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The Magi

Matthew's Nativity

Dec 22, 2019


by: Jack Lash Series: Matthew's Nativity | Category: Advent | Scripture: Matthew 2:1–12
  1. Introduction
    A. The birth of Jesus is a story of the birth of a baby boy to an insignificant couple in an insignificant town in an insignificant country at an insignificant time in history. 
      1. But the whole story is full of the most mysterious twists.
      2. One of the strange twists in the story is the magi who follow a strange star to His birthplace. 
     B. Matthew 2:1–12 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, 2 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.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘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.’ ” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
     C. Three parts: the star, the magi, the visit
    II. The star
     A. It seems to me most likely that this was not a normal star.
      1. I’m no astronomer. But there are some basics about stars that can help us here:
       a. They can’t move independently of one another in a way that is visible to us. (If you see something moving up there, you can know that it’s not a star.)
       b. Regular stars don’t appear and disappear.
       c. There are things which look like stars, but aren’t (planets, shooting stars, galaxies, some comets).
      2. Ordinary stars don't lead people. They all move together. This one must have been in the west to lead the magi from the east, then in the south to lead from Jerusalem to Bethlehem
       a. And ordinary stars don't point to any special place on earth. This one guided them, it seems, to the actual house, according to Matt.2:9. 
       b. Ordinary stars rise in the east and set in the west, like the sun and moon. You would be going back and forth if you tried to follow one.
       c. Planets could not have done it, either, for the same reasons.
     B. What was it then? We don't know for sure. There are many theories that have been proposed.
      1. It may have been the glory cloud, like the fiery pillar, which led the Israelites in the wilderness
      2. It could have been an angel. In the Bible there is a definite star/angel connection (Judges 5:20; Job 38:7; Revelation 1:20, 12:4, 9; Isaiah 14:13; Jude 13).  
      3. But, if it mattered, we would have been told what it was. 
      4. But, whatever it was, it was a miracle; it was specially designed by God for the purpose of drawing attention to the birth of His Son. 
       a. I’m not saying that it couldn’t have been a strange natural phenomenon of some kind. But if it was, that doesn’t mean God didn’t put it there to signal the birth of Christ. 
       b. E.g. when Peter found the money in the mouth of the fish, did God put that coin there or did the fish eat it? I think God arranged for the fish to eat it.
     C. This wasn’t the only celestial sign God used to point to His Son.
      1. When He was hanging on the cross the sky grew dark in the brightness of day as if in mourning.
      2. In the middle of the night glory shone all around the shepherds as if it couldn't hold back its joy. 
      3. “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Ps.19:1 And all through His life, the creation – including the heavens – pointed out that Jesus was the One sent from God.
     D. You see, the creation is not neutral. The creation is not just there waiting to be acted upon. Nor is the creation have some ability to think and move toward a certain goal, as some would have us believe. Creation is the servant of God. Creation is His palette, His tool; it is His blackboard which He uses to teach lessons to the class of mankind.
      1. The whole creation is here to show forth His glory. It does so in normal, common ways. And it does so in abnormal, uncommon ways. But it always does so.
      2. And when signs begin to appear in the heavens, you know that something very, very extraordinary is happening. And the birth of Jesus was the biggest event which had ever happened in all history.
    III. The magi
     A. There were many traditions which sprung up in the Middle Ages about the magi.
      1. There were three according to one tradition (probably derived from the three gifts they brought), twelve according to another.
      2. Their names according to one tradition were Melchior, Bithisarea, and Gathaspa, according to another they were Melkon king of Persia, Balthasar king of Arabia, and Gaspar king of India. (The notion that they were kings may have come from OT passages that talk about kings coming to visit the messiah - e.g. Is.60:1-6; Ps.72:10-11.)
      3. There are traditions about their origin and appearance.
      4. One tradition says that the apostle Thomas found them in his missionary journeys, baptized them, and that they went on to become evangelists.
      5. And if you are willing to pay the fee, you can travel to Cologne and see their bones behind the high altar at the cathedral there.
     B. But the fact is, we know very little about these men.
      1. Who they were
      2. Where they came from
      3. How many there were
      4. How they figured out the meaning of the star
      5. How they got linked up together
      6. How long after the star’s appearance before they left for Judea
      7. How long it took them to travel to Jerusalem 
      8. What happened during their trip home and what they did after they got there
     C. We do know what magi were.
      1. Magi were men in Gentile society, especially in the east, trained in dreams, astrology, magic, prophecies, and often consulted by rulers and even common people about decisions to be made and the discerning of the future.
      2. We see them in Daniel’s story of when Nebuchadnezzar had his dream and called in all the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers. 
     D. Presumably, the star apparently appeared at the time of His birth. 
      1. Presumably, in light of Matt.2:7 & 16, they came at least a year after Jesus had been born, when Joseph, Mary and Jesus were no longer in a stable but in a house (Matt.2:11). 
     E. But I think an important and often missed feature of the magi is that they were Gentiles: not Jewish.
      1. Now there were a lot of Jews east of Judea, left over from the exile. But we know these men weren’t Jews, because they were magi. And that was against Jewish law and custom. 
     F. Why is it so significant that the magi were Gentiles? Because this is one great theme of Christ’s life.
      1. And here, right at the beginning of His life, God is showing that in His Son He is opening the door of salvation to all men. He was showing that He was not a God who favored one race above another or one kind of people more than others (Acts 10:34-35). 
     G. There were a few Jews who welcomed Jesus, but the striking thing about their number is smallness. 
      1. The whole thing went completely under the radar of all but a handful of Jews, & they were lowly. 
     H. But a group of Gentiles traveled from far away just to be able to see Him.
      1. It was the beginning of a process Jesus described in Matt.8:11, when “many shall come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”
      2. So many in Israel were left ignorant while these men from far away were given the light of the knowledge of His coming. This is a significant part of the story. 
       a. There were many wise men in Israel in the days of Christ’s birth, but none of them was told, but only the wise men from the east.
       b. It reminds us of when Jesus said in Luke 4:25-27 that “there were many widows IN ISRAEL in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath (outside of Israel)... to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers IN ISRAEL in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 
     I. In the calling of the Gentile magi to Jesus, it is revealed that it is not by any human criteria that men are saved, but purely by the mercy of God. One is not saved because he is Jewish or because he is white or because he is male or because he is rich or because he is educated. 
      1. God doesn’t tell us why He calls this one and not that one. but He makes it clear that He chooses people from all different people groups, and that He does this so that it is clear that salvation is not by any human factor, but by divine grace. 
      2. This is a story of how God in His abundant grace deals with people. 
     J. This theme of the Gentiles worshiping the King of Israel is an important theme in the gospels. 
      1. They were worshiping at the cradle; they were worshiping at the cross (Mark 15:39).
      2. The ministry of Jesus was punctuated repeatedly by encounters with Gentiles
       a. His journey to Galilee to minister to the Gentiles (Matt.4:12-16)
       b. The Roman centurion whose servant was sick unto death (Matt.8:5ff.) 
       c. The Syro-Phoenician woman whose daughter was demon-possessed (Matt.15:21-28) 
       d. The Greeks who wanted to see Jesus just before His death (John 12:20ff.)
     K. Matthew is known as the gospel written to the Jews. And you can see that by all the OT prophecies Matthew quotes as being fulfilled in Jesus. 
      1. But Matthew wasn’t a Hebrew of the Hebrews, as Paul had been. 
      2. He was a tax collector: Matt.18:17. He knew what it was like to be on the outside. 
      3. In his gospel he seems to be trying to help his fellow Jews accept Gentile Christians. 
      4. You see, the main struggle in the early church, according to the book of Acts, was the struggle over welcoming Gentiles into the church. It was very hard for many of the Jews to open their hearts and their churches to folks they had always seen as unclean dogs. 
      5. This is the same time period when Matthew was writing his gospel. 
      6. We already saw that Matthew went out of his way to include four Gentiles in his genealogy. 
      7. We said that Matthew included parables of the inclusion of the Gentiles (the parable of the two sons – 21:28ff., the parable of the tenants – 21:33ff., and the wedding feast – 22:1ff.).
      8. We already mentioned that he ends his gospel with the great commission (Matt.28:19-20).  
      9. The nativity story in Luke, the gospel for the Gentiles, remains completely Jewish. It’s all about Zacharias&Elizabeth, Joseph&Mary, Simeon&Anna, and the Jewish shepherds. But Matthew’s nativity has a different slant: Gentiles in the genealogy, Gentile magi from afar, fleeing to Egypt.  
     L. In the Matthew nativity, Jesus is too great to just be the savior of the Jews. Even here at the beginning, the peoples of the earth are coming to Christ. 
      1. Israel lived in a spiritual drought for many centuries: hoping for, longing for the promised living water. But when the living water was finally poured out, it was poured out so abundantly that the land of Israel could not handle it. It overflowed the banks of Israel and flooded into neighboring countries and eventually to the far corners of the earth. 
      2. In the days of Noah, God made a promise that He would never flood the whole earth again with water. But He never promised that He would never flood the world with living water. And that’s exactly what He has done in Christ. 
      3. Listen to what God says to His messiah in Isaiah 49:6 “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
     M. This is very important for our church and for all churches. 
      1. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel for all the world’s peoples, not just for the peoples like us.
       a. The gift was given to Israel but not only to Israel. 
       b. The gift was given to the disciples but was not to remain merely within that circle. 
       c. The gift was given to the church, but it was not to remain merely within the church.
      2. There is in human nature a preference for others like ourselves. It is a part of our self-love. But this tempts us to distance ourselves from those who are different from us. And that is a violation of the gospel (Gal.2:14). For Christ does not accept us on the basis of who we are: male or female, young or old, Jew or Gentile, red, brown, yellow, black or white, our nationality or language. 
      3. It was not according to the custom of the Jews to welcome Gentiles into one’s house or to go into their houses. But the family of Jesus welcomed the Gentile magi into their house. 
      4. All peoples are welcome in the household of God. And we must warmly welcome and celebrate all who the Lord draws. 
      5. It is so easy for us to forget that we ourselves are outsiders who have been welcomed in. 
      6. Just as Matthew celebrates the coming of these magi, just as Joseph/Mary/Jesus welcomed these magi, so believers all over the world must welcome & celebrate those who come into their circle, even from afar. And we need to view them as treasures, not just as duties or ministry projects. 
      7. Romans 15:7 “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
    IV. The worship
     A. All the obstacles the magi had to overcome to get to the place where Jesus was:
      1. It’s never an easy road that leads us to the presence of Christ. 
      2. You know what travel is like: the arrangements, decisions, families, transportation, time. 
       a. We don’t know the details of their trip, but every trip has its moments/tests/tensions/hassles.
     B. And God helped them. When the magi languished, God was faithful to give them what they needed to keep them going. We read how, when they were faced with dangers, God delivered them.
      1. God allowed uncertainties & barriers to arise, but He provided the necessary grace to carry them through. And in the end it was all very much worth it. 
     C. Because at the end of their journey, they got to see Jesus and worship Him and give Him gifts. 
      1. Just as the woman at Bethany anointing His feet with expensive ointment (Matt.26:6-13) to prepare Him for His death, so the magi bring Him gifts to celebrate His birth. 
     D. It seems they went to Herod assuming he and everyone else knew all about this newborn king, probably expecting a lot of pomp and circumstance. Instead they found an ordinary child in a poor family, maybe already a toddler walking around. 
      1. No crowds, no royal palace, no luxurious setting, no royal crowns or gowns, no fancy welcome. All that distance, all that hassle, all that expense. Just a room with a poor mother and her boy.
      2. Bringing their expensive gifts into such a humble place.
     E. This is the climax of the story. This is what the magi came for. 
      1. This is what these men were made to do. This is their defining moment, the apex of their mission. 
      2. Everything in their lives up to this point has been preparation for this moment. 
      3. Everything in their lives up to this point was fulfilled in the vision of the newborn king.
      4. They felt like they were the most honored men in the world, because they had been given eyes to see His precious little face. And it was the promise of this prize that had kept them going.
      5. When they came out of Herod’s palace and saw the star which had reappeared “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matt.2:10). This shows how anxious/eager they were to find Jesus.
     F. Many think of the essence of Christianity as providing a basis for morality and self-control or as doing good things for others. But these things are by-products of Christianity. 
      1. The essence of Christianity is when men fall down on their faces to worship Jesus Christ. 
      2. That’s the way it will all end up as the consummation of history. 
      3. It is not just the climax of this story, it is the climax of history. 
      4. This is what the magi are calling us to do. 
     G. Many wander aimlessly. They grope like blind people in total darkness. Most of the world is just trying to manage, just trying to get through life as smoothly as possible. 
      1. But getting through life smoothly is not the issue. There’s a race to run and a prize to win. 
      2. 1Cor.9:24ff. tells us that there are some who are running this race who are not going to win the prize, some who are just along for the ride. 
      3. Some folks just like to travel. They aren’t interested in the destination. They just like the fellowship and the adventure. Maybe there are some travelers like that here.
      4. But those who know Christ have a destination. We are on a journey that leads us somewhere. We’re not just traveling for the sake of traveling.
       a. There’s something we’re after, something we’re trying to get. (See Phil.3:12-14.)
       b. There’s a Savior to see, a King to worship, and gold crowns to cast before His throne (Rev.4:10).