Illuminating the King
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 25th December 2021
Passage: Matthew 2:1-20
00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 Well, good morning, everyone. Merry Christmas. Great to be with you and wonderful to see some
00:00:04 --> 00:00:13 festive outfits out there. I got to tell you, it is actually hot. Getting festive is kind of hot
00:00:13 --> 00:00:20 and also uncomfortable. I've got suspenders on and I can understand why these babies went out
00:00:20 --> 00:00:25 in the 1980s. It just makes you shorter is what they tend to do. They're wanting to stretch up
00:00:25 --> 00:00:31 all the time. One of the great traditions of Christmas is the giving and receiving of gifts.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:38 Who's opened Christmas gifts already this morning? Put your hand up. You know, right up so I can see it.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:45 Anyone open? Okay. Keep your hand up if you got what you were hoping to get.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:54 Okay. So there's a few hands that are kind of, I'm sort of not sure. It's one of those things,
00:00:54 --> 00:01:03 isn't it? That good gifts are not necessarily expensive gifts. They're personal gifts. It's
00:01:03 --> 00:01:09 the hope of getting something that we really, really like. So I've opened a couple of things
00:01:09 --> 00:01:17 already this morning and nothing grand but personal, such as old gold, rum and raisin.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:26 You know, it's a winner. And I can see a few people around there saying, this is a winner and this is
00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 deeply personal. This is the one chocolate that's in my fridge that you must not touch.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:37 In fact, kids, none of the chocolate is available to be touched as a general rule.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:46 The other thing is I got a pair of cheap socks. Seinfeld socks. I binge watch Seinfeld. I love
00:01:46 --> 00:01:57 Seinfeld. And so these socks, if you had given me a $200 gift card to Lincraft, not as valuable to me
00:01:57 --> 00:02:04 at all as Seinfeld socks. Lincraft, I'm just not hoping to shop there anytime soon. It's just not
00:02:04 --> 00:02:10 something. Bunnings, however, very different. The good gifts are gifts that are deeply personal,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:16 that connect with you as an individual. They're not necessarily expensive. And so what we're doing
00:02:16 --> 00:02:23 this morning is we're looking at that passage which Ash just read out for us in Matthew. And we're
00:02:23 --> 00:02:30 going to see there, we're going to look very briefly at the three gifts that this baby Jesus receives.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:37 And what it says about him, they're deeply personal gifts. And then what those gifts say about him and
00:02:37 --> 00:02:44 the response that different people have because of those gifts and what they say about Jesus.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:50 So come with me, open up the passage, Matthew 2. If you've got the St. Paul's app, you can crack
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 that open as well because I've got a bit of an outline to make it easy for you to follow along.
00:02:54 --> 00:03:04 So Jesus received some very strange gifts as a young child from a bunch of strangers. Verse 11,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:14 Jesus was presented, we are told, with gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. Now as a poor peasant girl,
00:03:14 --> 00:03:22 Mary might have been totally pleased with this. These are expensive gifts. So this baby Jesus might
00:03:22 --> 00:03:27 have been born in a stable, but it appears that he comes with some kind of trust fund or something.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:36 These are expensive gifts. But she's baffled as well. These gifts are deeply personal. These three gifts
00:03:36 --> 00:03:47 reveal three significant things about Jesus. They reveal who he is, what he came to do,
00:03:47 --> 00:03:54 and how he went about doing it. That is what it cost him to do it. So gold, the first gift,
00:03:54 --> 00:04:01 points to the kingship of Jesus. You see, gold was a gift that was bought to an audience with a king
00:04:01 --> 00:04:07 in the ancient Near East in the first century. They tend not to do it nowadays. For instance,
00:04:08 --> 00:04:13 one year, our grateful nation of Australia gave Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II,
00:04:13 --> 00:04:22 the 50th edition of Who's Who in Australia as a gift with a gray scarf. So it's a little bit
00:04:22 --> 00:04:29 different nowadays. We're not handing over gold to Queen Elizabeth. The Magi, when they handed over
00:04:29 --> 00:04:36 this gift of gold, were in fact expecting a king. That's their expectation. They asked,
00:04:36 --> 00:04:44 where is the one born who has been born king of the Jews? What alerted them to the arrival of the new
00:04:44 --> 00:04:53 king is the second half of verse 2, where it says, we saw his star in the east and we have come to
00:04:53 --> 00:05:02 worship him. Now these Magi are astrologers. They're magicians. They're interpreters of dreams. And in the
00:05:02 --> 00:05:10 ancient world, most people believed in astrology. And so the Magi, if you like, are considered the
00:05:10 --> 00:05:15 elite. These guys are the university lecturers of their day. They're the academics. They're the wise men,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:23 the knowledgeable ones. When these guys saw the star, they immediately recognized something
00:05:23 --> 00:05:30 significant, something very special has happened. That's because there was a particular event in
00:05:30 --> 00:05:41 history that caused stars to be associated with kings and rulers of nations. And that was when
00:05:41 --> 00:05:51 Julius Caesar died in 44 BC, one of the most astonishing flukes in history took place. A nova appeared in the sky
00:05:51 --> 00:06:05 magi over his funeral. And from then on, from 44 BC, stars were connected with great leaders and rulers of some
00:06:05 --> 00:06:12 fashion. They became the fashion in the ancient Near East. And so these Magi see the star and they put two and two
00:06:12 --> 00:06:21 together. What would have encouraged them also to dust off their passports was that there was also a very
00:06:21 --> 00:06:30 strong rumor around in the first century that world dominion was going to shift. Politics was going to shift
00:06:30 --> 00:06:39 and Judea was going to be the center. Famous and diverse first century historians like Tacitus,
00:06:40 --> 00:06:46 Josephus, Suetonius, all recorded this shift, expectation of a shift in the first century.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:53 And so it would not have been much of a leap at all for these Magi to conclude the political
00:06:53 --> 00:07:02 change in the air when they saw the star. Now what these stargazers saw was most likely the conjunction
00:07:02 --> 00:07:08 of Jupiter and Saturn. It happened three times in the year 7 BC, which is most likely the year that
00:07:08 --> 00:07:15 Christ was born. It happened on the 29th of May, the 3rd of October and the 4th of December.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:22 And the Magi would have also known historically that Jupiter was regarded as a royal pattern,
00:07:23 --> 00:07:31 planet, and Saturn was the symbol for Israel in the ancient Near East. And so these competent
00:07:31 --> 00:07:41 astronomers would have concluded that this new age has now begun with a new king and the rule has now
00:07:41 --> 00:07:48 shifted to Judea. And so they set out on this long and difficult journey to find the ruler of the world
00:07:48 --> 00:08:00 and offer this king gold. But incense, that's an odd one. That's an unexpected gift. Incense in the
00:08:00 --> 00:08:05 first century was used by the priests in the temple as they mediated between God and his people.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:14 It symbolized relationship with God. And so the Magi were recognizing Jesus as the ultimate priest,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:20 the one who would mediate between the creator God and his rebellious people.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:27 Any new mother would have been totally thrown, however, by the gift of myrrh.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:39 You see, myrrh was used in the ancient Near East in the first century to embalm the dead. It was a symbol of death.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:48 Imagine one of the presents under the Christmas tree for your children today.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 Wrapped up nicely in Christmas is a toy coffin.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:57 A little toy coffin to play with. With a dead person you can put in it.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 Unusual, unexpected gift.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:31 Unusual, unexpected gift.
00:09:31 --> 00:10:01 Unusual, unexpected gift.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 Unusual, unexpected gift.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 How much it cost him to do it.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:08 Then we get three personal reactions.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:14 What is interesting is how people respond here to the who, the what and the how in these verses.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:20 One thing you notice throughout all the historical biographies of Jesus is that when Jesus turns up,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 people are divided in their opinions of him.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 Right from the get-go.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 Right from the get-go.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:32 And you see that even right here as a baby, right from the start of his life, people are divided in their opinions of him.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:37 Two camps are forming already.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:41 We have three ideas here, but two camps are forming.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:45 One is full of praise and welcome.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 The other is full of hatred, opposition and indifference.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 First of all, we have hostile Herod.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 Herod lies through his teeth.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 In verse 8, he says,
00:10:56 --> 00:11:17 Now, Herod, as we know, the rest of the text will tell us, has as much interest in worshipping King Jesus as I have in taking up knitting lessons.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:22 Later in the chapter, we read Herod didn't fool the Magi at all.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:29 They saw straight through him and they sneak off down to Egypt without telling Herod where Jesus is.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 And he is furious.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:46 Herod is furious and so furious that he orders all of the boys, two years old and under, around the surrounds in the Bethlehem LGA to be put to death.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 What a tyrant.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:54 He wants Jesus dead and he wants to make sure that he doesn't miss him at all.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 Herod is the Roman appointed king of the Jews.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06 He doesn't like the news that another king has been born.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:07 He's threatened.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:16 And he's infamous for his cruelty in which he dealt with any rivals to his throne.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:24 He killed one of his wives, several of his sons, anyone who was a threat to his throne.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:29 His response here is hatred and fear.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:35 A hatred of anything or anyone that threatened his self-centered autonomy.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:46 Now we know that this account here of deception and fear and bloodshed and injustice and homelessness are all too familiar.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:51 There is a great deal wrong with our world today.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 And we know it.
00:12:54 --> 00:13:01 But we, I think, walk into controversy when we ask where all this evil and wrong has come from.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:10 You see, one end of the spectrum says that the big problem with the world nowadays is the rich and the powerful ones.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 They're the ones to blame.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 They're just all selfish and making everything, you know, ordered for themselves.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 The rich and the powerful ones to blame.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:32 And that particular view of the world, which is generally a liberal progressive view of the world, means that the poor and the minorities in this world are the heroes of the world.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:46 The other end of the spectrum, which is more your conservative perspective, insists that it's the immoral and the irresponsible people in the world.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 They're the main problem.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 They're the problem with the world.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 You know, if you're poor, you just need to get a job.
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 That's your problem.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 You need to work harder.
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 That's your problem.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:10 This view of the world tends to make hardworking, decent, middle class people the heroes of the world.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:19 Now, at the first glance of this story, it seems here to side with the first view, the liberal progressive view.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:25 Herod is an unjust ruler, abusing his power, slaughtering the innocent.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:37 However, the full teaching of the Bible is that the source of evil in this world is every single human heart, liberal or conservative.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 Every single human heart.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:45 Herod's reaction to Jesus is, in a sense, a picture of us all.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:54 If you want to be king and fundamental value of Western civilization is individual autonomy.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 We want to rule our own lives.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:06 When someone else comes along and says, in fact, no, I'm the king, then one of us has to give way.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 Someone has to give way.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:12 Only one person can sit on the absolute throne.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:21 And Jesus comes into this world and he claims to be that king who has the right to sit on the throne, to be the ultimate ruler of all things.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:28 He calls for our allegiance so supreme that it makes all other commitments look weak in comparison.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:42 It is a claim to absolute authority, a summons to unconditional loyalty, and it inevitably triggers deep, deep resistance within every human heart.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:48 Who has the right to rule my life?
00:15:49 --> 00:15:55 That's the most disturbing question possible for the autonomous human heart.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:59 We want to remain on the throne of our lives.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:10 Some of us, potentially gathered here today, listening online, some of us use religion to stay on the throne of our lives.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:14 Trying to put God in a position where he owes us something.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 Because we're so righteous and we're doing these good things for him.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:23 Some of us flee from religion.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 Become atheists, we loudly claim that there is no God.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:34 Either way, we're expressing our natural hostility to the rule of the true king.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 Religious or not.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 Herod could not get rid of Jesus.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 Even with an army at his disposal.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:48 In fact, one of the great ironies of this text is right at the end.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 Herod is dead and Jesus lives.
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 Next, we have the passive priests.
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 We've got hostile Herod, we've got the passive priests.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:04 Their reaction is not as hostile as Herod, but it's just as negative.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 You see, these are the ones who simply do nothing about Jesus.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 The Magi turn up.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 Verse 4.
00:17:11 --> 00:17:17 Herod gathers together all the chief priests, the scribes of the people, inquiring them where the Messiah was to be born.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 And they told him.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 They told the Magi.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 Down to Bethlehem.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 All the prophecies say Bethlehem.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 Ah, fantastic.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:31 And then they go back to doing whatever it is that you do.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:42 Their sheer silence and inactivity of the religious leaders is overwhelming in view of the magnitude of what has just happened.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 They didn't lift a sandal.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 Why not go with the Magi?
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 Why not just go with them and check it out just in case?
00:17:53 --> 00:18:23 Why not go with them and check it out just in case they did nothing.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:29 Their knowledge of Jesus was no substitute for their obedience.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:37 Finally, the final reaction we see is the only positive one and that's the malleable Magi.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:40 That's the only word I could come up with that sort of went with an M.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 Malleable Magi.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 And their response is remarkable.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 In the rest of the Bible, these guys are always viewed negatively.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 Only Matthew puts these guys in a positive light.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:56 Impressed by what they saw in the sky at night, they journeyed west to Judea.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 Massive journey.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 Massive journey.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 To find out what it all meant.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:10 It's astonishing that men with so little to go on should venture so far, endure such hardships in travel,
00:19:10 --> 00:19:15 face such uncertainty of finding the one to whom the star pointed.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:24 And what's more, they gave him these costly gifts and the worship and honor of their lives.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:33 Where the religious leaders expended no time, no energy, no expense or inconvenience at all.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:41 Where Herod expanded a great deal of time and energy and expense and inconvenience in order to try and find Jesus and kill him.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:50 The Magi expended a great deal of time, no money, no expense or money.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 As the king over their lives.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 The Magi are the worshipers.
00:19:55 --> 00:20:05 Those who joyfully ascribe dignity, authority, honor to King Jesus and whose lives are ultimately satisfied in him.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:10 it's a call that
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 Jesus continues
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 to cry out to the nations
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 to the people of all the world throughout the histories
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 for the last 2 years
00:20:20 --> 00:20:23 to throw your crowns at his feet
00:20:23 --> 00:20:26 as the gracious loving king
00:20:26 --> 00:20:28 who gave his life for us
00:20:28 --> 00:20:32 when Queen Victoria ruled as the British monarch
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 in the 1800s
00:20:33 --> 00:20:38 she controlled one third of the planet
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 massive
00:20:39 --> 00:20:42 she said one day
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45 that she couldn't wait to meet Jesus
00:20:45 --> 00:20:48 and she was asked why
00:20:48 --> 00:20:52 she said so that I too can cast my crown at his feet
00:20:52 --> 00:21:00 she recognised that even as one of the most powerful people in the world
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 she too had a ruler
00:21:00 --> 00:21:03 one who deserved her everything
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 even her crown
00:21:05 --> 00:21:09 which brings me to what is your personal reaction
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 indifference
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 hostility
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 or worship
00:21:15 --> 00:21:18 two camps really
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 positive camp and negative camp
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 there's really no middle road
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 I want to speak to two broad groups here
00:21:24 --> 00:21:27 that are potentially gathered here
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 and online
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 firstly to those who are Christians
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 those who accept Jesus
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 on his terms
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 of what he says he is
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 and what he proved to say
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 that he is
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 that he is your Christian
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 you engage
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 you believe in Christmas
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 and Christianity
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 it's important to know
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 that as a Christian
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 that every Christian
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 still has a heart
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 with residual
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 anger
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 and hostility
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 towards God
00:21:53 --> 00:21:56 very important for you to recognise that
00:21:56 --> 00:21:59 and it will always be there to the end
00:21:59 --> 00:22:02 that is why it's so hard for you to pray
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 to give
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 to obey
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 to grow
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 to love Jesus
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 so hard to love
00:22:08 --> 00:22:11 there is still a little bit of Herod in each of us
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 there is still something in us
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 that wants to fight with God
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 day in and day out
00:22:15 --> 00:22:18 we can't just glide
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 through the Christian life
00:22:19 --> 00:22:22 we have got to be
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 far more intentional
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 about our Christian growth
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 and prayer
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 about accountability to other people
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 to overcome our bad habits
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 that is the reality
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 if you think that you can glide
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 through the Christian life
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 by yourself
00:22:36 --> 00:22:40 you are deeply confused about it
00:22:40 --> 00:22:45 if however you're here today
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 and your responses
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 may be indifference
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 and hostility
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 I'd like to give you some
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 respectful advice
00:22:54 --> 00:22:56 if I may
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 let's call it respectful advice
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 for those unsure about Christmas
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 and Christianity
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 or perhaps even the existence of God
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 let's just take it a step further there
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 remember
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 I think this is really important
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 for you to understand
00:23:08 --> 00:23:11 remember that your view
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 your view
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 is not an objective view
00:23:16 --> 00:23:20 it's not an objective view
00:23:20 --> 00:23:24 it's not an objective view
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 of Jesus
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 of God
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 of Christmas
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 and Christianity
00:23:26 --> 00:23:30 the philosopher Thomas Nagel
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 who himself is an atheist
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 was very candid
00:23:32 --> 00:23:35 very candid
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 he wrote this
00:23:37 --> 00:23:41 I am talking
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 about the fear
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 of religion itself
00:23:44 --> 00:23:47 I am speaking from experience
00:23:47 --> 00:23:50 being strongly subject
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 to this fear myself
00:23:51 --> 00:23:54 I'm an atheist
00:23:54 --> 00:23:57 and I want atheism
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 to be true
00:23:58 --> 00:24:01 and I'm made uneasy
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 by the fact
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 that some of the most
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 intelligent
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 and well informed
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 people I know
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 are in fact
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 religious believers
00:24:09 --> 00:24:12 it isn't just
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 that I don't believe
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 in God
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 and naturally
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 I hope that my belief
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 is right
00:24:17 --> 00:24:19 I actually hope
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 there is no God
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 I don't want
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 there to be a God
00:24:24 --> 00:24:26 I don't want
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 the universe
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 to be like that
00:24:28 --> 00:24:31 my guess is
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33 this cosmic
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 authority
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 over our lives
00:24:35 --> 00:24:37 is a problem
00:24:37 --> 00:24:39 and it's not
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 a rare problem
00:24:40 --> 00:24:43 that is
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 his point is
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 that
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 whatever you are
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 on the spectrum
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 here today
00:24:49 --> 00:24:51 you're not
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 neutral
00:24:51 --> 00:24:54 you might think
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 well there's another
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 alternative
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 Jesus
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58 sorry Steve
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 don't make the
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 connection there
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 there's another
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 alternative Steve
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 I'm just neutral
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 there's no such
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 thing as neutrality
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 there's no such
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 thing as neutrality
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 about whether
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 Christmas is true
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 if the son of God
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 was really born
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 in a manger
00:25:16 --> 00:25:19 then you
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 and I
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 have lost
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 all rights
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 to oversee
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 our lives
00:25:23 --> 00:25:28 you cannot
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 be objective
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 about a claim
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 like that
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 and so
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 keep that in
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 mind
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 if you don't
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 believe in
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 Christianity
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 and therefore
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 at the very
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 least
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 question
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 your doubts
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 for your own
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 sake
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 question
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 your doubts
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 now
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 I figure
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 you've got
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 several things
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 on your
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 plate
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 in the next
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 today
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 and in the
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 next few
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 days
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 one of them
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 for me
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 is sleep
00:25:57 --> 00:26:00 but can I
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 encourage you
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 that real
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 soon
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 that you
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 might want
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 to look
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 at this
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 issue
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 of who
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 Jesus
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 is
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 what he
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 came to
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 do
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 what it
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 cost him
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 to do
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 it
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 the
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 magi
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 were the
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 knowledgeable
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 men
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 of the
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 east
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 they were
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 the
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 academic
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 elite
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 but their
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 knowledge
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 about
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 these
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 events
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 around
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 Christmas
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 only took
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 them so
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 far
00:26:22 --> 00:26:25 their
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 observation
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 of the
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 star
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 took them
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 to Jerusalem
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 to the
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 palace
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 because that's
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 where they
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 assumed
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 that he
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 would be
00:26:32 --> 00:26:35 and they
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 got that
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 bit wrong
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 in the
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 end
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 they had
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 to consult
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 the
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 Bible
00:26:41 --> 00:26:43 God's
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 word
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 in order
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 to find
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 Jesus
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 and in
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 finding
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 Jesus
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 they found
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 what they
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 had been
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 looking for
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 all of
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 their
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 life
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 he is
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 the
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 wisdom
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 that they
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 had been
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 searching
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 for
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 all of
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 their
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 life
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 now I
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 want to
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 say this
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 without
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 explaining
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 it
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 so let
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 me just
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 do that
00:27:02 --> 00:27:04 Jesus
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 is the
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 answer
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 to
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 everything
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 that you
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 are searching
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 for in
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 life
00:27:10 --> 00:27:12 he is
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 the goal
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 he is
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 the destination
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 and can I
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 encourage you
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 at least
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 to be like
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 these wise
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 men
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 and search
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 for Jesus
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 go to
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 the source
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 the evidence
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 is overwhelming
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 and it is
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 compelling
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 read one of
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 the biographies
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 of Jesus
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 consider Jesus
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 and ponder
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 who is
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 Jesus
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 what did
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 he come
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 to do
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 what did
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 it cost
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 him
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 in order
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 to do
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 it
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 and what
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 does it
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 mean
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 for me
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 now
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 what does
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 it mean
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 to bow
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 down
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 and worship
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 him
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 over
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 2000
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 years
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 later
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 now I
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 want to
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 encourage you
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 this morning
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 because it's
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 Christmas
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 and because
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 we're a
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 Christian church
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 and we want
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 to just
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 delight to
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 give you
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 out there
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 in the
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 H and
00:27:54 --> 00:27:54 behind us
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 is a
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 bunch of
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 resources
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 on a
00:27:57 --> 00:27:57 table
00:27:57 --> 00:27:57 they are
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 all
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 free
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 take
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 them
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 take
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 them
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 this
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 Christmas
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 as a
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 gift
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 from
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 us
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 and
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 search
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 for
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 Jesus
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 have a
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 great
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 day
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 and
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 half
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 down
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 in