What are you seeking?

The Magi

fourth wise man

Matthew 2:1–12 NIV

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 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.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 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. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘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.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 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. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Wise man video

Who were the Magi.

Tomorrow is epiphany - The day we remember the coming of the wise men to Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

We remember the star they followed and the gifts they bring. The symbolic meanings of the gold, frankincense and myrrh.

We

Who were these magi and what were they seeking?

They would have known the skies they would have been quick to spot changes and quick to ascribe meaning to those changes.

They were sort of occultists in a way.  They had some sort of divination processes.  They were involved in certain kinds of things that we would assume, perhaps, were like a sorcery and that’s why the word magi was corrupted through history into the word magic, magician, which is a synonym for sorcerer. 

Their interest in astronomy and astrology was only part of their involvement.  They were sort of occultists in a way.  They had some sort of divination processes.  They were involved in certain kinds of things that we would assume, perhaps, were like a sorcery and that’s why the word magi was corrupted through history into the word magic, magician, which is a synonym for sorcerer. 

The magi were a pagan, priestly tribe of people from the Medes and the Persians and there are many, many historical sources to validate this, they were referenced in the book of Daniel and recored in the writings of Herodotus. 

They were very skilled in both astronomy and astrology. 

They would have known the skies they would have been quick to spot changes and quick to ascribe meaning to those changes.

In those days they didn’t make much of a separation between the superstition and the science.  The science is astronomy, the superstition/divination is astrology, and they were pretty well blended at the time. 

Now, what’s interesting about this is that during the time of the Babylonian Empire these magi were dwelling in the area of Babylon.  They were there during the Babylonian time and the Medo-Persian Empire as well. 

They were sort of occultists in a way.  They had some sort of divination processes.  They were involved in certain kinds of things that were like a sorcery and that’s why the word magi was corrupted through history into the word magic, magician, which is a synonym for sorcerer. 

Above all though they were searchers. - they were searching using some dubious methods for something of God.

It seems strange that a God who’s word says

Deuteronomy 18:9–13 NIV

9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

and

Deut 18:19

Leviticus 19:26 NIV

26 “ ‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. “ ‘Do not practice divination or seek omens.

Would choose these people to seek out and honour the new born Jesus, but He did.

Now while they were there during the Babylonian Empire, they were very heavily influenced by the Jews.  You remember that one of the things that Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon did was take Judah into captivity.  Do you remember that?  That’s what Jeremiah was saying.  “You are going to be taken into captivity.”  Jeremiah pronounced this fact and of course even the book of Lamentations laments this reality.  And they were carried off into the Babylon captivity.

Many people that are searching for Jesus do not conform to the stereotypical ‘nice’ image the church had given to ‘christians’

No seeker of the King is perfect. Nor do we have to be perfect to approach him. We keep mixing this idea up. We place perfection before access to the holy one. when in reality access to the king Jesus is what makes us righteous.

Samuel Colgate, the founder of the Colgate business empire, was a devout Christian, and he told of an incident that took place in the church he attended. During an evangelistic service, an invitation was given at the close of the sermon for all those who wished to turn their lives over to Christ and be forgiven. One of the first persons to walk down the aisle and kneel at the altar was a well-known prostitute. She knelt in very real repentance, she wept, she asked God to forgive her, and meanwhile the rest of the congregation looked on approvingly at what she was doing. Then she stood and testified that she believed God had forgiven her for her past life, and she now wanted to become a member of the church. For a few moments, the silence was deafening.

Finally, Samuel Colgate arose and said, "I guess we blundered when we prayed that the Lord would save sinners. We forgot to specify what kind of sinners. We'd better ask him to forgive us for this oversight. The Holy Spirit has touched this woman and made her truly repentant, but the Lord apparently doesn't understand that she's not the type we want him to rescue. We'd better spell it out for him just which sinners we had in mind." Immediately, a motion was made and unanimously approved that the woman be accepted into membership in the congregation.

NASB95“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

Jesus welcomes searchers of all shapes, genders, colours, sexual orientations, beliefs and backgrounds. God may desire them to change - but he accepts us as we are as long as we are seeking.

but what are we seeking.

What are we seeking

The magi were seeking a king - a ruler -

Matthew 2:6 ESV

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.’ ”

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 2

art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, &c.—This quotation, though differing verbally, agrees substantially with the Hebrew and the Septuagint. For says the prophet, “Though thou be little, yet out of thee shall come the Ruler”—this honor more than compensating for its natural insignificance; while our Evangelist, by a lively turn, makes him say, “Thou art not the least: for out of thee shall come a Governor”—this distinction lifting it from the lowest to the highest rank. The “thousands of Juda,” in the prophet, mean the subordinate divisions of the tribe: our Evangelist, instead of these, merely names the “princes” or heads of these families, including the districts which they occupied

I wonder what impact meeting Jesus would have had on them. There was obviously some, in the way they protected him

Video

What are you searching for?

On Christmas day I spoke how we react to jesus based on how we identify with him.

The angels new the truth and they exalted and worshipped him.

Mary and Joseph new him personally. - and loved him as their own.

The shepherds - heard he was special and were perplexed and amazed in equal measure and they searched and found him and worshiped him and it changed them. - they went off to tell everyone.

The wisemen - came looking for a king and they found one, though not they king they may have expected but that sums up meeting with Jesus - whatever we are searching for Jesus meets us as we are and provided so much more.

Some of you here are looking for an encounter with God to

give you foregivenss

Restoration

Love

A hope and a furture

To be a Father a husband a friend.

Someone to follow to be teacher and lord.

Jesus wants you to Come to him today and he will be all of these things and more.

Today we have the opportunity to come and meet this Jesus at the Lords table as we take communion

This table is open to all whatever your back ground or circumstance

Come to this table, not because you must - but because God says you may, not because you are strong, but because you are weak. Come, not because any goodness of your own gives you a right to come, but because you need mercy and grace. Come, because you are seeking Him more. Come, because he loved you and gave himself for you. Come and meet the risen Christ, who paid the ultimate cost to restore you into a loving relationship with God and with His children. Come and meet your King.

NIV

1 Corinthians 11:23–33 NIV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.