Altar Your Life

Review and Introduction
Last Sunday, I shared about the Sermon on the Amount—about the amount we are supposed to offer to the church.  We talked about the tithe—the biblical standard of offering 10% of your income God through the church.  But we also learned that God doesn’t want your money; He wants your heart—all of you.  And the like the widow who gave all she had, we are called to give all we are and all we have to the Lord.  If you missed that sermon, I encourage you to go back and read the post from blog from last week after your read this one.  

Today, I want to talk about the altar, because the altar is the place we bring the gifts we offer to the Lord and how we approach the altar can alter your life (and even your eternity).  Have you ever stopped to consider what the altar really is?  Have you ever considered how placing our gifts upon the altar effects your life?

An altar is a raised area or table in a house of worship where people can honor God with offerings.  It is prominent in the Bible as "God's table," a sacred place for sacrifices and gifts offered up to God.[i]  Some times altars were very simple structures—a pile of rocks stacked to make a raised platform upon which a sacrifice could be burned.  Other times, altars were elaborate and ornate carves works of masonry art.  Whether crude or elaborate, the most important thing is these altars were specifically dedicated to the worship of God.  They were places of sacrifice, where gifts were offered to God.  These altars were a place to commune with God.

If you’ve ever been to a cook out and smelled the mouth-watering aroma of meat cooking over a fiery grill, you can imagine how it might smell to make a sacrifice to God on an altar.  The altar was a place where food was cooked and God came to enjoy a meal with His people.  

Eating with others is an intimate experience.  it seems so simple we take it for granted, but then you ask yourself, "Can trust this person to feed me?  Will their food be clean and safe?  Will the meat be cooed properly." Maybe you like you meet well done or very rare.  Will the person you eat with cook it right?  Will they be sanitary?  SO there is a great deal of trust involved with eating with others and the altar is the table where humanity and the Divine sit down to a meal together.

The very first time an altar is mentioned in the Bible is Genesis 8:20. God saved Noah and his family and 2 of every kind of animal during a flood that destroyed every living thing on earth.  And they also took some extra sacrificial animals on the Ark.  After the flood waters receded, Noah and his family and all the animals with him came out of the ark. Noah built an altar and thanked God for saving them by sacrificing the special animals on the altar.  Can you imagine how precious was that sacrifice?  All the other animals in the world were killed in the flood.  These handful of animals were the only ones left and Noah sacrificed some of them in faith and to thank God.

Later in Genesis, Abraham built several altars to honor and worship God throughout the Promised Land God was giving him.  One very disturbing story involving Abraham and an altar has God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac on top of Mount Moriah.  "Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you." (Genesis 22:2) Abraham travels to the mountain and builds an altar.  He ties up his son and lays him on top of the altar.  Just as Abraham’s knife is poised to sacrifice his son, God stops him and provides a ram to take Isaac’s place.  Abraham sacrifices the ram and Isaac lives.  It’s a strange story and we could say much about it, but for today it drives home the nature of sacrifice in a powerful way.  A sacrifice is something we feel deeply.  A true sacrifice is when we give God something that is precious to us—not our left overs that we no longer want or need.  A sacrifice costs us something important.  

Christians today are called to a special kind of sacrificial living.  Listen to Romans 12:1-2.

Romans 12:1-2
¹ And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

A New Sacrifice: Once and For All Time
In the New Testament, we are called to a new form of sacrifice.  Christians no longer practice animal sacrifice.  The blood of lambs and goats and bulls cannot sufficiently cleanse our sin.  These religious sacrifices from the Old Testament were only a temporary means to allow people to commune with God.  However, God had a better plan.  God would atone for the whole world’s sins with one perfectly holy sacrifice.

John 3:16 – "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

And so Jesus came down from heaven and took the form of a human being.  He lived a sinless, perfect life.  Jesus is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.  And though Jesus was innocent, He willingly gave His life on the cross of calvary. 

Romans 5:6-8 says, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Christ’s sacrifice washes away our sin forever—all our past sins and all our future sins too.  And now we have the incredible privilege of communing with God at all times.  Sin no longer separates us from God if we follow Christ as our Lord.

Our Altar
We have an altar in my church.  It’s right down in the center of our worship space, because the altar is the center of our identity.  It’s who we are as Christians—God’s people.  We only have a few important symbols we usually keep on our altar.  First there is the cross.  Isn't that interesting, because the altar was traditionally the place where people sacrificed something to God.  Yet on our Christian altar, we have a cross that shows how God sacrificed His Son for us.  Christ gave His life on the cross to atone for our sin.  Now there is nothing to separate us from God.  We can come and commune with God in perfect peace and harmony.

Then there are the candles on our alar to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world.  His Holy Spirit is with us as we worship--illuminating our lives so we can see clearly.  And when we follow Christ, we shine brightly like a city on a hill that shows everyone the way to go--follow Christ!

And there is a Bible on our altar--the Word of God--the teaches us the specifics about who God is and what Jesus has done and what we are to do.  Our faith is not just a feeling; it is also something we can know and understand intellectually and it is something that does not change according to the shifting sands of a fickly society.  We stand upon the Holy Word of God that thousands of people sacrifice--some even loosing their lives--so that God's Truth could be preserved and passed down through the ages to us today.  Never take for granted the sacrifices made so we can read the Holy Bible today.

Finally, there are offering plates on our altar.  These are where we place out tithes and gifts--the financial contributions to honor God and obey His Word and support the work of His Church.  The 10% we place in the offering is just a token, a symbolic gesture of a much greater gift--our heart.  Christ gave Himself for us. He didn’t just give part of Himself. He gave Himself completely. He died and was buried. And He rose that we might have new and eternal life.  We are called to give ourselves completely. Not our left overs. Not just 10%. We are called to give ourselves completely. We are to be a “living sacrifice” laid upon the altar of God.

The altar is a place of sacrifice. Where we give our very best.  Where we give until it hurts—the definition of sacrifice.  The altar is where Abraham laid his son.  It's where God gave us His Son.  The altar is where we define our faith and identity.  As we offer our gifts to God upon this altar, we proclaim:  “This is whom I am.  It's how I put my money where my mouth is.”  The altar is where we dedicate our time saying:  “This is what I live for and what I’m willing to die for!”

Closing
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy  sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship him.”

I invite you to find a church with an altar.  Go up and lay your hand on the corner of the altar and rededicate your life to be a living and holy sacrifice to God—the kind He will find acceptable.  Then spend some time in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to be the living sacrifice God wants you to be.  

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[i] https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/altar

The Sermon on the Amount

Introduction
At home in my personal devotion time, I recently finished reading through Matthew chapters 5-7 and paraphrasing it in my own words.  These chapters are Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount.”  I hope to preach a series of messages soon on Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” because it is full of wisdom we need to hear.  I will probably start that message series in about a month.  But today I want to preach a different message.  Today I want to preach a message I call “The Sermon on the Amount.”

You can probably guess the subject of the message from the title. It's a sermon to answer a question people often ask:  “How much money should I give to the church?”  Money is a sensitive subject—especially when a preacher is the one talking.  But I hope you will listen closely. 

Jesus talked about money a lot, because He understood how people handle money is one of the main things that reveals the inward and unseen state of their hearts.  Since Jesus cares deeply about us, he cares deeply about how we handle money; and we should too. 

The Tithe
In the Old Testament of the Bible, the guideline for giving was called the tithe. A tithe is a tenth of a person’s income.  This tradition giving 10% of your income goes all the way back to the patriarch Abraham in Genesis 14.  Abraham gave God 10% of all the assets he recovered from a battle with an invading army.  Abraham knew God was the one who gave Abraham success in battle.  The tithe was a way for Abraham to thank God for the victory.

 Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, also practiced tithing.  God promised in a dream to bless Jacob with land and many descendants.  In gratitude, Jacob promised in Genesis 28:22, “I will give God a tenth of everything he gives me.” 

The tithe became the standard for giving throughout the Old Testament and was codified as part of Jewish religious law.  Leviticus 27:30 – “A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the Lord and must be set apart to him as holy.”  And verse 32 – “The Lord also owns every tenth animal counted off from your herds and flocks. They are set apart to him as holy.”

Besides being a way to show gratitude to God, the tithe was also used to support people who had no other means of support—priests, refugees, widows, and orphans (see Deuteronomy 14:28-29).  The Bible says the practice of tithing also taught people to trust and revere God (see Deuteronomy 14:23).

Tithing continued in the New Testament and is still the standard for giving in churches to this day.  So if the question is “How much money should I give to the church?”  Many Christians would answer, “10% of your income.”  So for example, a person who earns $50,000 per year would give $5,000 per year to the church (or about $96 per week).

Now, I could spend the next 10 minutes trying to convince you why you should give a full tithe to the church; I could quote Bible verses and speak of my own personal experience with tithing and what a blessing it’s been.  And it would be very challenging, because most people in the church don’t tithe and it’s not easy to give away 10% of your income.  But the truth is, that message wouldn’t be challenging enough.  God has a greater challenge than just to demand you start giving 10% of your income in the offering each week.  So I want to read to you from the Gospel of Mark 12:41-44.

Mark 12:41-44
⁴¹ Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. ⁴² Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

⁴³ Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. ⁴⁴ For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

The Collection Box in the Temple
In the Temple in Jesus day, the collection boxes kind of looked like a trumpet on top of a box.  The “horn” was made of brass.  So as you dropped coins into it, the metal coins would rattle against the brass horn as they went into the box (and back then all money was coins; there was no paper money).  So as people entered the Temple, it was all designed to show off how much money people gave (and by implication, how wealthy were the people who gave). 

You can imagine the scene:  Maybe one person drops a small bag of coins into the collection box and you can hear the sound of numerous coins rattling down the horn.  And everyone hears it and thinks: “Hmmm…”  Then a wealthier person empties a large bag of coins into the box and it really makes a lot of noise.  And people think, “Wow!”  And the family that dropped that money in can stand a little taller—proud of their wealth and the fact that everyone also knows it.  And the Bible says Jesus was sitting there near the collection box watching people drop in their money.  

That’s an interesting thought.  Jesus was interested in what people did with their money.  In our day, we are very private about what we give to the church.  We are very careful at Pleasant Grove to keep your financial giving confidential.  There’s only 2 people in this whole church that can find out specifically what you give.  And we keep that information very confidential.  But Jesus also knows what you give.  Jesus knows not only what you give, but what you can give and why you do or don’t give.  Jesus knows your heart.  Just as Jesus watched as the crowds giving their money to the Temple, Jesus watches as people give money in the Church today.  And just knows not only what you give, but He knows your heart as you give.

In the story from Mark, Jesus wasn’t impressed by all the rich people giving their money at the Temple.  He knew most of them had so much extra that they could give and it didn’t even hurt.  It might sound impressive to hear such a loud clanging as a sack full of money rattled down into the collection box, but Jesus knew it was money a rich man would never miss.  And Jesus knew their hearts.  Maybe Jesus wasn’t impressed because He knew many o the richest givers cared more about what people thought about them than what God thought.  Maybe Jesus knew the richest givers really didn’t care about the poor or the needy, they just wanted to be admired.  Jesus knew their hearts.

And then a poor widow came to the collection box.  She dropped in two small coins—what we might think of as a few pennies.  Yet Jesus admired her because He knew it was all she had to live on.  Jesus said:  “This poor widow has given more than everyone else. They only gave a tiny part of their great income; but she gave everything she had to live on, even though she is very poor.”  The law only required 10%, but the widow gave everything she had.

Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.  The world and all its people belong to him.”  God already owns everything.  He’s the only person in existence of whom you can truthfully say, “He’s independently wealthy.”  He doesn’t need your money or my money or anyone’s money. 

And He certainly doesn’t need a poor widow’s 2 cents.  But the widow’s gift is remarkable because it shows she is content with her life the way it is and she figures she can live just fine without those 2 pennies.  She believes God will take care of her.  She had incredible faith.  She trusted in God rather than her money.  And so she already gave God what He wanted most of all—her heart.

Your Heart. Not Your Money.
It is far better to give someone your heart than your money.  How much better off would we all be if everyone understood this principle?  It is better to give your heart than your money.  How many marriages have deteriorated into emptiness because the husbands do not hear the silent yearnings of their wife when she says, ‘I don’t want your money.  I want you.’?  How many parents have lost their children because they failed to interpret the signs, ‘I don’t want your presents, [Mom and Dad].  I want you.’? [i]  Too often we try to buy people off—but no amount of money can substitute for our heart. 

The biblical standard for financial giving is 10%.  10% is the minimum, not the goal (and et so few do the minimum).   According to a national survey by the Barna Group, Christians in America only give, on average, 2.2% of their income to the church.[ii] Why do you have so little faith?  Do you not trust God enough to give what He asks?

Others may feel very proud they do give a full tithe on their income.  They are true tithers.  They’re giving at least 8% more than most other Christians. They may feel like they’ve done their duty and they aren’t challenged to do more. “Why, look at me!  I’m a tither!”

Whether you do or don’t tithe, don’t miss the heart of Christ’s Gospel.  In Jesus Christ, God says, “I don’t want what you have; I want you.”[iii] 

What is it that John 3:16 says?  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but… give Him 10% of their income…  No!  That’s not what it says.  What does it say? So that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life.” 

And where would this eternal life be?  With God, forever.  God didn’t send His son to die on the cross of Calvary so that He could just have 10% of our income.  He did it because He wants you—every part of you.  And God doesn’t just want you 10% of the time; He wants you all of the time and for all eternity.  You see God doesn’t want your money.  He wants you!  And where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.[iv]

What’s more, Jesus didn’t just come to save you; he came to save the whole world.  And He appointed the Church as His Body to carry out His mission.  He said, “Go and make disciples of all the nations…”[v] We are nothing less than the Body of Christ.  His mission has become our mission.  His passion has become our passion. What an awesome responsibility; what an incredible honor—to spend ourselves and all we have for the souls of our brothers and sisters here in Whitfield County and even to the ends of the earth. 

The Apostle Paul understood the full ramifications of this. He said in all sincerity, “I will gladly spend myself and all I have for your spiritual good…”  That is the attitude I pray we will have.  How far are we willing to go for the spiritual good of the person sitting next to us today?  Are we willing to expend ourselves and all we have for the people in our community? 

The True Amount = Everything
You see, the real question is not: “What amount of money should I give to the church?”  In light of our purpose as Christians and the tremendous need around the world, the question is: “How much dare I spend on myself?”  The question is not: “Can I afford to give 10% of my income to the church?”  The question is, “Can I justify to Jesus the lifestyle that consumes 90% of my income?”  

We live in one of the most prosperous nations in the world, and a lot of good has come of it, but is it enough?  Have we done all we could do with the vast wealth God has given us?  Have I done all the good I can do with the wealth God has given me?

A lot of people would say the problem with the church today is that only 2% of Christians actually tithe.  I disagree.  The problem isn’t whether or not we tithe.  The problem is we haven’t followed the example of the widow.  We haven’t given everything to God. 

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[i] John Wilkerson, “I Seek Not What is Yours, but You”

[ii] According to The Barna Group – http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=36

[iii] 2 Corinthians 12:14

[iv] Mathew 6:21

[v] Matthew 2:19a

The Biggest Factor in Your Success or Failure

Introduction
Today, I want to talk with you about something I believe is of utmost importance.  The subject of this blog is so important it determines the direction of your whole life and is probably the biggest contributing factor to your success or failure.

I want to talk with you about priorities.  A priority is value, goal, relationship, or cause of leading importance in your life.  It’s what you live for—what give focus to your life.  It’s a value that shapes how you live day to day, moment by moment—for better or worse.  A priority what has first claim on your time, energy, and resources.  And here’s the thing, a priority can either be consciously chosen or set by outside circumstances.  And whether you know it or not, your priorities determine what you achieve in life, your wins and losses, and even your eternal destiny.

I want to share a single verse to you from God’s Holy Word.  It spells out my number one priority.  It's what I live for and what I try to let direct everything I do.  This is why I became a minister.  It’s been the guiding force in how I have pastored every church I’ve served for the last 23 years.

Matthew 6:33
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

My Number One Priority
God is good.  I already knew God was calling me to be a minister before I finished college.  I did not go to college to be a pastor.  I was planning to be a textile engineer.  It was my plan.  But God had a different plan—a better plan. 

At first, I tried to ignore God’s plan.  My wife didn’t want to be married to a pastor and I didn’t want to give up a promising career in engineering either.  So God indulged me.  He allowed me to find a job do exactly what I thought I wanted to do.  My first job out of college was the director of quality assurance at a textile mill.  It's what I wanted to do, but I thought it would take me several years to work up to.  But I started in this role right out of college.  

The only catch was a one-hour commute to and from work every day.  It gave me a lot of time to think and pray.  And I soon found my 24-years-old self thinking:  Is this what my life is really going to be? I will get up everyday and go to work and help this company make the very best towels they can.  And I will come to the end of my life—however many years God gives me—and this is what it will all have been about. And it just felt deep down like something important was missing.  It felt meaningless.

So, I would work all day to make money for my family, and then come home and volunteer at church because that's what I really felt called to do; it felt like my real purpose and it gave meaning to my life.  But we all have the same 24 hours each day and I found working full-time and then volunteering at church and also being married and having a child was exhausting.  I was doing too many different things and not being effective or fulfilled at any of them.  And that’s when God’s Holy Spirit led me to Matthew 6:33.

It was as if God Himself were whispering Matthew 6:33 in my ear:  “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be given to you as well.”  And through a season of prayer and discernment, I realized I needed to reorder my priorities.

For me, Matthew 6:33 states my life’s purpose and my number one priority – Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  From this priority, I began to reevaluate and reorder my life to make sure everything I do—as much can I help it—supports the top priority of my life.  The most dramatic effect was that I decided to leave my career in engineering and become a United Methodist pastor.  I officially answered God’s call to be a minister in 1999.  I was appointed as a student pastor in December of 2000 and it took me until 2008 to fully complete the process to become a fully ordained elder in 2008.  

All along the way, Matthew 6:33 has been my guiding priority—Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and He will take care of everything else.  And He has.  My life is not perfect.  My family is not either.  But, I have no regrets about answering God's call and no doubts that we aiming for the right target.  Sometimes we hit the bullseye and sometimes we miss.  But at least we’re pointing in the right direction.

What’s Are Your Priorities?
For the Christian—a person who follows Jesus Christ as Lord—His Kingdom should be our top priority.  But there are other priorities that guide our lives.  Some other priorities may be:  your family, your health, your career, your hobbies, making money, getting recognition, or many other things.

Most of us have more stuff competing for our attention than we know what to do with.  We rarely take time to evaluate our priorities.  We just let life happen.  Outside forces set priorities for us.  Your boss tells you what to do and you do it.  The company you work for has goals and you strive for them.  Marketing companies spend billions of dollars every year to tell us what we want so we’ll buy their stuff--and we buy it!  The social customs of our broken and fallen society shape what we think is important and we just accept it because, “Hey, it’s what everyone’s doing so it must be right.  Right?”

Often, we think our priorities are one thing, but our lives show they are something else.  Our actions don't match values.  So if we're honest, we realize it's we're lying to ourselves about what's most important.  

Here are some ways to determine what are your real priorities.

What do you think about?  What do you day dream about?  What do you plans for most?  What do you worry about?  These indicate your priorities because a priority is something you think about a lot.

How do you spend your money?  Taylor Swift was in the news a few months ago for the high price of her concert tickets.  Tickets were originally $49-$449, but because they sold out so fast, people started reselling them and the average resale cost was $1,605.  I don’t know if you would pay $1,000 to go to a concert or not, but what would you pay $1,000 for?  What would you pay $10,000 for?  The answer tells you a lot about what’s really important to you.  In fact, if you go through your bank statement for the last year and figure out what all you spent your money on, it will reveal a lot about your true priorities.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:21,  “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”  A priority is something you spend your money on.

How do you spend your time?  When I was in college, I had a lot more time than money.  That’s not to say I wasn’t busy.  It’s just that since money was scarce, time was something I had to give.  Now that I’m older and money is not as scarce, time seems much more valuable to me.  In fact, quite often I’d just assume pay a little extra for something if it could save me time, because time is more valuable to me now than money.  Does that make any sense?  Time valuable.  You can always make more money, but you can never make more time.  So is you are willing to invest your treasured time in something, it is a priority for you.  A priority is something you spend your time on.

Conclusion
Now I promised you at the beginning that this blog was of utmost importance.  That the subject of this message is so important it determines the direction of your whole life and is probably the biggest contributing factor to your success or failure.

If you feel like you just can win, you can’t succeed, no matter how hard you try, chances are you’re not focusing on your true priorities.  You want this , but you're doing that.  You need to either change your actions or change your priorities so they line up with each other.

If you feel unfulfilled, like your life has little meaning, like you’re just not making a difference, chances are there’s a problem in your priorities.  God has given us all a purpose and a reason for being.  God doesn’t make junk.  So if He made you, you’re here for a reason.  But if you’re living for something else—whether intentionally or unconsciously—you’re not going to feel very fulfilled.

But, there’s nothing more powerful than a person who knows their priorities and intentionally lives them out.  It’s like the difference between a soft glowing light bulb and a lazer cutting through metal.  A lazer is just light that’s extremely focused.

Most people just sort of wander through life with little or no direction or intention.  And they come to the end having made little difference or at least having less of an impact than they could have.  But if you figure out why you're here and you intentionally order your priorities to match your purpose, you will be like a lazer.  

Maybe you need to spend some time evaluating your priorities.  What do you think about? What do you spend your money on? What do you invest your time in?  Do these things line up with what you think are the priorities of your life?  

And what about what God thinks?  Are your priorities what you think God wants for you?  Do you think your priorities are more important and valuable than God’s?  He made you.  He designed you and gave you your abilities, quirks, and even your deep desires.  He did it on purpose.  So you can strive to fulfill His plan—a plan that fits you like a glove, or, you can chase your own selfish desires—which will always feel out of place somehow.

Christmas in July - The Wisemen

Introduction
One of our beloved Christmas traditions is the Three Wisemen bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to baby Jesus as He lay in the manger.  I started praying about this message way back in April—seeking the Lord’s direction about what to say.  He led me to preach on the story of the Wisemen for Christmas in July at my church.  The story comes to us from Matthew 2:1-12. 

Now, I want you to try and read to this story as if you’ve never read it before.  We will find that our Christmas traditions have added quite a bit that the Bible doesn’t say.  See if you can detect the differences.

Matthew 2:1-12
¹ Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

³ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. ⁴ He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

⁶ ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
    are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. ⁸ Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

⁹ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Jesus Born in Bethlehem in 4 BC
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod around 4 BC (give or take 10 years).  Scholars can determine a fairly accurate date based on the verified dates of King Herod’s reign and death, and other verified dates from events in the Gospel of Luke.

However, we don’t know how old Jesus was when the Wisemen came.  Matthew doesn’t specifically say.  Matthew does tell us that Herod was mad the Wisemen didn’t come back and tell him where to find Jesus.  Herod had every male child in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger killed. (Matthew 2:16)  So we can assume Jesus was not older than two.  He could have been a baby, but He could also have been a toddler. 

These Wisemen were from the East.  In the original Greek they were called Magi.  Magi were Scientific theologians from the ancient Persian Empire who sought God.  These were men who devoted their lives to try and figure things out.  They studied religion, astronomy, and nature to find out divine truth.  The tried to figure stuff out.  

Are you tying to figure some stuff out?  Then you are a lot like the Wisemen in the story.  Guess what:  God loves people who are just trying to figure stuff out.  He loves people who search for Truth.  That's why Jesus said, "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)

The Magi were from Babylon in Persia.  Persia was once the greatest Empire on Earth.  We often think of the greeks or the Romans as the greatest empires.  However, before the Roman Empire, before Greece, there was Persia.  In fact, much of what we admire about the Greeks and Romans, they copied from the Persians.  

Because the Persian empire was so vast, officials needed to be able to travel from one side to the other quickly.  So, the Persians developed state roads that were safe and equipped with supply stations along the way.  They invented passports for officials to present at supply stations so they could be resupplied with a fresh horse and food and shelter so they could travel lighter and faster.  They worked out many of the important bureaucratic details of how to administer government.  And they were avid students of science and learning.  But in Persia, science was not divorced from religion as it so often is today.  The Persians used science and religion together.  And that's where the Magi come into the equation.  

The Magi in Matthew's Wisemen story followed a star.  They studied and used astrological signs to try and figure things out.  And these Magi discovered a sign in the heavens that foretold something world changing was taking place in Israel.  It was so important, they had to investigate.

Persia was often on friendly terms with the Jews in Israel.  The Babylonian Empire before Persia destroyed Jerusalem and took its citizens into captivity.  When the Persians conquered the Babylonians, ti was the Persian emperor Cyrus who set the Jewish captives free to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.  The Persians even financed the project.  And the Jews and Persians maintained close relations and deep respect for each other after, until the Persian Empire was consumed by the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great.  

The Magi were the priests of Persia and they practiced a religion called Zoroastrianism, which taught God created a perfect world which is engaged in a war between good and evil that evil will be defeated at the end of time and a the world will be restored to its once perfect, original state.  It was very similar to the Judeo/Christian religious narrative.  It seems likely that the Persians and the Jews (and later Christians) influenced each other's religious thought.

These Magi who came seeking Jesus from Persia in the East, traveled around 800 miles to find Him.  It would have taken at least 4 months to travel Persia to find Jesus. We can assume from how far they traveled that they were serious about their mission.  How far would you go to find God’s Truth?

Unlike the Wisemen, the important, powerful people in Jerusalem who should have known and been paying attention to this stuff had no idea what God was doing in their own country.  And when someone from outside told them, all they wanted to do was stop it from happening.

But the Magi, from the East, were deeply interested in Jesus, the new King of the Jews.  They believed His arrival would change the world forever.  He was not only the King of the Jews, Jesus was these Persian Magi’s King too.  He was to be King of the whole world.  So the Wisemen brought Him gifts.

Three Gifts
it is tradition to say there were three Wisemen.  But the Scripture does not say that.  There were three gifts named, not three men.  There may have been three gift or there may have been more or less.  The text just says there were some Wisemen (Magi).  But we know there were three gifts.

What the three gifts actually mean is not exactly known.  People have often speculated about their meaning.  Gold is an obvious gift to give a king because people gave their very best as tribute to the ruling king.  You didn't give your second best.  And gold is the very best metal.  So you give King Jesus your very best or do you give Him what you have left over?

Frankincense is a fragrant and valuable incense used in worship  Myrrh is an anointing oil, often used for embalming the dead.  It’s not in the Bible, but a very old Christian tradition going all the way back about 200 AD to a very wise and devote church leader named Origen says Gold marked Jesus as a king.  Myrrh showed He was mortal and would day be buried.  Frankincense showed Jesus is God and would rise from the grave and be worshipped.

Who are You in the Story?

After the Wisemen—these Magi from Persia—found Jesus and worshipped Him, it says they returned to their own country.  I’m sure they went home preparing their people to receive Christ as Lord and Savior when the time came.  A few decades later, Christian missionaries started arriving to share the Good News that the baby Jesus grew up to become a great teacher and healer and worker of miracles.  He lived a perfect life, yet the religious leaders arrested and tortured Him and nailed Him to a cross.  He died and was buried, but on the third day He rose from the grave and has ascended to Heaven where He rules at the right hand of God.  One day, Jesus will return in glory to judge the living and the dead and to restore all creation to God's perfect plan.  And Jesus will rule as Lord forever.  And many Persians believed and became Christian.

 

But what about you?  Who are you in the story?  Who do you relate to the most?  Are you like the Wisemen—just trying desperately to figure some things out?  Jesus is the one with the answers.  Seek Him today and He will find you.

Maybe, you’re you like all those people in Jerusalem.  They were just going about their busy lives—trying to make ends meet, trying to take care of family, consumed with the ins and outs of life and the hot topics of the day, all the while oblivious to the eternity changing things God is doing.  Is that you?  Jesus is alive and actively working in the world all around you.  Are you too busy and distracted to see Him?  You better wake up!  You don't want to miss what He is doing!

Or maybe you’re like Herod--concerned only with protecting your hold on power and the security of your “little kingdom” at all costs.  You’ll do anything to protect your little world—even if it means fighting against God’s plan.  God's plans are so much better than yours and His Kingdom is so much better.  Why fight against Him?  You shouldn't even want to.  You better repent and turn from your selfish sin and turn to God!  God is going to triumph in the end.  Who's side are you going to be on?

 Take some time to honestly consider what God is saying to you today.  
Then, talk to God about it in prayer.