I. Magi search for Him.
You know them as Wise Men. Some people call them kings. But the designation that the Scriptures give to those who visited the baby Jesus in our text is “Magi.” Who and what were magi?
The magi were a class of people. We assume that there were three, due to the number of gifts that were given – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But the Bible gives no number of magi. This was probably more like a small delegation of men that went to see the Lord Jesus. Some legends assign them names: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, but again there are no names given in the Bible. Some think they came from Oriental countries like China or India, but the Bible only says that they came from the east. We know very little about these men. However, because they are called magi, our understanding is that they were important, impressive, and powerful men. That's what magi were in those days.
Magi were among the most intelligent men of their country. (Maybe that's why we have called them Wise Men.) They weren't necessarily kings, but they were advisers to their king. Often they were priests who possessed great political power. They were astronomers – stargazers, scientists in the good sense of the term. Along with that they could also be astrologers in the bad sense of the term, fortune tellers vainly trying to make predictions by the stars. So, magi were intelligent, important, wealthy, powerful and impressive. As such they commanded great respect from people.
That's important because sometimes we imagine that the Lord Jesus is the Savior of the poor and lowly. He is! But He is also the Savior of the rich and powerful. They need a Savior, too. And He is it! All people, rich and poor, great and lowly, all who repent of their sin and trust in Christ for forgiveness find pardon in the Lord Jesus. These men weren't too proud to acknowledge that truth.
That's amazing when you consider who they were and what their position in society was. It's amazing that such a group of powerful and impressive men would personally take the time to come from distant countries to insignificant Jerusalem with the question, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
Imagine that! Such extremely powerful, rich, intelligent, and important men are looking for a recently born baby, a Jewish baby. Why? Because they want to worship him ! The exalted ones of the world were searching for one more exalted than they. See How Great Jesus' Glory Is? Even magi were searching for Him.
In application of this to our lives today, it has been said that “wise men still seek Him.” The implication is that if you, as lowly as you may be, seek this Christ-child above all things, then you can count yourself among the truly wise people of the world. “Wise men still seek Him.” But is that so? Did the Magi search for Jesus and find Him because they were wise?
It was not their own wisdom that led these men to seek Jesus anymore than it was your wisdom that led you to look for Him and believe in Him. When Paul looked around at the people in his congregation at Corinth and in the world at large, he remarked, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age?” (1:1:20).
Most of the intelligent people in Greece sneered at Paul when he told them about the Lord Jesus, his birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection from the dead (Acts17:32). No human wisdom ever leads a person to accept the Lord Jesus because the Bible says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit” (1Co.2:9). Human wisdom does not, in fact cannot accept the Lord Jesus as Christ, the Savior. Only a wisdom that is born within and comes from faith guided by the Holy Spirit can.
If you know the Lord Jesus today as your Savior, it's not because you searched and found Him, but because God found and led you to Him. The same thing happened to the magi. Wise men? Yes, they were in their own right. They were the exceptionally gifted people of their day. But that's not what led them to search for Christ and to find Him. God did.
You see, dear friends, everything including your faith and understanding about the Lord Jesus is done by God in His grace for you. The glory is all His. See How Great Jesus Glory Is? It causes people to search for Him .
II. A star served its Creator.
In the opening pages of the Bible, God tells us that He made the stars to serve people. Do you know what verse I'm referring to? In
Genesis 1:14 we read, “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth'….And it was so.”
This is how God made all the heavenly lights that exist in the sky. He made them to serve our needs for light and time. And they still serve us to this day. That simple fact in itself, something we daily take for granted, speaks to Jesus' Glory for without Him “nothing has been made that is made.”
And at the time of His birth into this world that glory of Jesus was revealed again through the creation of a star, a special star that served Him in a special way.
When the Magi came to Jerusalem in their travels to find the new-born child, “They asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
To these astronomers this was not a mistake; it was not just any
star. They knew what they were talking about. To them it was “a king's star.” That, coupled with other information they had from past records (Daniel, for example), announced the birth of a special ruler.
And the star was special in another way. It did what no other star has ever been able to do. It moved. Not like a falling star or a meteor or a heavenly body in orbit. This star moved under its own power, gradually, purposefully, in specific directions for a specific purpose. It guided them to the land of Judah. Then it seemed to disappear for awhile because they had to inquire about it. But then it reappeared again, and in a most remarkable way. It appeared to them outside of Jerusalem and went ahead of them until it had guided them to Bethlehem, a village some 6 miles away. Now how does a star move and guide a person only 6 miles unless it's acting under God's power and direction? We are not told how, but in some remarkable way it moved ahead of the Magi till it “stopped over the place where the child was.”
See How Great Jesus' Glory Is? A star served Him, leading the Magi to the very house where He was.
Simple as that may seem, think of how profound it is. A star in the sky serving a little baby! Preposterous! Impossible! Incredible! Unbelievable! A fairy tale-like story! Not if we remember who
this child is – “He is the image of the invisible God, within whom God dwells in all His fullness.” Not if we remember that “all things were created by Him and for Him.” Not if we remember that He is “the head over every power and authority.” (Col.1:15,16,10;2:10) Created things serve their Creator.
See How Great Jesus' Glory Is? A star in the sky served Him. If a star could do that, so shall we who know Him as Savior.
III. His enemies feared Him.
Meanwhile, as the magi went on their way, there were others who were afraid. It says: “When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him.”
Now who in the world would be afraid of a little baby? Would you? Herod would because He was a jealous, self-absorbed ruler who was fiercely intent on staying in power. He even executed his own family members because he was afraid they would take away his throne. And if Herod was disturbed, imagine how the rest of Jerusalem trembled because they had already seen evidence of a king's fanatic rage that left many innocent people dead. Herod was like a murderous Sadam Hussein of his day.
But there was something else that disturbed Herod. When he gathered his advisors together, he asked them “where the Christ was to be born.” That term, Christ, referred to the Savior-King whom God would send to His people to deliver them from sin. There-in lay a spiritual problem for Herod; and so he was afraid.
Sadly, the name of Jesus disturbs many people today also. Why else did we have such a silly uproar across our land this past Christmas for celebrating Christmas for simply what it is – not a winter holiday but the birth of the Savior? But you shouldn't have been surprised by that, dear friends, for the name of Jesus disturbs people today just like it did during the time Jesus was born. His enemies fear Him. Why? Because this is a spiritual thing and they want to be done with it. Perhaps He will take away their power or the sinful pleasures of life that they want to keep for themselves. And so they oppose Him. But if He really is God's Son, they will have to answer Him on judgment day.
Only those who rebel against Him should ever be disturbed by Him for Jesus did not come to take over any earthly throne; Jesus did not come to take away any position that you might have; He did not come to spoil your life here, for His kingdom is not of this world. He came to give you something and to be something for you. What is that? It is found in the words of the prophet Micah who said, “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.” He will be our ruling shepherd.
IV. A divine Shepherd-King arrived.
Rulers and shepherds share certain traits. Both are to see that their subjects are fed. Both are to protect their subjects from harm and danger. Both are expected to lead in such a way that their subjects feel confident under their care. That could not be said of King Herod, nor of any worldly leader, even today. But it is true of our Savior, isn't it? He is both a King and a Shepherd who feeds, protects, leads, and gives confidence to those under His care. Doesn't this idea of a Shepherd-King remind you of other Scriptures?
From Isaiah (40:11) we are told that He will “tend his flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs into His arms and carry them close to His heart.”
Later on Jesus Himself said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep….My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one snatches them out of my hand.”
And who can forget what the Holy Spirit had David write when he said, “the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters; He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.”
This Lord Jesus came to fee us with His Word, to be with us always, to protect us from Satan, to remove sin's curse from us, to lead us on the path through life to heaven. Look what He has done as your divine Shepherd-King . See How Great His Glory Is!
And it doesn't matter if you are a dignitary in the world or a no-name, His glory and His purpose is the same for all who believe – rich or poor, great or small, powerful or powerless – He came to save. May that be your peace, your happiness, your hope throughout the days that lie ahead. God grant it to us for Jesus' sake. Amen.