1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,680 Turn, if you will, we'll be in Matthew chapter 2. 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:11,000 Interestingly, today's advent presentation lines up with 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,360 exactly where we are in our series. 4 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,600 So we'll be looking at the wise men. 5 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:19,560 So Matthew chapter 2 page eight O 7. 6 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,440 If you're using one of the Bibles there in front of you. 7 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,680 So the wise men, this is this is one of those moments that's 8 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:30,680 galvanized in Christmas lore, right? 9 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,680 3 kings kneeling there in in front of the Manger with, with 10 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,160 arms outstretched, offering their gifts to the baby Jesus 11 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:42,200 who is laying in the Manger and the the camels are photo bombing 12 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:47,920 the shot, right? The wise men have made their way 13 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:53,440 into Christmas songs, but what is fact and what's fiction? 14 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,160 Are they actually 3 kings from the Orient? 15 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,160 Were they actually kings? Were there even three of them? 16 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:02,440 This morning? We're going to see what 17 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:07,280 Scripture does and does not say about the wise men. 18 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:16,640 So we already read our passage this morning. 19 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:21,080 I forgot that that was going to happen. 20 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:24,840 So I had planned to have you stand to do it. 21 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,560 But Hadley did such an excellent job. 22 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:32,040 So. So we'll continue. 23 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,120 But yeah, it occurred to me literally while she was reading, 24 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:40,320 I was like, oh, hey, this is what we were doing this morning. 25 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:41,400 So. All right. 26 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:43,880 So Jesus has already been born in Bethlehem. 27 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:46,040 That's what what the passage tells us. 28 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:47,680 You know, Jesus has already been born. 29 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,840 This is still during the days of King Herod's reign. 30 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:54,920 A few weeks ago I mentioned what Herod was like. 31 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:59,000 Herod was was well known for his massive building projects. 32 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:06,720 So so in a sense there was some good that that he brought to 33 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:11,360 Judea. But for all the goods that he 34 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:17,240 may have been perceived to have done, he is most well known for 35 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:22,560 how evil he was. Herod was a ruthless evil man 36 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:28,120 who would literally stop at nothing to eliminate all 37 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,920 potential threats or people he just simply didn't like. 38 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,200 And I mentioned that they had one of his wives killed and 39 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,720 killed some of his children and and had numerous members of the 40 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:47,920 of the Jewish Sanhedrin killed just because he didn't like 41 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:50,080 them. They stood in the way of of his 42 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:55,520 plans. Verse one set the timing and 43 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,000 then it continues. Behold, wise men from the east 44 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,520 came to Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born king of 45 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,640 the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose 46 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:12,920 and have come to worship him. So this is the arrival of the 47 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:15,720 wise men. The wise men had suddenly burst 48 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,080 onto the scene with no introduction or anything like 49 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:20,680 that. We're not expecting any guests 50 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,280 at this point, right? We are focused on the Messiah. 51 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,080 Jesus has come. So we're focused on that in the 52 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,880 text. And suddenly the wise men come 53 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,320 in from seemingly out of nowhere, right? 54 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,400 Who are these mysterious men that have just arrived in 55 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,640 Jerusalem? First of all, the text tells us 56 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:42,360 from there they're from the east, right? 57 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,400 How Far East? A little bit to the east. 58 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,880 You know, a few miles, 100 miles, 1000 miles. 59 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,640 How far? I think we can arrive at some 60 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:59,040 solid logical conclusions. Now, when you and I hear the 61 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:04,040 word Orient, our natural inclination is to think of the 62 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:08,640 Far East, right? Places like China, Japan, Korea, 63 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:14,200 Far East. However, historically the Orient 64 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:19,800 also included the Near and Middle East, not just the Far 65 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,000 East. You saw the word Orient to 66 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:28,520 describe a geographical region came out of Europe, and so for 67 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:33,120 them the east of the Orient was everything that was east of 68 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,680 Europe. So that's how it came to be 69 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,360 called. Orient included everything east 70 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,320 of Europe specifically, though it's likely that the wise men 71 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:46,520 are from the Middle East. They might have been from 72 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:48,600 Babylon. We have, we have some evidence 73 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,640 that seems to indicate as we look at Scripture, that they 74 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,760 might have been from Battle Babylon, which is modern day 75 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,640 Iraq. They're often referred to as the 76 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:04,000 Magi, right? The term Magi comes from the 77 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,840 Greek word magos, which originates from a Persian word 78 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:13,040 and it means magician. It originally referred to a 79 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:18,440 priestly cast in ancient Persia. Babylonian elements of 80 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:23,720 astrology, demonology, wisdom, and magic were incorporated into 81 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:29,360 into their practices and they had extensive knowledge of 82 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,760 science, agriculture, mathematics, and history. 83 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:39,680 So they knew all these things and so that made them wise men. 84 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:45,640 They knew a lot about a lot of different subjects and they were 85 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,720 involved in a cultic practices and they were also known for 86 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,440 their ability to interpret dreams. 87 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,320 They were also some of the highest ranking officials in 88 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,960 Babylon. Now after Daniel interpreted 89 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:04,720 King Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel Two, it reads, then the 90 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:10,120 king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts and made him 91 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:16,160 ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over 92 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:22,160 all the wise men of Babylon. So this isn't the first time 93 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,480 when, when Jesus is born isn't the first time we hear about 94 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,800 these wise men. We hear about them here all the 95 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:33,680 way back during the exile. So Daniel wasn't involved in a 96 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,480 cultic practices, but but his spirit, given capacity to 97 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:42,760 interpret the King's dream, set him above the other magi of that 98 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:50,080 time. In many ways, the wise men would 99 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,080 not be considered marginalized. They were. 100 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,080 They were well off and and well educated. 101 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,160 You know, this series that we've been in is Miracles and the 102 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:00,960 margins. So why are we talking about the 103 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:05,760 wise men who were rich? Well, their status as foreigners 104 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:14,360 arriving to Jerusalem probably made them suspect as they show 105 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,960 up with this large retinue of AIDS and supports. 106 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,920 What are all these men from Babylon coming to Jerusalem for? 107 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:29,400 Surely for nefarious purposes, but perhaps because they were 108 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,400 foreigners, Herod thought he could manipulate them for his 109 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:38,640 purposes so that he could get what he wanted out of them and 110 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,280 out of this situation, using them as pawns. 111 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,200 This explains who they are, but it doesn't help us understand 112 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:55,480 why in the world these possibly, probably Pagan Gentiles would be 113 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:57,680 coming to Jerusalem from the east. 114 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:04,120 Now it's easy for us to forget that not all Jews returned back 115 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:07,880 to Judea to rebuild and resettle it. 116 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,720 In fact, the vast majority remain in Babylon practicing 117 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:15,200 their faith as as much as they could. 118 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,120 You know, obviously they didn't have a temple or anything like 119 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,720 that while they were there, but they would practice their faith 120 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,400 as much as they could while still living in the in the 121 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:28,080 comforts of Babylon and and living off of what Babylon had 122 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:33,760 to offer them. Many Jews had intermarried with 123 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:38,360 the Persians in Babylon, no doubt giving these these 124 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:44,280 Persians some exposure to the Hebrew Scriptures and and some 125 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:49,680 knowledge of the Messiah. Near the end of the 1st century, 126 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:54,800 the Roman historians Suetonius wrote there had spread over all 127 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,640 the Orient an old and established belief that it was 128 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:04,200 faded at that time for men coming from Judea to rule the 129 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:08,200 world. Jews no doubt would have taken 130 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:13,000 this to be the Messiah, of course, while Rome would have 131 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:17,040 understood its own power and authority in that region. 132 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:25,080 To fulfill that expectation, In Numbers 2417, Balaam prophesied 133 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:30,600 over Israel. He said a star shall come out of 134 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:35,120 Jacob and a a scepter shall rise out of Israel. 135 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,200 Taken at face value, this simply means a ruler would be coming 136 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:43,880 out of the land of Judea. Now of course there could, this 137 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:48,560 could possibly have been fulfilled to some extent in King 138 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:53,480 David, but it's fulfilled even more in Jesus Christ. 139 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:59,000 But something big was prophesied here, something big was going to 140 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,640 happen in Judea, and the wise men wanted to be there when it 141 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:08,080 happened. So they saw Jesus star while 142 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:12,880 they were while they were still off in the East, and they'd come 143 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:18,520 to Jerusalem to worship him. Possibly feel fueled by Balaam's 144 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:23,560 prophecy. Much has been made of the star. 145 00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:27,040 It's hard to say what they were actually seeing or witnessing, 146 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:30,320 as they didn't have the same understandings of celestial 147 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:35,520 objects, but there are three options that I would propose. 148 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:40,640 The first interpretive option is to view this as as simply 149 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,600 natural phenomenon. Just natural phenomenon. 150 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:54,600 This could have been an event like a comet, a supernova, or a 151 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,960 or a conjunction of planets that was perhaps out of the ordinary 152 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:03,160 they'd not witnessed before. There are various astronomical 153 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:08,000 events that that happened in this time frame in the years 154 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:11,920 leading up to 0 which we actually don't believe. 155 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,360 Jesus was born at zero. It seems he was probably born 156 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:21,200 closer to 4-4 BC. So if that makes sense. 157 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:27,280 Jesus was born before Christ. But timing, when we consider 158 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,280 Herod and Quirinius and some different things, it seems he 159 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:34,600 was probably born actually before the year 0. 160 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:40,360 But there was some different actual astronomical events that 161 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:44,600 were significance that possibly could have been a factor in 162 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,000 this. Another possibility is that it 163 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,560 was a supernatural astral phenomenon, that is, that is a 164 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:57,200 star like phenomenon. God could well have used star 165 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:03,800 like objects in the sky, something not explainable by 166 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,520 modern science and and which would appear and reappear at 167 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,920 various times in the narrative and it and it helped direct the 168 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:17,760 Magi to Jerusalem and then to the precise location when they 169 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:23,320 arrived in Bethlehem. This could even account for the 170 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:28,320 idea of it being an Angel, as scripture sometimes refers to 171 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:35,800 angels as stars. Then 1/3 idea that's suggested 172 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:41,400 is it could have been simply God's glory, could have been 173 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,560 God's glory. The Old Testament is filled with 174 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:48,760 accounts of God's glory being revealed as light. 175 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:55,200 Of course, as as the Israelites were were in the wilderness and 176 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:59,400 wandering around, they were being LED at night with a pillar 177 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:02,320 of fire. When Moses came down from Mount 178 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:07,760 Sinai, his face shone because of the glory of Lord Jesus. 179 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:12,600 When he was transfigured, likewise shone on the road to 180 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:17,400 Damascus, Paul was blinded by a light that he describes as being 181 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:24,320 even brighter than the sun. And then in Revelation John 182 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:27,960 referred to Jesus face shining like the sun and and the new 183 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,680 Jerusalem will have no need for the sun, since the glory of the 184 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:35,760 Lord and the Lamb will be its light. 185 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:44,160 Now personally, I would favor one of these last two 186 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:49,440 supernatural options, or possibly a combination of all 187 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,760 three. Perhaps something natural 188 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:58,240 happened that got them initially headed out and then God started 189 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:02,600 to reveal through other supernatural stars and through 190 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,560 his glory. Theologians speculate that God 191 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:10,840 must have must have made this light visible only to those who 192 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:15,080 were intended to see it. The wise men, they were intended 193 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:21,120 to see it, but it would not have been visible to to Herod and to 194 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:26,240 the chief priests and scribes. Otherwise they too may well have 195 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:32,240 acted. And verse 3 read, When Herod the 196 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:36,120 King heard this, he was troubled in all Jerusalem with him. 197 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,960 This is the agitation of King Herod. 198 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,240 Of course, Herod was troubled at the news of the wise men. 199 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,600 This entourage of from the East had had shown up looking for 200 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:52,880 someone that they claimed they said was the king of the Jews. 201 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:57,000 This is an affront to Herod. Only one person wore that title. 202 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:01,040 So Herod was not pleased and he was on high alert. 203 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,800 Who did he need to add to his long line of people that he 204 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:10,280 disposed of in order to maintain his control over the crown? 205 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:16,040 Now, it's safe to assume the inhabitants of Jerusalem knew 206 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,920 what it meant when someone threatened the title of the King 207 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,080 of the Jews. They knew all too well. 208 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,960 Herod's agitation would likely mean maniacal bloodshed. 209 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:31,720 He wasn't calculated in his approach to problems. 210 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:33,960 He didn't work to identify the enemy. 211 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:39,520 Herod was extremely volatile and and he would simply act. 212 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,960 This would have led all Jerusalem to fear for their 213 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:48,120 safety. Anyone with the label King of 214 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:51,160 the Jews was a threat. So Herod needed to know where 215 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,320 the threat that the wise men spoke of might lie. 216 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,480 In order to do this he he consults with the with the 217 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:03,080 scribes and the chief priests. Now by the time of Jesus birth, 218 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:06,720 the the chief priests had become little more than a group of 219 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:12,960 corrupt, religiously oriented politicians who are more about 220 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:19,480 politics than they were actually religion, and Rome would use 221 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:22,800 them in order to implement its will. 222 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:28,120 There in Judea, among the Jews, the scribes, they were the 223 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:33,160 actual scholars of Judaism. They would have instantly known 224 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:38,080 where the Messiah would be born. But it seems that they had no 225 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:43,120 interest in Herod's query. In Greek, Herod's inquiring is 226 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,200 is in the imperfect tense. And when the imperfect tense is 227 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:51,080 used, that means that it's a continuing process. 228 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:56,760 If Herod asked once, it would have used the perfect tense, but 229 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:02,200 it's in the imperfect. So it implies that he asked and 230 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,880 he asked and he and he had to keep pressing the issue with, 231 00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:09,520 with the scribes and the and the chief priests. 232 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,960 And finally they relented and they would have referred, they 233 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:22,160 referred him to Micah. 52 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who 234 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:26,000 are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall 235 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,840 come forth for me, one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming 236 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:35,160 forth is from of old, from ancient days. 237 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:41,680 But these scribes and chief priests, they should have been 238 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:46,760 waiting for the Messiah, but they seemingly had no interest 239 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,080 in this announcement by the Magi. 240 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,680 They didn't recognize Jesus at his birth, nor did they 241 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:58,520 recognize him in his teaching, his suffering, his death, and 242 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:05,360 his resurrection. Instead, they were Jesus literal 243 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:12,520 enemies from the beginning to the end when he ascended back 244 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:17,720 into heaven. So Micah's prophecy had pointed 245 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:22,360 to Bethlehem. But this isn't the only thing 246 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:24,040 that that has happened in Bethlehem. 247 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:29,840 You see, Bethlehem is already an important place, just it's just 248 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:34,880 5 miles South of Jerusalem. And it's important because Jacob 249 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:42,480 buried Rachel there, Ruth Ruth met and married Boaz there, and 250 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:48,120 then their grandson David. He grows up there and and by the 251 00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:54,880 time Jesus was born, Bethlehem has long been called the city of 252 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:59,880 David. Herod's agitation was further 253 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:03,240 exacerbated when when he discovered that the wise men 254 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:07,400 went home a different way. It wasn't convenient for them to 255 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:09,880 go home a different way, but they did. 256 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:12,480 They were they? They were supposed to go worship 257 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,640 the child and report back to Herod so he too could go worship 258 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,960 the child, he says. But we know Herod. 259 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:25,240 We know that he has ulterior motives and and likely would 260 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:30,880 have killed the child. But when the Magi went home 261 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:33,960 another way, he had to take action. 262 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:39,280 He worked out the timing of when this child was likely born. 263 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:46,440 And he had all boys in Bethlehem 2 years old and under killed. 264 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,640 Jesus wasn't an infant when the wise men arrived at Joseph and 265 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:56,800 Mary's permanent residency there in Bethlehem. 266 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:02,280 Sorry, the the pictures with the with the Magi in the stable and 267 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:08,400 baby Jesus in the Manger. As lovely as it is, it's not 268 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:14,280 accurate. There's a home just northwest of 269 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:20,640 Long Grove, just just outside of the town of Long Grove, and as 270 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,920 you approach it, you see there's a nativity scene in on one side 271 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,280 of their very large yard. It's a nativity scene. 272 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:34,760 It has the right people. The wise men are not in the 273 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:37,280 nativity scene. They have the wise men on the 274 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:41,960 other side of their yard because wise men were far away. 275 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:44,680 Every time I see it, I always giggle inside. 276 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,520 I appreciate it. I appreciate their desire to be 277 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:53,640 biblically accurate. The wise men were not there. 278 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:55,320 It makes for a wonderful picture. 279 00:20:55,800 --> 00:21:00,840 But they weren't there. The prophet Jeremiah had had 280 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:04,760 spoken of this defining moment in King Herod's reign. 281 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:11,080 Jeremiah 3115 says Thus says the Lord. 282 00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:15,400 A voice is heard in Rama lamentation and bitter weeping. 283 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,440 Rachel is weeping for her children. 284 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,920 She refuses to be comforted for her children because they are no 285 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,920 more. Rachel who had been buried 286 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:31,600 there. Rachel was metaphorically 287 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:36,680 weeping over her children, these little boys who had been killed. 288 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:42,400 Stepping back a little bit on our story, we look, we'll look 289 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,800 at the wise men's journey to Bethlehem and, and what actually 290 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:50,480 happened there. After listening to the king, 291 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:52,080 they went on their way, it reads. 292 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,880 And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose, went 293 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,280 before them, until it came to rest over the place where the 294 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,840 child was. When they saw the star, they 295 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:04,760 rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 296 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:07,760 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his 297 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:10,120 mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. 298 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,800 Then opening their treasure, they treasures, they offered him 299 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,160 gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 300 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:23,720 As we look at the adoration of the Magi, we see that they had 301 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:28,160 great joy. The text uses a few superlatives 302 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:32,440 to convey how joy filled that they actually were. 303 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,480 To have seen the star that first LED them to Jerusalem and then 304 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:40,800 to this specific house. They were overflowing with joy. 305 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:47,680 As they went into the house they found Mary and Jesus. 306 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,360 It's possible Joseph text doesn't name him. 307 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:57,080 The wise men fell down to worship the child. 308 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:02,320 They knew who he was. They fully believed in him being 309 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:07,240 the Messiah and offered him 3 gifts, gold, frankincense, and 310 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,880 myrrh. Now because they brought 3 311 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:16,680 gifts, history has deduced that the number of wise men was 3. 312 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,160 But where does the text tell us how many wise men there were? 313 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,160 It only mentions the number of gifts. 314 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:31,280 Throughout history, gold has considered the most precious of 315 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:37,040 metals, right? It is a universal symbol of 316 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:42,120 wealth, universal from the ancient days up to today, and it 317 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:44,600 was used extensively in the construction of the temple. 318 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:51,440 Gold symbolizes royalty. Gold symbolizes royalty. 319 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:54,840 So it's fitting that the the wise men are are giving this 320 00:23:54,840 --> 00:24:00,840 gift to the real king of the Jews, the King of Kings. 321 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:07,040 Then Frankincense. Frankincense was a costly, 322 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:11,600 beautiful smelling incense that represented divinity. 323 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:16,720 It was used only for the most special of occasions. 324 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,400 We see it used in grain offerings and royal processions 325 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:26,120 and sometimes at weddings. The Great Church Father Origin 326 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:31,480 noted that frankincense was sprinkled on certain offerings 327 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,800 as a symbol of the people's desire to please God. 328 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:39,080 It was representative of divinity. 329 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,920 When the wise men offered frankincense, it indicated their 330 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:49,760 desire to please God, whom they presumed this child that they 331 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:55,960 had just met to be. Lastly, myrrh. 332 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:01,720 Myrrh was a valuable perfume symbolizing humanity. 333 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:08,000 Sometimes myrrh would be used as an anesthetic, or it would be 334 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:13,840 used in preparing a body for burial or also in embalming. 335 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:19,760 We don't want to go too crazy with what they might have 336 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,040 understood about the personhood of Jesus. 337 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:28,440 But when the wise men offered these gifts, it seems that they 338 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:36,000 were offering them to a king who was both God and man. 339 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,000 It seems they were offering these gifts to a king who is 340 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:47,520 both God and man. So that's the story of the wise 341 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,840 men. As with everything I like to ask 342 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,760 So what? So what? 343 00:25:56,120 --> 00:26:02,840 How does this impact us? Is it just a nice little story 344 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:06,480 that makes our hearts warm when when we see images of the wise 345 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:10,520 men in the stable bowing down as they offer their gifts to the 346 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:16,840 baby Jesus in a Manger? Or is it more than that? 347 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:28,280 First of all, the story teaches us trust in God's plan, teaches 348 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:32,640 us to trust in God's plan. The Christmas narrative that 349 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:37,000 that we've looked at each week has unfolded in ways that that 350 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,240 seems so unlikely. Hence, we've been calling it 351 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:46,080 miracle in the margins, God taking the unlikeliest of people 352 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:51,040 and scenarios and working them for his purposes and plan. 353 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,080 Matthew's account helps focus our attention on the fact that 354 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:00,040 God is in control, even as the events surrounding his work 355 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:07,360 unfold in unexpected ways. When we don't see exactly what's 356 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:11,120 happening, God is still sovereign and working in the 357 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:17,840 circumstances around us. And here in this passage, the 358 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,600 the political power of King Herod is juxtaposed against the 359 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:29,200 humble and the precarious beginnings of this baby, now 360 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:33,400 toddler. And the powers that be 361 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:37,080 continually wanted to destroy Jesus, not just in his birth, 362 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,520 but also 30 years later as he began teaching. 363 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:46,520 And then the disciples were baffled and distraught when 364 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:51,760 Jesus died. But it was his sacrifice that 365 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:56,160 brought redemption. You see, they'd forgotten Isaiah 366 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:03,160 55, nine in that God's ways are higher than our ways. 367 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:11,040 We can trust that God is working even when we don't understand 368 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:16,760 what's happening. So that's trust in God's plan. 369 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:24,800 Now, as we further examine the Magi, it begs the question, how 370 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:32,280 do you respond to Jesus? How is it that we ourselves 371 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:37,800 respond to Jesus? Everyone essentially fits into 372 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:43,800 three different categories. 1st is hostility. 373 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:53,000 Some people are outright hostile to the idea of Jesus, his 374 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:58,520 historicity and life, which are well proven and documented, and 375 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:02,880 their need for a savior. They're openly hostile to him, 376 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:06,120 and it's clear that they are enemies of God. 377 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:13,720 Romans 87 speaks to this person. It says the mind that is set on 378 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:17,800 the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. 379 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:23,200 Indeed it cannot. This person refuses to place 380 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:29,200 themselves in submission to God. They don't want to come under 381 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:35,160 His authority. But most people are probably in 382 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,480 the second category, indifference. 383 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,760 Indifference. This is indifference like the 384 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:48,640 the scribes and the chief priests, the Jewish leaders. 385 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:52,040 They had, they had the Hebrew scriptures. 386 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,760 They could look into God's word and see what it said. 387 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:01,120 They would have large sections of it memorized. 388 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:07,120 But they chose to ignore the actual words of God. 389 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:11,120 They had no real interest in the Messiah, and instead they were 390 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:17,640 focused on political affiliations and power they 391 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,640 should have been waiting for. They should have been longing 392 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:27,480 for the Messiah, but they'd forgotten to anticipate his 393 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:31,480 arrival. This indifference reminds me of 394 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:36,040 the parable of the sower and the seed that was sown among the 395 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:42,240 thorns. In Mark 4 it reads Others are 396 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:47,760 the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the 397 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,120 word. But the cares of the world and 398 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,880 the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things 399 00:30:54,880 --> 00:31:01,320 enter in and choke the Word, and it proves unfruitful. 400 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:07,800 Life creeps in and chokes out the revelation of God's Word, 401 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:13,720 and people who might have had an interest find themselves 402 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:17,120 completely indifferent to the Lord. 403 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:29,840 But the Gentile Magi, the ones we wouldn't expect, respond and 404 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,600 worship. They responded in worship. 405 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:37,280 The Holy Spirit was working in them, and then they responded to 406 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:39,800 the revelation of God in their hearts. 407 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,040 They didn't. They didn't have much, But what 408 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:47,080 they did have, they chose to believe and follow. 409 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:53,560 That was worship, simply giving gifts to God like the wise men 410 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:57,440 did. They gave their gifts with the 411 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:04,320 right heart posture, responding to God's revelation, right 412 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:06,280 giving, right learning, and right service. 413 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:12,440 Or they're all contingent on our hearts orientation to God. 414 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:19,160 Someone's giving. Your giving may well be 415 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:25,120 generous, but done apart from a loving relationship with God, it 416 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:29,360 proves empty. It's it's simply philanthropy. 417 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:35,920 Learning the right things is good, but apart from knowing and 418 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:41,240 depending on the source of that truth, learning is simply empty 419 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:43,520 knowledge. It's just information, like that 420 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,720 of the chief priests and the scribes. 421 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:52,880 Just vain knowledge. One service to others may well 422 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:59,400 be demanding and even sacrificial perhaps, but 423 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:02,800 performed in the power of the flesh or for the praise of men, 424 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:13,240 it turns out to be empty, just vanity, true worship, whether 425 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:20,760 giving, learning, serving, it must be performed in the context 426 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:22,920 of a relationship with our Savior. 427 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,640 This response to Him is the foundation of our Christian 428 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:30,480 walk. Those who should have worshipped 429 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:33,640 Jesus, those who should have responded to his revelation, 430 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,840 didn't. But those who were least 431 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:48,120 expected to did respond. Some, like Herod, are hostile to 432 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,080 Jesus. Some, like the chief priests and 433 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,600 scribes, are indifferent to him. They don't. 434 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,760 They don't necessarily need Him in their lives. 435 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:02,040 Some, like the Magi, worship him. 436 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:08,560 So where do we find ourselves? Are we ready to acknowledge 437 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:11,600 Jesus presence and all the details of life? 438 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:17,360 Or do our own desires and ambitions cause us to overlook 439 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:22,320 and completely miss what God is doing? 440 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:25,199 Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. 441 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:38,880 Let's take a moment in the quietness of your heart and 442 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:43,120 consider what does my worship look like? 443 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:53,080 Is my worship out of the flesh just simply going through the 444 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:59,080 motions? The the service that I render 445 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:05,200 the, the knowledge, the, the, the time with God, is that all 446 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:08,800 so that I can just grow closer and closer to him? 447 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,800 Or is it just so I can say, look what I'm doing? 448 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,760 Look, I did this. I I read the word. 449 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:32,480 We want our hearts to be fully engaged, seeking Jesus because 450 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:46,440 we want to know Him more. Let's take a moment of quiet. 451 00:35:47,040 --> 00:36:26,080 Just examine our hearts. God, may we be people who who 452 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:32,400 respond. Some can respond in even with a 453 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,160 relationship with you. They may at seasons find 454 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:45,320 themselves indifferent. God, may we be people who truly 455 00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:52,000 respond to you in worship, not just out of routine, going 456 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:58,920 through the motions, but true worship, a desire to to respond 457 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:03,120 to you with all that we are because you have revealed 458 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:09,880 yourself to us. So we thank you for coming into 459 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:15,160 this world. May we worship you with all that 460 00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:17,120 we are. It's in Jesus name we pray.