Redeemer Church
Dec 21st Matthew

      • Luke 1:49–50ESV

  • Joy To The World (Unspeakable Joy)
  • Hark The Herald Angels Sing (Mendelssohn)

      • Matthew 2:1–12ESV

      • Daniel 2:48ESV

  • O Holy Night
  • Silent Night! Holy Night!

      • Romans 16:27ESV

  • Matthew 2:1–12
    Context: Where We’ve Been in Matthew So Far
    Matthew opens with a genealogy—
    names, generations, promises. Not an exciting start to modern ears, but a theologically loaded one.
    Matthew is telling us:
    this Jesus did not appear out of nowhere.
    He is the promised Son of Abraham—the one through whom blessing would come to the nations—
    and the promised Son of David, the rightful King of Israel.
    In chapter 1, we watched those promises narrow and intensify.
    The angel declares that this child will save His people from their sins.
    He is Immanuel, God with us—
    not merely a moral teacher,
    not merely a political figure,
    but God entering human history to redeem.
    And yet, the chapter closes quietly.
    No crowds.
    No throne room.
    Just a young couple, a child born under suspicious circumstances, and obedience carried out in the shadows.
    So as we turn to chapter 2, a tension hangs in the air:
    If this child is the King… where is the celebration?
    If He is the heir of David… where is the throne?
    If God has come near… why does the world seem unaware?
    Matthew will answer those questions—but not in the way we might expect.
    Most of us like the idea of Jesus—as long as He stays helpful but not disruptive.
    We like a Jesus who comforts us, forgives us, maybe even inspires us.
    But we grow uneasy when He claims authority—when He demands allegiance.
    That tension is not new.
    Matthew 2 places us before a crossroads:
    When God announces His King, how will people respond?
    Not everyone reacts the same way to the revelation of Christ.
    Some travel great distances to worship Him.
    Others, though religious and powerful, are deeply threatened by Him.
    And Matthew invites us to watch carefully—because one group looks far more likely to recognize the King… but doesn’t.
    Read vv 1-12
    This is God’s word

    I. A Disturbing Question (vv. 1–3)

    Matthew wastes no time introducing conflict.
    Herod is king—at least politically.
    Installed by Rome, paranoid, violent, and notoriously insecure.
    He murdered his own wife and sons to protect his throne.
    Augustus Caesar reportedly said it was safer to be Herod’s pig than his child.
    And into his city comes a delegation from the East asking a dangerous question:
    “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?”
    Not will be king.
    Not might become king.
    Born King.
    This was not a request for directions. It’s a theological announcement.
    Matthew tells us: Herod was troubled—and all Jerusalem with him.
    Why? Because the arrival of a true king always unsettles false ones.
    Jesus does not merely add meaning to our lives; He reorders them.
    The question is not whether Jesus is King—but whether His kingship threatens what we’re trying to protect.

    II. Unexpected Seekers (vv. 1–2)

    Matthew calls them Magi—a term often romanticized, but deeply significant.
    Who Were the Magi?
    The Magi were:
    Well, we know from the song, that there are 3 of them and they are kings from the East right?
    And from all the paintings and artwork and nativity scenes, they were at the manger when Christ was born right??
    Nowhere in scripture or any other writings do we get the idea that they are kings
    Or that there were only 3 of them
    Maybe this comes from the fact that they had brought 3 gifts, so we assume 3 people
    and the expensive gifts, especially the gold which was typically only owned by kings in those times??
    We also do not see that they were there at his birth.
    He may have been a year old or more at this point
    I have said it before, but when the Word of God is silent on something like this
    We don’t know why it says what it says
    Of course we must try our hand at some speculation
    BUT we must do this with GREAT GREAT care
    Unbridled speculation has lead many to ruin
    When we do speculate, we need to be clear that it is what we are doing.
    We are not finding something explicitly taught in the text, but making some speculations from it.
    Here is what we do know from the Bible as well as other historical texts
    Identified by Matthew as Magi
    Not a term used for Kings
    Learned men from the East (likely Persia)
    They were a select tribe of people from the Persians
    Chosen to be the spiritual leaders.
    They would perform the religious ceremonies and sacrifices
    They were teachers, priests, seers
    Scholars of astronomy, astrology, and ancient texts
    Interpreters of celestial signs
    Advisors to kings—men of status, influence, and education
    Told that they came after Jesus was born, in the days of King Herod
    We don’t know how they had any idea that they were looking for the king of the Jews.
    Matthew doesn’t give us that detail
    We only know that they came to worship him.
    They somehow knew that this was no mere king, but God in the flesh and they travelled to worship him
    And here is where a little speculation comes in and redemptive history quietly surfaces.
    Who are these men, and why do they believe that there will be a king born in Bethlehem worthy of their worship?
    This is so cool, I love how God writes history better than we can imagine
    Rewind about 600 years to the book of Daniel
    Babylon had conquered Isreal
    Plundered all the gold from the Temple
    And Nebuchadnezzar uses it to make statues and all out of it.
    In Daniel 2, when Nebuchadnezzar demands the interpretation of his dream, Daniel—empowered by God—does what the wise men of Babylon cannot.
    As a result:
    Daniel is made chief of the Magi of Babylon (Dan. 2:48).
    Daniel 2:48 ESV
    Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
    The latter half of Daniel is all about a coming messiah
    Daniel spends the rest of his life, in charge of these Magi
    Since we know Daniel’s character
    We can assume that he would have used his position and influence to witness to them about the messiah
    Daniel did not merely survive exile—he discipled Babylonian wisdom with the revelation of Israel’s God.
    I believe that for generations, these eastern scholars would have preserved:
    Messianic expectations
    Jewish prophecies
    Hope of a coming King whose reign would not end
    I think that these are the direct descendants of the Magi that Daniel taught...
    These Magi, believed Daniel and the God of Israel and handed down that believe to their children, and children’s children, etc.
    It should not surprise us, then, that centuries later, when a heavenly sign appears, they recognize it.
    “We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.”
    They travelled ALL these miles, because they believed that the prophecies were true.
    They brought Jesus 3 gifts
    Gold, Frankincense and myrrh
    There is a little part of me that wonders,
    Did these Magi preserve some of the gold from the temple
    and they knew that the child who would be born king would actually be God in the flesh
    So they came to say, “we brought you back your gold.”
    We are reminded here that God is faithful across centuries even when we cannot see it.
    And we also see that faithful obedience in one generation, often bears fruit in another.
    These gentiles are responding to Jewish Scripture—while Jerusalem remains unmoved.

    III. Religious Knowledge Without Worship (vv. 3–6)

    Vs 3 tells us that Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him
    Herod, I get.
    wicked, false king who shouldn’t even be on the throne
    He should be nervous about a new king being born
    But why all Jerusalem??
    What do they have to fear?
    Herod gathers the chief priests and scribes
    ...experts in Scripture...
    They know exactly where the Messiah will be born:
    They tell him:
    “In Bethlehem… for so it is written…”
    Matthew 2:6”
    Matthew 2:6 ESV
    “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
    They quote Micah 5:2 accurately. Precisely. Confidently.
    And yet—they do nothing.
    No journey.
    No worship.
    No curiosity.
    Knowledge without affection produces apathy.
    These guys knew all that there was to know about God
    But they didn’t KNOW God...
    As Calvin warns, “It is possible to know Christ in the head and yet not know Him at all.”
    It is possible to be near Scripture and far from Christ.
    Orthodoxy (what we know about God and the scriptures)
    without a sense of awe and worship hardens us rather than humbles us.

    IV. A Deceptive King (vv. 7–8)

    Herod pretends interest:
    “Go and search diligently… that I too may come and worship Him.”
    But Matthew lets us see behind the curtain. This is not worship—it is warfare.
    We don’t see this yet in this text, but later Matthew reveals the truth about Herod’s intentions.
    Herod does not want to worship this child as Lord
    He wants to eliminate the threat to his throne like he has done before.
    False kings always mask hostility with piety.
    This is the same with the rest of the religious leaders in Israel
    These men had all the authority in day to day life in Israel
    They were regarded as Holy and so they were revered, feared even.
    They made all the religious decisions for the people.
    They had so much pride in their knowledge and supposed holiness...
    They were concerned that this king would come and mess with what they have going.
    When Jesus threatens our authority, we often disguise resistance as discernment.
    We must beware of honoring Christ with words while resisting Him with our lives.

    V. Joy That Leads to Worship (vv. 9–11)

    The star leads the Magi—not to a palace, but to a house.
    Notice they didn’t come to the manger??
    And Matthew says:
    “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
    Their joy explodes—not because they found power, but because they found the King in humility.
    Vs 11 says that they Fell Down and Worshiped him.
    They fall down.
    They worship.
    They knew that the child born King wasn’t just a human child coming to save his people from tyranny.
    That wouldn’t be reason for these gentile men to travel so far and bow down and worship
    They knew, likely because Daniel told their ancestors, that this child would be God in the Flesh
    the 2nd member of the Trinity, Jesus Christ
    So they bowed down to worship him.
    Then it says that they give gifts—gold, frankincense, myrrh.
    Not bribes. Not payments.
    Tributes.
    Gold for a King.
    A gift for a king, proclaiming Jesus as the rightful Son of David and sovereign ruler.
    Frankincense for a Priest.
    pointing to Jesus’ divinity and His role as our great High Priest who brings us to God.
    Myrrh for one born to die.
    A burial spice, foreshadowing Jesus’ suffering and death, revealing that the King and Priest would also be the Suffering Servant.
    Before Jesus likely spoke a word, these gifts confess that he is our King, our God, and our Savior.
    We see Gentiles kneel before a Jewish child, fulfilling God’s ancient promise to Abraham: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

    VI. Two Paths Forward (v. 12)

    Read Vs 12
    Warned in a dream, the Magi go home by another way.
    We don’t know what the dream was...but we can assume it told them the truth about Herod’s motives
    So they chose to go another way home, to protect the child.
    Truly Meeting Jesus always changes your direction doesn’t it?
    We see 2 different reactions to the birth of Christ
    Herod clings to power.
    He seeks to end the threat to his throne again
    The Magi relinquish it.
    They give of themselves, both in time and worship, as well as gifts
    Then choose to protect him from Herod and we can only assume, go on to continue to worship Christ with their lives.
    One responds with fear.
    The other with joy.
    When God reveals His true King, we will either cling to our throne like Herod—or fall down in worship like the Magi.
    Matthew 2 is not mainly about stars, gifts, or travel.
    It is about allegiance.
    Where does Jesus’ kingship confront your sense of control?
    What areas of your life are you clinging to rather than giving Christ control?
    Are you content with knowing Scripture—or are you moved to worship?
    Has your life changed since coming to know Christ?
    Closing Pastoral Prayer
    Father,
    We confess that our hearts are often closer to Herod than we would like to admit.
    We protect our comforts, our reputations, our control.
    Give us the humility of the Magi—eyes to see Your King, hearts that rejoice at His reign, and lives that bow gladly before Him.
    Lead us by Your grace, until worship becomes our joy and obedience our delight.
    Through Jesus Christ, the true King.
    Amen.
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