12/18/2016 Sermon: Wise Folks Still Seek Him Transition: ME: Wise Folks Still Seek Him. The Magi Visit the Messiah

Transcription

1 12/18/2016 Sermon: Wise Folks Still Seek Him Three Wise Men Joke In a small Southern town near Clemson University, there was a Nativity Scene that showed great skill and talent had gone into creating it. One small feature bothered me. The three wise men were wearing firemen s helmets. Totally unable to come up with a reason or explanation, I left. At a Quik Stop on the edge of town, I asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets. She exploded into a rage, yelling at me, You darn Yankees never do read the Bible! I assured her that I did, but simply couldn t recall anything about firemen in the Bible. She jerked her Bible from behind the counter and ruffled through some pages, and finally jabbed her finger at a passage. Sticking it in my face she said "See, it says right here", "The three wise men came from afar". Transition: I love the Christmas Story, and I love Christmas time. It s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and this morning we are going to spend some time in the Christmas story. ME: This morning we will be looking at Matthew Chapter 2: The title to my message this morning is Wise Folks Still Seek Him. The Magi Visit the Messiah 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi [a] 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 when it rose 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 Messiah 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 shepherd my people Israel. [b] 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 search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.

2 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose 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, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. The Escape to Egypt 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son. [c] 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 A voice is heard in Ramah (Ray-Ma), weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. [d] The Return to Nazareth 19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child s life are dead. 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus (Arch U Lay Us) was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. Footnotes: a. Matthew 2:1 Traditionally wise men b. Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2,4 Micah 5:2-4 (NIV)

3 2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, (F-Ra-Tha) though you are small among the clans [a] of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. 3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. c. Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1 (NIV)(Ho Z A) God s Love for Israel 11 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. d. Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15 Jeremiah 31:15 (NIV) 15 This is what the LORD says: A voice is heard in Ramah, (Ray-Ma) mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.

4 Today s Characters For me, anytime I read scripture, I always want to know some background on the characters in the story. Our focus today is on the Three Wise Men, but we have other Characters to consider briefly. King Herod King Herod was the man who tried to stop Christmas. With all his wealth and power, he came to complete ruin. Historical writings tell us that in the final year of his life, his body was infected with disease. Ironically, Herod pretended to be a worshiper. He said to the wise men, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!" (Matthew 2:8). Yet Herod was a false worshiper. There are people like him today. They say they believe in God, but they live a life that contradicts what the Scriptures teach. Herod wanted to be the king of his own life, but he really was a slave. He ended up being not the King of the Jews but the king of fools. Herod ended up on the ash heap of history like dictators before and after him, reminding us that those who live wicked lives eventually will reap what they sow. Adolf Hitler went into his bunker and shot himself as his nation crumbled around him. Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a hole and was eventually executed by his own people. Muammar Gaddafi was hunted down by his own people, beaten, and shot to death. Usama Bin Laden was taken out my Special Forces. All those who blaspheme God, fight with God, or try to stop the work of God eventually will fail. Yet God's Word ultimately will prevail. Philippians 2:9 10 says, "Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."

5 One day, everyone every man, every woman, every believer, and every nonbeliever will bow before Jesus Christ. Angel of the Lord The Angel of the Lord could have been Jesus Himself in the Old Testament Scriptures, but in the New Testament and the Gospel of Luke he is identified as Gabriel. The most likely candidate for the angel of the LORD in the New Testament is Gabriel. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist, he identified himself as Gabriel. Though we are not specifically told the identity of this angel of the LORD in the other New Testament contexts, it is consistent to identify him with the angel Gabriel. Joseph What we know about Joseph, the earthly and legal Father of Jesus, is found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Joseph s complete genealogy is given in Matthew 1:1-18. Though it is curious to new readers why this long genealogy is given, we quickly learn its importance. Genealogies were very important to the Jews but these verses demonstrate the lineage of Jesus Christ back to Abraham for all mankind to recognize another fulfillment of the many prophecies given about the Messiah. Joseph was a direct descendant from David. He was a gracious man who kept the laws of Judaism and was well respected. He was a man of meager means but none the less, an honorable and faithful man. Skilled as a carpenter in the small town of Nazareth, Joseph spent time teaching his son the trade as well as providing spiritual training. Jesus is very often described as working and being taught by Joseph in his carpenter s shop. This was an inherited occupation Jesus performed before going into His ministry. Joseph observed the Holy Days and Hebrew Feast with his family as shown in Luke 2: Every year Jesus parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. We also know that through Joseph s sensitivity and obedience to God, he fulfilled the role of protector and guardian of Jesus. He enacted the role of father admirably in every way. Little detail of Joseph is given in the Gospels so because Jesus entrusted Mary to the care of John, it is speculated that Joseph may have died a natural death between their visit to the temple when Jesus was twelve (Luke 2:41-51) but before the

6 Baptism of Jesus when He was thirty (Mark 1:9-11). It is clear that others recognized Joseph as the legal father of Jesus in verses such as John 1:45. Joseph's influence during those early years must have been incredible. When Jesus spoke of God as being like a loving Father, he could draw from his youth the kind of love he had from Joseph. Joseph stands as a testimony to the value of integrity, obedience, faithfulness, and especially to honoring the entrusted role of "fatherhood. Prophet Hosea Hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied just before the destruction of Israel in 722 BC. He preached to the northern kingdom. Throughout the book, you will see that he refers to Israel and Ephraim (E-From). Ephraim was the largest tribe in Israel and sometimes the whole nation was referred to as Ephraim. Prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah (Hill-Kia), a Levitical priest, was likely born between 650 and 645 B.C. He was from the small village of Anathoth(Anna Thigh), about three miles northeast of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin (Jeremiah 1:1). It was through Jeremiah s childhood training for holy service in the priesthood that God began grooming him for his future role, which was God had appointed Jeremiah to proclaim the destruction and building of nations that would eventually lead to the Kingdom of God. Archelaus (Arch U Lay Us) ar-ke-la'-us (Archelaos, Matthew 2:22): Son of Herod the Great by his wife Malthace(Mall Hase), a Samaritan woman. He succeeded on his father's death to the government of Judea, Samaria and Idumaea(Id U Me Un), but was deposed by the Romans for misgovernment in 6 A.D. Three Wise Men (Maji) Were there really Three Wise Men? We really don t know the names of the magi because the Bible doesn t tell us. In fact, the Bible is silent on how many wise men visited Jesus. However, tradition has it that the three wise men who came to seek and honor the infant Jesus were named Gaspar, Balthasar (Bal The Czar), and Melchior (Mel Cure).

7 The three wise men, also known as magi, were men belonging to various educated classes. Our English word magician comes from this same root. But these wise men were not magicians in the modern sense of sleight-of-hand performers. They were of noble birth, educated, wealthy, and influential. They were philosophers, the counselors of rulers, learned in all the wisdom of the ancient East. The wise men who came seeking the Christ child were not idolaters; they were upright men of integrity. They had apparently studied the Hebrew Scriptures and found there a clear transcript of truth. In particular, the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament must have claimed much of their attention On the night of Christ s birth, a mysterious light appeared in the sky which became a luminous star that persisted in the western heavens (see Matthew 2:1, 2). Impressed with its import, the wise men turned once more to the sacred scrolls. As they tried to understand the meaning of the sacred writings, they determined to go in search of the Messiah. Like Abraham, they knew not at first where they were to go, but followed as the guiding star led them on their way. Gifts of the three wise men The tradition that there were three wise men arose from the fact that the Bible mentions three gifts, gold frankincense and myrrh according to Matthew 2:11. However, the Bible doesn t say how many wise men made the journey to see the baby Jesus. The unfounded idea that they were also kings came from the imagery of Isaiah 60:3. Isaiah 60:3 (NIV) 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. It is a common misconception that the wise men visited Jesus at the stable on the night of His birth. In fact, the wise men could of came days, months, or possibly even years later. That is why Matthew 2:11 says the wise men visited and worshiped Jesus in a house, not at the stable. We know that the magi were wise men from "the East," most likely Persia, or modern-day Iran. This means the wise men traveled 800 to 900 miles to see the Christ child. Most likely, the magi knew of the writings of the prophet Daniel, who in time past had been the chief of the court seers in Persia. Daniel 9:24-27 includes a prophecy which gives a timeline for the birth of the Messiah. Also, the magi may have been aware of the prophecy of Balaam (who was from the town of Pethor on the Euphrates River near Persia) in Numbers 24:17. Balaam's prophecy specifically mentions a star coming out of Jacob.

8 (Brent Landau Summary) For early Christians, the seemingly pivotal yet unexplained background of the mysterious magi provided abundant room to shape new narratives around the question, Who were the magi? One of the most compelling, recently translated into English by Brent Landau, professor of religious studies at the University of Oklahoma, is the so-called Revelation of the Magi, an apocryphal (A-Poc-Ra-Full) account of the traditional Christmas story that purports to have been written by the magi themselves. The account is preserved in an eighth-century C.E. Syriac (Siri Ack) manuscript held in the Vatican Library, although Brent Landau believes the earliest versions of the text may have been written as early as the mid-second century, less than a hundred years after Matthew s gospel was composed. Written in the first person, the Revelation of the Magi narrates the mystical origins of the magi, their miraculous encounter with the luminous star and their equally miraculous journey to Bethlehem to worship the child. The magi then return home and preach the Christian faith to their brethren, ultimately being baptized by the apostle Thomas. Per Brent Landau, this dramatic account not only answers the question Who were the magi? but also provides details about how many they were, where they came from and their mysterious encounter with the star that led them to Bethlehem. In the Revelation of the Magi, there are not just three magi, as often depicted in early Christian art (Matthew does not tell us how many there were), nor are they Babylonian astrologers or Persian Zoroastrians, as other early traditions held. Rather from Brent Landau s translation it is clear the magi (defined in this text as those who pray in silence ) are a group numbering as few as 12 and as many as several score of monk-like mystics from a far-off, mythical land called Shir (Sure), possibly China. They are descendants of Seth, the righteous third son of Adam, and the guardians of an age-old prophecy that a star of indescribable brightness would someday appear heralding the birth of God in human form. When the long-prophesied star finally appears, the star is not simply sighted at its rising, as described in Matthew, but rather descends to earth, ultimately transforming into a luminous star-child that instructs the magi to travel to Bethlehem to witness its birth in human form. The star then guides the magi along their journey, miraculously clearing their path of all obstacles and providing them with unlimited stamina and provisions. Finally, inside a cave on the outskirts of Bethlehem, the star reappears to the magi as a luminous

9 human child the Christ child and commissions them to become witnesses to Christ in the lands of the east. It s a fascinating story, but does it bring us any closer to understanding who the actual magi of the Christmas story might have been? Unfortunately, the answer is no, says Landau, although it may provide insight into the beliefs of an otherwise unknown Christian sect of the second century that identified with the mysterious magi. Sadly, I don t think this is written by the historical wise men, said Landau in an interview with National Public Radio s Diane Rehm. In terms of who wrote it, we have no idea. [But] the description of the magi and [their religious practices] is so remarkably detailed and I ve often wondered whether it s reflecting some actual community out there that practiced and kind of envisioned themselves in the role of the magi. Transition: We are now living in the 21 st Century, some 2,000 plus years later, what & whom do most folks worship today? WE: We all know everyone worships at Christmas in some fashion don t we. There are no exceptions to this. Christians worship. Atheist worship. Skeptics worship, Republicans worship. Democrats worship. Independents worship. Everyone worships at Christmas, but not everyone worships God at Christmas. Some worship material things, which they never seem to have enough of. Others worship their bodies. Others worship their families. But everyone worships something or someone. Here is a question for you: What or Whom do you worship this Christmas? Transition: As we have studied today in the scriptures, God had a lot to say about the birth of Jesus, going all the way back to the Old Testament, where He prophesized the Who, What, When, Where, and Why for the birth Jesus Christ into the world. GOD: Our scriptures are as relevant today as they were back then, and until He comes again, we need to act as if He will not return in our lifetime. We don t want to be living in the dark when He returns, or we may not be getting on the Super National form of transportation back to Heaven if we are. Wise folks know this, and wait and obey scripture, with Holy Anticipation for the return of our Lord and Savior, knowing what Jesus Himself told us in Matthew 24:36 (NIV). The Day and Hour Unknown 36 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father.

10 Transition: What are YOU supposed to take away from legacy of the Magi from today s message? YOU: First off, what is it that YOU personally need to learn and apply that YOU learned from the Magi? What actions can you take (Starting NOW) that will resemble those of the Magi. Here is a summary of what YOU need to learn and remember from today s message. The magi were men who 1) read and believed God's Word, 2) sought Jesus, 3) recognized the worth of Christ, 4) humbled themselves to worship Jesus, and 5) obeyed God rather than man. They were truly wise men! If YOU are to be one of the wise folks too, then YOU need to do the same, can I get an AMEN? Transition: Just think if all the people in the world were as wise and obedient to God s word as the wise men were back in the day of the Nativity Story? WE: Just think that if everyone in the world followed the Maji s example by: 1) reading and believing God's Word, 2) seeking Jesus, 3) recognized the worth of Christ, 4) humbled themselves to worship Jesus, and 5) obeyed God rather than man. The world would be so amazing, wouldn t it? We must continue to preach the gospel to those who are poor in spirit, meaning those who don t truly know Jesus. That is the real message from today. The story of Jesus is the greatest story ever told, and yet so many folks don t know the one true Jesus. The Magi understood this calling over 2,000 years ago, and over 2,000 years later, we as the modern day Wise Folks instead of just Wish Men must continue to advance the Kingdom of God, Make Disciples for Jesus Christ, and continue to be the Guardians of our sacred tradition called Christmas. Merry Christmas everybody, please be safe today, and I look forward to seeing you all on Christmas Eve & Christmas. Please bring people(s) with you this year who don t know Jesus, or who have wondered off the spiritual beam for whatever reason. Let s Pray