A King of a Different Kingdom
Dr. Linda Christians
December 30, 2018
Matthew 2:1-15
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiahwas to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” Matthew 2:1-15

Please join me in prayer. O Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable to you, our Lord, our strength, our redeemer. Amen.
The bus began to slow down and our guide, named Hannaniah, said, “You all need to get ready to get off the bus because you have a photo op here. There is a most unusual sight, and this is the best vantage point to take the very best picture.”
Now, I knew we were in the area of Bethlehem, but from my seat I couldn’t see where Hannaniah was pointing. When I got off the bus I glanced to the left and without a doubt I knew what he was talking about. You see, there were two mountains to the east and I could see one that was sheared off on the top. It was just flat as if someone had taken a saw and sliced the top of the mountain. Then, there was one right next to it that was shaped like a volcano. On that mountain, the taller one, there were structures on it and around it.
What he said was that yes, indeed, that taller mountain is Herod’s palace. It’s his fortress – one of seven. What he did to make it the tallest place in that area was to have his slaves literally move the top of one mountain to make the next one higher. I don’t know how they did it, but they did. This mountain is flat, this mountain is much higher. Herod’s palace, the king of the Jews, appointed by the rulers, has one of his palaces that overlook the entire region.
As I was looking at the mountains I heard in my head Jesus saying something to the effect of “if you have the faith as small as a mustard seed you can move the mountains. Nothing is impossible.” I thought that the people in Jesus’ day, who heard Jesus utter those words, would know that to be a truth and not an exaggeration.
Jesus was actually speaking a truth, you can move mountains, the mountain was literally moved, sheared off, and made taller. In that moment, Scripture – that passage – became true for me. It became real. It wasn’t just an exaggerated saying.
That was the first incident where Scripture really came to life for me that day. The second was when we were actually standing on the Herodian, Herod’s palace, the remains. I had been there many times with Dr. Jim Fleming and Hannaniah before. I had heard them give the Biblical, archeological and Scriptural significance of the area around and at the palace. I had listened, and I had learned, and I had taken notes.
When Hannaniah said, “You know, this is the palace where the Wise Men would have come. This is the place Herod would send for the Wise Men.” I thought, “Oh, my gosh, I am standing on the very ground where the Wise Men would have come and would have met Herod.”
I can’t describe it, but I felt the truth. The story, the pageant that we saw last Sunday with the children, all of that I’ve always believed to be true, at least I thought I believed it to be true. At that moment when Hannaniah said, “the ground on which you are standing is the place where the Wise Men would have come.” That made that a real truth for me.
Those occurred in October of this year. I can tell you that nearly every day I have reflected on those two experiences. Something in my mind just takes me back to that place and I ponder why my response was so profound.
You see, our Scripture today takes us back to Herod’s palace. It takes us back to a time when Jesus had been born and he was in a manger. By now, in this passage, with the Wise Men coming Jesus would be one to two years old. The Wise Men have traveled from afar, so Jesus has grown up. He and Mary and Joseph are now living in a house in Bethlehem. Herod is the appointed ruler, appointed by the Romans. He’s ruling as a king of might, he is the king of Jews by appointment only. The chief priests, and the scribes are the religious rulers of the day. And they are close by but yet somewhat indifferent.
So, I want us to look at the passage here that we have, and I want us to identify and look at and explore some of the responses to the birth of Jesus.
Herod the Great, king of the Jews. He was a magnificent builder. He built palaces, fortresses – he had seven around that area. They were magnificent. Ports, harbors, bridges, roads, he renovated the temple. He made it larger and more beautiful, which endeared him to some of the Jews in that area. That’s the positive side of Herod.
The negative side was that Herod was cruel, ruthless, paranoid, crafty, evil, a murderer. He murdered one of his wives, two of his children – sons. He murdered his sons because he feared treason. He murdered his wife because he loved her so much that he was afraid of losing her. Instead of losing her he killed her. That’s the negative side of King Herod.
Herod was smart, and he knew that in order to keep peace, and to maintain his position, he needed to keep peace in the area. If indeed, this newborn baby was the king of the Jews, the rightful king, an heir of David, then, he knew trouble was imminent. This disturbed him greatly.
To make matters worse, the Wise Men who traveled in a large caravan, most likely came from the east which there was another larger power that held position next to Rome. If indeed this powerhouse from the east came and if Jesus was indeed the King of the Jews, then Herod’s paranoia escalated, and his fear rose because his position and his base, his power was at risk. Herod lied, we know that from the Scripture. He called for the Wise Men in secret and he asked them about the baby Jesus. He said, “When you find him, return to me because I’d like to go and worship him, too.”
Herod had no intention of worshipping Jesus. Instead, he had every intent to see that Jesus the king of the Jews, born to Mary, was to be killed. Herod’s response to the birth of Jesus was active hostility and hatred.
So now let’s consider the chief priests and the scribes. And understand, Herod’s palace is here, and just over here is Bethlehem. About five to six miles north is Jerusalem. Now in Jesus’ day there wasn’t construction, so here on Herod’s palace you can see for miles and you can see the city of Jerusalem. There are shepherds in the fields when Jesus was born, and they saw the angels. They heard them sing, “Glory to God in the highest.” They were aware that the baby had been born and they left their flocks to go worship.
The chief priests, who weren’t that much further away had to have seen and had to have heard the great heavenly chorus of angels singing. I can’t help but think they did not know that Jesus had been born. And yet they never took a step to go and see Jesus, as far as we know. The chief priests and the rulers kept living their life as they always did. They ignored the baby, they were totally indifferent. Their response was indifference. Herod’s was hatred and hostility. The chief priests and the rulers was indifference. It didn’t matter.
And then you have the Wise Men. We don’t know much about them, but we do know that they were a bunch of scholars called Magi. They were astrologers, they knew the stars. And we know that at the point around Jesus’ birth they had seen this bright star. They knew enough, maybe from the Jews who were in exile, maybe they had an Old Testament – who knows how they knew. But they knew the Old Testament prophecy that said a baby would be born. So, they took a step out in faith and they followed the star.
Now as I said, they traveled in large caravans with military guards, probably to protect them but also the gifts that they were bringing. Before the Wise Men ever left their homes they already recognized Jesus as a king. They already provided gifts that were valuable. They recognized Jesus for who he was before they ever stepped foot out of their own land. And as they followed the star they were following with an open heart to worship and to adore the newborn baby.
In Jesus’ time it was customary if you were approaching royalty or a person of social significance, whether political or religious, somebody who was in an esteemed state to present them with gifts. We’ve heard the hymn “We Three Kings” that they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold indeed is a gift that’s fit for a king. The Wise Men came prepared. A gift fit for a king. Gold, a precious metal, and it was an exchange medium. It was used for making precious jewelry and ornaments, even the utensils for the royals. Gold was a gift fit for a king.
Frankincense is a gift fit for a priest. It is a sweet burning incense and it’s the only incense allowed on the altar. In Latin, the word for “priest” is pontiff, that means “bridge builder.” The Wise Men came with gold fit for a king, frankincense fit for a priest, who was to serve as the bridge builder between God and humankind.
They also brought myrrh. This was a sweet perfume that is fit to be given to someone who is going to die. It is a sweet perfume that is placed in the clothing on a deceased person’s body to stifle the smell of decomposition. The Wise Men knew Jesus as the king, as a bridge builder and also as one who would die. Jesus did die to save us from our sins and from ourselves. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Three valuable gifts and each one had an appropriate and relevant meaning.Herod’s response was hostility, the chief priests and scribes’ response was indifference and the Wise Men’s response was praise and adoration and worship.
It’s very interesting to me that those who were so close to the birth of Jesus reacted with hostility and indifference. So close – those who are so far away who believed that the star would lead them to someone important, something miraculous - were the ones who took that step forward or willing with an openness to go and see the newborn King.
As I think about it, the responses today are very much the same. There are those in our world who are hostile, there are those who are indifferent, and there are those who are actively seeking, searching for meaning, searching to get closer to Jesus and this faith. Unfortunately, it’s this group over here that’s growing it seems. The group that is hostile to Christianity, and I say this because of some of the research I’ve found.
A book written by Mark D. Allen called Apologetics at the Cross: An Introduction for Christian Witness. He wrote: “Since I graduated from seminary in 1990, the prevailing cultural attitude toward Christianity in the west has shifted and morphed, adding new layers of complexity. At present we have a convergence of skepticism, hostility and indifference. As a result, many Christians’ faith has become fragile. Believers are prone to doubt, and unbelievers make assumptions that make Christianity seem not only untrue but also highly implausible and shamefully harmful. And now the church is in crisis. The world is becoming more skeptical, hostile, and apathetic toward Christianity.”
And consider this. Just last year in July the California Family Council posted the results of a Barna survey on the spiritual climate of America. This is a survey reported just last year. The title was “New Survey Shows America Becoming Increasingly Hostile to Christianity.”A year before that in 2016 a report called “Undeniable: The Survey of Hostility to Religion in America” was published by First Liberty Institute, which is a non-profit legal organization which strives to protect religious liberty. It has documented more than 1200 cases of people who were discriminated against because of their faith.
I’m just going to share three examples of what they shared so you’ll get a real taste of how indeed there is hostility.
In New Jersey a school district fired a substitute teacher named Walt Tutka for giving a Bible to a student, upon the request of the student on the school grounds. Tutka had quoted Scripture by telling the student as he came through a door last, “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” The report explained that the student asked Tutka several times about the source of the quote. Tutka eventually used his personal Bible to show the quote to the student. At the student’s request, Tutka gave the student the Bible. He was then fired and let go. He did get his job back at some point.
Then in New Jersey the department of military and veteran affairs fired a man named Patrick Cubbage, a veteran and an honor guardsman. He said, “God bless you and this family, God bless the United States of America.” This was a request from a fallen soldier’s son as he presented the flag to the family. The agency said that Cubbage had been warned not to give the blessing after doing the same with another family. In a settlement he too received back pay and got his job back.
Here’s another example. Bedford County in Virginia prohibited a private landowner from allowing religious services for a Cowboy Church of Virginia to be conducted in his own barn on his own property. The landowner received a violation notice because zoning regulations didn’t allow the space to be used for religious meetings.
My friends, these are just a few examples of how our world is becoming increasingly more hostile to the Christian faith. You have this group that’s growing.
Then you have this group – those who are indifferent. It’s much more commonplace and pretty risky as well. It is those who could care less, who don’t care for Jesus or don’t not care for Jesus. They just don’t care. They don’t care to do anything different other than lead their lives while they’re here on the earth. They’ve been placed here, they’re serving, they’re living, they’re working, they’ve got their family and friends, everything that they need. And they don’t have a clue that they need something more. Faith is irrelevant to them. They are the king and queen of their own kingdom, because, frankly, what you see now is what you have and there’s no more after that. They are quite indifferent.
There’s a pastor who shared with his congregation, and he says it’s not from him and I couldn’t find the source. But he says this about indifference: “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. The opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference. Indifference becomes the detriment of relationships, marriages, children, churches, corporations and even countries. Indifference rubs off.”
I think he’s absolutely right. Indifference rubs off. And I also think it has a gravitational pull that causes us to slip into that zone of indifference, perhaps leaning more to hostility. It isn’t a desirable way for us to live but indifference is indeed a response to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Then you have this group, relatively small in the world today and one that, my friends, I hope you and I can help spark and grow by the power of the Holy Spirit within us. It is one that says, “I am open, I am willing, I haven’t been so up close and front to the Baby Jesus as this group had been. But I have seen the star, I’ve experienced the love, I’ve experienced the grace, and I want to share it with others.”
It is those who have that open, willing heart. It takes effort to be in this group. It takes intention and effort. Part of our Five Habits is to help us to stay with that effort, to stay together as we do, which is why we emphasize worshipping regularly together. Even when you don’t feel like getting up and coming to worship. Worshipping together helps us all in that effort and it gives us an opportunity to praise God in a way just like the Wise Men, with complete joy and adoration. It helps us to come and worship.
When we study the Bible together... and I say study the Bible as often as you can with as many different people as you can because when you do it that way you learn something new, some spark, something new inside that someone will share. And you’ll have that “Ahah!” moment just like I had at the Herodian. It takes effort as you learn, and you grow.
We make friends, we tell our stories, and all of that forms us in a way that we can’t help but give generously with our time, and our talent and our treasures. And as we do people will see in us hopefully the brightness of the light of God’s love. And they will want what we have. They may not recognize it, they may have never recognized it before, but somehow by the way you and I live they get a glimpse of a living hope. A glimpse of joy which is evidence of the Holy Spirit. And they might just be open to taking that step forward and following close to Jesus the King.
You and I are all in a group. We’re going to find ourselves in one of these groups, even if it’s by default. Again, it’s easy to step into indifference. The busyness of our lives, commitments, schedules, faith becomes an afterthought. It takes effort to be in this group.
So today I want you to take just a few moments sometime today and explore where you are today. Are you closer to this group? If not, what will you do in 2019 to get there? If you know someone in this group, how might you come along beside them and share the love of God to help them move a little closer to this?
We are challenged in our world today, and we have a response that we have to make to the newborn King. What will be your response be?
Let’s pray. Good and gracious God, you have revealed yourself to us in so many ways. And especially during this Christmas season as a vulnerable baby, born in a stable and laid in a manger. And one, O God, who grew to live and love in a way that calls us to live and love. Lord God, we ask that as you go with us as we leave this place today that you would inspire something within us to make this real for us. Make something ever more true so that as we step out in faith, following you closer and sharing your love to all we meet. In Jesus’ name, Amen.