Title: People who enjoy joy 1
Contents
♡♥♡ People who enjoy joy 1 / Matthew 2:1-12
*** Introduction
This week is the 4th week of Advent, and Christmas is in 3 days. It is a day of great joy for the Church and a day when peace is proclaimed to all mankind. The whole world rejoices in the coming of the Messiah, but not everyone enjoys the joy of salvation through Jesus Christ. The way for all mankind to enjoy the joy of salvation and eternal life has been given, but few accept it and enjoy it.
Christmas decorations are lit up in department stores, shopping malls, streets and even bars. But they do not truly rejoice in the coming of the Messiah. Perhaps it's part of a gimmick to sell things and make money. The people of the world are not interested in the Messiah, but in money and in pleasure.
This sad phenomenon is not unique to today. It was already at the first Christmas when Jesus came to this earth. That fact is recorded in today's text. Let's take a look at what kind of interest we receive in Christmas through the words of the text. And I hope you can welcome it with a Christmas where you can enjoy the joy of salvation and eternal life that the Lord has accomplished.
First, let's take a look at the overall content of the text.
This text is a record of people who came to celebrate the birth of Jesus around the time Jesus was born. The congratulatory party was a group of doctors who had followed the stars from a foreign country to the far east. These were the people who studied the stars, and it was said that ‘they came to see the star announcing the birth of the king of the Jews and to worship it.’
Doctors and the party must have thought that if a king was born, it would of course be the capital of the country. So I came to Jerusalem. King Herod and all Jerusalem heard the words of the wise men. The king gathered together the biblically-savvy high priests and scribes who could know the birth of the Messiah and asked where Christ would be born. Without hesitation, they answered confidently, quoting the prophesied words of the Bible, 'This is Bethlehem of Judea.'
King Herod, hiding his desires, told the doctors and the party the place of birth, begging them, 'If you find out more about the baby and find it, let me know so that I too may go and worship him.' When the wise men left Jerusalem, the star that had guided them reappeared and led the way to Bethlehem.
The star rested over a small stable in Bethlehem. The doctor's party rejoiced, went into the house, worshiped the baby Jesus, and presented the present they had brought. That night the wise men were instructed in a dream not to return to Herod. The doctors returned to their homeland by a different route.
Have you noticed anything odd about this record? There is definitely something odd about it. It is clearly God who guided the wise men through the stars. It can be confirmed by the fact that the star guided the wise men and the fact that when the wise men returned, they commanded, “Do not go to Herod, but go another way.” However, if God led them, it is the truth, 'Why didn't you lead me straight to Bethlehem, but through Jerusalem?' The star that guided the wise men led them all the way to Israel. After that, the star disappeared. Reluctantly, the wise men followed their speculation and went to the capital, Jerusalem. And the Bible shows the reaction of King Herod, the religious leaders of the time, and all the Jews in Jerusalem. As the wise men left Jerusalem, the star reappeared and led them safely to Bethlehem. What do these facts say?
1. This is the reaction of those who heard the message of the Messiah.
The Jews have been eagerly waiting for the ‘Messiah’ prophesied through the prophets hundreds of years ago. In those days under Roman rule, they eagerly awaited the Messiah who would save them from Rome and establish an independent state. Luke 24 tells the story of two disciples going down to Emmaus, their hometown, after Jesus died on the cross. The two disciples were accompanied by the resurrected Jesus, but they did not recognize them. When Jesus heard the troubled conversation between the two disciples, he asked, 'What's going on?' The disciples answered of Jesus, saying, "We expected this man to be the one to redeem Israel." Their expression was the wish of all Jews.
So the priests, scribes, lawyers, Pharisees, and other religious leaders at that time knew the prophecies of the Messiah very clearly. I do not know when, but I knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the land of Judah, as a descendant of David. So, when King Herod asked a question, he immediately responded by quoting the Bible prophesied by the prophet. Then, shouldn't the religious leaders and all the Jews rejoice the most when they hear the news that the Messiah, who will come as King of the Jews, has been born? However, unexpectedly, all the Jews who heard the news were only in a commotion and no one went to meet the Messiah.
King Herod calculated that his throne was in jeopardy and began planning to destroy the Messiah. Later, when the wise men learned that they had escaped, they carried out a massive infanticide in order to kill the Messiah. What the hell were the religious leaders up to? They must have been busy calculating their own profit and loss. Later, when Jesus did the ministry of his public life, he was aloof and hostile. In the end, in order to protect their interests, they agitated the foolish people and crucified Jesus Christ to death. The foolish people also fell into the instigation of the leaders for a comfortable life and killed the Messiah who would save them.
God foretold this fact in advance through the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 53:3. “He is despised and rejected by men, he has suffered much, and he is acquainted with suffering. As one who hides his face and is not seen by men, he was despised, and we did not esteem him.”
Even today, people seem to rejoice at Christmas. In the church, congratulatory decorations are made, congratulatory orders are prepared, morning songs are played, and Christmas thanksgiving services are held. But something is so empty. The decorations have no meaning and are just blindfolded. In the celebration sequence, rather than truly thanking the Lord for His coming, they pass by moments of laughter and enjoyment. Jesus, who is the main character, is still lonely and abandoned as it was before and now.
But in every generation there were people left behind. The prophet Elijah knew that all the people had fallen for the idols of Baal and Asherah, and that he was the only one who served God. But God said to Elijah, ‘I have left seven thousand men who have not bowed their knees to idols.’ Even when all Israel rebelled against God and perished, He left those who feared God. Even in Noah's flood, He left Noah's family behind. God has invited people to be congratulatory guests and witnesses to the great event of the Messiah's birth.
2. There are those who are called to have joy.
God did not make the birth of Jesus Christ, the ‘Messiah’, ‘King of the Jews’ and ‘Son of God’, not to be lonely. God has prepared the most sincere and faithful people. Through them, God announced that Jesus would come as the King of the Jews, as a sin offering to save mankind from their sins. And he gave them the great joy of being invited to this great and wonderful place of history.
Who are these? They are not Jews, but ‘wise men of the East’. And they are 'shepherds' who are ignorant and poor, marginalized and not even treated properly. The Jews were not the first to be invited to the place of Jesus' birth. As King of the Jews, Jesus was the first to be congratulated by the Gentiles. The Jews who were so eagerly anticipating the Messiah were apathetic. In this holy place, this place of joy, this place of blessing, the wise men who study the stars from distant lands are invited. God testified through them that Jesus was the King of the Jews and the King of kings. The gifts offered by the wise men were gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
There are still many people in the world who claim to have Christian faith. Disciples and saints who serve and follow the Lord. However, not all of them enjoy the joy and joy that God gives them. Ecclesiastes 6:2 says, “There is a man who has received from God wealth, riches, and honor because he lacks all the desires of his soul, but not being able to enjoy it, others enjoy it, and this is also vanity and an evil disease.” I sigh. If you have everything but don't enjoy it, it's just useless.
God gives his loved ones not only possession but also enjoyment. Ecclesiastes 5:19. “It is a gift from God that God has given to every person riches and wealth so that they may enjoy it, and that they may receive division and rejoice through hard work.” God not only gives us the power to get everything, but also true joy, joy, and happiness. This is a gift from God to the people who obey and follow the will of God.
What does it mean to obey God's will? Deuteronomy 6:24 says, “The Lord has commanded us, 'Keep all these ordinances,' so that we may fear the Lord our God and always be blessed, and that the Lord may make us live as we do today. to do it,” he said. 1 Timothy 6:17 says, “Command those who are rich in this generation not to be high-minded, and not to put their hope in undetermined riches, but to put their hope in God, who gives us abundantly all things to enjoy.” These are all words to not only put into practice the words that God commands and enlighten us, but also to look to and hope for God, the source of blessing.
Why did the magi travel so far? It is speculated that the Magi are ‘Persian astrologers (astronomers)’. Their journey is thought to have taken at least 2-3 months. Why did God let these wise men know the birth of the Messiah months before Jesus was born? It is to let them know that they knew about the Messiah, and that they feared and waited.
God gives grace to those who are humble and have hope in Him. In 2 Chronicles 16:9, “The eyes of the Lord go through all the earth, to show power for those whose heart is devoted to him… ” And Proverbs 3:34 says, “Truly, he laughs at the scornful, but shows kindness to the humble.”
Even in this day and age, like the Jews who waited for the Messiah, there are many believers who hope for God's grace, happiness, and prosperity. In this way, they long for God's grace, but in life they follow their own interests. like the Jews. He does not give them the opportunity to enjoy joy and happiness. He gives joy to those who sincerely look to the Lord and hope for Him, and faithfully obey and follow the Word of God in their lives.
Dear saints, this Christmas, I pray that you will not be the absolute majority of spectators, but the few sincere saints who are called to enjoy joy.