It'll be helpful to have your Bibles open at Matthew chapter 2. I'm just going to share a few thoughts from this well-known account, at least well-known from this time of year, the account of the visits of the wise men to the newborn Jesus. And I want to pick up, first of all, from verse 1. Matthew 2, where it says, 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. That's the set up for this account. These wise men come from the east to Judea in the days of Herod the king. Now the word translated wise men in this chapter is actually a more specific word than the translation wise men would imply. The word literally is magi. The passage reads that there came magi from the east to Jerusalem. And I mention that because this gives us some indication of who these men were. Famously we tend to see them as three wise men because of the three gifts which we will read about a little later. But the passage doesn't tell us how many there were. But these wise men, these Magi, came from the East. You might ask, well, who are the Magi? Why are these people significant? What is this all about? The Magi most likely refer to wise men from the area of Persia and Babylon. And what's interesting is that these Magi are mentioned repeatedly in the Old Testament, particularly in the books which relate to the Israelites' captivity in Babylon and then in Persia. The Magi are listed many times as being figures of great authority in the kingdoms of Babylon and in Persia. And perhaps the most famous example is when Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. If you read the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar has a terrifying dream and he summons, it says, the magi to him, these wise men. He summons them to come to him and to give him an interpretation of the dream. These magi are listed among the magistrates and the governors and they're also listed among the enchanters and the astrologers. These were the go-to men if you wanted mysteries revealing. These were the smartest, the cleverest, the most knowledgeable men who Nebuchadnezzar had to hand. So he asks them, what's the interpretation of the dream? But he doesn't tell them the dream. He says, if you truly are wise, if you truly are as skilled as you say you are, you can give me the interpretation and also the dream itself. As you can imagine, the Magi protest. They say no man can know something which is hidden in your own mind. We cannot possibly interpret a dream that we do not know. Nebuchadnezzar in fury and anger says he will destroy the wise men, he will destroy these magi. Interestingly, among the magi is Daniel. In the book of Daniel, Daniel is listed as one of these wise men in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, so he's also for the chop. Nebuchadnezzar has no discrimination between them. He says Daniel, his three friends and all the wise men are to be killed and their houses are to be made a dunghill. Fortunately, Daniel has tact and wisdom and he goes to the king and says, please give us time. Just give us one night and we'll tell you the interpretation of the dream. Nebuchadnezzar grants this and Daniel and his three friends pray all night and during the night they are given the interpretation of the dream. So that's a sort of background to who these wise men are. They are, if you like, the descendants of these wise men who appear in the courts of Nebuchadnezzar and later in the court of Darius. They were knowledgeable men, skilled in what we might call hidden knowledge. But it's interesting the question these wise men come and ask King Herod. You can see their question in verse 2 of Matthew 2. It says, wise men came 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 have come to worship him. That's really odd. That's supposed to seem odd when you read it. Because you think, what on earth Have these astrologers, enchanters, wise men from the East, heathen intelligentsia, what have they got in common with the Jewish people? Why should they care about this Jewish king that's been born? How do they even know that there's a Jewish king to be born anyway? Why are they bothered? Why are they concerned? The most likely explanation is that these magi were familiar with the prophecies of Daniel. I don't know how familiar you are with the book of Daniel, but towards the end of the book, there are many odd, strange, difficult visions that Daniel sees. And it's likely that these magi were familiar with these prophecies. And they had good reason to, because it was because of Daniel that their lives were spared. It was because of Daniel that they were spared the execution that Nebuchadnezzar threatens. So you can imagine that these wise men would remember such a rescue. And more than that, in Daniel 5, verse 11, it describes Daniel as the chief of the wise men. He rises to prominence among them. So it seems highly likely that they were familiar with Daniel's prophecies and Daniel's visions. And when you read the book of Daniel, you see a theme coming out. In all of Daniel's prophecies, you see a theme coming, even in his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, which God gives to him. In that dream, Nebuchadnezzar sees a statue, and this statue is made of different materials, from the head of gold down to the feet of clay and stone. And Nebuchadnezzar gives Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation, this statue represents four succeeding nations. Babylon is the head, going down to the Medes and Persians, flowing down to the Romans at the bottom. And Daniel tells him that this statue represents the empires which would follow Babylon. But in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he sees a small uncut stone roll down a hill and smash the statue. And then on this stone is built an everlasting kingdom which never fades away. That's the dream which Nebuchadnezzar sees. And Daniel tells him that one day, God is going to set up a kingdom from a small stone, from a small uncut stone, which is going to destroy the preceding temporary kingdoms of man. And God is going to set up an everlasting kingdom. And this theme is continued throughout the rest of the book. Later on, Daniel sees a vision. He's given a vision by God, and it says this, Daniel speaks, he says, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power. All nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. So first of all, Daniel sees a kingdom which God is going to set up, a kingdom which is eternal. And now he sees the king of that kingdom. This one, like to the son of man, like a son of man, and receiving all authority from God. A few chapters on, Daniel is given another prophecy, he's given another message from God. And in that message, and we do not have time to go into the details of it, but you can read it yourself, in Daniel chapter 9. but God gives him a precise timing for when this king will come, when this everlasting kingdom will be set up. And essentially, the interpretation of it is complicated, but essentially in about 490 years time, 70 times seven years, a king will come and he will set up an everlasting kingdom. So when we understand this, we can understand why these magi, why these wise men would have an interest in this king of the Jews. In the prophecies of Daniel, they have this blueprint, this description of this everlasting kingdom which is going to come up, which is going to be greater than all preceding kingdoms, and of this king who is going to rule over all the nations. And not only that, they know the timing. They know the timing of when this king is to come. They are counting down the years. That's why these magi come to Herod and they say, 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. Now we're going to get onto the star in a few minutes, so just hold that thought for the moment. But you can see where this idea is coming from. They've been reading Daniel, they've been learning about this amazing king who is to come, who's gonna rule over an everlasting kingdom, rule over all nations of the earth, and they've come to worship him. They know the time is ripe for this king to come. But let's look now at Herod's response. And in verse three, we see Herod's response to this news. In verse three, it says, when King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the peoples, chief priests, and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. So again, this is confirmation that these magi are referring to the Messiah. They're referring to the Messiah who is promised in the book of Daniel, this king who will rule over an everlasting kingdom. Now apparently, Herod hasn't been keeping up with his quiet time. He's not familiar with scripture as these wise men are, and so he turns to the chief priests And he asked them, where is Messiah supposed to be born? What does the Bible say about where the Christ is going to be born? And they respond, they return to him and they say in verse 5, in Bethlehem in Judea, for this is what the prophet has written. And they turn to the prophet Micah in the Old Testament. And in Micah 5 it says, So the chief priests, the teachers, tell Herod that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem. So Herod, he calls the wise men in, in verse 7. It says, then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 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. Herod in this way is not dissimilar from Ahaz who we looked at last week. Herod hides behind a veneer of respectable religion. He says, I want to come and worship this messiah too. He's pretending to be more righteous than he is when in reality he feels threatened by this new king. He doesn't want any new king removing him from his throne. In reality, he wants to murder this child. He wants to destroy this rival to his throne. So he tells the wise men to go, go and find the child, and once they have found him, to give him word. He is threatened by this new king that is to be born. Instead of hearing the prophecy and rejoicing like the wise men, He hates the prophecy. He believes it, but he hates it, and he wants to destroy this newborn king. You see what the wise men do next in verse nine. It says, 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 exceeding great joy. It seems that this star, which the wise men saw while they were still in the east, disappeared. And that seems to explain why they stop in Jerusalem. They see the star in the east, and it seems most natural to go to Jerusalem. Where else would the king be born? But when they get to Jerusalem, they can no longer see the star. They are no longer being given guidance. So they ask King Herod for audience. Again, where would you go but the palace to see where the king is to be born? But when they leave King Herod, the star reappears. And in verse 10 it says, when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. So let's talk about the star for a few minutes. I don't think this star is what we normally understand to be a star. It does some very strange things if it is a star. Stars don't tend to appear and reappear at will. They don't tend to, as it says in verse 9, that it went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. That's a very strange sort of star. I don't believe that this star they see is a star in the conventional sense. It is a star in the sense that it's shining and it's bright in the sky. In that sense, it can be described as a star. Instead though, it's not a ball of flaming gas. I believe that the star is a manifestation of God's glory. I don't know if you are familiar with the Old Testament account of the Israelites being led out of Egypt. And it says, by day they were led by a pillar of cloud, but at night they were led by a pillar of fire. And once they built the tabernacle, the fire that led them hovered over the tabernacle. And when it was time to move on, the fire left and the Israelites were to follow it until it stopped again, then they were to make camp. This fire, this glory of God, led them through the wilderness. It appeared on Mount Sinai when God gave the law. And when they built the temple, when Solomon prayed, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And if you read Ezekiel, you find that the glory of God departs from the temple. God is offended by the sins of Israel and he departs from the temple. The glory leads the temple. And the Jewish people call this glory the Shekinah glory of God. It's the symbol of God's presence with his people. It's God's manifestation of himself so the people could see that he is with them. So what greater sign could there be for this new baby that's to be born who is Emmanuel, God with us? When they see this light shining in the sky, they are seeing from a distance the glory of God pointing to where this child is to be born. It also explains what they mean when they say we've seen his star in the east. I don't think there was any complicated astrological reason why this star was special. Instead, these were wise men who were acquainted with the stars. They knew every star, where it should be, and at what time. So when a new star appears, when there's a new ambience in the sky, they notice it. Other people may not notice it. I'll admit if I saw a new star, I wouldn't know there was a new star because I'm not familiar with what the stars are. These men were. And they see a new star and it coincides with the timing that Daniel prophesied. Put two and two together, and they understand that this star is to guide them where the Messiah is to be born. This star rises as Daniel's prophecy is fulfilled and they follow this strange distant star to the place where the baby is. You might wonder, well, if it really is a similar thing to the cloud and the fire which led the Israelites in the wilderness, why is it only a star to the wise men? I offer this as a suggestion, it could be because these are Gentiles. These wise men are not Jewish people, not people who are given the scriptures, not people given the law of God. In that sense, they are far away from God. They are distant from God. God's glory to them is like a distant star. Nevertheless, it does shine bright and it leads them to where the Messiah is. And I love what it says in verse 11. It says, when they would come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. Have you ever thought what a weird picture that is? These wise men, these revered men, traditionally they're described as kings and there is some reason for that because the magi in the Old Testament are described as having authority almost equivalent to that of a king. They are the rulers in the land. These are dignified, authoritative, important men who have come on a long journey and they come to this peasant woman's house. peasant couple's house and there's a baby and they kneel down and worship a Jewish peasant baby. It's a very strange image but they have remembered Daniel's prophecy. They have seen the star from afar They've come all the way to Jerusalem and they understand that this baby is that uncut stone, that little stone which God is going to build an everlasting kingdom from. They're not surprised at the apparent ugliness of the scene. They're not surprised by the apparent humility of the scene because Daniel had said that it would be a small stone, an uncut stone, an insignificant stone that would come and destroy the other kingdoms and yet grow to be an everlasting mountain. They listened to what Daniel said. They trusted what Daniel said. They trusted ultimately what God said and they worshipped this baby that was born. And that's the huge irony. The huge irony of this story is that these Magi, who had far less knowledge of the Messiah than the Jewish people did, they had far less to go on, they had a much smaller sight of the King of Kings, they had far more reason to give up on their journey, yet they came. Yet the town of Bethlehem didn't have room for Jesus. The town of Bethlehem was sleeping while the Messiah was born. They had Daniel's prophecy too. They had the scriptures too, but they weren't ready for their own Messiah. Yet these Gentile, heathen, magi, wise men traveled across the desert to find this Messiah. They were ready when the Jewish people were not. King Herod had at his beck and call all these scribes and all these religious leaders who were able to tell him the details of the prophecies in the Old Testament. Yet instead of coming and worshipping, he sought to kill their own Messiah. Isn't that ironic? Isn't that crazy that these distant Gentiles showed a greater willingness to worship Messiah than his own people did? But this doesn't surprise God. God had foreseen this from the start. And there's an amazing passage in Isaiah 60. Now I don't know whether the Magi, whether the wise men knew of this passage. It seems they knew of Daniel, but they may not have known of Isaiah. But in Isaiah chapter 60, you hear these words, and you can see how closely it relates to the wise men's journey. Isaiah chapter 60 verse 1 says, Arise shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over all the peoples. But the Lord rises upon you, and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you. All assemble and come to you. Your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant. Your heart will throb and swell with joy. The wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ether, and all from Sheba will come bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. All Cedars flocks we gather to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be accepted as offerings on my altar and I will adorn my glorious temple. Do you hear what he's saying? It's saying that far off people, heathen people, Gentile people will travel across the oceans and across the deserts to come to worship God. Did you notice that detail as well? Where it says, it says, herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ether, and all from Sheba will come bearing gold and incense. It seems Matthew was aware of this prophecy if the wise men weren't. You can see that again in verse 11. And when they would come unto 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, frankincense, and myrrh. In precise fulfillment of Isaiah 60, these wise men travel land and sea to give their gifts to this king. And in a lovely way, it's kind of reminiscent of the Queen of Sheba coming to Solomon. Do you remember how the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon and it says that she had no breath in her because of the glory of what she saw, the palace and the temple and the gold and the palaces? But I think it's lovely that these wise men come and instead of seeing a palace, instead of seeing a throne, instead of seeing all the riches of Solomon, they see a baby in a peasant house. Yet as Jesus himself said, a greater than Solomon is here. These wise men saw that this baby was greater than all the riches of Solomon. They didn't need the gold, they didn't need the silver, they didn't need the incense. They willingly offered them to this baby who was going to be the Messiah, the greatest king that has ever lived. That's why they offered their gifts. That's the irony of this story. That people who had far more excuse, far more reason to stay at home, yet they came. and they welcomed the Messiah. Yet others, who had far more reason to come, who had far less excuse to welcome the Messiah, stayed home and even tried to kill their king. You might think, well, how does this relate to us today? What's the application for us today? Well, Jesus has come once. We celebrate this time of year how Jesus came the first time. He's now returned to the right hand of the Father in heaven, but the Bible teaches us that he's coming back again. We're waiting for him to come back. The question is, are we waiting for that? Who are we like? Are we like the Israelites who didn't notice that their own king was born to a large extent? Some did, Simeon, Anna in the temple to name a few, the shepherds. Are we like the others, though, who aren't ready for the arrival of our King when he comes back? Or are we like those wise men who are earnestly looking, seeking to know when our God will come back, when Jesus will return? There is one crucial difference, though. In the case of the wise men, they had a precise time they were working with. Daniel chapter nine gives a very precise description of when the Messiah would come the first time. The Israelites should have been ready for when the Messiah was coming. God told them when it would happen. Jesus has specifically told us that we do not know when he will come back. We do not know the day nor the hour which he will return. But what that means is we need to be always ready. That sums up Jesus' teaching on the second coming. We don't know when it's going to happen, so we need to be always ready for it. And Peter gives some beautiful words in second Peter. He says in chapter three, the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? you ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed it's coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. So then dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. That's how we follow the example of the wise men. Not by traveling over land and sea and bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The way we follow the wise man's example is by making every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him. We want to be like a bride ready for her husband. Not because we feel bad and we're afraid of judgment, but because we want to see the joy on his face when he finds us ready, when he finds us waiting. That's how we follow the example of these wise men. And the great thing, and I'll close with this, is that those wise men saw a baby and they rejoiced and they worshipped. When Christ comes back again, he won't be a baby. He will be an all-conquering King. We will see Him in all His glory, in all His beauty. And when we see Him, we will see that it was all worth it. All the pain, all the suffering, all the difficulty was all worth it because we will see Him as He is.