Matthew Ch2v1-12 - Responding To Jesus

Over this season we've been using Matthew to help us think about and reflect on the coming of Christ.

So Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 2.

Last week we looked at the birth.

And in Chapter 2 we're going to be thinking about responses.

So as I read the text, maybe that's something you can be doing is thinking about what are the different responses I see or hear in the text.

Well let's read Matthew Chapter 2, verses 1 to 12.

Matthew 2:1–12

After Jesus 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's been born King of the Jews?

We saw his star when it rose 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 the teachers of the law,

he asked them where the Messiah 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 Judea,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.

For out of you will come a ruler

who will shepherd 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 search carefully for the child.

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

After they had heard the king,

they went on their way and the star they had seen when it rose,

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.

They bowed down and worshipped him.

Then they opened their treasures

and presented him with gifts of gold,

frankincense,

and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream

not to go back to Herod,

they returned to their country

by another route.

Well, let's pray

and ask for God's help.

Father, thank you for this

account, for this record

around the birth of Christ.

we believe that this is your word to us today,

speaking into our lives.

And we pray that as we reflect on this together,

that your word would travel deeply into our hearts

and it would cause us

to respond

in a way that honours you

and is good for us.

So help us now, we pray.

Amen.

Brussels sprouts.

What do you think

of these festive green veggies

that appear in our shops

at this time of year?

Well, one thing is for sure,

they're not neutral, are they?

You either love them

or you loathe them.

You either pile them high on your plate

or you feed them to the dog under the table.

The humble Brussels

can be quite divisive, can't it?

Well, there's another festive ingredient

that produces an even stronger opinion.

The birth of Christ.

And one thing for sure is

this account is not neutral.

In fact, it seems that everybody has a view,

not just then,

but today.

If you were to ask people

or to mention Jesus,

what you think,

does he fit into Christmas?

You will be sure to get a response.

And in our text,

and maybe you can discuss this with me afterwards

over tea and coffee,

I think we see at least three different people

who give three different responses

to the birth of Christ.

In fact, their responses are a reflection

of the way in which we might respond

of the way in which we might respond

to Jesus Christ.

So at the very outset,

I have this question for us all.

What is my response?

What is your response today

to the person of Jesus Christ?

What's your response?

How does it affect your life?

Well, here's the first response

that I think we see.

Disturbed.

Look at verse 3.

When King Herod heard this,

when he heard about the birth of Jesus,

he was disturbed

and all Jerusalem with him.

Why is Herod disturbed?

Why is he so upset?

Well, look back at verse 1.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea

during the time of King Herod.

Herod had been made king

by the occupying Romans.

And of course, if you are king,

well, you do happen to have

a kind of God-like status.

But now all of a sudden,

he's been confronted

with some very disturbing news.

Herod had some guests

who've come knocking at his door.

Look at the rest of verse 1.

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem.

Now the Magi,

from what you may have heard,

are not just stargazers.

They're not just there

looking out of their telescope,

wondering what's happening

up in the skies.

They're well-respected astrologers.

They were people of great influence,

wealthy.

They had a certain amount of authority

and would give advice

to leaders and to rulers.

And they've come

and found their way to Herod.

They knock on his door

and they have a question.

Where is the one

who's been born king of the Jews?

We saw his star when it rose

and we've come to worship him.

Well, you could hear

Herod's unspoken response.

What?

What do you mean

where's the king

who's been born king of the Jews?

I'm the king of the Jews.

What the Magi did

would be like us

going off to Moscow

and having a private audience

with Putin

and saying,

excuse me, Mr. Putin,

could you tell me

where I might find

the president of Russia?

My goodness me,

it's not the sort of thing

you go asking, is it?

And for Herod

to be asking him

that kind of question,

well, it was equal

to treason.

Look at verse 3 again.

When King Herod

heard this,

that they were looking

for a king,

he was disturbed.

literally means

he was seething.

He is raging.

Prominent officials

coming from another country

and they've come

to worship a king

and it's not him.

The problem for Herod is

this is all too personal.

Herod is confronted

with the reality

that though he's been

appointed as a king,

though he's ruling

as a king,

he's not

the king

and he doesn't

like it.

You see,

Jesus

confronts

our

autonomy.

He confronts

us

head on.

Now, we mightn't

have grand titles

as King Herod did,

but we surely

do act as

king,

don't we?

We appoint

ourselves

as king.

We rule

as if

I am king.

Well, this is

my life

and I'm going

to live it

the way

I want to.

I want to

express

myself.

I want to be

the real,

authentic

me

and, well,

that's just

doing things

the way I want

to do it.

We've all claimed

a God-like

status.

You see,

the coming

of Jesus

confronts

not just

Herod

back in

Matthew's

day,

but he is

confronting

us again

through these

words.

He's claiming

an authority

over us.

He's saying,

I made you,

I own you,

you belong

to me.

He demands

an allegiance

from us.

In fact,

with any king,

there's only

one throne,

isn't there?

And there's

room for only

one person

to sit on it.

Either I'm

going to sit

on the throne,

or God

is going

to sit

on the throne.

Well,

Herod was

so resistant,

he took

extreme action,

didn't he?

Just jump

ahead to

chapter 2,

verse 16.

Chapter 2,

verse 16.

When Herod

realised that

he had been

outwitted

by the Magi,

he was

furious

and he gave

orders to

kill all the

boys in

Bethlehem

and in

its vicinity

who were

two years

and under.

I'm

getting rid

of this

king.

Now,

we're rightfully

horrified with

Herod's actions,

yet at the

same time,

let's face

reality.

There's a little

Herod sitting

on the throne

of our own

hearts,

isn't there?

any challenge

to self-rule

and we

tend to

push

Jesus out.

What's your

response

to Jesus

today?

This is my

life

and I'm

going to

live as I

please?

Are you

disturbed

with Jesus'

claim

over you?

So,

disturbed

is one

response.

Here's the

second

response.

Unmoved.

Who's

unmoved?

Well,

we'll find

out.

Have a look

at verse

four.

When he

had called

together all

the people's

chief priests

and the

teachers of

the law,

Herod asked

them,

where's this

Messiah to

be born?

Now,

we know

he's got

ulterior motives.

He's wanting

to find out

where he

is so

that he

can kill

him.

So,

he brings

in all

the most

respected

religious

scholars of

the day.

After all,

he was in

Jewish territory

and,

well,

the experts,

they knew

their scriptures,

they knew

their Bible

and they

were going

to be the

best

interpreters

and they

were going

to tell

him where

Jesus was

going to

be born.

And,

sure enough,

they don't

disappoint.

Verse five,

Bethlehem

in Judea.

Well,

how do

they know

that?

Well,

because,

verse five,

this is what

the prophet

has written

and they

quote the

prophet

Micah.

Verse six,

but you,

Bethlehem,

in the land

of Judea,

are by no

means least

among the

rulers of

Judah.

Bethlehem

being an

insignificant,

tiny little

outcrop of

a few houses

and a few

buildings.

Kind of

Ballyhonas

territory.

For out of

you will

come a

ruler who

will shepherd

my people

Israel.

Now,

this is a

prophecy,

isn't it,

about the

coming of

Jesus,

God's

promised

king.

And,

these

magi have

heard about

this promised

king and

they're seeking

out this

very king

and the

religious

authorities

have just

quoted,

understood,

this is

where he's

coming from.

So,

we would

expect,

wouldn't we,

the religious

leaders to

go and

join in

the search

because surely

they too

want to

worship

the promised

king.

king.

But,

no,

these

religious

folk are

completely

unmoved.

There's

nothing in

the text

whatsoever

indicating that

they were in

the slightest

bit interested.

Imagine,

after all the

years and all

the waiting and

all the history

and all the

promises,

all building up,

the Messiah is

coming,

the Messiah is

coming,

the expectation

of a

rescuer.

Quick,

come on,

he's here,

let's go find

the king.

But,

they're

completely

disinterested,

indifferent.

They are

totally

unmoved.

Of all the

people you

would expect

to be

interested and

excited,

it must be

the religious

leaders.

Well,

it seems

being religious

and knowing

your Bible

and going

to church

and doing

all the

right kind

of stuff

doesn't

actually mean

that you

love Jesus.

Well,

how could

this be?

Well,

Jesus

reveals

our pride.

It seems

the religious

leaders saw

no need

of Jesus

personally.

After all,

they were

the leaders,

they were

top of

their field.

Others

might need

Jesus,

but not

us.

Look again

at the

quote,

the end

of verse

six.

It says,

out of

Bethlehem

will come

a ruler

who will

shepherd

my people

Israel.

Jesus,

we're told,

is coming

as a shepherd.

But hang

on a minute,

isn't that

what the

religious

rulers were?

Weren't

they meant

to be

the shepherds

and the

carers

of God's

people?

Who's

this

shepherd

that's

coming?

Well,

we get

an insight

into what

this shepherd

would be

like if we

just jump

on a couple

of pages

to Matthew

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9.

Have a look

over there

with me.

Chapter 9

verse 36.

Just one

verse helping

us to see

what this

shepherd Jesus

would be

like.

Verse 36,

when he,

when Jesus

saw the

crowds,

he had

compassion

on them

because they

were harassed

and helpless

like sheep

without a

shepherd.

When Jesus

looks out

and as he

went walking

about the

towns,

he saw

wandering

sheep.

That's what

people were

like to him.

Sheep get

lost by

themselves,

don't they?

And they get

into trouble

and they can't

help themselves.

And Jesus

is looking out

and he's

saying,

well,

that's what

people are

like.

In fact,

he describes

them as

being harassed

and helpless.

To be

harassed is

to be

overcome

with anxiety

and fears.

It's a

consequence

of living

without God,

constantly

overwhelmed

and frantically

trying to

control our

future.

Never at

peace.

Always

searching,

never finding.

harassed

with the

pressures

of life.

But as

he also

looked at

the crowds,

he says,

well,

we're not

just harassed,

but we're

helpless.

We're

helpless to

see how

serious our

situation is,

helpless to

do anything

about it.

And the

problem is,

we can't

even see

it.

We're in

danger,

living a

life on

our own

without

God.

A

helpless

situation.

That's

what Jesus

saw as

he wandered

the streets.

Not just

people,

but the

religious

leaders

too.

So how

would you

feel about

God's

assessment

of you

and me

that,

well,

he sees

people who

are harassed

and helpless.

It knocks

our pride

a little

bit,

doesn't

it?

Especially

religious

folk.

You see,

we can be

all doing

the right

religious

things,

but never

actually

seeing our

desperate

need of

Jesus.

Well,

my life is

in good

shape.

I have

it together.

I know

the Bible

story.

I get

church.

I understand

what that's

all about.

But when

it comes

to seeing

our need

of him

and living

for him

and experiencing

him in our

life,

well,

maybe sometimes

we can be

just completely

unmoved.

Oh,

I know

the story.

I know

the Christmas

story.

I've heard

it.

Our hearts

remain

disinterested

and indifferent.

Is that

your response

today?

It's not

me who

needs

Jesus.

Other people

might,

but not

me.

So,

maybe it's

a case

of being

disturbed.

Maybe it's

a case

of being

unmoved.

Or there's

a third

response.

Overjoyed.

look at

how the

magi

responded.

Look at

verse 10

with me.

Chapter 2,

verse 10.

Go back

to where we

were.

Chapter 2,

verse 10.

When they

saw the

star,

they were

overjoyed.

Rather than

disturbed like

Herod,

instead of

being unmoved

like the

religious leaders,

these magi

are overjoyed.

They're

overwhelmed.

Why are they

so joyful?

Well,

consider two

things with me.

First,

the star.

The star is

all over the

text,

isn't it,

that we've

read?

It's no

ordinary

star.

Have a

look at

verse 2.

Where is

the one

who's been

born king

of the

Jews?

We saw

his star

when it

rose,

and have

come to

worship him.

Now,

it's

fascinating,

it's

extraordinary.

It was

moving,

this star

in the sky

was moving

in such a

way that

they could

follow it.

Theologians

and historians

reckon that

these magi

had travelled

up to a

thousand miles

following

this star.

This

strange event

in the

skies.

And

they're

concerned to

find out

what's this

star all

about?

What does

it mean?

Well,

the star

led them

secondly to

a person.

Again,

look at

verse 2.

Did you

read it

carefully?

Look at

the end

of verse 2.

We saw

his star.

Well,

whose star?

Jesus'

star.

This was

a star

pointing to

King Jesus.

But think

about it.

How did

they know

it was

his star?

Who told

them it

was Jesus'

star?

Well,

being educated

people,

they would

have had

access to

writings of

other nations

and books

and prophecies

of other

people.

Writings,

I'm going

to suggest

to you

like the

book of

Isaiah.

Have a

look with

me in

Isaiah

Isaiah 60 · chapter mention

chapter 60.

Isaiah

Isaiah 60 · chapter mention

chapter 60.

So they've

seen this

star in

the sky.

They've

even given

it a name

and saying

it's his

star,

as in

it's the

king of

the Jews.

It's his

star,

we're

following

this star.

But how

did they

know?

Like,

what gave

them that

impression?

Well,

let's

have a

read of

Isaiah

60.

Here God

is talking

about the

coming of

Jesus,

but look

how he

describes

his

coming.

Verse 1,

Arise,

shine,

for your

light has

come,

and the

glory of

the Lord

rises upon

you.

See,

darkness

covers the

earth,

and thick

darkness is

over the

peoples.

But the

Lord rises

upon you,

and his

glory

appears

over you.

Nations

will come

to your

light,

and the

kings

to the

brightness

of your

dawn.

Lift up

your eyes,

look about

you,

all

assemble,

come to

you.

Your

sons

come from

afar,

and your

daughters

who are

carried on

the hip.

Then

you will

look and

be radiant,

your heart

will throb

and swell

with joy,

the wealth

and the

seeds will

be brought

to you,

to the

riches of

the nations

will come.

Herds of

camels will

cover your

land,

young camels

of Midian

and Ephah,

and all

from Sheba

will come,

bearing gold

and incense,

and proclaiming

the praise

of the

Lord.

A

fascinating

text,

isn't it?

this

star,

this

light

that

rises,

that goes

before you

is directing

them to

someone who

is going to

be the

hope of

the world,

a light

that's going

to remove

the darkness,

a light

that was

going to

attract

nations,

one who

was worthy

of people's

praise,

whether they

were young

or old.

Let's go

back to

Matthew

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Now I'm

not saying

the Magi

knew everything

about who

Jesus was

and what

he was

coming to

do,

but I

think we

can be

very clear

that they

did know

that this

Jesus

was sent

by creator

God

and was

going to

be the

hope of

the world.

Yes,

the star

was of

interest,

but it

was where

the star

came to,

verse 11,

verse 10,

that,

sorry,

where is it,

end of

verse 9,

it stopped

over the

place where

the child

was.

It was

bringing them

and pointing

them to

the person

of Christ.

They were

overjoyed

because the

promises that

they had

read and

heard about

had now

been

fulfilled.

In fact,

their joy

had led

to worship.

You see,

Jesus

deserves

our worship.

Look at

verse 11.

On coming

to the

house,

they saw

the child

with his

mother Mary

and they

bowed down

and worshipped

him.

Now,

worship isn't

just confined

to a

religious

building.

Worship

is something

all of us

do all

of the

time.

It simply

means to

serve or

to bow

down to.

It comes

from the

words worth

or worthy.

It's giving

something or

someone value

and honour.

it's something

that we

consider to

be of our

highest value

and whatever

we consider

to be of

greatest value

to us in

our life,

that's what

we serve.

That's what

we bow down

to.

That's what

we worship.

it.

So,

what is the

highest honour

in your life?

What do you

give greatest

value to?

Is it your

own physical

body and

how you

look?

Is it

getting grades

and certain

careers and

being successful

in your job?

Is it your

children?

or sport

or some

team?

What is it

that is of

greatest value

to you?

Well,

look at the

magi.

They had

come to see

that Jesus

was of

greatest value

to them.

Look at how

they responded,

verse 11.

On coming

to the house,

they saw

the child

with his

mother Mary.

They bowed

down and

worshipped him.

Then they

opened their

treasures and

presented him

with the

gifts of

gold,

frankincense

and myrrh.

They bowed

down to

this child.

Fancy doing

that?

It's a

position of

submission.

It's saying,

I am high

and you

are,

or I am

low and

you are

high.

I'm at

your service.

And they

also presented

him with

gifts,

gifts that

were of

great value,

treasures.

They are

saying,

you,

this child,

are of

infinite worth.

My life

is yours.

So let's

come back to

the question

again.

Who is it

that we

worship in

our life?

Whatever we

consider to

be of

highest value,

whatever we

consider to

be of

greatest

honour,

that's

who we

worship.

That's

what we

give our

life to.

The

coming of

Jesus Christ

almost 2,000

years ago

was certainly

not a silent

night,

nor was it

all calm

and bright.

The coming

of God's

promised

king caused

a stir

amongst the

people.

Everyone

had an

opinion.

So what

is our

response to

Jesus?

Does his

claim disturb

you?

That he's

king of your

life and

you're

answerable to

him?

Or perhaps

the whole

account leaves

you just

completely and

utterly

unmoved.

I'm all

right,

Jack.

I don't

need Jesus.

I'm not

helpless.

I can do

life alone.

Well,

some people

were overjoyed.

Why?

Well,

because like

the Magi,

they've come

to see that

Jesus was

the one who

was bringing

light in

the darkness.

He was a

shepherd full

of compassion

who helped

those who

were helpless,

who gave

life to

those who

were harassed,

a shepherd

who would

actually lay

down his

life for

the sheep

so that

they could

have ultimate

joy and

life.

What's our

response going

to be to

this Jesus?

He deserves

our worship.

We can be

overjoyed

because in

him is

life in

all its

fullness.

Let's

pray together.

Amen.

Father,

as we

just reflect

and think

of the

coming of

Jesus Christ,

the God-man

into this

world,

we either

push him

away

or we

welcome him

in.

We're

either

disturbed,

unmoved,

or

overjoyed.

Father,

help us

to be

clear about

that.

And would

you give

us a

heart that

is moved

like the

Magi,

and that

we learn

to bow

down before

you,

to live

our life

in service

to you,

to the

one who

has given

us life

today,

and life

for all

eternity,

in your

good and

perfect

kingdom.

Thank you

that you

are king,

and that

you are

Lord.

Help us

to follow

you as we

should.

In Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Well,

the Magi

were

overjoyed.

They

bowed in

worship.

Did they

sing?

I don't

know.

Maybe

they did.