Matthew: Finding Jesus in a Hostile World

This past week was my spiritual birthday.  I put my trust in Jesus Christ on February 19, 1981. I was 25 years old.  Like a lot of young men and women coming to age in the 70’s I had been on a spiritual journey ever since High School. I was searching for something but I didn’t quite know what I was looking for.  I searched for meaning in eastern religion but couldn’t find it.  I searched for belonging in friendships but they seemed so shallow. I tried drugs, but quickly learned that they weren’t the answer.  But on the day I put my faith in Jesus Christ, I knew my search had ended. For in finding Jesus I didn’t just find meaning; I found belonging, joy, peace and so much more.  For I found the one who created me, loved me and died for me.  But the funny thing in all my searching, was that I never realized that God was also pursuing me.

I discovered this reality three weeks after trusting in Jesus when I found this little green book in my desk called, The Whole Truth.  So I started reading it.  But what I was reading was really messing with me.  It was attacking so many things about Christianity that I began to feel anxious and troubled in my Spirit, so I threw it in the trash and opened my Bible and began reading in John 6 and soon came across a truth that changed everything for me.  Jesus was speaking and said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”  John 6:44.  What I realized at that moment, was that even though I had somehow found Jesus, it was God who had pursued me.  My salvation was not about what I did in coming to Jesus. It was all about the Father drawing me to Jesus.  And now that I had faith in Jesus, Jesus was going complete my spiritual journey and raise me up the last day.  And at that moment I just exhaled, for I now knew that my salvation was all about what God did, and not what I had done.  And I could rest in the grace of God.

I tell you this, because there are many people on a spiritual journey today, but they just don’t know it. People are still searching for meaning, still seeking satisfaction, still longing to be loved, but they’re looking everywhere but to God to find it.  But the good news today is that God wants people everywhere to find what they’re looking for in Jesus.  That’s what God wants us to see this morning from the spiritual journey of the Magi recorded for us in Matthew 2:1-12.  So if you brought your Bible with you today, let me encourage you to find that passage.  For as the Magi are on their journey to find  the Messiah, God’s Word reveals for us the process He uses to bring people to faith in Jesus.  And that process begins where the Magi’s journey begins, by…

Being drawn by nature  Let’s look at the text: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 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.” Matthew 2:1-2  The first thing Matthew wants us to see here is that we have a group of Magi from the east who are searching for the newborn Messiah.  They saw his star when it rose and have been looking to find him so they can worship him.  So who are these Magi?

The Magi were considered to be high-ranking officials, well respected in their own lands. It is believed that the magi came from Persia and were a tribe of priests. They we  teachers who were skilled in philosophy and science and were known as men of holiness and wisdom. And as was common in those days, such men of science and wisdom studied the stars, believing in astrology. They held that a man’s destiny was influenced or settled by the star under which he was born.  So if some spectacular phenomenon appeared in the heavens, it impressed them that God was breaking into the natural order and announcing some special event.

Another fact about these Magi, is that there could have been as many as 10 to 30 of them who had made this journey.  After all, most of us have been influenced to think that there were only three Magi because of the three gifts that were brought, the Christmas songs we grew up with, and the Christmas plays our children took part in.  But there is no basis for there being just three wise men, for we are never told.

One final fact often missed about the wise men:  They were pagans. Remember, Matthew is making a point to tell us that not only is Jesus the Messiah, but he is the One who has come to bless the nations.  And we see the evidence of that here.  The first people who have come to worship the Messiah are not Jews, but Gentiles.  And they have been drawn to find Jesus, by a phenomenon of nature.  They saw his star in the heavens and believed a King was born to the Jews.  And what’s truly amazing is that this is precisely what God predicted. In the book of Numbers, Balaam made this prophecy on behalf of God: The prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: “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. Numbers 24:17-19

Now we don’t know if the Magi were aware of this prophecy, but all Israel associated this prophecy with the coming of the Messiah.  But what we do know is that they believed this star announced the birth of the Messiah.  And they believed he would be no ordinary King.  For they came to worship Him. And what that tells me is:  God uses nature to speak to us.  This is how God starts the process to draw people to Himself.  By what they see in nature. As David himself wrote:  The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:1-4

God uses nature to begin the process of speaking to us.  He speaks to us of His greatness through vast oceans.  He speaks to us of His faithfulness with every sunrise.  He speaks to us of His gentleness with cooling breezes.  He speaks to us of hope through the rebirth of life every spring.  As Paul wrote in the New Testament:  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20

So God spoke to these Magi by a star, and when they saw it, they went on a journey to find this infant king, so they could worship Him.  They were drawn to God by nature.

Many of you here were first drawn to God by what you saw in nature.  I grew up near the Pacific Ocean.  I still remember how the vastness of it told me that there had to be a Creator.  I still remember laying in the grass at night and looking up at the milky way trying to get my head around the concept of infinity.  And I knew there had to be someone greater than myself.  This is how God begins to draw us to Himself.  This is how God awakens us to a spiritual search.  But He doesn’t stop there.  He doesn’t just speak to us through nature.  He also uses His Word, and that’s what we see next:

Discovering the Promise of God’s Word  Look now at verses 3,  When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. If you look closely at this passage, you will see that the Magi didn’t come directly to King Herod.  They had come to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  And now we see word of these Magi’s search has made it to King Herod. And when he hears this, Matthew tells us Herod was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  This word “disturbed” is a powerful word.  It literally means “to be in turmoil” or  “be terrified.”  Now this makes sense if you know anything about Herod.  Who was Herod? He was the King of the Jews. Herod was half Jew and half Idumean and had been King in Judea since 40 BC. In power for four decades, he was called Herod the Great – a great ruler in keeping order, a great builder whose works including the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, a great manager who supplied from his own reserves to help Jewish people in famine.  But he was also a vicious, bloodthirsty tyrant.  Whenever he suspected anyone of plotting to take over his rule, he would have them killed.  He even went so far as to murder wives and sons at various times when he didn’t trust them.  So when Herod heard that these Magi were in Jerusalem looking for a  baby born “King of the Jews,” Herod is “disturbed.”  And that’s an understatement.  We might say, “He was freaked out!”

But it wasn’t just Herod who was troubled, we are told that all Jerusalem is freaked out. So what did Herod do? Matthew tells us:  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. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘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.’” Matthew 2:4-6

Now I want you to notice a couple of things from these verses.  First, Herod knows where to get the answers.  He goes to God’s Word.  Second, we are told that Herod summons both the religious leaders and the experts in God’s Law to discover what God’s Word says about the Messiah. And they discovered God’s promise: The Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah and be born in Bethlehem.  But what did they do with this revelation from God’s Word?  Other than pass this info on to Herod, they did nothing else with it.  They were indifferent to what they learned from God’s Word about the Messiah, so they didn’t even try to check it out.  They did nothing.

This should give us pause.  This is a sobering reminder that mere knowledge of the God’s Word is not enough.  What we see here is that we can know God’s Word inside and out but if we don’t act on it we can be just like these religious experts.  This is the saddest part of this story.  These men knew God’s Word, but they didn’t believe it, because they failed to act on it.  God’s Word declared the good news of what they’d been hoping for: a ruler who would shepherd God’s people.  But they were so caught up in the politics of the day, that they didn’t even take the time to seek this child born in Bethlehem.  They knew the good news, but they basically ignored it. Wow.

Well at least the Magi didn’t ignore it, and neither did Herod.  And that leads us to the next step in the process God uses to bring us to Jesus.  For next we see them… Responding to What is Heard   Look now at verses 7 and 8, Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 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.” Matthew 2:7-8

First, we see Herod’s response.  He believed the promise of God’s Word, but he had no intention of worshiping this child.  For he would soon give orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under.  Remember, Herod was a treacherous tyrant who was quick to kill any threat to his power.  So he deceived the Magi.  He pretended kindness, but in reality, Herod intended killing. His response to was to manipulate God’s Word to his own advantage. That’s evil.  That was Herod.

But now we see the Magi’s response to God’s Word: 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. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. Matthew 2:9-10  What was the Magi’s response?  They acted on what they heard.  They obeyed God’s Word and followed the star. And when the star stopped, they were filled with joy.  Remember what the angel said to the shepherds when he announced Christ’s birth: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Luke 2:10  These Magi, these well-respected men of science and wisdom were overjoyed because they had found the Messiah!  The amplified Bible says, “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”  What’s the greatest joy you’ve ever experienced, where you filled with such great joy that you just couldn’t contain yourself?  Was it on your wedding day?  Was it when your first child was born?  Was it when your grandchildren were born? Was it when you found out your won the lottery? Was it when your team won the super bowl?  I can see these esteemed Magi hugging one another, laughing and crying together.  Looking into one another’s eyes, tears running down their faces, with the understanding that what they’ve been searching for for so long is now right in front of them.  So they rejoiced with great joy!  They celebrated the end of their journey, for God had led them to the Messiah.  God had brought them to Jesus!  And now in finding Jesus, they are about to worship Him.  Let’s read verse 11-12.

Finding Jesus  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 pre-sented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Matthew 2:11-12  What a scene.  These great men from the east, nobles of nations, bow down and worship an infant. Jesus may have been as much as two years old at the time the Magi find him.  For now Jesus is no longer in the manger, but in a house.  And finding Jesus, with hearts full of joy, they fall to their knees and worship.  What an image. You only bow down when you are in the presence of one far superior to you, as if to say, “I am low and you are high.”  That’s exactly what these Magi are doing.  They have found the King and their first response was to worship Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  And each of these gifts holds special significance in telling just who it is they’ve come to worship.

First, as they offer Jesus GOLD, they are saying Jesus is the King of the Jews.  Jesus is the Messiah.  For Scripture tells us that gold was the one gift worthy of a king.

Second, as they offer Jesus FRANKINCENSE, they are saying Jesus is divine.  For Scripture tells us that frankincense was used in worship given to God.

Third, as they offer Jesus MYRRH, they are emphasizing Jesus’ humanity. Whereas frankincense is associated with the worship of God, myrrh is associated with the anointing of man.  But little did the Magi know that one day Jesus would be offered “wine mixed with myrrh” as he hung dying on the cross for the sins of all mankind.

The point of all their extravagant gifts is this: They found the King and their God.  And when they did, they weren’t just filled with joy, they worshiped Him by giving Him the best they had.  For God had helped them find Jesus.  He had awakened them to his birth through the appearance of the star.  He had revealed His birthplace through what was written in the Scriptures.  And when they acted on what they had heard, and they found God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah, and they worshiped Him.

39 years ago, God drew me to Jesus and gave me an unspeakable joy.  For 25 years I had lived separate from God, but on that day He made me His child forever.  He gave His all for me, and so like these Magi, I’ve always sought to give Him my best.  For I didn’t just find Jesus, He found me and He saved me.  And the good news is that He has come to save you too.  He is drawing you by what you see around you.  He is revealing His promise to you from the Scriptures: that Jesus is the ruler who will shepherd your soul.  The Savior who will heal you and make you whole.  So the only question for you is this:  Will you respond to what God has done and come to Jesus?