Title Like the Magi/Matthew 2:1-14
Content Title: Like the Magi/Matt 2:1-14
It is said that every nation has a holiday. However, I wonder if there is another holiday other than Christmas that has surpassed national borders and races. The most beautiful holiday, the most precious holiday, and the world's most celebrated holiday is Christmas. The atmosphere of the festival is heightening in every street. Even entertainment establishments are celebrating. We, who serve God, think about how we should keep Christmas, so we want to receive grace together.
1. Why did Christmas become the biggest holiday on earth?
1) Because the Most High has come to this world.
Who is Jesus? His position is the God who created and rules the heavens and the earth. His power is the Almighty. He is incomparable to any other authority on earth.
The Creator of the universe, the builder of the universe, and the administrator of the universe is Jesus. Because this is the day he came into this world. It is Jesus who truly surrendered to Napoleon, who said, "Nothing is impossible in my dictionary," and it is Jesus that General Wellington, who had captured Napoleon, knelt down and asked for help. It is Jesus that Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who are called great politicians, fell on their faces and asked for help. It was Jesus, the war hero who led the Great East Asia War to victory and surrendered to Japan, who cried out for help all night long. Therefore, Jesus is the Most High in the universe, not just mankind. It became such a big holiday because it was the day he came.
2) It is because the person you are most grateful for has come to this world.
Why did Jesus come to this world? You are not here for a tour. You didn't even come to say hello. You came to solve people's problems. He came to solve the problem of sin, anxiety and worry. Jesus came to inform and guide people who are like blind people who have forgotten their hometown of heaven. He came to this world to solve the problem, but with his torn flesh and shed blood.
On the day of the coming of Jesus who is so grateful, Jesus so precious, and so holy and great, the angels of heaven were mobilized.
2. How should we celebrate Christmas?
1) Like the scribes, we must not keep it only with words. (Verses 4-6)
At that time, the scribes were religious leaders who had good knowledge of the Bible. These are people who pray blessings and distribute alms for those who have gathered by ringing the bell on the main road. These are Israel's teachers and the best religious leaders. But the scribes did not know the glorious thing that Jesus was born. King Herod, who heard the news of Jesus' birth from the wise men from the East, asked the scribes about it. The scribes knew that the Messiah would come. He even knew the place where Jesus was to be born and taught them to be Bethlehem.
But the scribes did not follow the wise men as they went to Bethlehem to find Jesus. It was knowledge, but no practice. There were words, but no actions. Later, Jesus rebuked them as "whitewashed tombs", "hypocrites", and "brood of vipers."
The Christmas that we are about to celebrate is not only a congratulatory card or handing out, it is nothing more than a veneer to decorate the Christmas tree. I can't just say 'Happy Christmas'. Like the Dongbak Doctors, we need to find the place where Jesus is. At that time, Jesus was in a manger in Bethlehem. Where is Jesus now? You are high in heaven. However, as he came to the small town of Bethlehem, he comes and stays there with a heart that considers himself small. Just as you came to a lowly and lowly manger, He came and stayed with a humble heart. Just as you came to Mary's bosom, He came and stayed with a heart of obedience.
2) You shouldn't keep talking like a Jerusalem citizen.
“When Jerusalem heard it, there was a commotion” (verse 3). The people of Jerusalem came when they heard the news that the Messiah had come, and when he came, they trembled. There was a lot of talk, but no one went to Bethlehem, where Jesus was.
As Christmas approaches day by day, the festive atmosphere becomes more and more buoyant. There is nothing wrong with shouting and shouting for joy. But without the maturity of faith that draws closer to Jesus, the chatter will be just noise pollution. If you do not have the determination to live a life that is not ashamed of the name of the saints and thanks for Jesus, then such fuss is clearly only pollution.
3) You must not be as cruel as the villagers of Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is a well-known place where prophecies that the Son of God Jesus will be born are recorded throughout the Bible. However, none of the local people knew that Jesus was born. Baby Jesus had no place to lie down, so he had to lie down in a manger on a cold winter day. It cannot but be the foolishness of cold-hearted people who only know themselves.
Their hearts were as cold as the cold weather. It was an area full of indifference and selfishness. How do we feel today? What about our home? How about our church? We must not have a frozen heart like the people of Bethlehem. Neither should we be indifferent to our neighbors.
3. We must protect it like the Magi.
1) They kept the Bible.
The wise men saw the stars and knew that Jesus was born.
“Where is the born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship him” (verse 2).
The wise men who saw the strange star knew the birth of Christ by contrasting it with the prophecies of the Bible (Numbers 24:17). If they had not known the prophecies of the Bible, they would not have seen the stars and did not understand them.
The Bible prophesies that Jesus will return to this world again. This is the heart of the Bible. We, too, should discern the signs of the times and discern God's will according to the prophecies of the Bible. At this Christmas, we must be prepared to be greeted like the wise men when Jesus comes again.
2) I practiced what I realized and kept it.
The Magi were not the ones who sat still when they saw the stars and realized. Immediately, I prepared a gift and went to Bethlehem. The road was not that close. It wasn't an easy road. Transportation is not as developed as it is today. It's a long journey that involves trudging several months of walking on a camel. If you passed through the desert, you would have to suffer because there was no water, and if you passed through the valley, there would be a risk of wild beasts and thieves. But they went that way to meet the Messiah.
It seems that there are many people on this earth today who know that they are evil, but cannot stop, and there are many people who know that they are good but do not act. For the people of God, the time to know that they are evil is the time to cut off the evil, and the time to know the seniority should be the time to start doing good. The time to know what is wrong should be the time to correct it. This is the heart of the Magi.
3) They worshiped and offered gifts.
After worshiping the baby Jesus, the wise men opened the jewel and offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These were scholars who studied science. He would never have been a rich man. However, the wise men from the East offered their gifts sincerely.
Since there was no one to look at when giving the gift, it must not have been a gift for face. Since Jesus was a baby, it must not have been a gift from Jesus for any help. It would not have been much more a gift that someone ordered or forced. The precious gold, frankincense, and myrrh were offered by faith alone, pure devotion, only as an expression of gratitude
Let me finish my speech.
As the scribes do, we must not keep Christmas just a few days away.
We shouldn't just talk like the people of Jerusalem.
We must not keep a cold heart like the people of Bethlehem.
Like the wise men of the East, we must greet this season with gratitude for following the word, putting it into practice, and giving sincere gratitude.