The Humility of Christmas: A world of pride is a nasty place. But a humble life is a blessing and a joy. Humility is one of the key themes of the Christmas story and is especially seen in the strange story of the visit of the Magi. In God’s kingdom, the way down is up. Recorded on Dec 18, 2022, on Matthew 2;1-12, by Pastor David Parks.
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Sermon Transcript
All year, in our preaching ministry, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus. And today, we’re doing a standalone sermon for this Christmas season on the visit of the Magi (wise men) after the birth of Jesus. And this story relates to Learning the Way of Jesus in that in this story, we see several examples of the humility of Christmas. This is such a good reminder that the way up in the kingdom of God is actually down. Because humility is one of the key aspects of the incarnation of Jesus, and, in turn, humility becomes a key character trait for us as we learn to follow his way. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Matthew 2:1, and we’ll read through this story and then unpack it together.
Matthew 2:1-12 (NIV), “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘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 shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
Just a little context for you, first, the gospel of Matthew was written by Matthew, also known as Levi, who was a tax collector before he became a Christian. This means that he would’ve been wealthy but not well-liked. But Matthew met Jesus, and Jesus called Matthew to follow him, and he did. He left his lucrative career behind and became an Apostle or eye-witness to the life and ministry, and ultimately to the death and resurrection of Jesus. As we often say around here, Jesus changes everything. So with that, let’s jump back into this story and make sure we understand what Matthew is saying here. Look back at v.1.
Matthew 2:1-2 (NIV), “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 when it rose and have come to worship him.”” Let’s pause here. Ok! There’s a lot going on here. So we’re a little backward in that it isn’t yet Christmas for us today, but this story takes place sometime after the birth of Jesus. Now, it doesn’t say exactly how long after his birth this took place, but I would guess it wasn’t too long as they were all still in Bethlehem in Judea. We’ll tell the story again on Christmas Eve, but according to Luke’s gospel, Mary and Joseph had traveled from Nazareth in the north (which is eventually where Jesus would grow up) to Bethlehem in the south (where he was born) because there was a census being done by the Roman government and everyone had to return to their ancestral homes. Since Joseph was from the house and line of the ancient King David, they had to go to Bethlehem, which was David’s city. While they were there, Matthew writes that Magi from the east came not to Bethlehem but to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Now, this is very awkward because why? Because there was already a king in Jerusalem! King Herod, known as Herod the Great. Now Herod didn’t have absolute authority over his kingdom of Judea because they were subjugated to the Roman Empire and the mighty Caesar Augustus. But still, if you were king, how would you like someone to show up at your doorstep looking for the new king who had been born? Awkward indeed. But who was it who showed up and what made them think a new king had been born? The answers to these questions make this story very strange and mysterious. Matthew writes that it was Magi (traditionally, wise men), from the east who had tracked the appearance of a star and had interpreted it as a sign that a new king had been born. The word magi is where we get our word magician today. Magi are found in the Bible in ancient Egypt to the south, but also in Babylon and Persia to the east. The OT prophet Daniel was put in charge of the Magi when he was in exile in Babylon. And the work of a magi seems to be some sort of combination of pagan priest, philosopher, scientist, and fortune teller. They were to discern secret wisdom/knowledge to advise their kings through the interpretation of signs, dreams, and other things. So these pagan mystics used astrology to understand that a new king had been born. Naturally, they went to Jerusalem to look for him as Jerusalem was the capital of Judea and the central place of worship for the Jewish people. How would Herod respond to this strange visit? We see in v. 2.
Matthew 2:3-6 (NIV), “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “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 shepherd my people Israel.’”” Ok! So that went just as expected. When Herod heard there was potentially a rival king, not a member of his house and line, who had supernatural signs associated with his birth, he was…disturbed. What would this mean? Would there be an insurrection or civil war? No wonder all Jerusalem was disturbed with him. No doubt everyone heard the story about these foreign astrologers. However, the people of Israel didn’t have Magi. Fortune-telling, consulting spirits, and the like were all forbidden under the OT law of Moses. So Herod called together the chief priests and teachers of the law and asked if there was any prophecy in the OT about where the Messiah or the anointed one was to be born. And they told him, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” and then they quote the prophet Micah who wrote that a ruler or shepherd would come from Bethlehem. This is, of course, only one of many, many prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures about the coming of the Messiah. Here is just one other example from Jeremiah 23:5 (NIV), “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” And there are many others. So there were many Jewish people at this time who were watching expectantly for the coming of the Messiah. Herod knew this and right away assumed it was possibly the Messiah who had been born. Now, tellingly, this didn’t serve to calm Herod down, but only fueled his suspicion and concern to protect his kingdom and his status for himself and his family. Look back at v. 7.
Matthew 2:7-8 (NIV), “Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”” Here we see the evil genius of Herod, secretly sending the Magi to Bethlehem under the pretense that he, too, would like to worship this new king. Of course, he wasn’t interested in worshiping this new potential Messiah. Later we learn that it was Herod’s intention to kill the baby, which reveals Herod’s heart toward the Lord and what had been promised in the word of God. Nevertheless, the Magi are sent on their way to find Jesus with direction from God’s word. Isn’t that interesting? The Scriptures help Gentile seekers find the Jewish Messiah. It’s no different to this day, is it? But what happened next? Would the Magi smell the intrigue and political scheming and run away? Or would they lead Herod right to the baby? (v. 9)
Matthew 2:9-11 (NIV), “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose 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 worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” So the Magi found that the star indeed marked the place where a baby had been born. The supernatural sign was confirmed! His mother was named Mary, and his name was Jesus. And these pagan magician-priests, these Gentile astrologers, these foreign dignitaries were filled with joy, bowed down, and worshiped Jesus. Then they opened their gifts for him, gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which were incredibly costly gifts. Later, I believe in the providence of God, the Magi’s gifts funded Mary and Joseph and Jesus’ flight into Egypt to avoid Herod’s wicked attempt to put Jesus to death. But here, they were simply gifts appropriate for the birth of a king. Three gifts are mentioned, but we don’t know for sure that there were three Magi. Probably, they would have had a larger entourage to make such a long journey from their kingdom to the east, but the text doesn’t say. What must Mary and Joseph thought of having these strange men visit? The story ends with v. 12.
Matthew 2:12 (NIV), “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” So Herod’s plot was foiled, and he was furious, the Magi went home, and Jesus’ family was able to escape to Egypt until Herod died, and it was safe to return to Nazareth (perhaps years later). Merry Christmas! Now, obviously, nothing about the story of the birth of Jesus is ordinary. This certainly wasn’t Mary’s preferred birth plan. But I think the story of the Magi is one of the stranger aspects of an already unusual Christmas story. The fact that Jesus, the Jewish Messiah (Anointed One), sent by God to rescue and redeem his people, the one whom God had promised for generations through the prophets, the one who would finally deal once and for all with the problems of sin and death (could there be a more important birth?) — was born in Bethlehem and not in Jerusalem; was laid in a manger and not in a palace; was born to Mary and Joseph of the small-town community of Nazareth and not to Herod the Great; was recognized by shepherds and pagan Magi from the east and not the chief priests and teachers of the law who were experts in the Messianic prophecies; was born not during the power and glory of Israel under King David a thousand years earlier but during their low status as conquered subjects of the Roman Empire; these and a hundred other details all point to the incredible humility of the Christmas story. The incarnation of Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, was the most humble event in human history. Why? Because Jesus wasn’t just born like you and I were born. At the birth of Jesus, he had come from heaven into the world that he had made, becoming a part of that world. The Creator had become a creature, too. The author of life had become a key character in the plot he had written. The word incarnation comes from John chapter 1 where it says that Jesus is the word of God made flesh. So being “made flesh” is what incarnation means. The alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the spirit and life itself, was made flesh. And all these things took humility. When Jesus came into the world, he had to humbly set aside his needs/wants/preferences and the glory he had enjoyed from eternity past in heaven in order to meet our greatest need with his life, death, and resurrection from the dead. He both said and demonstrated that he came not to be served as the true king that he was, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many, including both Jew and Gentile. He came for both the priests and the Magi, for Herod and Caesar and all the other kings, for the people in Bethlehem and Jerusalem and wherever the Magi were from, too. The Christmas story is a story not about pride/power/influence/ego, but of humility. In fact it is a story where the greatest becomes the least so that the lost and last and least among us might become great in him.
So how are we doing with this? How are we doing with humility? Pride rears its ugly head silently but powerfully. In big ways and little ways, pride is often our default. Speaking for myself, I can say that I sadly often look at others not as a neighbor who deserves my loving service, my commitment to speak the truth in love, and whose needs or preferences can come ahead of my own, but instead, as an obstacle in my way or as an object to be used for my benefit, glory, or to meet my goals. This is not the humility of Jesus. This is the pride and ego of the world. Pride says I come first. Pride says I’m the main character in this world and everyone else plays a supporting role to me. But pride sucks all the joy and gratitude out of life. Pride leads to entitlement and suspicion and protecting your turf or family or role or wealth ahead of all others. A world of pride is a nasty place. But a world of humility is a wonder and a blessing for all. Why? Because if everyone is looking to the needs of others, then everyone’s needs will be more than met, and no one will have their noses bent out of shape because they are looking out for themselves. This is the way of Jesus. It’s not that Jesus destroys all power and authority for Christians today or in the kingdom of God in the future. It’s that he completely subverts what power and authority are used for. Again, the way up is down. So today, as we meditate on the birth of Jesus, let us press into the humility of Jesus. Let us give up our worldly tendency to fight for our rights and our preferences and use our time and money, and energy to serve and love others, putting their needs ahead of our on. But finally, may we look to Jesus now, no longer in humble darkness, no longer in weakness and anonymity. But Jesus, high and lifted up, in glory, honor, and strength, seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, who one day will return in this same glory, exalted to the highest place. He is the king of the kingdom of heaven, who died to free us from the sin of pride and to make us joyfully humble. Let us pray.