There Can Only Be One

Good morning.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean.

I am one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.

It's my great joy and privilege to preach God's Word to you this morning.

If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.

We'd love to give you a copy that you can have, and you can use that while you're here

also.

So I see a hand here for Elder.

Could someone grab the Bible for him?

Yeah.

Okay.

I think...

He's got it.

He's not good.

You got it?

Oh, I think he's getting you one, too.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's good.

That'd be great.

Thank you, Gabe.

Elder, if you could raise your hand.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Matthew is the first book in the New Testament.

Matthew, chapter 2.

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

We're in verses 1 to 12.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, we humble ourselves before your Word again.

Amen.

We are your servants.

I am your servant.

I am your servant.

We have gathered not to hear a man speak.

We've come to be addressed by our King.

So, Lord, speak to us from your Word in the reading and preaching of your Word.

Humble those who have yet to pledge their allegiance to you who are in this room.

Exalt the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.

And remind us again of what kind of King he is.

The King of mercy.

The King of grace.

That we might serve him with gladness.

And fall before him in worship.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand for the reading of God's Word.

I will read from Matthew 2, verses 1 to 12.

Matthew 2:1–12

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.

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 Judea, are by no means least among the rulers of Judea.

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,

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.

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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

It's a joke among pastors that this passage spoils some of our favorite Christmas carols.

I know one that I've sang twice already this season is We Three Kings.

And first, this passage tells us that these wise men come to visit Jesus, but that they are not kings.

Technically, they are not kings, even though they are kingly people, as you can see, from their retinue,

from the treasures they bring, their wealth and prestige.

But they're not kings.

And secondly, this passage never tells us there's three of them,

even though we like to sing that there's three wise men or three kings.

Traditionally, we assume that there were three magi because of the three gifts.

But the text never actually tells us that.

We just know that there's more than one because magi is a plural term.

But more than spoiling some of our Christmas carols,

this passage intends to upend our expectations of what a king is supposed to be,

what the messianic king should be.

Who is Jesus the Christ?

Who is he really?

And what kind of king is he?

This passage teaches us that Jesus is the servant king

who deserves our worship and fealty.

And we're going to examine the three main characters in the passage in turn.

First, the searching magi.

Second, the troubled king.

And third, the worshipped child.

First, we meet the wise men from the east.

It says in verses 1 and 2,

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 we have come to worship him.

The actual word that translated wise men here is magi.

The magi were originally members of the Persian priestly caste,

and they served as advisors to the king.

The magi were scholars and priests who specialized in astrology

and the interpretation of dreams

and various forms of divination and the magical arts occasionally.

They're similar to the Babylonian court magicians and astrologers we see in the book of Daniel.

And these magi were renowned throughout the Greco-Roman world for their skills and divination.

And everyone in the Greco-Roman world knew that the best magi were from the east.

And these are magi from the east, east of Jerusalem, that is.

That's why it's remarkable when in 1 Kings 4.30, it notes that Solomon,

King Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people in the east,

because that's what the east was known for.

Persia, Babylonia, although that region.

That these wise men practiced astrology is clear from the context in verse 2.

It says,

For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

Some people argue that the magi saw planets in retrograde motion,

or maybe two planets that are in conjunction, like Jupiter and Saturn.

Some people argue that they saw a comet or a supernova.

And still others argue that it's a miraculous star that defies natural explanation.

It's impossible to be sure because the Bible doesn't really tell us those specifics.

What is important, however, for us to know is that this star recalls the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24, verse 17.

Numbers 24:17

He said,

I see him, he's prophesying.

I see him, but not now, but not near.

I behold him, but not near.

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

He shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.

This was understood by the Jews as a messianic prophecy,

because both the star and the scepter are symbols of kingship.

And Balaam, like these magi, was a diviner from the east.

1,400 years after Balaam's prophecy,

once again, diviners from the east come to Israel, God's people,

and they say that they have seen a star that represents the rise of the king of the Jews,

the birth of the king of the Jews.

So in the ancient world, astrology was a popular science.

It's actually becoming increasingly more the case here, even today.

But obviously it's discredited nowadays in so many ways.

But back then, even emperors took astrology very seriously.

So when a comet appeared that supposedly predicted the demise of Emperor Nero,

he was so afraid that he was going to fall, that he was going to die soon,

that he killed a whole bunch of nobles

in a desire to fulfill that prediction in the stars, in the heavens,

so that he himself can be spared.

So the magi were taken very seriously in this culture,

and so their arrival creates an understandable stir.

It says in verses 3 to 4,

The wealthy magi presumably arrived with an entourage.

Since verse 11 tells us that they came bearing not just three loan gifts, but treasures.

They probably had some people to help them with that.

Their arrival likely was no ordinary affair that people were used to seeing day to day,

but something that happened rarely.

So their world-shaking announcement that the king of the Jews has been born

causes, it troubles the king, Herod,

and it troubles all Jerusalem with him.

But note that while these magi knew that the king of the Jews has been born,

they didn't know where exactly the king of the Jews has been born,

which is why they arrived with a question in verse 2,

Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

And the answer to that question does not come from other wise men,

but from Scripture, from God's Word.

The chief priests and the scribes tell King Herod,

remind him of a prophecy in Scripture, in verses 5 to 6,

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.

This is an abbreviated quotation of Micah 5, verses 2 to 4,

Micah 5:2–4

which prophesied that the Messianic king would come and be born in Bethlehem.

And having figured out the location,

the king Herod now summons the wise men,

and then he sends them to Bethlehem to search diligently for the child.

And it's in that search in the right city

that they are guided again by the star later on.

Matthew could have easily omitted this story of the magi,

as Mark and Luke and John, in fact, do.

They do omit this story.

But Matthew includes it here for a couple reasons,

to illustrate a couple things.

And first, God's grace towards sinners.

Second, God's grace toward all nations.

Think about it for a minute.

How can it be that these Gentiles,

and not just any Gentile,

but these pagan astrologers

are able to discern from observing the stars

that the king of the Jews has been born?

Isn't that remarkable?

Astrology is expressly forbidden in Scripture.

Deuteronomy 18, 10 to 11 says,

anyone who practices divination,

or tells fortunes, or interprets omens,

or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a necromancer,

or one who inquires of the dead,

is an abomination to the Lord.

These magi are, by definition,

an abomination to the Lord.

In Isaiah 47, 13,

the prophet Isaiah mocks those who gaze at the stars,

who divide the heavens and gaze at the stars,

in hopes of discerning the future.

The reason why the Bible forbids all forms of divination

and astrology is because they are all attempts

to learn what God has not revealed to us.

Because they are attempts to control

what is outside of our control.

We want God to speak on our own terms.

We want to find a way around God

to find certainty and assurance

where God has not offered it.

So these magi are sinning,

and they are doing wrong.

Yet God is so gracious

that he reveals himself

even to these pagan astrologers

who are stumbling about in the darkness

looking for the light of the truth of God.

God arranges the stars

so as to reveal his son, Jesus,

to bear witness to his son, Jesus Christ,

so that even the magi can come to know him.

Some of you are here this morning

because you are seeking God.

You are searching for God,

like these magi.

But you have not yet found him.

Maybe you have dabbled in other religions,

like these magi.

Maybe you have even tried out

various forms of divination.

You need to stop trying to find God

in your own way.

You need to stop trying to

jerry-rig your spiritual life.

And you need to start reading the manual.

Because God has revealed himself to us

in the way of salvation,

in his word.

The magi knew that the king of the Jews

has been born,

but only from scripture can they learn

that this king is the Messiah,

the promised Messiah,

the long-awaited Messiah

who will save his people from their sins,

as we saw in Matthew 1, 21.

No matter where you have been in life,

no matter what you have done in life,

no matter what kind of dark secrets

you harbor and you hide

from those around you,

Jesus the Christ is able to save you

from your sins.

Even people who are an abomination to God,

because of their sins,

like you, like me,

God in Christ can save us from our sins.

So that those who once were an abomination

because of their sins are changed,

they are chosen,

they are made treasure of possessions

and beloved sons and daughters of the living God.

And secondly,

the story of the magi teaches us

that God's grace extends beyond the Jews

to all nations.

In the Old Testament,

the East is where the pagan nations

that are excluded from God's promise

and plan live.

The East, right,

if you remember from Abraham's story,

Abraham is the father of the Jews,

but Abraham had other wives besides Sarah,

and he also had other sons besides Isaac,

who was God's chosen line

through whom the messianic king would come.

And because Abraham knew

that the promise of God for him

would be fulfilled through Isaac's line,

in Genesis 25, verse 5 to 6,

Genesis 25:5–6

he gives everything he has to Isaac,

and then he just gives his other sons

some gifts and sends them away.

And where does he send these sons away to?

He says he sent them away from his son Isaac,

eastward, to the east country.

This is a poignant phrase

because after Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden,

humanity is exiled out from the east of the Garden

because that's where the entrance is

to the Garden of Eden.

And in Genesis 4, 16, it says,

Cain went away from the presence of the Lord

and settled in the land of Nod,

east of Eden.

In this way, east of Eden,

east of the promised land,

is a painful reminder of sin.

It represents humanity's separation from God,

their alienation from God.

But now, because the promised Messiah has come,

and the descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

the true son of David has come,

through him God reconciles all nations to himself,

even from the east.

In Christ Jesus,

all those who put their faith in Jesus for salvation

become children of God through faith.

That's why it says in Galatians 3, 28, 29,

there is neither Jew nor Greek,

neither Jew nor Gentile.

There is neither slave nor free.

There is no male and female,

for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if you are Christ's,

then you are Abraham's offspring,

heirs according to promise.

Even those from the east

can be counted heirs of Abraham,

according to the promise.

In light of this,

it is no coincidence

that these magi bow down before Jesus

and present as gifts to Jesus

gold and spices,

frankincense and myrrh.

Because in 1 Kings chapter 10,

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

when Queen of Sheba,

who also comes from the east and the south,

paid homage to King Solomon in Jerusalem,

she brought gold

and a very great quantity of spices.

Jesus is being portrayed

as the new and better Solomon,

the true and greater son of David.

In fact, Jesus says that explicitly

in Matthew 12, 42.

He says that the Queen of Sheba

will rise up at the judgment

and condemn the faithless generation.

For she came from the ends of the earth

to hear the wisdom of Solomon

and behold,

something greater than Solomon is here.

And that's Jesus.

It was prophesied that the nations

would come and bow down

to the Messianic king

and that they would present gifts to him.

Psalm 72, 10 to 11,

it says this,

that the royal son,

the king that God has chosen,

it says of him,

may the kings of Tarshish

and of the coastlands

render him tribute.

May the kings of Sheba

and Seba bring gifts.

May all kings fall down before him.

All nations serve him.

And what do these magi from the east do?

They fall down before Jesus in worship

and they bring gifts

and pay him tribute.

Likewise, it says in Isaiah 60,

verse one through six,

arise, shine for your light has come

and the glory of the Lord

has risen upon you.

For behold,

darkness shall cover the earth

and thick darkness the peoples.

But the Lord will arise upon you

and his glory will be seen upon you

and nations shall come to your light

and kings to the brightness of your rising.

All those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense

and shall bring good news,

the praises of the Lord.

Everything's prophesied.

They bring magi,

what gifts,

gold and frankincense.

They bring good news,

the tidings that the king of the Jews

has come to save his people.

But yes,

more than just that,

the presence of the magi here

in this scene tells us

that this king

is no king of Jews only.

He is no regional king like Herod.

He is the universal king,

the sovereign king,

the king of kings.

His name,

every tongue will confess

and before him

every knee will bow.

And that's why

when we pray together

as a church

during prayers of the people,

we don't merely pray

for our own locality.

We pray for the nations

because Jesus is king

not only among Americans

but among all peoples

and among all nations.

I was contacted this week

by a fellow

Williams College alum,

class of 1965,

so he's a lot older than me.

And he's writing a book

on the history

of Williams College

and Williamstown,

which also includes

the history

of the Haystack Movement.

For those of you

who don't know,

the Haystack Movement

commemorates,

it's on Williams College campus,

it commemorates

the prayer meeting

that several Williams College

students partook in

next to a haystack

in 1806.

It was there

that these students

made a commitment

to spread the gospel

among the foreign nations.

And they were instrumental

in the founding

of the American Board

of Commissioners

for Foreign Missions,

which is the first

foreign missionary society

in the United States.

It's that organization

that sent out

Adoniram Justin

and Luther Rice

as the first official

foreign missionary

sent out

from the United States.

I happened to be

a student at Williams

in 2006

during the bicentennial

celebration

of the event.

And because of that,

I had written some op-eds

and this alum

got a hold of those op-eds

and tracked me down,

saw that I was a pastor

and wrote to me

asking for some comments

about the Haystack Movement

and the monuments

so that he could include

it in his book.

And I was sad to hear

that apparently,

this is what he told me,

that the Haystack Monument

had been crudely defaced

in 2018

and in 2023

by people

who think

that missionary work

is inherently imperialistic

because they don't believe

that anyone

should impose

their religious beliefs

on anyone else.

But here's my problem

with that view.

If Jesus

is a local

deity,

if Jesus

is a regional king,

then yes,

that makes sense.

When you're in the U.S.,

you're under the authority

of the President

of the United States

of America.

When you go to China,

you're under the authority

of the President

of China.

Sure,

local kings

and local rulers,

that makes sense.

But Jesus

is not a local king.

Jesus is not

a regional king.

Jesus

is the king

of kings

over all

the earth.

That's why

we do not have

the luxury

to say to people,

well,

Jesus is for me,

but maybe he's not

for you.

We do not have

that luxury.

This is why

we cannot say,

well,

Jesus is for

our country,

but maybe not

for yours,

maybe not

for your culture.

We can't say that.

Because Jesus'

kingship

demands

the allegiance

of every single

person on this earth.

He deserves it.

And that's why

we must share

the gospel

with our neighbors.

That's why

we must make

disciples

of all nations.

Christians.

So on the one hand,

it's right when

people say,

well,

Christianity is not

primarily a political

religion.

That is true

because Jesus said

in John 18,

36,

my kingdom

is not of this world.

In his first coming,

Jesus did not come

to establish

an earthly kingdom.

But on the other hand,

Christianity is

profoundly political,

radically subversive,

subversive

because it creates

a people

whose primary

allegiance

is not to

any earthly king

but to King Jesus.

And this is why

all throughout history,

autocrats and despots

have feared

Christians

and have sought

to control

and subjugate

Christians

because they know

our loyalty lies

to someone else.

and that's why

it makes sense

in verse 3

when it says,

when Herod the king

heard this,

he was troubled

and all Jerusalem

with him.

Herod the king

mentioned here

is Herod the first.

Wikipedia calls him

Herod the great

but I do not give him

that favor.

He is Herod the first.

He was a Roman

Jewish client king.

Most of the time

the Bible mentions

King Herod,

it's referring to

his son

King Antipas

or Herod Antipas

or to his grandson

Herod Agrippa

but in the early

chapters of Matthew

when Herod's mentioned

it's Herod the first.

He rose to power

largely because

of his father's

good relations

with Julius Caesar.

He carried favor

with the Romans

and got himself

appointed as the

provincial governor

of Galilee

and eventually

through many brutal

tactics and after

many murders

he eventually became

sole king of Judea

with the approval

and permission

of the Roman Senate.

So immediately

when Herod hears

the retinue of Magi

asking where is he

who has been born

king of the Jews

Herod is troubled

because you see

Herod was not born

king of the Jews.

He was appointed

king of the Jews

by the Romans

and despite his

rebuilding of the

Jewish temple

and his many projects

and his pretensions

of being the savior

of the Jews

he did not come

from the messianic line

as Jesus did

as Matthew took pains

to show us

in chapter 1

of his book.

And according to

second century historian

Julius Africanus

Herod destroyed

all of the Jewish

genealogical records

that were preserved

in the public archives.

Why?

Because he was

he was shamed

embarrassed

by his

Edomian heritage

because he was

descended

not from Jacob

Israel

but from Esau.

Not from the chosen line

but from the excluded line.

He feared

that someone

one day

would show up

with an actual

royal lineage

and say

I am the king

of the Jews.

In fact

Herod

was such a paranoid

and suspicious man

in general

that he killed

two of his ten wives

and three of his sons

he executed

for suspicion

of treason.

So Herod's head

already full

of murderous plots

is already spinning

in full gear

in this passage.

He wants to know

he inquires

the Magi

in verse 7

what time

did the star

appear?

I mean who cares

what time?

Why do you want to know

what time

the star appeared?

Because he wants to know

how old the child is

so he can find him

and kill him.

That's what we'll see

next week.

And he tells

the Magi

in verse 8

go and search

diligently

for the child

and when you have

found him

bring me word

that I too

may come

and worship him.

hypocrisy.

He has no intention

of bowing down

to another king.

He is just

recruiting the Magi

to be informants

in his secret service.

Imagine yourself

in Herod's shoes

for a minute.

The Magi

from the east

comes

with a lot

of fanfare.

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.

What did you say?

Did you say

king of the Jews?

That's me.

Did you say

he was born

king of the Jews?

Interesting.

You say

you saw a star

and you've come

to worship him?

To pay your respects

to him

and bow down

before him?

Well you never

came to my inauguration?

You never came

to bow before me?

And notice

that the Magi

are never

described

in this passage

as falling down

before Herod

as they do

before Jesus

who is still

a mere child.

Herod

is seething

with murderous

anger

beneath his mask

of cordiality

because he is

troubled.

He is threatened.

He knows

there can only

be one.

In 333 B.C.,

Alexander

the king

of Macedon

thoroughly

defeated

Darius III,

king of Persia

at the Battle

of Isis.

He decimated

the Persian army

and then he took

Darius' mother,

wife,

and daughters

all captive.

A complete defeat

for Darius.

The demoralized

Darius

before the next battle

proposed a truce

to Alexander

offering him

all the lands

west of the Euphrates,

his daughter's hand

in marriage,

his son,

Ocus,

as a hostage,

and 30,000 talents

as ransom price

for the rest

of his family.

But Alexander

famously rejected

his offer saying,

heaven cannot

brook two sons

nor earth

two masters.

In other words,

this land

is not big enough

for two kings,

Darius.

Darius.

there can only be

one supreme ruler.

Alexander didn't want

a part of the Persian

empire.

He wanted all of it

under his rule

and eventually

he does conquer

all of Persia.

we see a similar

conflict here

in Matthew 2.

Look at how many times

Herod is called

king in this passage.

Verse 1,

in the days of Herod

the king.

Verse 3,

when Herod

the king

heard this.

Verse 9,

after listening

to the king,

Matthew is making

this contrast

and this conflict

between King Herod

and King Jesus

very obvious.

Who is the real

king of the Jews?

Matthew's answer

is also very obvious.

It's Jesus.

The Magi are given

two contradicting

commands

from these two kings.

King Herod

tells them

to report back

to him

once they have

found this child

king,

the Christ.

But God

warns them

in a dream

not to return

to Herod

in verse 12.

And which king

do they obey?

Of course,

King Jesus.

They departed

to their own country

by another way.

They take the long

way around

because there can be

only one king.

Our world today

has many rulers

and many kings

but the heavens

and the earth

will only brook

one king

in the end.

And that's

King Jesus.

Many of our lives

we live

as

wannabe kings.

We want

no one else

telling us

how to live,

what we can do

and what we cannot do.

We obey God

as long as

it fits

with our will,

our desires.

But as soon as

there's a conflict

of wills,

our will

trumps God's will

and we betray

the reality

that we think

of ourselves

as the highest

authority,

not God.

God.

But there can only

be one.

Heaven cannot

brook two sons

nor earth

two masters.

Where does

your loyalty

lie?

Our sinful

flesh

resists

the kingship

of Jesus.

I know

this

because

every day

I must

wrestle

with my

selfish desires.

Every day

I am faced

with many

decisions.

King Jesus

wants me

to be

patient here

but

King me

wants

everything

my way

right now.

King Jesus

wants me

to listen

well to

other people

to be

slow to

speak

but quick

to hear

but King

me

wants to

blabber on

and on

and on

and on

and make

the conversations

all about

me.

King

Jesus

wants me

to subordinate

my desires

and my

dreams

under

his

purposes

and

priorities

but King

me

wants to

subordinate

his word

and his

will

under my

dreams

and my

desires

because

no way

I'm giving

that up.

Do you

know how

smart I

am?

Do you

know how

gifted I

am?

Do you

know what

kind of

heritage

I have?

No,

I'm not

giving

that up.

there can

only be

one.

When was

the last

time you

believed the

Bible even

when you

came across

something that

offended your

sensibilities?

When was

the last

time you

obeyed God's

word even

when you

came across

something that

you really

didn't like

and didn't

want to

do?

Do you

this is

why

reading the

Bible is

always a

moral exercise

not just a

mental one or

an intellectual

one because

every time you

read this

book God's

word you're

faced with

a choice

and there

can only

be one

king.

Is your

primary allegiance

to an

earthly king

or a

political

party or

is it to

king Jesus?

Is your

primary allegiance

to another

man or

another woman

in your

life or

is it to

king Jesus?

Is your

primary allegiance

to yourself

or to

king Jesus?

If you're

like me you

fight this

every day.

I call

myself a

servant

of the

king.

I am a

servant of

the king

by his

grace.

And I

want to

honor him

and I

want to

pay homage

to him

and I

want to

see all

people

prostrate

and lie

down and

worship

him but

every day

I get in

the way.

Every day

I get in

the way.

and I

have to

die

again.

No

Sean.

That's

not your

place.

Fall down

before him.

is king

Jesus

really

worthy

of our

wholehearted

worship

and absolute

fealty?

Yes he

is.

And let

me show

you why.

We're already

seeing that

Jesus is no

ordinary

child and

that he

is no

ordinary

king.

That these

foreign

dignitaries

travel a

long distance

to come

and pay

homage to

him and

they prostrate

themselves

before him

in worship

which is a

sign of

abject

submission

because you

can't do

anything when

you're lying

flat on the

ground.

You can't

defend yourself.

You're

completely

and helplessly

at the

mercy of

the person

you are

buying down

to and

that's the

gesture that

they bring

to this

king.

And they

do that to

him when

he's still

a child.

And that

picture of

these important

people,

these

VIPs,

prostrate

before a

child Jesus

is a

wonderful

illustration

of what

Jesus teaches

us in

Matthew 18

1-4.

When his

disciples ask

him,

who is the

greatest in

the kingdom

of heaven?

Jesus tells

them,

he calls to

him a

child,

puts him

in the

midst of

them and

says,

truly I

say to

you,

unless you

turn and

become like

children,

you will

never enter

the kingdom

of heaven.

Whoever

humbles himself

like this

child is the

greatest in

the kingdom

of heaven.

Jesus is a

king who

has humbled

himself, the

son of God

who took on

human flesh

and has

become a

son of man.

He came to

our world as

a baby and

grew up as a

toddler.

This Jesus

literally became

a child.

And if we

want to be

great in the

kingdom of God,

we must emulate

his humility.

theologian and

biblical counselor

David Paulison

once summarized

Christian

sanctification

succinctly this

way.

This is what it

means to become

sanctified, to

become more, to

grow as a

Christian, to

become more

childlike toward

God, our

Father, and to

become more

Christlike toward

other people.

It's simple that

way, isn't it?

In the natural

realm, the more

we grow, the more

independent we

become.

But maturity

works backwards

in the spiritual

realm.

The more we

grow, the more

dependent on God

we become.

The more humble

and prayerful and

dependent we

become.

The more we

recognize our

own, that our

own righteousness

is woefully

inadequate, the

more we cling

ever more to

the righteousness

of Christ alone,

more and more to

the mercy and

grace of God

alone, we become

more dependent as

we grow, not

less.

And the

worshipped child

king is also a

wonderful illustration

of Matthew 20,

25 to 28, when

Jesus says, you

know that the

rulers of the

Gentiles lorded

over them and

their great ones

exercise authority

over them.

It shall not be

so among you.

But whoever

would be great

among you must

be your servant,

and whoever

would be first

among you must

be your slave,

even as the

son of man came

not to be served,

but to serve,

and to give his

life as a ransom

for many.

When we behold

King Jesus in his

incarnation, in the

frailty and

vulnerability of this

human child we see

in Matthew 2, we see

clearly that Jesus

came not to be

served, but to

serve and to give

his life as a

ransom for many.

Jesus is called

the king of the

Jews, right, in

verse 2.

Jesus is never

again called the

king of the Jews

in the rest of the

gospel of Matthew

until we get to the

very end, chapter 27,

when Jesus is being

tried and crucified

to give his life as

a ransom for many.

In Matthew 27,

Pilate calls him the

king of the Jews,

and the soldiers

twist together a

crown of thorns and

put it on his head

and put a reed on

his right hand as a

mock scepter, and

then they kneel

before him and mock

him saying,

hail king of the

Jews.

And when Jesus is

crucified, they put a

sign above his head

which reads, this is

Jesus, the king of

the Jews.

This parallel

acclamation from

chapter 2 to

chapter 27 of Jesus

being hailed as the

king of the Jews

invites a stark

contrast.

Think about this.

If you only read

Matthew 2, 1 to 12,

you didn't know the

rest of the gospel

story, don't know

the rest of Matthew,

would you imagine

that Jesus' life

would end like that?

He's the king of the

Jews.

His birth was

foretold thousands of

years before he came.

He's the fulfillment of

all of the Old Testament

prophecies.

His birth was

announced by a star

in heaven.

The magi from the

east came to pay

homage to him and

they fell down before

him and worshipped

him.

How would you

imagine that story

to unfold?

Oh yes, he's

surely going to be a

great one.

He's going to conquer

kingdoms.

He's going to have

kings bow their knees

before him.

He's going to be the

first, the greatest.

But Jesus came to be

the last, to be a

servant king, to give

his life as a ransom

for many.

only myrrh he receives

at the end of his life

in John 19, 39, is the

myrrh that they use as a

spice mixture when they

bury him.

Why does King Jesus do

that?

It would be so painful

for me if I were there

in the first century

to watch Jesus endure

what he endures, the

shame, the pain, and the

humiliation.

Jesus, you don't deserve

that.

You deserve honor.

Your feet should never

touch this dirty earth.

Right up my shoulders.

Let us carry you

everywhere you go.

They don't deserve to

talk to you like that.

Let me have a word with

them.

But Jesus endures all of

it.

He dies a sinner's death

on the cross because he

knows that that is the

only way he can subdue a

rebel heart because he

knows that our hearts are

in rebellion against his

kingship, the kingship of

God.

God.

So he rules us at the cross.

He dies for our sins on the

cross so that we can be

freed from our slavery to

sin so that we can be

transferred from the kingdom

of darkness to the kingdom of

the light of God and the

kingdom of his beloved son.

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

That can only happen because

Jesus died for our sins and was

raised from the dead.

God.

Do you know a king like that?

No.

There's no king like that.

There's only one.

God.

And that's why he's worthy of

all our worship and all our

fealty and the loyalty and

allegiance of every nation and

kingdom on earth.

Let's pray together.

Father.

Oh, Father, what precious gift you

have given us in Jesus Christ,

your son.

Oh, Lord, we praise you that

castaways that we are and we

deserve to be.

That you have made us a kingdom.

That you have given us a king in

Jesus.

Oh, Lord, we serve him.

We worship him.

We bow before him.

And we love him.

Help us to do so more and more

as Jesus deserves.

For your glory, God.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.