FBCWest 586 | Worshipping Kiing Jesus
Recorded On: 12/24/2023
Bulletin
Hymn # 89 “Silent Night, Holy Night”
SCRIPTURE READING – Luke 2:1 -20
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“Angels We Have Heard on High”
“What a Glorious Night”
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Worshipping Kiing Jesus”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“He Shall Reign Forevermore”
Benediction “There Is Freedom”
Sermon Notes
Matthew 2:1a Jesus born in Bethlehem during Herod the Greats reign
Matthew 2:1b & 2 Magi came to worship the king of the Jews (Jesus)
Matthew 2:3 Herod and the people of Jerusalem troubled by the news
Matthew 2:4 – 6 It is determined that the King would be born in Bethlehem
Matthew 2:7 & 8 Herod tells the Magi secretly and wants them to report back to him after they find Him
Matthew 2:9 Magi are led by the same star and it stands over the place where Jesus is
Matthew 2:10 They rejoice
Matthew 2:11 They went into the house and worshiped Him and presented Him gifts
Matthew 2:12 Warned by God not to go back to Jerusalem, but go another way
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
Now that we're in the Advent or Christmas season, we're going to take a look at Matthew's Gospel talking about the events that took place after Jesus's birth. It's interesting that in our culture we have a number of traditions. Some of those traditions aren't exactly what the Scriptures say, so we're going to take a look at that. But what I'm going to more take a look at is the importance not of what the tradition is right or wrong, but the most important aspect of that narrative that Matthew talks about, how these magi, these wise men, come see Jesus and why. Come and listen.
Good morning.
As I frequently say before we start our messages is that if you have your Bible, and you should, I'm going to have you turn to a different Gospel today. I want you to turn to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, and we're going to take a look at what were some events around after Jesus's birth and the consequences of it. And so in Matthew, chapter 2, verse 1, it says this, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." And so we have this Magi, which some people call wise men and others would call them astrologers or astronomers. They have come from the east. It doesn't tell us exactly where from the east that they are, but they're east of Jerusalem.
My understanding and my belief that they're probably from the area that was once known as Babylonia, or now current day Iran and Iraq. And so they travel from the east to Jerusalem to come to see this king of the Jews. Now the reason why some people say, "Well, they came because of astrology and whatever, that there's star appeared and there were astrologers and they somehow determined that it was a Messiah of birth."
I think the reason that they came from the Babylonian area and why they were wise men is because they had in their library the book that we call Daniel.
And in Daniel, it talks about a Messiah being born after a period of centuries after King Cyrus ordered the rebuilding of the temple. And I think in combination of that understanding and the star that appears, they then determine as wise men as Magi that there is a Messiah that has been born. Not simply a king, but a Messiah. Now a few years ago, I'm not quite sure exactly how long ago, 8, 10 years ago, there was a potential king that was born in England.
It was so important to me that I don't recall when it happened. And I certainly didn't travel to England to celebrate this potential king's birth, because he's going to be king one day perhaps over England.
He's not going to be my king.
But these Magi, these wise men understand through the, again, my belief, understanding that from the book of Daniel the Messiah would appear that they have come to see him and they've traveled from the east. And we're going to see that during those days the best way to travel would be in caravan,
because there were thieves and robbers and people who would try to steal your things and even take your life. And so they would travel in these caravans, but even that was a trip that was not safe. And especially as we will see that they have quite expensive assets that they're bringing with them. And so there's this fear that they could not only lose their possessions, but even their life. But they travel anyway to see this king of the Jews. And so they said they've traveled to worship him.
And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Now I suspect the reason Herod was troubled was because Herod was given the right title to be king over this area. Now Herod was not a Jew.
Herod was an Edoumian. And so he was, if you will, a foreigner ruling as king over the Judea and Galilee area, because Rome had given him that right, that title. And so he was troubled because now there's a king who has been born who is going to take away potentially his kingdom.
A Roman emperor said that it was better to be Herod's pig than Herod's son. Because Herod was so jealous of his reign that he even had his sons killed so that they could not take his throne.
And so he's troubled and concerned because here's this king of the Jews who's shown up. He's not Jewish. And he's concerned that now he may be overthrown. And then we have also Jerusalem trouble because the Romans may be upset with this new king and may try to have a stronger hand in their occupation or may even eliminate them. So there's this great concern. But I also find it ironic that here's this king of the Jews who's not Jewish. And we have the residents of Jerusalem who are surprised and troubled at the Messiah's birth. When men from a foreign land, again perhaps Babylonian area, come to worship this new king.
They're informed as to this Messiah, but his people aren't.
So gathering together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, basically the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and he acquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. And again, I think it's ironic that for people who've been looking for and waiting for a Messiah, and for people who have experienced a number of false Messiahs and false prophets, that they would have to go to their library to find out where the Messiah would be born. You would think that that would be something that they would know offhand because again, they're looking for this Messiah.
And when Jesus later is in his ministry, they're looking for him to overthrow the rule of Rome and to establish their own kingdom.
But they're uninformed, not only of when the Messiah might be born as dictated in the book of Daniel, but in this passage as well that they're not sure where the Messiah is to be born.
And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet."
And then they quote the prophet saying, "And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel."
And so we have this sense that they now know when the Messiah is to arrive, even though they didn't bother figuring it out in the Scriptures, these Gentiles, if you will, come to them and say, "Guess what, guys? Your king has been born." We're assuming that since he's the king of the Jews, the Messiah, he would be born in the capital and probably in the palace where Herod would be. But no. And again, they don't only have him not being there, they don't know when the Messiah was born, even though he was, and they didn't know where.
And so, unfortunately, sometimes when you expect religious people to know things, they don't.
But the advantage of the Scriptures, if God says something, you can find it.
"Then Herod secretly called the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared." So he wanted to know when it was. So if it was, let's say, 15, 20 years ago, this threat would be immediate. If it was, and as we will see, about a couple years ago, then it's not quite immediate. It's a child, and he's not worried so much about the immediacy. But I find it interesting.
He tells them, secretly, the plan. When did the star appear?
And so he finds out from them, and he said, and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child, and when you have found him, report to me that I too may come and worship." And so he says, "You've come to worship the Messiah. Go find out where he is in Bethlehem, and then let me, and I'll go worship him."
Again, I find it ironic, because here's these Gentiles who have come from the east, and who have traveled a considerable way to get to Jerusalem, and then they're now going to go a few more miles to the southwest to Bethlehem.
But you would think if Herod was honest about his question, that he would say, "Hey, guess what? Do you mind if I go with you? Because I want to worship him." But that's not his plan. He has a plan different than worshiping this new Messiah.
And after hearing the king, they went their way, and the star which they had seen in the east went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was.
Now this is where a lot of argument and astrology and astronomy and people try to figure out the natural ways that this happened. And so there are those, in fact many, many years ago, who argued—and you'll hear this argument today—that it was a conjoining of a number of planets which made a bright appearing of a star in the sky, and that's what they saw.
Problem.
It moved.
So it can't be that planetary situation, because it's going to move to the point that it's going to stand over where the child is. So the other explanation is, well, it's not planets that align. It's a comet, because again we're trying to justify these events on natural principles. The problem with that is comets don't stop.
They may move from Jerusalem, let's say, over to where the child is, but then it wouldn't stop. But this statement says that the star stopped over where the child is. So let me tell you what I am certain is the answer to this question.
It was a star. It moved so that they might crack it, and then it stood over where the child lay. And why am I confident of that assertion?
Because the God that I worship, the God of the Scriptures, spoke the universe into existence.
He created the stars, and not only did he create the stars, he created them that they might give him glory.
And so I am convinced that God did one of a couple of things. He either took a star that he already had created, he said, "I'm going to give you a job, star. I want you to inform the world that apparently the only wise men in the magi see it, and I want you to move to where they can see the star and move to where the Messiah is, and then I want you to stop exactly over the house, the place that the child is.
And I figure if a God who can create things out of nothing, he can rule the heavens and the earth. And so I believe it's a star, and that this star answered to and followed the command of the Lord God.
And so I don't think it was an alignment of adjoining planets. I don't think it was a comet.
I am convinced that God, who ordered the universe, ordered this star.
And so it gave these magi directions. It was better than a GPS. They were able to find exactly where the child was.
And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
They had finally found where it was that they were speaking.
They traveled far from the east to Jerusalem, only to be disappointed that the Messiah wasn't there. But then they were told that the Messiah was in Bethlehem. But even though Bethlehem is a small town, it's hard to find a particular child in a particular community when you don't know where he is. And so God gives them this direction, and they find the place where the child is. And they're rejoiced because their traveling now is over. They're coming to do exactly what it was that they left their home for.
And coming into the house, they saw the child would marry his mother.
I want to stop there.
We talked about tradition.
Well, one of the traditions that you'll see is the nativity scene. In the nativity scene, typically you'll see the baby Jesus and a manger, the straw, and his mother Mary and Joseph, the guardian.
And then the shepherds around, and you'll see a cow and sheep, and they're all in a stable.
Almost all nativity scenes also have rewisement.
The Scriptures clearly say here that they didn't go to the stable below the end. They went into a house.
So what I do with our nativity set is when I set it up, and this year we didn't, but when I set it up, I put all the typical stuff in the area. Then I take the wise men, and I put them somewhere else.
Because they're traveling when Jesus is born.
We're going to find later that it was about two years that they saw the star.
So when they enter the house, they're not entering to see baby Jesus. They're probably entering to see toddler Jesus.
But they're not at the nativity scene.
But our tradition says otherwise, and people always follow tradition rather than the Scriptures. And again, I don't have any problem with traditions when traditions are good and accurate.
And so they go into the house, which is the second thing that bothers you.
And you'll have those who have an agenda who claim to be believers.
And you will hear them say Jesus was homeless.
Jesus wasn't homeless.
His mother and his guardian father lived in a town.
And God was so sovereign that he had the emperor of Rome decide that he wanted to count the number of people he had in his empire.
And he didn't want to do it by which would seem to be the most simple way. Go to your taxing authority. Go to the tax man and tell them you're here. And you can count the heads when they're paying taxes. But that's not what God wanted.
Because Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem.
So Joseph and Mary, being descendants of David, had to travel to their ancestral home, which was Bethlehem.
You see, God moved them where he wanted them to be because he's sovereign. But they weren't homeless when they left. And the only reason that they had to, Jesus was born in a stable, was because there were so many people in Bethlehem, they didn't have an Airbnb. They didn't have various motels. They were all full. And so the only place that they could go was below the end in the stable area. But as we see here, when the bad guy get here, they enter a house.
Later in Jesus's life, they'll move to Egypt, and then they'll move to Nazareth. And each time he lives in a home. The only reason that then they would say because Jesus says, "I have nowhere to live." He placed my head. It's because he was an itinerant preacher. He didn't wait for people to come to him to preach. He went out to them. And therefore, because he had to go to Capernaum and Judea, and even through various places,
he was on the move.
Wasn't because he was homeless. The people tried to get you, that they think that because Jesus is homeless, that we might, he can then identify with us and he gets us.
Jesus didn't come to get us.
Jesus came to save us.
Jesus made us. Jesus understands us. It's not his made up circumstances which causes us to be able to relate to God.
It's because he's God, and he understands us because he created us. He came here to save us. And so I get less frustrated with traditions that are more secular than people who claim to know the scriptures, and then because of their agenda, twisted.
So they come into the house, and it says, "And they fell to the ground and worshiped."
They worshiped.
Here's this title that they worship because it's not his age, not his seemingly infancy,
but because he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
They've come to worship him.
So they fall to the ground and worship.
They place their status as wise men below the status of a toggle because they know by the scriptures who he is.
They worship by falling on the ground.
Even after doing that, opening their treasures, they present it to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Now, here's another tradition.
You always hear about it's three wise men.
Nowhere in the scriptures that ever say that it's three.
It does say that there's three types of gifts. There's a gold gift, there's a frankincense gift, and there's a myrrh gift. Now there has to be at least two of them because it talks about they.
So that's plural. Since it's a day, it has to be more than one. So two or more wise men, magi, come into the house, fall on the ground and worship him, and then they present him with gifts. It could have been six guys.
It could have been ten guys.
It could have been four gifts of gold, three gifts of frankincense, and the rest of myrrh. It just simply says these are the types of gifts that they gave to him. First, overall about the gifts, they're all expensive.
Even today, gold is expensive for out. It's something that you would present to a king.
Kind of a prophecy, if you will. They also present him a gift of frankincense. It's a very costly thing that is used in the temple as they present the prayers of the priests for the people.
It's used as a priestly offering, and again, identifying that Jesus is not only king, but he's priest.
And the third type of gift was myrrh.
Kind of very costly gift.
It was generally used for embalming, so that the body might not stink while you were preparing it and getting it ready for burial. But that wasn't the only use, but that was one of the more. And again, it was kind of the idea that Jesus, as a prophecy, would die, and he would need this, at some point, in his ministry.
But each of these gifts are expensive.
Reminds me that when David wanted to purchase ground to build a temple which God prohibited him from building, the owner of the property said, "You can have it."
And David said, "I will not give an offering to the Lord that costs me nothing."
And so these Gentiles, these wise men, as a part of their worship to God, the Messiah,
they present out of their treasures, out of whatever, this expensive gift of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
But again, the point of this passage is to not argue about whether tradition is right or tradition is wrong, and how many wise men and whatever.
The point is that having traveled to see the Messiah, they weren't thought.
They thought he was in Jerusalem.
They could have said, "Well, he's not here. He'll turn around and go home." They didn't. They continued their search.
And God assisted them in their search by presenting the star from the east, and then traveling it so that it might rest over the house, so that they might find the child they were looking for, so that they might worship him, indeed both by placing their bodily positions below Jesus, but also offering to him expensive gifts.
Today there are people, much like who were in Jerusalem that day, who had no idea that Jesus had been born.
They were startled by the fact that he was. They were troubled.
There was governmental opposition, yet they were undeterred.
And I believe that if you truly seek God, He'll make a way for you to find Him.
And having found Him, that you might worship Him. Now you may not be able to afford gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Most of us can't.
But what you do have, your life, your heart, your soul, your innermost being, that you can offer to Him.
To be like David, even though my life is not of that great value, I will not offer him nothing that cost me nothing.
And so I will offer him my life and worship and dedication.
Because he is the King of Kings, and he is the Lord of Lords.
And these magi are a perfect representation of the world coming and bowing before Him.
Because the scripture says that there will be a day that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of God the Father.
These magi weren't forced to do it. They sought Him, they found Him, they worshiped Him, and they presented often.
The Spirit of Christmas is not so much giving gifts.
The Spirit of Christmas is in ought to be.
Worshiping the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. The Messiah, who is that? Not just to the Jews only, but to the Gentiles.
And these Gentiles have shown us the way. But that's not the end of the story.
Having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. You see, Herod did not plan to worship this Messiah.
He planned to kill Him because he didn't want any competition for His rule and His
power, which is incredible.
That people are so desirous of power that they would be willing to sacrifice the Messiah.
God is solid.
And God is in control.
And after Herod discovered that the magi didn't return, he did some despicable and evil things.
Things that I can't explain to God will let happen, but he did.
So I guess Herod's just dessert was he died a painful and miserable death.
Two ends of the spectrum.
One having been told who Jesus is, disregarded and wanted to keep his power.
The others fell to the ground and worshiped.
I guess the question is, which one are you?
Now that's the second.