If you take your Bibles this morning and turn to the book of Matthew and chapter 12, Matthew chapter 2, I'm sorry, Matthew 2 and verses 1 through 12, 1 through 12 of Matthew 2 this morning, the sermon title will be The King and His Court. The King and His Court. I've got a second title for it, A Warning to the Wise. A Warning to the Wise. Matthew 2, 1-12 says this, 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. And 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 when 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 would marry his mother, and they fell down and worshipped 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. Maybe you've noticed, but Christmas is now controversial. It is no longer politically correct for a person to wish another person Merry Christmas. We are told instead that one ought to say Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings. This is argued because many claim that Christmas is simply too exclusive. It is too Christian. It does not recognize other religious holidays that are celebrated at this time, be it Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or something else. And depending on who you talk to about this, some are mad and offended if you say Merry Christmas. They are outraged that you would be so insensitive, and they may even argue and call you a bigot for wishing them a Merry Christmas. Others are apathetic. They don't get mad. They don't really celebrate Christmas, but they don't care if you wish them Merry Christmas. Maybe they don't know that, maybe they do know how Christian Christmas is supposed to be. But though they don't believe any of it, they continue to celebrate and enjoy it because it's sentimental to them or nostalgic to them or maybe something they've done in their tradition. And so it makes them just as happy to sing Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree as it is for them to see Hark the Herald Angels Sing. They don't care. They're just glad to do it. Then there are Christians who are also concerned about Christmas. Maybe we feel that Christmas has been hijacked by the world. We're concerned that what's supposed to be a celebration of the incarnation of our Lord and Savior in Jesus Christ has instead become a money grab and a free-for-all for commercialism and materialism. We're instead that it's just a plot and a ploy by corporate America to overly commercialize this great event that we love and celebrate and instead of having peaceful worship and satisfaction with the people of God, instead become a bunch of hustle and bustle and a lot of stress and a lot of greed. Too much receiving and not enough giving. Too much sin and not enough Christ. We think that, yes, Christmas has become controversial. And so it always has been controversial. I'm no longer talking about December 25th. I'm no longer talking about the holiday. And yes, you probably are aware that almost certainly Jesus was not born on December 25th. You see, shepherds, when they keep watch over their flocks by night, don't typically do it in December because it's very cold over there in December. They keep watch over their flocks by night, generally in the spring when the ewes are giving birth to their lambs. And so it might have probably, almost certainly, was another time of year. And we have just designated it at some time past because there was a winter holiday celebrating the solstice. That they decided to celebrate instead the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I really have no problem with that. long time. That's not really what this sermon is about. No, I'm not talking about the holiday. I'm talking about the birth of the one that we celebrate. And the question that remains before us today, as it always has been, is who is this child that is born to Mary? Who is the one who is in the manger? That is the question that Matthew has, from the very beginning of his gospel, been intent on answering for us. And He's bent to let us understand very clearly and concisely that this person is the Christ, the Son of David, the Son of God, the long-awaited, long-predicted Messiah who has come to grant salvation from sins to His people Israel and all those who will approach Him by faith. And so, Typically, this time of year, we talk about Jesus and we relate to Him that He is the Prince of Peace. And so He is, for certainly Jesus Christ brings peace to all who by faith come to Him. Peace with God and between God and man. And we can have peace with our God, with whom we have been enemies, and be made friends to Him by the blood of Jesus Christ. But do you know that Jesus said also that I came not to bring peace, but a sword? And so he's saying that upon me, many will stumble, many will fall upon me. There is a fork in the road. What will you do with me? What will we do with Jesus Christ? Who will we say that he is? For there will be some fathers that will go one way and some sons that will go another. There will be a husband that goes one way and a wife that goes another. What will we do with the Lord Jesus Christ? Will we say, will we fall on our knees and worship Him? Will we be apathetic and do nothing with Him? Will we hate Him and despise all that He stands for? You see, Jesus has always been a controversial figure. We think Tim Tebow is controversial. You should see what Jesus has done for the last 2,000 years. is controversial. Last week in chapter 1 verses 18 through 25, we look at the virgin conception of Jesus Christ from the point of view of Joseph. Now in chapter 2 and verse 1, we have Jesus who is born in Bethlehem of Judea. He's already born. And we see that when the wise men find him, in verse 11, they go into a house. It's not some stable, not some cave, not some bottom room where there is a manger. We find out that the wise men never came that night that Jesus was born. He's not in the nativity scene. They're not in the nativity scene as we generally suspect. They find him much later, probably months later, that they come to find and to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, finding the mother Mary and Joseph settled in Bethlehem in a house. A lot has happened that Matthew skips over, that we know has happened from Luke. There is no record whatsoever in Matthew of how they got from Nazareth to Bethlehem. No record of Caesar Augustus. No record of a tax and a census. There is no record of swaddling clothes or a manger or no room in the inn. No records of shepherds out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night. There's no record of angels singing glory to God in the highest. There's no record of a dedication 40 days later in the temple by Mary and Joseph and the seeing of Simeon and the seeing of Anna. Matthew doesn't mention any of those things in his gospel. The question is, that stuff's important, isn't it? Why do you leave that stuff out? Why didn't he tell us these things? Well, I think it's the same reason that Luke never mentions the wise men. It's because they have a different purpose in their writing. And why John and Mark don't mention any of the birth narratives whatsoever. They have a different purpose for the one with which they are writing, and Matthew has, from the very beginning, tried to show us that Jesus Christ is the King of the Jews, the Christ, that He is the Son of David, that He is the long-awaited Messiah. Of all the Gospels, Matthew's is the most Jewish. But it is surprising that this most Jewish of Gospels mentions Gentiles from the East that will come and worship at the feet of this child as their King, as their Lord, as their Savior. And what Matthew is trying to do in this passage, verses 1 through 12, is to give us two contrasts and to answer two questions. He is in the first place contrasting Herod and Jesus, and he is asking the question, who is the true king of the Jews? Is it Herod or Jesus? And the second question and contrast that he's making is that of the magi or the wise men and that of the scribes. And by contrasting them, he is answering the question, who really are? God's true people, God's true servants, God's true worshipers. So it's getting us to look at those two contrasts, those two questions. And what the text will reveal is that even at its birth, Jesus has been controversial. Some loved him, some hated him, and many were simply too foolish to care or make a decision. So the first question before us in chapter 2 is who is the true king? Is it Herod or is it Jesus? Now notice first of all how the contrast is set up for us. In verse 1 it says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king. And then all down in verse 3, it again says, when Herod the teen heard this. But in the middle of those two, sandwiched there in verse 2, it says that the wise men were asking questions, and the question the wise men were asking is, where is he who has been born teen of the Jews? They're asking this to the one who is presuming to be the king of the Jews. at this time. And so we have two supposed kings, Herod who is currently ruling as king over the Jews, and then this one who we don't yet know is supposed to be the king of the Jews. The star has risen and has predicted this one and they've seen it and they're asking who is the king of the Jews who has just been born? And so will the real king of Israel please stand up for us? We want to see who it is that is the real King of Jesus. So let's look first of all at Herod's case and then at the case for Jesus Christ. Now this is one of many Herods. There's Herod the Antipas and Archelaus and Herod Agripple I and II. This is not them. This is Herod the Great. And he was a quite controversial fellow himself. In some ways, Herod was a good ruler. He was a great diplomat, very cunning in the way that he dealt with Rome and carried favor with Rome as well as the Jews. He was a tremendous builder and had a great building program, building a lot of Greek and Roman architecture there in Jerusalem, as well as a magnificent temple that was wonderful, hadn't been seen since the days of Solomon himself. And he built that for the Jews. He was a gifted warrior also. And there was, in many ways, much prosperity under the rule of Herod the Great. But Herod was not really a Jew at all. He was an Itamian by birth. And in order to win the favor of the Jewish people, he supposedly converted to Judaism. And not only that, he married one of the pride women of the Jewish race, a descendant of the famed Hasmonean dynasty. Her name was Miriam. And when he married her, See, the Hasmonean dynasty had had some success in the preceding generations under the Maccabees and others that it follows, winning some independence from Roman and foreign rule in Judea. They were greatly looked up to. But Herod was no descendant of David. He had no real right to sit on the throne. And we know that God's promises were to David that someone from his line would sit on the throne forever and ever. But Herod proved to be a bloodthirsty tyrant, you see. In his old age, and at the time of this story, Jesus was born just a few years before Herod actually passed away. But in his old age, he had become very paranoid about losing his title and his power and his control. And so during this time, Herod had his wife, brother Aristobulus, killed and murdered. And Herod even threw a tremendous funeral and great procession where Herod himself pretended to weep knowing that he had ordered the execution of his brother, his brother-in-law. Eventually Herod is going to also murder his wife Miriam and murder three of his own sons. who he thought were going to take over his control. Caesar Augustus famously said, I would rather be one of Herod's pigs than to be his son. He thought there was less chance of being slaughtered that way. Herod had been so disliked as a king that he felt that when he died no one would mourn for him. So in the days preceding his death, he had a bunch of the rich and wealthy and noble families of the Jews arrested and put in prison. And he ordered his people that on the day that I die, I want you to slaughter and execute every one of those people so that he could be assured that there would be people that mourned in Jerusalem the day that he died. This paranoia and this thirst for blood we see in the story of Matthew. Look at what we find happening in verses 3-4. You see the wise men have come in and there is no telling how many wise men there were. We usually think there are three. doesn't say according to the text, and almost certainly they brought a lot of soldiers and a great entourage with them. They would have been easily noticed as foreign dignitaries and visitors to the land of Jerusalem, and as they're walking around asking people the question about where is he who's been born the king of the Jews, it comes to the attention of Herod, and they're taken into Herod's court, and he is very, very troubled, it says. And all of Jerusalem with him. It's kind of like when mama ain't happy, nobody's happy. Well, when the king ain't happy, nobody's happy. All of Jerusalem is wondering, what's Herod going to do? Because they've seen his thirst for blood and his rage before, and we're going to see how it's taken out on the little children and the families of Bethlehem eventually. And all of Jerusalem with him, they're troubled. And he assembles all the chief priests and the scribes of people and inquires of them where the Christ is to be born. He wants to find out about this. And you see, the chief priests and the scribes, some being the Sadducees, the chief priests, and the scribes probably being made up mostly of Pharisees, they didn't agree on much. And he figured if he can get them all together in one room and they agree where the Messiah is going to be born, then it's probably true. And so he gives them all together, and they do, in fact, know the answer to the question. Then in verse 7, what we see Herod doing is he summoned the wise men into a private conversation, and he wanted to know from them exactly when they saw that star rise in the east, how long they had been journeying, how long this had taken. He wanted to ascertain exactly how old this child might be now. And so, he questions them, and then he tells them, sending them all away, feeling that he has won their confidence, he sends them off without an escort, and they go down to Bethlehem. And he tells them, I want you to search diligently for the child, and I want you, when you find him, to come back and tell me. And he says, because I want to worship him, too. Now, we know that he doesn't want to worship him at all. He wants to kill him. This is a man who killed his own sons because he thought they were going to take his power and his control and his kingdom. And if there is a rival who has been born, no matter how old Herod is, he is not going to give up his own kingdom or his dynasty for this rival. It is a curious thing, Herod. I can't figure out Who he is, he's an interesting character. Does he believe the scriptures? It seems that he does. He believes them to the extent that he's willing to act on them. He believes them to the extent that if this is true, he doesn't discount and say, there has been a king born. He hears the prophecies. He's familiar with the prophecies. He hears it. He believes it may be happening. But his logic is so irrational because if he fights off this one who has been born King of the Jews that has been prophesied from so long ago, he should figure out that he will be fighting God Himself and God's own will. And we say, this is a strange thing. But how many of us fight God's will? How many of us try to escape from God? Try to run from God? Try to get away from God? Try to get out from under the watchful eye of God? How many of us find ourselves fighting against God Himself, knowing it is a futile and foolish thing to do, and yet we do it anyway? And this is what Herod does. He is fighting against God in a futile rage. And he eventually, we know that these wise men were warned in a dream about Herod and they departed to their own country by another way. And when Herod finds out that they've tricked him, he's furious. And he basically orders all the children under two years old in Bethlehem to be slaughtered, trying to wipe out this rival who has been born, which tells you the fact that he goes to two years and under means that it's been some time that has passed since the birth of Jesus Christ. He wants to give him enough room to make sure that he kills them all. What does this story remind you of, by the way? Certainly our minds, if we're biblically literate, goes back to the time of Moses, doesn't it? It reminds us of Pharaoh trying to wipe out all of the Israelite children and how God ends up raising up Moses in Pharaoh's own household and under Pharaoh's own nose. God delivers Israel from this man that has been spared. You cannot fight against God. It is a foolish, foolish thing to do. Let's look also at Jesus' case. There is in this passage four lines of evidence that prove Jesus' Messiahship, that prove that Jesus is the King of the Jews, the rightful King. The first line of evidence is His visitors, that these Magi from the East have come to seek this King of the Jews. When they ask, who has been born King of the Jews? Herod rightly interprets that, that they're seeking the Messiah. We don't know what they knew, what they understood. It's more than probable that the Magi, these wise men, had access not only to the stars in heaven, but these Magi had access to some prophecies. We're familiar with some Judaism, especially that of Daniel. and the prophecies that Daniel had made about the coming ruler of God. Because these men were almost certainly Persian by birth, or Babylonian. And they were royalty in the sense, not that they were kings, but of a royal and priestly class, advisors to kings and counselors to those kings. They were very well-to-do, and they were looked upon as men of learning in astrology and astronomy, which were not two separate subjects at that time. But the Old Testament gives us evidence that this is fulfillment of prophecy. For Psalms, chapter 72, verses 10 through 11 tells us, May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute. May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him. All nations serve him. And Isaiah in chapter 60 in verse 3 says, And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. to see that Israel was supposed to be a light to the Gentiles, and in the birth of Jesus, the light of the world has come, and that they are indeed a light to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles themselves, from way far away over in Persia, have come to see this King. Listen to this prediction in Isaiah chapter 60, verses 5 through 6. Then you shall see and be radiant. Your heart shall thrill and exult because the abominance of the sea shall be turned to you. The wealth of nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you. The young camels of Midian and Ephah, all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord. This was written 800 years before this time. And they've come and they've brought gold and they've brought frankincense to this Messianic king. It reminds us of a story in the Old Testament told in 2 Kings. How at the height of Solomon's wealth, the height of his wisdom, the height of his conquered nation, The Queen of Sheba came and she came to hear about this and to see this one dude she had heard so much about. And when she came to see and hear, she gave him gifts and he returned those, returned her with more favor and more gifts. And as Matthew is going to say in chapter 12, In the birth of Jesus Christ, one greater than Solomon is here. And the kings have come to bow down and to worship at his feet. One greater than Solomon is here. Not only are his visitors evidence that he is the true king, his star is also evidence. For what they say is that 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, his star that is risen in the east. When we were in the east, we saw it rise, and we've come to worship Him. It is this star that it says in verse 9, as they went on their way, behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them, and it came to rest over the place where the child was. Originally, they followed the star to Jerusalem. thinking that in the capital city, that's where they'll find the king that is going to be born. And they come to Herod's house thinking that certainly this king that is going to be born has been born to the present king, but no child has been born in Herod's house. And so when they leave Herod, the star rises and goes before them and comes to rest over Bethlehem after they had been told that the child will be born in Bethlehem. and they see the star and it says when they see the star they rejoice with exceedingly great joy at seeing this star. Now what is this star? The simple answer to that question is I have no idea. There have been all sorts of speculation from astronomers and physicists and biblical scholars Some have said it's a comet. Some have said it's a conjunction of planets that have come together and shone brightly. Some have said that it's a supernova, an exploding star. I don't think by the way that it looks and the way that it behaves, rising and leading them forward and coming to rest over the place where it was, I don't think that it's anything natural at all. I think it's something supernatural. I think this star has maybe, as some have said, maybe the very Shekinah glory of God shining brightly and leading the people on. Just as God's glory, God's glory went before the children of Israel and led them through the wilderness, this shining bright star that they see may indeed be the glory of God that they interpret as a star. I think what is amazing about the story is that These men are stargazers. These men don't know much about the scriptures, but they know a lot about stars. And the way that God communicates to them, the way that God gets their attention about his king is through something they know a lot about, which is the stars. Because in the Old Testament, We're told to stay away from astrology and those who seek signs and divination and try to read the stars. The Magi are not really well respected people in that sense by Jewish people. But God in his grace can speak to us in whatever way he deems appropriate. And he spoke to stargazers by sending them a star to let them know that his child, his king, their king had been born. And so they follow that star. Now, what I want you to see is that this also is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Numbers in chapter 24 and verse 17 says this, and this is in the context of Balaam, you know, the guy whose donkey talked. Balaam, who, by the way, was a visionary from the east who was serving a king, Balak, who was wanting to kill Jewish people. This is what he said. I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. A star, a scepter, a ruler is going to come out of Jacob, out of Israel. A descendant of David, initially, is who this is talking about. But now we see that this is a fulfillment of that prophecy in the birth of Jesus Christ. Let's look also at the specific prophecy that is a line of evidence for us here. For it says that the child is going to be born in Bethlehem. And I told you earlier that Herod got the chief priests and the scribes together and inquired where the Christ was to be born. And they told him in Bethlehem of Judea. And they said Judea because there's another Bethlehem up at Zebulun. And they're distinguishing this Bethlehem from the other Bethlehem. And this Bethlehem used to be called Ephrathah. Ephrathah. And so it goes by both names. That's why in Micah's passage that they quote there, saying that the child was to be born in Bethlehem, it says in Bethlehem, Ephrathah. And it says in verse 6, they're quoting Micah 5.2. And it says, 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. Now Bethlehem is a place that is small. small little town, but an important town because we know a lot about Bethlehem from the Old Testament. This is the place where Jacob buried Rachel. This is the place where Ruth the Moabitess met her husband Boaz as she was gleaning in his fields. And this is the place where their great-grandson David was born and where he tended sheep. all this life before becoming king of Israel. And Bethlehem had become known as the city of David. And they got to Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph did, you know, by Caesar Augustus issuing a decree that a census was going to be taken and everyone was to be taxed, and they were to go to the house of their lineage, to the place and birthplace of their forefathers. So they went to Bethlehem, being of the house and lineage of David. And what God had promised David in 2 Samuel 5, 2 was this very thing, that in times past when Saul was king over us, it was you who led us out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, you shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel. God is raising up the shepherd. Unlike the chief priests, unlike Herod, God is raising up a real shepherd for his people, a real king for his people, someone who will care for them. Because we know that Jesus, when he looks out over the multitudes that is hungry, he sees them as people as sheep without a shepherd. The last line of evidence that we see here are the gifts that the Magi bring. They go into the house and see the child marry his mother. They fell down and worshiped him and they opened their treasures and they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. They bring these gifts before Him because when you as a dignitary go to see a foreign king, that was something that you did in those days. You brought them gifts and all the time they would return to you gifts. I don't think the Magi had any idea when they set off on that journey that they were going to find God Himself in the manger. I don't think they had any idea of all that this child would be and all that this child would do. But as they grew in understanding, as they went on this journey, I believe they came to a greater understanding that this is something really special about this child. And as they bowed before him and worshipped him and offered him these gifts, there is some symbolism in this gift that perhaps the Magi knew nothing about. And again, I'll tell you that there almost certainly were not three. We don't know how many there were. It could have been 14, could have been 50. I don't know how many Magi there were, but we only think there are three because they brought three gifts. And if later explanations have grown up, later mythology has even named these guys Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, and the Bible doesn't name them. We don't know their names. We don't even know how many there are. And we've seen we three kings, but they're properly not kings, even though they almost certainly look like royalty. But they gave frankincense, and they gave gold, and they gave myrrh. Gold is the medal of kings. They were recognizing and giving the gold that this is a king, that he is the king. And frankincense, which is this glittery and pungent gum that came from the bark of special trees, was very expensive. It was a priestly thing. It was something that you burned in worship and offering and gave off the smell. And in giving it to him, they're recognizing not only that Jesus is king, but that he is priest. And then thirdly, myrrh was a very expensive perfume. A bottle of myrrh would in this day cost about $10,000. Very expensive sort of perfume that they were offering to him. It was used often in anointing a person for burial, which they're recognizing, even if they don't realize it or know it, that this king is going to die. This king is going to be buried. This king is going to die for us. You know, when Jesus was stretched out on that cross many years later, what was written over his head? This is Jesus Nazareth in three languages, the king of the Jews. He's the king. He's the king that has come and has died in our place, not militarily or politically, but he has died for our sins. You see, usually when you bring gifts to the foreign king, the king returns to you gifts. But Mary and Joseph was poor. The gift that these kings received was the gift of Christ himself, who would one day die in their place and for their sins. They wouldn't receive it now. They would receive it later. But by faith in their worship of this king, they would receive a gift greater than any we could ever receive, that we would be forgiven. that we would be clothed, these Gentiles would be clothed. The second question that we'll go through quickly is, who are God's true people? The scribes or the Magi? Both in their own day and in their own cultures were considered the wisest of peoples. The people you go to to answer questions about stuff. The wise men are called wise men, and then these scribes, when Herod needed an answer, he called the scribes and the chief priests to find out the answer. Where is this king going to be born? They're the people that you ask this kind of stuff to. But one of them we're going to see are truly wise. One group is truly wise, and the other group are fools. Who are God's true people? And as he presents it to a Jewish audience, telling them and warning them, do not think that just because you were born Jewish, just because you are a son of Abraham by birth, that you are somehow secure in God's election. These hidden Gentiles that Jerusalem knew nothing about, and didn't know God, God by His grace brought them all the way from many thousands of miles away to come and worship at the feet of His King. And these scribes, these scribes that were there, six to nine miles away, who knew where the Messiah was to be born, who heard about this star, heard from these foreign Gentiles about the King that was to be born, knew the answer to where He was going to be born, couldn't even bother themselves to get up and walk down and see if it was so. They wouldn't even go look. They sat back in their reverie, and in all of their head knowledge, they had no heart knowledge. You may know the answer to every sore soul question, and I hope and pray that you do, but if you do not know Jesus in your heart, then you know nothing, and you are headed for hell. You do not realize, perhaps, what a blessing it is to be born into a church like this and to have those who would teach you the Scriptures from the beginning of your days to the end. You not only have the noble blessings of being born into a Christian home and being taught the Scriptures and having this knowledge, but do not think because your granddaddy was a preacher or your uncle was a deacon or something that somehow exempts you from needing to put your own faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, needing to accept Him into your life. Do not think that just because you know a lot about church, and you're very familiar with church, that that means that somehow you are saved. It is a very dangerous thing to become too familiar with the story of Jesus Christ. Too familiar with the grace of God. that you do not appropriate it for yourself. God said that the Jewish people, He came to His own and His own seed did not, and their branches were broken off of the olive tree and Gentile branches were grafted in. And the warning for us according to Romans 11 is, don't you begin to get prideful and think, I've been a part of that church for all my life. Because God will bring others from outside to take our place if we do not worship the Lord God. If we sit back in our comfort, these men, the Magi, at their own cost, at their own expense, endured a treacherous and hard journey, probably on camels, for thousands of miles just because they saw a star. And they came and worshipped at the feet of this king, humbled himself, though he was nothing at the time, though they found him in poverty. They knelt down and worshipped. They did not doubt, they believed, and they worshipped him as such and as God. But these men, the scribes and the Pharisees, though they knew so much, cared so little. They couldn't be bothered. They sat in their comfort. They had no cost of discipleship. They did not pursue, they did not diligently search and seek to make this child, to make this Jesus their King, their Messiah. They had no hope that the good news was really good news to them, though they had heard it all their lives. Don't make the same mistake. Won't you fall down and worship this King? Won't you give Him yourself and receive from Him the greatest gift you could ever receive? The forgiveness of your sins and the knowledge of God our Savior. A personal relationship with Him. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.