SERMON OUTLINE

Witnesses to the Incarnation of God

The Witness of the Magi

“For in Christ all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” (Colossians 2.9) 

Introduction

The incarnation of God – God came to earth in human flesh and with a human nature, lived among us, gave himself to God as a sacrifice for sin, and is now ascended into heaven with a glorified body. 

Matthew 2.1-2

-Magi were a tribe of priests and scholars serving the kings of Babylon and Persia. Jeremiah 39.3 (Rab-mag means chief of the Magi)

-They came to Jerusalem to worship the King of the Jews. They did not follow the star but only saw it in the Eastern sky. The star later reappeared to them on their way to Bethlehem (v9-10)

-The identity of the star is unknown: Haley’s Comet, conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, Sirius in the morning sky, Shekinah glory.

-God is able and desires to call everyone to worship Christ

-Influence of Jewish teaching on the Magi and widespread expectation of a great ruler to be born in Judea. Daniel 9.25, 483 years later.

-Where is he who is born King of the Jews?

Matthew 2.3-8

-Herod is troubled. A wicked and powerful King.

-Jerusalem is troubled with him.

-The King of the Jews is called the Christ (Messiah) 

Matthew 2.9-12

-Where are the Priests and Scribes?

-The Star reappears

-The child is in a house and they worship him and give him treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh

Conclusion

-This story is not a direct witness to the incarnation of Christ but we see God’s Sovereign revelation, grace, protection and witness to the incarnation

1) God Sovereignly reveals Christ to the Magi

2) Evidence of the Sovereign Grace of God to the Magi

3) God’s Sovereign protection of Christ and the Magi

–What has God revealed to you so far about His Son Jesus Christ? Are you being obedient to that truth and committing yourself to follow Christ?

SERMON NOTES

Witnesses to the Incarnation (3)           The Witness of the Magi

-As Christians we have the privilege of celebrating together the incarnation of God. God came to earth in human flesh and with a human nature and lived among us, gave himself to God as a sacrifice for sin by dying on the cross, was raised from the dead, and is now ascended into heaven with a glorified body, now standing before God the Father on our behalf. In all of your celebrations this season remember the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.

-This morning we want to stand with the wise men, the Magi, in their witness to the incarnation of God. Turn with me to Matthew 2. 1-2. [Read]

–Who were these Magi (pronounced may-ji)? The Magi were a tribe from the people of Media (Medes) which is now part of Iran. They served the Babylonian and later the Persian Empire. The Magi were a tribe of priests who supervised the offering of sacrifices and were employed as teachers by the Babylonian and later the Persian kings, and were interpreters of dreams. Historians tell us that no Persian was able to become king without mastering the scientific and religious disciplines of the Magi and then being approved and crowned by them. The Magi largely controlled government appointments as well. The Magi had both great knowledge and influence. They were known as “wise men” because of their learning, skills, and position in advising kings. They specialized in astronomy and astrology, philosophy, mathematics, medicine, magic arts, and natural science.

-To get a picture in your mind of the Magi think of the “wise men” in the book of Daniel whom the king asked to interpret his dreams and give him advice. They were the Magi. Daniel eventually became chief of the “wise men” of Babylon. It was the “wise men” in the book of Esther who advised King Ahasuerus to find a new queen. In Jeremiah 39.3 one of the officials of King Nebuchadnezzar is Nergal-sar-ezer and his title is Rab-mag which means, “chief of the Magi”.

–Why did the Magi come to Jerusalem? They came to Jerusalem to worship the child born King of the Jews. They knew that a King had been born because they had seen “his star” in the Eastern sky. They came to Jerusalem assuming either that the King of the Jews would be born in the capital city of the Jews or else expecting to find more information in Jerusalem.

-Contrary to popular thinking, the Magi did not follow the star from the East but only saw what they called “his star” in the Eastern sky as a sign to them that the King of the Jews had been born. Later as the Magi made their way to Bethlehem the star they had seen in the East reappeared and led them to the house where Jesus lived. Verses 9-10 make that plain. “And having heard the king, they went on their way; and lo, (behold) the star, which they had seen in the East, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy”. The star confirmed their convictions and choices

-We do not know the identity of the star. Speculation ranges from Haley’s Comet which was visible around 11 BC, to a brilliant conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter which occurred in 7 BC, to the star Sirius which between 5 to 2 BC appeared at sunrise at the beginning of each August and shone with extraordinary brightness, to the Shekinah glory of God. What is evident is that this heavenly phenomenon was a positive sign to the Magi that the King of the Jews had been born. God knew or arranged for the star to appear in the sky, for the Magi to notice the star in the sky, and for them to realize that the star was a sign pointing to the birth of the King of the Jews.

-God is able to call anyone to Himself and has numerous means at His disposal to do it. God chose to announce to these people from the East that His Son was born and in this one incident demonstrated His desire to bring all the nations of the earth to worship Jesus as Lord.

-Not only did the Magi see the star in the East but they had been strongly influenced by Jewish teaching. Daniel had found much favor among the Magi, especially after delivering them all from sure death because they could not interpret the dream of the King. (Daniel 2) The Magi were familiar with the prophesies of Daniel and perhaps with the rest of the OT as well for the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT had been available to them for hundreds of years. In the writings of Daniel a date for the coming of the Messiah is prophesied. In Daniel 9.25 we read, “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes there will be seven ‘sevens’ and sixty-two ‘sevens’.” That means that 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem the ruler of the Jews would come. Shortly after this prophecy 3 decrees were made to rebuild that Temple and the city of Jerusalem. Those 483 years were nearing completion and there was a great expectancy in the world at that time that an important ruler was to be born in Judea. So the Magi knew of God’s promise and timing for the coming of the Messiah, and coupled with the appearance of “his star in the Eastern sky”, and the widespread expectancy of a coming ruler, they knew that the King of the Jews had been born.

-Arriving in Jerusalem the Magi began to ask where they could find the child born King of the Jews. The birth of this great king would be a significant event and surely after a few inquiries they would be led to the King of the Jews. These inquiries show how certain the Magi were that this event had taken place. I wonder if the Magi began to doubt their conviction when they realized that the people were unaware of any birth of a King. Perhaps they began to feel quite foolish about these strong convictions. [Like our conviction of heaven and hell must seem in this lost world] 

-Let’s continue to read in Matthew 2.3-8. [Read]

-Herod the king heard about the inquiries of the Magi and he was troubled at the rumor of this new King of the Jews that would be the true heir to his throne. Herod was only half Jewish and was appointed King by the Romans. Herod was insanely suspicious of rivals to his throne. By this time Herod had murdered his wife Mariamne and her mother, his eldest son, and two other sons, all because he suspected them of trying to take over his throne. We see the wickedness of Herod in his murder of innocent children later in this chapter. When Herod knew he was going to die he had a number of the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested and put in jail with orders for them to be killed when he died so that Jerusalem would be filled with weeping at his death.

-Remember that the Magi were powerful and wealthy and likely accompanied by many servants and soldiers. Tradition teaches that only three Magi came to Bethlehem but that is because of the three gifts mentioned. We are not told that there were only three gifts but three kinds of gifts. It is possible that a larger contingent of Magi came to Jerusalem with a rich and well protected caravan. The idea of “we three kings” may not be far off for they would seem to be kings coming to Jerusalem in their wealth and splendor and large retinue of servants and soldiers. So the coming of the Magi troubled Herod. Because Herod was troubled, all of Jerusalem was troubled for they feared the power and the wickedness of Herod.

-Herod set his destructive plan in motion. Herod gathered the chief Priests and Scribes together and asked them where the Christ was to be born. Notice that the King of the Jews that the Magi were searching for is here called the Messiah or the Christ. Was that an idea that originated with the Magi or did the Magi grow in their understanding of Who they were searching for while in Jerusalem? As we seek Christ we also grow in our knowledge of Christ.

-From past prophecy the Priests and Scribes were able to point to Bethlehem, the city of King David, as the birthplace of the Messiah. Herod found out from the Magi when the star had appeared to them, asked them to go and find the child, and to report back to him so he too could go and worship this new King. So Herod’s plan was put in motion and the Magi received new direction to go to Bethlehem.

Let continue to read in Matthew 2.9-12. [Read]

-I wonder if any of the Priests or Scribes made their way to Bethlehem along with the Magi? The Priests and Scribes knew what the Bible said about the Messiah but they did not really commit themselves to it, while the Magi were willing to give their lives to pursue what little knowledge of the truth they were given. They eventually were led to Christ.

-The star reappeared to the Magi and led them to a house. The Magi were not present at the birth of Christ but came to Christ sometime later when Mary and Joseph were living in a house.

-When they saw Mary and the child Jesus they fell down and worshipped him and gave him treasures of gold and frankincense and myrrh. Then having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod they returned to their own country by another way. We then read in verses 13 to 23 how God led Joseph and Mary to Egypt to protect them from Herod’s anger and then finally back to Nazareth where Jesus grew up.

-In this story we do not have a direct witness to the incarnation of God as we did with the angels but we do see God’s Sovereign revelation, grace, protection, and witness to the incarnation of His Son.

1) First of all we see God Sovereignly revealing Christ to the Magi through their contact with the Jewish Scriptures, through the appearance of the star, and through the widespread expectation of the birth of a great ruler.

2) In the Magi we have evidence of the Sovereign Grace of God in drawing the Magi to understand their circumstances and to be convinced that they should travel to Judea to see and worship the King of the Jews. We see from this incident that God determined to reveal His incarnate Son not only to the Jews but to the world. God wants to lead all people to worship Christ.

-God can bring you to Himself by revealing Himself to you by the work of His Grace on your life. But you must be willing to follow/commit to the truth you have and to more truth as God reveals it to you. If you do, you will eventually become a worshipper of Jesus Christ.

3) We also see God’s Sovereign protection of the Magi, the child Jesus and his parents. God’s plans will not be disrupted by the Devil or evil men. God will fulfill His promises. Do not be afraid to follow God with all of your being and resources, especially if you belong to God as one of His children. In the end you will not be disappointed.

–What has God revealed to you so far about His Son Jesus Christ? Are you being obedient to that truth and committing yourself to follow Christ?

Communion: John 6.32-33; 38-40; 48-51; 53-58