Father, thank You for this great thing of salvation, Lord, that You would save sinners like us, that You would have anything to do with us at all. You, the great and glorious King, Lord, what a thing You've done. What might and what power You are beautiful, Lord, awesome and wonderful in every way, that we can know You and be known by You and loved by You, Lord. Please, Father, exalt Your Son in this time. Please, would You be pleased to use even one like me? In Jesus' name, Amen. Well, you know that we've been going through Colossians, and if you know me, you know I would like to take this opportunity to talk specifically about Christ and His birth. And it's no mystery that Christmas is coming this week. And whether you celebrate it or not, the fact of the matter is We know it's coming. And there are songs about cheer. And this being the most wonderful time of the year, it's playing everywhere you go. Everyone is supposed to feel jolly. Everyone's supposed to feel good and be in a good mood. But the fact is, many people are not. People are not cheerful. People are not in a good mood. They're not seeing this as the most wonderful time of the year. So what do people do? They say, well, you know what you need? You need to go get some decorations. You need to put up the lights. You need to get a tree. You need to start baking some cookies. You need to get into the festive atmosphere. And that will make things different inside. And so get an ugly sweater. Watch a Hallmark movie. but it still doesn't fill that gaping hole. All year, there's this expectation that when Christmas comes, everything's going to be better. Everything's going to be great. And if you could just hold out until Christmas, then, then you'll be satisfied. And then Christmas comes, and it ends, and they wake up December 26th, and depression sinks in. Emptiness sets in. The vacation is over, the routine goes back, you go back to work, you go back to school, life begins again, and they say, well, just 364 days until Christmas. It's a tragedy. And now with COVID restrictions, families who thought maybe if we can just get together, they can't even do that. Not to mention the 100 other problems that life brings. And the expectation of this so-called Christmas spirit and the magic of Christmas is not there. And as Christians, we can also get sucked into this same spiral. Even as Christ-centered, God-loving, Bible-believing people, we can get lost in this mindset. Why else did Paul admonish us in Colossians 3.1 to set our minds on things above and not on things of this world? Why? Because we do it. We do set our minds on things of this world and not on things above. And the reactions, the consequences, are there. The temptation to get sidetracked, to get swallowed up, is there. So how do we fight against such things? We let the Word of Christ dwell within us richly. And so this morning, I want to let the Word of Christ regarding the visit of the Magi to dwell within us richly and lift our hearts to where Christ is, that whether this Christmas holiday is what you expected or not, you will have the joy that it is meant to bring. So turn to Matthew chapter two. I want to examine these men, who they were, what they were doing, what's the point of this account, and how can we draw closer to Christ through their example. Matthew chapter 2, verse 1. 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. 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 my people Israel. 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. 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. 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. We are given the historical context of what we're looking at here. First, we notice This took place after Jesus was born. Contrary to the Christmas cards in one of my favorite Christmas movies, Nativity Story, even the Christmas carols, the wise men were not there the night Jesus was born. We know that clearly from the text itself. One, because it starts with now when? After. After Jesus was born. So they didn't get there the night of. Two, we're told in verse 11, where did they go into? Into the house of the child, not to the stable. They didn't show up at the manger. They were inside of a house by this time. There was no room for them in the inn initially, but eventually room opened up and they got a house. How long did they get there? We are unclear, but that's the timeline. That's the context. We're told that this was during the reign of King Herod. Now, he was the king of the Jews. In fact, it was the Emperor Octavian who gave him that title. Now, Herod means son of a hero. We know quite a bit about him. He was a warrior. He was a mighty, skillful warrior in battle, great strategies, terrifying man. In fact, there was a civil war between Anthony and Octavian, and Herod was on the side of Anthony, and when Anthony was defeated by Octavian, Herod, being the cunning guy that he is, he won the favor of Octavian by prostrating himself before him and said, I'll be more committed to you than I ever was to Anthony, and he Not only did he save his life, but he was called and named king of Jews. He was a great builder. He built massive structures. The temple, the second temple, that was him. Chris told me about the time he went to Israel. Masada, this great fortress that was built on a mountain. That was the work of Herod. He built palaces in Jericho, temples to Augustus and Sebas, Caesarea, on and on it goes. He was a powerful man. He was a very important man. He was a very terrifying man. The point of this is that your Bible is grounded in history. These are real people who actually existed. These are places that you can still go to. You can put your hands on the buildings that the Bible talks about. This is not a myth. This is not a fairy tale. This isn't superstition. You hold in your hands truth, fact, not opinion. God's Word is grounded. It is the very truth, 100%. That's the historical context. This happened after Jesus was already born. Herod was king. And then you get this word, behold. Behold. That's telling you something. Now you don't see behold after or before every sentence in the Bible, but when you see behold, hold on because you're gonna see something amazing. You're gonna hear something that's supposed to shock you, that's supposed to jar you, that's supposed to wake you up from your slumber perhaps. Behold what? Behold wise men. What is so shocking about wise men? That doesn't amaze anybody. Okay, they were wise. They were wise men. They were people of wisdom. But it's amazing how much people think or act like they know about these guys. They've literally named them. They've given them three names. Belshazzar, Melchior, Caspar, all of this is made up. It was written like 500 years after the fact, found in some place in Alexandria, and more information about them, more details about their life and their families was found in Ireland somewhere. I mean, this is completely fabricated. We don't know their names. We don't know what they look like. We don't know how many there were. Yes. I sang We Three Kings of Orient are on Wednesday with you. I love the song, but they're not kings, and it doesn't say that there are three of them. There's eight people in my family, and if we brought three gifts to your home, it wouldn't be the Cottmanelles are only three people. There could have been a lot more. Point is, a lot of discussion goes on about these details, about what we don't know, when the main thing that's supposed to make us behold, the thing that's supposed to wake us up, is what we do know. It's in this word, wise men. It's a Greek word, and you know I don't typically tell you Greek words, because really, what's the point? But here, it's important. It's from the Greek word, majos. which is why you sometimes hear them called what? Magi. Now, what is magi, magos? Does that sound like another word? Magic. That's because they were magicians. They were wizards. They were sorcerers. You'll hear some people say, well, they were astrologers. They studied the stars. And we may think, oh, like NASA. They wanted to know, Jupiter, is that a habitable planet? No. No, we have to go back. What happens is we look at the past from the present rather than going to their time and understanding how they saw things. The word Magi is actually a Persian word, and in Persia, the religion of the day was Zoroastrianism. Here's a quote from a historian on ancient Persia. Astronomy at the time was the dominion of Zoroastrian priests known as Magi, the origin of the term magician. And the holy book of the Zoroastrian faith, the Avesta, has many references to astronomical observations. Zoroaster himself is said to have been an astronomer who established an observatory that produced this astronomical table. They found a quote from one of the Magi in praise to their god, which was named Ahura Mazda, I don't know if you drive a Mazda if that has any connection with that, but that's really neither here nor there. It says, and to thy most beauteous body, to we make our deep acknowledgements to those stars which are thy body. What is he saying? Praising the God whose body were the stars. That's what Magi were. They believed the stars were spirits, gods, some other being that would communicate with them, tell them about major events or terrible omens. These wise men were magicians. And they were very important in society for much of history. This is not the first time they show up in our Bibles. In fact, they are all over our Bible. They would interpret dreams of kings. They would predict future battles. They would summon spirits or cast them away. They were advisors to kings. Why would they be advisors to kings? Because they were seen as people who could communicate directly with the gods and give information about future events, what would happen in a battle, and how they could appease the gods that they worshiped. They had secret arts, incantations, spells. This is more like Gandalf, Merlin the Magician, and Harry Potter. They were warlocks, witch doctors, voodoo priests. They were magicians. They were occultic practitioners of blasphemous false religions. That's what Magi were. John MacArthur, they were involved in various occult practices and were famous for their ability to interpret dreams. We see them in Egypt. In Exodus 7.10, so Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. What did Pharaoh do? Then Pharaoh summoned, who? The wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt. did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs." We see them in Babylon. Daniel, right? Daniel chapter 2, 1. In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. These are not scholars, these are not philosophers, these are people who communicate with spirits, magicians, sorcerers, wizards, occultic practitioners. That's what wise men and magicians meant in that day. So they stood, they came in and stood before the king. And remember, they couldn't interpret it, and so what was the king going to do? He's going to kill them all. And Daniel was a part of the magicians because he communicated with the true and living God. Daniel 2.12, because of this, the king was angry and very furious and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. And that's when Daniel, on behalf of the other wise men, because he was the only true wise man, pleaded and interpreted the dream because God gave him the interpretation. So why are they called wise men in our Bibles? Because their wisdom, according to their culture, was through their spiritual connection with the gods and goddesses. It was attained by seeking spirits, casting spells, praying to stars, moon, sacrificing to devils, and talking to their ancestors. That's what they were. What else do we know about the Magi? God says some very strong words about them in Isaiah 44. Isaiah 44 verse 24. Thus says the Lord your Redeemer who formed you from the womb. I am the Lord who made all things who alone stretched out the heavens who spread out the earth by myself who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish. You see the context. God is saying, I am God. And all of these other priests who pray and cast spells and do all their magic, they're liars, they're false. He alone deserves worship. We even find them in the New Testament. In Acts 13, verse 6, when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician. This is the same word. It's the exact same word that we find. A Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the pro-council, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elimus, the magician, for that is the meaning of his name, opposed them, seeking to turn the procouncil away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? Simon the Magician. We say sorcerer. But the Greek word is magi. That's what he was. As you survey Scripture, you find when you talk about wise men, magi, 99% of it is in the negative. Their profession is against our God and His Word. The witch of Endor. That word witch, it literally means whisper of spells. Whisper of magic spells. What is the point? Behold. These men from the East came out of the darkest religions. They came out of devil worship. They came from sorcery and wizardry and magic practices. To do what? To worship Christ. That's why, think of the Jewish readers. The book of Matthew, the focus is to the Jewish reader. The Jewish reader who sees Magi would immediately be amazed by this word. Behold, Magi from the East. They were not just followers, but they were teachers of it in their profession. But we can see clearly that they have abandoned such darkness. The last people who we would expect to be worshiping Christ are these guys. And yet, what do you read? What is that supposed to do? It's supposed to present in us hope. We never want to disconnect what we're reading from the original audience. These magicians from a foreign land set their heart and mind upon Christ and risked all to come and worship Him. And that's not unique. Think of hearing tax collectors following Christ, prostitutes following Christ, shepherds were visited by angels. This is meant to wake us up. Who were the first people at the empty tomb? Women, brothers and sisters, these are the things that are supposed to jar us. Look at our God. He is not weak in His ability to reach out to the darkest and the most hopeless cases. For even Magi from the East, which means they were also Gentiles, were brought near. There is hope for all who are in Christ. Behold, magicians from the East. What did they come doing? We are told that they came from the east to Jerusalem. Now, commentators again, the east, don't know what that means. Some say it could be as far as China. There's some reason to believe that they came from there. It could be Babylon. It could be Persia. Persia is now Iran. So somewhere in the east, it's a foreign land. Everyone is in agreement that they traveled at least a thousand miles. At least. Of course, it could be more. These were very important people. They are advisors to kings. Pharaoh summons his wise men. Nebuchadnezzar has his wise men. These are important people. They probably wouldn't be traveling by camel, probably by some Arabian horse or something like that. We don't know. But it was a long journey. So the first thing that we see about these men is that they searched diligently. Some estimate this was some way between 40 days to 2 months. A thousand miles. Dangerous journey. Scorching desert. Sandstorms. Risking being robbed. Falling off of cliffs. Unknown terrain. This was a very dangerous journey and yet they set out searching for the King of Kings to worship Him. Think of the cold nights. Think of the weariness of the travel. And then you think of your own heart, your own life. How far would you be willing to travel to behold the King? We know we don't need to worship on this mountain or that one. For our God is to be worshiped in spirit and in truth, and you can worship Him where you sit. But we also know that all journeys are not a matter of location. There is a searching. There is a journeying. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? That's not climbing an actual mountain, but there is a pursuit. This is a searching. Draw near. Those who seek the Lord will find Him. There is a going, an adventure, a quest. I'm going after Him. I want to draw closer to Him. That's the point. They traveled over a thousand miles for over maybe two months in order to draw close to Him, to behold Him. Christian, what about you? Is there anything that you're willing to risk, to travel, to go, to set out, to search, to find Him? I want to see Him in the Word. And so you dig and you dig and you study and you study. Are you like, Jacob, I'm going to wrestle with you, Lord, all night until you bless me. I want to behold your face. I want to see you. You said that if I draw near to you, you'll draw near to me, and I want to draw near, and so I'm going to continue to quest and quest and do all that Your Word says so that I might draw near. Is any of that in you? They give us a good example. They search diligently. Are you tired of your relationship with Christ feeling distant? He's waiting on you. Are you willing to do the hard work of searching for Him in His Word? and going deeper for understanding. They searched diligently. Secondly, they preached openly. Not only did they search diligently, came from the east, but they preached openly. Notice what they did. They came from the east saying, Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose in the east and have come to worship him. Who were they saying this to? Everybody, anybody, they came saying this. Remember, they don't know exactly where he is located, so they're traveling. Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? They stop at the market to get some food. Where is the king who's been born king of the Jews? They stop and they have to exchange with the tax collectors because They have foreign money, and now they need to get the denarii of the place. Where is he who is to be born king of the Jews? We have come to worship him. They're telling everybody. Pharisees, rabbis, tax collectors, whoever would listen, they're asking, they're requesting. They didn't spend all this time to waste their time. They are on a mission, and as they ask the question, they're proclaiming truth. The King of the Jews who was to be born, we have come to worship Him. There's doctrine in that question. Notice what they said, for we saw His star. I don't know how much you know about astrology or astronomy or the ancient world's mindset regarding stars, But men don't have stars. Gods have stars. I told you already about the Persian mindset about stars. What are the names of the planets? Jupiter. Who was that? That was one of their gods. Mars, Venus, Neptune, all of that. They worship the heavenly bodies. Men didn't have their own stars. So what does that say about their mindset about this one who was to be born King of the Jews? He deserved worship. Makes us think twice maybe about calling somebody a movie star. They saw his star, this baby, not a warrior, not an emperor, not a general, not even a magician, but a baby. He was to be born. They were expecting to see a child. Sometimes the movies paint it like they were expecting to see a grown man. No, they came asking, where is he who is to be born? They knew that they were looking for a child. They knew that they were looking for a child who was more than a child. They preached his worthiness, one that led them over 900 miles to where they are now. Notice this also, brothers and sisters. These were not Jews. Now, we all love babies. But would any of you drive to Nebraska to meet the newborn baby of the governor of Nebraska? No. Would any of you buy a plane ticket to fly to Cambodia so that you can meet the new baby of Cambodia? No, you wouldn't do that. This was not just some national thing like, oh, there's a new Jewish ruler in town and I want to meet him. No, these were men from the east. They had their own rulers. They had their own kings. This was not some ethnic thing, some national thing. No, this king of the Jew, they knew, again, he has his own star and he's worthy to be worshiped. This declares what they understood about him. They preached his worthiness. This is a king who is above every other king, because they weren't just men who traveled around to find new babies. No, no, no, no. This is the only time they did this. This is what they did for the purpose, because this king who was to be born was above all kings. That's why they traveled so far. They preached His worthiness. They preached that He is the King above all kings. They preached that He was God and man. You say, where do you get that? Well, He was to be born. That's man. But He is to be worshipped. That's God. Where is He? That's location. He's in a place to be found. That's man. But he has his own star. That's God. These men were given divine revelation to understand that they were coming. They didn't notice. All my Catholic friends. They didn't say, where's the mother of Him who is to be born? We want to worship her. Not, where's the family? We want to worship them. No, where is He who is to be born, King of the Jews? We have come from the East to worship Him and Him alone. They preached his deity. He was no mere human baby. This was God, for he had his own star, and he deserved worship. But he was Jewish. He had a nationality. He was a man. He could be born. He was flesh. They believed in the incarnation. And they were preaching this openly. I mean, they're asking everybody. This is amazing. This is staggering. You see what it says? It says, when Herod the king heard this. Now some people say, oh yeah, they went directly to the king. No, no, no. The way that the Greek is written is implying they are asking everybody and words spread. Here is this group, which again assumes there's more than three, they're walking into town, they're from far away and they're asking questions. And news spreads. And the word got to Herod, and Herod heard about this, and it says that he was troubled as well as all of Jerusalem. The king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. I told you about Herod's battles, his buildings, but what he was most known for was his treachery. This was a horrible, dangerous, terrifying man. He was paranoid and a violent murderer. He saw plots and schemes everywhere. He had soldiers going out and being spies, and they would torture and execute anybody that Herod thought, just had a suspicion plotted against him. The emperor Octavian, this is Caesar, said this of Herod, it is better to be Herod's pig than his son. Why would he say that? Well, Jews wouldn't slaughter pigs. But what did Herod do? He murdered three of his own sons. He had 10 wives. He murdered his favorite one. Why? Because he had a suspicion that her family may possibly try to get his throne. But he didn't just stop by murdering the wife, he murdered her mother and her grandfather. He was a horrible man, and we see a glimpse of how bad he was in verse 16, Matthew 2, 16. Now, what does a furious king do? This king? he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Why am I telling you this? These Magi, remember, I quoted Octavian, that's Caesar. Word about Herod was well known. This is a monster. And yet these men who came out of that false religion and traveled so far, they were preaching openly, we're here for the king. Herod was the king of the Jews. To cross Herod meant death. But they didn't care about the risk. They didn't care about the danger. They didn't care about what anyone thought about what they had to say. The fact of the matter is, they were asking everyone. And when it got to Herod, they didn't change their story. Now, of course, Herod tries to play the fox and be cunning and all of that. But everybody knew about the Herods. It's a historical fact. They got the word out. Well, that got me thinking. Christmas is coming. Some of you will be around family members. Will you imitate these wise men in your openness to proclaim the worthiness of Christ? Or will there be fear? They didn't fear death, they didn't fear torture, they didn't fear imprisonment, they didn't fear anything, because Christ was worthy of the travel, He was worthy of the risk, He was worthy to be proclaimed, and they proclaimed it to everyone. Are we afraid of losing a friend? Looking weird, saying the wrong things? Well, behold these magicians and their boldness to preach openly about the King who deserves to be worshipped. Thirdly, they obeyed biblically. Look at verse three. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled in 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. 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 my people Israel. Then Heron 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. After listening to the king, they went on their way. They obeyed biblically. So Herod hears about this. He brings them in secretly and through cunning convinces them because he was very cunning. Again, remember, he fooled the Caesar to say, even though I was with the other guy, I'm going to be faithful to you. He was very cunning. He was very tricky. And he was able to somehow fool these men to think, hey, I'm on your side. Let me know when you go find him. But what did Herod do? He summoned the scholars. He summoned the scribes. He summoned the theologians and said, where is this Christ? Notice, Herod knew it was the Christ. He knew it was the Messiah. Where is He going to be born? Sometimes when we do Q&A, I'm up here sweating buckets, because I don't really know the answer, and I'm trying to think, and Lord help me. And sometimes the answers are really simple. Like your child asks you, what must I do to be saved? And you're like, oh man, great question. You know the answer. Here's a situation where Herod asked these scribes a softball question. Everybody knew this. Bethlehem. Notice, it's not like when Nebuchadnezzar asked his wise men and they had to go and say, give us some time. No, immediately they responded, it is written, he is to be born in Bethlehem. Herod knew this was the Christ. This was a simple question. And if you read the full quotation from Micah 5, because that's where they were quoting, it talks more about who this was that was coming. This is the rest of the quotation. Therefore, he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth, then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel, and he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall dwell secure. For now he shall be great to the ends of the earth, and he shall be their peace. This is proclaiming the Christ, the Christ of Isaiah 9. This is the great, almighty God who is to come to the world to bring peace between God and man. But we read one of the saddest things in verse 7-9. So remember, here's Herod, he knows it's the Christ, he brings the scribes, they tell him where the Christ is to be born, and look at what you find in verse seven. Herod summoned the wise men secretly, ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 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. 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. You say, what's so sad about that? Where was everybody else? The scribes knew it's going to be in Bethlehem. Herod knew it's going to be in Bethlehem. All of Jerusalem heard the question. These men have come to seek. The news was there. The star that they saw wasn't secret. It was there for all to see. The signs were there. The scripture was there. The question was there. They were alone. No one accompanied them. What does it say in the Word? He came to his own, but what? He received him not. There was no interest. Herod hated Christ. The rest of the people were uninterested. They were unimpressed. They were bored. This isn't worth my time. It was a simple five-mile hike from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and these men went by themselves. That's tragic. And there are many people like this. They know Jesus is God, but they don't live as though he is. You might have all the theology, have all the doctrine, you know all this stuff, but it doesn't impact you, it doesn't change you. You know all the answers. Where is he to be born? There. Who is Jesus? He's both God and man. What does that mean? He died on the cross to save sinners and everyone who believes. You can quote it all, but do you ever move? Does it move you? Does it impact you? Does it change you? Is there any effect? When we look at these people, they had all the truth, but none of the movement. Here are these wise men, these magi, who were ignorant of much. They didn't know all the scripture that these people did. They didn't have all the access that these people did, yet the little that they had, they acted on it. They obeyed the word that they had access to. And that's an example for us all to follow. Here's J.C. Ryle. These verses teach us that it is not always those who have most religious privileges who give Christ most honor. We might have thought that the scribes and Pharisees would have been the first to hasten to Bethlehem on the slightest rumor that the Savior was born, but it was not so. A few unknown strangers from a distant land were the first, except the shepherds mentioned by Saint Luke, to rejoice at his birth. What does your life look like? Does it look more like the Magi or more like the people who stayed behind? Notice they didn't wait to see if Herod would go. They didn't wait to see if the people would go. They heard the truth and they responded. And sometimes we could say, well, I'll do it if you do it. I'll go if you go. But that's not what these people did. They had the truth. They obeyed the truth. And that's an example to follow. Some wonder, how do they even know what they knew? We don't know, but one assumption is, well, remember Daniel, he was in Persia. He was pretty important in Persia. and the scriptures were written, they were there, the prophecies were told, and perhaps that had spread down, we don't know. The good news is, this is hope for us, you can take comfort, because even these people who were in this faraway place, surrounded by dark black magic, were still at the place where the Lord could reach them. And you may have family and friends, there's no good church, there's no sound doctrine around them, and yet our Lord, just like He did for these Magi, is able to grab a hold of them, reveal Himself to them, and bring them to His Son. Fourthly, they rejoiced exceedingly. They searched diligently. They preached openly. They obeyed biblically. They rejoiced exceedingly. 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. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Now, many people have tried to explain the star with a natural event. This one guy, Craig Chester, he says, And like, I understand the sentiment. But this kind of mindset actually takes away from what God actually did. I mean, listen closely to what happened. They listened 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. Some people said, well, stars don't move like that, so maybe it was a comet. No, this star went before them and then stood over the very place where the child was. And they were excited about this. This was the whole point of all their searching. And as I was studying this, I said, you know what? That language sounds familiar. The star went before them. Where have I read something like that before? Exodus, Exodus 13, 21, listen to the language. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night, and did not depart from before the people. the Lord led them by a supernatural event, and it went before them and led them. It was leading them to the place of promise. And here we have these Gentiles who come from this place of deep, dark, black, sinful, blasphemous religion out of it, and they are being led to the place where the child is. And five, they worshiped passionately. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." This is what they wanted. This is what they were after. This is the whole point. all their travels, everything has been leading up to this moment where they would behold Him. All that they risked, all that they spent, everything they did was for this very point that they would see Him face to face. And now, here they are, the star is above the house. But again, think about that, brothers and sisters. They just left the palace. They were just surrounded by royalty and riches. And what do they see? A little house. They're like, this is it? My house is bigger than this. We don't see any of that. We see a rejoicing and a worship that is passionate because they knew it's not about the domain. This is about who is inside. We are here for the Christ. We are here for the King and he's worthy to be worshiped. over a thousand miles of journeying and searching to finally find Him. He imagined the excitement. And brothers and sisters, isn't this like what it was? Remember when you were first converted? What was inside of you, this joy, this excitement? Why? Because you had been perhaps searching, searching, searching all of life. What is the meaning of life? What's the purpose? What am I here for? I'm empty. There's nothing. I'm looking here. I'm looking there. I'm in the bottle. I'm in the drugs. women, I'm in men, I'm in money, I'm searching, I'm empty, there's nothing. And then the Lord is mercy. Open your eyes to behold Christ, the purpose of all things. And what happened? Exceeding great joy. And in life, as you walk with Christ, it's no different. As you draw closer to him and you see him in the world, you're like, Lord, thank you. You weep, the tears soak the pages, and yet there's exceeding great joy, not because your situation has changed. They were no less weary. They were no less tired. They still had the journey back. Why were they exciting? Why were they full of joy? Why was there this excitement? Because they were going to see Him. That is what changes the Christians. We get to behold Him, and if you can behold Him, Brothers and sisters, it's all worth it. Whatever you've got to go through, just let me see you. Let me sense your presence. Let me know you're near. May I behold you. I want to see your face. Think of Moses. Forty days and forty nights on the mountain, and yet, he hadn't had enough. What was his one request? Oh, I just want to see your face. Isn't that what the Christian life is? And even at death, brothers and sisters, have you ever read? Have you ever read? some of these deathbed accounts of believers? Here's one. It was a pastor who was dying. His daughter was by the side, weeping. What is it, father? Was the tender inquiry. Oh, I am so happy, was the reply. My long, toilsome journey is nearly ended. My life work is joyfully over. Half of my children are already safe in heaven and I am just as sure the rest will be. Half are safe at home and all the rest are on the way. Mother is there, referring to his wife, and in a little while I shall be there too. These lines are in my mind constantly. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall be well supplied. Since he is mine and I am his, what can I want beside? And after he had descended into the river, he shouted back, this is as he is dying, the last words, I am in the midst of glory from life to life. Christ is my all. You see, at the very beginning, all through the journey, and at the end, we can experience what these magi did. Their toilsome journey, they come to the house, he's here, we've made it, we're gonna see him. And then they go inside. and they weren't discouraged. You know, sometimes like it's like, well, it looks shabby on the outside, but maybe it's like really nice inside. You know, like sometimes people are like that. Jesus said the outside of the cup is clean, but inside is filthy. And some people in this world, everyone may say they're ugly, they're weird, but God looks at them and says in his sight, very precious, very beautiful, lovely in his sight. They go inside and what do they see? They don't see servants. They don't see soldiers. All they see is a baby and his mother. And they don't turn around and walk out. They are still filled with exceeding great joy. And what do they do? They worship. They fall down and worship. The angel told John, don't do that. I'm a fellow servant. Cornelius fell down. Peter, uh-uh, don't do that. Worship God alone. He didn't fall down to worship Mary. He fell down to worship the Christ and it was received. Mary didn't say, no, he's just a child. Mary, did you know? Yes, she knew. And she allowed for this child to be worshipped. Because he's worthy to be worshipped. Christmas is supposed to bring us to this place. Again, put all the traditional stuff aside, the birth of Christ is supposed to bring us to the place where we fall down and worship Christ. And in this time of year, people worship Santa Claus, they worship family, they worship all kinds of idols, but we, We, this is all supposed to bring us to the place where we fall down and worship. Notice, they worshiped exceedingly great joy with their words, but their words were not enough. They had to go into the house, and with their full body, they fell before Him. Remind you of the... Romans 12, right? I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. They gave of their words, they gave of their bodies, they gave of their time, and they gave sacrificially, they opened up their treasures. And here's where we're coming to the end. 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." Opening their treasures. Their treasures. It's nice for us to think they were wealthy people. But that's not much of a sacrifice. I don't know what their condition was. What we do know is that they opened their treasures and they poured them out for Him. What did they give? Gold. Probably the one that needs the least amount of explanation. Gold to this day is still the standard. Gold has been and probably shall be valuable. And yet, in paradise the streets are paved with what we consider most valuable. What must the treasures of heaven be? But gold is for a king. Gold is for royalty. Thrones of gold. Staffs of gold. Crowns of gold. Necklaces of gold. Gold this and gold that. It's right and normal. Why did they give him gold? Because, again, he is to be born king of the Jews. They recognized him as a king, but as a king above all kings, a king who deserves to be visited from faraway lands, risking life and luxury and everything else. Men killed one another for gold. Think about giving away gold. People sold their souls, they still do, for gold, and they gave it, that which is precious. speaks of not only the kingliness of Christ, but the preciousness of Christ to them. Is Christ precious to you? And does it show in the opening of your treasures? I'm not talking about giving money to the church or the pastor. Giving of what is precious to you for the sake of Christ. Frankincense. We know that one. Very common. The way they get it, it's a tree. You tap it. It bleeds like this white, milky resin. They leave it alone, let it harden, and then they tap it off. And that stuff, which it takes like, you're only supposed to do that once a year. It's very hard to do. And they're overdoing it now in the world, apparently. Very expensive. Used in almost every religion. used for sacrifices, for prayers, for offerings. It was burned as a way to commune with the gods. We know that in Rome, if you wanted to spare your life, show your allegiance to the emperor, what did you have to do? Take a pinch of what? Incense. Guess which one it was? Frankincense. Put it on the fire to the image of the emperor and you were safe. Nero. Pliny the Elder quotes that when the Emperor Nero's wife, Poppaea, died, y'all know how she died, he kicked her to death when she was pregnant because she questioned him when he came in drunk one night. Where were you been? He kicked her to death. He burned more frankincense than Arabia produced in a year. The point is, frankincense was valuable, it was precious, and it was always used as a way to commune. It had to do with the spiritual reality. And in Scripture, we see it being used to represent the prayers going up. It still has the reality of nearness. Here is man and the frankincense is representing the words, the prayer, God's presence coming, man interacting. There's an interaction going on. There's a fellowship going on. Frankincense represents not just that he is the priest, but that there's a nearness. We have gold of the king, we have the frankincense of the nearness, and then myrrh, which is probably what we know least about, at least I did. It's very often in our Bibles. The Egyptians used it for mummification. Remember Joseph and his brothers? Here was this caravan going to Egypt and they sold Joseph. Genesis 37 says, when they sat down to eat, looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Why? Because Egypt used it for their mummification. Solomon, and every year people brought him many, many gifts. What was one of those gifts? Every one of them brought his presents, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, mules, so much year by year. Even Esther, in that time when King Artaxerxes was trying to pick a bride, myrrh was used as cosmetic. You see this in the Song of Solomon as well. Since was the regular period of their beautifying six months with oil of myrrh. and even the Lord himself in Psalm 45, his robes. Therefore, God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. But the number one purpose among humans regarding myrrh was for burial. It had to do with death. We see this in John 19, Nicodemus, also who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices as is the burial custom of the Jews. If you wanted to bury someone as a Jew, you needed myrrh. All these gifts were expensive. Gold was not the only costly one. Myrrh was expensive. Frankincense was expensive. Gold was expensive. They gave what cost them much. Brothers and sisters, what has it cost you to follow Christ? Is he valuable to you that you sell all that you might have him? What have you given for the sake of his worthiness. Well, why these three? And sum it all up here. I'm convinced that these three gifts proclaim the very message of Christ's coming. gold for the king who comes, frankincense to represent the nearness, myrrh for the death. They gave these gifts because God the king has come near for the purpose of dying for sinners. That's why he came. This is why they rejoiced. This is why they had great joy. They gave myrrh not because God has come to bring death, but because he has come to die. He has not come to slaughter us like lambs, but to be the sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered on our behalf. Well, you've heard about three characters. You've heard about Herod, who hated Christ. You've heard about the Jews who didn't care much about Christ, and you heard about these Magi who loved him and gave all for him. And the fact of the matter is everyone in this room fits into one of those three categories. Which one are you? Do you hate Christ? You can't wait to get out of your parents' home because you're so tired of all this religious stuff, this Bible stuff. You're just here because someone made you come, but you really can't stand all of this. Are you like Herod? Are you like the people? You get all this information, it goes in one ear, out the other. You're not impacted. The fact that he died, he shed his blood, the wrath came upon him, that God so loved this world, that God put on flesh. The incarnation doesn't impress you. You know it, you can say it, but there's no movement within your heart. Are you like them or do you resemble the magi? You may not know everything that the theologian knows, but you know enough to know God is worthy. He's worthy to be sought after with all your heart. He's worthy to be proclaimed openly, come what may. He's worthy to be obeyed according to the Word of God. He's worthy. He's worthy. He's worthy to be celebrated and worshiped and sacrificed for. Which one are you? Only one of these characters, if you resemble them, are safe. If you are like the others, Christ the King is coming again, but he is not coming as a baby. He is coming as a warrior on a white horse. The angel showed up at his birth. And they will show up again when He returns, but they will not be singing goodwill toward men. They will be coming with wrath and terrible vengeance. Now is the day of salvation. Repent, believe, receive the King. as the Magi. Father, thank you for your mercy. Thank you for hope that we could see even people in the darkest religions can come out of it and worship your Son. Help us, Lord, to imitate the example of these men. In the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.