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 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?