MPC, 11th May 2003.Matthew 2 - "Wise men still worship Him"
Phil Campbell MPC, 11th May 2003.
Different people go down in History for different reasons. Some for their brilliant minds. Like Aristotle. Or Isaac Newton. Famous for working out the theory of gravity, when an apple fell on his head, apparently. Some are remembered as great leaders. Or warriors. Like Julius Caesar. Or Napoleon. Some people are remembered because of the great things they created. Like Michelangelo. Or Leonardo Da Vinci.
And then there the people like Herod. King of Israel. They called him Herod the Great. Remembered for his great ambition. Verse 3 in Matthew chapter 2 calls him King Herod, and he loved to be called that. But in the end he's no king at all. Just a sort of local governor. Just a petty tyrant who worked for the Roman Emperor.
But Herod's been remembered. Remembered for his incredible paranoia. Remembered for his constant fear that people were plotting to take away his power. And most of all, remembered for his incredible cruelty.
Look him up in the history books and you'll find Herod listed as the guy who killed his wife. Because he thought she was plotting against him. And at the same time he killed his mother in law as well. And his two step sons.
And not long after that, he killed his own son. For exactly the same reason. Because he was suspicious that his son wanted to take power. The fact is, Herod was even raising eyebrows back at Head Office in Rome. Where Caesar was quoted as saying, "I'd rather be Herod's pig than his son." Which under the circumstances you could easily understand.
On his deathbed Herod was worried that no-one would grieve for him. So he ordered his guards to round up the most popular people in Jerusalem. And the minute he died, to kill them as well. Because that way, he figured, was the only way there'd be sadness in Jerusalem when he died.
That's the sort of guy Herod was. Absolutely self centred. And determined that nobody else would take number one position. He's the classic case of looking after number one. The classic example of what self centredness looks like when it's magnified by the power to do absolutely whatever you want.
And we meet him here in our Bibles in Matthew chapter 2.
It's the story of the clash of two Kingdoms. Between Herod the fake king of Israel. And Jesus. The real one.
Let's follow it through from verse 1. And if it helps, you can think Christmas thoughts. Jesus is born in Bethlehem, just out of Jerusalem, in the time of King Herod.
And we're told that Magi, scholars, astronomers from the East, arrive in Jerusalem, cause they've been following a star. The East probably being Iraq. Which back then was still Babylon. Where Israel in the past had been in exile.
Times have changed. See, now here are three Babylonians coming to pay homage in Israel. Which is exactly what God's prophets said was going to happen.
But the fact is, when they get to Jerusalem they're the centre of a storm. They're asking questions around the city. "Where's the one who's been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the East, and we've come to worship him."
Now straight away there's a problem, isn't there? And you can see it tied up in those first two verses. Cause there's one little word that starts with k, and it comes up once too often. The word king. You've got King Herod. Who under Caesar's authority is appointed King of the Jews. And now you've got someone else. Born to be King of the Jews as well.
And for Herod, the mathematics is simple. Two kings is one king too many.
Herod's the King of the Jews. And that's exactly how he's going to keep it. Verse 3, When King Herod hears the questions they're asking, Matthew says he's disturbed. And all Jerusalem with him. The gossip network's buzzing. So Herod calls in the experts. The chief priests, and the teachers of the law. And he asks them one question:- "Where's this Christ, this anointed one, where's this new King meant to be born?"
And why does he want to know? You can see it in verse 7. Herod calls the Magi secretly, and he finds out exactly when the star appeared. Then tells them to go to Bethlehem, and to find this new king, and come back and tell him all about it. Because, he says with a sly sort of smile on his face, "I want to go and worship him too."
Which, of course, couldn't be further from the truth. King Herod... famous for his ambition. Famous for his cruelty. And deeply disturbed at the prospect of someone else claiming to be king.
Now let's leave Herod for a moment, and take a look at the other King.
Read from verse 9; because the Magi follow the star from Jerusalem out the road to Bethlehem, and it stops over the place where the child is. And in verse 11, "On coming to the house - they've finally found him - they see the child with his mother Mary, and they bow down and they worship him, and they open up their treasure boxes and it's a royal baby shower party. With royal gifts. Gold. Incense. Spices. "Then they opened their treasures" - it's verse 11 - "and presented him with gifts of Gold and Incense and of Myrrh." The most valuable stuff they've got.
Because they know. Even looking at a baby... they're face to face with a king far more powerful than Herod. And so because God's warned them in a dream; verse 12 says they head home to the east on a back road, and don't report back to him like he asked them to.
And if you follow the story through, when Herod realises they've slipped through his fingers, he goes berserk. And verse 13, God warns Joseph; take the child and his mother to Egypt, and stay there, because Herod's going to search for the child to kill him.
And in verse 16, you can see that's exactly what Herod tries to do; true to form. Here's the so called King who's killed his own son to make sure he doesn't challenge for the throne. So he thinks nothing of giving orders to kill all the boys around Bethlehem under two years old. Just to get rid of the threat of Jesus.
But Jesus is safe, in Egypt. And it's only after Herod dies in probably the following year that an angel comes to Joseph in a dream, again and says, go back. It's safe. And the family moves to Galilee, to the town of Nazareth. Where they settle.
Now that's what happened. But I want to take a few minutes to look behind the scenes. Because Matthew keeps loading the story with hints. Jesus is King of the Jews. But he's more than a King.
And you might have noticed how Matthew constantly points something out. How he constantly tells us that the things that are happening are happening for a reason. That they're happening to fulfil prophecy. Prophecies in the scriptures, the Old Testament.
Verse 5. He's going to be born in Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet has written. And he quotes from Micah chapter 5.
Verse 15. And you get the same thing. Jesus is taken down to Egypt. And there's another prophecy. And Matthew points it out. "And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet; 'Out of Egypt I called my Son.'"
And again in verse 17. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled. And he quotes it. And finally in the very last verse of the chapter - verse 23. And so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
Where he's born, where he goes, the weeping, the return to Nazareth - every step, Matthew wants us to see it's all happening according to plan. It's all going according to the things God promised in the past. And all God's promises for Israel are being fulfilled. in Jesus. Because now at last, after their crushing exile in Babylon, after their hundreds of years of trying to get back on their feet, after all the years of Roman occupation, the promise of blessing is finally bearing fruit.
Take a moment with me for a closer look at Micah chapter 5. We read it earlier in the service. And I want to look at it, because it fills out the picture. Matthew's just given us a glimpse. But if you want to understand the significance of Jesus, it's worth looking at in detail.
It's the prophecy that told the Teachers of the Law where the Christ was going to be born. Herod asks them. And they know exactly where to look.
But let me tell you, Micah's got a lot more to say about Jesus than just the address where he's going to be born.
Micah chapter 5. Notice it's in the context of the destruction of Israel and Judah. Assyrian invaders, verse 5. The remnant of Jacob scattered among the nations like dew in verse 7.
But through all that Micah saw better times to come. Verse 2. Bethlehem. Out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel," says God. A King over his people. And that's the bit that the Teachers of the Law told Herod. But there's more. And there are these fascinating words in the rest of the verse. This King from Bethlehem, somehow, his origins are from of old, from ancient times. Someone who's always been there. From the beginning.
And what about verse 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.
This King's going to be a King who rules with all the authority and strength and power of God. And more than that, keep reading. His people, says Micah, will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And He will be their peace.
And this King that's coming, this king that Matthew says has arrived - this King who rules with all the power of God - he's not just going to be the King who restores Israel. He's going to be the King of Everyone. His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. I mean, why do you think these Magi have come all the way from Babylon to pay tribute?
Matthew wants us to see that the fulfilment of Micah's prophecy and of Jeremiah's prophecy and of Isaiah's prophecy... they're all pointing to Jesus. Who was with God from the beginning. Who's going to rule with all God's authority. Over Herod. Over Israel. And over you and me as well.
It's an interesting thing, isn't it? That right here in Matthew chapter 2 you get a hint of what's coming. That Jesus is a King for all the nations. And yet as soon as he's born, he's born to a world that would rather have him dead. As soon as Herod is confronted with the idea that a King has come who's going to rule with the authority and power of God, all he wants to do is get rid of him.
And as we read through Matthew's gospel, we'll see what happens. That the religious leaders, that the rulers, that the political system of Israel, they crucify him. They're happy to be religious. But when it comes to God's claim on their lives and on their nation, they'd rather run things themselves.
So let me ask you this morning, what about you? See, the fact is, right from the start, right from his bassinet, Jesus is claiming to be the one with the right to rule. And I guess by our very nature we fight it. And we want to keep ruling ourselves. Instead of submitting to Jesus as King.
And it might be today you're still caught up in exactly that tension. So let me say to you, if you're like that, you're standing right alongside Herod.
I mean, sure, you can't go out and try to kill him. But the attitude's the same, isn't it. That you don't want a rival. Someone else to tell you how to live your life. Someone to submit to. Because you'd rather do things your way. Than his.
So let me finish by pointing out the right reaction to Jesus. And it's staring us in the face. These Magi from the east. They've gone down in history as the three wise men. And they are. Because notice it again. That when they come face to face with Jesus, they know exactly what to do. And it says there back in Matthew chapter 2 verse 11, They bow down to him. and they worship him.
And I want to say to you this morning that Matthew's telling us about it as a model. A model for all of us. That the right response to Jesus is to worship him.
Which means, we humble ourselves before him. That we say, this is our king. This is our master. This is our ruler. This is who we serve.
Let me remind you again, the Bible talks about worship as an attitude that affects everything - the whole of our lives. Because worshipping Jesus means taking him as king. In practical ways. Worshipping Jesus is about submitting humbly to his rule over our lives in practical, everyday ways, putting aside what's comfortable for us. And doing things his way.
That in the way you actually stop and listen to someone even though you're so busy; the way you care enough to drop in and visit someone even when it doesn't suit you; the way you give to help someone when you could use a bit of help yourself; the way you make sure you're the office peacemaker instead of the office gossip; in all those things, you're showing who you worship. And that it's Jesus. Rather than yourself. Because if you're a self worshipper, you won't do it with the same brutality as Herod. But you'll do it just the same. Politely pushing aside anybody who doesn't suit your agenda. And your interests. And your lifestyle choices. Because you're so busy looking after number one.
Jesus comes. And Herod wants to be rid of him. The Magi from the East look for him til they find him. And then bow down and worship him. So which one are you?