Sermon Archive 1 - Trinity Fellowship

THE WISE MEN

by Rick Trice

December 19, 2004

Scriptural Text: MATTHEW 2:1 - 18

The term “magoi” is a Greek word for a type of priest who specialized in dreams and omens, and claimed the gift of prophecy. In their homeland, they were likely very powerful rulers, hence the term “kings.” These magoi who followed the star and visited Bethlehem were probably from Persia or Media (Arabia), thousands of miles away. (Is. 60:6) (Ps. 72:10)

Contrary to popular belief, the wise men probably did not come to see Christ in the manger. Matthew 2:11 says they came to see him in "a house." In fact, it possibly took them up to a couple of years to even get to Bethlehem, since that’s when they told Herod they first sighted the star. In fact, Herod later ordered the murder of almost fifty male infants under the age of two, just to be sure the act coincided with the reported trip of the wise men.

In another contradiction of popular belief, there were not necessarily just three kings. There could have been more, or less. We get the idea of three because of the three gifts they brought: Gold, Frankincense and Myrhh, three valuable substances at that time. And as costly as they were individually, they gained even more value when presented to Christ.

Today, those gifts have added significance and spiritual value:

Gold: symbolized the Kingship of Christ.

Gold is associated with kings, and is a royal gift. For us today, it is a symbol that when material wealth is a gift or an offering, it is not only to be given back to God for His use, not for our hoarding, but also indicates that nothing is to take God’s place in our heart, not even our possessions.

Frankincense: symbolized the incense of offerings Christ was coming to the world to make an ultimate offering for us. Frankincense was burnt in sacrifices and worship to emit a sweet smoke. Did you know that our sense of smell evokes some of the strongest memories in us? What odors immediately brings out certain memories for you? New mown grass? Barnyard smells? Pine trees at Christmas? The Old Testament talks a lot of the odors associated with sacrifice; that they were a pleasing aroma to God. In the New Testament, Paul writes in Romans 12 that our entire lives should be a living sacrifice to God; For us today, that means the giving of our time to serve God; t ime that often seems to non-believers to be wasted, like burnt Frankincense, but which we know is a sweet aroma to God.

Myrhh: was an ointment used in burial cloths, to cover the stench of death.

The wise men brought myrhh to foreshadow the sweet aroma of Christ’s victory over the grave. Myrhh reminds us to reflect on the atoning death of Christ.

The Worship of the Wise Men:

The wise men symbolize how much they desired to come worship the new king of kings. To do this, they totally rearranged their lives. They gave up more than two years of their lives; hard travel across strange and hard country, to find and worship Christ/ How much easier is it for us to seek out and find Christ, day to day. How many of us “rearrange” our lives to meet God where He is? How much whining and procrastinating do we find ourselves doing?

And finally, to sum up, the story of adoration of the Christ child by the wise kings is a symbol of the later submission of the entire Gentile world to the Jewish Messiah. Christ came first to the Jews. That was the significance of having Him born in Bethlehem, the City of David, to underscore His lineage with David and the fulfillment of Jewish prophecies. But the great gift of God through Christ is that He came for the redemption of all mankind, not just the Jews.

So it is not by accident that Matthew opens and closes his book with this theme: (Matt 28:19) “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

How much are we each taking that commission seriously, as our primary purpose in life?

How much are we willing to “rearrange” our priorities, to go the extra mile, like the Magoi?

How much are we willing to give up of our wealth, possessions, time and professions?

How much are we willing to make our lives a living sacrifice, wholly pleasing to God; a sweet smelling aroma in His nostrils?

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