God Provides a Better Focus

Introduction:

A couple of days ago, I asked Ann 3 questions that I would like to pose to you now:

· What is the most awe-inspiring or inspirational experience you ever experienced?

· Who is the one person you most would like to have removed from your life?

· Who is the person(s) you would rearrange your life to be with?

These questions seemed quite random until I told her that the heart of each question can be seen in the characters of today’s Scripture.

Transition: The first focus on Christ can be seen in the Magi

Magi Focused on Christ as a Novelty to be Visited (vv.1-2, 9-12)

We don’t have much definitive information about the “Magi”

1. Only Matthew gives this account.

2. Magi is root for our word magic

3. “the East” is as specific as we have for a location

4. Just like the Egyptians whom challenged Moses and Aaron, the Persians, Babylonians & Chaldeans all included “spiritual advisors” near the King. Jer. 29:13 calls them chief officers of the King of Babylon. Daniel 2,4 & 5 uses terms like wise men, magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, Chaldeans, and astrologers.

5. It is almost universally concluded that they were not royalty, but they did have access to palaces.

Popular Misconceptions about the Wise Men[i]

Christmas traditions have incorporated legendary details about the wise men that are not supported by the text of Matthew.

1. Number - Matthew refers to the wise men in the plural, but he does not specify how many there are. Christmas traditions invariably include three wise men, likely because of the three gifts they bring.

2. Names - Although Matthew does not identify the wise men individually, some traditions give them names—usually Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar.

3. Following the Star - The lengthy journey from Babylon (or Persia) would have taken several weeks. The star in Matthew’s account guides the wise men only on the last leg of their journey, from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. At the start of the story, they set out specifically for Jerusalem because they believe the star is signaling a new Jewish king.

4. Worshiping at the Manger

a. You may have heard speculation about the shepherds in Luke finding Jesus lying in a manger, but the Magi come to a house (v.11).

b. We don’t know exactly how long Jesus’ family stayed in Bethlehem for the census.

c. Unless Joseph found work as a construction day laborer, it is VERY unlikely that he would have brought all his tools to setup a business and make a living.

d. We read “no room in the Inn” and think of a motel. But the same word that is translated inn in Luke 2 is the same word translated upper room when Jesus celebrates the Last Supper. It is VERY possible that people moved somethings around in the guest room so that Mary and the Babe moved inside the house the next morning.

e. Personally, I think the family stayed near Jerusalem until circumcision rites and Mary’s purification. I conclude that Jesus is somewhere between a week and a year old when these guests arrive.

The Quest (vv.9-10)

Magi asked around Jerusalem (v.2); Herod gathered his advisors (v.3); He summons a private meeting (v.7) then dispatched them to Bethlehem, which I believe explains a several-day process.

Their arrival, adoration and exit all happen within 2 verses (vv.11-12)

We came, We saw, We bought the T-shirt, then we went home.

Transition: While I see the Magi as tourists, we are introduced to another focus.

Herod Focused on Christ as a Nuisance to be Eliminated (vv.3-8, 16)

And the Oscar goes to… (vv.3-8)

1. In true Politican form, Herod doesn’t “show his cards” as long as there is still a play to be made.

2. He tries to leverage the curiosity of the Magi to his benefit.

Will the Real Herod please stand up (v.16)

1. Herod was a puppet Governor with an empire that was as sturdy as a house of cards.

2. The legal authority rested in Caesar and the Senate in Rome. The popular majority in the area were the Jews who were deeply committed to their religious leaders. Herod’s only power came from his ability to convince both sides that he was an advantageous mediator.

3. From this tenuous position, He was constantly looking over his shoulder for threats to his reign.

4. AT Robertson’s commentary on Matthew makes 3 significant points:

a. All. The number would not be very great. The population of Bethlehem at present is about four thousand. The male infants at the time of Herod would hardly go to two score, probably much fewer. The historical reality of the massacre cannot be challenged on the ground that Josephus does not give it. It was really an insignificant item, from the point of view of a student of Herod’s career.

b. region. He would take no chances. The child might be hid in the country near Bethlehem.

c. Two years. He had learned from the magi the exact time when they first saw the star (Matt. 2:7). Herod would wish to allow a good margin. It is not therefore necessary to think of the child Jesus as now two years old. He was probably at least two months old.[ii]

5. Just as many in our world are angry and violent against anyone or any idea that reflects the God of the Bible, Herod viewed Christ as a Nuisance or an Obstacle that needed to be silenced.

Transition: If we stop at v.12 with Herod & Magi we will miss the PROPER Focus...

Mary and Joseph Focused on Christ as the Nucleus of Life (vv.13-15)

Irrational Communication

1. Just as Mary received a message that would have been hard for Joseph to believe had the angel not appeared to him;

2. Mary took her divine message that was supported by Elizabeth’s testimony to conclude that this child was unique; then the testimony of shepherds about angels appearing to them; then the arrival of a political envoy with extravagant gifts…

3. Mary takes Joseph at his word and they left under the cover of darkness to do whatever God prompted as it relates to Jesus.

Immediate Obedience (v.14)

“Delayed Obedience is Disobedience”

1. Mary didn’t have time to confer with Elizabeth & Zacharias

2. Joseph did not have time to bargain like Moses, or test like Gideon.

3. I read words like Now, when, Rise, flee, about to, and by night and I get the sense of urgency.

Obey Now, Details to Follow

1. God told Abram to rise and go to a place I will show you. (Gen 12:1)

2. The route to “the promised Land” was not given until the Israelites obeyed and followed Moses. If they had chosen a path they would not have found themselves pinned between Pharoah’s army and a sea.

3. In Joseph’s situation he was told where and why, but it wasn’t revealed how long.

4. We don’t know how much gold the Magi presented, but it would be reasonable for Joseph to conclude: this is enough to get us started and the same God who provided this, will provide whatever we need to obey completely.

Transition: Three foci upon Christ at the first Christmas prompts me to ask…

Conclusion:

What Focus does Christ have in your Christmas?

What Focus does Christ have in your Life?

Before I was born, at about the same time that Youth for Christ and Young Life were founded to evangelize High School students, Campus Crusade was launched in California by a young evangelist from Northeast Oklahoma.

This evangelist, Bill Bright, wrote a series of books titled 10 Basic Steps Toward Christian Maturity. Early in the first booklet he described The Christ-Controlled Life as he wrote, “There is a throne, a control center -- the intersection of one's intellect, emotions, and will -- in every life. Either self or Christ is on that throne.”

You may be here this morning in a circumstance very similar to Herod. This is what Bright labels the Natural Man. You may be kind or you may be gruff. You may be have much or little awareness of the claims and teaching of Jesus, but the bottom line is that you are on the throne of your own life and Jesus has little to no focus in your decisions.

You may be listening today from a position like the Magi—You are aware of Jesus (who He is and what He did), but you are still maintaining control of your own life. These learned men were respectful enough to adore Christ and even give extravagant gifts from their wealth, but they went away and there is no record of Christ making any difference besides a spiritual memory. You may have heard the Gospel and “invited Christ into your life”, but you are still calling the shots and setting the boundaries.

What God desires for you this morning is what Bright calls the Spiritual Man. The Spiritual man submits his (or her) thoughts, emotions and behaviors to be formed by the indwelling and reigning Spirit of Christ. Just as Mary and Joseph responded to the heavenly messenger and relocated until Herod died, the Spiritual person willingly aligns with what is revealed in God’s Word and prompted by God’s Spirit. When Christ reigns in one’s life and His Spirit is bearing fruit, we then are liberated to experience an Even Better Christmas.

An illustration of what it looks like when Jesus is on the throne of our lives. - https://youtu.be/t5CWaRHpINc

Jesus willingly left the throne of Heaven to come to us. In order for you to experience an Even Better Christmas, will you allow Him on the throne of your heart?

Song of Response #127 “Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne”

Benediction: Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV) — You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

[i] Mark Krause, “Wise Men, Magi,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016). [ii] A. T. Robertson, Commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1911), 67–68.