Christmas Stories Series:
Take a look at some of the stories that surround the birth of our Savior...
Isaiah 60:1-6 (Approx 700 BC)
1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries (young camel) of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense (frank); and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.
Israel knew this prophecy of their coming Messiah King - it was written to them approximately 700 BC
Matthew 2:1-12
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold , there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled , and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together , he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor , that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared .
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said , Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again , that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed ; and, lo , the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was .
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down , and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Introduction:
The story of the wise men is a story that is a mysterious story. From the traditions of Christmas songs and stories we seem to know all the facts and details of the Wise Men.
But as we really look the scripture we find that there are a lot of questions we can not answer about the wise men from the Biblical text.
For example:
How many were there? Tradition says 3. But we don’t really know.
Where did they come from? We don’t know.
How long did their journey take? We don’t know.
They seem to just show up mysteriously
And just as mysteriously they are gone.
But the story of The Wise Men is recorded to teach us some very valuable lessons about seeking the Lord...
1. The Wise Men Were Paying Attention
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold , there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him
We have seen His star
What separated them right off the bat is that they saw the star!
Verse 3 tells us that when Herod & Jerusalem heard this they were troubled.
So that means plain and simply they didn’t even see the star.
The Magi did not know the God of Abraham but they knew that something extraordinary was happening.
They began to follow this star and somewhere along the way they got clued into the prophecy and of Isaiah and
began to ask about this Messiah, King of the Jews.
We must keep our eyes open and be sensitive to the leading of God’s Spirit
Shows me that people who were too busy,
caught up in their own...
Didn’t see the star
How badly the disciples missed what was happening around them
in the Garden, all because they couldn’t be attentive to prayer
How often do we miss what God is trying to do?
We’ve got to become sensitive to what God is doing around us
I believe that God has a plan for our time & generation
I believe that God is still at work, that Hes still leading...
We cannot become so busy that we miss what the Spirit is leading us to do! We must be attentive! We must pause!
We must take time out to pay attention!
2. The Wise Men’s Journey Required Faith
What would prompt the Wise Men to leave the comfort of their homes to go on a dangerous journey?
Fame? Sure.
Wealth? Most definitely.
But faith? Yes – faith.
They had seen the star, maybe began to follow it,
maybe began to inquire about,
something began to stir up w/in them
And they just wanted to find Him, they just had to follow this star
And so they were willing to risk everything to find Him.
They were willing to leave the safety of their homes
Theyre willing to step out in faith to find & worship this Messiah
Can you imagine their friend’s and family’s reaction?
“Are you going on a journey?” “Yes.”
“Where are you going?” “We don’t know for sure.”
“How far is it?” “Well we don’t know that either.”
How long are you going to be gone?”
Well were not quite sure on that either.”
But you know they must have said the same things to Abraham when he left his home for the Promised Land.
They must have said the same things to Noah who was building an ark – even though it had never rained in the history of the earth
They must have said the same kind of things to Peter, Andrew, John and James when they left the fishing nets to become fishers of men.
Following after Jesus, always requires leaving some things, And stepping out in faith
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
There had to be many nights on this journey,
where they questioned it
But they were kept going, they never turned back.
Everyday they just went another step forward
Just to meet Him face to face and worship, kept them going
I’m just going to keep on following Jesus!
Other people may turn back, but I’m gonna keep going
Far distance? That’s okay, I see the star
I’m still following after Him! Oh, I want to see Him!
3. The Wise Men’s Journey Was Worship
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
When they finally reached Him, In the presence of the King, they could do nothing but fall down and worship Him
In this moment they could have congratulated one another,
they could have gone home with a great story of finding and meeting a foreign King,
Maybe they could’ve wrote a book and got a book deal
but in that moment in the presence of God,
they could do nothing but fall and worship Him
What these Magi recognized is that it was nothing they accomplished, the grace of god had brought them there!
We must recognize that at every twist and turn of the road.
Praise God for bringing me here,
praise God for bringing us to this point!
Its nothing I’ve done, its the grace of God!
Just to be in His presence!
You see, thats what they had been seeking
That’s what really mattered to them
Just to see Him, Just to worship Him!
When they finally reached Him,
The majesty and the splendor
The presence and the holiness of this Messiah
In His presence,
they could do nothing but fall down and worship Him!
The gifts have a lot of symbolism associated with them.
-Gold represents wealth. It is a gift fit for a king.
(Jesus was the King of Kings)
-Frankincense is the sap of a tree, used as incense to worship (Jesus was the Son of God)
-Myrrh is a fragrant perfume that was used to anoint the dead – to embalm and preserve them. (Jesus was The Sacrificial Lamb)
But there is more to worship then gold, frankincense, or myrrh.
Worship always involves sacrifice.
Acknowledging Him as Lord again leads to action, they gave of themselves, they gave of what their homelands had to offer.
They all came from unique places, with unique gifts and they laid them at the King.
This is the call to every Christian, we’ve all come from unique places with unique gifts but they all are given to Gods Kingdom!
David said, he wouldn’t give an offering of sacrifice that didn’t cost him anything. So he bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for 50 pieces of silver.
B’c He knew true worship should cost him something, should be a sacrifice.
Romans Chapter 12 tells us that its our reasonable service to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God...
The least we can do is give what we have in worship to Him!
4. The Wise Men’s Journey Changed Them Forever
Which brings me to verse 12:
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Isn’t it interesting that after they worshiped Jesus that they could not go back the same way that they had come?
I find that to be a fact even today.
Once you have met God you will never be the same.
An encounter with God changes things – it changes you – doesn’t it? It’s always been that way.
They left changed! They went home another way!
An encounter in the presence of God will change you -
It requires change!
Jacob wrestled with God and never walked the same the rest of his life.
Job questions God over and over again concerning his suffering and when God shows up Job says.
I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me.
Who am I to have question you.
Job met God and became a changed man.
Every time we come into His presence,
we ought to go home another way!
To be changed, to be transformed!
Conclusion:
Matthew 2:1 ...wise men
It’s Christmas time and we hear the story of the Wise Men.
But why were they wise?
They were wise b’c
They were sensitive, paying attention
They stepped out in faith
They worshipped Him
They allowed it to change and transform them
Let the Savior transform you...
