Three Responses to Christmas

It continues to be an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to be here and present the Word of God. I was very thankful for everyone who stepped up in my absence last week to help us, as a church, remain focussed on glorifying God through the study and proclamation of His Word.

A lot has changed since I was here last just a couple weeks ago. My wife and I were blessed to welcome our son into this side of the world. Thank you for everyone who called or brought food or checked in. We’ve been blessed by our families and church families beyond what we ever could have asked. Also since I’ve seen you last, we’ve celebrated the Christmas holiday. I loved how brother Bill put it last week when he said that he likes to call it advent rather that Christmas, advent meaning of course the arrival of something notable. In this case referring to the notable and monumental, never matched in history, arrival of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. The advent of Jesus Christ was the best thing that could ever happen, rivaled only by His own second advent, second coming, which will usher in the New Heaven and the New earth. So I hope that you were able to have Christ-centered Advent celebration, filled with joy and familial love.

One other thing that has changed since I have seen you last is that I am now learning how to operate on about 3 hours of sleep, but that’s related to the first change I talked about.

Today I really want to talk about what happens after Christmas. How do we respond to the Advent of Jesus Christ?

Earlier this week we put out on our social media channels, a call to pray for light. The idea was that we knew people would be getting together for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Families and friends from all over the country would be getting together to celebrate. We wanted to preemptively pray that through the holiday celebrations that the gospel would be proclaimed and unbelieving friends and family members would be exposed to the light of men, Jesus Christ. This comes from our Scripture proclamation verses,

John 1:4–5 ESV

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Where the light of Jesus shines, the darkness does not overcome! So when we gather and we expose our friends and families to the gospel, we are praying that the light of Jesus would shine through the darkness, and produce everlasting light In the soul of the receiver. So before we gather for Christmas, we wanted to pray for the Light of the Lord to shine through the darkness, drawing the lost unto Him!

Now, I know that most of these Christmas celebrations have already passed, but I wanted to quickly provide you with a few practical ways to expose friends and family to the gospel at a gathering, especially a Christmas gathering:

Pray the gospel. Announce that you would like to pray for the meal you are going to have. During that prayer, pray the gospel. Thank God for sending His Son to die for atonement for sins. Thank Him for the resurrection and the promised Second Coming. Thank God for salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Basically give the gospel in form of a prayer. While this may be a new thing for you, it shouldn’t feel forced because we should be thanking God for the gospel everyday!

Sing carols that point to Jesus! Christmas has some wonderful songs. In recent sermons we’ve talked about the connection between joy and singing. Sing about the coming of the Savior! Plant seeds through music.

Read the Bible Christmas story. There is the main account recorded in Luke that brother Bill preached on last week. We have been walking through the complimentary side of advent narrative as shown in Matthew. Carve out a time to read the story of God’s providence and grace to send Jesus to this earth to save people from their sins. That amazing story is more powerful than any other Christmas story this world could fabricate.

The point is to weave the true meaning and object of celebration of Christmas throughout any gathering so that God will work through the proclamation of His Word. I’m not suggesting that all of us need to become full time street preachers, although, I will say that may be the calling for some you, but the point is that while we all may not be preachers, we are all called to focus on the Savior! I hope that you did some of these things as you celebrated yesterday! If you didn’t, don’t forget that if you got breath, God ain’t done with you yet. You will still have opportunities to present the gospel.

But let’s assume that people heard the gospel, maybe for the very first time, at a Christmas celebration. Let’s assume that on Christmas people heard the true meaning of the day. They learned who we are celebrating, what Jesus did, and why it matters for eternity. Let’s assume that the gospel has been proclaimed. This morning we are going to ask, then what?

Today, we are going to look through Matthew 2:1-12 and what we are going to see are three responses to the Advent of Jesus Christ, that is three different responses to the coming of Jesus Christ, three responses to Christmas.

If you would, turn to Matthew 2.

Now, as you’re turning there, let’s get a little information about what’s going on. This is the story of the wise men coming to see the young Jesus. Now, let me just say that it is very appropriate for us to come across this section of Scripture AFTER Christmas, why is that? Because the wise men didn’t show up to Jesus’ door until a while AFTER His birth. One of my pet peeves with nativity scenes is that they show the birth of Jesus, they show Him lying in a manger, mom dad, shepherds all around and then over on one side or the other are the wise men. I hate to tell you, but the wise men weren’t there that night. They were still somewhere off in the east maybe heading that way, but they didn’t get there until at least 8 days, if not up to two years after the actual birth of Jesus. At my previous church, when they would set up the nativity scene, I would take the wise men, use a compass, and set off some distance away to the East! I haven’t done that here because I’ve been caught up preparing for little man, but yall better watch out next year!

But I really do understand the inclusion of the wisemen into the nativity, even if it isn’t exactly historically accurate. They’re response to the advent of Jesus Christ, shows us quite a bit. Throughout this section of Scripture we will also look at the response of King Herod and that of the scribes and Pharisees. Let’s begin walking through this together.

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.”

So here we are setting the scene for everything that is about to unfold. We see that AFTER Jesus was born, most certainly after He would have been removed from the manger He was placed in on the night of His birth. After that, the wise men, also known as the magi, came from the east. They say that they have seen a star and they have come to worship whoever it is who has been born king of the Jews.

So they begin walking around Jerusalem looking for the king of the Jews. Now, there is something to interesting to note here. We see in verse two that they were asking, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” That leaves us with a big question: who were they asking? The word “saying” is written as a present participle. This gives the idea that this is a continuous action. They are literally walking around town asking people where they might find the king of the Jews! They must have been very confused when no one seemed to know what they were talking about. They had traveled miles and miles and knew that the king of the Jews had been born, but the people who were right there in the general vicinity didn’t have a clue. This was bound to cause a stir around town. In our time, there would have been a trending topic of #FindTheKing. But in that day word would have been spreading all throughout Jerusalem.

Not only would their question cause a stir, but also the simple presence of the wisemen would have caused a ruckus in Jerusalem as well. Just who are the wise men? Tradition seems to think of them as three kings that traveled in from the east. In the Middle Ages they were even given the names of Balthazar, Casper, and Melchior. However, there is no textual evidence to say that there were exactly three of them aside from the fact that they brought three gifts with them. Now I read a lot of fascinating information about the wise men this week, but for our purposes this morning, you should know that while they were not kings, they were king-makers! What do I mean by that? The magi would’ve been from a class of people around Persia that were powerful political advisers. They were known for their mastery of science, agriculture, mathematics, history, and even the occult. “Historians tell us that no Persian was ever able to become king without mastering the scientific and religious disciplines of the magi and then being approved and crowned by them.” These wise, influential men were known for confirming royalty and influencing politics. Their entrance to Jerusalem would have definitely shaken things up.

In fact they shake things up so much that the get the attention of the local ruler, King Herod. Look at the next couple of verses:

Matthew 2:3–4 ESV

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

So Herod learns of their presence and gathers together scribes and priests together to help figure things out. But in this verse we see that Herod is troubled by all of this. Not only Herod, but all of Jerusalem us troubled with him. To understand why that is the case, we have to look at who Herod is. Herod was known as Herod the Great. Herod was an appointed Roman Officer. He had worked up the ranks, before getting to where we see him in this section of Scripture, he was successful in quelling various Jewish rebels in Galilee. He fled to Egypt when Palestine was invaded by the Parthians and there was declared by the Roman Senate to be the king of the Jews. Over the next several years, he fought off the Parthians and moved them out of Palestine where his kingdom would be established. Herod was not himself a Jew. He was an Edomite. So to appease the people he married a Jewish woman. He was a clever politician, great warrior, public speaker, and diplomat. He built the “almost impregnable fortress of Masada” amongst other infrastructural improvements in the area. He even began the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. He did a lot of remarkable things.

But Herod was also cruel and merciless. He clung to power with an iron fist. He was paranoid of anyone coming for his throne. He had his wife’s brother drowned and pretended to cry at the funeral. Then he had his wife killed. Then her mother. Then two of his own sons. Five days before his death, which was impending due to natural causes and many physical challenges he had, five days before his death, he had a third son killed. “Because he knew no one should mourn his own death, he gave orders for [three of the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem to be executed] the moment he died—in order to guarantee that there would be mourning in Jerusalem.

Herod the Great was a cruel, unstable man. It's no wonder that this man who clung to the throne with an iron fist would be troubled to hear of a different King of the Jews. All of Jerusalem was troubled as well, likely because the city feared what the mad king’s response would be.

But Herod, being the diplomat he was, hid his rage in front of distinguished magi. He gathered together all of the top priests and scribes to ascertain exactly where his guests could find who they were looking for. What you need to know about these groups is that they represented those who were the top ranking religious and legal authorities in the land. These Pharisees and Sadducees held some differing beliefs to one another, but held great power in that day. They would have been the ones teaching the Law and how it apply it.

When Herod hears that the magi are looking for the promised Christ, that is promised messiah, the true King of the Jews, he knows that this group will be equipped to give some direction.

Now, I want you to keep these three groups in your minds as we walk through the rest of the narrative. Each of these groups, the Magi, Herod, and the priests and scribes have heard the same information, albeit by different means, but they have all been told that the King of the Jews has been born. The Magi saw a sign in the sky. They then relay that information to the other two groups.

As we walk through the rest of this Scripture a marvelous scene unfolds. Let’s break that down and then we’ll return to each groups response to what is happening.

First we see what the priests and scribes find out about the origin king of the Jews:

Matthew 2:5–6 ESV

They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

So the priest and the scribes know the Scriptures very well. They think for a moment and point the Magi right to the words from the prophet Micah. If you want to look at that reference later, you will find it in Micah 5:2. But what you wont find in Micah is that last line where it says, “a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” The original words from Micah say that a ruler is coming and it will be from the little town of Bethlehem, but it does not mention the shepherd. Does this mean that this is an invalid quote? Does this mean that we have found a mistake in Scripture?

No.

While Micah 5:2 shows the location from which the Christ will be born, the scribes and priest add in imagery from Scripture like the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23 to describe the type of ruler that is being promised in Micah. This isn’t an instance of adding to Scripture. This is proper exegesis in which Scripture interprets Scripture! What we need to understand is that a shepherd is kind and cares for his flock, but he is simultaneously tenacious and decisive in action. The verb for shepherd is used here in Revelation:

Revelation 19:15 (ESV)

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will RULE/SHEPHERD them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

This verse refers to the final judgment that the Christ, the same one whom the Magi are looking for at this moment in our Scripture this morning. So when we see the word shepherd, we are correct to think of gentle, tender care, but there is also tenacious decisiveness and authority in the decisions of the Shepherd In regards to His flock and those seeking to harm His flock. When the priests and scribes report that the one the magi are looking for is the ruler and the shepherd of His people, they are describing the final, decisive judgment that this ruler will bring in His care for His flock. The religious elites presenting this information would know that this is talking about a real messiah that was promised and would be coming to rule His people. They would’ve known that this person was a BIG DEAL. Let’s see how everyone responds:

Matthew 2:7–8 ESV

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

Herod brings the magi in. He tells sends them the Bethlehem and says that he wants to worship the new king too. We’ll come back to this in a moment. before that let’s look at the rest of the text:

Matthew 2:9–12 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. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

So the star that the magi had used to get them this far reappears and they go to the house where they saw the Child with His mother, Mary. They give the child some gifts and then return back to their land, avoiding Herod.

Before we walk through the three responses to the coming of the advent of the Savior, let’s take a moment to bask in the glory of what God has done throughout this story.

He has supernaturally drawn influential men from a foreign land to seek, find, and worship the Savior whom He promised to the Jews hundreds of years earlier. These Persian king makers would have been familiar at least with the work of Daniel who foretold of the coming King. They were well verse in astrology so the anomaly they saw drew them towards Jerusalem.

The glory and power of God is seen in the star! Some people have tried to naturally explain away the star that the Magi followed. They say that planets and stars aligned in just a way that would’ve pointed the astrologers in that direction. But as we read through the narrative in Matthew we see that this star appeared and disappeared. They followed it to Jerusalem, and that got them close. They found out they needed to be looking in nearby Bethlehem and the star rises once more. Then the most amazing thing happens: The star rests over the place where the child was! A natural shooting star or constellation doesn’t just hover over a building! This was God! Much like His Shekanah glory led His people through the Wilderness thousands of years before, God was leading people but this time not to the promised land, but to the promised Savior!

God’s glory is seen in His communicating to the Magi through a dream! We aren’t given all of the details here, but earlier in the book of Matthew we saw God send an angel to Joseph in a dream. God shows His authority over creation by communicating special and divine revelation through this medium. the take away here isn’t that we should be seeking a sign every time we fall asleep. Rather, we are in awe of the God who can do anything to accomplish His will.

God’s glory, power, and plan are painted all throughout this passage. The biggest expression of God’s glory was the actual sending of the Savior. The magi didn’t make this trip in vain. They said from the onset that they were looking for the one who would be the king of the Jews and when they found the little Jesus, they were not disappointed.

The story of the magi is the icing on the cake that Jesus truly in the promised Savior, the King of kings. The book of Matthew begins with a genealogy that shows His royal pedigree. The virgin birth shows His divine nature and qualification to be the promised Savior. And now the magi provide a human testimony, the kingmakers of Persia testify that this boy is the King they were looking for.

Why is all of this important? Because it shows us that the story of Christmas, the advent of the Savior, is not just a story, but a historic event that truly Changed all of history!

Now that we have walked through the events, let’s see how each of the three groups responded to the advent of the Savior.

The Priests and the Scribes:

These men had more knowledge of the Scriptures than anyone around, including the wise men. How did they respond to the idea that the Christ had been born? With indifference! Nowhere in our narrative are we told that they joined the wise men with excitement that the promised Savior would finally be here! In fact throughout His ministry, the priests and scribes would stand in bold opposition to just about everything that Jesus would do. They may have had a deep knowledge of words of the Law, but they were blind to the God of whom it proclaimed. Their faith was not in God to provide for them. Their hope was in their own ability to be righteous. When the opportunity came for them to meet the Savior, they had no interest. In actuality, they are saying they don’t need the Christ. They’re good on their own.

Unfortunately, this is the response of many to advent of Jesus Christ. When some people are told about the Savior coming, they simply won’t care. In their eyes, they don’t need a Savior. They are good on their own.

Herod’s response was different

Herod was troubled. He felt threatened by this new King of the Jews. According the the Roman Senate he was the king of the Jews! How could someone come for his position! He tried to play it cool in front of the influential magi, but he was furious! Remember Herod was a cruel man. We mentioned some of the atrocities he committed, but the worst of all of them would be in response to the news that the wise men had found the one who would be the king of the Jews. Matthew tells us later in this chapter that in his rage, Herod killed all the male children under the age of 2 in Bethlehem. He didn’t know that Jesus had already left the city, but in his pride, he was unable to recognize and submit to the true King and instead lashed out in devastating rebellion.

Unfortunately, this is the response of many to the advent of Jesus Christ. They are unwilling to acknowledge the true king. Herod was so committed to being the king of the Jews that no amount of supernatural activity would convince him something could be superior to him. Many people today implicitly call themselves the kings of their own lives. They rebel against the truth of the Kingship of Christ. Many lash out in tirades against the truth of Christ. We see this all the time in ouR current age. People angrily and actively attempting to smear the truth of Jesus.

But our Scripture shows us one more response to the advent of Jesus Christ, that of the Wise men:

The magi saw the signs that the Savior had come. They followed them. Then, when they found the one who would be the king of the Jews, they had the proper response: they worshiped Him! The showered Him with gifts. Gold for His royalty, Frankincense for His deity, and myrrh for humanity. We could preach a whole sermon on just those gifts, but what is most important is that they worshipped Him! They ran to Him, rejoicing exceedingly with great joy. They understood that Jesus was the promised Savior and that He was worthy to be praised. The Advent occurred and they responded the only appropriate way, with worship of the One True God who sent His Son.

Fortunately, this is the response of many to the advent of Jesus Christ. There may be less than the other two categories, but it is incredible when God saves even one sinner! When we understand that Jesus is who Scripture says that He is, we bow down before Him in worship!

That’s why we must include the gospel in our Christmas celebration. Jesus is the reason for this whole season and when people are exposed to the gospel, the significance of the advent of Jesus Christ, they will then respond in one of these three ways. They may be indifferent like the priests and scribes. They may be outraged like Herod, or maybe just maybe they will respond with worship. Christian, it is not your job to decide how someone will respond before ever sharing the truth of the advent of Jesus Christ. We’re called to proclaim what God has done, He’ll take care of the rest. People’s response is between them and God, we just act like the star that points out where the Savior is.

So now we must conclude by asking, what is your response to the advent? Do you realize that Christmas celebrates that Jesus came to live, die, and rise again to take the on sins of those who would believe in Him. Do you realize you couldn’t be righteous enough to stand before God on your own and so God literally stepped out of heaven, was born and laid in manger, to through faith, give you HIS righteousness? Do you realize that the cross was always behind the cradle? Do you realize that what we celebrate on Christmas is that Jesus became the light of men who gives hope to sinners? And if you realize those things, is your response indifference, anger, or worship?

May we worship today! If you are beginning to truly worship the promised Savior today, I’d ask you come forward during this next hymn of response. Come, fall down before the king who is worthy and give Him your praise. Let’s pray.