UNEXPECTED CHRISTMAS- The Wise Men
Christmas 2024 is officially in the books. And yet, the story of Christmas and the lessons from the Christmas story live on in the same way that the birth of Christ was not the end of the story, but only the beginning of the story! And in fact, part of the traditional Christmas story that we know and love, probably took place AFTER the birth of Christ. That’s UNEXPECTED! How come every Jesus movie I’ve ever seen, not to mention every nativity set I’ve ever seen ALL have the wise men right there next to the manger?!? And the answer is… mostly because of tradition. Scripture doesn’t tell us a lot about the wise men and so we’ve filled in the gaps a bit. So this morning I want to look at the wise men. Who were the real wise men? What do we actually know about them and what is legend? And… why does it matter? So lets jump in…

o Matthew 2:1-12
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Who were the Wise Men?
It doesn’t tell us a lot, but… V. 1 & 2 does give us a little bit of info. 1st off, it tells us they came from the East. Then it tells us that they followed a star. But other than that, it doesn’t tell us much.. No details.
o Of course, we know what they look like because we’ve seen so many artistic depictions & Christmas cards. Typically, they’re riding camels with very fancy garb and crowns. Which I always questioned BTW. Cuz you’d think maybe if you were going to ride a camel across the desert you might want to tone down the robes and crowns go with something a little more practical! Am I right?
· And traditionally we always think that there were 3 of them, although it doesn’t tell us that. Actually, as I studied for this, I listened to a teaching by John McArther on the subject and he hypothesized that because of the prominence and influence of these men, that this entourage could literally have been a couple of THOUSAND people! Think about it. These were powerful influential men that were heading out on an expedition that would quite literally take months. So this would have been a huge entourage of people to support this lengthy expedition!

· And so even though we sing ‘We Three Kings of Orient Are” every year, Scripture never actually tells us that there were only 3 of them. It only tells us that they brought Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh and so people have deduced that there must have been 3 of them since there were 3 gifts.
o And it tells us that THEY CAME from the East. And so in all likelihood they traveled from Persia or Babylon. And just to give you some perspective… Babylon is about 800 miles from Jerusalem. That’s a pretty good journey on a camel! Even 20 miles a day would take you 40 days! That is quite a journey to “Come and See”!
o And not only do we not know the exact number of wise men, we also don’t know their identity. We are simply told that “Wise Men came from the East”. Well, what does that mean exactly.?

· And translators have struggled to convey the nature of what it meant that they were ‘wise men’. Were these just really smart guys? Was this just a group of men who did really well on their SAT's. No…there was more to it than that!! And when we look at the facts surrounding these wise men, it tells us that they ‘came from the East’ and ‘followed his star when it rose”. That tells us something about this group of ’wise men’. Where they came from. What they were doing. Which is why some English translations and certainly our tradition refer to them as the ‘Magi’.
o We get the word ‘Magi’ from the Greek word ‘Magos’- which simply translated means ‘wise men’, but interestingly is also where we get the word magic or magician.
· And so many scholars believe that when these ‘wise men’ came, it wasn’t JUST that these were ‘wise men’ in a general sense of the word… It was speaking about a very specific group of wise men known as the ‘Magi’. The ‘Magi’ was a very ancient priestly nomadic tribe that went all the way back to the Babylonian empire. The job of the Magi was to identify kings. They were middle Eastern King Makers. They were the confidants and personal advisors to kings! They were the top leading experts in all of their various fields of understanding!
o ‘The Magi’ was the name given by the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, to refer to the wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, soothsayers, interpreters of dreams, sorcerers. These were the smartest of the smart. All of the greatest minds in every field coming together.
· The Magi were also known to study the movements of the stars. Which sounds a lot like astronomy. But unlike astronomy, they also believed that those stars had a cosmic force that had an impact on life and on history. Which sound a bit more like astrology. But whereas astrology has more to do with superstition than with science, the Magi were very much men of science! In our culture today, we’ve created a climate where science and Theology are at odds. That was not true in their day. The Magi were very much men of science, but their science had a theological component to it. They would take cosmic phenomena and ancient books, along with dreams & visions. Then they would combine that with what they knew of astronomy & astrology. They would consider all these things together.

An UNEXPECTED member of the Magi-
Do you remember back in the book of Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar started having all those crazy dreams that he wanted to have interpreted? Remember what the king did? He called on all of his experts in the kingdom to help him interpret his dreams? Check this out.

o Daniel 2:2 “Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.”

· This was the Magi. All of the leading experts there to help give the king insight! All of kings top advisors!
o In fact, remember what happened when Daniel was the only person in the kingdom to be able to interpret the kings dreams? He promoted him to Chief of the Magi!

o Daniel 5:11 “There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers”

· So Daniel himself was the chief of the Magi! That’s UNEXPECTED! He had proven himself to be the wisest of the wise!!

The Magi were still listening to Daniel 490 years later!
Daniel was so wise, that nearly 500 years later, the Magi were still paying attention to Daniel! And they were looking back to the prophet Daniel (THE Chief of the Magi) because not only was Daniel wise, but if you recall… Just like Mary, and just like just like Joseph, an angel of the Lord had appeared to Daniel and announced the coming of the Messiah.
o Disclaimer… I’m wading into some dangerous territory here because we’re talking prophesy. And many times when we look at prophetic passages, we differ with one another on how exactly to interpret certain prophecies. And sometimes we look at certain passages completely differently than one another! To one person they are reading a future prediction while another views the exact same passage as a fulfilled promise! And so this is absolutely one of those passages! And so I’d encourage you to dig in and study it from both perspectives. Wrestle with God’s word. For the sake of time this morning, I’m only going to give you the correct interpretation😉
o And in my view, this was absolutely a prediction of the coming Messiah! And just like Mary, and just like Joseph, an angel of the Lord announced His coming to Daniel! 490 years before the birth of Jesus, an angel appeared to Daniel! Listen to what the angel Gabriel said to Daniel…

o Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.”

o Wow, that sounds a lot like Jesus! These were the words of the angel Gabriel to Daniel. And just like Mary, and just like Joseph, the announcement came through an Angel appearing to Daniel, and proclaiming that there would be a coming savior! One that would ‘Finish the Transgression!’, ‘put an end to sin’ , ‘atone for iniquity, ‘bring in everlasting righteousness’, ‘seal both vision and prophet’ (that means that there will come a time when ALL of these visions and prophesies will be fulfilled!), and to ‘anoint a most holy place.’

-The Hebrew word here translated as the ‘Most Holy Place’ is ‘Ko-Desh’. And this can also be translated as the ‘Most Holy One’. And so, question... Does this refer to Jesus or to the Temple? And fortunately, Jesus cleared that up for us. Remember when Jesus cleansed the temple? And the Jews demanded to know by what authority he said these things. Essentially they wanted him to PROVE that he was the Messiah!

-John 2:18-19 “So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

§ Question- Was Jesus talking about a physical Temple? No. He was talking about Himself! He was talking about His crucifixion! Jesus is the Temple! Jesus is the Holy One!

AN UNEXPECTEDLY PRECISE PREDICTION
It was the Angel Gabriel that had predicted the birth of Jesus all those years before when he spoke to Daniel, (chief of the Magi).
· And when Gabriel appeared to Daniel and made this decree, he was actually giving a very specific prediction. He said ‘Seventy Weeks are decreed”. So now most interpreters agree that the ‘Seventy weeks’ mentioned here equals 490 years. Each ‘week’ being a unit of 7 years. Thus, 70 x 7=490. (How’s that for a specific prediction for you?) The angel decreed to Daniel that this whole thing was going to happen in 490 years! Now… the question is WHEN exactly did Gabriel make this decree? 490 years from when? When do we start the clock? And that’s essentially the source of this debate along with whether this is to be a concurrent 490 years or if there are gaps between these time periods.
o But I find it compelling that most traditional scholars believe this ‘decree’ of Gabriels probably coincided with the decree made by Artaxerxes in the 7th year of his reign. (457 BC.)
o And if you look at Daniel 9:25, you’ll see that the 490 years was actually broken down into increments. The first an increment of 7. (49 years) the 2nd is 62 weeks. (434 years)
o Interestingly, if you start the clock from Artaxerxes decree in 457 BC, then 49 years later marks the completion of the construction of the walls around Jerusalem. (408 BC) 434 years later (or 62 weeks) would bring us to A.D. 27 which is approximately when Jesus was baptized and began His ministry. The Holy One began His work! Interesting!
· And yet, even if you and I take a different view on how we interpret this passage, guess who else would have been wrestling with this prophecy? The Magi! I can guarantee you that the Magi were well aware of the 70 week prophesy spoken to the chief of the Magi (Daniel) by Gabriel himself! And do you know how I know that? Because lo and behold the Magi show up on the scene around the time of Christ’s birth. They made a journey of 800 miles across the desert to “Come and See”. Could it really be? 490 years later? Could the prophecy be true?
· And so the wise men came because it had been foretold long ago! And anyone who cared to pay attention, could read the prophesies about the coming Messiah, and diligently watch for the signs. And so when this “Star” appeared in the sky, the Wise Men recognized this as a sign, and immediately set out to find this promised Messiah! The king of the Jews!

THE SIGNS WERE CLEAR
Interestingly, the star was not the only sign given about the coming Messiah. Over and over within the pages of the Old Testament, we see detailed prophesies and predictions about exactly what this Messiah would be like! Exactly how he would come. Exactly when he would come. Exactly what he would do. -In fact… one scholar say’s he has found as many as 574 different verses within the Old Testament that point to, reference, or describe the coming of the Messiah in great detail!
o This had been predicted long ago! And in fact, after the wise men inquired about this newborn king… it says that the chief priests and scribes quoted for them the prophecy from Micah 5:2. And this prophecy was even older that Gabriels decree! (Written around 750 BC.)

Matthew 2:5-6
“They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

· So the wise men had followed the star. They had listened to the prophecies. And now they they arrive in Jerusalem, and it says they inquired…“Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?” So we learn a little bit more here about exactly what the wise men believed.
o They believed that a significant king had been born.
o That he was directly related with the Jewish people.
o And that this King had been born in Judea.
o “We have come a long way and we would like to find him”

This next part was UNEXPECTED for me.
· When all of the chief priests and teachers heard the question… check this out. They instantly knew all of the answers! They knew the prophies! They knew what had been foretold! Does that surprise anybody? They already knew! Plus… they were already in Jerusalem!! They were only 6 miles away! A short mornings walk. Only a few short steps away, and yet they hadn’t bothered to take those steps for themselves! They knew the stories, but had NOT gone and had a personal encounter! They knew all of the answers but DID NOT know the messiah!
o In fact, the very same star that hung in the sky and guided the wise men to Jerusalem was also visible to Herod and his priests. Anyone who cared to could look up and see the signs! Anybody who cared to look and listen, could hear the predictions. It was right there for everyone to see! In fact, after the wise men left Herod, he summoned them back. Check this out…

o Matthew 2:7 “Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.”

· Essentially Herod was like… “Oh hey… now that you mention that star and stuff… do you happen to remember exactly when it showed up? I mean, just out of curiosity?” The wise men had followed that star for 800 miles, and yet Herod hadn’t even noticed it. Or if he had noticed it, he certainly hadn’t attributed it to being a sign from God. (Bottom line, the signs were plain to see if only he cared to look up!)

WHERE DOES MY STORY AND THE CHRISTMAS STORY INTERJECT? · The Magi were there because they had paid attention to the prophecies and watched for the signs. They traveled from afar to come and see. Could it really be true? They didn’t know for sure, but they had to see! And just like the Magi, I believe that every single one of us here are on a journey of sorts to find the savior. And that journey looks different for all of us. And I love the Christmas story because if you pay attention, you can see so many of our personal stories captured within this story. Our personal journeys to the savior illustrated through the Christmas story!
o Probably since we are in church, I’m guessing that there are quite a number of people that are kind of like Mary in this story. It wasn’t so much that you chose God, but that HE CHOSE YOU! God spoke to you clearly at a young age and life hasn’t always been easy, but God has ALWAYS been there. So you just trusted and believed!
o Or maybe you’re journey has been a little more like Joseph in this story. God HAS given you signs. You have heard God’s voice clearly. And yet, you’re struggling to make sense of any of this! How could any of this be true? All of this isn’t rational! And guess what…Some of it was NEVER going to make sense! The virgin birth was never going to make sense!
· At some point Joseph had to take a step of faith. He had to simply trust that there were actually some things beyond his understanding!
· The question for you is if you will ever step out in faith and simply trust that what He said is true?
o Or maybe you’re more like the shepherds in this story. You have absolutely heard from God. He’s clearly gotten your attention! For the shepherds, it took a Dayglow Angelic Superbeing materializing in their midst! What has it taken to get your attention? How has God brought you to this moment? The question for you is the same as it was for the shepherds… will you respond?
· The shepherds actually had to get up and follow the angel’s instructions. The shepherds had to leave their flocks behind.
· What is God asking you to leave behind? Will you respond?

o I fear that there are also probably far too many folks here this morning that are just like Herod’s chief priests! You know all of the answers! You’ve heard all of the stories! You could tell the Christmas story yourself in fact. And yet, you’ve never taken that step to go have a personal encounter with Jesus for yourself! You know the stories, but do you know the Savior? You know all ABOUT Him, but do you KNOW Him?

o And I think many of us are also just like Herod. God HAS given you CLEAR SIGNS! The star was right there all along if you cared to look up. For the wise men, it was a star! What is it for you? How has God been trying to get your attention? How has God been trying to guide you to Himself? What tiny miracles has God performed in your midst that you have attributed to coincidence? Are you just like Herod? Has God has been trying to get your attention if you would only just look up?! Has God given you sign’s and yet you fail to attribute those things to God?!

o Or maybe you’re more like the Magi. You haven’t had that encounter with Jesus YET, you ARE on an authentic search. Weighing the facts. Studying history and scripture. Searching for signs.
· Question… it says that when the Magi finally followed the star and found Jesus, it says that their response was to worship him!

· Matthew 2:11a “And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him…”

RESPONSE & COMMUNION
Question… What is your response to Jesus? It’s not an ambiguous question. You’ve heard the stories and sung the songs, but what do you believe about Jesus? Who is he to you?


o The message is the same for us today as it was for the Magi! Come and See! Come and meet this UNEXPECTED Savior! You can’t observe Him from a distance! You need to come and see for yourself!

o (V. 2 & V. 11)- When you finally encounter Christ, the natural response is worship!