(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to
each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted.)
Of the many lessons children need to learn, one of the most important is expressing gratitude for what others do.
Part of the infancy narratives of Jesus is the brief account of a visit by distant travelers. It is an unusual event that raises the question: What interest would a group of affluent gentiles have in a Jewish family of modest means?
When God wanted to communicate with man, He used a variety of ways.1 The most common methods were verbal, as when He spoke to His people through an angel or a prophet. Other methods of revelation, even less common, were nonverbal (and, thus, less specific), as when God revealed His will...
* LV. The Foremost Constellation2
...offered...
In the 17th century, the so-called "Age of Reason," the study of stars and planets (which had been unified until then) divided, yielding two distinct fields with different views about how these celestial bodes relate to man:
While God's people may also take an interest in astronomy, they must have no involvement with astrology, which includes fortune telling (divination) and promotes veneration of celestial bodies, both of which God condemns.8 As Moses warns the Israelites about to enter Canaan...
The Magi belonged to a special cast of stargazers.9 Matthew says they were "from the east" (v. 1), by which he may mean from Babylon (Iraq) or Persia (Iran), a journey of several hundred (600) miles.10 He also says they followed the child's star, which they first saw "in the east" (v. 2), whence they came. Because a star does not normally travel across the sky rapidly enough to provide guidance and then visibly stop, this must have been a supernatural phenomenon. There is no other account of such an omen in scripture.11
What did the Magi see that initially caught their attention? ...Whatever they saw, because they were paying attention, they noticed something others did not, including those who were supposedly 'in the know.' As Matthew, writing to fellow Jews, recounts the event, he explains to his readers what these gentile visitors recognized and what the religious leaders either missed or simply ignored. He says...
After Christmas, the children were not always faithful in discharging their thank-you note responsibilities. As a result their grandmother rarely received acknowledgment of the generous checks she gave them. One year, however, things were different. "The children came over in person to thank me," she told a friend triumphantly. "How wonderful!" her friend exclaimed. "What do you think caused the change in behavior?" "Oh, that's easy," the grandmother replied. "This year I didn't sign the checks."Of the many lessons children need to learn, one of the most important is expressing gratitude for what others do. Thankfully, when God gave His son to pay for our sin, He did not wait to sign the check. He even provided another kind of sign.
Part of the infancy narratives of Jesus is the brief account of a visit by distant travelers. It is an unusual event that raises the question: What interest would a group of affluent gentiles have in a Jewish family of modest means?
When God wanted to communicate with man, He used a variety of ways.1 The most common methods were verbal, as when He spoke to His people through an angel or a prophet. Other methods of revelation, even less common, were nonverbal (and, thus, less specific), as when God revealed His will...
- To priests through the Urim
- To people through casting lots
Ps 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4a Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.At one point in history, the same medium provided revelation to a particular group of people, when...
* LV. The Foremost Constellation2
...offered...
- The pointing of God (Matt 2:1-2)
Matt 2:1b Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to [acknowledge] him."3After the fall in the Garden of Eden, men strayed farther and farther from God until Noah's family alone remained loyal to Him. After the flood, it was primarily Abraham's family that remained loyal to God...but not exclusively so. Noah's faith did live on in others of his descendants, and the Bible mentions several of them:
- Job, from Uz in northwest Arabia, was a "blameless and upright [man who] feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1), whose family and friends knew God as well.
- Melchizedek was "priest of God Most High" (Gen 14:18) who ministered to like-minded gentiles in and around Salem.
- Balaam was a prophet of God from "Pethor, near the [Euphrates] River" (Num 22:5).
- The widow in "Zerephath of Sidon," north of Canaan (1 Kgs 17:9) obeyed God's command to support the prophet Elijah.
In the 17th century, the so-called "Age of Reason," the study of stars and planets (which had been unified until then) divided, yielding two distinct fields with different views about how these celestial bodes relate to man:
- Astronomy asserts that celestial bodies are independent of man's behavior.
- The movement of stars and planets is distinct from (unrelated to) and has no bearing on what man does.
- Astrology asserts that celestial bodies are influential over man's behavior.
This leaves the biblical view:
- The movement of stars and planets is a determinant (to some extent) of what man does.
- Astrotheology7 asserts that celestial bodies are indicative of God's behavior. They reveal something about the creator, the one we serve.
This is the repeated testimony of scripture, that stellar creation marks something about God...
- The movement of stars and planets is demonstrative (in some way) of what God does.
- It marks the person of God, His attributes. For example, the psalmists said...
Ps 19:1a The heavens declare the glory of God....
Ps 50:6a And the heavens proclaim his righteousness....
From stellar creation, we can learn about the person (character) of God.
- It marks the program of God, His actions. For example, the savior said...
Matt 24:29 "Immediately after the [Great Tribulation]" 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
From stellar creation, we can learn about the program (conduct) of God.These are two benefits of paying attention to what God has placed in the heavens.
While God's people may also take an interest in astronomy, they must have no involvement with astrology, which includes fortune telling (divination) and promotes veneration of celestial bodies, both of which God condemns.8 As Moses warns the Israelites about to enter Canaan...
Deut 4:19 ...when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them....Astrology is not something God's people should consult, even if they only find it entertaining.
The Magi belonged to a special cast of stargazers.9 Matthew says they were "from the east" (v. 1), by which he may mean from Babylon (Iraq) or Persia (Iran), a journey of several hundred (600) miles.10 He also says they followed the child's star, which they first saw "in the east" (v. 2), whence they came. Because a star does not normally travel across the sky rapidly enough to provide guidance and then visibly stop, this must have been a supernatural phenomenon. There is no other account of such an omen in scripture.11
What did the Magi see that initially caught their attention? ...Whatever they saw, because they were paying attention, they noticed something others did not, including those who were supposedly 'in the know.' As Matthew, writing to fellow Jews, recounts the event, he explains to his readers what these gentile visitors recognized and what the religious leaders either missed or simply ignored. He says...
1. Your savior's sign revealed the time of his advent. and...
2. Your savior's sign revealed the place of his advent.When the Magi told Herod the reason for their visit, he consulted with some rabbis, wanting to know if there was any credence to the visitors' story.12 He does not ask the rabbis when the messiah would come. The presence of the Magi in his court indicates that the time must be near. Besides, the Old Testament does not specify a date, saying only that the messiah would come.13 Herod asks the rabbis where the messiah would come, information the biblical record does provide.
Matt 2:5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."In fairness to the rabbis, Herod does not tell them why he wants the information. Visitors are common in the capital city and would probably not have stirred the rabbis' curiosity. Moreover, there is no evidence that they or anyone else is aware of the star's presence or its significance. At this point, while Herod knows about the child, only the Magi have a genuine interest in him, which is why...
Matt 2:9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.The gospels record two unusual public announcements of Jesus' birth. In neither case, however, is the audience what we might expect for such an historically critical event.
- In Luke (2), God does not direct the information to the religious and political elite,14 the Sanhedrin. Instead, an angel provides an uncommon proclamation to common shepherds.
- In Matthew (2), God does not direct the information to His chosen people, the nation of Israel. Instead, a star provides an uncommon revelation to common gentiles.
- They were visiting a place not their own, the land of Canaan.
- They were among a people not their own, the nation of Israel.
- They were following a prophecy not their own, about the king of the Jews.
When you consider the enormity of what running the universe entails, you realize that very little of what God does actually pertains to you.15 That is why David asks...16
Sometimes, perhaps often, Christians have a small-minded approach to Bible study, treating it like a multi-vitamin. After all, Paul said...
Although Jesus' first advent is past, his second advent is future, and just as there was a celestial sign heralding the first event, so there will be a celestial sign heralding the second event. God's people knew the messiah would come the first time, but no one knew when, until the first sign appeared. Likewise, God's people know the messiah will come again, but no one will know when until the second sign appears. In Matt 24, Jesus said that the specific time of his return is privately held information, known only by God.
Until that sign appears, what should you be doing? ...Jesus' command, also in Matt 24, is both clear and concise:18
When God has chosen to communicate to man, as He has on numerous occasions...
Having considered The Foremost Constellation, we will look next at The Foremost Confiscation, which is part of the penalty of God, in Matt 13:12.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
Ps 8:4a what is man that you are mindful of him...?Nevertheless, if God is interested in you—and He is—then you should certainly be interested in Him, because the greater is your acquaintance with God, the greater will be your appreciation of God.
Sometimes, perhaps often, Christians have a small-minded approach to Bible study, treating it like a multi-vitamin. After all, Paul said...
2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture...is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,These are all various ways of applying scripture, and some people act as if the primary reason to study the Bible is to find application, something relevant to daily life.... It is not. The primary reason to study the word of God is to know the author, the person of God. Application, while important, is secondary. The main reason the wise men studied stellar creation was to know God, His purpose and His plan, and that should be your main reason as well.17 Applying scripture is relevant only for the present life; knowing God is relevant "for both the present life and the life to come" (1 Tim 4:8c).
Although Jesus' first advent is past, his second advent is future, and just as there was a celestial sign heralding the first event, so there will be a celestial sign heralding the second event. God's people knew the messiah would come the first time, but no one knew when, until the first sign appeared. Likewise, God's people know the messiah will come again, but no one will know when until the second sign appears. In Matt 24, Jesus said that the specific time of his return is privately held information, known only by God.
Matt 24:36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.In the same chapter, though, Jesus said the general time of his return is publicly accessible information, available to all.
Matt 24:15 ...when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel... 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.... 29 Immediately after the distress of those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 30 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.Just as a sign attended Jesus first advent, so a sign will attend his second advent. It is only a sign, though, for those who are paying attention.
Until that sign appears, what should you be doing? ...Jesus' command, also in Matt 24, is both clear and concise:18
Matt 24:42 ...keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.Because the Magi paid attention to the sign God provided, they were able to meet the sovereign God provided. Are you paying attention to the sign of Jesus' return so you will be ready to meet him? ...Are you keeping watch?
When God has chosen to communicate to man, as He has on numerous occasions...
- His primary audience has been to the people of Israel...but not exclusively so, and...
- One primary avenue has been through the prophets of Israel...but not exclusively so.
Having considered The Foremost Constellation, we will look next at The Foremost Confiscation, which is part of the penalty of God, in Matt 13:12.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted)
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Jim Skaggs