Joy to the World

One of our is the pickle ornament. It may be a German tradition—here is way the tradition goes. On Christmas morning mom or dad hides a glass pickle Christmas tree ornament. Then the kids come out; before they can open any presents they need to find the ornament. The first child to find the ornament get an additional present and gets to open their present first.

It adds an element of surprise. It’s not always the oldest child who finds the pickle; some of depends on where it’s hidden….

Although quite familiar to us, this story originally would have been full of surprise.

Now let me say up front—that this passage in particular creates a lot of questions; and a lot of questions need to go unanswered, like how many Wise men? What kind of Star? If the Lord wanted us to focus on those details, he would have given more.

—And sometimes scholars spills endless amounts of ink on theses things, and can end up leading to skepticism and doubt.

—*Even with some unanswered questions, I can come to this text and affirm its: historical, providential, and supernatural

Now Mt 1 is about Jesus’s birth; Mt 2 is about how people respond to his birth (again, filled with some surprises)

The first response is troubling…..

THOSE WHO ARE DEEPLY TROUBLED BY CHRIST

The narrative begins: “In the days of Herod the King” Explain Herod

This is Herod the Great—he ruled Palestine from 37BC-4AD;

There is a lot that can be said about Herod the Great—but the most helpful thing for us to know is that he was great at crushing opposing rule.

It makes sense the Wise men visit him first; you would expect to find the King of Jews in the Kings place—so this would be the first surprise….the King of the Jews is not there

Herod see nothing positive in this…only a threat; a threat to his power and control.

Apply: Power and control can be a vicious idol—and when the idols of a persons heart is under threat, reactions come quickly

Look at his actions:

He lives in fearful anxiety (v3) Herod was deeply troubled; Jesus was not born to become King of the Jews—he was born King of the Jews…

Contrast that to Herod who became King b/c the Romans made him…..there is real reason for him to worry

Herod’s life is woven in deception—or “hypocrisy” (v8)

He does not desire the Israel’s True King to rule him (v6)

Did you notice Herod ask the question of timing and place—(when and where)…but never the WHO

That’s the question that drives the Gospel of Matthew: Who is Jesus

Apply: It’s the question that everyone needs to ask, and make sure they get right.

Instead, Herod asks the questions of location and timing:

—v4 “Where is the Christ to be born”

—v7 “Herod ascertains what time the star had appeared

Apply: We can be like that also. The things that consume and weigh us down: When will this thing happen—How long do I need to wait; Where will I be in ____ months/years

We can tend to be incessant planners and control freaks ourselves…..

**But the right emphasis must be on the WHO question

The scribes do right to reference a prophecy text that point to the place of the Messiah’s birth-but it does much more: it tells us who the King of Jews is

But at the heart of this passage is quote from the prophet Micah

Yet it says something critical about the Messiah

The King of the Jews; the Messiah is a Shepherd.

In Matthew, the type of Shepherd that Jesus is a compassionate one

Matthew 9:36 ESV

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Apply: Now I think we can look at Herod and see an example of evil; he is a guy whose Ego drives him at all time and at all costs----

But Herod also stands in a pattern of cruel rulers—his actions mirror Pharaoh (a murdered of innocent Hebrew children, v16ff. )

Which stretches back to the Ancient Foe—Satan. The King of the Kingdom of Darkness.

So the questions that comes to us at this point: What type of leadership are you under?

If you are not under Christ’s rule—then the one who rules your soul is cruel, hateful, and oppressive—much much worse than Herod.

We don’t just see one man troubled by Christ. (V3b) “And all Jerusalem with him”

Another surprise— is that the title King of the Jews is not used for Jesus until Mt 27=when he goes the the Cross

Pilate asks him (Mt 27:11)

It’s the formal change that is hung over the cross (Mt 27:37)

**This is a different type of King than has ever been seen before—one whose entire life is wrapped up in humility....from cradle to the cross...

To understand his kingdom, and be part of it—you must first come to the cross

THOSE WHO TRULY DELIGHT IN CHRIST

Apply: Now for many living during the time of Jesus—apathy had set it.

Apathy—it’s one of the greatest challenges to deal with of leading a team. It’s one of the greatest challenges spiritually. Most are familiar with Jesus’s rebuke to the church of Laodicea—b/c apathy had set in “lukewarmness”

So the arrival of the wise-men are a breath of fresh air against the backdrop of apathy

**They also challenge us if we start to grow apathetic; they are a picture of what true delight in Christ looks like.

(V1) “Behold”—just remember, that word is a word of surprise; it’s an attention grabbing word

Now there are a few misunderstands about the “wise-men”

-First, no indication that there was only 3—may have been 300? --Contrary to the Christmas Carol—they were not 3 Kings of Orient; and they did not visit at the manger scene (v11)

—All that to say is that the Bible is historically accurate; our Nativity set and carols may be off a bit

“Wise-men” Some translations (Magi)

—The word magi has been used to refer the men of the Persian priestly class. They were religious, but in an Eastern Religious way—dipping into magic, astrology, interpreting dreams, predicting the future.

Some speculate that this group got ahold of some Scripture (Num 24:17)

Regardless of the small details—this group knew they were being guided in a supernatural way.

If you’ve ever had the overwhelming sense that God is guiding you very directly in a situation—it’s thrilling.

Sometime in the spring of 2002, with less than a year of marriage behind us, Emily and I drive down here to visit CIU to see if it’s was going to be in the future. I’m guessing we prayed a lot. Met with admissions counselors, academic advisors—but the main purpose was to find housing. This was before those nice apartments were built on campus.

I spent hours calling landlords, apartments, leaving messages with nothing. I even wondered if the housing thing did not work, then maybe the Lord would close the door.

We were leaving campus, ready to make a right-hand turn on Monticello Rd, when the cellphone (I borrowed from my mom) rang with an 803 area code. An elderly man on the other end said he just listened to my message and had a duplex available if we want to see. He gave me directions—and I distinctly remember turning my turning from right to left.

Within the next half an hour I had a check written out for our security deposit and first months rent.

The next 9 hours of our trip north was exhilarating—to know that God is guiding in a very direct way.

That’s what we have with the Start guiding the Wise-men. Pure joy and exhilaration that there is divine guidance.

Apply: Now for many living during the time of Jesus—apathy had set it.

So one of the staggering surprises would be to see the Magi who are the opposite of religiously apathetic.

Apathy—it’s one of the greatest challenges in our spiritual lives.

4 Apathy Hacks

(The way my kids use the word hack=a creative way to get past a problem)

Joy—their initial response is emphatic joy, overwhelming joy (v10)

—Breaking free from apathy means we need to have our highest joy in the right place..

Is a relationship with the Lord Jesus truly our highest joy in life ; is our highest happiness to prospect of being with him?

Worship—their worship is enthusiastic (V11)—they were literally on their faces, moved bodily

—Breaking free from apathy means wholehearted worship (ready to give and receive)

Sacrifice— (11b)—We also need to remember the great cost and risk this trip would have taken.

—Breaking free from apathy means intentional sacrifice (consistent tithing; volunteering time)

*As Americans, what we care about most, we end up wasting most....time and money....

So much better to lay our treasures open before Christ

Obedience—the final thing we see is their obedience to the Lord (v12)

There were not doubt many living in Israel who knew the Bible very well—but did not act on it. Obedience was not part of their lives.

Here we have a group with very limited grasp of revelation, but they obey

**It’s not how deep you go in Bible knowledge, but how faithfully you respond to what you know….an apathetic person my have a head full of bible knowledge, but their heart does not move toward obedience

—Breaking free from apathy means obedience to what God reveals

Finally—

To delight in Christ, means we continue to press forward seriously, zealously and obediently in Missions

The Wise Men are in this by surprise; but it fulfillment that God would draw nations to the Messiah’s light (Is 60:3)

Isaiah 60:3 ESV

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Apply: The way that the nations are now drawn into the Savior’s light is not by following a star, but by faithful disciples who go, and churches that support.

Share: The Status of World Evangelization in 2021

Still 42% of the world remains unreached by the gospel (less than 2% Christ-followers)

Of the 7.8 billion human souls, 2.18 billion have virtually no exposure to the gospel (28%)

Conclusion: I went to look for our pickle ornament this morning, and for a moment thought that it was lost—or at least hidden so well that I couldn’t find it.

Truth be told, I’m pretty apathetic about a pickle ornament....unless I’m using it for a teaching illustration

TRB Friends, by the grace of God, let’s guard ourselves from all forms of apathy, but especially apathy that loses sight and zeal for Christ’s global mission.

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