The best response to Christmas

Matthew 2:1-12 is one of my favorite sections of the Bible. You and I are found in these verses. Every single person’s response to Jesus is found in these verses. Matthew 2 verses 1 to 12 reflects four responses to the person of Jesus.

The first response is settled indifference in verses 1-2. “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 saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?’” The magi or wise men burst into Jerusalem. They saw the star or the shekinah glory in Babylon. These men were very influential. Two English words come from the word magi. The words magistrate and magic both come from this term.

The wise men did not ride on camels. They probably arrived on Persian or Arabian horses. They traveled the eight hundred miles from Babylon to Jerusalem. They traveled about twenty miles per day. It was at least a forty day journey!

They came to Jerusalem and did not initially seek out Herod. They went everywhere saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” Jerusalem in the first century had a population of eighty thousand people. Shockingly, not one person from Jerusalem traveled the six miles to Bethlehem to search out the birth of Jesus.

Why are people indifferent to Jesus? People do not understand their need. When someone is diagnosed with cancer they drop everything in order to find the cure. The disease of cancer is life threatening. When a person understands their spiritual need they run to Jesus. Jesus saves us from the penalty of sin.

The first response to Jesus is settled indifference. The second response to Jesus is religious distraction in verses 4-6. When Herod heard the question the wise men were asking he called together the religious leaders. Verse 4 says, “…and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” He gathered together the chief priest and the former chief priests. He gathered the scribes. The scribes were paid to study the Scriptures, copy the Scriptures and teach the Scriptures. They quoted Micah 5:2 and Samuel 5:2. Bethlehem was the place of the Messiah’s birth. Yet not one of these religious leaders traveled to Bethlehem to find the Messiah.

Many people today are very religious but they never surrender to Jesus. Jesus asked, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). If Jesus is King, we must surrender to Him. It is not enough to be religious. We must own Jesus as our rightful king.

The third response is sinful defiance in verses 7-8. Herod the Great was not great because of his military victories. Herod was a great builder. He built Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast. He built palaces like Masada. He built the temple mount and the massive temple. Herod was a great builder but he was a demon personally. He married ten women. His favorite wife was Mariamne. He killed her brother, her grandfather and her two sons before he put her to death.

Herod sinfully defied the Lord Jesus. He ordered all the baby boys two years and younger in Bethlehem to be put to death. Historians tell us about twenty to twenty-five Jewish boys lost their lives. Many people today defiantly resist the Lord Jesus. One day every person will face Jesus. Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.”

The fourth and proper response to Jesus is wholehearted devotion in verses 9 to 12. Verse 9 states, “And behold, the star they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the Child was.” The magi followed the shekinah glory to find Jesus. They sought Jesus. We seek Jesus today by reading and applying the Bible. The Bible reveals the truth to us. They rejoiced in Jesus. They worshiped Jesus.

The magi gave Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold was the gift for a king. Seneca, the Roman orator, said that the only proper gift for a king was gold. Frankincense was used in the worship of God. Myrrh was used for embalming dead bodies. Jesus is the king. He is God. He came to die for our sins. The only right response for us today is wholehearted devotion to the person of Jesus.

Ethan Hansen is the pastor of Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake.