The Wise Men from the East - Matthew 2:1-12

Jesus was born into a country ruled by a man named Herod who was overruled by Rome.

Herod was not a Jew.

To put it simply, he was an Edomite, a descendant of Saul.

But, he represented the Jews and had done much to benefit the nation.

That doesn’t mean that he was a good man, he was not.

But, he was politically ambitious and the Jews had benefited from his reign.

At the time of this passage, Herod is around 79 years of age.

Quite a long life for someone in this time period.

The entrance of the wise men, magi, from the east is a curiosity that has spawned many explanations throughout Christian history.

Who were they really?

What influenced them so much to make the long and dangerous journey to Jerusalem?

Were they knowledgeable of the prophecies of the Messiah, due to the impact of the Jews who had been exiled in the east?

Were they just so impressed with the star that they knew it must herald the birth of a king?

How many of them were there?

We know that there were three types of gifts.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that there were only three men.

It may have been a sizeable entourage that showed up in Jerusalem.

No doubt Herod assumed that these visitors were here to see him.

They were obviously rich.

They were obviously foreign.

They were obviously bearing gifts.

Imagine his disappointment (putting it lightly) when they asked him in verse 2 “where is he that is born King of the Jews?”

Herod is an imposter representing the Jewish nation.

He has no connection to the Davidic line.

Should a truly Jewish king be born, it would mean the end of his reign (remember, the guy is 79).

Herod, like the Jewish religious leaders, was trying to hold a position of power without meeting the requirements for that position.

Jesus comes along and threatens the made-up power structures of the day.

The chief priests, scribes, pharisees, and sadducees would all feel what Herod felt when the wise men showed up inquiring.

Herod, prompted by the wise men’s arrival, does some research into where this king was to be born. 4

The political power confers with the religious powers for answers.

The chief priests and the scribes tell Herod that the king is to be born in Bethlehem according to the prophet, Micah.

Herod is not investigating the details of Jesus birth for noble reasons.

Any more than the Jewish leaders questioned Jesus during His ministry for noble reasons.

The Jewish leaders acted in a well-defined pattern during Jesus’ life.

They continually refused to acknowledge the importance of who Jesus was/

Herod does not want his special guests to know how agitated he is.

The grizzled old politician puts on his best politician voice and goes to speak with the wise men. 7

He asks them when the star had appeared (he needs to know how old this king might be).

He then tells them where they might find the young child (they are now his deputies in identifying the precise location of the kid).

As his unwitting spies, Herod implores them to return to him with news, so that he too may go and worship the child.

We know Herod’s true purposes.

In verse 16, Herod sends his soldiers to Bethlehem to slay every child 2 years old and younger.

We see a picture here of the Jewish response to Jesus.

From beginning to end, they wanted to Him dead.

King James Version (WordSearch Edition) Chapter 1

John 1:11

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

This hardness and rejection is contrasted by the actions of the wise men.

With the information that they gained from Herod, the wise men set out for Bethlehem.

Now, just having the name of the city would not be sufficient for finding the baby.

Why do you think Herod wanted them to come back with information?

There could have been hundreds of children at that age in Bethlehem.

The wise men may have had the city, but how would they know which baby was the one they were looking for?

The Bible records for us the joy that these men felt when they saw the star again guiding them to Bethlehem.

Now, I don’t know how, but the Bible tells us that the star guided them straight to the house where Jesus was living with Joseph and Mary.

As they stood on the streets of Bethlehem, this entourage of unknown size, I want us to take a timeout.

Before we follow them into the house, can we state the obvious about these men.

They are unique from just about every other person in town.

Bethlehem is filled with Jews, who would all claim to be looking for their Messiah.

These men, though, they are gentiles.

While the Jews walk by the house of the Messiah without a thought almost daily, these gentiles have risked their lives and fortunes to travel halfway across the world to meet Him.

When they entered the house, their reaction to seeing this king in such humble conditions is worth noting.

The Bible states that they fell down before the child and worshipped him.

They recognized the worth of the young child.

They didn’t have to know all the answers surrounding His life and purpose in order for them to recognize His importance and worthiness.

Their estimation of Him can be seen in their actions, they bowed before Him.

They didn’t stop there, though.

They proceeded to open their treasures and presented Him with gifts.

Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.

These gifts had been prepared by these men at the start of their trip.

The value of these gifts would be beyond anything that Joseph or Mary had ever seen.

To the wise men, it was the least they could do for the new born king.

What a difference between the reaction of those who recognized the importance of Jesus and those who should have recognized the importance of Jesus.

These gentiles recognized the worthiness of Jesus and they responded with worship.

The Jewish leaders saw only the threat of Jesus to their power and they sought to silence Him.

This Christmas it is possible that all of us may fall into one of these two categories.

Do you worship Jesus or seek to silence Him in your life?

I really can’t answer that question for you.

You will have to look at the fruit of your own life to make a determination.

How do we know that these men worshipped Jesus?

What evidence do we have?

We can’t make assumptions about who sees Jesus as worthy based on position, assumptions, reputation, or any other metric that can be twisted.

Too often, the people that we think should be worshipping Jesus are the ones that are silencing Him.

Pastors, deacons, Sunday School teachers, kids who grew up in Christian homes, middle-class white heterosexual men.

None of these things guarantee that a person is a worshipper of Jesus.

Similarly, by the grace of God, we can’t make assumptions about people who we assume are silencing Him.

Remember, it was the gentile magi that sought to find Jesus and worship Him.

These exotic men were more righteous than the the king of Israel.

Where do you land this Christmas?

Are you one who should be a worshipper, but instead you are a silencer?

You should be a worshipper, you have every reason to be.

But, you’ve got your life crafted just the way that you want it.

All the pieces are in order, and you’re afraid that if you let Jesus in, He will dethrone you as king of your life.

So you limit Him and His influence over you.

He is a threat.

You claim to be a worshipper, as Herod did.

In reality, you can’t afford to let Jesus be king, you would have to give up too much.

Or, are you that worshipper that no one saw coming?

This can be all of us, because we are all gentiles.

This can be all of us, because we are all inherently sinful, rebellious beings.

Maybe, there is more to your story...

You didn’t grow up in a Christian home.

You’ve been a victim of abuse.

You’ve been hurt by Christians in the past.

Your life seems to be one tragedy and crisis after another.

Any reasonable person would look at you and say that life has been cruel.

The world would say you have as few reasons for worshipping God as these men from the east.

And yet, you look at Jesus and you find a Savior so wonderful and worthy, you can’t help but humble yourself before Him and worship.

You look at Jesus and how valuable He is, and all the goods of this earth are not sufficient to begin to represent how important He is.

Christmas is a special time of year where we need to stop and consider who Jesus is in our life. Is He a threat to your lifestyle, the world you have built? Or, is He worthy of worship? Is He worthy of us giving Him all that we have? This Christmas, I want to be like these wise men. I want to be a worshipper of Jesus.