Where Is He that is Born King of the Jews?

 

by Jason Lovelace

 

Key Scripture:

Matthew 2.1~12: ¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, ²saying, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” ³When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. ⁵And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶‘And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.’” ⁷Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star had appeared. ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. ⁹When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. ¹¹And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return unto Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

 

Where is he that is born King of the Jews? What do you think about this question from the wise men?

 

How can you and how does anyone else answer this question? Is this an important question, or unimportant? Is this a question only for Christmas, or can we ask such a question at all times during the year? Many people have many different things to say concerning Jesus of Nazareth. What about you? Where is he that is born King of the Jews?

Point #1 – Christ is Being Ushered OUT of Christmas…

It doesn’t take long for people to see that Jesus is being “x”-ed out of Christmas. I’m not very much of a fan of “Xmas”. I know that there is a reason for the “X” being in front of the “-mas”, but from what I have seen over the years, “Xmas” is just another way to remove Christ from “Christmas”. This, friends, is where the trouble begins. When “Christ” is taken out of “Christmas”, then all sorts of problems begin to shape up. When you think of Christmas, what do you think of? This is something that I preached on last week here in the Japanese Service. Where do your thoughts go when you think of Christmas, this time of the year? Do you have thoughts of joy, peace, and the desire to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for coming to earth, or do you think about everybody on your Christmas Shopping list, the parties you must attend, and the people you must please at this time of the year? Most people think of the latter, if they take the time to think of Christmas at all. Did you know that in the United states that suicide rates, depression, and gloominess rise starting right about this time of the year? More people in the United States have mental, psychological, and emotional problems at this time of the year than at any other! How about you? There are many and varied explanations for this rise in depression, this rise in nervous breakdowns, but really, there is only one reason: most people have taken Christ right out of Christmas. When I was in school just a few years ago, the vacation time for schools was called “Christmas Vacation”; now it is called “Winter Break” or “Winter Vacation”. In the past – especially if you worked in a government or public office – one could say “Merry Christmas” without fear of retribution; now, if you say something other than “Happy Holidays”, a person could find himself or herself in front of a judge. It used to be that a person at work or a student at school could display a Christmas Decoration at the office or in the classroom; in modern times, such decorations are room for dismissal from work or suspension from school. Christ is being taken out of “Christmas”, to the worse of modern culture.

Point #2 – Wise Men STILL Seek Him!!!

The wise men that we read about were actively looking for Jesus Christ. Where do you think that these wise men came from? What country from which, do you suppose, did these Christ-seeking scholars start out? There are many who believe that these wise men (and the number of these men is uncertain; many think it is three because of tradition and because there were three gifts given. The Bible doesn’t say how many, but the number was likely very large) came from Persia. The reason for this is possibly because of the high position that the Prophet Daniel had in the Persian Kingdom and Empire, and while Daniel had been dead for centuries, his writings about the messiah were liekyl still around. The point of this is to say that these wise men were actively seeking, actively looking for Jesus Christ! The Bible does not say, but these men very likely traveled for at least a year-and-a-half to find Jesus. Think about these facts:

• Jesus is not called “a baby” as he is in Luke, but “a young child”…
• Mary and Joseph were living in a house when the Wise Men came, not the stable where Jesus was born, as we see in Luke…
• The Wise Men were following a Star, which probably meant that they could only travel at night, and then, only when the night was clear.
• Joseph seems to have not been home when the Wise Men came at first, as he is not mentioned until after the Wise Men have already left, possibly meaning that he had work or a job and didn’t come home until evening, meaning that he and Mary, with Jesus had decided to settle down in Bethlehem.
• In Verse 16 of this chapter, we see that Herod, in his anger at being tricked by the Wise Men, ordered the execution of all the children in Bethlehem and the surrounding area that were two years old and younger.

As you can see by these interesting facts, these Wise Men spent a long and possibly hard time seeking Jesus Christ. It is the same for many of us! I asked Jesus to come into my heart when I was 7 years old. Over the last almost-29 years, however, there have been many hard, difficult times in getting to know him. The road that I have traveled with Jesus hasn’t been easy, but, just like these Wise Men who have traveled, the times that I have “seen” Jesus in my life have been times of great reward, great rejoicing, and awesome peace! It’s the same as with these Wise Men! When they saw the star, and knew their travel to see Jesus was almost finished, they rejoiced!! When they came to the house where Jesus lived with Mary and Joseph, they rejoiced even more greatly, and worshipped him! I truly wonder what their homeward journey was like! Maybe their trip home was similar to the shepherds, who rejoiced as they left the stable where Jesus had been born (see Luke 2). It is the same for anyone else! If you seek Jesus, you will find him! Even if the road to find him has been long, hard, and full of trouble (just like my road), if you diligently find Jesus, you will find him, and your rejoicing will be grand!!!! Wise Men still seek Jesus!

Point #3 – What Herod and Everybody Else Missed…

Now maybe you are wondering about Herod. How could the King of Israel have missed – or almost missed – Jesus Christ’s birth? How could the Chief Priests, the Scribes, and the Religious Scholars of Israel have missed the birth of the Messiah? Why were these leaders and “all of Jerusalem” troubled at the news of the birth of Jesus Christ? The answer is really quite simple: They weren’t looking for him. That is the reason why King Herod had to ask his Chief Priests in the first place: he wasn’t even looking for Jesus Christ. In fact, the King of Israel at this time wasn’t even Jewish. He was a foreigner to whom the throne of Israel had been given because he had allied himself with Caesar Augustus in Caesar’s Civil War against Marc Antony. In reality, the reigning “King of the Jews” (Herod) was really a pretender to the throne. So when one thinks about his ignorance concerning the birth of Jesus Christ, it would seem that Herod had been quite foolish. You see, King Herod was not only not looking for Jesus, when Jesus came, he wasn’t ready; neither, really, were the Scribes and Priests; neither were the people of Jerusalem. None of them had trusted God for his promise of the Messiah. The last mention anywhere of Christ’s birth had been almost 500 years before, so the people, the king, even the religious experts had grown complacent: it had been nearly 500 years, so why should the Promised Messiah come now? The Israelites, along with their religious and political leaders, had waited for such a long time that the promise of Jesus Christ’s Coming had become more like a fable or a traditional folk tale, rather than a prophesied, coming event. Why even bother keeping watch anymore? Further, times were peaceful for the first time in centuries, and though Rome was in control of the known world, times weren’t terrible. What need did Israel have, really, of a Messiah? This is the reason that everyone in Jerusalem was troubled when Jesus was born…

It’s the same for today, if one really thinks about it. After all, Jesus did say he was coming again, right? But how long ago was that? Was it fifteen hundred years ago? Was it two thousand years ago? You see? Even in today’s world, people are not looking for Jesus Christ. At Christmas time, people think more about shopping, more about Christmas Parties and Christmas Bonuses, even more about visiting with family and friends and loved ones more than we think about Jesus Christ! This is so especially among Christians and Christian or Christ-influenced nations!! What if it were announced – just as the Wise Men did in Jerusalem when Jesus was born – that Jesus Christ was on his way back to earth? How would we react? Would we – like Herod the king – be troubled, and everyone around us also? Would we run to a pastor or priest and demand to know to where and when Jesus said he was coming back? Would we shake with fear at his return? Friends, this is where Herod, the Priests and Scribes, and the population of Jerusalem missed it!!! They missed Jesus Christ when he came because they weren’t looking for Him! The King of Israel – with all his power and might, his army and his chariots – and the population of Jerusalem missed the Messiah; but lowly, field-dwelling Shepherds saw Jesus and very likely held Him in their arms! The Priests and Scribes of the temple – with their education and wisdom – missed the birth of Jesus Christ by two years, and were a mere 30 kilometers away; yet foreign scribes, Wise Men, who lived some 2000 kilometers away, took time out of their lives, faced danger and separation from home, and traveled for those two years to find him! The reason why the king, the priests and religious leaders, and the people of Jerusalem missed Jesus is because they were not looking for him.

Conclusion – What about you? Where is he that is born King of the Jews?

Is Jesus Christ in your heart and life? Is The King of the Jews your Lord and Saviour? Have you asked Jesus Christ into your life, to take away your sins and give you a fresh, new start? Let me ask the question that the Wise Men asked, one more time: Where is he that is born King of the Jews? Friends, this question is the most important question that you will ever face!!! What better time of the year to answer the question is there than Christmas? If you cannot give a sure, 100% certain answer to this question, then to tell you the truth, you need the Saviour! If you ask Jesus to come into your life, to rescue you from your sins and to clean them away, he will come! Don’t you want to give a positive, sure answer to this question? Do you want to be troubled by this question, as Herod the king and his people, were? Trust Jesus today! In closing, I leave you with this question once again: Where is he that is born King of the Jews? Let’s pray…

Prayer – Heavenly Father, we bless you, we thank you, and we praise you for the gift of Jesus Christ!

 

We thank you for Christmas! The world, Lord, is troubled when the question that the Wise Men asked 2,000 years ago is asked today: “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” We pray, Father, that you would help those who would be troubled by such a question to come to know you as Saviour, Lord, and Master of their lives! We Pray, Father, that this Christmas Season, they would accept the free gift you have ready to give to all mankind! We pray that you would help us all, Lord, to put Jesus Christ back in Christmas, and that we would remember to thank you and praise you for the salvation you give! Bless all, Lord, who see these words, who read them, and give them an extra added blessing of your grace, conviction, and power, we pray, in Jesus precious name, Amen!

Verse to Remember

 

…behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”
--- Matthew 2.1-2