The Visit of the Wise Men (January 8 2023)

2 this morning. Matthew chapter 2. We will pick back up with our our series going through the book of Mark next week. And so we've been on a little bit of break from Mark over the last month and a half but we'll pick back up in Mark next week.

But today as we close out the holiday season by remembering and celebrating the revealing of the Messiah to the Gentiles. We'll remember that here in Matthew chapter 2 as we read about the visit of the wise men.

In Ephesians 3 though Paul talks about this mystery that was hidden for generations. He says that this mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

And so we will see this this revealing of this mystery that the the Gospels for the Gentiles they are partakers of the covenant. We see it most fully in the preaching of the gospel by the Apostles. But we also see it in Matthew chapter 2 in the visit of the Magi.

So let's read Matthew chapter 2 verses 1 through 15 and God's Word says this. 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 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.

When Herod the king heard this he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born and they told him in Bethlehem of Judea for so it is written by the prophet and you O Bethlehem in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd by people Israel.

And then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared and he sent them to Bethlehem saying go and search diligently for the child and when you have found him bring me word that I too may come and worship him.

And after listening to the king they went on their way and behold the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother and they fell down and worshiped him. Then opening their treasures they offered him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod they departed to their own country by another way.

Now when they had departed behold an angel the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said rise take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.

And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the Prophet out of Egypt. I called my son amen.

This is the Word of God to us this morning and this morning I want us to see and to celebrate and to love and to marvel at Jesus the King who is worthy of all worship and all glory. I want us to see and celebrate and love and marvel at Jesus the King who is worthy of all worship and all glory.

Let me start by just summarizing what we just read in Matthew chapter 2. So you have Jesus is born and after he's born some wise men from the east come to Jerusalem. They're looking for the one who is born King of the Jews.

They know that the King of the Jews has been born but because they saw his star when it rose and so the purpose of their coming is to is to worship him. The scriptures tell us now this news of a new king.

Well it greatly troubled the current King Herod because the current King doesn't like news of the next King. And so he assembled the chief priests and the scribes who informed him of the old prophecies to find out where he would be born.

They told him he'd be born in Bethlehem. And so Herod tried to trick then the wise men into finding the child and then relaying the child's identity and location to him under the pretense that he was going to also come and worship the child.

The star leads the wise men to the place where Jesus was and so they enter the house. At this point he is in a house not stable and they see the child with his mother Mary. We can ascertain that is probably somewhere in the neighborhood about two years old.

At this point judging by the age of the boys that Herod would later kill they fall down. They worship the child Jesus and they offer him gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh. Then being warned in a dream they do not go back to King Herod.

They go back to their own country by another route. Joseph he also is visited in a dream he's warned and being an honorable man and honorable husband and father he protects his family by taking them to Egypt until the death of Herod at which point he'll return to Israel fulfilling the word of the prophet filling the word of the Lord to the prophet out of Egypt.

I called my son so that is that's the story. See what it means. First question I want to ask is who were these wise men. Who were they. We sing carols about them calling them Kings it the text doesn't expressly say that they that they were Kings but still we have good reason to believe that they were of a noble ruling class.

Douglas Wilson offers a few reasons why we can believe that first of all they're magi. That means they're. They're wise learned men who are often found in the court of Kings throughout the Old Testament.

And so for example we see magicians in the court of Pharaoh. Back in Exodus we see magicians in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. In the book of Daniel we know they're of a noble ruling class and that they gave kingly gifts.

They were significant enough men that they were able to gain an audience with King Herod wouldn't imagine just anybody could walk in and speak with King Herod. They were significant enough men to gain an audience with him and their testimony was such that and it had such authority that King Herod accepted it.

And so even if they aren't technically Kings they are kingly. They're also priestly. You see the wise men the magi of the east they were of an ancient priesthood skilled in dark arts and magic dream interpretation and astrology.

But how did they know to be looking for a star that would signal the birth of the one born king of the Jews. One thought is that the prophecy of Balaam back in Numbers 24 was preserved for them. Balaam prophesied a star shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.

Another thought is that if these wise men were from Persia then it's possible that Daniel had taught them specifically but but their ancestors because Daniel chapter 2 tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon and so he could have taught there in Babylon to be looking for the king of Jews and that was passed down to these wise men.

But how they knew to be looking for one born king of the Jews isn't nearly as important as that they knew. And so when they saw this out-of-the-ordinary star appear in the skies that they had been keeping watch over faithfully constantly they were drawn.

You might even say they were called to Bethlehem to worship the newborn king. And so now as we as we contemplate this revealing of Jesus the king I want us to hear some echoes of the Old Testament in this story as we as we think through this story I want to hear some echoes of what has come before in the scriptures.

Alistair Roberts points some of these out in his commentary. And the first one is this. This story presents us with an inverted Exodus story. So it's like the Exodus story that we read about in the book of Exodus except the the roles are all reversed.

And so in the Exodus story you have magicians in the court of Pharaoh they're the opponents of Moses and Aaron and thus they're the opponents of God and his people. We have Pharaoh who orders that all the Hebrew boy babies be killed and it's the Israelites who are delivered from Egypt and they follow a pillar of fire by night through the wilderness to the promised land of Israel.

That's the Exodus story. In Matthew we have an inverted Exodus story. We have King Herod king in Israel but he's a Pharaoh like figure and he's the one now ordering the killing of the Hebrew boys. And we have the chief priests and the scribes there in Herod's court like the magicians were in Pharaoh's and they will be opponents of the new Moses Jesus and thus they will be opponents of God and his people.

And it's the Gentile wise men the Magi the magicians who are led by a fire in the night sky to the land of Israel. And so this inverted Exodus motif teaches us that in the coming of Jesus the roles are reversed.

Israel is being judged and the Gentiles are being delivered and they're being brought in. That's one echo of the Old Testament. Another one is that this Matthew chapter 2 story is an inverted Haydad story.

Now you might not remember the story of Haydad it's buried in first Kings chapter 11. I wouldn't remember the story of Haydad if I didn't read the commentary about it but in that story God raises up an adversary for Solomon Haydad the Edomite and when he was a child David had come to Edom and Joab the commander of Israel's army struck down every male in Edom and Haydad as a little child first Kings tells us as a little child with certain Edomites of his father's servants fled to Egypt and when he was grown and he heard that David had died he returned to his country and he became leader of a marauding band was made king over them and was an adversary to Israel all of Solomon's days.

Does this story sound at all familiar? St. Matthew 2. Herod by the way he's an Edomite. You have Jesus who's the son of David where does he flee to? He flees to Egypt with his father to escape the order of Herod to kill male children two years old and younger Jesus returns to Israel after the death of Herod and he becomes leader of an apostolic band of men and he is the new king of the Jews and so this inverted Haydad motif teaches us that Jesus is the one who takes on the sins of David's house and that he is a kingly adversary to the kingdoms of the world and of Satan.

It's another echo of the Old Testament. Also in this story in Matthew 2 we have a recapitulation of the story of Israel here in the life of Jesus. Now you remember in Genesis Joseph, he's Jacob's son and he goes into Egypt he interprets dreams and he becomes second command.

He made the sons of Israel promise that they would carry his bones out of Egypt when they go into the land promised to Abraham and so Israel when they're they're few in number when they go into Egypt and they come out of Egypt a nation and they make covenant with God at Sinai and become his son, his royal priesthood, a light to the nations and then in the life of Jesus here in the story in Matthew 2 we see a man named Joseph he's a son of Jacob by the way if you go back to Matthew chapter 1 and read the genealogy his father's Jacob.

He also receives a dream and he too goes into Egypt that he marry in Jesus. This is to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet out of Egypt I call my son. Jesus comes out of Egypt and into Israel keeping covenant with God the Father, living as our high priest, dying as our sacrifice, raised as the king, a light to the nations and that light calls the nations and that light called the wise men from the east when his star appeared in the sky and like the Queen of Sheba who crossed a great distance to witness the glory and the wisdom of King Solomon and to bring him gifts of spices and gold and precious stones the wise men crossed a great distance to bring gifts of gold and incense and spices to the Christ child.

Echoes of the Old Testament. Isaiah prophesied of this in Isaiah 60. And nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. The wealth of nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you the young camels of Midian and Ephah all those from Sheba shall come they shall bring gold and frankincense and shall bring good news the praises of the Lord.

Isaiah prophesied of this the psalmist in Psalm 72 that I read earlier saying of this may have dominion from sea to sea from the river to the ends of the earth. May desert tribes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust.

May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute. May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him. May all nations serve him. You see the wise men in Matthew chapter 2 they represent the nations coming to Christ.

We see it prophesied in Revelation as well that the the kings of the world bring the glory of the nations into the New Jerusalem. The wise men represent the nations coming to Christ bringing gifts and glory and offering worship.

And what we have here in this story is something of a how much more so argument going on how much more so you see if this is what happens at the birth of Jesus when he is but a small child if great men come bearing great gifts and offering glory the glory of the nations to a toddler then how much more so is Christ worthy of all worship and all glory after he grew in wisdom and stature before men before God and man after he perfectly obeyed God's law.

Never even once sinning after dying as a sacrifice for the sins of the world after rising as the first born from the dead and ascending into heaven to be crowned king of the world. How much more so is he worthy of all worship and all glory.

You see Jesus is truly the king who is worthy of all worship and all glory. He was given gifts. And these gifts given to Jesus they tell us some things about Jesus. You see these gifts we said they're kingly gifts.

They're the type of gifts given to kings. They're the type of gifts offered to royalty by royalty. You see the Queen of Sheba we mentioned her a minute ago. She offered Solomon gold and spices. We read Isaiah's prophecy where it mentions gold and incense.

If you read Song of Solomon chapter 3 we see Solomon's coach is perfumed with myrrh and frankincense. These gifts point us to the kingship of Jesus. He is the one with dominion from the river to the ends of the earth.

And he is the one who will reign until every enemy has been put under his feet. And so we worship Jesus the new king. These gifts are also priestly gifts and point to the priesthood of Christ. Peter Lightheart points out that that the one place where gold frankincense and myrrh appear together in the Old Testament is that the altar of incense where the priests offer incense and prayers.

And so we see this in Exodus chapter 30 the altar is overlaid with gold. Verse 3 tells us frankincense is included in the incense that's burned on the altar. Verse 34 tells us. And verse 23 tells us that myrrh was used in the anointing oil that's poured out on priests and poured out on the tabernacle and poured out on its furniture.

See all three in one place at the altar where priests do their work. These gifts points to the fact that Jesus is instituting a new priesthood. It's one that will include the Gentiles. His priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek.

We read in Hebrews Melchizedek the priest king. And so it makes sense that the gifts are both kingly and priestly. And it makes sense that they're offered by wise men who are kingly men of an ancient priesthood.

And it makes sense that Peter calls the church a royal priesthood. And so we come to God through Jesus the new high priest. These gifts also point to the fact that Jesus is the bridegroom. For these are gifts fit for a bridegroom.

They're the type of gifts one might receive on his wedding day. In fact when I reference song of Solomon chapter 3 a moment ago about his coach being perfumed with myrrh and frankincense the context of that verse is Solomon arriving for his wedding day.

Gifts fit for a bridegroom. So on Saturday nights we'll often kick off the Lord's Day with a special meal at our house and I'll go through a short catechism with the kids asking them just a series of really quick questions.

And the last one is this kids what's the story of the whole Bible. And their enthusiastic and loud response is kill the dragon. Get the girl. The story of the Bible in six words kill the dragon get the girl.

You kill the dragon who breathes threats and spits lies Satan that ancient serpent the devil. Jesus slays the dragon. And he gets the girl the bride the church he will wash with his word and purify and make glorious.

You see Jesus came into this world to win his people to win his bride bride of Christ the church. And so we love and serve Jesus the bridegroom. And the gifts point to Jesus as the bridegroom. But how does Jesus kill the dragon at the cross.

The gifts also point to the death of Jesus. See later in Matthew. Back over in chapter 26 we read a story where a woman comes to Jesus at the house of Simon the leper and she pours expensive ointment on his head.

And the disciples are indignant about the waste of such an extravagant expensive ointment just pouring it out. But Jesus said that she had done a beautiful thing for he said in pouring this ointment on my body she has done it to prepare me for burial.

Spices including myrrh were often used in such ointments and oils and they were used in preparing bodies for burial. As Luke 24 1 tells us that the women who first found the empty tomb they had gone there with what with spices for burial.

And so therefore at the beginning of Jesus's life when the wise men come to visit him at the beginning of his life we see the end. When representatives of the nations first come to Jesus we see how he will win the nations by his death on the cross once for sin behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

So king priest bridegroom sacrificial lamb this is Jesus. This is Jesus who was revealed to us in the story of the wise men and then through their gifts. So the question then is what is our response. How do we respond to this revelation of Christ.

We follow the wise men who followed the star. And so for the first application is we to come before God to worship. God called by the star. God called the Magi from the east to appear before Christ to worship.

They came to worship him. Matthew 2 tells us they came to worship the king who is worthy of all worship and all glory. And God has revealed to us by his word and attested to us by his spirit that Jesus is the Christ the king of all nations.

And he's told us that he is worthy of all worship and all glory. And God then called us to appear before him to worship. I don't know if you picked up on it at the beginning of the service or not. But right after the announcements when I was transitioning to the worship service proper I said this as I often do on Sundays as the Lord calls us to worship.

And then I read Psalm from Psalm 72 as the Lord calls us to worship. You see we don't just gather here of our own accord and then petition that God would come join us. No God always acts first. And is he who calls us to worship.

He is the one who summons us to appear before him. He instituted the church. He is the head of the church he is represented by his ministers. He calls us to worship. And therefore we should come and worship.

Every Lord's Day calls us and we should not spurn the calling of the Lord. I want to talk in just a moment about us giving to God. But I want us to first see that when we come to worship God is first giving to us.

It reminds me of the verse that we love because God first loves us. It's always God initiating and us responding. And so when God calls us to worship is not primarily so that he can receive from us though it is good and right and fitting that we offer him praise and gratitude.

And we do that. But when God calls us to worship it is primarily so that he can give to us. The Lord serves us. When we come to worship we gather as his body as the bride of Christ and God's serves us.

How amazing is that. How amazing is it that he gives grace to us when he is the one who is high and lifted up that we're called into his presence. Psalm 16 tells us that his presence is where we find the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.

And he calls us into that presence. And he assures us of our forgiveness that we are pardoned in Christ fully and freely forgiven and sanctified. That is we are. We are made holy were conformed to the image of Jesus by the singing and the preaching of his word.

And on those Sundays where we gather for communion and take communion were granted real communion with Christ in the Lord's Supper ever. Have you ever thought about why we call the Lord's Supper communion.

Because that is what happens when we eat and drink of it. We commune with Jesus the Lord's service to us. And we receive the blessing of God and the benediction at the end of the service. You see the benediction is not just a nice way to end.

The service is intentional. We depart from God's presence with God's blessing. Think of how Moses when he came down off the mountain in his face glowed. We glow with the blessing of God upon us when we leave here.

So each week listen to the words of the benediction and not just reading a verse. The benediction is the form of a blessing which is a prayer asking God to do something specific in our lives. And so each week we receive the blessing of God as we leave from here.

So Lord service to us. We're not just going through the motions and so come and worship and receive goodness and grace and blessing from God's hand. It's the first way we follow the Magi. The second way is this.

Our response is to give Jesus gifts and glory. He's the king who's worthy of all worship. So we come and worship and he's worthy of all glory. And so we give him glory. And so we leave here each week with the blessing of God upon us.

And we go out into the world to win glory for him and whatever our station in life is. And then we come back next week we bring that glory. But what does that mean. What does that mean. Well in one sense we go out into the world and we work throughout the week those of us who are not retired yet.

And then we bring back a tithe. And the tithe it represents the whole saying that all that I have is yours God and it's for your glory. Take this and be glorified. That's one way. Another is that we go out into the world and we accomplish things in whatever domain that God has put us in.

And we come before the Lord on the Lord's Day we return thanks acknowledging that it was his grace that enabled the accomplishment we offer ourselves to him dedicating our work to him. And so here here's what I want to commend to you especially you young men here this morning.

I want to commend you godly ambition. It is profoundly good to desire to be successful to be fruitful to accomplish things to be the best at something and to do it all in Christ's name and for Christ's glory.

Ambition only becomes wrong when it is perverted towards selfish ends but towards the glory of Christ. It is good. And so as long as it's not a sinful endeavor the exhortation for you is this go for it win gold and then lay it at the feet of Jesus win glory and then lay it at the feet of Jesus because he's the king who is worthy of all glory.

We all like to describe what we're about here at first Baptist right. What I hope we will be about is this we exist to worship God and win glory for King Jesus. You'll see that on our website. You'll see that on our sign.

You'll see that in various places we exist to worship God and win glory for King Jesus. And that encompasses the two ways that were to follow the wise men to worship and then to win glory to then give glory and lay it down at the feet of Jesus.

Never that covers how we respond as individuals within the church but we also want to do these things together as the church we want to take risks and be ambitious as a church so that we might be fruitful so that we can win glory together that we lay down at the feet of King Jesus so that we come together and give that praise and that glory to King Jesus.

We want to be a church that grows and matures in our worship and in saying these things is it's not a knock in the least on where we are rather is that an infinitely glorious God deserves his people to always be looking to be more faithful to be more fruitful to what Paul said to the Corinthians excel still more you're excelling itself still more so what C .S. Lewis said in the Chronicles of Narnia go further up and further in it's being transformed from one degree of glory to another and so I want to end here with an acknowledgment and then a request.

An acknowledgment and a request. Firstly, an acknowledgment is that I realize that many in our church are in your latter years and so I'm trying to imagine for just a moment how it might land in your ears hearing a forty-year-old talk about ambition and going out into the world and winning glory for King Jesus and our church doing this together.

I want to consider how that might land. For some of you, you might be thinking, well good, finally someone who realizes I'm not dead yet. And you might be inspired toward some sort of action. And if that's you, praise God for that.

Let me know. I want to help. But for some of you, I also imagine that you might be thinking, well Pastor, I'm tired. I can't do what I used to do and you're wanting to put what else on my plate? And if that's you, I want you to hear this.

I don't want to add any burdens to you. I don't want anybody in here to experience any false guilt. What I want is all of us to be faithful and fruitful in our stations, whatever that is, wherever in life that is.

And it's going to be different for us. But here's the request. If there are new or different ways to try to win glory for King Jesus, to take risks and be ambitious, look, you might not be able, you might not be in a position to do some of the work, but you can support.

You can pray. You can give. You can bless it. You might even say I don't understand it, but go get them. Now let me put your mind at ease. I don't have anything new to propose. I'm not making any announcements here.

I don't have anything that I want to launch. I don't have a big push for something. I'm not angling for something and saying this. I know how preachers can be sometimes. But I am praying for our church.

And at some point, the Lord is going to lead us to do some things, hopefully some ambitious things for His glory. And I just want us to be prepared to pursue the Lord's calling full-heartedly together.

And that together part is really important. And so the question is, will you be open to doing what it takes to win glory for King Jesus? Will we be like the wise men who go the distance to glorify King Jesus?

Will we offer gifts to Him that cost us something? I think of David. When he bought the threshing floor, the site where the temple would later be built, the guy tried to give it to him for free. And David said, no, I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.

Will we offer Him gifts that cost us something? The exhortation is, let's glorify Christ together. Let's be a people that exists to worship God and win glory for King Jesus. Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, I pray that You would make us a people who are sold out wholeheartedly, committed to worshiping You.

As Your Word instructs us to do so, shape us to be that people. And Father, I pray that You would let us be an ambitious, risk-taking people on a mission to win glory, to lay down at the feet of King Jesus.

And so will You work in our hearts and in our minds and in our bodies to make us those people. Father, I pray that we would each man our station. Lord, I fully recognize that we're at different stages of life with different abilities and different availabilities.

But wherever we are, whatever You've given to us, may we be faithful there at that point. May we be fruitful there at that point. Fully recognizing that it's okay that we might be in different places and do different things.

But it's all for the common mission of worshiping You and winning glory for King Jesus. Lord, let us together glorify You in our time and in our place. For You are the One who deserves all worship. You are the One who is high and lifted up.

You are the Father of glory, Your Word tells us in Ephesians chapter 1. You are all things according to the counsel of Your will, according to Your plan. You are the God of glory. And You deserve all worship.

And You deserve all glory. So we pray that You would do these things because we ask them in the name of Jesus. Amen.