Magi
Notes
Transcript
SLIDE 1 Two men decided to go sailing while their wives went Christmas shopping. While they were out in the boat, a terrible storm arose. The sea became very choppy and they had a difficult time keeping the boat under control. Then, to make things worse, as they steered toward land they hit a sandbar and the boat grounded. Both men jumped out of the boat and began to push and shove with all their might to get the boat back into the water. As the waves bounced him against the side of the boat, and his hair was blowing wildly in the wind, one of the men said, “It sure beats Christmas shopping, doesn’t it?”
One husband admitted than when he was growing up he would put his shopping off until Christmas Eve day. He says it was always a drag trying to find presents for his four sisters. As time was running out he would race down the aisles grabbing whatever he saw – providing it didn’t cost too much – and throw it in his cart. When he got home, he dumped the four gifts out on the floor and decided who should get what. He then grabbed some newspaper and duct tape and wrapped them up. He never could understand why his sisters never liked what he got them especially since he worked so hard on their gifts. But all that’s changed now that he married. He does much better at Christmas shopping – he just lets his wife do it.
According to a survey 90% of Americans say Christmas is their favorite holiday, but only 20% say they enjoy Christmas shopping! The crowds and long lines can put a damper on even the brightest of Christmas cheers. And then there’s the problem of knowing what to get.
The children asked their dad what he might like for Christmas. He suggested they get him something everyone in the family could get something out of. So they did – they bought him a new wallet.
One husband asked his wife what she wanted for Christmas. She said, “Just surprise me!” So he did. At 3:00 a.m. on Christmas Day, he leaned over in bed and shouted, “Boo!”
Turn with me to Matthew 2 as we continue looking at reactions to the news of the birth of Jesus. We’ve seen that SLIDE 2 Mary submitted to God’s will, Joseph obeyed God’s instructions, and the shepherds told everyone they saw. This morning we are going to look at the original Christmas gift givers – the magi. We don’t know if the wise men had a hard time shopping, but we do know they found three pretty cool gifts. Let’s read the story of the magi. As we do, we’ll try to correct some of the misconceptions many have concerning these men. How did they react to the news of the birth of Jesus?
SLIDE 3 The first reaction of the magi was they sought him.
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
One misconception many have about these men is who they were. They are often referred to as “kings.” While we don’t know much about them, one thing is certain, the men were not kings. Perhaps the legend about them being kings arose because of the expensive gifts they brought, but the actual term used to describe them is magi, though “wise men” might be a good translation. Magi was the name given them by the Babylonians. They were the scholars of the day.
To get a picture of who they were and what they did just think about the story of Daniel, Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. After being taken to Babylon from Jerusalem, these men were singled out for extensive training because they were particularly smart. Following their training they became advisors to the king.
The magi were teachers, priests, physicians, interpreters of dreams, soothsayers, sorcerers, etc. They studied the sky and the stars both as astronomers and as astrologers. They advised kings, but they themselves weren’t kings.
Because they studied the stars they noticed when something new and unusual happened. They say they saw the star of a king rise. Over the years there have been some try to explain what they saw, but there is no good explanation. The magi said the star moved and then it rested. No natural occurrence in the sky can explain that. Like the shepherds who were told about the birth of Jesus by an angel, when the magi saw the star they became curious about and went to see what it was all about.
Remember, in those days traveling was not very easy. Even under the best of circumstances it was laborious and time consuming, not to mention how dangerous it could be. Yet these men came to see and pay respect to this new born king.
The only problem is they’d come to the wrong place. Since the baby was a king they assumed he would be born in a palace in the capital city Jerusalem. They couldn’t have imagined he would be born in a manger. They were in the wrong place, but they were close.
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” (Matthew 2:3-8)
While the magi were excited to hear about the birth of a king, Herod was not. That’s because Herod was extremely insecure as the king. Because he was constantly afraid someone would take his throne from him he would kill anyone he thought might be a rival – including his wife and children. So when news got out that a child had been born who would be the king of Jews everyone knew what was coming and feared what Herod would do.
It’s interesting how quickly the chief priests and teachers of the law identified the place where this king would be born. It doesn’t take long for them to identify this prophesy that named Bethlehem as the place. What’s also interesting is that while they send the magi off to find the baby, they themselves did not go. Again, it was close, only about five miles. They could have made the trip in a day. If this indeed was the child foretold by the prophets you would think they would be interested enough to go and see themselves. Perhaps as verse 3 says they were scared of what Herod would do, more importantly what he might do to them if he thought they were siding with this new king. So they stayed put.
Herod sends the magi off to Bethlehem asking them to come back and let him know specifically where the child was so he too could go and see him. We of course know his true intentions.
The first response of the magi was to seek for Jesus and as the saying goes the wise still seek him. What do you seek? You seek after what you think is important. You seek after what you think will bring you happiness, fulfillment, and pleasure. People seek after all kinds of attractions the world offers only to find when they get them that they were empty promises. Only Jesus truly fulfills. Only Jesus gives us meaning and purpose. Are you seeking after him?
SLIDE 4 The second reaction of the magi is they worshiped him.
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. (Matthew 2:9-11)
Another we often have concerning the magi is when the magi came to see Jesus and where Jesus was. The magi didn’t visit on the night Jesus was born. Our nativity scenes often show Mary, Joseph, and Jesus surrounded by animals with shepherds and magi coming to visit. While the shepherds were there on the night Jesus was born, the magi probably didn’t make it for over a year. In verse 11 we’re told that they didn’t visit the family in the stable but at a house. So, time has passed between the birth and when they visit. We also know that because Herod wasn’t sure of when Jesus was born he had babies killed as old as two years. If Jesus had just been born one year old would have been enough.
The magi had told Herod they had come to worship this new born king and then we’re told that’s what they did when they found him – they bowed down to the ground and worshiped.
The word translated as “worship” literally means to bow down or “to kiss the ring.” It was a way of showing honor, respect, and submission to a king. When we hear the word worship most think of singing or what we do in reverence of God. The magi worship Jesus by bowing.
What did they know about Jesus? There’s good reason to believe they were familiar with the Jewish scripture and teachings. If so they would have been aware of the promise of a Messiah. Daniel, who I said would have been considered a magi, wrote about the coming Messiah saying that one would come called the Ancient of Days who would rule the earth. These magi were surely familiar with Daniel’s writings and so were looking for the day when they would be fulfilled.
We need to again remember who these guys were. They weren’t Jewish religious scholars. They weren’t even Jewish; they were Gentiles. The New Testament refers to some people Gentiles as being God-fearers. These were Gentiles who worshiped God. The magi weren’t ever even God-fearers. And yet it was to these men that God revealed the birth of his Son. Anyone looking to the sky and studying the stars could have seen what they did, but none did. Surely it was because God allowed them to see and know what others could not.
Their second response was to come and worship. What do you worship? We worship what we think is extremely important. What is most important in your life? What is it that you bow to?
SLIDE 5 The third reaction of the magi was to give their best to him.
The magi not only bowed before this king of the Jews, they brought him gifts.
11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)
One final misconception we have concerning the magi is their number. We guess there were three of them since there were three gifts, but we’re never told. Early tradition said there were twelve. Someone suggested that there were actually four men, but the fourth guy wanted to give a fruitcake and the other three wouldn’t let him travel with them. The truth is we just don’t know. The caravan they traveled in was large enough that when they reached Jerusalem people took notice.
So the men come to Bethlehem, they find the baby Jesus and they open the gifts they have brought him. Over the years meanings have been given to the gifts, though it is all speculation since we’re not told in scripture.
Gold, we’re told, indicates they acknowledged Jesus as King, since gold is a metal associated with kingly rule.
By bringing frankincense, the spice used by priests, the wise men not only acknowledged Jesus as a mighty King, but as a Priest. And
Myrrh being the spice used in burials, the wise men acknowledged Jesus would be a martyred Prophet.
Therefore, in these three gifts of the magi we see the three-fold offices of Jesus: gold for a Mighty King, frankincense for a Ministering Priest, myrrh for a Martyred Prophet.
Whatever the meaning or purpose for the gifts they gave, they gave their best to one they believed to be a king.
Of course not everyone was excited about the birth of Jesus. The last we read of these men is in verse 12.
12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (Matthew 2:12)
We’re told why in verse 16.
16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. (Matthew 2:16)
Like he’d done with others he saw as a threat to his throne, Herod wanted to kill Jesus and would have if God had not warned Joseph to escape to Egypt with Mary and Jesus.
SLIDE 6 We’ve been talking about the response of the magi to the birth of Jesus, but in this story we really see three responses.
First, there’s the response of the magi who were eager to seek for the new born king and did whatever it took to find him.
Second, there was the response of the crafty and cruel King Herod was hostile to the whole idea of the birth of Jesus tried to kill him.
And third, there’s the response of the religious leaders who had been given the scriptures as their guide and knew exactly where Jesus was to be born, but they were apathetic and wouldn’t even make the five mile journey to Bethlehem. The magi probably traveled more than a thousand miles, while those who should have been there first because they lived the closest, and knew the most, never even showed up.
So what is your response this Christmas? Are you an eager seeker? Are you hostile to this whole thing called Christianity? Or, are you just plain apathetic and don’t care? No matter where you are God loves you more than you can ever know. You see, Christmas is really a celebration of an invasion. It’s when God sent his Son Jesus to earth to identify with us, and then to die as our sin-substitute on the cross. Jesus is God’s gift to us.