Matthew 2:1-12 January 9, 2011
TEXT: 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 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.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 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. 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 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.”
9 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. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 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 incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Dear Friends in Christ,
“Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu.” This is the Japanese New Year’s Greeting, It means “Congratulations for opening up a new year.” Years ago everyone in Japan would turn a year older with the new year. There wasn’t much emphasis on the date of one’s birth, nor were there big, happy birthday parties. Everyone celebrated at the beginning of the new year. There was great joy.
In our text this morning, the wise men were not celebrating their birthdays. Nor were they celebrating a new year. Our text says, however, that they were overjoyed. Why? Because they were just a few miles from the goal of their journey, to find the new King, yes, the Christ. Finding the Christ Brings Great Joy! It did then, and it still does today too. That’s what I want to talk to you about today. We’ll see that 1) Finding the Christ involves a journey. Secondly, 2) Finding the Christ means blessings. And finally, 3) Finding the Christ brings a response.
1
Forty days after Jesus was born Mary and Joseph went to the temple to present the baby Jesus, their first-born, to the Lord. While they were there they met a man named Simeon. The Lord had revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen Jesus. Guided by the Holy Spirit Simeon was lead to the baby Jesus. He took up the child and declared him to be “a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of the Lord’s people Israel” (Luke 2:32).
The coming of the wisemen from the East was a fulfillment of those words. Who were these wise men and where did they come from? In the Old Testament book of Daniel we read that King Nebuchadnezzar put Daniel in charge of the wise men of Babylon (Dan 2:48). At this time in history it is evident that these men were astrologers who studied, not worshipping, the stars. Babylon was the home of astrology, but our text says that they were from the East, which could mean Arabia, Babylon and Persia. In other words, they were Gentiles. The idea that they were Kings comes from Isaiah 60:3 (which we read today) and Re. 21:24. The idea that there were three of them comes from the fact that there were three gifts presented to the baby Jesus. Legend even gives them names: Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior (the movie Ben Hur).
These astrologers identified the birth of a King with the appearance of the new star they had seen in the East. Perhaps the prophecy of the Messiah had been handed down from Daniel over 400 years earlier. “A star will come out of Jacob” (Nu 24:17). Jesus is called the “bright Morning Star” in Rev. 22:16. The Star’s coming, that is, the Deliverer who will be like a star and bring victory over the enemies of God people, is marked by the appearance of a special star.
How they gained their knowledge is not exactly clear, but somehow they knew that that star which had appeared to them in their country signified the birth of the Savior, the Messiah, the Christ. Their faith in this Savior set them on their journey to find the Christ. For Jesus was the Savior of not just the Children of Israel, but also of the Gentiles, as Paul so aptly pointed out in our Epistle lesson today when talking about the “mystery of Christ” saying. “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 3:6)
Through the years of my ministry I’ve been blessed to see others find Christ after a long journey. One was a man named Ahmad, an Iranian, who found the Christ after journeying to Japan. Sometimes the journeys that people travel to find Christ, don’t involve much distance, but they cover a span of time. I remember a man by the name of Ikeda back in Japan who endured much hardship and came to us for help. His journey through the Scriptures spanned five years. By the work of the Holy Spirit he found Christ and was baptized. Sometimes the journey to find Christ goes through hardship and illness, maybe hospitalization. Maybe we were loosely connected to the church, but it wasn’t until we endured pain and hardship that we really looked for help and the Holy Spirit lead us to Christ Jesus. Sometimes we find Jesus when walking through the valley of the shadow of death either when we endure the death of a loved one or when we ourselves have a close brush with death.
What journey did you have to take to find Christ? Whatever journey you have taken to find Christ there are a number of things that we can say about all of these journeys. You took that journey not because you chose to. It is God who makes us to will and to do this. He chose us. We did not choose him. God worked repentance in our heart so that we called out to him for mercy. The thought that we need a Savior is worked through the Holy Spirit operating through the preaching of the Law. The desire to find that Savior, and then, subsequently, trust in that Savior is worked by the Holy Spirit in the preaching of the Gospel. These are the common traits in all of our journeys to find the Christ.
2
When you take a trip you experience a variety of feelings. You get tired and bored because the trip is so long. The wise men certainly experienced that. You sometimes feel uncomfortable sitting in the car a long time. The Magi certainly had their share of discomfort. Hot, sweaty days in the sun riding in a saddle and then cold nights. There are dangers along the way that sometimes make you scared. The wise men certainly experienced some anxious moments during their journey. Imagine being a foreigner in a strange land and being summoned by the King. They must have thought they were in trouble. But there is no greater feeling than the feeling of joy when you come to the end of the journey. We are told, 9 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. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. (The original says, “They rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”) Picture, imagine, what that scene looked like. They rejoiced because finding the Christ meant to them, and also means for us today, unprecedented blessings.
Remember the purpose of the trip of the Magi? “We have come to worship him.” They weren’t on a business trip or a sightseeing trip. They had come to find a Savior, a King, the true God. They had come to worship this new King. They rejoiced with exceeding great joy because they were just miles away from seeing their salvation, the One who would save them from their sins; their eternal life, the One through faith in whom they would live forever in heaven; their King, the One who has all authority in heaven and in earth and rules for the benefit of his own; their Prince of Peace, the One through whom they would have peace with God; their Messiah, the One who is the fulfillment of all the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. All they and all the Old Testament believers hoped for, waited for, for centuries, was not a hoax or a fraud. It was real. It was fulfilled and they were about to see it with their own eyes. The one that all Old Testament believers could only see with the eyes of faith, they were going to be privileged to see with their own physical eyes that day. What a blessing. What confidence, seeing him would be instilled in their hearts!
We find joy even in a sinful world in many things, birthday celebrations, the birth of a new baby, etc. But only in Christ do we rejoice with exceeding great joy. He has earned for us forgiveness, salvation and eternal life in heaven. Everything we have through Christ is by grace alone, something we don’t deserve because we are sinners, but which he freely gives to us by grace.
3
We must respond in some way to the one who brings us such great joy.
Note the response of the Magi to finding the Christ: great joy, gifts, and obedience to God’s command. Joyfully they brought humble hearts that bowed before the baby Jesus. Joyfully they brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, expensive gifts. Their best! Joyfully they obeyed their God and took a different route home to protect the Christ-child from Herod the Great’s diabolical plan.
What is our response to finding the Christ? How do we respond to our Savior’s love? Let’s follow the example of the wise men of our text in the year 2011. Let’s bring humble and penitent hearts that gladly want to serve our Lord? Let’s bring our best to him from our treasure chests. He deserves the best! Let’s strive to live God-pleasing lives, instead of doing what is sinful, often the comfortable thing to do.
Happy New Year! I know you have said that many times already in this new year. I know you want a happy new year. I know you want your family, friends and colleagues to have a happy new year. But don’t be content with a “happy” new year. Don’t you want to “rejoice with exceeding great joy” in this new year and don’t you also want your acquaintances to rejoice with exceeding great joy too? Then take a journey to find the Christ. Invite your family and friends to come with you and lead so that they also will find the Christ! Rejoicing with exceeding great joy will be the result! Amen.
