Worship Christ The Newborn King

Curiosity is a powerful thing. Curiosity compels people to do new and different things. Curiosity prompts people to take things that are working just fine apart. Curiosity persuades people to dig into dishes featuring ingredients they can’t even pronounce. Curiosity drives people to take the scenic route. Curiosity even leads people to strike up conversations with complete strangers.

Matthew 2 piques our curiosity. Strange men from a strange place come to do a strange thing. Mt. 2:2) Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked: Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

All the murkiness that envelopes the Magi makes them even more of a curiosity to us, doesn’t it? We know a little about them, but we want to know more. Who are these Magi, exactly? Where did they come from, exactly? What exactly did they see in the sky? What exactly did they know about this child? Curious questions like these are natural and powerful. Curiosity has compelled people to backfill details about the background of these Magi and the star they saw.

The Magi have been called kings, magicians, soothsayers, and fortune-tellers. Some say they practiced astrology. Others insist they were astronomers only. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

These men from the east surely had some political sway. They were wealthy enough to travel a long ways with no plans to personally profit. They could not predict the future--but we know they carefully studied the stars—not just for scientific purposes. They looked to the stars for meaning and direction in life--that’s why we meet them in Herod’s palace in Jerusalem with a simple question. Where is the (Mt. 2:2) one who has been born king of the Jews?

And many have speculated about the star they saw. That curiosity was revived this December, too, when on the 21st, we saw the King Planet (Jupiter) and the King Star (Saturn) seemingly merge in the southwest horizon. This phenomenon has been dubbed The Christmas Star. Did you go out and look at it that night? I did. Maybe it was the light pollution, but I was underwhelmed. I expected something far greater, a sight much more impressive.

But the last time they were that close was nearly 400 years ago, and the next time they’ll be that close in the evening is July 6, 2477. So anything that rare is going to make nearly anybody a little curious.

Curiosity compelled, Joe Rao, an award winning meteorologist and an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium, to do extensive research about this Christmas star and what the Magi might have seen. In 7 B.C. Jupiter and Saturn met three times, once on May 29th, a second time on September 30th, and a final time on December 5th. He speculates that the first conjunction would have gotten their attention, the second would have strengthened their resolve on their journey, and the final might have happened as they arrived in Judea to meet with Herod.

But how did they connect all this celestial activity with Israel? Had the Scriptures been brought to Babylon by wise men like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Had these Magi known of the prophecy of Balaam, another wise man from outside Israel (Num. 24:17) “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.

It’s all fascinating research and speculation. But none of these dots are connected for us in Matthew’s Gospel. We don’t know much about exactly who these men were, where exactly in the East they came from, what exactly they knew about the Scriptures. All we know is the why. And that is exactly the point. These mysterious Magi are clear about their intentions: (Mt. 2:2) We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Gentiles, from outside the chosen people of God, came to God’s chosen city of Jerusalem looking for God’s chosen one, the Messiah. It’s a curious thing.

But it’s far from the only curiosity. When these strange men arrive in Jerusalem looking for Christ the baby King, they set off a chain-reaction. (Mt. 2:3) When Herod heard this he was disturbed and the dominoes starting falling. First, the whole city of Jerusalem was in turmoil because of Herod. Herod was famously unstable and paranoid. So it’s no surprise that King Herod was not happy to hear that another king of the Jews had been born. When he called together the chief priests and the experts in the Old Testament, they likely knew the pressure they were under. They had to provide a satisfactory answer to Herod’s question: (Mt. 2:4) Where was the Messiah to be born? It’s curious that Herod connected the dots so quickly, isn’t it? The religious experts knew where the Messiah was to be born, because God’s prophet Micah foretold exactly where he was to be born, Micah 5:2-5 In Bethlehem of Judea—6 miles from Jerusalem.

It’s a curious thing. Everyone in Jerusalem was disturbed because of King Herod. Surely they knew why he was agitated. Certainly the teachers of the law figured it out. But no one from Jerusalem goes to Bethlehem. Not paranoid Herod. Not the well-informed chief priests. Not the disturbed citizens of Jerusalem. Only the Magi. Wise men from way far away who saw his star and came to worship him. It’s a curious thing.

But maybe it shouldn’t be. Far too often, we, like the teachers of the law, know what the Scriptures say so well, and yet we don’t worship so well. We, who have become enlightened children of God, ought to be the last to despise worship, preaching, and the Holy Word of God, and the first to gladly hear and learn it. But sadly, we don’t do such a great job. These joyful, perseverant, & diligent Magi expose our indifference, our ambivalence, and our apathy.

God calls us Jn. 4:24 to worship in spirit and in truth. With all our heart, our mind, our strength, and our soul. The Lord deserves our very best. But is that what we bring to his house? Is time in God’s house with God’s people a highlight, a habit, and the priority? Or do you have a divided heart—one that is desperately trying to please two masters? Do you possess a preoccupied mind—one fixated on all your other priorities and problems, instead of on the Pioneer and Perfecter of your faith? Do you settle for weak and flimsy excuses for why you just can’t make it to church this Sunday, instead of resolutely running to the cross regularly? Why was it, that when we made plans for brunches, tournaments, and getaways, Sunday morning was the choice? Why, when your soul is burdened with so many cares—when you are sick and sad, doubt-riddled and distraught—do you avoid the only place you can find real healing? If your pool or your irrigation system sprung a leak, would you just assume it will all work out? How can sin-sick souls heal themselves?!? Yet far too often, we find reasons to not regularly and joyfully spend time in God’s house and Word?

And even when we do show up—physically—and Mt. 15:8 honor God with our lips, our hearts are far from him. Instead of occupying ourselves with the precious pearls of the Gospel, we get distracted by a great many other things. The annoying habits of our fellow worshipers. The difficult to sing songs. The sermon that don’t seem to really speak to us. We allow our minds begin to wander when we should be searching our hearts and lives for transgressions. Instead of finding joy in hearty, historically faithful hymns, we throw in the towel when a hymn is too hard to sing. Instead of rejoicing in faithful proclamation of God’s Law and Gospel, we get frustrated when we don’t hear anything new, when the sermon doesn’t give me what I’m looking for, or when it doesn’t tell my neighbor what I think they really need to hear. And, like I was when I saw the Christmas Star, we look at something amazing that God has done and we smugly think how unimpressive looking that all is. We wonder what all the fuss is about.

How can we sit and complain that we got nothing out of worship when we’ve brought so little of ourselves to worship? How can we grow disillusioned with worship when we’ve only looked at it as an obligation instead of a privilege?

In so many ways the Magi put us to shame, don’t they? Their gifts put us to shame. Their diligence puts us to shame. Their humility puts us to shame. Even their joy puts us to shame. They came to worship a baby. They came all that way, took all those risks, brought all those precious gifts, and Jesus didn’t even speak to them. But they knew who they were coming to see and worship. He was more than a curiosity. He is Christ, the newborn King of the Jews.

Don’t overlook how the Magi came to know that this child was the promised Messiah, because this is how God reveals himself to lost sinners day in and day out. This is why we come to worship.

The Magi were drawn first by a natural phenomenon—a star rising in the east. But God has always revealed himself by his handiwork. Who among us has not looked up at the stars at night simultaneously been humbled while wondering what else is up there? King David reflects these same thoughts. (Ps. 19:1-3) The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the works of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech. Night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words...Yet their voice goes out into all the earth. All this has been happening (Rom. 1:20) since the creation of the world. God’s eternal power and divine nature can be clearly seen from what God has made. So all people are without excuse.

But God is wonderfully gracious and he tells us more about himself. Creation can tell us that God exists, but not who he is and what he expects of us. For that, we need the Word of God, just as the Magi needed to find the Messiah. The star got them close—to Israel. Their reason and logic got them a little closer—to Jerusalem. But only the Word of God could point them to Bethlehem.

Through creation God reveals his power. Through his Word God reveals his plan. He told Eve one of her descendants would be her deliverer. He narrowed it down further. A descendant of Abram. Then Isaac. Jacob. Finally Judah. God would send the Messiah from David’s throne. In Isaiah he promised that this Son of the promise would be born of a virgin. In Micah, he assured Israel that this child would be born in Bethlehem. The only mystery left was the timing. For that he sent angels to announce Jesus’ birth.

This is the Messiah the Magi met and immediately worshipped. The came face to face with the Maker of heaven and earth. The one who created celestial beings with his breath was a breathing human being. They came as Magi. They left as wise men because they had met Wisdom in the flesh. By faith, they thought nothing of ignoring Herod’s orders, because they recognized they were obeying the King of kings. They obeyed God and returned home.

And you and I know so much more than they did. Like the Magi, (Eph 2:12) we were once foreigners to the promise. Without hope. Without God. But we have been (Eph 2:13) brought near by the blood of Christ. We know how the one born king of the Jews came to seek and save the lost. We know how this Messiah took pleasure in time spent in God’s house and God’s Word. We know how this King took pity on exasperated parents, sick children, the lame & blind. And we know how nature responded to the power of his word. Water became wine. Storms were stilled. Fig trees withered and died. But Jesus came to do more than miracles. The King of the Jews came to offer his life as a ransom for many. This child was born to suffer and die for all our guilt and shame. To make atonement for our sins. To make us God’s own beloved children.

By grace through faith you have come to see and know so much more than the Magi ever did. And do you know how this happened? (Eph. 3:10) Through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God has been made known. Through an imperfect body of believers you have been made (2 Tim. 3:15) wise for salvation. In his Church, God works powerfully through unimpressive means. Water could not be more ordinary. Bread and wine are run-of-the-mill foodstuff. The Word of God does not always strike us as deep or impressive. But these are God’s incredible gifts to us. Through these means of grace, God does wonderful things. He gives us his good gifts. A new spirit. A new name. An eternal inheritance. Forgiveness of sin and the assurance of salvation. Strength for Christian living.

It should never cease to amaze us that God works so simply! We sit here. We listen to the Word being read. We examine our lives and consider his Word and God works in us something miraculous. Faith. Repentance. Bold confession. Humble prayer. Joyful praise. And we grow and we grow and we grow, more often than not, in ways we don’t know or realize. God uses simple people and simple words to do something profound.

He even leverages natural human curiosity. Consider how many times God has used your curiosity about something to strengthen your faith. Because curiosity compels you to dig in deeper to his Word. But curiosity also effects those around you. Just as the Magi pique your curiosity, you may pique the curiosity of your friends and neighbors. They see you facing dark days like these with an uncommon strength, resolve, and even joy. Where will you direct them? To the same place the star directed the Magi. You know you are weak, but he is strong. You know you are vulnerable, but he is powerful. You know that you don’t have all the answers, but he is One who rules all things for the good of his Church. And this is why we worship him. He is Christ, our King, our Lord, and the Savior of the nations. Worship Christ the newborn King! Amen.