MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(2018)
PowerPoints used with this message are available for free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request PP #362.)
THE WISE MEN (#2)
TEXT: Matthew 2:1-12; Numbers 24:17
The story of the Wise Men in the Bible is a story of mystery, for it presents questions we cannot answer.
"Where did they come from?" We don't know.
"How many were there?" We really aren't sure.
"How did they know to follow the star?" We're not told.
The Bible presents it as a simple, straightforward story of some Wise Men who seem to come mysteriously out of the east to pay homage to the new born king, & then just as mysteriously they are gone.
Other than that, the Bible doesn't tell us much more about them personally. But over the years folklore has had a heyday! Tradition pictures them as 3 in number, riding camels across the desert, silhouetted against the nighttime sky.
Tradition gives their names as Casper, Melchior, Baltezar, & tells us where they came from & what they did. Folklore has it that they lived to be very old, & when the apostle Thomas came to their area preaching about Jesus that they gladly received the news & were baptized by him.
Tradition goes on to say that when they died their bodies were preserved in Constantinople. But centuries later their bones were moved to Cologne, Germany, & if you'll pay the price of admission, you can see their bones today.
Over the years a lot of stories have arisen about the Wise Men. Most of them are folklore with no evidence to prove that they are factual.
So, this morning lets concentrate on what we do know about them, rather than on what we don't know..
I. THEY FOLLOWED WHEREVER GOD LED THEM
The first thing we learn about the Wise Men was that they were willing to step out in faith & follow wherever God led them.
Why were they following the star? How did they know of its importance? Since the Bible doesn't tell us, we can only guess.
The Bible does tell us that the Wise Men came from the east. In centuries past, the major empires to the east had been the Babylonian & Persian empires. And history tells us that both of these empires specialized in studying the stars.
We also know that during the Jewish exile, Daniel, a faithful Jew & prophet of God, became chief of the wise men in Babylon & a third ruler in that kingdom. Then when the Persians conquered Babylon, Daniel was made president of the presidents under King Darius.
Therefore, scholars suggest that the wise men of the east had ample opportunity to know the O.T. prophecies.
For example, listen to Numbers 24:17 which says, "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, & a scepter shall rise from Israel."
So when they saw the star coming forth from Jacob, they were ready to go & worship Him who was to wield a scepter in Israel ? to be the King of the Jews.
Whatever the case, the important thing for us to realize is that they were willing to go - to follow wherever that special star would lead them. And God has always been faithful in leading those who are willing to follow.
ILL. Centuries before, He led the children of Israel through the wilderness, providing a pillar of cloud by day, & a pillar of fire by night. He provided food when they were hungry, drink when they were thirsty, & clothing when they were naked.
And now he had provided a star to lead these Wise Men to the place where the Christ child lay.
ILL. Can you imagine how their neighbors reacted? "O, are you going on a journey?" "Yes, we are." "Where are you going?" "We don't know." "Well, how long are you going to be gone?" "We don't know."
"What are you going to do when you get there, wherever it is?" "We are going to worship the king." "What king?" "We don't know." "Why are you going?" "We are going because we have read the prophecies, & have seen his star in the sky, & we have a strange stirring within our hearts to go."
I imagine those neighbors shook their heads & said, "And we call you ‘Wise Men’? How foolish to take off on a journey, not knowing where you are going, or what you are going to find when you get there, or how long you will be gone."
Neighbors may have said the same kind of things to Abraham when he left Ur of Chaldees to go to the land that God had promised him. And undoubtedly there were those who questioned Peter, Andrew, James, & John when they left their fishing business to follow Jesus & become "Fishers of Men."
Down through the centuries men of faith who have been willing to respond to the call of God have heard voices of doubt & discouragement again & again.
ILL. In 1787 William Cary was a shoemaker in England who heard of the millions of people in India to whom no one had ever gone with the good news of Jesus. He believed that the great commission to "Go into all the world & preach the gospel to every creature" included him.
So at a church meeting he volunteered to go as a missionary, but was told, "Young man, sit down. When it pleases God to convert the heathen, He will do it without your help or mine!"
Despite opposition he & his family made their way to India. To support his family & his missionary efforts he secured work as a manager of an indigo factory. He worked there for 6 years, learning to speak Bengali & translating the Bible into the Bengali language, while also seeking to witness to the natives around him.
He spent 7 years in India before seeing a single convert - but during the next 33 years he lived to see hundreds of churches established, & thousands of converts. Today historians call him the "Father of Modern Missions."
ILL. Some of you know the story of Jim Elliott & his 4 fellow missionaries who were killed by a tribe of Auca Indians in Brazil. They were talented & gifted men whose lives were cut short so tragically. Some called what they were trying to do "a tremendous waste of effort." But was it really?
As the news of their martyrdom spread around the world hundreds of young people were inspired to volunteer to become missionaries, too. And today, through the courageous efforts of two of the missionary widows, the Aucas are Christians, & are reaching out to other tribes with the good news about Jesus!
Not long before his death, Jim Elliott wrote these words - "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose."
We cannot keep our lives, people. It is ours for only a short while. When you "give up what you cannot keep to gain what you can never lose" - you are no fool!
II. THEY WERE WISER THAN THE MEN OF THE WORLD
Matthew tells us that the Wise Men came to Jerusalem. I guess that seemed the most logical place to find out about a new-born king. After all, the palace of King Herod was there. "And if anybody would know of the birth of a new?born King it would be the current King - Right?" Wrong!
So they went to King Herod & asked their questions. "We understand that a king has been born. We have followed His star & have come to worship Him. Where is He?"
But King Herod didn't know. So he summoned the Chief priests. They knew the scriptures. They had read what the prophets had to say. The Chief Priests knew the prophecies backwards & forwards, & when they were asked about the new-born king they answered without hesitation - "He is to be born in Bethlehem!"
They had it memorized! Yet, even though they knew it, they didn't bother to go & find out if it were true. They were wise men in the eyes of the world - but they were fools!
But the most amazing thing was that when Herod finally had the answer, his decision was to kill the Messiah. How incredible! Of all the people, King Herod should have been first in line to worship Jesus.
Herod was a great King in the eyes of the world. He considered himself to be a wise & crafty ruler. Yet, in trying to kill Jesus, to stop God's plan - he was a fool.
The world today has a lot of "Wise men" according to worldly standards. Some have many degrees & stand in great halls of learning. But the Bible still says that a man is a fool, no matter how many degrees he may have, when he says that "There is no God."
I don't care how wise the world may consider him, but when someone says that a virgin birth can't happen - a sinless life can't be lived - the resurrection cannot be a reality - he is a fool!
Truly wise men even today still come seeking Him!
III. THEY WORSHIPED & GAVE GIFTS TO JESUS
Look now at Matthew 2:11 - “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, & fell down, & worshiped him: & when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, & frankincense, & myrrh.”
Yet before any of the gifts were even given, these men fell down on their knees before Jesus & worshiped Him.
And that’s the message throughout Scripture. God doesn’t care how large your gift is. All He cares is how large your love is for Him. That’s why God emphasized that the Wise Men worshiped before they gave their gifts.
Now the gifts they brought have given rise to a lot of speculation about their symbolism.
ILL. A few minutes ago we sang the hymn “We 3 Kings Of Orient Are.”
Vs. 1 began with these words: “We 3 kings of Orient are; bearing gifts we traverse afar. Field & fountain, moor & mountain, following yonder star.
Then it goes on to tell of the 3 gifts that the Wise Men brought.
Vs. 2 says: “Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain, gold I bring to crown Him again”
Vs. 3 says: “Frankincense to offer have I. Incense owns a Deity nigh. Prayer & praising, all men raising, worship Him, God most High.”
And vs. 4: “Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom. Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb.”
The song suggests that each gift the Wise Men brought had a special message: Gold represents wealth & speaks of Jesus as a King, for gold was a gift you give to a king.
Frankincense was a precious incense used by priests in the Temple as they worship God. And Jesus was called “Immanuel” which means “God with us.”
Myrrh was an expensive perfume used to anoint dead bodies - & it foreshadowed the mission of Jesus. He came to die on the cross that our sins might be forgiven.
Now I don't know if the Wise Men understood the significance of the gifts they gave. But evidently God felt it was important for Matthew to mention specifically what they brought.
Some might think that the earthly value of these gifts may have impressed God. But of course that’s absurd. He’s not impressed by the size of our bank accounts. But He is impressed by the size of our hearts.
ILL. There is a poem that says:
"What can I give Him - poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring Him a lamb;
If I were a wise man, I would do my part.
Yet what I can give Him I will - I’ll give Him my heart."
(adapted from Christina Rossetti; 1830-1894)
INVITATION: Now how about you?
