The Christmas Star

Introduction

Every year, for the past few years, my family remembers the Christmas story by daily putting out a piece of a nativity set. Starting with the least important figures, like the cow, lamb, or donkey, we hide the figurine, and then once it is found, place it in its spot and talk about its significance. So, if it is the cow, we’ll talk about the cow—the bull—would be used as a sin offering and how Jesus is our lasting sacrifice for sins. If it is the lamb, how the lambs were used on the Day of Atonement and how Jesus is our atoning sacrifice. We do this all the way to baby Jesus himself. But there is one figurine that is never hidden because it is never presented as a figurine. And that is the Christmas star.

But it is the Christmas star that calls on us to surrender our lives, follow after Christ, and hold fast to our doctrine and faith. My hope is that you catch hold of that idea today. So that when you place the star on top of your tree, or look up at the sky on a cold winter’s night and see them twinkling there, you’ll remember that it was and is the Christmas star that beckons us to Christ. After all it is “his star.”

The Stars of Abraham

To fully appreciate the Christmas star’s calling to us, we must first go back about 2,000 years before the Christmas star appeared to understand the stars of Abraham.

Genesis 15:1–5 ESV

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Abraham had been called out of Ur to follow after God, leaving behind the land he knew for one he had never been. While doing so, a dispute had arisen between his men and his nephew Lot’s men, and so Abraham and Lot parted ways. Lot went into the valley, which was away from God and toward the city of Sodom, finally settling there. Before long, Lot along with others from Sodom were taken as prisoners of war, and Abraham and his men, had to save them, and did so handedly. On the way back, a tithe was given to Melchizedek and the rest of the plunder from battle was given to those whom he had rescued.

And here is God now speaking to Abraham who had fought a battle against the fiercest kings of his day, saying, “I am your shield,” and Abraham had given away all the riches to those whom he rescued, and he says to him, “your reward will be very great.”

Wonderful news, except what difference did it make if it wasn’t staying within the family? He had no son. Instead Abraham planned for Eliezer to receive his inheritance. But God told him this was not so. Instead, he would have a son who would be an heir and in time, he would have descendants as numerous as the stars.

Later in Genesis 26, the same promise is given to Isaac. And what we see here is that “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him,” (1 Cor 2:9, ESV). Imagine having your life planned out. You’re over 75 years old and not getting any younger. You’ve made your final arrangements and God comes along and changes your plans! All of us can sympathize with Abraham. As happy as he is that he will have a son, his plans are abruptly changed. True, they will be better plans, greater than he can imagine, but he has no idea how this will come about. But he had the hope of God every time he looked upon the stars.

Long before the Christmas star appeared in the sky, Abraham was given the stars as a sign of God’s promise and God’s hope. And we are given no less hope.

The Star of Balaam

But to fully appreciate the Christmas star’s calling to us, we need to go further and see the star of Balaam. Hundred’s of years later, we find that Abraham’s descendants had grown. They had entered into Egypt with 70 in their family and came out four-hundred-thirty years later with millions. They were headed to the Promised Land. One by one, kings and kingdoms were falling to this numerous people. Kings Sihon of the Amorites and Og of the Bashan had been defeated and Balak, prince of Moab, thought himself to be their next target. He sent word to Balaam, whose name means “destruction” to come and curse Israel. Listen to his words:

Numbers 22:5–6 ESV

sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

Notice how he described them. “They cover the face of the earth.” It would seem that God’s promised future had come true. They were as numerous as the stars and Balak was scared. He called Balaam to do as his name indicated: destroy Israel—destroy what God was doing. Notice the words he used for Balaam reflect God’s first words to Abraham. “He whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

While we don’t know much about Balaam, we know that he was not a Moabite. He lived about four-hundred miles north of Moab, in what is modern-day Iran. Balaam finally relents and comes to Balak telling him that he can only say what the LORD puts in his mouth. And on three different occasions Balak tries to get Balaam to curse Israel and each time out pops a blessing. And as Balaam is about to leave, he has one more word for Balak, one more prophecy to make.

Numbers 24:17 ESV

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.

Someone is coming, but it would be in the distant future. He will be a star out of Jacob. Abraham’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars. Isaac’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars, but there will be one star out of Jacob who will rise up and rule and crush Moab, Balak’s people, but not just Moab, but what was the known world.

One star from Jacob would come. Moses recorded this conversation; he recorded this blessing for the benefit of his people and for us. But they and we must look for the Star of Jacob. Every single one of us who has put our faith in Jesus is walking in this wilderness waiting for the the Promised Land. And maybe things are finally going our way, but we are just waiting for the other shoe to drop. By now you’ve heard of the omicron variant. Will that be it? Is the country going to shut down again? Perhaps its your own health or the health of someone you love. Don’t forget the star of Jacob. Don’t forget

Colossians 3:1–4 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

It would be through this star that evil will be conquered. It was through this scepter, this rod that God’s kingdom will be fulfilled. There is no blessing of the nations without this star arising from Jacob.

The Star of the Wise Men

While many desired for the star to come; few were looking for it. But there were some men in a far away land, coming from the Parthian Empire, modern-day Iran who were looking for it and saw it—the Christmas Star

Matthew 2:1–2 ESV

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 has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Balaam was not only known in Israel. He was not only known in Moab. He was known, it seems, throughout the Middle East. In 1967, an inscription was found in modern-day Jordan about “Balaam, son of Beor, a seer of gods.” So it is not surprising if the Magi in the East knew of the coming star of Jacob. In fact, there would be no reason for the wise men to come to Jerusalem unless they believed the star to be the star of Jacob. Though “star” was a sign for the coming king, it was common among the people to see a correlation between stars and births or deaths of important persons. God created the stars to be signs as we see in

Genesis 1:14 ESV

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,

And while those signs were meant to be guides while journeying; think the North Star and not astrology which is forbidden, this new star became a guide to Jesus, the one whom the star represented. The wise men of the Parthian Empire saw the star rise, but not just any star: his star.

Many wonder about this star. Some say it was Jupiter which was the so-called King of Planets. Some say it was a merging of Jupiter, the king of planets, and Saturn considered a sign of the Jews since the god Saturn was worshipped on Saturn’s Day (Saturday) and that was the day the Jews worshiped as well. Some say it was an exploding star. Some say it was a star who’s light finally reached earth. But the way Matthew wrote it, this was none of those things.

Matthew 2:9 ESV

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.

This star was a miraculous star. It seems to have appeared long enough for the wise men to set off on their journey, and then disappeared, until hearing the prophesy. Then it reappeared once they left Herod’s palace and led them to the home which Jesus and his family were staying. And look at their reaction:

Matthew 2:10 ESV

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

This star was only a sign of the true star they were after, the true King of Israel—the Savior of the world. By following it, they were led to his home. The long and arduous journey had been worth it. Brothers and sister, if you are wanting to make it to the King’s home, don’t take your eyes off of him.

Hebrews 12:1–2 ESV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Too many of us are weighed down, concerned about all types of things in this world. And to be sure, we are not to give up responsibilities that God has called us to in this life. But neither are we to let those responsibilities take our eyes off the joy set before us. Some of us are so entangled in our own in that it is all we see. We do not see the glory of Jesus. We do not see the grace and joy of Christ. And we will not until we cast it aside. It’s like mud in our eyes that must be wiped away so we can see the race before us and the prize—the joy—that awaits us.

The Star of Hope

Which leads us to our final point. The Star of Christmas is not really past. The sign has come and gone some 2,000 years ago or so. But the true star, like the sign, appeared for a time, and will appear again to bring us home. Look at how Jesus described himself in

Revelation 22:16 ESV

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

There were only five more words Jesus would say in all of Scripture after declaring himself the bright and morning star. “Surely, I am coming quickly.” When Jesus does come again, it will happen fast. There will be no more time to make things right. The time for repentance and faith will have passed. The star will rise and time will be no more. As the writer of Hebrews wrote

Hebrews 9:27–28 ESV

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Right now is the time to deal with sin. It is time to set it aside, to cast it off. The time for playing or dabbling in sin is gone. For the rest of us, let us hold fast to our hope, our faith, and our doctrine. This is what I told you at the beginning of this sermon. “The Christmas star...calls on us to surrender our lives, follow after Christ, and hold fast to our doctrine and faith.” Read what Jesus said awaits those who do this.

Revelation 2:25–29 ESV

Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

I will give him the morning star. The morning star of which we have seen already, Jesus is that morning star. And while I don’t have the time to go back and bring in all the context, Jesus is promising us that we are part of Balaam’s fulfilled promised. We reign with Christ. And in case you were to think, that’s only for the Church of Thyatira, note that this is Jesus’s message for the churches. Not just the seven churches of Revelation, but the churches of every day and age.

The Church in Ephesus lost their first love. They worked for Jesus; they did their due diligence for Jesus. But they lost their love for him. Smyrna and Philadelphia were being persecuted something awful; many in Smyrna were dying or imprisoned as a result. Idolatry had found its way into the Church of Pergamum. Sexual immorality had found its way into the Church of Thyatira. Deadness had plagued Sardis. They looked busy and alive, but in reality, they were dead. Indifference was Laodicea’s problem. They had financially grown rich, not realizing they were spiritually poor. To each of these churches, Jesus made a promise for those who are faithful and for those who would repent. And of those promises was there was a star just for us. The morning star; Jesus himself.

Revelation 1:7 ESV

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

There is no star figurine in our nativity set that we can play hide and seek with this Advent, and yet it is an important piece to remember. It reminds us that the Christmas star...calls on us to surrender our lives, follow after Christ, and hold fast to our doctrine and faith.