Sermon Tone Analysis

Over the past few weeks, we have been taking a fresh look at the accounts in scripture concerning Christ’s coming.

The first week, we looked at Luke 1, and the angel appearing to Mary.

In that account we saw the Dilemma of Saying ‘Yes’.

Mary said ‘yes’ to the Lord, recognizing her position as the Lord’s servant, even though saying yes meant that in the short-term, she would likely have some very difficult days.

She did know that eventually, God would work all things together for good, and that all people would later call her blessed.

In the same way, we need to learn to say ‘yes’ to what the Lord wants from us, even though it may be difficult.

The next week, we were in Matthew 1, and the angel appearing to Joseph.

The Dilemma of Derailment.

Joseph knew what it was like to have his plans ‘derailed’.

But we saw that Joseph responded well, because he had developed the character of seeking righteousness, and mercy.

We learned that God’s plans may be different than what we planned, but they are so much better.

Then, we looked at Luke 2, and the Dilemma of Belief.

Like the Innkeeper, and so many people of his day, we can sometimes wonder what God is doing.

Is God really going to carry out his promises?

Is He really working for us?

Just as the promises concerning Jesus were fulfilled hundreds, and even thousands of years after God made the promises, God did follow through and do all that He said.

We can trust Him.

Last week in the Dilemma of Joy, we talked about how sometimes we can be like the shepherds, wondering if we can really find and experience joy.

Joy is not an emotion, but a character that takes pleasure in what God says about us, what God is doing in us, and what God does for us and others!

Today, we are finishing this series with the Dilemma of Obedience.

The wise men were good examples of men who were obedient.

Obedience is simply doing what an authority says.

In this case, these men were obedient.

Let’s read the account of the wise men in Matthew 2:1-12.

Prayer

The magi faced a dilemma, obey Herod, or obey the Lord.

Let’s watch a brief dramatic interpretation of a magi, as we begin to consider this dilemma of obedience.

Video

Who were the magi?

Who were the magi, or wisemen?

Where did they come from?

The wisemen would have been important officials in the eastern countries, possibly around the area of modern day countries Iraq and Iran.

We see in book of Daniel that these men were educated.

They studied all forms of knowledge and prophecy from the nations.

Why did the magi come?

Daniel was a leader of the magi when he lived.

He most likely shared with them the scriptures from the Lord, and the prophecies of the coming Messiah, the king of Israel who would establish a new kingdom over all the earth.

They also likely had a prophecy from Balaam.

Balaam was from Pethor, a city near the Euphrates.

He could have been a predecessor to the magi.

In Numbers 24:17, Balaam prophesied this:

So, when they saw a special star appearing in the sky related to the stars associated with Israel, they came looking for this one that was prophesied.

While God prohibits His people from the worship of the stars, or the practices of astrology and seeking guidance in that way, (see Isaiah 47:13-15 and Jeremiah 10:1-2), God can use the stars He created to give a sign to people who seek after those things when He chooses to do so.

In fact in the last days, God will again gives signs in the heavens for people to know He is bringing about what He has promised to do.

God gave these men a sign they were looking for, so that they might seek the Savior, the Messiah God promised!

And so, they came!

That speaks to me of how merciful God is, that He is seeking to save all the lost in the world.

Instructions from Herod

When they came, we find that they went to Jerusalem, the place where you might expect to find a king of the Jews.

They asked, and Herod tried to find the answer for where this king might be born.

He found out from the chief priests and teachers of the law that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.

So, he called the Magi back to let them know, and gave them specific instructions,

So, the Magi went on their way, and saw the star go ahead of them.

They were glad to be following the star, and found it stopping over the place Jesus was living.

Arrival in Bethlehem

Down through history, it has been understood that the wisemen were not in Bethlehem the night Jesus was born.

Rather, they arrived sometime later.

Notice here in Matthew, Jesus is staying in a home.

Also, we see from the context of the passage, a little later in Matthew 2, that Jesus could have been up to 2 years of age.

They arrived, worshiped and presented their gifts to Jesus.

Then, that night, came another set of instructions.

Two sets of Instructions...

The magi faced a dilemma.

Do they obey Herod, the earthly King who would send soldiers after them if he found out, or do they obey the Lord who told them what to do in a dream?

I believe they chose wisely.

The Bible is clear that we are to obey governing authorities.

However, if God tells us something, He trumps all earthly authorities.

And, Jesus also said,

They chose wisely to obey God, rather than Herod.

And because of their choice, God has honored them in the scriptures down through the centuries!

What about me?

This is an account with which we are familiar.

Who do I obey?

There are no end of rulers in our lives.

Government

Bosses

We know from how Jesus handled a question about paying taxes, and his other teachings in the gospels, as well as what God tells us in Romans 13, and 1 Peter, that we are to respect and obey those in authority over us.

Let’s look at the 1 Peter passage. 1 Peter 2:13-17.

We do need to obey those in governing authority over us.

We need to follow the laws, and honor them for their positions.

We do this respectfully out of obedience to God!

I like verses 15 and 16 which point out that we are doing this as God’s slaves.

1 Peter addresses bosses in verse 18.

We do need to submit to authorities.

And there is one other principle which the scriptures teach us.

We obey until they tell us to do something contrary to what God says.

At that point, we still honor and respect them, as we obey God.

We see a great example of this in Acts when the Apostles are on trial before the Jewish leaders, who commanded them to no longer preach and teach in Jesus’ name.

Peter and John responded this way...

They then went on to obey the Lord and keep preaching in His name.

For this, they were tried again.

And once again they said,

There will be a time when we will come to the dilemma of obedience.

Will we obey others or will we obey God?

Actually, we face this dilemma every single day.

You see, we don’t only have government officials, and bosses that tell us what to do, do we?

There are others that we obey, that we may not think of as ones that we obey.

However, the scriptures lists them, so let’s think about them.

To get an idea who they may be, let’s read Ephesians 2:1-3.

Do you see who the other authorities in our lives are?