The Christmas Star
By Rev. Todd W. Allen
Villa Rica
12/12/04
Matthew 2:1-12
You
cannot hear the Christmas story without hearing about the wise men from
the east, for they are a part of the story. Have you ever thought about
why God included them in the account of the birth of Christ? After all,
they were not Jewish, and if there is one thing that is quite noticeable
in the life of Christ on this earth it is that he was Jewish and that he
considered his earthly ministry to be primarily directed to the Jewish
people.
When the Canaanite woman came
to him begging for deliverance for her demon possessed daughter and his
disciples urged him to send her away
But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.” Matt. 15:24
He did honor her request and
healed her daughter but that did not change the thrust of his ministry.
Why, then, did Gentile
wise men from the east get in on the birth of Christ? What special
significance attaches to their coming bringing gifts to the newborn king
of the Jews?
Incidentally, we do
not know precisely how many wise men there were. The number three has
been assumed from the fact that three gifts, gold, frankincense and
myrrh were presented to Christ, but this does not necessarily limit the
number to three. Nor are these men named. They have been given the
mythical names: Melchoir, Belthasar, and
Casper
and they have been called kings. But all of that is pure legend and
without any substantiation either from scripture or secular history. The
only thing we know for certain is that they saw a star and that by some
means, unexplained, had ascertained that it was the star that signified
the birth of a Messianic King who was to be born in the
land of Judea.
We really do not know what
persuaded and convinced them that a certain star they had seen in their
own country was the star that pointed them to one born king of the Jews,
one who was worthy of their worship. We do know that God had revealed to
them enough light to cause them to make the journey to Jerusalem and ask
2“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.” Matt. 2:2
The wise men
seeking the Savior confirm Old Testament prophecies. God spoke through
Isaiah:
6
He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise
up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will
also make You a light of the nations
So that My
salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Isa. 49:6
God is saying
that it is too small a thing that his
salvation should be only
for Israel out of all the peoples
of the earth. Not only
will the preserved of Israel whom
God purposed to save, men
from all nations will come to
the Jewish Messiah, and
they will come bringing gold
and frankincense
proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
The magi were messengers
of hope sounding forth
the praises of God for his
salvation.
Worldwide
evangelization was always God’s intent. He is not a Savior for the Jews
only but for people of all tribes, tongues and nations. The wise men
coming from afar bringing their worship and their gifts of gold, incense
and myrrh signal that God’s announced purpose has now unfolded in the
birth of the Christ child.
Somehow, we do not know exactly how, the Lord had shown these
men that a star they had seen was a sign of the birth of the king of the
Jews, and that this king was no ordinary king but one destined to rule
the nations. They knew from their astrological observations that a star
they had seen signified the birth of this king. The only thing they did
not know was where he had been born. They came all the way from their
own country to worship him.
Please notice at this
point that the wise men assumed that the knowledge they had would be
pretty generally known in the land of the Jews, so they go to the
capital of Jewry, to Jerusalem to find out where they might go to
worship this king. They didn’t go to worship Herod who had been king of
the Jews for 35 years. No. The king they came seeking was unique. He was
divine and therefore entitled to their worship.
The wise men apparently
began asking questions when they got to Jerusalem. They did not at first
go to Herod the king but to others. Word got to Herod that some
strangers from a foreign land had come inquiring about the whereabouts
of a newborn king of the Jews. They wanted to find him so that they
might worship him.
Herod the king was
disturbed at this news and the scripture says all Jerusalem with him.
Herod summoned the chief priests and scribes and inquired of them where
the Christ was to be born. They had the sacred writings and Micah the
prophet had prophesied that he would be born in Bethlehem. So they told
Herod what the Bible said.
When Herod learned
this he secretly called for the magi to come and meet with him. He asked
them what time the star had appeared to them. He was intensely
interested in their search, but not for the right reason. In his heart
he knew he would have to eliminate this newborn king. He tolerated no
rivals, not even newborn rivals. He was absolutely paranoid about his
position as king. He had murdered every suspected pretender to his
throne, including his own wife Marianne and his two sons, Alexander and
Aristobulus.
The populace of Judea
knew of his morbid distrust of anyone who might aspire to the throne and
of his bloodthirsty rage against any supposed rival.
Herod was an Edomite.
Augustus and Antonius made him king over Judea. A true king of the Jews
would threaten his rule and reign. Being the suspicious and conniving
and cruel person that he was, he immediately thought of how a baby named
king of the Jews would impact upon his reign and rule. People knew
from long and sad experience that there was no limit to the wrath and
vengefulness of a thoroughly alarmed Herod. They dreaded to think what
atrocities might be in store for anyone suspected of cooperating with
the Magi or of getting involved in a search for a potential rival to
Herod. No wonder that all Jerusalem was troubled when they heard from
these magi that a king of the Jews had been born whom they desired to go
and worship.
Craftily, Herod sent
the wise men to Bethlehem to find the child. He pretended that he too
wanted to come and worship him, but that was not his intent. His intent
was to make them his scouts and locators. As soon as they came back with
the information he would have the baby killed.
We can understand why
the city was troubled. The leaders of the people who served Herod and
served in the temple were satisfied with the status quo. A new king
would upset the status quo. It would change the present accommodation
the leaders and populace had made with the Romans and Herod.
They had politics then
even as we do today, and it would be politically incorrect to seek a new
king, much less bow down and worship him. This would surely upset the
politics of the day. So people were troubled along with Herod when they
heard that these magi had seen the star of the birth of the king of the
Jews and that they had come to worship him.
Isn’t that the very
same reason that so few will seek Christ and convert to him in our own
day? The sinners of this world have made peace with Satan and the
present world system. There is no desire to have a new king to come and
reign over them. It only stirs up trouble, or so they think. Men do not
want Jesus Christ to be Lord of their lives because they believe it will
radically alter their lives. Sin must be repented of and be put away.
They understand and grasp that fact. Righteousness is to be the new
order of the day. Men shun the gospel because they do not want to
change. They like things as they are. And they not only resist coming to
Christ themselves but also react strongly when anyone else seeks to find
him in order to worship him. Doing so begins a new life of faith to
follow him., not just for a day or two but forever. It is a conversion
from what was before to a new way of life, a new life in Christ.
When Christian in
Pilgrim’s Progress started out on his pilgrimage his wife and children
cried after him to return, so much so that he had to put his fingers in
his ears and keep on going. His neighbors came out to see him run and as
he ran some mocked, others threatened, and some cried after him to
return and some, one named Obstinate and another named Pliable, resolved
to fetch him back by force.
Men today exhibit the
same apprehension that Jerusalem exhibited when the wise men arrived in
town. They don’t want to get labeled as a Bible-believing
Christ-worshiping fundamentalist. They don’t want to alienate any
friends or neighbors or business associates. They don’t want to
jeopardize their position or their influence with the sinners of this
world.
There is a price to
pay when we convert to Jesus Christ. The powers that be do not want to
have men following a different king. Persecution and even death may be
the price of worshiping Christ.
In the days of the
Roman Emperor Nero, there lived and served him a band of soldiers known
as the Emperor's Wrestlers. Fine, stalwart men they were,
picked from the best and the bravest of the land, recruited from the
great athletes of the Roman amphitheater.
In the great amphitheater they upheld the arms of the emperor against
all challengers. Before each contest they stood before the emperor's
throne. Then through the courts of Rome rang the cry: "We, the
wrestlers, wrestling for thee, O Emperor, to win for thee the victory
and from thee, the victor's crown."
When the great Roman army was sent to fight in Gaul, no soldiers
were braver or more loyal than this band of wrestlers led by their
centurion Vespasian. But news reached Nero that many Roman soldiers had
accepted the Christian faith. Therefore, this decree was dispatched to
the centurion Vespasian; "If there be any among your soldiers who
cling to the faith of the Christian, they must die!"
The decree was received in the dead of
winter. The soldiers were camped on the shore of a frozen inland lake.
It was with sinking heart that Vespasian, the centurion, read the
emperor's message.
Vespasian called the soldiers together and asked: "Are there
any among you who cling to the faith of the Christian? If so, let him
step forward!" Forty wrestlers instantly stepped forward two paces,
respectfully saluted, and stood at attention. Vespasian paused. He had
not expected so many, nor such select ones. "Until sundown I shall
await your answer," said Vespasian. Sundown came. Again the
question was asked. Again the forty wrestlers stepped forward.
Vespasian pleaded with them long and earnestly without prevailing
upon a single man to deny his Lord. Finally he said, "The decree of
the emperor must be obeyed, but I am not willing that your comrades
should shed your blood. I order you to march out upon the lake of ice,
and I shall leave you there to the mercy of the elements."
The forty wrestlers were stripped and then, falling into columns
of four, marched toward the center of the lake of ice. As they marched
they broke into the chant of the arena: "Forty wrestlers, wrestling
for Thee, O Christ, to win for Thee the victory and from Thee, the
victor's crown!"
Through the night Vespasian stood by his campfire and watched. As he
waited through the long night, there came to him fainter and fainter the
wrestlers' song.
As morning drew near one
figure, overcome by exposure, crept quietly toward the fire; in the
extremity of his suffering he had renounced his Lord.
Faintly but clearly
from the darkness came the song: "Thirty‑nine wrestlers, wrestling
for Thee, O Christ, to win for Thee the victory and from Thee, the
victor's crown!"
Vespasian looked at the figure drawing close to the fire.
Perhaps he saw eternal light shining there toward the center of the
lake. Who can say? But off came his helmet and clothing, and he sprang
upon the ice, crying, "Forty wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O Christ,
to win for Thee the victory and from Thee, the victor's crown!"
The wise men were not deterred from following the light they
had received. They were willing to make a long journey to find Christ
and to worship him. They did not allow themselves to grow discouraged by
the ignorance and disinterest of the Jews of Jerusalem toward their own
Messiah King. They would not give up even when the way seemed long and
hard and the light from the star was not always bright and clear before
their eyes. Their search had directed them to the scriptures, which told
them the very place to go and search for Christ. They would not give up
until they finally found him in Bethlehem in a house with his mother.
It still works today
that same way. Persistence pays off. Even Herod told them to make a
careful search. In this he spoke well. A careful, persistent search will
discover to any true seeker the Christ of God.
When they saw him they knew this was He. They fell down and
worshiped him and gave him their gifts.
What
a precious thing it is to see the light of Christ in this sin-darkened
world. His light should draw all men to him. Apart from him here is no
light of life, only darkness, despair, hopelessness and death.
As I say, the wise men
are the forerunners of a multitude of Gentiles who have gone seeking the
light of Christ. How very wise indeed, for in him are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Their lives were transformed by their
finding him, and so will yours be. What a happy moment when a soul finds
the true meaning of life and the forgiveness of sins and everlasting
life the prize.
But each must make
this a personal pilgrimage. Each must seek in order to find. Each must
exercise his own faith in the king of the Jews as Savior and Lord.
The gifts they brought
were gladly laid at his feet. They had longed for this moment and wanted
to show their fealty and love and worship in this way. They had yielded
up their hearts and minds and souls in worship and their gifts were but
tokens of the faith they had in Christ.
Can you say this
morning that your search has ended, that you have persistently and
single-mindedly sought the one born under the star, the king of the Jews
and King of kings and the Lord of lords? He is waiting for you to
confess your need of him and to bow down before him in worship, as did
the wise men of that first Christmas. I invite you today, this very
moment, to make him your Savior and your King.
HYMN
#208 “O Come, All Ye Faithful”
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The paper and sermon manuscripts from
Pastor
Todd W. Allen
are made freely available for review and
distribution. We only request that proper
web page attribution be provided if
distributed for any reason. Please be
gracious to forgive typos and errors of
expression. These notes are faithful
approximations of what has been preached.
May God be glorified in the preaching of
His Word.