Sermon
A Glorious Light
December 23-24, 2000
Pastor Leighton Sheley

I'm going to invite you now to take your Bibles and open to Matthew chapter 2. If you're using a pew Bible it can be found on page 649. While you're turning there, I'll say today is going to be a lot of demythologizing the Christmas story. It's interesting how the story evolves over time as aspects get added to it, and in our mind it's difficult for us to distinguish what is truly historical or Scriptural from that which is traditional. An example would be the dramatic monologue that Pastor David just gave us [see communion message] as Christmas told from the perspective of Satan. That was a creative interpretation that had nuggets of truth in it that was creatively presented to us so that we would look at some of those nuggets of truth from a different perspective. In some circles, 5 years, or 10 years, or 100 years, or 1000 years from now that story might become part of the Christmas story, and so what we want to do is we want to look at what the Bible has to say about the Christmas story today.

Matthew chapter 2 verse 1 and following: 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 in the east and we have come to worship him." 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 Christ 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" 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 make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report it to me, so that I might go and worship him." After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star that they had seen in the east 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 worship him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Now as we have noted earlier, the primary over encompassing purpose of Matthew's writing in the first chapters, the first four chapters in particular, of his gospel is to provide the evidences that Jesus Christ was indeed the fulfillment of God's messianic promises, that He was the long promised Son of David and rightful heir to the throne. Chapter 1 verses 1 through 17, you may recall, provided us the earthly linage of Jesus Christ which was traced back to King David and to Abraham, and which established His right to be called the Son of David. And then, of course, His divine linage was provided to us in verse 18. Now in chapter 2 Matthew observes the acknowledgment of the baby's rightful place of authority by the Magi -- the acknowledgment by the Magi, these Oriental kingmakers who traveled a great distance to recognize and honor this newborn King of the Jews. And another evidence of the true kingship of the baby Jesus was the antagonistic response and hatred by the illegitimate King of the Jews, Herod. Herod was an Edomite. He was not Jewish. He had no legal or legitimate claim to the throne. He ruled simply by the edict and force of power of Rome, and by his efforts to destroy this baby he also confirmed the child's legitimacy.

The little town of Bethlehem still exists today. In fact, you may have heard it noted in the news recently because of the strife in that country, some of the services of celebration have been somewhat curtailed. It's located about five or six miles south of Jerusalem -- very close to Jerusalem in the hill country of Judea or Judah. It was located along the main ancient highway to Egypt. It's referred to in the Old Testament by the name of Ephrath or Ephrathah, and it was renamed Bethlehem after its conquest by Joshua. Bethlehem means 'house of bread', and it strikes me as quite appropriate for the birthplace of the bread of heaven, the manna from God from heaven, Bethlehem -- the house of bread. It was at Bethlehem that Jacob buried Rachel, Genesis 35. It was here that Ruth met and married Boaz, in Ruth chapter 1. And it was here that their grandson, David, grew up tending sheep and became the great king. By the time of Christ, Bethlehem had long been known and called the City of David. It was the prophet Micah in 5:2 that promised that it would be from this small city that the Messiah would come.

Now on Friday evening we enjoyed a time at the Story's residence celebrating Children's Ministries' Christmas, and there were some questions that were bantered about that evening regarding the Christmas story. One of the guests asked if December 25th was the actual date of the birth of Jesus Christ, and of the answer to that is highly unlikely. According to the Scriptures, the shepherds were in their fields keeping watch over their flocks by night. Pasturing flocks at night suggested it would have been the warmer season. In the Middle East it gets very hot during the day, and so they might have taken their flocks out at night. During the winter months, flocks would have been grazing during the day. It was many years after the life of Christ that Roman Christians adopted December 25th, and they did so in order to supersede and replace a pagan Roman festival scheduled at that time. In fact, that was a practice of early Christians -- they replaced pagan holidays with Christian celebration. For example, Easter, which we recognize as holy week, was originally a pagan holiday that honored Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess. Now with the decline of Christian influence in America we're experiencing reversal of this practice. Holy week and Christmas are now often referred to as spring break and winter break respectively. Often we will see the scene, the manger scene depicted with the Magi and shepherds standing shoulder to shoulder in the presence of the Christ child. According to the Scriptures the visits of the Magi and the shepherds were each distinct events. Whereas the visit of the shepherds took place almost immediately after the birth of Christ, the visit of the Magi took place sometime later, perhaps as much as two years later.

Let's take a look at the biblical narrative of these accounts. I'm going to invite you to go ahead and keep your thumb there in Matthew chapter 2 because we're going to be coming back to it, but if you would, to open your Bibles and find Luke chapter 2. In the pew Bible it's found on page 690, and we'll read from Luke 2:8 and following, which is the story of the shepherds. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Now there are numerous evidences that the visits of the Magi and the shepherds were separate events, and that the visit of the shepherds preceded the visit of the Magi. One evidence is a reference to where Mary, Joseph, and the child resided. According to Matthew chapter 2, the Magi entered a house as opposed to a stable, whereas the shepherds found the child lying in a manger as the angels had announced. And so it would appear that there was a change of residence between the visit of the shepherds and the visit of the Magi. A second evidence that the shepherds preceded the Magi is the angels announced today in the town of David -- today in the town of David a child has been born. In verse 8 we are told that the shepherds were in fields nearby, and in verse 16 we are told that they hurried off to see the child. So in all probability the shepherds visited the child very shortly after his birth. A third evidence that the departure of the Magi is what prompted Herod and his murderous rampage against the male children of Bethlehem aged two years and less, which was based on the time of the appearance of the star announcing the birth of the child.

You know, it's highly unlikely that this large group of Magi entering this little town of Bethlehem would require two years in order to locate the child. The child should have been located within hours, and at most, days. It's unlikely that the Magi would have remained in Bethlehem for two years without reporting back to Herod that they had found the child. And it's unlikely that if they had chosen to stay two years they would have not continued staying indefinitely, and so it's more reasonable based on the historical and scriptural evidence to believe that the Magi came, they found the child, they presented their gifts, and they left within a few days. It was within a short time that Herod would have realized that he had been tricked and sent for the execution of the male children. And it's not necessary to believe that all of these events took place two years after the birth of Christ. Herod may have raised the age threshold to two years for execution in order to provide insurance that this child would not slipped through his evil grasp.

A fourth evidence of the later visit by the Magi is the offering that was brought to the temple by Mary after she had completed her period of purification. Luke 2:24 indicates Mary's offering of being a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons rather than the lamb that was called for in the Leviticus requirements. Those requirements, incidentally, are found in Leviticus Chapter 12. I'll read to you just the three verses that apply. It's Leviticus 12:6 and following: "'When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean. These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'" You see, if you couldn't afford a lamb that you could bring two doves or two young pigeons, and that's the offering that Mary brought, which indicated that the family was poor. I can recall balancing our checkbook about two days after Jenny and I were married and we had in total less than $200 to our name. And that's how we got started, and that's often how young couples get started, and it's obvious here that Mary's offering indicated the family was poor. Now had the Magi visited within a few hours or days after the birth of Christ and presented their expensive gifts, a lamb would have been very easily afforded and acquired. And so with the information that is provided for us in the biblical narratives we can deduce that the shepherds arrived very shortly after the birth of Christ, and the Magi visited several months later.

At the dinner Friday night for Children's Ministries' Christmas celebration, someone asked how many wise men were there? And if we were to ask that question today the most common answer that we would get would be three. In fact, some believe their names to have been Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. In reality, this tradition emerged in the Middle Ages and the three were probably chosen because there were three gifts. The tradition that preceded that was that there were 12 wise men. The correct answer is more than one, because we really don't know how many wise men came to visit the Christ child. We do know that of their entourage would have been large, well-equipped, and well defended for there were robber gangs that ran the highways in those days. And so these would have obviously been men of wealth and prominence, and they would have surrounded themselves with their servants and with their soldiers who would have been well armed in order to protect themselves and what they carried. The entourage would have been large and it would have been well known when this entourage arrived in the city of Jerusalem. We're not told how they traveled or how far they traveled, or exactly from where they traveled in the Scriptures except that they were from the East or more literally, the rising of the sun or the Orient.

One of the scholars has written this, the Magi first appear in history in the seventh century B.C. as a tribe within the Median nation in eastern Mesopotamia. They became skilled in astronomy and astrology, which in that day were closely associated. They were involved in occult practices included sorcery and were known for their ability to interpret dreams. It's from their names that our words magic and magician are derived. Because of their combined knowledge of signs, agriculture, mathematics, history, and the occult, their religious and political influence grew until they became the most prominent group of advisers in the Medo Persian and Babylonian empires. Historians tell us that no Persian was ever able to become king without mastering the scientific and religious disciplines of the Magi, and then being approved and crowned by them. Because of their vast and expansive knowledge in these various disciplines, they received the name wise men.

Now Daniel, the prophet, was highly regarded among the Magi for it was he who pleaded for their lives when they were unable to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. As a result of his obvious God-given abilities he was made chief prefect overall the wise men of Babylon, and it's no doubt that he taught them concerning the long promised king of the Jews. And it's also no doubt that he had a supreme influence on those Magi, those wise men from the East, because it was not until centuries later that the star announcing the birth of Christ appeared. And it's obvious that they were still, centuries after the demise of Daniel, studying the heavens waiting for the sign of this long promised king of the Jews. Now I need to underscore the fact that Matthew includes this, does not in any fashion endorse astrology. The Scriptures are full of commands for us to not get involved in soothsaying and so forth. Some of the biblical scholars have observed; in His divine graciousness God revealed Himself to those who were seeking Him in the place where they were seeking. God revealed to them in His graciousness those who were seeking Him in the place that they were seeking.

Our pastor tells the story of one of our members who a number of years ago was involved in occult practices, but inside had a deep yearning for God and wanted to know where they could meet God. And they asked their Ouija board and their Ouija board directed them to the church and to the pastor. They were unfamiliar with the name of the church. They were unfamiliar with the name of the pastor, but they were looking for God and God spoke to them through that Ouija board. And I want to say again; we are commanded not to get involved in such things. But you know, we live under restrictions that God doesn't live under. And if God wants to speak through a star or if God wants to speak through an Ouija board; if God wants to speak to reveal Himself to those who are earnestly seeking Him, and that don't know how and don't know where, God can do that.

Now as to Herod, there were several Herod's in history. We are perhaps most familiar with the Herod that sent Jesus back to Pilate for execution. That was a later generation of Herod than this Herod that's referenced in Matthew chapter 2. The Herod referenced in Matthew chapter 2 was Herod the great, and it was his father, Antipater, who was appointed by Julius Caesar to be the governor of Judea under Roman occupation. He managed to have his son Herod appointed prefect of Galilee. When the Parthians, and incidentally, the wise men were probably Parthians, invaded he retreated to Rome. There he was declared by Octavian and Antony to be the king of the Jews and 40 B.C. He reequipped his army, invaded Palestine in 39 B.C., and a couple of years later succeeded in driving out the Parthians to establish his kingdom. Now Herod was not Jewish. He was an Edomite, and as such, he was not of the Davidic line and did not have a legitimate claim to being king of the Jews. To make himself more acceptable to the Jewish people he married Mariamne who was an heiress to the Jewish Hasmonaean house. Actually, one historian has identified no less than five wives for Herod the Great. He was a clever and capable orator and leader. In times of economic hardship, such as the famine of 25 B.C., he actually melted down his own gold and sold it in order to buy food for the poor. He built theaters and racetracks and other structures to provide entertainment. He was instrumental in the construction of the temple in Jerusalem in 19 B.C. He also built the almost impregnable fortress at Masada that many of us are familiar with, and the beautiful port city of Caesarea in honor of Caesar Augustus. And yet, with all of his incredible creative and leadership abilities Herod the Great was insanely paranoid. If he suspected anyone of being a potential rival for power, he would eliminate them immediately. He drowned his wife's brother, and then he murdered his wife, strangled her, and her mother, Alexsandra. He also murdered three of his own sons, and so you could see that he was a man of insane jealousy.

Roman emperor Augustus said that it was safer to be Herod's pig than Herod's son. And so when he was 70 and he was about to die Herod wanted to make sure that there was going to be grieving at his departure so he gave orders that a collection of Jerusalem's most prominent citizens be arrested under trumped up charges, and his order was that they would be executed at the moment he died so that he could be assured that there would be grieving in Jerusalem at his departure. And you know it's easy to see why, with a leader of such insane jealousy and unbridled power, the people of Jerusalem would be troubled with the news of another king of the Jews. Now when he, Herod, this is verse 4 in Matthew chapter 2, had called together all of the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where Christ 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel. 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 make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too make go and worship him. Now it's obvious here that Herod had associated his announcement of the Magi with the messianic prophecies concerning the king of the Jews, because he brought together the religious leaders in order to ascertain the place of the child's birth.

Priests were the qualified male descendents of the tribe of Levi, and they were organized into ranks. Chief priests were those of the greatest influence. At the very highest rank was the high priest. Now biblically there was only supposed to be one high priest alive at any given time, because he would only be superseded by death. However, by the time of the birth of Christ and the death of Christ, that system had broken down because Roman governors would come in. They would be dissatisfied with the high priest. They would take him out of office and replace him, so it became a political appointeeship. Sometimes high priests would sell their office because it could also be a source of great revenue, and that's why you would have more than one high priest living at a time. You recall that both Caiaphas and Ananias are referred to as high priests. Now these chief priests were largely made up of Sadducees who were less religious than they were politically oriented. The scribes were the lawyers of Scriptures, and more often than not, they were made up of Pharisees. They were the religious conservatives and they interpreted Scripture literally and legalistically. Now it's interesting that we have these two groups who were diametrically opposed until they came together, of course, to eliminate the Christ who had grown up. But in spite of the fact that they knew where the Christ child was to be born, in spite of the fact that the Magi announced that He had been born, in spite of the fact that the place where He had been born was only 5 or 6 miles away, which was an hour and a half walk at most, it would seem that there was no inclination on the part of either the Sadducees or the Pharisees, or any of the religious leaders, to walk down the road and find out personally about the birth of this child.

Now the phrase, who will shepherd my people Israel, is not found in Micah, and it is uncertain who added this phrase. It might have been Matthew who wanted to describe the kind of leadership that this king of the Jews would bring, or it might have been the religious leaders who were trying to communicate something to Herod. Because to describe this ruler as a shepherd would describe his leadership style, and the leadership style of the shepherd is with gentleness and care, and those were descriptives, of course, that did not apply to Herod the Great. The fact that Herod was interested in the time of the star but not it's meaning are significant indicating he wanted to know just how old this child was that was a potential rival for his throne. Verse 9, After they heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the East went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. And 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 worship him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh were traditional Eastern gifts in meeting with a king. The frankincense and myrrh were often imported from the Far East. Some of the biblical scholars have suggested that the gifts represent aspects of Christ's ministry. Gold would represent His royalty. Frankincense represents His deity as it was an incense that was burned in the temples to God, and myrrh represents his humanity because it was a spice that was used in the preparation of the dead. We're not sure what happened to these gifts. It would seem logical that they were consumed in the family's hasty departure to Egypt and supported the family while they were there. And again, the angel of the Lord spoke to mankind in a dream this time to the Magi and indicated that they were to not give a report to Herod. Now for them traveling in the contingence that they did, the large entourage that they had, they could not have snuck through Jerusalem, and Jerusalem was on the main road for them to get back home. In order to avoid going to Jerusalem, it required the Magi to add hundreds of miles to their journey, traveling down to Hebron over to Gaza, up the coast through Damascus and Capernaum and Nazareth and so forth. And so the Magi did as they were instructed even though it was going to add a considerable amount of miles, and a considerable amount of time, and a considerable amount of expense to their trip.

As to the star, we're not sure if the star led the wise men from the east to Judah. They indicate that the star appeared in the east, but we're not sure that it necessarily led them from there to Judah. It is very clear that this star directed them to a specific house, the house in which resided Joseph, Mary, and the child. Now there has been some conjecture over the years, over the centuries, as to the nature of the star. Some have suggested it was the rare alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, which happened in 7 or 6 B.C. Others have suggested that it was Haley's Comet, which passed in 12 or 11 B.C. Both the Greek and the Hebrew words for star could be used figuratively to represent any brilliance or radiance. Now had the star been a natural star it's highly unlikely that it could have identified a specific home to the Magi. If it had been a traditional star, way up in the heavens, you know that as you walk towards a star it's as though the stars are walking away from you. It would be very difficult to ascertain that you were directly under a traditional star because you'd be standing there trying to identify what was straight up. Also, the Earth continues to rotate at approximately 1000 mph at the equator, and so that any given moment you'd be standing under one star and at another moment you'd be standing under another star. And so it seems more logical to understand this star as it's described, this brilliance or this radiance, as being the Shekinah glory or the revelation of God's glory that maybe was manifest as it was to the nation of Israel.

Exodus provides us this scene in Exodus chapter 40; So Moses finished the work of building the tabernacle. Then the cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of congregation because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And it was this cloud that would raise and would lead the nation to the Promised Land. It was a cloud that revealed the glory of God. It makes more sense to understand that this was the star that the wise men saw and stopped right over the house in which the child lay. Again, because it's not very clear we don't need to be dogmatic on it. We're just simply trying to deduce what the more logical understanding would be. And so it was with this glorious light that the Christ child was revealed to the Magi. It was with a glorious light that the Christ child was revealed to the shepherds, and the word that is found in the passage, the word for glory is doxa. That's also found in John chapter 1 which reads; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that has been made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it's not. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Magi represented the highest levels of society. They were the wealthy, the educated, the influential. The shepherds represented the lowest levels of society. In fact, there were few levels considered lower; among them beggars and lepers. And though, presumably, the shepherds were Jews we know for a fact that the Magi were Gentiles. They were not the descendants of Abraham. They were not the children of promise. They were the outcasts, and yet, and we know that even at the conception of Jesus Christ God's revelation was not just for the chosen people of Israel, but for the whole world. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. The news of God's salvation was to be as the angel said to the shepherds, for all people.

Now I'm going to invite you, if you would like to close your eyes and bow your head, because I want you to give some thought. There were three different responses that were identified in this chapter. Scholars indicate that was one of the purposes that Matthew had in writing this was to identify the different responses to the news of God's Messiah and King. There was the response of Herod, which was a fanatical rejection because of his personal philosophy of I am my god, I am my ruler, I am in charge of my destiny, I want no authority outside of myself. In all probability if you're here this morning that's not your philosophy, but it might be a philosophy that's residing deep inside in the darkness of your heart -- the absolute fanatical rejection of the Christ child and authority outside of yourself. A second response was that of the religious leaders, which could be described as enlightened ignorance. It was a preoccupation with the form or the appearance of godliness, but it denied the, or disregarded the power and the authority thereof. They didn't come to pay homage to the King. They were preoccupied with being religious and looking religious. And I have to say that this is a danger to Christians, church workers, that we can become so preoccupied with religion and religious activities that we don't take the time or the effort to get personal with the King of kings, with our Christ. It's a danger.

And then there was the response of the Magi and the shepherds, which is an eager and consuming desire to personally experience and worship Him. Scriptures say when they saw the star they were overjoyed with great joy, and in the original it tries to describe these dignified dignitaries having a hallelujah fit in expressing praises to God. They were dancing in the streets. They were yelling. They were screaming. They were singing. They were jumping up and down. They were overjoyed with great joy.

Lord, we thank you that by Your Spirit you have chosen to reveal Yourself to us and Your glory. Lord may not be that we fall into the danger of just being religious, looking religious or looking Christian, or being preoccupied with work - Christian work. Lord may be that each and every one of us individually seek You out to pay homage to You, to bow the knee, to prostrate ourselves in Your presence, to worship You, to adore You, to bring whatever treasures it is that we have as an expression of worship to You. Thank you Lord for Your great advent, Your great revelation. Thank you Lord, thank you Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, and together we say, amen. God bless you.