Worship the New Born King

Matthew 2:1-12

Key Verse 2:11

Read verses 1-2. What did the Magi know about Jesus? How did they come to obtain this knowledge? What did they do about this knowledge they came across? What didn’t they know? What did they do with the question they had? What can we learn from the Magi in seeking the truth (about the object of worship)? About Jesus?

Read verse 3. What does “disturbed” mean? What does this passage indicate about King Herod? All Jerusalem with him? 

Read verses 4-6. What does the “Christ” mean? Who is “the prophet” referred to in verse 5? Why do you think God revealed the information (on the birth place of the Christ) in advance? Yet it appears that the religious leaders (chief priests and teachers of the law) did not do anything with the news that came to their knowledge (cf. 3). Why?  

Read verses 7-8 and compare what King Herod said and what he later did in verse 16. What does this comparison tell us about the King Herod? 

Read verses 9-10. Who (or what) assisted the Magi in getting them to “the” house (where they could meet the new born king)? What does this episode indicate about the way of [seeking the true object of] worship? 

Read verse 11a. What (or whom) did they see? Whom did they worship?  Whom did they not worship? 

Read verse 11b-12 and consider the gifts they presented to the new born king. What is each of the three gifts for? Do they have anything in common? Why do you think they presented these gifts to the child? What can we learn from them about the way of worship? Why did they not go back to King Herod? 

Worship the New Born King

Matthew 2:1-12

Key Verse 2:11

** This passage shows the [right] way to worship Jesus, the new born king. Note: we call it “the way” to mean that there is always the right reason(s) to worship the way we are to worship the new born king. This is important because man’s purpose is to come to meet the right object of worship and indeed worship him in the way we should. Consider the first question of the first question the Westminster Catechism asks is “What is the chief and highest end of man?” The answer is to glorify God and fully enjoy him forever.” We can fulfill this purpose in the context and by way of worship.  

Read verses 1-2. What did the Magi know about Jesus? How did they come to obtain this knowledge? What did they do about this knowledge they came across? What didn’t they know? What did they do with the question they had? What can we learn from the Magi in seeking the truth (about the object of worship)? About Jesus?

** The king of the Jews was already born (arrived).

** They saw his star in the east. They did not have the Bible. Yet they had an alternative, that is, by way of searching Jesus’ star. Most likely they heard from the Old Testament Scriptures such as the prophecy by the prophet Balaam in Numbers 24:17 that the time of the Savior’s birth would coincide with the appearing of his star in the sky. Psalm 19:1 talks about the heavens declaring the glory of God. Consider what the heavenly host sang saying “Glory to the highest” in Luke 2:14. 

** They acted upon it, investing all of their resources in this venture.

** They did not know the place where they could meet the new born king. They must have thought the place was Jerusalem, but there they lost the star. Their GPS system did not work in the city of Jerusalem. 

** So they stopped relying on their own GPS system. They then started asking people around, until the whole city came to wake up. This is a very important quality of a scholar, a truth seeker. You just can’t stop at anything; you keep searching and searching, until you find the truth. This stubbornness is the key to finding the truth. Many scientists succeed on this account. 

** Like the Magi we need to make the most use of all means available in order to come to know Jesus better and worship Him in the way we should, until songs of praise erupt in our hearts. The Apostle Paul demonstrated this attitude when he said, “I want to know Christ…” in Phi 3:10. The Apostle Peter also expressed the same attitude when he said in 2Pe 1:19. Actually when Jesus came, he too exhibited the same sincere attitude from his boyhood as we see Jesus sitting among the teachers at the Lord’s temple even from his young adulthood. Luke 2:46

** Jesus is the true object of worship. In the Bible, worship is directed to only one person, that is, God alone. This indicates that Jesus is God. Being the king (of all the kings of the) Jews (which means Jesus is the spiritual king), he is to be worshiped with a reverent attitude on our part. Categorically Jesus is the Creator God and the sustainer of the existing order and the order to come. According to Heb 1:3, he is the exact representation of God’s being. This is what the heavenly host meant when they sang, “Glory to the highest”. 

Read verse 3. What does “disturbed” mean? What does this passage indicate about King Herod? All Jerusalem with him? 

** Disturbed = distressed, upset, troubled, sorry, agitated, annoyed, bothered, irritated, vexed, interfered with, interrupted, intruded upon, dislocated, displaced, unsettled…

** King Herod wanted to hold onto the life security he thought he had built for himself as his own means of survival and wellbeing. He thought Jesus came to threaten his own life security. He thought this way because he was greatly deceived by the devil. The devil always deceives, kills, and then destroys his victims for good. There are many modern day King Herods in our own generation. They look big and impressive. They are proud. But they are nothing but small puppets, the slaves, of the devil. 

** “All Jerusalem with him” – this description is a synonym for the pseudo Christians who put one foot in the world another in the church. They are compromising with the sinning world. They want to get the best of both worlds. In this sense they are double-minded people; they are worse than even the outright wicked like King Herod. They are never friends much less worshipers of Jesus.

Read verses 4-6. What does the “Christ” mean? Who is “the prophet” referred to in verse 5? Why do you think God revealed the information (on the birth place of the Christ) in advance? Yet it appears that the religious leaders (chief priests and teachers of the law) did not do anything with the news that came to their knowledge (cf. 3). Why?  

** Christ = the anointed (in the sense that he is the one appointed by God the Father) to save the dying world. In Hebraic term this title is called Messiah, the one God designed to save the fallen race, the descendants of Adam. 

** The name is Micah (which in Hebrew means “Who is like [Yaweh] YHVH”? (Or “Who is like Jesus”) In fact no one (Savior) is like Jesus, for Jesus alone lowered himself to the lowest position, sacrificing himself like no one, all to save the dying. He prophesied about the birth place of the Savior about 7 centuries prior to Jesus’ birth. Can you foretell the birth place of anyone who is to be born seven years later or seven decades later or even seven centuries? But God knows the end from the beginning, and through his servants like Prophet Micah the Lord foretold the birthplace of the Savior. 

** God did this to prepare his people for the Savior and let them be used to disseminate this hope of meeting the Savior, so that they would not lose hope (or drown to death in the sea of corrupted world such as the world where King Hezekiah ruled). Remember that the only hope for true reformation/restoration is found in Jesus. If this is the case, it is the only hope for people of all generations [living before, during, and after, the coming of Jesus the Savior] to go by, for after all Jesus is the Savior who is the only person being able to reach out and save people of all generations. 

** It is because they were busy-minded, perhaps materialistic, so they must have sold the truth for money. They did have the truth, but they sold it for money, not for what the truth is for that is salvation of their soul in exchange for all the treasures of the world. Read Pro 23:23

They are the worst group of people found in the passage. The next worst group is all people in Jerusalem who were “with” King Herod (‘with’ = on his payroll, for example, like parasites living under the wings of Herod, perhaps playing golf with him.)

Read verses 7-8 and compare what King Herod said and what he later did in verse 16. What does this comparison tell us about the King Herod? 

** He is indeed the incarnation of the devil, for the devil is always deceptive. 

Read verses 9-10. Who (or what) assisted the Magi in getting them to “the” house (where they could meet the new born king)? What does this episode indicate about the way of [seeking the true object of] worship? 

** The star (as the Lord God keeps it the way it operates). “The house” indicates that by that time Jesus moved from the manger to a house. We don’t know what happened to Joseph. Maybe he went out to buy groceries. 

** It has been said, “God helps those who help themselves.” Or “Where there is a will there is a way.” This reminds us of what the Scriptures say like 2Ch 15:2, Isaiah 55:6; 65:1. Read also Romans 10:20. So the first step is to seek him meaning business. Then God will take care of the rest. 

Read verse 11a. What (or whom) did they see? Whom did they worship?  Whom did they not worship?

** The child with his mother Mary

** The child

** Mary

Read verse 11b-12 and consider the gifts they presented to the new born king. What is each of the three gifts for? Do they have anything in common? Why do you think they presented these gifts to the child? What can we learn from them about the way of worship? Why did they not go back to King Herod? 

** Gold – biblically “gold” stands for the King of the Universe. This is seen without an exception in the way the Lord God commanded Moses to make furnishings for the ark of covenant. Exodus 25 et al 

Incense – for the use by the priests for prayer

Myrrh – for either medical purposes (such as embalming), or as a perfume to enhance the atmospheric environment as in a marriage bed

** In those days they all represented very “expensive” (or simply costly) items.

** Their example shows us the right way to give thanks to the Lord, the King of Universe, which resulted in them appreciating the value of the new born king, and getting the purpose of their life fully fulfilled, giving them true satisfaction. 

The end

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Worship the New Born King

Matthew 2:1-12

Key Verse 2:11

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

Today we would like to think about Jesus, the object of our worship. At the outset of his gospel the Apostle Matthew introduced Jesus as God with us. If Jesus is indeed God then he is the object of our worship. 

In the passage for today Matthew shows us an example of worshiping the Lord Jesus, the new born king. So let us think about the worship of our Lord Jesus. We would like to think about it in three ways: first, the purpose of worship, second, the means to fulfill the purpose of worship, and third, the way of worship. 

First, the purpose of worship

The purpose of worship is to be like Jesus and to live like Jesus.  

It has been said, “You are what you worship.” By definition worship means reverent respect for and devotion to an object of worship. 

We can categorize all the objects of worship into two categories: the Creator and the Creation. All worshipers can fall into either of these two categories: there is no single exception. 

Matthew says that Jesus is God with us. So the worship of Jesus means the worship of God, not the worship of creation. Before we talk about the worship of Jesus, let us think about the worship of something or someone else. What will happen to those who worship the creation? We know the answer: we will be like what we worship. By definition the creation is limited. Money is limited. People are limited. All that have been created are limited. So if you go after the creation you are bound to be limited. 

This is a huge problem. Why? It is because man cannot be satisfied with what is limited. You can try all the good looking things or people of this world. Still you will remain unsatisfied. Then when your life in this physical body is over you perish; you are shut out of the eternal presence of God. It is not so with those who worship our Lord Jesus. 

Just in case anyone is unconvinced on this point, I would like to ask everyone to read Genesis 1:27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Here, we are told that God created man in God’s image. By definition God is not limited; his name represents perfection without a limit. This indicates that we are endowed with the potential to grow to God’s level. And God is infinitely great. This means that all the days of our life, we are called to scale all aspects of God’s true greatness. And deeply imbedded in our inmost being is the deep desire to be like our Creator and to live like our Creator. This we call the chief end of man’s life.

This is where the worship of our Lord Jesus becomes necessary. This is what constitutes the purpose of worship. And it constitutes the purpose of our existence. And the purpose is for us to be like Jesus and to live like Jesus. Our life is going to be fruitful in proportion to the degree in which we come to know Jesus, be like Jesus and live like Jesus; the degree of your satisfaction will be in exact proportion to the degree in which you are like Jesus and live like Jesus.  

In the passage the Magi came to Jerusalem and publicly announced their purpose of coming: We have come to worship Him! Today I welcome all of you in Jesus’ name. I thank God for all of you, for like the Magi you set aside other priorities of your life, and came to worship the new born King. May the Lord richly bless your desire to worship Him! May the Lord inspire you to carry this desire all the days of your life, so that as you know Jesus Christ better and worship Him, the Lord should fulfill the purpose of your life to the fullest extent. 

Second, worship as a means to fulfill the purpose of our life

In the key verse the Magi said, “We have come to worship him.” What did they mean by “worship him”? What they did in the passage answers the question: that is, by saying they came to worship him, they meant that they came to meet the King of the Jews in person; they came to dedicate themselves to the king even for a few minutes; they came to express their thanks and adoration to the King. 

The key here is to secure a “personal encounter” with the King! So let us stop for a moment and think about the experience we call “a personal encounter with Jesus”. For a personal encounter with someone, the first thing you need to secure is “your”: you must bring yourself. You need to be there “in person”. You need to be present in the presence of God who is with us. 

A couple of years ago I visited the White House in Washington D.C. The tour company put us in a tour bus. After about a half an hour drive from the Washington UBF Bible center, the bus stopped in front of the White House. Then the tour guide let us get off the bus. The woman pointed to a building in front of us and said: “This is the White House. Mr. George Bush is working inside.” Then she asked, “Does anyone want to go inside, shake hands with the President of the U.S. and take a picture with him?” Everyone said, “Yea, we’d love to.” Then she said “No. You cannot. You need an appointment with him. Plus you need security-clearance. None of us have an appointment. None of us have security clearance. So let’s go to see Abraham Lincoln.” So we couldn’t meet Mr. Bush –no personal encounter with the President.

The same thing can happen to church goers: you can come to a worship service at a church. But it’s possible that you do not have any personal encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus. You might meet a lot of people, listen to good music, eat pizza, and that’s it. No personal encounter with the Risen King. 

Why do we need this personal encounter (or fellowship) with Jesus? We have already figured out the answer that is, to fulfill the purpose of our life which is to be like him and to live like him. How can we resemble anyone whom we have not even seen? 

As of last Oct. 9, 2007, I and my wife Rebekah celebrated our 35^th wedding anniversary. Through our life together we became a lot like each other. I am a lot like Rebekah and she is also a lot like me, not just outwardly but inwardly. But we both admit one thing: both of us married in the Lord. So between Rebekah and me Jesus has also been with us in our relationship. So in the context of marriage I had fellowship with the Lord, and Rebekah had fellowship with the Lord, since He was also with us. Our 35 years of marriage life has been a long journey of worship, the struggle to come to know our Lord Jesus better. 

Essentially then worship is to get ourselves exposed to the presence of God. It is to open ourselves up to Him, so that he would shine upon us that as he bestows his love upon us we can all receive His healing. In our fellowship Him, we can listen to him. We can then go out and struggle to obey His will. In this way as we worship Him in adoration he works in and through us, so that we would be like him and live like him. 

In the Bible history numerous worshipers show us that as they worshiped the Lord, the Lord transformed their lives, so that by the time they finished their life’s journey here on earth they all developed Godly character. Through God’s grace they could transcend themselves and the world. Thanks to their worship they came to be like God and lived like God. Abel, Enoch, Job, Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, and Mary Magdalene, are but a few examples. 

When we examine the life of the saints in the Bible we find one thing in common: in the business of their life’s journey, they secured quiet moments with God the Father. 

In case of Moses, once he went up to Mt. Sinai. There he spent time with the Lord forty days and forty nights. This fellowship was so intimate that he  didn’t even drink; he did nothing but fellowshipping with God. As a result as he was walking down the mountain his face became so radiant that people could not look at him straight. So he had to put a veil on his face. 

David is another example. He went through many challenges. As a king of a nation and a general of the Lord’s army, he had to fight battles after battles against the hostile nations. Yet every once in a while he went up to the Lord’s temple and spent quiet moments in worship to the LORD. Expressing his experience in worship, David says in Psalm 131, “My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.” Further he said in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.“ In this way he withdrew so much joy of his soul through the time of worship that he says, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” Psalm 84:10 

When Jesus came to this world, through his public ministry, many found Jesus as the true object of worship. By engaging themselves in the act of worship they fully fulfilled the purpose of their lives. One example is found in what Luke 7:37-38 describe: “When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” One thing that truly amazes us is what our Lord Jesus said of this woman: “Your faith has saved you: go in peace!” It was through her act of worship that she heard the voice of our Lord Jesus directly. She had a personal encounter with the Savior of the world. Worship is the means to fulfill the purpose of our life. 

Third, the way of worship 

Where is the one who has been king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and we have come to worship him! 

As I mentioned Matthew is the first book of the New Testament Scriptures. The first message Matthew brings about Jesus is to say Jesus is Immanuel, which means, ‘God with us’. After presenting Jesus as the object of worship, immediately he introduces the Magi who came to show us the example of worship. 

Obviously where there is the right way there is a wrong way. And the Magi knew what it meant to worship the new born king. In view of the passage there are a few critical points which we must remember in coming to worship the Lord.

Commitment to come to meet him in person. The Magi made a decision to come to meet him. So let us make a firm decision to come to know Jesus and meet him as our Lord and serve him all the days of our life. 

Persistence: the Magi persistently followed upon their decision. 

Bible study as the way to know Him: It was through the study of Micah that the religious leaders could lead the Magi to meet the King. The Bible is the final expression of God’s will and purpose for us. So Bible study is essential to knowing him and worshiping Him. 

Self denial (warning against ego-centrism): King Herod was disturbed at the news of the new born king. He killed a lot of babies for fear of losing his position as the king. Self-centered people will never learn to worship Jesus. Indeed self-centeredness is the great stumbling block to knowing the Lord and worshiping the Lord. 

Zeal vs. Apathy: the religious leaders came to the knowledge of the birth of their King. But they did not do anything upon hearing the blessed news. Why? Maybe it was because they must have thought that they already knew what they needed to know. They became proud. They became content. But we must remember that worship is a journey – the journey to God’s infinite perfection. All the days of our life we need to exhort one another to have the great zeal to worship the Lord.

Preparation vs. laziness: King Herod and all Jerusalem with him were greatly disturbed at the news. This indicates that they did not prepare themselves for the occasion. But the Magi prepared themselves. The Magi were proactive in greeting the new born king. Likewise in order to know and have fellowship with the Lord daily we need to make our hearts and minds ready each and every day

Sense of value: Magi brought gifts to the new born King. They brought their best gifts, for in those days gold, incense, and myrrh were expensive items. How could they sacrifice so much for the Lord? It is because they met the true object of worship who is Jesus. Having Jesus is like possessing the whole universe and everything in it. So when one accepts Jesus he realizes that Jesus has already made him truly rich, so he gives to the Lord and his people sacrificially. By the same token those who do not have Jesus are like the universe with a black-hole; because they have such a huge emptiness inside of them, in order to fill the emptiness they hold onto all sorts of worthless things in this world. But the more they pile things up, the emptier they become. But, the Magi found Jesus as the Savior of the world; they brought gifts to the Lord. In this way they became partners of our Lord Jesus, in bringing the good news of great joy to all peoples on earth. 

In conclusion, let us read the key verse once again. “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

In this passage we can learn that worship is the end purpose of man’s life. Worship also serves as the means to fulfill this very purpose. Thank and praise be to our Lord Jesus who came to save us from our sins, and lead us into the presence of our God, the king of eternal glory.

One word: Worship the new born king.

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