The Imperial Christ
...
The Magi Confirm Jesus' Rule Over the Nations
Matthew 2:1-12
|
SERMON SUMMARY Why did the magi make the incredibly long trek to Bethlehem? And why did they make a pit stop in Jerusalem to scare the wits out of Herod? The answer is found in the imperial rule of the conquering Christ child. |
Message begins at approx. the 23 min mark.
|
Throughout church history this passage of Scripture has been associated with Christmas. All you have to do is look at almost any Hallmark greeting card or children’s church play and you’ll know this. No nativity scene worth its salt is complete without having some shepherds, sheep, cows, and a couple wise men standing in place.
But if you are someone who has come from a high church background, maybe and Episcopalian or Lutheran—you may see things a little differently. The visit of the Wise men has a special place in the calendar year in these denominations. It is associated with the feast of Epiphany.
And Epiphany means appearing, and it is associated with the wise men because they appear before Jesus.
But, of course, the gospels are not really concerned with the wise men and their appearing. Their focus is on the appearing of Christ. You might question that, as Jesus barely is mentioned in the passage. And when he is mentioned, he’s only called “the child.” So it doesn’t seem to have a real focus on Jesus.
But you have to remember that the wise men are secondary figures in the text. Their role is a supporting role. They are prominent only in so far as they serve to highlight the gospel. Their appearing in Scripture is only to help focus our attention on the absolute Lordship of the Christmas child.
What I want to do is give you what I think is the overarching theme for this passage. If I could summarize this text, I’d say that the Magi confirm the Lord’s imperial reign over the nations. And when I say imperial reign, I mean that it is a reign of terror. It’s a reign of devastation. The Gentile nations, by their sin, live in opposition to God. And these magi confirm that the nations will one day face the terrible ferocity of this newborn king.
“You will get a sentimental feeling.” I know that’s not the typical Christmas message. It’s supposed to conjure up sentimental feelings, right? But, you have to understand, the Bible doesn’t care about your “sentimental feelings.” What it does care about is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is very much concerned with the dominance of his kingdom.
And I believe this cosmic reign and utter devastation of Christ is proven by what this passage says about the magi. We can see it in the trip they take, by the trouble they cause, and by the treason they commit.
I. The trip that they take
The first verse of this chapter tells us that after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.
The word wise men, of course, is the Greek word magi. And this is the word from which we get our word magician. And that is what wise men typically were in ancient cultures. They were magicians. They were often guys who studied astrology too. You can understand why. Back before there was light pollution, as we call it today, at night that was your Netflix. There were two things you could watch: the fire or the stars.
And if they were astrologers, it makes sense that they see this odd phenomena in the sky. This new star appears and that catches their interest.
But there’s more to it than that. The people in the Eastern world had been affected by Jewish doctrines. Think about it. God, in his Providence, had given testimonies to himself to eastern peoples for hundreds (if not thousands) of years. Of course, Abraham first came from Ur of the Chaldeans. That was the land of Babylon far to the east. And maybe on that 1000 mile journey he would have various opportunities to talk about the Lord. Hey Abraham, where you going? Yahweh is giving me a land and going to make a nation out of me.
Then you also have Abraham’s children. He didn’t want Isaac marrying any women from the land of Canaan. So he sends a servant back to his own people (in the East) to get a wife for him.
Fast forward through history you have the Israelites being invaded. The Assyrians and Babylonians attack and gain victory over the cities. As part of their conquest, they take captives. They start shipping hundreds and thousands of Jewish people back to the Eastern lands of Assyria and Babylon. There were several different exiles and several different deportations that resulted in a wide array of settlements throughout the Eastern world.
Then, of course, during that time, you have guys like Daniel. Daniel lives to be around 80 years old and we are told he is one of the highest officials in the courts of Babylon, Media, and Persia. He was trained to be one of the wise men of Babylon. He then became second in command in Persia. So he would have been very influential among the elite figures of the Eastern world.
And as they talked, they probably would have discussed Numbers 24. They would have had some intrigue over Balaam’s prophecy about a star that would come out of Judah, and a scepter that would rise out of Israel which would crush nations.
Keep in mind too that Daniel had all kinds of prophecies. He spoke of a ruler that would come out of the Jewish people. Some of you were here when we went through the book of Daniel and you know what I’m talking about: the rock that would crush the large statue (which signified the 4 different nations)
All in all, these wise men take a field trip. They have been given a revelation of a king who will crush nations. They knew of Alexander the Great. They had heard the stories of Nebuchadnezzar. But none of them were supposed to be a match for this king. This king would come to dominate all the nations of the earth. He would put them down and conquer them as his enemies.
These guys would have taken this journey if this child was merely a king of the Jews. He’d be a no name king over a no name people. But that’s not what he was. They understood the absolute dominance he would come to have. And that’s why they took this journey.
But the imperial rule of Jesus is not just seen in the trip that they took. It’s also seen in the trouble that they cause.
II.The trouble that they cause
You see what happens in verse 2-3. The wise men enter Jerusalem and ask, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” And that question throws Herod into a fit. The word tarasso is translated trouble in verse 3, but it also means to roil, to cause unrest, and to strike with fear and dread.
In other words, Herod has a panic attack. He has a complete mental breakdown.
Now, what’s the big deal? Well, Herod was supposed to be the king of the Jews. He’s the ruler in Jerusalem. The Roman Senate had appointed him king of the Jews in Judea. So when these guys come in and ask, “Where’s the king of the Jews?” You can imagine how that strikes Herod.
This is only that much more bothersome because of the history. Herod, of course, is an Idumean, that is Edomite. He’s a direct descended of Esau. And Esau still wants his birthright back. You remember a long time ago Jacob and Esau were brothers. Jacob took God’s blessing from Esau. He took the right of the firstborn to rule and have dominion. And Esau (in the form of Herod) would like nothing than to have his birthright back so that he can be the ruler of the nations.
But what is interesting is that Herod is shaken to the core. He’s actually unable to think straight. I like what John Calvin says on this. He points out that Herod is so disturbed that his mind becomes completely numb.
Think about it: Herod was a smart guy. He could have easily sent an escort with these wise men and found out where exactly in Bethlehem all this was transpiring. The kid could have been killed pretty quickly and Herod could have secured his rule quite easily. And it’s not like Herod isn’t accustomed to killing off people. He’s actually pretty good about it and he did it quite frequently.
But Herod’s mind is obviously not working right. He hears of the king of the Jews. And then he hears the prophecy of a king coming out of Bethlehem. And he essentially has a mental breakdown.
Now, what I want you to notice is that this is by no means a coincidence. The Lord wanted to send a little shock down Herod’s central nervous system. The Lord was already starting to crush the nations.
How do I know that? Because of what is said here about the star.
Now there’s been a lot of ink spilled in trying to determine what this star is. As a matter of fact, I had to write a research paper in seminary about this star. And it was one of the hardest papers I had to write because there was so much information out there. It was hard to distill it into a coherent paper.
Some think it was a convergence of planets. Some say a comet. Others take it as a supernova. There are still others who say that it wasn’t as much astrological as it was spiritual. They say that it was akin to the glory cloud that led the Israelites through the wilderness.
But whatever you make of that, just know that it’s all speculation. The Bible really doesn’t give us any real clue what it is. And our real focus should be on what it does, rather than what it is.
Notice what the passage tells us about the star. It leads them to Jerusalem, and then it disappears. So naturally, they think that this mega metropolis (the capital of Judea) is going to be the place for the new king. So they come into the city and they start asking questions. “Where’s the one who is to be born king of the Jews?”
But then notice what happens in verse 9. “After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them.” It’s like it pops out again. It surprises them. They say, “Behold” as if it all of a sudden appeared again. And verse 10 says that “when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” In other words, they didn’t have to rely on the directions they were given. They could use this divinely provided GPS in the sky again.
What I want you to understand is that the star was not designed to lead them to Bethlehem, it was there to guide them to Jerusalem. The Lord intentionally brought these wise men to Jerusalem for the sole purpose of stirring the pot. This was an intentional poke in Herod’s face.
And this is where you should understand that Christmas isn’t as warm and cozy as the Hallmark cards make it out to be. The star and the nativity scene and the wise men on their camels are all very romantic. But the original version was anything but romantic.
It was God’s way of saying “Herod, I’m coming for you.”
So think of this star and these magi in that light. They are heralds of terror to Herod. They are, in a sense, proclaiming the end of the world—not just to Herod, but to all of those who set themselves up against God. They are proclaiming that God’s king will subjugate the world, and deal a crushing blow to all his enemies.
That then brings us to the last portion of the passage. It’s what I call the treason that they commit.
III.The treason they commit
You might initially think that the treason is found in verse 12. That’s where they are warned in a dream not to go back to Herod and they defy his orders.
While that was a bold act and treacherous in its own right, that’s not what I’m talking about. The real treason is found in verse 11. We are told how the magi come to Bethlehem, and present their gifts to the child. What I want you to understand is that the giving of their gold, frankincense, and myrrh is an act of sedition.
Now, it comes off as a simple expression of homage. It is a mini worship service where Jesus is honored with these lavish gifts. These, of course, are some of the most exotic gifts that the Eastern world could offer. And they are, indeed, attributing a significant amount of worth to this child.
And most people will read this passage and say that these foreigners were simply paying their respects; they are acting as cordial ambassadors from another land.
But I believe that they are actually committing treason.
You have to remember that in the ancient world worship was a nationalistic thing. There wasn’t a separation of church and state. Each country had its deities and worship was very much a political thing. If you were a Babylonian, you worshiped Marduke. If you were a Roman, you worshipped Caesar. If you were a Greek, you worshipped the Greek gods. If you offended them or betrayed these gods, you were supposed to be cursed by them.
And, of course, these magi weren’t just your ordinary eastern joes. They were political figures. Think of them as advisors to the kings. They were akin to the President’s cabinet members.
So they are not just acting as friendly ambassadors recognizing a new king. They are committing treason. They are rebelling against their nation, their king, and their gods.
And for good reason! It’s because they know the power that this boy can wield. They know how he will eventually conquer the world. He may currently have some very humble beginnings, but he will eventually come to power and exert his dominance. And when he does, he will deal a devastating blow to sinful humanity. The kings of earth will be brought low.
And since they are court officials, that means they are going to be targeted too. Since they serve a foreign king, they will be considered guilty. They will find themselves crushed.
In sum, their act of treason is a plea for mercy. In giving these gifts they essentially say, “We acknowledge you as the true king. We understand we cannot stand against you; please have mercy on us.”
And this is where you see the gospel. Because while he will crush nations, he also shows mercy. That’s why this babe was born. His primary objective at this time is to bring about reconciliation; to save his people from their sins.
And the good news of this passage is that God calls nations to himself. He calls all those who are living in the darkness of their heathen sin, to come and join his kingdom. If you submit yourself to him, he will grant you pardon and forgive your sin. Your former allegiance with the kingdom of sin and Satan will not be held against you, but you will be brought into the kingdom of God’s Son and join him in the eternal rule.
This is ultimately what faith is. Faith is a form of treason. It’s saying, “This is where my true loyalty lies.” And that is what Christmas offers us. It offers us an opportunity to submit ourselves to the ultimate conqueror.
We can choose to go about our own lives and live as we please. But you must know that those who do will be crushed. You will face the conqueror on your own terms and find that his scepter is wielded against you.
But you can commit the same kind of treasonous act and gain the life he affords. You simply must put your faith in him and submit to him as the Lord of all.
But if you are someone who has come from a high church background, maybe and Episcopalian or Lutheran—you may see things a little differently. The visit of the Wise men has a special place in the calendar year in these denominations. It is associated with the feast of Epiphany.
And Epiphany means appearing, and it is associated with the wise men because they appear before Jesus.
But, of course, the gospels are not really concerned with the wise men and their appearing. Their focus is on the appearing of Christ. You might question that, as Jesus barely is mentioned in the passage. And when he is mentioned, he’s only called “the child.” So it doesn’t seem to have a real focus on Jesus.
But you have to remember that the wise men are secondary figures in the text. Their role is a supporting role. They are prominent only in so far as they serve to highlight the gospel. Their appearing in Scripture is only to help focus our attention on the absolute Lordship of the Christmas child.
What I want to do is give you what I think is the overarching theme for this passage. If I could summarize this text, I’d say that the Magi confirm the Lord’s imperial reign over the nations. And when I say imperial reign, I mean that it is a reign of terror. It’s a reign of devastation. The Gentile nations, by their sin, live in opposition to God. And these magi confirm that the nations will one day face the terrible ferocity of this newborn king.
“You will get a sentimental feeling.” I know that’s not the typical Christmas message. It’s supposed to conjure up sentimental feelings, right? But, you have to understand, the Bible doesn’t care about your “sentimental feelings.” What it does care about is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is very much concerned with the dominance of his kingdom.
And I believe this cosmic reign and utter devastation of Christ is proven by what this passage says about the magi. We can see it in the trip they take, by the trouble they cause, and by the treason they commit.
I. The trip that they take
The first verse of this chapter tells us that after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.
The word wise men, of course, is the Greek word magi. And this is the word from which we get our word magician. And that is what wise men typically were in ancient cultures. They were magicians. They were often guys who studied astrology too. You can understand why. Back before there was light pollution, as we call it today, at night that was your Netflix. There were two things you could watch: the fire or the stars.
And if they were astrologers, it makes sense that they see this odd phenomena in the sky. This new star appears and that catches their interest.
But there’s more to it than that. The people in the Eastern world had been affected by Jewish doctrines. Think about it. God, in his Providence, had given testimonies to himself to eastern peoples for hundreds (if not thousands) of years. Of course, Abraham first came from Ur of the Chaldeans. That was the land of Babylon far to the east. And maybe on that 1000 mile journey he would have various opportunities to talk about the Lord. Hey Abraham, where you going? Yahweh is giving me a land and going to make a nation out of me.
Then you also have Abraham’s children. He didn’t want Isaac marrying any women from the land of Canaan. So he sends a servant back to his own people (in the East) to get a wife for him.
Fast forward through history you have the Israelites being invaded. The Assyrians and Babylonians attack and gain victory over the cities. As part of their conquest, they take captives. They start shipping hundreds and thousands of Jewish people back to the Eastern lands of Assyria and Babylon. There were several different exiles and several different deportations that resulted in a wide array of settlements throughout the Eastern world.
Then, of course, during that time, you have guys like Daniel. Daniel lives to be around 80 years old and we are told he is one of the highest officials in the courts of Babylon, Media, and Persia. He was trained to be one of the wise men of Babylon. He then became second in command in Persia. So he would have been very influential among the elite figures of the Eastern world.
And as they talked, they probably would have discussed Numbers 24. They would have had some intrigue over Balaam’s prophecy about a star that would come out of Judah, and a scepter that would rise out of Israel which would crush nations.
Keep in mind too that Daniel had all kinds of prophecies. He spoke of a ruler that would come out of the Jewish people. Some of you were here when we went through the book of Daniel and you know what I’m talking about: the rock that would crush the large statue (which signified the 4 different nations)
All in all, these wise men take a field trip. They have been given a revelation of a king who will crush nations. They knew of Alexander the Great. They had heard the stories of Nebuchadnezzar. But none of them were supposed to be a match for this king. This king would come to dominate all the nations of the earth. He would put them down and conquer them as his enemies.
These guys would have taken this journey if this child was merely a king of the Jews. He’d be a no name king over a no name people. But that’s not what he was. They understood the absolute dominance he would come to have. And that’s why they took this journey.
But the imperial rule of Jesus is not just seen in the trip that they took. It’s also seen in the trouble that they cause.
II.The trouble that they cause
You see what happens in verse 2-3. The wise men enter Jerusalem and ask, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” And that question throws Herod into a fit. The word tarasso is translated trouble in verse 3, but it also means to roil, to cause unrest, and to strike with fear and dread.
In other words, Herod has a panic attack. He has a complete mental breakdown.
Now, what’s the big deal? Well, Herod was supposed to be the king of the Jews. He’s the ruler in Jerusalem. The Roman Senate had appointed him king of the Jews in Judea. So when these guys come in and ask, “Where’s the king of the Jews?” You can imagine how that strikes Herod.
This is only that much more bothersome because of the history. Herod, of course, is an Idumean, that is Edomite. He’s a direct descended of Esau. And Esau still wants his birthright back. You remember a long time ago Jacob and Esau were brothers. Jacob took God’s blessing from Esau. He took the right of the firstborn to rule and have dominion. And Esau (in the form of Herod) would like nothing than to have his birthright back so that he can be the ruler of the nations.
But what is interesting is that Herod is shaken to the core. He’s actually unable to think straight. I like what John Calvin says on this. He points out that Herod is so disturbed that his mind becomes completely numb.
Think about it: Herod was a smart guy. He could have easily sent an escort with these wise men and found out where exactly in Bethlehem all this was transpiring. The kid could have been killed pretty quickly and Herod could have secured his rule quite easily. And it’s not like Herod isn’t accustomed to killing off people. He’s actually pretty good about it and he did it quite frequently.
But Herod’s mind is obviously not working right. He hears of the king of the Jews. And then he hears the prophecy of a king coming out of Bethlehem. And he essentially has a mental breakdown.
Now, what I want you to notice is that this is by no means a coincidence. The Lord wanted to send a little shock down Herod’s central nervous system. The Lord was already starting to crush the nations.
How do I know that? Because of what is said here about the star.
Now there’s been a lot of ink spilled in trying to determine what this star is. As a matter of fact, I had to write a research paper in seminary about this star. And it was one of the hardest papers I had to write because there was so much information out there. It was hard to distill it into a coherent paper.
Some think it was a convergence of planets. Some say a comet. Others take it as a supernova. There are still others who say that it wasn’t as much astrological as it was spiritual. They say that it was akin to the glory cloud that led the Israelites through the wilderness.
But whatever you make of that, just know that it’s all speculation. The Bible really doesn’t give us any real clue what it is. And our real focus should be on what it does, rather than what it is.
Notice what the passage tells us about the star. It leads them to Jerusalem, and then it disappears. So naturally, they think that this mega metropolis (the capital of Judea) is going to be the place for the new king. So they come into the city and they start asking questions. “Where’s the one who is to be born king of the Jews?”
But then notice what happens in verse 9. “After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them.” It’s like it pops out again. It surprises them. They say, “Behold” as if it all of a sudden appeared again. And verse 10 says that “when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” In other words, they didn’t have to rely on the directions they were given. They could use this divinely provided GPS in the sky again.
What I want you to understand is that the star was not designed to lead them to Bethlehem, it was there to guide them to Jerusalem. The Lord intentionally brought these wise men to Jerusalem for the sole purpose of stirring the pot. This was an intentional poke in Herod’s face.
And this is where you should understand that Christmas isn’t as warm and cozy as the Hallmark cards make it out to be. The star and the nativity scene and the wise men on their camels are all very romantic. But the original version was anything but romantic.
It was God’s way of saying “Herod, I’m coming for you.”
So think of this star and these magi in that light. They are heralds of terror to Herod. They are, in a sense, proclaiming the end of the world—not just to Herod, but to all of those who set themselves up against God. They are proclaiming that God’s king will subjugate the world, and deal a crushing blow to all his enemies.
That then brings us to the last portion of the passage. It’s what I call the treason that they commit.
III.The treason they commit
You might initially think that the treason is found in verse 12. That’s where they are warned in a dream not to go back to Herod and they defy his orders.
While that was a bold act and treacherous in its own right, that’s not what I’m talking about. The real treason is found in verse 11. We are told how the magi come to Bethlehem, and present their gifts to the child. What I want you to understand is that the giving of their gold, frankincense, and myrrh is an act of sedition.
Now, it comes off as a simple expression of homage. It is a mini worship service where Jesus is honored with these lavish gifts. These, of course, are some of the most exotic gifts that the Eastern world could offer. And they are, indeed, attributing a significant amount of worth to this child.
And most people will read this passage and say that these foreigners were simply paying their respects; they are acting as cordial ambassadors from another land.
But I believe that they are actually committing treason.
You have to remember that in the ancient world worship was a nationalistic thing. There wasn’t a separation of church and state. Each country had its deities and worship was very much a political thing. If you were a Babylonian, you worshiped Marduke. If you were a Roman, you worshipped Caesar. If you were a Greek, you worshipped the Greek gods. If you offended them or betrayed these gods, you were supposed to be cursed by them.
And, of course, these magi weren’t just your ordinary eastern joes. They were political figures. Think of them as advisors to the kings. They were akin to the President’s cabinet members.
So they are not just acting as friendly ambassadors recognizing a new king. They are committing treason. They are rebelling against their nation, their king, and their gods.
And for good reason! It’s because they know the power that this boy can wield. They know how he will eventually conquer the world. He may currently have some very humble beginnings, but he will eventually come to power and exert his dominance. And when he does, he will deal a devastating blow to sinful humanity. The kings of earth will be brought low.
And since they are court officials, that means they are going to be targeted too. Since they serve a foreign king, they will be considered guilty. They will find themselves crushed.
In sum, their act of treason is a plea for mercy. In giving these gifts they essentially say, “We acknowledge you as the true king. We understand we cannot stand against you; please have mercy on us.”
And this is where you see the gospel. Because while he will crush nations, he also shows mercy. That’s why this babe was born. His primary objective at this time is to bring about reconciliation; to save his people from their sins.
And the good news of this passage is that God calls nations to himself. He calls all those who are living in the darkness of their heathen sin, to come and join his kingdom. If you submit yourself to him, he will grant you pardon and forgive your sin. Your former allegiance with the kingdom of sin and Satan will not be held against you, but you will be brought into the kingdom of God’s Son and join him in the eternal rule.
This is ultimately what faith is. Faith is a form of treason. It’s saying, “This is where my true loyalty lies.” And that is what Christmas offers us. It offers us an opportunity to submit ourselves to the ultimate conqueror.
We can choose to go about our own lives and live as we please. But you must know that those who do will be crushed. You will face the conqueror on your own terms and find that his scepter is wielded against you.
But you can commit the same kind of treasonous act and gain the life he affords. You simply must put your faith in him and submit to him as the Lord of all.