A Word from the Wise (A sermon based on Matthew 2:1-12)

(Sorry, today's sermon wasn't recorded, so we have neither audio nor video for this week.)

A Word from the Wise

A sermon based on Matthew 2:1-12

Sunday, January 10, 2010 - Epiphany

        Comedian, Bill Cosby, once said, "A word to the wise... ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones who need the advice." So I want to make it clear that I don't think you're stupid when I say that this morning that I don't have a word for the wise, but a word from the wise. That is, I have some advice to give you that comes to you from some pretty wise men. In fact, it comes from the Wise Men. And if we follow their example as they followed the star, we'll learn a word from the wise. For they advise us to give our time to the King to learn all about him, to receive our King that came for even us, and then to give thanks to the King for what he's done. Listen now to the account of the Magi from the east and their visit to the Christ-child recorded for us in Matthew 2:1-12…

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ²and 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." ³When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴When 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.'" ⁷Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸He 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." ⁹After 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. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹On 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. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

I. Give Your Time to the King

        Very little is actually known about these Magi. We don't know how many there were. We don't know what their profession actually was. We don't even really know where they were from. This account seems to raise more questions than it gives answers, in fact. "How did they know what this mysterious star was or what it meant?" for example. We can only guess that if they were from Babylon or Persia, maybe they encountered the  Old Testament prophecies that the Israelite exiles carried with them. 

       Maybe they read the prophecy in Numbers 24(:17&19) which read, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel… A ruler will come out of Jacob…" Maybe they read Isaiah 60 (which we just read earlier in the service) that said nations would come to the light of the Savior with camels bringing their gifts of gold and incense to him. We don't know for sure how, but somehow they knew this was "his star" and so they followed.
        But when they got there, what a surprise they found! Namely, that no one else seemed to have a clue! All Israel seemed to be in the dark about the Light of the World! Why did Herod and the priests act so surprised at the Magi's inquiry? Didn't the shepherds already tell everyone around what they had heard and seen? Wasn't this report of the Christ child already widely circulated by now? After all, the Magi weren't visiting Jesus in the stable like the movie and the Christmas cards show it, but in a house. On coming to the house, they saw the child… This visit must have been days if not months or even up to two years after Jesus was born. Surely that was enough time to hear news about the Child and his angelic baby shower! But maybe they missed the memo. Or maybe they were just indifferent and had better uses for their time.
        What a contrast with the Magi! Before they gave their offerings, they spent plenty on the trip alone. Not just dollars for a tank of gas here, but a considerable amount of time! Now I don't know for sure where they were from, but if they were from Babylon they traveled 720 miles. If they were from Persia, that's 1,050 miles away! We don't know they rode camels, but even if they were in chariots, can you imagine traveling from Raleigh to Milwaukee without a car? A trip like the one they made could take anywhere from five months to two years (one way)!

       It's pretty clear that, unlike Herod or even the priests, the Magi were willing to spend some time on this trip. Why? Because they knew what mattered most. But still, no matter how much they searched, can you imagine how long it would take to find a person half-way across the world when you didn't know what that person looked like, what his name was, or to whom he was born? How long would it take if all you knew was just that he was born in the east? The truth is, these Magi could not have found the Messiah on their own. It was only by God's grace that they did, as he lead them with that miraculous star. And they responded to God's grace by following God's lead.
        So how about us? How do we spend our time? Looking to learn more about the King? Seeking him out? Trying to find out how best to serve him? Well, look at your schedule and you tell me how most of your time has been spent. Has it been with a single-minded determination to get closer to your King? Or have you spent your time like Herod did -- in indifference to Him and in protection of your self-interests? And still even if we should look for him and spend night and day searching, we could not find him on our own.
        But God has revealed our King to us, just as he did for the Magi. In fact, we have something much better, much clearer, much brighter than a miraculous star. We have the Word! The psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:105 what is true of us too, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." God has shown you where to find the King: In His Word. So accept a word from the wise and give your time to the King and read that Word. Study it. Do more than learn where to find the King. Learn what kind of a King he is. And when you do, you'll see that he's your King. He came for you and me! Then by God's grace, you can receive your King as the Wise Men did...

II. Receive Your King

        When the King of the Universe took on flesh and came to earth, look at how he was received. Herod received him with rage. And it's really no surprise. He murdered his wife, his three sons, his mother-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, and probably a few others the history books haven't recorded. So it should be no surprise that he was paranoid of  losing his throne to baby hailed as the "King of the Jews." Perhaps more surprising is the indifference with which the priests and scribes received him. After all, they knew right where to look to find the prophecy about him, but none of them went to worship this newborn King! But perhaps most surprising of all is how these Magi receeived him. Though they were Gentiles, that is, non-Jews, they received the King of the Jews as their own and brought their gifts and their praise! For he was not just the King of the Jews, but their King too!
        So how do we receive the King? Well, isn't it often as the priests did? We know the truths of God's Word. We know where to find him. But we have more important things to do with our time than spend it on Jesus! We have better ideas of how we can use our possessions and our dollars than to use them to worship Jesus. And sleep trumps Bible Class. TV trumps devotions. And one hour on Sunday suffices for our weekly dose of Jesus. The other 167 hours are ours.
        Or maybe we receive the King like Herod did. No, I don't think any of you are plotting infanticide for a small town to protect your power. But don't we often try to get rid of Jesus just like Herod did? Don't we sometimes shove Jesus out of our lives when Jesus poses a threat to something we love. Maybe it's some sin. We know it's wrong, but still we love that sin more than we love Jesus. And we push him away to be rid of him and forget what he says. And we deserve to be pushed away from God... forever in hell.
        But accept a word from the wise... the wise men, that is. Follow their example and offer your time to Jesus and find something much better than leisure time, personal power, or wealth and riches. Find a Savior from your sin. That's what the Magi found. And that's why Epiphany is so important to us. In the visit from the Magi God reveals that the promised Messiah is more than the King of the Jews, but the Savior of both Jew and Gentile, that's us, non-Jews! 
        That toddler that received those gifts wouldn't always toddle. He would walk to Jerusalem and he would stagger to the cross. Soon he wouldn't be held by Mary and Joseph, but by the Roman soldiers as they nailed him to the cross. Herod's own son, would succeed where his father failed and would have Jesus put to death by sending him on to Pilate and to his crucifixion. Why did Jesus go through all of that? To save you. Micah prophesied not only where the Messiah would be born, but why: "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." And not just any shepherd that would just lead the people. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
        And because he lived a perfect life in our place and laid down his life in our place we will not be pushed away from God or sent to hell. Instead we are forgiven. Every one of our sins -- even for the way we've received him with apathy or hostility -- is forgiven, as we receive him in humility. And how will we respond to this forgiveness? If we accept a word from the wise, we'll follow their example and give our thanks to the King...

III. Give Your Thanks to the King

        Now I imagine that the Magi must have been fairly wealthy. After all, how else do you explain the one to five year vacation they took and all the expenses to make such a major trip, not to mention the expensive gifts they brought. I imagine they were men of influence. After all they had an audience with King Herod. And yet, these wealthy men of influence, these fully grown men, bow down with their faces to the ground before a toddler. And that's what the word "worship" literally means: to bow with knees and forehead on the ground -- a sign of deference to one greater than they. And they weren't ashamed at such a humiliating and humbling act, but were ecstatic! The NIV gives a rather muted translation when it says, "they were overjoyed." because in the Greek it says something like this: "they rejoiced, with joy, a great one, exceedingly so."
        Accept a word from the wise: That's where worship begins. It's an attitude of the heart. It's a gratitude that cannot be contained, but wells up into action with no regard  as to how foolish we might appear. And as we receive our King as our Savior from sin, we too will rejoice with joy, a great one, exceedingly so! And we won't be able to contain ourselves. We'll have to worship our King with our gifts as well... For it's been rightly said that, "You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving." When we receive our King as our Savior from sin and hell, we love him with a love that can't be muted! And wherever people truly worship the King, gifts are cheerfully and freely given.
        We follow the example of these truly wise men and give our time to our Savior, not just an hour on Sunday or even a few years of our life, but use all of our time to worship him as we eat and drink and do all we do in such a way that we please him and bring glory to God. We gladly offer our gifts, cheerfully, extravagantly, and with forethought as we use all of our dollars and all of our resources to bring God glory. We gladly offer our gifts and even our very lives to thank our King for what he's done. 
        "A word to the wise ain't necessary..." But you're not stupid. You are wise because you accept a word from the wise. You have given your time to learn about the King. You have received your King who came to save even you from your sin. And you are eager to give your gifts to the King to thank him for all he's done for you. Now share what you've learned with others, with those who don't know about their Savior. Give them the advice they need to hear that they too can accept a word from the wise, from you. In Jesus' name, dear friends, amen.