Messy Christmas “Matthew 2:1-12 “Is Jesus Your King”

Messy Christmas – Week 4 – “Is Jesus Your King?”

Matthew 1:1-12

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴ So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

⁵ “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

⁶ And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”

⁷ Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared.

⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”

⁹ After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was.

¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy.

¹¹ Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

Pray!

Intro:

• This is week 4 in our Series Messy Christmas
• Where we have spent time going through True Christmas Story
• We have seen how Jesus’ arrival has intersected with our everyday, ordinary, messy lives
• We saw in the first week in Luke 1:26-38 the angel visiting Mary and proclaiming Grace over her
• And we also saw in the natural the messiness that surrounded her story
• That she and her fiancé Joseph were going to have a baby
• That came from God and would be God, and all this was confirmed by a visit from an angel
• Then we saw how in Luke 2:1-8
• Being very pregnant, Mary had to likely hop on a Donkey with Joseph
• And because of a government decree, travel close to 90 miles
• To the town of Bethlehem
• That God, in fact, had a sovereign plan that was put in place over 1000 years Earlier
• That was now coming to pass with their trip
• Last week, we saw that
• The Baby has been born and laid in a manger
• And that Mary and Joseph had strangers show up at their door without warning
• Just after she had given birth
• That the strangers turned out to be shepherds
• Who also by a visit from angels
• Where told where to find Jesus
• And their encounter with Jesus
• Forever changed their identity
• And we left their story, seeing them
• Return to their everyday lives, Praising and glorifying God
• Today, we are going to pick up our story with another group of Suprise guest
• Who is going to show up at Mary’s door
• To come to worship a kin,g they have been seeking
• Who were led to him by a star in the sky
• Their story will reveal three distinct responses to the Kingship of Jesus.
• It will challenge us to reflect on our personal response to His reign.
• We will consider whether Jesus truly reigns as King over our hearts and lives.
• So, look with me at the first response

Matthew 1:1-3

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

1. Hostility and Resistance to Jesus’ Kingship.

• Here is what we know
• Jesus is born during the reign of Herod the Great,
• He was a paranoid ruler appointed by Rome.
• The wise men (Magi) were likely astrologers or scholars from the East (Persia or Babylon).
• We will look at them more in a moment.
• For now, let’s look at Herod’s Response to the announcement of Jesus as King.
• Herod is deeply disturbed
• Why? Because the birth of the true King threatened his illegitimate rule.
• His reaction reveals our first response to Jesus’ Kingship
• Which is
• Hostility
• We began to see it unfold when we read about Herod’s secret meeting with the wise men

Matthew 2:7-8

⁷ Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared.

⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”

• Why in secret?
• Because of what was behind the meeting
• Herod deceitfully claims he wants to worship Jesus
• How do we know it was deceitful?
• Because we are afforded the rest of the story
• Just a few verses later in Luke, we discover he wants to find him not to worship but to kill him

Matthew 2:16

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.

• What does Herod’s response of Hostility to Jesus’ Kingship teach us?
• Two truths:
• 1. The Lost world around us is Hostile to Jesus
• Not because Jesus is dangerous to them
• But because they are blinded by their natural selfless
• Many think “for Jesus to be lord and king of my life.”
• “I will have to give up my own rule and reign.”
• While it is true that to be a follower of Jesus, we give up or surrender lordship
• It does not mean our future is threatened
• In fact, it is the opposite
• Jesus is not trying to come and make our lives miserable
• Instead, he exchanges our sin-filled lives
• With Hope and Peace and a true future
• The second truth is that
• Jesus’ kingship reveals what’s really in our hearts:
• When we are confronted by the reality of Jesus being our King
• What is in our hearts will always come out.
• If we are not followers of Jesus, is could be
• Hostility like Herod, or it could be fear, pride, or any other negative truth
• Like Herod’s Heart…
• Today, you could be, or you could know,w someone who is Hostile towards Jesus as king
• Today, Jesus the king calls out not with a heavy hand of dictatorship but instead in love

Matthew 11:28-29

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

• These verses remind us of our humble king coming in a manger
• When he says, “I am lowly and humble in heart.”
• This is the kind of king we get to follow!
• Let’s keep going
• Which brings us to our second response

2. Indifference & Apathy- The Religious Leaders: Despite their Knowledge.

Mathew 2:4-6

⁴ So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

⁵ “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

⁶ And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”

• Herod gathers the chief priests and scribes,
• Who correctly interprets the prophecy that we just read
• Quoted from the Old Testament Micah 5:2
• Those who would have been waiting generationally for Jesus
• For over 1000 years
• But notice their response
• Or a better way to say it
• Notice their Lack of response
• They presumably show no interest in seeking the Messiah themselves.
• Our second response to the Kingship of Jesus is
• Indifference and Apathy Despite their Knowledge.
• Let’s look at those two words for a moment
• Indifference- Lack of interest or concern
• Apathy- Lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting and or absence of passion, emotion, or excitement.
• For a people who had been waiting their whole lives for a messiah
• They did not seem moved
• There could be various reasons for this
• One could be what I call “disappointed faith.”
• This is where we believe God should do or say something in a certain way, and when he doesn’t do it,
• We get disappointed in faith.
• Often, it is not that we just simply walk away from the Lord when this happens.
• But instead, we don’t lean in the same way; we stop abiding and truly relying on the Lord.
• We just begin to go through the motions
• Another reason for apathy
• It could be that our hearts seem to be excited at first to respond to the Lord as king, but then
• Our concern for the here and now gets in the way
• Letting life take our attention away from Jesus
• The stress of a job, financial burdens, kids, marriage, Fill in the Blank
• And Jesus now takes a back seat
• Jesus tells us a parable about this
• Called the parable of the Sower in Luke 8

Luke 8:5-15

⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

⁶ Other seed fell on the rock; when it grew up, it withered away, since it lacked moisture.

⁷ Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

⁸ Still other seed fell on good ground; when it grew up, it produced fruit: a hundred times what was sown.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”

⁹ Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰ So he said, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.

¹² The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

¹³ And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing.

¹⁴ As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.

¹⁵ But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, produce fruit.

• How do we ensure we have good ground
• By remembering that if He is king of my life
• He makes me this promise

Matthew 6:25-33

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

²⁶ Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

²⁷ Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?

²⁸ And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread.

²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.

³⁰ If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith?

³¹ So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

• Today, as you think of King Jesus
• Have you allowed indifference and apathy to be your response?
• God reminds you that He has you
• And He wants to rekindle your love for him
• We now come to our third response

3. Full Worship

• The third response is multiple responses all wrapped together
• In the idea of Full Worship
• Let’s find out by first going back to verse 2

Matthew 2:2

² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

• As we already learned, the wise men (Magi) were likely astrologers or scholars from the East (Persia or Babylon).
• They arrive in Jerusalem, seeking the “King of the Jews,” guided by a star.
• Let’s just stop there for a moment.
• The first thing we notice about their response that is different from the other two
• Is that they were actively seeking him

Jeremiah 29:13 says

¹³ You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

• What does that mean? God is bad at hide-and-seek
• He wants us to find him!
• Next, we see that their question in verse 2
• Reveals that they recognized that Jesus was more than an ordinary ruler;
• It shines light on Jesus’ birth as not just a prophecy being fulfilled for Israel
• But he was also here for the Gentile nations like the ones the wise men came from
• That Jesus’ Birth is for us and everyone we know

John 3:16

¹⁶ For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

• The wise men’s search for Jesus begins with recognizing His worth and significance.
• Now, let’s go down to

Matthew 2:9

⁹ After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was.

• The star reappears, leading the Magi to the exact location of Jesus.
• This speaks to the sovereignty of God that we have spoken about throughout this series
• You and I can Trust God’s guidance in our own spiritual journey.
• He leads and rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6 confirms this

⁶ Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

• What were the wise men’s rewards?
• I will show you
• Their rewards come in response to the kingship of Jesus

Matthew 2:10

¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy.

• Their first response of searching leads to the revelation and reward of Finding Jesus at the end of their Star
• And they were overwhelmed with Joy
• The second response and reward is
• Joy
• The truth is Finding Jesus (or what we call the Gospel)
• Produces Great Joy for those who seek Him.
• It seems like each week throughout this series has pointed to this idea of Joy
• Remembering that this kind of Joy is more than just a feeling and often comes from hardship
• We begin to see something of their heart
• To respond in Joy
• Means a great deal of trust
• That is what His Kingship is all about
• We make him Lord Because we trust him
• We trust him because we love him
• We love him because he first loved us
• Let’s keep going

Matthew 2:11

¹¹ Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

• The next two responses are found here
• They enter the house, fall down, and worship Jesus.
• Falling to their Knees was a response of Humility
• (they grew up around kings from great palaces
• And yet, when they encountered Jesus in the small town of Bethlehem
• They fall to the ground in humility
• Which leads to their next response
• Worship
• For Jesus to truly be king in our lives
• It involves worship
• Worship is not the slow songs that we sing
• Worship is from the heart
• Their worship was physical (bowing),
• Emotional (joy),
• And sacrificial (giving valuable gifts).
• And let me tell you
• Everyone worships
• It’s just a matter of what or who we worship
• Our Worship reflects what is most important to us
• Who do you worship?
• Their worship was followed by another response
• Sacrificial giving
• What is Sacrificial giving?
• It cost us something…It hurts
• What does that mean?

Luke 21:1-3

¹ He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury.

² He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.

³ “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all of them.

• She gave from her hurt
• It’s not a sacrifice if it comes from our surplus
• But you might ask, What made the magi give sacrificial
• Weren’t they wealthy?
• The sacrifice is found in the gifts they gave
• First
• In ancient cultures,
• Presenting costly gifts to a king or deity was a way to show honor, loyalty, and submission.
• The Magi’s gifts symbolized their recognition of Jesus’ authority and worthiness,
• And the act of giving sacrificially showed their humility and reverence.
• They present gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh
• Their gifts were more than physical objects laid at his feet
• These gifts were costly and rare,
• Especially in the time of Jesus.
• By offering such treasures,
• The Magi were giving up what was precious to them as an act of devotion and worship.
• Gold: Symbolized wealth and kingship.
• Giving gold was a significant sacrifice,
• Representing the best of their material possessions.
• Frankincense: A luxury item,
• Often used in worship and temple rituals,
• Symbolizing Jesus’ divinity.
• It was rare and expensive, making it a costly gift.
• Myrrh: Another valuable commodity,
• Used for anointing and burial.
• It symbolized Jesus’ future suffering and sacrifice,
• And its cost made it a significant offering.
• Their gifts foreshadowed Jesus’ life and mission:
• They were a picture of what he was sent to do for us
• Gold = King,
• Frankincense = God,
• Myrrh = Savior.
• True worship recognizes Jesus as King and responds with humility, joy, and sacrifice.
• How do you worship Jesus?
• The final response is connected to worship
• And is found in verse 12

Matthew 2:12

¹² And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

– God warns the Magi in a dream not to return to Herod, and they obey, leaving by another route.

– Did you catch it

– They Obeyed

– True worship leads to obedience.

– When we encounter Jesus, we cannot return the same way we came. (Pause)

– The call is to Obey God’s direction in our life, even when it disrupts our plans.

How did they respond to Jesus’ Kingship?

They sought after him (everyone is seeking)

They found him and responded with Joy

They humbled themselves in Worship

They gave sacrificially

They Obeyed

Conclusion

Three Responses:
1. Herod: Hostility and resistance to Jesus’ kingship.
2. Religious Leaders: Indifference and apathy despite their knowledge.
3. Magi: Joyful worship, sacrificial giving, and obedience.

– Jesus, the King of Kings, calls for a response from everyone.

– How will you respond—hostility, indifference, or worship?

– The Magi give us an example to follow

– But each of us must Examine our own response to Jesus as King.

– Asking ourselves,  “am I resistant, indifferent, or eager to worship Him?”

Is Jesus your King