Sermon Tone Analysis

“After listening to the king, [the wise men] 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.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

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.”[1]

Expecting a king, they found a humble family.

Anticipating a palace, they found instead a humble house.

Nevertheless, they were not undeterred in pursuing their noble purpose.

They had travelled across a vast expanse of desert to worship, and worship they would!

A consistent theme from our Advent studies this year is the fact that those who should have been prepared to worship missed God’s presentation of His Son.

This is evident from the text today.

Christmas myths, rather than the Word of God, more frequently shape our understanding of the First Advent of the Master.

The common assumption is that since the Christ was born in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph remained there, perhaps setting up housekeeping in a sheepcote.

Consequently, the accounts provided by Matthew and by Luke are conflated so that what has become the traditional nativity scene pictures three Magi kneeling before a manger surrounded by a number of animals standing placidly in front of a baby in a manger.

Usually, shepherds are added to the Nativity scene, I suppose, in an attempt to lend authenticity to the scene.

In point of fact, we do not know how many Magi were in the entourage.

We may be reasonably certain that though Mary and Joseph may have continued in the Bethlehem area, they were not still in the sheepcote when the Magi arrived.

The text specifically states that the Magi went “into the house,” where “they saw the child with Mary His mother” [*Matthew 2:11*].

The child that the Magi found was likely a toddler, perhaps as old as two-years-of-age.

The shepherds had come and departed long before the Magi ever ventured onto the scene.

It is extremely doubtful that either ox or ass ever stood around the child, and even the sheep were left in the fields when the shepherds came to see the child whose birth was announced by angels.

The Magi in their search troubled Herod and all Jerusalem with him.

The king, a political appointee to the position he occupied, intended to hold onto power at all costs.

Therefore, all threats to the throne had to be eliminated ruthlessly.

Accordingly, Herod hatched a dastardly plan.

He would feign interest in worshipping this child whom he considered to be a pretender to the throne until he could obtain intelligence of his whereabouts.

Then, he would kill him.

So, he inquired about when the Magi had first seen the star they were following.

He consulted with the scholars that attended the throne to discover where Messiah was to be born.

Having learned that the King of Israel was to be born in Bethlehem, and that the Magi had been observing the star for two years, he urged them to go to Bethlehem to find the child and then report to him so he, also, could worship.

Warned in a dream not to return to Herod [*Matthew 2:12*], the Magi returned home by another route.

When it became apparent that he had been deceived, Herod order the slaughter of all children two years and under in the entire region surround Bethlehem [*Matthew 2:16-18*].

Perhaps twenty children were murdered by Herod’s order; a tragedy of monstrous proportions.

Herod’s action is not at issue in this message; but rather God’s provision for mankind by sending His Son as a child.

The Magi, astrologers from Persia, trekked across vast deserts to find one whose birth was heralded by stars shining brightly in the heavens.

It was not customary for them to take note of the birth of every member of human royalty, but they had never encountered such a birth announcement as a new star.

What did they seek?

I am phrasing the issue in the form of a question that asks, “What did the Magi find when they entered the house?”

*The Magi Found the King of the Jews* — The Magi found a child tended by Mary, His mother.

However, the child they found had been identified by the celestial announcement as “King of the Jews” [*Matthew 2:2*].

Now, it is perhaps significant that the child was said to be a king, but the reign of this child would be unlike anything they might have imagined.

The Magi, to say nothing of Herod, and perhaps even of the vast majority of Jews, anticipated a physical reign.

Superficially, that is the correct view.

However, it fails to appreciate the prophecies God had provided.

Let’s review the history of Israel.

After they were delivered from Egyptian bondage, Israel was a theocracy—God reigned over the nation, raising up leaders as required.

First Moses, then Joshua led the nation.

After the death of Joshua, a series of Judges were raised up at specific times as required by emergencies.

The provision of Judges to lead the nation was dependent upon God.

The provision of Judges was always in response to national repentance following times of spiritual declension.

The history of Israel before the provision of kings is a cycle of corruption and contrition.

God raised up the powerful prophet, Samuel.

However, the people complained, demanding that Samuel appoint “a king to judge us like all the nations” [*1 Samuel 7:4, 5*].

Samuel did appoint a king, the first of three who would reign over the United Kingdom of Israel.

Saul, the first king over the United Kingdom, was a man of great promise and of greater disenchantment.

He was highly successful in war against the enemies of Israel, providing cohesion of the tribes through uniting them against common enemies.

However, his spiritual temper is sadly deficient.

Saul is utterly focused on his desires rather than seeking to do the will of the Lord.

Time-and-again he justifies his disobedience to the detriment of the nation.

Saul demonstrated that he was unfit to serve as king over God’s people.

After this the Lord appointed David, whom He identified as “a man after His own heart” [*1 Samuel 13:14*] to be king over His people.

David was not a perfect man, but he was sensitive to the Lord’s will and responded to His rebukes with alacrity.

He guided Israel for forty years, laying the foundation for the nation to be great.

Even to the present time the Jewish people look back to his rule with longing.

Hold this thought in your mind, because I will have more to say about this in a moment.

David’s son Solomon succeeded him, serving as the last king over the United Kingdom.

Solomon, richly blessed by the Lord God, squandered that blessing in pursuit of personal gratification.

He sated every appetite with whatever he desired.

Undoubtedly, under his rule Israel reached the pinnacle of wealth and power, but spiritual power was utterly absent from the nation.

Therefore, after his death, God permitted the nation to be divided, never to be reunited.

You can imagine the nostalgic thoughts whenever Jews looked back to the reign of David.

His reign was a magical time in the memory of the Jewish people.

He led the Kingdom to unprecedented plateaus of respect among the nations of the world.

Israel was respected as a powerful player on the world stage.

Foreign potentates sent envoys to consult with David and to seek strategic alliances.

God was blessing the nation and the Temple was filled with worshippers who sought the Word of the Lord.

However, there is so much more than mere nostalgia in the longing for the King of Israel.

God made a covenant with David.

The promise of God was delivered from Nathan the Prophet.

‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.

And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you.

And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more.

And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel.

And I will give you rest from all your enemies.

Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.

Your throne shall be established forever” [*2 Samuel 7:8-16*].

Near the end of his days, David testified, “[God] has made with me an everlasting covenant” [*2 Samuel 23:5*].

Later, Ethan the Ezrahite recalled this promise and in a Psalm presented the Lord speaking and saying,

“I have found David, my servant;

with my holy oil I have anointed him,

so that my hand shall be established with him;

my arm also shall strengthen him.”

…

“I will not violate my covenant

or alter the word that went forth from my lips.