Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2: 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. 3: When Herod the king had heard these things, 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 demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5: And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: 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. 7: Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8: And 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. 9: When 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. 10: When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11: And 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. 12: And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Introduction

The Christmas story we just read in the second chapter of Matthew demonstrates how the Lord Jesus was received by the world when He came. It shows how He was received at His birth. There are three different individuals or groups in this story namely, King Herod, the religious leaders, and the Wise Men. This morning I want us to look at these three individuals or groups and their responses to the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are basically three different responses recorded in this narrative — anger, apathy and adoration. This story also illustrates how people have responded to Jesus Christ throughout history--and how they respond today. Interestingly, people's response to the birth of Christ in our day falls into one of these same groups. As someone has said, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." More than 2000 years have passed since the birth of Christ and things have not changed. There is really nothing new under the sun. 

So as we look at the three responses of the first Christmas, let's compare them with our responses and attitudes and see where we are today.

I — Anger

Matthew 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 

King Herod was troubled upon hearing that a new king was born. The term troubled means "shaken" or "agitated," like a washing machine on the heavy duty cycle. To appreciate this let's find out who Herod is. 

Who was Herod? 

Herod was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau. He was not even a Jew and being a descendant of Esau he was hated by the Jews. He received his position as king of the Jews only because of his friendship with the Romans. Herod ruled as king under the authority of the Romans. So, Herod was a puppet king whose reign was questionable.  His only task, as far as Rome was concerned, was to keep the peace. The fact that Herod was not a Jew caused him to be more fearful because he knew the Jews would love to replace him with a Jew. 

And so this explains why he was troubled. His anxiety led to anger and his anger is an evidence of his pride and insecurity. He came up with an evil plan and it's all recorded here in the Scripture. 

Matthew 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

Matthew 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8: And he sent them [wise men] 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. 

Herod pretended that he wanted to worship the newborn King when in reality he wanted to destroy Him. No wonder that when Herod was troubled, everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. 

Matthew 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 

Why were they troubled? Because they were afraid of what Herod would do. They knew by long and sad experience how overly protective Herod was of his position and jealous of anyone that would be a possible rival. Jerusalem knew what Herod's fear and anger meant. It meant bloodshed and suffering. 

Jerusalem's fear was justified because when Herod realized that he was outsmarted by the wise men, he was filled with rage. And so Herod sent his soldiers to kill every single baby boy in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under. 

Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Herod's attitude was one of anger, hatred and bitterness. Today, we also see this hatred towards the Saviour of the world and anything Christian. Herod's response is alive and well in our 21st century.

Rev. Steve Wagers explains, "Many are just as 'troubled' as Herod when it comes to the Kingship of Jesus, because they realize if Jesus is King, it means they AREN'T."

II — Apathy

The second response we see here in this narrative is the response of the chief priests and scribes which is apathy and unbelief. They were shockingly indifferent to the birth of the Messiah.

Matthew 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5: And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: 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. 

Herod's first response was to gather together all the chief priests and scribes and enquired of them where Christ should be born. By this time, the chief priests and scribes were not godly men. They were corrupt religious politicians and theologians who were also pre-occupied with power and control. These corrupt, religiously oriented politicians pulled out their Old Testaments and pointed to ...

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

The chief priests and the scribes knew the answer. These were people who knew the Scripture.  They could give him the book and chapter and verse. They knew that the Messiah was to come and the place of His arrival. They announced that Bethlehem was to be the place of Christ's birth. They knew all that the Bible has to say about Christ. They had it all in their head but the tragedy was their hearts were far from Him.

You would have thought with years of waiting for the Messiah they would have at least go to Bethlehem and check it out. But they were cold and totally indifferent. Bethlehem is only five miles from Jerusalem. The wise men had traveled 1000 miles on much less knowledge. But these men wouldn't even go five miles. This reminds me of what the Lord Jesus said in ...

Matthew 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12: But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Here are the Jews whom Jesus describes as the children of the kingdom; they have a Biblical knowledge of the Christ of God but they have no heart for Christ. They reject Jesus Christ's claim of kingship. They will not have Him as their King. 

The same thing is happening today. There are people who have incredible head knowledge about the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ; there are people who have grown up in Church with an open Bible and well-versed with the things of God and yet indifferent to Christ. 

The devil is perfectly happy for you to know a lot about the Bible but do nothing with it. He loves for us to know many things about Christ and in some form have a belief in it but not have a true commitment to Christ and not to have a true faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The important thing is not what you know; but  what you do with what you know. The chief priests and the scribes knew a whole lot more than the shepherds and the wise men, but they never made it to Jesus. For them Christ was somebody to speculate about and talk about and nothing more. O, be careful how are you respond to what you know. Be careful of ignoring Christ and His claims.

III — Adoration

The third response we see here in this narrative is the response of the Wise Men which is adoration. 

Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2: 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.

There are many things we do not know for sure about the wise men. All the description we have in the Bible about these wise men is what we have here in Matthew 2:1. Now from that simple and short description of the wise men many traditions and legend have come up which are nothing more than speculation and have no Biblical support and foundation.

As I have said there are many things we do not know for sure about the wise men. The first thing that we don't know about these wise men is their names. Tradition says their names are Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar. But there is no Biblical evidence to support that these were their names. Second thing we don't know about them is how many of them came? We always have three kings as part of the display in our Nativity scene. Then we sing "We Three Kings of orient are." We are not sure if there were three kings. The only reason for assuming that there were three kings is because of the three gifts that were given: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Three gifts therefore three kings, right? Not necessarily. The Bible does not say there were three wise men. There could have been only two or there could have been ten or even many more. We simply don't know for sure. The third thing we don't know about them is where they came from. All we know from what the Bible tells us is that they came from the east and that's all we are told.

So there are many things we simply do not know for sure about these wise men but one thing we know for sure about them. What we know for sure is their response to the birth of the new born King and it was adoration.

Matthew 2:2 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.

The wise men were not even Jewish citizens, meaning they don't know a whole lot compared to the religious leaders of the day but with the little light they have they responded by seeking the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 2:9 When 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. 10: When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11: And 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.

The wise men sought the newborn King and in spite of many obstacles, they sought Him until they found Him; and when they found Him they worshiped Him and gave to Him. They bowed down to Him and gave Him gifts. True worship always includes bowing and giving.  When they worship Him they gave their best to the Saviour. 

Also notice that when they saw the newborn King, they worship Him. They worship Him! They did not worship Mary. They did not worship Joseph. As godly and holy as Mary and Joseph were they did not worship them. They worshipped Christ. There is only One Who is worthy of worship and that is the King of kings and Lords of lords.

Matthew 4:10b ... for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

And so the response of the wise men was adoration. They sought Him, they trusted Him and they worshipped Him.

Closing Thoughts

In closing let me ask you this, as we consider the reactions of the world to Christ's birth what's yours? Which attitude do you have to the Christ of Christmas? Is it anger? Is it apathy? The only people who dislike the coming of Christ and reject His offer of forgiveness and salvation are people like Herod and religious leaders who will not have Him to reign over them. Oh, how important your response to Christ is! Your response to Christ reveals your heart. Your response to Christ will determine where you will spend eternity. What will you do with Jesus? If your response has been anger or apathy, let me tell you that there is forgiveness with God. Wherever you are this morning understand that God is ready, willing and able to forgive and to save and  God's grace is greater than all your sins. 

Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

O, seek Him!

Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Wise Men, are led by God's Spirit to seek for Him, and when they find Him they received Him gladly and worshiped Him as their Saviour and Lord.

May God make every man and woman, every boy and girl here this morning absolutely sure that you have Christ as your Redeemer!

AMEN!