Finding Jesus in a World of Progress

Father, we thank you that you're so good.

And Lord, as we sang this morning,

that you are pleased to manifest your glory among us.

And Lord, we thank you for that.

We thank you that you came down from heaven

in the person of your son, Jesus,

to make God known to us.

And Lord, I pray that as we open your word this morning,

that your word would bear much fruit

and that your word would cause us to worship you

and to love you more and more.

I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

So you may be seated.

Now, some of you know me pretty well,

and you know that I'm a fairly timid fellow.

I'm not naturally drawn to say hello to strangers

at the grocery store or at the coffee shop

or at the gym where I go.

But it's not my natural bent.

But I try to make an effort

because I want to be an evangelist.

I want to open doors to have opportunities

to share the gospel with people eventually.

And so one of the things that I do

is I try to intentionally start the conversation with people.

And one of the things that you all know

from meeting new people

is that you eventually get to the topic

of what do you do for a living?

And as you know,

I'm a pastoral intern here at the church.

And so I just tell them that that's what I do.

I work for a church,

and I'm a pastoral intern.

And usually at that point,

their faces kind of get a little bit,

they kind of drop a bit,

and the conversation goes to a halt.

And if I had the technology

of like a very, very small microphone,

I could put it next to their ear,

I could hear their thoughts,

and it would sound something like,

don't you know that there are more worthwhile things to do,

more worthwhile pursuits in this life,

like science and achieving good government?

Like you would do much better

to contribute to the progress of our society

if you spent more time on these things,

if you focused on this.

Now it's a good question.

I mean, it's a good point.

And really what the question is,

is that why don't you Christians as myself,

why don't Christians as myself

devote themselves to the here and now,

things that contribute to the progress of our society,

or at least as defined by the average Canadian.

So if you have your Bibles with you,

the text that we're looking at today

will actually help us engage with that question

and hopefully provide an answer.

So we're going to look at Matthew chapter 2,

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

beginning at the first verse.

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.

Now just pausing here for a moment,

this is our setting.

This is where the,

this is the setting of the story

where we're getting acquainted with the characters

and the different places.

So we start with Jesus,

who's from a small town,

and he has a bit of an awkward story.

If you read,

if you take a minute after the service today,

you read just the last part of the chapter

before this chapter,

you get a sense that,

you know,

if Jesus were in a playground

with the other kids in Bethlehem

and they asked,

where are you from?

It would take a minute

and then two, five minutes,

he would start talking about

the hypostatic union of God and man,

and they would just go like,

what is this kid all about?

And so he has,

he's a bit odd in the neighborhood.

And then you have King Herod,

who is the king of Judea,

and he's part of one of the most,

most advanced governments

that the world,

in that part of the world,

has ever seen.

The most powerful governments

and the most advanced forms of governments

that the world has seen.

And then you have the Magi

that are from the East,

and the Magi,

so here it says

that they were called the wise men,

but the Greek word is Magi,

and it's a bit different.

It's not that they were just

more wise in the culture.

They practiced things like,

you know,

divination and astrology.

So in other words,

they were the most technologically advanced

in the society,

in the culture,

because they observed the stars

and they could interpret the future

based off of what they read.

So we get a few markers

in this first verse

that Matthew is trying to tell us a story,

but he's also trying to tell us

a true story.

And before we get into

the narrative of the story,

the narrative of the text,

you might be wondering,

okay, so if you're familiar

with the four Gospels,

you might be wondering,

like, there are the Magi

in Matthew's Gospel,

but not in the other Gospels.

Like, does that mean that,

you know, this is just an invention?

Can I really trust

that the Magi,

the story of the Magi

really happened?

And I'll just give a little bit

of an analogy before we jump in.

So when my parents and I moved to,

and my siblings,

when we moved to Orleans

about almost 30 years ago,

we got to meet some of our neighbors

and they told us

that the Trudeau kids

used to play in the house

where we moved,

that they used to come

and they used to, you know,

play in the pool and all that

because their nanny,

that's where she lived.

She lived in the house

where we lived.

And so, like,

how are we supposed

to take their word for it?

Well, you know,

we could ask another neighbor

and say, like,

is it true that the Trudeau kids

used to, like,

come to our house and play?

And they would say,

oh, of course.

Like, you should have been there.

Like, two hours before they came,

the streets were full of black cars

with tainted windows

and, you know,

they would just park

in front of our yard

and leave their engine running

for about four hours

before the kids were done

and then they'd eventually leave.

And so it was a very remarkable event.

You know,

they don't just send the kids

there on their own.

They send security with them.

And so with the Magi here,

you have a story

of these delegates

who left Babylon

and went to Jerusalem

and they didn't go on their own.

There weren't three of them

with three camels.

There were a lot more

and probably a lot more camels

than there were people

with equipment,

with maybe armor

and maybe some beautiful colors

to show that they were from a royal,

that they represent the royalty

of where they came from

and had food and drink

and sandals and all that.

So there was a big group of people

traveling in the desert

and they were arriving in Jerusalem.

So it's a fairly remarkable event

that you could ask someone

in Jerusalem at that time

and they would say,

oh, of course I remember the Magi.

So with that in mind,

let's look at the text again

and then we'll move on

to see what the story has to say.

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.

Now just pausing here

for another moment.

So you can just imagine

this large caravan

coming into Jerusalem,

going through the gates

and making their way

to the temple of Herod,

go up the stairs,

they get into the room

where Herod is sitting

on his throne

and has all his advisors,

the chief priests

and all these different people

who are around him

and the Magi go

and they address Herod

and they say,

Herod,

we've come to make a trade

from our country

and we want to have

a peace agreement

and we give you these gifts

to honor you.

No, that's not what happens.

Let's read that again

in verse 2.

It says,

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 you can just imagine

there's a really

awkward silence,

a cold silence.

Now you might be wondering,

hold on Jonathan,

like isn't Herod the guy

who killed his,

you know,

three of his sons,

who killed his favorite wife.

Wasn't that his reputation?

Couldn't he just have

said a word,

snapped his fingers

because he didn't like

what they had to say?

You know,

the security come,

they take the Magi away,

clean the floor,

nothing's ever happened,

nothing ever happened here,

let's move on.

Couldn't he have just done that?

So why did he listen to them?

So I mentioned

a little bit briefly earlier

that the Magi

were the astrologers

who had an authoritative voice

in their culture,

kind of like the scientists today,

that, you know,

they have an authoritative voice,

they speak to politicians

and people listen to them,

we consult them.

These Magi

who were astrologers,

they were the voice of progress

in that culture.

When they spoke,

people listened.

And even though

they weren't always

actually right.

So it's kind of like

when you go to a party

or you're at work

and you have a conversation

with someone

and they tell you something

and you're like,

where is that coming from?

Like, none of that is,

like, logically coherent

and you're about to speak

and then they say,

well, we know this

because science says so.

And you're like,

well, I'm not going to be the jerk now

who's going to try to say,

well, no,

because science

doesn't actually work that way.

Like, it has authority

in our culture

and that's just kind of the way

that we interact

with one another.

And so here the Magi

are the voice of progress,

the voice of cultural authority

in that day.

And they say,

and they speak of their findings

and Herod has their attention.

So what are they saying

to Herod?

Well, we see in the first part

of what they say,

well, where is he who has been born

king of the Jews?

Okay, Herod is king of Judea,

he's king over the Jews.

What's going on here?

But then it says,

for we saw his star

when it rose

and have come to worship him.

And basically what they're saying is,

Herod,

your time's up.

Where's the new king?

Someone's been born.

The stars have told us.

The gods of the spiritual realm

have spoken

and the stars have aligned.

Your time is up.

Where's the other king?

A new emperor

is about to come

and will take over.

And for the first time,

since worshiping his own power

and his own progress

and his own reputation,

Herod comes face to face

with the expiration of this quest

of becoming like God.

So Andrew,

can we have our first point

at this time?

At the root of sin

is a desire to be like God.

At the root of sin

is a desire to be like God.

Now whether it's a desire

to be powerful

or a desire to manipulate events

or people in our lives

to have a result that we want

or to receive praise

and recognition from others,

to be accepted,

there's this underlying current

that feeds all of these

different dispositions

that we have

that is a desire

to be like God.

And for the first time here,

Herod is realizing

his frailty

that he is not the God

that he thought

that he was,

the God that he imagined

over and over in his mind

that he could become,

but that he is frail

and that he's toast.

His last moment

is about to come.

So what does he do?

Well, let's look at verse 4.

So Herod,

here's the news,

or verse 3.

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.

So Herod is consulting

the Jewish leaders

of that time

and to see,

so he believes

what the Magi are saying.

They spoke of the king

of the Jews,

where is he to be born?

And so here,

the word Christ,

which appears the first time,

for some of us

it might be unfamiliar.

It basically says

the one empowered by God

to do God's will

among God's people.

And so we get a sense

of divine authority,

this divine ruler

who's to come

and is going to take

Herod's place.

And so what do the scribes

and leaders tell Herod?

Well, let's look at verse 5.

They told him,

in Bethlehem of Judea,

for 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.

So just like that,

introducing Jesus

into the conversation

has put a solid halt

to Herod's progress

in this world

of becoming a god

and becoming

this very powerful

king who has

his way

all the time.

And because

here we're introduced

with a prophecy

that God spoke

about 700 years

before this very event,

about 700 years

before through

the prophet Micah,

he speaks this word

that God made a promise

to bring a king

and a ruler

and here Herod is

confronted with

the fact that

God spoke

and God

is acting

upon his promise.

And who can

fight against that?

And so he realized

that he created

this illusion

that he can control

his life

and his destiny.

Andrew,

can we have our next

point, please?

So sinful pride

removes me

from the real world

where the Lord

is God

and I am not.

Sinful pride

removes me

from the real world

where the Lord

is God

and I am not.

Now I'm qualifying

pride here

because there are times

when we're proud

of a kid

or a neighbor

or whatnot

and that's okay,

that's fine.

Here,

pride is the idea

of being rebellious

against God

which removes us

from the real world

where God

is the Lord

where the Lord

is God

and I am not.

And part of the Lord

being God

is his ability

to oversee

the events

in life.

We think

that we can oversee

things,

that we can manipulate

things

behind the scenes

but ultimately

God is God.

God is the one

who has vengeance

for evil

and Herod

as we see

in the next verse

is going to

want to have

his own vengeance.

So we'll look

at verse 7 here

and to get a sense

of his sinful pride

which removes him

from the real world.

So verse 7,

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

that I too

may come

and worship him.

So you can imagine

Herod hears the news,

he's troubled,

all Jerusalem with them,

he takes a Snickers

or pops a Tic Tac

and he collects his thoughts

and his emotions

and then he decides,

he makes a decision,

okay,

I'm going to manipulate

the events.

So we see here

God's word was not enough.

God's word that was spoken

700 years prior

to the event

about a promise

that would happen

that is being fulfilled

at that very moment

before his very eyes

was not enough for him.

So he tries to manipulate

the events.

He tries to go behind the scenes

and have his way still.

And what's really fascinating

about this,

as I was reading this this week,

as I was coming to grips

with this truth

that Herod is not accepting

God's word

and he's going against God's word

even though God's word

is huge.

It was written 700 years

before the event

and it's so precise.

And as Christians,

we have the benefit

of having God's word written.

And as we read this,

what we're reading

is not just like any other novel,

any other story

or piece of history.

This is essentially

the perspective of eternity

written down

from God's interventions

in real life

and teaching us his way,

God revealing us

his way for life.

And as Christians,

we have the benefit of that,

that we can know God truly

because his son has revealed God

and through his word written,

we can know him.

And how lightly do I take

his word in my daily life

and how lightly do I take

setting apart time

to read his word?

So that's a bit of an aside,

but what's really striking

is also how the Magi

received God's word

with gladness.

We see that in verse 9 and on.

So after Herod makes a deal

with the Magi,

after listening to the king,

the Magi 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.

This, I think is,

I didn't see it

in the commentaries,

but I think this is where

Happy Camper comes from,

where they were exceedingly,

they rejoiced exceedingly

with great joy.

That's very, very, very happy.

And going into the house,

they saw the child

with Mary, his mother,

and they fell down

and worshipped him.

And so what we see here

is a moment of eternity.

We sang this earlier on

in the songs

that in eternity,

people are bowed down

before God,

worshipping God.

And we see a glimpse

of eternity

being acted out

in time and space

in this life

that we experience

when the Magi

are finally arrived

to Jesus

to worship him

and bow down.

Now some of you

got really distracted

with the cool star

and want to know more.

And so there,

just as we get into that,

we'll just spend

a couple minutes

just to look at the star.

There are things

in the Bible

that are open-handed,

things that are

not super, super clear,

that we should have our,

we shouldn't have

a tight grip on them

and have Christian freedom

to believe these things.

And we can, you know,

argue but not split

over these things.

And there are things

that we hold on

that are close-handed,

that we hold on

because they are

absolutely true

and very, very clear

in the Word.

And this part of the star,

this part of the story

with the star

is not a place

where we hold on

very, very tightly

because it's not very clear.

Matthew, in a way,

veils it

in the way that he writes.

So it's,

so yeah,

some people believe

that it's a comet.

Some people believe

that the stars aligned

within a certain constellation

and, you know,

through science

we can find out.

Other people believe

it's just simply a vision

from God

that he gave them

and that God

worked sovereignly

through this vision

so that they could

encounter him.

But the point here

is that

since Matthew

is veiling it

in the way

that he's writing,

he's not putting

too much attention

towards it.

Just to give

an analogy,

another analogy,

in this,

in these paintings here,

it would be like

saying in this painting

in the middle

with Jesus,

it would be like

saying this painting

is about Jerusalem

in the back.

Everyone would say,

no,

it's about Jesus.

Everyone's kind of

looking towards Jesus,

the focus is in Jesus.

And so,

in this story,

if we look,

if we focus on the star

and we make it

a deal breaker for us,

we're missing the point.

And the point is this.

Andrew,

can I have the next slide?

The point is this.

God draws unfit people

in unlikely ways

to worship him.

God draws unfit people

in unlikely ways

to worship him.

Now,

this isn't

an absolute rule,

but this happens.

God will sovereignly

work through events

in the natural world,

in supernatural events

as well,

to draw people

who aren't fit

to worship him.

And

at the heart

of Christian worship,

at the heart

of people

practicing the Christian faith

is an awe of God

where we constantly

ask the question,

why me?

Why me, God?

Like,

how is it that you

reveal yourself to me?

Like,

I didn't do anything

to deserve this,

and yet you've shown

your love to me.

That's how the core

of Christian worship

is awe of God

that he would do

such a thing.

Now,

you might be wondering,

what makes me unfit?

Like,

why am I not fit

to be a Christian,

not fit to worship God?

Well,

we see in this story

the Magi

worshipped different gods.

They worshipped

the natural world.

They worshipped

different spirits

in the invisible world,

practicing divination.

Before I was a Christian,

I worshipped music.

That's what I worshipped.

And

I ascribed

immense value

and power

to music

over my life.

It had the,

had such authority

over who I was

and how I felt

and how I thought

of the world.

And that was my God.

And I believed it.

I actually uttered

those words,

music is my God.

And so,

what makes me,

as someone who worshipped

music,

worthy of,

you know,

what makes me fit

to worship God?

Well,

I'm unfit

to worship God.

And yet,

God draws us

in unlikely ways

sometimes.

And we see in the story

here with the Magi

that he draws

the Magi

through a star.

Through a star

that moved

and found

Jesus.

And so,

they made their way

to Jesus

in that way.

And,

just a bit

of my story,

God spoke to me

in a musical concert

at the National Arts Center

just a few blocks

away from here,

probably a year

before my conversion.

And if I were

to share

that experience

with the Jonathan

of today,

I would probably

be cringing

at what I was saying

because it was

so unclear.

But all I knew

is that I experienced God.

That's what I knew

for sure.

But my experience

wasn't too clear.

And if this is true,

if God really does

draw people

who are unfit

in unlikely ways,

if God really does that,

then that means

that God

is already having

conversations

with those people

that we meet

at the Starbucks

or at the gym

or at work

or our neighbors.

That God is already

having these conversations,

these divine moments

with these people.

And whether they

understand

what is happening

or not,

these things are happening.

Creation

is actually a witness

of God

to the common person.

And so our job

as Christians

who want to share

the good news of Jesus

is actually

sometimes more simple

than we think.

Sometimes it's just

as simple as

chiming into a conversation

that God is already

having with people.

And even before

we even got there

and were able to share

the gospel message.

And so our job

is to simply

give a little bit

more detail,

give the revealed

specific word

of God

which he has revealed

through Christ

and in his church.

And so here's

the next point.

Andrew,

if I could have

the next slide.

True and good progress

is only true and good

when it leads to Jesus.

True and good progress

is only true and good

when it leads to Jesus.

Now progress

isn't a bad thing.

And by the way,

like,

I totally support

God's word.

And I would encourage

anyone,

any Christian

who wants to be

a mathematician

or a scientist,

I'm like,

I would say go

into that world

and be the best

Christian that you can

or in law

or in government,

go for it.

I would say that

this is where

Jesus is calling you,

you should go for it

and be faithful

and be the best Christian

that you can

in that environment.

But it would have

really been a disaster,

it would have been

a sad story

if the Magi

would have followed

the star,

continued in their ways,

and all the way

till it stopped

on the house

where Jesus was

and they would have

gazed at the star

and they would have

gone back home

and that they wouldn't

have encountered Jesus.

It would have been

a tragedy

if that were the case.

But we see that

all their activity

in this world,

their search for meaning,

their search for

transcendence

actually had

an end point

that their progress

in life,

their search for

greater technology

and all that

actually had a point

of reference

which was in Jesus.

And Herod's story,

on the other hand,

is quite sad,

yet he was thought

as the leader of progress

by the Romans.

He saw his progress

and he wasn't able

to achieve it

because he was working

against the Lord's will.

There is an ultimate

ruler and shepherd

that has come

into the world

who is Jesus.

And so with all this talk

about progress

in our culture,

I would just like

to invite you,

if you haven't

considered Jesus yet,

that Jesus

is the one

whom all truth

and goodness

point to.

Now whether it is

our search for

meaning or

transcendence

through science

and spirituality,

these different

activities that we can

try to find

this higher meaning

to life,

this purpose of life,

or whether it is

finding peace

in our society

through good government.

And these things

are only truly

satisfied in the person

of Jesus

who has come

to make God known.

And that is why

we have a cross here

because Jesus,

when he came to earth,

was not just to live

a good life,

he lived a good life

and he lived

the perfect life.

And that was

part of his mission.

And the other part

of his mission

was to die on the cross

so that we could

receive God's forgiveness,

that we could be

made right with God.

And I'll invite you

to stand

and we'll come

to a time of conclusion

here.

If I can have my

next slide,

please,

as well.

So true and good

progress begins

when I live my life

to honor Jesus

as Lord.

True and good progress

begins when I live

my life

to honor Jesus

as Lord.

See,

our only progress,

our only hope

for progress

is when we

humble ourselves

before God

one by one.

When we put our hands

in the hand of Jesus

and say,

Jesus,

here's my life.

I want to live for you.

And that we lay

our hopes

before Jesus

and our fears

and our joys

to him

so that he sends us

out into the world

and live in the real world

where the Lord

is God

and that we are not.

Let us pray.

Lord God,

we thank you

that you indeed

came down from heaven

and that you

became incarnate

by the Holy Ghost

in the person of Jesus

and we thank you

that,

Lord,

we can know you,

we can know eternal life

even now

and we thank you

that,

Lord,

you've accomplished

everything for that,

for us to have eternal life,

that we can trust you

and we can trust

your perfect life

and that you died

on the cross

for our sins

and that is actually true

and actually happened

in history

so that for all eternity

we will be made right with you

and we will dwell with you.

Lord,

I pray that these things

would be made more real

to us today

and on this week.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.