Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him." And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet, ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler, Who will shepherd My people Israel.’" Then Herod secretly called the magi, and ascertained from them the time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go, and make careful search for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, that I too may come and worship Him." And having heard the king, they went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way. (Matthew 2:1-12)
Christmas brings forth many images. We think of Christmas parades, streets lined with Christmas decorations. We see Christmas trees, decked out with beautiful lights and glittering ornaments. We hear Christmas carols and listen to special musicals by Christmas choirs. We think of giving gifts and receiving gifts. Perhaps, weather permitting, we’ll even build a snowman on the front lawn.
Generally, Christmas is thought of as a happy time. It is a time for celebration, a time for joy, a time for good will and good cheer. But not everyone looks at Christmas the same way. For some, Christmas is a terrible time. In fact, for many, Christmas can be one of the most depressing times of the year. Some who cannot spend Christmas with family or friends may not look forward to Christmas at all. Others, who, because of financial considerations, cannot participate in the giving of gifts, may even resent this time of year. So in all our celebrating, we must remember, there are some who are hurting.
Now, there are many reactions to Christmas. Apart from those we’ve already mentioned, there are other reactions as well. In our text, we see three reactions to Christmas. They may reflect attitudes which are present even here this morning. You see, the birth of Christ is the most significant event, apart from His resurrection, in history. It is the incarnation of God. The birth of Christ means that God became a man, one of us, to save us. His birth says many things. And people respond to it differently. They responded differently in the time of Christ, and they respond differently today. What is your reaction to Christmas?
You may be troubled at Christmas. Herod was. Consider his response when the magi came and told him about the star of the King of the Jews. In verse 3, it states, "And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him."
This first Christmas was troubling to Herod. It was troubling because, in his view, a potential rival to his throne could have been born. For Herod, the thought that the "King of the Jews" had been born was a troubling thought indeed. You see, Herod considered himself to be the King of the Jews. So to hear the statement of the magi, that another King of the Jews had been born, posed a very real threat to his control and rule. No doubt, this statement struck a chord of fear in the heart of Herod the King.
We also see from the text that His fear spread to others. Not only was he troubled, but "all of Jerusalem with him." What would this mean to their way of life? How would this affect the common man? Most of us, in spite of our protestations to the contrary, are very reluctant to change our situation in life. There is a certain sense in which we become comfortable with our circumstances as they are, and there is a very real fear of change in all of us. I’m sure that all Jerusalem was troubled because they simply didn’t understand what all of this meant. Herod, as evil as he was, at least was a predictable evil. What would this new King of the Jews be like?
Herod was a very proud man. I’m sure he had a tremendous personal drive. But now his kingdom was threatened; at least in his own mind. And his fear led eventually to the massacre of the infants as recorded in verse 16 of chapter 2. This is the result of fear based on pride.
While our situation at the end of the 20th century may be significantly different than Herod’s, the same forces of pride and fear still motivate people today. Because of pride and fear, many today are also troubled at Christmas. Just as Christ was a potential rival to Herod’s throne, so Christ is also a potential rival to the throne of many, especially in our culture in western society, where we have placed such a great emphasis on individuality and individualism. We have a situation where man has exalted man, and in a self-centered society, man becomes preeminent while God is quietly pushed out of the picture. The babe in Bethlehem becomes a serious threat in such a mindset. He might look harmless enough, lying in the crib, but any intelligent person knows that He is not content to stay there. One day, He will demand allegiance, and pride will simply not allow that day to happen.
You see, some are troubled today, as Herod was, because Christ is a potential rival to their throne. But they are also troubled because of the implications of a Creator to whom they are accountable. You see, if there is a Creator who made everything that is — including man — then simple logic tells us that we are responsible and accountable to that Creator. It seems to me that this is one of the driving forces behind the furious tenacity with which some hold to the various dubious theories of evolution. You see, by evolution, you can factor God out of the creative process. And if the creative process simply occurred by "natural" occurrences, then the problem of accountability to a Creator-God is solved. People who want to do their own thing do not want to be troubled by a God to whom they are accountable.
The others are troubled because of the implications of discipleship and cross-bearing. Herod was troubled because He did not wish to bow down to any other King. For Jesus to truly be King of Kings and Lord of Lords means that we must bow before Him. We must submit to Him and allow Him to be the Lord of our lives. We must commit ourselves to Him to follow Him. And to some that can be a very troubling thought indeed. Of course, it is only troubling to those who resist the idea of surrendering their lives to Jesus. But in our self-centered, humanistic society, sadly, many do not respond with joy to the true meaning of the Christmas story.
Are you troubled at the thought of Christmas? I mean the true implications of it. You see, a story about a babe in a manger is not a very threatening thing. But the implications of that story are awesome indeed. The babe in the manger was none other than the Lord of Glory, God the Son. And while the scene in the stable, with the shepherds gathered around, may be a beautiful image, the reality is that the babe will grow to be a man. He will die on a Cross, be raised from the dead, and declared to be the Son of God, with power. He will say that all authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth, and He will call us to total allegiance to Him. Those who respond in faith will be saved. But those who reject His free offer of salvation will one day face His wrath in judgment. That is a very sobering thought. The thought of facing the wrath of God is not a pleasant thought. Some people are troubled at that thought. And because of that some people are troubled at Christmas. Are you?
You may be indifferent at Christmas. The religious leaders were. When Herod heard the statement of the magi, that they had seen Jesus’ star, the Scripture says, in verse 4, "And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born." In other words, all of the religious leaders of the day who were knowledgeable about the Scriptures were called together. These were men who ought to have cared about the coming of the Messiah. They gave Herod the correct answer. They told him of the prophecy of Micah, that the true Shepherd of Israel would come out of Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Now, no doubt, these religious leaders understood the significance of what the magi had said. It would seem to me that upon hearing this, they ought to have at least been curious, if not excited about the possibility that the Messiah had indeed been born. Quite possibly, some might have volunteered to travel with the magi on their journey to find this new Messiah. But is that what they did? No. It seems that they were so indifferent that they didn’t even bother to see for themselves.
Today, many are indifferent to the Christmas message. You see, the Christmas message is the Gospel message. The Christmas message is the message about Jesus Christ. And the message of Christ is about His love for us revealed through His incarnation, life, death and resurrection. It is a message which calls us to surrender. It is a message which calls us to commitment. The Christmas message is a spiritual message. It is the message of the eternal Son of God, coming to this earth, to be made a man and live among us.
This makes a lot of people nervous, and consequently a good many try to make Christmas merely a secular event. We are all familiar with the efforts of the A.C.L.U. and their attempts to have nativity scenes removed from every aspect of public life. They do this, of course, in the name of religious liberty. This is bad enough, but there are threats to the true meaning of Christmas far greater than merely the removal of a nativity scene. The real threat to the meaning of Christmas comes in the secularizing and commercializing of Christmas. Christmas is turned into a greedfest, where people are more interested in what they can get, than they are in celebrating the greatest gift ever given to man. And so, they become indifferent at Christmas. Not indifferent to self-gratification, but indifferent to true worship.
Christmas is the greatest good news man could ever hear. When the angels spoke to the shepherds in the field, they were declaring the most exciting event that had ever been witnessed in history. It’s sad that some are too indifferent to even check Him out. Are you caught up in the so-called "Christmas spirit?" Are you caught up in the commercial aspects of Christmas? Some are indifferent to the true meaning of Christmas. Are you?
You may be a worshipper at Christmas. The wise men were. Verse 11 in this passage of Scripture is the culmination of a long process of seeking. These magi, or wise men, had somehow learned of Christ’s coming. They had studied it. But it was more than intellectual curiosity with them. It moved them deeply. That’s really why they were wise. Their priorities were in the proper order. They traveled a great distance, perhaps even as long as a year, to seek out this coming Messiah. And when they found Him, verse 11 says, "And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh." When they found the Lord, they worshipped Him. They gave Him gifts and they bowed before Him in submission.
You can be a worshipper as well today. But in order to be a worshipper, you must be willing to reject pride, to reject fear, to reject apathy and indifference toward the true meaning of Christmas. You must be willing to seek Christ out. The Bible teaches that God will be found when we search for Him with all our heart. Just as the wise men were willing to commit themselves to the hard and arduous task of traversing a great distance and spending the requisite time and energy and finances in order to worship the Messiah, so must we be willing to surrender ourselves completely to Him. We must seek Him with all our heart. When we do, we will be worshippers.
As the wise men, we must present our gifts to Him. The bottom line is this: the greatest gift we could ever present to Him would be the gift of ourselves. You see, when we give Him ourselves, we’ve given Him everything else. He will have us. And that’s what He desires. To be a true worshipper at Christmas means that we present ourselves to Him, that we become His. The greatest treasure any of us have is the treasure of ourselves. Let us, like the wise men, open our treasures up to Him and offer Him the precious things of our lives.
So you see, there are a number of reactions possible to Christmas. You may be troubled at Christmas; you may be indifferent at Christmas; or you may be a worshipper at Christmas. The little slogan, "Keep Christ in Christmas," is more than simply a cute Christian cliché. It is a profound truth for us as believers. Let us this year, by our attitudes and by our actions, be a living testimony to our neighbors and coworkers, our friends and family, other believers, and especially our own children, of what Christmas truly stands for. Let’s give our gifts, but in so doing, point to the greatest gift ever given to man. And on Christmas Sunday morning, let’s be present together in the Lord’s house, to worship the One who left heaven’s glory to be born in a stall for you and for me.