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"Wise
Men From Afar" December
15, 2002 The Rev. Dr. Will Eisenhower You may want to turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 2
and follow along as we look at this morning's Scripture reading.
This is a familiar part of the Christmas story.
Matthew tells us this: In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the
child who has been born king of the Jews? For
we observed his star at its rising and have come to pay him homage."
When King Herod heard this, he was frightened and all Jerusalem with him;
and calling together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he
inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by
the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are
by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who
is to shepherd my people Israel.' " Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them
the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem,
saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found
him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."
When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them,
went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place
where the child was. When they saw
that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they
knelt down and paid him homage. Then,
opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and
myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they left for their own country by another road. Now what we're going to do with this passage this morning is we're
going to ask, "Is it true?" number one. Number two, we're going to
ask, "Is there a very profound and important truth that it illustrates for
us?" And then along the way
we're going to see if we can't come to a little pointer, a clue, regarding
interpreting narrative passages of Scripture.
So: Is it true?
Does it illustrate an important truth?
And how do we interpret narrative passages of Scripture, anyway--how do
we apply them to our life? Now, the reason we have to ask, "Is it true?" is because
among academic biblical scholars at the present time, I would say that there is
a widespread consensus that the events narrated here--the journey of the magi to
the baby Jesus--that this never took place, that this is not a historical
account. This is simply legendary.
This is mythological. This
is something inserted in that is not true.
So we can't settle all the issues, but I'm taking it as true this morning
and I want you to take it as true along with me.
And I want to illustrate one of the reasons why we have a right to take
it that way. Again, we won't answer every objection, but we can make a major
point that counts in favor of the truthfulness, in favor of the historical
accuracy, of this account. And it
goes like this: If this actually
did happen, then we don't need an explanation as to why Matthew would include it
in his gospel. Matthew included it
in the story of Jesus that he's telling because it really happened!
Because it's really true. If
it's really true, you don't need another reason for it.
As in: If I say to
you, "I grew up in Bakersfield."
Now if that's true, then you don't need to search for an explanation as
to why I would say that it was true. However,
if I've never been to Bakersfield, if I did not grow up in Bakersfield, then you
would have to say, "Well, OK. Since
it's not true, then why did he say it?"
Do you understand? Now, with Matthew, when you study Matthew, what you realize is that
Matthew really has just one point he wants to make.
And that one point he wants to make is that Jesus, fulfilling all the Old
Testament prophecies that foretold about the coming Messiah, is the one that God
promised Israel. Jesus is the king of the Jews.
Jesus is the Messiah, promised by God, sent to save the chosen people
from their sins. And over, and
over, and over throughout Matthew's gospel, he shows us times where something in
the life of Jesus fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy and that's his concern.
Matthew really has no concern about non-Jews coming to Jesus and
being attracted to Jesus. Some of
the other gospel writers very much do. Luke,
we know--if you go through Luke's gospel you'll see Luke wanted to include lots
of times that show outsiders (not people from within the Hebrew camp, but
non-Jews) responding to Jesus. Luke
was very, very interested in that. In
an entirely different way, John makes the same point: non-Jews attracted to Jesus.
Matthew is not big on that score. It
doesn't advance his argument at all to be pointing this out--which is to say
this story of the magi coming to Jesus was included by Matthew even though it
does not help the point that he wants to make.
And we have to say, "Well, then, what makes more sense?
That he included something that he knew was legendary even though it does
not advance the argument that he's making, or he included it because it was
true?" You see, if it's true,
then it makes perfect sense that it would be right where it is in his gospel.
For us who want to take this as historical, it's perfectly easy to take
it as historical and we don't have to mount a further argument.
You know, if you believe this is legendary then you have to come up with
an explanation: Why did Matthew put
this in here? It's not like
anything else in his gospel. So therefore, again, we haven't settled the issue--there are
so many other issues--but I think that we are within our rights to say,
"Yes, this a historical account."
Now, then, besides its truth, is there a very profound and
important lesson that it teaches us? And
here's the lesson that I want to have us confront:
Though there were many wise men and women near Bethlehem at the time that
Jesus was born, and at the time that He was growing up--many wise from the
area--none of those are reported as having come to Jesus at this time.
The ones who--we are told they're wise, we're told that they're wealthy
(because of the gifts that they bring). We
can assume that that these were purple . . . purple?
No! I'm sorry.
We can assume that they were people of power and prestige.
(We don't know that they were purple!)
These are people of power and prestige coming to Jesus, but they came
from a long way off. It was a long
journey that they had to make. People
who would not have had to make a long journey did not bother to come out to
Bethlehem. And the ones who did had
to come from a long, long, way. Now, does that illustrate something for us?
And I want to suggest that it does.
I want to suggest that the things that this world sees as advantages
don't prevent us from coming to Jesus, but they can mean that our journey to
Jesus is a longer journey, it's a more arduous journey, it's a more demanding
journey. And as I make that point,
let me illustrate it like this: I
got a Ph.D. in systematic theology. At
the time I was thinking about going and doing that--I have two Masters degrees
and I have a Ph.D. I'm not bragging
about it, because you'll see in just a minute I'm trying to make a point.
At the time I was considering undertaking, you know, the rigors of an
academic project where you would work several years and end up with a Ph.D. in
systematic theology. At the end of
that, I was having a conversation with the Area Director for Campus Crusade for
Christ in the town where I was at that time.
He's a guy who--in full-time Christian service, but did not have a
Masters degree, did not have an advanced degree, and I assume probably felt a
little, I don't know, inferior, or whatever about the fact that, OK, full-time
Christian service, but didn't have advanced preparation.
So I said I was going to go. And he goes, "A Ph.D. in systematic theology?
If you get that, you could be God!" And I thought, "Well, probably not . . ." But it is the case that in our Christian colleges today and in our
denominational seminaries today, you know, the religious experts--the ones who
have the Ph.D. in things religious--they do think that they're God!
And some of you ask me, when we're talking about something like the Jesus
Seminar, or the academic fads, some of you have said, "Why are they like
that?" and the answer is, well, you know, an advanced credential like that
can make it a bigger challenge for you to come to Jesus than for some others.
And we know this: The Bible
has a fairly consistent teaching that we could take as saying, "Those
things that the world calls advantages in every other realm, when having a
relationship with God is at stake, when that's what's in question, the thing
that the world called an advantage is now a disadvantage to you. Just for instance: Paul
in Philippians rattles off, he lists for us, all of those things that were his
religious advantages, those things that meant that he ought to have a spiritual
"plus," he ought to be closer to God because of all of his Jewish
religion advantages. And he says
none of those things are important, and as a matter of fact, anything that was
my gain I count as loss. Anything
that I thought was a plus in that area, I have to realize, "Yeah, it would
be a plus in a worldly sphere, but if we're talking about connecting with God,
that plus is a minus to me." Some of us may be able to identify with that.
If you are a life-long Presbyterian.
Ooooooh! If you are a
life-long Presbyterian and you've got this Presbyterian stuff pretty figured
out. You know when to stand up and
when to sit down. And as a matter
of fact, you know that if people don't stand up when you stand up, that they're
wrong--did you know that your Presbyterian know-how can actually be a
disadvantage in your relationship with God? Did you know that? It's
true. And Paul is talking about his Jewish advantages and he says
anything there that's a gain, you know, I just look at it as a loss.
In First Corinthians, the beginning of 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul is
talking about a different area. He's
talking about mental prowess. He's
talking about intellectual ability. And
what he says is the ones who are wiser, smarter, higher IQ, that though in all
of the worldly spheres that we could consider--you know, having a higher IQ,
that's a better thing than having a lower IQ, you know?
And I would never say you want to raise your children to have low IQs so
that they can become Christians . . . Well,
no, that probably not be a very good idea. We're not going to win very much in
that way. But it is true the
smarter a person is--and this is the point Paul is making when he's talking
about worldly wisdom--the smarter a person is, the harder it will be for that
person to come and to find God. It's
an advantage in every other area of life, and it can be a disadvantage to you if
what you want is to know God's best for you. Another one. Jesus in
the gospels tells us about wealth. That
it's harder for a rich man to come to God than for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle. Now, that's pretty
hard, amen? That's pretty hard.
It's harder for a rich man to come, to enter into the Kingdom of heaven
than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
And the point is wealth, though an advantage in every other area of life,
can actually turn out to be something that makes your trip to God longer,
harder, more demanding, taking more of a deliberate "oomph" on your
part. So we've said religious expertise, we've said mental know-how,
intellectual prowess, we've said wealth. Take
anything in the world that the world looks at as an advantage.
You have to recognize that it doesn't make for an advantage as far as
entering the Kingdom of God. For
instance, some of you are better-looking than most people.
You're nodding. (You're
going, "Yes, it's true. . .") Now,
"better looking than most people" in the worldly sphere, that's an
advantage, but as far as making it easier for you to come to God, no, it can
make it harder. How would that be? How could that be that something that is an advantage in
every other way turns into, in this one way, a disadvantage?
Well, it's like this. If you
trust in it, if you think this is going to make it easier for me to connect with
God, then it becomes a disadvantage to you.
If you think that your life-long Presbyterian know-how, if you
think that your religious expertise means that you're just--when the race to get
to God starts, you're ahead of everybody else just from the beginning.
If you think that, then that's your disadvantage.
If you think that your intellectual know-how is such that only those
questions that you can answer are answerable, and therefore only those questions
about God that you have discovered the answer to are answerable, don't you see
what s disadvantage that is? We've
said that far too many seminary professors and college religion professors,
because of their advanced credentials and their standing in the guild of
academic scholarship, they think that they're God, like my friend said:
"If you had that, you could be God!" Well, no, you can't be God. But you can think that you are God!
And so those things that are advantages, normally considered, they're not
disadvantages unless we rest in them, unless we trust in them, unless we think
that somehow or other this makes it better for me than someone else. And what did we say? Oh,
wealth. If you think that--oh, this
is a great story and I didn't tell it at 9 o'clock, but I'll tell it right now.
Reinhold Niebuhr had a man in his church back in the 1920s and early
'30s. Reinhold Niebuhr was a pastor
in Detroit. And he had a very, very wealthy man in his congregation.
The man believed that because he had been tithing since second grade,
that's why God blessed him and gave him the wealth that he had.
And Reinhold Niebuhr said, "Now the fact that he was the best friend
of Henry Ford in his mind had absolutely nothing to do with it."
Do you understand? He thinks
that his wealth is a sign that he's closer to God. And the people that know him look at him and say, "No
it's not. No it's not." Let's apply this to us as individuals. If you are a person of advantage--and let me just ask,
"Are you?" Are you a
person with advantages, with pluses, with things that the world holds in high
esteem. Are you better looking than
most people, or smarter, or any of the other things that we can think of as
being something to admire and respect, as giving you status and prestige?
Can you see how those very things that, yeah, they truly are pluses, but
can you see how if you put your faith in that, that it will be a disadvantage to
you as far as connecting with God? And are we as a church--is Faith Presbyterian Church a church
blessed with lots of pluses? We've
got lots of things going for us that many, many other churches don't even dare
to dream about. We've just got
those. Now, if that's what we're
focusing on, can you see with me that that would mean that all of our advantages
are really disadvantages. Now, I'm saying if we look at the story of the journey of the magi
a little bit differently, what we recognize is you know, for people with
advantages that made it to Jesus, it was a longer journey than the others had to
make. It was a more demanding, it
was a more arduous, it was a more challenging journey. And I'm asking us to see this as illustrating a very, very
profound truth which is: No, your
advantages don't prevent you from coming to God; it just means that you're going
to have to come further than someone else might.
I'm asking us to look at it that way. Now, is it even fair? Am
I misinterpreting Scripture this way? You
know, we've got a narrative passage and the passage is not teaching what I'm
saying. It's simply saying,
"This happened in this particular way."
And I'm asking us to look at it as true. But we could say, "Well, Noah built an ark, but that
doesn't mean that everybody should build an ark."
And, "the children of Israel wandered around in a desert, but that
doesn't mean that everybody should wander around in the desert."
No, I'm saying it's fair to take this like this because in so much of the
Bible and so many of the pages, in so many of the chapters, we are told at other
times "advantages can hurt you in your relationship with God."
And what we see here is a wonderful illustration of something taught by
Scripture over and over again, which is, yes, there are wise and wealthy people
that can come to Jesus at the birth, but they had to make a long, long journey. And that may be true of some of us. It may be the case that our journey to Jesus is demanding of
us. It's important to say it is not
the case that wealth means that you can't have a relationship with God.
It is not the case that any of the other things that we've specified and
all the ones that we haven't specified--it's not the case that you can't have a
relationship with God. Good-looking
person that you are, it is not the case that your good looks mean that you can't
have a relationship with God. But
it does mean you can't trust in it in order to put you ahead of everybody else. And now why is this important to make this point at this particular
occasion? Well, some of us know
that there have been Christmas seasons where the real meaning of Christmas has
hit home in our hearts. We've known
it. We've felt it.
We've understood it. And we
know that there have been other Christmas seasons in the past where you get
through the entire thing and you missed it.
It never hit home. You never
really knew why you were going through all of the motions that you are. I'm asking us to consider that it's our standing in relationship to
all of the pluses in our life that can make the difference.
Either because you think, well, as a member of this church I'm simply
going to kind of float through the Christmas activities that this church makes
possible and I'm going to come tonight for the celebration of Christmas.
I'm going to get here early. I'm
going to sit in the back row. I'm
going to let it happen. And I just
know that because of all of the great things going on at this church, it's going
to dawn on me what Christmas is all about.
And that may not be true. You
may discover that you are not able to just sort of float through the Christmas
activities of the church and have the true meaning of Christmas dawn on you. It's more important to say for some of us with big church
responsibilities, we may be thinking, "OK, if I'm just active enough in all
of the church Christmas things that happen this time of year, I know that by
being really, really active that the true meaning of Christmas is going to hit
home." Well, no, not
necessarily. Not necessarily.
None of us--advantaged or disadvantaged--is prevented from moving through
this season in a way so that the closeness to God that we want, the
understanding of His love for us sent down at Christmastime that we want--none
of us is prevented by our status (not our disadvantages and not our advantages)
from experiencing those things unless--unless--the pluses blind us.
Unless the advantages loom so large in our understanding and beguile us,
tempt us, fool us, into thinking that because of them we get to be closer to
God. Because I'm so good-looking.
Because I'm so smart. Because
I'm so wealthy. Because I am so
Presbyterian. Whatever it would be
for you, don't let those "becauses" tempt you into trusting in them.
And if you are a person of advantage, then let me invite you every time
you think about the wise men coming to Jesus . . . remember:
Wise men and wise women can come to Jesus.
They just have to come from further off.
But the journey to Jesus, for the wise and for the unwise, makes it
all worth it. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we love you and we thank you and praise you,
Lord, that your Word is our light in darkness.
Lord, we thank you for the things that your Word shows us that are very
different from what the world would say. Lord,
we ask that those of us with many, many pluses in our lives might this season be
willing to press through, to make the effort, to extend ourselves, to come to
Jesus. And it's in His strong name
that we pray. Amen. The Rev. Dr. Will Eisenhower Interim Pastor Faith Presbyterian Church Minnetonka, Minnesota [Transcribed from an audiotape of the
worship service on December 15, 2002.] |
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