One Way or the Other

Thought

every call of Jesus will demand a response

-apathy (2:4-6 then nothing, nada, zip)

-opposition (2:3-4,7-8,16-18)

-worship (2:9-12)

Announcements

Thank you for all the birthday wishes -

Moving day -

Shannon -

Intro

Starting on a serious note, no story, just a moment of recognition that nevertheless is still highly applicable to our text today.

What has happened this week in Ukraine is tragic.

I am not an expert, I would not claim to know enough to speak to it with meaningful insight. I know that the aggression of one nation is doing harm to another, and to itself.

I know that the people of Ukraine are suffering, and that the people of Russia are and will be as sanctions and unrest begin to roll through.

In moments like this the church is called to respond.

Not in hatred or fear, not in politic or nationalism, but in prayer.

Prayer for the people of Ukraine and Russia

Prayer for leaders to have wisdom

Prayer for Peace

Prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Not only for their safety, but that God may be glorified through them and Christ may be known.

I invite some of you who feel so called and bold to pray out loud over this conflict and then I will close us.

PRAYER including message

Events, new knowledge, people, always generate a response.

A response is in essence the actions or words of one party following a stimulus.

And everyone responds differently

If offered black licorice, how many would respond “Yes Please”?

And how many find black licorice revolting?

Response.

Responses can be learned and automatic or carefully thought through.

In the TV show the office, Jim took great pleasure in playing pranks on his irritating coworker Dwight. On one occasion, he used Pavlov’s approach. Jim would trigger a noise on his computer, and then offer Dwight a mint. After several weeks, there came a day when Jim triggered the noise, did not offer a mint, but Dwight immediately put his hand out. Jim looks at him, “What are you doing, Dwight?”...”I don’t know…but my mouth tastes bad…and dry...”

Not an intentional response, but a response all the same.

We like to believe that our responses are always well thought through and right, but the truth is, more of our response than we realize is revealing of who we are, what we have learned, and how we think than anything else.

Consider the ways you respond differently to certain actions or noises or events compared to others even living in your house.

We also respond differently depending on how deep the impact is on us.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hits harder for me because of my friends who are from Eastern Europe who have lived under Russian or Soviet rule in the past.

It’s a little deeper than if it were Argentina invading Chile. I don’t have the context there.

If Russia were invading Alaska, we would all be sitting up straighter.

The responses I have seen so far to this crisis are interesting.

When Russia worked cut off internet to Ukraine, in response to a request from Ukraine’s leaders, Elon Musk pushed a button and turned his Starlink system on right there. Terminals are being brought in.

Germany, who had stayed silent, just delivered weapons

I am seeing more and more calls for prayer being lifted up as this crisis continues

As interesting as it is to notice the responses of others…it is vital to our walk with Jesus, our walk through the life of Jesus to notice and choose our response to him.

This is our last week in preparation to walk through the life of Jesus that changes everything, the life that makes all things new. And just like these other messages the past month or so, it is highly important that we consider our responses. In today’s scripture, Matthew tells us of people who get word of the kingship of Jesus, a new kingdom coming, and their responses, I believe reveal three ways we respond when we are brought face to face with the story and lordship of Christ.

I’m going to summarize the story, and then we will dig in to the three responses we see.

All of this is in Matthew 2 if you want to dig in on your own.

Some time after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph remained in Bethlehem. Likely a couple of years. During that time, a group of philosophers, wise men, astrologers of some kind came from an unnamed country to the East, traditionally Persia, what is now Iran…they came to Jerusalem and sought an audience with King Herod.

King Herod…The Romans had given him this title. Faithful Jews had been very upset by this. Remember from our study in Genesis, the words of Israel that the scepter would not depart from Judah. Not only was Herod not of the tribe of Judah, he wasn’t even fully Jewish. Many felt that this was an indicator that God had truly forsaken them…or that God was preparing to do something new. There was a lot of “end times” talk.

They came to Herod with this request: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

I imagine you could have heard a pin drop.

More on these guys in a bit.

But Herod was disturbed. All Jerusalem was disturbed. So he calls all the priests and scribes, the ones who study scripture and know all of God’s word most deeply and he asks them about location.

They call it. “In Bethlehem” and they quote from Micah chapter 5 verse 2.

Micah 5:2 CSB “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.”

Herod calls back the wise men, asks them when they saw this star, then sent them to Bethlehem. Go and search, and then come back and tell me so I can go worship him.

The wise men find the baby and worship him. With joy they gave him gifts. But God sent a dream warning them not to go back to Herod. So they returned home by another way.

God warns Mary and Joseph as well and they leave for Egypt.

But Herod not knowing this sends troops to Bethlehem and uses the information he had to order the death of every boy two or younger.

A familiar story. We tell it every Christmas. Tragic.

I’m curious, did you catch three responses to the news of a king?

The one I’ll mention first is the one I barely thought about before.

Responses to the King

Apathy

The wise men come to Herod, Herod gathers experts:

Matthew 2:3-5 CSB “When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:”

It’s what isn’t here that struck me in my study.

As we read through the story of Jesus, we will see the Priests and Scribes get it wrong A LOT when it comes to their expectations of the Messiah.

They NAIL IT here. They get this answer absolutely right!

When I order a package from Amazon, if there is any question on the arrival date… I track it…I watch…I wait…and when I get the word it has been delivered? I. go. get. that. package.

They have been waiting and studying to see the coming king. They have all the details. They know where that package will be delivered and now they get notification that the KING HAS BEEN BORN!

They share the details of the location with the king and these wise men, show off their scriptural knowledge…and then do nothing.

Francis Chan, in one of my favorite illustrations ever in his book Crazy Love imagines a scenario where he tells his daughter to clean her room.

Hours later she comes down the stairs to tell her dad, “I spent all day studying your words and feel I am really coming to know them. I feel so close to you dad. My friends and I are going to start a study this week on what it would look like if we had clean rooms.”

He uses this to describe our behavior in response to the commands of God. Pretty convicting…when we compare our time studying God’s word with doing it.

And That is what comes to mind when I see these guys. If they knew God’s heart and not just his word…wouldn’t they rush to join the parade? Start proclaiming it from corner to corner?

They knew the birth place but didn’t seem to care about the one who was born!

Christian, let this be a warning for you and I. Study God’s word. But be very careful you do not study more than you do. We are to be doers of the word, not hearers only.

As we read through the life of Jesus, we will see him live and act and call us to imitate him. We can study it…but Jesus only changes everything if we FOLLOW HIM.

There is a reason why persecution and trouble have always made the church grow. Comfort breeds complacency. And I’m not talking about a culture that doesn’t like us. That’s not persecution. I’m talking about real persecution and hardship. When we are uncomfortable, we lean on our hope. When we lean on our hope, we find it reliable. When we find it reliable, we tell the story. God is glorified, Jesus is shared, the church thrives. Those who would stay apathetic, don’t hang around.

Seeing this reaction…or lack thereof…makes the rest of the failures on that of the religious leaders in the gospel narrative make a lot more sense. If they weren’t moved to action by the birth of the Messiah, why would they be moved by him when he challenges their comfort?

When you come to the word of God, do you know the answers? Or do you respond with action to the words and actions of Jesus?

This will be a call all the way through this series. When we see Jesus hang out with the sinner and the prodigal, do we imitate, or stay isolated? When we see him engage the poor and sick not only with healing but with a touch and care, do we follow him, or do we stay safe?

If we follow Jesus, our comfort will be…WILL BE disrupted. Apathy is easier. Next response.

Violent Opposition

Let’s follow Herod’s progression:

Matthew 2:3-4 CSB “When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.”

He gathers information

Matthew 2:7-8 CSB “Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.””

He gathers some more

And when the wise men do not return...

Matthew 2:16-18 CSB “Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men. Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

He uses the information and power at his disposal to end the perceived threat to HIS kingdom.

This is another COMMON response we can have to the words and life of Jesus.

I have the fear of stepping in to the minefield here…but it must be done if we are going to be a people committed to following Jesus well.

The other day, Tim Keller posted on Twitter: We tend to demonize the opposite of what we idolize.

Not a new idea, I’ve heard that idea expounded in many places.

It’s why a die hard sports fan can’t just root for his team, but has to hate the rival.

It’s why the nationalistic can’t just love their country, but must hate its enemies.

It’s why the religious extremist (of all shapes and sizes) can’t just love their faith, but must hate the others.

Those are extreme examples…but we can do it in far smaller ways.

For example, the comment section on that post. People reacted strongly to the idea that our idols might be revealed by what we hate. So much anger in there. We will fight to protect our validity in hating or looking down on another.

We will likely not commit a massacre of children by our opposition. But we can still do a lot of harm.

And here is a promise. Jesus, if we aim to follow him, if we are going to listen to him, if we are going to take what he says seriously, is going to push our resistance buttons.

When the religious leaders heard the Messiah was born, they reacted with apathy, as we will see when we sort of break, sort of fast forward during the easter season, when that baby Messiah for whom they were apathetic grows up and starts pushing their idols…they respond with the same kind of violence Herod attempted.

We are likely to do the same. Maybe not with physical violence, but we cut off relationships with those we disagree with. We gossip and slander. We look down on and belittle. We dehumanize. We use the means we have at our disposal in the name of God and with absolute conviction we are doing the virtuous thing… And we are all guilty of this.

The problem is seeing it. As we study the life of Jesus, there will be moments when it will crack through. We will be forced to defend ourselves and our actions, or surrender to Jesus and follow him.

Take note of what makes you angry. What triggers your rage. Be willing to let the love of Jesus do the hard work to be forgiven and extend forgiveness.

It is vital that we address both apathy and opposition if we are going to be able to fully step into the third response, the only right and proper response to the Kingship of Jesus.

Worship

Matthew 2:9-12 CSB “After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.”

These men were from another land. There was enough knowledge to know that there was a coming king of the Jews who would be worthy of the worship of all. Somehow in their study of the skies, they deduced that this time had come.

This is beyond my understanding. The word tells us that the skies declare the glory of God…we don’t know. This isn’t a validation of astrology, but certainly proof God can use whatever means needed to get our attention.

And when they saw the star rise that indicated the birth of the king of kings they gathered gifts and set out on a journey that would bring them before Herod. They didn’t know the details, only the direction. The apathetic and the opposed gave them directions, but only they went to worship.

Once they got close, apparently the star did give them a more precise location and they entered the house and FELL ON THEIR KNEES. Not before the mother or father, but before a baby. They worshipped with their:

posture

possessions

obedience

Many scholars speculate that God led these men to come with these gifts in part to serve as provision for the journey Joseph, Mary, and baby would need to make. Maybe.

But this is what I know for sure. It was the ones with the least knowledge of God’s word, but the greatest willingness to be changed by it who were blessed this day.

Some responded with Apathy

Others with Opposition

worth emphasizing…those who were apathetic would become opposition soon enough

But we would be those who respond to the Kingship of Jesus in worship. In our posture, in our possessions, in our obedience.

Worship team up.

We can know God’s word and we should. It is vital.

We can sing songs of God’s goodness and we should. He is worthy.

We can do a lot of things that are good and right…but...

In John 4, when talking to a socially unacceptable woman, Jesus tells her this:

John 4:23-24 CSB “But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.””

This morning’s challenge is a simple one…but intense. Will you allow God’s word to be more than knowledge? Will you know it and be changed by it? Will you allow the life of Jesus, the Word made flesh, to ignite your apathy to passion and break down your opposition so you can come and worship in Spirit and in truth?

For you this morning, if you are not a Christian, Jesus is inviting you to the same. Life in relationship with the God who loves you and is calling you to him. As I pray to close, I would invite you to surrender your life to him today. To bring life to dead places, to break down walls that have kept you separated from him.

For the Christian this morning, will you embrace discomfort? Will you be willing to let God change your mind and heart? To no longer respond your way, but to let him do the work so you can respond his? Worshipping…seeking…and finding life when you lay yours down.

No longer taking and gripping your own life, but laying it down in worship and receiving all of his.

Pray