Worth of Worship

Transcript

GR649
11/6/1983
Worth of Worship
Matthew 2:1-12
Gil Rugh

In the first chapter of his Gospel, Matthew established the fact that Jesus Christ is of the kingly line of David. He also established the uniqueness of His birth, thus establishing the uniqueness of His person as well.

In his second chapter, Matthew is going to focus attention on some special events following the birth of Christ. That will conclude all that Matthew has to say about the early life of Jesus Christ. Chapter 3 presents Him as an adult and begins a consideration of His public ministry.

Chapter 1 showed Christ to be in the lineage of David and described the uniqueness of His virgin birth. The genealogical record in chapter 1 presented Him as the rightful heir to David's throne; thus He is a king. The virgin birth, emphasizing His Deity, qualifies Him to be a divine King. These two concepts taken together present Jesus Christ as the God-King -- the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel. Chapter 2 demonstrates that He is worthy of worship. This chapter records the worship that is offered to Him shortly after his birth and reveals that He is recognized as One worthy of worship and adoration.

Three kinds of responses to Christ are demonstrated in this chapter. The Jews' response is one of apathy and indifference. Herod's response is one of hostility and hatred. The response of the magi is one of worship and adoration. So at the very beginning of His early life, these three different responses -- apathy and indifference, hostility and hatred, worship and adoration -- are all brought together. This is similar to John's report in the first chapter of his Gospel where we are told that Jesus Christ came into the world that was made by Him. John 1:11-12: "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." Similar facts are provided in this passage which Matthew presents in his record. Both writers indicate that Jesus Christ was not received, generally speaking. But those who did receive Him were privileged to become the sons of God.

Matthew 2 also carries a strong emphasis on the fulfillment of Old Testament Scriptures. Attention is drawn in verses 5 and 6 to Jesus Christ, who is born according to Old Testament prophecy. Verse 15 contains a quote from Hosea 11:1 -- "Out of Egypt did I call My Son" -again recognizing the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Verses 17 and 18 refer to the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:15 of great weeping, a result of the murder of infants in Bethlehem by Herod. Again, Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled. Verse 23 verifies the thrust of Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus Christ would be called the Nazarene. Matthew is burdened to demonstrate to the Jews that Jesus Christ indeed fulfilled all the prophecies regarding the coming Messiah that were given in the Old Testament.

As Matthew begins chapter 2, he summarizes very clearly when and where Christ was born: “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem...” Matthew does not go into a lot of the background detail that Luke does in his Gospel. Matthew simply sifts out what he wants to emphasize regarding Jesus Christ as King and Messiah of Israel. He is very selective in his presentation of the facts.

Matthew mentions that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, distinguishing this town from Bethlehem of Galilee. This Judean Bethlehem is significant because the greatest king of Israel up to this time was also born in Bethlehem of Judea. 1 Samuel 16 records God's rejection of Saul as king of Israel and informs us of His selection of a new king to replace Saul. Verse 1 : "Now the Lord said to Samuel, 'How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons." Jesse the Bethlehemite is the father of David. The special thing about Bethlehem is that David also was born there. Verse 4 continues, "So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to Bethlehem..." The sons of Jesse were called together, but David was absent. He is then called for and anointed as king of the nation. So there is special significance to Matthew drawing attention to the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea because Bethlehem, the place of David's birth, is also now the birthplace of David's greater son, the Messiah Himself.

Matthew 2:1 also records that Christ was born "...in the days of Herod the king..." There are a number of Herods in the New Testament, but this one is known as Herod the Great. Because of his friendship with Marc Antony, he was given the title "king of the Jews" in 40 B.C. He was given this title by Marc Antony, of Antony and Cleopatra fame, who vied for the position of emperor of Rome and lost in the conflict with Octavius.

Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., so this gives us some idea of the time about which Matthew is writing -- probably near or in the last year of the reign of Herod the Great. As you are probably aware, some mistakes were made in the calculation of years when the Gregorian calendar was adopted. Thus the year in which Christ was born was later found to be about 4 B.C. or shortly before that. So Matthew is writing about events which occurred toward the end of the rule of Herod the Great. He ruled for quite a long time, probably about 37 years.

Herod the Great was an exceedingly cruel, vile and wicked man. And his character deteriorated further at the end of his reign. Herod the Great had 10 wives and was guilty of murder within his own family -- he murdered some of his own wives, children and in-laws. Within a few days of his death, he had another one of his sons executed because he was afraid that son wanted to replace him on the throne. So even in the shadow of his own death, he is jealous and fearful that someone wants to replace him. That helps us understand why he would be so filled with hatred when he learned that a king had been born in Israel. This man, who was greatly feared because of his cruel character, was king when Jesus Christ was born.

The magi are also drawn into the picture in verse 1: "...magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem..." The word magi in English is carried over from the Greek in the text, magoi. We are somewhat familiar with the magi because of the common manger scene we have at Christmas with shepherds and the magi gathered around to worship Christ. These wise men or astrologers from the east could have been from Medo-Persia or from the area of Babylon. We are not told from how far east they came. But the title used to describe them was common in both regions for those who were respected scholars. As astrologers, they studied the stars and had great wisdom; they were greatly admired in their day. Daniel, the Old Testament prophet, would fit within this class of wise men. According to Daniel, he was ruler over the wise men in Babylon. Matthew was writing about this class or cast of people who came from the east to Jerusalem.

We are not told in the Bible how many of them came. We sing the song, ”We Three Kings," but we do not know that there were three, and technically they are not kings. The assumption that there were three of them may have been based on the fact that they brought three kinds of gifts -- gold, frankincense and myrrh. But there may have been quite a large entourage, because the journey from Babylon or Persia would have taken many months. Therefore, there may have been quite a group of them. Whether there were three or not is not really pertinent.
We don't know that there were not three; we just don't know that there were three. The fact that their arrival made such a great impact on the city of Jerusalem is probably an indication that it was a larger group than simply three men riding into town on camels.

Regardless of the number who came, their arrival caused quite a stir. They arrived in Jerusalem, saying, verse 2: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” In Jerusalem, they expected everyone to be aware of what has happened. There is a lot of information surrounding these events that we would love to have been told, but God chose not to give us those details. How did they know when they saw that star that One was born in the area of Jerusalem who was to be the King of the Jews? The Bible does not tell us. Perhaps God gave them special revelation. Perhaps the influence of Daniel 500 years earlier in Babylon had established an understanding of Old Testament Scripture regarding the Messiah.

There is a prophecy in Numbers 24:17 that the Messiah would come as a star. "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel..." The Messiah is the star in that passage, so there may have been some connection with the idea that the star signals the birth of the One who has the scepter in Jerusalem. Whatever their source of information, they came with the confidence that the King of the Jews had been born, so they started asking around to find Him. You can imagine the events in the city of Jerusalem when this striking procession of wise men from the east arrived and began to ask the question, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

It is clear in chapter 2 that the star did not guide them along the way to Jerusalem. Our concept of these wise men riding across the desert, watching the star and being guided by it is a little deceiving. They saw the star in the east, which indicated to them that the King of the Jews had been born. Since Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, they would naturally journey to Jerusalem to find out about this Jewish king. The star did not guide them on the way. Seeing the star in the east was an indication to them, either by special revelation from God or in some other way, that the Messiah had been born. So they are journeying to worship Him.

The purpose of the magi throughout this entire section is clearly indicated at the end of verse 2. They "...have come to worship Him.” Any details about the star, about how the magi understood what was happening, what the magi looked like or how long it took them to make their trip from Babylon or Persia are all insignificant compared to the fact that their express purpose was to worship the One who had been born the King of the Jews. The Jews already had a king -- Herod! But they did not come to worship him. There was something unique about this One who had been born that made Him worthy of worship. They knew something of the special character of Jesus Christ and had come to honor Him for who He was.

The response of Herod at Jerusalem is interesting. Verse 3 tells us, "When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." The word troubled is a striking word, meaning to shake, to stir up or to agitate. It is used in the Old Testament to describe the condition when someone put his foot in water and kicked so that the water was stirred up to a state of agitation. That is the condition of Herod on the inside. One commentator translated this phrase, "Herod was terrified." That description fits the character of Herod in the closing months of his reign. He was terrified with the idea that he was going to be succeeded by someone.

Aren't human rulers amazing? They hold onto power as though they are immortal.
They get sick and weak and everyone can see them in the process of dying, yet they are very jealous to hold onto their power and authority. But they cannot continue to hold on; they are destined to die. Before the events of chapter 2 are completed, Herod will be dead.

The fact that these men made a long journey from a foreign country because they had heard that the King of the Jews had been born caused Herod to be more fearful. He was an Idumaean, or an Edomite, a descendent of Esau. He was not even a Jew and was despised by the Jews as an Edomite. He had received his position as king of the Jews because of his friendship with the Romans. Herod was not an absolute king but ruled as king of the Jews under the authority of the Romans. He was a king under the Roman emperor and ruled at the emperor's pleasure.

The fact that Herod was not a Jew caused him to be more fearful because he knew the Jews would love to replace him with a Jew. He realized that if a Jew had been born who could become king, this could be the potential for rebellion against him.

The interesting thing about this is that all of Jerusalem was troubled right along with Herod. You would think the Jews would have been excited and thrilled to hear that their King, the Messiah, had been born at last. But all of Jerusalem was agitated and troubled as well. This was probably the result of the character of Herod. The Jews, particularly the Jewish leaders, knew this would mean trouble. The Jewish leaders were not eager to have things unsettled. They had a working relationship with Herod, despised as he was, just as they had a working relationship with the Romans, despised as they were. Thus it was troublesome to these Jewish leaders to have Gentiles come and announce the birth of the King. It put the whole city of Jerusalem into a state of agitation. Thus the Jewish leadership took this matter seriously.

Herod also took it seriously. He took everything seriously that threatened his rule. When he had a question about the loyalty of his favorite wife, he had her executed. He did the same thing with his son-in-law, his daughter-in-law and everyone else who threatened him. So Herod called together a meeting of the Sanhedrin. Verse 4: “Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Messiah was to be born.” Herod was a king of the Jews, but he was not a great Bible scholar. In fact, he was probably rather ignorant in many ways about the Scriptures, although he did have a general knowledge of them. At any rate, he wanted to be sure where the Messiah was to be born. So he called together the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the nation Israel. In this official meeting, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. You can see something of the vileness of his character as he laid the ground work for his plan. If there was any truth to what the magi had told him, he wanted to take care of the difficulty right then.

For Herod to ask where Christ was to be born was no problem at all to the Sanhedrin. Verse 5: "And they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea...'” Where the Messiah was to be born was common knowledge among the Jews. John records in his Gospel a question which arose concerning Jesus' origin because He was residing in Galilee, and some of the Jews did not realize He had been born in Bethlehem. So they asked in John 7:42, "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" So there was a recognition among the Jews that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, that He was an offspring of David and that He would be born in the family town of David -- Bethlehem. The Sanhedrin had no problem at all answering that question. In fact, in answering it they quoted a passage from Micah 5:2. “For this is what has been written by the prophet,” they told Herod. Verse 6: “‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” The last phrase of that verse -- “... who will shepherd My people Israel” -- is very similar to 2 Samuel 5:2 where Israel’s elders reminded David that the Lord had said to him: “...you will shepherd My people Israel...” The members of the Sanhedrin were pulling together a couple passages from the Old Testament that focused their attention on the Messiah. They had no doubt at all that Micha 5:2 referred to the birth of the special Person, the Messiah of Israel.

It seems significant that this incident was the last involvement of the Sanhedrin with the magi in their attempts to find the Messiah. These religious leaders could describe in detail where the Messiah was to be born. They could quote the Scriptures regarding His birth, but they seemed to be unmoved by it all. There seems to be no indication that they had any interest in going to Jerusalem to find out if the Messiah had been born. That in itself is a remarkable fact. Do you know how far it is from Jerusalem to Bethlehem? Five miles! You can stand at Jerusalem and see Bethlehem. But these Jewish leaders were so apathetic about it that they simply went back home after their meeting without any motivation to check out whether or not what had been prophesied in the Scriptures had really happened. There was nothing but disinterest, apathy and indifference on the part of the Jews regarding the birth of the One who was their Messiah.

You can almost imagine the attitude and feelings of the Sanhedrin when Herod called them together and asked them about these events: Look, if the Messiah has been born, don't you think we would know? Do you think that God would tell these Gentile astrologers in Persia about the birth of the Messiah without telling us, the rulers of the nation. That wouldn't make sense. I can almost imagine one member of the Sanhedrin sharing with another his disdain of the whole situation. I was watching my favorite camel program when I was called over here today. Do you think I want to walk five miles to Bethlehem? Let these guys go to Bethlehem; I'm going home.

Herod was a lot more interested than the members of the Sanhedrin were. He did not want them to know that he had any kind of interest in it because he had a plan. It is easy to see the character of Herod as he schemes to develop his plan. If the Messiah had indeed been born, he wanted to destroy Him. Herod was a godless man through and through. Verse 7 reports, "Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.” In this action, you can see something of the cunning nature of Herod, which characterized his family as well. Later, and with a different Herod, Jesus will refer to one of the sons of Herod the Great as a fox. That description characterized Herod's family. They were cunning, sly people.

After conferring with the Sanhedrin, Herod the Great pinpointed the place of the Messiah's birth as Bethlehem In asking the time the star appeared, he wanted to pinpoint the time of His birth so he could narrow it down to destroy Him. Matthew writes in verse 8, "And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, 'Go and search carefully for the Child...'" He wanted them, in effect, to be his detectives and seek out Jesus Christ for him. “...and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” What a despicable liar! One writer called him "the wretch Herod," and that is a good description. Herod had no intention of worshipping Christ. His intention was to kill Him.

Herod had no questions about the supernatural events that had taken place in the lives of the magi. He had no question about the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. His only concern was to be rid of Jesus Christ.

Herod's response was not too different from the way people respond today. There were hundreds of prophecies fulfilled in the first coming of Christ and in His death and subsequent resurrection. Many people today have no concern to determine whether or not these things are really true. Many of them exemplify the same rejection and hostility that so clearly characterized Herod.

You have to appreciate the persistence of these magi. They were convinced that they must find this new King. What would you think if, after journeying for months across desert and rough terrain, you had arrived at the capital city and found that no one there had any idea what you were talking about? Can you imagine them arriving in Jerusalem, asking about the birth of the Messiah, and being told, “Well, we'll have to call the council together and find out what we know?” Then after a time of discussion, imagine their consternation in being told, "Well, we can tell you that the Scripture says He will be born at Bethlehem."

I can almost imagine what was going on in the minds of the magi: Don't you think it is rather strange that even though we have had the great supernatural signs and have been told about this strange event of the birth of One who is King of the Jews and worthy of worship, yet when we get here, nobody in the capital has any idea about it? And now they tell us to go over here to a town five miles away, to a little village called Bethlehem, and see if we can find Him. Isn't that somewhat strange?

Regardless of the attitude of the Jews, we find the magi on their way in verses 9 and10: "After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." In this account, we see something of God's grace. For the star to reappear as they headed toward Bethlehem was a tremendous encouragement to the magi after their experience in Jerusalem. It would be God's indication to them that they were on the right track, and they were full of joy and excitement about it.

The character of the star is interesting, though we know little about it from Scripture. Some say it occurred with the convergence of certain planets. It seems appropriate to consider this a supernatural star; there is hardly any other way to explain it. It appeared in the east, perhaps a year earlier. Then it stood over a specific house, so it was a special, supernatural star. It was used to guide the magi and to direct them right to the exact house: Verse 11: "After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother..." You will notice that they were directed to a house because Mary, Joseph and Jesus were no longer in the stable. Our manger scenes are not exactly correct in having the magi appear at the stable with the shepherds.

Notice the next phrase in verse 11: "...and they fell to the ground and worshipped Him.” That is amazing! They arrived at the home in which He was living, which evidently was a humble dwelling. There were no trappings of royalty, and there was no great fanfare.
The faith of these men was amazing! They left the trappings of Herod’s royalty, and upon coming to the humble home of this baby, they fell down and worshipped Him. They were unshaken in their conviction of who He really was. "...and they fell to the ground and worshipped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh."

Let's consider the possibility of the time lapse which may have occurred between the time of the birth of Jesus in chapter 1 and these events we have been considering in chapter 2. It seems plausible that probably as much as a year had elapsed between these events and that Jesus Christ may have been as much as a year old when He was visited by the magi. At the very least, several months had gone by. There are a few reasons which leads us to this conclusion.

By the time the magi arrived, Mary, Joseph and Jesus were in a house. Of course, that point by itself does not necessarily indicate a long period of time. They could have moved into the house the day after Jesus was born. In fact, there is no reason to think they stayed in the stable any longer than one night.

The fact that the magi presented valuable gifts to Jesus indicates that at least 40 days had passed since His birth. When you read the details in Luke 2 of Jesus' presentation at the temple when He was 40 days old, you will notice that His parents presented Him along with the gifts allowed for those who were characterized as poverty-stricken -- two small pigeons. It would be very strange for them to be allowed, in light of Old Testament law, to offer two small pigeons at the presentation of a son if they have anything better to present. Thus we would assume that the magi had not yet made their presentations of valuable gifts at the time of His presentation at the temple when He was 40 days old. Therefore, at least that much time had transpired since His birth. Incidentally, the costly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh will also become very significant as Mary and Joseph will later need to finance their trip to Egypt.

The fact that Herod killed all the infants under two years of age would seem to indicate that some time had passed as well. When the magi saw the star in the east signifying the birth of Christ, it was necessary for them to make their preparations for that long journey and then make the journey over a number of months. Jesus Christ could well have been a year old by that time. His age is not really significant, but those are interesting points to consider.

In addition to the valuable gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh being significant in Joseph and Mary's financing their trip to Egypt, there may be some symbolism as well in the gifts they presented. Matthew does not record that they presented Him with valuable treasures, but rather he mentions what the treasures were. This may be an indication that each of the gifts had significance.

Gold in the Scriptures is associated with Deity and royalty, so the emphasis of this gift is
on the Deity and royalty of Jesus Christ. You can read about the significance of gold in the description of the tabernacle in Exodus 25. That passage reveals the place that gold has in the worship of God in stressing Deity and royalty.

Frankincense is associated with the service of Jehovah. It would relate to the fragrance of the life of Christ as the One who serves His Father. Incense was used in the worship of Jehovah and symbolizes our service.

Myrrh is associated with sacrifice and death. It is one of the fragrances used in John 19:39 when they were preparing Jesus' body for burial after His death.

The gifts given to this young Child at His birth emphasize His Deity, the faithfulness or fragrance of His life in serving Jehovah and the sacrifice of His life for our sins. The magi had offered their gifts; they had offered their worship. If Jesus Christ was not Deity as well as humanity, this would have been an abominable thing that had happened. It would have been idolatry for these Gentiles from the east to bring their pagan ideas to Jerusalem and Bethlehem and worship One who was a mere human baby. God alone is worthy of worship. The Apostle John in the Book of Revelation, so awed by the revelation he was given through angels, fell down to worship the angels but was rebuked by them as they told him to worship God only. As Matthew records the worship of Jesus by the magi, he gives testimony again to the Deity of the One who is the Messiah of Israel.

According to verse 12, the magi were "...warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod...” Perhaps that is the way God communicated to them the information regarding the birth of the Messiah and the significance of the star. Verse 12 continues, "...the magi left for their own country by another way." Thus the plans of Herod were thwarted.

Matthew's purpose and plan for writing are seen very clearly in this report. He does not include information about the shepherds; Luke tells us about them. Matthew's intention is to focus on the royalty of Jesus Christ -- that he is the divine King. Matthew draws attention to those who come to worship Christ and to honor Him with royal gifts, which testifies to His Deity and His humanity.

There is significance regarding the identity of these men who were worshipping Jesus Christ. They were Gentiles! Though Matthew does not develop this here, the seeds are sown of apathy and indifference on the part of the Jews, of hatred and hostility on the part of Herod the Idumaean, and of adoration and worship by the Gentiles. This is the development we will see through the Gospel of Matthew. The kingdom is offered to the nation Israel, and its response is indifference. The leaders are openly hostile, and by the end of the Gospel of Matthew, salvation and the message of the gospel is offered to all nations.

Where do you fit in these three groups? You can be classified in one of the three. You may be one who is apathetic, indifferent to Jesus Christ. None of this really matters to you. In fact, it may be somewhat of a bother. The Scripture is clear that Jesus Christ was God's Son,
who came to be King. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin and was raised from the dead. Is your response to those great facts one of apathy and indifference?

Your response may be one of hostility. It aggravates you to be told that there is salvation in no other way and in no other person except by believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You may be upset to learn that you cannot be saved by your church or by your baptism; that you cannot be saved by the sacraments or by your good works. You can only be saved by believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Does that fact grate on you and evoke hostility and resentment? If so, that makes you more like Herod.

Or is your response like that of the magi? Do you believe in Him who is the Son of God, the Savior of the world? Do you recognize Him as the One who is the King -- God's Son?

We are privileged with the opportunity to worship Him. The beginning point of our worship is to recognize our own sinfulness and then to recognize who He is and what He has done. He is God's Son, the Savior. He died for you. The moment you place your faith in Him you are cleansed of your sins and brought into a personal relationship with Him. Then you are privileged to worship God, to offer adoration to Him as the One to whom all worship belongs.