The Magi Obey

Now let's take time to pray. Gracious Father, thank you for the Word of God. Thank you that we have the privilege of reading it and studying it and sharing it with others. Now open our hearts to the Word. Deliver us from merely having a mental understanding. Give to us a spiritual understanding that goes deep within our hearts. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

We today certainly live in a different world from Herod and the Magi, Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. When you read Matthew 2, it seems as though you're going way, way back in history. Well, the furniture of history may change. The house of history may be remodeled, but the people who live in the house are the same from age to age.

That's the beautiful thing about the Bible, the Word of God. When you read the Word of God, you find that the same people are on its pages as are on the pages of magazines and newspapers today. In fact, you meet these people in the supermarket. You might meet some of them in church. This is especially true when it comes to the Christmas story recorded in Matthew 2.

We've been talking during this week about the Magi who came and worshipped at the feet of Jesus. But there were some other people involved in that event as well. Herod was involved, the priests and the scribes were involved. Let's read the story and let's find out that today we have the same attitudes toward the Lord Jesus that people had back in that day.

Matthew 2:1-12, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.' When Herod the King had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where the Christ should be born. And they said unto him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet.' And here they quote of course from the book of Micah, 'And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel.'"

"Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. Of course, he was trying to find out how old this king was. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also.' When they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way."

Now we have in this particular account the Magi and the chief priests and the scribes, and Herod. And in these three groups, we have three different attitudes toward the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the Magi were seeking the truth, Herod was opposing the truth, and the priests and the scribes were neglecting the truth. Now I want to emphasize that. This is what people are doing today. Herod was opposing the truth, the Magi were seeking the truth, and the scribes were neglecting the truth.

Let's begin with Herod. In King Herod, you see hostility toward the truth. Why? Because he worshipped himself. If ever there was an evil tyrant of a man, it was Herod. Someone said that Herod stole the throne like a fox, ruled like a tiger, and died like a dog. And that's true.

Will Durant, the well-known historian, has said that Herod was a man with intellect without morals, ability without scruples, courage without honor. He knew every good fortune but happiness. He'd had ten wives, he'd murdered some of them. He'd murdered some of his own children. He was guilty of being a shrewd politician who would stoop to nothing to get his own way. Herod, the tyrant.

Now, people today don't do the wicked things perhaps that Herod did, the way he did them. But you know, the same kind of character comes across. There are many people who are hostile to the truth. They oppose the truth. They are self-centered. Herod was a self-centered man. He wanted what he wanted. And if you got in his way, he got you out of the way. He was a ruthless person. He didn't care who was hurt.

He used violence, he used threats, he used murder to accomplish his own purposes. He was a liar. He knew how to use bribery. He knew how to make promises and then break them. He lied to the wise men. He gave them the impression he wanted to come and worship. If there is one God that Herod was worshipping, it was Herod himself. He worshipped himself.

He lived for himself. From morning until evening, everybody bowed and scraped to take care of Herod. He was a liar, he was a murderer. Strange thing is, he was a great builder. He helped in the rebuilding of the temple for one thing. He liked to build buildings for his own glory. He didn't do it to help anybody else.

It's quite interesting to contrast these two kings, Herod and the Lord Jesus. Jesus was born a king. Herod was not born a king. Herod was made a king by Rome. Herod was an Edomite. He wasn't even a Jew. He was a descendant of the Edomites. And as a consequence, he had no claim to the throne. And yet Jesus was born a king.

Jesus was born in humility and poverty. Herod liked to run around showing his wealth and his pride. The Lord Jesus brought peace through love. But Herod had peace only through fear and power. The Lord Jesus gave his life for others, while Herod was a murderer and a thief. And Jesus Christ builds us spiritually. He's building a church. He gave himself to save us from our sins, and now he's building a church.

What did Herod leave behind? Well, you can go down to the Holy Land and you can see the ruins of some of the things that Herod left behind. But the spirit of Herod still lives. Wherever you find selfishness and greed and pride, wherever you find self-centeredness and lying and scheming, wherever you find ruthlessness and violence, you find the spirit of Herod. Herod worshipped himself. He opposed the truth.

What have you heard from Herod lately? Not very much. Everything he lived for is gone. All of the pleasure, all of the treasure, all of the authority, all of the power, it's gone. You can visit the ruins of some of his beautiful palaces. They're just nothing but one stone next to another stone.

1 John 2:15-17, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For the world is passing away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." Now I can well understand why Herod was troubled. Herod did not want to hear about anybody born a king. You see, Herod was made king by Rome and Rome could take that away from him. He fought diligently to get that throne and he wasn't about to give it up.

Now, the Magi showed up in Jerusalem, not just three men riding in on three camels. A great train of people with guards and soldiers and supplies. We don't know how many Magi there were. And they arrive in Jerusalem and they say, "A new king has been born." Why, that would trouble Herod. It troubles some of you because you want to sit on the throne of your life. You don't want anybody else to be king.

I want you to know that one day Herod is going to bow at the feet of Jesus and acknowledge that he is Lord of all. One day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Herod's going to be there. You're going to be there. How much better it would be to bow before the Lord Jesus today? Just take your hands off of your life. Quit plotting and scheming. Quit living only to please yourself. Bow at the feet of Jesus and give your life to him.

Herod opposed the truth. He was worshipping himself. Let's look now at these priests. I'm interested in these men. Matthew 2:4, and when Herod had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them, or literally he repeatedly inquired of them, where the Christ should be born.

Herod didn't know the Bible. He wasn't interested in knowing what the scriptures had to say. It's rather interesting, people only turn to the Word of God sometimes when they're in trouble. Herod had a problem now. Was there a usurper around? Was someone going to take his throne? Let's find out.

What does the Bible say about this? Herod did not want to hear about anybody born a king. Herod opposed the truth. He was worshipping himself.

Well, let's look at these priests now. It's rather interesting, they neglected the truth. They weren't looking for the coming of the Savior. Had they examined the Old Testament Scriptures, they could have known that right about now something was going to happen.

Way back in Genesis 3:15, God had promised that the seed of the woman was going to be born. They knew that the seed of the woman would come through Abraham, through Judah, through David. They knew that the Savior would be born of the virgin. Isaiah 7:14.

Micah tells us that he would be born in Bethlehem. In Daniel 9, you have Daniel's rather complicated prophecy about the seventy weeks, but that would help them to know just about when. These men should have been looking for the birth of the king. But notice what happened.

They said, "Oh yes, we can tell you where he's going to be born in Bethlehem." We find it here in Micah 5:2. "And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor, a shepherd, who's going to shepherd my people Israel."

Isn't it interesting? They were five miles away from the Son of God and did not pack their bags and go down there. They stood there with the scrolls of the scriptures in their hand, the roadmap that led them to the Savior, and they did nothing about it.

You see, they were very academic in their handling of the Word of God. Oh, they could tell others what the Bible had to say. It didn't do them any good. It wasn't personal. It was not in their hearts, and ultimately, some of these people helped to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, they worshipped their religion. Five miles to Bethlehem where they could have met the Lord Jesus personally, could have bowed at his feet. Why didn't they do anything about it? They weren't concerned. They had a religion. They had a temple. They had priests. They had sacrifices. They had all of this marvelous tradition. Why go out of your way to go down to some little place called Bethlehem? Well, why indeed? Because there they would meet the Lord Jesus Christ.

I think we have people like this today. They go to their churches, they have their religion, they go through their ceremonies. They read the Bible. It says nothing to them. They read the Word of God just carelessly, indifferently. And as a consequence, they are so close to the kingdom and yet so very, very far away.

Unless these men at some later time trusted Jesus Christ, I want you to know that they died and went to hell with the knowledge of what Jesus was and what he could do. It's not enough just to know the Word of God. We have to obey what the Word of God tells us to do.

Which leads us now to the wise men, who in humility worshipped the Lord Jesus. You see, Herod opposed the truth and worshipped himself. The scribes neglected the truth and worshipped their own religion. But the Magi sought the truth, and they worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was the grace of God that revealed this message to them. There was nothing in them that deserved it. Ephesians 2 tells us that the Gentiles were far away from God. They were at a distance from God. They were dead in trespasses and sins. They were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, without hope, without Christ in the world. God had never promised to give to these men what he'd promised to give to Israel. And yet Israel gave to us a Savior.

The star spoke to them in a way they could understand. They found the Word of God, and then they found the Son of God. They traveled that long distance to come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You know, they could have been prejudiced. They could have been like people today and say, "Well, we have our own religion." I mean, after all, why should we bother to go and see what the Jews are doing? The Jews are under the heel of Rome anyway. If they have such a wonderful religion, why are they a police state? If the Jewish religion is such a great religion, why are they not delivered and free?

No, they weren't prejudiced. They came. They could have said, "Well, we're educated people. We don't need that sort of a thing." No, they didn't allow their education or their race or their religion or their wealth to keep them from the Lord Jesus.

I don't know what your situation is today, but I want to ask you, have you bowed in humility and worshipped the Lord Jesus? You see, the priests were indifferent. Herod was in opposition to everything. But these Magi came down and they worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ.

I really believe that because of what they did, they were born again. They were saved. They bowed at the feet of the Lord Jesus and trusted him. Which raises the question, what are you worshipping today? You worshipping yourself? Are you the great God in your life? Are you worshipping some religious system, indifferent to the nearness of the Lord Jesus? Or are you worshipping the Lord Jesus?

Now don't be like Herod. Herod opposed the truth. And don't be like the priests. They had an empty religion and neglected the truth. Follow these Magi to the Lord Jesus Christ. And don't stop at Bethlehem. Go all the way to Calvary. Because the Christ of the cross is the Savior of the world.

Let me read to you what Jesus had to say in John 12:35-36. "Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light." These things spoke Jesus and departed and did hide himself from them. That's quite a passage, isn't it?

The light was shining. The light of the star guided the Magi to Jerusalem. The light of the Word of God guided them to Bethlehem. And there they found the light of the Son of God. Now, while you have the light, you better believe in the light because the day may come when that light won't be shining and you'll find yourself in the darkness. The most important thing you could do today would be to bow before the Lord Jesus and trust him.

Heavenly Father, may there be many right now who will put away their opposition, their prejudice, their superstition, their neglect, and trust the Lord Jesus Christ and find him as the satisfying Savior. I pray in his name. Amen.