The Bright Star of Bethlehem
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
December 22, 2024 :: Matthew 2:1-12
Last Sunday, we started a very short sermon series called “The Bright Star of Bethlehem.”
We turned way back to the Book of Numbers and studied that enigmatic prophecy, where under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the pagan prophet Balaam squinted down the corridors of time and saw the coming of a Star.
Balaam said, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”
And we said that that star and that scepter were symbols of a king who was to come. And we said that, in the first instance, that king was probably named David. Balaam saw the coming of King David. That’s one of the reasons, I think, why the symbol on the flag of the nation of Israel is called “The Star of David.” David was the Star. He came, he conquered, he ruled. He shined. He fulfilled the ancient prophecy.
But! We also said that King David’s kingdom came to an end. King David’s enemies were subdued but not ultimately destroyed. King David himself did not shine for long.
So we wondered together with the ancient Israelites and with Christians throughout the centuries if there wasn’t still something more to come, someone more to come to fill up that prophecy to the brim and then overflow as “far as the curse is found.”
Last week, we hypothesized that ultimately Jesus was the Star. We know that He is the Light of the World. We’ve heard that already this morning (see John 8:12).
We know that King David was “a type” of Christ. King David was a pattern, an illustration, a pictorial shadow of the King of Kings to come. Everything that King David did that was good was a foretaste of the Messiah to come. And even most things that happened to King David were also a foretaste of what the Messiah would experience, even in his betrayal and suffering.
You can’t read 1 and 2 Samuel or David’s Psalms without getting glimpses of the Christ to come. Great David’s Greatest Son was still to come. And He would take up and fulfill all of what David was supposed to be and do. Including being born in the birth-town of King David himself. A little place called Bethlehem. You may have heard of it. You may have sung about it this morning. A sleepy little village about 6 miles south of Jerusalem.
That’s where the first star was born. I got a message from Bonnie this week that called David the “Under-Star.” I love that. That’s exactly right, Bonnie. The Under-Star was born in Bethlehem. Where do you think the Upper Star, the Star of Stars, would be born?
And how do you think His birth would be marked? It would only be fitting for the birth of this Star to be heralded by a star-star, up in the heavens. And that’s exactly what happened. Let’s look at Matthew chapter 2, starting in verse 1.
This story takes place about 1,500 years after last week’s story with the talking donkey and everything.
And some time (we’re not sure exactly how long but some time has elapsed) since the events of Matthew chapter 1 which the kids acted out for us this morning. Matthew chapter 2, verse 1.
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘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’” (vv.1-2).
I lifted the title for this message from verse two, “We Saw His Star.”
Who is the “We” in verse 2? Last week, we had the word “I.” “I see him, but not yet.” That “I” was Balaam a pagan prophet, magi-ician, soothsayer from the East, perhaps Persia or Babylon. Somewhere out towards the Euphrates River.
Who is the “We” in verse 2? It’s these people called the “Magi.” The King James calls them, “wise men.” And we just don’t know that much about them. These strange men come onto the scene here in Matthew 2 and then go off of the scene in Matthew 2, and they are never heard from ever again! Who were these mystery men?
We don’t really know. A couple of centuries earlier, there were a group of Medes who were priests called “the Magi,” and they apparently claimed some ability to interpret dreams and that sort of thing. We would have called them “magicians.” The Greek word “magus” is used of a sorcerer in the book of Acts. And, in fact, we get our English word “magic” from the word “Magi” here. I tend to think that they were from Babylon (perhaps like Balaam) and were related to the magicians and astrologers mentioned in the book of Daniel. The Greek Translation of the Old Testament uses the word “magi” there.
And they may have been royalty or connected to royalty because, as we’ll soon see, they bring expensive royal gifts with them. But that’s getting ahead of the story. It’s possible that they were kings or coming on behalf of kings. We don’t know.
There’s a lot we don’t know in this story! In fact, I’ve got only two points this morning, and our ignorance is a major part of the first one.
His star is:
#1. A STAR OF WONDER.
Meaning both a mystery and a miracle.
What kind of a star was this? We don’t know! There have been so many attempts to explain this star in history. Some people think it’s a conjunction of stars. Some people think it’s a supernova. I read a bunch of theories this week, and I don’t know that much about astronomy to evaluate their claims.
One really interesting one was that this star was a comet. And I read about this scholar, Colin R. Nicholl, who is strong on both the New Testament and on astronomy who makes a complicated argument for that position and how a comet would fit all of the descriptions here in Matthew 2.
I don’t know. And I don’t know how these guys knew that this star belonged to the king of the Jews! Look at verse 2 again.
“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.”
How did they know that this was his star?
I don’t know. I don’t know who these guys are. I don’t know what exactly they saw. And I don’t know why they knew it pointed to the King of Jews. All I know is that it happened. And that it makes all of the difference for you and me.
That’s mystery for you. How well do you do with mystery? How do you handle not knowing something that you wished that you knew? Mystery can be very unsatisfying. Wanting to know something is like an itch. And you want it to be scratched.
But there are many things in the Bible and in life that we do not know.
And we are not going to know, in this life. And that just has to be okay. We just have to live with the itch. The Bible says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29).
The key is know which is which. Which things are we supposed to know and to follow and which things are secret, mysteries, just for God to know, and for us to trust? What do you wish you knew right now and you just have to hand it over to Him again? And wonder.
It’s okay to wonder. I love how the Snack and Yack kids are encouraged to “wonder” things each Sunday. What do you wonder? It’s okay to wonder. But it’s not okay to demand to know things that God has not revealed.
My best guess is that these men had heard about Numbers chapter 24, verse 17. Perhaps 600 years before this event, during the Babylonian exile, the Prophet Daniel and his friends had told the “wise men of Babylon” about Balaam seeing the star.
“A star will come out of Jacob!”
And when a mysterious star arose that they could make neither heads nor tails of, they headed West to see if this star was that star.
Who knows? Not me! Perhaps the Lord told them directly what it meant. I don’t know. Any way about it, they were right. They had seen HIS STAR.
A star of wonder. And not just wondrous mystery but wondrous miracle. Only God can make this happen! Only God is powerful enough to move the heavens to declare the birth of this King. This star makes us marvel! Because even the Magi know that the point of this star is not the star itself but that the point of this star is what the star is pointing at. The king of the Jews.
These pagans, these Gentiles have traveled far following this star to see the real Star of Bethlehem.
They came to Jerusalem, and asked King Herod, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”
Now, who is this Herod person? He calls himself “The King of the Jews,” but he is not a descendent of David. He is actually a descendent, get this, of Esau, of Edom. He is an Idumean king who has been put in charge by the Roman Empire.
And he is evil. He’s like Pharaoh-level-bad. He’s called “Herod the Great,” but not because he was great, but because he was the Herod that all of the other Herods came from. He did great building programs like fixing up the temple. But he was truly evil. Greatly evil. He killed his wife and some of his children when they crossed or threatened him.
Herod would do anything to hold onto power. But the Magi don’t know that yet. So they come with their question, and Herod is very upset by their questions. Look at verse 3.
“When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”
I never made this connection until this week, but as a descendent of Edom, he might of should have been worried about Numbers chapter 24, verse 18. The very next verse in Balaam’s prophecy. Remember that from last week?
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth. Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong. A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city” (Num. 24:17-19).
Now, if you belong to Moab and you are Ruth, you are safe and welcomed into the covenant community. But if you are a part of Edom and fighting against the people of God or oppressing the people of God? I would watch out for that scepter that is coming to conquer Edom! I would watch out for that ruler to come out of Jacob. I would look over my shoulder if I heard that that a star had risen out of Jacob.
“When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”
“A king? I’m the king. Ain’t nobody else gonna be the king.”
But he’s no dummy. He needs better intel. So he calls in the Jewish religious leaders for intelligence briefing. Verse 4.
“When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.”
What’s the answer to that one? Everybody should have known the answer to that one. It was much clearer than the star question. Bethlehem. How do you know? Just because David was? Yes, and also because of Micah chapter 5. Look at our verse 5.
“‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written: '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.'”
“Out of you will come a ruler.” A scepter, a star, from Bethlehem.
Now, we know that it took a lot of doing to get Jesus born in Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph weren’t born there, but the Lord moved things around to get them there for the birth of Mary’s child. Miraculously. Wondrously.
And then He sent a star to lead the Magi there. So, Herod now knows that there is a star and that the Messiah (the Christ, the Upper Star) was supposed to be born in Bethlehem.
What does he do? More conspiracy. Verse 7.
“Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared [He’s going to do some math.]. He sent them [the Magi] to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him’” (vv.7-8).
Which is, of course, a bald-faced lie. But they don’t know that yet either.
It’s interesting that he doesn’t go himself or send some soldiers. He wants to gather more intel on the threat first before sending in his incursion. But he senses what’s at stake.
Isn’t it interesting that nobody else goes either? Nobody seems all that excited about the King of the Jews except for these Gentiles! And this evil king who has sent them on a man-hunt. Or a baby-hunt as the case may be. V.9
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.”
And to me that’s just amazing, too. It shows up again? And it goes ahead of them? And it stops? Who ever heard of a star that stops?!
The astronomers I read about this week have explanations of how that could be a comet, and they might be right. I’m not smart enough to tell. But I just shake my head in wonder. It sounds like a miracle to me. Like the pillar of fire in the book of Exodus.
Of course, it’s just as wondrous if the Lord arranges it all to happen this way right to point out where Jesus lay. Any way about it, it’s wondrous!
Mysterious and miraculous, heavenly GPS. “Here! Right here! Look here! Drop a pin. You have arrived at your destination.” Verse 10.
“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.”
They were deliriously happy! They were crying and jumping up and down and dancing. This. Was. It! The point of the star was the Star the star was pointing at. And here He is. Verse 11.
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”
Number two. His star was...
#2. A STAR OF WORSHIP.
These men bow down. These men worship the little one.
Now, we don’t know if that was worship as in, they knew that He was the Son of God and God the Son. Probably they didn’t. They just knew He was special special special. He was a Star! And they responded accordingly.
Many people have noted that it says, “to the house” so this may have been some time after Jesus’ birth, up to two years later. They are no longer in the stable. They’ve moved into a house of some kind. But He’s still very young, and He’s with His Mom. And He’s being worshiped. Not just with faces to the ground, but with expensive gifts.
“Gold, incense, myrrh.”
This is probably where some people got the idea that there were three Magi. Because there are three gifts. But we don’t know how many Magi brought these three gifts. Could have been two. Could have been two hundred. We don’t know. Another thing we don’t know.
And where the star went. We don’t know! The star is done with its job in verse 10. And it doesn’t get mentioned again in Matthew. And it’s not in Mark, Luke, or John. And this star doesn’t get mentioned again in the rest of the Bible. It doesn’t matter! It’s done its job. The star was not the point!
The point of the star was the Star the star was pointing at.
And that’s Jesus.
And He is worthy of worship.
He’s worthy of this gold. All the gold. He’s worthy of all of the gold.
He’s worthy of the incense. Not just a treasure but used at the altar of sacrifice.
He’s worthy of myrrh. I think we just read about myrrh and aloes, 75 pounds of it which they anointed His body with about 30 years later. We said that it was worthy of a king.
Jesus is worthy.
In Psalm 72, King Solomon predicts how the Messiah will be recognized. He says, “The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him” (Ps. 72:10-11).
Because He’s not just going to be the King of Jews but the King of the Gentiles, too. The King of the Whole Wide World!
This star revealed more than just the geo-location of Jesus. It also revealed what was going on in people’s hearts. It revealed that these Magi could value Jesus’ worth. It also revealed what was in Herod’s heart, which was great hate of Jesus and love for himself. Look at verse 12
“And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
They are let into the secret that we all know. Herod cannot be trusted. He’s out to kill Jesus. The rest of the chapter tells the story how an angel told Joseph to take His family and escape to Egypt. They will be refugees there until Herod dies. Herod figures out that the Magi aren’t coming back, and so he decides its time to act. He sends a kill-team to Bethlehem and puts his star-math to work. He has them kill all the boys in that area that are two years old and under. How many boys here are two years old or younger? It’s ugly. It’s evil.
It’s also a fulfillment of prophecy. Remember the book of Jeremiah from 2022 and 2023? It’s in there. Rachel weeping for her children.
Herod is so much like Pharaoh, killing innocent little Jewish boys. A star had risen in the heavens and led to Jesus, and Herod’s response was not worship of Jesus! But worship of Herod’s self at any cost. Instead of bowing down and giving up his crown, Herod sent assassins to cut the Star down. And he failed.
But one day one of Herod’s sons (Herod Antipas) would stand in judgment over Jesus and with Pontius Pilate send Jesus to his execution on the Cross.
Where He would fulfill His name given in Matthew chapter 1. Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
And then He’ll come back to life to give us “the light of life.” Because He is the Light of the World. Worthy of all of worship. And revealing whether or not we worship Him.
You know, the people I wonder about the most in this story are not the Magi or King Herod, as interesting as they are. I keep wondering about all of the other people in Jerusalem who heard about all of this and didn’t go to see for themselves. They didn’t care. They were apathetic.
Verse 3 says that the whole city of Jerusalem was “disturbed” with Herod. They were all stirred up.
Now, maybe they didn’t hear the whole story. Maybe they were upset Herod was upset. And when Herod gets upset, bad things happen. But the Magi had ridden into town (I don’t know if they had donkeys or camels or what, it doesn’t say), and they had asked around.
“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.”
And everybody else just yawns.
How about you and me? Where are our hearts today? Are we worshiping the One who had His own star?
You might say, “Well, I’m not running around murdering kids!”
Good. But are you bowing before the Lord? Are you giving yourself over to wonder at and worship of the Lord Jesus? Because there is no “being on the fence” with this One. He doesn’t allow it. You are either with Him or against Him.
Are you bowing down?
Are you giving to Him in offering?
Do you value Him above your earthly treasures?
Do you follow Him and do what He says?
Do you believe that He is everything that He claimed to be?
I do!
I believe that Jesus is the beautiful Bright Star of Bethlehem.
And He shines on.
And He will shine on forever.
***
Messages in This Series:
0 comments:
Post a Comment