Matthew 2:1-12 | We Two Kings

This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Good morning.

Thank you, Lowell.

Would you please take your Bible and open it to Matthew chapter 2 if you have it with you?

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

If not, I encourage you to use a Bible that it's provided for you in the pew rack in front of you.

A few weeks ago, we started working our way through the book of Matthew, through the Christmas season, looking at God's promise, the plan for his promise, how that was carried out, how he prepared for that, and then how that actually came to be.

I would like to continue walking with you through the book of Matthew, and this morning we find ourselves in Matthew chapter 2.

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

And in God's providence, I think it is a fantastic place to begin 2019 together.

So I'd like to read the first part of this chapter, if you would like to follow along with me.

Again, that is Matthew chapter 2.

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

I'll begin reading in verse 1.

It says, Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men came from the east 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.

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 what time 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, so 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.

And when they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary 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.

Amen.

Have you ever had to adjust to a change in authority?

Maybe that's not the proper question, because all of us at one point or another have had to adjust to a change in authority.

Maybe the better question is how have you adjusted to changes in authority?

Every four to eight years, we adjust to a new president in the United States of America.

And perhaps to a slightly different way of governing the country depending on the political party and majority.

Perhaps you've had to adjust to a new employer, to a new boss, maybe a new structure in the administration of your organization.

On a much more personal level, perhaps you've had to adjust to a new community.

Therefore, as a child, to a new school, to new teachers, to a new principal.

Maybe even on a very personal level, you've had to adjust to a new parent.

Those adjustments are all difficult in various ways.

Personally, I've had to adjust to all of those changes that I've just mentioned.

To political leaders, new employers, new bosses, new schools and teachers, and even a new parent.

Each adjustment to a new kind of authority is unique.

And it can be simple all the way to very complex and very life-impacting.

Now, one of the most one of the most difficult aspects of submitting to a new authority is when that new authority comes into your life and, at least from your perspective, changes the rules.

Things are working a little bit differently now.

We tend to revolt.

We don't like change.

And when a new authority comes into our lives and changes the status quo, everything feels like it's in turmoil.

We lose that sense of control that we like to have, even if we were not in charge in the first place.

From the divine perspective, from God's viewpoint, everything is fine.

Everything is under control.

Everything is proceeding as planned.

Everything is going forth as scheduled.

God is establishing his son as king.

But for Herod, everything is changing.

And his world is out of control.

A new authority has arrived on the scene, and it is an authority to which Herod must ultimately submit.

And the same is true for you and me.

We've just sung a little bit ago about Emmanuel.

God with us.

God is now with us in the birth of a boy named Jesus, and his authority is real.

His authority is present today, and his authority is ultimate.

He is the king.

How will you respond?

Now we typically know this passage because of the magi.

The popular understanding of these individuals is that they were kings.

Or maybe maybe your translation or your understanding is there were wise men.

And we typically understand that there were three of them.

We even have a Christmas song about the three kings.

Well, they were not kings, and even the term wise men is a bit improper.

And we don't know how many there were.

There could have been two, there could have been ten.

We don't know.

It has long been assumed that there were three individuals because of the three gifts given to Jesus in verse 11.

It's just kind of been a church history sort of thing connected together.

There could have been, though many more, and very likely they traveled in a large company that included several assistants and guards along the way.

This was not a small detail.

They were magi.

In the most basic terms, they were religious scientists.

Now I know in our culture today those two terms really don't go together.

But in the ancient world they could and they did.

Magi were skilled in astronomy.

They were perhaps the most skilled astronomers in the ancient world.

They knew the skies, they knew the stars, they knew the constellations, they tracked the movements of stars and planets.

They were even sophisticated enough to calculate future movements of stars and planets.

And we have some of their records today.

At the same time, Magi were astrologers.

They didn't study the stars merely for the sake of science, but because they believed the skies gave them information for life.

From the stars, they could receive revelation from the gods for their own lives.

You might say that they studied the zodiac signs to prepare for the horoscopes of their day.

Some were even involved in a sort of black magic, a connection with the spirit world.

In a way, Magi were priests.

They communicated to others what they believed the gods were telling them through the constellations and the night sky.

But they were also quite complex.

For example, in the book of Daniel, they were called upon to interpret the dreams of the king.

They were clearly important people holding high positions, notable folks, but not kings.

Their gifts to Jesus show immense wealth.

And when they spoke, people listened.

It makes sense then that the astronomers of the day would be the ones to identify the appearance of something new among the stars.

It's not surprising at all that they would interpret that discovery as some kind of sign or omen for their lives.

What is surprising is that they interpreted it correctly.

Whereas the other people in this account did not.

Those who should be expected to know the meaning of a sign from God missed the point.

Instead, it's a group of pagan astrologers, most likely from Babylon, 500 miles away, who identify the coming of God's promised king.

So what did they see?

What did they identify among the stars?

Well, they saw very simply God's celestial announcement of a king worthy of worship.

In the stars, in the skies, they saw a sign that told them he's here.

And we must worship him.

When they arrived in Jerusalem, they began inquiring about a newborn king.

Because they said they saw his star.

Not just any star, not just any light, not just any object, but one that is connected to a hymn, to a person, to a promised individual who would rule and reign.

Now much has been said about this star.

What was it exactly?

Was it a brand new star?

Was it a conjoining of planets in the sky?

Was it a nova or a supernova?

Was it an angel?

Was it some kind of supernatural light in the sky, like the fire that God led Israel with in the desert?

Well, we can't know absolutely.

It seems that it wasn't a nova or a supernova.

There's no astronomical evidence that suggests that that occurred during that time.

It's difficult to see the conjoining of planets in the sky, fulfilling all of the details that Matthew includes.

Of course, God could have done something supernatural that simply defies scientific explanation.

That is a plausible thing.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that God used a comet.

A comet.

That is perhaps the oldest understanding and explanation of this account.

It's also scientifically viable.

A comet answers all of the issues that this account raises.

And I'd love to spend time talking about it this morning, but I can't.

If you would like to know more, I would really encourage you to check out a recent book entitled The Christ Comet by Colin Nickel.

It is biblically robust, it is scientifically detailed, and it's hard to put down once you start.

If it doesn't convince you that this object was a comet, it will at least show you that a comet meets all of the requirements of God's star, as recorded in Scripture, and it honestly does so more than any other standard astronomical element.

In fact, comets were often called stars in the ancient world.

The word used here by Matthew could refer to any object in the night sky.

It could be a star, a planet, a comet, or a meteor.

But we know from historical records that they were comets were called stars in Mesopotamia as early as 500 BC.

Probably earlier than that.

Caesar Augustus, quoted by Pliny the Elder, referred to comets as hairy stars.

Hairy stars.

Think about it a little bit and you'll get it.

Pliny and historian says that comets were regarded as, quote, terrifying stars, end quote.

We'll get to why they're terrifying later.

Around 200 AD, a Roman statesman and historian referred to them as stars called comets.

So how did these Babylonian astronomers, astrologers, know that this particular comet was a sign of the birth of the king of the Jews?

Well, it's possible that the way the comet traveled through the night sky pointed to Palestine.

It's possible that the location of the comet in the night sky amongst the constellations lended itself to a particular interpretation that they led them to believe that this was God's promised person.

I think it's very likely, though, that the Magi knew something of the Hebrew scriptures.

After Israel's time of exile was over, there was a large population of Jewish people that remained in the Middle East and remained in Babylon.

There are records of a substantial Jewish population.

And we have to remember, too, the history of Daniel and his friends who were involved in government.

In fact, at one point, Daniel is numbered among the magi.

So it's very possible that these magi knew of the prophecy of another magi named Balaam, who prophesied in Numbers 24, verse 17, I see him, but not now.

Numbers 24:17

I behold him, but not near.

A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.

Balaam referred to an object that seems to move.

It comes, it rises.

They are different words for the same thing, and so it would be referring to an object like a scepter-like star.

It's interesting then that the Jewish Babylonian Talmud refers to a comet as a scepter star.

In fact, two recent Bible translations have used the word comet for this passage instead of the word scepter.

A scepter was a long straight rod, often with a round or oval cap on the end, that was a signature of a king, of someone in authority, of sovereign rule and power.

So, whatever way we choose to look at this passage, there is a reasonable means of explanation as to how the Magi came to believe that what they saw in the sky, whatever it was, indicated the birth of a Jewish king.

A king whom they believed was worthy of worship.

So worthy was he that they immediately prepared and left on a month-long trip of at least 500 miles across the desert on foot with camels, who knows, to find him, to give him royal gifts, and to bow down and worship.

The means God used to reveal this truth to these star worshipers was sufficient enough to move them, to motivate them to embark on a dangerous pilgrimage to find a newborn.

And there is sufficient revelation given to you to search out and worship this child.

So how will you respond?

But this account is not about the magi.

It's about two kings.

If our takeaway from this passage of scripture is primarily about the magi, then we've missed the point.

It is about kings, but not the ones from the song.

This account is about two kings.

One is a usurper to the throne, the other is the true king, the promised king, the eternal king.

And as we begin to see that bear itself out in this passage, we are able to see the crazed and sort of concerned reaction that takes place when these strangers arrive in Jerusalem and start asking questions.

Have any of you ever gone whitewater rafting?

Okay, some of you then will know what I'm talking about.

There was white water in Jerusalem when these men arrived.

Turmoil underneath the water becomes white water on top.

And that's what Jerusalem had become.

You see, Herod.

Herod was the king of the Jews.

No one else.

Herod.

And he was so fixated on that term that if he were living today, he would have patented it.

King of the Jews, K-O-J would be a Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram handles.

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Herod was granted the title King of the Jews by the Roman Senate.

And for the most part, he functioned like a king.

And in many ways, he was a good king.

One author described him as an immensely gifted man, someone who was very skilled in hand-to-hand combat as a warrior.

He was educated in rhetoric and a skilled politician.

He excelled at famine relief and building projects.

But he also had a cruel and paranoid side to him that increased the older he became.

So he fought continually for recognition as the rightful ruler of Palestine, as king of the Jews, for most of his life, because the Jewish people didn't accept him.

Because he was only part Jewish.

He was part Edomite, a descendant of Esau, and part Jewish.

And so they never fully accepted him.

He was seen by the Jewish people as an illegitimate ruler.

Through much of his reign, then Herod used power, force, deadly force, to remind people that he was the king of the Jews.

Examples.

Shortly after he came to power in about 37 BC, Herod executed 45 of the wealthiest Jewish families and confiscated their property and their wealth for himself.

A few years later, he was convinced to replace the Jewish high priest against the Jewish law.

And he did that, and then shortly after that, he had that new high priest drowned, making it look like an accident.

Around 30 BC, he made false charges against a rival and had him executed.

In 29 BC, Herod became convinced of his wife's infidelity and executed her.

He would also execute her mother a little bit later.

Over the next 25 years, Herod would have ten different wives.

He would put his two firstborn sons to death by strangulation because they sought to depose him.

A third son was executed because it was rumored that he tried to poison his father.

And there are accounts of Herod arranging to have three hundred of the most powerful Jewish leaders and their families all executed at the time of Herod's death just to make sure that there would be mourning when Herod died.

So Herod had to court the favor of the Jews through building projects like the temple and tax cuts, which everybody likes.

But they never fully accepted him.

And towards the end of his life, Herod became more and more paranoid of someone taking his power and stealing his position.

That's why Matthew says, when Herod the king heard this.

He was troubled.

White water generally happens when there are stones, boulders underneath the water, and water is rushing over them powerfully and stirring it up from underneath.

When these wise men came to Jerusalem and started asking around, hey, where's where's this newborn king of the Jews?

Still water suddenly became deadly.

They knew.

They knew Herod.

And we know, of course, that Herod would go on to massacre innocent baby boys in Bethlehem in an effort to rid his kingdom of a potential rival.

But it wasn't just Herod.

It says all Jerusalem was troubled.

There was white water everywhere.

The Magi came into town asking questions about a newborn king of the Jews, and the peaceful waters turned into something incredibly horrible, because who knew what Herod would do if he found out?

Who would die?

Herod had instilled so much fear about opposing him that any perceived Messiah would not be received as good news, but as terrible news.

Now you would think that the priests might be the ones who would potentially act a little bit differently.

After all, they stood in the place of Moses and they looked for the coming of someone like Moses.

And they knew their Bibles.

They understood that God had promised a ruler coming from Bethlehem.

But did you notice that after answering Herod's question, the priests sort of disappear?

We don't see them again.

They're gone.

Doesn't seem to be any interest in what's going on, any interest in asking more questions.

Maybe they've been made afraid.

In fact, between chapter 2 and chapter 3 is approximately 30 years.

We don't hear from the priests again for 30 more years.

Two kings.

One took the title King of the Jews, one was born God's promised King of the Jews.

One was obeyed and one was forgotten.

One was feared and the other was ignored.

And isn't that similar to how we go about our lives?

We've just gone through a time with the Christmas season where we're all stirred up by the birth of the king, aren't we?

And our homes and our families and our activities, we get all stirred up about the birth of the king.

But by the middle of January, life has returned to normal, and we're following the king of status quo again.

Let's think for a minute about Herod.

What we see displayed here in Matthew's text is the crafty nature of a proud man.

I'd like you to look with me at first at his actions and then at his beliefs, what those actions show about his beliefs.

First, Herod was.

Today we would call Herod your standard Christian, your standard person who says, Yeah, I need to be in church on Sunday morning, and I call myself a Christian, but I don't know anything about the Bible.

Except in Herod's case, he wasn't a Christian, he was Jew.

He claimed to be Jewish, and he claimed to worship the Jewish God, but he didn't know much about the Jewish faith.

Arguably, Judaism came down to two things: obeying the law of Moses and anticipating the Messiah.

But Herod didn't know much about the Messiah.

He had to call in the experts to find out what's going on about this.

What do I need to know about this?

Tell me what I need to know.

Where is he supposed to be born?

Where is he from?

What is his background?

And then dismissing the religious experts, Herod then calls in the astronomy experts that are stirring up the city.

And he calls them to a secret meeting.

See, Herod doesn't want word to get out about this meeting.

Because it has a specific purpose.

To find out exactly when that star of Bethlehem first appeared.

If the star was a comet, the Magi would have seen it when it was still far, far away and barely a speck in the sky.

They would have been familiar with comets.

Comets on average occur about 90 times a year.

Sorry, not 90 times a year, 90 times in a hundred years.

So they would have known about comets, probably wouldn't have stirred anything unusual in them at the time when they first saw it, but to Herod it signified the potential time of the birth of this rival.

He too wanted to identify this baby, but not to worship him.

Later, Herod would murder the young boys under the age of two around Bethlehem.

And in the Jewish way of thinking, a two-year-old meant the second year after birth.

So a two-year-old was someone beyond the first birthday.

That shows that the star, comet, whatever it is, first came on the Magi's radar 12 to 24 months before arriving at Jerusalem.

And at some point, something about what they saw in the night sky motivated them to pack up and go.

And Herod then sent them on their way with a lie.

Go.

Find him so that I can worship.

Apparently, the Magi, being foreigners out of town, didn't know much about Herod's murderous tendencies.

So what does that tell us about Herod's beliefs?

What do we see about Herod from those accounts?

Well, it tells us, at the very least, that he believed the Magi's story.

He believed what they had to tell him.

See, Magi were a known group of people in the ancient world.

They were even known to travel to see other dignitaries, to see other kings.

The Magi believed in the message in the sky so strongly as to embark on a dangerous pilgrimage.

And that convinced Herod.

He believed the prophecies, and he believed the threat.

And that, perhaps, more than anything, is what drove Herod.

Because Herod didn't take threats lightly.

And the information that he had gathered told him there is great reason to fear.

You know, there's something we don't hear much about.

In verse 10, we are told that the Magi saw the star or comet again on their way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.

It's really hard to believe that nobody else in the world saw this.

There were astronomers in other places of the world.

So if it was a comet, comets were known things in the ancient world.

And most of the time they were viewed by the pagan world with suspicion and fear.

Because they were believed to be omens of terrible news.

And it could very well be that Herod and all of Jerusalem had seen this comet already, and they could see it again that evening, and wondered, what kind of bad news does this mean for us?

You see, Herod was sick.

He didn't know it at the time, but he was dying.

And a comet appearing in the skies when he is sick would be terrible news for Herod.

And then, on top of that, to hear from foreigners that a baby has been born, king of the Jews, would have filled Herod with terror.

He would have had great fear if it indeed was a comet in the sky, and he hears that a rival has been born.

But the reality is that the only reason to fear a newborn king is if you refuse to acknowledge his kingship.

This passage mirrors in almost detailed ways Psalm 2.

Listen to what the psalmist says.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise.

Be warned, O rulers of the earth.

Serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.

But blessed are those who take refuge in him.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry.

Herod would never acknowledge someone else as the king of the Jews.

But he believed in him enough to try to murder him.

If Herod didn't think that Jesus was actually born, if he didn't think that Jesus might indeed be a king, the king, if he didn't think that this new king, now just an infant, could in fact dethrone him, rule over him, steal allegiance from him, he would not have done what he did.

But it's the Magi who are the blessed ones, because they genuinely desired to worship him.

Did they know that somehow this baby clinging to Mary was God in the flesh?

We can't know.

But we do know that God made it clear to them exactly what was taking place.

The promised king had come.

So what do they do about it?

Well, this passage closes with a return to the skies in a celestial leading to the true king.

The true king wasn't in the palace in Jerusalem.

True king wasn't surrounded by his armies.

Only the magi grasped the truth in the skies.

Only the shepherds and the magi recognize the true king.

The bloody tyrant is not the true king.

The infant in the home in Bethlehem is the one who is Emmanuel.

And if Jesus is king, then Herod is not.

If Jesus rules, you do not.

If Jesus is king, then it means everyone is called to submit to him.

And that's what we see in the Magi.

They left Herod in Jerusalem to travel the six short miles to Bethlehem, and assuming the star was a comet, it appeared likely in the evening after the setting sun, looking like an almost vertical scepter in the southwestern sky.

Literally translated, verse 9 would read The star, the comet, went before them until coming it stood over the place where the child was.

Like an inverted scepter, like an arrow pointing down to the earth in a darkening sky, this comet signaled to this magi, here is the king.

Here's the one you've been looking for.

And they were beside themselves with joy.

Like a toddler crazy with excitement over a brand new toy, the magi came to the house, they perceived the comet to be pointing to, with great bubbling over, bursting at the seams excitement, and they worshiped the king.

One commentator has said, This is no nice Christmas story.

This is a nasty conflict of kingdoms.

Because we live and act like the kings and queens of our own lives, of our own little kingdoms.

But God has shown us that there is a new king in town.

And his name is Jesus.

His own did not receive him.

But to those who did receive him, who are called by his name, who are under his rule, they are children of God.

Some saw this and responded in worship, giving up their lives to him.

Others sought to do away with him.

What will your response be?

Within two years, Herod would be dead from a horrific, horrific death.

But the true king still lives.

Death could not contain him.

Herod demanded loyalty to the death.

But the true king came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for you.

Calling you to follow him as king.

How will you respond?

Will you follow the king?

Lord Jesus, we come and we bow together.

Not before you as an infant in a home in Bethlehem, but as the exalted King who rules over all.

Lord, move all of us by your spirit to trust in you, to submit to your rule over our lives, and to say, Yes, Christ is my King.

Cause us to be among the blessed ones.

Amen.

That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church.

Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus.

You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.