A RESPONSE TO CHRIST'S BIRTH

Matthew 2:1–12 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.” 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. 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.’ ” 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.” 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.

There’s nothing quite like the Christmas Season.

Christians see Christmas as a special season of worship.

That surely pleases the Lord Jesus, since he deserves worship. And surely he is pleased with the parties that celebrate his birth with feast and song. After all, he was known to attend parties himself.

The wide-ranging responses to Christmas are predictable.

Major events demand a response and those responses will vary,

whether it be the end of slavery,

the start of World War II,

the end of the Cold War,

The attacks of 9/11

or the inauguration of the spiritual war between the Son of God and the realm of sin and Satan on this earth.

Two thousand years ago, the eternal God entered the womb of a virgin, where his human body grew for nine months.

His mother gave birth to the Son of God, who took the flesh and blood of man.

That demands a response.

Believers respond to the incarnation, the birth of Jesus, with worship.

The church makes music, plans readings, and preaches sermons.

Christians give gifts.

We give largely because it’s customary, but perhaps we give to imitate the magi.

We may even imitate the Lord, who gave himself.

Some disciples are sufficiently disturbed by the commercialization of Christmas that they boycott the sales and decorations.

They know the traditional date of Christmas, December 25, has more to do with the winter solstice than with biblical data.

It gets cold in the Judean hills in December, so shepherds stay in the fields at night only in warmer months (Luke 2:8).

For critics, these facts bring the whole season into question.

Without entering into a full evaluation of the parties and commerce of the Christmas season, we can at least note that people respond to Christmas in diverse ways.

If that is true now, it was even more the case at the time of the incarnation. At his birth, angels sang, shepherds worshiped, and Mary pondered what everything meant.

At the same time, a group of wise men embarked on a journey to find the newborn child. Sadly, there were far more troubling responses, as we shall see.

The Gospel CALLS those who are FAR

Matthew 2:1 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,

“Wise Men” - magos from which we have our word Magi

The Christmas carol “We Three Kings of Orient Are” has flaws that begin to appear even in the title:

the magi were not kings,

and Matthew never says they were a trio (MIND BLOWN!)

No one knows how many there were.

They brought three gifts, but there were probably dozens of leaders, soldiers, and servants in an entourage that traveled up to a thousand miles over alien terrain.

The group was large enough that the report of its arrival reached King Herod himself.

The magi were wise men—not kings, but counselors to kings.

As with any profession, there were good and bad magi.

In the Old Testament, Daniel and his friends were magi: educated men, seeking the truth, trained to counsel and advise their king, much like the cabinet of a president or prime minister.

Other magi were charlatans or scoundrels (Acts 8:9–24).

Our magi seem to be learned, noble, and wealthy.

MAGI ARRIVE AT JERUSALEM

Matthew 2:2 ESV

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.”

One theory surmises that the star was an exploding supernova that slowly traversed the sky.

If so, that tells us something both about the magi and about God.

The magi studied the heavens in a day when the boundary between astronomy and astrology was vague.

The Bible forbids astrology.

Jeremiah 10:1–2 ESV

Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them,

Isaiah MOCKS

Isaiah 47:13–14 ESV

You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before!

Astrologers are easy to ridicule (Isaiah even has a little fun mocking folly and superstition).

In the rougher sections of most cities and larger towns, there is a district dominated by liquor stores, pawn shops, and fortune-tellers. SHAMEFUL…predatory on those who are suffering

Since fortune-tellers always seem to live in run-down, complete with a rusted pickup truck on cinder blocks and a washing machine on the porch, we wonder: if they can really tell the future, why are they so poor?

Why not use their insight into the future to play the stock market for a quick profit?

Yet God reverses expectations and chooses to speak to stargazers through a star.

Stars had significance for these men.

God descended to the level of the magi to communicate with them.

Stars got their attention, so God used a star.

To this day, God speaks in language that gets the attention of people.

The magi were pagans serving a pagan king.

Yet God spoke to them, for that is what he does.

Christianity is not a religion for “good people”; it is for sinners who listen when God calls.

The advantage of the Christian is not that we are better than others but that God has brought us to the point that we MUST address our failures.

If we believe in Jesus, confess our sins, and ask God to forgive them, we will receive his mercy (after that we may try to make amends as best we can).

But the magi remind us that God seeks sinners.

God called the magi and they traveled great distances, following that star for long months.

As wise men, they probably had some Scriptures, the words of prophets such as Daniel, to guide them.

They arrived with an entourage large enough to be noticed. It quickly came to the attention of King Herod, especially considering their question, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” (2:2).

The story is almost too familiar to a Christian, but it must have seemed like an appallingly bad joke to those who first heard it, especially if they didn’t know the germane prophecies.

A member of Herod’s household might sneer: Had the king of the Jews been born?

How was it then that no one in Jerusalem, the capital, knew of this royal birth?

What then could the report mean?

THE GOSPEL CALLS THOSE WHO ARE FAR

The Gospel DEMANDS a RESPONSE

The Response of Herod - ANGER

Matthew 2:3 ESV

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

When Herod heard of the Magi seeking the “King of the Jews”… “He was Troubled”

he knew no children had been born into his house recently.

So he interpreted the report as a threat.

That is nothing new. Herod tended to see everyone and everything as a threat.

Perpetually fearing plots on his life, he executed his wife Mariamne and three of his sons, to mention just a few of his cruel decrees.

Suffice it to say that his order to kill all the young males of Bethlehem (2:16), in the hope of killing Jesus, is wholly consistent with history’s portrait of Herod, a violent and immoral ruler.

You’re going to hear and see some people respond to the Gospel with Anger...

You may have even responded in that way yourself...

Matthew 2:7 ESV

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.

Matthew 2:8 ESV

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 took the magi’s message politically. The phrase “king of the Jews” sounded like a threat, like the announcement of a potential rival, and Herod determined to kill him.

In the next passage (2:13–18) we learn that Herod ordered the death of all boys below the age of two in and around Bethlehem.

Herod’s violent response makes sense in one way, but not in another.

If the magi are wrong about the prophecy, why bother with the child?

If they are right about the prophecy, why attempt to resist it? Does he think he can thwart God’s purposes? Herod’s actions remind us that rebellion against God is irrational. It is folly to fight God, but sin makes people foolish.

So Herod called the magi in to question them. Perhaps he was polite, but he questioned them closely and repeatedly until he ascertained the “exact time the star had appeared” (2:7).

Then he sent the magi on their way, asking them to report back. “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him” (2:8).

HEROD WAS ATTEMPTING TO TRICK THE MAGI SO THAT HE COULD KILL THE BABY JESUS… HOW IRRATIONAL OF AN IDEA YET SO MANY RESPOND TO THE GOSPEL IN THEIR ANGER IRRATIONALLY

MARTYRS KILLED… IT IS AN HONOR TO DIE FOR YOUR KING!!

The Response of the Jerusalem - ANXIETY

Matthew 2:3 ESV

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

“And All Jerusalem with Him...”

Think of Herod as a prototype of every tyrant through the centuries: talented, fearless, vain, cruel, and violent. In Jerusalem, if Herod was disturbed, everyone was disturbed.

Anxiety and fear paralyzed them.

Yet some were awaiting a deliverer.

They should not be indifferent to the magi’s report.

After all, their arrival seemed to fit the prophecies.

So there was reason for the learned and even for attentive commoners to give full attention to the magi.

The Response of the Religious - APATHY

Matthew 2:4 ESV

and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

Herod calls in two groups of experts to question them about the magi’s report, the chief priests and the scribes.

These two groups stood at the opposite ends of Jewish social leadership.

The scribes were conservative teachers of Scripture, bent on preserving traditional Jewish culture.

The chief priests (as opposed to ordinary priests) were Saducees; the Saducees were much more LIBERAL - willing to accommodate Roman authority and Greek culture to retain their wealth and power.

Herod called these rivals together to discover “where the Christ was to be born” (2:4).

If these two groups, as far apart as the most liberal and most conservative politicians would be today, should agree on the answer, it had to be true.

They did answer together and, citing Micah 5:2, correctly replied,

Matthew 2:5 ESV

They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

Both groups pass the Bible quiz!

They know where the prophecy is found and they know the prophecy comes from God.

They earn an A.

Matthew 2:6 ESV

“ ‘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.’ ”

after the scribes and priests give their answer, we hear nothing more of them.

They expected a deliverer, and here are reports that fit the prophecy.

Yet, Matthew implies, they do nothing.

They do not rejoice;

they do not join the magi.

They do not go to Bethlehem to worship this shepherd and ruler or even to investigate the report.

They answer the king and go home.

Maybe they tell their families, “The king sought my counsel today and I had the answer he sought. He was most pleased.”

The apathy of the teachers and priests is pathetic but all too typical.

“Religious” people are the first to hear about Jesus, but are often the last to receive Jesus.

If the pagans had seen Jesus’ signs, if they had heard his preaching, Jesus says they would have repented (Matt. 11:20–24; 12:41–42).

But the religious people saw no need of repentance.

It was true then and remains all too true today.

Sometimes those who know the most about the faith in the mind know it least in the heart.

They should have joined the magi and traveled to Bethlehem.

In my own personal ministry experiences… ESPECIALLY WITH TEENAGERS…

It was those who considered “OUTSIDERS” who I could usually count on most to “plug-in”… The Skeptics, Those who are disenchanted by “religion”

Those who grew up in church… “The religious” were usually those who only came for the pomp and circumstance, but rarely plugged in when the rubber hit the road...

They’d come for the church event, but would rarely go help at the soup kitchen… rarely go door-to-door visiting… NEVER volunteer for a mission trip unless there was some kind of “vacation” aspect to it.

Those of you who grew up in church are active and will do anything you can to serve God and the kingdom. I REJOICE because you are a RARE Gem.

THE RESPONSE OF THE RELIGIOUS - APATHY

The Response of the Magi - ADORATION

Matthew 2:9–11 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.

The magi arrive and bow in reverence. This does not mean they knew everything of Jesus’ identity, that he is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. But they do render him honor and homage. After they bowed, they opened treasure boxes and brought out gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Some theologians explore the symbolic meaning of each gift, linking them to obscure texts in the Old Testament to declare the deity of Christ and to foretell his passion. But we should let the magi be what they are, wise men from the east. They did not choose their gifts with prophecies in mind; they brought them with their understanding of court life in mind. They knew that when a man meets a king, he brings gifts. Their three gifts are costly and grand.

For millennia, gold was the metal of kings, beautiful, rare, and expensive. Frankincense is a glittering, fragrant gum taken laboriously from the bark of rare trees. Myrrh is another valuable spice and perfume. As a perfume, a bottle of myrrh could cost as much as $10,000 in today’s terms.

The magi simply brought Jesus the best gifts they could find. They came with gold not aluminum, with a new luxury car, not a worn and rusted lemon. By custom, the king usually gave something back to his visitors (1 Kings 10:1–13). This royal family had nothing to give—at the moment. Indeed, they may well have used these gifts to pay for their flight to Egypt when Herod came to slay the Christ child. But later, Jesus would have a gift to give to all who worship him.

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There is only one correct response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Herod - Failed

Jersalem - Failed

The Religious - Failed.

They had expert knowledge, which they presented to others, yet they did not use that knowledge to direct themselves. They served Herod, quoting Scripture beautifully, but they did not rise to serve the Lord. They were satisfied to quote Scripture and go home. They should have joined the magi and run to Bethlehem.

During the war in Iraq, American troops captured Saddam Hussein after an intense search. In the weeks before his capture, troops captured a series of Hussein’s servants that spiraled ever closer to his innermost circle. Two days before they found Saddam, they found his right-hand man. His information quickly led to Saddam’s location and capture. But imagine if those who found Saddam had said, “We now know the precise location of Saddam Hussein” but never actually took him into custody. That would be absurd, yet the inaction of the priests and scribes was far worse for it concerned Jesus, who is a far greater person.

If we know the truth, we must act on it. People with knowledge and education are always tempted to rest content in that knowledge. But it is never enough to know the truth. If we truly know, we act. If we know who Jesus is, we worship him.

This is where the magi show the way. They knew one thing: the king of the Jews had been born. The scribes had more and better information than the magi did, but the magi acted on what they knew. They traveled to see the baby king. They left work, home, and family to follow a star for many months. They embarked on a perilous journey, traveling most likely on lumpy, foul-smelling camels, past brigands, through alien lands. They brought the most expensive gifts they could find. When they arrived, they worshiped, then gave gifts. They knew little, but acted on what little they knew.

Their Action…THEIR RESPONSE... THEY GAVE

We should pray that we will be able to see what gift we can offer to the Lord. It should be our goal to give what is best of ourselves to the Lord, as the magi did… NOT MATERIAL GIFTS… BUT GIVE YOUR LIFE TO HIM...

Of course, Jesus does not return gifts in kind. No matter what some preachers say, Jesus does not give you back two dollars for every dollar you give him. But he does give himself. The gifts the magi gave Jesus probably helped preserve his life. When Herod resolved to kill Jesus, God warned Joseph and Mary to flee. They probably used the gifts to finance their flight. So the magi helped preserve Jesus’ physical life. But Jesus gave them eternal life. Needless to say, he more than matched their gift.

He gives us life, too. The gifts we offer in God’s name resemble the gifts given within a joyful family. A child offers gifts to her mother and father to show how much she loves them. Parents are always the prime givers. They do not need the gifts their children give, but they do love the gifts because of the love they represent.

May it be so for all of us, whatever gift we give the Lord. May we delight in giving what the Lord delights in receiving. The magi gave both themselves and their resources, as all disciples should. Whether we evangelize, lead, pray, teach, or give financially, our gifts cost us something. There is both sacrifice and pleasure in giving to the God who loves us and gave himself for us. Wise men and wise women still seek him. We worship and adore and give to the Lord who has given us so much more.