Sermon Central
-
The Nativity Story: The Hope Of The Wise Men
Contributed by C. Raymond Van Pletsen on Oct 30, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: The Magi followed the directions of God’s Word to Jesus and submitted to Him as their King. We should follow in their footsteps!
THE HOPE
OF THE WISE MEN
The Main Idea
The Magi followed the directions of God’s Word to Jesus and submitted to Him as their King. We should follow in their footsteps!
Outline
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF HOPE
The Magi were looking forward to the coming of
the King of the Jews because God told them He was coming!
JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF HOPE
When the Magi found the King, they found Jesus!
WE GAIN HOPE
WHEN WE CHOOSE TO FOLLOW JESUS
INTRODUCTION
Christmas is the season of hope.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas if you could measure hope with some kind of instrument like a weather balloon you would find the atmosphere crackling with hope.
“I hope I get an iPod for Christmas.”
“I hope I get Tickle Me Elmo.”
“I hope I get a Lexus.”
This kind of hope is a wish for something good that is sometimes fulfilled but often not. While we may be disappointed if we don’t get what we hope for the consequences are usually not devastating.
New Years is also a season of hope, but this kind of hope is usually less trivial.
“I hope I get to keep my job this year.”
“I hope I beat my cancer this year.”
“I hope we get pregnant this year.”
Hope.
Even the sound of that word can lift your spirits when you’re down. Hope keeps you going when life seems to be going nowhere or going in the wrong direction.
Hope gives you something to cling to when you’ve lost your job, or your health, or someone you love. Hope is a spark inside your soul that tells you that tomorrow things will be better.
Hope is like having an anchor in the future.
But the problem with hope is that it is always based upon uncertainty. For example, we may say “I hope it will not rain tomorrow.” That kind of hope is a wish, not a certainty. We can hope all we like for something, and all the indications may be that it will come true, but life is unpredictable and things can change at the last moment to dash all our hopes.
In the Bible, however, there is a unique kind of hope that is never a wish. It is always based upon an absolute certainty. You can hope for these things with the utter confidence that they will happen. It’s the kind of hope that the Wise Men of the Nativity Story had. The hope of the Wise Men was based upon what God had promised. And, since God always fulfills His promises, we can look forward with absolute hope.
But what were the Wise Men hoping to find when they traveled all the way to Bethlehem in that first Christmas season? They were hoping to find the King who will bring an end to war and suffering and injustice. They were hoping to find the King who would bring everlasting love and joy and peace to this world.
But how did they know He was coming? And what did a star have to do with their search? And what has all of this to do with me?
It has to do with me because hope is one of the strongest motivators in the human soul. Even hope built on the slightest possibility of something good can keep you going. But the best kind of hope is hope that is anchored to a certainty. That’s what Biblical hope is all about! The Bible talks a lot of about hope in order to encourage us when life goes wrong.
This kind of hope is always inextricably tied to Jesus. If we believe in Him we have the hope (certainty) of eternal life. If we follow him, we have the hope (certainty) of His guidance, protection, provision and care every day of our lives. Jesus is the anchor that links us to the promises of God that lie in the future for God’s people.
This lesson was illustrated for us by the Wise Men, or Magi, who visited Jesus when he was a child. The Magi arrived in Jerusalem after a long, expensive and difficult journey. What brought them to Jerusalem was not a wish but a certainty. They were certain that the king of the Jews had been born and they had come to worship him.
The Wise Men teach us that . . .
· God is the source of hope
· Jesus is the fulfillment of hope
· We gain hope when we follow Jesus
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF HOPE
THE MAGI WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE COMING OF
THE KING OF THE JEWS BECAUSE GOD TOLD THEM HE WAS COMING!
Mt 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
