A Radical Christmas: Radical Wisdom

Intro:

Matthew 2:1-2

Matthew 2:9-10

We will continue our Christmas series entitled, [A Radical Christmas]. The subject of my message is [Radical Wisdom].

Wisdom is defined as, the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; understanding or insight.

We all know someone in our lives that we consider wise. They are the people who go to when we need advice. We listen to their counsel.

Often they have experienced what we have not and they provide a perspective that we do not and their wisdom helps us.

We can call this type of wisdom, conventional wisdom. There are things we learn from those in our lives that make sense.

Shelley— waste not want not

Dad— don’t overstay your welcome. He takes that one to heart, so much so after thanksgiving dinner, he prefers to leave within thirty minutes.

Pastor Davis— if your upkeep excedes your income, your outgo will be your downfall.

These sayings stick with Bekah and me. Then there is conventional wisdom we have learned through experience:

Don’t run with scissors

Don’t play with fire

Don’t talk after 10:00 pm

In the Christmas story we read of the wise men. When Matthew wrote their story, something about the way they conducted themselves caused him to add the adjective WISE.

Let’s look at a few facts about these men.

Scripture does not tell us there were three men, but we do know they brought three gifts.

They did not come to Jesus at the manger, instead, it is likely they came when Jesus was one or two.

We do not know their names. We do not know their countries of origin.

We do know one thing about them, they were WISE. What about them made the Holy Spirit tell Matthew to tack on the word wise?

As we study their story, we will see they wisdom they possessed. We’ve looked at conventional wisdom, but there is also spiritual wisdom. We could also call it human wisdom versus Godly wisdom.

Wisdom reveals the nature of God. God is all-wise. He knows and understands everything.

Wisdom is so important to God, there is a section in the bible called Wisdom Literature, which includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

Listen to a few facts about Godly wisdom:

Proverbs 1:20–21 NKJV

20 Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. 21 She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:

Proverbs 2:2 NKJV

2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

Proverbs 3:13 NKJV

13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding;

Proverbs 4:6–7 NKJV

6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.

Scripture compares wisdom to jewelry, precious stones, wealth, silver, or gold.

The wisdom of scripture, Godly wisdom does not compare to human or conventional wisdom.

We can learn to become wise with money, relationships, or raising a family. Conventional wisdom can come through experience.

However, there is a realm of wisdom that only comes from God. Remember, wisdom is what Solomon wanted, when God told him he could have anything. The word of wisdom is one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

So what did these men who came to see Jesus do receive the title of wise?

Furthermore, what does God want us to do if we desire to become wise?

Today we will see how God used the wise men, but their wisdom was unconventional. We could also say they employed radical wisdom.

I pray by the end of this message, we will see how God wants to have our attention and use us to walk in radical wisdom.

From their story, we will see three spiritual disciplines the wise men displayed that will help us gain Godly wisdom.

Remember, God’s wisdom supercedes human wisdom

Radical wisdom outshines conventional wisdom.

How can we walk in God-ordained, supernatural, seemingly radical wisdom? [Seek the Savior], [Study the Scripture], and [Sensitive to the Spirit].

Let’s begin

1. Seek the Savior

Matthew 2:1-2

Whenever scripture tells us the name of location of someone or something, it is important to pay attention. We read after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, during the days of King Herod, the wise men came.

First, who was King Herod. He was a politician who had set himself up as the king of the Jews. He had a palace in Jerusalem. He worked with the religious leaders of the day to maintain order and power.

Imagine his surprise. Life goes on as normal and he receives word that there is a contingency from the east. They came with a simple request, where is the king of the Jews?

Herod thought they might have meant him. But they clarified, we know he was BORN king of the Jews, for we saw his star in the east.

We do not know exactly where the wise men came from, but it was east of Jerusalem. They made along journey with one plan in mind, to worship the new king.

When Herod heard this, he was concerned.

Matthew 2:3 NKJV

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Though Herod declared himself as king, he was not born king or even born in Jerusalem. Therefore, he was concerned. He had conventional wisdom.

He was brutal and politically motivated, willing to kill anyone who stood in his way. His wife was falsely accused of adultery, but to protect his position, he had her strangled.

He executed two of his sons who were falsely accused of plotting against him. Five days before that he executed another son, the one who framed the other brothers.

One ancient author explained, “I’d rather be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son!”

No wonder all of Jerusalem became troubled when Herod became troubled by the news of the wise men.

It is likely Herod had a reputation, but that did not stop the wise men. They determined to find the Savior of Israel and worship Him.

They show us the importance of seeking our Savior. We live in an era where people are comfortable with Christians, as long as we stay in our lane and do not disturb the status quo.

People are not offended when Christians affiliate with a church. But when we get serious about prayer and living out our faith in public, then people think that is too radical.

However, wise people will seek God through prayer. They will go to great lengths to be in God’s presence. They will remain dedicated to Him, regardless of who it offends or troubles.

The wise men were wise because they determined to Seek the Savior.

2. Study the Scripture

Matthew 2:4-6

Upon hearing that the wise men sought the King of the Jews, he called an urgent meeting. He invited the Chief Priests and scribes. Before we look at what they said, let’s pay attention to who they were.

The priests and religious scholars knew the prophesies of the Old Testament. They knew scripture pointed to a coming Messiah who would save Israel.

Furthermore, the ancient scripture promised:

Psalm 72:10–11 NKJV

10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. 11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.

Isaiah 60:3 NKJV

3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isaiah 60:6 NKJV

6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.

Now, these wise men, scholars and dignitaries come from foreign lands to present gifts and worship the new King.

This should have caught the attention of the priests and scribes. However, they were more concerned with their position and maintaining the status quo.

Instead of realizing something supernatural was taking place, they had no passion or spiritual insight. Instead, they answered, oh that is simple, the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem.

The religious leaders should have said, wait, you’re telling us you saw a star in the sky and you’ve come all this way to see the new King? We’ll go with you to worship Him.

Instead, they seemed uninterested. It is almost as though they answered, oh, that is in Bethlehem. If you want to go there, it is about six miles away. With an entourage like yours, it will probably take you about three hours.

They people that claimed they wanted to meet the Messiah were thoroughly uninterested. They had conventional wisdom about the knowledge of scripture, but they lacked passion or spiritual zeal for the truth of scripture.

But Herod was still suspicious, yet he tried to hide it from the wise men.

Matthew 2:7-8

He pretended to share their enthusiasm for the star in the sky and the promised King of the Jews. He lied to them, masquerading as a devoted follower of scripture.

He told them to return to him with all of the details so that he could to and bow down to worship this King.

I find this part of the story fascinating. The wise men, had more faith in the fulfillment of scripture than those who claimed to believe the truth of scripture.

How can we separate those who know scripture from those who believe scripture? We can know scripture and not do anything. There are many scholars who have studied scripture to understand its historic significance.

But when we study scripture and believe God to reveal Himself to us through His word, it will cause us to act. Studying scripture will cause us to do what it tells us to do. It will make us want to accept Christ, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and live a righteous and holy life.

Wisdom does not come by merely knowing scripture. Wisdom comes by studying scripture, applying it to our lives and letting God change us to where our lives mirror the truth of His word.

Radical wisdom comes when we [Seek the Savior], [Study the Scripture], and from those to spiritual disciplines, we will see...

3. Sensitivity to the Spirit

Matthew 2:9-11

Notice the star. The first time they saw the star, they were at home and could see it shining in the distance. They took that to mean the King of the Jews was born.

At that point they traveled and sought to meet the Savior. However, they first went to Jerusalem. In their minds, Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, but Jesus was in Bethlehem.

Once they left Herod’s court, they headed to Bethlehem. The star did not lead them to the town, but to the HOUSE where Jesus was in Bethlehem.

Think of that for a moment. This was the day before addresses and GPS. No one knew the exact location of the Messiah, only the vicinity.

However, the closer they got, the star began to shine. The wise men were ecstatic. They began to rejoice, possibly shouting and celebrating.

Upon arrival, they knocked on the door. Imagine being Mary and Joseph. They did not expect the arrival of foreign dignitaries, wise men from the east.

They opened the door and saw these wealth foreigners, decked out in the finest clothing, bringing with them gifts. But when they saw the baby, they were overwhelmed.

At that moment their wealth, position, or intelligence meant nothing. They fell to the ground and began to worship the Lord.

Notice how they were lead by the Spirit. They identified the supernatural origins of the star in the sky. They followed the signs in the heavens to lead them to the Savior.

Then, once they saw Him, they couldn’t help but worship in response to the presence they felt!

Listen, when we make the wise decision to seek our Savior at all costs and determine to become diligent in studying the scripture, a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit will begin to develop.

In this instance, it was as simple as worshipping the Lord after following God’s leading. Next, they had another encounter where they were sensitive to the Spirit.

Matthew 2:12

That night, after worshipping Jesus and presenting their gifts to Him, they went to bed. In the night, God spoke to them. He warned them not to go back to Herod.

Imagine the conversation when they embarked on their journey home. Instead of going home the way they came, conventional wisdom, they were sensitive to the Spirit.

They took the long way home, going through another country. That seemed radical. But their decision to employ radical wisdom spared their lives.

However, it also spared the life of Jesus. Think of Herod, anxiously waiting for them to return, only to be stood up by the wise men.

Close:

The wise men show us radical wisdom in action. Their story depict ways we can obtain Godly wisdom.

We are wise when we seek the Savior.

We are wise when we study the scripture.

We are wise when we are sensitive to the Spirit.

But I had this thought when I studied this story. What category are we in as followers of Christ? When unbelievers look at our lives, do they see conventional wisdom?

Do they see people who go to church, but their “walk with God” has not made many radical changes?

Do they see people who say they are a Christian, but act just like them, talk just like them, watch what they watch, and consume or engage in activities like them?

Or do they see radical wisdom in action?

Remember:

1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV 1900

27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

I find it intriguing that in this story, the ones that new about the coming Messiah seemed the least interested.

By all accounts, the wise men were not Jewish, but a star in the distant sky caught their attention. They went to great lengths to seek the Savior of the world. They were sensitive to the Spirit.

When they stood before Jesus, they believed they were in the presence of Israel’s greatest King. No wonder they fell before Him to worship.

However, the religious crowd seemed disinterested. They were content with status quo. They preferred conventional wisdom to the radical wise men. They liked things the way they were and did not want a major disruption to their lives.

As I read this story, I couldn’t help but think, in 2020, it is as though God has tried to get our attention. We have not had a bright star in the sky, but we have had:

A pandemic

National unrest

Controversy within the past few months

Anger and violence in the streets

And all around confusion

Yet, there are many Christians in our nation who have adopted the conventional wisdom of go along to get along. Many are waiting for things to get back to “normal.”

But I believe God wants to get our attention. He wants us to move beyond the realm of normal and into the realm of radical.

He is trying to get the church’s attention, and if we do not awake out of our sleep we will miss out on what He wants to accomplish!

Around the world:

muslims are coming to Christ through dreams and visions

Hindus are being delivered from demonic worship to false gods

Lost people are asking questions, is this the end of time?

To answer these questions, God needs those who will walk in radical wisdom. He needs those who will say, God I want your wisdom.

Because conventional wisdom says, it is okay to go to church, but make it a weekly activity and if something better comes up, do that instead.

But radical wisdom says, my Sunday is sacred and I will not let ANYTHING keep me from worshipping God with other believers.

Conventional wisdom says, prayer is good and nice to do before you eat or when a tragedy strikes.

But radical wisdom says, call unto me and I will answer, and I will show you great and mighty things you did not know.

Conventional wisdom says, music is nice in church, it can make you feel good

But radical wisdom says, my praise and worship builds God a throne, so I will clap my hands, raise my hands, lift my voice, and go deeper in God.

Conventional wisdom says, religion is good, everyone needs one, but it is okay if you don’t have one.

Radical wisdom declares, I do not have a religious affiliation, I am in a relationship with the ONLY God who saved me from my sins. Therefore, I will seek Him and draw nearer to Him. I will study His word. And I will listen to His Spirit as He leads and guides me!

Let’s not be like the priests and scribes who knew all about God but missed Him when He wanted to reveal Himself.

Let’s be like the wise men who will be radical enough to go to whatever lengths possible to seek Him, spend time in His word, and develop a sensitivity to His Spirit.