"The Wise Guys"_Matthew 2_Jun 27 2021

Introduction

Matthew 2 “The Wise Guys” [Main message: The world responds with drama around Jesus]

We're continuing our series: God With Us, as we study the Gospel of Matthew

We’re in Matthew 2 - the story of the wise men

The title of my sermon is “The Wise Guys”

I want us to learn from the wisdom of these wise men

Last week we looked at how Jesus is real - and that he must become real to every one of us

We also looked at how Matthew likes to refer to Jesus as “Son of Man” Mainly – because it recognizes that Jesus came to Earth as a man He was the Son of God who came in human flesh

Hebrews: in order to be our merciful High Priest, Jesus had to be a man, like us - a Kinsmen Redeemer

He had to be a perfect one of us to die for us

He was fully God, but also fully man when he came to Earth

The term “Son of Man” comes to us mostly from the book of Matthew: More than any other book of the Bible

Jesus also referred to himself as “Son of Man”

If you remember, last week we looked at the genealogy of Jesus –

We found out: There are five women in the list

There are gentiles, including Ruth, the Moabite And a woman who pretended to be a prostitute – and a woman who was a prostitute

All four Gospels show large portions to the last week of Jesus' life before he died on the cross and rose from the grave The last eight chapters of Matthew do this

Very little is written about Jesus as a young child - but today we’re going to look at the world’s reaction to King Baby Jesus

Let's go back to chapter One of Matthew If you remember: verse 23 is the theme of chapter one: and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)

That's a major theme of the Bible – that Jesus came to Earth. The entire OT points to the life of Jesus – and the NT obviously points to his life

Both OT & NT talk about when he will return

Matt 1:21 is the purpose of chapter one – you might say the overall theme of the entire Bible and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from...What? from their sins

God loves us - he loved us from the beginning

God dwells among us – he walked the Earth and now dwells in our hearts

And Jesus saves people from their sins This is what we know from reading Matthew This is what we will learn as we study this book:

That Jesus is the supreme teacher For whose teachings, his disciples must make more disciples Jesus is the rightful ruler of Israel, God's Son, the Messiah Who will return to judge the world Jesus calls us to radical discipleship He demands us to be obedient

Jesus is ultimately shown to be: King, Messiah, Son of Man, Son of God, Rightful Lord of Israel, The final Judge, the true Revelation of the Father

He was meek, lowly, and compassionate He taught us how to love because he is love

He walked among his disciples, healed the sick, and died for the people

He became sin when he was lifted up in the air

And finally, he summed up his entire ministry by telling us: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

(Pray…)

Main Message

English Standard Version Chapter 2

The Visit of the Wise Men

2 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.”

Herod The Great probably died in 4 B.C. That means that Jesus may have been born around 5 B.C.

The wise men, or Magi were priests, or court advisers And other than what's written in the book of Matthew – and some other historical books, we don't know very much about them

We generally think of Christmas when we think of the wise men

But it’s more likely that Jesus was not a newborn baby - the wise men did not visit the baby Jesus in the manger

For one, verse 11 says they went into the “house”

We just don’t know how old Jesus was - only that he was a small child

We don't even know if there were three wise men – the Bible doesn't say three guys – it just says “wise guys”, I mean wise men

It is thought that they were experts in astronomy and astrology

They were not Jews. In Matthew, they are the first ones to worship Jesus

Notice in verse 2, they refer to the star as “his star” That means it would have had special meaning to them, as they were experts in the stars

My only explanation is that the Holy Spirit opened their hearts to that star – and to them, that star became “his star” It could have been a star, or a planet, or supernova – or something

But it pointed them to Christ

What pointed you to Christ?

And let me ask you this – Are you pointing others to Christ? Are you a shining star to others?

Does your life point to Jesus? Does your life lead others to him?

Do you live a life that points others to Jesus? Are you “his star” that shines on this Earth?

The Holy Spirit guided the Magi, but he specifically used the star to direct them to Jesus

The Lord wants to specifically use you to illuminate the way to Jesus

I hope you pray every day that the Lord will use you to direct others to Christ - that we may be bright, shining stars in this dark world!

Verse 3

English Standard Version Chapter 2

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

Herod had been appointed the so-called “King of Jews” by Julius Caesar

That's how he got the job – he was corrupt

Notice it says that he was troubled – he was troubled because of his paranoia and his jealousy

He felt threatened because he thought Jesus was going to be a political king and take over the territory

No, Jesus came to be king of your heart – and take over the territory of your soul

And when he returns, he will establish his perfect kingdom here on Earth

But today, he wants to be king of your heart - and make you shine and lead others to him

Notice in verse three it says, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him...”

Why would all Jerusalem also be troubled?

The Greek language is very strong suggesting they were “troubled” - some Bibles say “disturbed” - the CEV says “worried”

It means to be greatly distressed - greatly troubled, or worried - greatly stressed-out

Word had apparently got out that Jesus was born

You need to remember that in First Century Judea, Rome was ultimately in charge - but Rome also wanted to keep the peace with the Jews

The Jews were allowed to go around and say that Yahweh was Lord, and not Caesar - as long as they kept their peace under the Roman-appointed “king of the Jews,” Herod

They were allowed to keep Judaism as their religion - as there was mostly tolerance between Rome and the Jews

So, if the people thought there was a new king coming - on one level, there might a threat that he could take over and mess things up - because they generally had a good thing going

Let me ask the unbeliever:

Do you react to Jesus like Jerusalem did back then?

Do you have a “good thing” going in your life? Do you see Jesus as a “threat” in one sense?

Do you think that Jesus is going to mess things up for you? That if you acknowledge who Jesus is - that he’s real - that he’ll ruin a good thing going?

Do you not want to repent of the very lifestyle you enjoy? Because maybe you think Jesus came to take away the fun things in your life?

Jesus said he came to give you life - and give it more abundantly

What Jesus offers you is far greater than anything you’ll give up

I know people who, if they become a Christian they will get in trouble with their families - and some might even get in trouble with their employer - because of what they do

Remember, it’s your eternal life - when you stand before the Lord one day, your family will not stand with you - your boss will not stand with you.

You will stand by yourself - it will be you and the Lord

Maybe it’s the other way:

Maybe you look to Jesus like an elected official who came to simply “fix” things in your life - And you've ignored biblical advice of how to live your life – and now you want Jesus to come and fix it all

Jesus doesn't want to fix anything, until you let him rule everything

Or maybe you're jealous of Jesus – and just like Herod, you've made yourself king

And in your mind, Jesus will dethrone you

In verse 4 Herod calls a meeting of the chief priests & scribes - and says, “Where in the Bible does it say Jesus will be born?”

And they’re like, “Uhh, in Bethlehem”

Up to this point, I do not believe Herod had met with the wise men - in verse 7 it says that Herod summoned the wise men secretly. I do not believe the wise men came to Herod in verse 2 when they asked where Jesus was - it just says they came to Jerusalem

The wise men and Herod essentially asked the same thing - “Where was Jesus born?”

The wise men were asking that - Herod was asking that

But Herod was scheming to kill Jesus - the wise men wanted to be in his presence and worship him

I do think it’s a little strange that the supposed “king of the Jews” did not know the words of Micah - quoted in verse 6:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

“ ‘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 didn’t know this for some reason - he had to ask the chief priests and the scribes. Like saying, “Hey Siri, where was Jesus born?”

Verse 8

English Standard Version Chapter 2

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.”

Anyone happen to know the distance between Jerusalem & Bethlehem? About 6 miles

English Standard Version Chapter 2

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.

Let me say this – you need to bring your gifts to Jesus

You need to bring him the spiritual gifts you have

In other words, you need to serve the Lord with the gifts and talents he’s given you.

What are your talents? What is your passion? Those special talents and skills you have – you're made to serve the Lord with them

As soon as the wise men left where Jesus was - look what comes next in verse 13:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

The Flight to Egypt

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

So basically, Herod wants to kill Jesus - and the Lord speaks to Joseph in a dream

Notice what the Lord tells him to do - to get his family out of there - to pack their bags and go on a long trip to Egypt

I point this out because I’ve encountered other Christians who try to convince other believers that in order to overcome a challenge - we need to just have faith and the Lord will protect you

In other words, if you do something practical, it’s probably because you lack faith

If you’re sick and go to the doctor, it’s because you don’t have enough faith

The idea is that if you have enough faith, the solution is the same for everybody

Just pray about it, do nothing, and with enough faith, the Lord will deliver you

If you have enough faith, a miracle will happen and you don’t need to do anything

Look what the angel told Joseph! Pack your bags, and get out of there!

The angel didn’t say, “Just stay where you are, and God will miraculously protect you”

He could have - but he didn’t

There is no single way to face your problems, in the name of having enough faith

To have faith means we’re obedient to the Lord - not that we adhere to some formula

Sometimes the Lord will clearly tell you to avoid the potholes of your life - sometimes he’ll tell you to stay in your lane

Sometimes you just need to go to the doctor - sometimes, he’ll heal you right off

Sometimes you need to go to the doctor - and then the Lord will heal you completely - so you can testify to the doctor!

Don’t let anyone dictate to you what the Lord is telling you - the Bible is full of practical solutions, as well as miracle solutions

Pray hard - and be clear what the Lord is really telling you

We read in the rest of Chapter Two:

Herod becomes furious when he realizes he was tricked by the wise men

So he kills all the children in the Bethlehem area who are under two years of age

And this becomes a sad fulfillment of prophecy from Jeremiah:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

18  “A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

So then, Herod dies - and again, an angel comes to Joseph and tells him to return to Israel, because there’s no more threat to kill Jesus

But then, Joseph learns that Herod’s son is reigning in Judea and he was rightly afraid to go there

Again, this was not lacking faith - the Lord warned him in a dream to not enter Judea

So, he settled in the district of Galilee - where they found their permanent home in Nazareth

Joseph had plenty of faith - everything he did was directed by the Lord - and everything he did fulfilled prophesy

Have you ever met someone who was all about drama…?

Everything about them is drama and turmoil. They can walk into a room – and the room itself would suddenly be full of turmoil...

What is it about them that makes them like that?

It's because they make everything about themselves – based on their insecurities

Notice all the drama surrounding the birth of Jesus just in chapter 2 of Matthew

Herod becomes troubled when he hears about Jesus - because he was thinking about himself

And the entire city of Jerusalem becomes troubled - because they thought of themselves

Then Herod tries to trick the wise men

And when he realizes that he was tricked, he killed all male children under the age of two

And of course, all of the moving Joseph needed to do

By now, you know about Jesus - I pray that you know he’s real

If you live in America - you probably know some version of the gospel

Most sinners know John 3:16

English Standard Version Chapter 3

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

How do you respond to drama and turmoil in your life?

There is great wisdom in the wise men - there are three things we can learn from them:

Seek Jesus & seek his presence

Listen to the Lord - and stop at nothing to seek him

Offer your gifts of service in order to serve the Lord

You can choose to ignore Jesus - but you can never forget him

I pray, in one sense, that you experience some turmoil in your life if you do not have Jesus in it

Your sins are doing nothing to help you - turn to Jesus to experience his peace

(Pray…)