Pastor Jim’s sermon on January 4 looked forward to the day of Epiphany, which technically occurs on January 6. How do the star and the search for the Messiah speak to us today?
Our scripture reading was Matthew 2:1-12. Click the “Play” button to listen to the recording of the sermon and then scroll down and follow along…
Matthew 2:1-12
Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. At about that time some astrologers from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in far-off eastern lands and have come to worship him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, and all Jerusalem was filled with rumors. He called a meeting of the Jewish religious leaders. “Did the prophets tell us where the Messiah would be born?” he asked. “Yes, in Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet Micah wrote: ‘O little town of Bethlehem, you are not just an unimportant Judean village, for a Governor shall rise from you to rule my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod sent a private message to the astrologers, asking them to come to see him; at this meeting he found out from them the exact time when they first saw the star. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too!”
9 After this interview the astrologers started out again. And look! The star appeared to them again, standing over Bethlehem. Their joy knew no bounds! Entering the house where the baby and Mary, his mother, were, they threw themselves down before him, worshiping. Then they opened their presents and gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 But when they returned to their own land, they didn’t go through Jerusalem to report to Herod, for God had warned them in a dream to go home another way.
Wise Men Trivia…
How many were there?
When did they arrive?
What was this star?
- 7BC- An unusual conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter which could have appeared as a new star.
- 3BC- Haley’s Comet flared through the skies
- A supernova
But ultimately, God is in charge of nature. Is it such a stretch that He could have used a star to announce the birth of His son?
Is Wise Men an oxymoron?
The Search for the Messiah…
“Bethlehem- the Final frontier. This is the voyage of the search of Jesus the Messiah…
The journey of the Wise Men, fulfilling their divine calling: To explore for the coming of Messiah, to seek out new life, and a divine civilization….
To boldly go where no saint has gone before!
Regardless of the questions regarding the identity of the Wise Men, or, or of how many there were, or of when they arrived, clearly they were people on a mission. They endured hardships (even been on a camel?) and spent a lot of time traveling to Bethlehem just to see this Baby. There must have something very special going on. They must have had a thirst and deep passion to find this Baby and make a connection with God.
As we consider this passage and the journey of the Wise Men, we can make the following three observations…
1: A Sincere Search for God Always Leads to Jesus…
As the opening credits of Star Trek suggest, Captain Kirk and crew were always “seeking out new life and civilizations.” The Wise Men were seeking God, and God let them directly to Jesus. We too, are in a constant mode of seeking God. And when we diligently seek God, we’ll soon discover the truth of John 14:6 where Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
In Acts 17, Paul arrives in Athens. The Athenians were very religious; in fact they’d worship any god who came along. So they were curious in what Paul had to say about this “new god.”
22-23 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
The Athenians were open to any god that came along; they even wanted to keep their bases covered just in case they missed a god, so they set up an altar to an “unknown god.” Even though they didn’t know the true God, they were looking for Him.
So Paul answered their search by telling them about Jesus. …
29-31 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone — an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
To Paul, Jesus was central to the search for this “unknown God.” A search for God will always lead you to Jesus.
Searching for God takes a sense of shared vision and purpose. You need diligence. Luke 15 tells us the parable of a widow who searched her house high and low for a missing coin. The Wise Men’s diligence should serve as an example to us. Just sitting around and talking isn’t enough. The French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote: “Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.”
The wise men stuck it out. They rode the camel; many miles. They looked outward focusing on the star. They didn’t waver.
And they were prepared! Even though they were Gentiles from the East, God had planted seeds which would lead them to Jesus. Could it be that God allowed the exile to Babylon and Persia, in part, to allow the Jewish people to take the message about God to the fore-bearers of these Wise Men?
If we follow God’s star, WE will find Him. If we continue to lock arms in worship and service… if we journey together in our collective faith following His star, we will accomplish what God intends.
2: Once Found, You Give God Your Best…
One of the highlights on any Star Trek mission was to provide any kind of help and humanitarian aid they could. They gave the best of food, medicine, shelter, education, and wisdom they could. One of the most enjoyable things about Christmas is giving gifts to others. YES, it is nice to receive, but the real blessing is the joy of giving the best to others. The Wise Men understood this.
Give the best…
- Many of our gift giving these days is really “Exchanging” instead of “Giving.” Can you forgive someone who doesn’t want to be forgiven? Jesus did (take a look at Luke 23:34… “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”) Jesus didn’t say, “Hey, those people don’t deserve forgiveness; they don’t even want forgiveness.” But don’t we do that with gifts? Have we lost the spirit of truly giving without expecting to receive?
- Real gifts are motivated by love. Here’s what God did- while we were still sinners and had no desire of forgiveness… “For God so loved the world that… He GAVE.”
The phrase “Gift Exchange” is an oxymoron.
The phrase “Love Gift” is redundant!
As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7, Love ALWAYS gives. You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.
The Wise Men knew what they were giving. These three gifts were not accidental; their gifts teach us about Jesus:
3: Once You’ve Encountered Jesus, You Can’t Walk the Same Path…
In the Star Trek episodes, note that when Captain Kirk leaves a planet or some far out galaxy, the Enterprise does not follow the same path or course that they took to arrive.
To Quote Captain Kirk in the final scene of Star Trek VI, he plots a new course by saying:
Second star to the right, and straight on till morning.
What are you looking at to navigate? There are a lot of “stars” we can follow. But once we’ve encountered Jesus, we’ll look for a reset in our GPS. In Matthew 2:12 God warned the magi in a dream to go home a different way. Not only did they return by a different route, but they also went back home as different men. When you encounter Jesus Christ, when you recognize who He is, when you embrace Him and allow Him to embrace you… You’ll never be the same again!
- Will this worship experience this morning empower you to walk a different path as a believer?
- Consider the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:17… “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, and new has come.”
Two men were seated next to each other on the commercial plane. After breezing through the on-flight magazine, the first man turned to the other and asked, “so what kind of work do you do?” The other man replied, “I am a pastor of a church.” “Oh,” said the first man quickly. “I don’t believe in this religious stuff. It’s for kids, you know.” He then mockingly sang, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so…”
The minister laughed politely, and asked the other man what he did for a living. “I am an astronomer,” said the first man.
“Oh, that stuff,” said the minister. “I thought it was just for kids, you know- Twinkle, twinkle little star…”
What’s a Star???
We’re all fascinated by stars and by the vastness of space. But Jesus… The world and all of the stars were created through Him. The Son of the living God! Shouldn’t we be more excited about Him? Shouldn’t we be lost in the wonder of His gift of love and forgiveness? Like the Wise Men, shouldn’t we be committed to following His star?
What about your stardate? Are you wishing and searching for something like the Wise Men? You may call it searching for ultimate truth, or searching for purpose or meaning in life, or searching for happiness or peace, or you may not know what you’re searching for. But if you search diligently for God, there WILL be a star that leads you to Jesus.
The saying is true, “Wise men still seek Him.” But the Wise Men weren’t wise because they were seeking Jesus. We call them wise today because they FOUND Jesus and they determined to follow Jesus (Matthew 2:11).
If you are a Christian, you may be thinking, “That’s great! I hope someone reading this is guided to Jesus, but what truth is there for me in this passage? I’ve already met Jesus, bowed before Him, and given Him my worship.”
Here’s the application:
God wants to use YOU as His star!
Who do you know in your Universe who needs to be guided to Jesus? The Bible says, “and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).
Go out there and take a starring role in leading people to Jesus!!!
Quiz Time!
As you reflect on what you’ve just heard/read, give this quiz a try. If you don’t understand an answer (or if you disagree with the “correct” answer, post a comment…
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