Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 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.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘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.’”7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 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. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
While preparing from delivering a message for today…I looked back in my word documents from previous sermons by MOI and the first one I came to was this exact passage roughly two years ago. Now I do not want to be considered a “Barrel Preacher” so I am starting over with hopefully a NEW take on this bible verse..
Side note here and maybe of interest - I learned of the term Barrel Preacher years and years ago while on worship committee. It loosely means taking a sermon you used PREVIOUSLY and using it again…not the case here.
So here we have Matthew 2 verses 1-12. My first thought on this passage was this… Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I think this might accurately express the feelings possibly of King Herod as he hears of the news of a child that has been born King of the Jews. I think some people in power or in certain relationships get upset or uptight when presented with change or the threat of change. Think back in your life, if you will, were you ever in a situation where a new boy or girl joins the neighborhood or is new to your school? Certainly, there might be some sort of curiosity about this new figure. But did you ever become jealous or apprehensive of this new person? Might this person “steal” your best friend, or worse, your girlfriend or boyfriend?
I remember this when Billy moved in down the block and the dynamics of the neighborhood changed. There was a ton of curiosity about BILLY. Was he athletic? Was he musically talented? Was he better looking? Was he going to be the new leader of my small army of friends? ALL IMPORTANT THINGS! Suddenly, my small posse would grow. Suddenly, I wasn’t the center of attention. Suddenly, the neighborhood was different; not better or worse, just different. I have to admit though, it wasn’t all bad. He did have a cute older sister... and well, that did not hurt.
So, what must Herod be thinking? Well, maybe he can be friends with this new… this new… BABY? (pause) He’s going to be friends with a baby? This… BABY… is going to be the new KING? This BABY is going to take MY PLACE? How can this be?
I’ll tell you what, If I’m Herod, I am not going down without a fight. You think I’m going to let some NO BODY come into the area and take MY SPOT? NO WAY! I am NOT losing my Kingdom. I am not going to let some new neighbor or person or BABY take away what I have spent years developing and sustaining and arguably killing my way to the top. So Herod sends his SPIES the wise men to find out as much as they can about this NEW KING. What happens? The Wisemen are transformed. They are overcome with JOY upon seeing Mary and Jesus and they bestow the mother and child with all their treasures.
Next week when Rev Jen is back… she will expand upon the story as it continues in Matthew and just how bad a character Herod is. These times we read just about in Matthew are times of NEW BEGINNINGS. In some people’s minds they are troubling times, they are dangerous times, they are uncertain times. Yet for others, these are glorious times, times of hope, times of optimism, times of change, times to celebrate.
Jesus has been born and there is trouble a-brewing and yet also a wonderous time of change, of hope, of faith. What we learn from the bible is ALL THESE FEELINGS, troubling, dangerous, uncertain, glorious, hope, optimism and change are about to be thrown upon the people of Jerusalem.
Fast forward to today, January 1st of 2023, it seems like there always is a Herod type person around. It seems like we still are living in troubling and uncertain times and YET glorious and optimistic times as well. I guess it is all in our perspective, our thoughts and our beliefs.
Last night, this past week, today…this is a time of introspective thought. This is a time where we can look back on the past year and or years and attempt to make changes, little corrections in the compass as to how we want and see our lives progressing. Some of us make resolutions, others, not so much. But, it’s a time where we can renew our faith journey with a clear vision of trying to be Christ centered. A time to truly commit to GOD, to yourself, your loved ones, your career or life’s work, and commit yourself to being the best Christian Person you can possibly be. Today is the one day, the first day of a NEW BEGINNING of your NEW WALK with GOD, and if you should fall off that path, the good news is…. You can start again….
May it be so… Amen