Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Prayer

Please open your Bibles to Matthew 2:1-10.

Over the next few weeks, we'll look at four signs of Christmas.

As we do, we'll want to examine our hearts and ask ourselves, "In what ways are we following the signs and directions God has given us?"

As you're turning to Matthew's Gospel, I'd like to point a few things out quickly.

In Matthew's Gospel, we find the only reference to the wise men who come looking for Jesus.

Remember, the four Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, each had specific ideas they wanted to impart to their audiences.

Matthew was most likely writing to Jewish Christians and interested Jews, as the Gospel pulls from many Old Testament prophecies to explain who Jesus is.

As such, Matthew wrote to present Christ as King, not just of the Jews, but of the whole Earth.

While the birth of Jesus came roughly 400 years after God last spoke directly to His people, it did not come without signs and prophecies.

Some time after Christ was born, He was visited by wise men or Magi.

Today, we'll look at the sign that brought them from the East over to Bethlehem to meet the Child, born the King of the Jews.

Let's read Matthew's account, and we'll see to make application as we study the Star of Bethlehem, our first Sign of Christmas.

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Wise Men from the East

So, who were these wise men from the East?

Well, the term "Wise Men" or "Magi" typically referred to priests or experts in various mysteries who served the kings from Persia or Babylon, as we see several times in the Book of Daniel.

Matthew begins his Gospel for a Jewish audience with the royal genealogy of Jesus.

In his highlighting of the magi, Matthew shows that gentile "king-makers" recognize the true King of the Jews.

Robert Hampshire writes, "Because of their knowledge and influence, they also served as political advisors and even 'king-makers'—which is a fascinating connection considering that the Book of Matthew (that presents Jesus as the rightful king in the line of Judah) is the only gospel account that mentions this story" (Robert Hampshire, "What is the Significance of the Three Wise Men and Their Gifts?," Christianity.com,

December 1, 2020, https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/significance-of-the-

three-wise-men-and-their-gifts.html).

By the time of Matthew's Gospel, however, the meaning of the term "Magi" had expanded to include those whose practices included astrology, dream interpretation, study of sacred writings, the pursuit of wisdom, and magic.

We know that they noticed what appeared to be a new star, and that's telling.

According to some scholars, the fact that they saw and followed the star should lead us to consider that they might be of the later definition: potential astrologists rather than ancient eastern priests.

Still, others suggest that because they knew they were looking for a King of the Jews, they were probably far eastern priests who knew of biblical prophecies.

I would submit that it doesn't matter so much what kind of "Wise Men" they were as much as it matters why they showed up in Herod's court.

They had heard of the coming King of the Jews and were alerted to His arrival by a sign.

They recognized and followed the sign as far as they could and inquired of the highest-ranking local official as to where they might be able to meet this newborn king.

Matthew tells us that not only did Herod have no idea who they were talking about, but he also became troubled, that is, distressed, at the news and began to ask for more information from the religious leaders among the Jews.

According to verses 5-6, he was told that there was a prophecy (we know it to be from Isaiah's prophetic work), which indicated that the King would be born in Bethlehem.

So, he went back to the wise men and gave them the information, but also asked them to return once they found the King and let him know so that he could also go and worship the child.

Thankfully, they were smart enough to follow not only stars and prophecies but also warnings given in dreams, as they decided not to return to Herod but return to the East via a different route, according to verse 12.

Let's dig a little further into the sign, however.

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They saw His star

Some translations record verse 2 as 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."

Others say, "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."

Either way, they saw what they called a star, and it led them to Jerusalem.

One commentary points out that the wise men would likely have been familiar with OT prophecy through their interaction with Jews in Babylon.

They may have remembered Balaam's prophecy that "A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel."

Jews long understood this to point to a messianic deliverer (As evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls, Damascus Document 7.18–21; Testimonia 9–13).

That particular prophecy is found in Numbers 24.

You don't have to turn there, but allow me to read verses 15-19.

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The star that the magi followed, this star of Bethlehem, is not a random detail that Matthew decided to add to the narrative.

If you remember the story of Balaam and his talking donkey in Numbers, Balaam was a gentile "prophet for hire" who was being paid to curse the Israelites.

After his donkey refused to help in this endeavor and miraculously spoke to Balaam, Balaam did not curse the Israelites; instead, he began to prophesy blessings over them.

The prophecy in Numbers 24:17 was essential to the Israelites and the early Christians.

Balaam's prophecy was quoted often in the Qumran scrolls, found in 1947, and depictions of Balaam and his star are seen on the walls of the early Christian catacombs.

In the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome is a slab covering the grave of a person named Severa, and on this slab is a depiction of the three magi bringing gifts to the baby Jesus and his mother.

Behind Mary and Jesus, pointing to a star is Balaam (Sandra Sweeny Silver, "Balaam & the Star of Bethlehem," Early Church History, https://earlychurchhistory.org/beliefs- 2/balaam-the-star-of-Bethlehem/).

In fairness, Balaam's final prophecy, recorded in Numbers 24, has long been seen to be regarding king David.

While there is some fulfillment in the life of David, there will be complete fulfillment in Christ.

King David indeed defeated many enemies, including the Moabites, the Philistines, and others.

That said, we would be hard-pressed to make a case that David crashed his enemies, considering they continued to pester and attack the Israelites long after David's days as king.

When taken together, Numbers 24 and Matthew 2 show us that Balaam, a gentile, prophesied the star that would appear and lead to the king, and it was gentiles who observed the star and followed it.

In understanding this, we must know that God calls all people to himself, and we see that His call for the gentiles to follow Jesus the Messiah actually came as early as the star of Bethlehem, which announced His birth!

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They saw His star and came to worship.

One commentator wisely pointed out that [In Matthew 2, God] chooses to speak to stargazers through a star.

Stars had significance for these men.

God descended to the Magi's level to communicate with them.

Stars got their attention, so God used a star.

To this day, God speaks in language that gets the attention of people.

Today, we imagine he might drop a pile of coins on the tile floor in a casino to get the attention of a gambler.

Some might ask why God would want to speak to casino patrons.

Because that is his way.

The Magi were pagans serving a pagan king.

Yet God spoke to them, for that is what he does.

Christianity is not a religion for "good people" it is for sinners who listen when God calls.

(Matthew, Volumes 1 & 2 (The Quest of the Magi)

You see, what sets Christianity apart is not that we are better than others but that God allows us to deal with our failures.

They are not hidden or explained away but brought out into the open, and we are called to confess our sins, ask God to forgive us, and receive His mercy.

After that, we are enabled to freely worship Him.

But we still fail and seek mercy from God and those around us.

The Magi, seen as pagans from the East, remind us that God pursues sinners, calling them into a relationship with Himself.

God supernaturally called the Magi, and they would have traveled a tremendous distance, following that star for long months.

As mentioned earlier, wise men most likely had access to some scriptures, the words of prophets such as Daniel, who lived in the East, to guide them.

If they knew of Daniel, they knew he had predicted, with some specificity, the birth of a royal deliverer in Israel.

Then they saw a mysterious star pointing toward Jerusalem, followed it there, and the rest, they say, is history.

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Conclusion:

A trip that far, and a group that size, would have taken planning, forethought, and intentionality.

The song "We Three Kings of Orient Are" is a well-known Christmas carol.

Yet it is not without flaws, even in the title, as the Magi were not kings, and Matthew never says there were only three of them.

There is no way to know for sure how many were in the group.

We understand that they brought three gifts, but there were probably dozens of leaders, soldiers, and servants in the group.

In any case, the group had to have been large enough that the report of their arrival reached King Herod himself.

I point that out to ask if you were there and saw the sign of a star hanging in the sky, would you consider the cost of starting, what was most likely, a nearly 800-mile journey to a distant land, accompanied by a large group of others, all for the sake of worshiping a baby King?

Before you say yes, remember they acted upon vague prophecies, but we have the completed canon of Scripture.

We can know everything God intended for us to learn, so what is our excuse for not pursuing Him further?

Are we looking for more signs today?

Some jump at every earthquake, every political upheaval, and every attack on Israel believing it to be a sure sign that the end times are rapidly approaching.

While such events may signal the last days' approach, they are not necessarily indicators that the end times have arrived.