Who Has Come to Bow?

Text:  Matthew 2:1-12

Title

The way in which the story is told is calculated to bring the reader to further theological comprehension of the significance of Jesus as well as to anticipate a number of themes or motifs that are to recur repeatedly in the Gospel before the story is over. [1]

Theme:  Jesus appears as the worshiped king

Goal:  to encourage Christians to worship Christ.

Need:  We are so comfortable with the story of the Magi that we stop being amazed at the coming of pagan astrologers to worship Christ.

Outline:

1. Outline:  Hallmark Jesus is every bit as troublesome as Mascot Jesus.
2. Troublesome Timing:
1. Not with the Shepherds.
2. Not at the stable.
3.  
3. Troublesome Sorcerers:  God said no astrology
1. We three kings.

                                                               i.      Not three

                                                             ii.      Not kings

1. Magi.  Magicians.  Sorcerers.  Astrologers.
2. Maybe straight out of Hogwarts with Harry Potter.  I don’t know.
3.  

1. Troublesome Star:
1. Star is in the east? #. Star leads them to Jerusalem?
2. Star leads them to the Stable
2. Troublesome Worship:
1. Magi worship
2. Herod KILLS
3. Conclusion
1. This story whatever troublesome things happen in it, the message is supposed to draw us to Christ, and lead us to not be like the blind “believers” of the time.
2. Be the worshipers who journey to see Christ.  Give him our best gifts.  And fall down and worship. 

Sermon in Oral Style:

            Congregation,

          Today is Ephiphany.  Just as the first Sunday is the beginning of the preparation for the coming of Christ, January 6 marks the 12 day of Christmas.  According to the Christian calendar, today is the last day of the official celebration of the birth of Jesus.

          The reason it is called Epiphany, the word is from Biblical Greek.  The word in King James language would be, “make manifest.”  I think the best common word would be ‘appeared.’  You know the phrase, “I have had an epiphany.”  That really means, “some mystery has suddenly become clear.  The truth has appeared to me.”  Epiphany means appeared.  Or its dawned on me.  Or something like that.

          The reason the day is called Epiphany is because of the two great appearings that we hear about in our passage, the appearing of a star to the Magi, that proclaims to the world, the appearing of God’s son on earth.  A new age has dawned.  A new time has appeared.  It’s the epiphany of the savior Jesus Christ.

          Let’s hear that story again. 

          Read Matthew 2:1-12

          During advent, we were challenged to think about our Jesus and make sure he is so much more than a mascot that pumps us up, or we root for from time to time.  Jesus is so much more mysterious and deeper than our mascot Jesus.

          Today there is another Jesus that can sometimes infiltrate our faith life.  This sort of Jesus is a little more difficult for us to detect in our lives.  We are even more surprised and offended when the true, mysterious, fascinating Lord Jesus confronts this false image of Jesus that we create.  I would call this Jesus the Hallmark Jesus.

          Hallmark Jesus has infiltrated our heart if our understanding ends up being based more on feel good faith.  He’s the Jesus that is comfortable, warm, cozy.  He’s the Jesus of greeting cards and holiday specials.  He’s the melodramatic, safe Jesus that never cried, and always has a gentle absent-minded smile.

          As nice as a nativity scene is during Christmas, don’t we start picturing the most controversial, troubling, ridiculously awesome moments in history and make it just “nice”?  Have you ever scene a nativity scene that with Joseph looking disgusted at the cow pie he just stepped in while holding a screaming little baby.  If we wanted the full effect of the real night in Bethlehem, we wouldn’t light a vanilla scented candle, we’d dig something out of the litter box, right?  And that’s the welcome of the creator of the universe, our savior, Jesus?  Sure makes you think, doesn’t it?

          When it comes to Matthew 2, it really throws some troubling things into the mix.  They are troubling to Hallmark Jesus, but every part of this passage is calling people to bow down and worship before the Jesus of the Bible.  The real Jesus.

          First thing, if we look at the passage, there is something troubling timing in here for Hallmark Jesus.  You see, compared to the WillowTree Nativity scene that you’ve been collecting the last couple years, Matthew 2 is missing some key figurines.  Matthew doesn’t tell anything about shepherds at all?  And, come to think of it, the passage doesn’t mention Joseph or animals, there is no manger, in fact there is no stable or anything.  Verse 11 says, “On coming to the house.”

          Why are all these things missing from Matthew’s nativity scene?  No that’s the wrong question.  The question should be, why do we put the Magi there at the stable with Mary, Joseph, the shepherd?  They came later to see Jesus.  The timing the Bible actually uses is troubling to our Hallmark Jesus’ nativity.  The shepherds followed the advice of the angels in the field.  The Magi followed the star. How long did it take for the Magi to travel from distant lands to see Jesus?  I don’t know?  From what Herod says, further down in verse 16.  16 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.[2]

          The magi’s visit could have been up to two years after the shepherds.  Toddler Jesus could have been running around whatever house they are now staying in in Bethlehem.

          The second troubling thing are these troubling sorcerers.  Sorcerers?  Actually, yes.  We know the song, we three kings, its not quite how it was.  The only accurate part of that title is the we, because the real story of epiphany doesn’t have kings and there’s no mention of three of them.

          The actually word is Magi.  The closest thing to a king that they may be is some official astrologers or fortunetellers.  When they are called WiseMen, or Kings, it really is a stretch from what they really were.  They most likely are fortune tellers who specialize in acts of magic.  They probably weren’t buddies of Dumbledore or anything, but they were probably into the same stuff.  Magic Magi.

          It has turned into three Magi because they brought three gifts.  There may have been just two of them, there could have been many more.  It doesn’t tell us. 

          What’s more troublesome would have been caught more quickly by the original people who heard about the wisemen.  The Jews.  Jewish tradition taught that Gentiles were dirty worthless, godless people.  The Jews were the only people that were really given God’s love and grace.  No one other nation.  Here some of the first people to acknowledge that Jesus is a king are GENTILES.  Outsiders.  Spiritually Disgusting pigs to the Jews.  The Gentiles are not supposed to understand that Jesus is anything special or the coming king.

          To make it worse, they are Magi.  Sorcerers, astrologers.  This is specifically condemned several times by God in the Old Testament.  Check out Isaiah 2:6 to hear how upset God is about Israel getting into it.  Is God crazy and inconsistent?  Or is he showing powerfully, that through Jesus he is going to bring the whole world to worship Christ?  Is God already showing what is going to happen in the end times, when every knee shall bow before Jesus Christ?  When all the world will bring their wealth and lay it before Christ in the end?  Troublesome that these pagan sinners come to Christ to worship him.  But if you aren’t Jewish, thank God that he did call the “pagans.”  That’s us, coming from afar to worship Christ.

          So we have troublesome timing of the nativity, troublesome sorcerers.  Next we see the troublesome star.   This star looks nice and pretty welcoming the Hallmark Jesus in the manger, but the Hallmark Jesus version doesn’t make sense in lots of ways.  The star is the most confusing yet amazing part of the passage.

          Confusing.  Definitely.  Here’s a list of questions that I would love to go up to Matthew and ask him about why he wrote it in such a confusing way.

          If the Magi are following the star right to Jesus, why do they stop in Jerusalem to ask directions?

          If the Magi know about the star, how come Herod doesn’t see it and has to ask when it showed up in the sky?

          If the star is visible and close enough to guide them right to the house where Jesus is, why isn’t anyone else going there?  Hmmmm.  Big burning ball of gas, just a little ways above that town and that house, maybe we should go check it out?

          Why not make it easier to understand, Matthew?  I wish I could ask him.

          The way it makes the most sense to me and lots of others is that this star that appeared must be some not completely obvious event in the sky like a supernova or distant comet or lining up of the planets.  And the language of the star leading them and stopping over the house would be figurative language.  That would explain the stop in Jerusalem as well.  From the position of this new star in the heavens they can tell there is a new king in Judah.  If you want to met the newborn king you go to the capital.  Jerusalem.  Then they understand the star differently and it leads them right to the house.

And wouldn’t it be just like God to blow up a far a way star to make a supernova, have it be visible to all ends of the universe, have it show up as a tiny blip to a few pagan magicians on the pebble of a planet called earth, and have it perfectly aligned so that the Magi could read the sky and know where to find the new king.

          It is a troublesome star to understand, but does it really make a difference.  Isn’t the message the same either way?  God led the Magi to Jesus.  God wants all people to come and bow down, worship and offer there best to the king of kings.

          The last point that is troubling is the reaction of the not so kingly king in the passage.  Three times Herod is called, KING Herod.  But the magi come looking for the king of the Jews and it isn’t Herod king of the Jews.  It is Jesus King of the Jews and everyone else.

          What’s the reaction of King Herod, it is completely opposite of the Magi.  The king of the Jews tries to kill the King of Universe.

          That troubling point is where we run into a cross roads ourselves.  We have heard that Jesus Christ was born.  What is our reaction going to be?  There are two different responses, we can try to kill him, remove him from our life, like Herod. 

Could it be true if you have trouble making Jesus King it might be somewhat because you think the throne is too comfortable for yourself?  Might God be working in your heart as we come to the end of the celebration of Christmas with this epiphany Sunday, might God have been working in you to try and have you surrender your personal throne to Christ.  To let the true ruler reign?  And could it be that God has been moving guiding you, showing you the way so that you can come to the foot of Jesus and bow down.  That is the second response.  Either kill Christ, or surrender the throne to him.  Lay yourself before him.  Give him worship and praise and glory because he is the king. 

          This whole passage, every part, especially the parts that strip away our Hallmark Jesus help us realize the real Jesus is in the words here.  That Jesus Christ came to a nasty frightful, hate filled world to be the humble king.  Perhaps we should allow him to be our king and lay ourselves down before him.  Making our whole lives worship him.

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[1]Hagner, Donald A.: Word Biblical Commentary : Matthew 1-13. Dallas : Word, Incorporated, 2002 (Word Biblical Commentary 33A), S. 25

[2] The Holy Bible : New International Version. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Mt 2:16