Today we're going to talk about living with the kingdom purpose. In fact, we will note today as we look at the text that we worship the Savior who is love and who came in love and that worship which is worthy of worship because of his love is what should motivate us to live for his purpose on purpose. Backing up a little bit, reminding us where we've been, our last two Christmas messages were pulled from the Gospel of Luke. It's a very special gospel. Most of the time, it's the one that's often quoted by the toothless wonders that spit and spatter on the front row as they quote, You know, the angel spoke to the angels, and we all giggle and chuckle at the cuteness of the children who do that. We're used to Luke's story, and Luke gives a lot of details. In fact, Luke, being a Gentile, an analytical and seemingly forensic historian, also a physician by trade, gave us some amazing insight into the birth of Jesus. Did he not? including the very eyewitness testimony of Mary, Jesus's own mother. And in fact, Luke gave us a lot of ideas about her thoughts and her feelings during the early events of Jesus's life. And last week we learned that we could have joy from Jesus's birth to his return as we live with kingdom perspective. But although we started with Luke's account last week, do you remember where we ended? We ended in Matthew's gospel. We ended in Matthew chapter 25. And when we ended in Matthew 25, that tied in the joy of Jesus's first coming with the joy that we will experience when he comes the second time. And that joy of Jesus's return motivates us today to live with a kingdom perspective. But since God's kingdom is of utmost importance to God, we also want to recognize God's kingdom's importance to us today. in our practical life. So last week's abrupt transition to Matthew's gospel didn't really give us time to set the context of the book of Matthew. So allow me to do that this morning. And just so you know, as we preach through verses 1 to 12 of chapter 2, I'm going to frame it around its surrounding context by describing what happened in chapter 1 and what comes immediately following verse 12 in chapter 2. And as we do that, that will help us, I think, understand the full intention of the story and highlight why it is that we can love and worship our Savior and live with kingdom purpose. So as we begin today's message, we note that Matthew's gospel was written to a Jewish audience. There's a couple of things that really tip us off to that. First of all, when you open Matthew's Gospel, look at chapter 1. He starts with the genealogies. Now, this is significant because do you remember how the Bible starts in Genesis? These are the Toledoths. Remember, there was a whole series of the genealogies or the generations of a very Jewish concept. He uses the same idea. This is the Toledoth, the genealogy, the generations, though he's using the Greek word and the Greek equivalent. These are the genealogies of Jesus, his name, and Christ, His title, the anointed Messiah, the promised one. He's linking him to the very beginning. But unlike Luke, who starts with the first man, Adam, here Matthew, writing to Jews, is starting with the most important man to Jews, who's Abraham. And so you note here in the context that Jesus the Christ is the son of Abraham and that's the beginning of the genealogy. Now I skipped the first son of on purpose because we're going to circle back to that but notice he starts with Abraham and very clearly he says Abraham begat or fathered Isaac who then fathered Jacob who fathered Judah whose brothers came from Tamar, so you have now a woman inserted into this. In fact, there are five women inserted into the Matthew genealogy, which presents some really amazing truths that Matthew is intending for us to understand. And so we stop here for a moment. Let's go back. Notice he says the genealogy or the beginnings, the birth of Jesus, his name, Christ, his title. Now, why does he get the title Christ or Messiah? because he is the son of David. Now, that is the loaded, weighted, significant statement of the text. And that is what brings us officially to chapter 2. You're going to have to forgive me. I've had a pretty nagging cough for a couple of days. So I'm going to try not to cough loudly. I may make you thirsty this morning because of that. I apologize. So as we look at this idea and this whole genealogy, every last section of chapter one broken into the Jewish's, Jew's idea, see I did make Josh drink, the Jew's idea of sections 14, 14, 14, three sections of 14s, this idea of perfect generations, and we know it's a loose generation because when you compare Luke's genealogy with Matthew's genealogy, father means birth family member. It could be grandfather or even great-grandfather. In this instance, you'll see. But it roughly becomes equivalent to three sections of 14s, which were important to the Jews' thinking. Very Jewish idea. And so when he does this, he's actually highlighting in chapter 1 specifically five ways that the lineage of Jesus comes through the line of David and thus fulfills clear Old Testament prophecy. That's the point he's making. And as you note, he's highlighting Joseph's lineage. So who is the rightful heir to the throne of David? It's Joseph. But as he broke this down to the forefathers or the pre-exilic forefathers, then the time of the kings, and then the time of the exiles, it was at the time of the exiles where God's judgment on Israel became very pronounced. And as a result, there was a curse put on the line of David that had to be bypassed in this way. An actual fathered by Joseph could not rule. he needed to adopt the one to rule. Excuse me for a second. And so, we find the emphasis in Matthew's gospel that Joseph, as chapter one ends, I want you to see how chapter one ends, with an angel speaking to Joseph in a dream, in verse 22, or he finishes, and then everything that The angel declared that your wife will conceive by the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son. You will name him Jesus. His name, Jesus, means Yahweh saves or Jehovah saves. It's the covenant name for God in the Old Testament. Jehovah saves. Why? Because he will save his people from their sin. Not political oppression, but sin, the most important thing they need saving from. So all this was done, verse 22, that might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying. So now he's going to quote Isaiah 714. And he's going to quote Isaiah 714, the concept of Emmanuel, meaning God with us, was significant. There's no historical record that Jesus was ever called Emmanuel. except to say that the title Immanuel means God with us, which means there was something about this child that demonstrated that God was with us. And one thing, one title that he was called, and he called himself throughout the Gospels, especially in the Gospel of Mark, was Son of Man. Son of Man is a title of the divine. And therefore, Son of Man, Immanuel, God with us, would be a something that would typify the life of this child that was born being called Jesus. And so it says that Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took to him his wife. Now let me explain a couple things here. This story gets a little convoluted. Okay, Jewish culture, a betrothal process and a spousal process. This would have been arranged marriage, likely when the families had children, young children. Joseph, it was very common for the man to be much older than the woman. So Joseph's family obviously had time to watch Mary's family rear her in the nurtured admonition of the Lord. We find in Luke's gospel that Mary is also of the lineage of David, although from a different child, not from Solomon. So a very distant cousin, there's no inbreeding here. Very distant, very, very distant. David had 26 kids, okay, so you get that. But the point is, of the same tribe of Judah, which means they would have lived in the same ancestral area, the families would have known each other, they would have seen how they brought Mary up, and they would have made an agreement with Mary and her family that Joseph would take her to be his bride when she came of age. then when a young lady came of age in that context, the covenant would be ratified before the Levites, or the priests, and an official betrothal would occur. And that betrothal would happen, it would be about, generally it was average of about a year-long period. And it was during that year-long period that you would actually refer to your betrothed as your bride or even your wife, even though you had not consummated the marriage. And during that one-year period, the young lady would live with her parents. She would not actually move in or live together. So there was none of that happening. But she was promised to him. And we explained last week when we went through Matthew 25 that then it was his job to build the suite, the en suite on the ancestral home. And when he was ready, you know, she had her attendants waiting for the marriage. And then they would all come together and there would be a week-long festival in the city. And everybody knew this couple's finally going to consummate this marriage. And who was his betrothed would now be his wife. But something happened in that process that interrupted it. Mary was found with child. Now we know from Luke's gospel that she flees her area and she goes to live with her cousin for the first couple of trimesters. Likely this was to avoid the public shame and embarrassment of being betrothed and yet being with child before they had come together. The scripture is very clear. They had not had relations with each other. God, the Holy Spirit, had done this in a special way for the purpose of bringing his seed into the world that was promised in Genesis 15 that would crush the serpent's head, right? And so, Joseph, being a devout or righteous man, we're told, In other words, he was a law keeper. He was a follower of the law. He was obedient to the law, not sinless, but a keeper of the law. He decided, well, during this betrothal period, there is a way I can put her away. I can give her a certificate of divorce. And during the betrothal period, she doesn't have to die. She doesn't have to be stoned as an adulteress, according to Deuteronomic law. If I give her a certificate of divorce now, she can live as a single lady, a single mom, being cared for by her family for the rest of her life. And it was a very shameless way to put her away privately. And so he's thinking as a devout Jew, following Jewish custom, that this is what he's going to do. But the angel shows up to him and he says, Joseph, the holy child that is within her is of the Holy Spirit. Don't be afraid to go ahead and take her as your wife. So what does he do when he wakes up? This is really important to the later part of our story. He obeys God. The angel also tells him, name him Yeshua, Yahweh saves. And what does he do? We find out at the end. Look at verse 25 of chapter 1. Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He did two things. He took him his wife and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn son. In other words, they didn't consummate the relationship. He he respected and loved and cared for her and he took that child as if it were his own and then what does he do and When she brought for her firstborn son He called his name Jesus in other word Joseph named Jesus Which was his claim his ancestral claim to say this is my firstborn I adopt him with all the rights and privileges He is heir apparent. And notice it even says her firstborn. So He's claiming the firstborn privileges for Yeshua. Yahweh saves. Are you tracking with me? Big step for Him. He agrees to go ahead and do the brave thing, take on the shame and reproach that he is going to no doubt get throughout his marriage now, saying that he'd married someone who'd had a child illegitimately, and now that's going to be a stamp on his life and his personality, but he chooses to obey God. Now listen, today's message is a different message, okay? So I want you to understand this is what we call a narrative message, which means that it's inductive. An inductive message requires you to ask questions throughout the story. So I'm going to be giving you this narrative breakdown, highlighting some of the big picture ideas here, but it's not a historical lesson. It is an application for today. So we have three applicable principles that we're going to absorb and then state at the very end of this message in rapid succession with a clear pointed proposition for us. There is a point today, but you need to stick with me so that you're following it. All right, so as we begin today's message, we see kind of the story is set. Now, even though this is written, Matthew's writing this to a Jewish audience, he isn't excluding the Gentiles. I mentioned it earlier, but there were five women stated in the genealogy. And the first three happened to be Tamar, a Canaanite, Rahab, a prostitute by profession and a Canaanite of the city of Jericho, and Ruth, a Moabite. Now, that is a beautiful picture of God's love and God's grace, and Matthew inserts it on purpose because he's linking it with the very first person he mentioned here, the son of Abraham. And if we get all the way back to Genesis chapter 12, verses one to three, Genesis chapter 15, verse 12, and Genesis chapter 17 and following, we would find that God Almighty met with Abraham and he told him, I will give you a blessing, a land, and a seed, and it will be forever and eternal. And in that seed will all of the peoples of the earth be blessed. So from the very beginning, not just in Genesis 3.15, but repeated to Abraham, this Abrahamic covenant, God promised to bless all of humanity through this one seed. Jesus. So friends, though this is a very Jewish book, even Matthew in his Jewishness recognizes the reality of God's great love to all peoples everywhere. And he would end this book, as we noted last week, he would end this book by commanding us to go to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, to every nation. He would say specifically that all authority has been given to Him in heaven and earth, that we are to be disciples who are making disciples, baptizing and teaching in the name of Jesus, and recognizing that His presence will be eternally with us. You see, God has a special plan for each and every one of us, and though this book is an emphasis to fulfilling prophecy to the Jews. It is also showing how God's great love is given at this season, at this time, for our day, for everyone, Jew and Gentile alike. So the Jewish nation is simply God's vessel to receive the seed promised to Adam and Eve in the garden at the fall. This seed, this Messiah, this anointed one, Yeshua, Yahweh saves, would be the promised seed that Adam and Eve were given in the garden at the fall. The seed would be the once for all solution to the curse of sin. This seed, Jesus, would offer a permanent restored fellowship and relationship between God and men. And Matthew hits those highlights in the opening of his gospel. From this genealogical record of Jesus to the stated purpose of his name, Yahweh saves, to save his people from their sin, to the testimony of God's trustworthy nature, to fulfill all of his promises as stipulated in scripture. That's what he said in chapter 1, verses 22 and 23. Last week we saw the three principles from Matthew's gospel that showed us how to joyfully live with kingdom perspective. We were to live joyfully by being prepared while awaiting Jesus's second coming, his return. We are to live joyfully by being productive awaiting his return, and we are to live joyfully by being perceptive awaiting his return. That was last week's message. But to help us understand the title and theme of today's message and passage, as we dive into the short narrative, it's important to note one final writer's hook. That's important to advance Matthew's emphasis of the Jewish fulfillment of this promise. Today's text, I want you to notice how it's bookended, right? Some of you have bookends on your shelves. You know, the books are important, but if they don't stand up, then that's kind of annoying, right? So bookends demark sections on your bookshelf, and that's how the narrative is bookended today. Verses 1 to 12 is bookended by verses 24 and 25 of chapter 1, and verses 13, 14, and 15 of chapter 2, and I want you to notice who the key character is in those two passages, and what exactly is happening. I already read the first one, but I'll read it again. Chapter 1, verse 24. Then, say his name, then Joseph. OK, let's do it again. Make sure you're looking at your text. Who's the guy that shows up in chapter 1, verse 24? Then Joseph. One more time. Then Joseph. All right, notice Joseph is our guy. What happens? He's aroused from sleep and the angel of the Lord had spoken to him. And what does he do? He obeys. We already discussed that, right? But now look down with me past our text to chapter 2, verse 13. Now when they had departed, that's the Magi that were worshiping at Jesus' feet. We're going to see that in a minute. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to, whom? Joseph. Wait, let's do that again. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph. Right, so we have an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph, Joseph will bang, that's how it starts. Now how it ends, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and what does he do? Well it says this, here's what the angel says, When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by our Lord through the prophets, saying, Out of Egypt I called my son." There's no hesitation here. When does Joseph wake up? In the morning, presumably. He preps for a long journey, and in the evening he leaves for Egypt. Joseph does not hesitate. Has Joseph shown the character and the moldability of a man that is committed to following God's call? Now, I'm going to say this. None of us are Joseph. And all of us are Joseph. How could those two dogmatic statements be true at the same time? Well, none of us are Joseph in the sense that Joseph was literally the inheritor of the kingdom. He was the rightful king of Israel. He deserved to be on the throne, not the usurper king that we're going to read about in the story. He should have been David's heir. He was the heir apparent. There's a clear genealogical record. It is inarguable, clearly articulated, scholarly appropriated. Joseph should have been king. But instead, he is marrying a woman who's with child under supernatural circumstances. He is putting up with flack from his family and friends for doing so. He has his firstborn child in the courtyard or area you keep animals in and has to lay him in a manger and wrap him in death clothes. I mean, Joseph, You know, we are not Joseph, we're not kingly lineaged, right? But we're all Joseph, right? Joseph was the everyman struggling under a kingdom of darkness, under a rule of darkness, being pursued by the prince and principalities of darkness to eradicate any light that King Jesus was bringing in the world. But Joseph heard the message and received the messenger of God and responded in obedience to God. And so in that sense, we can all be Joseph's today, right? We can all receive God's messengers and his message and respond in obedience. And that will be part of the story, in fact, as we look at it today. All right. Since the technology isn't really working and you can't see my notes on the screen, that's kind of a bummer, but that's OK. Let me then walk through some of the stuff here. So now we're going to talk about narrative explanation. I'm going to set the scene. We're going to talk about the main characters. We're going to highlight the main message. Those are the three things we're going to do, and then I've got three points of application. So in order to set the scene, I know we read it this morning, but we were distracted by the technology not working and the small font, and I get that. So let's go right back to it. Let's read it again. And I want you to ask the Holy Spirit before you read it, you in your seat, in the privacy of your mind, ask Him to give you ears to hear the message that the Spirit is giving to you, the church today. Okay? Just take a moment to do that. All right, now let's go ahead and read the story. and let's listen to the Spirit as we understand the narrative. Alright, Matthew chapter 2 and 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 have seen a star in the east and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet. But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least of the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go, search carefully for the young child, and when you have found him, bring word back to me that I may come and worship him also. When the king heard, they departed. When they heard the king, they departed. And behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, They presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. May God add a blessing to the reading of his word this morning. Let's talk about this narrative. Well, the scene is set. Matthew's already told us that the child born of Joseph was legally accepted, and his legally accepted betrothed was the seed of David. He was the rightful king of the Jews. Now God reveals to us the world's response to the arrival of the king. Do you see that? This story just matter-of-factly opens with after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, like, duh, This is where he was going to be born. He was born in Bethlehem. It just kind of opens like that. Of Judea, by the way, there was a distinction there. There was a Bethlehem in Galilee. So there was a distinction here of Bethlehem and Judea. In fulfillment of Micah's prophecy, Micah 5.2, which is quoted here later on. So this scene is set, this is highlighting the sovereignty of God to bring everything he promised to pass in the fullness of his perfect timing. Do you see this? The scene is set. The world and its powers are moving. The chessboard is active. The kings are in place. The queens are sliding across. The knights are jumping. The pawns have been moved, okay? As we look at the board, now let's talk about the characters. Who's the first character we see after this matter-of-fact introduction? We see a king named Herod. Matthew next introduces this character. First, we have Herod the king. He's actually the duly appointed king. He actually was appointed. He was appointed by the Roman Senate in 40 BC. This was seven years after his father, Herod Antipater. was appointed procurator of Judea by Caesar Augustus himself. So Caesar appointed his guy. Seven years later, his guy's off the scene, and the Senate appoints his guy. You can already see the machinations of Caesar versus the Senate working in that play. And Caesar and Herod had a rocky relationship throughout their lives. To curb Caesar's angst against Herod, Herod became known as Herod the Great. Now, probably because a little bit of a self-proclaimed megalomaniac title there. But he also was one of the greatest contractors of the ancient world. He built large megalithic structures. He added on to the temple and solidified the temple as the premier place of worship in that region of the area. It was on par with all of the ancient temples in the far near east and in Egypt. It was a place where everybody knew it was world recognized. And Herod's exploits are clearly archaeologically documented. He was a great builder. But he was a nasty, horrible person. He was paranoid. He was a man who had constant, constant relation fornicative relationships with others, fathered many children, had many wives, and then toward the end of his life, he killed most of them because he became paranoid that they were going to take his throne. He was a nasty man. And in fact, if we're following the birth of Christ and the death of Herod, it's very likely, I don't want to burst your bubble here, but it's very likely Christ was born around 6 BC and Herod died around 4 BC. You know, you work backward. And part of that is the difference between the Roman calendar and the Jewish calendar. Roman calendar was a solar calendar, 365 and a quarter days in a year, with a leap year every four. Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, and that's a very different cycle. So Herod was close to his death by the time Jesus is born. which means he's in full-blown paranoia state and he's murdering his wives and children left and right. And so the Magi pop in and show up and all of a sudden they say, we're here to see the King of the Jews, the one that was born to be the King of the Jews or the born as the King of the Jews, not born to be, he was born King of the Jews. Now, do you understand why Herod is freaking out? Herod wasn't born King of the Jews. Herod is an Edomite. He is a descendant of Esau. By the way, in the genealogy we just noted, where does Herod show up in this genealogy? Where is his ancestry? Hmm, let me guess, it was significantly bypassed. Abraham, who is the inheritor? Isaac, who is the inheritor after Isaac? Jacob, who was Jacob's firstborn brother? Esau. And Esau is the Edomite. He is the father of the Edomites. So Esau, not the inheritor of blessing, the one who is a profane man, who sold his birthright for beans, He is the great, great, great, great, great 28 generations of Herod's forefather. So you can see the stage is set. Herod is the great usurper of the throne. He's ruling over Jerusalem with a tyrant's fist. And the whims and wishes of Herod affect all of Jerusalem. Because when he gets troubled, and by the way, the word for troubled there has the idea of a deep-seated emotional trauma that turns into eruptive action. So when trouble, when he's troubled, everybody gets out of the way. And we find out what trouble, from Herod's perspective, looks like later in the story. What does he do? He sends his minions down to Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem, and he kills every single baby from the age of two and under. Great guy, isn't he? Stellar character, right? And so the text shows us very clearly a stark contrast between Herod. He was an Edomite. This made him despised by the Jews, but his selfish, debauched, paranoid reign also made him someone for Caesar to be wary of as well. The next characters in the story are the Magi. Who are these? Well, they're religious and political leaders, likely Babylonian or Medo-Persian in origin. The class of political leaders and advisors was established by Daniel during the exile of the Jews. So Daniel himself was actually the chief magi. And we know that from the very beginning of Daniel's story. At the age of approximately 17 or 18, Daniel becomes the chief magi when he interprets Nebuchadnezzar's first dream. You remember that? The dream of the megalithic statue that's of gold. Golden head, anyway. And then Nebuchadnezzar, of course, being the megalomaniac, egotistical monster that he was, makes the statue 90 feet tall all of gold and makes everybody worship it. Go figure. So Daniel is himself this chief Magi. So these Magi were considered savvy political advisors, historical scholars, sophisticated astronomers, diviners, dream interpreters, and finally, many of them were actually astrologers as well. So they interpreted the astronomical signs. So the Magi are followers of the writings of Daniel. And what we know about Daniel's scroll that was sealed was that there was a promised seed that would come that would free the world of the domineering tyranny of the dictating powers of the day, that that one would be none other than the Ancient of Days himself. And so these Magi, they show up at Herod's doorstep and say, hey, we want to see the one who was born King of the Jews. And they were expecting there to be worship and revelry. You know, where are the fireworks? You know, where are the party poppers? You know, we saw the star. Haven't you seen the star? I mean, where is he? Where is he? He should be around here, right? And so they're surprised when Herod doesn't know. So what do we have next? Not just the Magi, but then we have the chief priest scribes of the people. By the way, there was technically only one chief priest, but under the polluted political rule of Herod, the office of chief priest didn't always belong to the heir apparent of the Aaronic lineage. Furthermore, the plural form tells us that the high-ranking officials that worked under the office of the high priest were often referred to as chief priests, giving honor to their position in the office. Scribes were actually interpreters of Jewish law and largely had the entirety of the Old Testament law, the writings, and the prophets memorized. So essentially, they had 39 books in scroll fashion memorized. They could tell you where in the scroll they could find, because there were no verse numbers or chapter divisions, where in the scroll they could find this information. And so when Herod's like, where is the Messiah born King of the Jews going to be? Where is he going to be born? They're like, well, Micah 5.2. Well, they didn't say 5.2, because there was no 5.2 in Micah. Micah tells us he's going to be born in Bethlehem. And so Herod is immediately given that information. All right? And then finally, there's another, well, there's three other characters in the story, but the most important one is the Messiah. He's called the young child multiple times in the text. He's referred to as the young child, but make no mistake, he is the main character of the narrative, though he's the unspoken main character. Then we have Mary. She's only mentioned once in the story, but she's called the young child's mother. This is giving her prominence in the narrative. And then you have the star. All right, now lots and lots and lots of stuff has been written about the star. You can even go on YouTube today and watch all kinds of cool stuff about the star, okay? But the star is seen as a character in the story. It's there on purpose. We aren't sure if it's an astronomical body that appeared in the heavens tipping off the Magi that at the time for their journey to the east in fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy had arrived. Perhaps it was. Perhaps it was a supernova. that had gone Nova millennium ahead in advance or farther than that, that all of a sudden shows up. It shines brightly. They're like, oh, there's the sign. Let's head east. They get there. And all of a sudden, they get overjoyed when they leave Herod's place because a star appears again and actually moves with them and then stands where the child lay. So just out of curiosity, do stars move retrograde and then stand places? Okay, all right, thank you. So the point I think really is more likely this is some kind of created angelic messenger that would have led the wise men, the magi, to the very location of this young child in the city of Bethlehem. Now what else do we know about this time frame? Why is there no room in the ancestral home of Joseph and Mary? because Caesar Augustus wanted his money. Sound familiar? You gotta pay our taxes today, too. Caesar Augustus wanted his money, so he said all the world should be taxed, and he required everybody to go be registered back in their ancestral home. So Joseph and Mary, who are ancestrally both from Bethlehem, which, by the way, kind of begs the question, if they're from there, why wasn't their place in their parents' home? You gotta think about that for a second. Well, the answer really is, like I said, David and the descendants of David, 26 children. There were a whole lot of cousins, and cousins, and cousins, and cousins, and cousins, and cousins, and cousins, and cousins, and cousins. And there was no room. The word inn is actually better translated guest quarters. There was no room in the guest quarters of the ancestral home that were likely expanded over the centuries, because all of the relatives had come to town, and they'd beaten Mary and Joseph first. And of course, they were. They were so selfless and giving to give up their bedroom for the pregnant lady, right? Nope. They made her go out into the grotto in the backyard or the front courtyard where the animals were living so she could give birth to her firstborn child while the cattle were lowing and the sheep were bleeding. And they had to throw the baby into a manger, a cow stall, after its birth, right? Either way, the point is this. I think the star more than likely is a specialized angelic messenger that leads the magi there. All right, so let's talk about the message, and we're almost done. What's the message of this story? Well, it goes back to the title of my message. I know some of you are probably scratching your head. Love that destroys strongholds. Where does that come from? Well, I think the message from our perspective, talks about love that dispels darkness. From our perspective, the first coming of Jesus is described as God's loving intervention into a dark world. How does John open his gospel? In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. All things were made by Him. Without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was light. And the light was the light of men. And the light shined in darkness. but the darkness did not comprehend it. John 3.16, for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 8.12, Jesus said this, I am the light of the world. Romans 5.12, but God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Galatians 2, in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son to be born of a woman, born under the law, to save all who are under the law. You see, God, in the fullness of time, demonstrated His love toward mankind by sending His one and only Son to the very seat of the darkest place on planet Earth. You see, the Prince of Darkness, the rulers of this world, had his foothold here. As the story opens, God's chosen people are in great darkness. They're slaves once again to first and foremost their sin. Remember chapter 1 verses 24 and 25? And they're slaves secondarily to Roman rule. This Roman rule is ironically spearheaded by a son of Esau, like I mentioned, not the promised seed of Jacob. This is a double slap in the face to all Jews being subjugated to a cousin's lineage. It is also clear from the story that Herod's rule is absolute and tyrannical. His emotions dictate the emotions of all those living in Jerusalem. If Herod is disturbed, you can rest assured that no one in Jerusalem would be unaffected. The darkness of the situation is contrasted with the brightness of the star and the birth of the king. which we'll see contrasted in a moment. The prince of darkness and the ruler of this dark world is none other than the devil, Apollyon, the great dragon, the great deceiver, Beelzebub. His kingdom is firmly established in Jerusalem by the great world power of Rome, and his control over the political and religious leaders is sure and certain, as seen in the narrative and throughout the whole gospel. From the reader's perspective, we are meant to see the situation as humanly hopeless. Ultimately, though, Scripture reveals that God sent His Son in love, in the fullness of time. When things were darkest, God's greatest light was sent. When things seemed dire and hopeless, God sent the promised hope. Friends, the message of the story is a message of incredible hope. And that's going to lead us to one of our first applications in just a moment. Let's see the second thing that the narrative contrasts. There are two kings that are contrasted in this story, right? King number one, Herod is clearly labeled as king of the Jews. Historically he was, but not by birth. Magi come seeking the one who is born king of the Jews. This contrast cannot be overstated. Why? Because the world sets up its rulers and heirs apparent. But God's kingdom and cause will not be thwarted. Now I'm going to make a political analogy today. Please don't fall off the wagon or get mad at me for saying this because I'm not trying to liken one politician to Jesus or the other, okay? But have we not seen over the last 25-30 years in our political system the machinations of darkness The rulers in our country separating and dividing humanity on ethnicity and class and race and everything they can think of. speaking against the kingdom of our Christ, speaking against the created order, trying to confuse people as to their identity in every single way. You can't identify as the way you were born anymore. You have to identify by the way you feel. Well then, what does that mean? Well, it means there's 72 ways you can feel. You can feel like this creature today, or that mythical animal tomorrow, or this non-binary thing today. The whole point is we have a political system who is thwarting God's way and God's rule. And we are just like in Herod's day, when Jesus came the first time, we are in a political system that is ruled by the God little g of this world. His name is the devil, Apollyon, the great deceiver. He is a murderer from the beginning and a father of lies. Does it surprise you the politicians on the left and right lie? It shouldn't. Because they're dominated by the father of lies. And so the point really in this story is it's so very appropriate to us today, is it not? There are two kings and two kingdoms contrasted. And in our world today, we are exiles living in a nation that isn't spiritually our own. We are actually ambassadors of hope and righteousness to citizens of heaven that need to be discovered and need to be rescued from the chains of darkness. But guess what, friends? That great light has come. His name is Jesus. And we have the message of hope, just like the message that we received today. The world sets up its rulers and its heirs apparent. but God's kingdom and cause will not be thwarted. Nothing can or will stop his kingdom purposes. King Herod is shown to be a wicked, evil tyrant, not only historically, but also in the text. His response to the vulnerable birth of a precious promised child is to kill and destroy because he is from the father of the devil. God's king is shown to be a humble, meek, and dependent servant. Although we don't have more information about this young child in this text, we are already told by Matthew earlier that he is God with us, Emmanuel. He is fully God and fully man. He is the divine heir to the eternal throne of David, and he is the human heir to the physical throne of David. Satan's king is an evil destroyer and a hater of men. God's king is a lover of men, and he has condescended. He has come for you. to save His people from their sin. Friends, the message could not be clearer. There are two kings and two kingdoms contrasted. Which king will you follow? Which king will you fear? Which king will you relate to? The kingdoms of this world or the kingdoms of our Christ? Is it possible to live in both? And I would say it is possible to live for Christ in the kingdom of this world, but we must let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. We must point them to Jesus. There's also worship contrasted. The word used for worship is intentionally a Babylonian Persian concept of worship. Notice it's used twice. It's used at the beginning. The Magi come and say we want to worship. And Herod says we want to worship. Okay, you know what this is? I'm going to embarrass myself. This is what this means. They're coming to worship. They want to kiss his feet. Now the reason why I did that is when you are bowed with your face down, you are exposing the most vulnerable part of your body. One slash of a sword and you can be decapitated and instantly ended. And that is the point of this word. The Magi were Babylonian, they were Persian. If you read about their history, if you didn't fall down in worship, you lost your head. Do you remember the story of Esther? If Artaxerxes doesn't extend the scepter, she loses her head. And so the point here is, there's worship contrasted. And though the Magi are coming to worship, and they use this Persian word, and Herod uses the same word, they have different meanings to the people. What is Herod's method of worship? Oh, I'm going to make him bow down. I'm going to find every single male child, and I'm going to kill them. What is the Magi's response? They find King Jesus, they bow down, and then they give sacrificially to him. gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Friends, the contrast could not be starker. These two worshipers, Herod's worship was to kill and destroy, motivated by internal terror and fear. The Magi's worship was sacrificial. It was a long seven to nine month journey at great cost, followed by three highly costly gifts. Friends, can I say this? True worship costs us everything. You cannot be a true worshiper of King Jesus if you haven't given Him everything you are and have. There's a third and final thing about the narrative that we want to highlight, and then we're going to get to the pointed and quick application. Here it is. Obedience enacted. I mentioned this. The Magi followed the teachings of Daniel, passing them on for generations so that they could be part of God's great kingdom plan. In fact, this is some nearly 600 years from the first prophecy of Daniel. It's at least 560 years from the close of the book of Daniel. So for 500 plus years, the kingdom of the Magi have passed along the story of a coming king. 69 weeks were prophesied, and then there would be a 70th, and the king would rule and reign. And this was one of those weeks that had been fulfilled, and they traveled following the star to find the king and worship. Obedience was enacted. They worshiped the Savior. Mary and Joseph obeyed. They obeyed God's messenger. Mary, can you imagine this young woman? We don't know how old she was, but she was likely of childbearing age, so obviously had arrived at that ability. But very young, no doubt, in culture. Could have been anywhere from the age of 14 to 18, but at least not much older than 18, at the very oldest. And yet this experience, she could have responded to the angel in doubt, but instead she responded and said, be it unto your handmaiden as you have said. She responded in obedience and submission. Joseph could have said, I'm not getting involved in this one, God. There's 37 cousins next to me that are all in line. Pick one of them. She can be a spouse to one of them, right? But instead he says, all right. I'm going to take her as my wife. You say, call him Yahweh saves. I'm going to call him Yahweh saves. And he obeys. Obedience is enacted. You see, Mary and Joseph obey God's messenger. They obey God's message despite the difficulty imposed by the dark world around them. Now, that concludes my discussion through the narrative. I'm going to give you three points this morning in application. Number one, application number one, living with kingdom purpose requires us, number one, to be hopeful. This story teaches us that we must live with kingdom purpose by being hopeful. God always keeps his promises, always. Can I get an amen to that? He does. When God said, I will save my people from their sin. When he promises that whosoever will may come to me, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. When he says, if when I knock, if you open, I will come in and dine with you. When he says, if you knock, seek and ask, you will find and receive. Friends, God always keeps His promises. And I don't know what you're struggling with right now. I don't know if it's financial insecurity. I don't know if it's a health problem or a health need. I don't know if it's a challenge in a relationship or an extended problem that's generational over time or there's just discouragement or sadness in your life, depression or anxiety. Friends, there is nothing, nothing beyond the love and grace and mercy of our great God. And His name is Jesus and He loves you. He will always keep His promises. If you are a child of King Jesus, all of these hurts and fears you're experiencing, all of the challenges you're suffering with, they are but a light affliction. Because one day we are going to live eternally in the place that He has prepared for those who love Him. And it'll be worth it all, right? When we see Jesus. All the trauma, all the trials, all the difficulties, all the saying no and standing for Jesus, getting ridiculed and mocked, all of the saying no to my flesh or sinning over and over again and having to repent and confess and say, oh God, can you help me with this horrible flesh that I have? I'm so done with this sin nature of mine. Give me faith to praise you and pray, right? One day it'll be worth it all. You see, friends, this story teaches us that living with kingdom purpose requires us to be hopeful. Hope in the Bible is a confident expectation in God who always keeps His promises. When is the last time you were hopeful? Oh, I hope it was today. I hope it was yesterday. We must live hopefully. We must have a confident expectation in God. Here, Mary and Joseph, here the Magi, they were hopeful. They placed their confident expectation in the God who always keeps his promises. This attitude displayed in our actions should make Christians the most enjoyable people to be around. Stop and think about that for a second. The last time you hung out with your friends, How much of the conversation was taken up about your trials, your suffering, and your complaining? I mean, be honest. Now, I'm not saying we don't share our burdens. We're commanded to do that, right? Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. The love of God, right? But we're not supposed to stay in our despair, wallowing, right? We're supposed to lift one another up, bearing one another's burdens. Okay, sister, I hear that. Let me kind of get up here and let me embrace that with you, and let me help you carry that. I've been there before, or I haven't been there before, but I know someone who has. His name is Jesus. He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and he bore your sin. and He suffered on the cross for your place, so no matter what you're going through right now, I promise you it will end, and God has got you, and I'm here with you too. Instead of wallowing in our self-pity and our self-despair and our self-defeat and our self-sorrow, are we hopeful? We should be the most enjoyable people to be around as Christians. We really should. There's a second application that we want to talk about today. The second principle here is living with kingdom purpose requires us to be worshipful. Did you see that in the text? Big emphasis. What you love, you will worship. Did you get that? How you worship shows the extent of what or who you love. If you worship sacrificially, you reveal a heart that has truly given everything to Jesus. Jesus put it this way from a financial perspective. He used this illustration, you remember, in the Gospels? There was a Pharisee. It was during the rabbinical readings, part of the synagogue in the prayer time. He walks up in his long tasseled robe, perfectly groomed, shiny beard, oiled beard, you know, beautiful tasseled garments, phylactery on his forehead probably, phylactery on his arms. You know, he's wearing the word of God. He walks up piously, and he, in the collection box, drops some money. And it didn't make a loud enough noise, so he made sure bumped the collection table a bit so that it clanged really loudly. And as he piously walks back to his seat, an old woman, a widow in fact, extremely poor, an outcast in society, nobody to care for her, quietly, humbly, hunched over, kind of shuffles over to the collection box and drops in everything she had. That Pharisee had so much more than a bag full of coins. How many of us are like the Pharisee at times? We think that, well, I'll give God my five-minute devotion time. I'll go through my prayer list, but the rest of the day belongs to me. You know, church is struggling. I had $100 in my wallet. I'll put $100 in the offering plate. Never mind you made $7,000. last month, so 700 probably should have been the place you started, right? You see what I'm saying? The point really is this, and it's not about money, by the way. I use that illustration because Jesus used that. You understand what I'm saying? The point is this. What we love, we will worship. How you worship shows the extent of your love. If you worship sacrificially, you reveal a heart that has truly given everything to Jesus. Jesus emphasized this in Luke 13 to 16 when he said that following him would cost his disciples everything. Friends, can I illustrate it this way? God doesn't need your money or want your money. He wants your life. But if you give your life to God, then nothing is off the table. Everything belongs to him. I think of the story of John and Betty Stamm, missionaries. Their story is funny. It's an interesting story. Canadian young men and women, young man and woman, he pursued Betty. Betty kind of eschewed him and shunned him, and they both were following God's will to China. And a single missionary went to China, and then they rendezvoused in China and realized, Betty's like, OK, the guy's been pursuing me. I really like him, too. We're going the same direction at the same pace. I guess we'll get married. And they began to faithfully serve God in China in the early turn of the century, early 1900s. 1908 to 1916, somewhere around there. And during this time, there was a horrible uprising in China, the Boxer Rebellion. John and Betty had just had their firstborn child. And their firstborn child was just a few months old now. And there was word that was coming to the village that the Boxer Rebellion was coming to their town and that the Boxers had been actually capturing any foreigner. And they weren't sure whether they were expelling them or if they were killing them. But the warning was there. And John and Betty were told, please, please flee for your life. So all the friends that they had led to Christ and the church they had established in their small little town gathered up all their belongings, threw them on a cart and rushed them out of town. They got a few miles away from the town and they were captured by the boxers. They were brought back into another town. They were thrown into a hut at night. In the morning, John and Betty left their precious little six-month-old baby wrapped and hidden on a cot in this hut in a no-name village in China, had a word of prayer over baby Helen that God would preserve her life. And they were marched summarily to the center of the town, and they were charged as foreigners with the advance of the gospel. And they were told that they and the gospel was not welcomed. And John was given an opportunity to speak of his faith for Christ very briefly. He was forced to his knees, and he was summarily beheaded right in front of his wife. 28 years old. Seeing what had befallen her husband and the headless corpse of her husband, knowing very shortly her life would be similarly dispatched, knowing that her little baby was hidden in a hut, Betty knelt in solidarity and confidence by the lifeless corpse of her husband, and she too was summarily beheaded. You see, following Jesus will cost you everything. At that point in life, how much tithe she gave to her church didn't matter, right? Was she willing to give herself to Christ? Was John willing to give himself? And they did, and they were. And by the way, God miraculously saved baby Helen. It was discovered by some Chinese friends. She was smuggled out of the country, and she later wrote the very content that we now know the story of John and Betty about. You see, friends, following Jesus will cost you everything. True worship of Jesus is a costly experience. The final application today is this. Living with kingdom purpose requires us to be obedient. Joseph received God's messenger. He received God's message. He acted in obedience to God's Word. My question to you is, how do you receive God's messengers and God's messages? Well, You know, our pastor's a little long-winded. He could cut it down a bit. Well, that's not an inaccurate statement. That might be true. But is that what we think about? Are we critiquing the messages that we hear? Or are we receiving the Holy Spirit's message from the messenger? How about the Word of God in your life? Are you actively pursuing God through the Word of God? Are you reading His Word every single day? Are you absorbing the truths from God's Word? How do you respond to God's Word? Are you like the Israelites in darkness under the rule of Herod, responding in hardness of heart? Do you have ears to hear what God's Spirit is saying to you? Are you willing to respond to God's Spirit in obedience to His commands? Friends, 2025 is a year to thrive. In 2025, we must obey God. We must worship God. And We, living with kingdom purpose, must be hopeful. God wants you to live hopefully, worshipfully, and obediently for Him in 2025. Are you going to? Will you listen? Will you respond to God's call? Father, thank you for the Word of God.