Today we sit down and talk about the Magi's search for the king.
Who they are, who they encountered, and what the purpose was for this search.
music:https://www.purple-planet.com
Social: instagram/facebook/twitter @arisechurchstl
Today we sit down and talk about the Magi's search for the king.
Who they are, who they encountered, and what the purpose was for this search.
music:https://www.purple-planet.com
Social: instagram/facebook/twitter @arisechurchstl
spk_0: 0:03
most of the last message that would take a problem. Past connections here root touch way go further in the sermon series. That way we're talking about a matter in their search for the king. Welcome back to the rise Park as Jacob. How you doing?
spk_1: 0:21
Doing great. Roger. How are you
spk_0: 0:24
doing? Good. How's, uh, the family during all the the health scare? Right now, you guys don't.
spk_1: 0:30
My wife and Children have been in social isolation for almost three weeks now, and they are loving it because they are introverted. Stay inside, stay at home. Leave me alone. Sort of people. So they are trunk in right along.
spk_0: 0:45
That's good. Uh, unfortunately for me, my wife is not like that. No, she is not. She loves to be in front of people on course. She's the one who's working from home, and I'm the one who's still going in, even though I rather that
spk_1: 0:59
right? Of course. That's that's also that works.
spk_0: 1:01
So, yeah, it's been it's been interesting in the Jackson Jackson household, too, s so we're gonna kind of jumping in today. We were doing a summer series the we're talking about searching for the King and I know this is Jacob, one of your first summer series that you designed. You kind of just talk. Let's do how you did it.
spk_1: 1:25
Yeah, so we called the Siri's that this message is a part of the coming of the king, and this is our advent. Siri's advent is the time in the church calendar, the time in the year that happens right before Christmas ad that means coming. And it's just got tired of preparation before the coming of the King and Zoe. But, hey, that would be a great, easy, low hanging fruit servant. Siri's title was Just call this the coming of the King and what we did Waas my hope waas to help people think through what it means to prepare for Jesus and then what it means to respond to Jesus. And if you look at Scripture, they're kind of different reactions that people had to the coming of Jesus. For example, you have Joseph and Mary who's at least initial reaction when the Angel Gabriel announces Jesus's birth of the initial Raptor kind of confusion, right? Like what's going on here? You have the magic eye who very diligently searched for Jesus, You have the shepherds who were surprised by the angelic host. They have people like Anna and Simian who are very, very faithfully impatiently waiting for the coming of the king. And so I said, Hey, there the's there some approaches. This is what we're gonna do. And so basically, what we do said, Hey, what are the ways people approached Jesus and then one of the Scriptures that kind of break that out? And so we spent a little bit time in the profits a little time and Matthew sometime and Luke, obviously. And then for Christmas Eve, we really got into the actual arrival of the King Crock Christmas Eve service, which was not on a Sunday. But our Christmas Eve service was kind of culmination of this. It was we've been talking about Jesus arrival and then, boom, he's here s so I really enjoyed this. This was good practice from you have kind of a short little six week. Siri's. I got to talk about design, and I was just ah, fun process and got to have some really good conversations with my fellow pastors here rooftop about what went well, what less well and It was fun. It was good. Who?
spk_0: 3:32
Who? Uh, yeah. So I think today we're doing that. Madge, I something you kind of said at the beginning. I really, you know, really, like you were talking about, You know, the advent. And, you know, that means arrival. And it was kind of hoping you were saying how you know, they were searching, searching for the king. But it's not just they're searching for, You know, this baby that's being born, you know, in that way, they're searching for, you know, Jesus, the man who's gonna be sinless and, you know, dying across and, you know, raised to life, right had the second coming. So I really thought I was really cool. How? Yes, at that moment, that's what they were searching for. But the importance of it was the
spk_1: 4:18
overall picture. Yeah, and that's something I think we we can sometimes miss during the Christmas season, right? We're talking about Santa consumerism and all these other things. But then there's this reminder. Hey, Jesus came to Earth as a baby. That's the reason for the season. And the Abbe incarnation is obviously very important. God becoming man hugely important. But Christmas always points towards Easter kind of to the point you're making Roger, uh, Jesus's birth is not important. Just because it's his birth right? Washington and Lincoln's birthdays are not important just because those days there were born they're important because of what those people did later in life. And I think that's ultimately true of what's going on here. The magic are searching for King, right? They're not searching for a baby, not just searching for the baby Jesus, the surging for the king because they want to bring a homage to him. They went toe worship him. They are. They are focused on you is not because of who he is at that moment, but because of who he is as a person who is gonna be what it's gonna do later in life.
spk_0: 5:29
Yeah, and so kind of looking into that and looking at what they're what they're doing. Let's kind of get to the question that in my head everyone wants to know what What is a madman or wise man? Is there three of, um you know what? What is this whole thing?
spk_1: 5:48
So who are the man? What are the magic? This is for me one of the most interesting things about the Christmas story growing up in the church, right. You've got your your little drummer boy Christmas movies. And you have all these things that you at least I can unassociated with the Christmas story. Shepherds and angels and barnyard animals. And no room for Marion jobs at the end. Uh, but if you actually sit down and you read what Matthew says about the Christmas story, none of those things happen. Those rotten things that happen the looks, time ever the birth of Jesus. And, uh, Matthew takes us kind of interesting perspective on Madge. I now, of course, affiliated with Madge. I have all these other Christmas stories and Christmas traditions, for example, that there are three Mad Drive or maybe three wise men. We three Kings of Orient are right on. They kind of come from wherever and accompanied by a little drummer boy as they come to see Jesus. And it's this. It's this great little story. But if you sit down and you look at what Matthew says, he doesn't tell us how many Madge either are. Hey, simply says that there are three gift. He doesn't tell us where they come from. Onley that they come from the East and that's a generic enough term that there's not really any sort of geographical significance there. Uh, and Matthew doesn't really tell us who the magic are, Only that they're Madge. I now for us, we're kind of this world has kind of become sanitized, right There are Wiseman who visit Jesus. There are many kings from the East who visit Jesus. But that's not really what magic is. Aah! Maj. I The word Madge, I is. It wasn't Jesus time kind of a technical term describing priests from Babylon or Persian who interpreted stars so similar kind of conceptual e to what you might think of as an astrologer or an astronomer or really, perhaps even better, a magician. Which is a weird thing to think about when it comes to who is visiting Jesus. But in acts eight, we run into this character known assignment in the Magician. And the word used by Luke to describe Simon the magician is this same word, Madge. I've so the magic eye are not just kind of these random wise man. They're not kings from the East or not philosophers. And they probably aren't necessarily even Godfrey pagans there. They're ancient magicians. That's who Matthew was describing. Comes to visit the sister Angel magicians who read the signs in the sky and they come and they look for Jesus.
spk_0: 8:52
Yeah, that's actually like, you know, you're saying now you're you're up there like that Part is like, Wow, that is where you want Just expect. Like you said, not even pagan People who believe in God gets like This is just what they do. And you know what? That's their job. That's just what what they know to Dio, right? So it is. It is crazy how, Like you said, you kind of, you know, things get over Santo, get Swiss. You know, obviously the whole Christmas, even Santa. You know, all that is like that, Like it's just it is kind of you think about that while it is interesting how much it changes to what it actually is. And I know we were kind of you're going you were talking about, you know, context of everything. And, you know, you mentioned this with Madge, I and you know what were they? They interpret the star So of course there's a star. That's where is gonna tell you where right where the baby's warrants. All right. Of course they would do that. It would only make sense. And then you're also mentioning that they were searching for a king, and they, uh, or in contact with Herod, the king, and so kind of talk about that because, you know, they're researching for King and other travellers. They ran into King. What made them I kind of realized or know that. Okay, well, this isn't who were looking.
spk_1: 10:13
Yeah, this is This is another just to me, one of the interesting parts of the story. Because whoever the magic are, they show up, they help in Israel and they go to Jerusalem, which is where you would expect to find a keen in agent Israel. In Jerusalem. That's the the house of the king. The seat of the King. This is working here. The great is ruling. The temple is the Jewish Temple is undergoing some renovations. It's It's about to become gonna one of the crown jewels of the Roman Empire. Jerusalem is on, and and so when they show up, they go looking for the king and they find a king in Jerusalem finding here now it's not if you kind of ST Matthew's story. It's not immediately evident. Uh, that the wiseman that Madge, I kind of know the hair. It isn't the right king, right? First Matthew, Chapter two to Where is he? Who has been born? King of the Jews? They ask Karen, Right? So the kind of the initial idea they're almost seems to be Hey, you're the king. Where's the heir who has been born, right? Where's your son? This is kind of, you know. Where's where's Prince George? Sort of sort of a moment that. But Herod's reaction inverse three. Right? Herod The king heard this. He was troubled in all Jerusalem with him. And so it seems like the kind of show up going, Hey, we're the baby that you had born, and there's kind of this awkward moment where hair, it's like, Well, there's no baby, You've been born here. And then they realized, Oh, maybe there's mortar. What's going on here? Maybe there's more that we need to do, which, of course, way See in verse nine, right, the star continues to move. It rose again went before them arrested the place where the child was right in Bethlehem. Presumably, what is where they're going here. Bethlehem is a little further south than Jerusalem. Whether Mary and Joseph are in Bethlehem proper or kind of in the area surrounding Bethlehem, that's, you know, that's another thing over there. But there's there's a travel a little bit distance in order to get to Bethlehem. So it's this interesting idea that kind of led to the big idea. My big idea for the message from the big lesson I wanted people to take away from this Christmas story is that those searching for the true king will find him right. In our world today, there are lots of good things. There are lots of good things that by for our attention, there are lots of things that on their own are not necessarily bad or wrong. But we need to be focused on what's ultimately important. We need to be focused on the true king will be focused on Jesus, so that's that's That's what the wisemen had to do. That's what the magic had to do. They could just find any old king. They have to find the right one on. That's That's the challenge before us as well.
spk_0: 13:29
Yeah, and I would say I mean, it kind of lines up with that. It was it was good to hear that, especially at that time of year, Because, like you said, I mean, not that this is anything we're doing around Christmas is bad, you know? You know, buying gifts and having dinners with families and Christmas parties or whatever you're doing, Like, you know, it's not necessarily bad things. But you know what? You're really searching for their there. Things that you don't take priority or take precedence and stuff like that. So I really could relate to that. So I know you're talking a little bit about this and this war, this curiosity, anything, I guess. You know, you were mentioned by Luke. You know, he tells a different story. Uh, this and you were saying like it almost like you wouldn't even know that it was He was saying like that. They were telling the same story, right? Why? Why was it like it wasn't just for just to get a different angle of a different view? What? What would make it be that so different.
spk_1: 14:35
So there are. There are kind of different reasons that we think Matthew and Luke are telling the stories of the way that they are. Uh, on the one hand, it's actually a little odd that Luke, who was written to a Gentile, which is written to a gentile audience, tells the story about Jewish Shepherd's responding to Jesus and that Matthew, which is written to did more Jewish Christian audience, tells the story of gentiles coming to worship Jesus. So if he just kind of look at this ethically, which is sometimes when people do this, it's a little It's a little bit odd. It's kind of like Matthew going. Oh, yes, you know the group of people of importance administrators or philosophers or wise men or people of wealth common pay homage to the king. They come celebrate the birth of the King, right in today's day and age. We do this too. If you think about the road, you know any of the random royal babies that are born in the United Kingdom, right? We don't really send gift anymore, but we tweet about it, right? That's what everybody does. Hey, congratulations. It's the same sort of being in the ancient world what a king is born. People pay attention. So Matthew, who is very interested in helping us see that Jesus is King juices the right king of Israel. Hey, is talking about kind of the key Millie reception that Jesus receives. And look who is very interested in portraying Jesus as kind of the everyday common man that people can access that he's not God or anything like that. But it talks about Hodges is popular among the people. Luke is talking about how Jesus is accessible even to someone as lowly as shepherds. Right s. So I think those were discovered thematic reason that Matthew and Luke are talking about different things. Um, I think there's also something to be said for whom Matthew Luke getting their information from Matthew, is a disciple of Jesus. So he's going to get probably some insider information from Jesus himself about things that went down at the stories that Jesus would have been told is a small child about the story of his birth. Right. Matthews probably have access to things like that, and not that Luke wouldn't have access to information like that. But If you look at the looks telling of the birth story, there's much more emphasis on Mary from He's Blue talks about marrying Elizabeth before and he talks about the birth of John the Baptist. And then he can have talks about the shepherds and how Mary is treasuring all these things and pondering them in her heart. And a lot of scholars think that Luke knows Mary and kind of interviews Mary as one of his voices for the telling of his gospel. And so that would be another reason, right? Just different source material. Matthew Stocking, Jesus, Luke's talking to Mary and those kind of the sources that they're using dig in tow. What's going on and again, One of the things that I tried to bring up in this message. Waas um as we look at the Christmas story, right, we need to be. We need to be clear about who's saying what on. We need to understand that Matthew and Luke are not missing telling because of the stories that contradict one another. They're just telling different Christmas stories, and there are lots of reasons for why they're doing that. Different audiences, different themes, different sources This is all part of the larger Richard context that helped us understand and make sense of what Lucas saying what Matthew were saying and why they're saying it in the waves that they are.
spk_0: 18:28
Yeah, I feel like, uh, recently in the last, you know, six months to a year, the whole context thing has been really something that seemed to really like Okay, like, really tryingto figure out and really kind of you look at those different ways of, you know, how to make more sense of the Bible without just kind of which none of this bad. But I kind of just looking at that underlying, like, you know, face value. This is on the surface and kind of figure out why things are are said or what made that relevant or what that is like. I really have really been trying to dig deep in tow to the context of things. So that's really helpful to just kind of understand that, but I never thought about the Year two union mission like that is weird. How how different that little stories are. Yeah, I kind of really like that. Um, So they kind of towards the end. You know, you had your three. He had three W's. Yes. You know, I had to get it, you know, with the wise man and get it all lined up. Yep. S o I know we were, You know, you're talking about watch for signs, work for answers and wish of the king. You know what you were explaining outside, man. That's where you just sometimes, Like I said, I have this. I'm sure people have this tube for me like that. I'm just really like I don't, you know, kind of pause and think about it. And you know what you're saying that you're like, you know, they watch for signs, and it's like, Okay, you know, they had that star and, you know, it came back up, and it's going further, like Okay, so we got We have a look for the things you gotta look at. What's going around, what's going around you in the world to kind of to search for him like, especially, you know, like when you're coming in fate, like sometimes it is. You need that sign. Okay. Like, there's something I need. And I have to finally like Emily. I need that that piece or that joy and it's like I got to stop, didn't actually pay attention and try to figure that out. Yeah, and then with the the work for answers, I really like that, too, because, you know, you don't think about that either. You're like, that's pretty much what they were doing the whole time, right? They went one places like, Oh, he doesn't have an heir to this throne. Okay, so it's just this constant working and working and working to get toe, you know, find the king to then worship him like this. Just really, I just like how, when you think about things and in certain ways, like how how much it makes sense, how much you can apply to regular life.
spk_1: 21:02
Yeah, and the work of biblical interpretation is not always so simple as look at what a character in the Bible is doing and model your life after them, right? That's not That's not always necessarily true. There's a lot of Scripture that's descriptive rather than prescriptive. But here and indeed throughout kind of this hole sermon series. As we're thinking about how people are interacting with and responding to Jesus, there are some good lessons for us, right? We ought to be searching for the king to We ought to be putting in the work of looking for answers of watching to the world around us and worshipping as we as we find the king. I mean, I think the magic really are instructive for us are perfect. No, probably not. But the way they go about doing this, I think there's some encouragement. And there's some value for those of us who are also searching for the game.
spk_0: 22:06
Yeah, Yeah, I completely agree with that. And, uh, thank you. I appreciate you sitting down and talking about Madge I and searching for the king. And kind of you know, that story that Matthew Rose. So thank you were sent down. Thanks, Roger. Guys, if you want to reach us on social, we actually recently just got twitter. Whoa, Twitter working on tic tac.
spk_1: 22:30
Tic tac is next.
spk_0: 22:32
So we're all around Easter Just e o on instagram, Facebook and Twitter by this working take talking. You know, Jacob, I know we just got some live streaming equipment that hopefully will get here.
spk_1: 22:46
Yes, way Also have a YouTube account that just started to get videos on it. Yes, but we don't have enough subscribers to have the cool little u R l yet. So that's coming. Yes, but
spk_0: 23:00
and so were, You know, we have some things, and so things are going in place and, you know, kind excited. Thio put out, push up more content. So definitely be looking for that. I was so you can still keep checking.