12-14-2025 -THE SEARCH FOR A KING - Matthew 2:1-11 (Special messages for Christmas season)

 MESSAGE BY PASTOR ROB INRIG

 FROM BETHANY BAPTIST IN RICHMOND, BC.

+++

I invite you to pray together: O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servants for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon them with the eyes of thy mercy ( Vicky O, Nancy R, Tere G, Liz N, Stevie A, Socrates D, Sara's mom H, Margarita G,   Rosy Ch, Patricia L. Lina J.  Magda- Laci M.  Gloria F, Miguel A H. Silvia H, Manuel D, Brianda M, Alejandro M, Natalia M)   Comfort them with a sense of thy goodness; preserve them from the temptations of the enemy; and give them patience under his affliction. In thy good time, restore them to health, and enable them to lead the residue of their life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that finally they may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

You can add names from family and friends who need prayer

+++

Of all the characters represented in the Christmas story, none has had our understanding shaped more by Christmas carols and Christmas cards than the Magi who came to visit the newborn baby.  For example, though we sing We 3 kings from Orient are, we don’t know how many Magi there were.  Do we know that there was the presentation of 3 gifts - yes but the number of those who presented those gifts? - no idea.  Nor do we know how large their travelling contingent was though it is very likely that they were a much larger group than three.  

Some are quick to say, which I heard on a previous occasion, we do know their names, so 3 it is.  But really?  Tradition may try to convince us but that’s all it is, tradition.  In fact the names commonly associated with these men came to us by way of a 7^th Century opera. Another thing we don’t know is how the Magi got the information they did about this newborn king or what was it about this spectacular star that compelled them to leave their countries and travel a significant distance to seek out the place of Christ’s birth.  Despite speculation, we can be certain this is no ordinary star, no comet, no asteroid, no unique aligning of planets.   Why?  Because no natural functioning star or comet does any of what this star did.  This star led, then for a brief time briefly stopped leading as it had.  More than that, it was temporarily removed from their sight - causing its followers to go into Jerusalem to ask, Where is this one who is born King of the Jews?  This disappearance needed to put Herod and all Jerusalem on notice that a new day had arrived causing Herod’s paranoia to skyrocket. 

Most here this morning have received the news of this King far differently.  You received Jesus not as King of the Jews but as your king, the King of your life.  You believe what you heard, that Jesus is God’s Son who died so you can become His child.

That said, some may be here who find themselves more curious than committed.  Your first look at this ‘star’ convinces you that it was something to be looked at.  You followed because it seemed compellingly clear, compellingly true.  Then some storm clouds rolled in, and the good you thought was clear, now you aren’t so sure.  The fixes wanted not come as asked, the all is well not as well as you needed it would be.  Looking around at others, you started to see that their, ‘All is well not as ‘well’ as conveyed. 

And with that, you became less convinced, the star, less in view as it once had been.  What the star pointed to still there, as it’s always been, its lustre no less, but our looking on with wonder certainly less. We are distracted, enamoured with far lesser things.   

As far as Herod was concerned, he wasn’t even going to look.  If what these wise men said was true, IF this star had led them into his territory, this newly announced King posed a threat that would upend everything he had built.  His spirit and those like him, wanting nothing to do with anything that would change their world.  That meant eliminating this King, not welcoming Him.   

But after their report was given to Herod, the star reappeared to the wise men who once again were directed by a strategically and selectively pointing light. 

We do know these wise men came from the east, as the Old Testament tells us, from Gentile country.  It’s thought these men came from Persia, Ethiopia or beyond.  Don’t miss the miracle in this - that Gentiles would even care about a king that had nothing to do with them.  Yet something they’d seen in the heavens compelled them to go, somehow, they knew what this star signified.  Did God give them an angelic visitation as he had with the shepherds or appear to them in a dream as He had with Joseph?  We don’t know.  What we do know is that, determined to find this new King, the Magi dropped everything, not acting on impulse but on knowledge.  This is clear by evidence of their gathering provisions needed for a journey of some length - taking with them gifts of great value as befitting a king.  Travelling with wealth would have put them at great risk which is just one reason why it’s likely that their numbers were more than a few.  And if these men were kings again as it is possible that the Old Testament conveys, there is no way they wouldn’t have travelled with those who would look after their protection.  The number, more or less irrelevant, their actions are anything but.  Based on the gifts chosen, we know they were certain the One they set out to find was a king unlike any other - a king of the Jews - yes but something they clearly knew to be more, a King before whom they would bow - acknowledging Him as far greater than they.   

The Old Testament prophesies their coming.  Isaiah 60:3,6 speak of, Nations and kings coming to the light and brightness of your rising - these ones bowing down and offering gold and frankincense.  And Psalm 72:10, foretells foreign kings bowing down and bringing gifts.

Geographically, He would be king not just of the Jews but of another kingdom - another Kingdom in more ways than they could possibly know.  His kingdom would not be limited by boundaries or nationality.  At another, IF their going hadn’t been God- directed, why go?  What benefit was it to them?  A king of another kingdom wouldn’t grant favour to them because of some gifts.  He couldn’t offer them positions of power or influence.  In truth, a baby wasn’t in a position to offer anything?  

But the real question isn’t whether He would be King of their kingdom, it’s whether He will King of ours?  A King to Whom we bow, a King to Whom we obey, a King for Whom we live. Because that is what these did coming to Him as they had.  They didn’t come all this way just to witness what this star meant or who some child would be. No, before they set off on their journey  they’d already determined they were coming to worship Him.  To bow before One who was coming as king, unlike any King ever known.  They are setting aside everything. Their busyness.  Their prior commitments.  Their inconveniences.  Travelling a great distance, not certain where their travels would take them.  But going and in their going, bringing their best.  They doing what we often fail to do.  We more enamoured with the Christmas story than with the greatness this story invites us into - the God of the universe doing the incomprehensible so we could know Him. 

The wise men offering their best, evidenced in their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Because of its scarcity, gold was almost always reserved for royalty and nobility.  Over the years, its lure has not changed - nations acquire it, individuals treasure it, merchants trade for it and wars are fought over it.  No wonder.  God validates its value – consider, the Ark of the Covenant was overlaid with pure gold as were the mercy seat and cherubim.  Even the poles used to carry the Ark were covered in gold. And if that weren’t enough, the walls of the Holy Place were also covered in gold. God using gold’s lustre to represent value yet pointing to value of something greater.  Which is what the Magi were doing with their presentation of gold to the One before whom they bowed.  Giving it away, as a gift, giving Him the treasure they once held as theirs - laid down before a King.  

In a similar fashion, they brought frankincense, which was used in the tabernacle and later the Temple as special incense offered to God.  Mixed with spices, pure frankincense was consecrated as pure and holy Ex 30:34,35, The only incense permitted at the altar.  The burning of frankincense most associated with worship of a deity.  Once again, these wise men honoured this newborn king as greater than any.   And then there was myrrh, which with an ordinary glance, seems out of place with the other two.  After all, myrrh was used to embalm the dead.  Yet as Exodus 30 tells us, myrrh was a main ingredient in the anointing oil used to purify the priests and everything in the Temple, including the altar, before sacrifices could be made holy unto God.  Specifically, Scripture tells us, Whatever oil touches them will become holy.  So myrrh was equated with purity and holiness yet there is one qualifier for its use, as Ex 30:32 tells us, Myrrh shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy.

Yet baby Jesus is presented with myrrh who later as we know, Joseph of Arimathea wrapped Jesus with 75^lbs of myrrh.  Gold, frankincense and myrrh – gifts from the Magi travelling far to give their best to Jesus.  It’s an interesting picture.  In His death and on the Cross taking on Himself all our sin - the ugliness of evil: the distasteful and obscene, the cruel and vindictive, the abusive and the vile.  His holiness is absorbing and cleansing us from it all, and yet His holiness and His purity are untouched.  He gives us the grand exchange, our evil for His holiness and purity, its measure never used up. 

These wise men are not wise because of their study of the stars.  Not wise due to the gift of their intellect, not wise because of their royal blood but wise because they knew they were meeting a King.

Again, do we truly do the same?  To set aside the things that preoccupy, that occupy our time, and claim our love?  Do we set those aside so Jesus gets our first worship, our first love or in effect are we more like those to whom they came when they stepped into Jerusalem?

They travelled from far off countries while those in Jerusalem weren’t prepared to travel 6 miles to Bethlehem.  The Magi searched as long and as far as the star would take them; those in Jerusalem, when asked Where this child, born to be king? - didn’t know, didn’t care and went to no trouble to look.  The Magi left everything behind - their job, their families, their 24/7 to search for what they must find; those in Jerusalem were too busy with all the other things that had to be done - businesses to run; family obligations to fulfill; religious ceremonies to fulfill - all things that crowded out what their prophets promised and they supposedly believed.  

Because searching out this king was too inconvenient.  And looking for this king in a no-account hamlet like Bethlehem, just 6 miles away, was beyond absurd. No king of any worth would come from such a place.  Okay, perhaps in a long-ago time of shepherds and no-account villages, but hardly in a ‘sophisticated’ time of religious and political cities of prominence like Jerusalem. And make no mistake, every generation thinks itself wiser and more sophisticated than those that have come before. Besides, if there were authenticity to the story, this King would present himself with pageantry and power because that is the way of royalty.  So settling for a second-hand account of some king would hardly have them going to him.  So they would wait and determine how things would unfold.

And yet as they wait, we are told in Matthew 2:3, this news about a newborn king caused distress both to Herod and to all Jerusalem. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and ALL Jerusalem with him.

It’s not hard to understand Herod’s response.  Time and again, he’d proven himself paranoid with even the slightest threat to his rule.  Even those closest to him, including his family, had been executed because he questioned their loyalty.  And the religious rulers? They had spent years enjoying the perks of their position, and they weren’t about to lose that.. But all Jerusalem? - That’s harder to determine.  Perhaps they feared a Roman response or perhaps this new king would change their way of life.  

Yet one thing is clear, it was God who led the Magi into Jerusalem so the whole city could hear about the arrival of this newborn king.  It was that news that caused Herod to gather the chief priests and teachers of the law to hear the prophecies concerning the Messiah’s birth. These  scribes and chief priests and teachers of the law Herod consulted were the best and brightest minds of the day.  And among the multitude of things they would have known?  That their long-awaited Messiah will be a Jew.  He will come from the tribe of Judah.  He will be a descendant of David.  He will be born in Bethlehem, and He will be born of a virgin.

Given all this, you’d think their review of the prophecies might stir up faith and anticipation.  You’d think, despite their prejudices, it would have them on their way to Bethlehem to see what the prophets foretold.  You’d think it would have them excited about God’s King.  But it didn’t.   

They were 6 miles from Jesus!  6 miles - a distance that could be walked in a few hours. 6 miles,  the scribes, chief priests and teachers of the law were too busy to take to see IF their long awaited Messiah had come.  6 miles from salvation.  6 miles from living with God forever.  6 miles close and a 1000 miles distant. 

Because they too busy hanging on to what they had.  Busy enjoying the power.  Too busy protecting the influence they’d earned over time.  Too busy even for the arrival of God’s Messiah, they supposedly longed to see.  Religious - sure but their god was their study and their good lives, rather than what the Scriptures studied were to show them that their goodness would never be enough. 

It's amazing how often we miss what is right before us, not just then but now.  Take the case of concert violinist Joshua Bell.  For context Bell’s musical genius was discovered early when at age four, he took rubber bands from around his house and stretched them across the handles of his nine dresser drawers to pluck out music he heard his mother play on the piano.  Before long, that creative start moved him from rubber bands to the strings of a Stradivarius, playing in the most prestigious concert halls around the world.  In 2007, Bell took part in an experiment where for 45 minutes, he played his $10M Stradivarius in the subway station in Washington DC as people came and went.  During this time, very few stopped to listen. Though they would have paid top ticket prices to appreciate his brilliance in a prestigious concert hall, they ignored him in his pedestrian surroundings.

Those conducting the study concluded that Preconceived notions, expectations and the context of the encounter often constrain a person’s ability to appreciate beauty.   

The very same could be said for those who heard about a king but weren’t interested enough to determine whether what they had heard was true.  Their arrogance makes them deaf.  Their practices are making them blind.  ‘Who were these who had come from the east?’  Who were they to come into our world and teach us of things we have spent a lifetime studying?  No star has been shown to us.  No heavenly revelation given.  No imminent arrival of One to come.  

Charles Spurgeon remarks upon the Jewish leaders this way:  Those who should have been leaders were no leaders; they would not even be followers of that which is good, for they had no heart towards Christ…The heart is always the issue. If the heart is not right, no amount of religion can save it. If the heart is not right, no amount of Bible knowledge can make up the difference.

John Calvin makes the same point: It is truly an instance of base sluggishness that not one of the Jews offers himself as an escort to those foreigners, to go and see the King who had been promised to their own nation.

Just like we can be prone to do – too busy to take a close look, too preoccupied with so many other things.  Too busy pursuing the things in which we put value.  Too busy just seeing things as familiar.  Sure, if God stops us and forces us to look, then I’ll consider the impact He wants to have.  If a tragedy comes or my life fails to work ... but until then?  

Don’t miss the contrast with the Magi who left everything to follow a God directed star.  A star that, as soon as they left Jerusalem, reappeared, leading them to the very house where Mary, Joseph and Jesus were staying.  The text tells us that where they went was to a house, not a stable 2:11, meaning not sharing space around a feed trough with some shepherds and sheep.

So what do we take from all this?  Above all, it is this— with whom do we identify when it comes to Jesus in alongside a host of other things?  Or perhaps, people who will take a look IF this King comes to us but as for us going to look for Him?  Not going to invest a lot of time doing that.  Instead, I’ll just keep it simple - a nice story, good things to believe, a moral lifestyle to follow.  

But what IF this story is fully true?  About a King but not just any King.  This King above all kings.  About Almighty God who became small so we could be invited into the great that’s beyond anything we have ever imagined.  About a Saviour who died so we could be forgiven of our sin and be made new.  

A Saviour who loved us so much that He was willing to die so we might live.  Wouldn’t / shouldn’t that demand that we, like the Magi, drop everything to worship the Lord who comes as God’s Promised Messiah?  

The great news is that most listening to me this morning have done that.  We haven’t come to a manger but to a Cross where we’re invited to bow a Saviour, But as many as have received Him, to them gives he the power to become sons of God even to those who believe on His name Jn 1:12  

But if that is all we have done, is it enough?

Sure it is enough for us to know that we have a certain hope of heaven, but is it enough IF we truly believe this story is completely true?   That our coming to Jesus is inviting us to go after Him as did the Magi in a no-holds-barred, got to do everything pursuit of the unfathomable treasure we have been given in Him. That He isn’t One just to be found, He is One to be lived for in everything. 

It is why the hymnist would write, O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold Him born the King of angels: O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. 

Coming to Him as a people on quest who when finding Him, continue to walk with Him, to worship Him, to obey Him, to trust Him, to offer our best to Him.   

That the life He calls us to is everything.  God’s Almighty King appearing to us as a child who we are told will reign forever and ever.  And we with Him forever.

This King - 

Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and

peace, there will be no end - upon the throne of David

and over His kingdom, to order it and establish i

t with judgment and justice from that time f

orward, even forever.  Is 9:6,7.

www.bethanybaptist.bc.ca