None Like Him

It's Matthew chapter 2, the first 12 verses.

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

It's on page 966.

This was born in Bethlehem in Judea.

During the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,

Where is the one who has been born, King of the Jews?

We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.

When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed.

And all Jerusalem with him.

When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law,

he asked them where the Christ was to be born.

In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet has written.

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.

For out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.

Then Herod 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.

As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.

After they'd heard the king, they went on their way,

and the star they'd 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 and of myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,

they returned to their country by another route.

So we'll leave our reading there.

Now we in the UK in 2018,

we know it to be a fact that a royal birth gets attention.

This year, on the 23rd of April,

82,970,673 digital media notifications were sent out on that one day,

all on one single topic.

The topic was?

I had to look that one up.

The birth of Prince Louis.

The single biggest story in the UK this year.

Now does that come as a surprise to us or not?

It seems like here in Britain and in the wider world,

while some people are apathetic,

not that interested in what's happening with the royals.

For some, the royal family still evokes really strong feelings.

So you'll have one side where it's like,

we need to get rid of them,

they're an absolute waste of taxpayers' money.

And then we've got another side,

thinking that the queen in particular,

but other members of the family,

are like a national treasure that we should celebrate.

But here's the thing.

However we felt about that birth,

however we feel about the royal family,

the truth is, the birth of a new prince,

even if that prince grows up to be a future king,

it doesn't affect us personally all that much.

No longer do the kings set the laws,

and we will most likely not meet said prince or king,

unless perhaps we go to St Andrew's University,

and maybe our children will enjoy that privilege.

But most of us, maybe we'll get a handshake

if we're extremely privileged,

but it won't really impact us.

But when it comes to Jesus,

when it comes to this royal birth,

things could not be more different.

Here is the one royal birth that demands all our attention,

regardless of who we are.

And Matthew has already, in the first chapter,

deliberately shown us some really big truths

about who the child in the manger is.

So he's told us,

this baby that was born

is the source of all God's promised blessing and goodness.

He is the one through whom God's grace,

God's undeserved love and kindness to the world

comes through this child who is born.

That he is God's chosen king.

He is the Christ.

He is God's chosen savior.

Jesus means God saves.

He is none less than Emmanuel,

God who is with us.

And the outcome of all that is that

since the king of all kings has come,

since the son of God has been born in the manger,

how we react to this king really matters.

Do we care about Louis or not?

That's not a big deal,

but how we deal with Jesus really matters.

And so that's where Matthew goes next.

In chapter 2,

he presents for us three different,

three contrasting reactions

to the birth of Jesus

to help us make a wise choice

in how we think about Jesus.

The first reaction I want us to notice

is that of hostility and resistance.

And we see this really clearly in King Herod.

So in verse 1,

we're introduced to King Herod.

We're told that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea

during the time of King Herod.

So who is this king?

One very important detail about him,

he's not Jewish.

He's ruling over the Jews,

but he's actually an Edomite.

He's been appointed not by the Jews,

but by the Romans,

because the Romans are over the Jewish nation at this time.

History books will tell us

that Herod was a very powerful ruler.

He was able to keep law and order

in a difficult, turbulent time.

He built the temple for the people.

So those are positives.

But negatively,

we discover that he is somebody

who ruled by fear and force,

somebody who had an incredibly violent temper

and who was very quick to get rid of

people who might threaten his right to rule.

So he killed off a number of his own family

to protect his own right to rule.

So it makes sense then

that when the Magi come from the east

and say,

where is the one who's been born King of the Jews?

In verse 3,

we discover King Herod is disturbed.

Sometimes the Bible goes in for understatement.

We discover the extent of King Herod's level of disturbance

as we see what he plans to do.

But why is he so disturbed?

Because he's concerned

that there is a legitimate heir to David's throne.

Perhaps a popular champion will arise

and the people will want rid of him

and put this other king in his place.

So he begins to calculate straight away,

how can I get rid of this new king?

So his first plan,

call in the religious experts.

They'll know where the child is to be born.

So that's what happens.

Verses 4 to 6,

as we read it,

he calls in the religious experts

and they know Jesus,

God's king is to be born in Bethlehem.

The next thing he does then is,

verse 7,

he calls the Magi in secretly,

secret meeting.

This is news that he does not want to spread.

He doesn't want word to get out

that there is a rival to his throne.

There are lies and deception.

He says to them,

go and find the child.

Be very careful to find him.

Come back and tell me so I can worship.

We know he doesn't want to worship.

He wants to murder Jesus.

And so the warning of verse 12

is entirely justified.

So the Magi,

as they find Jesus,

they're warned in a dream.

God sends them this dream

where they're told not to go back to Herod.

Next week we'll see

that Herod had this plan

to execute all the baby boys

of that community

in order to get rid of

a rival to the king.

There is resistance.

There is real hostility

from King Herod

when he hears of this

one who has been born

king of the Jews.

We hear about a king

that is willing to murder

small children

and we're rightly horrified by that.

Who wouldn't be?

But we also need to take a step back

and take a look inside of ourselves

to appreciate that Herod's reaction to Jesus

in some way

is a picture of how we all

react to Jesus.

One of the images that we find in the Bible

is that the heart,

the center of our being,

the real us,

it's like a throne.

And as we discover in our own lives

and in the Bible

that there are rivals

to that throne.

So God created us.

God is king over us

and God's authority insists

that he have

that rightful place,

that he be central

to our being,

that he be number one

in our hearts,

in our affections.

But our human nature

also wants to claim

that place for ourselves.

So by nature,

we are deeply resistant

to the claims of Jesus.

That we imagine ourselves

as the planet

that everything else

should orbit around.

That life should be around me

and my needs

and my wants.

And then we have Jesus come

and he says,

I'm the true king

and you must worship

and love and honor me

and that presents

a real challenge

to us.

So we discover

in our Bibles

the Lord,

born at Christmas,

is the true God.

Jesus is the son of God

who's come to be savior.

But by nature,

we'll want him

out the picture

because he challenges

our right to rule.

Unless God changes

our hearts,

we'll want nothing

to do with King Jesus.

How does this play out

practically?

It plays out

in the sense of rejection.

Rejection of his claim

of authority.

Jesus has,

it means nothing to me,

he has no claim

on my life,

it's my rights,

my needs,

my life

and it's all about me.

We perhaps

find people

who reject

the need

for personal repentance.

I don't need

a savior,

I don't need Jesus,

I'm good enough

for God,

I'm a good person,

I'm very religious.

This rejection

happens at a very

basic level

when people

don't take the time

to discover

the truth of Christianity,

just write it off,

I know what that's

all about.

Never read the Bible,

never understand

the life

and the claims

of Jesus.

It comes to

in mocking

or attacking

Jesus' church.

One of the things

that I was reading

about in my

prayer diary

for the global church

was a lady

in a village

in India

who became a Christian

and she wanted

to share

the good news

of Jesus

with people

in her community

but at the same time

the people

in her community

are trying to find

legal ways

to expel her

so that she

can have no place

within the community

so there is that

kind of rejection

as well.

So there's resistance

towards Jesus

before a person

becomes a Christian

but even

as Christians

we discover

there is resistance

because there is

still sin

that remains in us.

There is still

that sinful nature

that battles

against

Jesus

and his place

as king

which helps

to explain

why as Christians

we can be so quick

to forget about God.

God who's given us

everything

he's given us life

he's given us salvation

but we can be so quick

to forget about him.

It explains

why we can be

so slow

to pray to him.

I've got this

I can handle this

I don't need

God.

We can forget

that he's there for us.

It explains

why we can be

so quick

to fall into

those repeating

patterns of sin.

We do something

and we feel

horrible about it

we swear

we're never going

to do it again

then we find ourselves

maybe just

in the same day

or a few days later

going back

into the same pattern.

It explains

why we can be

so slow

to accept

Jesus' lordship

over all of life.

Jesus you can have

Sunday

or you can have

certain segments

of life

but my leisure

or my time

or my money

or that's my space.

so we all

struggle in

different ways

with this notion

that Jesus is king

who has

should have

absolute authority

over us

and we discover

there is a little

Herod

residing

within us.

the question

for us is

do we follow

his instinct

is that the king

that we listen to

or will we instead

battle with God's help

and with God's grace

to honour Jesus

as the true king.

So King Herod

is helpful

as a picture

of that resistance

and hostility

that all of us

in different measure

have towards Jesus.

There's a second reaction

and that's the reaction

of apathy

that we see

from the religious leaders

in some ways

it's the most

confusing

response.

So here are the people

that have

studied the Bible

this is their life

to know the Bible

to teach the Bible

these are the people

who should be

looking for

what God is doing next

and should be so excited

about God's plan

of salvation

they're the ones

with the access

to knowledge

and information

about God's promised king

so we find that

so King Herod

calls the religious leaders

and he doesn't know

his Bible

he wants to know

where God had said

his promised king

would be born

so verse 4

he calls them together

and he asks them

where the Christ

was to be born

in Bethlehem

in Judea

they replied

they know this

for this is what

the prophet has written

but you Bethlehem

in the land of Judah

are by no means least

among the rulers

of Judah

for out of you

will come a ruler

who will be the shepherd

of my people

so they can point straight

to this Micah prophecy

God's special king

our hope

the hope for the world

he's going to be born

in Bethlehem

David's city

he's going to be

from David's family line

these visitors

come with this

stunning announcement

we've seen the star

that points to the fact

that your promised king

has now arrived

your mighty leader

has been born

that one that God

promised he'd be powerful

and he'd be a shepherd

he'd care for the people

he's here

and what do they do

they do nothing

they do absolutely nothing

there's no search

they don't join

with the Magi

try and find

where the child is born

there is no joy

so what they've got

is information

but zero transformation

they've got facts

but that fact

doesn't lead them

to worship

you know we talk a lot

we hear a lot

about FOMO

nowadays

the fear of missing out

and that's usually

a bad thing

it's usually described

in a negative way

the fear of missing out

but

here is one of those instances

where you desperately want

a group of people

to have that

in such a way

that it would lead them

positively

to see and honour

Jesus as king

you don't want anybody

to miss out

on God's rich promises

you know in light

of what Matthew

has already taught us

about Jesus

in light of what

we discover in the Bible

about the life of Jesus

this reaction

seems so difficult

to comprehend

in anybody

especially these

religious guys

you know

there is a logic

from King Herod

well I'm going to hate

Jesus for his claim

because I want to be king

and there's a logic

in the Magi

because they want to

worship

Jesus for his claim

to be king

but surely

as we understand

anything about

the life of Jesus

surely he's too much

to simply ignore

and pass by

without responding

to

actually as we

read the Gospels

we discover

that they don't

remain apathetic

to Jesus

we see the apathy

of the religious leaders

harden into resistance

turning into hatred

and ultimately

leading them

to desire

the death

of Jesus

it was Jesus

who said

you can't sit

on the fence

you're either for me

or you are

against me

there are some lessons

some really practical

lessons from these

religious leaders

that we need

for ourselves

first is this

there's a whole world

of difference

between knowing

about

someone

and knowing

them

personally

they have all

the facts

but they don't

know

God

an example

from my own

life

one of my

musical heroes

is a man

called Stuart Murdoch

lead singer of

Bell and Sebastian

I feel like I've

talked about him

once or twice

in here

I have bought

Bell and Sebastian

albums

since

well

since I was 17

read loads of

interviews

studied lyrics

one of the

highlights

bizarre highlights

of my chaplaincy

career at Glasgow

University

was when I was

leading morning

prayers

hardly anybody

ever showed up

for morning

prayers

but Stuart Murdoch

walked in

and I got to

share the gospel

for two or three

minutes

with one of my

musical heroes

now I'd love

this story

continue

that this was

the start

of a beautiful

friendship

that we just

got on so well

and we went

round and we

had coffee

and we still

talk to this

day

but truth is

a few weeks

later

I saw him

on Byers Road

and he walked

past me

as if I was

a nobody

which I am

so it makes

sense

you can know

about somebody

but you

doesn't mean

that you know

them personally

you see this

in these

religious leaders

they knew

lots of facts

about God

and about his

promises

but they did

not know

God

all of their

Bible reading

was to no

effect

in their

lives

that

either is

or has been

I'm sure

some of our

stories

that was

certainly my

story

being brought

up around the

church

going to

church

going to

Sunday

school

going to

Bible

club

reading the

Bible

at home

having family

worship

singing

Psalms

growing up

but it did

not mean

anything to

me really

it didn't

lead me to

to consider

Jesus as

anything other

than somebody

that I read

about and

somebody that I

would feel

guilty over

if I sinned

really badly

it is possible

to know

lots of

facts

but if

not to

change

our

hearts

without the

spirit

opening our

eyes

there is no

personal

knowing

that leads

to transformation

and worship

and so

related to

that

the goal

of Bible

reading

why do we

read our

Bibles

the goal

of Bible

reading is

so that we

would worship

that we

would enjoy

God

that our

hearts and

our lives

would be

transformed

and shaped

by

what we

read

sometimes we

approach our

Bible reading

as if it's a

duty we need

to perform

here's the

thing that we

need to

take so we

can feel

good about

our day

or we

read it

and we

are so

quick in

reading it

that we

never

process it

so we

never

turn it

into prayer

we never

let it

shape our

hearts

the goal

of Bible

reading

is that we

would be

transformed

by it

our Bibles

are not

textbooks

God is

revealing

himself

revealing

his salvation

revealing

his glory

to us

and our

sin and

our need

of a

saviour

in the

Bible

these

are

stories

and

truths

to make

our

hearts

sing

do we

come

to our

Bibles

with a

sense of

expectation

I'm going

to meet

God

by the

Spirit

when I

read

the words

of the

Bible

so that's

our goal

when we read

the Bible

worship

and

transformation

and so

part of

that is

recognizing

that seeing

and enjoying

the glory

of God

in the

Bible

requires

God's

work

and God's

help

there's a

verse in

2nd Corinthians

4 that

says

Satan has

blinded the

minds of

unbelievers

so they

cannot see

the glory

of God

in the face

of Jesus

Christ

we need

the miracle

of sight

if the

word of

God is

going to

come alive

to us

if we're

going to

encounter

God in

a way

that we

worship

him and

are changed

by him

we need

the lesson

of

Bartimaeus

so Bartimaeus

was one of

the blind

men that

Jesus healed

there was a

time when

Jesus was

walking

through

Bartimaeus

town and

as usual

a crowd

gathered

some people

came to

hear teaching

some people

came to

be healed

Bartimaeus

was a

beggar

and as

Jesus was

passing by

he shouted

Jesus

son of

David

have mercy

on me

and the

crowd were

telling him

to be

quiet

Jesus

is not

for your

type

Bartimaeus

but he

shouted again

Jesus

son of

David

have mercy

on me

and Jesus

stopped

and he

called

Bartimaeus

over

and he

healed him

and Bartimaeus

followed

Jesus

because he

had faith

in Jesus

we need

to pray

for help

whenever we

come to

read the

Bible

to recognize

without God's

spirit

opening our

eyes

we're not

going to be

transformed

we need to

pray

that God

would work

that God

would speak

to us

that God

would reveal

himself

to us

every time

we open

the word

of God

that's

how to

change

it

from

duty

to

delight

to

recognize

that

God

works

through

his

word

so that

we wouldn't

be apathetic

even as

Christians

that we

wouldn't have

this attitude

of apathy

that we'd

have a real

sense of

joy

and anticipation

whether it's

coming to

church or

whether it's

reading the

Bible

at home

third

reaction

onto the

good stuff

the

magi

so

Matthew

already

we're only

in Matthew

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

but Matthew

at this

early stage

in his

gospel

has already

been teaching

us

King

Jesus

will be

opposed

just as

there was

no room

for him

in the

inn

so it

is the

case

that there

will be

no room

for him

in the

hearts

of

many

but

Matthew

has also

been really

careful

to teach

us

that Jesus

has come

as saviour

and he's

come as

saviour

for all

kinds of

people

not just

for the

Jews

but for

anyone

and these

magi are

another example

of that

so who

are they

we're told

that during

the time

of King

Herod

magi

from the

east

came to

Jerusalem

and asked

where is

the one

who's been

born

king of

the

Jews

we saw

a star

in the

east

and have

come to

worship him

magi

were students

of the

stars

so they're

obviously

looking up

and they

saw some

astronomical

event

that led

them

to the

conclusion

that God's

royal leader

had been

born

and then you

get this

remarkable fact

that with

very little

knowledge

compared to

the Jewish

leaders

they know

next to

nothing

about God

and his

purposes for

the world

and his

character

and his

promises

but despite

that lack

of knowledge

they endure

a very long

journey

a treacherous

journey

perhaps

a journey

where they're

uncertain

even

where they're

going

they don't

know the

destination

they go to

Jerusalem

first

they didn't

know they

had to go

to Bethlehem

all they

know is

if God

has sent

his king

then I

need to

show him

honour

and worship

if that's

all I know

then that's

enough

I need to

honour

and worship

him

and so

they come

they come

for the one

who has

been born

king of

the Jews

now if you

read the

gospel

accounts

of Jesus

you'll

know that

that's

not a

very

familiar

title

it's

not

used

very

often

of

Jesus

but it

is

used

it is

a

title

that

returns

at the

end

of

Matthew's

gospel

because

in

Matthew

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

chapter

27

and

verse

37

as

Jesus

is

crucified

we

discover

this

above

his

head

they

place

the

written

charge

against

him

this

is

Jesus

the

king

of

the

Jews

Matthew

is

reminding

us

in

the

birth

announcement

Jesus

has

come

to be

the

king

of

the

Jews

the

one

who

will

die

on

the

cross

to

save

his

people

from

their

sins

and

not

just

the

Jews

for

people

like

the

Magi

who

come

from

the

east

for

anyone

who

will

put

their

faith

in

Jesus

as

Lord

turning

from

sin

to

trust

in

him

so

we

said

the

Magi's

reaction

is

worship

how

do

we

see

them

worship

and

what

do

they

have

to

teach

us

about

worship

first

of

all

look

at

verses

9

and

10

I

want

us

to

notice

that

they

are

on

a

journey

of

joy

after

they

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

there

is

excitement

there

is

anticipation

as they

journey

there's

gladness

when

they

see

the

assurance

that

the

star

that

God

sent

is

still

guiding

them

to

the

place

where

Jesus

was

born

we

know

that

they

are

worshipers

because

they

have

joy

would

that

describe

our

journey

to

church

this

morning

did

we

come

with

joy

because

we

too

were

coming

to

meet

the

king

to

be

in

the

presence

of

God

himself

really

interesting

thing

to think

about

isn't

it

every

time

we

come

together

we're

coming

into

the

presence

of

God

so

joy

should

be

a

feature

of

our

worship

and

our

shared

life

together

there

should

be a

sense

of

anticipation

as we

come

to

church

not only

is there

a

journey

of

joy

we

see

too

there

is

a

posture

of

praise

verse

11

on

coming

to

the

house

they

saw

the

child

with

his

mother

Mary

and

they

bowed

down

and

worshipped

him

now

this is

really

interesting

to me

because

where

did

they

go

first

they're

expecting

a

king

is

going

to be

born

in

the

palace

place

of

wealth

and

opulence

but

here

they

are

very

ordinary

surroundings

they're

just

in

a

regular

house

they're

not

in

the

stable

anymore

it's

taken

a few

months

at

very

least

Joseph

and

Mary

very

ordinary

fairly

poor

family

and yet

these

magi

with the

eyes

of

faith

can

see

beyond

that

to

recognize

here

is

God's

king

so

they

bow

to

worship

the

infant

Jesus

we

see

too

the

glory

of

their

gifts

continuing

verse 11

they

opened

their

treasures

and

presented

him

with

gifts

of

gold

and

of

incense

and

of

myrrh

they

have

treasure

and

they're

holding

nothing

back

they

want

to

give

gifts

that

are

fitting

for

this

king

that

there

is

a

response

to

Jesus

in

worship

since

God

has

given

me

Jesus

since

because

of

Jesus

I

have

eternal

life

and

I

have

forgiveness

and

I

have

peace

internally

and

peace

with

God

since

I've

got

this

new

community

to

belong

to

therefore

I

should

hold

nothing

back

therefore

glad

obedience

joyful

obedience

should

be

my

response

it's

part

of

worship

the

last

way

we

see

the

worship

is

in

the

honour

that

they

give

to

the

true

king

so

notice

verse

12

having

been

warned

in

a

dream

not

to

go

back

to

Herod

they

return

to

their

country

by

another

route

so

on

the

one

hand

you've

got

Herod

really

powerful

guy

violent

guy

they

know

their

lives

are

on

the

line

by

ignoring

him

but

they

want

to

listen

to

God

and

they

want

to

honour

and

help

protect

God's

chosen

king

and

so

they

go

back

by

another

route

it's

their

way

of

saying

I'm

choosing

to

honour

Jesus

more

than

Herod

takes

us

back

to

that

question

which

king

occupies

the

throne

of

our

hearts

who

do

we

delight

to

honour

what

lessons

can

we

draw

about

worship

we're

reminded

from

the

magi

that

worship

engages

our

head

and

our

heart

and

our

hands

it's

a

whole

of

life

thing

so

we

need

information

we

need

to

hear

and

process