©2004 Larry Huntsperger Peninsula Bible Fellowship

12/19/04

The Wise Men And The Fool

12/19/04 The Wise Men and the Fool

MAT 2:1-18

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him." After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."

So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more."

Merry Christmas, family!

We are now just a few days away from Christmas 2004.

If this year is going as others have gone

the children in our church family

are eagerly counting days and hours

before the arrival of the great day,

while many of the adults in our church family

are once again wondering how in the world

this Christmas thing once again seems to have gotten so out of hand this year,

and praying for the strength to make it through the storm,

wondering how something that was supposed to bring “peace on earth”

could generate such an incredible level of emotional and financial stress.

The power this one holiday has

to impact our lives so significantly

never ceases to amaze me.

I had to make a quick run into Soldotna at about 9:00 o’clock one evening this past week

and I couldn’t believe the level of activity going on.

People were all over the place,

with cars whizzing by me

apparently driven by a lot of folks

who were frantic to get somewhere fast.

I felt like I’d foolishly attempted to get into town one evening

at the height of the king salmon run in July.

The only thing missing

was a blazing sun in the sky

and a Fred Meyer parking lot glutted with motor homes.

I gave some thought to using our time this morning

to offer some suggestions

on things that will help God’s people

to thrive during the holiday season,

but the more I thought about it

the more convinced I became

that I probably didn’t have enough “answers”

to fill up the time allotted to me.

If I were to say anything at all in that area,

the very first on the list would be this.

There is no gift we could ever give or receive

that has the ability in itself to communicate love,

and if we have not already succeeded in communicating our love

through our words,

and through our actions,

there is nothing we can buy

that will compensate.

If we have not already communicated our love to those we care about

then no gift will ever do it for us,

and if we have communicated our love

then the gift is nice but changes nothing.

Sandee has helped me so much in this whole thing.

I once thought I had to find the perfect gift

that would somehow prove my love for my precious mate.

The pressure that mentality created was horrible.

But through Sandee I have learned

that gifts only serve their proper purpose

when they are both fun to give and fun to receive.

If we attempt to make them the messengers

of things we have failed to communicate in other ways

they will fail us miserably.

So, my advice for those of you

who may be feeling rather insecure in the gift-giving area this year,

or maybe even feeling downright terrified,

I suggest that you begin

by saying first of all with words

what you are trying so hard to say with gifts.

I know that may be a terrifying thought to some of you,

especially if you’re male,

but in the end it may be far more fulfilling than any gift.

The gift thing is only terrifying

if you are trying to find a gift

that will say what no gift can really say.

And along these same lines

I will say, too,

that one of the things that has helped me the most in this whole area in recent years

is becoming more bold in putting into words

my love for those I care about.

I reached a point a few years back

where I grew so frustrated

with not having the freedom to tell those I care deeply about

that I really love them.

It’s very much of a learning process,

and I’m still not great at it,

but I’m making progress

and I do love the growing freedom it brings.

And then my only other words of guidance

when it comes to surviving the holidays

is to strongly recommend that you stay alert

to those in your world who need help, or encouragement, or affirmation,

and that you reach out to them

in whatever way you can to meet their need.

And I encourage you to do this

more for yourself

than for them.

Frequently

the best cure for feeling needy

is to give to the need of someone else.

And most of the time

it’s far easier to make a difference than we might at first expect.

So often what they need most from us

is just a few words of reassurance, or encouragement, or appreciation, or love.

But having said that,

I want us to spend the rest of our time this morning

looking at some things in that passage from Matthew chapter 2 that I opened with.

The difficulty with a passage like this, of course,

is that we do not hear it as history,

but rather as part of the “Christmas Story”,

and as such

we simply don’t hear what’s really being said.

I have no desire to go around needlessly bashing cultural Christmas traditions,

but I would like us to see if we can make a little progress

in seeing this passage

not just as part of the Christmas story

but as a fascinating piece of history.

Matthew begins this part of his account of the events surrounding the birth of Christ by saying,

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."

It is impossible for us to appreciate what’s happening here

without a little background on Herod.

At the time of the birth of Christ

Israel was just one more conquered nation in the Roman Empire.

Though Herod identified himself as a Jew,

his blood line at least on his farther’s side

traced back not to Jacob but to Esau,

and he held his political power

simply because the Emperor in Rome

had chosen to recognize him as the King.

The man was quite simply a monster.

He was a ruler who held absolute power by the authority of Rome,

and Rome didn’t care what he did or how he did it

so long as he remained loyal to Rome.

He had at least nine different wives,

and when his favorite one displeased him

he had her and much of her family executed.

The Roman Emperor is reported to have said

that it was better to have been one of Herod’s hogs than one of his sons.

He was utterly corrupt,

and utterly ruthless.

And this is the man to whom the magi said,

"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."

This would have been a little bit like walking into Saddam Hussein’s palace at the height of his power

and saying, “Could you please direct me to the home of the true King and ruler of this nation?”

We’ll look at Herod’s fascinating response to this request in a minute,

but first we need a little better understanding

of these magi.

I know, of course, that the Christmas carol boldly proclaims, “We three Kings of Orient are...”,

and all of our Nativity scenes

present these three crowned, majestic figures

riding up to the manger on their camels.

In truth, none of that is correct.

These men were not Kings.

We have no idea how many there were,

but I personally think it is likely that there were more than just three,

and they were never at the manger.

They were called “magi” or “wise men” from the East,

terms that were used to describe

the scientists, the thinkers, the astronomers and astrologers of their country of origin.

We don’t know where they came from,

but it was probably Persia, modern day Iran.

They were not at the stable on the night of Jesus’ birth.

We know this because

when they finally found Jesus in Bethlehem

Matthew tells us that they came “...into the house...”.

We don’t know how long Jesus and Mary and Joseph remained on in Bethlehem following the birth,

but it was certainly a number of days,

and could have been a number of months.

And then there is the question about how many there were.

We are not told anywhere in Scripture how many there were,

and our tradition of there being three

is based on the gifts they gave, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

But it is likely that the gifts were given by the entire group,

and there is something else in Matthew’s words

that makes me think there was a lot more going on here then just 3 men on camels.

Did you notice that statement in which Matthew says,

“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.”

How did all Jerusalem know about these guys?

I think they knew about them

because their arrival in the city

was a huge event,

one that was clearly visible to everyone.

This was a group, a delegation of the wealthiest

and most prominent men in Persia.

Added to that

they were traveling with a great deal of wealth.

I think this was not just three dudes on camels,

this was a major caravan,

with lots of servants to tend to their masters’ needs

and armed guards to guarantee their safety.

When they came through the gates of Jerusalem

everyone in the city knew it.

Something big was taking place

and the news was out -

somehow these prestigious foreigners had received word

of the birth of a new King of Israel,

a true King,

not a man who murdered and bribed and bullied his way into power,

but a King who brought with him the blood line of King David,

and the divine confirmation of God Himself.

It’s no wonder the city was troubled.

They knew their “King Herod”,

they knew how this news would affect him,

and they knew it could not help but mean troubled times ahead.

Nobody would ever be allowed to threaten his power.

And then, in response to the magi’s questions,

Herod does the most remarkable thing.

He gathers togther the best minds in the nation,

those with the best knowledge of the prophetic writings

and asks them a question.

“Where do the prophets say the Messiah is to be born?”

Now don’t you find that remarkable?

Who said anything about the Messiah?

These foreigners didn’t ask about the Messiah.

In fact,

it’s unlikely they had any knowledge at all

about ancient Jewish writings

that promised the arrival of the Messiah.

But Herod knew -

he knew about the prophecies,

he knew that he had no God-given right to call himself “King”,

and he lived with an unspoken guilt and fear

that one day the real King would appear.

Guilt and fear do such strange things in us.

The logical response for King Herod would have been to say,

“Hey, I’m the only King in these parts. You got your message messed up.”

But inside he knew the truth

and it filled him with terror.

The prophecy wasn’t hard to find,

and when it was found and reported to him

he passed it on to the magi, sending them on their way

with specific instructions to bring him word

as soon as they located the child.

The prophecy was from the 5^th chapter of the Prophet Micah,

'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'

He knew what he planned to do, of course.

This child must be killed.

But isn’t that remarkable -

here he is turning to the prophetic revelation of God

so that he can get the information he needs

that will enable him to then destroy the plan of God.

It didn’t work, of course,

but it gives us some insight

into the level of arrogance and corruption inside this man.

Well, this foreign delegation received the information they needed,

and then headed off to Bethlehem to find the King,

but not before Herod had made certain

of the exact time the magi had seen this King’s sign in the sky.

Once they reached Bethlehem

we are told that God again intervened,

showing them the exact location of the house where they would find the child

through yet another supernatural sign in the sky.

We’re not given any more information

beyond the assurance

that they had no doubt about the message they were being given.

They found the child,

they bowed before Him, gave Him their gifts,

and then headed back home by a different route,

having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod.

That didn’t stop Herod, of course.

When he discovered he’d been tricked

he sent some of his soldiers to Bethlehem,

ordering them to kill every male child two years old and under in the entire region.

But, of course, he was too late.

Joseph had already been warned by God

to take Mary and Jesus and flee the country.

They remained in hiding

until word came to them

that Herod had died

and it was safe to return to Israel.

And I think it’s likely

that those gifts given to Jesus by the magi

provided the family with the resources they needed

to meet their needs during those years in exile.

It’s a brutal part of the Christmas story,

a part that never makes it into cultural Christmas celebrations,

a part filled with both the clear plan of God

and with the hideous rage of Satan and those in league with him

triggered by this Child’s entrance into the world.

I have chosen it for our time together this morning

because there are imbedded in these events

crucial messages about Christ

and about our relationship to Him

that God wanted to be sure we heard from the very beginning.

First of all,

through these magi,

I see God wanting to make it clear from day one

that the Good News of Jesus Christ

was not just for Israel,

it was for the whole world.

God did not choose to inform many people about the birth of Christ.

He told Mary and Joseph, of course,

and the shepherds,

and these wise men.

The shepherds were chosen, I think,

because there was no reason why they should be chosen.

By the cultural standards of the day

they were nobodies.

They had no status,

no position,

no prestige,

no anything that would qualify them for that remarkable intervention of God into their lives.

And with their lives

they became the very first to proclaim to the world

the great truth about God’s offer of His Son to each of us.

2TI 1:9 (God) has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity...

Do you know what those shepherds said to themselves

and then to one another following that night?

I think they said, “But why us? Why me? Why did God choose to reveal His Son to me in this way?”

And do you know what every person

who has truly met the Son ever since then has said?

“But why me, Lord? Why did you choose me and reveal Your Son to me in this way?”

It’s a question for which there is no answer,

other than the one we will never understand -

because He loves us, and knows our name, and longs for a friendship with each of us.

And then these magi were told.

And they were chosen, I think,

because there was another message God wanted clearly communicated from the day of Christ’s birth.

This is not just a Jewish Savior,

a Messiah exclusively for the nation of Israel.

This is God’s gift to the entire human race.

And through these magi

we see illustrated so well

God’s approach to each of us ever since.

We see that God begins His work in our lives

wherever we happen to be.

These men were pagan astrologers,

searching the skies for some direction,

some meaning to life.

I don’t know what they saw in the east,

but I know that whatever it was

it pointed them to their Savior

and drew them to Him.

Does that mean we should turn to astrology for direction in life?

No, it means that God takes us where we are,

and if our hearts are open to Him,

He will find a way of leading us from where we are

into submission to His Son.

We as a world culture

have such a remarkable capacity

for getting things the wrong way around.

We love to proclaim to ourselves and to others

that there are many paths to God.

And then we lean back,

and gloat,

and think we have said something grand.

But that is not what our God says to us.

He does not tell us there are many paths to Him,

He tells us He has many paths to His Son,

and that everyone who truly reaches out to Him

will find that He then takes their hand

and leads them to Jesus Christ

who is the only way into true peace with God.

JOH 14:6 ... "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

And if our hearts are truly open to God

He will always lead us to His Son.

And then, finally,

I see one more crucial message imbedded in this part of the Christmas account.

No man, no government, no human force on earth

can ever subvert the purposes of God in the lives of those who seek Him.

Herod honestly believed that he possessed all power in his world.

He could order his men to slaughter tiny, helpless babies

and they would obey.

And yet all of his power,

and all of the evil deep within him,

and, in fact, all the power of Satan himself

could not alter God’s plan

either for His Son,

or for these magi one bit.

And it is exactly the same in your life right now.

I don’t know what deep concern consumes you right now.

But one thing I know for certain -

all of your fretting,

and all of your brooding,

and all of your anxiety will change nothing.

Your God knows His plans and His purposes for you,

and along with Paul, PHI 1:6 I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

JER 29:11 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.