The Gift of Gold: Jesus Our King

Tony Schachle
The Three Gifts of Christmas  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:03:30
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The wise men brought three gifts to Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold is a gift fit for a King. Jesus is our King. He is our eternal, immortal, invincible King. Listen in to this message and discover the amazing gift of Jesus our King!

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OPENING

I am excited to kickoff a new series this week, for the month of December, titled, “The Three Gifts of Christmas.” In the gospel of Matthew we learn that wise men from the east heard of the birth of Jesus and apparently understood something of the ancient prophecies of the coming of a Messiah King. They traveled to Bethlehem to see and worship Jesus and offered to Him three gifts worthy of a king: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Over the next three weeks leading up to Christmas, we are going to spend some time looking at these three gifts and how they signify the person and work of Jesus Christ and how the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done impacts our lives today.
We are going to take the three gifts in the order they are given to us in the Bible. So this morning we are going to focus on the first gift: gold. And we are going to talk about “Jesus Our King
But before we get into the message for today, I want to take a few minutes and read the story of the wise men and their visit to Bethlehem to see the King from Matthew 2.

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 2:1–11 NKJV
1 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, 2 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.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 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. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘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.’ ” 7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 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.

MESSAGE

Matthew’s Presentation
In his gospel account, Matthew presents Jesus as King. And not just any king, but the King of kings. The King of Glory. The Supreme Ruler of the universe.
Genealogy (Chapter 1)
And he begins by introducing Jesus as King in Chapter 1 by virtue of His birthright. Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage from Abraham and through King David to show that He was born of royal seed. As the Son of David, Jesus had the right to rule Israel as her King.
The Wise Men (first half of Chapter 2)
Then we arrive at Chapter 2 and the passage we just read. Again Matthew is emphasizing Jesus as King. He does this in our passage by telling us about the visit of the wise men. Here are these Magi, or Wise Men, from the Orient, who were the ones who officially recognized the legitimacy of kings in their culture. No one became a king in their part of the world unless they said so. So here are these Persian Magi coming from outside of Israel to declare to the world that Jesus is King!
Journey of the Magi
Their Gifts
And, as their custom required, they would not approach a king to worship without bringing some sort of gift. And here we read that the Wise Men bring three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. All three very precious and valuable gifts. And the first of the three being gold, which is a gift fit for a king.
The Significance of Gold
Gold was extremely significant in ancient cultures, just as it is today, and is found throughout the Bible. In fact, gold is mentioned some 450 times in the Bible, often in relation to God Himself as a symbol of His rule, preciousness, eternality, and holiness.
Gold is significant because of its:
Rarity
Gold is not the most rare element on earth. But it has the right amount of rarity so that it is both practical to use and valuable.
Beauty
Because of its color and brilliance, gold has been used to make jewelry, valuable items, and was used in items in worship of God like covering the Ark of the Covenant, making the golden lampstands, etc.
Malleability
1 ounce of gold can be formed into a thin wire 50 miles long or a sheet 100ft x 100ft.
Durability
You essentially can’t destroy it. If you put it in the fire, it only gets purer.
A Gift Fit for a King
Because of all of these qualities, gold is truly a gift fit for a king. And the wise men knew this. They had perhaps been told the ancient Jewish prophecies concerning a coming king by men like Daniel, who spent time in the court of Persian king Cyrus.
And so these wise men (magi) show up at the home of Joseph and Mary to see Jesus. We don’t know exactly when the wise men arrived, but we know it was not on the night of His birth. It was sometime between a few weeks to less than two years after His birth. We know this because of the timing of the meeting between the wise men and Herod and Herod’s order to kill all the male children two years and younger in order to try to kill the baby Jesus.
But we know that they eventually arrive at the home where Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus were staying in Bethlehem. And they came to see the King. They came to acknowledge the King. They came to worship the King. They came to bring gifts to the King.
Jesus Our King
I’ve got three points this morning related to Jesus Our King. I want to talk to you about:
His Destiny,
His Kingdom, and
His Throne.
His Destiny
Jesus was born King. There is no other king in history who has ever been born king. There was always a time that they were not king.
Alexander the Great became king at the age of 20.
Genghis Khan began to conquer and rule at the age of 20.
Caesar Augustus became Rome’s first emperor at the age of 32.
The youngest king listed in the Bible is Jehoash, who was 7 years old when he began to reign.
But there was a time where each of these leaders were not a king and they later became king. Not so with Jesus. Jesus was born King.
OT Prophecies
2 Samuel 7:16 NKJV
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
NT Fulfillment
Luke 1:30–33 NKJV
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
But Jesus did not just become King at His birth. Jesus was King before He was born in a stable in Bethlehem. Jesus was King before the visit of the shepherds on the night of His birth. Jesus was King before the visit of the wise men. Jesus has always been King. And Jesus will always be King. Jesus is the Eternal King of Glory. He was King before the earth was created. And He will still reign as King when this earth has passed away and the elements of this universe have melted with fervent heat.
His Kingdom
Every king has a kingdom. His kingdom is the land, the territory, the resources, and the citizens or the people over which he rules.
Jesus has a Kingdom. But His Kingdom is not of this world. At least not yet.
John 18:36 NKJV
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
One day Jesus will return at His Second Coming and establish His Kingdom on this earth and will rule from the throne of His father David in Jerusalem like the Bible says.
But for now we are in this “already but not yet.” There is a sense in which the Kingdom of God has already come and is already here. But there is also a sense in which the ultimate fulfilment of the Kingdom of God is not yet here.
But Jesus is already ruling and reigning as King. And the Kingdom of God is already here in a spiritual sense in the hearts of every born-again believer in Jesus Christ.
His Scepter
Hebrews 1:8 NKJV
8 But to the Son He says: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
Esther and the Golden Scepter
Jesus Our King rules in righteousness
His Crown
Revelation 19:12 NKJV
12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
The Crown of Thorns
One day will will cast our crowns down at the feet of Jesus Our King
His Citizens
John 17:16 NKJV
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Our Citizenship is in Heaven
Jesus Our King has prepared a place for us
His Throne
He is Seated
Hebrews 12:2 NKJV
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
There were no chairs in the Tabernacle
It is finished!
Come Boldly
Hebrews 4:16 NKJV
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
You can request an audience with the King of Glory
Large Asking
1 John 5:14–15 NKJV
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
It is His desire to give you the Kingdom
52 Sermons about Jesus 47. Jesus Is King

ILLUSTRATION:

Travel back 200 years in Christian history to John Newton, the slave-traderturned-pastor and hymn writer. He would receive almost unbelievable answers to his prayers because he believed in what he called “large asking.” When explaining what he meant, Newton would often cite a legendary story of a man who asked Alexander the Great to give him a huge sum of money in exchange for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Alexander agreed, and told the man to request of Alexander’s treasurer whatever he wanted. So, the father of the bride went and asked for an enormous amount. The treasurer was startled and said he could not give out that kind of money without a direct order. Going to Alexander, the treasurer argued that even a small fraction of the money requested would more than serve the purpose.

“No,” replied Alexander, “let him have it all. I like that fellow. He does me honor. He treats me like a king and proves by what he asks that he believes me to be both rich and generous.”

Newton concluded: “In the same way, we should go to the throne of God’s grace and present petitions that express honorable views of the love, riches, and bounty of our King.”

CLOSING

When we understand that Jesus is our King, I believe there are some things we are going to want to do:
Bring Him Gifts
Worship Him
Request an Audience with Him

ALTAR CALL

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