Well, I often begin with confession. Let me do that this morning. My confession is this. My wife says I am a Grinch. I didn't ask for... I didn't ask for affirmation. My wife says I'm a Grinch. I'm really not. I'm not. I like Christmas. What I don't like is the fact that we get commercial sales starting about the time the fireworks start popping on the 4th of July. And radio stations go to Christmas music 24 or 7 wall to wall about the time the kids are coming home with their trick or treat candy. I just get weary of it. I really do. I just think it's a little bit of overkill. So I was having a hard time getting into a Christmas frame of mind and it happened for me this week when I went into Barnes & Noble and I saw. No, not a new edition of Dickens Christmas Carol. Not a DVD of Miracle on 34th Street or It's Wonderful Life. Not Michael Buble's Christmas album, but I saw the book... I saw the book by Garen Eileen Thomas. Santa's Quanza. I don't know about you but nothing takes me back to Bethlehem's manger like Santa's Quanza and it all came together for me right there. I thought about buying coffee just to bring in here for the visual effect. But I said, I don't think I want to give any money to somebody who would write about Santa's Quanza. At the risk of stating obvious, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus who is called the Christ. Christmas is about Jesus and if you want to attribute your gift giving to some fat non-relative from the polar regions, that's your prerogative. But we're going to talk about Jesus who is called the Christ. I understand for a lot of people that Christmas is just an excuse to have parties and buy gifts. I actually heard an atheist on a radio program this past week. I actually heard an atheist say, he doesn't care if people still call it Christmas. People say Merry Christmas to one of them. They say, I'm buying me a bit because for America, Christmas is just a secular holiday now. I don't mean anything. I submit to you that when atheists are no longer bothered by the name Christmas, we have crossed a line in our culture that may be difficult to re-cross in the other direction. If we do not reclaim our turf and remind people, this is about the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Christmas means more than a reason to run out to the mall or to the end of the party. There are two gospel accounts. Two accounts and two different books in the New Testament. There are two accounts of the gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. The more famous one is the one in Luke 2. You all know from the Charlie Brown Christmas special. It came to pass in those days. The decree went forth from Caesar Augustus. All the world should be tacked. We're going to talk about that on Christmas Eve. This morning, I want to refer to the gospel account in Matthew. Matthew chapter 2, we're going to read verses 1 through 12. Now, just remind you again, we do have a room back there if you want for your little ones that they can't sit still through the service. There's a room back there where they can be attended to. Well, I asked you to read along with me from Matthew chapter 2 verses 1 through 12. Matthew writes, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem and 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. King Herod heard this. He was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him. We had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ was to be born. In Bethlehem and Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet has written. But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, by no means least among the rulers of Judea, for our out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel. Then Herod called the match, I secretly found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and make careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me so that I too may go and worship him. After they had heard the King, they went on their way and the star they had seen the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and incense and murder. And having been mourned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. George Orwell wrote, sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restapment of the obvious. I don't have any illusions about my own intelligence. Anytime I start to think I'm kind of smart, I just read a little John Calvin, a little Jonathan Edwards, and I'm reminded of how little I truly know. And so I don't think that I am the brightest bulb in a chandelier, but let me restate the obvious force here. The Christmas is about Jesus and we give gifts partly because, partly because the magic came and presented gifts to the child Jesus. And it seems to me that there are three components in the gift giving equation and three elements that are necessary in the giving of gifts. And now I'm not talking about consumerism, commercials, and credit cards. But the first component, you have to have the giving of gifts. You have to have a giver. You have to have a giver. It all begins with a giver in our text. There's more than one actually, there's more than one. They are the magi. Who were they? How many of them were there? And what were their names? I know it's a terrible thing to interject biblical reality into the Christmas holiday, but the fact that matters is we don't know how many there were. And we don't know their names. Now legend tells us there were three. And their names were Caspar, Meltheor, and Balthazar. But the Bible doesn't say any of that. And I don't want to read it on the parade for any of you like to celebrate the day of three kings and have the parade there, go right ahead, have a ball. It's not my point to be a party pooper on the celebration of three kings, but the Bible simply does not tell us how many there were or what their names were. What the scholars think about them, scholars think that they were skilled pagan astronomers from the area of Persia, which is in modern day Iran, more on that later. And the word magi is the same root from which we get our words magic or magicians. So they were not kings, but they were scholars. They were of a priestly cast of religion called Zoroastrianism. If you know anything about that, most of you won't, but it's still with us today. And they were skilled Zoroastrian astronomers. There's a message here. We can learn something from these industrious, hardworking and truth-seeking pagans. There's a lesson here. And it is this. And this is very important for some of you. Any open, honest, relentless, fearless search for truth will lead you to Christ. Let me say that again for some of you who are skeptical, so you may even be out and out cynics about this whole business. Any open, honest, fearless, relentless pursuit of the truth will lead you to Christ. And so if you're here today, not because you really believe in this stuff, you know about a baby born in a manger, a virgin giving birth to a child, magi and angels and star and all that. I want to say first of all, we're really glad you're here. You're not here by accident. You're not here by accident. You are here by divine appointment. And if you're up to the challenge and you don't wimp out and you don't blink or back down, and if you pursue the truth, God will show you more than you have ever thought possible about truth, about reality, about yourself and about himself. But you have to be willing to look truth in the eyes, not blink and not back down when it shows you things that make you uncomfortable, you have to be willing to look at it and pursue it and not give up just like these wise men. They traveled a long, long time, weeks, maybe even months and they would not give up until they came to the Christ child himself. You're willing to pursue the truth and not blink and not back down and that can be hard to do. Because the truth will show you more about yourself and the truth is you're more simple than you've ever dared to imagine. But you're also more loved and you've ever dared to hope. And that's truth and that's the gospel of God's grace, his unconditional, unmerited love for sinners. If you're a seeker of the truth over this past few weeks, I've had three conversations with three different people who are either questioning what they've been taught to believe going up or they've out and out rejected. They've abandoned ship, if you will. And in all three of those cases, I've said to them, first of all, I'm so glad you're here. I welcome, I welcome honest seekers and honest elders, you're looking at a natural one skeptic you are. I speak skepticism, I understand it. If you are one of those that you have honest questions, honest doubts, you're welcome here. The problem is too many people. When they first run into Roblox and their faith and it gets hard and they see things, they experience things, they meet questions that they're upbringing hasn't equipped them to handle. They just bail out because it's easier to have questions than it is to pursue the answers. They get comfortable in their questions and they say, oh well, because cynicism costs you nothing. It is intellectual cowardice to settle in the region of the cynic and not pursue answers. They're here, but they may not be what you expected, and they'll show you more about yourself and about truth and about reality and about God himself. Then maybe you thought you were getting, but if you're not godless and you'll pursue the relentless truth, just like these Magi did, it leads you to Christ. Back to the Magi, contrary to popular belief in almost all Christmas pageants and hallmark cards. I know there's a terrible thing for me to do to refer to the Bible. They didn't get there the night Jesus was born. When you see the scenes of the manger and the star overhead and the Magi coming bound down, it didn't happen that way. They got there much much later, maybe as much as two years later. That's why we find out a few verses down in chapter 2 that Herod ordered the death of all little boys around Bethlehem two years of age and under because it may have been that long since Jesus was born. Herod didn't want anybody around described as the one who has been born, King of the Jews. He didn't want anybody around that wise men traveled from the far east to come and bound down to worship him. Herod didn't want that around. I know you've probably seen this, it makes around the internet this year, this time every year. You know what would have happened if it had been three wise women instead of three wise men? They would have asked for directions, they would have arrived on time, they would have helped deliver the baby, clean the stable, made a casserole, brought practical gifts, and there would be peace on her. I notice all the AMMs were in a slightly higher register after I read them. 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 have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him. You know the expression, if the mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy? Well in Jerusalem if Herod was disturbed, everybody was disturbed. Herod was a loathsome beast of a man. He had all kinds of physical ailments that I will not describe to you but they are disturbing. He was paranoid. He was paranoid to the point that at one point he had executed his wife whom he dearly loved and two of his sons, he had them put to death because they thought they might be a challenged him for his throne. Herod was a loathsome beast.
You ever had a hard time feeling joyful at Christmas time, have you? You ever have a hard time feeling like you're in that holiday spirit? How do you think those mothers around Jerusalem, whose sons were killed because of the ravings of a lunatic king? You have a hard time feeling joyful at Christmas? Imagine how those mothers missed a felt, weeping in Rama indeed. You're not the first to have a hard time feeling joyful at Christmas and you're not the only ones either. I've never given Herod much credit for being a Bible scholar. I've never given him much credit for knowing his scriptures but it occurred to me just this past week studying this passage again. I've studied it a few times before that maybe Herod, maybe he didn't know enough to be worried about the one that the Magi said they were looking for. The one that had been born king of the Jews, that they saw a star in these and it kind of worship him. And I never thought about maybe the Magi, maybe the Magi were included in Isaiah's prophecy. We read it a couple of weeks ago from Isaiah chapter 9. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death. A light has dawned. I never thought maybe Isaiah, and I've talked to you before about the telescopic nature of prophecy. How Isaiah was seeing in the near term and then the farther term to the birth of Christ and maybe even farther out to the second coming. I've never thought that maybe Isaiah, maybe saw the Magi as well, the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. And those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. And then he says words you all know, for to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness. From that time on and forever the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Maybe here a new is Bible better than I've given him credit for. And maybe the Magi were among those living in the land walking in darkness, the land of Persia which I've told you before is modern day Iran. Would to God that the people living in great darkness in bondage to radical Islam under Sharia law. Would to God that those people living in darkness would see a great light and know the gospel of God's grace.
Know that there's something more or something better that could free them from their darkness and their bondage. I hope, I hope Isaiah saw the day when that would come. Maybe those two streams came together. Harris, paranoia. And the Magi's vision of the light that would dawn the far east. Maybe those two things came together at that palace, Harris, palace in Jerusalem. And maybe that's where God's story of redemption now takes the big turn to the South down into Bethlehem. First to the manger and to whatever home Mary and Joseph were living in at the time the Magi came. But we know that that story of redemption it would go from here it's palace in Jerusalem down to Bethlehem and back to here it's palace again. 33 years later when the baby grew up to be a man it was the greatest threat to the government in Israel and in Rome. That they had ever encountered so much so they couldn't have him around and they condemned him to death on a cross outside Jerusalem. See in the gift giving equation you got to have a giver. You got to have a gift. We know it's a tough economy right now everybody is aware of that. I don't have to restate that obvious fact. The American research group says that the average American will spend $646 this Christmas $646 on average. Down slightly from last year down few dollars from last year way down from a high back in 2001. 2001 the average American spent an average of $1,052. This year we'll spend an average of $646 and somebody says $646. I haven't spent that much on Christmas presents my whole life. Welcome to Kevin Presbyter here in church Mr. Scrooge. We're glad you have you with us today. Somebody else says $646. I spent that by 2 a.m. Thanksgiving night. You have your own personalized parking place at Daedland don't you. You're on a first-day basis with the sales courts at Bloomingdale's and the guys are best by. We're glad to have you here as well. If you're feeling the squeeze this Christmas and most of us are, may I just remind you the Bible does not say thou shalt make thyself crazy rushing around buying presents for people who don't need what you're going to buy me because you feel guilty. That is not in Leviticus. It is not in New Testament. A worker among the poor in Mexico said, who started the rumor? The one needs a lot of money to remember, to rejoice, to celebrate the birthday of the one who chose to become poor for us. The gift giving equation, you got to have a gift, you have something to give. Some people, some people just have the gift of gifts. You know, they just know what to give other people. The tattooing name for such people is women. You ladies, you just kind of know what to get. We even, we're hopeless. We give gift cards and gift certificates. We don't have the first clue what to give people, so we don't try anymore. You know, everybody knows the list of the worst gifts ever. And you know, the number one gift is always those clacks and fruit cakes. You've got them. I read somewhere, maybe you see it too. There's really only one of those in the whole world. It just keeps giving, it's given, and it's re-gifted, and it's re-gifted, and it's re-gifted. It's never open because nobody wants it. You use it as a paperweight, and it holds it down in Hurricane Andrew, but nobody wants the thing. Try this one on. Some guys named Steve. He said, I'm the worst gift giver ever. I never get it right. One year I bought my girlfriend a handbag. I thought it was cool. It was called The Wonder Book, and it had 32 pockets, an organizer, a calculator, all sorts of gadgets. Apparently, women want a handbag that is pleasing to the eye, and not just incredibly useful. She is now my wife. She has a collection of, and I'll use the word stuff, that I bought her that she didn't like. So these days, I just ask her what she wants, and then I get her exactly what she asked for. It took all the fun out of it, but at least I don't get it wrong. All of us guys say, we feel your pain, Steve, we feel your pain. That's minorly compared to this one. Kate Lafayette Louisiana says, One Christmas, I received an engagement ring from my now ex-husband, that he meant to give to his new girlfriend. I say, we take the trophy for the worst gift giver ever. Retire it and give it to this bozo. The Magi brought different kinds of gifts, 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, presented him the gifts of gold, and of incense, and of myrrh. Gold has befits royalty for the son of David, the one who has been born in King of the Jews. Incense at befits his divinity, the son of God, for incense is a biblical symbol for prayer, and myrrh. That's for his humanity, for the one who called himself the son of man, and because myrrh is used as a spice to prepare a body for burial. The birth of Jesus was an expensive proposition for the Magi. They weren't the only ones. I don't know who wrote this, but it's well said. It cost Mary and Joseph the comforts of home on an 80-mile donkey ride from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and a long period of exile to Egypt to protect their son. It cost mothers in and around Bethlehem the massacre of their baby boys by the cruel Order of Herod. It cost the shepherds the complacency of their shepherd's life, with the call to the manger, and to tell the good news. It cost the wise men a long journey, expensive gifts, and changed lives. It cost the early apostles and the early church, church persecution, sometimes death. It cost missionaries of Christ untold suffering and sacrifice to spread the good news. It cost Christian martyrs and all ages their lives for Christ's sake. And more than that, it cost God the Father his own son. He sent him to earth to save lost men and women. It cost Jesus a life of sacrifice and service, a death, cruel and unmatched in all history. You bought the presents, are you going to buy presents for your spouse, for your children, for your grandchildren, for your friends, for your co-workers. What are you prepared to offer him this Christmas? Because I'm here to tell you, the only thing he wants to unwrap, the only thing he wants to open up is your heart. And you're never giving your heart to Christ. This is the Christmas to do it, ladies and gentlemen. This is the Christmas to give him your hearts. In the gift giving equation, you've got to have a gift, you've got to have a recipient. You've got to have somebody to receive it. This is the big difference in the story of the Magi and our situation in Bethlehem today. Bethlehem, the incarnate God, the Christ child, received the gifts ever since he's been the one giving them out. The Magi came to him as pagan priests, bearing gifts. He comes to us, bearing gifts in terms of us from pagans into priests. In fact, a whole kingdom of priests, the New Testament says. The Magi, they were the first non-Jewish converts to Christianity. They were the first to bow down into worship and call him Lord. What happened when they were turned back to Persia, went home by a different route? What happened to them? We don't really know. We do know this, that in the Northwest portion of Iran, there's a church there now. There's a church there called the Church of St. Mary's and it's less to be the second oldest church in all the world after the church in Bethlehem. There's a church in Iran that was planted by Christians a long, long time ago. It may very well have been the wise men, the Magi, which are in home. We also know there were men from Persia in Jerusalem and Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, who heard the gospel. Something made them come back to Jerusalem or come to Jerusalem. See what was going on. And after the Magi I got home, they could never have been the same. What they saw in Bethlehem changed them forever. Men in guilt, Kaplan is the world leading authority in the music of Gustav Mahler. Especially on Mahler's second symphony, it's called Resurrection. Kaplan said this about the first time he heard that symphony. He said, I walk into the concert hall, one person, I walk out a different one. Hearing that piece of music changed him. Hearing that piece of music called Resurrection made him a different person. He could never ever be the same again. When the Magi, they knew just how that felt. Let's pray together. Lord God Almighty, we ask that you would remind us again that Christmas, all the parties are great, and decorations and the lights and the tents on the glitter and the songs are all wonderful. It's a great time of the year. Lord God, rescue us from ever selling for the shallow and superficial for just the tensile and the glitter. We remind us, remind us that Christmas is about the end-car nation, the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God who came to earth to become a man. A God who became man, that man might become children of God. Remind us what Christmas is. Actually about it. We ask it in Jesus' name for his sake, Amen. Thank you again for worshiping with us. To have a great rest of Lord's day, receive now the Lord's benediction. Go now in the love of God the Father, the grace and mercy of God the Son, the fellowship and companionship of God, the Holy Spirit, and live the life, Amen.