Overjoyed!

 The magi walked in on Joseph, Mary, & baby Jesus. Joseph was vexed. "Why are you bothering us? Mary's tired & needs rest." Magi #1 answered, "I've brought gold for the child." Joseph replied, "Thank you. But leave. Please." Magi #2 then said, "I've brought frankincense for the child." Joseph was annoyed. "Thanks, but you're interrupting a special time between Mary & me." Forcefully, he continued, "Will you just leave?" Magi #3 interrupted, "But wait. There's myrrh!" Magi were scientists, magicians, & astrologers in the far east (Babylon?). When they saw a new star, they searched ancient documents & in Jewish Scriptures found Nu 24:17b. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter-a king-will rise out of Israel. Birth of a divine king! Where? Most likely in Israel's capital, Jerusalem. When the star starts moving, they follow. They start the trek to Jerusalem. They'll travel through desert some 900 miles. A hard trek. It'll take up to a year. But to find this king, they're all in. They don't even know Him. As astrologers & magicians, (God says 'No!'), their theology is pretty bad. But they go. They're serious seekers! And that's our 1st lesson. How good or bad our theology is-it doesn't matter. It won't save us. Our only hope is the King we know. Shouldn't we too be serious about seeking Him? Nearly a year later, they arrive in Jerusalem. 'Where's the newborn king?' All over the city, they keep asking. People are terrified. Herod already murdered everyone who even looked like a challenge to his throne. He's not above killing messengers, too. And anyone near them! In Mt 2:3, 3When King Herod heard he was disturbed, & all Jerusalem with him. A new king? Herod's gonna' take care of him, too. Where is He? Mt 2:4-5 tells us. 4aHerod called together all the chief priests & teachers of the law. Surely, they'll know where he was supposed to be born. 4b"Where is the Christ to be born?" Herod has to ask! He's from Edom/Esau's line. Not David's. He's a usurper to David's throne. He doesn't know Scripture, but the priests & scribes do. They know the answer. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea. This is what the prophet wrote in Mic 5:2. 6'You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, ... out of you will come... a ruler." Less than 5 miles away. Easy walking distance! These religious leaders have the Scriptures. Their theology is almost perfect. But they won't even travel 6 miles to Bethlehem to see if the Messiah was borne! That's another lesson to us. Seek the King when He's close! Seek Him now. Seek Him while He can be found! Don't wait. Later, it's much harder-if it's even possible. Even so, Herod & Jerusalem's leaders don't care if a new king has been born. What do they care about? What kind of threat is he? So, in Mt 2:7-8 Herod hatches a scheme. 7Herod called the Magi secretly to find out exactly when the star appeared. Then 8He sent them to Bethlehem. "Make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so I too may go & worship him." Right! He doesn't care enough even to walk 5 miles & check it out himself! Is Herod going to worship a new king? No way! He's gonna' murder Him. All Herod wants to know? Where & how old is He? Mt 2:9 leads us to our verses. 9After the magi heard the king, they went on their way. The star (ἀστήρ) they'd seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They had followed this star 900 miles S & E. But wait-stars, meteors, & asteroids move E to W as the Earth spins. How can a star move S & E to one house & hover over it? Stars hover over regions. Not houses. Only an angel or God could move S & E to lead them. Only an angel or God could be visible night & day. Only an angel or God could hover over one house. Nothing else. (Remind us of the Exodus cloud?) When the star stops & hovers over the house, Mt 2:10-11 picks up the story. 10When they see the star [hovering], they (lit.) rejoice. They haven't even seen the king. They rejoice just to get there. They've traveled almost a year. One goal: find Him. Now, they're in sight of their journey's goal. So, they rejoice. How different from Herod & Jewish leaders. They couldn't be bothered to check it out! Isn't that a lesson for us? What's our attitude? Indifference? Or are we all in? Do we rejoice even at the chance to see Him? 11aOn coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary. After a year of hard travels... At last! 11bThey bowed down & worshiped him. That's another lesson for us. Why do we come to the King? Do we come to see each other? To get hope for another week? For what we get out of it? For how it makes us feel? Or do we come to worship? And look. These men knew science, magic, & astrology. Magic & astrology are forbidden to God's people. But they were honest seekers. And God didn't abandon them! Our lesson? No one is too far gone. If God won't give up pagan magi, He won't give up on us. Just turn to Him. Seek Him. No matter our past. Who knows? If we seek Him with whole hearts, God may give us a starring role in His Divine plan, too. Just as He did for these magi. Even though astrology is forbidden, God used a star to lead them. Would they have understood an angel? I doubt it. God used language they did understand. He'll reach us the same way. Won't we seek Him? Won't we follow His example & meet others where they are? Lead them to Christ with language they understand? 11cThen they opened their treasures & presented him with gifts of gold & of incense & of myrrh. Costly gifts. Fit for a king. Especially fit for this king, Jesus. Gold is a royal gift. Wealth, fit for a king. Frankincense is a holy gift. Incense, fit for God. And myrrh is a gift of spice. Fit for burial. Three gifts. (Does that mean there were 3 magi? It's tradition. But no one knows how many there were.) These men didn't just go. When they found the Child, they didn't mail a gift later due to travel hardships. They packed & lugged costly gifts fit for a king & a Messiah. And that's another lesson. When we come to worship, what do we bring our king? Left-overs? A few of our 1st fruits? Even a tithe of our firstfruits? Or at great effort have we brought the best we have? Costly gifts? Fit for our King? After worshiping the Child & giving their gifts, they had to choose. Will they go back & serve King Herod? Or will they serve the Child who's born king of the Jews? That's the choice we face every day. Serve the king of this world? Or serve The King? When God warned them to avoid Herod, they chose to serve our great King. The King. Let's wrap it up. We, too, face a choice. Do we want to be like the magi? Or Judah's leaders? The magi's theology wasn't perfect. But they acted on the theology they had. They sought Jesus. No matter how imperfect ours is, let's act on it. Let's seek Him. Do whatever it takes to see the newborn King for ourselves. Jesus, God's Son, really is born a King. We don't need perfect theology. We just need to keep seeking Him till we find Him. When we do, let's worship. Let's present our best gifts that fit Him. What can we can offer? What gifts are fit for the God-King who died for us? Gold? Maybe. But how much gold is our life worth? There isn't enough gold. What about incense? Same problem. And myrrh? Jesus already died & now lives. It no longer fits. What are the only gifts He asks us for? Our lives. All we are, & all we have. And there's one more gift He wants. Another gift fit for our King. Will we think of someone that we think is too far gone? Someone we think will never come to Christ as their Savior? Will we seek them for Him, too? Will we meet them where they are? Share the Gospel with them? Using language they can understand? Will we give the gift He wants most? Our hearts, sharing His heart with others He loves? Will we? Lastly, just because we've sought & found Christ, we aren't at the end of our journey. It's the beginning. God wants us to remain open to the leadings of his Holy Spirit. Will we? Will we allow His Spirit to lead & guide us? Will we turn from the king of this world to serve our King? The King? And will we remember the joy of our 1st love of Christ? Will we practice that joy in all we do to serve Him? Overjoyed! - Matthew 2:10-11 Page 1 of 1