THE KING IS WORSHIPPED
MATTHEW 2: 1-12
INTRODUCTION
We moved to Janesville in August of 1997. The only people we knew in
the area were my mom and dad who live in Oregon and my brother and his
wife. So it looked to be a long day of moving in. Much to our delight
5 men from the Stoughton EFC showed up and our friends Pat and Linda Boyer
from Fort Atkinson. We unloaded our truck in a little over an hour.
When we lived in Illinois, we had another unexpected visitor that we
were not quite so happy about. Tell story of the Doberman eating our chickens.
The birth of Jesus is the most unexpected of events. His arrival was
a surprise to everyone. Some people were really excited, but not everyone.
The same is still true today. As we look at Matthew 2: 1-12 we are going
to find out that even as a baby when king Jesus shows up he provokes people.
Let’s look at the opening verses to get the setting of the story. First
we need to remember that Matthew ended chapter one with Joseph taking
Mary as his wife, the baby being born and Joseph as the legal guardian
and in obedience to the angel’s command, giving the baby the name, Jesus.
Now in the opening verse of chapter two we are told that Jesus was born
during the reign of king Herod. The capital of Israel at the time was
Jerusalem, which is where Herod lived. Unexpected visitors show up. They
are called Magi. About all we know about them is that they live to the
east of Israel. They are not Jewish. They study the stars, probably as
astrologers looking for omens. They must have had a fairly complete knowledge
of the Jewish faith, especially the Jewish hope that God would send a
Savior, who would be the king of Israel because they knew that a certain
sign in the sky was an indication of that kings birth. We don’t know how
many of them there were. It seems to me that most likely there were more
than three, though that is the number most often assumed because of the
three gifts. They have seen a unique star appear in the sky at the time
of Jesus’ birth and when they saw it they decided to come to Israel in
order to pay homage to the newly born king. Not knowing where else to
go they went to the most logical place for a king to be born, the capital
city of Jerusalem. When they arrive they ask a very simple question, "Where
is the one who has been born king of the Jews?" I am certain they
expected to have someone show them a baby in the royal palace. Instead
their appearance and their question provokes a strong emotional response
among the king and the people.
If you were an aging king and heard that some strangers had shown up
in your kingdom asking where the newly born king was at and there has
been no royal baby born in your palace, how would you feel? A little threatened,
perhaps? Herod and all of Jerusalem was "disturbed", as the
NIV puts it. The word is a very strong one. It is the word used to describe
how the disciples felt when they saw Jesus walking on the water in the
middle of the night and thought they were seeing a ghost. There it is
translated, "they were terrified". It was how Jesus felt when
he thought about going to the cross and being separated from his Father.
Herod and all Jerusalem with him were very upset, fearful, disturbed by
the inquiry of these strangers.
When king Jesus shows up, even as a baby, he provokes, he disturbs people.
I believe that Matthew shows us in these verses three different ways people
respond when Jesus shows up, not just then, but also now.
MAIN POINT
When King Jesus shows up He provokes people
I. Some to apathy vv. 1-6
Though Herod is not Jewish he has lived his whole life among Jewish people.
He knows about the promised Jewish Messiah and so he calls together the
leaders of the Jews and asks them where the king of the Jews is to be
born. The chief priests and teachers of the law quote to him from two
OT passages. Look at v. 6. First, they tell him the where, "in Bethlehem".
This comes from Micah 5:2. However, they go on to add a quote from another
passage, II Samuel 5:2, which is a statement that God makes to David,
the king. They tell king Herod, that the Messiah who will be born in Bethlehem
will also be the shepherd, the leader of God’s people, Israel.
Matthew reports their answer for two reasons. First, he is driving home
the point he began making in the first verse of his gospel, Jesus is David’s
son, the long awaited king of Israel, for he was indeed born in Bethlehem
in fulfillment of a prophecy made over 500 years prior to this. Second,
Matthew wants us to see the irony of the response of the Jewish leaders
to the birth of this one who is the shepherd of God’s people, Israel.
They are completely uninterested. Herod and the people of Jerusalem are
all worked up about the report of the Magi. But the leaders of Israel,
who are the most knowledgeable of the OT and ought to be the most alert
to the work of God, have absolutely no interest in investigating the possibility
of the Messiah being born in Bethlehem. They are apathetic. We are not
told why they are so apathetic but there is a stark contrast between the
response of these knowledgeable Jewish leaders and the pagan, superstitious,
non-Jewish astrologers.
Apathy at the coming of Jesus is a response that is common among those
who have grown up hearing the story their whole life. They know all the
answers, at least they think they do, but they have no interest, no passion
for Christ. It is an easy trap to fall into. We become lulled to sleep,
assuming that because I know the answers to the basic questions and because
I had an experience 10, 20, 30 years ago and because I keep coming to
church, then I must be OK with God. However, you can know you are in trouble
if the stories of Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension and
his future return only inspire yawns. There are teenagers in here who
have grown up hearing the stories and assume they have nothing to fear
because they know all the answers.
Disinterest in actively pursuing Christ in prayer, in Bible reading,
in worship, in glad obedience to his commands is a sure sign that you
are not responding in faith to Christ. Faith is not simply acknowledging
facts about Jesus. It’s not getting excited about the latest evangelical
bandwagon or deploring the moral decline in America. The essence of faith
is a passionate delight in Christ as the source of all happiness. It is
the joy and love that is the result of seeing the generosity and mercy
he extends to every sinner who believes.
In over 20 years of talking with people about Christ I have seen this
kind of response more times than I care to remember. I remember one young
man in particular that I met the first year I was working with Campus
Crusade for Christ. The first time I met him I shared the basic facts
of the gospel with him. He had been raised in the church and he agreed
with everything I said. When I asked him if he’d be interested in getting
together with me to talk about his relationship with God again, he said
sure, that would be fine. Each week we met I’d give him things to read
and ask him how his praying was going. I invited him to church and to
a bible study. He never did anything to pursue Christ on his own. The
only thing he would do is meet with me. He always said he understood what
I was saying. He never had any questions. One of the last times we met
together I was explaining to him how Christ had sent the Holy Spirit to
enable him to live the Christian life. We were sitting in the student
union, which was full of students, right across the table from each other.
He had his chin in his hand and he fell asleep. I stopped talking and
after a minute or two he woke up.
Now, I know that even the most interested students can fall asleep when
listening to the most gifted teacher. So, I’m not saying that if you fall
asleep when listening to me, or any other preacher, you are automatically
in the same camp as these Jewish leaders. However, if you always fall
asleep, if discussions about Christ leave you cold, if you never ask questions
or initiate conversations about Jesus, then you have to wonder where do
you really stand with Him?
I want to say a word to all of us who are parents at this point. We all
know how immunizations work. You give a shot of a small amount of the
disease in order for your body to build up antibodies that will then defend
you against that disease. If you want to inoculate your child against
the Christian faith, then do this. Say you believe in Christ, come to
church, get excited about some program or issue in the church but never
display enthusiasm for Christ himself by reading the Bible together with
your children. Never pray with them other than at meals and in church.
Don’t ever talk with them about Christ and seek to teach them biblical
truth. Complain about church and how boring it all is while you jump up
and down in front of the TV while your favorite team is playing. Talk
a lot about how evil those homosexuals are but never apologize to them
for treating them harshly. In short, say you’re a Christian and act like
you have all the answers but don’t passionately pursue Christ. This is
the surest way I know to inoculate your child against Christ.
When king Jesus shows up he provokes people.
II. Some to hypocrisy vv. 7-8
After Herod has this very public meeting with the Jewish leaders and
finds out where the Messiah is to be born. Then he has a secret meeting
with the Magi. Notice, he tells them he wants their help to find this
newborn king, so that he can worship him also. In his feigned enthusiasm
for Christ he finds out when the child was born and then he commissions
them to go find the child and to then report back to him so he can worship
as well. He appears very interested in the child and very sincere in his
desire to worship the child. The Magi have no reason to distrust Herod.
To them, desiring to worship this baby is a natural response to the revelation
about him they have received. It does not occur to them that someone might
be interested in Jesus for any other reason than out of joy that he’s
come. They assume Herod is sincerely interested when in fact he has ulterior
motives. (Next week we will find out what those motives are.)
Herod stands as one of the chief representatives of that great host of
people who have an interest in Jesus only for what He can give in this
life. His interest is a faked interest. What he’s really interested in
is preserving his kingship and if feigning interest in Jesus will help
him keep his kingdom, then he’ll be interested in Jesus. From the viewpoint
of the Magi, Herod is a believer in the Christ and eager to worship him.
Yet, as we find out in v. 12 and then what follows, his interest in Jesus
is only superficial, he’s really interested in his own power.
He represents the businessman who comes to church so he can network with
others. The pastor who preaches so he can get a paycheck. The parent who
comes to church because he wants his child to have "good" friends.
The single person who’s looking for a mate. The person who is only interested
in Jesus so she can see her loved ones in heaven. The person who seeks
Christ because they want to be healed physically. In each of these cases
the problem is that the goal of your affections is not Christ but rather
that which you hope an interest in Christ will get you. Herod was interested
in Jesus because of what interest in Jesus would get him. Are you only
interested in Jesus because of what he can get you? James in his letter
says it this way: "You adulterous people. Don’t you know that friendship
with the world is hatred toward God? Whoever chooses to be a friend of
the world, becomes an enemy of God."
To be interested in Jesus only because you think Jesus will help you
get that thing in this world that you really need to be happy is an easy
trap to fall into. It is also a very subtle trap.
We’ve all seen how this works on the human level. A boy notices a girl
who he would like to get to know better. However, he cannot figure out
any way to even meet her. He suddenly discovers that his lab partner in
Chemistry is this girl’s best friend. So he is really nice to the best
friend, maybe even takes her out on a date so he can at least be introduced
to the girl he’s really interested in. We often do exactly the same thing
with Jesus. We’re not really interested in him, only what we think he
can give us, just like Herod.
When king Jesus shows up he provokes people.
- Some to apathy
- Some to hypocrisy and…
III. Some to seek Him, worship Him and obey Him vv. 9-12
We are not given much information about the Magi or the star. We don’t
know where they are from or how it is they came to know the star indicated
the birth of Jesus. We have no idea what kind of astronomical phenomenon
the star actually was. Why are we given so little information? In order
to highlight what we are told. What we are shown here is the response
of these Magi to the birth of Jesus. The Magi stand as the representatives
of all those who have a living faith in Christ. They show a number of
things about the people whom Christ has come to shepherd.
- The first thing to note here is that they are not Jewish. Matthew
is declaring that you do not belong to God by virtue of your religious
or political or racial or familial affiliations. You are not one of
God’s people because you have "kept the law". Those who are
"God’s people" are all those who respond to God’s Messiah
the way these Magi do.
- Second, those who belong to God are those who respond to God’s revelation,
to his explanation of reality. Somehow these men knew of God’s promise
to send a Savior, a king who would lead God’s people. It was revealed
to them that this Savior was born at a particular time. They believed
these promises and acted upon that belief. Their faith was in what God
revealed, not in some idea they came up with in their own heads.
- Third, look at the passionate pursuit of Christ that is described
for us here. They have traveled a great distance to a foreign country
in order to find this king. They have done so for one purpose, to worship
him. They accept Herod’s statement that he wants to worship Jesus because
they can’t imagine anyone not wanting to worship Jesus. Look at v. 10.
The saw the star one time about two years prior to this event and now
when they leave Jerusalem to go to Bethlehem, it shows up again. See
how they respond. They are overjoyed. They realize that God is leading
them on. They are on the right track. They are going the way that God
wants them to go and this knowledge gives them great joy. When they
finally find Jesus, they fall down in front of this baby living with
his parents in a modest little hut in a rural town in a backwater country
called Judea and worship him. They open their treasure chests and give
him gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. These are the kinds of gifts you
would give to a powerful king.
- Fourth, their response is a miracle. While not explicit, it is clearly
implied that these men have not come to this place merely as a result
of their own intelligence. God has been at work creating believing hearts
and leading these men to the object of their devotion and happiness,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Fifth, see their obedience. They are warned in a dream to not return
to Herod and so they go directly back to their own country by another
route.
Do you see the marks of the fanatic in these Magi? Here is the determination,
the excitement, the anticipation, of the Packer fan, the deer hunter,
the Hansen fan, the connoisseur of fine wines, the doll collector, the
lover – every kind of person who has something or someone that he or she
loves.
Jesus has come to be a shepherd for his people and all his people are
those who come to him with the same enthusiasm, submission and joy that
the Magi display. The Magi did not go looking for joy, they came looking
for Christ and they were joyful when they found him because they had determined
that to find Jesus would be the happiest thing that could happen to them.
The certain mark that you have been saved by God is that you come to Christ
because he is the treasure for which you seek, just like the Magi. They
didn’t want anything from Jesus, they came because of their joy in Jesus.
As John Piper says, "Saving faith is the cry of a new creature in
Christ. And the newness of the new creature is that it has a new taste.
What was once distasteful or bland is now craved. Christ himself has become
a Treasure Chest of holy joy. The tree of faith grows only in the heart
that craves the supreme gift that Christ died to give: not health, not
wealth, not prestige, but God!!"
"Saving faith is the confidence that if you sell all you have, and
forsake all sinful pleasures, the hidden treasure of holy joy will satisfy
your deepest desires. Saving faith is the heartfelt conviction not only
that Christ is reliable but also that he is desirable. It is the confidence
that he will come through with his promises and that what he promises
is more to be desired than all the world."
Tell story of conversion and growth of Bill O’Connor and Shannon Tenney.
Highlight their response to God’s word, their questions, their coming
to things, their organizing a Bible study.
When king Jesus shows up he provokes people.
- Some to apathy
- Some to hypocrisy
- Some to seek, worship and obey Him
APPLICATION
There are three obvious questions that Matthew leaves us with, "Which
of these three groups of people are you most like? Which do you want to
be like? What are you going to do about it?
© Copyright 2000 John Swanson.
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