Well, I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, Matthew, the first book of the New Testament. If you're using the Pew Bible, you can find Matthew, we're going to be considering from chapter 2 on page 960, 960 in the Pew Bibles before you. We're going to consider this morning the first 12 verses of Matthew chapter 2: Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 through 12.
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, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him." After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that had seen the star 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 fell down and worshipped him. Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Well, this past week we entered into the month of December, December 2024, and with that, Advent season. And among the many celebrations and gatherings that we participate in in this season, we love to hear Christmas sermons and Christmas texts. And so a few weeks ago, I began to pray and wrestle over which text to preach. Well, as I did that and read through the various scriptures, this text jumped out at me. We're all familiar to one degree or another with this text. We've all heard Christmas sermons from this text. But as I read this text, it really did jump out to me. And it did because this is a text that I can identify with. And I believe it's a text that you can identify with. This is not simply a story of wise men who bring gifts to the baby Jesus. This is a text about Gentiles. This is a text about the coming of Jesus Christ and, with him, the inclusion of the Gentiles.
Now, we are all Gentiles. However much we want to think our particular people group is something of the chosen people, we're all Gentiles. I remember back in my years at Westminster, the New Testament professors and the Old Testament professors would argue over what language were we going to speak in heaven, whether that be Greek or Hebrew. When I heard that discussion, I often thought to myself, "You know, I don't really mind what language we speak in heaven as long as there is Mexican food at the banquet table of the Lamb!" Right? Right? You get that? You're with me there, right? There's something special about Mexican food.
We're all Gentiles. We're all gentiles maybe there are a few here who have some kind of background, Jewish background, but for the most part, we're Gentiles. This is a text about Gentiles. This is a text about the inclusion of Gentiles, Gentiles represented here through the wise men.
Now, yes, there is also Jewish representation here in this text. The Jews are represented through Herod, the king of Judea, who himself was not a Jew but represented the powers that be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Jews are also represented in this story through the chief priests and the scribes of all the people. And I think this is why Matthew includes this story in his Gospel right here, right up in front: to impress upon us that from the earliest days of the life of Jesus Christ, he suffered. He suffered. He was rejected by his people. He was rejected by the leadership of his people. He was rejected by the system of power that presided over his people. He was visited by Gentile Magi.
Now, in contrast, I think what this displays is God's grace god's grace to the Gentiles. God was gracious enough to include them into His people. As you know, at that time in the first century, the term "Gentile" was synonymous, to Jews, with the word "sinner." These wise men we read here would have been considered by Israelites to be sinners. And the truth is, they really were sinners. We'll see in a moment that what it means to be a Magi, in part, would have included certain practices that were forbidden in Scripture. These gentiles these wise men are Gentile sinners. But notice: God graciously beckons them. Graciously calls them. Graciously leads them to the Christ child by a star. So they go on this long and arduous journey, looking and searching for the king of the Jews. They're looking for the Messiah. They're looking for the Savior of the world.
And the idea of Gentiles seeking the Savior is an idea that I'm sorry, excites me. And I pray that it excites you as well. I love being a Gentile. Not because being a Gentile is any better than being a Jew, but because being a Gentile who has come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and presses upon me how gracious God has been. It reminds me of God's grace. It reminds me of who God is. Our God is the God of all peoples. He's the God of Mexicans. He's the God of Asians. He's the God of Africans. And yes, He's the God of Babylonians, Assyrians, men from the East. He's even the God of Dutchmen. He's the God of Gentiles and Jews. the God of all people He's the God who calls all different kinds of people out of darkness, the darkness of the world and into His marvelous light. He's the God who calls people. out of the world and includes them into His peculiar, sanctified people Today, much has been made of identifying ourselves with certain people groups. We just had an election, and with that election, there's been all kinds of talk about why certain demographics voted for who they voted for. But we stand in Christ. We stand in Jesus Christ. And as we've heard over and over again, in Christ there's no Greek or Jew, slave or free, single married, young or old. In Christ, we are all one. And so for me, this story of wise men seeking and responding to Christ is a beautiful picture and reminder of the reality of God's grace and who our great God really is.
You see, God's part in this story could easily be overlooked given our familiarity with this story, given the tradition associated with this story. This story and the events of this story have been orchestrated by God himself. We read in this story a number of prophetic events being fulfilled, and these events aren't just haphazardly coming together they're orchestrated, directed in every part by God himself. And what He's doing is He's bringing together this beautiful tapestry of revelation and redemption.
We see this so beautifully by the fact that this story is bookend with providential the providential work of God. In verse 2, the wise men are guided by a star. Who controls the stars and the orbits of the stars, the heavenly bodies? God Almighty. Doesn't He? We then later see, in verse 12, that the wise men are warned in a dream not to return to Herod but to go home a different way. Who is in control of dreams? Who gives interpretation of dreams? We know from stories like the story and the life of Joseph, we know from stories like the story of the life of Daniel, dreams are given by God. Interpretations of dreams are given by God. This is no less true when it comes to this story before us this morning. God is on display, brothers and sisters, in this story. From the events to their prophetic fulfillment, from the surprising travel of these Gentile wise men from distant lands to their worship of the baby Jesus. This all displays God's sovereign control over the events of redemption.
God is the God of Christmas. He's the God who has sent His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the God who orchestrates each and every event in the lives of His people, displaying who He is. His mercy, His grace. And here, His salvation for His people.
Now, yes, there are the kings of men represented in this story who they themselves believe they have the control and the power. But we see within this story that that is far from true. And so let's consider this text together. Let's consider this visit of these wise men.
The text begins with a description: "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."
The text tells us that this took place after Jesus was born. Contrary to many of the traditional ideas of this story, these wise men came to see the baby Jesus not at his birth but after he was born. They were not present there, as many of the pictures and activity scenes display. These wise men came after Christ's birth.
Now, the text doesn't tell us exactly how long after these events occurred, but does tell us in verse 16 that Herod did give orders to have all the male children in Bethlehem who were two years or younger, according to the time he had ascertained from the wise men. And this likely means that the baby Jesus would have been around that age, somewhere from birth to the year two But we're not specifically told.
While we're not specifically told how old Jesus is at this time, Matthew does tell us specifically where Jesus was born. He was born in Bethlehem. Now, knowing the story this story being familiar for many, if not all of us, means that we all know where Jesus was born. We know that he was born in Bethlehem. But you see, being the careful readers of Scripture that we are, we should also note that this is indeed the first time Bethlehem is mentioned in the book of Matthew. And not only is this the first time Bethlehem is mentioned, but this chapter is the only chapter in the Gospel of Matthew where Bethlehem is mentioned. And so this too is noteworthy for us.
You see, again, we're familiar with Bethlehem. And yet at the time of Christ's birth, Bethlehem was an unfamiliar place. It would have been an insignificant, something of a small poduck town where nothing special occurred. Yes, certainly it was the birthplace of King David, but at that time, that reality likely would have been long forgotten. And so Matthew here wants to highlight Bethlehem for us. He wants to emphasize it. See, as I said, this is the first time Matthew brings up a reference to Bethlehem. He didn't bring up Bethlehem in the story of the birth of Christ. He reserves it for this story.
Matthew will go on in this story and in this chapter again to mention Bethlehem five times. He says in verse one "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem." Verse five when Herod asks the chief priests and scribes where is the Christ to be born, they tell him, "In Bethlehem of Judea." for it is written by the prophet verse 6, and you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah." Verse 8, "And Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, go and search diligently for the child. And then verse 16, "Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious and sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and all in all the region who were two years or younger."
You think Matthew is trying to emphasize something here? Absolutely.
Now, why? Why the emphasis on this, at least at that time, insignificant town? Because however insignificant Bethlehem was at that time, in that day, Bethlehem in the history of redemption is very significant. Micah 5, too, as quoted here in verse 6, says, "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from old, from ancient days."
Another translation of this text, and in other translations besides the ESV, says this: "His times of coming forth are from long ago, from days of eternity." It's clear in the history of redemption the place of Bethlehem is absolutely critical and significant.
Notice the question that drives this story is the question: "Where is born the king of the Jews?" The wise men ask this very question in verse 2 as they're seeking the Christ child. Then that question is asked a second time by King Herod in verse 4 when he inquires of the chief priests and the scribes of the people, "Where is the Christ child to be born?" The answer is Bethlehem. Bethlehem. Matthew is highlighting Bethlehem here. And he does so because it is the place where the Messiah, the King of the Jews, was prophesied to be born. And that prophesy in this text has come to fulfillment. Bethlehem is the place, the birthplace of the promised one the one whose Scripture foretold. the one whose scripture prophesied of. The one who is from ancient days, from eternity. Bethlehem and its significance has arrived. And it has arrived because the Son of David, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, has arrived. And this is the truth that Matthew can't emphasize enough to his readers.
Now, this description in verse 1 continues by telling us this story takes place in the days of King Herod, or Herod the king. Again, we're all familiar with this story, and so it's easy to skip over many of these specifics. But we ought not to miss the significance of the reference of Herod the king here.
You see, just as we heard of the significance of Bethlehem, Although insignificant in that day, Bethlehem's been very significant in regards to the history of redemption. Bethlehem is a royal town. It's a birthplace of King David. It was prophesied to be the birthplace of the Son of David, the Messiah, the King of the Jews. It is a royal town where the King of the Jews has now, in our story, been born and is residing.
But here, up front, Matthew tells us that there's another king in town. There's another king in the story: Herod, King Herod, the king of Judea. If the book of Matthew was a movie, this reference to Herod here would have been something of a leitmotif like the dun-dun-dun. What Matthew is hinting to us here is the major problem that exists in this story, the tension that exists and is brewing between the true King of the Jews who is just at this point a baby and from the perspective of men is helpless and vulnerable. And then there is the other king, King Herod, who, on the other hand, has every power at his disposal.
He's the recognized king of Judah by the Romans. He's been inserted by the Romans. He has the power to assemble the religious elite of Israel. All the chief priests and the scribes of the people come at his call. Now, not only was King Herod the recognized king of Judea and had, according to men, the power to rule, but King Herod was a known madman. He was a madman. History tells us that this Herod was given to fits of paranoia, rage, and jealousy. This was evidenced by the fact that he murdered his second wife, who he confessed to be madly in love with. And along with her, he murdered the two sons that she bore to him. Not only that, he also murdered her brother, her grandfather, and even her mother.
When Matthew mentions Herod here, this isn't some passing point. You see, what the Scripture is showing us here is that tension, that tension oftentimes deadly tension that exists between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. This was tension that we saw, all and are familiar with, back in Exodus, right? When the baby Moses was targeted by the powers of men. With that in mind, this text is also showing us that the greater Moses has arrived, who are who is also targeted by the kings of men, who himself will go down to Egypt and then be called out. And all of this tension isn't just hypothetical.
Verse 3 tells us that this tension wasn't just brewing but that it had come to reality when Herod hears that the wise men from the east have arrived asking, "Where is he who is born King of the Jews?" Verse 3 tells us that Herod is troubled and with him all Jerusalem. What we have here is a paranoid king a paranoid king who knows deep down that he is not the rightful heir of the Jewish people, he's not the rightful King of Judea. And now there are rumors being circulated that the rightful heir has been born in bethlehem the royal town the place where King David was born. And these rumors are only confirmed by the fact that this entourage of wise men from the east have arrived and they're asking about this heirs whereabouts because they want to come and worship him. They want to come and worship him.
I wonder if this is why Herod was troubled, as described here in the text. He wasn't enraged. He wasn't angry. He was troubled. see, maybe if this was just any old king who was to be born or heir to the throne that was born Herod would have been enraged and angered. But these wise men and their entourage comes to worship him, probably led Herod to ask himself, "Who is this? Who is this?" And so he's troubled. He's troubled.
Now, in the middle of this tension, in this story, in the middle of the development of redemption, here we have the wise men. Now, who were these wise men? They certainly weren't Jews. Contrary to the Christmas carol that we're all familiar with we Three Kings of Orient are they aren't kings either, but counselors. They're counselors to king The term "Magi" can be translated "wise men," "magician," even "sorcerer." Strictly speaking, these were men who were students of the stars. They were men who were wise and experts in astrology, interpretation of dreams, and various secret arts.
As I mentioned earlier, these would have been men who were accustomed to practicing things that were forbidden in Scripture. These were men who read the stars. The fullest picture of what such men would have been like comes from the book of Daniel, Daniel 2, where after an Ebuchadnezzar has a dream and is troubled by his dream, he commands the Magi, the wise men, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to be summoned to him to tell him about his dream. And we know how the story goes, right? None of those Magi, wise men, sorcerers, magicians, enchanters, and Chaldeans can tell him his dream. And so what does he do? He says, "I'm going to destroy all of you." Essentially, he's saying, "What use are you if you can't do this?"
Well, Daniel would have been included in the wise men of Babylon. And so Daniel, through the power of God, is given the ability to explain the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, and as you know, in the story, he saves all the wise men of Babylon. So that's who these men are. They're educated men trained in astrology and therefore counselors and advisors to kings, as we see in the case of the book of Daniel. This is why these men aren't just simply called "sorcerers" or "magician," but "Magi" and "wise men." They're men who, in the first century, would have been held in high repute. That's exactly why their arrival merits the the acknowledgement of Herod.
Now, being Magi is what they did; who they were, for our intent and purposes, is a bit more simple: these were Gentiles. It would have been, at best, peculiar to a Jew to have their Messiah visited by Gentile Magi. The very idea would have been considered more scandalous than anything by any Jew. Again, we recall what Jews thought of Gentiles in the first century: sinners, rejects, outsiders to God's people. But here, in the second chapter of the book of the Gospel of Matthew, we have these Gentiles visiting the baby Jesus.
It's at this point that we see the beauty beauty of this story. the beauty of god's grace at work in this story this story isn't just about the birth of jesus but how that birth inaugurated a pivotal moment in history a shift in the history of redemption the inclusion. of the nations these wise men are symbolic of that shift they're symbolic of that inclusion they are their presence is a sign of the times now yes of course we don't get the full inclusion of the gentiles until much later but the fact is that this story right here, in the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, includes Gentiles coming to see the baby Jesus. And what this should impress upon us, brothers and sisters, is that it was always God's plan to include Gentiles into His people. It should impress upon us again that our God is the God of all kinds of people. He's the God who loves the world. He loves all kinds of different people. That includes you. That includes me. God loves us, Christian. He loves us, Gentile Christians. He loves us with an everlasting, lasting love. He loves us with a love that moved him to give his only Son for us.
That's the message of Christmas, isn't it? It's the message of the Gospel: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Whosoever believes in him jew or Gentile, Gentile, all people, even wise men from the East.
Now, we don't know the extent of the knowledge that these wise men had in regards to Jesus the Messiah, but one thing is for sure: they knew enough to know that this baby, this child this light unto the gentiles was one who deserved to be worshiped They say in verse 2, "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him."
These wise men didn't just come to see the King of the Jews. They came to worship him. They came to bow down before him, to prostrate themselves before the baby, as we see in verse 11. They came to offer him what should only be offered to God. These wise men traveled a long distance. They traveled for a prolonged period of time. Some scholars say thousands of miles, and maybe even up to two years was their travel. And why? Why such prolonged travel? Not for power, not for fame, not for prestige, not for the reasons that men traveled in the ancient world trade or anything like that. These men traveled to worship. They traveled to worship the King of the Jews, to worship the Christ child, to worship Jesus.
Now, any Jew would have found this too greatly offensive. They would have found this to be outright blasphemous. Jews knew that worship was reserved for God and God alone. We see this point made in Revelation 22, when John bows before an angel in worship and the angel says, "Don't do that. Worship God only."
Here in our text, however, we see no indication that there was a problem with what these uh Magi from the East intended and actually did in worshiping the baby Jesus. In fact, that fact that we don't have indication that, of a problem here communicates the opposite that in fact, Jesus is someone whom it is appropriate to worship. He is emmanuel God in the flesh and as such, he deserves our worship. He deserves the worship of all men, Jew and Gentile both. And that truth is still true today.
Children, does Jesus deserve our worship? He absolutely does. He deserves our wholehearted worship.
Now, thankfully, we don't have to travel so far and wide to worship our King. For us, we probably have traveled this morning maybe 10 or 15 minutes to come to worship. Now, I know some of us here travel a bit further than that, and I commend you for that shows your commitment to the Lord's Day. But thankfully, none of us have to drive thousands of miles and drive for multiple days to worship. But let me ask you: do you think these wise men cared that they had to travel so far and for so long? Absolutely not. They were coming to see the light of the nations. They were coming to see the Messiah. They were coming to see the Savior of the world.
We see the joy that these men had in coming to worship in verse 10, when they see the star arisen again after being summoned by Herod. The verse tells us, "When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. These were men who were greatly excited to see the baby Jesus.
Now, this point causes me to consider the kind of joy that I come to when I worship. Can the joy which we come together with on the Lord's Day be described as exceedingly great joy? I pray so. Because today we are as privileged as these wise men from the East in that day to worship Jesus Christ. No, we didn't travel for long and far periods of time, but we too are privileged to worship Christ. We too worship because God was gracious enough to lead us to a place of repentance, to lead us to a place in our lives where we recognize Jesus Christ as one who deserves worship.
Don't miss that point, brothers and sisters, in this story.
Well, finally, in this story, we see that these men arrive at the home of Jesus, and the text tells us that along with worshiping him, they bring gifts. We're all familiar with the gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. We've heard many times a symbolic meaning of these gifts: gold is a gift fit for a king; frankincense, a gift of worship; myrrh, a gift symbolic of suffering and death.
What we have here, brothers and sisters, in these gifts is a picture of further devotion of these wise men to Christ. These gifts were a further spiritual act of worship. These men were willing to part with some of their greatest possessions and treasures out of honor for the Christ child. With them, they express great tribute. They show that the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of all that they could offer Him.
Now today, we're not commanded to give gold and frankincense and myrrh to the Lord specifically. We are called to give our gifts and tithes to the Lord, but even more than that, we're called to offer all of ourselves to the Lord. The well-known verse in Romans 12 says, "In light of the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship." These wise men brought gifts as a spiritual act of worship. We may not bring the same gifts, but we ought to offer all of ourselves to the Lord in light of what he has done for us in Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters, this is a beautiful story of God's grace, is it not? It's a beautiful story of God's mercy to these Gentile men, and through it, we see who our God is: the God of all people. So that we too may praise him, worship him, and offer ourselves to him.
Let's bow in prayer.
Lord, what a magnificent story that you have here in scripture the story of gentile magi coming before the baby jesus we thank you for the grace that is on display through this story. We thank you this morning, Lord, that you are the God of all people and that you have been gracious enough to include, yes, even us, into your people. Lord, impress this truth upon our hearts and make us, move us to worship you and to offer ourselves as an act of worship. We pray this all in Christ's name. Amen.