The Gifts of the Wise Men
The Gifts of Christmas • Sermon • Submitted
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· 30 viewsGod gives us many gifts, and requires us to give generously
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 2 this morning. Today we are finishing a series on the Gifts of Christmas, and we find ourselves exploring the gifts of the wise men. Stand with me as we read from God’s Word: Matthew 2:1-12.
This is God’s Word, and if you let it, it will change your life.
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Pray
God has given us so many wonderful gifts throughout our lives, and we have been looking at some of the most precious of those gifts during this Christmas season. We have received the gift of life and heard God’s call to live that life in obedience to his commands. We have received the gift of a promise of restoration and been beckoned to heed that promise by trusting him. We have received the gift of grace in spite of our long history of sin and have come to know our need to repent of those sins in light of that grace. We have received God’s smallest gift, his very own Son born in Bethlehem, and been confronted with the choice to put faith in him.
Now, in this final week of examining the gifts of Christmas, we find that there is not one gift remaining, but a whole slew of wrapped presents remaining under the tree.
God is not a stingy God. He is a God who delights in giving. The Scriptures point to this fact. Seventy-nine times in the Bible, God himself says the phrase “I will give...” One Bible Dictionary I looked at had a list of things that God gives in Scripture:
life
sun
plants
animals
water
clothing
grass
rain
companionship
child-bearing
sleep
strength to work
artistic skill
ability to learn
communication skills
promised land
promises
covenants
law
peace
God’s Son
God’s Holy Spirit
wisdom and understanding
a new heart
power to become God’s children
justification from sin
eternal life
leadership, including priests, kings, deliverers, shepherds, apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers
reconciliation - both with God and others
building up the church
grace to share the gospel
spiritual gifts, and more!
James put’s it this way:
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Paul says to the Ephesians:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
God loves to give his wonderful gifts! So it should be no surprise that he bestows on us a bounty that is immeasurable!
So you might ask the question, what does this have to do with the Wise Men? I mean, after all, aren’t they the ones bringing gifts to God? Let’s look at the story of the Wise Men, and see if we can find the connection between these eastern Magi presenting Jesus with gifts, and God’s gracious gifts for us.
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
We don’t know much about the Magi, but we do know a little bit. The term started out as a priestly order in Persia - the Magi where a group who sought to divine the will of the gods through various methods. They were consulted when men wanted to discern important decisions or when people sought the favor of their gods. Over time, the term widened to include in general wise men, including those versed in prophecies, astrological knowledge, and other forms of discerning the future. These “magicians” were not slight-of-hand illusionists like we know today - they were trying to have wisdom through various forms of “magic:” that’s where the name Magi comes from.
These Magi came from the east, but we don’t know where for sure. Perhaps they came from Arabia or Persia, or possibly Babylon or some other place. What matters more than where they came from is what they came for: they saw a “star” rising that indicated the birth of the king of the Jews.
Now, if you were the present king over the Jews, and you heard about the birth of the king of the Jews, you might not be too happy:
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
Herod the Great was the “king,” or ruler, over the Jews during this time. He hears the news and is troubled. That word for troubled is the word you use of the sea during a storm. In fact, the news has the whole city up-in-arms. Could it be that the Messiah - the one the Jews had been waiting for through many centuries - had been born?
So Herod consults the experts, a crack team of chief priests and scribes who would best know all about the Messiah’s coming. And they did know: he was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea, a quaint town a couple of miles from Jerusalem. They even quote the prophet Micah to show their expertise.
So far, it looks like the story has nothing to do with God’s gifts…but hang with me. Once Herod gets this information, he decides to do his own detective work:
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
Last week, we saw Joseph seek to put Mary away secretly until the angel showed him God’s work and instructed him to marry her. His secrecy was a sign of righteousness - not wanting to shame Mary in the process.
Herod’s secrecy is much more dubious. He calls the wise men “secretly,” (i.e. without anyone else knowing) and gets enough information to pin-point the time of the birth. If you read on in the chapter, you find that he uses the information they give him to slaughter boys two years old and younger in Bethlehem.
So he sends them off, instructing them to search diligently for the child (literally to inquire carefully), then to let him know where the boy is so that he may also “worship.”
Something amazing happens here:
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
If you look at the night sky, you’ll see stars and galaxies, planets and satellites. If you watch for long, you’ll notice that almost all of them move around in a circular pattern. That’s not what this star does. Instead, this star rises and moves in such a way that it guides the wise men directly to the child! They did not need to inquire of anyone: God led them straight to his Son! No wonder they rejoiced: they didn’t even have to stop to ask directions!
Then the wise men arrived:
11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Ah…here we are! Do you see it? Do you see God’s plentiful gifts? You see those gifts that the Magi brought - the gold, frankincense, and myrrh? We usually picture those gifts in small-ish boxes - about the side of a toaster or a basketball. But what if - follow me here - what if they were bigger?
Way bigger. Like big enough to provide the means to travel to Egypt to escape the wrath of a paranoid King Herod? Not only did they bring gifts - they actually provided for Jesus the means for his family’s survival for the next couple of years.
Now, I quoted James earlier: “every good and perfect gift comes from above...” The fact is that God had given these possessions to these wise men. Whether it was 3 or 30 or 300 - whether they had traveled for days or months or even a year or more - God had given these wise men the provisions that they would need to make this journey themselves - the knowledge to notice the star rising and the wisdom to follow it, the gold, frankincense, and myrrh to bring to honor the newborn King, all of it was God’s gracious, abundant gift.
And what did these wise men do with God’s gifts? They gave generously. Now here is the connection:
God Gives Us Many Gifts, And Requires Us to Give Generously
God Gives Us Many Gifts, And Requires Us to Give Generously
God has given us so many good things. What he wants in return is for us to give them generously to others. This is one of those minor themes throughout the Scripture:
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
God has given us so many good gifts - and he wants us not only to be recipients of his gifts but also givers of his good gifts to others. When we are willing to give generously out of the bounty that God has given us, then we will live out his command:
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Our generosity points others to the generosity of the Father. That’s what’s so notable about the wise men: they gave generously out of the provisions God had given them. Now if pagans from another land can recognize what God is doing and participate in his works by giving generously, how much more will God’s people accomplish when we also express loving generosity toward those around us?