The Wise Men

Merry Christmas!
It has been nice having Missy home for Christmas. She is leaving next week to take the bus down to Orlando with the marching band for the Orange Bowl game. I’ve eaten too much turkey and stuffing. I preached a funeral for a woman who got her Christmas wish to go to heaven for Christmas. She was 96 years old! Her name was Ernestine Davis.
I’m touched by the story of the three wise men or magi who saw the Christmas Star and traveled to see the Christ child. The Bible mentions them briefly. Matthew 2:1-12 tells the story of the Visit of the Magi.
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 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."
These few scriptures tell us a lot. The magi studied the scriptures like Isaiah 61 which we will read later. They learned that a messiah would be born who would be the King of the Jews. They did more than just study. They took action. They learned what to expect when Jesus was born. They prepared themselves so that they would be ready to make the journey to see the Christ child. We don’t know who they were, where they came from, and even their religious background.
We don’t have their names. The Bible doesn’t really tell us that there were even three wise men. Tradition places the number at three wise men because three gifts were given to the baby Jesus. They were not Jewish priests and they came from afar. Historians believe that they were from Persia or modern day Iran. Israelites were exiled to Persia as documented in Daniel’s exile story. Scholars were also exiled who would have brought the Hebrew Scriptures with them. We also know that they were men, because women would’ve found the Christ child without having to stop to ask directions from so many people. They probably stopped at every street corner to ask directions which got the attention of the first King Herod.
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: '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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'
King Herod was afraid that his reign as ruler was threatened. He was king because of the Roman authority. Jesus was just an infant, but he had God’s authority. Jesus was foretold to be the shepherd of the people of Israel. The quote here is from Micah 5:2. The word ruler indicates someone who will be harsh king, but the term shepherd clarifies that Jesus will be a king of peace and love who looks after his flock.
"Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
King Herod wanted to learn about the Christ child, but it was for a selfish reason. He wanted to preserve his kingdom. King Herod rebuilt the temple built by Solomon. King Herod spent his time building a big, beautiful temple. He hired a lot of priests and lawyers to make sure that people obeyed the Jewish law. King Herod looked good, he smelled good, but his heart was not into worshipping God. King Herod was focused on the things of this world – wealth, power, prestige, big monuments to himself, and a future for his sons to become king after him.
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On 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 and of frankincense and of myrrh.
The wise men were overjoyed to see the signs of baby Jesus. The wise men actually bowed down and worshipped Jesus. Here’s a key phrase. They opened their treasures and presented Jesus with gifts. We need to open up our treasures and present Jesus with gifts. Are we willing to open up our earthly treasures? Are we willing to worship Jesus instead of following the example of King Herod? King Herod was threatened by a messiah given to us by God. The Christ child is born in Bethlehem. We can choose to look for the signs that show us the way to Jesus Christ or we can put our eyes onto early treasures.
And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
The final verse is a warning to the wise men to avoid the ways of King Herod. Not only did the wise men listen, but they acted on that warning. Are we going to go back to our old way or are we going to return to God using a new way?
We have to be careful that we worship God in church instead of worshiping the church as a God. King Herod was building physical monuments to God, but he forgot that he was a servant of God first. King Herod did not have a place in his heart for the Christ Child. In fact, he killed an entire generation of baby boys so that he could be assured that the Christ Child was dead.