The Wise Men: Giving worship to God

Matthew's Gospel chapter 2, thinking somewhat along the same lines. We've looked at an offerer who gave, and now I want to look at several men who gave as well, but both for the same reason, that they might worship. Matthew chapter 2 verse 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, Matthew's gospel is the gospel of the king.

You can understand Herod's being upset, his consternation, as this gospel opens with this competition, as it were, but there really is no competition. When Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. Now these wise men, they have been referred to as Magi, they were basically the kingmakers of the day, but you would have to ask yourself, how did they find out? What made them come? They saw a star, but you would have seen stars in the sky at other times too, of course this star was slightly different.

Could it have been the testimony of Daniel in the past? Could it have been that which was written as they come from the east, from that area where he was, and Daniel would speak of one that would come, and as they read that, perhaps that was what spoke to them, guided them. Of course there is the activity of the Holy Spirit too, who moved them to come as well, but the interesting thing is that there is a star, it was light, light that ultimately guided them to where he is. That will always be the way, that the light, the word of God is given as a light to us, and it guides us, it brings us in.

So while we would encourage people to, as our brother has been doing, to worship, what gives us the food, the material for that worship? What gives us the direction to guide us to Christ? It is the Word of God, the light of the Word of God. And so they were guided by that, and so they came to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

So I don't think this were, this was three wise men coming on camels, this was likely be a large group of men that would have come to provide such an upsetting feel, a disconcerting feel to Jerusalem, as now these men are coming, this group is coming, a large entourage. It says, and verse four, and when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together. These men are going to be his enemies.

These men are going to stir up the people, right? And yet Herod inquires of them, and it says he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, and a reference to Micah chapter 5, in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. And in keeping with the theme of the Gospel of Matthew, the king who's coming, he is revealed, he is resisted, he is rejected, and he returns back to heaven.

But it's interesting that this prophecy that is given, not only where he should be born, they knew that, but what he should do as well. And yet they would be the ones that would provide such a vehement rejection of Christ in his life, in his ministry, and ultimately in his death. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently or accurately what time the star appeared, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child, and when you have found him, bring me word again.

Was thinking, what a contrast to this man and what we've just been hearing. Here is a man that says, now when you found him, you tell me about it. But he wanted to kill him.

What a contrast to the father who says, when you find him, when you find him in the word, when you find him in my word, you bring me word again, you tell me about him. Beautiful thought. It's reminiscent, isn't it, of the Old Testament, that Joseph could tell his brethren, go tell my father of all my glories in Egypt.

How the father loves to hear about his son. And so, but Herod wants it for a different reason. And there's a little, just from a practical standpoint, information, knowledge from the Word of God, without appreciation for Christ, can actually be a damaging thing.

But when we combine that with appreciation for him, there will be obedience, there will be worship, and that is exactly what is produced in these magi, these wise men. Let's continue on. It says, and when you have found him, verse 8, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also.

When they heard, when they had heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother. Notice the order here. When they were come into the house, it almost reminds us, doesn't it, a little bit of the tabernacle of old, that you could see it from afar, and there was a light that shone, but it was only when you ultimately would go inside that you would see that glory that was there.

And only one man could see that glory once a year. But here, as they don't stop short of the door, the star is guiding them, picture it, they're coming, they've got their gifts, specific gifts, and now they go in. But look at the order that is very significant too.

They saw the young child first. He is given the place of preeminence. And then it says, with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshipped them.

No, they worshipped him. He is given that unique place. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

It's interesting the groups of people that come to meet the Lord Jesus at the first. You have, for example, the shepherds that were told, and as the shepherds were told about him from the angelic ministry, the message, they said, this shall be a sign unto you. Well, who was the one that was associated with signs? It was the prophets, the voices of the prophets.

And then you have another group that is going to be introduced to him. Who is that? That's Simeon and Anna, and they're in the temple. And who would be associated with the temple? Well, that would be the priests.

And then you have another group that is associated with his introduction and his arrival. And who is that? Well, that's these wise men. And where do they come? They come to see one who was born king.

So we have one in his very introduction who so clearly reminds us of the one who was both the prophet, the priest, and the king. And as they come before him, what is their sole reason to come before the Lord? Before this young child, this child that they have made the arduous journey of months. I've often tried to picture what it would have been like as they were leaving the east.

Where are you going? Well, we're going to see a king. Well, we already have a king. No, no, no, no, no.

This king is different. We've seen his star in the east. The king here has never had a star.

And as they make their journey, perhaps their family, perhaps the people around would never have agreed. Where are you going? Why are you going? A king you've never seen? To a government that is removed from ours? Isn't that what we're doing? We're recognizing a government, and a ruler, and a sovereign, and a Lord. And the world around doesn't understand that.

All they know is what they know. And what we've done this morning is we have recognized one whom the world has not seen, who we have not seen. And yet, as our brother has mentioned in his worship, whom having not seen we love.

We give him that place. Now, I want to just think about one or two things here as they come. Number one, I want you to notice that they presented.

My brother touched on something this morning that it was in my heart as I was thinking of this passage. The peace offering was voluntary. It was not required, but it was evidence of a person who was in communion with God.

And there was the joint, as it were, participation and enjoyment in that and over that peace offering. You have the same thing here. God requires worship, but ultimately, it is voluntary.

It is the recognition and the appreciation of the worth of that one that is being worshiped. And then it's costly. It says they presented unto him their gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And I'm not going to go into the significance of each one of them, but just the sake of that, each one of them was costly. They had to gather this. There was time taken.

There was a cost involved. And there was a willingness involved. And you'll notice that, I don't know, it says they presented unto him.

Maybe they all brought the same gifts and they all presented. We're not told. Maybe one group brought this gift and another group brought that gift.

But the interesting thing about the gifts, what I want to bring out, is the variety of them. They're different. You have no... I want to encourage.

It was wonderful to hear the young brothers get up this morning. And some of you I could hear. I hear it in my own voice at times, so you never get over this.

A little bit of a quavering, a little bit of a quivering, okay? There's a little bit of a nervousness. God help us that we never stop getting nervous. We don't become professionals at what we're doing.

But I was thinking, you have such a variety of material, of information, of wonder, in this book called the Bible, that you can present unto him a variety of gifts. This... it will take time. It will take mining, the ability to shut out things.

I've had to even at times, well many times, you get texts and you get calls and you get... and just shut off the phone. Just close the door. Just... just get alone with God.

These men, you could see, nothing was going to deter them. Even a Herod himself, he wasn't going to stop them. Nothing was going to... the journey, the time, the cost, they made a focus to present unto him their gifts that were costly of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Did he appreciate it? Well, he was just a little child. I don't know exactly... we were discussing to what extent that the Lord Jesus knew so much. Perhaps he limited himself that it would be consistent with the various stages of his growth.

But I can tell you this, the Father knew. His God knew. And he has recorded it here.

And everything you give to him, and every worship that you present, no matter how small that you might think it is, it's costly. God records it, as it were. He appreciates it, and he puts it down.

And it says here, interestingly, when it says that now, verse 12, and being warned of God and a dream, that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt. We know that Joseph and Mary were poor.

We know that from their offering, what they gave as well. We know as well that there was no room for them in the inn, so that they could not have money to flash around, they couldn't buy an open space, and so on. So how did they afford, where did they get the resources to provide the wherewithal to go into Egypt? Can I suggest to you, it was partly from the gifts that they were given, of the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh, that God had actually looked after the preservation of His Son, so that there would be further movements by what those men had given? Let me just make it practical.

Your worship, your giving to Him, in terms of your time, your sacrifice, your resources, in whatever way, all born out of worship, will not only preserve you, but it will enable resources where He will be furthered, where His testimony, as it were, would be further seen among others. His journey, as it were, until we're all called home, it will be fueled to take the word from my brother, in terms of by what our worship is, and what we give. Might God help us just to think of how worthy the Lord Jesus is, and how much He has given to us, and in light of that, brother, sister, spend time.

Spend time alone. Present gifts to Him. Give unto Him your gold, your frankincense, your myrrh, your worship.

Enjoy that communion that is so necessary, and spend time in His Word. The light of the Word of God will always bring you to Christ, just as it brought these men. Our Father, we come before Thee now, and we give Thee thanks for what we have been able to carry out this morning.

We have, whether silently or audibly, presented unto Him our gifts. He is worthy. The gold, the frankincense, the myrrh.

We thank Thee for the Lord Jesus, who presented Himself. We read that He gave Himself. He could give no greater.

And our Father, we thank Thee for every bit of response from our hearts that has come forth to Him and to Thee, for the greatness of His mighty stoop, for the wonder of the cross. We thank Thee for the enjoyment of the peace offering. Christ is our peace, and we give thanks, O God, for Him.

Thank Thee for the fact that what we have done this morning, we have been able to complete. As much as we want to see Him, there is the wonder of being able to complete another remembrance of our Lord Jesus. And so we look to the day when these emblems will be set aside, and we will, as we have sung, see Him face to face.

Guide us throughout the rest of the day, O God. We pray that there might be light that would be given, that we might see Him, that we might be brought to the place where He is, even as this day would continue. And we do give Thee thanks now for the food and for the refreshment that is to follow.

We thank Thee for the kindness of the saints here to provide and prepare. And we look to Thee as we give thanks, ultimately, for every good gift and every perfect gift that comes from above, from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning, and most of all, for Thy beloved Son. In His name we pray and ask and give thanks.

Amen.