THE MAGI'S PILGRIMAGE

Matthew 2:1-23

Key Verse: 2:2

"And asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.'"

Today we will study Matthew’s version of Christmas story. In this passage we find two different responses towards the birth of Jesus. The three Magi came to worship the baby Jesus while King Herod tried to kill the baby Jesus. The author of this gospel had a worship problem before he met the promised Messiah, the King Jesus. The story of the Magi impressed him greatly and he included this story in his gospel narrative. The Magi began their journey to worship Jesus and they finished their journey by worshipping Jesus. Life is a pilgrim’s journey and let’s continue our pilgrim’s journey until we see our King Jesus face to face. I pray that God may bless us to find a true joy of worshipping Jesus as our King and Savior. May God bless us to become truth seekers like the Magi.

PART I. WE HAVE COME TO WORSHIP HIM. (1-12)

Look at verse 1. "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem...." Magi, traditionally called "Wise Men," supposedly lived in ancient Persia or Babylon. They were ancient astrologers who were highly regarded as great scholars and kingly people. Where did the Magi get the idea to come to Jerusalem? Verse 2b says, "We saw his star in the east...." They saw "his star." In the course of seeking the truth, once they looked into the sky. They saw a bright star in the sky. The star was not an ordinary star. It was an extraordinary star which captured their souls. In the past God communicated with his people through the stars. For example, God told Abraham in Genesis 15:5, “Count the stars. So shall your offspring be.” Then Abraham believed God’s promise and became a father of faith. In the same way the Magi were convinced that it was "his star," which symbolized the King of the Jews. The Bible teaches us that Jesus himself is the Star. Revelation 22:16b reads, "I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." The bright Morning Star is the beginning of brightening the whole world every day. Matthew 4:16 says that Jesus is "a great light." John 8:12b says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Yes, Jesus is the light to all men. When the Great Light began to shine, the Magi caught its light from his star, which was solely reflected by the Great Light. When they had a burning desire to seek the truth, God showed them his star. The Magi came from a faraway country in the east, despite intractable difficulties and harrowing hardships, spending much money and sacrificing their life-careers.

What was their main motive in following the star of Jesus? Their impelling motive was to see "the king of the Jews" (2). How did they know about the king of the Jews? They must have heard the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah concerning the Messiah, the Savior of the world, handed down by word of mouth. This was the way of communication in ancient times. According to the Bible scholars, there were many Jewish people who lived in the ancient Persia or Babylonia because many Jews went there as the captives. They believed that the Savior would be born as the king of the Jews.

Why did the Magi want to come to Jesus? Verse 2b says that they came to worship him. Magi in kingly costumes with long and flowing beards came to worship the baby Jesus. They had everything--honor, wealth and great learning. They lacked nothing. Still they were on a pilgrimage to worship the baby Jesus. It seems unnecessary. It seems that they were wasting their time and money. But that is not true. It is necessary for all men to worship God. Originally to worship meant simply to “attribute worth”; worship could be directed to God or to a person to whom honor and respect should be given. In the Bible it referred primarily to our chief goal in life, that is, rendering grateful homage and dedicating our lives to God rather than to any other person or object. From a biblical point of view there are legitimate and illegitimate, acceptable and unacceptable, objects of worship. Hebrews 12:28-29 says. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Discernment is necessary to distinguish true from false objects of worship. For example, a person or group may “worship” a sports team or rock star, money or power. But they cannot become the true objects of worship.

Why do we have to worship God? It is because God is our Creator. He made man in his own image. It is a blessing to worship God. At the heart of the idea of worship is our relationship with God. All creation declares the glory of God unintentionally just by being itself (Psalm 19:1). But human beings uniquely can choose to bless God; indeed, we are obligated to do so. The fundamental way the Bible describes our relationship with God is the covenant, that binding personal relationship by which two parties (in this case God and people) belong together forever. The covenant starts with the promise that God has selected, adopted and saved the people (Exodus 19:4-6) making them a “treasured possession.” God promises presence, community and a place to belong. The covenant itself is unconditional, founded as it is on the promise, but the blessings of the covenant is conditional. In other words, people in right relation to God live faithfully and worship God continuously. To live a holy life (as the Pharisees did in Jesus’ time) but not to express love to God is to break the covenant. If a husband remains faithful in a difficult marriage but does not love his wife, he is breaking the covenant. What it means is that we can maintain our covenant relationship with God through our worship. Some people have trouble worshipping God because they feel that God has not blessed them. Like Naomi, they feel that “the Almighty has made my life very bitter” (Ruth 1:20). Bitterness is not caused by circumstances but by a spiritual choice. Do we trust and love God enough to be content? Further, falling into self-pity and fatalism often comes from a shortsighted faith; God is able to bring good out of all things and turn even the curses experienced in this life into blessings. If not in this life (as happened with Naomi), God will ultimately bless us totally through the resurrection of our bodies and our living in the new heaven and earth. It is here that God’s promises of presence, community and place reach their full consummation. When we worship, we literally enjoy God, delight in God, play with God, relish God, bring pleasure to God. It is a truly awesome thing that worship makes a difference to God, actually blesses God. Worshipping God is a spiritual secret for the happiness of mankind. That’s the reason why the Magi came to worship the baby Jesus born as the Savior of the world.

How did King Herod respond to the birth of Jesus? Look at verse 3. “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” When Herod heard about the birth of Jesus, he was disturbed (3). He rejected the good news of the birth of the Messiah. He was disturbed and shouted at the top of his voice, “Who else is the king other than myself?” He was a bad influence to all the citizens of Jerusalem. He terrorized all people in Jerusalem because he became unpredictable when he was disturbed. He was a symbol of evil man who pursued his power without mercy. He killed his own wife and three sons to maintain his power. Herod felt that his kingship was threatened. Immediately he determined to destroy the baby Jesus, assuming that the baby Jesus would become his political opponent. Herod summoned all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law in the middle of the night to ask them where the Christ was to be born (4). The chief priests and teachers of the law gave him the correct information from the Old Testament prophecy (5). The prophecy of Micah was the prophecy concerning the birth of the Messiah, the spiritual King. Therefore, the king whom the Magi called, "the king of the Jews," had nothing to do with the political king. But Herod had no spiritual understanding. He was ignorant of the Scriptures. He really needed the Scripture reading. In any case, he reacted badly towards the birth of Jesus. Herod represents people who refuse to worship the baby Jesus. We may become small Herods when we do not worship Jesus as our King and Savior. If anyone threats to take away our position, we will be disturbed and become angry and nervous and unpredictable like a time bomb to explode. Herod disguised himself as one of Jesus' worshipers and asked the Magi to tell him when they found the baby Jesus (8). But God gave the Magi wisdom to avoid Herod's conspiracy (12). When Herod learned that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he became furious. He gave orders to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old or under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi(16). Spiritual blindness is not a small matter. Herod was known in history as a mass baby killer. He was a cold-blooded and double-minded liar. King Herod also caused people to grieve and be terrified due to his spiritual blindness. As new sprouts are attacked by noxious insects when they come up from the ground, so when the newborn baby Jesus appeared, he was attacked by the power of sin and Satan.

Who is the baby Jesus? Look at verse 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel." This is a quotation of the prophet Micah. In this verse the baby Jesus who came as King of the Jews is described in two ways. First, he came to rule. Second, he came to shepherd his people. Here the verb "rule" does not have any political meaning. Ruling is the same as shepherding. What does "shepherding" mean? Shepherding means caring for sheep. Jesus is the shepherd King. Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Our Lord Jesus Christ came to the world to shepherd his flocks. Jesus said in John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." We need a good shepherd. Jesus is our shepherd King. He gave up his own life to save his own sheep. Jesus risked his own life to protect his own flocks. Even King David needed a shepherd. God was his shepherd. David said in Psalm 23:1-3, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." We all need Jesus, our shepherd King because we are easy to go astray. Jesus our good shepherd never leaves us alone. He promised in Matthew 28:20, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” He feeds us when we are hungry because he is the bread of life. He protects us when we are in danger. He knows each of us and understands all our problems. He welcomes us with open arms of love when we come to him. He never rejects us and accepts us as we are. We are happy because Jesus is our good shepherd King.

Let's come back to the story of the Magi. Look at verses 9 and 10. “After they had 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. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” To the Magi it was not easy to follow the star of Jesus. They were not driving down I-95 with a map and driving instructions provided by the Mapquest, but they were traveling the uncharted roads that nobody traveled before. It was narrow roads. Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” The wide road looks good and promising but it leads to destruction. To honour Bruce Catton, the Benzie County Board of Commissioners in Michigan named a stretch of road running by the author’s property, “Glory Road.” This was the title of one of his books on the U.S. Civil War. But when Catton took a walk up Glory Road, he found posted on it a sign that said: “Dead End.” The wide road leads us dead end. But the Magi were traveling the narrow road that leads to life. They did not know when their journey would end. They did not know where they were going. They slept during the day because they could not see the star and they traveled during the night to follow the star. They overcame many obstacles like the flowing rivers and snow-covered mountains in order to follow the star of Jesus. It was obvious that they lost the star of Jesus and came to Jerusalem to find out the birthplace of Jesus. As long as they saw the star, their journey was okay. The star of Jesus comforted their lonely journey and showed their way. But when they lost the star, it was the most difficult time for them to overcome. The journey took almost two years. They might have had homesick. They wanted to see their loving wives saying, “Honey, I miss you. Who bought your birthday flower?” One of them thought about his youngest daughter who was in the first grade when he left home. He was hearing her sweet voice, “Daddy, come home. I dream you every night.” They felt like quitting their journey and going home because they could not see the star. The most sorrowful moment in our spiritual journey is when we lost Jesus in our heart. We become busybodies without Jesus. We fall into self-pity or self-doubt when we lose Jesus in our way. We think about quitting God’s call. When we lose Jesus, find him until we find him. We should never and ever give up. Verse 9 says, “They went on their way.” They moved and marched on their journey. They did not give up but they went on their way. The Magi's long pilgrimage finally ended when the star stopped over the place where the child was (9). Wow! They completed their journey by their perseverance. It is important to finish our journey.

Our life can be compared to a pilgrimage. There are two pilgrims in this world-an earthly pilgrim and a holy pilgrim. The earthly pilgrimage ends in the grave while the holy pilgrimage ends in the kingdom of heaven. Hebrews 11:14 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.” The other day one young programmer in my office upon his birthday said, “I lived up to one third of my life.” He meant that he was getting old. Then his boss said, “I lived up to two thirds of my life.” What they were saying was that they were aliens and strangers on earth. Nobody will live forever. This is not our permanent home. We are strangers and travelers on earth. Christians are the holy pilgrims traveling from this world to the heavenly shore. It is important to finish our journey to the end. John Bunyan in Pilgrim’s Progress gives us a picture of Ignorance fumbling at the gate of the city for his certificate, and finding none. At the command of the King, the two shining ones bound him hand and foot, and thrust him through the door in the side of the hill. “Then I saw that there was a way to hell even from the gates of heaven, as well as from the City of Destruction.” Do not fumble your faith on the way to the pearly gate of the city of God. Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:24, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” His life goal was to finish the race and the task Jesus gave him to do. He said just before his death in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” He was able to finish the race he began. Jesus’ last word was “It is finished.” (John 19:30) I congratulate six students for their graduation-Tinuke Jagun, John Lee, Anthony Ahmed, Lawson Glenn, Richard Anderson, and Dennis Yoder. M. Sarah Chang was busy posing for pictures with them. M. Moses Chang said when all graduates wanted to take pictures with M. Sarah, “By any means I have to feed sheep.” They fought the good fight holding their textbooks on one hand and the Bible on the other hand. They traveled the road that less traveled to complete their undergraduate degrees. The pilgrim’s journey of S. Tinuke Jagun is remarkable. She was blessed to have well-educated parents in Nigeria. But due to the political turmoil in Nigeria her father exiled to America for his life. But when her mother came to America, he disappeared. Her mother did not give up hope for three Jagun sisters. She educated them and sent them to the colleges. In the middle of suffering S. Tinuke met Jesus and she took refugee in Jesus and welcomed Jesus as her Everlasting Father. In spite of her own problems Tinuke became a source of encouragement and blessing to other students through her 1:1 Bible studies. She became a little star shining Jesus’ light for others. (Phil. 2:15) Finally, she graduated last Thursday by the grace of God. In Jesus she has a dream to be a medical doctor. She has a long narrow road to travel but Jesus will help her finish her journey of faith.

What happened when the Magi found the baby Jesus? Verse 10 says, "When they saw the star, they were overjoyed." They were overjoyed because at last they were able to find the place where the baby Jesus was. When we review Genesis we can understand clearly why the Magi were overjoyed. No matter who they may be, before finding the baby Jesus, all men are nothing but fallen men with sinsick blood. They are nothing but restless wanderers with a sense of guilt and punishment (Ge 4). The Magi were not an exception. But instead of continuing their habitual sinful lives, the Magi began to seek God. Finally they met God in the baby Jesus, and were overjoyed. Their joy gave them the meaning of life. Their joy came when they saw the baby Jesus who came to this world to save men from their sins. Their joy came when they saw the Messiah--the Savior of the world.

What did the Magi do when they saw the baby Jesus? Look at verse 11. "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." It is strange to see the Magi with kingly costumes and gray hairs bow down before Jesus. But they were happy because they found the Messiah and gave their honor and respect to the king of the Jews. Not only they bowed down but also they offered their treasures to Jesus. They taught us what is a true meaning of worship. Their gifts tell us figuratively of Jesus' Messiahship. Gold is the gift for a king; incense is the gift for a priest; myrrh is the gift for one who dies. Jesus is the King and Priest and Prophet.

The visit of the Magi is recorded only in Matthew's Gospel. Matthew, the former tax collector, who only knew how to get, who had no idea how to give, must have been greatly moved by the story of the Magi. Matthew’s former name was Levi. He was a representative of a selfish man. Nobody likes a selfish man. Levi worshipped money as his own king. He thought that money would make him happy. That was his mistake. People treated him like a scum of the earth. Nobody said “Hello” to him. Everybody ignored his presence. He had a wrong object of worship. When he met Jesus, he gave his heart to God and he became a saint Matthew. The Magi knew how to give their most precious gifts to the most precious One. There are so many people who are wandering aimlessly with what they have. But these Magi did not wander. They sought God diligently with all their hearts and with all their souls and with all their strength. Finally they saw God in the baby Jesus and gave everything they had. Then they returned home without any compensation. We are moved by their pure motive. Their single life purpose was to worship Jesus. We must learn how to seek God like the Magi. The Magi came a long distance, bowed and worshipped the baby Jesus, presented their gifts, and returned. Their worship was very pure. They worshipped the king--and that was all. It is a basic duty for all human beings.

PART II. THE ESACPE TO EGYPT (13-23)

Look at verse 13. "When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up,' he said, 'take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.'" To get up in the middle of the night must have been harder for Joseph than to work all day in the carpentry shop. In order to escape to Egypt, Joseph had to carry the nursing mother and the newborn baby to avoid Herod's plot of murdering all the baby boys two years old or under. In order to escape, Joseph had to obey the angel's message. According to the instructions, Joseph had to get up in the middle of the night and carry the nursing mother and newborn baby in the wagon and cross rivers and mountains. God used the New Testament Joseph preciously in protecting the baby Jesus and his mother Mary. Before marriage Joseph received obedience training thoroughly and passed with perfect scores. Joseph always appears as an extra in the Christmas drama but he is indispensable. He made a spiritual environment for the work of Jesus. He was precious in God’s sight.

Herod's slaughter was horrible. But Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31:15, which says, "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning...." Jeremiah pictured in his prophecy the people of Jerusalem being led away into exile. Matthew relates this event with the most tragic event in history; Herod's slaughter of the babies in Bethlehem. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead" (19,20). How did Joseph respond? Look at verse 21. "So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel." At that time, Joseph was a right-hand man of God. Joseph received unbearable hardships; he had to carry a nursing mother and a baby boy who was too young to travel, and run away to a foreign country. But Joseph obeyed God again.

In this passage we learn that the Magi came to the baby Jesus and worshipped him, and they were overjoyed. Jesus is our source of joy because he is the way and the truth and the life (Jn 14:6). The Magi's pilgrimage was to seek the baby Jesus who is truth to all mankind. May God bless your holy pilgrimage and give you strength to finish the journey of faith you began. Merry Christmas and a bright happy New Year. Let’s read the key verse 2:2.