We are today going to continue this journey through Advent.
So we started the sermon series of Matthew a couple of weeks
ago. The series lines up well with
Advent. I've told you guys that there's
kind of different movements throughout Matthew's gospel.
It's a little kind of little miniseries within the larger
series of Matthew as we go through this.
So we started Advent last week. This is Week 2 of Advent.
There's themes with advents. There's hope, joy, peace and
love or love and peace depending on how you organize them.
And so we're we preached hope last week, preaching joy this
week. Title of the sermon is the
worship of the king, the worship of the kings.
We're going to look at the story of the Magi who come to worship
Christ on after he was born. And so the story of the king in
Matthew, Matthew is laying out for us the story of the king and
his Kingdom, right? And he's showing us these
things. What we're seeing an advent is
that through the story of the king who has come, we will also
see the king who is coming again, right?
A second advent to come, one that we await, we hope for, we
know is in our future at some point, where Christ will descend
as the Lord of Lords and King of kings.
He'll be a lion rather than a lamb who was slain.
He'll come as a lion and, you know, figuratively, but he'll
come to establish the new heavens and the new earth and
all that goes with that, right? And he's doing this work
presently through his word as it's being preached and taught.
He's doing this work through his people as they go and live lives
for the glory of the Lord as they are, as they are people of
his Kingdom. And he's doing this through the
work of all those things, right? So he's working.
He's working through his people, through his word.
He's working in other ways. And so last week we rejoiced
that Jesus is the Savior King who rescues us from our sins.
Today Matthew draws our hearts toward the Advent theme of joy,
which is when we think of joy, we don't want to think of a
momentary cheerfulness. You don't want to think even
just of a seasonal like sentiments that it's Christmas
season. And so our hearts are a little
bit more full of joy right now, right?
It's not just a seasonal sentiment when when we talk
about biblical joy, we're talking about deep soul filling
life, directing joy that flows from those who have met the true
king, those who know the king, right?
So the magi in the story today remind us that this joy is not
limited to one people, right? It's not limited to 1 nation.
It's not limited to 1 background.
These men as they come to worship Christ, we'll see.
They are Gentiles. What it means to be a Gentiles
that you are outside of Israel's heritage, right?
They're not Israelites, they're not Hebrews.
And yet when the promised king appears, these are the ones,
these Gentiles are the ones who seek him.
They're the ones who submit themselves to him.
They're the ones who rejoice in his coming.
All right? So their response illustrates a
call in our own lives, all right?
It illustrates our own call that we have from God.
And because the King has come not just for Israel, but for all
nations, including us, we too are called to seek him.
We're called to worship Him. We're called to submit to Him,
right? And so we're going to consider
that as we hear this word this morning.
But before we get into the preaching of the Word, just like
for you to stand in honor of the reading of God's Word, look at
Matthew chapter 2 verses one through 12 today.
Matthew 2 one through 12. 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, and by no 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 some of the wise men
secretly and ascertained from them what 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 coming into the house they saw the child with Mary his
mother, and they fell down and worshipped him.
And 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. This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you
this morning for your word. We praise You for it, for by it
we come to know the God of heaven and earth.
By it we come to know Christ your Son, who was given as a
ransom for sinners. You sent him.
And to be born of, of Mary, to live a perfect life, to die a
sinner's death as one who had no sin himself, and to be raised to
life where he resides now through his ascension into
heaven. He resides with you and he rules
over all things. And Father, we thank you that we
have your word to know Christ and we have your word to know
salvation, that we have your word to teach us how to live
godly lives as people who have placed our faith in you.
And so, Lord, we ask for your help this morning.
We, we know that we are powerless to save ourselves.
We're powerless to sanctify ourselves.
We're powerless in so many ways. We are dependent wholly upon
Your grace. And so we ask that you would
show Your grace to us yet again today, that having seen Christ,
we would see the Father and Lord, that you would work on us
by your Spirit through your preached word today.
Ask these things in the name of Christ, our Lord.
Amen. Amen.
You may be seated. This might be true for you.
I think it's been true for me that joy is one of the most
pursued experiences in the world.
Have you noticed that before? Maybe you see it in others, but
the people are always seeking after joy.
It's also one of the hardest things to hold onto because you
live in a world that takes joy from you through the
difficulties of living in a fallen world, right?
There's temptations, there's sin, there's pain, there's
turmoil and strife, there's struggle, there's suffering,
there's death and tears. There's all manner of things
that we hear about that would rob us of our joy, right?
There's bad experiences that go along with good experiences that
there's all these things that seek to rob us of joy.
And yet so many people are seeking joy, right?
We often hear it in the in the phrase of do what makes you
happy, All right, That's it's the world's way of saying do
what brings you joy, whatever that is, whatever you think will
make you the happiest. Go do that.
All right, well, that's hedonism.
And often times Christians fall plague to this idea of hedonism.
It's still wired within us. It's it's in our flesh and we
struggle with it, right? We have wrong desires, we have
evil desires, we have sinful desires.
We seek our own way So often we don't want to submit to a king,
all right? We don't want to submit to a
Lord because the Lord might call us to do something that goes
against those desires that we cherish so deeply, all right?
And so joy is one of those things that's sought after by
everyone, and yet we find that it's also one of the hardest
things to hold onto, all right? So we chase joy in
relationships, all right, and we chase joy and achievements, all
right, We we chase joy and holidays and traditions.
We chase joy and comforts and security.
We chase joy in 1000, small pleasures that promised joy, but
so often fall short of giving us lasting joy.
All right, so, so we can feel joy for a moment, all right,
you, you can get a, a sense of this happiness for a moment,
this joy for a moment. And yet it leaks through your
fingers, right? Like you can take hold of it for
a moment and it's, it's like trying to hold on the water.
All right, it just it, it seeps through your fingers and you
find that it's elusive. All right, And so we try to
manufacture joy. You might manufacture joy
through medication. You may manufacture joy through
addiction. You may manufacture joy through
things that are good, right? Working out or eating well.
Like we try to manufacture joy in all manner of ways.
And yet what we find is the more we try to manufacture, the more
we chase it, the more elusive it is.
All right. Now, what I'm describing is the
book of Ecclesiastes. If you've read the book of
Ecclesiastes, you know what I'm saying.
What I'm saying, We find that that that everything is vanity
all right, that it appears good and yet it leaves us wanting.
Now why does it leave us wanting?
Well, Ecclesiastes answers that question pretty early on the
book. In chapter 3, verse 11, the the
preacher there, the writer there of Ecclesiastes, he says that
that God has put eternity, a sense of eternity into the heart
of every man. He's done so in such a way that
he cannot figure it out, all right.
They cannot obtain it. And so it's true that within
every person, saved or unsaved, there's this desire for things
that are otherworldly. There's this push for things
that go beyond us, that we know and recognize are eternal, and
yet every one of us is limited and cannot obtain that on our
own. And you've probably heard this
described in some way as a child, that God has wired in you
this God sized hole that he has to feel.
It's not a great definition, but it's not an awful one either.
It's true. Like there's a sense in you
where you long for something greater, you long for something
eternal, and yet you can't grasp it.
But that doesn't stop you from trying.
And so the the text today comes to us as an answer comes to us
as a help, and Advent comes to us as a season within our
calendar that helps us consider these things, right?
Advent reminds us why joy is elusive, because joy is not
something we create. Joy is someone who came.
Joy is something that is given by God on high.
It's a gift from the Father, right?
Joy has a name, joy has a face. And joy has appeared in Jesus.
So when when he appeared, what we find in the text is that
people could not stay neutral. And this is often true in our
lives. When Christ appears in our
lives, we cannot stay neutral, right?
We cannot remain unchanged, right?
Some sought him with longing, as the Magi do, as the wise men do
here. Some opposed him with hostility,
as Herod does here, and the people of Jerusalem do as well.
Many ignored him out of indifference, right?
This, this can't be the king. And so they ignore him.
But no one truly saw. No one who truly saw Jesus
remained unchanged. Right?
That the birth of Christ demands a response.
And his appearing reveals the deepest desires of our hearts.
It exposes what we treasure. It exposes whom we worship.
We are laid bare before God. And so that is what Matthew
shows us through the wise men, through the magi here.
These men are outsiders. They are unexpected, right?
They're they're not the ones that you think would run to
worship Christ first or travel hundreds of miles to worship
Christ first. They are not the ones we would
assume would recognize Israel's Messiah because they're not
Israelites, right? Yet they come and they become
the first picture in Matthew's gospel of what it looks like to
respond rightly to the king who has come, or the first picture
of this for us. And we said last week that
Matthew chapter 1 lays out for us a king who has come to govern
a people from every nation, right?
And it's not a coincidence that Matthew ends his Gospel in
chapter 28 with the Great Commission to go into all the
world and proclaim the Gospel, right?
Why? Because Christ means to be Lord
of a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
He means to satisfy the joy longing in a people from every
tribe, tongue and nation. He means to be worshipped by a
people from every tribe, tongue and nation.
And so their actions preach a message to us, right?
If you're taking notes in the worship guide, you can just fill
in the blanks if you'd like. But the main point of the text
today is this. Since Jesus has come as King for
all nations, we are called to seek him, submit to him, and
worship him. Since Jesus has come as a king
for all nations, we are called to seek him, submit to him, and
worship him. Sorry, rejoice in him.
Yes, rejoicing is also worship. This passage unfolds in these
three movements that show us how this joy comes to us, how it can
be received. We see how it's threatened.
We also see how it's deepened. But first we're going to see the
joy in the kings appearing. Then we'll see joy threatened by
a rival king, and then we'll see joy overflowing in worship or
rejoicing. All right, so we're going to
look at each one of these. First, joy in the kings
appearing verses one and two. I'll reread those just so we're
familiar. 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 was born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it
rose, and have come to worship him.
Now Matthew begins this section by introducing us to the Magi.
Now, these wise men are likely learned men from Persia or
Babylon. The the word magi is used for
scholars, astronomers, or wise men who are attached to Royal
Courts. What we do know about them is
they're not kings, all right? They're they're, they were
certainly not Israelites. And yet Matthew brings them
front and center in the story of Jesus's birth.
So already Matthew is proclaiming a truth that will
echo throughout his Gospel. Jesus is the promised king, not
merely for Israel, but for all nations.
Is the promised king for all nations.
So Matthew tells us that the Magi come from the east and they
arrive in Jerusalem and ask where is he who has been born
king of the Jews? Another question really is
extraordinary. They've not come to ask if a
king has been born. They assume it.
They know that it's happened. They have not come to check the
scriptures. They simply want direction to
where this king can be found. Another question reveals 3
things. One, they already believe a king
has come, right? They come knowing that a king
has been born. Where is he who has been born
king of the Jews? Now, you can imagine a perplexed
look on King Herod's face as he hears this.
Imagine I also believe that he is worthy of worship.
Where is he who's been born of king of the Jews?
We have come to worship him again.
King Herod's going to take that as a shot in the heart.
All right. You should come worship me.
And yet we've come to worship another king who Herod has no
idea exists at the moment. 3rd, they believe that he is king.
He's he's king not only over the Jews, but over them as well.
They've come to worship him. The text does not say they came
to observe him. It does not say they came to
study him. It doesn't say they came to
congratulate him, Right. It it says they came to worship
him. Now Matthew is placing before us
a really stark contrast. The Gentile world is eager to
worship Israel's king, while Israel's own leaders remain
unmoved. So the phrase born king of the
Jews is also significant. You see, Herod was appointed
king by Rome, but Jesus is born king by divine decree.
All right. His kingship is not political,
it's Messianic. He's he's the Christ, and he's
the one who's come to save his people from their sins.
His kingship was not granted by Caesar, it was established by
God. Ephesians 26 and seven, which
is, I'm sorry, Psalms 26 and seven, which is somewhat
prophetic, says this says, As for me, I have set my king on
Zion, my holy heel. I will tell of the decree.
The Lord said to me, You are my son today I have begotten you.
You see that a king has been born, a king has been given by
divine decree. He's established by God himself.
The star they saw is a matter of much discussion, right?
You've likely heard a lot of this through the years.
But Matthews focus is not on astronomy, right?
He's not looking. He's not looking to make an
astronomical argument. His point here is theological.
As one commentator notes, the star is a sign not of human
insight, but of divine initiative.
God is leading Gentile worshippers to His Son through
the appearing of the star. Now this fulfills Old Testament
prophecies like Numbers 2417 which says a star shall come out
of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.
Isaiah 60 mentions in verses one through 6.
It mentions that the nations will come to the light.
Kings will bring gifts. Psalm 7210 through 11 May.
The kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tributes.
Let all kings fall down before him.
Let all nations serve him. All right.
So Matthew Henry notes on this. He says those who live a great
way off from Christ may yet come to him if God draws them.
Praise God. Everyone of us can say Amen to
that. We all, as believers, once
dwelled in the distant land, so to speak, far off from Christ.
And yet all may come if God draws them.
Should God draw them, they will come, right?
And that's exactly what's happening here.
The Magi travel hundreds of miles because God is revealing
his Son to the nations. John MacArthur also notes he
says the Magi are the firstfruits of the Gentiles who
would come to worship the Messiah.
The King born in Bethlehem is the king of the world.
Amen. So a couple of things we want to
notice. Jesus is being set out here or
laid out for us here in Matthew chapter 2 as the universal King.
He, he's the King of the world, right?
He's the King of everything. He is born a babe in a Manger,
but he comes as the King of all. The very first worshippers of
Matthew's gospel are Gentiles. It's a stunning declaration at
the beginning of the New Testament, All right, This is
the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12, where
he told Abraham in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed. And we saw this a couple of
weeks ago that Jesus is the son of David, the son of Abraham,
right? So joy.
We also see here that joy begins with seeking the king.
I think this is kind of the thrust of the message today.
Joy begins with seeking the king, the Magi model, a truth
that will become clear throughout Matthew, and that's
this. Finding true joy begins with
responding to God's revelation. Now I told you earlier that
everyone on the earth is a joy seeker.
They're pleasure seekers right now.
Romans 1 confirms this for us and that God has revealed
himself in creation as an all powerful God.
He's revealed himself in ways that no one can deny.
And yet we see in Romans one that it is the work of sinful
man to worship creation rather than the Creator.
Well, what are they doing in worshiping creation?
They're seeking their own joy in the things God has created
rather than in the God who creates.
I'll stand here and say I am guilty of this often.
Trying to find joy in the things that God gives rather than in
God himself doesn't mean that these things aren't for a joy.
They are. But worship must roll up from
the created thing to the God who creates.
That's where true joy is found. We also see in Romans one that
as we have become creation worshippers, exchanging the
worship of God for the worship of creation, we are now guilty
also of suppressing the truth, right?
We're guilty of pushing truth down.
We don't want to acknowledge the revelation of God that He has
given to us. Rather, we would rather push
that down and worship creation instead.
If you haven't read Romans one before, or if you haven't read
it in a while, I encourage you to read it not while I'm
preaching, but later. And make note one of the ways
you see in your own heart that you're guilty of suppressing
truth and worshipping creation. But make Note 2 of how you see
it all around you in the world that you live in.
It's so prevalent. But Jesus will later say in
Matthew 7, if you seek me, you will find me.
So one of the purposes of Christ's coming, John 1 reveals
this so clearly for us is that we might see Jesus.
And having seen Jesus, we may see the Father all right.
We may see his, the, the glory of the Father revealed to us
that we might become children of God, that we can exchange
creator or creation worship for creator worship.
All right, we should be seeking Jesus.
This is where joy is found. All right, I don't care if it's
a marriage struggle. I don't care if it's a parenting
issue. I don't care if it's financial
stress. I don't care if it's sin and
temptation, problems in your own heart, what whatever it may be,
joy is found in seeking Christ amidst all those things, in the
middle of all those things, putting Christ 1st and letting
him govern your life. That's where Joy's found.
We also see here that God takes the initiative and drawing
sinners. Before the magi ever moved, a
step, before they ever set on on a journey, God placed a sign in
the heavens for them. It reinforces the truth of
Scripture that salvation always begins with God.
Christ is not found through human brilliance.
These are wise men, after all. Christ is found through divine
revelation only. So we find Christ.
It's through revelation, through God's revelation for us, right?
Spurgeon said this. He said we are not the seekers,
we are the sought. We're the ones that God has
sought. So since Jesus has come as King
for all nations, we must seek him.
Brothers and sisters, Advent, joy does not grow in the soil of
distraction or indifference. That's a bad soil.
You will not grow joy in the soil of distraction and
indifference. You must become focused and you
must become aggressive, active, not passive, not indifferent.
Joy appears when we respond to God's gracious revelation of His
Son for us. So some reflective questions
that should come to mind as we read this passage.
Am I seeking God daily in his Word?
You might say well I don't have a star in the heavens.
I don't have this, you know, clear divine revelation like the
Magi had. You may make every excuse in the
world, but but you are not called to be a sign seeker,
brother and sister. You're you're called to be the
kind of people who read and know the Word of God where He has
given us divine revelation of Himself.
You don't need a star in the heavens when you have the
scriptures in your hands or on your shelf at home.
We have all that we need. Another question should come to
mind. Are we meditating on the truths
of His Word? Are we thinking deeply about
what God has revealed to us? Do we turn them into prayers?
Do we turn them into thoughts of our day?
Do we let them influence the actions of our hands, the
thoughts of our minds, the words of our mouth?
Meditate on the scriptures, Think on them, Mull over them,
ride them out, turn them into prayers.
Another question, are we coming to Him in prayer with
expectancy? Do you come to Him in prayer at
all? Do you come frequently to
prayer? Do you seek the Lord, having
read His word, letting it inform your prayers, and now respond to
God in praying? Another question, are we
positioning our hearts to see Him, to hear Him, to worship
him? Well, I would say the answer is
yes. For all of you that are sitting
in here today, the gathering of the Saints is one place we can
expect to see God, to hear God, and to worship God well.
What about the rest of the week? What actions are you taking?
What steps are you taking to position your heart before God?
The Magi give us a picture of faith in motion.
It's it's faith in action. It's joy that begins by
following God's light, however small that light may seem right.
Their their journey reminds us that joy is not found in
circumstances. Joy is found in beholding the
King who has appeared. Joy is found in responding to
Christ with humble, eager, Worshipful pursuits.
That's where we find joy. So the magi revealed that joy,
this joy that springs from God's gracious revelation.
Or, sorry, the magi revealed the joy that springs from God's
gracious revelation. But joy is never, ever, ever
without opposition because the reign of Christ exposes every
competing throne. Matthew turns our attention from
joyful seekers to a fearful ruler in the next verses.
Here we see joy threatened by a rival king.
You might say that it's a rival king who is threatened by joy.
Look at verses 3 through 8. When Herod the king heard this,
he was troubled in 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.
And 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, inherit some of 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. Does that sound sincere?
If you know the story, you know it's not.
So if the magi reveal the joy that comes to those who seek the
true King, then Herod here is revealing the opposite.
He reveals for us the fear, the hostility, the deception that
arises when sinful hearts resist the authority of Christ.
And so Matthew again is drawing the sharp contrast.
The same news that causes the Magi to rejoice we see here.
It troubles Herod deeply. Matthew tells us that when Herod
the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem
troubled with him. The word troubled here means
shaken. It means that you're agitated.
It means you're disturbed. So Herod was a man obsessed
withholding on the power. Historically, we know this.
He, he murdered members of his own family to protect his
throne. He, he was a puppet king who was
appointed by Rome. He was not born into David's
line. And so when the Magi speak of a
child born king of the Jews, Herod senses now a direct threat
that needs to be exterminated, right.
Herod is troubled because the true king has appeared, but
Jerusalem is troubled as well because they know Herod's
violent instability. So instead of rejoicing at the
fulfillment of prophecy as they should have done, the city
braces now for what Herod might do in response to this news.
So Herod summons together the chief priest.
He summons together the scribes. These are the very people who
knew the Scriptures, and he asked them where the Christ was
to be born. They quote Micah 52 accurately.
The Messiah will come from Bethlehem.
Yet strikingly, strikingly, they don't go.
The scribes and the high priest don't go to see the promised
birth of the King. They know the truth, but their
hearts are unmoved. And so Herod responds with
hostile deceit. The religious leaders this
respond with this cold indifference, probably fearing
for their lives. John MacArthur notes this.
He says Herod's reaction represents a world that would
rather destroy Christ than submit to him.
And the religious leaders represent those who know the
truth but refuse to act on it. So Herod embodies for us the
rebellion of fallen humanity, right?
Herod is not simply a villain. Brothers and sisters, we, we, we
can't look at Herod and think, man, what a troubled man he was.
What a, what a despicable man he was, what an evil man he was.
We can't simply think that, though that's true.
We need to also understand that He is a picture of every Sinner
who refuses Christ's rightful rule.
Psalm 2 describes the nation's raging against the Lord and His
anointed. Herod is one of the first in the
New Testament to embody that rebellion so clearly.
We also see here that knowledge without obedience.
Knowledge without obedience produces no joy, right?
The chief priests, the scribes, they have the scriptures, but
they do not have the Savior, right?
They can quote prophecy, yet they feel no urgency themselves
to seek Christ, as James remind us.
The book of James in chapter 1 reminds us the word must be
received with meekness and then acted upon.
We are not to be hearers of the word only, we are to be doers of
the word. Spurgeon remarked this, he said
it is a sad thing when those who are nearest to the means of
grace are often the slowest to receive it.
Another thing we see here is that Christ kingship exposes
every competing throne. Herod is troubled because
Christ's arrival threatens his self-made Kingdom.
When is my heart threatened because I want to impose myself
made Kingdom? That's far more often than I
wish ever. So I want you to understand,
brothers and sisters, that joy dies wherever self rule is
cherished more than Christ rule. Your joy dies when you cherish
the ruling of your own heart. Rather than yielding your life
to Christ. The human heart naturally wants
to enthrone itself. Christ appearing, confronts
that. It has to.
Since Jesus has come as king for all nations, we see here that we
must submit to Him. Joy is threatened whenever we
attempt to maintain control over our lives apart from Christ.
Well, this is one reason we'll get there, you know, in a few
months. But in Matthew 6, when Jesus
teaches us how to pray, this is your Kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
How often are we praying? God, your Kingdom come.
Let your Kingdom rule my heart, rule my life, rule my mind, rule
my emotions, rule my actions, my words.
Let your Kingdom come and rule me.
Let my Kingdom pass away. Herod shows us the danger of
hostility, that is resisting the king because his authority
challenges ours. But the religious leaders show
us the danger of indifference, which is those moments where we
know the truth but we refuse to act on it.
Both of those kill joy. Hostility to God, indifference
to God. Those things kill your joy.
And so Advent invites us to examine the rival kings in our
own hearts. All right.
What areas of our lives do we refuse to surrender?
About your physical health? What?
What about your spiritual health?
What about your emotions? Your mind?
What areas of your life are you refusing to surrender to God?
Where? Where do we resist the authority
of Christ? Where?
Where do we find that we have a rival king in our own heart
because we're resisting the authority of God or Christ in
our lives? Is it in your desires?
Your aspirations? Is it in your homes?
It is in your work, of your devotional life.
A 1000 questions can be asked. You just have to ask yourself,
where in my heart am I resisting the authority of Christ?
Another good question. Where have we settled for
knowledge without obedience? Where have we settled for just
having an understanding of God and not putting it to action,
not putting it to work, not obeying Him right?
Is your head full but your heart far?
We want to be careful not to become the kinds of Christians
who have full heads and faraway hearts.
You see, joy, true joy, cannot exist with a self protected
throne. Joy grows only when we lay down
our crowns at the feet of Christ.
But while Herod and the religious leaders show us how
joy is threatened, Matthew now turns our attention back to the
Magi to show us how joy is restored and strengthened.
It's not in resisting the king, rather it's in worshipping the
King. And so their response provides
this beautiful picture of joy overflowing in the presence of
Christ. Point #3 joy overflowing in
worship. Look at verses 9 through 12.
Again. 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
worshipped 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.
So what unfolds in verses 9 through 12 is one of the most
beautiful pictures of joyful worship in all of Scripture.
The the the contrast with Herod and with those religious leaders
could not be sharper. Herod trembles in fear.
The wise men rejoice exceedingly with great joy.
Herod plots to destroy, and the wise men bow down to a door.
Herod clings to a crumbling throne, and the wise men gladly
surrender before the eternal King.
So Matthew tells us that they're that after their meeting with
Herod, they once again see the star that had gone before them,
and this time it came to rest over the place where the child
was. Now the wording here obviously
suggests divine guidance. It's not mere astronomical
phenomenons, right? God is directing worshippers to
his Son. And then Matthew piles up joy
language in verse 10. They rejoiced exceedingly with
great joy. They rejoiced exceedingly with
great joy. What we see here is joy
intensified. We we see joy multiplied.
It's compounded, right? One commentator calls it super
abundant joy. It's a joy that cannot be
contained. And what does such joy produce
in these men? One, we see that joy bows before
the king. Verse 11 says they fell down and
worshipped him. The Greek phrase that's used
there describes physically lowering oneself in reverence
before a superior understand what's happening.
These are dignified men. They're educated, respected,
likely very wealthy, and now they're lying prostate on the
ground before a young child. They're not worshiping Mary.
They're not worshiping Joseph. They worship him.
The text says they worship Jesus, the Son of God, the true
King. Matthew Henry writes.
He says though those who truly know Christ will adore him, joy
in him will soon bring us to our knees before him.
And Spurgeon adds this. He says a glimpse of Jesus
humbles us, but it is a happy humility.
We cast ourselves at his feet with delighted reverence.
Amen. Second thing we see about joy
here is that it gives generously to the King.
The magi open their treasures and they present gifts.
Gold and frankincense and murder.
No, I want you to understand these gifts are not random.
They reflect who Jesus is and what he came to do.
Gold is given because it's a gift for a king.
Jesus is the king. Frankincense was used in
priestly worship. Jesus is the great high Priest.
Myrrh was often associated with suffering and burial.
Because Jesus, our great High Priest, is going to enter the
Holy of Holies through his own death.
So already in infancy, Jesus is revealed as the King, as the
priest, and as the one who will suffer and die for his people.
Their their gifts are costly, but they bring what's precious.
They bring what matters. Joy expresses itself in
sacrificial giving to the one who is worthy, John MacArthur
notes. Their gifts symbolize the
recognition of his sovereign, divine and sacrificial roles.
True worship, he says, is always marked by costly devotion. 3rd,
we see that joy obeys God's direction.
Finally there in verse 12, God warns them in a dream not to
return to Herod, and it says they departed to their own
country by another way their their encounter with Jesus
literally changes their direction.
This is not incidental. Worship that springs from joy
always leads to transform the living, as Jesus himself will
later say, If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
John 1415 True joy, True joy in the Lord produces obedience to
the Lord. We don't see obedience as this
cold duty. We see this glad submission,
happy hearted, joyous submission to the Lord.
You see, worship is the fruit of joy in Christ.
The magi don't fall down and worship Him because they must.
They worship Him because their hearts are overflowing with joy
at what God has done. Worship is also God initiated,
but we believe this here. This is why we start every
worship service with a call to worship, with a reading of
Scripture that reminds us that God is drawing us to worship
him. All right, we're coming as a
response to what God has done every single Lord's Day.
All right, God draws them, God leads them, God warns them.
Salvation and worship are always responses to God's gracious
initiative. John 644 says no one comes to
me, this is Christ speaking. No one comes to me unless the
Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the
last day. We also see here that worship of
Christ fulfills God's plan for the nations.
There's great passages in your Bible like Isaiah 60, Psalm 72,
the Abrahamic promise in Genesis 12.
All of these are converging in these Gentile worshippers.
They are the first fruits of the nations who will one day gather
before the Lamb. Revelation 79 and 10.
After this I looked, and behold, this is John the Revelator
speaking. After this I looked, and behold
a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation,
from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with
palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud
voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and
to the Lamb. What a day of rejoicing and
worship that will be. So, brothers and sisters, I hope
it's clear that since Jesus has come as King for all nations, we
must rejoice in him. All right, some of you don't
walk around with a smile on your face.
Nearly enough. King of all Kings has split
heaven open, and he's come down to rescue you from your sins, to
set his seal of the Spirit upon you, to save you from eternal
damnation, and to call you his own son or daughter.
And we'll walk around grumbling. We'll walk around often
frustrated. We'll walk around thinking I
have nothing to delight and nothing to smile about.
Brothers, sisters, I just want you to see today that you have
so much, so much to be joyous about.
Come to the King with hearts that rejoice today.
Joy is not a fleeting holiday emotion.
The lights and the trees, the decorations, all these things,
they're beautiful and they do make my heart cheery.
The songs, the sounds of Christmas make me smile.
They do. I enjoy it.
All the traditions from a child to now where I'm raising my own
children, all of it makes me joyous.
But but none of those things are about those things.
They're all about the Christ we worship, the work of God in our
lives, right? So joy is not a fleeting holiday
emotion. It's the settled gladness of a
heart that knows Christ, and it gladly bows to him.
Joy expresses itself in humble worship.
We bow before Christ and surrender and reverence.
Joy expresses itself in generous giving.
We offer our treasures, our time, our talents, our whole
lives for the glory of Christ. Joy expresses itself in glad
obedience. We will walk in whatever
direction God commands, even if it is another way than what we
expected. That's a tough one.
But joy gets us to that spot. I want you to understand it that
the joyless worship is not biblical worship.
God means for you to enjoy Him. Real joy leads us to come before
Christ with open hands, with open hearts, and with open
obedience. The Magi here show us what
happens when joy meets the true King.
We see their humility bowing before the child and worship.
We see their generosity and the gifts that they bring.
We see their obedience and that they listen to the Lord in a
dream and went another way and we see their worship.
I said we have come to worship him.
You see, Matthew gathers all these threads together to show
you the larger reality behind their journey.
This joy is not just for them. This isn't a story you're meant
to read and think, oh that's sweet, what a beautiful picture
of this. This story is here so that you
will see that Christ is for the nations, that Christ has called
you to worship him in the same way.
This truth, this story is for us today.
Matthew wants us to see something astonishing.
The first worshippers of Jesus and his gospel are Gentiles, and
he's writing to a Jewish audience.
The first worshippers of Jesus and Matthew's gospel are
outsiders. They're strangers to the
covenants of promise, and yet they are drawn in by the grace
of God. They're awakened by the
appearing of the true King and they're filled with joy that
cannot be contained. You see, the Magi stand as a
living testimony to what God is doing in Christ.
He is gathering a people from every nation who will bow before
Him and His Son with joy. They sought Him, they submitted
to Him, they rejoiced in Him and church.
That is the call on our lives as well, that since Jesus has come
as King for all nations, we are called to seek Him, submit to
Him, and rejoice in Him. You see, this is the heart of
Advent joy. It's not sentimental feeling.
It's not temporary emotional lift.
It's not a warm holiday memory. It's a deep, durable spiritual
joy that takes root in the soul because it is rooted in the King
Himself. We have joy in His appearing
because God has kept his promises.
We have joy even when joy is threatened, because there is no
rival king that can overturn his rule.
And we have joy that overflows in worship because Christ is
worthy of our humility. He's worthy of our generosity.
He's worthy of our obedience. He's worthy of our very lives.
Brothers and sisters, those of you who have called on the name
of the Lord and faith, I want you to know, I want you to be
aware that the world offers 1000 lesser joys, joys that fade,
joys that fail, joys that cannot sustain A weary soul.
But Christ offers you a joy that is full and forever, a joy that
leads to worship, a joy that bends the knees and lifts the
heart, a joy that steadies us in suffering and anchors us in
hope. So this Advent, I implore you, I
beg of you, seek Christ. Turn from every rival king in
your own heart. Bow before him and glad
surrender. Open your treasures before him.
Offer him your very life, but the joy of the nations become
the joy of your own hearts. Let your worship rise from a
soul captivated by Christ, and let your life become an offering
of joyful obedience to the King who has come and will come
again. This is why we're gathering for
a hymn sing on the square, by the way.
It's to worship the King of Kings.
It's to praise the Lord of Lords.
It's to exalt Christ in little old Magnolia, AR.
It's not about being seen by others.
It's wanting to make Christ seen in the beauty of His people,
worshipping Him with full glad hearts.
So if you haven't made plans to come yet, you better do it.
If you're an unbeliever, you don't know Christ.
You haven't yet placed your faith in him.
You haven't followed him in baptism.
I I want you to know that this joy does not belong to everyone.
There is no joy in Herod's heart.
There's only fear. There is no joy in the chief
priest. There's only indifference, and
this remains true today. That joy is found only by those
who come to Christ in repentance and faith.
So, so let me speak gently and plainly to anyone here who does
not yet know this King. You cannot find lasting joy
apart from Christ. You You may search for it in
success, you may search for it in relationships or pleasure or
family or holiday sentiments, but none of those things can
carry the weight of your soul. Every other joy fades, every
other joy fails. Every other joy ends at the
grave. But Jesus came for sinners, for
people like us, for people like me and many of those sitting
around you. Jesus came for sinners who have
rebelled against God and tried to build their own kingdoms.
He came not only as a child, He came as a Redeemer.
He lived without sin. He died on the cross to pay the
debt of our that our sins so rightly deserve.
And he rose again in victory, and he now offers forgiveness
and eternal life and everlasting joy to all who come to him, and
humble faith. So if you are far from God
today, I want you to hear this clearly.
Christ came for the far off. If you feel unworthy, I want you
to know that the unworthy are the only ones who come.
If you feel empty, I want you to know that He alone feels your
soul. If you feel ashamed of your
sins, your wrongdoings, your past, maybe your present, I want
you to know that the cross is more than enough to cleanse you.
If you feel lost, without direction, going your own way,
empty, I want you to know that Christ is the King who seeks and
saves you. See, the same Savior that drew
the magi, drew the wise man is drawing you.
The same King who welcomed Gentiles welcomes you.
The same grace that led them to worship can lead you to worship
Him today. So come, all of you come.
Leave the rival kings behind. Lay down the burden of self
rule, turn your stern from your sin and trust in the one who
came to save. Bow before Jesus Christ and find
Him to be the joy that your heart was made for, and rejoice
with exceedingly great joy. For the King has appeared, and
he is worthy of your worship. He's worthy of your faith, He's
worthy of your life, He's worthy of your all.
Come and behold him. Come and worship him.
Come and rejoice in him. Jesus Christ our King, let me
pray for you. Heavenly Father, I thank you for
your word today. I thank you, Lord, that we have
seen Christ yet again in Matthew 2.
The Gospel of Matthew shows us a people who were far off, who saw
a king had been born and they came to worship him.
Father, we who are far off have seen in Christ a Savior.
You have graciously saved us from our sins, and so we have
come to worship You today. But Lord, we know that it's true
that in our own flesh we may suffer a feeling of rivalry.
Kings, we may have feelings of indifference.
And so, Lord, I pray for my brothers and sisters and for my
own heart today that you would purge those things from us, that
You would cleanse us, that You had helped us to worship Christ
in spirit and in truth today. And Father, I pray for anyone
here who does not know You that they would hear the call of God
to come, that they return from their sins and place their faith
in Jesus today, find life in His name.
We thank you that You love us so dearly, that you speak to us so
clearly. I'm going to give you a moment
now there in your seat to seek the Lord.
Spend some time in prayer, search your own heart.
Look for rival kings, look for indifference.
See if there are things that are hindering you from worshipping
Christ more faithfully, more purely today.
Maybe after searching you find nothing.
Then give praise to God for Christ the King who rules and
reigns over your life, and worship him this morning.
And maybe you are far off unsaved.
Would you come to Christ today? Heavenly Father, we praise you
for your marvellous grace, your wondrous love, Your mercies
which renew every day. We thank You that you speak to
us directly through your word and says as it's come to bear on
our hearts today, we ask that you help us to respond in
obedience. Help us to worship you with joy
today. It's in the name of Christ I
pray. Amen.