Date:   12/24/06

Text:   Matthew 2:1-12

Title:   Clash of the kings

Theme: With the coming of the King, we are to submit and worship Him.

 

Introduction:

  Do you know how many babies were born in this church, this year? (21). The birth of a baby is always an exciting event. When we see the babies and their pictures, there is that sense of peace and tranquility. However, we know that underneath that tranquility are moments of chaos. One minute they are smiling, and the next, they are screaming on the top of their lungs. One minute they are drinking milk, and the next minute they're spitting it all over the place. Sometimes the parents would be arguing whether the baby should sleep face up or down, or how long they should let the baby cry, 1 minute or 45 minutes. Should we take the baby out at 1 month or 100 days? Who should get up at 3 am?

  What do we associate with Jesus' birth? From all the pictures we see and stories we hear, it is one of peace and joy. This was how Luke described the circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth. It was peaceful and Joyous. His words in the Gospel inspired the great hymns we sing this morning. On the other hand, Matthew seems to look at it from a different perspective. There were no angels, no shepherds and no manger. If we listen to Matthew's narrative, we'll hear conflicts, tensions and tears surrounding the birth of Jesus.

  The overarching purpose of Matthew's gospel is to describe the coming of the King, the Messiah whom the Israelites had long waited for. In the first two chapters of Matthew, we are given a glimpse what it is like with the King's coming.

  This morning let us pretend that we know nothing about this story and hear it for the first time. We want to understand what the 1 st century readers heard as they listened to Matthew's narrative of Jesus' birth.

I.   The setting for the coming of the Messiah King.

  2:1, “ 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, …” In one simple sentence Matthew tells us the major players in this story: Jesus, Herod and the wise men. He also sets the stage for what is to follow. Lets take a closer look at the major players.

  First, there is Jesus. In 1:1 we are told that He was a descendent of Abraham. He was born of the virgin Mary. The name Jesus means he would deliver his people from sin. He is Emmanuel, meaning God with us. In chapter 2:2, he was referred to as the king of the Jews. 2:4, he was called Christ, meaning Messiah. The Jewish people understands who the Messiah is. Messiah is the son of God, he is God. He is the one prophesied by the OT prophets. They had been waiting for him to come to deliver them from their political oppressors. 2:6, He was the ruler and shepherd, after the tradition of David.

  In other words, this Jesus is the King. So this is what we hear as we listen to vs.1, Now after Jesus the king was born in Bethlehem in the days of Herod the king.” A king, of a very different order was born when Herod was the king. The stage is set, right? Another king was born while Herod was the king. We can almost see conflict and tension rising at the very beginning of this chapter.

  Secondly, let's take a look a Herod. Matthew did not provide us with much information here, but we know him very well from historical records. Herod was a man of ambition, strength and strategy. He was a Jew and was called Herod the great. Named by the Roman senate in 40BC to be the king of Judea . He was wealthy and an effective politician that enabled him to gain favor of several Roman emperors. He was an excellent administrator, did a superb work in famine relief. He loved power but placed heavy taxes on people. During his later years, he became more and more paranoid. He was cruel and out of jealously killed his close associates, including at least two of his sons and his wife, Mariamne. He died in 4 B.C. This date of death would push back Jesus' birth by 2 or 3 years. Jesus, the King of Jews was born during the time of Herod, also the king of Jews. As we listen to this, we know something is coming.

  Thirdly, another prominent group of people that occupy an important place in this narrative is the wise men. 2:1, “ 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem…” they were introduced in one breath with Jesus and Herod. Who are they? In almost all the Christmas stories and drama, the wise men were portrayed as individuals with wealth and dignity. They are wise. Many of us, some time in our life, may have played the role of a wise man in one of those Christmas drama. A friend asked me two weeks ago, ‘Did you come to the Christmas pageant? Did you see me as one of the wise men?” Now, what did the 1 st century readers associate wise men with? They were from the east, but we don't know where. There had been speculations that they were from the Persian area. Some even suggested that they may be from China . How many of them? Again, we don't know. We called the 3 wise men because of the 3 gifts: Gold, frankincense and myrrh. It could be two persons bringing with them 3 gifts or 6 bringing 3 gifts. Some have also suggested 4, and that he lost his way. So you have stories about what happened to the 4 th wise man. Who are they? They were astrologers. They were good at looking at the stars and their movement, trying to predict what will happen on earth. Yes, you are right, its like today's horoscope. They usually served as advisors in the eastern kings' court. They were like the magicians. How did the Jewish people view them? The 1 st century readers associated them with those astrologers in Daniel's days. You remember those astrologer were really not that capable, right? They could not foresee the future nor understand the king's dreams or other supernatural phenomenon. Besides, magicians were condemned by God in the scriptures. And above all, in Matthew's narrative, they were gentiles. They were not held in high esteem in that 1 st century. They were not the respected ones.

  This is the setting of vs.1-2. In that simple sentence in verse 1, Matthew presented Jesus, Herod and the astrologers or magicians. Now we are curious to see how they interact and how the readers interact with them in this narrative.

II.   The coming of the Messiah King is a reach of Grace.

  As we listen to this narrative, it appears that the magi played an important role in this story of Jesus' birth. They followed a certain star, came to Jerusalem , to the palace looking for a king. And then in vs.10-11, we heard them finding Jesus, gave him the presents and worshipped him. This must have surprised or even shocked the 1 st century readers. What, these gentile astrologers/magicians came to seek the King, the Messiah and so freely worshipped Him. How could this be? It was like the scandal of the astrologers.

  But wait a minute, an alert reader would have also noticed something else was kind of strange in this narrative. It is about Jesus'' genealogy in Chapter 1. Against the Jewish tradition, 4 women were mentioned in this genealogy. Who were they? First, Tamar. She pretended to be a prostitute in order to be impregnated by Judah, one of Israelites forefathers. Then Rahab, a prostitute in the city of Jericho . Thirdly, Ruth. She was a Moabite. The Jews were not supposed to have anything to do with Maobites. Yet Ruth was married to Boaz, and later gave birth to the father of David. The fourth one was not even mentioned by name. Simply, the wife of Uriah, mother of Solomon. They knew who she was. Her name was Bathsheba who had that adulterous relationship with David. In an attempt to cover up his sin, David manipulated to have Uriah killed.

  These 4 women, all with some scandalous association, and now the astrologers were closely involved in the birth of the Messiah. How can this be? In a shame based eastern culture, how can these individuals so freely mingle with the birth of Jesus, the king and the Messiah?

  This is exactly what Matthew wants his readers to understand. When God's kingdom arrived on earth, it reached deep down to the most shameful persons. And later on in the gospel of Matthew, we'll continue to see how Jesus reaches out to the poor, the outcast, the sinners and the ones whom the society despised. This Messiah is full of grace. He is the gracious King. In one commentator's words, it is the reach of grace.

  The Asian culture is a shame based culture. Since I have done such a bad thing; I have not listened to my parents and got into drugs; I am now a bad person and have brought great shame to my family name; I am not worthy to be my father's son. Or we have also heard that since I have committed such gross sins, how can I come before God, or come to this church? This is exactly the opposite of the Christmas story. Jesus came to a world that is dark, broken and unjust. He came to the sinners, the oppressed, the unlovable and the shameful ones. His grace reaches to you and me, bringing us into his kingdom. He is a gracious King. This is the reach of grace.

III.   The coming of the Messiah King requires all other kings to give in.

  Now, how about king Herod? What happened when Herod indirectly heard that foreigners had come and asked about the birth of a king? Not just any king, but king of the Jews. Vs.3, “ Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;…” The child that was born was supposed to bring peace. But to Herod, it was trouble. There was turmoil within him. He was so afraid and paranoid, that later he ordered the murder of children under two in Jerusalem . It's like wiping out all the babies and toddlers in our church. Why did Herod do this? The answer is quite obvious, right? When one king faces another king, there will be tension and conflict. The only time we have two kings together is when there is a war. We simply cannot have two kings of the Jews. One will have to go. When king Herod clashes with the King of Peace, King of the creation, there will only be turmoil. Not just king Herod was troubled, but the entire city was also troubled. That is understandable, right? In those days, even in countries today, where there is a change of government, there would be unease. The military may be put on high alert. So now, if one king of the Jews is born while another king of the Jews is around, knowing Herod, something would definitely happen. It is definitely troubling for all. Herod refused to give in and he devised a plan to eliminate this child Jesus, the other king of the Jews.

  But before we point our fingers at Herod, we need to ask ourselves this: Don't we all have a king Herod within us? By definition, a king is someone who has authority and in control. We have heard individuals say, “I can't wait till I go to college. I will be on my own; no one will be there to bug me to do this or that. I can't wait till I finish school and start working. I can do whatever I want, go wherever I like, meet whoever I want to. I'll have my career all planned out. By the time I turn 35, my company Mytube.com will be bought out by Google or Microsoft and I can just retire and enjoy life.” We all want to be king. We want to be in control of ourselves. Being out of control really scares us. That is why so many of us don't like anyone telling us to do anything.

  Yes, many of us like Christmas. We like those surreal peaceful feelings about Christmas. We like the presents and especially 2 weeks off from school. Yet, to many of us, when we come face to face with this King, the Messiah, deep in side us, there is unrest, there is trouble. Why? When one king meets another king, the king of the universe, king of the creation, one would have to yield.

  You see, when this king, the Messiah, comes to us, he wants us to follow and be obedient to him. He may want some of us to give up our present pursuit of studies and career and go into full time ministry. He want some to submit to him and be reconciled to our spouse, parents, children or another brother or sister in this community. He wants us to obey our parents and love our brothers and sisters. He wants others to apologize to those we may have wronged and hurt, either intentionally or unintentionally. He wants us to surrender ourselves, and learn to be gentle and humble just as He is. He may want some of us to flee away from certain temptations that we are very vulnerable to. When one king meets another king, one will have to go.

Conclusion:

  Certainly underneath that tranquil birth of Jesus, there was trouble and unease for Herod and the citizens of Jerusalem . However, this portion of the narrative also ends in a special way. Vs. 10-11, “ 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” In contrast to the turmoil in Herod, this was a very peaceful scene. The astrologers worshipped the King. Yes, they were not held in high esteem, not really respected by others. Yet they were obedience to the guidance from above, they recognized the king, humbled themselves and worshipped him. They were the ones truly at peace.

  There is this story about a ship sailing at night. It saw another light coming towards her so she signaled, “Please turn 15 degrees to the left.” The other light responded, No, you turn 15 degrees to the right. As they approached each other more closely, the other light signaled: please turn immediately; THIS IS the lighthouse.”

  Isn't this true with us? Every Christmas, we are brought face to face with this Gracious King. It is very unwise and dangerous if we insist on our ways. When we clash with this King, the king of creation, the Lord of all, its very painful, isn't it? The only way to experience the peace and joy of this season is to submit ourselves to Him and worship Him. We are to let go of our kingship and recognize him as the King and Lord in our lives.




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