The Annunciation of Messiah's Birth - Part 3

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In T.S. Eliot's poem, “The Journey of the Magi,” he describes the magi on their way to Bethlehem, and as they're making their way there, they see, “…three trees on the low sky.”  Those trees represent the three crosses that will later come at Jesus' crucifixion.  Eliot also has the magi see six hands at an open-door dicing for pieces of silver.  That refers, of course, to the soldiers casting lots for Jesus' clothes.  You see, the poet's point is that even shortly after Jesus' birth, as the magi make their way to Bethlehem, Jesus' death was already looming.  Eliot was really copying Matthew in Matthew's Gospel because in this story, the same thing happens.  Because the coming reality of Jesus' crucifixion, thirty-three years after the events we're studying in chapter 2, in this story, the story of the magi, we see the crucifixion of Jesus appearing in the shadows.  I want us to see it together.  

We just read together, for our scripture reading, Matthew 2:1-12.  The point of this paragraph is that God used the magi to formally identify and announce Jesus as the Messiah.  This account, as we've discovered, reveals Jesus' identity as Israel's promised Messiah in three ways.  First of all, with “The Surprising Annunciation of the Messiah” in verses 1 and 2.  It's surprising because it comes from a mysterious group of powerful men from Persia, men that are called here the magi. We saw in verses 3 through 8 “The Startling Confirmation of the Messiah.”  Startling, even shocking, because the reality of where the Messiah would come from is confirmed, first of all, “By Israel's Religious Leaders.”  They tell Herod He's going to be born in Bethlehem of Judea.  And then they quote Israel's “Inspired Scripture” that also affirms in Micah 5:2, where the Messiah would be born, written hundreds of years before Jesus' birth, identifying the place the Messiah would be born.  And the reason that's important is because that's exactly where Jesus of Nazareth was born, according, verse 1, “He (Jesus) was born in Bethlehem of Judea.”  

There's a third way that this passage shows Jesus is the Messiah; it's what we come to this morning.  It describes “The Supernatural Authentication of the Messiah.”   Supernatural, by that I mean divine, not of this world.  Because, you see, God Himself authenticates Jesus of Nazareth as “The Promised One!”  How does He do that?  Well, first of all, He does it “Through the Star” in verses 9 and 10, through the star.  Look at verse 9, “After hearing the king,” after the magi heard what Herod had to share with them, “they went their way;” Herod had answered their question in verse 2, “Where is He?”  And then in verse 8, he sent them to Bethlehem. Notice verse 9 continues, “and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them.”  Verse 2 says they had seen His star in their home country, and then they had traveled to Israel without seeing it again.  But as they started from Jerusalem, the six miles south to Bethlehem, the star they had seen, probably the Shekinah glory cloud, the blazing display of the glory of God, appeared to them again.  Literally, the Greek text says, “the star was going ahead of them,” or we could translate it another way, “the star was leading them forward.”  So, the star, whatever it was, went ahead of them, led them the six miles south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.  And verse 9 goes on to say, “until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.”

Now, that's clear enough in English, but it's even clearer in the Greek text. It says, “having come, it took its stand over where the Child was,” having come, it took its stand over where the Child was.  In other words, it stopped over the very house where Jesus was with Mary. Verse 10 says, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”  Again, the Greek text is so picturesque, it says, “they rejoiced with a mega joy,” that's the Greek word.  “They rejoiced with a mega joy extremely; they were overwhelmed with joy.  Not about the star, but that the star was pointing them to the divine Messiah that Daniel had prophesied in Daniel 9, would come and make an end of sin.  Now, please don't miss the large point that Matthew is making here in telling us this story.  The point is that God did not leave the identification of the Messiah to chance.  Through the star, He led the magi to Jesus.  It's like he put a huge arrow pointing down at the house where Jesus was so nobody could miss it.  By the star, God Himself supernaturally authenticated the identity of the Messiah, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah. 

There's a second way that God authenticated the identity of the Messiah.  He did so in verses 11 and 12, “Through the Magi.”  Now, in doing this, God chose the most unlikely people.  Remember what we discovered, the magi had been pagan idolaters involved in astrology and divination and even the false religion of Zoroastrianism.  If they had lived in Old Testament Israel during that period of time, these men would have been stoned to death.  But it was left to them to show the Jews, to show the entire world, and, friends, to show us, the only right response to Jesus the King!  I love this story because as God had promised, He sought and saved sinners in conjunction with the birth of His Son.  Not only the humble Jewish shepherds, on the night of Jesus' birth, but also these powerful Gentiles.  God sent them, after saving them, to announce the birth of the Messiah.  They traveled some 800 miles from Persia, modern Iran, to find the One who fulfilled Daniel's prophecies.  Notice verse 2 again, this is why they came, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east and (we) have come to worship Him.”  And verse 4 makes it clear that they were asking about the Messiah.  So, God used the magi, as well as the star, to authenticate the Messiah. 

How did they authenticate the Messiah?  First of all, “They identified Jesus as the Messiah.”  Look at verse 11, “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother.”  On entering the house, these men were convinced that they had found the King of the Jews that Daniel had promised, the One destined to be a world ruler.  They had found the Messiah whom they had come seeking.  And notice, verse 11 makes it clear, they identified Jesus as the One–He is the Messiah. 

Secondly, they authenticated the Messiah because “They worshiped Jesus as God.”  Look at verse 11 again, “And they fell to the ground.”  Now remember the story, these are powerful, influential men; they have come with a huge entourage, maybe even a small army.  And they are visiting an ordinary house in the small town of Bethlehem in Israel, but when they come into this house, these powerful men, all together, fell to the ground before Jesus.  And don't forget, at this point in time, He's less than two years old.  None of us have fallen down like this before our own children.  This was a physical expression of submission to Jesus.  In the ancient world, when you bowed before a king, you were acknowledging his rightful position and his rightful authority. 

But this was more than just acknowledging an earthly king.  Notice verse 11 says, “And they worshiped Him.”  This wasn't the typical homage to a Middle Eastern monarch.  In fact, these two verbs, ‘to fall before’ and ‘worship,’ are used again in Matthew.  Go over to chapter 4, verse 9, during the temptation of Jesus, Satan says this to Jesus in verse 9, “All these things (all the kingdoms of the world) I will give you if You (will) (Here are our verbs.) fall down and worship me.”  And how does Jesus respond to that in verse 10?  “What you're asking me to do is reserved solely for God.  Worship and serve God and Him only,” (Paraphrase).  That's what's going on back in our text.  In fact, every other time Matthew uses the word ‘worship’ in his Gospel, referring to Jesus, it's true biblical worship. 

Let me just give you a couple of examples. Turn over to chapter 14; chapter 14, and verse 33.  Jesus has just walked on the water and when all the sea settles and the wind stops, verse 33, “Those who were in the boat worshiped Him saying, ‘You are certainly God's Son!”  Go over to chapter 28.  On the day of the resurrection of our Lord, we read this in verse 9, “And behold, Jesus met them (His disciples) and greeted them.  And they came up and took hold of His feet (They fell before Him.) and worshiped Him.”  Go down to verse 17, and this is at the time of the Great Commission, “When they saw Him (The 500 disciples), they worshiped Him.”  So back in our text, what I want you to understand is that what's happening there is true biblical worship of Jesus.  The magi believed that Jesus, that little Child, was the divine Messiah that Daniel promised in Daniel, chapter 9 and chapter 7.  And so, “They worshiped Him as God.” 

Thirdly, they authenticate the Messiah because “They acknowledge Jesus as King.”  Look at verse 11, “Then opening their treasures,” better translated ‘treasure chests,’ the receptacles in which their treasures were held in, when they traveled, “they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  Now, the most important thing about these gifts is that all three were very rare and, therefore, incredibly valuable.  Gold was then, as now, the ultimate symbol of value.  And the exotic spices they brought were beyond the budget of a couple like Mary and Joseph.  They were extraordinarily valuable gifts.  However, it was common to bring such gifts to a king when you entered his presence in order to honor him.  In 1 Kings, chapter 10, when the queen of Sheba met Solomon, she brought spices, gold, and precious stones to honor him.  In the same way, the gifts of the magi were lavish expressions acknowledging Jesus as the King of the Jews. 

There's a fourth way that they authenticated Him, “They testified to Jesus as Savior,” they testified to Jesus as Savior.  Verse 11 again says, “then opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  Since the early Church Fathers, Christians have believed that the magi were actually sending a message with each of these three gifts, and that's likely true because of how these items are used in the rest of Scripture.  Think about what they symbolize.  Gold was rarely owned by individuals unless they were extremely wealthy; it was always associated with royalty.   In fact, the Roman orator, Seneca, said that it was “The custom in Persia that no one approached the king without a gift.”  And Seneca said that “The king of metals was a proper gift to bring to a king.”

Frankincense, our word comes from the old French, ‘franc encens,’ which means ‘pure incense.’  This aromatic resin from the trees that grow in Arabia and India was used in incense and perfumes.  It occurs most frequently in the Old Testament in connection with the worship of God.  Incense was blended into the meal offerings, and this particular expression is part of the incense that was offered and burned in the temple.  So gold is associated with kings.  Incense is associated with God. 

Myrrh is a reddish-brown resin, the dried sap of a tree that grows especially in Arabia.  It was often, in the ancient world, worth more than its weight in gold.  It was used as a perfume, it was also used as a painkiller, and it was used as an embalming fragrance.  Interestingly enough, it seems to be used in all three ways in the life of Jesus, a perfume at his birth; the soldiers offered wine mixed with myrrh as a painkiller at His crucifixion.  But you remember Jesus refused it because he wanted to suffer fully for our sins with no lessening of the pain.  And we're told that myrrh was included as one of the spices that was included in His embalming.  So, think about what these gifts picture.  William Hendrickson, the great Presbyterian commentator, says:

They presented Him with gifts that were not only lavish but also appropriate.  Gold, for He was and is indeed a King, King of kings and Lord of lords.  Frankincense, for He is indeed God; the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him.  And myrrh, for He is also a man destined for death, and this by His own choice. 

Death in our place to pay for the sins that we have committed against God, or we could put it in the words of the Christmas hymn that we sing in that season:

Gold, a King is born today, 

Incense, God is with us,

Myrrh, His death will make a way, 

and by His blood, He will win us. 

Look at verse 12, “And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left (they departed) for their own country by another way.”  God warned them in a dream.  Now, I don't have time to develop this, but let me just say that the Old Testament mentions normal dreams like you and I have, but at times in the Old Testament, a dream could be the instrument of divine revelation, usually connected with a prophet as in Numbers 12:6.  However, understand this, revelatory dreams like that were rare in the Old Testament.  Most of them are found either in Genesis or Daniel, and they're even less rare in the New Testament.  In fact, only six dreams are mentioned at all in the New Testament–only five of them are revelations from God.  They're all in Matthew, and they're all in the first two chapters of Matthew.  So, it's clear that dreams are not the way God directs us today.  And in fact, Hebrews 1:1 says, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways (including dreams), in these last days (He) has spoken to us in His Son,” that is through the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles and their writings that we hold in our laps.  Notice verse 12 says, “they left for their country by another way.”  I love that expression; obviously, the main point concerns their physical journey.  They had come from Persia over the Fertile Crescent and down the main trade route into Israel, but they left by a route that took them out of Herod's reach the quickest.  And that was likely from Bethlehem to head due east across the Jordan, and then to go up the Jordan Rift until they caught the road headed back to the Fertile Crescent.  But this phrase, “they departed another way,” I think also reminds us of their spiritual journey.  In the past, they had been pagan idolaters, but they left by another way as worshipers of the true God, embracing His divine Messiah.  What an amazing story! 

But why?  Why did God send the magi to Israel?  “Several Reasons” stand out to me; let me just give them to you.  Number one, he sent them “As an announcement of Messiah's arrival.” I mean, the star could have led the magi directly to Bethlehem, but God didn't do that.  In His grace, God sent them to Jerusalem to prepare the people for the ministry of His Son.  You see, this story is a powerful testimony to everyone that the Messiah has come.  By the way, it's a testimony to you today.  If you're here and you don't know Jesus Christ, this story is God's way of telling you, “He came!”  He came in the first century; He came in the land we call Israel. He was a real person; God sent the Messiah! 

God sent the magi, secondly, “As a lesson in sovereign grace.”  Six-hundred years before this event, God had given the ancestors of these men the Scripture through the Jews who lived there and through Daniel, His prophet.  And then God preserved that spiritual influence for hundreds of years in that land so that these men could come to know His Son.   And then when Jesus was finally born, God sent a supernatural sign to tell them, and by the star, God directed them to the Child.  You see, the story of the wise men is a story in sovereign grace.  Ultimately, it's not a story of wise men seeking Him; it's a story of Jesus seeking them.  God sent these men to find their rightful king and to accomplish their salvation.  Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “I have come to seek and to save that which was lost,” (Paraphrase).  In Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21, “call Him Jesus because Jesus came to save his people from their sins,” (Paraphrase).  Folks, don't miss the point that in the very next paragraph, we meet some of those He came to save, some of His people He came to save.  He sovereignly reached into the paganism of the former Babylonian Empire, and he snatched these men to Himself.  The magi are a powerful lesson in sovereign grace.  And if you're here this morning and you're a true Christian, you're a true follower of Jesus Christ, your story is the same.  You are only a Christian because of God's sovereign grace.  He reached into your sinful life and drew you to Himself and made you His own.  

This story serves thirdly “As an illustration of an invitation to saving faith in Jesus.”  You see, the response of the magi to Jesus serves as a living example of true repentance and saving faith in Him.  I mean, think about what happens here.  Repenting of your sin means that like them, you are willing to abandon your sins in order to have Jesus.  In their case, they left their country, they left their religion, and they left their sinful practices so that they could have Jesus.  They repented of their sins.  And if you would have Jesus, you must do the same.  Believing in Jesus means that like them, you put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Messiah, your God, your Lord and King, and your Savior.  You see, this story invites you to join the magi at Jesus' feet.  Not the young child living in a house in Bethlehem, but rather to join them at Jesus' feet as the risen Lord Who now is seated at the right hand of God and Who will come again one day to judge this world and to receive His own.

Finally, the story of the magi serves “As an illustration of devotion to Jesus.”  You see, in verses 9 through 11, we see a living picture of what devotion to Jesus looks like, what theirs looked like, what ours should look like.  We should, first of all, “Seek Him.”  If you're devoted to Jesus like these men were, then you will invest your time and your energy and your life in seeking Him.  They needed to travel eight-hundred miles to find Jesus; you and I only need to open up our Bibles.  But if we're truly devoted to Jesus, that is exactly what we will do.  We will seek Him on the pages of Scripture.  

Secondly, those wholly devoted to Jesus “Rejoice in Him.”  The magi were overwhelmed with joy, not about the star, but about the divine Messiah to whom it pointed.  Listen, friends, devotion to Jesus always finds its greatest joy in Him.  Can I just say, “If you're here this morning and you have this vague sense of, ‘Yeah, you know, I know God and I have this relationship with God in general terms,’ but you never think about Jesus, your heart doesn't worship Jesus, you aren't committed to follow Jesus as your Savior and Lord, then you're not a Christian. The Christian faith is about Jesus; “Rejoice in Him.” 

Thirdly, those devoted to Jesus “Submit to Him.”  When they prostrated themselves before Jesus, the magi were acknowledging Jesus is Lord and He's their rightful Lord.  True faith always includes the response of submission to Jesus.  That's what Paul said.  It's not about just believing the facts.  Listen, if you sit here this morning and you go, “Listen, I can check off the boxes, I believe all the facts about Jesus,” so do the demons!  No, Paul says you must “confess Jesus as Lord;” that's the nature of true faith in Jesus.  

Wholehearted devotion to Jesus also means that we “Worship Him from the heart,” we worship him from the heart.  These men model the only right response to the King, lavish, unrestrained devotion, devotion that seeks Him, that finds its greatest joy in Him, that willingly submits to Him, that worships Him with the two most valuable gifts we have, our love and our life!  One way that Jesus Himself gave us to worship Him is what is our privilege to do together this morning, and that is the Lord's Table.  Take a moment and prepare your heart to worship the Lord in the Lord's Table as the men come to serve us.

Our Father, those of us here who have repented of our sins, like the magi did, who have put our faith in Jesus as the Messiah, as God, as King, as Savior, Father, we long to worship Him.  Thank you for this way, this means that you've given us to express our worship to the Lord Jesus.  Lord, remind us that worship doesn't happen simply because we eat a piece of bread and drink some juice; it only happens when our hearts are intentionally offering Jesus our own worship.  And Lord, I pray that you would prepare us to do that this morning.  Lord, those of us who have been forgiven of our sins, all of our sins, Lord, we come to you as your children now, seeking your forgiveness, not as our judge, You've already offered that in Christ, You've justified us, You've declared us forever right with You; but we come asking Your forgiveness as Your children, children to a Father whom we've offended.  Lord, forgive our sins.  Each of us opens our hearts to You entirely now, keeping nothing back.  Lord, we identify to You all of those sins that You bring to mind that we know about, and we ask Your forgiveness for those sins we don't know about.  And we intend, Father, to turn from those sins.  We don't intend to leave here and with the full purpose and intention of committing them again.  Lord, such would be a travesty of Your grace.  Father, forgive and cleanse us and help us now to worship the Lord Jesus through these elements, through this ordinance, we pray in His great name, Amen.