Heeding Wisdom

Introduction

Good morning! It is great to be with you today. I am thrilled that Colonel Starrett asked me to preach on the wise men from the east because the wisdom that they are noted for is still very applicable to our lives today. You might be interested to know that I have something in common with them, and no, that’s not a self-declaration of my own wisdom. No! I, too, along with two other close companions, once followed a star looking for salvation!

It was early fall 1992. I had been in the military serving oversees and had just been reassigned to Fort Bragg North Carolina where I quickly forged a lifelong friendship with Mickey and Dave. We were out camping on this particular weekend and took very few provisions. We were determined that we would eat whatever fish we caught, and that would pretty much be that. We had no backup plan!

We had been fishing and doing what guys in the woods do for about 36 hours and had to this point no luck catching any keepers. We were famished to say the least! Everything we had caught was undersized and had to be released.

About 4pm Sunday evening, we gave up. We were dirty, hungry, and growing more irritable by the minute! We decided to pack up, throw everything in my truck and get back to civilization!

I should begin this by sharing that where we were camping was extreme back country on the Cape Fear river in the middle of nowhere. To get there, we took a series of blacktop roads, then some gravel roads, and lastly a series of dirt roads until one turned into a footpath at the edge of the woods. We had only been to that location once before so it was easy to get turned around, and wouldn’t you know, that is exactly what we did.

So I am driving around on these backroads in North Carolina looking for something when all of the sudden Mickey says, “Hey, it looks like I see some things through the trees. Slow down a bit”. So, I slow down to about 15 mph while he and Dave are trying to look through the trees. Dave finally says ”right there. We just need to get over to the road on the other side of the trees and where that star is”. By now, I’ve slowed down even more and am trying to see what he is pointing at. Im looking up in the sky and he says “No, not those stars, that star” as He points at the woods. I reposition my gaze and finally in the distance this very bright shining star, and I too, immediately know that is where we need to be.

So, we move along and finally come to a road and turn right trying to move in the direction of this star, but the road dead ends at a school. Now we can see the star plane as day peering through the woods and close by, but there is no way to cross over to it. So, I turn my truck around and head away from the star to find another road that might get us across the wood line. After about half a mile, sure enough, there's a road that seems to head in the right direction. This road loops around and connects to another with several business along it and we can again see the star in the distance, se we head that way.

I cannot describe how grateful and hopeful we are feeling now. We were so tired, so hungry, and were seemingly so lost. But as we approach the star, our hope is renewed as we come face to face with we know to be our salvation. I want to share this moment with you and show you the salvation I speak of that was awaiting us under that star…(show picture). Hardees, the big brother of Carl’s Jr. A burger mecca!

To you, that may just be a fast food sign, but to three wise guys looking for something to save us from starvation, it was a sign from God, and we were grateful that HE gave us the star to follow.

Let’s Pray as we into into THE LORD’S word today!

Some Contextual Understanding

There are a few helpful things to keep in mind while we review today’s text. First of all, you may have noticed that Shepherds are missing from the Matthew nativity account, and if you noticed that, you likely also noticed that the Magi are missing from Luke’s account of the nativity. There is good reason for that, and you certainly should not question the validity of either gospel as a result. In fact, I would argue that it is to our benefit that both are highlighted differently.

Consider, for a moment, a football game. Sports writers watch the same game, but offer different highlights. One writer may highlight about the running back who made a forty yard touchdown, while another saw the amazing block that allowed it to happen and highlights that athlete’s performance. Here we have two very different focal points of the same event, but by reading both, we have a clearer picture of the plan and its execution.

Luke had a habit of writing with a focus on the poor and disenfranchised often highlighting Jesus as the ultimate servant of all. Matthew focused more on the Lordship of Christ. Therefore, it makes since that concerning the nativity, Luke focused on the fact that this baby is a savior for the lowly shepherd, while Matthew wants us to know that even the esteemed worship him as Lord. What do we see from both accounts combined? Jesus is Lord of All!

Wise People Thirst for Knowledge About God

But today, we are looking at the Wise men of Matthew. You may have heard them referenced as Magi. Both would be accurate, but Magi tells us a little more about them. Magi is a word in greek that links us to the term magician, but can also be used to describe men skilled in things such as philosophy, medicine, religion, and natural science. It also tells us that they were interpreters of dreams. That term “magi offers a little clarity that they weren’t merely wise, but scholarly in the highest regard.

Today’s scripture gives us even further insight to the work of the magi, testifying to their interest in astronomy and astrology as well, as they look to the heavens for signs. Matthew 2:1-2 quickly exposes their interest in star gazing saying that they came to Jerusalem looking for the new born king because they saw “the star of the king of the Jews”.

This is where we start getting to put some puzzle pieces together. There is reference to such a star way back in Numbers 24:17. This passage concerns Balaam, you know, the sorcerer with the talking donkey.

That’s right! who says the bible is boring!?!?

You may remember Balaam. He was solicited by King Balak of Moab who wanted him to curse his enemy, the Israelites. Instead of cursing, God had him offer a blessing for them. Balak, was immediately angered. After all, he had solicited Balaam’s services to curse the Israelites. So he reminded him of that and offered several more opportunities for Balaam to get it right, but each time, God placed words of blessing in his utterance. On the fourth time, we see the connection with today’s scripture in Numbers 24:17 when the blessing foretells the promise of a SAVIOR, and that a star will come out of Jacob.

How would the Magi know to look for this star? The Israelites took great care in securing historical accounts of GOD’s promises, but these guys were from a foreign land to the east, so how could they know about it. Well, you may recall the period when the Jews were taken captive to Babylon. This is the captivity where we find notable people such as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. You might also recall Daniel who was able to interpret dreams and did so for king Nebuchadnezzar. We also know that Daniel, though captured a taken to Babylon by force became quite the influential figurehead there. He freely shared about his faith which was certain to be captured and chronicled. It is highly speculated that these Magi also came from that same region, so it is likely that they had access to archives containing Jewish prophecy and were keeping a watchful eye to the sky as a result.

so the magi, upon seeing the star, set out for Jerusalem, after all, where else should the king of the Jews be born. But instead of finding the newborn King, they found King Herod who was disturbed by the news that a new King of the Jews had been born. He seems surprised by what these strangers are sharing. Friends, isn’t it disturbing that these men, these gentiles from the east know more about GOD’s promises for these people than does their own king?

There is much more that we can say about this, but here is a couple of nuggets of wisdom that we can glean from them. They took time to study and as a result, they had a watchful eye in the right place. We, too, have access to some dated archives that we as Christians place all of our trust in. we have this thing called the bible! And we are cautioned to study often throughout scripture. Deuteronomy 11 is an entire chapter of caution to do so by GOD HIMSELF. Are we utilizing our bibles so that we, too, don’t miss the important things of God? If not, why not? It worked for the magi, and it can work for us!

Wise People Prefer God’s Plan Over Their Own

So the magi have this interaction with king Herod who has to bring out all of his chief priests and teachers of the law to verify what the magi have told him. Then he say’s to them as recorded in Matthew 2:8 “Go and look for him. When you find him, let me know quickly so that I, too, may go and worship”.

His response is interesting to me. These magi left everything and went on a long and arduous journey to find what God had promised. Yet, the very king of the land won’t even be bothered to leave and accompany them?!?! Understand that Herod is known to be a practicing Jew, so you would think that a moment as significant as this, God’s ultimate promise being fulfilled, would have him assembling the entire royal household to join the journey, but no! He instead instructs the magi to continue their journey and notify him later.

Having this reliable resource of the bible, we know in the coming verses that Herod had no intention of worship, his intent was murder. His loyalty and true worship were reserved for himself. But the magi, Matthew 2:10 says, were ‘overjoyed’ at again seeing the star as it took them to the child.

Friends, Herod, though a puppet If Rome, had considerable abilities. He was an avid soldier, orator and effective politician. He was known for building marvels that would become the backdrop of much of the New Testament. But here we are, with God’s plan potentially putting at risk his own. Here in a moment, we will look at the magi laying gifts before the new King. Herod could have laid before him his kingdom and his plans, yielding them to the will of God, but he didn’t. Instead, he was intent to betray GOD, the very focus of his faith, for the purpose of self-preservation.

Let’s not be too quick to throw stones though. The Christian struggle is not much less significant than Herold’s. we struggle with yielding our plans to God when He presents something else, don’t we. We want God to bless our efforts, but when the blessing looks a little different than what we had hoped…well, we are pretty inclined to fight against it.

Consider the words of Proverbs 3:5-6 to “trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to HIM, and HE will make your paths straight”. We learn from the magi here that the truly wise are overjoyed to accept the plan of God trusting beyond all measure that it will certainly be better than there own.

Wise People Offer GOD Their Best

So in the concluding verses of today’s scripture, the Magi enter the home and find our LORD with HIS mother. They immediately “bowed down and worshipped”. What wisdom we see in this. There is no confusion at all with these men. They were before Herod the Great, a man of considerable influence and ability, yet it doesn’t say anything about them worshiping him. No, they understood what true greatness was. It wasn’t the man of worldly power, it was the baby of heavenly promise.

So these wealthy and wise men humbled themselves before the babe and worshipped, and when done, they presented HIM with fitting gifts. Gold because Jesus is the KING of kings and LORDS of lords. Frankincense, historically used in the temple to worship God, symbolizing the priesthood of this baby. And Myrrh, commonly used to embalm the dead, because Jesus is the lamb whose sacrifice will offer lasting atonement for all.

You and I may not have Gold, Frankincense or Myrrh, but we have much to offer GOD. We can offer the LORD the best of all that we are: our love, devotion, faith, and effort. We can be 1 Corinthians 10:31 Christian’s offering GOD our very best in all that we do. That’s true worship! That’s what the truly wise do!

Conclusion

So now that we have discussed some of the wisdom that we can glean from the Magi, I want to point out the most important thing about this scripture: it isn’t about the magi. No, they are involved and we took an intentional look at their wisdom, but this isn’t about them. This is a scripture and sermon that points to the love and provision of God. A love so deep and provision so rich that He is trustworthy beyond doubt; even beyond hesitation.

So don’t hesitate to learn as much about HIM and HIS promises as you can. Don’t hesitate to yield all of your plans when you discover that they might contradict HIS own. And when occasion presents itself, worship HIM by offering the best of yourself. These are the practices of the truly wise, so be wise in your Christian walk!

Let’s pray!