Herod & Wisemen - Profiles in Christmas - Matthew 2:1-18

Open with me to Matthew 2:1-18

Our structure is fairly simple here:

1. We will highlight who this Jesus was, namely the true awaited king.

2. We will point out two responses to this birth. Herod's response of rejection and wisemen response of praise.

I. The Birth of the True Awaited King (v. 1-2)

Notice the importance of Chapter 1 in connection to Chapter 2.

• In Ch. 1 we read the genealogy of Jesus, from Abraham to David to Joseph and then Jesus

• Here Matthew artistically points to David in this genealogy saying "from Abraham to David 14 generations, from David to exile 14 generations, from Babylon to Jesus fourteen generation.

Now chapter 2 shows that Jesus came.

~He is born from "Bethlehem of Judea".

• In Isaiah 9:6-7 it says "For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this."

• In scripture David was a type of Christ (as was Joseph and Moses). Yet Jesus was the ultimate ruler to come

• Jesus is the promised King

~Now wise men from the east declare that the king of the Jews is born because they have seen his star.

• Not only is Jesus the rightful heir of David, and he is born from the birthplace of David, AND there is a sign of the birth of the king to pagan wise men.

• Notice they say the "king of the Jews". The pagans pronounce him as the rightful heir of David.

• These wise men pagans made a long journey not simply to see him but to"worship" him.

◦ As the rightful heir and king!

Before we go on, we need to pause and take this truth in!

• Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

• The angel told Mary "He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end" (Luke 2:33)

• Rev. 19:11-16 "Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. 14 The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. 16 And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords."

Jesus is the King of Kings!!!!

What will be your response this Christmas to this king?

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This brings us to our next point:

II. The Different responses to the True King

1. Herod seeks to destroy the true King (v. 3-8, 16-18)

When King Herod heard the news from the wise men seeking the born king of the Jews he was "deeply disturbed and all the Jerusalem with Him"

• King Herod was an Idumean and not a Jew, and he did not come from the line of David. (He was an imposter) He became king because of the Roman Senate.

• For him to be disturbed was not surprising, and especially for the whole Jerusalem with him.

◦ Cause he will kill anyone who threatens his throne and everyone around that person.

Notice how Herod confirms this news with the religious leaders of Jerusalem.

• He asks "where the Christ would be born", he does not say the king of the Jews but "Christ", in other words "the Messiah"

• The religious leaders quote a passage from the OT indicating that the promised Shepherd the ruler of Judah is coming from Bethlehem

Herod secretly asks the wise men "the exact time of the start appearance"

• notice the craftiness, he did not ask how old the child was, but focused the attention on the interests of the wisemen. They probably didn't connect the evil intents of Herod's question

• Then he sends the wisemen and you can just hear the slithering snake speak in deceptive words:

◦ "Go and search carefully for the child, when you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him" (v.8)

Herod is killing innocent children to protect his throne!

• Imagine the horror and chaos of that moment.

• Rejecting Jesus as the true king of this world and your heart leads us to protect our throne at any cost!!!

Herod is a clear depiction of the power of this world in apposition to God and his Son.

• There is a continual war between God and the Devil

◦ Christmas is fundamentally a threat to our own kingdom.

◙ Because the true King has arrived

Notice simply going to church and knowing truth does not save anyone: 

• Notice the religious leaders in this story v. 4-5

◦ These leaders knew scripture very well, and had a central role in the Jewish religion. They taught the Old Testament, they were in the temple doing the temple sacrifices and things.

• That happens to people all the time, they may be at church, doing religious duties, even reading the Bible, but they don't care about Jesus himself.

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2. The Wisemen seek to worship the true King (9-12)

Notice the wisemen came from the east.

• These were either priestly wisemen from the Medes and Persians or wisemen from Babylon or Chaldea.

• We don't know exactly where they came from, but it seems that their journey is as a long one,

◦ probably 1000 miles.

◦ It could have taken them more than a year of travel

◦The beauty of this narrative is that we have no idea of who these Maji are and that is the point

◦ Matthew does not define them or speak on them much, he emphasizes a few times that they came to worship this king.

◦ The lights shines on Jesus in this text as the true rightful born king!!!

◦ They realized that this person is worth coming and searching for many months, and going through a difficult journey, placing themselves in danger simply to worship him.

◦ Wisemen saw that the star stopped above the place where the child was. (This was a miraculous moment)

◦ They were "overwhelmed with joy"

◘ Does Herod have joy? - no he is disturbed

◘ For wisemen this is it, the king they were looking for!!!

◘ Then they came to the house (notice not a stable)

◘ 2 Cor. 4:7 "Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us".

◦ They enter the house, and see the "child and Mary"

◘ "falling to their knees, they worshiped him"

◦ They gift him treasures: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

◘ God was often used for royalty

◘ Frankincense - literally meaning pure incense. It is a luxury rosin of a tree which grew in Arabia, India and Somalia. Often used in anointing oil, perfume or burial preparations.

◘ Myrrh was a rosin from a tree which grew in Arabia and Ethiopia

◘ Origen said that “gold, as to a king; myrrh, as to one who was mortal; and incense, as to God'

◘ But, it will be safe to say that they were very costly gifts for a special person.

The only adequate response to Jesus involves worship!

In worship you do two things: bowing down in reverence and you praise in adoration!

~Bowing down before - is:

• To submit to Him, as superior.

• We listen to his word and we care about his will.

~Praise the one

• TO elevate his name!

• To praise Him in singing, in speaking and living

Conclusion

• Jesus has conquered our greatest enemies and he will lead us through this dark life. He is our king.

• Be Confident: That he will lead us and protect us as we walk through this dark world.

◦ We may experience pain, suffering, loneliness, weakness and disappointment in this life. But go to your king for strength. He says "I will never leave you or forsake you"

◦ He sent us his Spirit to guide us!

◦ Cling to him, when you are weak. Seek him when you are confused. Pray for help when you are in need.

• Trust Him: to lead you!

◦ He is your king and nothing will happen to you outside of his plan.

◦ If you feel down and depressed Jesus is there, he sees you and will help you.

◦ Know that what he says in his word is best for you, even when you don't understand it.

• Obey him:

◦ He left us his authoritative word to guide us.

◦ He gave us his will for our life and it is in the scripture: read it, meditate on it and let it permeate your life.

◦ We don't study the word simply for knowledge, we study the word to know more of Christ.

◦We seek to understand what he did so we can proclaim him to others.