Matthew chapter 2, verse 1 to 12. 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. Amen. And may God bless to us His Word, both in its reading and its proclamation this morning. One of the ways in which the Apostle Paul described the responsibility and the calling of Christians in his letter to the Philippians, in Philippians chapter two, is that he said that we're to be those who shine as lights in the world. We're to be those who shine as lights in the world. Jesus himself said, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. were to shine as lights in the world, were to let our light shine before men. Why? Well, generally speaking, the world is described in the Scriptures as a place of great darkness. It is a place where sin and evil and unbelief has entered in and has corrupted the goodness of all that God first made through what is known as the fall, which is, as you know, recorded for us a way back in Genesis chapter three. And if you're a Christian here this morning, there's a sense in which you simply know this to be true, instinctively, intuitively, because you feel it every day, don't you? It's all around you. We live out our lives in the context of a world where evil is prevalent and where sin is applauded, where the very atmosphere in which we live and we breathe is no longer as God intended it to be. It's no longer that picture that we see of beauty, paradise-like beauty in Genesis chapters one and two. something very bad has happened to this world in which we live. And yet into that same world came the Lord Jesus Christ, who described himself on one occasion in John chapter eight as the light, the light of the world. As if to say that into that world, that same world of evil and sin and death, came one who is truly righteous, without sin, who gives life. And so it follows then that if we are his people, if we are united with him by faith, then we will be those who shine as his lights in the world. Of course, what that means is we will often feel as if we don't fit. We'll often feel as if we stand out in the crowd. Why? Because we hunger and thirst after righteousness in a world that pursues unrighteousness. Because we live by faith in a world of unbelief. because we have chosen, decided by grace to give our hearts to the true King in a world that bows down to many false substitutes. To shine as His lights in the world is going to mean that we're going to stand out in a world of darkness. Friends, that picture of Christians as lights in a dark world is a picture that really came to me this past week when I was thinking about the faith and the example of these wise men that we've become so familiar with over the years from Matthew chapter 2. I think what can often happen with a story like this one is we can sometimes, if we're not careful, we can fall into what I would describe as fairytale thinking. Fairytale thinking. We're so used to the nativity play, you know, where you have these three wee boys from school carrying their their shoe boxes covered in wrapping paper and so on, and laying them down beside a little plastic dolly in a crib and so on. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's a lovely thing. But when you stop and you think about the actual historical context in which these men exercised their faith, you quickly discover, you quickly realize that it was anything but the stuff of fairy tales. This was a time of both great darkness and widespread unbelief. First of all, there was the veiled hostility of this man who became known as Herod the Great. One writer says about Herod, he says, Herod was cruel and merciless. He was incredibly jealous, suspicious, and afraid for his position and power. Fearing his potential threat, he had the high priest Aristobulus, who was his wife's brother, drowned. After which, he provided a magnificent funeral where he pretended to weep. He then had his wife herself killed, and then her mother, and two of his own sons. This was the ruler at that time. He was a most ruthless and violent king. We catch a glimpse of that here, don't we? It says in verse three that when Herod the king heard from these wise men about the one who had been born king of the Jews, it says he was troubled. He was troubled in all Jerusalem with him. That is, he was stirred, he was agitated in a very seriously negative kind of way. His spirit was disturbed as the hostility and the animosity welled up within him. Later on, of course, what do we see? What happens with that hostility that was there, that was so obvious from the start? We see in verses 12 and 13 later on that this hostility was so acute, was so fierce, this same man actually wanted to destroy both the wise men and the Lord Jesus Christ himself. They were warned not to go back that same way. Why? Because Herod no doubt wanted to destroy them, just as it says later on regarding Jesus. You know, you think to yourself, where does that level of hostility and opposition come from? I mean, it's not logical. It's not rational, is it? Why would anyone want to destroy the light of the world? Why would anyone want to destroy those who testify to and those who represent that light in our world today? Well, if we've understood even the basics of the Bible's teaching, we surely know the answer to that question, don't we? That these things are, in the end, simply the expression of a nature which has become so corrupted by the fall that its natural disposition is one of hostility and rebellion against the authority and the truth of the living God, to such an extent that, rather than embracing the very one who came to rescue men from their sin, instead they set out to destroy him and to destroy those who honored him. It's sobering, isn't it? It's sobering to be reminded of the devastating effects of original sin. But it's important, it's important as Christians we keep coming back to it, because this is the context in which we live our lives in a fallen world. And yet, that wasn't the only context in which these good men from the East set off in search of the Messiah. There was also a second response. First of all, this outright hostility, eventually violence, of an evil king. But secondly, and also, the indifference and the unbelief of religious people. the indifference and the unbelief of religious people. We read in verses four to six that when Herod asked the chief priests and the scribes where the Christ was to be born, how did they respond? Did they say, sorry Herod, we've never heard of this man before and we've absolutely no idea what you're talking about? No, it says they told him in Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet. They then go on to quote from Micah 5, verse 2. In other words, the failure of these particular men was not one of intellectual ignorance. They knew in their minds, first of all, that Messiah would come into the world. Secondly, where he would be born in the world. And thirdly, they believed all of this on the basis that the Word of God said so. And yet, even with that knowledge, of God's promise from the pages of their own Hebrew Scriptures, their response, was to demonstrate, first of all, the indifference of unbelief seen in the fact that they didn't go to visit Jesus, they didn't show any desire to draw near to him. And secondly, we see later on, don't we, that that same indifference, that same unbelief later on would turn into open hostility. Because these same men, the chief priests and the scribes, they not only opposed Jesus throughout all the days of his ministry, but in the end, these are the very men who insisted upon his execution. One commentator writes, even the unbelieving, politicized, self-serving Jewish leaders recognized that God's Word clearly spoke of a literal, personal Messiah, a historical figure born in Bethlehem who came to rule Israel. what they did not accept, but they did not accept, sorry, they did not accept him when he was born, or when he preached and taught, or when he suffered and died. They were, in fact, his supreme enemies. Friends, in these things, we are reminded that head knowledge alone is never enough. These men knew the Scriptures, and they would appear to have believed what the Scriptures said. But fundamentally, they did not embrace, through faith, the one to whom all the Scriptures ultimately point. And for that reason, they remained dead in their sin. It is a warning to us, isn't it? It is a warning to make sure that that which we have come to know and understand about Christ must be embraced and believed through faith. It's not enough to leave him on the shelf, as it were, like an old Bible that's gathering dust because it's never been opened and read. Instead, we need to jump right in with all that we are. We need to embrace Him. We need to take hold of Him, and we need to cling to Him with everything that we've got by His grace and through faith for the rest of our days. Then we come finally to the light, the light in the darkness. and to the astonishing example which is set before us by these wise men from the East. And just before we think about some of the specifics of their faith, how they were very much like little lights in a world of darkness, one of the things we need to understand about these men is that they not only stood out in the world at large, But they were also unique and distinct within the context of their own people. We don't really know much at all about these particular men. We don't know how many there were in the group. We don't know their names. We don't know specifically how it was that they came to believe in the God of the Scriptures. But we do learn from the historians that these magi were known at the time as the priestly political class of the Parthians. They were a people who lived in a region of modern-day Iran. And so off to the east of ancient Palestine, And what is very interesting about these men is that not only were they very skilled in astronomy and astrology, but many of them, in fact probably the majority of them, were involved in the occult, in sorcery, things involving the dark side of the spiritual realm. And you see, this is what makes the example of these particular men all the more astonishing. Not only did they stand out in the context of an evil king on the one hand and the unbelief of the chief priests and the scribes on the other, but also these were men who stood apart from the very norms and the patterns of their own pagan culture and background. J.C. Ryle commenting on this, he said these words, he said, these verses show us that there may be true servants of God in places where we should not expect to find them. The Lord Jesus has many hidden ones like these wise men. Their history on earth may be as little known as that of Melchizedek and Jethro and Job, but their names are in the book of life, and they will be found with Christ in the day of his appearing. It is well to remember this. We must not look around the earth and say hastily, all is barren. The grace of God is not tied to places and to families. Men may be born in dark places of the earth like these wise men, and yet like them be made wise unto salvation. Isn't that wonderful? God has his people. God has his people. God is sovereign. It is his work, and he finds his people every time. And so what was it about these men? What can we say about their faith that was so distinct in this context of darkness and unbelief? Well, there's many things we could say, but I want you to notice this morning through the example of these men that true faith involves the mind, the affections, and the will. The mind, the affections, and the will. First of all, the mind. As I already said, we do not know, we can't know for sure how it was that these men came to learn about, how they came to understand the significance of this one who was being born into the world. Some have said, that the Magi would have been very influenced by the teachings of Judaism, particularly the prophetic writings, and perhaps especially the book of Daniel, where, remember, Daniel was in that great book. Daniel was put in charge. He was appointed as the ruler over all the wise men of Babylon. Some have said that they would have been very, very much influenced by those kinds of writings. Well, we don't know, but however it came to be, what is very clear from both what they said about Jesus in verse two, and what they then did in response to Jesus in verses 10 and 11, is that these were men who had come to understand and accept the significance not just of that star which shone so brightly in the sky, but more importantly, the significance of the one to whom it pointed. They had it settled in their minds that this one who had been born was the king whom God had promised to send into the world. They had understood, they had grasped, they had accepted the truth of what God had promised. Christianity is ultimately a rational religion. It doesn't involve checking our brains out at the door. Sometimes, you know, when we're in discussion with atheists or other unbelievers, we often discover very quickly that their assumption seems to be that Christians are people who are a bit soft in the head. Little bit wet behind the ears, fluffy around the edges, lacking in intellect and rigor and understanding. But what do the scriptures say? Who is the real fool? Psalm 14, the fool is the one who says in his heart, there is no God. The fool is the one who believes that everything came from nothing, and because everything came from nothing, therefore nothing really matters, except that is me and my life. Which, by the way, no longer needs to pay any attention to the desires and the will of a creator. C.S. Lewis, in his book, Mere Christianity, he said this, he said, God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you're thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you, you're embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all. But fortunately, he says it works the other way around. Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened. One of the reasons why it needs no special education to begin as a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself. That is why an uneducated believer Like John Bunyan was able to write a book, The Pilgrim's Progress, which has astonished the whole world. These men may not have been known as the world's greatest theologians in their day. They didn't even have the benefit of a Christian upbringing, Christian teaching from perhaps in the home in the days of their youth. But what they did have by the grace of God was an understanding of the fact that his appointed king had come into the world. And on that basis, they packed their bags, and off they went. So first of all, there is this settledness in the mind. There is this grasp in the head as to what God has said, what he has promised, and it being fulfilled, not in anyone but in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, the affections, the affections. Look at verses nine and 10. It says, after listening to the king, they went on their way. 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." They didn't just rejoice. No, they rejoiced exceedingly. with great joy. Matthew is being very deliberate and intentional here to tell us that these men were absolutely ecstatic about finding and worshiping King Jesus. In other words, there was nothing dry. There was nothing simply cerebral about their faith. The affections of their hearts were stirred and inflamed by the very thought that they would soon be in close proximity to the Savior King who had come down from heaven and into this world. Now, of course, we have to be careful with this. Our emotions and our affections must always be subject to, they must be conditioned by that which is first of all true. That which is first of all true, as has been revealed to us by the Word of God. Becoming a Christian never means that all of a sudden the heart is to rule the head. But I wonder if you would agree with me when I say that an ever-present danger in the church at large, an ever-present danger in our own Christian lives, is not just the danger of a watered-down truth, although that is a serious problem, but also the danger of a faith which knows very little of the kind of rejoicing and gladness that was so evident on the part of these men, and about which the New Testament seems to constantly bear witness to us. These words of 1 Peter 1, where he says, though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory." That is, it can't be put into words. It is an inexpressible joy. It's the kind of thing I mentioned last week in the response of Mary when she said, my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. The message of the angels to the shepherds in Luke chapter two, the angel, when he said, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news. Good news of what? Good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Dear friends, let us be very careful, notwithstanding the fact that our faith must first of all be rational and based on a clear understanding of who God is and what he has done. But if we have come to learn of him and embrace him and we now know Him as our Savior and as our Lord, it surely must follow that our hearts will be warmly affected by His love towards us and by all that He has accomplished on our behalf. It surely must be the case that even now, even now, no matter what kind of restrictions and troubles and difficulties may be enforced upon us, this morning and in these days, that we must be exceedingly glad to be counted as his children, to be included in the fellowship of his covenant people, and to be called out of this dark world to serve him and to worship him throughout the course of our lives. It is unthinkable, is it not, that we would come to lay hold of the eternal riches of his grace That we would come to receive His mercy and His forgiveness. It is finished. And that we would then simply go through the motions of some outward performance of religion. That our lives would remain unaffected. Well, Matthew says these men, and they lived. It's part of the reason I gave you that big introduction. They lived in days of darkness, where the king was a murderous individual. They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy, because they were looking to the one who had come. So first of all, the mind. Secondly, the affections. And then finally, crucially, the will. The will. They understood and agreed with God in their minds, they felt joy, they felt affection towards Christ in their hearts, but also they then acted in accordance with those convictions. Not just what they knew, not just what they felt, but also then what they did. What did they do? Well, first of all, they traveled a very long way, probably around about 500 miles. We don't know exactly how much time the journey would have taken, but at the very least, it would have been many days, probably several weeks, possibly more than a month. Let's face it, these men wouldn't have had the benefit of some nice memory foam mattress on which to lay themselves down on each of those evenings. And so, first of all, they showed serious resolve, didn't they? Commitment. It would have been difficult, arduous, sometimes dangerous for them, but they were determined. They were focused. They were disciplined. They had set their sail in the direction of Jesus. They had made their decision, and they were going. Secondly, what did they do when they then arrived after this long and difficult and tiring, grueling, potentially dangerous journey? What did they do? Verse 11, when they arrived and they saw the young Jesus, they fell down and worshiped him. That is, they assumed the posture of every true believer. They bowed to the lordship of Jesus Christ. They demonstrated by their outward actions that they were no longer in control of their own affairs, that they were no longer at the center of their own universe, but that Jesus was their King. And finally, not only did these men come bearing gifts, but they came bearing gifts that were intentional, that were consistent with who Jesus really is. In ancient times, and I think I've mentioned this before, gold, first of all, symbolized royalty. Frankincense was associated with the deity. Myrrh was used to prepare bodies for a burial and therefore pointed to a person's humanity. Jesus is the king, he is truly God, and he is truly man. And so not only did these men worship Jesus, but they worshiped him in a way that reflected and magnified, acknowledged who he really is. And friends, that is surely the call that Jesus places on all of our lives today, isn't it? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The reason that Jesus came into this world was so that in Him, we would be redeemed from the curse of the fall We would be made new by His Spirit and thereafter equipped by His grace to give ourselves to that great purpose for the rest of our lives. Bowing down to Jesus, serving Jesus, worshiping Jesus, bearing testimony to Jesus. throughout every day that we live in this dark and fallen world. And so may the Lord impress this great calling upon us afresh this morning. May he renew our minds with an understanding of who he is and all that he has done. May he stir the affections of our hearts that we might rejoice in the wonder of his love and his mercy in the gospel. his condescension to this world, all that is traditionally celebrated at this time of year, that the eternal Son of the living God should come down and take on human flesh and live as a man and suffer all the toils and the miseries and the pains of this life that he might share in our experience, and in the end, that he would then suffer the wrath of God not for his sin, but for our sin, so that in him we might then become the righteousness of God. And as we respond to all of this, may he then give us a will May He give us a will that is so touched and sanctified by His grace that just like these wise men of old, we too might shine like lights in a dark world. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And so let your light shine before men. that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Let's pray. Our Father and our gracious God, we thank you for your grace and we thank you for the truth of the gospel. We thank you for the preparedness of Jesus to come into this world to die as our substitute for our sins. And we thank you that in Him, right now, we have hope, a hope that cannot perish or spoil or fade, which is kept in heaven for us, for we who are being shielded by the hand of a sovereign God. We thank you that you play for keeps We thank you for your great faithfulness to your people. And yet, our Father, we are living in very strange days, days of trouble and trial and difficulty, illness, days of unusual government measures. We recognize that you are sovereign Over all, we recognize too and have a sense that your judgment is upon the world and that you're shaking the nations. We pray, O Lord, that your people would heed the call to repentance. We pray that we would not be indifferent to what you are doing. We pray, O Lord, for a spirit of repentance and humility, a sense in which we are all committed to examining ourselves and bowing down before you, that in due season you once again may lift us up. We pray, O Lord, our God, for our government in these days, and we pray that you would bring them to fear you. We pray that they would be brought to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and an understanding of the holiness and the truth and the wisdom of your word. We pray for a great turning back, that the tide would be reversed. We pray for better days. Our Father, be merciful, we pray. Lord, as we think of our church here and our families and our individual lives, we ask, oh Lord, that you'd help us in the coming weeks with these different arrangements. We pray for all gospel, Bible-believing churches in Perth and in Scotland, throughout the United Kingdom. We pray, O Lord, that we would be wise and discerning in these days, that our eyes would be upon the Lord, our Master, and we pray that you would lead us in paths of righteousness for your own namesake. We remember, Father, this morning those who are alone, those who are widowed, and those who are struggling with different aspects of working life, family life, or the world at large. We pray that you would visit each one afresh. And we pray, O Lord, that you would grant the faith to look upwards to the one who is truly reigning at the right hand of the majesty on high and the one who is our surety and the one who is pleased to intercede for us throughout all the days of our lives. Lord our God, we pray that you would bless this family of your people and our respective families over this Christmas period, that you would grant each one the peace which surpasses all understanding. We ask all of these things in the great and precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.