"GOD CAUSED MEN OF THE EAST TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SOVEREIGNTY OF ISRAEL’S NEW KING"

Singing: (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise" Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Hymn 17:1-6
Psalm 96:1,2
Psalm 96:4,5
Hymn 16:3,4
Psalm 99:2 & Hymn 15:3,4

Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The persons of our text who "fell down and worshiped Him" came from the East. East, of course, of the land of Israel. We’re not sure how far east, but the evidence we do have indicates that these men did not come from so far east as modern day India or China; they came instead from where modern day Iraq, or maybe Iran, or possibly from as far east as Afghanistan is today.

Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan. All three countries are well known today as strictly Muslim lands. Two are known to have been (or still are) heavily involved in terrorist activities. The object of their terrorism is the so-called ‘West’, that part of the world where the Christian influence has been the strongest over the centuries.

People "from the East" "fell down and worshiped Him," says our text. We like that concept, especially in today’s political climate. We’d be well pleased if the people of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan would acknowledge that Jesus Christ is much more than a prophet under Mohammed, would acknowledge Him as the Son of God and Savior of the world….

Why, though, does the Lord tell us of these men from the East worshiping before the Savior? What was God doing in causing them to fall down before the Child? What gospel is there here for us, and what challenge?

I summarize the sermon with this theme:

The material of Mt 2 is well known to us. "Wise men from the East" saw a star in the eastern sky, understood that a king had been born among the Jews, and so came to Jerusalem seeking this King in order to worship Him. But have you ever considered, brothers and sisters, who these so-called ‘wise men’ were?

Before I answer the question, let me dispel a couple of myths. Popular legend has it that they were three in number, presumably because they brought three sorts of gifts. In agreement with that legend, we’ve all seen Christmas cards portraying three men on three camels, with a bright star above them…. But the text doesn’t tell us how many there were, doesn’t say either that they traveled on camels. Popular legend has it too that these travelers were kings. Again, the text of Scripture doesn’t say so. I mention this simply because we need to ensure that our assumptions concerning the material do not go beyond what the Lord has told us. An undisclosed number of persons, who may or may not have been rich and powerful, fell down to worship before the Child in Bethlehem.

These worshipers were "wise men from the East" – as our translation has it. That translation is a bit confusing because these men were not wise at all in the Scriptural sense of the word ‘wisdom’. So I will not refer to them as ‘wise men’; I will instead refer to them as ‘magi’ – a word mentioned in the footnotes of most of our Bibles in vs 2 and vs 7.

The word that translated as ‘wise men’ or ‘magi’ appears in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, in Daniel 2:2. That chapter of Scripture related that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon "had dreams" that troubled him. But Nebuchadnezzar didn’t have a clue what the dreams meant. Worse, he couldn’t remember what the dreams were. So (says the passage) "the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams." Magicians, says our English translation here, but the Greek uses the same word as Matthew uses in to describe the travelers from the East. That Daniel groups the magicians with the astrologers and sorcerers, and then has the king command them to tell him the dream and its meaning, shows us that we’re not to think here of circus entertainers; we’re to think rather of persons caught up in occult activity, persons who claimed to have contact with the deities. It’s exactly because they claimed to have contact with the gods that Nebuchadnezzar felt justified in demanding that "the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans" not only tell him the meaning of the dream, but tell him also the dream itself.

How these magicians and astrologers and sorcerers and Chaldeans could find the mind of the gods may well depend on their specialties. The astrologers will have read the stars to trace the mind of the gods. The sorcerers will have sought assistance from evil spirits to manipulate the gods, etc. Be that as it may, the important point for us today is the fact that these "magicians" are lumped together with astrologers and sorcerers, are birds of a feather. This is the word Matthew uses to describe the travelers from the East, and that’s to say to these travelers are crass pagans, not ‘wise men’ in the Scriptural sense of the term (as in persons who stand in awe of God Almighty because of what they have read in God’s holy Word). These magi of Mt 2 who come to Bethlehem at Jesus’ birth belong in the same class of people as the sorcerer Balaam of Num 24, the sorcerer Simon of Acts 8, and the sorcerer Elymas of Acts 13.

See now: these men "fell down and worshiped Him!" The word ‘worship’ is used in the New Testament only in relation to someone who is assumed –whether rightly or wrongly- to be divine. That is: you do not acknowledge the one you worship to be your equal, nor to be less than you; you instead acknowledge the one you worship to be more than you, and so you prostrate yourself in front of him in all humility. Here’s the point: these magi from the east assumed the Child before them to be divine, God, and so they treat Him accordingly.

How marvelous! Practitioners of the occult on their knees before a Child in far off Bethlehem, a Child that looks no different than any other child. We wonder: how did they come to know that this Child was worthy of worship, was divine, was God? Their own answer is: "we have seen His star in the East."

Commentators have suggested that the star was a supernova, others suggest it was a comet, and still others that three or more planets were lined up and so appeared as an extra bright star. That’s all speculation, with no foundation in the Bible. What we do know is that this star was not a normal star at all; that’s obvious from vs 9, where we’re told that the star "stood over where the young Child was." The normal stars of the night sky don’t do that sort of thing. But this very special star –and this is the critical point- was God’s work. I say that because the Lord tells us specifically to "lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these [stars]," and then adds: "He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power" (Is 40:26; cf Ps 147:4). Stars don’t appear just like that; it is God who put a special star in the heavens at the time of Jesus’ birth in order to catch the attention of these magi of the east.

Again, magi, sorcerers, Chaldeans, thought they could get in contact with the gods somehow, find out their secrets, even manipulate the gods. The magi of our chapter too may have thought that they could by their secret arts enter into the minds of the gods. But the Lord God has told us that there are no gods beside Him; whatever other spirits there may be have their origin in hell so that whatever a sorcerer or magi would contact in the realm of the spirits had to be a demon. Yet the Lord tells us too that even demons cannot act apart from Him. Not only does God control the stars, but he also controls the thoughts that flow through a person’s mind (cf Prov 21:1; Is 10:5ff). That the magi connect the appearance of the star to the birth of the king of the Jews is, then, the work of God in their hearts; He causes these heathen sorcerers to conclude that a king is born among the Jews, and so pack their bags to come and worship. This, congregation, is the critical element: God is at work here, driving these magi to Bethlehem.

Yes, beloved, how marvelous it is! Like Balaam of long ago, the magi are accustomed to think in terms of having the gods at their disposal. But the Lord God, in a manner of His sovereign choosing, lays His hand upon these heathens and brings them to Jerusalem, there to worship the King of the Jews! Here is fulfilled what the Lord God had said to Abram when He called him out of the land of the East, out of Ur of the Chaldeans: "I will make you a great nation…, and you shall be a blessing…; in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen 12:1ff). David says in Ps 68 that the nations of the earth would acknowledge Abram’s seed; says he: "Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, Kings will bring presents to you" (Ps 68:29). Solomon repeated it: "The kings of Tarshish and the isles will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him" (Ps 72:10f). The prophet Isaiah said it too; when the glory of the Lord is risen upon Zion, "Gentiles shall come to your light" (60:1ff). More, people from Egypt and Cush and the Sabeans "shall bow down to you. They shall make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you, And there is no other; There is no other God’" (45:14). God’s point in adopting Israel to be His special people was not to exclude the other nations of the earth. Rather, God would use Israel as the means of His choice to bring His blessings to the nations. Well now, Christ Jesus is born in Bethlehem, and from the ends of the earth God sovereignly brought the first of the international worshipers to fall before the cradle of the King of the Jews – for they see in Him that He is divine and the source of blessing for the world.

Delight, dear congregation, at the faithfulness of your God! The psalmist had said in Ps 96 that "the families of the peoples" should "give to the Lord glory and strength; Give to the Lord the glory due His name." And see: God makes it happen! In the worship of the magi is a foretaste that men of every tribe and tongue and nation shall bow the knee before the King of kings – if not willingly in this life, then unwillingly on the day of the King’s second coming.

That brings us to our second point:

We find the action of the heathen magi from the East at the cradle of Jesus Christ so wonderful; they fall down to worship the King of the Jews. But where, congregation, are the people of God themselves? How exciting that the heathen come, sure. But their coming is an awful condemnation of the children of Abraham! Why did the chief priests and the scribes and the people of Jerusalem not accompany the magi on their 8 km trip to Bethlehem?

And say not, beloved, that the people of Jerusalem were in the dark about the events of Christmas Day. The Holy Spirit tells us in Luke 2 that the angels visited the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth. Luke adds specifically that the shepherds "made widely known the saying" which the angels had told them about the Child – to the point that "all those who heard it marveled" (Luke 2:17f). recall: Bethlehem and Jerusalem were only 8 kms apart. The Holy Spirit tells us too that after Anna met up with Jesus and His parents in the temple she "spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (vs 38). You see: the events of that Christmas night were no secret in Jerusalem. What the people had heard about that wonderful night should have prompted the chief priests and the scribes, and the people too, to study the Scriptures to see whether these things might be so.

What why shall we talk about the shepherds and Anna? "Behold, magi from the East came to Jerusalem," with the question burning on their lips: "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" There’s not a shred of doubt in their minds about the birth; note that they do not ask whether a King has been born. They know it, they’ve seen His star, and so they confront the people of Jerusalem with the fact of Christmas: "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?"

Note now the remarkable reaction of the people. Vs 3: "When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." We can understand that Herod was troubled; the birth of a new king means a threat for him, opposition. But why would "all Jerusalem" be troubled with him?! Matthew doesn’t tell us, but the fact that they’re agitated by this news tells us enough. For the word of the magi, on top of the evidence the people earlier had from the reports of the shepherds and from the mouth of Anna, should confirm in their minds that something so spectacular was happening that they ought to get excited, enthusiastic. But they don’t get excited! Instead, they’re troubled, irritated, agitated; this is news they don’t want to hear!

But the Lord, beloved, does not leave the matter at that. His people-by-covenant have heard from the shepherds, they have heard from Anna, they have heard from the magi. Now God shall see to it that they hear from the Bible also. The same God, who moved the Magi to travel from the East by means of the star, now moves evil King Herod to assemble "all the chief priests and scribes of the people together." To this group of known leaders Herod drops his loaded question: "where is the Christ to be born?"

We wonder: from where does Herod suddenly get the word ‘Christ’? That can only be, beloved, because the expectation of the Messiah was the talk of the town. And see: he gets an answer: "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet." In other words: from the Bible they have, the leaders of the people know that something spectacular is to happen in Bethlehem! They even know the nature of what’s to happen in Bethlehem. Listen to their quote from Micah:

If you look at Micah 5, you’ll notice that the chief priests and scribes don’t quote the prophet verbatim; they instead make some changes to reflect their understanding of the whole chapter. But their understanding takes away nothing from Scripture; they realize that from Bethlehem will be born a Ruler. A Ruler: that’s a leader of the people, a King – as the magi were talking about! This Ruler, though, vs 6 continues, will not tyrannize God’s people; He will instead "shepherd My people Israel." This is a desirable Ruler, one who will do good to the people. Contrast that, now, with the Herod who was currently king in Israel! What a terror he was! That he would kill every boy in Bethlehem "two years old and under" was characteristic of the way he reigned (2:16).

What we have here? The Lord, brothers and sisters, piles up evidence upon evidence that He has done something wonderful in Bethlehem. The shepherds, Anna, the magi, Scripture itself: how merciful is God; He "sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place" (II Chron 36:15). But it didn’t move the people to acknowledge His work in Bethlehem; when the magi rode out of Jerusalem none of the chief priests or the scribes or the people accompanied them to worship the King of the Jews also…. Here is precisely what the apostle John recorded, "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him" (Jn 1:11). And that, beloved, is the point: Jesus’ own people rejected Him from the very start! There you have the reason why the Lord sent these magi to Jerusalem in the first place; His people must be confronted with the work of God in Bethlehem. Never must the people of God’s favor be able to say that they didn’t know what God was doing.

So we come to our third point:

The two parties of Mt 2 could not be more opposite to each other. On the one hand heathens, worshipers of idols, people who did not have the Scriptures - yet they bow before the King of the Jews. On the other hand Jews, covenant people, to whom belonged (as Paul said it later) "the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises" (Rom 9:4) – yet they refuse to bow before the King of the Jews.

It’s a pattern that repeated itself in the time since Mt 2. Jerusalem’s rejection of the Savior God sent into the world hardened into a thirst for His crucifixion thirty-three years later – and that despite all the signs and wonders which the Lord had done in their midst in the course of His three year ministry. But the matter became more serious still after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. When the apostles preached the gospel after Pentecost, they began their work amongst the Jews, since they were God’s people by covenant. But increasingly the Jews did not want the good news of Jesus Christ, with as result, said Paul, that you "judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life," and so "we turn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46; cf 28:28). It became the pattern dominating Paul’s work; natural branches were cut off, that wild branches might be grafted in (Rom 11:16ff). We see it today: the church of Jesus Christ is predominately made up of non-Jewish people. Historically it is the European world that has been touched by the gospel; that’s the civilization molded so largely by Christian principles. For Christ the King must have subjects! We rejoice in that fact, for it means that even we may be amongst those who acknowledge the Kingship of Jesus Christ.

But the fact that historically it’s the European world that’s been touched by the gospel doesn’t mean it’s going to remain so! The children of Abraham refused to acknowledge the work of God in Bethlehem, and so God reached out to heathens to shame the Hebrews; see how the magi prostrate themselves before the infant of Bethlehem while the chief priests and scribes go proudly about their rituals in Jerusalem! So it can be today too. The descendents of European culture refuse today to acknowledge that in Bethlehem of long ago God sent into the world none less than the King of kings; in the lives of how many of European descent is Jesus Christ in fact seen as Lord? But what, then, congregation, shall stop God from turning instead to the Chinese or the Afghanis, to the Arabs or the Aborigines, and generating from their midst other children for Abraham? He’s free to do that – as free as He was to turn to the magi for the reproof of His own people. In fact, is the Lord not doing so already?

Pagan magi from the East fell down to worship the King of the Jews. We’d love for the people of the East today to bow before the King of kings. Only: let it not be that God sends the gospel to the Muslims because we are unfaithful to Him! And let it not be either that the Lord sends persons of pagan background to us in order to shame us into more diligent service of our God. Yet for God to go elsewhere is certainly what our society deserves.

So there is a challenge: when the King comes back again, will He still find faith on earth? In our culture, in our land, in our town, in our home, in our heart? And there is a promise: when the King comes back again, He certainly will find faith on earth – for the elect from every tribe and tongue and nation shall worship Him. Amen.