient near east culture many people had developed the study of the stars and planets into a fine art. These Magi, a term referring to magicians, astrologers, or interpreters of strange happening, believed that everything was interconnected. If something important was happening on earth, you could expect to see it reflected in the heavens. So, God announced Jesus’ birth using the language they would understand, by way of a cosmic announcement in the heavens! These foreign wise men journeyed from afar, searching for a King. Even at birth Jesus was already “drawing all people to himself”. After the long search these wise men found Jesus and offered their best gifts in joyful response.

Perhaps the wise men’s story isn’t all that different to those seeking for meaning and significance today. Maybe you aren’t sure about Jesus but you are on your own long journey. Many people say they are on a “spiritual journey” but are you prepared to actually find Jesus? If you come searching, be prepared to encounter Christ this Christmas. Like the wise men searching the skies for meaning, Jesus will fill your heart with such a joy that you too will only desire to offer your best to Him in response.

3rd Character, Herod: Posture of pushing away the true savoir to “save himself”

Matthew 2:13-16 continues, “When [the Magi] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod…[But]When Herod realized 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.”

When King Herod heard the announcement of Christ’s birth, he prepared himself by taking a posture of rejection. Herod pushed away anything that threatened his self-rule. Herod didn’t want a Saviour King because he was too busy “saving himself”, even at the expense of others. He was entirely self-protective and self-consumed. New Testament historian NT Wright records how Herod thought nothing of killing even his own family members, including his wife, when he suspected them of scheming against him. On his deathbed, Herod actually gave orders to slaughter leading citizens of Jericho so people would be weeping at his funeral. So, Herod didn’t think twice about killing lots of babies when it was announced one of them may threaten his autonomous rule in the future[1]. As Herod’s power had increased, so had his paranoia- a familiar progression we’ve seen even in dictators today. Herod simply had become his own “saviour”. His response was that of rejection. Yet in the process of this kind of lifestyle he pushed away the true Saviour. It destroyed him morally, mentally, socially, and those he should have cared for most feared the pain he might cause them. Herod wasn’t prepared to receive the gift of Christ causing devastating results for many people, including Herod himself.

[1] NT Wright, Matthew for Everyone Pt1, 14.