Take your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter two. Matthew chapter two. And we are going to read verses one through 12 of Matthew two this morning. It is nearing Christmas, not necessarily the day of our savior's birth because we don't know what day Jesus was born. But it's a day that we have set aside to celebrate one of the most mentors events in all of human history, The birth of the king and the birth of our savior.

Maybe the only more momentous event in human history is when he died on the cross and he rose again from the dead. It is a very important event, the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the coming the day that God became a man that we celebrate at Christmas. And really, something we should be celebrating every day as believers in Jesus Christ. But this time of year affords us an opportunity to dwell upon it and the miracle of the incarnation and God's plan of redemption that is brought to us and Jesus this time of year. And also, as I mentioned earlier in regards to the tracts, an opportunity to share it with others to say, hey, you know, it's not just about the green and the red ornaments for the tree or the bells or the whatever it may be, but it is about the the greatest gift that's ever been given, which is Jesus Christ.

As part of Matthew's record of the birth of Christ, he records the coming of the magi or the wise men to see the baby Jesus. So we're going to read about that in verses one through 12 and then we're going to answer a few questions this morning. So let's begin by reading verse one. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem saying, where is he that is born, the king of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the East and are come to worship him.

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where the Christ where Christ should be born. They said unto him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, in thou Bethlehem, the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of these shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily or privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the young child.

When you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed and lo, the star which they saw in the East went before them till it came to came and stood over where the young child was. They saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. When they had opened their treasures, they presented him to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

And being warned of God in the dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the opportunity to share it today and to be reminded of the king of kings and Lord of lords that is our savior and the one whom we worship today and the one that we serve every day.

Lord, we pray if there be one that doesn't know Jesus Christ as their Lord, that they might receive him even today. And we thank you for what you did for us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. We associate the story of the magi, kings or wise men from the East, with Christ's birth.

But in reality, it seems sometime had passed between Christ's birth and the coming of these notable figures from the East bearing gifts for the king of kings. Yet, Matthew records it as part of the story of Christ's birth. So it may have been a year or more later when the wise men come to worship him. He's no longer in a stable. They're in a a house, a dwelling place in Bethlehem when the kings come to worship him.

It it makes for a nice nativity scene to have the shepherds and the king, the wise men there at the same time, but actually, the wise men and the shepherds were not there at the same time. The wise men came a little later on in the story. But as Matthew records it as part of the story of Christ's birth, thus, we will join Matthew today in observing this story as part of his birth and his story of his birth. When we read the account given in Matthew, several questions immediately come to mind. Who were they and how many?

Who were these wise men and how many of them? The fact is we do not know. We know not their names nor even their nationality. They were keen observers of the happenings in the heavens and were more likely astronomers or such than kings, scientists of their day, wise men, maybe of royal blood, but particularly they're known for their noted for their wisdom and obviously a little bit for their wealth as we will see. They must have had some exposure to the scriptures from possibly Daniel or other Hebrew exiles, but they were likely themselves Gentiles and not Jews based on their question to Herod.

Okay? They could have been Jews because there were Jews, there were Hebrews that were taken away in the captivity of the northern tribes of Assyria and later the southern tribe of Judah to Babylon. The Jews had been scattered throughout that part of the world into parts of Europe and also into parts of Asia that were to the East of where Jerusalem was. But it's more likely these were Gentiles who had studied some of the teachings of the Old Testament prophets of Judaism or had known someone like Daniel who was a captive and well known figure in Babylon in his day. And therefore they had come to know about the promises concerning the king of the Jews, the Messiah that would come, and some that had to do even with the start.

It seems they were not familiar particularly with this particular verse, though Herod became aware of it when he questioned his scribes and the priests there. Micah five two, but thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, Micah told us where Jesus would be born, where the Messiah would be born in a little town, in a little town, not a big town, a little town, just a few miles from Jerusalem to the South called Bethlehem, meaning the house of bread. This is where Jesus, the Messiah, we are told was to be born. We also read in Isaiah nine, six, and seven.

They may have heard of this passage of scripture. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace. That passage may have been familiar to them. Suspect maybe they had heard this passage from Numbers twenty four seventeen. I shall see him but now, but not now.

I shall behold him but not nigh. There shall come a, what, star out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. A scepter is denoting a what? A ruler or a king. Jacob is just another name for Israel.

Okay? A star out of Israel, a scepter shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab and destroy the children of Sheth. It may have been that they heard this particular passage of scripture which led them particularly to look for a what? To look for a star as evidence of the birth of the ruler mentioned in Micah five two or in Isaiah chapter nine and verse six. They were likely men of substance and power to have traveled such a distance bearing such precious costly gifts.

Two of the gifts they brought were of Arabic origin leading one to suppose that they were from the Persia or Arabic world to the East Of Palestine. Their journey would not have been an easy one for the East for to the East Of Israel is mostly what? Desert. It would have been a rather lengthy journey for them to come. This is why they would not have come necessarily the day or the week or the month of Christ's birth, but it took them weeks or months in order to get from where they were to where Christ was in Bethlehem.

They said we have come seeking he that is born the king of the Jews, leading us to believe that they themselves were probably not Jews based upon asking to see the king of the Jews. Not their king, but the king particularly of the Jews. It's important to note that the message of Jesus' birth didn't just come to the Jews. It also came to Gentiles from miles and miles away via the star that led them to Jesus. Because God's gift of his son was not just for the Jews.

For God so loved the, what, The world that he gave his only begotten son. In Matthew eight and eleven, Jesus said that many shall come from the East and West and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. As Jesus pointed out to the Jews that they weren't the only ones who would be the recipients of God's grace and the sacrifice of his son and and find blessing in Jesus Christ. Did not God tell Abraham that in thee shall all the, what, nations of the earth be blessed in Genesis twelve three? So while the announcement came to the shepherds who were Jews on the hillside in Bethlehem, it also came via a star to wise men from afar who were not likely Jews but Gentiles who had also heard the message of the coming of the king of kings.

Also, we see that not only did the message come to one particular class or group of people, but Jesus came for all, the wise and the wealthy and the poor and the lowly. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. For as the shepherds came to worship him, so did kings and wise men worship him also. What was the star that led them? Well, guess what the term star means in Greek?

It means star. Yeah. You thought I was going to see something real fantastic there. Yeah. The word star basically means star.

It could refer to several different celestial objects. It most likely refers to an actual star or wandering star as planets were known in that day, maybe a supernova or even a comet, or maybe something else. It was a bright light in the sky that stood out for some reason that led them to the savior. God has used natural phenomenon throughout human history to indicate the importance of certain events from rainbows to clouds and storms to floods and darkness and earthquakes and meteors and the darkening of the moon before during the tribulation before the coming of the Messiah. It doesn't make them any less miraculous if God chooses to use and manipulate nature for his purpose because, well, he created it all.

He can do whatever he likes with it. Whatever he used, whatever this star was, it had a very important purpose, and that was to lead people to Jesus. And God is still leading people to Jesus. That star today in a fashion is you. As you have the opportunity to lead people to Jesus as well.

It may be as some have sought to show that the constellations originally pointed to the story of Christ before being twisted to fit the stories of heathen mythology. And the movement of the planets within the constellations were the sign to the magi. I don't know for sure that that is the case, but I do know this. The Bible says in Psalm 19, the heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork.

Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. The Bible tells us in Romans one that the world is without excuse because they can look up in the night sky or look up in the sky during the day at the blue sky, the clouds, and all that God has created and see that there is a Lord who made everything, a Lord of great wisdom, a Lord of great power to whom we are all accountable, who deserves our worship and our honor and our praise. These wise men may may have may not have understood everything, but they understood that God was drawing them to come find the answer to their problems and the savior of the world. Though I've heard some interesting theories concerning the identity of the star, the important part is where it led them.

And it led them to who? It led them to Jesus. When did they come? Well, it would appear to be within about the first two years of Jesus' birth based upon Herod's following actions having after researching when the star first appeared, he had every baby under the age of two executed in Bethlehem to try to get to kill the king who he was jealous of and was afraid would take his power. As many rulers are, he was a very jealous, paranoid man who cared a little for the truth and for the spiritual needs of the world.

He was just afraid that he was going to take his power. He didn't want that. Herod himself is thought to have died around April, thus leading us to believe it may have been a year or two preceding the death of Herod the Great. He's not called Herod the Great because he was a great person. He was a nice guy.

He had some of his own relatives executed to make sure they didn't take the throne from him. He was only called Herod the Great because he was a great architect. And there are many things that still remain that Herod the Great had built back two thousand years ago that we have unearthed and preserved. But praise the Lord, there was a king and is a king today that is indeed great in every way, the one that was born in a stable to whom the kings, the wise men, were coming to worship. Though conjecturing on the time of their arrival and their identity and that of the star may be interesting, the facts God leaves out of scripture just as important sometimes as the facts included.

This historical event is not about the wise men themselves, the scientific identity of the star, or the exact time of their arrival, or even how many there were. The story is about who? It's about Jesus, the one they came to worship. It is about his identity as the king of kings and Lord of lords, the promised messiah. It is about the gifts and the worship that they showed that little that baby, that maybe toddler by the time they got there.

People don't bow down before one year olds. And yet these wise men up in years, they came hundreds or thousands of miles to do that very thing because somehow they came to recognize that it was the most important event and he was the most important person and were one worthy of their worship. They traveled a great distance seeking the king of the Jews whom they regard as someone worthy of such high title praise and personal sacrifice. They may have been familiar with this passage of scripture in Daniel seven, where we read, I saw in the night visions and behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory in a kingdom that all people, nations, languages should serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. That's a prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. No. Not his first coming, but primarily what will happen when he returns. But they came to worship that person.

I dare say I believe they knew that passage, and they came to worship the one. They came to bow the knee and to give their allegiance and loyalty to the king of kings and the Lord of lords. It only made sense for them to do so because he is the supreme one. He is the one that matters. He is the eternal one whose kingdom shall not, what, shall not end.

It began with his birth and his first coming. It will continue when he comes again. And it lives inside of every believer in Jesus Christ even today. For we are part of his kingdom who have bowed before him in faith to be our king. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved become part of his kingdom.

Herod had at least a little understanding of Hebrew prophecy for his inquiry was made as to where the Christ should be born. He wanted to know where the Christ should be born. Verse four, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. Christ, is that, you know, the last name of Jesus? No.

That means Messiah. He asked them, where is it prophesied that the Messiah will be born? Well, that's when they showed him Micah chapter five and verse two. Well, it says here he's going to be born where? In Bethlehem.

Now Herod was likely where? In Jerusalem, a few miles away. So he sent to have the children killed in Bethlehem to make sure that he would get the king before he had a chance to displace him. Where did the wise men maybe hear of the Messiah? Well, Hebrew Daniel nine twenty five, know therefore and understand from going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the what?

Unto Messiah, the prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks. The street shall be built again in the wall even in troublesome times. This is a prophecy given to Daniel concerning the time of the coming of the Messiah. I think they had figured this. The weird weeks here does not mean weeks of days.

It means weeks of years. It's called the seventy week prophecy because it's concerning four hundred and ninety years, not four hundred ninety days. And maybe they had somewhat figured that out and they were looking at this time round about for the coming of the Messiah. So when they stole the star, they came running. They came running.

They came to do what? They came from a great distance. They came to worship him. Not merely to see or study him, not to report back or quench their curiosity or offer their services, but to humble themselves before him and worship him as one would deity. To bow before him not as a babe in a manger, but the king sent from heaven as one day all will kneel before him.

Because we're told in Philippians two, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Either you will do it willingly or you will do it by command, but you will do it. It's best to do it willingly and choose Jesus as your Lord rather than having to bow at the great white throne judgment before facing your judgment. Bow before him today. They chose to bow that day.

They were not there just on a diplomatic mission, but a spiritual one. I hope you're here today for the same reason, not to please your mom or dad or aunt or uncle or son or daughter or wife or husband, not just to to show your face, not just for social reasons because you got friends, but I hope you're here to worship Jesus Christ because none of those other things are really gonna matter in the long run. The only one that's truly gonna matter is what you do with Jesus and whether it is in your heart to worship him or whether you're just going through the motions. And I'm sad to say there's a lot of people, particularly at Christmas, that are just doing what? They're just going through the motions.

I hope that isn't you. These kings were not going through the motions. They traveled for weeks or months over desert in order to get to the place where they could bow before a one year old as the king of kings and Lord of lords to worship him. When they found him, they did something that made sense. They gave him gifts.

They gave him things to express their worship and of how great value that he was to them. And here is where God decides to give us some details. We don't know how many kings or wise men there were. We know that how many gifts there were. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

It could have been brought by two men. It could have been brought by six men. Most likely, it was probably brought by three men. But we don't know that for sure. But what we do know is the number of gifts and what they were.

And so I suspect God in recording what they were had some purpose in that. So let's just take a moment and look quickly at those gifts before we conclude this morning. The first is gold. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Why gold?

Why a gold ring? It integrates wealth, sacrifice, and adoration That the one to whom it is being given is of value to the one who is giving something valuable up to give to them. When a guy and a girl get engaged, the guy usually presents the girl with what? A ring made out of aluminum. No.

A ring made out of what? Gold. What is he communicating? You are worthy. You are of great value to me because gold, it costs a little bit of money, as does a diamond if it happens to have that on it too.

It indicates wealth and sacrifices on the part of the giver and, as such, is a gift primarily given only to the most worthy, royalty often being the most likely recipients of such tremendous gifts. Thus, gold would have certainly indicated Christ's identity as a king and the great worth which the mad with which the magi valued him. A gift of gold was a sacrifice. It was not just symbolic, but it was symbolic. It was a gift of sacrifice on their part to the one that they came to what?

To worship. It was also symbolic, I believe, of the one they came to worship, that he is a king. The king of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation nineteen sixteen, we read this, and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, king of kings and Lord of lords. Why gold?

Well, because the one born there was a king, is the king. Frankincense. Frankincense is the most aromatic incense or perfume, which was also highly sought after in Judea and parts East, the gift befitting a king but also a priest as it was used in worship at the temple and may have been used by other religions in worship as well. In Leviticus chapter two, we read in, when any will offer a meat offering up to the Lord, his offering shall be a fine flour. He shall pour oil upon it and put frankincense thereon and he shall bring it to Aaron's sons.

The priest, he shall take there out his handful of flour thereof and of the oil, whereof with all the frankincense thereof and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar to be an offering made by fire, a sweet savor unto the Lord. When this frankincense was burned, it released this most beautiful fragrance that was constantly being emitted inside the tabernacle and inside the temple. It was a distinct and beautiful scent that reminded people of the beauty of the Lord and of the importance of our worship of the holy one. The gift whether known to the magi which gave it reminds us of the priestly ministry of both Christ in his death and in his resurrection. There is one mediator between God and man, the man who?

Christ Jesus who is our high priest. In Hebrews we read, wherefore holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession Christ Jesus. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. Therefore, he being the high priest brought the sacrifice of himself. The incarnation was the beginning of that sacrifice that he would make on the cross for us that would reunite us with God and bring us together.

The purpose of the high priest when he went into the holy of holies once a year on the day of atonement to atone for the sins of mankind and to bring a reunion between God and man separated by sin. Therefore, in Hebrews seven twenty five, we are told, wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He is your high priest and he is mine. And the frankincense reminds us of that priestly ministry that only Jesus Christ is worthy to fulfill. And then myrrh, the last one, myrrh.

Myrrh was known primarily as a what? Burial spice. Its aroma is strong but not quite as pleasing as frankincense. It was sometimes used in ointment. It was sometimes mixed with drinks offered to dull the pain, particularly of Jesus while he was on the cross even.

Mark fifteen twenty three, we read, and they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh, but he received it not. Why did he not receive? Because he didn't want to dull the pain. The pain he needed to feel. So he turned down the anesthetic.

But more obviously reminds us of the death of Christ. As Nicodemus used it later to embalm Jesus' body when he took it down off the cross. And there came also Nicodemus, which was the first which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought him a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a 100 pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, wound it in linen cloths with the spices as the manner of the Jews is to bury. As young lady would empty out a vial of perfume upon Jesus days before his death on the cross and the disciples scolded her for wasting a whole year's worth of perfume on Jesus.

He said, don't you understand she has anointed me for my what? For my death and burial. And myrrh reminds us of the sacrifice that Jesus would make upon the cross before he went there because the birth of Christ is not just about the birth of a baby, it's about the savior of the world who gave his life that we might be redeemed and that we might enjoy the pleasures of his kingdom one day. It was necessary that he died and be buried and rise again from the dead. And I don't know if the wise men were aware of the symbolism of their gifts, but the one behind it all who recorded these details for us, I'm sure is.

For Jesus is the king of kings and Lord of lords. He is our high priest and he is our sacrifice, who died, was buried according to the scriptures and rose again, that all believe in him might be saved. What can we learn from these men today? Number one, we should seek him. We should seek him.

They sought him. So should every every human being. For if they seek him, he will be what? He will be found. And the Bible tells us in Matthew six thirty three, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

The world out there is seeking for joy and happiness and fulfillment. It is to be found in Jesus and we who know Jesus have found it. Don't don't don't start looking in other places. If you have Jesus, you have what you need. Get to know him better and you will understand the joy and peace that he brings better.

We should seek him. We should worship him. He is worthy of our humble repentance, which it will take to receive his salvation. For Jesus said, unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish. What does it mean to repent?

It means to humble yourself and turn to Jesus and say, I'm a sinner. I need a what? A savior. Please save my soul. And he will.

And then worship him who saved your soul. Worship him. I hope that's the reason you came here today, to worship him in prayer and praise and service for he is worthy of our worship. And finally, he is worthy of our most precious treasures. What did Paul say in Romans twelve one?

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a what? Living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. What have you given to Jesus? What does Jesus desire most? He desires your heart, your faith, your love, your allegiance, and your service.

Not your gold or your perfume, but you. You are. It says in second Corinthians twelve fifteen, you are unto God a sweet savor in Christ. He you owe him your love and your heart. You owe him your life.

He doesn't ask you, in most cases, to give it a dying sacrifice but a living one. And he is worthy. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for your son, Jesus Christ, that you gave to us.

Lord, it is our joy and our privilege to know him, to worship him. We thank you, Lord, for for sending a star to us, whatever that star may have been to lead us to Jesus, a friend, a neighbor, a teacher, a loved one who led us to Christ. And Lord, may we, in gratitude and love, give of ourselves to him who is worthy. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.