So, tonight we turn in the Bible to Matthew chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2 as we consider tonight the birth of Christ and the events surrounding that birth. I'm going to focus tonight on really the issue here of what it means that He is the King. And we're going to look a little bit at that tonight. There's many threads through this and there's a lot going on in this section. And so that will be the sort of focus tonight on Jesus being the king of the Jews. So Matthew chapter 2, we'll read together the first 12 verses of Matthew chapter 2. Let us give our attention to the word of the Lord. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men came 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 have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled in all Jerusalem with him. And assembling all the chief priests and 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 Haran 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 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 as mother, and they 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. May the Lord bless the hearing of this. Well, obviously, this is a time of year we are accustomed to celebrating the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is an exciting time. It's a time that is full for us of happiness, a joyful time of reflecting on what the Lord has done in sending His beloved Son into this world. but i always like to go back at this time and reflect a little bit uh upon the events that surrounded this birth because nothing about it really comports or correlates with uh the way that we celebrate it no one really knows when the lord jesus christ was born at least the date i think it was the eastern church that believed for years it was january 6 uh whether it's true or not I'm not sure, but they say that Chrysostom, the great preacher, is the one that proposed the date for December 25. I really can't validate that. I need to study that a little bit more. Maybe I'm not too interested in it. Maybe that's the issue. Because it's not really the focus as to exactly when the Lord Jesus Christ came. What date He came. In fact, for the early Christians, they weren't too interested in celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. That may sound shocking to us, but they were more interested in talking a lot about His death and His resurrection. The reason was is that they were concerned of what would happen with this celebration and what really should be the focus on looking at the big picture of the coming of our Savior. Everything is sort of turned around today and I guess, humanly speaking, it makes sense. I find it a lot less offensive to think about a baby in a manger. It's cozy. A sweet baby in a manger in contrast to that child growing up and suffering an awful, horrendous, bloody death on the cross. Splendors and all. In a sense, we really have, when we consider the birth of Christ, sanitized even the meaning of the birth and so that's what i i want to look at tonight in the way that scripture has has revealed it for us it maybe seems too surreal silent night holy night all is calm all is bright round yon virgin mother and child holy infant so tender and mild sleep in heavenly peace sleep in heavenly peace did he is that true was it calm was it as peaceful as we want to make it is that what the scriptures tell us this is the one time you can call me a scrooge But I think it's important to say very clearly what the Scriptures give to us and paint the really vivid and clear picture of what the Lord wants us to understand about the birth of His Son. Here, what we have before us tonight is Jesus Christ, true and eternal God, taking on our flesh and coming into a world, the Father seeing His Son come into a world of death and rebellion. And from the beginning, they wanted to do nothing other than slaughter Him. They wanted to slaughter Him. Already from the beginning, it really was a presentation of the cross event. And the Gospels are telling us certain things about this child of what his purpose was and what his mission would be. And that's what we get right at the beginning when we open up the Gospels. We're getting it all laid out for us. We have early snapshots of the whole picture of his life. And it's really remarkable when you see it in that regard. Matthew's Gospel is unique because it's showing us some of the major themes right at the birth of Christ that would come out in the Gospel. Themes like the rejection of the Jews of their Messiah. The Gospel going to the Gentiles. The fulfillment of the Old Testament promises being now to all the nations that the sons of Abraham would include Gentiles. We're seeing all this come out right at the beginning. And that's what I want to consider with you tonight. Who is the real king of the Jews? And what did the Jews believe about the king? And how did they receive her king? And who really is bringing spiritual worship to the king? That's the question of Matthew chapter 2. That's the issue of these first chapters in Matthew. And that's where we pick up tonight. In verse 1 we read, Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, and we could stop there and say Matthew immediately jumps into the response. So the Lord has been born here, and we've looked at that last week, and we read that these strange figures called wise men are coming and truly worshiping the King. They're searching for Him. Scripture records that these are wise men or magi and they come asking this great question, where is He who has been born the King of the Jews? Who were they? Don't really know. Too much speculation on it. What's really important is they're Gentiles. They're Gentiles. I want you to listen for a moment as to what they're asking. These men had come into the streets of Jerusalem. The star had obviously led them. And they had come into the streets of Jerusalem and this news had hit the streets through these men who are excited, who are full of joy, that the King has come, the King of the Jews, and they want to come and worship Him. I don't know if you picked it up, but in the first two verses you have a contrast that's made that is very sharp and very intentional by Matthew. You'll have it mentioned here. Herod the king. And here come these men saying where is the king of the Jews who's been born? There's this tension that dominates this whole section tonight between the true king and the false king. And how do we know who is the true king? Who is the real king of the Jews? I like to think a minute, what would have gone on through the mind of Herod? The text says when Herod heard this, this implies this news had been all over the streets of Jerusalem. These wise men are going around asking this. Herod wants to know. He wants to know who is saying this, where he is, and he obviously has a plan. But I want to back up for a minute and ask the question, what was so important? Why is there such a history? What about this history of the king of Israel? There's a lot that comes before this. There's a whole history that comes before this that really makes this open up when we understand exactly where the king of the Jews, the king of Israel, where this all originated. Remember when in the days of Samuel, when the Jews asked for a king? all the elders of Israel gathered together and they came to Samuel at Ramah and they said to him, Look, you're old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the other nations. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. So Samuel prayed to the Lord and the Lord said to Samuel, Heed the voice of the people and all that they say to you. For they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me that I should not reign over them. The Lord had always been their king, hadn't He? They had not been without a king. But they were looking out at all the nations of the land and they were looking out at these powerful centers of the monarchy and this system that was set up of powerful rulers and it was a proven method that worked among the nations they thought. They had this central figure that they could see that could sit on the throne and that would lead them. All the nations around them had one of these. Israel wanted one of these and really they were struggling with, here we sit with an unseen God. Give us one we can see. The whole event was reminiscent of Exodus 32. Very much so in the golden cow. Same language is used if you study it. We want a king just like all the other nations. so what did the lord say to israel if you studied uh throughout the history of how the lord treated his people you know you are my special treasure my special possession among all people a holy nation a kingdom of priests a people for myself i'm going to be with you and be your king i will go with you. And he put a whole tabernacle among them in the wilderness where he dwelt symbolically on that throne. And here they were. We want a king. Give us a king like all the other nations. Security is what they wanted. Didn't they? Psalm 118. Give us, send prosperity now, O Lord. Send it. Well, God gave them their heart's desire didn't he he gave them Saul his name is from the root asked for a king they could visibly and tangibly see and touch and look upon here he was it's interesting when you study in Samuel everything that's said of Saul he was the most handsome man among all the children of Israel That's a remarkable statement, isn't it? Who would be the most handsome man in the world? I better not comment on that. No contest in Israel. It was Saul. Saul was the most handsome man in Israel. And he was Mr. GQ. And not only that, he was a foot taller, a head taller than anyone else. I mean, the Scriptures are really building this up. He was a presence. he was a presence in Israel there was no one like him the scripture said among all the people this was your prototype earthly king God gave them what they wanted outwardly you couldn't have had a better pick how many of you have read through maybe boys and girls I encourage you read through the stories of the king what do we see with the stories of the kings failure after failure after failure and it's no coincidence that Matthew chapter 1 presents to us a whole curse on the line of the kings that we considered last time with Jeconiah or Coniah the whole thing ended in a mass failure but God did not waver on his promise did he and in the middle of all these dark moments of Israel you would have statements spoken things like from Isaiah for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor Mighty God, Everlasting Father Prince of Peace and of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order and establish it with judgment and justice from this time forward even forever. He's coming. God would bring His King and God would give them their heart's desire. He would come. And that's how remarkable Matthew 1 is when it says He is Emmanuel, God with us. He sent the King. God got off His throne and came down among us and dwelt among us and we beheld that glory Matthew does something surprising at this moment. He shows us a scene that I would never want to think about or dream up. He shows us the response to this. And he shows us two responses to this. He shows us the rejection and he shows us true worship. What would you expect? Boys and girls, when the king arrived on the scene of history. Well, maybe we would expect some rejoicing, right, in Jerusalem. We would expect some real celebration to take place. Maybe gifts given, right? We would expect this is the moment of all of history. The world would be celebrating. Everyone would be excited. Everyone would be yelling out in the streets of Jerusalem, the king has come. He's finally arrived. Our Messiah, the long-awaited Messiah, has come. I mean, here He was. And yet by the time this scene ends, all we have is verse 18, a voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and weeping. Rachel weeping for her children. The king had arrived, And thousands of years of anticipation. Deliverance from oppression. And that's how it ends. And don't miss what's in between here. If I paint the broad stroke, if I get down into some of the particulars of the painting here, think of everything that's being presented to you. Luke begins with there was no room for him in the end. Really a clear picture there was no room for him in much of anyone's hearts, was there? He goes into a manger, a feeding trough, and we begin to smell the air. It's foul in there. It's cold. He's there with all the animals. And here's the king of the Jews sleeping with animals at his birth. And these weren't regular 4-H animals. These were figures of death representing the sacrificial system. And Jesus is among them as the Lamb of God in the feeding trough. The sheep in the fields with the shepherds were not ordinary sheep. They were not the kind of sheep we think of, at least when we see the pictures or the drawings. These were the 256,000 sheep that Josephus records would come into Jerusalem to be slaughtered every year at the Passover, being raised as little lambs. Being prepared for death is what they were. You can understand what the shepherds understood when the angels came to them and the announcement was made, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is no less the picture given in Matthew. The worst of it being what had happened to the throne of Israel. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, In the city of David, there sat, on the throne of Jerusalem, in David's throne, a wicked, rebellious imposter. A picture of a whole representation of the devil's seed sitting on the throne. He wasn't even a Jew. He was an Edomite. And interestingly, he's traced back directly to the line of Esau. And what moves me about the passage in verse 3 is, when Herod the king heard this about the birth of the king of the Jews, he was troubled, and I've never gotten over what follows this. Every time I read it, I just pause and I think about this. It can't say that. And all of Jerusalem was troubled with him. I don't know about you, but that is deeply disturbing, isn't it? Jerusalem is troubled at the announcement of the birth of the king of the Jews. And clearly the picture here being they've aligned themselves with Herod. They didn't want him. They didn't want him. Why are they troubled? I mean, when we read in the New Testament that the prophets, The New Testament tells us that all the Old Testament prophets looked for this time. Of this salvation, the prophets inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that would come to you. Searching what or what manner of time? Hebrews 9, but now once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. That's what they looked for. And Matthew 2 says, Jerusalem is deeply agitated by this birth. I sit back and I think, well, why? I mean, why would God's people in Israel be troubled? Why would the nation of Israel be troubled at the birth of their Messiah? Most think it was just because of Herod's utter cruelty. I think that's true. He killed his wife. He slaughtered his three sons. He would have no problem wiping out babies in Bethlehem. But the most remarkable thing for me, I'm not so sure that's it. The most remarkable thing as I study the Scriptures and I look at this was what Herod prided himself in being to the Jews. There was a reason he was called Herod the Great. And why was he called Herod the Great? The reason he was called Herod the Great, he claimed that title. Rome gave him that title. He believed he earned that title. He practiced the Jewish religion. Do you know what he did for them? Herod restored the glory of Israel. He built a magnificent kingdom in Jerusalem. And I mean, it was glorious. We studied it this morning, didn't we? You see, this is what was forgotten. He practiced the Jewish religion. He considered himself part of it. He built Jerusalem a glorious theater. Now think of this on an earthly level. He built them a glorious theater. They had a luxurious palace with three famous towers. But the major thing he did was he restored that temple, that icon. The temple, the temple, the temple. He restored it to its former glory after, they say, after Solomon. what it used to be. I was reading Josephus and I found this really interesting Herod's address. Listen to Herod's address to the Jews as this temple was going up and being dedicated. I think I need not speak to you, my countrymen, about such other works as I have done since I came to the kingdom. Although I may say they have been performed in such a manner as to bring more security to you than glory to myself for I have neither been negligent in the most difficult times about what tended to ease your necessities nor have the buildings. I have been made so proper to preserve me as yourselves from injuries and I imagine that with God's assistance I have advanced the nation of the Jews to a degree of happiness which they never had before. wow prayers were offered up thanking God for Herod it was a beautiful restoration you know I quoted Josephus this morning on these stones being 35 feet beautiful white he restored even Samaria the capital of the northern empire he built seaports and when famines hit the region he clothed everyone and he gave the people food. My point is, under Herod, the kingdom outwardly was restored as much as could be under Roman rule to its former pristine glory. And that's what the Jews were after. It's what they wanted. You see, the Jews weren't really worried about the problem of their sin and the need of a Savior because of their sin. And they saw the Messiah as the one who would restore back and bring back Israel in its political revolution, prosperity now, and here is Jesus entered into this. This is a forecasting of his life on earth. He wasn't beautiful. When you looked at him, there was nothing that outwardly attracted you to Jesus. He was not like Saul. In fact, Isaiah makes the very point that when you looked at him, there was no beauty that you would have ever desired him. Physically, outwardly, not much. And then he goes around and he starts pronouncing doom on Herod's temple. How well do you think he was liked doing that? John 6, the multitudes come to him. Why are they coming to him? Because he's just fed their bellies, hasn't he? And he could do all these wonderful signs and everyone started saying in Israel, like Nicodemus, well, no one could do these kind of things unless God's with them. We'll follow you. And John 6 is interesting because John says they tried to make him king by force. It wasn't an issue of the Jews rejecting Jesus as king and then turning to plan B. They had rejected him as the kind of king he truly was. But they wanted to make him a king. Don't get that wrong. They wanted to force him into that position because they saw his power in being able to provide that way. They expect, I mean, this is the prophet come into the world. This is the one. He can bring back the glory. Sounds a little bit familiar today, doesn't it? Of what we want in a leader in our country. We want the former glory. Of course we do. But when I transfer that to Christianity, Am I so wrong to say that this has been a huge problem in what we're looking for today in Christianity? His kingdom was not of this world. Everything about this Messiah and this King was otherworldly. And what were they after? What are we after? When the angels sang in Luke 2 and they told us all to rejoice. What is rejoicing? and how do we rejoice what are we being told to rejoice about that's the thing that really has to be remembered today doesn't what are we being told to rejoice about calvin said it beautifully in luke 2 the gospel may not indeed bring us bodily pleasure or the enjoyment of riches riches sometimes it may bring us oppression and distress We know that there are many people whose only reward for following the gospel is persecution, banishment, the loss of goods and property. Others are thrown into cramped cells and are cruelly dragged off to the stake. Although then, many poor believers have gained no material reward for having embraced the gospel. The joy announced by the angels exceeds everything else. and we may safely rest in Christ's love since God wants to be a Father and Savior to us and to have us as His children. Now that's a gift nothing else can compare to. May all of this, said Calvin, lighten our sorrows and may the grace and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ give us fresh courage. Herod gathers together the chief priests and the scribes to ask where this king is to be born. Let me go worship him. And we know that he wants to destroy him. It's sad because all of the leaders, you know, it's interesting in John, I remember studying John and remark that it was going around Israel when no one would know where the Messiah was from. But that's not true. Because these leaders knew exactly where he would be born. And they say it when Herod asks. And they quote the Scriptures. They quote Micah. Which shows how hardened they are that they won't even look into. They won't even look into the one who has come, born in the city of David. I've always thought the end of Micah's message. How could they miss? Who is a God like you? pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage, He does not retain His anger forever because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old. That's what was needed. And you see the sad picture presented to us is the story of Israel when Jesus would break from them and curse the fig tree. But in the middle of all of this is a beaming light, isn't there? Now what is the light? Well, it's the Lord Himself. The light is shown in the darkness. But a good response to this. It's amazing who shows up, doesn't it? Right at the birth. The first ones to worship. Pagan Gentiles. pagan Gentiles. And this star leads them and the whole thing is reminiscent of the message of this pillar of fire leading Israel and stopping. And here the star leads them and stops over the child. Here is the one. And it's beautiful what happens. These Gentiles come and they foreshadow and show us all that the Old Testament talks about and prophesied that would be fulfilled when the Messiah would come and it is now. What would happen when the Messiah would come? Think of it. Think of Haggai. For thus says the Lord of hosts, one more, it's a little while, I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land, and I will shake all nations and they shall come to the desire of all the nations and I will fill this temple with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And who is that temple? It's you. It's what the New Testament tells us. It's all of us as living stones made up as a spiritual house. That's His temple. Tonight we sing out Psalm 72. May the kings of Tarshish and the coastlands render Him tribute. May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before Him and nations serve Him. For He delivers the needy when He calls, the poor and Him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy. He saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence, He redeems their life and precious is their blood in His sight. Long may He live. May the gold of Sheba be given to Him. May prayer be made for Him continually and blessings invoked for Him all the day. May there be abundance of grain in the land. On the tops of the mountains may it wave. May its fruit be like Lebanon. And may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field. May His name endure forever. His fame continue as long as the sun. May people be blessed in Him. All nations call Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. You see, at the beginning of the Gospels, we see these promises coming to fulfillment. And Paul was so overwhelmed with this, you know what he would say to the Gentiles? He would ask the question, so I ask, did they, Israel, stumble that they might fall? Paul was so excited to say this, I can't imagine how excited he was under inspiration of the Spirit to put this down. By no means. Through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles. God gave it to the dogs. Because we need to eat from that table too, don't we? And He opened it wide to you. And tonight, you're the fulfillment. And when we study the Scriptures, we see that through the Gospel going out now and the Gentiles believing, Jews are coming in to this day and we form one holy people, one nation, one Israel of God, together proclaiming the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into this marvelous light. In the winter of 6 B.C., God broke into history. He invaded our world, taking the form of a servant with one great mission. Born in little and significant Bethlehem, among the animals in a feeding trough, represented by all those Passover lambs, behold, there He was, the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world and to be our King. Who do you worship? Have you bowed before this King? Have you worshipped this King in spirit and in truth? Not the King that we make up in our mind that we would like. The King as He is revealed in Scripture. Herod was a fool. The people were blinded. They did not bow to God's King. But from the beginning, God had planned and purposed to bring you in and to bring you here tonight that you would worship the King. Out of Zion, the Lord has registered all His people. Psalm 87. And in this season, let's remember what we're doing. Let us always worship the true King of Israel. Amen. O Lord our God, we are thankful that the King has come and that all Your promises are yes and amen and we see the fulfillment of them. And sometimes we get easily distracted by all the glitter and the lights and all the pomp and the show. We forget what really had to happen. We thank You, O Lord, for all that was accomplished and all that was done to forgive us for all of our sins. and how You preserve us along the way, whether we face trial or hardship or immense blessing of Your good riches. Whatever it is, the greatest gift has been given. You have announced Your forgiveness and You've announced that nothing can separate us from Your love. May we take that this week and stay fixed upon the Savior. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.