Christmas Lessons: The Magi

a seat. What is it about this season of the year? What is it that down deep inside we have this sense of wonder. There's a sense of joy, a sense of longing, longing for things to be the way they should be. There's something inside of us that tells us there's something bigger, greater, larger, grander. And we sense it at this time of the year. Even for those who find this season of the year difficult. The loneliness seems more lonely at this time of year.

The hurt seems more hurtful. But the fact that the loneliness is greater, the hurt is more hurtful, maybe because of a past loss, maybe because of something that's been experienced. The fact that those emotions are greater testifies to the fact that this seasons of the year makes us know that ought to be about joy and hope and peace and satisfaction. And we know it's out there. Even those who don't know Jesus Christ know. They sense there's something bigger and greater.

And we see people doing all sorts of things that are generous and helpful, reaching out to people. and I just love this season of the year. Isn't it magnificent? I know some of the gift buying and stuff gets a little wrong headed and so forth but I love this time of the year when people know they ought to go beyond themselves and reach out to others and who even sense even in their paganism that there's something grander and greater. But for those of us who are in Christ this is a magnificent season of the year.

couple of weeks, we're going to be talking about lessons for Christmas from those who were there. Lessons for Christmas from those who were there. It was on one day of our collection during Operation Christmas Child this year when Connie stopped by.

[Personal prayer concern omitted.]

But as I talked with Connie, as she sat in the parking lot at Joshua's Way, what she said to me, what she said to me, made it where I couldn't talk. because I knew this woman grasped the deep meaning of this season of the year. And I'll tell you what she told me in just a moment. You know, for centuries in the early part of church history, there was no Christmas celebration. In the first three centuries of church history, based on what we know, it appears that the primary celebration and focus around the life of Christ to his death and to his resurrection. So that season of Easter was the season that was most celebrated by Christians. And there wasn't really much celebration surrounding his birth by the church in the first three centuries A.D. In fact, there was a great celebration on December 25th of each year, but in the early centuries of the church history, it wasn't a Christian celebration.

actually a pagan celebration that occurred on December 25th called Sol Invictus, which meant the unconquerable sun, S-U-N. It was a pagan festival that came right after the winter solstice. You remember what the winter solstice is? The winter solstice is on December 22nd. It's the day on which we have the least sunlight.

It's the shortest day of the year. And it would take those in ancient times a few days to realize that the days were starting to get longer. When the sun was starting to come and last longer each day. So about three days after the winter solstice, when it became evident the sun was starting to take over more of the day, there would be this grand pagan festival called Saul Invictus to worship the unconquerable son, S-U-N. Well, about the 4th century A.D., when Christians began to think about Jesus' birth and what it meant, the church began to celebrate that birth.

And they began to celebrate what was called Christ's Mass, a special celebration and they had to pick a day of the year on which they would do that and the christians picked december 25th not because there was any certainty that that was when christ was born in fact we don't know on what date christ was born but christians essentially took what was a pagan festival when the light was beginning to take back the darkness darkness when the sun was getting longer they took that pagan festival and they said this is when we're going to celebrate the coming of the unconquerable sun s-o-n when light began really took over the darkness and you begin to see from the fourth century a.d christians taking over this pagan festival folks that's the way god wants us to do this world take those things that may be directed in a wrong direction and turn them in the direction of christ and that's what the church with this pagan festival and a festival that was once dedicated to the unconquerable s-u-n became a great celebration of the s-o-n the incarnate christ christians began to develop and you will see if you are if you weren't baptist you would probably understand this better because other churches other church traditions are better at sometimes it's celebrating important events of the year, but we have the season of the year called Advent. Advent comes from a Latin word meaning to come. It begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and it's a time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of the Messiah. Advent is to Christmas as Lent is to Easter. Lent is the season of preparation that leads up to Easter.

Advent is the season of preparation that leads up to Christmas. It's a time when we should be reflecting upon all that Christ has done for us by being willing to leave the portals of heaven and to come and live on earth with us. The church began not only to celebrate Advent, the time leading up to Christmas, and Christmas, December 25th. But they had 12 days of feasting called the 12 days of Christmas that started December the 25th and went through January the 5th on the first day of Christmas. You remember the 12 days of Christmas?

Well, that's a song that doesn't remember the things of Christ, but that 12 days of Christmas comes from this 12 days of feasting. And then that 12 days of feasting would be ended on January 6th with what is called the Epiphany. Epiphany, it comes from the Greek word that means appearing or manifestation. And January 6th was the date that was celebrated by the church as the date when the wise men came to see the Messiah, the baby Jesus. and the baby Jesus was manifested or revealed to these wise men who were three Gentile in the tradition of the church, three Gentile men who came to worship the baby Jesus and had the light of Christ revealed to them on that day.

So that's a little quick glimpse of how the church calendar around Christmas has developed. want to turn to talk about that epiphany, that appearing of the baby Jesus to the wise men and what can we learn from that event. Well, let's first go to a text of scripture and look at it. Matthew chapter 2 is where we're headed.

We're going to read verses 9 to 12. Matthew chapter 2, which reads, Then Herod, that's Herod the Great, called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and make a careful search for the child. I started at verse 7, didn't I? Verse 7.

As soon as you find him, report to me so that I too may go and worship him. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense.

Many translations say frankincense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Let's pray. This day, Lord, may we learn lessons from those who were there. Those who were in the presence of the king.

For it is in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Who were these Magi? Let me give you three things to remember about the Magi. The Magi were first Gentiles.

They were not Jews. They were Gentiles who came to see the king. And we see in their story the notion that this Messiah, this Jesus, is not just for the Jews. He is for all people. They were Gentile wise men.

Gentile wise men. We would probably call these magi astrologers. They were men who were educated, well educated, but they would study the stars. They would study books about the future. They would study people's dreams.

And it's not unlikely that they would be interested in this, some of these Old Testament prophecies, even though they were Gentiles, in some of these prophecies about someone who was going to come. Because they were men who were always looking and studying things about the future, about the stars and so forth. And we don't know exactly how it is they came to be so understanding about what was happening. But we know it would be typical of them to study the stars and proclamations about the future. things that would be coming forth in history.

And lastly, they were probably from Persia or southern Arabia. We don't know that for sure, but when they saw the star, they were apparently in the east, east of where Jesus was born, and many scholars believe they were probably from Persia or southern Arabia. How many were there? We don't know. Often in our conception there are three, but that's typically because of the three gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

But the text of Scripture does not tell us how many magi or wise men came to see Jesus. What about this star that they followed? Boy, this has really been one for the scholars. You know, they have thumped around and tried to figure this star out. based on some modeling that astronomers have done we know that in 7 BC there was a conjunction of two planets Saturn and Jupiter and some have conjectured hey this star that the magi saw was this astronomical event when Saturn and Jupiter were visible in the sky but so close together as to appear to be a much larger object in the sky. Others have said no it's this was about 2 BC when scientists have done, apparently Halley's Comet was visible on Earth at that time. And some have said, hey, the Magi saw Halley's Comet in 2 BC. Others have said, well, this was maybe some cataclysmic sort of event in the skies. Maybe there was a supernova, an exploding star in the skies. And that's what these Magi saw. But you know, all of these explanations just don't seem to fit because it appears that what the magi saw was a star that guided them that moved in some sense to take them to a place and all of these other events would not have had that sort of movement that would be guiding i must confess as i study this and those of us who take seriously the authority of scripture i think we see a supernatural event that somehow god in his And in his power, put a supernatural star in the sky that guided these wise men.

But you will see if you do much study that there will be other speculations about this star. What I want to talk about more importantly today is what we learn from the Magi. Not so much who they were or how many or what the star. But what are the lessons we learn from them as they come to see the baby known as the king, King Jesus? The first lesson is this.

No matter how far the journey, we should seek him. These wise men had to travel probably from Persia or southern Arabia. It would have been a significant trip, particularly as they had to travel on foot or with animals. so it would have been a long trip that they had to go in order to seek out this king. But they made the journey.

The lesson I want us to hear is no matter how far the journey, we today should seek him. The distance we must travel to find him is not a geographical distance. But the distance we must travel for some of us may seem like a far distance. but it's a distance that's more of a spiritual distance than a geographical distance. Some of us must cross the barrier of our past in order to find this Jesus.

Sometimes our past, what's happened in our past, makes us think we can never find this Jesus. And He will not accept us. but I tell you today the barrier of the past is not a distance too far to find this Jesus you must seek him no matter what the past may have been some of us must call cross the barrier of family resistance the distance we must go to get to Jesus is to be willing to take the resistance the family may have to serious commitment to Jesus Christ because family life will change if we seriously commit to Jesus Christ. And some family members may not want those changes. They may want life just as it is.

Some of us must cross the barrier of peer pressure. You know, what will the folks at work think if I really get serious about my commitment to Jesus? What will my friends think? Am I willing to be different and to be seen as different? Am I willing to take some of their snide remarks And jokes about the holy roller.

Who now follows Jesus. Some of us must cross the barrier of pride. The distance for us to get to Jesus. Is to be willing to give up our pride. Some of us may feel too educated.

Too much above this sort of religious stuff. To really humble ourselves and follow this king. But the magi would say. You must seek him. You must seek him.

No matter what you must cross. No matter the distance. The second lesson is. our status we should joyfully bow down and worship him this king is for all people the magi were wealthy in all likelihood they were in all likelihood wealthy because they were educated men educated men who were men of status and position they may well have been priest in a religious caste or in a religious system of their countries. And thus, as men of status, men of education, men likely of wealth, it would have been easy for them to think themselves above seeking out this Jesus, particularly seeking out one who was born in such humble circumstances.

But the message of the Magi is we should joyfully bow down and worship him no matter our The text of Scripture says that when the Magi saw the star, this is in verse 9, verse 10, when they saw the star, the NIV says they were overjoyed. That word just doesn't capture. In the Greek text, it says they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. These guys were beside themselves when they finally saw the star come to the place where Jesus was. And the text of scripture says that these wise men, these men of status and education and wealth went in.

And in their joy they bowed down and worshipped him. Now the text there when they bowed down, it's not bowing down like this. Like you walk in and bow. The bowing down is down on your knees. Down on your face in front of a king.

The Greek text is clear. They bowed down on their knees and the worship is down on your face in front of the Messiah. These men knew they were in the presence of majesty. And they acted like it. They got down on their knees and down on their faces in front of the king.

We too, folks, this Christmas season should with joy and enthusiasm bow down before the king and worship him. The third lesson is this. No matter how costly, we should give him our finest gifts. The gifts they gave were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold, precious metal.

Frankincense was a sweet smelling gum that was taken from the rosin of a Middle Eastern tree. It was used in trade and barter. You could use it to buy and sell things, but it gave off a sweet aroma. And myrrh was a perfume also used in bartering and exchanging, but a perfume that was often used in burial and in embalming. The bodies start to decay.

You don't have a woods mortuary. Myrrh and you spread the myrrh on the body. These were very valuable gifts in this day. Gold was for royalty. Frankincense was indicative of divinity.

Incense was often used in religious ceremonies. And the incense was a gift that indicated Christ's divinity. Myrrh, again a perfume used in burial, was a precursor. A foretelling that this one who was born in Bethlehem was bound to die. The myrrh is a hint, a foreshadowing of Jesus' death and his burial.

The fourth lesson is this. No matter his greatness, we should not be surprised when he is opposed. No matter the greatness of God, of Christ, we should not be surprised when he is opposed. we're told wanted to get rid of this baby Jesus. The wise men were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod.

Herod was a descendant of Esau. You remember the twins Jacob and Esau?

King Herod came out of the line of Esau, not out of the line of the promise, and not out of the line of Jacob. He was a vassal king who ruled over the Jews. In other words, Rome was the ultimate authority, but the Romans allowed Herod to be sort of a local king who would rule from 37 to 4 BC. He would die shortly after Jesus was born. He was a cruel and paranoid king.

He had his wife, Miriamne, executed. He had three of his sons executed. He had his mother-in-law executed. He had his brother-in-law executed. He had his uncle executed.

And many, many others. He had so many people executed that Caesar Augustus, the Roman emperor of the day, said this about Herod. It is better to be Herod's pig. And in the Greek, the word pig is hus. It is better to be Herod's pig, his hus, than Herod's son.

And in Greek, the word son is huios. So it's a play of words. It's better to be Herod's hus than his huios. Better to be his hus than his huios. Better to be his pig than to be his son.

And we know that this Herod would have the babies of Bethlehem executed in an effort to get rid of this king. of the Jews. Herod's opposition to Jesus is still seen today. Is it not?

Stand up in a room and say Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.

In a room with secular folks, you know, not just church folks. Jesus is the only way of salvation. You better duck. Somebody will be throwing something at you. When Franklin Graham goes on national TV and says on national TV, Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.

When he writes a book called The Name, there's only one name by which we must be saved. Watch the criticism come to flow. We should not be surprised when there's opposition. It's in the story, folks. It's in the story.

It's in the story. It's part of the story. So four lessons. Now here are my questions for Christmas. And I'm not giving you lessons for life.

I'm giving you questions for Christmas. Three questions in light of this story. Three questions in light of the lessons we've learned from the Magi. Question number one. How is our joy index?

How is our joy index? We fed some homeless people last night. There were probably 15 or 20 people from this class who went over to Greenville. We had about 100 homeless people that we fed.

You need to go feed some homeless people if you've never done it. It will, number one, make you thankful for all God has done. But it makes you also appreciate how much we can do to help people and how much need there is out there. At the end of the session, we stood around and we had prayer together. and there were a few of the homeless left there who gathered in a circle and prayed.

And there was a lady who I was holding with my right hand who said, you know, even though we're homeless, we have so much to be thankful for.

We have so much to be thankful for. And two or three began to testify about the fact that they had Jesus Christ. And that gave them such joy even in the midst of their difficulty. Write down my inventory of joy. Things I should be joyful for this Christmas.

You know, after you do your inventory of life. Remember we talked about that last week. Once you get done with that one. I'm sure most of you have done it by now. But just in case you haven't.

Do your inventory of life. But then do your inventory of joy. About what should you give joy this Christmas. We should certainly give joy that we have a hope through Jesus Christ our Lord. one day, one day, all things will be set right and we will enjoy eternity with him in heaven.

But my inventory of joy had names like Louise and Joshua. My inventory also had the death of Joshua as a reason for joy because by that the Lord changed me. Caleb and Kate, Joshua's way, Christ seekers on my inventory of joy. The gang of eight, you know who you are. For you I give joy.

For the Pisgah National Forest.

For sunsets. For health. For birds. I particularly like the cardinals that come into my backyard. And I can see the glory of the Lord in the birds.

For parents. for Mark, Paul, Tom, Ben, Rosemary,

for Amazing Grace, for Chinese food, for cheesecake with the strawberries and the cherry all over it, for the Goodbye Xavier Church, for Atu, for Leslie for introducing me to Atu. The inventory could go on and on.

And I praise the Lord that he lets me hold the hands of a homeless woman and reach out and hug her. We have much to be thankful for. When did we last bow and worship him? I know it's not our practice to do much bowing and scraping. We have too much dignity.

our status is too high it would look unbecoming but if you ever do it folks it's a freeing experience it was a saturday morning this past summer in adis ababa ethiopia i had just finished eating breakfast with atu and her brother beta and beta's wife sophie and we began to pray and it was just the four of us it was a rare time when just the four of us were together we usually were with other people and so forth but we began to pray but then they those three began to pray for me i mean just for me i mean just for me now you get if you want to hear people pray you got to get around some ethiopians if you want to hear prayer but as they began to pray for me and they came over and they put their hands on me it wasn't but a few minutes folks i was down on my knees and down on my face and the tears were flowing as they prayed that the Lord would bless me, as they prayed for Louise that her lungs would be healed, as they prayed for Caleb and Kate, as they prayed that the Lord would bless Joshua's way. And they just went on and on and on. I will never forget that day. We were in the presence of the King and we were on our faces before him. When's the last time you bowed down and worshipped?

go home, close the door where nobody can see. Get out on your knees, bow down, and begin to thank Him for all that He has done. Bow down and worship. It'll change your life. Last question.

Are we willing to give Him our best no matter what the cost? Our God should not be the God of the leftovers. Our God should not be the God of the lukewarm effort. Our God should not be the God who gets our half-baked excuses. Our God should not be the God who gets our effort when it's fair weather.

He should be the God who gets our first. He should be the God who gets our best. He is the God who gets the ultimate sacrifice from us to do whatever He has called us to do. Willing to give him the best no matter what the cost. This Christmas season is a reminder that he came from the portals of heaven.

Though he was rich and became poor. That we through his poverty might become rich. We owe him. We owe him and we should give it back to him. Well Connie Condry pulled into the Joshua's Way parking lot.

She came with her daughter.

[Personal prayer concern omitted.]

I had to come with my daughter, and I had to bring my shoebox. I had to bring a shoebox so that I know that some child somewhere this year will hear from me about the love of Christ and the message of the Savior.

[Personal prayer concern omitted.]

that's somebody who understands the joy of Christmas and understands the hope that we have in the Savior. May we hear the message. May we hear the message this Christmas season. Let's pray.

Lord, I pray that we will not take this season lightly. I know it can be a time when old hurts hurt deeper, when those who we loved and are no longer with us seem so much further away. When the pain of loneliness can be great. But may we this Christmas remember that you came down into our hurt. You came to live among us.

And you are with us every step of the way. We praise you that you became flesh lived among us. We praise you that humanity was able to view your glory. I pray, having seen what you have done for us, I pray that we will commit ourselves more fervently to serving you. For as in Christ's name we pray, amen. See you next week. Don't forget about...