CHRISTMAS LESSONS FROM WISE MEN

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on December 22, 2024 under 2024 |

Bethany Bible Church Christmas Sunday Sermon Message, December 22, 2024 from Matthew 2:1-12

Theme: The wise men from the East teach us the principles of celebrating Jesus’ birth all year long.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Please open your Bible to Matthew 2; and join me in reading a truly remarkable Christmas story. In verses 1-12, Matthew tells us;

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, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen 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. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way (Matthew 2:1-12).

There are a number of reasons why this particular Christmas story is remarkable. And one of the most significant of the reasons is that—even though we traditionally read it during the celebration of our Lord’s birth—it tells us of something that happened sometime after His birth. It occurred perhaps as much as a year or two after His birth. And we know this for a very sad reason that … well … I almost hesitate to bring it up.

You see; these wise men came to the reigning monarch over the Jewish people—Herod the Great. He was a deeply paranoid king. The thought that there could be any competition to his rule was frightening to him—even if that competition were to come in the Person of the promised Jewish Messiah. And so, he sought to eliminate that possibility by putting to death all the male children born in Bethlehem and its surrounding area “from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men” (v. 16).

This was a wickedly monstrous act, and I regret having to mention it on a day like this. But I have an important reason for doing so. It shows us that the efforts of the wise men to seek out, find, and worship the holy Child Jesus was something that happened quite a while after that first Christmas night. The coming of the wise men to Herod is an important part of the Christmas story … but they came long after what we typically think of as the Christmas story had actually occurred. And this illustrates to us a tremendously important spiritual lesson about remembering the event of Christmas beyond the Christmas season.

You see, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; what the people around us often celebrate as Christmas tends to be a particular ‘season’. And when ‘Christmas Day’ is over, then the ‘season’ comes to an end—and usually, so do all of our celebrations. Our homes have beautiful decorations in anticipation of that day; but once that day has come and gone, we’ll need to take those decorations down. On December 26, things will get back to usual; and we typically won’t even think about Christmas until the next Christmas ‘season’.

But what a difference it makes when—instead of celebrating a ‘season’—we intentionally and specifically celebrate the ‘advent’! The word ‘advent’ means the arrival of something or someone significant. It’s an event that has perpetual significance because it changed things permanently. We can measure things by their being ‘before’ the advent and ‘after’ the advent. I certainly don’t think that it’s wrong to celebrate a ‘season’. But if we only celebrated Christmas as a ‘season’, then we’d tend to forget about it when that brief ‘season’ was over. If, instead, we celebrate Christmas as the event of the advent of the Son of God into the world, then we can’t help but see its ongoing impact … and celebrate it perpetually.

These wise men didn’t come to Jerusalem to celebrate a ‘season’. They celebrated an event that transcended a mere ‘season’. They came to celebrate the advent of the King of the Jews into the world—and to acknowledge the way things had changed from ‘before’ that advent occurred to ‘after’.

In this remarkable Christmas story, then, these wise men from the East teach us principles of celebrating the event of Jesus’ birth all year long.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; let’s take a moment or two to consider who these ‘wise men’ were. In the original language of the Gospel of Matthew, they’re called magi. Magi is the plural form of magos; and when you look that word up in the standard classic Greek dictionary, you discover that it means (Are you ready for this?) a magician.

That word can have different connotations—depending on the context. For example, Acts 13 tells us of how, when the apostle Paul came as a missionary to the island of Cyprus, he was opposed by a false prophet named Elymas, who was described as a “sorcerer”—that is, a magos. In Acts 8, we’re also told that the apostle Peter encountered a man named Simon; another false prophet who used to astonish people with his ‘sorceries’—that is, his mageia. But that word didn’t necessarily mean something dark and sinister or deceptive. In Daniel 2, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream, we’re told that he called his magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers of the Chaldeans to interpret the dream for him. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, that word “astrologers” is magi.

That’s what the ‘wise men’ of our passage—these magi—seemed to have been. They were scholarly men of the ancient Eastern world of the land of Babylon and Persia who were students of the stars. They gazed carefully up into the night sky, mapped the stars, recorded the movements of the planets, and made interpretations on the basis of what they saw in the heavens.

Now; just exactly how it all came to pass is a mystery to us. But in the far-away land of the East—perhaps some 500 miles from Jerusalem in the region of what we now know as Baghdad—it seems that these particular magi were gazing up into the night sky. They were doing just what the scholars of their field of science had been doing for centuries. And on one particular night, they saw something unusual. They saw a star in the heavens—or at least what appeared to be a star—that they had never seen before and that had never been recorded in any of their hundreds of years of maps and charts. It couldn’t have been an ordinary star, because they already knew all of those and had already recorded them in great detail in their astrological writings. Nor could it have been a planet—a wandering star—because they had already known of them and traced their courses in their records. This was something astonishing—a ‘star’ that had suddenly appeared in the night sky from seemingly nowhere. It would be hard to express what a stunning thing that would have been to these scholars of the heavens.

Now; allow me to engage in some careful biblical ‘speculation’ for a moment. These were men of the East—men in whose history the prophet Daniel had played an outstandingly significant role about 530 years prior. Daniel was a man of God who—at one time—had superseded all the magi in their field of science. God had allowed Daniel to authoritatively interpret dreams that the forefathers of these men could not interpret. God had given Daniel staggering prophecies of the future that—up to their point in the flow of history—had all come to pass. Since some of those prophecies would have been a part of the public records of their kings, wouldn’t it be reasonable to think that these particular ‘wise men’ would have been familiar with and studied many of them?

For example, wouldn’t they have remembered the promise God made through the Jewish man Daniel of the coming of One who would rule on earth as King over all? Wouldn’t they remember the dream that God had given to Daniel in Daniel 7:13-14?

“I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

Wouldn’t they have remembered how an angel gave the interpretation of that dream to Daniel; telling him that—after all the other kingdoms of the world had run their courses;

“Then the kingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High [that is, the Jewish people].
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (v. 25).

They surely would have known these promises because they had been given by Daniel to the most significant kings of their own history. And wouldn’t it have been possible that they would have also known about some of the other prophecies that had been given to the Jewish people? Wouldn’t it be possible that these scholarly men would have gone on to know what God had said of this promised King in Numbers 24:17?

“A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel …” (Numbers 24:17).

How else might they have known the significance of the sign of the sudden appearance of this star? And wouldn’t it be possible that they would have known what it said about the Jewish people in Isaiah 60:3 … with respect to the promise of that coming King?

The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising … (Isaiah 60:3).

We can’t be absolutely sure, of course, that they knew about these particular promises in the Scriptures. But it’s very hard to explain—in any other way—what we find in Matthew 2:1-2. Matthew tells us, “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, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’”

And here’s where we learn a lesson from these ‘wise men’—a lesson that helps us to see the birth of our Lord as an event that should be celebrated by us all year long. It’s that we learn to …

1. SEE HIS BIRTH IN LIGHT OF THE BIGGER PICTURE.

When we see the celebration of Jesus’ birth as only a ‘season’ in the year, we lose sight of the bigger picture of who He truly is and why He came. We need to see that His advent into this world was the keeping of a promise from God to bring forth His Son as the offspring of King David—the King of the Jews—whose kingdom on this earth would supersede all others and would never end. May God help us to truly see ‘the bigger picture’ of God’s plan when we celebrate Christmas!

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; these ‘wise men’ came to King Herod to ask about the birth of the King of the Jews. Herod had been made a king over the Jewish people by the Roman Empire. He was not even himself a Jew; but he would have known of no other appointed king over the Jews than himself. And so—as a very cruel and murderous monarch who was out of favor with many of the people over whom he ruled—this question from the ‘wise men’ itself was a threat to him. To have been asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” would have come across almost as an insult; and it would have aroused the kind of emotion in him that we find in verse 3; “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.”

In the Christmas cards we send to each other, or in the artwork and movies we see, only three ‘wise men’ are typically depicted. But you’d have to wonder why only three foreigners asking a question like this have aroused such alarm in Herod or in all of Jerusalem. In the original language, the word that’s translated as ‘troubled’ means ‘to be shaken together and thrown into confusion’. So; it may have been that there were several hundreds of these ‘wise men’ who came as delegates to King Herod to ask this astonishing question—not just three. And the whole city might have been troubled—not just because of the question—but because Herod was so shaken by it. He was a dreadfully capricious king; and there would have been no telling what he might do!

So what does he, in fact, do? He did something that—as the ruler over the Jewish people—shouldn’t have been necessary for him to do at all. He gathered all the chief priests and scribes—the ‘wise men’ of his own realm—and asked them what the Scriptures said about where the Messiah was to be born. He wasn’t asking because he sincerely wanted to know the Scriptures. He was asking because he was afraid and didn’t want the true King of the Jews to replace him. And the scribes and chief priests answered, “In Bethlehem of Judea”; and they quoted the Scriptures from Micah 5:2;

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel’” (v. 6).

So; these magi were announcing to Herod and to the rulers of the Jewish people that their long-awaited Messiah had finally been born into the world. But did Herod immediately drop everything and run to Bethlehem to see the promised Christ? No. And neither did those chief priests and scribes. Instead, verses 7-8 tell us that Herod craftily summoned the magi to himself in a secret meeting, asked them when it was that the star first appeared to them in the East, and then deceptively told them, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

Herod—as we already know—had no intention of worshiping the Christ at all. He wanted to find Him and destroy Him before He could present any kind of threat to his own rule. In a way, Herod was behaving as the instrument of the devil—that dragon of old—who is described for us in a vision in Revelation 12:5;

And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born (Revelation 12:5).

And here—once again—these wise men have a lesson to teach us about how to celebrate the birth of Jesus perpetually; and that is …

2. DON’T LET UNBELIEF MISDIRECT YOU FROM HIM.

It’s basically an attitude of unbelief that has turned the whole event of the advent of the Son of God in this world—the greatest and most earth-transforming event in history—into a mere ‘season’ that can be ignored and forgotten as soon as it’s over. I even wonder if it’s one more way that the dragon seeks to devour the Child from out of our view. Don’t let it happen! Don’t let the current culture of unbelief turn you away from ‘the bigger picture’, or cause you to lose your zeal for the Lord Jesus’ birth!

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; to what degree those ‘wise men’ understood the darker motives of Herod is very hard to say. It seems that, in going to ask him where the Child was, they assumed he would know about His birth and would have been as thrilled about it as they were. And so, perhaps thinking that they had now been sent by the Jewish king on a kind of mission, they went where the Scriptures had said the King of the Jews was to have been born.

But along the way, another remarkable thing happened. We’re told in verse 9, “ and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.” We often think of the wise men traveling across the rolling desert sands from the eastern lands with the brightly shining star in the night sky guiding them all along the way to Jerusalem. But apparently not. They didn’t see the star again until they were on their way to Bethlehem. It was as if, as soon as they began to go and seek Him, God gave them an affirming sign that they would immediately recognize.

What a remarkable ‘star’ this was! It didn’t stay fixed in one spot in the sky. It apparently traveled before them; and even guided them to the place where the Lord Jesus was—even standing, it would seem, over the very house. Clearly, this ‘star’ was no ordinary star. It served as a miraculous sign that guided those who so earnestly and so diligently sought to come and see the promised Christ. Verse 10 even tells us, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy”; that is, with extreme over-the-top kind of happiness and delight.

When I read of how these Gentiles from a pagan land were so eager to seek the King of the Jews, I think of how they were doing exactly what the Old Testament scriptures said they would do. In Isaiah 11:10, it says;

“And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10);

And this leads us to yet another lesson these ‘wise men’ have to teach us about celebrating Jesus’ birth all year round; and that is to …

3. TAKE DELIGHT IN SEEKING HIM MORE DEEPLY.

Dear brothers and sisters; we can get so used to the details of the Christmas story that, if we’re not careful, we can become indifferent about Christ Himself. We think that, after hearing the Christmas story over and over every year, we don’t have anything more to learn about Him or His birth. But let’s not let ourselves slip into that kind of indifference. As it says in Isaiah 55:6;

Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6).

Let’s remember what it says in Hebrews 11:6;

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Let’s use this ‘season’ as an opportunity to explore deeper into the ‘event’ of His advent for us. Let’s learn of Him! Let’s greet this holiday as an opportunity to grow more in love with the Savior! Let’s be diligent about it! And when further light is given to us about Him, let’s rejoice like these ‘wise men’ did—“with exceedingly great joy”!

* * * * * * * * * *

And so; after having interpreted the meaning of the sudden appearance of the star they saw in the sky, and after having traveled so long and so far across the desert regions to Jerusalem to inquire of the king, and after having been led by another sudden appearance of that star to the very house in which Christ was, they finally made their approach to Him. Verse 11 tells us, “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” What a sight that must have been for Mary! And I say this with all love and respect: Please note that they didn’t bow to her. They bowed to and worshiped her Child Jesus.

In doing this, they were—once again—doing what the Scriptures said they would do. As it says in Psalm 72:10-11;

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him (Psalm 72:10-11).

And as it says in Isaiah 60:6;

The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come;
They shall bring gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord (Isaiah 60:6).

And here, we see yet another lesson that they have to teach us about celebrating the birth of Jesus all the time; and that is to …

4. WORSHIP HIM IN THE FULLNESS OF HIS BEING.

The gifts that they brought to Him help us to see this. They weren’t random gifts. They were gifts that were intentionally decided upon before they left, that were brought with them on their long journey from their homeland, and that were meant to communicate why they bowed down to Him. They brought Him gold, which would have been symbolic of their recognition of His majesty as a royal King—the promised King of the Jews. They also brought Him frankincense; which was something that was used to make incense. God had commanded the people of Israel long before to make an incense that included frankincense as a part of their worship in the tabernacle. It was also to be added to the bread that was a part of the sacred offerings to God. This would have symbolized their recognition of Jesus’ deity—that He was Someone who was more than just a human king—that He was God in human flesh. And they also brought Him myrrh, which was a spice that would be later placed within the wrappings that were used to prepare His body for burial after His crucifixion. Could this have been a symbolic way of recognizing the sacrifice He would later make for the sins of the world—that He Himself would be the offering for our atonement?

When we consider the birth of the Lord Jesus this Christmas, let’s worship Him in the fullness of His being—as the promised One who is given to rule over us, who is Immanuel—God with us, come to die on the cross for us, risen again from the dead for our justification. Let’s worship Him in all the completeness of who He is for us. That’s how we can make Christmas the perpetual celebration that it should be.

* * * * * * * * * * *

And that leads us to one more thing. We’re told in verse 12 what happened after they came to worship Him and offer their gifts to Him. It says, “Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.” When this warning came to them, they took it as a message from God to be obeyed. And in so doing, they prevented Herod in his plan to find and bring harm to the Child. It may even be that they preserved their own lives in the process.

This teaches us one more lesson. As we learn to seek the Lord Jesus in all the ways that these ‘wise men’ did—when we learn to see His birth in the light of the bigger picture of God’s plan for the ages, when we refuse to allow the forces of unbelief to mislead us away from Him, when we truly take delight in seeking Him more deeply, and when we grow to worship Him in the fullness of His being, then we should confidently …

5. KNOW THAT GOD PROTECTS A SINCERE PURSUIT OF HIM.

When I consider this last point, I think of what we’re told in Luke 10 about the two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus came to their house; and Martha was busy with all the dinner preparations. But Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him as He taught. She sincerely pursued a deeper relationship with Him. Martha was upset that Mary wasn’t helping with the preparations; but Jesus told her that

“one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42).

Know that, when you and I cease treating Christmas as a mere ‘season’, and instead treat it as the celebration of the event of the birth of our Savior and King, we will have chosen the good part … and it will not be taken from us.

Then, we will truly celebrate Him all year long.

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