Sermon for Sunday, December 15, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament reading:
[Numbers 24:15-19 ESV] 15 And he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, 16 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: 17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. 18 Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. 19 And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!”
New Testament reading:
[Acts 17:1-9 ESV] 1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
Gospel reading:
[Luke 23:32-38 ESV] 32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
Sermon Text:
[Matthew 2:1-12 ESV] 1 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, 2 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.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “‘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.'” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Introduction
A single star led them to Jesus. This is the account of the Magi — the “wise men” — who were SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
These wise men are shrouded in mystery. We don’t know where specifically they came from. We don’t know their names. We don’t know their status or profession. And we don’t even know how many of them there were. But we know that they were SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
I. WHERE ARE THE WISE MEN FROM
There are various theories about where they came from. We know they came from “the east.” Technically, it is possible that they came from somewhere just east of Jerusalem, but that is unlikely. It seems more likely that they came from some distance. It was, after all, as many as two years AFTER the birth of Jesus that they arrived. So they didn’t make it for that manger scene! (We know that it was two years because of the passage later in the chapter about Herod decreeing that all male children under two years of age in Bethlehem were to be put to death because that is the timeframe he got from the Magi as to when they saw the star.
Some believe that the magi came from a number of countries. They are sometimes made out to be kings from each their own countries. But this isn’t the case in the text. They are all from the same country. When they leave, they leave together “for their country” not countries. And there is no mention of them being kings.
There has also been the idea in times past that they (or at least one of them) came from Sheba. I think this is unlikely. Sheba was far to the South in Yemen and perhaps the Horn of Africa. It is difficult to see how this could be considered “East” unless by their travels they looped around to the East before arriving in Israel.
Far more likely, and this is the common conclusion, the wise men came from Persia (modern day Iran) or thereabouts. There are a number of reasons for this conclusion. For one, it would match with the idea of it being a long journey. This would be a journey of a thousand miles or more.
Then, we have to look at the term “magi.” Our Bible (and most others) calls them “wise men.” The original Greek text is magoi the plural of magus. In English we say magi. And this was the term given to teachers, priest, physicians, astrologers, etc. of the Babylonians, Medes, Persians; the people of the East. In the Septuagint (ancient Greek) translations of the Book of Daniel, among the people Nebuchadnezzer (King of Babylon) calls up to interpret his dreams are the magi.
So the magi come from somewhere in that direction. Babylon, Assyria.
II. Are the WISE MEN wise?
The idea that they are “wise men” refers to the wisdom of the world. These were men of learning. Learning of all sorts. They studied math, engineering, science, and of course, astronomy. Some of them may be more on the “occult” side of things, following strange religions, but that is not necessarily so. Think of “magi” as more a class of individuals; probably wealthy so that they could afford to sit around and think and do experiments. They were the “intelligentsia” of their age.
And usually the Bible speaks negatively about the “wisdom of the world.” But I think we can say THESE “wise men” were wise not only in the knowledge of the world, but in the knowledge of God. They were truly wise, for they were SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
How they got to this point is unknown. It may be that they were influenced generations ago by Daniel living among their people. Or perhaps they were influenced by the Jews of the diaspora, those who has been brought in captivity to Assyria and Babylon and who stayed there afterwards for generations.
From the Jews they heard of the messiah. And perhaps, they joined in to a widespread belief of the times that the messiah was soon to come. And this may have been influenced by the prophecy of Daniel’s 70 weeks, that a messiah would come at a certain time which they calculated to be approaching.
III. HIS STAR
But these “wise men” also seemed to have gotten ahold of the Word of God. That explains how they were looking for “HIS star.” The star of the messiah.
Now, one thing we’ve seen throughout the Gospel of Matthew is that each section is supporting the idea that Jesus is the messiah by reference to Old Testament prophecy. And, it seems, this passage is not an exception.
We’ve seen throughout the first chapters of Matthew that he constantly refers back to the Old Testament. All the signs point to Jesus Christ as the messiah, as prophesied in the Old Testament.
He was:
– The son of Abraham.
– The son of David.
– Born of a virgin
– born in Bethlehem.
– who followed the return of Elijah.
– And, later in this chapter, the infant Jesus and his parents flee to Egypt to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet “out of Egypt I called my son.”
But now we have the Wise Men looking for “his star.”
This can be no other star than that mentioned already in the Old Testament.
The only possible reference is Numbers 25:17 that says “a star shall come out of Jacob.”
Jacob, of course, is Israel. So a star shall come out of Israel.
Now the Magi would also have read the prophecy of the messiah being born in Bethlehem. But remember, some time had passed. So maybe they knew he would be born there, but they weren’t sure if he was still there when they arrived.
One more thing about the wise men. We don’t know how many there were. They bring three gifts — gold, frankincense, and myrrh. So the tradition developed that there were three wise men. They were even given namer: Caspar, Melchior, and Bathasar. That might be true that there were three of them. We just don’t know. We only know that it was 2 or more. It is plural, wise men.
Being astronomers, and knowing of the prophecy of the Old Testament, they looked for the star. And they saw it!
IV. Is anyone else looking for the messiah?
Just about everyone else seems to have “dropped the ball.”
Why is it that the magi of the east see the star, but no one else seems to!
Well, they probably weren’t looking.
In John’s Gospel we’re told that Jesus “came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”
Most of them were not looking for the messiah.
It is notable, however, that it is not just the wisest of men who know of Christ’s birth. God, in his providence, also sent an angel to shepherds of the field. And the angel announced to them “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good new of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” So God tells His people in His own timing of Christ’s coming by various means; once by a star and once by an angel.
It is not just for the wise to discern Christ; but for all to know Him. And we know Him through the revelation of God. The magi would not have known it was “his star” but for the prophecy of the Book of Numbers.
The shepherds found Christ.
The magi found Christ.
The low of society.
And the wisest philosophers.
Christ was not limited to the wealthy or to the poor. He was there for all who looked.
But what about everyone else? They weren’t looking. They missed out on the Birth of Christ. Of all the events in world history to miss out on — and it occurs right in your area — you miss out on the birth of Christ!
Consider the scene. The wise men go through so much to get there to see Jesus. They travel a great distance. They’ve long been looking for the star, and now it has arrived. And they get to Jerusalem, surely excited about the birth of the new king and messiah.
Then, as John MacArthur in his commentary says:
“They must have been shocked to discover that no one seemed to know what they were talking about.”
REPEAT: “They must have been shocked to discover that no one seemed to know what they were talking about.”
Wasn’t EVERYONE looking for Christ!? We are the only ones!?
Not even Herod knows what is going on. Word gets to Herod that there are these Magi walking around town asking to see “him who has been born king of the Jews.”
Even the king Herod doesn’t know that Jesus has been born, until he hears about it from the wise men. He doesn’t hear from Bethlehem, but from those who have traveled from the East and haven’t even found Jesus yet.
Herod was not looking for the messiah. And he is not SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD. When he does seek for Jesus it is only to kill him, because the messiah is a threat to Herod’s own kingship. He says that he wants to worship the newborn king, but that is merely a lie.
The fact that Herod calls the magi in to meet with him shows that the magi have some sort of status, perhaps something akin to nobles. They are welcomed into the land, and even brought to Herod’s court. This is remarkable because Herod, with the Romans, had been at odds with the Persians in times past.
So everyone has missed the sign except the wise men.
RETURN OF THE STAR
Then the star returns. It had led the magi off on their journey in the first place, but then seems to have been obscured. Perhaps the Lord took it away for a time. Or clouds or some other natural factor kept its visibility at bay. But then the star returned.
“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.”
This can be no ordinary star. Whatever it means that it “came to rest over the place where the child was” that can’t be attributed to any alignment of the planets or passing of a comet. This was a miracle of God.
V. THE MAGI AND THE CALL TO SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Then we should look at the reaction of the magi.
Ultimately, when the found Jesus, they worshipped him. The recognized him as divine.
And it says “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
All their searching and all their traveling was worth it. They were SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD. And they found HIM. They found the king.
So naturally a celebration is in order. And gifts came out to give to the king. Royal, expensive gifts. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The magi were men who
1) read and believed God’s Word
2) sought Jesus
3) humbled themselves to worship Jesus
And, in the fact, that they “went another way” to avoid Herod when they left, we see that they:
4) obeyed God rather than man.
They were truly wise men!
CALL TO SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD
What are we to think of this text?
What are we do do, having read about the magi.
WE TOO are to SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Jesus tells us that this is of great importance. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:33
Are we doing that?
The wise men knew very little about Christ, and yet they sought him. One tiny little star, and they found Jesus. Just one little star that the wise men in the east see it and they track it down knowing that it is “his star;” the star of the messiah.
And we have so much information about Jesus. The whole Bible. And yet do we seek? Do we search like the Bereans? Or are things missed? It is understandable that we would miss details from time to time; but we should never miss Christ. The Bible makes Christ clear. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the son of the Living God.
We are called to Seek Christ, to Seek His Kingdom.
These are one and the same.
For we do not enter the kingdom of God through our own efforts, but the kingdom of God is given to us AS Christ is given to us. It is a kingdom of grace.
The wise men came from afar, but Christ came all the way from heaven!
Knowing Christ then, we seek the Kingdom of God, in our sanctification; in our desire and action for righteousness.
Christ has set us free, so that we may be free indeed. No longer living in sin, but living for Him, for His kingdom.
All, just like the magi, living in “exceedingly great joy.”
Do you have that joy?
Do you have a little joy? Or do you have exceedingly great joy?
Look to Christ for that exceedingly great joy.
Look to the arms of your savior.
Seek His Kingdom.
Know the messiah.
Know the savior.
And know joy, exceedingly great.
Let us pray.