"WISE MEN SEEKING"

Introduction

In this passage, we learn several things about the wonderful birth of the Savior and we see several subtle references to Christ Himself. Last week, we talked about the importance of seemingly insignificant animals, sheep, in illustrating the important role of Jesus as the Lamb of God. Today, I want us to examine the words in 2:14:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Specifically, what is God's good will toward men? "Good will" is a term that has lost most of its original meaning in our world. This verse has been distorted to mean that every man should express good feelings to other humans, especially at Christmas. But, in reality, what the heavenly host is declaring here that, with the birth of Jesus, glory should be given to God, because on earth there was now One born who could bring mankind peace with God - and that He was the expression of God's Good Will toward all men. Jesus is the embodiment, the proof that God wants the best for each person in the world!

The question is, for believers and unbelievers alike, what exactly is God's Will for me?

Illustration

Christmas time - we search for just the right gift for someone, but we either have trouble identifying what that perfect gift would be, or we acknowledge what it would be and, for whatever reason, we determined that we can't provide it for them. Maybe the price is too high. Maybe it requires some assembly. Maybe we'd have to fight Christmas shopper traffic to get it. Whatever the reason, we never get the person what would make them happiest because we can't or won't do what it takes to get it. We settle for buying a different present, but not feeling any satisfaction in the thing that we settled for.

Application

Realizing and accepting God's Good Will toward us is sometimes like that. God has a plan for each of us. It is good for us. But, sometimes we may have trouble identifying what God's Will for us is. Other times, we can admit that we know what God's Will for us is, but we aren't willing to do what it requires to be obedient to it.

What happens? We settle for less than the best in our lives. We sacrifice God's Good and Perfect Will for us and wind up living mediocre lives. And, if you are a believer, that's a sad way to live. If you are not a believer and reject God's Good Will for you, that's disastrous.

There is another Christmas story that I think gives a good example of seeking God's Will for us. In fact, it is such a good example that the men in the story are said to be "wise" men seeking.

(Read Text Passage) Matthew 2:1-12

Synopsis of Story

These "wise men" were Magi, Oriental astrologers who studied the stars and sought to understand the times. They were Gentiles who had been especially called of God to come and pay homage to the newborn King. There may be a reference to the miraculous star in Balaam's prophecy in Numbers 24:16-17.

Contrary to popular tradition, we do not know how many Magi there were, where they came from, or what their names were. Many absurd traditions and guesses respecting these visitors to our Lord's cradle have found their way into popular belief and into Christian art. They were said to be kings, and three in number. There is absolutely no evidence that there were three. On the contrary, the group may have numbered from two to several hundred or more.

They were said to be representatives of the three families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and therefore one of them is pictured as an Ethiopian; their names are given as Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior, and their three skulls, said to have been discovered in the twelfth century by Bishop Reinald of Cologne, are exhibited in a priceless casket in the great cathedral of that city. Familiar Christmas traditions do not always have scriptural support.

These men were not Jewish. They were stargazers, most likely star-worshippers. They most certainly were not worshippers of the God of the Universe. They were the thinkers of their generation, the seekers of truth. They followed the star. They somehow knew that the star was leading them to the One who was born the King of the Jews. And the Bible records that they were wise men. They were seekers of something or someone to follow after, just like many people today are. But what was it about these men that leaves them to be known throughout eternity as wise men? What about their search made them wiser than anyone searching then or now?

The difference was twofold and it really has absolutely nothing to do with their own wisdom! The differences that made these seekers "wise" were, first, the One who was the subject of their search and, second, their actions and reactions when they found Him.

Applications for Us

1. They realized that they were in a faraway country

The first thing that indicates to us that these men were wise is the fact that, when they were made aware of the fact that Jesus had been born, they realized that they were a long way from where they needed to be.

What problems are you facing? What struggles do people in the real world go through? What issues are we trying to deal with in our lives? If we truly want to deal with these things wisely, and be known as someone of wisdom, we have to first admit that we aren't anywhere near wise enough to handle them on our own. Step One toward discerning God's Will: admit you are a long a way from where you need to be.

2. They heard the message from the Lord They recognized that the star that they saw carried a special message. Somehow, though we are not told how, they even got the message the star would lead them to the child who was born to be "King of the Jews" (v. 2).

As part of that recognition, we know that they respected it. They must have. They left their homeland to go wherever the star was leading them. Do you want to be seen and known as wise? Recognize and respect the Lord and His Word.

Where do we find the infallible Word of God today? Only in the Bible. Do we recognize and respect what that Word of God teaches? Are we willing to accept what God says in the Bible over any contradictory message we get from anyone else? The reverential respect of the Lord is the place where we begin to acquire wisdom. And adhering to His teachings is a sign of respect.

Are we giving God and His Word our respect and recognition by following it?

3. They set out to do what they were instructed to do Not only did these men realize that they were nowhere near where they ought to be, and that the message they heard and saw was from God, but they did more than just comfort themselves with head knowledge; they set out to follow the star and learn more about it and the One it led to. As they arrived in the presence of Herod, they made it clear that they were there to find out more about Jesus.

The title that they gave Jesus, "King of the Jews," raised the suspicions of King Herod because Herod feared anyone who threatened his throne. He was a ruthless monster who even killed his own children to protect his throne. He had nine (or ten) wives and was known for his treachery and lust. He was an Edomite and he had a natural hatred for the Jews.

But Herod did not know God's Word, so he went to his scribes for advice. The scribes knew the Word, but did not act upon it. Neither Herod nor his scribes were wise. How close those scribes were to the Messiah, yet they did not go.

The "wise" men were both hearers and doers of the Word! Do we want wisdom? Do we want to be seen as wise. We are told:

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

-- The Message, Eugene H. Peterson

That type of person cannot be considered wise, can they?

4. They forged through misconceptions and suppositions Even with the intent to find out more, these men wound up in the capital city in the king's court. Why? Because, they were no different than you or me. Where do you go to look for a king? In the city where His palace would be - in the capital.

This is exactly the place where many well-meaning people get sidetracked. They realize that they are by no means equal to the task. They recognize and respect what God's Word has to say. They seek to do what He commands in His Word. But they stumble here because, when they get to a certain point in their journey, they start relying on conventional or personal wisdom again.

We've all said, at one time or another, "Lord, thanks for leading down this path. I see where you are headed with this. I can take it from here." Perhaps these men thought to themselves, "We need to leave this place we are. We've gotten the message that the star is going to lead us to the King of the Jews. We need to go to Him." But then, somewhere along the way, they decided from their own wisdom that they knew where the King had to be.

We've got to guard against that in our own lives. If we want to be wise seekers of God's Good Will, we can't rely on our own understanding or conventional wisdom.

What would conventional wisdom say? What would God's wisdom say?

· Conventional wisdom: "You can't pass up an opportunity like this! Sure you ll have to move to a new place or have to give up some of your weekends or evenings, but somewhere down the road, you will reap enormous benefits!

God s wisdom: Seek first the kingdom and righteousness of God. Put Me first. Don t put yourself in a position where God will continuously be taking a back seat. Don t knowingly put yourself in a situation where you won t have a body of believers to surround yourself with, study with and grow with. Put Him first, ahead of job, ahead of other people, and He ll see to it that all the things you need to succeed will be added to your life.

· Conventional wisdom: Don t throw your money into that church! It s not the tax write-off that it used to be! Invest that money for the future.

Take care of those pressing needs.

God s wisdom: Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God has prospered him. Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase. God takes pleasure when we give to support and supply the needs of the body that Christ loves and gave Himself for. Not only that, though, He loves it when we give to Him first! And, He loves it when the giver delights in the giving. And He promises that when you give to Him with the proper attitude, God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done.

· Conventional wisdom: It s a dog-eat-dog world out there. If you re not the windshield, you re probably going to be the bug! Do whatever it takes to get ahead because all s fair in love and war. And, don t get mad get even!

God s wisdom: You are not a dog; you re My child. My grace is sufficient for you. I m able to supply all of your needs according to My wealth in glory. You don t have to get even, revenge belongs to Me. If anyone takes advantage of you, they answer to me.

Just a footnote here: when these men stopped at what seemed to them to be the obvious place to look for a King, when they followed conventional wisdom instead of God s wisdom, it started a chain of events that eventually brought some tremendous tragedies. It seemed harmless at the time Oh, well, this isn t where the newborn King is, where can we find Him? but it ultimately brought about jealous rage and murder of innocent babies.

Be careful with conventional wisdom especially if it contradicts what God says. And, don t just shrug it off either when you follow man s wisdom instead of God s because, when you do somewhere, some way there will be negative repercussions.

But, even in that, the good news is that they didn t get here, get stuck and either bog down or turn back. They fought through that to keep seeking the Lord.

5. They acknowledged Jesus for Who He is When they found Him, they worshipped Him. They acknowledged that He indeed was the One born King of the Jews. By the time they found Him, He was no longer the babe in the manger. It was perhaps not until some two years after the angels announced his birth to the shepherds that they arrived in Bethlehem. We can surmise this because He is referred to as the young child (2:9, 11, 13, 14) instead of a babe, as in Luke 2. We also know that when Herod later attempted to destroy this unknown Babe, he had all children in the Bethlehem area two years and under slain. (2:16). But, still, He was not born to royalty. Servants did not attend him. His earthly parents were humble people. Yet, these men didn t scratch their heads and say, We must ve made a wrong turn somewhere; this child can t be the One! They presented Him with their finest gifts. They worshipped Him.

In our lives, when we get to the point where it seems like we must absolutely be in the wrong place, we still need to acknowledge Jesus for Who He is the One who has a purpose for everything that comes into our lives and works all of our circumstances together for good. What is worship? What does it literally mean? It means to bow down, to prostrate ourselves before someone else. In effect, we say you are greater than we are; we re not worthy to stand before you! We acknowledge your greatness and superiority.

Maybe you look around you and say, No way that this could be where God wants me! This just goes against every natural inclination I have. Maybe, though, its time to bow yourself and say instead, Okay, Lord, this is where You want me, even though I wouldn t have chosen it, But I still acknowledge Your superiority in this!

6. They completely changed their direction Note that they went home by another way (v. 12).

Anyone who draws closer to Christ will go home another way and be a new creature. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 states:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new

There is sometimes some misinterpretation of this verse and people are led to believe that they won t want to sin anymore or they ll be prefect little angels. But, that s not what this is talking about. What things become new? Our outlook becomes new. Our direction changes because we have a new Director. Our priorities become new and different.

When you seek the Lord s will and submit to it, you ll head out to the world in a different direction, with different perspectives and priorities. The Lord Himself will redirect you.

Conclusion

The account of the visit of the Magi is a good lesson in finding the will of God: (1) they followed the light God gave them; (2) they confirmed their steps by the Word of God; and (3) they obeyed God without question and He led them each step of the way. What about you and me? Are we willing to do that? Are we seeking the Good Will of God toward men? Will we confirm what we are doing with His Word, the Bible. If the Bible says to do something, will we? Will we trust Him instead of conventional wisdom? And even if we wind up where we didn t exactly expect to be, will we still submit to Him? We should.

If you haven t trusted Christ, what are you seeking today? I feel safe in saying that, whatever it is, it s really not God you are seeking after. You may think so. I may want to believe it more than I ve ever wanted to believe anything! But the Word says, in Romans 3:10-11:

10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

So what are trying to fill that void with? Knowledge? Money? Power? Fame? Personal Relationships? Religion? Ultimately, every single one of those things will leave you dissatisfied.

Do you want to know what God s Good Will toward men is for you, along with every other person in the world? John 6:28-29 tells of the encounter between Jesus and a group of people who followed Jesus around during His ministry because they were amazed by the miracles He did. They cornered Him one day and asked, 28&What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

What does it mean to believe on the One that God has sent? Frankly, it is more than just believing that Jesus was born in a manger, although His birth has everything to do with Who He is. He was born the only begotten Son of God, perfect and without sin. He had to be perfect to be able to fulfill God s Holy Law. He had to be sinless to be the Perfect Sacrifice. And His sacrifice for your sins is what you and I must accept. That is what it means to believe on Him whom God has sent. Believe that He died, was buried and rose from the grave and that He did it to pay for your sins (your disobedience of or ignorance of God s Law).

God s Good Will for you is that you believe on Jesus Christ. Do that, and your future is secure. Then you can be like a wise man seeking what His individual Good Will is for your life.






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