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Good Friday Sermon, Part 2

Posted: March 29, 2013 in Christ
Tags: Isaac Watts' When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, psalm 22, theology, two thieves

1. Before Crucifixion (the preliminaries before 9 a.m.) See Part One

2. The First Three Hours of the Crucifixion

Finally the 650 feet journey to Golgatha is complete (Matthew 27:33-34).

First, Christ is crucified. The prisoner was again stripped of his clothes except for a loincloth which is allowed the Jews. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought iron nail through the wrist (which was considered a part of the hand) deep into the wood. Quickly the other hand is nailed.

Then the left foot is pressed downward against the right foot, and both feet extended toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each leaving the knees bet slightly.

The cross is raised and dropped with a thud into the hole. The arms are jerked out of joint. Psalm 22:14 predicted this scene: “All my bones are out of joint.”

As Christ slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms. The nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the nerves. As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nails through His feet. Again, there is a searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of the feet.

At this point, another phenomenon occurs. As the arms fatigue the muscles cramp. With these cramps comes the inability to pull Himself upward. Hanging by His arms the chest muscles are paralyzed and the chest muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs but it cannot be exhaled.

Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to exhale and get one short breath. He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the air. It is undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences.

The first saying was “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Soon this prayer is answered. Two thieves were hung on either side by God’s providence. Both were able to hear, “Father forgive them.” Both were able to read the title above His head, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” Both could read what has been called the first gospel tract. Both could hear the mocking religionists say, “He saved others.” One of the thieves mocks again but the other asks for mercy.

Some unsaved people reason that they will live like the thief a life of sin and at their last opportunity receive Christ. But this was most likely not the thief’s last opportunity it was his first.

The second saying from the cross was “Today shall you be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The thief spent the morning in guilt and the afternoon in grace and that evening in glory.

3. The Last Three Hours of Crucifixion

From 9 am to 12 pm, Christ hung in the light. At noon, a supernatural darkness covered the earth. God turned off the lights. God was about to punish His Son for our sins, and God the Father did not punish His Son in public. For three hours Christ hung in darkness and silence.

The darkness broke and the silence ended with “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” For three hours Christ was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Next, Jesus cried, “I thirst” (John 19:28). The Water of Life was dying of thirst that we might not like the rich man in Hell thirst for eternity.

The sixth saying of Christ from the cross was “It is finished” (John 19:28). This statement was written across tax records and meant “paid in full.” After the dark had ascended and the weight of God’s judgment borne and all the work of atonement was met.

Jesus did not say, “I am Finished.” Hebrews 10:10-11 says that “every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.”

Finally, Jesus shouts with a loud voice, “Father into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus was able to say this with a loud voice because he was not a victim of the Jews or Rome but the predetermined Lamb of God. With this statement, He “yielded up the spirit” (Matthew 27:50).

In John 10:17, Jesus asserted, “I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to take it again.”

With the death of Jesus, three remarkable events take place:

1) The veil in the temple supernaturally rent in two (Matthew 27:51)

The writer of Hebrews interprets the importance and meaning of this tearing in 10:19-20, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.”

2) Graves opened and believers came back to life (Matthew 27:52). Immediately after Jesus death and resurrection, Matthew tells us, some believers were raised to life.

3) The Roman soldier admitted, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54) and “Certainly this was a righteous man” (Luke 23:47). This calloused solder who had witnessed and helped crucify thousands was moved by all the supernatural events and the humility of the Son of God. So should every sinner be moved as he/she reads of the death of Christ or hears a sermon on the cross.

One of my favorite hymns on the atoning death of Christ is When I survey the wondrous cross written by Isaac Watts as if he were standing at the foot of the cross:

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

^{^[1]} Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996), Mt 27:31.

^{^[2]} Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996), Mt 27:31.

Good Friday Sermon, Part 1

Posted: March 29, 2013 in Christ
Tags: Crucifixion, Mel Gibson, passion of christ, religion, roman citizen, scum of the earth, spirituality, theology, Wiersbe

The Gospels give us the historical fact of Christ’s crucifixion. The Epistles explain the theological signification of His death. Wiersbe explained it this way: “History states that ‘Christ died,’ but theology explains, ‘Christ died for our sins’ (1 Cor. 15:3).”

For example, in Philippians 2:8, Paul referred to the shame, reproach of crucifixion when he said that Christ “humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross.”

Crucifixion was the torturous execution of a person by fixation to a cross. Alexander the Great introduced Crucifixion to the Mediterranean world. Although first practiced by the Persians, crucifixion was perfected by the Romans as the most degrading form of execution. No Roman citizen could be crucified, only murderers, thieves, raptists and the scum of the earth.

Some think the electric chair is cruel, hanging torturous and the firing squad inhumane—these are mild by comparison to crucifixion. I want us to follow Christ through His crucifixion and see how much He loved us.

1. Before Crucifixion (the preliminaries before 9 a.m.)

First the scourging referred to in Matthew 27:26.

Roman law demanded scourging before crucifixion. The sufferer was stripped from the waist up and bound to a pole, bending forward so as to expose the back completely. The heavy whip contained bits of sheep bone or metal and tore the quivering flesh into one bloody mass.

The Law of Moses, Deuteronomy 25, provided that a scourging should not exceed 40 strips and Jewish custom made sure of this by stopping at “40 strips save 1.” But Roman scourgers or lectors were not restricted.

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ probably came the closest to actually depicting this horrible act. But even Gibson’s gory scene fell short of the terrible reality.

The blood began to ooze from the capillaries and veins and finally spurt when arteries broke. When completed the skin of the back was hanging in long ribbons. The half-fainting Jesus was untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement wet with His own blood.

Why did Jesus endure the scourging? Because He loves you.

Next came the mocking in Matthew 27:27-30.

In verse 28, the hardhearted soldiers remove the robe that by now has already adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds. This removal, just as the careless removal of a surgical bandage caused excruciating pain and opened the wounds once again.

Because Christ claimed to be king of the Jews, the soldiers pay mock homage to the king. Where they previously stripped him for scourging, they now replace his garments with a reddish purple soldier’s short cloak across His lacerated back. This was a mocking substitute for a king’s purple robe.

Instead of a scepter, they place a stick in His hands.

A small bundle of flexible branches covered with long thorns are braided into the shape of a crown and pressed into His scalp. Again copious bleeding begins, the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body.

With mocking homage they bow their knees and cry, “Hail, King of the Jews.” Instead of giving the kiss of homage they spit in His face.

The soldiers yank the stick out of His hands and strike Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His forehead.

Peter wrote of Jesus’ reaction in 1 Peter 2:18-24.

What was mock homage in Pilate’s judgment hall, will be mandatory homage at God’s Great White Throne Judgment according to Philippians 2:9-11.

Then came the Procession of Crosses to Golgatha in Matthew 27:31c-32

It was required that prisoners carry their own cross or at least the crossbeam which weighted about 110 pounds. A large crowd followed the procession of crosses according to Luke 23:27 and two thieves also were bearing their crosses as Luke 23:32 records.

At first, Jesus started bearing His cross (John 19:17) but soon was unable to carry it. He was emotionally drained by Friday morning. In the garden Thursday, He prayed until His sweat became as great drops of blood. Physicians in medical literature refer to the phenomenon as bloody sweat. Under great emotional stress tiny capillaries on the sweat glands burst thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possibly a stroke.

He was mentally spent. All nightlong Christ had endured six set up court trials and in every case He was on trial for His life.

He was physically exhausted. He had been up all night without food or drink and beaten mercilessly.

Mark 15:22 says, “And they bring Him to Golgotha” (literal translation). This suggests that the soldiers had to assist Jesus in the procession, for the word “bring” has the meaning of “to carry, to bear.”^{^[1]}

Because Christ was slowing down the progress of the procession, the soldiers draft Simon of Cyrene to take Christ’s cross. Simon, a North African was visiting to celebrate the Passover. As Simon was coming into to the city the procession was going out of the great northern gate. Simon was humiliated to carry the cross of an unknown criminal.

Mark referred to Simon as though the people reading his Gospel would recognize him: “the father of Alexander and Rufus” (Mark 15:21). Apparently these two sons were well-known members of the church. It seems likely that this humiliating experience resulted in Simon’s conversion as well as in the conversion of his family. Simon came to Jerusalem to sacrifice his Passover lamb, and he met the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for him.^{^[2]}

In our next post we will see the love of Christ for us as He endured six hours of crucifixion.

^{^[1]} Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996), Mt 27:31.

^{^[2]} Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996), Mt 27:31.

Three Kings of Christmas

Posted: December 25, 2012 in Christ
Tags: Apollo 13, Caesar Augustus, Christmas, Jim Lovell, Jonathan Edwards, Julius Caesar, Larry King, Tom Hanks

“Larry King, the former CNN talk show host, was once asked who he would most want to interview if he could choose anyone from all of history. He said, ‘Jesus Christ.’ The questioner said, ‘And what would you like to ask Him?’ King replied, “I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history for me’.” From Just Thinking, RZIM, Winter 1998. Cited by ChristianAnswers.net.

We already have the answer to that question in God’s Word and the virgin birth of Jesus did define history. Luke the historian documents this defining moment in Luke 2. Jesus is one of three kings in the history of the Biblical account of His birth.

There are three kings in the Christmas story that Luke the historian documents in order to persuade us to worship the King of kings.

First There is The King Who Exalted Himself

The first king mentioned is more like a footnote by Luke the historian in Luke 2:1. Luke is not treating what Caesar did as a footnote because it was insignificant in history but because of what God did was supremely more significant. This was Caesar Augustus. Gaius Octavius was born in 63 B.C. That’s who Caesar Augustus was before the name change. Gaius Octavius was the nephew of Roman dictator Julius Caesar. Caesar noticed his nephew’s military and ability in his Roman army and unknown to Gaius Octavius, Julius Caesar made him heir to his finanical and political fortunes upon Caesar’s death. When Caesar was assassinated 44 B.C. by his political rivals in the Roman senate, Gaius Octavius at age 19 became the new Roman ruler. In honor of Julius Caesar, Octavius took the name “Caesar” making his name Octavius Caesar.

Two years later, the Roman Senate deified Julius Caesar making Octavius “the Son of God.” So now he was Augustus or the Sacred One or Caesar Augustus who founded the Roman Empire. He also made himself the Roman Emperor and accepted the worship of his citizens as god.

Caesar Augustus was a very powerful man. When people worship you as a god, you can speak and your empire obeys. That is what Caesar Augustus did in Luke 2:1, 2. He ordered the subjects of the Roman Empire to register to pay their taxes by going back to the town of their ancestry. So in response millions of Roman citizens returned to their hometowns. Luke chronicled this world event in Luke 2:3: “All went to be taxed, every one into his own city.”

Caesar Augustus had no idea he was a pawn in the hand of God fulfilling a 700 year-old prophecy which predicted Jesus must be born in Bethlehem of Judea. That prophecy is recorded in Micah 5:2: “But you Bethlehem Ephraim, though you are little among the thousands of Judah (there were probably only 500-600 residents in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth), yet out of you shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler of Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting (or eternity).”

There are two supernatural elements to this prophecy.

1. The Messiah who is to be born in Bethlehem has to be eternal or God. He has to God and Man or the God/man.

2. The Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem when Mary his mother and Joseph his foster father lived in Nazareth.

Nazareth was several weeks journey away from Bethlehem and Mary was full term ready to give birth to the Savior and there is no preparation by Joseph and Mary to travel to Nazareth. Maybe they were unaware of the prophecy or maybe because Joseph’s carpentry business was only eking a livelihood for Joseph and they just could not afford to go. Rather than just slap this trip on a credit card, they decided to stay home. This dilemma leads us to the next King in the Christmas story.

The Next King is The King Who Rules the Universe

In the Christmas story started God is exercising His rulership. I am referring to God the Father the king of the universe. The psalmist praised God’s sovereignty in Psalm 103:19: “The Lord has prepared His throne in the heavens and His kingdom rules over all.” God rules over the kings on earth, which included the most powerful ruler on earth who was worshiped as a god, Caesar Augustus.

Why did The King of the universe cause the Emperor of the Roman Empire to decree all of his citizen to travel to the cities of their ancestors to enroll to pay taxes? Why did Caesar Augustus set the entire Roman empire in motion? Luke 2:4 records the answer. So “Joseph” would have to go back to Bethlehem because he and Mary were of the linage of David. God caused Caesar Augustus to put millions on the road so God could fulfill His 700 year old prophecy and get Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem.

In Luke 2:3, God is infinitely above us ruling and overruling the affairs of kings and nations. In Luke 2:4, God is intimately involved in our personal lives.

Proverbs 21:1 describes what God did: “The king’s heart in the hand of the Lord’s, as the rivers of water: He turns it whosesoever He wills.” Do you have someone you are burdened for and it seems he or she is as hard as a Caesar Augustus? Are they beyond the power of God?

Listen to Paul’s statement Philippians 2:13 that is similar to Proverbs 21:1 but is not limited to kings: “For it is God who works in you bot to will and to do of His good pleasure.”

There is a great scene in the 1995 docudrama film“ Apollo 13″ based on the actual attempt flight to land on the moon. Astronaut Jim Lovell is sitting in his back yard staring at the moon. Jim Lovell was soon to pilot the famed Apollo 13 spaceship all the way to a lunar landing. As he sat in his suburban backyard, however, Lovell was thousands of miles away from his destination. While staring at the moon, Lovell closed one eye and extended his hand in front of him. The captain then extended his thumb up into the air. The camera switched to Lovell’s perspective and showed us the captain’s ability to make the moon disappear behind his thumb.

Mark Robison said there are two possible explanations for Lovell’s disappearing moon trick:

1. The disappearance of the moon was an optical allusion created by the close proximity of the finger to the eyeball. In other words, it was a matter of perspective.

2. Tom Hanks has an extremely large thumb! In other words, his thumb is bigger than the moon.

Which is the correct answer?

Do you have a problem this Christmas that you have allowed to look bigger than the Creator and Ruler of the universe because that problem has consumed your thoughts and vision?

The same God who moved an entire Empire to help one poor couple can also move in your life or someone else’s life to accomplish His will.

The Third King is The King Who Humble Himself in the Biblical account of the first Christmas is Christ, the King of Israel.

While Caesar Augustus ruled from his throne in Rome, Jesus lay in a feeding trough for animals. While Caesar Augustus exalts himself, he will eventually be abased by God. Apparently, Caesar’s wife was not convinced Caesar Augustus was a god, for she poisoned him to death, at least that is one theory.

What is true is what Jesus would later say, “Whoso exalts himself shall be abased. He that humbles himself shall be exalted.”

The birth of Jesus is one to the greatest examples of the humility of one abasing himself. When God the Son came to earth to become incarnate man, he did not go to the philosophers at Athens, political leaders at Rome, or even the religionists at Jerusalem. He came to the small village of Bethlehem. Bethlehem did not even have a stoplight or Wal-Mart.

Jesus, the Son of God, was not born and laid between satin sheets in Emperor’s palace or the Herod’s temple or a wealthy landowner’s mansion, he was born in an animal’s stall with the smell of manure.

But the greatest humiliation of God the Son was for Him to become not just man but a servant of man according to Philippians 2:5-11 in order to go the cross and die for our sins.

Jesus Himself said, “The Son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give Himself a ransom for many.”

When He was born in Bethlehem, the angels announced His birth not to Caesar Augustus, Herod, or the High Priest of Israel, but to lowly shepherds, who were the lowest in society. Only lepers were lower than shepherds.

Shepherds were not allowed to worship in the temple because they were unclean (literally and ceremonially). Literally, they may not have bathed in weeks. Ceremonially, they handled dead animals. Ironically, shepherds are the first to worship Christ. Prejudiced, religionists rejected shepherds but God did not.

Later the Shepherds will be the first witnesses of Christ. The shepherds, however, were not allowed to witness in a court of law in Israel. But God chose shepherds to be His first evangelists.

Jonathan Edwards was one of America’s premiere preachers, pastors, and theologians. Yale University houses 26 large volumes of his many books and sermons. He would spend 15-16 hours a day in his study counseling, studying and writing. He led the First Great Awakening. He preached one of the most powerful sermons of all times, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” That sermon is a literary masterpiece. It used to be required reading in American literature textbooks. He read his famous sermon to his Northampton congregation. He read it so if there were any results, God would get the glory and credit and not him because of the way he dramatically delivered the sermon without notes. Edwards also wrote a book about why the unsaved should not partake in the Lord’s Supper. And for that reason, he was voted out of his church by a vote of 200 to 23. A good reminder that the majority is not always right.

After he was voted out the church, the church asked him to stay and help until they could call another pastor. He humbly became their interim. When he eventually left a friend asked him how he was dealing with this rejection. His reply will help you if you are hurting because of the cruelty of people, even God’s people. He replied: “My happiness in God is beyond the reach of my enemies.” God had not rejected Jonathan Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards humbled himself like Christ and God has since greatly exalted him.

1. We can exalt ourselves like Caesar Augustus but God resists the proud.

2. We can trust the King of the Universe with our lives and circumstances. If He can manage the machinery of the entire universe, rest assured He can run your life.

3. We can follow the example of Christ who humbled Himself and God exalted Him to the right hand of His eternal throne. From there He receives all who to Him in faith.

Jesus Humble Himself at Christmas

Posted: December 21, 2012 in Christ
Tags: Bach, Christmas, General Motors, Handel, Mozart, William Durant

He was known as a brilliant young boy; a child prodigy; the crown jewel of Vienna. By the time he was five years of age, he had written an advanced concerto for the harpsichord. Before he turned ten, he had composed and published several violin sonatas and was playing, from memory, the best works of Bach and Handel. After his twelfth birthday, he composed and conducted his own opera and was awarded an honorary appointment as concert master with the Salzburg Symphony Orchestra.

He died when he was only thirty-five years of age. Before his brief life ended, he had written cantatas, operettas, hymns, oratorios, forty eight symphonies, and over a dozen operas. He wrote around six hundred works in all.

His name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Amadeus Theophilus Mozart. With a long name like that, he had to be destined for greatness! He would certainly be made fun of on the playground!

The tragedy is that Mozart fell from his beginnings as a child prodigy to an impoverished, obscure young man. His fall from greatness was so swift and so devastating, that, by the time he died, he had virtually no true friends. He was living in poverty, having wasted his money, and was, for the most part, forgotten. Even his widow was indifferent to his burial and only a few people came to the church for his funeral. Then, because of a sudden storm, they never went to the gravesite. By the time anyone bothered to inquire, the location of his grave was impossible to identify. The unmarked grave of Mozart, who was perhaps the most gifted composer of all time, was lost forever.

What a tragedy to lose such influence, prestige, and wealth; to literally go from riches to rags in a matter of years. What an incredible descent it was.

Stories abound, throughout history, of the rise and fall of individual fortunes and influence. A more recent example would be the brilliant businessman William Durant, who single-handedly created General Motors. It is said that more than fifty men became millionaires by joining his team. Unfortunately, however, through a series of poor decisions, Durant eventually lost much of his fortune and then, control of the company. In spite of all his valiant efforts, he eventually lost his bid for power and went bankrupt. The last job he had, before he died just over sixty years ago, was managing a bowling alley in Flint, Michigan. At the time, he was too poor to own one of the several million cars that had been made by a company that he had built. What an incredible reversal of fortune.

Ladies and gentlemen, all of the stories that history could divulge pale in significance when you consider the story of God the Son. He gave away the splendor of heaven and the adoration of His creation, in order to come down to planet Earth and live like man (Stephen Davey in Wisdom for the Heart) in a sermon entitled The Lamb Keepers.

Born To Die

Posted: December 20, 2012 in Christ
Tags: Birth of Christ, Christmas, Death of Christ, John MacArthur's God With Us, motherhood

“Here’s a side to the Christmas story that isn’t often told: those soft little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, were made so that nails might be driven through them. Those baby feet, pink and unable to walk, would one day walk up a dusty hill to be nailed to a cross. That sweet infant’s head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth was formed so that someday men might force a crown of thorns onto it. That tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one day be ripped open by a spear. Jesus was born to die” (John MacArthur, God With Us: The Miracle of Christmas. Panorama City: The Master’s Communication, 1989, p. 116).

The Call to Worship at Christmas

Posted: December 17, 2012 in Christ
Tags: A. W. Tozer, Church, James Montgomery Boice, John MacArthur, religion

In 1977, the Chicago Tribune reported the story of Maria Rubio of Lake Arthur, New Mexico who was frying tortillas when she noticed that the skillet burns on one of her tortillas resembled the face of Jesus. Excited, she showed it to her husband and neighbors, and they all agreed that there was a face etched on the tortilla and that it truly bore a resemblance to Jesus.

So the woman went to her priest to have the tortilla blessed. She testified that the tortilla had changed her life, and her husband agreed that she had been a more peaceful, happy, submissive wife since the tortilla had arrived. The priest, not accustomed to blessing tortillas, was somewhat reluctant but agreed to do it.

The woman took the tortilla home, put it in a glass case with piles of cotton to make it look like it was floating on clouds and built a special altar for it. Mr. Rubio built a utility like shack in the backyard and opened the little shrine to visitors. Within a few months, more than eight thousand people came to the shrine of the Jesus of the Tortilla, and all of them agreed that the face in the burn marks on the tortilla was the face of Jesus (except for one reporter who said he thought it looked like former heavyweight boxing champion Leon Spinks.)

Within two years, more than 35,000 people visited the shrine. For 28 years, pilgrims kept coming to see the Holy Tortilla. Over time, the burn marks faded and the image was hard to make out, but people still wanted to worship at the shrine (John MacArthur. The Ultimate Priority, page one).

What Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4:22, would apply to Maria Rubio: “You worship you know not what.”

Jesus also told her and us that God “the Father seeks worshippers” (John 4:23). Ever since creation, when the angels sang and shouted God’s praise for His creation, God has sought worship.

Maria Rubio is not alone in distorting the worship of God. A. W. Tozer called “worship, the missing jewel of the church.” A. W. Tozer in The Best of A. W. Tozer, as quoted in Making New Discoveries (Anaheim, Calif.: Insight for Living, 1996), 29.

What is true worship?

Is true worship a feeling when we go to church? Do I worship when my needs are meet at a church service? Is worship self-centered? What is true worship?

The Wise Men in Matthew 2 show us what true worship is. From the Wise Men we learn

1. We Must Know Who God is To Worship (2:1-6)

In Matthew 2:2, the wise men ask “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” They did not ask, “Where is he born who will be the King?” The wise men knew that Christ was now the King of the Jews. They had to be students of God’s Word to know about the sovereignty of God. This knowledge was probably passed down to them from Daniel the prophet while he was in Babylon as a wise man himself.

Christ is the King or the Ruler of the universe, the church, and our lives. Herod was a king among kings, but Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords.

True worship involves learning about God from His Word. Only students of God’s Word can be worshippers of the Lord.

2. We Must Be Committed to Worship (2:7-12)

The wise men said, “We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.” In order to worship the Lord, the wise men expended great energy and financial resources.

Worship is giving to God according to Psalm 29:1-2:

Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,

Give unto the Lord glory and strength.

Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

1) The wise men invested money to worship

They travelled with a caravan of flocks and soldiers in order to worship the King in a distant land.

What we give to we worship. What we worship we give to. Jesus said, “Where your heart there will your money be” (Matthew 6:19-20). Look at your budget or check book or credit or debit card receipts. After the necessities of life: food, shelter, clothing, and transportation, what do we spend our money on? Recreation? Material possessions? God’s work?

2) The wise men gave time to worship

They traveled over a year to find and worship Christ the King. Herod in 2:7, asked the wise men what time they saw the star. Herod wanted to know how old his rival king was so that he could eliminate him as he attempted to do in 2:16.

A 20 year-old masked gunman dressed in black massacred 12 girls and 8 boys and six women at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. on Friday. There had been only one homicide in ten years in this small community about 60 miles northeast of New York City. This is tragic and unthinkable for the parents of these twenty kids and the families of the six adults. People are asking, “How does this happen?” “How does this happen at Christmas?” “How does someone execute a six year old?”

The first Christmas massacre was when the wise men sought to find the King of the Jews and wicked king Herod sought to exterminate his rival by having all boys under the age of two murdered in Bethlehem. Bethlehem was located five miles south of Jerusalem and had a population of only 500 to 600 people. Probably about the same number of children were murdered by king Herod as were at Newtown, Conn.

“Evil visited this community today,” Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy said of Friday’s massacre. We have to remember that not only is Jesus the reason for the season, but sin is also the reason for the season. That is the reason Jesus was born and God was incarnate so He could go to the cross and die for our sins.

Who worships the Lord?

Not Herod. Herod invested no time or money in worshiping Christ. Not the religious teachers. These had knowledge but were unwilling to give time and money even to travel only 5 miles. They had knowledge and religious activities but were unconverted. The reason some do not worship the Lord is because they have not been converted by Him. It is possible to go to a house of worship and not worship.

The Ethiopian eunuch did not worship because he was unconverted according to Luke’s account in Acts 8:26-39.

3) Giving Money and Time have to be a lifestyle of worship

Worship must be a personal lifestyle during the week before it is a corporate act on Sunday.

MacArthur observed, “The source of most of the problems people have in their Christian lives relates to two things. Either they are not worshipping six days a week with life. Or they are not worshipping one day a week with the assembly of the saints. We need both.

A pastor went to see a man who didn’t attend church very faithfully. The man was sitting before a fireplace, watching the warm glow of the coals. It was a cold winter day but the coals were red hot, and the fire was warm. The pastor pleaded with the man to be more faithful in meeting with the people of God, but the man didn’t seem to be getting the message. So the pastor took the tongs beside the fireplace, pulled open the screen, and reached in and began to separate all the coals. When none of the coals was touching the others, he stood and watched in silence. In a matter of moments, they were all cold. “That’s what’s happening in your life,” he told the man. “As soon as you isolate yourself from God’s people, the fire goes out.” The man got the message (MacArthur. The Ultimate Priority, page 106).

How do we worship six days a week?

The wise men sought to worship Christ over a year before they actually bowed before Him and gave Him gifts.

There are two key words for worship in the N.T

1. Worship as in Matthew 2

2. Serve as in Matthew 4:10

a. Serving people as in Romans 14:18. How do we treat people during the week? If we are rude, stuck up, and unkind to people during the week, we are not going to worship on Sundays.

b. In Hebrews 13:15-16, our worship to God is closely related to how we treat people.

When we have worshipped during the week, by giving God our time and service and treating people properly, we can worship on Sunday.

Personal worship during the week feeds our corporate worship service. The more we worship six days a week, the more we will worship on Sunday. If we are not getting anything out of the worship on Sunday, then ask yourself, “Am I putting anything into my personal worship during the week?”

The wise men finally worship in Matthew 2:9-11. The star they had been following for months was the manifestation of God’s presence instead of a literal star. This presence of God directed them to the exact house Jesus was living in, something a literal star could not do. For over a year, the wise men had been in the presence of God. This was the same brilliant shining that led Israel by day and by night or the Shekinah glory of God. No wonder they worshipped when they finally saw Christ.

We believers today have something even greater than the wise men to prepare us for worship according to Peter’s testimony in 2 Peter 1:16-21. Here is how James Montgomery Boice explains our advantage:

Our experience parallels that of the wise men and shepherds at this point, but is actually superior to theirs. The shepherds received a vision of the glory of God, accompanied by angels. The wise men saw a star. But we have received the Scriptures, which are the very Word of God and are described to us as a “light shining in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19). The context of that reference is interesting. It comes from the second letter of Peter and follows a section in which Peter has cited the fact that he was an eyewitness of the heavenly glory of Jesus Christ. He was one of those who was with Jesus on the mountain when He was transformed and a voice from God was heard, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (2 Peter 1:17). That experience of Peter (and James and John, who were with him) would compare quite favorably with the experience of the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem or that of the magi as they studied the heavens. Yet immediately after that Peter speaks of the Scripture as being even ‘more certain” and concludes: “You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (v. 19). In spite of his experience, Peter valued the written Word of God above everything (The Christ of Christmas, Moody Press: Chicago, page 78).

The light of God’s Word is greater than the star that directed the wise men or the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites by day and by night.

God’s Word is a light unto my feet and a lamp unto my feet. If we spend time in God’s Word, it will lead us to worship the Lord.