Holding On: To the Journey
Sometimes, the word "reality" isn't the best depiction of actual reality. Reality TV is a great example of this. It's real people and TV, but it's not reality. The same can be said about, "We three kings of orient are."
Matthew 2
1 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.
It's easy for us to lose the reality of this story. We’ve seen dozens of Christmas pageants. This is not a legend or fable. Matthew wrote this specifically to convince his original audience. He tried to establish the historicity and credibility of Jesus within the realm of the Jewish religion and prophecy.
The Wise Men came from the East, were not followers or believers of God, and were thought of as scientific theologians or theological scientists. Nowhere else in the Bible are these types of people talked about positively.
So, Matthew is going somewhere unique with this.
When Julius Caesar died some years before, there happened to be a great supernova in the sky. This helped the astrology business for quite a few years because it was believed that when a great king was born or died, there would be a sign in the heavens about it.
There was also a widespread rumor that a great king would come out of Judea, and there was an intersection of Jupiter and Saturn in the sky that looked like a great big star. This explains how they saw the star, began the journey, and ended up in Jerusalem. This can easily be seen as a cool, interesting story, but what are the scriptures trying to teach us here?
Like the wise men, we are all on a journey, starting with circumstances, happenstance, events, or questions. But there will be a limit to how far those other things can take us.
What are we going to look back at 50 years from now that seems so cutting edge that is going to seem silly when we look back? What is the "wisdom of this world" that we are building our lives on that, in retrospect, will seem hopelessly outdated or laughable?
1 Corinthians 1
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
We think we’re the smart, educated, successful ones. Where might our journey actually have elements of foolishness?
Our faith is ancient for a reason. It's not built on the wisdom of that world or this world. It's why we come back and wrestle with the Bible. We don't wrestle with music, movies, pop culture, or the news cycle when we are at church, and that's for a reason. We can wrestle with that everywhere else. Sometimes, the Bible will seem outdated, incongruous, or silly in the moment. But what will seem silly in retrospect?
Those other sources of wisdom aren’t meaningless.
The wisdom of this world can lead us part of the way, but it can’t lead us all the way.
But that doesn’t mean these individuals aren’t sincere, because they are as they try to figure things out, just like us. With faith, we have to check our brains at the door until we feel something.
That’s not what these guys were doing at all. They studied the signs in the sky, the Hebrew Scriptures and prophesies. They thought it out, considered it, and then acted on it. It was gutsy – months of travel on camels.
When people search for God, they start in all kinds of places, and God uses them all.
Reason starts us on the journey but doesn't get us through it. That's what faith is for.
Some of us try to answer a faith question by looking for a reason. We want everything to line up and make sense. Reason will point us in the direction but won't get us through the journey.
Something that helps us get through the journey is sacrifice. Often, we're all about following God, but we're not about sacrificing. We want to be able to follow but without the cost.
There are so many people who are looking for God, waiting on God to show up, act, or move. But they’re missing God because they aren’t willing to sacrifice.
What are you willing to sacrifice to follow God on the journey? What are you not willing to sacrifice?
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- They weren’t kings
- There weren’t 3 of them but rather 3 gifts
- They weren’t from the “orient” or “East.”
Matthew 2
1 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.
It's easy for us to lose the reality of this story. We’ve seen dozens of Christmas pageants. This is not a legend or fable. Matthew wrote this specifically to convince his original audience. He tried to establish the historicity and credibility of Jesus within the realm of the Jewish religion and prophecy.
The Wise Men came from the East, were not followers or believers of God, and were thought of as scientific theologians or theological scientists. Nowhere else in the Bible are these types of people talked about positively.
So, Matthew is going somewhere unique with this.
When Julius Caesar died some years before, there happened to be a great supernova in the sky. This helped the astrology business for quite a few years because it was believed that when a great king was born or died, there would be a sign in the heavens about it.
There was also a widespread rumor that a great king would come out of Judea, and there was an intersection of Jupiter and Saturn in the sky that looked like a great big star. This explains how they saw the star, began the journey, and ended up in Jerusalem. This can easily be seen as a cool, interesting story, but what are the scriptures trying to teach us here?
Like the wise men, we are all on a journey, starting with circumstances, happenstance, events, or questions. But there will be a limit to how far those other things can take us.
What are we going to look back at 50 years from now that seems so cutting edge that is going to seem silly when we look back? What is the "wisdom of this world" that we are building our lives on that, in retrospect, will seem hopelessly outdated or laughable?
1 Corinthians 1
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
We think we’re the smart, educated, successful ones. Where might our journey actually have elements of foolishness?
Our faith is ancient for a reason. It's not built on the wisdom of that world or this world. It's why we come back and wrestle with the Bible. We don't wrestle with music, movies, pop culture, or the news cycle when we are at church, and that's for a reason. We can wrestle with that everywhere else. Sometimes, the Bible will seem outdated, incongruous, or silly in the moment. But what will seem silly in retrospect?
Those other sources of wisdom aren’t meaningless.
The wisdom of this world can lead us part of the way, but it can’t lead us all the way.
But that doesn’t mean these individuals aren’t sincere, because they are as they try to figure things out, just like us. With faith, we have to check our brains at the door until we feel something.
That’s not what these guys were doing at all. They studied the signs in the sky, the Hebrew Scriptures and prophesies. They thought it out, considered it, and then acted on it. It was gutsy – months of travel on camels.
When people search for God, they start in all kinds of places, and God uses them all.
Reason starts us on the journey but doesn't get us through it. That's what faith is for.
Some of us try to answer a faith question by looking for a reason. We want everything to line up and make sense. Reason will point us in the direction but won't get us through the journey.
Something that helps us get through the journey is sacrifice. Often, we're all about following God, but we're not about sacrificing. We want to be able to follow but without the cost.
There are so many people who are looking for God, waiting on God to show up, act, or move. But they’re missing God because they aren’t willing to sacrifice.
What are you willing to sacrifice to follow God on the journey? What are you not willing to sacrifice?
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Instagram.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
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