Title: Meet the King (Matthew 02:1-12)
Content Matthew sets the royal palace as the setting for the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Because the theme of Matthew's Gospel is 'Christ the King'. So the birth of Christ is the birth of a king. Since it is the birth of a king, it is natural for the background story to become the royal palace.
This contrasts with Luke's story of the birth of Jesus. There is no royal palace in Luke's story. On the contrary, it is set in a shabby stable, and Jesus is lying on a bed in a horse barn. And those who came to worship were not nobles or dignitaries, but shepherds who kept the sheep all night, that is, the lower classes.
1. Doctors from the East
There are wise men from the East in Matthew's story, but we don't know exactly who they are. I don't know which university they got their doctorate from. Of course, the expression “Doctor” is limited to the Korean Bible. We don't know exactly where they came from (I'm guessing they came from astrologically developed Persia), whether they had Messianic beliefs, or whether they were scholars or astrologers. Perhaps they were people with mixed functions.
And although they do not know how much or how reliable their knowledge of the stars was, they saw the stars and learned that a king had been born in Judah. However, it seems that the star was shown only to the wise men by God's special providence. Didn't the star disappear and then reappear and lead the wise men and come and stay where the baby Jesus was? No star moves so randomly. Isn't it not a natural star that moved as if it was being controlled by someone, but a star specially made and used by God?
2. The commotion in the royal palace
The place where the king is born is the royal palace. So the wise men first came to the royal palace to find the king who was born. However, when the news of the king was born, the royal palace was turned upside down. Because the king was not born in the royal palace. If so, it means that a new king was born somewhere other than the royal palace. The fact that a king exists, yet another king is born is a challenge to the existing kingship. The existence of another king in one country is never acceptable. So Herod does everything he can to get rid of the new king. Later, he even tried to kill the king by slaughtering all children under the age of two.
Christ has come as our King. A king is one who rules and rules. To Him we must obey and follow His rule and guidance. But why can't we accept Christ who came as King? It would be impossible if we had another king. Herod could not recognize a new king until his death. Because he is the king.
Who is the king we uphold and serve in our lives? What keeps us from recognizing the authority of Christ as King? We cannot have Christ as our King unless we ourselves come down from the throne. We cannot serve Christ as our King until we give up and liquidate what we are serving as King. How will we welcome Christ as King? Will you make me king? Or will he reject the king and reject him?
4. Evidence of Kingship
The wise men had solid evidence that the child had come as king. It was just a star. They could be sure of the Kingship of Christ in the field they studied and majored in. Each of us will have to be convinced and find evidence of Christ's Kingship in our own field. This is our life goal.
5. Worship the King
When the wise men found the baby king, they rejoiced and worshiped him. The attitude toward the king should be worship. The king is not a joker, nor is he the kind of person who can be sarcastic. It is only an object of worship. So when the wise men met the king, they worshiped him. It would have been a sincere and solemn worship with all courtesy. Our life should always be a life of worshiping our Lord. Because He is always our King.
So the wise men worshiped the king and offered gifts. It is unknown whether the offerings they made were by chance or whether they did so intentionally and understanding God's plan, but they were very important and symbolic in God's providence. Gold is a symbol of royal power. It symbolizes the kingship of Christ once again. The second offering, frankincense, is a symbol of the fact that he is God. Frankincense is used when offering sacrifices to God. Don't you burn incense to living people? Incense is lit when offering sacrifices regardless of east and west. The fact that he offered frankincense, which is used when offering sacrifices to God, as a gift proves that he is his God. And the third offering, myrrh, symbolizes the death of Jesus Christ. This myrrh is a medicine applied to the dead body. It was a drug used to prevent the body from decomposing quickly. It is a mystery why the star doctor from the East offered the medicine for the corpse as a gift to the baby king, but it was a foreshadowing of the death of Jesus Christ. It symbolized that Christ, the King and God, would die for our salvation.
Today we have gathered to welcome Christ, who has come as King. The fact that he came as king is an unchangeable fact. In mathematics, it is a factor corresponding to a constant. So what are the variables? It is a fact of whom we acknowledge and serve as kings. If we acknowledge and welcome Christ as King, we will become his people, and we will be able to receive the salvation that the King has bestowed upon us. However, if we are serving other kings or if we ourselves are kings, we will have no choice but to reject Christ who has come as King. In the end, in following the fake king, you make a big mistake of rejecting the real king, and the price for that mistake will be the curse and punishment you will receive for rebelling against the king.
We welcome the Lord who has come as King. Christ comes as King in our lives to rule and protect us. May you bring that King into your life with joy.