Tag Archives: Christ

December 24, 2018 · 4:31 pm

The Person of Christmas

Peninsula Community Church

What does Christmas Mean? Lessons from the Wise Men.

December 23, 2018

Matthew 2:1-6 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “‘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.’”

I am not sure that you have had experienced this but we have on a few occasions. We love to get in the car and drive around to see what is around us. Being a lover of Civil War history we had heard about Harriet Tubman’s birthplace in Maryland and thought it would be fun to visit this site. So off we go. We traveled past Cambridge into the middle of nowhere and into a very desolate area. Upon arrival, we found a placard that stated that they thought this was the location. There was no home and all that was in front of us was an open field. As we were standing there taking in this moment suddenly we began to hear shooting in the field adjacent to us. It was in that moment that we decided it was time for us to leave and leave quickly. How disappointed we were as our journey did not produce the results we had hoped for. While our journey was disappointing, the wisemen’s journey was anything but disappointing. They found the Savior. Your journey does not have to be disappointing either as you will find the Savior if you seek Him.

Today, we finish our look at the meaning of Christmas through the eyes of the wisemen. Over the last few weeks we have looked at the journey of the wisemen. We have looked at the gifts of the wisemen. We have looked at the worship of the wisemen. Today, we will focus on the One that made this journey possible and is in fact the destination of their journey. You see from the beginning of their journey, the focus of the story has been and continues to be on Jesus. Over the last couple of weeks we have learned much about the Christmas story through the eyes of the wisemen.

As we read through this passage, we find three illustrative word pictures used to define the work and mission of Christ. First, we find that He is a baby. In this, we see the innocence, purity, and promise of His birth. The Jewish leaders had a different experience. They were looking for a warrior. They were disappointed and disillusioned at the news that the Messiah was born as child in a manger because that is not how a king would come. While they thought that their king should come on a white steed with regalia of a King. What they found was a placard in the middle of an empty field.

I am not sure about you, but I have often wondered if this was one of the reasons God did not call the religious leaders to the manger. If sent, I wonder if they would have missed Christ as they were misguided in their focus and in their purpose. It is amazing to me that instead of the religious leaders, God called, the shepherds, the lowliest of all people in society to find Jesus. He called those who were unbelievers, the wisemen. In the process they all believed and walked away with a new found faith. You see God was not calling the religious but those who needed Christ and were genuinely seeking Him.

Secondly, there is the picture of Jesus as a shepherd. What a visual picture for those of Jesus’ day. What a statement for Christ’s ministry. For us, we may not see or grasp the value of this designation, but those who witnessed Jesus’ birth and lived in that area knew the incredible value of this designation. It is a powerful illustration of the work of Christ in our life. He is the shepherd. He is our shepherd. As shepherd, Jesus’ birth was a fulfillment of Micah 5:2. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

David caught a vision of this work of Christ when he penned the words of Psalm 23. After all remember David too was a shepherd who became a king. In this Psalm, the work of the Lord, as the Shepherd, is defined. It is in this Psalm that we find His mission. Listen to David’s words. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

How amazing is the ministry of Jesus as the shepherd? He was and continues to be our shepherd. He is our provider so that we do not lack what we need. He leads us to a place of rest and peace as pictured in the green pastures and the still waters. He is a restorer of the soul. When we are distraught and feel we are losing it, He comes and restores us. Notice, that He restores the soul which is that inner part of our being that only God can touch and revive.

As the Shepherd, He leads us down the path of righteousness. This righteousness is worked out in our thinking, our actions, and our feelings so that His name is glorified. Because He is the shepherd, even when we confront the worst of all circumstances, He is there. He is walking with us through death and the greatest fears of our life. He brings reconciliation even with our enemies. The reconciliation is so great that He invites us to dine with our enemies so we can move forward with our life rather than being stagnated by a lack of forgiveness. He anoints us and leads us into His mission, so we find fulfillment and a fresh perspective.

The third description is that of a king. The wisemen saw Jesus for who He was. They saw Him as the King of the Jews. They traveled the distance they did to find the King. What they did not see in Herod, they saw in Jesus. What they did not see in themselves, they saw in Christ. Because of their experience, they knew He was more than just the King of the Jews, He was and still is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Jews missed the opportunity to find Jesus. This was in part because they had a misunderstanding of God’s intent and purpose in establishing His kingdom. Most Jewish leaders had political aspirations. They wanted political power and position. Jesus on the other hand wanted their heart.

From the beginning, the political and ecclesiastical leaders did not trust Him. His ethical teachings, His irreproachable moral character, and His undeniable lineage constantly jeopardized the security and aspirations of the Jewish leadership of that day. Herod needlessly feared Jesus. Pilate was unnecessarily suspicious of Him. They lost sight of the fact that Christ had not come to set up an earthly kingdom. He had come to be the King of redemption. His Kingdom was to be a spiritual kingdom. He was to reign in the hearts of men and women. You see they had never bargained on a spiritual kingdom. They missed the fact this was a heart issue and not a political or religious issue.

As we think about His kingdom, we are aware that His kingdom is present now but there is also a kingdom that is to come. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray your kingdom come; your will be done. As such, we invite His kingdom into every situation we encounter. The truth is nothing matters apart from His kingdom. Just as Christ penetrated the hustle and bustle of His day, so today Christ can and will invade any and every situation we have to make a difference.

The wise men of old inquired, “Where is He who has been born King?” Today, many are asking the same question. “Where is He?” For some, they are on a path to find Him and others are just like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. They are ignorant of His purposes and His calling. They for searching for a Jesus that does not exist. They want power and position but that is not the intent of God’s heart. But we will find Him when we seek Him. And seek Him we must.

The Bible says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He was King yesterday, He is King today, He will be King tomorrow. By virtue of His kingly office, He was the only One in Heaven qualified to redeem a lost world. Had Jesus Christ been less than He was, He could not have made atonement for our sins. Fully aware of our inability to pay the price of redemption, Jesus Christ gave Himself as a ransom for us. At the end of every presidency one of the last things they enact is clemency and a pardon of crimes committed by certain people. One greater than any president or ruler did that for us upon the cross.

But that was yesterday. What about today? Many people are asking, “Where is the Kingdom of God today? If He is a king? If so, where is His kingdom?” His kingdom as then now reigns in the heart of man. So the question for us is “Does Christ reign in your heart?” Is He Lord and King of your life? The Bible says, “If we confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus as Christ, and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, we will be saved” Romans 10:9. You may say, “I believe in Christ.” But have you made Him King of your heart. The reason for this is that if He is not Lord of your heart then, He does not have complete control of your life.

For an audio of this message go to http://pccministry.org/messages.

What does Christmas mean? Lessons from the Wise Men.

Peninsula Community Church

What does Christmas mean? Lessons from the Wise Men.

December 2, 2018

Matthew 2:1-2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Today, we begin a new series for this Christmas season. Over the next four weeks we will focus on the lessons we learn from the Wise Men who visited Jesus after His birth. We will begin this week by looking at the journey of the wise men. As we look at this story, there are a couple of things that stand out. First, they were on a journey to find Jesus. The fact is we all need to be on a journey to find Christ in our life and bring glory to His name each and every day. The truth is we are all on a journey of some kind. It is our choice to make this journey to find Christ. Secondly, they were on this journey together. The fact is we can do a lot by ourselves but we can do even more when we take this journey together. And finally, while we need each other we need to find the Savior for ourselves. We cannot expect others to do that for us.

As we look at these Magi, wisemen, or kings we find there is not much history given to us to define who they are. In our passage today, we find that they came from the east. That is all that we know. That is all of the history that Matthew chooses to reveal to us. From his short note we know they were magi or wise men who had traveled from the east and they had traveled a great distance. As we study this you might be a bit surprised at who these men were.

As we study Scripture and we compare the Christmas story with Biblical truth, we find that we have many incorrect ideas about the wise men. First of all, the Scripture never says there are three wise men. The Scripture simply states that wise men came from the east. The number of wise men associated with this story most likely came from the number of gifts that were presented to Jesus. Secondly, by the Biblical account we do not know their names even though they have been given the names of Casper, Balthazar and Melchior. One of the most interesting historical fallacies for me is that Bishop Reinald of Cologne believed he found the skulls of the wise men. His proof was that their eyes were still in their sockets and they were gazing toward Bethlehem. Believe it or not they are on exhibit in a priceless casket in a great cathedral in Europe. It is also noteworthy that around the manger we often find the shepherds and the wise men together but most scholars believe the wise men arrived much later in the story and were most likely not together with the shepherds.

Now that I have blown your image of the traditional Christmas story let us look at the facts. Here is what we do know for sure. The wise men, the magi came from the east. They saw a star and followed that star to Jesus. Many scholars believe for us to understand who the magi were, we should go back in time to the story of Daniel. The magi were magicians and astrologers. They studied the stars and were well acquainted with astronomy. John MacArthur and others suggest these magi were a part of a priestly tribe from the Medes and Persians. King Nebuchadnezzar had enlisted the services of these soothsayers and interpreter of dreams to be his confidants. In the story of Daniel, we find that God had positioned Daniel to be over all of the magicians and astrologers.

When you think about it what an amazing step taken by God. It is possible and most likely that Daniel shared the hope of the coming Messiah with the magi of his day. We also know that the magicians of Daniel’s day failed to interpret the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar and God anointed Daniel to do so. This peaked the interest of the Magi and they most likely passed the stories of Daniel down through the ages including the hope of this coming Messiah.

As we return to our story the idea of them taking a journey is important to the story and it lends itself to the understanding of our own journey to Christ. So for today, we will focus on the idea of the wise men taking this journey. In part, we must remember these men were Gentiles and not Jews. They were nonbelievers which is curious since they were pursuing the Christ child. They did not know Christ but they were pursuing Him, because they were being drawn to Him and they had heard the stories about Him.

For that reason, these were the last guys you might have thought would be on a journey to find Christ. They were not what the Jewish leaders would have agreed with. The point here is that God draws all of mankind to Himself. He is not a respecter of persons. He calls all men to salvation. So no matter the rank, the position one has in life, or one’s occupation, God is calling all men to seek and find Him. And the beauty is that if we take this journey we will find Him. It is my believe that there are many are on a journey to find Christ but it is a different journey than what we took perhaps.

The fact is we might be surprised to find who may be bowing before a Hebrew and heralding him as king. At Jesus’s birth, recognize how the tables have turned. This time, a star led the Magi into exile, sojourning in search of the scepter rising out of Israel (Num. 24:17). This time, they do not find a man seated at the right hand of Nebuchadnezzar, but a child seated on his mother’s lap. As they bow and worship, they become the first to recognize the end from the beginning. This child would surpass Daniel as chief of the magi.

Second, they were on the journey. They were not passive. They were seeking the Savior. They acted upon what they saw. They knew the stars and what the stars had spoken. Not only were they motivated by way of the star, but they genuinely wanted to find the Christ child, the Messiah. This is an important point for us to consider. To find Christ, you have to be searching and if you look for Him you will find Him.

These men were seekers. They wanted to know the truth. They studied the stars. They studied religion and it is supposed that they were students of the Jewish faith. They looked for wisdom. The wise men even looked outside of their own tradition, outside of their own religious background. They were not content to just sit and passively take in what they were told. They were seekers. In our world, today, there are those who are seeking answers to life problems. They are searching for answers and they are looking for something that works. They need something to hold onto. That is why this Christmas season is the best season of all to share the message of the Gospel.

I love what Jeremiah says to us in Jeremiah 29:10-14 “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. That was the promise to Israel, it is the promise to those who call Him Lord, and it is the promise to everyone else. Seek and you shall find.

Third, it is noteworthy they were on the journey together. Here is an important fact to understand. There is a need to be on this journey but we need one another along the way. We cannot isolate nor can we muscle our way through on our own. We need to be on the journey with others.

God uses people in our life to help us find Him. It might be a friend. It might be a neighbor. It might be a coworker. It could be the pastor. It could be a Sunday School teacher. The possibilities are limitless but God uses people in our journey to lead us to the Savior. I had that. I was not following Christ when a group from the youth ministry of our church barged through the door of my house to kidnap me and bring me to the church.

The writer of Ecclesiastes knew the power of this when he wrote Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

Fourth, they stay focused. Herod tried to distract them and get them off focus but they stayed the course and followed through until the end. King Herod tried to trick the wise men into betraying where Jesus was so he could kill Him, but they avoided Herod because they were warned by God. They could have been decapitated if Herod had found out! The point is do not let anything or anyone distract you from your search for Christ!

Stay focused, and ask God to grant you wisdom as to what you spend your time doing. Which of these are distractions in your life: money, IT devices, Facebook, time-consuming hobbies, not taking responsibility for personal spiritual growth, attending church events more than pursuing God, or prioritizing self over all else. The fact is we need to seek Him and put God first regardless of the cost.

Finally, while we are on the journey with others we need to find Him for ourselves. It is corporate journey but it is a personal decision to look, find, and accept the Savior. We cannot blame others nor can we use others as an excuse.

For an audio of this message go to http://pccministry.org/messages.

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The Person of Christmas

What does Christmas mean? Lessons from the Wise Men.

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