The King who is worshipped, Matthew 2:1-12

Read Matthew 2:1-12

“For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

- Matthew 2:2

Walk through the passage…

Jesus was likely between 1-2 years old at the time the wise men arrived. The wise men were likely from Babylon. We don’t know exactly how they knew to look for the star, or how the knew to look for the promised Christ of the Jews… but what we do know is that they knew… and it is safe to believe that it is through the Word of God that they believed in the coming Christ. After visiting with the wisemen, Herod himself refers to the child as the Christ. (vs. 4) The religious leaders of the day knew many of the promised details concerning the Christ, but they weren’t looking for the promise like the men from the East. We see through their responses and actions that both Herod and the religious leaders of the Jews were more concerned with personal gain and benefit than the Word of the Lord. We see this come completely to fruition when Christ is crucified 30+ years later.

The truth of God’s Word will create servants of Christ everywhere it goes.

The men who came to worship Jesus, were the result of the work of God’s Word. This could have come through Daniel, or even Balaam.

What we see in our own lives is the truth that wherever God’s Word goes, it creates servants and worshippers of Christ.

God doesn’t always work through those you expect.

It would make sense for the leaders of the Jews, those who knew the Word of God to be the ones who discerned the promise of God… not wise men from the East. But, God works through those who have faith… and those whom God uses are often not the ones you would expect.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:22–27 (CSB), “22 For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. 24 Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, 25 because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 26 Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”

The men who who came from the East had faith. Their journey and effort did not make sense apart from faith, and through them God was working His plan to save the World through what Paul calls the foolishness of faith to shame the wise of the world. They believed that the one who was born was the King who has promised… and Jesus is the King who has come!

Jesus is the King who has come.

Jesus was born of a virgin

He was heralded by angels

He is the son of David and the son of Abraham that was promised to bless the world and save His people.

The wise men believed that Jesus was the promised King, and that he was not only a King, but the anointed Christ, the messiah. The wise men bowed their knees and worshipped the young boy named Jesus when they found Him… and what we see here is that True faith results in worshippers…

True faith results in worshippers

Worship requires faith

The journey for the wise men began with faith… and this is where all worship begins.

They had not seen Him. There were no miracles to experience, no signs to witness, and no teaching to hear… They had a promise from God, and they believed.

Like the wisemen we can’t see him, but also like the wisemen we have the promise of God concerning His son who is going to come again.

Our worship begins with faith that Jesus is the Christ.

Worship requires sacrifice

The men came to offer gifts to Christ.

They made great sacrifices to travel the distance from their homes to the house of Mary and Joseph.

We too, are called to worship through sacrifice… Romans 12:1-2

This leads to the overall reality that Worship is the offering of your life.

Worship is the offering of your life

Worship isn’t just a moment… Worship is the entirety of your life.

The wise men worshipped and therefore when they found Christ they bowed and gave Him honor. This is in great contrast to the religious leaders of Jerusalem.

Worship is what you do

Worship is how you relate to God through the course of each day.

Our gathering on Sundays is a unique moment that God instructs us to have… we are to gather to praise Him, and also to hear from His Word… so that we may scatter back into the world to worship Him with our lives.

Two things I have learned about worshipping together…

How we live during the week impacts how we worship on Sunday.

How we worship Jesus on Sunday is often an indication of what is to come when we leave. (This is not just about waving hands and standing up… This is about the sincerity of our offering and the manner in which we receive the Word. Do we come to make this moment about Jesus? Do we come to hear from God in this moment? Or is this another one of the ways we focus on ourselves rather than God.)

Francis Chan quote… “We didn’t do this for you!”

Worship happens when you leave… and what happens in this building is no more holy or less holy than what happens away from this building…

We are the temple that God is building…

1 Corinthians 3:9 (CSB)

9 For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

The Holy Spirit lives in us…

Romans 8:9 (CSB)

9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (CSB)

19 Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

Our lives are to adorn the gospel… this is how we worship with our lives.

Titus 2:10–13 (CSB)

10 or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything. 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Worship is intentional

Worship doesn’t happen by accident, we must aim to honor God with our lives and with our gatherings. The wisemen came to worship, and worship they did!

Worship requires perseverance

The faith of the wise men led them on their journey… and they had to persevere to do it…

Because worship is more than a moment or gathering… Worshipping with our lives requires perseverance.

The faith of the wisemen serves as an example for us to imitate today

We must live and act by faith in the promises of God. It impacts our way of living, predominantly in our pursuit of faithfulness.

God’s plans unfold according to His time: It wasn’t that Jesus wouldn’t be killed, it just wasn’t time.

It was God’s plan from the beginning for Christ to die, in particular it was God’s plan for His son to be killed… But this wasn’t the time.

The time was later… There was a life to live, a ministry to perform, a church to begin building, disciples to make, and disciples to send…

Jesus is the King who has come.

Jesus came to save

Jesus is ruling today

Jesus is coming again

This truth impacts every person one way or another…

Will you work to preserve your way of life, or will you worship Him with the rest of your life?