The Wise Men

WISE MEN STILL

Matthew 2:1–12

Intro: There are many wise people mentioned in the Bible.

• There were Enoch and Noah, wise enough to walk with God.

• There was Ruth, wise enough to say to her Jewish mother-in-law, “… for whither thou goest I will go; and whither thou lodgest, I will lodge; Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; (Ruth 1:16).

• There was Andrew, who was wise enough to bring people to Jesus. There was David, who was wise enough to say “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

• There was Martha, wise enough entertain Jesus in her home.

• There was Martha’s sister, Mary, wise enough to set at Jesus feet and hear his word.

• And, of course, there were the three wise men, who came to Jesus when he was born.

There are still wise men (and women) today. It seems that genuine wise men and women have the same characteristics about them. We can learn a lot about what makes a wise person by looking at these men who came to visit the young Child Jesus. God is looking for wise men who will imitate the qualities of the wise men of Matthew 2.

I. V. 1–10 WISE MEN STILL APPROACH HIM

A. These men, however many there were of them, had traveled many miles to find this small child. They had traveled through deserts, crossed mountains, forded rivers, endured hardships and faced bandits all for the sake of coming to Jesus, they felt that what they would find would be worth all the trials and hardships. They were right!

B. Even today, 2,000 years later, wise men still come to Jesus! When a person knows the consequences of unbelief, John 8:24, and does nothing about it, that person in not living a life based in wisdom. In fact, the opposite is true. Wise men come to Jesus, fools do not—Psa. 14:1.

(Ill. The wisest move I ever made was coming to Jesus! What a wonderful change has been wrought in my life since Jesus came into my heart!)

C. If you have been putting coming to off, then delay no longer, but come to Him today! He longs to save those wise enough to call on Him!

I. Wise Men Still Approach Him

II. V. 2, 11 WISE MEN STILL ADORE HIM

A. These men tell King Herod in verse 2 that their desire is to find this young King and to worship Him. When they do find Him, in verse 11, they fall down before Him and worship at His feet. (Ill. Isn’t it amazing that these heathen astrologers had enough insight to recognize the glory of the One whom they had found. While here we are 2,000 years later, with all the light we have been given, and many in our day still seem incapable of seeing who He really is!

B. In our society, the wisest among us are not the scholars, they are not the scientists, they are not the leaders of this great nation. The wisest among men are those people, both young and old, who are willing to forsake everything else and simply fall down at His feet and adore Him. One of the greatest and most sacred duties we can perform to the Lord is simply to give Him our worship and our praise.

C. Ill. If we will just stop and take a brief inventory, we will find ample reason to worship at His feet. Just think about what He has done in your life. Think about what He is doing in your life. Think about what He has promised to do in your life. When all these things are taken together, it is easy to se that we have mush to praise and worship Him for. (Ill. Psa. 126:3, “The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”)

I. Wise Men Still Approach Him

II. Wise Men Still Adore Him

III. V. 11 WISE MEN STILL ADORN HIM

A. When these men came before the Lord Jesus, they came with gifts in their hands. These gifts they gave Him were rather significant.

1. The Gold Presents Jesus As Potentate. In some countries, no one could approach a king without a gift—here it is gold. First, it is a fitting gift. Gold is very appropriate for a king. Then, it is a foretelling gift—it tells us in advance that Jesus will rule and reign. Also, it was a foreordained gift. God had before designed that Jesus” family have this gold to help defray the cost of the journey into Egypt and back. God is the One who can always meet needs (Phil. 4:19). Since we can never meet Jesus on equal footing with Him, we should always bow in submission before our Lord and acknowledge He is King of Kings—Lord of Lords.

2. The Frankincense Presents Jesus As Priest. If you study out the word “frankincense,” you will discover that it would be a priestly gift. It was used in the worship at the temple and when sacrifices were offered up to God. The frankincense was a gummy substance which came from trees. It released a sweet smelling odor. The Book of Hebrews tells us that His priesthood is permanent, powerful, and that it procures for us entrance into the presence of God.

3. The Myrrh Presents Jesus As Our Propitiation. Myrrh was a substance used to embalm dead bodies. It reminds us that Jesus came into the world to die for sinners (1 Tim. 1:15; 1 John 2:2). He came to “propitiate” or “satisfy” the holy demands of a just and righteous God in regard to sin (1 Jn. 4:10). This was inclusive (Heb. 2:9), important (Acts 17:3), and also is indicative of God’s love (Jn. 3:16).

B. Now, I do not have gold, frankincense or myrrh to give to the King. Therefore, I have to give that which I do possess. I can give Him my love, my worship, my attention, my tithes, my praise, my glory. I can give Him my labor. I can give Him all that I have and all that I am on the altar of sacrifice to His glory, Rom. 12:1–2.

C. What do you have in mind for Jesus this Christmas?

IV. V. 12 WISE MEN STILL PAY ATTENTION TO HIM

A. After these men met Jesus and had committed themselves to Him, they were warned by God in a dream that they were also in danger and they were return to their homeland by a different route. They heeded the message of the Lord and went a different way and survived the rage of Herod the King.

B. May I remind you that wise men still turn their ears toward Heaven? God has promised us in His Word that He will ever lead and guide us until we reach that Heavenly home, John 16:13. Our duty, therefore, is to listen for His voice and then respond in obedience when He reveals His will unto us. (Ill. There are many who run to and fro looking for the answers to life’s questions. When all the while, we hold those answers in our own hands. God has given us His perfect revelation and our job is to read it and follow it to the letter.)

C. Wise men still listen for a Word from the Lord!

Conc: How would you describe yourself this evening? Are you wise? Well, that is essentially and easy question to answer! You are wise if you have come to Him, if you worship Him, if your render unto Him the things that belong to Him and if you listen to and heed His voice. Are there areas that need work? If so, bring them to Jesus and He will set things right. You mind Him tonight.

FOLLOWING A STAR, BUT FINDING A SHACK

Matthew 2:1–12

Intro: Have you ever noticed how life doesn’t always turn out the way we plan it? We look at our lives, we make our plans, and we chart the course we want our life to take. Yet, there are times when life just doesn’t play fair.

There are times when life refuses to follow our plans. There are times it seems that life is nothing more than a series of shattered dreams. But, that is just how life appears.

One of the lessons that presents itself in this passage is the truth that life is a divine adventure. The story of the wise men teaches us the profound truth that God’s hand is always on the steering wheel of our lives. That isn’t just some cute saying; that is the clear truth from the word of God.

As David says in, Psa. 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.”

The men mentioned in this passage, who have become known as the Wide Men, had spent about two years following a star. This is made clear by vs. 7, 16.

In order to follow this star, these men had left their homes, families, and professions behind. They had left their home country and were living as pilgrims. Along the way, these men had faced perils, obstacles, hardships and deprivations. Their path even led them into the presence of wicked King Herod.

When they finally arrive at their destination, they found that the star they had been following had stopped over a humble little house. No doubt these men probably dreamed of finding the King of the Jews in a palace. This probably explains why they went to see King Herod first!

They expected luxury, all the trappings of royalty and a very nice home. What they found certainly did not match their dreams.

They found the King of Kings living in the home of a peasant. The house they found that night was probably nothing more than a shack! No doubt all their lofty dreams shattered before them and crumbled at their feet like so much dust.

Yet, amid the rubble of their torn and twisted dreams, these wise men encountered something in that humble setting that changed their lives.

Sometimes life has a way of shattering our dreams and destroying our hopes and plans. I want to help you. I want to tell you how wise men respond when they are Following A Star, But Finding A Shack. There are three characteristics displayed by the wise men that that can help us when life refuses to play by our rules.

I. WISE MEN RECOGNIZE GOD IN THE SHACKS OF LIFE

A. Ill. The Context. The setting was nothing like they imagined, but they had traveled all that way to worship the Messiah and worship Him they did! When those powerful, wealthy, educated, worldly-wise men entered that house, they were expecting to see a King. What they saw instead was a small child. Still, they humbled themselves and bowed before that child in a shack. Those men saw something that others around them had failed to see. Those men saw God in that shack! When those men looked at that child named Jesus, they saw God

B. There will be times when your star leads you to a shack. When life shatters your dreams, the first order of business should be finding the Lord. If you are His, then nothing happens in your life that He has not allowed. (Ill. Job 1:1–2).

C. When your star leads you into a shack, remember that God is doing one of three things:

1. Correction—There are times when our shacks are the result of our sins. We fail the Lord and there is a price to pay when we do not repent of our sin. When we are in that condition, the Lord sends us into a storm of correction. He uses the rod to teach us discipline and obedience. This is not His anger on display. It is His abundant love for His children in action! Ill. Heb. 12:6; Rev. 3:19.

2. Instruction—There are times when the Lord allows us to go into a shack situation because He is trying to reveal Himself to us in a new way. No matter how things look to us, God controls all the circumstances of our lives, Rom. 8:28.

(Ill. God uses various teaching tools to help us grow. In one chapter alone, the Lord used three separate classrooms to instruct His disciples. He used hunger, John 6:5–14. He used storms, John 6:17–19. He used fear, John 6:19.) God has many more teaching tools at His disposal. He uses loneliness, weakness, grief, suffering, pain, emotional hurts, persecution, anger, and a host of other things to train His children.

(Ill. Israel and all the trials they faced—threats from the Egyptians, the Red Sea, thirst, hunger, etc.—Had they never faced anything that they did, they would never have known that He could see them through! He did the same thing with the disciples. He will do the same thing with us. He sends us into the shacks of life to teach us that He is an all-sufficient; all-powerful; all-knowing, Sovereign God!)

(Ill. The men of Samaria—They believe because of what they had experienced—John 4:42. Think of all the lessons God has taught you during your own times of disappointment and pain.)

3. Perfection—He is in the process of molding you into His image. God desires that every one of His children be a vessel that He can use. He has chosen you to be such a vessel and He is ever in the process of getting you ready for greater and greater service to Him! (Ill. Moses—He could not have led Israel, until he first led those sheep in the desert!)

Someone once said, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger!” There is a lot of truth in that statement. God uses all the hurts, setbacks, and disappointments of life to develop us into the servants He wants us to be. I can tell you for a fact that my faith is deeper and that my resolve is stronger than ever because of the valleys the Lord has led me through.

D. When your star leads to a shack, look for God; He will be there! When you find Him, you will find His purpose in your predicament.

I. Wise men Recognize God In The Shacks of Life

II. WISE MEN RENDER GIFTS IN THE SHACKS OF LIFE

A. Ill. The context. It would have been easy for these men to just turn around, pack up all they had and go home. Who would blame them? It hadn’t turned out like they had planned. They had come to find a king living in a palace; instead they found a young child living in a shack. But, they didn’t turn around! They gave to the child Jesus the worship was rightfully His.

(Ill. The significance of the gifts and their necessity!)

1. The Gold Reminds Us That Jesus Is Our King. In some countries, no one could approach a king without a gift. On this occasion, the wise men brought Him gold. It is a fitting gift. Gold is very appropriate for a king. It is a foretelling gift. It tells us in advance that Jesus will rule and reign. It is a foreordained gift. God had determined that Jesus and His family would have this gold to help defray the cost of the journey into Egypt and back. God is the One who always meets our needs, Phil. 4:19. Since we will never be on equal footing with the Lord Jesus, we should always bow in humble submission to our Lord and acknowledge Him as is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

2. The Frankincense Reminds Us That Jesus Is Our Priest. When you study the word “frankincense”, you discover that it was a priestly gift. It was used in the worship at the temple and when sacrifices were offered up to God. The frankincense was a gummy substance, which came from trees. It released a sweet smelling odor. The Book of Hebrews tells us that His priesthood is permanent, powerful, and that it procures for us entrance into the presence of God, Heb. 6:19–20; 7:17, 25.

3. The Myrrh Reminds Us That Jesus Is Our Sacrifice. Myrrh was a substance used to embalm dead bodies. It speaks of death and it reminds us that Jesus came into the world to die for sinners, 1 Tim. 1:15; 1 John 2:2. He came to satisfy the holy demands of a just and righteous God in regard to sin, 1 Jn. 4:10. The death of Jesus was inclusive, Heb. 2:9, important, Acts 17:3, and it was an indicator of God’s love for the lost, Rom. 5:8.

B. When your star leads you to a shack, that is the time to give back to the Lord! Ill. Most people respond to their shack times by withholding their giving. That is the wrong response! The way to get from God is to give to Him—Mal. 3:8–10; Luke 6:38; 2 Cor. 9:7, Ill. 2 Cor. 9:1–9. Ill. Matt. 10:40–42; Matt. 25:34–40.

C. I’m not just talking about giving your money to the Lord. It is important to give our tithes and offerings to the Lord. It is also important that we give of our time and our talents. We are to give to our Lord all the things that He deserves because of Who He is and because of what He has done for us. These wise men received back far more than they gave away. That is always the way with God. No man can ever out give Him. No very many try, but those who do find Him to be over abundant in His supply.

D. The surest way to get a blessing is to be a blessing! When the Lord allows you to go into a time of mystery, pain or hardship, the last thing you need to do is turn into yourself. That’s what most people do. They become self-centered; as they do everything they can to protect themselves from further pain and loss.

The proper response to the curveballs of life is not to turn in; it is to turn out! It is to look for ways to give back to the Lord Who has given us everything. Even when your star leads you to a shack, it does not signal the end of God’s blessings on your life. It signals the opportunity for service. God brought you to that low place so that He can display His grace through you, and get glory from you, as you continue to faithfully serve Him, even in a time of disappointment!

(Ill. The Parable of the Talents—Matt. 25:14–30—God blesses us during the good times so that we can give back to His kingdom work in all the times of life!)

I. Wise Men Recognize Go In The Shacks Of Life

II. Wise Men Render Gifts In The Shacks Of Life

III. WISE MEN RECEIVE GRACE IN THE SHACKS OF LIFE

A. Ill. The context. While the wise men were in the presence of Jesus Christ, they experienced two very special kinds of grace. They experienced saving grace. Then they experienced sustaining grace. God saved them and then He directed their lives. He loosed them from their sins, then He led them down a new path.

B. When our star leads to a shack, we can expect to find God’s grace in our hour of need—2 Cor. 12:9. Life is not always fair. Life does not always turn out like we think it ought to. Even when life lets us down, we can be sure that God never will! (Ill. Heb. 13:5; Heb. 4:15!) (Ill. Heb. 2:17–18!!) Wise people allow the Lord to comfort them as they walk through the valleys of life, Psa. 23:1–6.

C. When our star leads to a shack, we can expect God to provide grace sufficient for that setback. He will help us get through whatever may come our way! We can all expect that He will give us His leadership and guidance to reveal to us the next steps we should take, John 16:13! He will guide us in His perfect path, day-by-day, and step-by-step.

D. As God’s children, we are never alone and we are never without His direction. He will always make a way for us and support us through all the shacks of life!

Conc: Have you ever been following a star, expecting to arrive at a fine palace, but instead, you wound up in a shack, surrounded by the debris of your shattered hopes and dreams? Maybe you are there right now. If so, let me tell you that Jesus is at work in your shack. He has a plan, and He is concerned about your need. Why don’t you do what the wise men did?

• Just fall down before Him and worship Him.

• Just keep on giving to Him and others, even when it seems that all your resources are gone.

• Just keep holding to His hand, leaning on His grace and walking the path He sets before you day by day.

That is what wise people do when they find themselves in the stables of life![1]

[1] Alan Carr, “Following a Star, but Finding a Shack (Matthew 2:1–12),” in The Sermon Notebook: New Testament (Lenoir, NC: Alan Carr, 2015), 30–32.

THE SACRIFICE OF BIBLICAL WORSHIP—PART 2

Matthew 2:1–12

Intro: I would like to draw our hearts back to the theme of worship today. In our last study, we considered the “Feast of the First Fruits”, and how Israel was called upon to worship God by giving back to Him. They were to take the things He had given them, the land and their crops, and they were to bring a gift to the Lord, worshiping Him for His grace and His blessings on their lives.

In the text before us today, we are allowed to get another glimpse of worship through giving. This passage is usually preached around Christmas time with an emphasis on the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. What the wise men did in these verses is something that should be done every day in the life of the believer.

You are very familiar with this passage, but I want to look at it once more today. I want us to consider this passage, not from the perspective of Christmas, but from the perspective of worship. These verses teach us some valuable lessons concerning the nature of worship.

As we watch the wise men worship the Lord, they reveal certain characteristics of worship that should be true in our own worship. There are eight of those characteristics that I have identified in these verses. I want to share them with you by way of introduction and then preach the message out of that eighth characteristic.

Don’t get discouraged right at the outset. I am going to have a long introduction and a short message. Let me share these eight characteristics of worship with you. I will say a few words about each of them and expand a little more on the last one.

• Their Worship Was Intentional—v. 2—These men came to Jerusalem for the sole purpose of worship. Worship was why they left their homeland. Worship was why they brought their treasure. Worship was why they journeyed. Worship was at the heart of everything we see them do in this passage. They had their hearts set on coming before the Lord Jesus to worship Him.

Our worship of Him should be intentional also. We should come to His house with worship as our goal. We should approach Him in prayer with worship on our hearts. We should open His Word seeking Him in a spirit of worship.

Worship should not be something that “just happens” to us; it should be something we set our hearts on. It should be something we seek. It should be something that motivates us.

• Their Worship Was Volitional—v. 2—That is, it was an act of their wills. They determined in their hearts that they would worship Him. No one forced them to leave home and family to travel across the desert to find Jesus. No one made them give their gifts. No one held a gun to their heads and made them bow before the Lord in worship. It was an act of the will.

Our worship ought to be volitional as well. We should determine in our hearts that we will not just go through the motions of worship, but that we will set our hearts about the task of loving the One Who died for our sins on the cross.

We ought not sing just because the congregation is singing! We ought now bow in prayer just because it is time to pray. We should open our Bibles just because it is time for the sermon. We ought not go to church just because it is time to go to church!

We should determine in our hearts that every song, every prayer, every sermon, every deed, every day, and every breath will be an act of supreme worship designed to glorify our Redeemer and our Heavenly Father. (Ill. John 4:23–24)

• Their Worship Was Personal—v. 2, 9–11—They did not allow others to do their worshiping for them. These men involved self in the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look what they did: they came, v. 2; they came from a great distance, v. 2; they came by faith, v. 2; they rejoiced when they found Him, v. 10; they humbled themselves before Him, v. 11; and they willingly lavished their gifts upon Him, v. 11. Their worship involved self, and they involved all the self they possessed in their worship!

Our worship should also be personal. Too many people in our modern churches try to worship by proxy. That is, they let others do all the singing, and they never lift their own voice in praise to the King. They let others testify, and they never open their mouths in public to give God vocal praise for His grace and blessings in their lives. They let other give, and they never experience the blessings that come with investing in the work of the Lord. They let others work, preach and teach, and they never get involved beyond merely occupying a pew when it is convenient for them.

Our worship should be personal. I do not know what the Lord has done for you, but I know what He has done for me! I know about the day He saved me. I know about the times He has moved my mountains. I know about the times He has come by and breathed new life into my wilted heart. I know about His grace, His mercy and His glory. I know these things, and the least I can do is worship Him for them! (Ill. Hebrews 13:15, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Psa. 135:1–6)

• Their Worship Was Confrontational—v. 3—Not everyone was pleased by the worship of the wise men. We are told that Herod was “troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” Herod thought, that since he was king, he should be worshiped. These men didn’t bow down to Herod! He was troubled by the that wise men had come to town to worship a another King. The wise men did not come to town to worship Herod. They did not come to worship in the Temple. They came for one purpose, and that purpose was to bow themselves at the feet of a Baby. Not just any Baby, but a Baby Who is the Eternal God. A Baby Who is the Ling of Kings and Lord of Lords.

When you reach a place where you give your unreserved, wholehearted worship to the Lord Jesus, you are going to offend some folks! Not everyone will understand why you love Him like you do. Not everyone will think Him worthy of that kind of love. Your songs, your tears, your shouts, your testimonies, your expressions of love and obedience will bother some people. I say, let them be bothered! The Lord we serve is worthy of all the praise we can give Him and an infinite amount beyond that, Rev. 5:9–14.

• Their Worship Was Emotional—v. 10–11—When these men arrived at the place where they would find Jesus, they were overcome with emotion. The phrase, “rejoiced with exceeding great joy” has the idea of exuberant excitement! Can you see them shouting, jumping, laughing, crying and hugging? They were filled with excitement at the prospect of seeing Jesus.

His worship should fill our heart with the same emotional power. Worship is an emotional business! Some people frown on emotions in worship. They say, “Oh, they are just doing that in the flesh.” Well, I can’t speak for you, but everything I do I do in the flesh. It is not always in the power of the flesh, and that is what makes the difference!

There is nothing wrong with emotional worship, as long as the Spirit of God is driving that worship. After all, the Bible calls upon us to “shout” unto Him in praise, Psa. 47:1; 98:4; to “clap” our hands to call attention to Him, Psa. 47:1; to “lift” our hands to Him in praise, Psa. 63:4; 134:2; to “laugh”, Psa. 126:2; to give Him unashamed, visible, vocal worship!

That may not be your thing, but leave those folks alone that worship that way! You might not understand, but if they are giving Him worship from their hearts, it’s none of your business anyway! You worship the way He has wired you to worship and let them do the same!

• Their Worship Was Effectual—v. 3–8, 12—Their worship had an effect on Herod, on Jerusalem and on the scribes, v. 3–8. It caused them to think about the things of God once more, v. 4–6. It caused them to search the Scriptures, v. 4–6. It had an effect on the wise men and their relationship with God, v. 11–12. They were brought into a place of closeness and intimacy through their worship.

God speaks to them in verse 12. It seems to me that these men left their homes to find Jesus based on an Old Testament prophecy, Num 24:17. There were probably documents in their homeland that they studied that had been written by Daniel, Ezekiel and other Israelites who had been there as captives. They came and they worshiped because of what they read. Their worship has brought them into a place of greater intimacy with God. He is moving in their lives in power because they humbled themselves before Him in worship.

Worship is still effectual! It touches the world around us. When God’s people are engaged in genuine, spirit-guided worship, a lost world takes note. It will drive some away, but it will cause others to think about their own relationship to God, Ill. John 12:32.

It will affect you too! As you find yourself drawn deeper into His worship, you will find that He will become more real to you. His presence will become more precious. His Word will become more powerful. His house will become an even greater source of joy. As you worship Him, He will respond by speaking to your heart in new and deeper ways.

• Their Worship Was Relational—v. 2, 9—Their worship was guided by God and based on their relationship with Him. They gave Him worship because they were walking with Him. They gave Him worship because they were following His plan. They gave Him worship out of obedience to Him.

Anyone can sing, shout, testify and give Him fleshly worship, but only a believer who is in a vital, love relationship with Jesus can give Him pure, perfect worship. Only one who walks in obedience to His Word and will can give Him the worship He desires.

That was the introduction. Now let me give you the message. While the worship of the wise men was all the things I just mentioned, and more, Their Worship Was Sacrificial as well. When these men came to worship, they did not worship on the cheap. Their worship cost them something. I want to show you the ways their worship was costly.

I. v. 2 IT COST THEM THEIR TIME

• We are told that the wise men came “from the east”. We are not told exactly where they came from, but nearly all scholars are in agreement that it was most like that they came from Mesopotamia. If that is true, then these men travelled several hundred miles to get from their homes to worship Jesus. It would have been a tedious journey that would have taken several months to complete. It would have required great expense and much time away from home and family. It would have been a journey fraught with danger and trouble. Yet, they made the trip and paid the price because they deemed Jesus worthy of worship.

• Worship is still costly in time. Most of us can be at church in a few minutes. It is not a long journey for us to come this way. The time requirements are not all that extensive for us. If you come to all the services, you are here 4 or 5 hours per week. Of course, many people do not think that Jesus is worth even that much time. Far too many will only give Him an hour on Sunday and pat themselves on the back because they went to church. That crowd doesn’t really worship. They merely go through the motions!

• When I talk about time, I am not referring to the time it takes to drive here and sit passively while the services are conducted. Real worship is an investment in time every day you live.

It takes time to pray and seek the Lord’s face. It takes time to deal with sin in your life. It takes time to prepare the heart for worship. That may why so many come to church and never truly worship. It may just be that they haven’t put any time and effort in preparing themselves to meet the King in His house.

You can’t live out in the world all week and walk into church ready to meet Him in worship. There must be some time spent preparing the soul. There must be time spent in repentance of sin; in feeding the soul on the Word of God; and in private worship. When you see people who truly worship in public; you are seeing people who have already spent time worshiping in private.

• Before the next service comes around, I challenge you to give Him some time in worship. If you will, it will change the way you worship when you come to His house!

II. v. 11 IT COST THEM THEIR TREASURE

• These men came before the Lord and they gave gifts to Him. They gave Him “gold, frankincense and myrrh”. All three were costly gifts that did not come cheap, yet they gave them to Jesus, Who was just a small child, and they gave them to Him with no strings attached! They walked into that house and they “opened their treasures” and “they presented unto Him gifts”. They carried those gifts hundreds of miles, and they willingly gave them away because they wanted to honor Him in worship.

• That speaks to us today. We ought to look at our giving as worship. If you can’t give your tithes and offerings to Him because you love Him, you would be better off to keep them for your own use. If you can’t give to Him with no strings attached, you really haven’t given Him anything.

It is a privilege to give to the Lord! It is a privilege to have something to give to Him. The only reason I have anything to give to Him is because He has first given to me! Everything we have is the gift of the Lord, James 1:17. Let’s determine in our hearts that we will not be cheap in our giving to the Lord. He has always been extravagant in His giving to us. (Ill. Count your blessings!) We ought to be just as extravagant in our giving to Him! You’ll never out give Him, Luke 6:38. But, it sure is fun to try, 2 Cor. 9:6–7.

Go ahead and be a skinflint and God will treat you accordingly! You might horde up some things down here, but you will have no treasure over there. How much better it is to give everything over into His hands and use what we have been given for the glory of the Lord. When we do, we lay up treasure in Heaven that can never be discounted, destroyed, or taken away. Economic downturn cannot affect what we store up in glory, Matt. 6:19–21.

III. v. 2, 11 IT COST THEM THEIR TESTIMONY

• While these men gave financially, the greatest treasure they gave to Jesus that day was themselves. Think about this. These men were no ordinary men. We have been taught that there were three of them and they came alone. There is not a shred of evidence to support that teaching. It might be helpful to take a minute and talk about who these men were.

• All the evidence seems to suggest that these men represented a priestly class that held significant power in the area around ancient Babylon. These men were known in Persia as “the king makers”. They appointed and anointed the kings that ruled in their homelands. They were very powerful and influential.

It also seems clear that there were more than three of them. After all, how could three men disturb an entire city? Besides that, three men travelling through the deserts in those days would have been absolutely foolish. More likely, there was a large number of these, and most likely, they were accompanied by an armed guard. That is why Herod got nervous when they showed up. An armed guard arrived at the palace looking for a King to worship. They weren’t looking for Him, however.

• These rich, powerful, influential men stood before Herod and his officers and declared their intention to worship a child-King, v. 2. They journeyed until they found Him, and when they did, they fell down before Him and humbled themselves in worship, v. 11. The “King makers” entered the presence of the King of Kings and gave Him worship. They were declaring to all that Jesus was King and that He was worthy to be worshiped.

These wise, educated, sophisticated men laid aside all pretense and pride and they gave their adoration and worship to the Lord Jesus Christ, v. 11. They “fell down” before a little boy and they honored Him as their King! The words they spoke, v. 2 and the gifts they gave, v. 11, declared their faith in Jesus as the Son of God. They literally gave themselves away at the feet of the Lord Jesus.

• That is what He expects of us! He wants us to come to the place where we have abandoned all pride and pretense before Him. He wants us to come to the place where we willingly yield up all that we have and all that we are to Him in humble adoration, praise and worship. He just wants us to completely give ourselves away to Him. There is not greater form of worship in the world, Rom. 12:1–2.

Conc: Are there any wise men or women here today? If there are, those people are engaged in sacrificial worship of the King. If there are, those people are worshiping Him with their time, their treasure and their testimony.

Does that describe you? If it doesn’t, it should! If it doesn’t, it can! I can’t speak for you, but if I know my own soul, I want to worship Him! I want to love Him! I want to give Him the best I have and the best I am! I want to lay it all down at His feet for His glory.

If He has spoken to you about your worship, you need to do whatever it is that He is telling you to do.[1]

[1] Alan Carr, “The Sacrifice of Biblical Worship—Part 2 (Matthew 2:1–12),” in The Sermon Notebook: New Testament (Lenoir, NC: Alan Carr, 2015), 33–39.

The Gifts of the Wise Men and Our Gifts to Jesus

By Adrian Rogers

Date Preached: December 22, 1991

Main Scripture Text: Matthew 2:1–12

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?”

Matthew 2:1–2

Outline

Introduction

A. The Barrier of Distance

B. The Barrier of Difficulty

C. The Barrier of Danger

I. The Gold: His Sovereign Dominion

II. The Frankincense: His Sinless Deity

III. The Myrrh: His Sacrificial Death

Conclusion

Introduction

Take God’s Word and turn with me, if you would, please, to Matthew chapter 2. There we have the story of the visit of the wise men and the gift that they brought to the Lord Jesus. Do you have difficulty finding just the right gift for just the right person? Have you ever thought about the gift that you may give to the Lord Jesus this Christmas season? I think we can take a lesson from the wise men. And today we’re thinking of this subject: “The Gifts of the Wise Men and Our Gifts to Jesus.” Matthew chapter 2, verse 1: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.” (Matthew 2:1–12)

Now we all know the story of the wise men. But there is much about these wise men that we do not know. For example, we’re not certain that there were three wise men. There may have been more. There may have been three. We sing the song, “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” but there may be have been more. We know that there were three categories of gifts that are listed. There may have been more gifts. We don’t know, really, what country these wise men came from. They came from the East. I think, most likely, they came from Babylon. And I’ll tell you why I believe that they came from Babylon. In Babylon there was a great prophet, a man of God whose name was Daniel. And Babylon, of course, is to the east. It’s our modern Iraq. It was there that young Daniel was taken captive, and it was there that Daniel taught. And in Babylon there were wise men, magi. As a matter of fact, the book of Daniel tells about them. And these magi had their lives saved by Daniel. And obviously, they would have listened to the teaching and the preaching of Daniel, and it was Daniel who prophesied a coming Messiah.

There’s a lot that we do not know. We don’t know, for example, what the star was that led them. The Bible says that there was a star. But the word star is not used in a literal sense; it’s used in a symbolic sense. And it has the idea of something bright and shining, not necessarily used in the definite sense that we use the word today. I personally believe that it was not a star like the stars that you will see tonight when you go out and look. I believe it was the Shekinah glory of God in the heavens. I believe it was the same kind of Shekinah glory that shone round about those shepherds in the field where the Bible says, “And the glory of the Lord shone round about them.” (Luke 2:9) I believe it was just God’s great Shekinah glory that was there in the sky leading these wise men. But I wouldn’t argue with you about it. If you want to argue something else, that’s your privilege. What I’m simply saying is, there is a lot that we do not know, but there are some things that we wonderfully, wonderfully know. And we know this: that these men were called wise men, and they were wise because they sought the Lord Jesus to worship Him.

I think there is not a one of us who has not heard that slogan, “Wise men still worship Him.” And may I say, it wasn’t easy for them to worship Him. They had a lot of barriers to overcome.

A. The Barrier of Distance

For example, there was the barrier of distance. If you’ll look in verse 1, the Bible says they were wise men from the East. Now if indeed they came from Iraq, modern Iraq, to Jerusalem, even today that would be a great trip. But these are men who have come a great distance, perhaps about three hundred miles, just to worship the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ.

B. The Barrier of Difficulty

Not only was there the barrier of distance; there was the barrier of difficulty. I want to remind you in this day there were no planes, no trains, no automobiles. There were no hotels. There were no restaurants. There were no superhighways. Over rough terrain they came.

C. The Barrier of Danger

Not only was there distance; and not only was there difficulty; there was literal danger. When they got there, they faced ol’ King Herod. Herod was a murderous old man. And he loved to kill people. He was the one who killed all of the little babies. But before he killed those little babies, he had already murdered his wife. He had already murdered his mother. He had already murdered his sons. He was the one who murdered all the little babies under two years of age. And as a matter of fact, when Herod died, he knew he was going to die, and just before he died, he said, “Get some of the best known citizens of our land, and when I die, put them to death, because if they don’t shed any tears for me, maybe they’ll shed some tears for them. And I want there to be some tears when I die.” And so he had people killed just because he himself had died. He was a hateful, hellish, murderous old man. And these wise men were in danger from Herod himself.

So what I’m trying to say is that with great, great difficulty they came to worship the Christ child. You see, the word worship means “worth-ship.” Why are you here? Why did you come? Because you felt it was worth it to give honor and glory to the Son of God. I cannot imagine these who have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ. In America today, I think the biggest cult is the cult of the comfortable: those who don’t want to be disturbed if the weather is not right, or if guests come, of if there is some other problem, why then, they don’t seem to be able to make it to worship. And I don’t want to brag on you being here, because, dear friend, it’s a privilege that you could be here. It’s a privilege that I can be here. Thank God for the joy of worshipping Him. These wise men sought the Lord Jesus Christ out in spite of distance and danger and difficulty. They came to worship Him.

Now when they worshipped the Lord Jesus—and we’re going to get into the heart of the message, the gifts of the wise men—they brought Him three kinds of gifts. I want you to look at it right here in the Word of God. In Matthew chapter 2 the Bible says that they brought to the Lord Jesus very special gifts. Verse 11: “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts;”—first of all—“gold, and,”—secondly—“frankincense and”—thirdly—“myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)

I want to ask you a question. If God the Holy Spirit engineered the entire thing—and He did—and if God wrote the Bible—and He did, and there’s only so much that can be put in the Bible—do you think that it is just by happenstance that it is recorded in God’s Word that gold and frankincense and myrrh were brought to the baby Jesus? Not at all! As a matter of fact, there is an incredible thought that is given here, and a great inference as to what Adrian should bring to Jesus this Christmas season, and what you should bring to the Lord Jesus. My gifts and your gifts must be like the gifts of the wise men of old.

Now I want us to see what these gifts are, and what they represent, and what they speak of.

I. The Gold: His Sovereign Dominion

For example, they brought to Him gold. And gold is a gift that would be presented to a king. Gold was the most precious metal of that day. And in Bible times, and even today, gold is symbolic of royalty. And, you see, when these wise men came to the Lord Jesus Christ and presented to Him gold, what they were saying is that He is a king. I believe that they had learned that the baby that would be born was a king. They learned it from the prophet Daniel. In Daniel chapter 9 and verse 25 Daniel had called the baby that would be born “Messiah the Prince.” (Daniel 9:25) And the word prince means “king, ruler, sovereign.” And when they brought gold, they said, “We recognize His sovereign dominion.”

Have you done that? Have you recognized His sovereign dominion? Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 7: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice henceforth even for ever.” (Isaiah 9:7) This child, this baby that we’re talking about, He is King of kings; He is Lord of lords. Now the question comes this Christmas: Will you offer to the Lord the submission that is due to Him? Because He is your king, it is not enough for you to tip your hat; you must bow your knee.

When these kings came to the baby Jesus, they did not cuddle Him. They did not play games with Him. These powerful kings from the East bowed the knee in obeisance to Him, and they recognized that indeed He is a King. Look in verse 2. They said, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2) Look in verse 6: “For out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.” (Matthew 2:6) We worship, my dear friend, heaven’s King. Have you given Him the submission that is due to Him as a King? Have you?

I have a preacher friend out in Arizona. He thought one day that he would give a lesson to his congregation, so he said to them, “You know, we’ve had some Secret Service men from Washington, from the White House, they’ve been here to talk with me. And they told me that the President of the United States is going to be in our city, and because the President of the United States is going to be in our in our city on a weekend, he’s going to be in a church to worship, and they have chosen our church, and the President of the United States is going to come and worship with us next Sunday. And because of that, we want to be ready.” So he said to the choir director, “I want you and the choir to practice. I want you to have the very best musical rendition that you can possibly have.” Then he said to the custodian and to the ushers, “We want this place to be spotless. We want it to be immaculate next Sunday. We’ve got some places in the carpet that need to be patched and cleaned. I’m going to ask that all of us be dressed and on our best behavior this Lord’s Day.” And he gave the ushers very special instructions. And he gave the custodial staff very special instructions. Then he spoke to the church hostess and said, “We want to have the flowers just right,” and so forth.

Oh, what a rush of excitement was going through the congregation as he described all of the things they were going to do because the next Sunday the President of the United States was going to be there to worship with them! The people were thrilled. And then he said, “Now, folks, I want to tell you something. The President of the United States is not coming. He is not coming. I made all of that up. There have been no representatives of the White House here to see me. We’re going to have services as usual next Sunday.” But then he said this: “Why would the choir sing such a special number if the President is going to come? Why would we try to have the house so clean and all of us be so alert if the President is going to come, and yet Sunday by Sunday we do not do our very best because the King of kings is here?” Do you see what he was saying to them? Do you see what he taught them? He said, “You know, Jesus Christ is here every Lord’s Day.” “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) Isn’t it strange that we do not recognize and reverence His kingdom and His right and authority to rule over us?

You know, after that pastor made that disclaimer, there were many people who did not hear the rest of it. All they heard was the President was coming. When he said, “That was just an illustration; that’s not really going to happen,” they never heard that. All week long the phone was ringing: “When is the President going to be there? Are there going to be reserved seats?” People who had been away from church for months, and some for years, showed up that next Sunday because the President was going to be there. How we hold in rank and how we hold in esteem men rather than the King of kings!

I was in Washington a while back and had the opportunity to go in and speak with the President for a while. And what a great honor that is when that might happen! And it was the time when the President was coming the next day to Memphis, Tennessee, for a program here called “A Thousand Points of Light.” I spoke with him for a few moments in his office, and I said, “You’re going to my city tomorrow.” He said, “That’s right, I am.” He said, “Why don’t you come and ride to Memphis with me on Air Force One?” “Why,” I said, “Mr. President, that would be a thrill. That would be an honor. I would love to do that. But I didn’t come prepared to spend the night. I have a plane that’s going back this afternoon.” “Well,” he said, “if you can arrange it, I’d love to have you,” and gave me a card, and said, “If you can go, call this particular person.” I put that card in my pocket.

Do you know what I did, folks? I went to the Holiday Inn and made a reservation. I went out and bought a toothbrush. And I’ll tell you why. You don’t get those kinds of invitations every day. I don’t. You may. I don’t. And that was one of the great thrills of my life: to ride in that airplane, to sit in the office with and talk with and fellowship with the President of the United States.

But, you know, I thought to myself after that, and I said, “Adrian, you called home. You canceled appointments. You made another reservation. You went out and bought some toiletries and everything just so you could spend a few moments with that man.” And, friend, I would do it again. But that’s not the point. I thought to myself, “Adrian, how much difficulty are you willing to go through? How much are you going to rearrange your schedule? How much time do you set aside? How much time do you make, Adrian, for the King of kings and the Lord of lords?” And my heart smote me that I am more impressed sometimes with the men of this world than I am with heaven’s King.

My dear friend, He is King of kings. He is Lord of lords. And one day, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush, and Johnny Carson, and Madonna, and Bob Sorrell, and Scotty Shows, and Adrian Rogers, and every human being who’s ever lived, will bow their knee to Jesus Christ. He is King. He is King. And they said, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have … come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2) What can I give Him today?

II. The Frankincense: His Sinless Deity

My dear friend, I can recognize His sovereign dominion. The gold represents that sovereign dominion. But what about the frankincense? If the gold represents His sovereign dominion, the frankincense represents His sinless deity. “Well,” you say, “Pastor Rogers, I don’t see anything there about deity. It just simply says, ‘frankincense.’ ” May I tell you, dear friend, that if gold was a gift fit for a king, frankincense was used to worship Almighty God.

I want you to take your Bible now and I want you to turn with me to the book of Exodus and look with me in Exodus chapter 30, and we’re going to begin in verse 34. Now you’ll see that it was not by happenstance that frankincense was given to the Christ child: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices”—now, watch this—“with pure frankincense:”—that’s underscored in my Bible: “pure frankincense”—“of each shall there be a like weight: and thou shalt make it a perfume,”—take these spices, mix it with frankincense, and make a perfume—“a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure”—now, watch this next phrase—“and holy: and thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you”—now, notice this phrase—“most holy. And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.” (Exodus 30:34–38)

What is God saying? God is saying that frankincense is the base of this holy incense that is most holy. It is to be given to God. And that incense, as it would rise up out of the tabernacle in the Old Testament, and the temple, speaks of the prayers, the worship of the saints, that goes to Almighty God. What did these wise men recognize? Why were they indeed wise as they were wise? They brought gold, and they recognized His sovereign dominion. And then, they brought frankincense. They recognized His sinless deity: Jesus Christ is God of very God.

May I say, dear friend, that they worshipped the Lord Jesus. I want you to look, if you will, in verse 11. Go back now to Matthew chapter 2 and look with me in verse 11. I want you to see something very significant. There are many today who do not give to the Lord Jesus the worship that is due to His name. They do not worship Him. But look, if you will, in verse 11—Matthew chapter 2 and verse 11. The Bible says after they brought these gifts that they “worshipped him.” (Matthew 2:11) Do you see it? They “worshipped him.” Underscore that. They “worshipped him.”

“Well,” you say, “what’s important about that?” The Bible says, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only” (Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8)—“him only.” Now, friend, if Jesus is not the Lord God, this is the ultimate blasphemy. Nobody should worship anything or anybody except God Himself. They “worshipped him.” Why? Because this baby was God. The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.” (1 Timothy 3:16) Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6 says it clearly: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder,”—that’s the gold: “the government shall be upon his shoulder”; that’s His sovereign dominion. But it goes on to say—“and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6)—that’s frankincense. That’s the frankincense. You see, my dear friend, He was not only born a king; He was God, and very God, in human flesh.

How wise were these wise men? Now whether they understood all of this or not, I don’t know. But I do know that God the Holy Spirit impelled them to make these gifts, and God the Holy Spirit recorded these gifts. Now you say, “Well, I don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God, but I do believe that He was a good man.” Well, Jesus Christ said, “There is none good but one, that is, God.” (Matthew 19:17) And if Jesus Christ is not God, Jesus Christ is not good, by His own words. Somebody wrote these words:

If Jesus Christ is a man,—

And only a man,—I say

That of all mankind I cleave to him,

And to Him will I cleave alway.

If Jesus Christ is a God,—

And the only God,—I swear

I will follow Him through heaven and hell,

The earth, the sea, and the air.

—Richard Watson Gilder

Those are good words. They sound good. But, my dear friend, if Jesus Christ is a man, and only a man, I won’t cleave to Him. I will repudiate Him. I will disown Him. I will not worship Him. I will not honor Him, because if Jesus Christ is a man and only a man, He is a fake, a fraud, and an impostor, for He Himself is claiming to be God. Jesus Christ Himself said of Himself, “Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58) And that’s the most sacred name for Deity, and Jesus claimed it for Himself.

What shall I give the Lord Jesus this morning? What shall I give the Lord Jesus? Because He is sovereign dominion, I give Him my will. Because He is sinless Deity, I give Him my worship. Worship Him! Worship Him! Fall down! Fall on your face! I hadn’t intended to say this, but I’ve not been on my knees before my Lord this morning; I’ve been on my face before Him. And I don’t say that to say, “Well, big deal!” I’m just saying, dear friend, He is God. He is God. You want to say, “What shall I bring my Lord today?” Oh, my dear friend, bring Him gold: His sovereign dominion. Bring Him frankincense: His sinless deity. He is God of very God. Fall down and worship Him. Wise men did a long time ago. They didn’t tuck Him under the chin, and cuddle Him in their arms, or play games with Him. They fell on their faces before Him.

There has never been another like the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was the God-man. Have you ever thought how unique the life of the Lord Jesus is—how absolutely unique? And, you know, Jesus never withdrew or modified anything that He ever said. Many things He said were hard to understand, but He never said, “I made a mistake.” I would like to restate that. Jesus never ever apologized for any of His actions. Many things they didn’t understand, and some people got angry with Him, but He never one time apologized. Jesus Christ never ever sought advice from anybody. Moses had his seventy elders. Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, had his advisors. Jesus never asked advice from anyone. Jesus Christ never justified anything that He did. When He was late—seemingly late—when Lazarus died, He never gave any explanation. When He was asleep on the back of a ship, when the ship was about to sink, He never did justify His actions to anybody. Jesus Christ never asked forgiveness. Not one time did He ask for anybody ever to forgive Him or for God ever to forgive Him. Why? Because He was sinless. Jesus Christ never asked anyone to pray for Him. He asked the disciples to watch and pray, and he told them to “pray, lest ye enter into temptation,” (Mark 14:38; Luke 22:46) but He never asked anyone to forgive Him. He never corrected Himself.

And yet He was not arrogant. He was meek and mild. Jesus Christ did not have any strong points. In order to have strong points, you have to have weak points. He had no strong points or weak points. He was the most perfectly balanced individual who ever lived.

Robert Clark has rightly given this assessment of Jesus’ character. He says there was “meekness without weakness, tenderness without feebleness, firmness without coarseness, love without sentimentality, holiness without sanctimoniousness, lowliness without lowness, truth without error, enthusiasm without fanaticism, passion without prejudice, heavenly-mindedness without forgetfulness, carefreeness without carelessness, service without servility, self-exaltation without egotism, judgment without harshness, seriousness without somberness, and mercy without softness.” I love that. That’s the Lord Jesus. No strong points; no weak points. He is God of very God, and yet God in human flesh.

III. The Myrrh: His Sacrificial Death

Now they brought Him a third thing. Not only did they bring Him gold—His sovereign dominion; not only did they bring Him frankincense—His sinless deity; but they also brought Him myrrh. Now, what was myrrh? Myrrh was also a gum-like substance that was very valuable, and it was used to embalm the dead. Can you imagine bringing to a little baby something that would be used to embalm the dead? Why? Because not only did they recognize His sovereign dominion; not only did they recognize His sinless deity; but, my dear friend, they recognized His sacrificial death. They recognized that this little baby was born to die.

Let me give you some scriptures. Turn to Mark chapter 15 and verse 22. You’re in Matthew; just fast-forward to Mark chapter 15 for a moment and see what happened when the Lord Jesus Christ is on the cross—Mark chapter 15 and verse 22: “And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.” Bloody Golgotha: that’s where Jesus died. “And they gave him to drink wine mingled with”—what?—“myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.” (Mark 15:22–24)

Myrrh was used as a narcotic to dull pain. But Jesus, that He might taste of death for every man, refused the taste of that myrrh there upon the cross. But I want you to look now in John. Just keep on going to the Gospel of John—John chapter 19. Turn to John chapter 19 and look with me in verse 38: “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at first came to Jesus by night,”—now, watch it—“and brought a mixture of …”—what?—“of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then they took the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.” (John 19:38–40) This was the manner of the Jews to bury someone. What did they use to bury someone? It was their manner; it was their custom, to bring myrrh.

Conclusion

Now I don’t know whether the wise men understood all of this or not, but I know the Holy Spirit knew it. I know this is not by accident in the Word of God. I know that of everything that could be listed here is gold and frankincense and myrrh: sovereign dominion, sacred deity, and sacrificial death. That’s what they brought to the Lord Jesus.

Do you know that the Bible never records the early church celebrating the birth of Jesus? Did you know that? I don’t think it’s wrong to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The Holy Spirit of God recorded it in the Bible. And I mean we have all of this Scripture. The birth of Jesus is very important. It gives us an opportunity to preach and to teach and to worship. That’s fine. But we don’t ever have any record that the early church was told to remember His birth. We’re told to remember what? His death. The real Christmas tree is this: He in His own body bare our sins on the tree (1 Peter 2:24)—that tree a bloody cross, not decorated, but stained with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the more carnal a Christian is, the more that Christian will make of the birth of Jesus, and the less he’ll make of the death of Jesus. I’m not against remembering His birth, because He had to be born in order to die. The Bible records the birth of the Lord Jesus. But these wise men at His birth were there remembering that one day He would die upon the tree. No wonder heaven’s choir came down to sing with heaven’s King! He came down to save. He was born to die. And how clever of the devil to substitute the celebration of His birth for the memorial of His death!

What will I give Jesus this Christmas season? I must close. Because of His sovereign dominion, I’ll give Him my wealth: all that I have belongs to Him. Because of His sinless deity, I’ll give Him my worship: I’ll fall on my face before Him. And because of His sacrificial death, I’ll give Him my witness: I want the world to know that He died for me. My wealth, my worship, and my witness belongs to my Lord this Christmas season. And so does yours.[1]

[1] Adrian Rogers, “The Gifts of the Wise Men and Our Gifts to Jesus,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), Mt 2:1–12.

The Wisdom of Christmas

By Adrian Rogers

Date Preached: December 16, 2001

Main Scripture Text: Matthew 2

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1–2

Outline

Introduction

A. The Wise Men Sought Him in Spite of Distance

B. The Wise Men Sought Him in Spite of Discomfort

C. The Wise Men Sought Him in Spite of Danger

I. How They Sought Him

A. The Ministry of the Spirit

B. The Message of the Scripture

C. The Miracle of the Star

II. What They Brought Him

A. Gold: His Sovereign Dominion

B. Frankincense: His Sinless Deity

C. Myrrh: His Sacrificial Death

Conclusion

A. Be Wise in How You Seek Him

B. Be Wise in What You Bring Him

1. Your Wealth Belongs to Him

2. Your Worship Belongs to Him

3. Your Witness Belongs to Him

Introduction

Find the Christmas story, please, in Matthew chapter 2, and we’re talking today about Christmas wisdom. This time of the year, we need a lot of wisdom. I need wisdom. What am I going to get Joyce? Now, that’s difficult for me, really. I mean, every year I go through this thing, and I put it off and put it off, until all of a sudden, I reach the deadline and have to run down to Walgreen’s at eleven o’clock on Christmas Eve. Do you know what John Cameron told me—a member of our church, kind of, in a way; my mentor almost; a dear friend, beloved brother, who was on the pulpit committee that brought me here? I get little gems of wisdom from John Cameron from time to time, and he told me one time—he said, “Now pastor, if you want to know what to get your wife for Christmas, here’s the way to do it: just tell her you’re going to get her something she doesn’t want, and she’ll quickly tell you what she does want.” Now, that’s a lot of wisdom. You know, it works. I’ve tried that. I said, “Now Joyce, I’m going to get …” She says, “No, no, no.” I said, “Well now, you’d better tell me what you do want.” And, that’s about the only way I can squeeze it out of her.

And, I want to talk to you about some wisdom that goes far beyond these mundane things and this worldly type of wisdom I’ve been sharing with you. I want to share with you some supernatural wisdom—how you can have some wisdom in your Christmas.

Now, let’s read this story here. I want to read right through all twelve verses here: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men”—now, just underscore that: “wise men”—“from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all [of] the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also”—of course, you know what he wanted to do was not to worship Him but to kill Him, as you can tell by reading more scripture. And—“When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.” (Matthew 2:1–12)

Now, there’s a lot that we don’t know about these wise men. For example, we don’t know how many there were. Some say there were three because there were three types of gifts. Maybe so, but maybe not. The Bible doesn’t say with specificity. We certainly don’t know they rode on camels. They may have. Some scholars say they probably rode Arabian horses. We really don’t know. We really don’t know what country they came from. Most likely, however, they came from Babylon. A lot of things that we don’t know about these men we don’t have to know because if we had to know, the Bible would have told us with specificity. But, we do know this: that they were wise, because the Bible says they were “wise men.” (Matthew 2:1) The biblical word for that is magi. These were men who were students of Scripture. They were students of prophecy. They were students of the stars in the sky. And, most likely, if they were from Babylon, they were students of the prophet Daniel, because Daniel spent a great deal of time in Babylon. And, Daniel himself was a great, great prophet, and very wise.

Now, there’s something else we don’t know: we don’t know exactly what that star was. Now, there are some astronomers that say, “Well, it was a supernova, or some alignment of the planets that caused at that particular time excessive brightness in the sky.” That’s impossible that it could have been something like that, for this reason: it moved, and it led them, so you could not have some supernova, some star like that. Others say, “All right then, it was a comet.” No, it couldn’t have been a comet because a comet just flashes across the sky and it’s gone. And, it couldn’t have been a comet that would have stayed up there for months as these men traversed that distance of about three hundred miles from Babylon, or wherever it was in the East, where they first saw the star.

What was it? Eversheim, who is a Messianic Jewish scholar, says that the word star has a number of meanings in the Bible, and it comes from a root that literally means “brilliance”—“brilliance, light.” And, most likely, what this brilliance was, this aura, this thing in the sky, was the Shekinah glory of God. And, when you think about it, that makes perfect sense because the glory of God has already led people in the Old Testament. For example, what led the children of Israel through the wilderness? A pillar of fire by night, a pillar of cloud by day. (Exodus 13:21) That was what they called the “Shekinah glory of God,” that effulgence of God that had a physical manifestation of God’s glory.

And, of course, it could move—it did move. It guided them through the wilderness. When Solomon dedicated the temple, what happened? The Shekinah glory of God came into the Holy of Holies. And, before the Babylonians invaded Israel, Ezekiel the prophet tells about that Shekinah glory, how it departed from the temple. He said it came out of the Holy of Holies to the threshold there of the temple. (Ezekiel 10:18) And then, later on it moved from the threshold of the temple; it moved on to the gate, the Eastern Gate, and Ezekiel saw it. (Ezekiel 10:19) And then, he saw that glory as it moved on to the Mount of Olives and went on up and disappeared. (Ezekiel 11:23) What I’m trying to say is that the glory of the Lord could be seen as a brilliance. Ezekiel described it.

As a matter of fact, when those shepherds were in the field, what shone around them? The glory of the Lord. And then, they went, and it came over the place where the young child lay. So, I think that what happened—and it’s a wonderful story—is that the glory of God appeared to these wise men there in the East and that glory of God led them there to that place, that house where the young child was. For example, look in Luke chapter 2, verse 9; just write it down. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.” (Luke 2:9)

Now, there are some things we may not know about all of the details. We know everything we need to know because if we need to know any more, the Bible would tell us. But, we do know this: that these men were exceedingly wise men. Why? Because they sought out the Lord Jesus Christ to worship Him. Look up here, and let me tell you something now. My precious friend, listen to me: the wisest things you could ever do at Christmastime, or any other time, is to worship Jesus. Now, I hope that doesn’t fall flat. I hope you don’t miss that. Friend, that is the bottom of all bottom lines. That is the wisest thing that anybody could ever do, is to simply to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, there are a lot of people who want the joys of Christmas without the worship of Jesus. Impossible! Impossible! Now, you may have a giddy time, but you’re never going to know the joys of Christmas until you learn to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

A. The Wise Men Sought Him in Spite of Distance

I want you to see that these men were so interested in worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ that they did this in spite of great difficulty. The Bible says in verse 1: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to … worship him.” (Matthew 2:1–2) If Babylon, that’s a distance about three hundred miles. There was the difficulty of distance. Friend, a three-hundred-mile trip today, if you’re riding in a fine automobile, may tire you out. Can you imagine what a trip would have been like in that day—the difficulty of a trip like that?

B. The Wise Men Sought Him in Spite of Discomfort

And, there was not only the distance, but the discomfort. They were not riding in an air-conditioned automobile. There were no trains, no planes, no motels. This is rugged terrain. As a matter of fact, you’re seeing a lot of that rugged terrain on television today. They’re coming over that kind of inhospitable terrain to worship the Lord.

And, very frankly, those of you who are watching on television, this is a rainy day in our city today. And, I hate to tell you this, but there are some folks not here today because it’s raining. One morning, Joyce and I—it was about 5:30 in the morning—and a thunderclap hit, and she said, “Adrian, did you hear that?” I said, “What?” She said, “Ten thousand Baptists just rolled over and went back to sleep.” I mean, you know, difficulty. Here these guys came to worship the Lord in spite of difficulty. I’m amazed at what will keep some people out of the house of God. And, I go turn on my television. I see up there in Green Bay, and the Green Bay Packers playing on television, and there are guys out there without their shirts on, full of embalming fluid, in the snow. You don’t know what I’m talking about when I say, “embalming fluid.” I hope you don’t. Well, I hope you do. I hope you know. But, I hope you don’t know by experience. All right. Now, I mean, these guys are out there—I mean, bare-chested—rooting for people pulling a football up and down a pasture. And yet, people say, “Well, you know, it’s raining. We couldn’t come this morning.”

C. The Wise Men Sought Him in Spite of Danger

Now, here were men—they wanted to worship the Lord in spite of distance, in spite of discomfort, and in spite of danger. There was old Herod the king. He was the one who had all the little boy babies murdered later on, that pussyfooting politician. He said, “Tell me where He is, that I might come and worship Him.” (Matthew 2:8) He didn’t want to worship Him; he wanted to murder Him. He tried to murder the baby Jesus. He’d already murdered a couple of wives. He’d murdered three sons. As a matter of fact, Herod, who was so hated, had arranged that when he died, there were some prominent citizens—he had a list of them—they were all to be put to death the day he died. You know why? He wanted there to be some tears the day he died so he had a list of people. I mean, that’s the kind of a man that Herod was. And, these wise men, since that was his jurisdiction, had to deal with him. In spite of distance, in spite of discomfort, in spite of danger, they sought to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

I wonder, does worship mean that much to you? Or, do you have sort of a take-it-or-leave-it attitude? The Bible says, “[You] shall seek [for] me, and find me, when [you] search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) God have mercy upon our half-hearted worship! Say “amen.” I mean, if He’s worth anything, He’s worth everything. Worship means “worth ship.” That’s where we get the word worship: “worth ship.” What is Jesus worth to you? I believe the biggest cult in America is the cult of the comfortable: we just want to take it easy. Jeremiah 29, verse 13: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all of your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

Now, how did these wise men find the Lord Jesus? I want you to listen, because our message today is going to have two points: number one, how they sought Him; and number two, what they brought Him. Okay? How they sought Him, and number two, what they brought Him.

I. How They Sought Him

Now, first of all, I want you to see how these wise men sought the Lord Jesus Christ—how they sought Him. Verse 1 says, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men … to Jerusalem.” (Matthew 2:1) There were three things that helped them to find the Lord Jesus. And friend, if you’re listening through television, or if you’re here today without Christ, let me tell you how you can seek the Lord Jesus Christ.

A. The Ministry of the Spirit

First of all, there was the ministry of the Spirit. What put in the hearts of these men to seek the Lord Jesus? The Holy Spirit. The Bible says of our human flesh, “There is none that seeketh after God … no, not one.” (Romans 3:11–12) Now, there are a lot of people in the realm of church growth today who say we need to have seeker-sensitive services—that is, the people coming seeking God. Friend, the Bible says, “No man seeks God—none, not one.” (Romans 3:11–12) You say, “Well, I sought Him.” The only reason you sought Him is because He first sought you. Listen, friend, when God got you, you were running from God. The only reason God got you is He can run faster than you can. I mean, “there is none that seeketh after God … no, not one.” (Romans 3:11–12) “We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) It is God who put the desire in our heart to seek Him. It was God who put the desire in the heart of these wise men to seek the Lord God. Worship is a desire planted in the hearts of men by the Holy Spirit.

And, I want to tell you today, God is seeking you. You say, “How do you know?” Well, the Bible teaches, “The Lord is … not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) The Bible says Christ is that light that lights “every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9) And, I can tell you with authority today that Jesus is seeking you. And, I don’t believe it’s incidental or accidental that you’re in this service today, or listening by television or tape. God is seeking you—and by the dear Holy Spirit of God. If you will listen, there’s a still, small voice in you that is inclining your heart to worship Him. You can stultify and smother that voice, if you will; but God is reaching out to you through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And, the Holy Spirit and the bride say, “Come; come to Jesus.” (Revelation 22:17)

B. The Message of the Scripture

There’s a second thing that enabled these wise men to seek Him: not only the ministry of the Spirit, but there was the message of the Scripture. Look in verses 2 through 6 of this same chapter. And, the Bible says, “Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born”—now, that’s a strange thing: “Where’s the Messiah going to be born?” He brings the high muckety-mucks in there, the priests and the scribes. “Tell me where He’s going to be born”—“And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea”—now, how did they know that?—“for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.” (Matthew 2:2–6) It’s very plain. The Bible prophesied in minute detail things about the Lord Jesus Christ, and one of these was His birthplace. These men had the Word of God. They had not only this prophecy from Micah chapter 5 and verse 2 that tells that Jesus Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); but if they came from Babylon, they also had the prophecies from the prophet Daniel who told in Daniel chapter 9, in that remarkable prophecy, the time that Jesus would come as the Messiah (Daniel 9:24–27)—these wonderful prophecies.

Now, I want to tell you something else: if you want to find Jesus this Christmas season, not only is there the ministry of the Spirit; there’s the message of the Scripture. Open the Bible and read. Listen. Many of these people missed His first coming because they simply did not read, believe, or obey the Scriptures. We don’t have any record, for example, that these scribes and these priests went down there to worship Him. That’s amazing. They knew where He was; they knew about it, but they still didn’t go. We don’t have any record that Herod went. That’s amazing. There was the message, the plain message.

You can hear me preach today and believe it intellectually and miss it altogether. Did you know that? Isn’t it amazing that there are unbelieving believers—that they never really ever act on what they say they believe? And, by the way, as the Scriptures clearly and plainly delineated His first coming—listen to me carefully—the Scriptures clearly and plainly delineate His Second Coming. And, there are some who missed His first coming, and there are some who are going miss His Second Coming for exactly the same reason. They’re not listening to the ministry of the Spirit and the message of the Scripture.

C. The Miracle of the Star

But now, there was a third thing that led these men, these wise men, and that was the miracle of the star. The Shekinah glory of God was leading them step by step. “Well,” you say, “when God appears to me in Shekinah glory, I will follow Him.” Friend, God knew what was necessary for those people in that day at that time. Listen carefully to me: when you set your heart to find God, when you want to know Him, whatever it takes, whatever is necessary, God will get that to you that you might know Him. That may not be a miracle of a star. It might be some other kind of a miracle. It might be that God will send some messenger to you. It may be that you will hear the urging of a next-door neighbor. I don’t know what kind of a star God will send to you, but God will reveal His glory to you.

Now, if you don’t want the Lord, God’s not going to lead you, God’s not going to guide you. I don’t even find any record that the star appeared to Herod at all, for example. Why? Herod didn’t want to know the Lord. I’ve often said, some people can’t find God for the same reason a thief can’t find a policeman: they don’t want to know. They don’t seek God. You get serious about seeking God—listen to me—you get serious about seeking God, I promise you on the authority of the Word of God, He’ll reveal Himself to you—whatever’s necessary. If you want to know Him, you can know Him.

II. What They Brought Him

So, these men were wise, number one, in how they sought Him. They were wise, number two, in what they brought Him. Now, what did they bring Him? Well, the Bible says that they brought Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11) Now, is that just incidental? No, it’s fundamental. Why these three specific gifts? Why are these things mentioned in the Scripture? I remind you that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God.” (2 Timothy 3:16) There’s nothing there that is not important, properly understood.

A. Gold: His Sovereign Dominion

So, the gold, number one, speaks of His sovereign dominion. Now, look in verse 2: “Where is he that is born”—what?—“king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2) And then, look in chapter 2, verse 6: “Thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor”—that means “a ruler”—“that shall rule my people Israel.” (Matthew 2:6) It is obvious, beyond any equivocation, that these wise men knew that that child was a king. If you want to have wisdom this Christmas, you’re going to understand the same thing: just as we sang, “He is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead, and He is Lord.” You see, when they brought gold, gold was the most precious metal they knew. In that day it was used to signify a king. They made their crowns of gold. The Bible speaks of crowns of gold. Daniel said that Messiah would be a king. He speaks in Daniel 9, verse 25 of “Messiah the Prince.” (Daniel 9:25) Isaiah the prophet said in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 7 that He was to be King. Listen to this: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:7) That little baby is King.

Now, you’ll never, never, never know the meaning of Christmas until you crown Him King. Have you done that? The angel said to Mary in Luke 1, verse 33: “And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:33) When you deal with Jesus, you’re dealing with Sovereignty, and He is worthy of our tribute. When you come to an earthly king, whether an earthly king or even a government, you pay tribute. Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 10:25) I’ll guarantee you, when income tax comes around, unless you’re a dirty crook, you’re going to pay your taxes. You render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.

I want to ask you a question: Have you rendered to Jesus the things that are His? Do you realize that He is King of kings and Lord of lords? Have you taken the crown from your head and put the crown upon His head? Do you say, “Lord Jesus, I surrender my gold to you. I pay tribute to you. I do homage to you. I bow my knee to you”? Have you done that? I say, have you done that? In everybody’s heart there’s a throne. When self is on that throne, Christ is on the cross. When Christ is on that throne, self is on the cross. And, everybody’s in one of those two categories today. These men were wise because they recognized His sovereign dominion. “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2)

B. Frankincense: His Sinless Deity

All right, look at the second thing: not only did they bring to Him gold, but they brought to Him frankincense; and frankincense speaks of His sinless deity. Not only is He King; friend, He is God. You say, “Well, what does the frankincense have to do with this?” Well, look again in verse 11. It says, “They [brought] unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)

What is frankincense? Frankincense is one of the ingredients in a sweet perfume that was used in the tabernacle and the temple for one purpose: the worship of God. As a matter of fact, God said in Exodus chapter 30 that it was not to be used for any other purpose. It is sacred, to be used for Almighty God. (Exodus 30:37–38) Now, not only did they worship Him, therefore, as King, but they worshipped Him as God. As a matter of fact, the Bible says they came and worshipped Him. Look in chapter 2, verse 11: “When they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him.” (Matthew 2:11) You remember that scene there in the Singing Christmas Tree when those wise men come, and they get on their knees, and they bow on their faces to Him, and those little boys backing away from Him would not even turn their back to Him, and it’s depicted there, as the child is there, and they’re on their faces before Him, giving Him glory? Now, will you listen to me? If that child is not God, that’s the ultimate in blasphemy, that anybody would worship a two-legged creature who is not God.

Why? If He’s not God, He has aided and abetted the greatest crime of the centuries, and that is enticing people to idolatry. The Bible says we’re to worship God. We’re to have no other gods before us. (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7) In the book of the Revelation, an angel appeared to John so awesome, so glorious. John, when he was stricken in awe with this particular angel, John fell to his face to worship him. The angel said, “Hey, wait! Get up! Don’t worship me!” The angel said, “Look, if you do it, we’ll both be in trouble. You’ll be in trouble for doing it; I’ll be in trouble for letting you do it. Worship God.” (Revelation 19:10)

One of Jehovah’s (false) Witnesses comes and knocks on your door—you ask him this question: “Do you worship Jesus?” Well, he’ll say, “We venerate Jesus.” “No, no, do you worship Jesus?” “Well, we admit …” “No, no, do you worship Jesus?” Do you want to get him stammering and tongue-tied? You see, he’s between a rock and a hard place. If Jesus is not God, they have no business worshipping Him. And, if Jesus was worshipped in the Bible, and they don’t, they’re not doing what the Bible teaches. You see, either He’s God or He’s not God.

Now, my friend, when they came and they worshipped Him, and they brought that frankincense, which was a sweet perfume to be used for God only, and they bowed down and they worshipped Him, they were saying not only is He One of sovereign dominion—He’s a king—but He’s One also of sinless deity: He is God. Now folks, if there’s a message that needs to be preached in this day and this age, that’s the message.

Sometimes the Muslims say, “Oh, we believe in Jesus.” Oh, they believe in Jesus as a prophet. We believe in Jesus as God, a very God. Paul told Timothy, “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.” (1 Timothy 3:16) You’ll never know Christmas as you ought to know Christmas until you see, friend, His sovereign dominion, ’til you see His sinless deity. We sing that Christmas carol, “What Child Is This?” Let Isaiah answer that question—Isaiah 9, verse 6: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

C. Myrrh: His Sacrificial Death

Now, thirdly, not only did they bring to Him gold, and not only did they bring to Him frankincense, which was that sweet perfume to be used for God only, but thirdly, they brought to Him myrrh. Now, what is myrrh? Look again at chapter 2, verse 11: “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh”—“and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)

What is myrrh? Well, when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, one of the things they offered Him to drink was myrrh. It was a bitter herb. Put in your margin “Mark 15, verse 23”: “And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.” (Mark 15:23) When they would bury the dead, one of the spices they used, the bitter spices to embalm the dead, was myrrh. That’s a strange thing to give a baby that’s just been born—something bitter, something used to embalm the dead. Now, whether these wise men knew with precision what they were doing, I have no knowledge. But, I know this: that God the Holy Spirit was working in the whole thing. And, here you have a prophecy—a prophecy not only of His sovereign dominion, not only of His sinless deity, but of His sacrificial death. They gave Him myrrh. This was a baby that was born to die. They anticipated, they recognized, His death upon the cross.

Conclusion

A. Be Wise in How You Seek Him

Now today, you can make much of Christmas. And, everybody loves Christmas. We get together, we eat, we give presents, the lights are beautiful, and a little baby—who can’t get excited about a little baby? But, you know something? In the Bible, we find no record that the early Church ever celebrated Christmas. I don’t think it’s wrong to celebrate Christmas, but the early Church had a memorial, not to remember His birth; they had a memorial, the Lord’s Supper, to remember what? His death. The more carnal a person is, the more they will make of His birth, the less they will make of His death. Oh, they love the cradle! They don’t love the cross. And, that same crowd—that same giddy crowd—that will be dancing around the cradle on Christmas Eve will be in a drunken stupor on New Year’s singing “Auld Lang Syne.” They don’t see this baby as a sovereign King. They don’t see Him as sinless Deity. They don’t see Him as the sacrificial Savior who’s going to die a death—an ignominious death—on the cross.

Would you like to worship Jesus with wisdom this Christmas? Thank God that this baby was born to die. You know, He was the only One who ever chose to die. No man ever else has chosen to die. You say, “What about those men who are suicide bombers?” They don’t choose to die. They were going to die anyway. All people are going to die. The only thing they did was to choose the time of their death. All people are going to die. I’ve told you before, there’s a new statistic on death: one out of one people die. You’re going to die. Jesus was the only One who chose to die. He said, “No man taketh [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself.” (John 10:18) He didn’t have to die because there was no sin in Him. “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) He didn’t have to die. He could never have died unless He willingly, voluntarily, vicariously laid down His life upon that cross. “No man taketh [my life] from me … I lay it down of myself.” (John 10:18) That baby was born to die. He was born a naked baby; He died a naked man upon a cross. The painters have been kind to Him and at least have put a loincloth on Him. No—my dear Savior, stripped of His clothing, nailed, writhing in pain, naked upon a cross. From the time He was a child, He had the shadow of a cross. Do you want to be wise this Christmas? Friend, you be wise like these men in the way they sought Him.

B. Be Wise in What You Bring Him

You be wise like these men in what they brought Him.

1. Your Wealth Belongs to Him

The gold tells me—are you listening?—your wealth belongs to Jesus. Don’t get the idea you’ve done Him a wild favor if you give Him a dime out of a dollar. Friend, the whole dollar is His. He just lets you use it. It’s all His. You don’t believe that, do you? Friend, it is all His. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” (Psalms 24:1) So, your wealth belongs to Him. Does that turn you off? It turned a rich young ruler off one time, and He went away sorrowful. He’s King. He’s sovereign. Your wealth belongs to Him.

2. Your Worship Belongs to Him

I’ll tell you something else: He’s God, and your worship belongs to Him. You need to fall on your face before Him, make Him Lord of lords and King of kings.

3. Your Witness Belongs to Him

And, I’ll tell you a third thing: He is Savior, and your witness belongs to Him. You need to receive Him and then go tell it on the mountains, let everybody know that Jesus is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. And, if we believe what we believe, this Christmas message, in these pregnant days in which we live, we’re going to tell the world there is a Savior born who is Christ the Lord.

That would be a wise Christmas, wouldn’t it? To seek Him the way these men sought Him, to bring to Him what they brought to Him, to recognize who He is and say, “Lord, my wealth, my worship, my witness is yours, Lord Jesus; with every inch, every ounce, every nerve, every sinew, every fiber, as much as in me is, Jesus, you are Lord.” Are you afraid to do that? Don’t be. You want to have a real Christmas? You say, “Pastor Rogers, you’re making it tough this morning.” No, I’m not. “His commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:3) I’m making it joyful. I’m telling you how to have a real Christmas. I’m telling you how to make the joys of Christmas burst aflame in your heart and in your life. We serve a wonderful Savior, do we not? We really do. I’m so glad to know the Lord Jesus Christ, and I want you to know Jesus.•[1]

[1] Adrian Rogers, “The Wisdom of Christmas,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), Mt 2.

New Living Translation Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

One night during the second year of his reign,* Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. 2 He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers,* and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, 3 he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.”

4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic,* “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

5 But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! 6 But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!”

7 They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

8 The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, 9 ‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.”

10 The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! 11 The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”

12 The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. 13 And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.

Wise men—mentioned in Dan. 2:12 included three classes, (1) astrologers, (2) Chaldeans, and (3) soothsayers. The word in the original (hakamim) probably means “medicine men. In Chaldea medicine was only a branch of magic. The “wise men” of Matt. 2:7, who came from the East to Jerusalem, were magi from Persia or Arabia.1

1 M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893).

  A Persian “wise man” casts lots to determine the best date to exterminate the Jews as Haman watches (3:7–15). The act sums up the message of the book. Whatever man may try to do, the hidden God of Scripture providentially controls events and shapes circumstances to serve His own purposes.1

1 Lawrence O. Richards, The Bible Reader’s Companion, electronic ed. (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1991), 323.

I get letters, e-mails, sometimes conversations. They go something like this: "Shouldn't we celebrate Christmas more in our hearts rather than in the shopping malls, and hasn't Christmas gotten way too materialistic"? Well, I don't have any desire to debate that. I wanna give you another look at it today. This week, I read a response to that question that really captured me. "The Christian life is about living concretely where God has placed us. The buying and selling that characterizes Christmastime embodies the economic exchange by which God regulates vocation, and choosing a gift for someone and paying its price is just a shadow of what God has done and continues to do for each one of us".

And, Jesus, as we know, is the most indescribable gift, but Jesus came to this earth to teach us all about the generosity and liberality and giving of the Father. From his incarnation to his ascension, Jesus Christ puts giving and liberality of God on display. In every miracle, in every parable, simply by being in the world at all, Jesus is proclaiming, "God is good, he loves giving, and I am here," says Jesus, "among other things to prove that that is true". Many parables in the gospels present God as an irrepressible giver.

"Once there was a farmer who scattered seeds so liberally that most of it didn't even take root. Once, there was a king who forgave a debt of 10,000 talents, millions of dollars today. Once, there was a vineyard owner who gave people far more than their work was worth. Once, there was a father who gave away half of his estate to his rebellious son, and then gave him a party when he came crawling back having wasted it all. Once, there was a nobleman who gave three months' wages to all his employees, and then went on a foreign trip. Once, there was a landowner who gave his vineyard over to the tenants. Once, there was a king who gave wedding invitations to every undesirable in the country. All of those parables and all of those givers represent God. And what is true of Jesus's parables is true also of his miracles. I mean, how many weddings need 150 gallons of fine wine? Why can't someone who miraculously multiplies bread and fish avoid over-catering by 12 basketsful? Why walk on water rather than swim? Why calm a storm rather than waiting a day to go sailing? Why should a death cause not just earthquakes, dark skies, and torn curtains, but also dozens of random people coming out of the grave? Who produces 153 fish out of nowhere, nearly causing the boat carrying the fish to sink, and who does it twice"?

"At the heart of Christmas is the receiving and giving of gifts. God is always bestowing gifts. Jesus himself is a gift, all wrapped up in swaddling clothes. And salvation is a gift, all wrapped up in the grave clothes of Jesus". The spirit of Christmas is to give gifts, and it started with the greatest gift that has ever been given by the greatest giver of all. Paul broke out into an ecstatic moment when he said, "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable, indescribable gift". We know that God is the great giver. Our favorite verse in the Bible, for many of us, is "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son". But we also know that we're not very far into the studying of the Christmas story before we discovered that there are some other people who gave, and perhaps these three givers are more responsible for the way we exchange gifts to one another today than anyone else in history. We call them wise men. And their story is recorded for us in Matthew chapter 2, and this is what it says:

"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, saying, 'Where is he who was born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him.' And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophets, "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Israel".' And Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them, what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and he said, 'Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship him also.' And when they heard the king, they departed, and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came, and it stood over where the young Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him: Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way".

Something very special and mysterious about this age-old picture. From across a continent, over the desert and beneath the silent stars trudges this curious caravan. In a distant land, these men have read signs in the evening sky, sensing an indelible truth that few other living souls were to recognize for many years. These three men, these three aristocrats were first sited in the vicinity of Jerusalem, asking a question which we read from verse 2 of Matthew 2, "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and we have come to worship him". Painters throughout the ages have enjoyed showing the elegant wise men worshiping Jesus on Christmas night beside the shepherds. But such an idea as that never came from the Bible.

Matthew tells us that, when the magi arrived to worship Jesus, the scene was not the rustic birthplace of Christmas at all, but it was a house. Did you read that? "And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary his mother". It would seem that a few weeks have passed, maybe even a year and a half, and Jesus had been born in a manger that time in the past, and now Joseph and Mary had situated their little family in a more suitable home. Therefore, it was a bit later when the wise men came. Three? Well, maybe, but maybe a lot more. Maybe there were three, and maybe they weren't. As a matter of fact, three names have traditionally been associated with these men. You've probably heard that, and maybe we'll hear it again this year: Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar. They aren't in the Bible. You won't find their names anywhere in the Bible.

In fact, it was in the seventh century before these names were attached to the Christmas story, and they came out of an opera that was created to tell the story of Christmas. Somebody just gave these dudes a name. So I don't wanna undercut your faith today in the Christmas story, but I want you to know what the Bible says. The wise men weren't in the manger scene. Now, I hope that doesn't ruin your Christmas, and you don't have to go resend all your Christmas cards. Let me kind of put that in perspective for you. You remember the film, the Nativity story that came out a few years ago? Well, it was being finished, and the people who were producing it sent me a copy of the screenplay. I'd never seen a screenplay before. They asked me if I would read through the screenplay and find if there was anything in there that was unbiblical.

So I read it, and I sent them back a note that, "It's mostly okay, but there's only one thing that's not quite right, and that is the wise men are at the manger scene, and they're not supposed to be there". And the director sent me back a note which said, "Jeremiah, this film is only 93 minutes long. We have to get 'em in before the film is over". That sort of says it, doesn't it? "We want them in the story, so we bring them all together". We really wanna know the truth? The wise men came when Jesus wasn't a babe. If you look down at your Bible again, Matthew 2:9, it says, "Till it came and stood where the young Child was". He wasn't a babe. He was a young child by the time the wise men came.

So why do we say there were three? Well, the only reason we say there are three is because the Bible tells us there were three gifts, and we assume that each person brought one gift, but we don't know that for sure. But having said all of that, we do know it was these men of intelligence, these aristocrats, these Gentile kings, who came a long way to find Jesus, and they came for the very same purpose for which the shepherds had come. They came to worship him, and they brought gifts as a token of their worship. So, first of all, let me talk with you about what the wise men gave to Jesus, these first gift-givers. They brought gifts, and these were not incidental. These were not things they grabbed on the way out the door. These were out of their vast treasures. They weren't last-minute gifts.

The gifts were extremely significant. When we understand the background of each of these gifts, we will understand a lot more about the nature of the worship the wise men brought to Jesus. The first gift that we read about is a gift of gold for a king. We imagined the first visitor stepping forth, opening his little small chest to reveal a breathtaking sight: gold. And the gift needed no explanation. Even back then, throughout the world, gold was coveted as the most precious of metals, the standard by which all wealth was measured. Even back then, they had such a thing as the gold standard. "Gold is one of the most noble metals," even today.

Did you know that, "No single acid can destroy gold, nor will it ever rust away or will it like iron or tin ever be corroded? No one can successfully imitate or fake gold, and it is the metal easily turned into the uses of beauty". All the way back at Exodus chapter 39, we read of them sewing gold into the fabric of the garments of the priests. Chemists say that the durability of gold is so great that a single grain of gold can be drawn out into a wire, one-one thousandth of an inch in diameter and extended for a length of over one mile. Pure, simple, almost indestructible, gold is a royal metal, and in the ancient world in which Christ was born, gold was even rarer than it is today. That's why gold is a royal gift symbolizing the kingship of Jesus Christ.

John Henry Hopkins gave us a little carol that we sing sometimes, "We Three Kings," it's called, and one of the stanzas reads like this: "Born a King in Bethlehem's again, gold I bring to crown him again, King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign". So gold is a gift which was given to signify that they understood that this little one, this young child that they saw in the house, was literally a King in waiting. He was the King from heaven. Some have pointed out the incredible paradox here that a baby born in the simplicity of a feed trough to peasant parents, and here's three wealthy men journeying from a far country to give this child a gift fit for a king. Only God could write a story like that.

The gift of gold for a king. The second gift was called a gift of frankincense. The second wise man steps forward, and he opens a little bottle. He takes off the top, and this delicious fragrance permeates the small room. It's the aroma of frankincense. This was holy oil, well familiar to anyone who lived near Jerusalem. To sniff its pungency was to be reminded of a visit you recently had to the temple. As the cloud of fragrance spread, it suggested the pure and beautiful presence of God. Its name means "whiteness".

Joseph and Mary may have trembled at this new sensation, the aroma of the temple in their own humble home, but it was meant to remind them, then, something far more important that was true, that the presence of Jesus was in their home, the God incarnate, who had come to be one of us, was in their home and absolutely worthy of any worship, including the aroma of incense. In the Old Testament, incense offerings were never associated with sin offerings. The incense was always a thanksgiving and praise offering. It was always an act of worship to bring incense to God. So the second wise man opened up his gift and released this permeating, beautiful aroma of frankincense.

And the third gift of a wise man was the gift of myrrh. Myrrh. Say that out loud with me, "myrrh". Yeah, this is what it is. It's murmuring. It is the gift of sadness. And in this story, it's the gift for a Savior. When they opened their treasures, they presented to him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. "Myrrh" is a word which comes from the Hebrew word "mar". It means "to be bitter". In Jesus's day, myrrh was the ingredient that was used to embalm a dead body. It was an external embalming. As you remember, in those days, when they prepare a body for burial, they would wrap the body in layers of cloth, and then they would place in between these layers the spices of embalming.

One of the churches in Asia Minor, one of the churches of Revelation, one of the seven churches, is the church of Smyrna. That sounds a little bit like "myrrh," doesn't it? "Smyrna," "myrrh". And it's true because that's where myrrh was manufactured. Smyrna got its name from a manufacturing of myrrh. Interestingly enough, if you've studied the churches in Revelations, Smyrna was the suffering church. It was the church that was so persecuted for its faith and had only sadness in its letter. Smyrna is the church which is associated with suffering, and so myrrh is associated with Smyrna. Myrrh is a sad, sad gift.

If you were invited to a baby shower to honor a new baby and you were asked to bring a gift, would it even cross your mind to bring a case of embalming fluid? I'm sure it wouldn't, but, indeed, that's what these men brought. Myrrh had a value. It could've been sold for money, but the significance of the gift of myrrh is that it was given to someone who was born for the purpose of dying. Jesus was born into this world, and the purpose for which he came was so that he could die. We all are born and ultimately die, but we are not born for the express purpose of dying. Jesus came for one purpose only that he might die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sin. And so myrrh was given to Jesus to point out that he was not only the King and the Priest, but he was to be the Savior.

The day would come when Jesus would be offered this gift again, but on this occasion, he would refuse it. Do you remember this? "And they brought Jesus to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. And they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, and He did not take it". Why did he not take it? Well, for this reason: One of the other uses of myrrh, besides embalming was as a painkiller. It was used to deaden the pain of suffering, and when my Lord was offered the opportunity to find relief from the suffering he was going through on the cross for you and for me, when they gave him a painkiller to lessen the pain of his agony, he turned it away because the Scripture said he would feel every ounce of suffering for our sin.

And just as Jesus was anointed, the first coming to this earth, with extravagant gifts, do you know he's coming again? You know that. And when he comes again, as a King, there will be another celebration like Christmas, only far greater and far more majestic and universal in its scope, and when he comes again like the wise men did the first time he came, they will once again anoint him, once again give him gifts. There is a very wonderful truth about that found in Isaiah chapter 60. Here is a little, descriptive verse about the Second Coming of Christ. "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, when you read that prophecy, your first thought, "Is there something missing"? Myrrh is missing. There is no mention of it in this prophecy. The writer must have forgotten. No, he did not forget because the gifts you bring to Jesus in his Second Coming don't have any myrrh in them because his death has already passed, and when he comes the next time, it will be for the gold and frankincense of praise and worship and never for a moment for the myrrh of suffering and death. How carefully the Scripture records that. Is that not a wonderful thought? Myrrh is associated only with his first coming, and how accurate is the Scripture, even so many years in advance, when speaking of his Second Coming.

So there's a lot more in the gifts than you would think, gold, frankincense, and myrrh: gold for a King, incense for a Priest, and myrrh for a Savior. That's what the wise men gave to Jesus, but the second part of my talk this morning is what wise men still give to Jesus, and I'm assuming that we're all wise men and women in this room today. I use the term "man" generically. And, you know the reason why you're wise? 'Cause you came to church. That's the wisest thing you've done all week, to come to church. So I'm gonna address all of us as wise men and women. What do we, the wise men and women, give to Jesus today? Well, first of all, we will pattern our giving after the wise men. We will give gold, our response to Jesus Christ as our King.

Let's go back through the gifts once more. Notice that the first gift was gold given to the King, and we can say, "Lord God, here is my gift to you. I bow my knee before you as the Lord of my life," and I am confident that what the Lord wants from his people more than the treasures we have, more than the money we give, he wants our obedience. In fact, the Old Testament says it very plainly, 1 Samuel 15:22, "To obey is better than sacrifice". What God wants from us, he wants the gold of our willing worship and submission to him. He wants us to be able to say, "Lord God, you are my King. I bow before you in total submission. What do you want me to do"? God wants the gold of our willingness to come before our King and make him the King of our life.

How many of you know that, when we become Christians, we invite Jesus Christ to come and live within our heart? But if you're like me, you probably remember that, even after the early days, when you accepted Christ, he didn't have control of everything in your life. I hear stories sometimes of people who've been steeped in drugs or alcohol or some addictive practice, and they become a Christian, and the moment they accept Christ, it all goes away. But I also hear stories of people who have those habits that they bring to their conversion, and it takes time for those things to be taken out of their life, the habits that they've had.

What the Lord Jesus does not want is just to be a resident in yourself. He wants to be the president of yourself. He wants to sit on the throne of your life. He wants to be the King of who you are, and so the greatest thing you can do is to offer him the sacrifice of yourself. "Lord, here I am. Show me what to do". There's a story that I remember reading in English class, and you probably remember it too, but let me refresh your memory. It's called, "The Gift of the Magi," written by O. Henry. The story is about a young, married couple who are very much in love, and Christmas is approaching, and neither one has enough money to buy the other a Christmas gift. Each one does have one prized possession that they hold very dear to themselves, something they treasure very much.

Della, the wife, has beautiful, waist-length, long hair, and Jim, the husband, has a beautiful, gold, pocket watch that was given to him by his grandfather. In her love for her husband, Della goes to a wig maker and sells her hair in order to buy for Jim a beautiful, extravagant, gold chain for his watch. Jim, in the meantime, sells his watch in order to buy Della a beautiful set of combs and hairbrushes for her hair. Each one, out of their love for the other, sacrifices the one thing they prize the most for the other, and this connection of their gifts doesn't really matter when you hear the story because all you can think about is how these two young people, totally in love, took the one thing that was most precious to them and turned it into a love gift for the one who was the object of their love.

At the end of the story, O. Henry leaves us with this challenge. Here's what he says: "The Magi, as you know, were wise men who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents, and here I have related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days, let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two were the wisest. These are the magi". What he was saying is there is no greater gift you can give to the Lord than to give the most important thing there is to give about you, and that is yourself. "Lord, here I am. I bow before you. You are my King".

So what do we give to our King today? We give him the gold of our response to him, and we give him the frankincense of him being our Priest. Do you know this verse? I'm sure you do. "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin". Jesus, our High Priest, has come down here to be one of us, and throughout all of his life, he felt the pain that you feel and that I feel, and frankincense reminds us that he is our priest. He is the one who has come to draw near to us, and we offer him now our hurts, our problems. We praise and worship him for the incense of our lives.

Jerome, the ancient father, once had a dream, and in his dream, he was trying to give a gift to Jesus, and he brought his treasures, and Jesus said, "I don't want your treasures". And he brought some property that he owned, and in his dream, Jesus said, "I do not wish to have your property". And in his dream, Jerome said, "Lord, then what can I give you"? And Jesus said, "Give me your sins. That's why I came. I came to take your sins". When we come to Jesus and give him the frankincense as our Priest, we are offering up our lives to him, and we are understanding what a blessing it is to have a great High Priest who's understanding. He knows everything we've been through. He's experienced everything you've ever experienced, yet without sin.

And I know the old adage that, "If he couldn't sin, he couldn't have felt what I feel," but that's craziness. Not only did he feel what you feel, but he feels everything you don't feel because you gave in to the temptation at the very beginning. He endured it all through, and he never did give in. He felt the entire temptation. One of the reasons we don't understand this is because, often, we yield to temptation early on. The Bible says Jesus felt temptation through his whole life. Never one time did he sin. You talk about someone you'd like to talk to about what's goin' on in your life, your habits, your hurts, and your hang-ups? He's the one who's waiting for you. And when you give your life to Christ and you give your heart to him as your priest, you are celebrating Christmas.

Finally, gold, responding to him as your King, frankincense, responding to him as your Priest, and myrrh, receiving him as your Savior. This is the most important thing in all, and probably should be first in my message instead of last. That's the thing you need to do most of all. Somebody says, "What gifts should I give to Jesus first"? Give him your heart because, until you give him your heart, you have nothing else to give. He receives nothing from us until, first of all, we give him our heart. Myrrh tells us that Jesus is a Savior who was born to die, and when you think of myrrh, you ask yourself this question: "So he died for me? Have I received his gift, and have I given him my heart"?

The wise men are striking examples to us of the kind of faith it takes to be a Christian. Just think, they believed in Jesus even though they had never seen him. Traveling thousands of miles, they went to meet him, and when they saw him, he was just a toddler, and before they saw him perform a miracle or ever preach a sermon, they believed in him. They worshiped him, this poor, helpless, weak child, who was indeed the Son of God. We have the revelation of the Scripture telling us who Jesus is, and we must make a choice: Will we believe in him, or will we just celebrate him? You know, one of the things that happens at this season of the year, if you're a preacher, people don't always understand why you put all this together.

I remember in our programs, we used to put a cross up on the stage during the Christmas program, and we not only would go through the manger scene, we'd go through the crucifixion. You cannot believe how much grief we got for that. "What are you doin', killin' Jesus on his birthday? Come on". One day, after a service, preacher had a young man come up to him, and he was really upset because of what I had just said. He said, "I don't know why you have to preach on the cross, why you have to talk about the blood, why you have to say something about Jesus dying, especially at Christmastime. Doesn't fit, and I don't like it. Why can't you just talk about Jesus as the great example? We could all deal with that so much better and I have a lot of friends who've told me that, if you wouldn't talk so much about the blood of Jesus and the death of Jesus, and if you would talk more about him being a great example, that they would be much more favorable toward the church, and they would probably even give money".

The pastor who received these compliments was a very wise man, and he said to the stranger, "Sir, would you be willing to follow Christ if I preached Christ, an example? Would you be willing to follow him"? He said, "Absolutely I would, and so would many others". And the preacher said, "Jesus Christ did not sin. Can you take that step"? The stranger said, "Obviously, I can't take that step. I do sin". And he was kind of confused, and he didn't know what to say. "Well, said the preacher, your first need of Christ is not as an example. Your first need of Christ is as a Savior. If you try to follow him as an example without his redemptive work in your life, he will set an example you cannot follow, for he is sinless, and you sin".

And then the preacher told him this little parable: He said, "Son, suppose you were sinking in quick sand, and a man on firm ground nearby called out to you and said, 'Why don't you walk like I do? Lift your feel like I do. Follow my example'. His advice would do you absolutely no good. His advice would do you no good because you have to get your feet planted on solid ground before you can walk like he does. What you need is someone to come and take you out of the quicksand and lift you up and place your feet on solid ground".

What does that sound like? That's what it means to be saved: to be brought out of a sandpit of sin by the miracle of God's grace, lifted up out of all that had been over us and has controlled us. And then, as you watch the Lord Jesus in the New Testament, you can begin to emulate his life because he gives you a new power in the person of his Holy Spirit who comes to live within you. If all we have in Jesus is a great example, we are in worse shape than if we had never heard of him at all because he sets a standard that none of us can ever follow, and that's the beauty of the Gospel. While we cannot reach up to him, he reached down to us in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus. He did not come here, first of all, to be a great example, although he was that. He came to die on the cross and save us from our sin.

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost". And so the question this Christmas is, "What can you give to Jesus"? If you're a Christian, you can give him the gold of your willing submission to a King. You can offer him the incense of your fellowship with him as the High Priest of your life. And if you have never put your trust in Christ, you can offer him the myrrh of his Saviorhood. You can acknowledge that he did die and that he died for you. Christmas is a wonderful time to preach the Gospel, a very difficult time for it to be received.

We're caught up in all of the cacophony of the season, but hear me carefully today: There is no Christmas without Christ. There is no celebration without a Savior. If all you wanna do is have a little manger scene in your house and give lip service to an event that happened over 2,000 years ago, you may get a few moments of joy from that, but it has no lasting value. When Christmas comes to your heart, it never goes away. It's Christmas all year long. For Christ sets up his rule and reign in your heart, and every day, you fellowship with him. You can talk to the one about whom we have been speaking today. He will become not only your Savior but your friend.

Worship: What It Is and Why It Matters VII. Worship’s Satisfaction (v. 16-18)

• Are you worshiping Him as he is revealed to you in the Word of God, the source of worship?

• Are you absolutely submissive to His will?

• Is you worship sacrificial?

• Are you practicing self-denial and separation?

• Does your worship serve the Lord by glorifying Him?

• Does your worship provide satisfaction as he becomes more precious to you?

• Or, is there room for improvement in your worship?

If the Lord has spoken to you about your worship, come to Him today and let Him work in your heart to bring you to a place of pleasing, biblical worship.