Searching For The Savior
Matthew 2:1-12
One of the best-known parts of what we commonly call “The Christmas Story” in the Bible is actually one of the most vivid commentaries on faith and salvation we have in the New Testament.
Too often, we have relegated the wise men to being extras in coffee table Nativity scenes, but their purpose in the Christmas story is much, much bigger than that. The wise men are one of four characters that we’ll meet in Matthew’s text today. But they are the only ones who are truly searching for the Savior. Of the four “characters” that we will see today, I pray that we would be represented by the Wise Men who did not allow anything to stop them in their search for the Savior. In this week rushing up to Christmas, may we be like them – searching for the Savior.
The Old Testament is full of prophetic anticipation. All of it points us – to the coming of the Savior – the Messiah. All of that prophecy was written so that we would be searching for the Savior so that our eyes would be open, and we would be watching and waiting, knowing someday God was going to break through the temporal plane and the Savior of Heaven would come to the earth.
And there were some “Wise Men” who were following those Old Testament prophecies. They were watching for the signs, and they were searching for the Savior.
We meet them in Matthew Chapter 2, verse 1.
Matthew 2:1 (NLT)
1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men (Magi) from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem . . .
We really don’t know anything about the wise men. All of our “Traditions” about them have come from…. Well – traditions.
The Greek word here is MAGI. And the Hebrew equivalent to MAGI is used three times in the Book of Daniel to describe those who were commonly known as wise men whose job was to interpret dreams and read the stars and tell the future.
They were astrologers, and they were SEERS of things that were “outside of this world.” We don’t know where these wise men were from, but they may have been from Babylon. If so, they could have easily had the ancient Jewish scrolls from when the Jews were in captivity in Babylon for seventy years.
In fact, Daniel (in the Book of Daniel) (in Babylon) was put in with the Wise Men of his day because of his God-given ability to interpret dreams and prophecy future events. But make no mistake about it; these guys were one hundred percent, through and through PAGAN. They were pagan gentiles, and the most incredible thing about them is they were the first (besides the shepherds) to come searching for the Savior.
And IF they came from Babylon (in the East), straight across the Arabian Desert, that’s a five-hundred-mile journey – if you travel in a straight line. And there were NO Planes, Trains, or Automobiles. And so, this was a camel caravan through the treacherous desert at substantial expense. But they were searching for the Savior – the Messiah from heaven – and so no effort and no expense was too much.
Today when we encourage someone to begin searching for the Savior, we generally mean pick up a Bible that’s probably already in their house and tune their heart and their mind into hearing from God through his Living Word. To the wise men, searching for the Savior meant a five-hundred-mile – life or death – trek across the desert.
And so, after all that it took just to get there, we read this in Matthew 2, verse 2.
Matthew 2:2 (NLT)
1 . . . [they] arrived in Jerusalem asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
Again, these Magi were Pagan astrologers looking beyond this world for bigger answers.
And they knew three things;
1) There was a newborn King of the Jews
2) There was a sign in the heavens that pointed to him
3) They were committed to finding him – to worship him
They didn’t have all the information. They didn’t have all the correct information. But they were committed to finding this Savior from Heaven and worshipping him.
Do you see yourself in the Wise Men? Can you look at your life and see yourself, at some point, searching for the Savior? Has there been a time in your life when you – like these Wise Men – were searching for the Savior sent from Heaven to earth? Does that represent you today?
Or maybe does our next “group of characters” better represent you?
When the wise men got to Jerusalem, they assumed the answer to their only question (from verse 2) would be common knowledge. After all, these were the Jews – in Jerusalem – these were “God’s people.” Certainly, they would know how to find this newborn King of the Jews.
And so, they started asking around and what they got was a whole bunch of disturbed people.
Matthew 2:2-3 (NLT)
2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
Now, let’s set King Herod aside for one minute. These pagan wise men just rode five hundred miles on camels searching for the Savior because they knew all the signs were pointing to his birth, and they assumed Jerusalem would be “abuzz” with the information. But when they start asking, all they succeed in doing is deeply disturbing the people.
So, a Wise Man from Babylon rides up on a camel and asks a good Jew… “Excuse me. Where is he? I know he’s got to be here somewhere. You know, the child that was born as the Savior – the King of the Jews – where is he?”
And you can just hear the Jewish people saying, “What? What are you talking about? And why are you on a camel? And you just rode from where? And would you like to sell that big funny hat on your head?”
“And as far as the Messiah, the King of the Jews, yeah, we learned about all that stuff when we were kids, but we don’t really get bogged down in that anymore. All I know is you better be careful because asking about a new “King” could get you some trouble around here.
Hold up a minute – these were the “people of God.” Why wasn’t all of Jerusalem seeing the signs of the Savior’s birth, and why weren’t the People of God actively searching for the Savior? Maybe because their need for a Savior had been consumed by the busyness of the season.
It’s like the mom who was frantically trying to get everything done for Christmas. She had a dozen things still to do, and her young son kept being distracted by all the Christmas decorations in the mall. And then the mom lost sight of her son, and in a panic, she started retracing her steps and finally found him with his nose pressed up against the glass of a store display, looking at a manger scene. As his mom reached for him, the boy said, “Mommy, Mommy! Look! It’s Jesus in the hay!” And as she yanked him away from the window, she said, “Come on, we don’t have time for that!”
Maybe that is the problem. Maybe we don’t have time to stop and look at Jesus and ask, “Why are you there in the hay? What did you come here to do? And why should I be searching for you?”
Instead, all of Jerusalem was disturbed. And King Herod was the most disturbed of all.
This was “Herod the Great,” who was most famous for his murderous rampages that took out any possible rival to his throne.
At this point in his life, Herod had already murdered:
His WIFE (a Jewess)
His MOTHER-IN-LAW (no jokes, please)
His BROTHER-IN-LAW
His UNCLE
and three of his own SONS.
All to remove any possible threat to his throne. Herod the Great would not stand for any threat to the throne that was his life.
With that background, let’s read Matthew Chapter 2, verse 4.
Matthew 2:4
4 (And so Herod) He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
Notice Herod uses the word Messiah, which means “the One come from God to save his people.”
Although Herod was not a Jew, his wife was, and she taught him a few things before he killed her. And so, he gathers those who would know about such things (the leading priests) and asks them, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
And notice in verse 5, they don’t even have to take a breath. They don’t have to consult with each other like on Family Feud. They answer without thinking…
Matthew 2:5-6 (NLT)
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ ”
BAAM! They quote Micah 5:2 without even having to think about it. These religious leaders really know their Bible, don’t they? These are the top religious guys with some serious knowledge about the Savior. They can quote chapters and verses all day long – and probably do. So… why aren’t they out searching for the Savior?
Why were those who knew the most about the Savior not actually out searching for him personally? Maybe it was because they were too preoccupied with their religious lives to even stop and look through the glass at Jesus in the hay (like the little boy in the mall).
Please don’t make the same mistake of knowing about Jesus.
Instead, search for the Savior;
Until you truly FIND him
Until you truly KNOW him
and until you can truly WORSHIP him.
These religious leaders knew about the Savior but failed to search for him personally.
And so, Herod called for the guys who were actually searching for the Savior.
Matthew 2:7 (NLT)
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.
And then,
Matthew 2:8 (NLT)
8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
Although this could be super awesome advice, Go and search carefully for the Savior. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can worship him with you; unfortunately, Herod’s intentions are purely evil. Herod only wanted to find the child to kill him. Because Herod was determined to remove any possible threat to him being the ruler of his own life and his own kingdom.
And can we admit that each of us has the same potential to remove any threat to us being the absolute ruler of our own lives?
Please do not eliminate Jesus Christ from your life just because you think he may be a threat to your “self-rulership.” Search for him as your Savior, and don’t fear his Lordship – he’s a good, good Lord.
And so, we go back to the only ones in our text who got it right.
Matthew 2:9-11(a) (NLT)
9 After this interview (with Herod) the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!
11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him . . .
And here we have the final and life-changing lesson. As God was leading them to the Savior, they were filled with joy! And when they saw the Savior, they bowed down and worshiped him.
And when the Wise Men saw the Savior of the World, Jesus was Deity in Diapers. He was the Savior, but he looked like a normal little Jewish baby. And so what great faith it took for these wise men to travel five hundred miles or more across the desert, to have faith in God’s leading of them through a miraculous sign in the sky (star), and then to finally find the Savior they were searching for and to bow down and worship… a baby.
They bowed their lives down and worshipped the Savior they were searching for.
And then they gave him the best of what they had.
Matthew 2:11(b) (NLT)
11 . . . Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
People often talk about the significance (the meaning) of these gifts. But the big truth is: they BOWED their LIVES to the Savior; They WORSHIPPED him, and they GAVE him the BEST of what they HAD.
Matthew 2:12 (NLT)
12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
These Wise Men went searching for the Savior:
No matter what the DISTANCE
No matter what the DIFFICULTY
No matter what the RISK
No matter what the COST.
And when they FOUND their Savior
they BOWED their lives to him
they WORSHIPPED hi
and they GAVE him the BEST of what they had.
And their lives were changed forever.
How about us today?
Are we like the crowd in Jerusalem? We should be searching for the Savior, but we’re just too consumed with this life.
Are we like the religious leaders? Who put their confidence in their religious knowledge but have no desire to actually find the Savior, personally?
Are we like Herod? Committed to removing any threat to the self-rulership of our lives?
Or… are we like the Wise Men? Searching for a Savior until we find him? Then bowing our lives to him? Worshipping him? Giving him our best? And having our lives changed – for eternity?
Let’s pray as we rush up on Christmas this week that we would be searching for the Savior.
Too often, we have relegated the wise men to being extras in coffee table Nativity scenes, but their purpose in the Christmas story is much, much bigger than that. The wise men are one of four characters that we’ll meet in Matthew’s text today. But they are the only ones who are truly searching for the Savior. Of the four “characters” that we will see today, I pray that we would be represented by the Wise Men who did not allow anything to stop them in their search for the Savior. In this week rushing up to Christmas, may we be like them – searching for the Savior.
The Old Testament is full of prophetic anticipation. All of it points us – to the coming of the Savior – the Messiah. All of that prophecy was written so that we would be searching for the Savior so that our eyes would be open, and we would be watching and waiting, knowing someday God was going to break through the temporal plane and the Savior of Heaven would come to the earth.
And there were some “Wise Men” who were following those Old Testament prophecies. They were watching for the signs, and they were searching for the Savior.
We meet them in Matthew Chapter 2, verse 1.
Matthew 2:1 (NLT)
1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men (Magi) from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem . . .
We really don’t know anything about the wise men. All of our “Traditions” about them have come from…. Well – traditions.
The Greek word here is MAGI. And the Hebrew equivalent to MAGI is used three times in the Book of Daniel to describe those who were commonly known as wise men whose job was to interpret dreams and read the stars and tell the future.
They were astrologers, and they were SEERS of things that were “outside of this world.” We don’t know where these wise men were from, but they may have been from Babylon. If so, they could have easily had the ancient Jewish scrolls from when the Jews were in captivity in Babylon for seventy years.
In fact, Daniel (in the Book of Daniel) (in Babylon) was put in with the Wise Men of his day because of his God-given ability to interpret dreams and prophecy future events. But make no mistake about it; these guys were one hundred percent, through and through PAGAN. They were pagan gentiles, and the most incredible thing about them is they were the first (besides the shepherds) to come searching for the Savior.
And IF they came from Babylon (in the East), straight across the Arabian Desert, that’s a five-hundred-mile journey – if you travel in a straight line. And there were NO Planes, Trains, or Automobiles. And so, this was a camel caravan through the treacherous desert at substantial expense. But they were searching for the Savior – the Messiah from heaven – and so no effort and no expense was too much.
Today when we encourage someone to begin searching for the Savior, we generally mean pick up a Bible that’s probably already in their house and tune their heart and their mind into hearing from God through his Living Word. To the wise men, searching for the Savior meant a five-hundred-mile – life or death – trek across the desert.
And so, after all that it took just to get there, we read this in Matthew 2, verse 2.
Matthew 2:2 (NLT)
1 . . . [they] arrived in Jerusalem asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
Again, these Magi were Pagan astrologers looking beyond this world for bigger answers.
And they knew three things;
1) There was a newborn King of the Jews
2) There was a sign in the heavens that pointed to him
3) They were committed to finding him – to worship him
They didn’t have all the information. They didn’t have all the correct information. But they were committed to finding this Savior from Heaven and worshipping him.
Do you see yourself in the Wise Men? Can you look at your life and see yourself, at some point, searching for the Savior? Has there been a time in your life when you – like these Wise Men – were searching for the Savior sent from Heaven to earth? Does that represent you today?
Or maybe does our next “group of characters” better represent you?
When the wise men got to Jerusalem, they assumed the answer to their only question (from verse 2) would be common knowledge. After all, these were the Jews – in Jerusalem – these were “God’s people.” Certainly, they would know how to find this newborn King of the Jews.
And so, they started asking around and what they got was a whole bunch of disturbed people.
Matthew 2:2-3 (NLT)
2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
Now, let’s set King Herod aside for one minute. These pagan wise men just rode five hundred miles on camels searching for the Savior because they knew all the signs were pointing to his birth, and they assumed Jerusalem would be “abuzz” with the information. But when they start asking, all they succeed in doing is deeply disturbing the people.
So, a Wise Man from Babylon rides up on a camel and asks a good Jew… “Excuse me. Where is he? I know he’s got to be here somewhere. You know, the child that was born as the Savior – the King of the Jews – where is he?”
And you can just hear the Jewish people saying, “What? What are you talking about? And why are you on a camel? And you just rode from where? And would you like to sell that big funny hat on your head?”
“And as far as the Messiah, the King of the Jews, yeah, we learned about all that stuff when we were kids, but we don’t really get bogged down in that anymore. All I know is you better be careful because asking about a new “King” could get you some trouble around here.
Hold up a minute – these were the “people of God.” Why wasn’t all of Jerusalem seeing the signs of the Savior’s birth, and why weren’t the People of God actively searching for the Savior? Maybe because their need for a Savior had been consumed by the busyness of the season.
It’s like the mom who was frantically trying to get everything done for Christmas. She had a dozen things still to do, and her young son kept being distracted by all the Christmas decorations in the mall. And then the mom lost sight of her son, and in a panic, she started retracing her steps and finally found him with his nose pressed up against the glass of a store display, looking at a manger scene. As his mom reached for him, the boy said, “Mommy, Mommy! Look! It’s Jesus in the hay!” And as she yanked him away from the window, she said, “Come on, we don’t have time for that!”
Maybe that is the problem. Maybe we don’t have time to stop and look at Jesus and ask, “Why are you there in the hay? What did you come here to do? And why should I be searching for you?”
Instead, all of Jerusalem was disturbed. And King Herod was the most disturbed of all.
This was “Herod the Great,” who was most famous for his murderous rampages that took out any possible rival to his throne.
At this point in his life, Herod had already murdered:
His WIFE (a Jewess)
His MOTHER-IN-LAW (no jokes, please)
His BROTHER-IN-LAW
His UNCLE
and three of his own SONS.
All to remove any possible threat to his throne. Herod the Great would not stand for any threat to the throne that was his life.
With that background, let’s read Matthew Chapter 2, verse 4.
Matthew 2:4
4 (And so Herod) He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
Notice Herod uses the word Messiah, which means “the One come from God to save his people.”
Although Herod was not a Jew, his wife was, and she taught him a few things before he killed her. And so, he gathers those who would know about such things (the leading priests) and asks them, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
And notice in verse 5, they don’t even have to take a breath. They don’t have to consult with each other like on Family Feud. They answer without thinking…
Matthew 2:5-6 (NLT)
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ ”
BAAM! They quote Micah 5:2 without even having to think about it. These religious leaders really know their Bible, don’t they? These are the top religious guys with some serious knowledge about the Savior. They can quote chapters and verses all day long – and probably do. So… why aren’t they out searching for the Savior?
Why were those who knew the most about the Savior not actually out searching for him personally? Maybe it was because they were too preoccupied with their religious lives to even stop and look through the glass at Jesus in the hay (like the little boy in the mall).
Please don’t make the same mistake of knowing about Jesus.
Instead, search for the Savior;
Until you truly FIND him
Until you truly KNOW him
and until you can truly WORSHIP him.
These religious leaders knew about the Savior but failed to search for him personally.
And so, Herod called for the guys who were actually searching for the Savior.
Matthew 2:7 (NLT)
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.
And then,
Matthew 2:8 (NLT)
8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
Although this could be super awesome advice, Go and search carefully for the Savior. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can worship him with you; unfortunately, Herod’s intentions are purely evil. Herod only wanted to find the child to kill him. Because Herod was determined to remove any possible threat to him being the ruler of his own life and his own kingdom.
And can we admit that each of us has the same potential to remove any threat to us being the absolute ruler of our own lives?
Please do not eliminate Jesus Christ from your life just because you think he may be a threat to your “self-rulership.” Search for him as your Savior, and don’t fear his Lordship – he’s a good, good Lord.
And so, we go back to the only ones in our text who got it right.
Matthew 2:9-11(a) (NLT)
9 After this interview (with Herod) the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!
11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him . . .
And here we have the final and life-changing lesson. As God was leading them to the Savior, they were filled with joy! And when they saw the Savior, they bowed down and worshiped him.
And when the Wise Men saw the Savior of the World, Jesus was Deity in Diapers. He was the Savior, but he looked like a normal little Jewish baby. And so what great faith it took for these wise men to travel five hundred miles or more across the desert, to have faith in God’s leading of them through a miraculous sign in the sky (star), and then to finally find the Savior they were searching for and to bow down and worship… a baby.
They bowed their lives down and worshipped the Savior they were searching for.
And then they gave him the best of what they had.
Matthew 2:11(b) (NLT)
11 . . . Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
People often talk about the significance (the meaning) of these gifts. But the big truth is: they BOWED their LIVES to the Savior; They WORSHIPPED him, and they GAVE him the BEST of what they HAD.
Matthew 2:12 (NLT)
12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
These Wise Men went searching for the Savior:
No matter what the DISTANCE
No matter what the DIFFICULTY
No matter what the RISK
No matter what the COST.
And when they FOUND their Savior
they BOWED their lives to him
they WORSHIPPED hi
and they GAVE him the BEST of what they had.
And their lives were changed forever.
How about us today?
Are we like the crowd in Jerusalem? We should be searching for the Savior, but we’re just too consumed with this life.
Are we like the religious leaders? Who put their confidence in their religious knowledge but have no desire to actually find the Savior, personally?
Are we like Herod? Committed to removing any threat to the self-rulership of our lives?
Or… are we like the Wise Men? Searching for a Savior until we find him? Then bowing our lives to him? Worshipping him? Giving him our best? And having our lives changed – for eternity?
Let’s pray as we rush up on Christmas this week that we would be searching for the Savior.