Born A King

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 26th of January, 2025.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

At the start I mentioned that we’re a little behind.  This service today was actually intended for last week, when I would have still been a little behind because of some earlier scheduling conflicts.  But even though I’m running late, I want us to look at that very important time when it was revealed to us Gentiles that Jesus is our Christ.

What we call the Epiphany is celebrated on the 6th of January, which was a Monday this year.  This is the day we recognize as being when the wise men from the east visited the Christ Child, and it represents the first physical manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, or when Jesus as the Son of God was made known to us non-Jews.  January the 6th marks the 12th day of Christmas – you know the song, “On the 1st day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…”  Those 12 days symbolize the time it took for the Magi to reach the place where the Baby Jesus lay, guided by the star.

First they had to make a little detour around King Herod, who had a nefarious interest in their quest.  We’ll get to that in a moment, but for now let’s try to put ourselves back in time and join the Magi on their journey to the birthplace of Jesus.  Please listen and follow along to the Apostle Matthew’s account of their visit and tribute paid to the King, as recorded in verses 1 through 12 of the 2nd chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

--Matthew 2:1-12 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You sent Your Son, Your Messiah to earth not as a conquering hero, but as a tiny baby, fully human yet fully God.  You sent Him as one of us, just like we enter this world, so that we could know Him and relate to Him.  Thank You, Father, for loving us so much that You sent Your Son to save us.  And thank You for granting Him kingship over all the earth and her rulers.  But Father, we tend to be a prideful people, and sometimes we don’t honor Jesus as our Lord and King, not like we should.  We often hesitate to obey His commands, or to be active witnesses for Him.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Help us be better subjects of our King, better servants of You, and help us glorify You both in all we do and say.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying time.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

There's an old joke that asks what would have happened if the Baby Jesus had been visited by Wise Women instead of Wise Men.  Well, they would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts for the Christ Child and His parents.  But as they were leaving, the conversation may have gone something like this:

“Did you see the sandals Mary was wearing with that gown?” 

“That baby doesn’t look anything like Joseph!”

“Virgin? Yeah!  I knew her in school!” 

“Can you believe that they let all of those disgusting animals in the house?” 

“I heard that Joseph isn’t even working right now!” 

“And that donkey that they are riding has seen better days too!” 

“Want to bet on how long it will take until you get your casserole dish back?”

OK, so there’s a little bit of stereotyping there.  I did say it was an old joke.  But aren’t some of those the kind of comments we might make in that situation?  Don’t we tend to focus too much sometimes on the little, incidental, insignificant things and miss the much larger picture?

The point of the birth of Jesus was not about Joseph or Mary, or of their mode of transportation, or of the place where He was born, and especially not about a casserole dish.  It’s all about the King of kings, coming to us, coming into this world as one of us, as a helpless, vulnerable baby.  And yet this baby was recognized for who He truly was by strangers from a far off land, and by simple shepherds who had been watching over their flocks.  So let’s try to not get hung up on the little things, but remember how God sent His Son, His Christ into this world to save us from our sin.

These men from the east – Gentiles - may well have been wise, but they were obviously unaware of the political situation in Jerusalem at the time.  Had they known about Herod, the reigning king of the Jews – lower case “k” - and his habit of having people killed who posed even the slightest threat to his hold on power, I doubt they would have come to town asking about this newly born King of the Jews.

When Herod heard about them and their quest, he summoned his advisors and the chief priests and scribes and asked what this was all about.  Where is this supposed King?  Where is He going to be born?  Those in the know quoted from the prophet Micah pointing to Bethlehem as the birthplace.  Herod shared this information with the Magi, but we all know he had an ulterior motive when he said let me know when you find Him because I want to worship Him, too.  Replace the word “worship” with “slaughter” and you’d be closer to the truth of his intent.

So the Magi left Jerusalem and headed to Bethlehem, following the star that shone before them and which then stopped over the place where the Baby Jesus lay.  When they arrived, they fell to their knees and worshiped the Christ Child, laying treasures fit for a king at the side of His manger bed.  These Gentiles recognized Jesus as both God and King as they worshiped Him, worshiped God, and gave gifts for a king.

Just as an aside, one of those gifts – the myrrh – was often used to prepare the bodies of the very rich and powerful for burial.  By this, we foresee the death and funeral of Jesus.  And we know what happened after that.

Standing with the Magi, we see the Baby Jesus there in the manger, the newborn King of the Jews.  The gift of myrrh foreshadows the Kings earthly death.  But death could not conquer and hold our King.  Walking with the Apostle John, we see the risen Jesus on His return to this earth.  Listen to how John describes the scene that opened up before him, in the 19th chapter of his Book of the Revelation of Christ, verses 11 through 16…

11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND

LORD OF LORDS.

--Revelation 19:11-16 (NKJV)

There we have it: King of kings and Lord of lords.  We Americans have a love/hate relationship with royalty.  We fought a King and his army to gain our independence, but we watch enthralled to the goings on of the royal family in England.  We say we answer to no king, nor bow before no crown.  We’re just not used to all this lordship stuff.

Kings of old held the people’s very lives in their grip.  One word and someone could have all their possessions taken from them, or even their life.  Well, family, God holds our lives in His hands.  Fortunately for us, He is a good God, a loving Father.  And He has placed His equaling loving Son as King over us, and over all rulers of this earth.

John clearly saw the evidence, written on Jesus’ robe and thigh – King of kings.  John was shown even more evidence of this, a little earlier in what was revealed to him.  Back in verses 12 through 14 of the 17th chapter of Revelation, John is told that our King is victorious…

12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

--Revelation 17:12-14 (NKJV)

At the end of days, ten men will be appointed kings of the earth for a short time by the beast, the Antichrist.  They are of one mind, these mighty kings, and they choose to pick a fight with Jesus.  Bad decision.  Jesus - the Lamb in this passage - will overcome them, for He is the Lord of lords, and King of kings, higher and mightier than any on earth.  And those who are with Him are the called, the chosen, and the faithful.  That’s us, Christians.

Family, Jesus is our King.  He holds our fate in His hands.  He can calm the storm, or call it to rage around us.  We owe Him everything because everything we have comes from Him by our Father God’s will.  So yes, we should fear Him, for He can strike us down or take all we have in the blink of an eye.  But He truly is a loving King.  As long as we obey Him, He will smile on us and see to our needs.  And better than that, when our time on this earth has ended, He will take us home to live with Him in His heavenly castle for ever and ever.

Our King asks very little of us, only that we truly love one another, help one another, and go out into the world spreading the Gospel and making disciples.  Let’s do all we can to follow His command.  After all, no other king has ever willingly given his life for his subject.  But our King did just that.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, the King of kings who gave His all for us.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for making Jesus our King.  He is a loving king, which He showed by taking our punishment upon Himself and giving up His earthly life for us.  And He did this so that we might be saved and spend eternity in heaven with Him.  Father, we admit that sometimes we don’t think of Jesus as King, or even as Lord.  Those are titles we’re just not used to honoring.  Sometimes we take Your love and the love of Your Son for granted, not doing what You would have us do.  Please forgive us those times, dear Father.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us show Your love to others by giving of ourselves, giving of our love freely, unconditionally, sacrificially, just as Jesus gave of Himself for us.  And please help us share our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  Help us truly honor our King.

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what comes our way.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You are our Lord, You are our King.  We have accepted You as Lord and taken Your name to identify ourselves to the world.  But Jesus we don’t always act like You are our King.  We don’t always listen to Your teachings, heed Your words, carry out Your mission.  Please help us be better subjects, better servants.  We want to be more like You - please help us reach this goal.  Help us love all others, even those who hate us and wish us harm.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.