Wise men worship Christ

George Clayson

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Introduction

In our reading we have a contrast between the wise men on one hand and Herod and the religious leaders on the other. Here we have a description of what a wise person should do at the birth of Christ and we have a description of what foolish people do at the birth of Christ.

As we look at this passage we have this contrast in a kind of sandwich. We have a good exmaple at the start then we have the bad example of Herod and the religious leaders and then we have the wise men mentioned again at the end.

As we look at this well known passage that documents some of the events that took place around the birth of the Lord Jesus I want you to ask yourself which one of the groups do you resemble most in your life?

Which one of these responses to the Lord Jesus best describes your response?

I want us to walk through this passage together by looking at it in three parts. The first part is v.1-2. Here we have our first description of the wise men.

This section is called; The wise come to worship

I. The Wise come to worship

In v.1 Matthew begins like a good historian and tells us the time and place where these things happened.

The New King James Version Chapter 2

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,

“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,”

Here we learn these events took place in Bethlehem of Judea during the days of Herod the king.

Then we read that wise men came from the east to Jerusalem.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

The word that we translate wise men is the Gk. word magoi, which we normally transliterate as Magi. These magi were a preistly cast who were renowned for their wisdom in astrology and interpreting dreams. The were known for their skills in the dark arts and were often in the kings courts and would be advisors to kings.

We have an example of this kind of people in the book of Daniel.

We are told that they came from the east, it isn’t clear exactly where they came from but it is believed by many that it was probably Babylon, which is modern day Iraq.

So Jesus was born in Bethlehem, during the days of Herod, these wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, then we read that they came for a purpose.

V.2 tells us the wise men came; “2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

The wise men came all the way from the east to Jerusalem because some how they knew that something very inportant had taken place.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

They were looking for one that had been born king of the Jews.

They knew he had been born they said, because they saw his star in the east.

They had come for the specific purpose of worshipping him.

From this verse there are three questions that we must answer.

What did they mean by the king of the Jews?

What did they mean by they saw his star in the east?

Why would they come to worship him?

The title King of the Jews was clearly a Messianic title, any Jewish person who would have heard this title would have immediately thought of the Messiah, the Christ.

The one who would come form the line of David and would reign on David’s throne.

These Magi had trvelled from the east in order to find this one who was the Messiah, the one born King of the Jew’s.

They knew he had been born becuase they saw his star oin the east.

What did they mean by this?

Many here see a reference to the prophecy about the Messiah given by Baalam in

“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.”

I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.

A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.

A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.

And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.

The Magi were known for their scholarship and maybe they had studied the Old Testament and by the grace of God had to understand this prophecy.

And destroy all the sons of tumult.

How would they have had the OT scriptures?

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

It is believed by many that these Magi were from Babylon. If you know your Old Testament history you will know that the inhabitants of Judah, who were part of the Southern Kingdom were taken into captivity in Babylon around 586 bc.

They would have taken the Scriptures with them, maybe this is how they Magi knew that this star in the east was a fulfillment of this prophecy.

Ofcourse we know that God had obviously opened their eyes and revealed this truth to them by his free grace, but I believe it is very probable that it was through that they saw the significance of this star in the east.

The irony of this story is that the people of Israel failed to recognise the coming of their Messiah but here some Magi from the east knew he had come and so they travelled to come and find him.

But they didn’t just travel to see what had taken place, they had come for a specific purpose and that was to worship.

Why would they come to worship?

The answer is obvious, by the grace of God they knew that this babyu was more than an earthly king. Whether they knew the full truth about the person of Christ, that he was God incarnate, we cannot say but they knew that this was no ordinary king and so they came to worship.

Later on we will see exactly how they did this.

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But for now I want us to pause and ask ourselves does this example of the Magi match our behaviour

Could it be said about you that you would come to worship the Lord Jesus?

Do you see in Jesus more than some earthly leader and because of this you worship him?

This is what the wise men did. They came to worship. This is what wise men do to this day. They worship Christ.

Are you wise? Do you worship him?

He is worthy of all you worship and more besides.

Does this example match your conduct?

Or are you more like the ones found in the next part of our passage?

After we are told about the wise men, we are then introducted to Herod.

This is the second part of our passage, The heading for this section is The unbelieving are troubled.

II. The unbelieving are troubled

Look with me at v.3 “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.”

Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled but probably for slightly different reasons.

Herod would have been troubled because in the mind of the Jewish people he was a usurper. He was from an Idumean background, he was not a Jew and he was not of the line of David.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

Herod knew that in the eyes of the people he was not the rightful king and so the news that one had been born who was the rightful king would have cause Herod to greatly fear for the future of his reign.

He knew he was not the rightful king and the thought of the birth of one who was troubled him.

The people on the other hand were probably troubled at the fact that Herod was troubled. Herod was known for being paranoid, he is infamous for killing his favourite wife and some of his family members because he believed they were planning a coup.

He was known for commiting atrocities in order to secure his throne and the people would have feared that Herod would have done something eratic and evil inorder to erradicate any competition.

As we know from the rest of this chapter Herod lived up to his reputation and had all the children in Bethlehem aged two and under put to death.

Herod was troubled and the people were troubled.

These wise men had travelled to Jerusalem to seek this one who had been born king of the Jews but he wasn’t in Jerusalme so Herod called the religious leaders together to find out where the Christ was to be born.

Look with me at v.4 “And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.”

Herod asked the chief preists and the Scribes where the Messiah was supposed to be born and they knew exactly where because God has told his people several hundred years before this had taken place.

V.5-6 says “So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

This prophecy that is quoted from reveals that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem and is a pointer to the Jewish readers of this Gospel that their Messiah is this Jesus.

God has promised to send a Saviour and now the fulness of time had come and God sent forth his son.

App- The fact that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy as well as every other prophecy reveals his true character. He is the Saviour, the one who came to save his people from their sins.

The sad reality was that although Jesus fulfilled every prophecy about the coming Messiah many of the people failed to recognise him, Johns Gospel says “He came to his own and his own did not receive him.”

The question that you must answer for yourself is do you recognise him as the one sent by God, the Saviour. If so is he your Savior?

Do you believe in him? Do you follow Jesus?

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Herod asked the cheif preists and scribes and they told him where the Christ was to be born, the fact that Herod asked them reveals that he must have had some sort of belief that maybe this truly was the Christ.

But he was not interested in worshipping him.

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

One commentator has said “Herod was more interested in saving his throne than in saving his soul!”

In v.7-8 we get a inkling that Herod has something evil up his sleeve.

V.7-8 says “Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

Again we see that Herod must have believed the prophecy but yet we know from the rest of the chapter that when Herod said he would worship him too he was lying.

Herod was planning on killing this one who had been born king of the Jews.

So Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem to find the young child, but before we look at what happens next I want us to reflect on the repsonse of Herod and the repsonse of the religious leaders.

App- People today often respomnd in a simalar way.

Herod responded with clear opposition to the one who was born king of the Jews and the religious leaders in our passage responded with apathy.

Herod, was afraid that he may lose his sovereignty if this young child was recognised to be the Christ, the one born king of the Jews and so he tried to get rid of him, he wanted to kill this child.

People today respond in a similar way. Of course they aren’t afraid of losing their sovereinty in the same way as Herod but they are afraid that they will lose sovereignty over their lives.

Many today are afraid that if Jesus really is who he claimed to be then they would lose autonomy, they says as we will not have this many to rule over us.

Many people love their sin and are not willing to give it up, they prefer the reign of sin to the reign of Christ.

So they respond like Herod. Ofcourse they don’t try and kill Jeuss like Herod did, that would be impossible.

But they certainly try to get rid of him. They block the thought of him out of their minds. They claim that he doesn’t exist and that he has no claim upon them.

Many actively oppose him, they scorn him and are angered at the mention of his name. If it were possible they would respond exactly like Herod did.

Lots of people today have a hatred for Christ like Herod did here in our reading.

They are much more concerned about saving their ability to like how they please rather than saving their souls.

I wonder do you refuse to accept the Lorship of Jesus Christ in your life?

Maybe you like the thought of Christmas, gentle Jesus meek and mild look upon a little child but you revolt at the thought of Jesus being King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

I wonder do you say in your heart I will not have this man to reign over me.

Dear friend this was Herod’s response and it was foolish.

The wise ones were the ones who worshipped him.

Herod’s response was clear opposition. But the religous leaders responded differently.

They did not do what Herod did, but they still responded in a way that was foolish.

The chief preists and scribes were appathetic and unbelieving.

They read the prophecy that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem but yet we never read of them going with the wise men to see whether the Christ was really born.

They were unbelieiving and not really interested in whether these things were so.

This is also a very common reponse that people have today towards Jesus.

They are appathetic towards the Gospel not really bothered one way or the other. Not interested in finding out the truth.

Happy to go along with outward religion like these chief preists and scribes but never actually bowing the knee to Christ in worship. Never confessing Jesus as Lord of their life.

A fence sitter, appathetic.

Which ever response a person may have, one simalar to Herod or one simalar to the religious leaders, both are foolish and both leave a person with out Jesus and therefore with out hope.

We have to be honest with ourselves and ask do I fit into any of the categories?

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

Or am I wise and do I worship Christ, do I give him the honor and glory that is due his name, do I love him and live for him, is he Lord of my life?

These are questions that we must honestly ask ourselves.

So here we have the foolish responses to Jesus.

Next we see what happened when the wise men left Herod and went to seek Jesus.

The heading for this final section is; III. Wise men bow down and give all to Christ

III. Wise men bow down and give all to Christ

Look with me at v.9 “When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.”

The wise men left Herod and made their way to Bethlehem. As they did they saw the same star that they saw in the east and it led them to the place where Jesus was.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

Now many have speculated about what this star was. Some have said a Comet, others have suggested a super Nova. But we must resist the temptation to try and explain this away by natural means.

This was clearly a gracious and supernatural work of God.

No normal star travels and stands above a certain place as we have read here.

This was a work of God, God was leading these wise men to Jesus.

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In the same way any one who comes to Jesus Christ in true faith do so because God has lead them all the way.

It takes a gracious supernatural work of God in order for a person to believe in Jesus.

The reason these Magi knew so much, believed the prophecy and found the place where Jesus was, was because God is a gracious God and he draws sinners to Christ. With out pushing it too far, here we have a picture of what happens to everyone who believes in Jesus.

So God lead the wise men by the star and when they see the star they are overwhelmed with joy.

v.10 says “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.”

Then we are told in v.11 that they come to the house where the Lord Jesus is.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

What takes place next is something that every wise person must do.

Lets look together at v.11 “ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. “

These wise men entered the house, and when they saw the young child with his mother they fell down on their faces and worshipped him.

These Magi knew something about this baby that very few people knew at that time, they must have grasped the truth that this was no mere mortal.

There is no other way to explain what they did, other than God must have revealed to them something of the true identity of this young child.

They fell down, grown men, known for their wisdom, well respected in royal courts, used to accosiating with royalty. These Magi fall on their faces before this one who was born king of the Jews and they worship him.

This is totally irational, what are these grown men doing falling down before a young child and worshipping him? This doesn’t make any sense until you realise who this young child actually is.

When you understand who this infant really is then you see that their reaction makes perfect sense.

This young child is God incarnate. The infant is the infinite God who has taken upon himself the finite, this infant is the immortal God who has taken upon himself mortality, the is the almighty Creator who has become a part of his own creation. This is God manifest in the flesh.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

The one who created human beings, became one himself.

Here he is with his mother and what is the natural response; fall on your face and worship him.

This is what the wise men did, and if you are wise then you will do it as well. Worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

God became a man. The Second person of the God head took upon himself the form of a man inorder to save men from sin, by dying for their sin in their place on the cross. He rose again from the dead. He is heaven now interceding for his people.

His name is Jesus and if you are wise like the Magi then you would fall on your face and worship him.

They worshipped him in the dust, then we read what else they did.

v.11 continues “And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

After worshippoing him on their faces they opened their treasures and presented costly gifts to him.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

THe Gk. word that is translated presented is the same word that is translated else where for an offering. Its the same word that is used when you give an offering to God.

I believe this is what they were doing they were not just presenting gifts as to an earthly king. They were bringing an offering to the one who is King of kings and Lord of lords.

WHat they brought was very costly.

Gold, frankinsense and myrrh.

Some find meaning in these gifts. Some say Gold respresenets the fact that he is a King, frankinsense was often used in worship and may refer to his deity or to his office as a preist. The Myrrh was a spice that they would often use when burying the dead, maybe this symbalized his death. He was in a sense born in order that he may die. He came to save his people form their sins and he accomplished this at Calvary where he made a complete atonement.

Maybe some of these meanings can be found here but I think we have tio be careful on speaking to far where the Scripture is silent.

What is clear is that these Magi gave their best to the one who was born king of the Jews.

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This is something we must do as well.

We must give all that we are and all that we have to Christ.

As the hymns says “All for Jesus, All for Jesus, All my beings ransomed powers, all my thoughts and words and doings, all my days and all my hours, let my hands perfom his bidding let my feet walk in his ways, let my eyes see Jesus only, let my lips speak forth his praise.” All for Jesus, All for Jesus.

Dear Christian this should be the cry of our hearts, as we turn our minds upon God incarnate. As we turn our thoughts upon Christ, we should give ourselves to him.

We should take up our Cross and follow him.

We should say with the Apostle Paul, for to me to live is Christ and to die is Gain.

Or as he says elsewhere “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ”

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

This is what wise men do, they fall down before Christ and worship him and they give all that they are and all that they have to him, for his honour and his glory.

For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Wise men live their lives with one aim- the glory of Christ.

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Are you wise?

Conclusion

So in our passage we see two very different responses to this one who was born King of the Jews.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

We have seen the foolish response, of opposition or apathy towards the Lord Jesus Christ. Both are foolish both a devastating.

We have also seen the wise response. Wise men fall on their faces before Jesus and they worship him, they give themselves to him and live for him.

IF you are in the foolish group then i urge you to be wise and worship Jesus, repent of your sin, trust in him alone for the forgiveness your sin. Then live for him, treasure him above all others.

If you are wise this morning then I urge you to be wiser. Christ is always worthy of more than we bring. Let us live for him more, sacrfice more for him, do more for him, love him more, serve him more, cherise him more, treasure him more, know him more.