Pastorinthewoods's Weblog: Can You Handle The Truth?

Matthew 2:1-12 (NKJV)  1 ¶  Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of the East came to Jerusalem,2  saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”3  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.4  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.5  So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:6  ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”7  Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.8  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”9 ¶  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.10  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.11  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.12  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. 

            A multiple choice test is all about choosing the best answer. Sometimes those who make the test will throw in an answer that is close to the best answer but it is not totally correct. Many people have made those same kind of choices in life. The choices they have made are not exactly the best of choices. However, how you have responded to Jesus will make a difference on how you will spend eternity. This biblical narrative gives us 3 responses to the birth of Jesus. The response of Herod the Great, The response of the religious hierarchy of the day, and the response of the Magi are all shown in this text. From this text let us examine 3 responses to Jesus. Only 1 response will save a person from their sin and give them eternal life.

How will you respond to Jesus?  3 possible responses are listed here.

1. The prideful response is to be threatened by Jesus.
   1. Herod was a puppet king who liked his way of life. All he wanted was to maintain his little kingdom so that he could enjoy his life of debauchery and drunkenness. He was a brutal person as you will see later on in this narrative, who had his wife, children, and mother in law executed because he feared they were a threat to his position. William Barclay says it best when speaking of Herod and those who live by his mentality. He says, “ Herod was afraid that this little child was going to interfere with his life, his place, his power, his influence, and therefore his instinct was to destroy him….There are still those who would gladly destroy Jesus Christ, because they see in him the one who interferes with their lives. They wish to do what they like and Christ will not let them do what they like; and so they would kill him.”
   2. This statement reflects the humanistic mindset of our day. For those who are living as if there is no God, there is a great threat to them when they think of a God who became flesh and dwelt among us. Why are they threatened? They are threatened by the thoughts of a God who is involved, in charge, and holding people accountable. Bill O’Reilly, calls the war on Christmas a “culture war” as if the war on Christmas just started yesterday.  The war on Christmas started 2000 years ago when it was revealed that God was working to reveal Himself through his son. The Gospel of Jesus turns the world upside down because it calls all of us to humble ourselves and shed our pride that deceives us and condemns us.
2. The religious response is to ignore Jesus.
   1. Herod called in the religious elite to tell him about this child that was to be born. For centuries the law and the prophets had been telling the Israelites about the Messiah to come. The teachers spoke often about the Messiah. But when the fullness of time had come and they identified where the Messiah was to be born, they responded to Him by simply ignoring Him. They were so engrossed in their religious activity that they could not respond appropriately to the Savior’s birth. They were only 5 miles from Bethlehem but they could not travel 5 miles to see the young Messiah. What a great contrast between the Magi and the religious elite of Israel. Those who had the most light responded in the most inappropriate way.
   2.  How inappropriate is it to come to a house of worship, hear the Gospel week after week, and ignore it? To enter into the self-deception of religious ritual and moral living and think that that is acceptable to God. Why is it so easy for us to miss the Gospel and replace it with legalistic ritual? Jesus spoke in Matthew 7:21 of those who are trusting in religious activity coming before him and presenting their resume on the day of judgment,  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.22  “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’23  “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
3. The Wise Response is to worship Jesus
   1. The Magi did several things that revealed a true heart of worship.

                                                               i.      God illuminated their heart    ii.      They rejoiced in the Savior  iii.      They believed that Jesus was the Messiah    iv.      Their actions of bowing down represented submission to Him as their Lord              

v.      They gave sacrificially and their giving reflected their beliefs.in who this child was.

1.       Gold was a gift for a king   2.       Frankincense was a gift for a priest   3.       Myrrh was a gift for burial                                                      

Christian worship is worship that comes form a heart of faith and submission. We worship in Joy because we believe in Jesus who is our king-priest who gave his own blood on the heavenly altar once for all for our sins. Now we rejoice because we can come boldly to the throne of grace having full access to God. We have a clear conscience and a clean heart so we give of ourselves sacrificially in order to proclaim the attributes of our Savior to a lost and dying world.

 Jesus explained the greatest choice in life in a very simple way. He said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” How will you respond to Jesus? Pride and religious ritual will dump you on to the highway that leads to destruction. Faith and submission will lead to a real relationship with the Savior and true worship.