Where is He?
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Where is He?
Where is He?
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The story of the wise men who travelled many difficult miles to bring gifts to the new born Christ captures our attention at Christmas time.
The story of the wise men who travelled many difficult miles to bring gifts to the new born Christ captures our attention at Christmas time.
1 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,
2 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.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “ ‘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.’ ”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
8 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.”
9 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.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 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.
12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
These wise men stir our imagination.
Suddenly they step into Scripture searching for Jesus.
They find Him, worship Him, give him expensive gifts.
Then they suddenly step out Scripture and disappear.
They fill our thoughts with questions.
Who were they?
What nation did they come from?
How many of them were there?
Where did they get their information about the promised Messiah?
How did they know the star marked the time and place of His birth?
These and other questions concerning them come to mind.
In the wise men themselves ask a very important question: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”
As we will see, different people have different motives in asking the question “Where is He?”
Those who sincerely ask this question will find Christ and His blessings.
Those who sincerely ask this question will find Christ and His blessings.
BODY
BODY
The enemy who seeks to destroys Christ asks this question.
The enemy who seeks to destroys Christ asks this question.
Herod ruled the area of Judea at the time of Christ’s birth.
He was ruthless and evil.
He was insecure.
He wanted no rival to his throne.
The idea of another king being born troubled him greatly so he diligently sought to find Jesus.
He asked, “Where is He?”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
He wanted to know.
He was exact, diligent, and thorough in his effort to find and answer.
He interviewed the religious experts to demand and answer to his question.
He even interviewed the wise men privately ().
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
8 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.”
He wanted their answer as well.
He sought to deceive them by saying he too wanted to worship the new king while in reality His heart held murderous intentions.
Herod viewed Jesus as a rival to his throne and wanted to eliminate the threat.
The wise men, having been warned in a dream, did not return to Herod.
As a result, Herod ordered the murder of every baby boy in the vicinity of Bethlehem in the hopes of killing his rival ().
Herod represents all people who see Christ as an enemy.
Motivated by satan, they seek destroy Christ’s influence in the world.
These “Herods” persecute the church, kill God’s people, and oppose Christ at every turn.
They will war against Christ to the very end.
God the Father led Joseph and Mary to take baby Jesus to safety and avoid Herod’s wrath.
God in His wisdom and time will eventually fully enforce the victory of Christ on the cross, all the “Herods” of this world will suffer defeat.
The “Herods” of the world will rage and slander and fight and war against Christ and His church but one day even they will bow their knee and proclaim Jesus Christ is Lord.
So, dear friends, when persecuted and ridiculed because of Christ, take heart, for the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us—the Herods cannot and will not win!
The indifferent and unbelieving don’t consider the question or its answer important.
The indifferent and unbelieving don’t consider the question or its answer important.
Herod asked the most knowledgeable and respected religious leaders to answer the question and they gave him the correct answer ().
5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “ ‘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.’ ”
They knew the prophecies, they knew the answer, yet they did not believe the prophecy had come to pass.
They had the answer!
These men were experts in the knowledge of Scripture.
These men were experts in the knowledge of Scripture.They knew all the prophecies and possessed all the facts about the anticipate birth of the Savior.But they didn’t even bother to travel the few miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to see for themselves that the Messiah had been born.
They knew all the prophecies and possessed all the facts about the anticipated birth of the Savior.
But they didn’t even bother to travel the few miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to see for themselves that the Messiah had been born.
They knew the prophecies, they knew the answer, yet they did not believe the prophecy had come to pass.
They did not believe the report of the wise men.
It is not enough to simply know the facts about Christ and His birth.
We need to know the facts of the Christmas story, but more importantly, we need to act on what we know to be true.It is not enough to simply know the facts about Christ and His birth.The Virgin Mary.Joseph and Mary’s trip to Bethlehem.The manger.Swaddling clothes.Shepherds.Angels.Wise men.And so on.We should know these things, but more that this we must know Christ and trust Him to give us new life!
It is not enough to simply know the facts about Christ and His birth.
The virgin birth.
Joseph and Mary’s trip to Bethlehem.
The manger.
Swaddling clothes.
Shepherds.
Angels.
Wise men.
And so on.
The religious leaders who answered Herod knew the facts but refused to believe.
Many today know the story of Christ, but refuse to believe.
The Wise Men made the trip, discovered the Christ, believed on Him, worshipped Him, and they went home different than they came.
If you will trust Him tonight you will go home different than you came.
Sincere seekers will find an answer to their question.
Sincere seekers will find an answer to their question.
9 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.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 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.
Matthew 2:9-
Here we find the miracle of the Christmas star.
Verse 2 tells us that the wise men saw it when it rose.
The recognized it as a sign from God.
They journeyed towards it until they came to Jerusalem.
Now, in vv. 9-10 it seems that the star moved ahead of them and guided them straight to Jesus.
They rejoiced in the miracle of the star that brought them to Christ.
I can think of a few ways, and I am sure there are more, that the Lord uses to draw us towards Christ and to a deeper life in Christ.
The Bible.
Believing friends and family.
The still small voice of the Spirit within us.
Preaching and teaching.
Songs.
And I am sure you can think of others.
For those who sincerely seek God, God will make a way for them to be drawn to Jesus.
Let us follow the example of the wise men and draw near to Jesus this Christmas.
: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
says:
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Wise people seek to come near to Christ.
A tornado of flying wrapping paper and torn open boxes.
Draw near Him and grow in joy, in peace, and in grace.
Chi
Draw near Him and grow in righteousness, mercy, and patience.
Excitement and joy.
Grow
Soon forgotten
Draw near Him and grow in faith, perseverance, and the Holy Spirit.
Seek Him, draw near to Him, and grow in Him.
Wise people worship Jesus.
The wise men fell down and worshipped Jesus.
I am not convinced that these men knew exactly who they worshipped that night, but I do believe them sincere in their worship.
With great joy and great humility they fell down and offered genuine praise and worship to the Lord.
Jesus told us that those who would worship Him would worship Him “in Spirit and in truth.”
O, how easy it is to be lazy in worship!
To mouth the words of worship and song, but not feel them in our hearts.
To express worship with our voice, but not project it from our hearts.
Those wise men really didn’t understand why they should worship Jesus, yet they sincerely worshipped Him.
God’s people understand!
He saves.
He delivers.
He heals.
He sets the captive free.
He is a chain-breaker and a mountain-mover.
He fills us with the Holy Spirit.
His blessings are too many to enumerate.
We have reason to worship.
Let us lift our heads, our hearts, and our hands.
Let us lift our voices.
And let us worship the Lord our God sincerely—as wise people should!
Wise people sacrifice to the Lord.
Sacrifice is a part of worship.
The wise men fell in worship but they also gave expensive gifts.
Gold was the least expensive of the gifts they gave—both myrrh and frankincense were more than worth their weight in gold.
Wise people today will sacrifice in order to offer true worship unto the Lord ().
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
What is our sacrifice?
The sacrifice of praise.
The sacrifice of lips that proclaim His name.
The sacrifice of good works.
And the sacrifice of sharing with others.
With such sacrifices, God is pleased.
The wise men went home a different way ().
12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
I know this verse simply means that they took a different route home in order to avoid Herod.
However, when I read this I could not help to think of how drawing close to Jesus changes our lives.
At salvation Jesus changes our lives ().
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
As we draw ever closer to Christ He works in us to transform us into His image ().
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
In that day, the work shall be complete and we shall be changed and we shall be like Him (; ).
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Wise people draw near the Lord realizing that He will make a great change in our lives and that they will never be the same after meeting Christ.
IN CONCLUSION
IN CONCLUSION
The Wise Men asked an important question: “Where is He?”
The Wise Men asked an important question: “Where is He?”
Herod asked the same question, but he had hatred and murder in his heart.
The religious leaders of the Jews answered the question for Herod, but they were unbelieving and indifferent to the answer.
The Wise Men asked sincerely and God used a miraculous star to lead them to the answer!
They worshipped.
They gave (sacrificed).
They went home a different way than they came and likely they went home different men!
Where is He?
Where is He?
He is near us (; ).
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
Will you draw near Him?
Will you seek Him?
Will you grow in Him?
Will you worship Him?
Will you sacrifice to Him?
Will you let Him continue to transform your life?
He is near—Come to Him!
He is near—Come to Him!