I’m not sure-but I believe the film that FIRST put Steven Spielberg on the map, so to speak, was: Close Encounters of the Third Kind.I saw it at it’s debut a couple decades ago with several of my college buddies and I remember that we were very impressed with it’s special effects for they were of a caliber that we had never seen in a movie before. You may recall that the plot of the film was built around the arrival of space ships from a distant planet somewhere in our galaxy. When these UFO’s first showed up, somewhere out in the Midwest, there were power outages all over and Richard Dryfuss, who played the role of a utility company worker was called in to help trace the source of the problem. Well, almost as soon as he arrived at the office his superiors sent him back out on the road to discover exactly where the power drain was originating.
Do you remember that scene where he was driving around in the dark on back roads in his utility truck and he got lost-so he stopped at a railroad crossing and unfolded his map to try and figure out where he was? When he did, headlights pulled up behind him and he waved the car around but instead of going around, the lights went OVER his utility truck…for it was not a car after all-but one of those UFO’s. Well, as the ship hovered overhead his radio went haywire. The truck started shaking, anything metallic flew all over the place, the cab was filled with bright light but then suddenly it all stopped and when Dryfuss looked out the window he saw the space ship covered with lights and as it flew off, he followed it to a hill where others had gathered to watch as several of these amazing ships flew all over the place.
Well from then on he was obsessed with what he had seen and for some reason he couldn’t get one thing out of his mind: an odd shape…sort of a mountain, shaped like a volcano. He sculpted the shape in his pillow, then in his mashed potatoes, and finally he built a huge, near life-sized replica in his living room. At this point his obsessive behavior understandably became too much for his wife to take so she took their children and left. But even that couldn’t shock him out of his fixation with this mountain and he kept building. He finally discovered that what he had been sculpting was an actual mountain in Wyoming known as Devil’s Tower. And when he made this discovery his fixation gave way to an irresistible URGE to get to this mountain, so he set off-and he was not alone. Dozens of people who had seen the alien ships that night had the same urge. Well, it turned out that thisurgewas actually a subliminal summons somehow broadcast by the aliens-an INVITATION to meet them at this location-this mountain-in Wyoming.
Dryfuss and some of these people ignored government barricades and headed off cross country in an attempt to get to Devil’s Tower but only Dryfuss actually made it and when he did it was amazing. He saw the huge mother ship-bigger than many cities, covered with pulsating lights and lasers and what’s more, he actually met the aliens who piloted it-the same ones who had issued his invitation to come in the first place.
Now, I dredge up this movie memory today because there is a sense in which 2000 years ago something like the plot in Spielberg’s fictitious film actually happened. For, twenty centuries ago several people-actually two sets of men-each received a special invitation from beyond heralding the visit to earth of a Being Who was beyond time and space. And the invitation these two groups received led to a FAR more significant ENCOUNTER than did that of Dryfuss’ character. You see, their invitation was not merely from some alien people of another planet. No, theirs came from the very God of the universe Himself, the One Being Who MADE all the stars and planets, Who, according to Psalm 147:4, determined the number of stars and calls them each by name.
The men I am referring to are of course the shepherds and wise men-or magi-and God’s invitation was for them to be present at the birth of Jesus, His only Son. Now, as you know, the MAGI’S summons came in the form not of some inner urge but of an amazing bright light, a star, in the East and when they saw it, they were wise enough to know they needed to travel a great distance to be present at what most certainly would be a very significant event. We don’t know for certain what this star was. It could have been a comet or a special configuration of overlapping planets arranged by God to lead them to make this journey. But, I think the best explanation was that this special light was God’s Shekinah glory for it not only led them to travel in a westerly direction but to the very house where Christ was living as a toddler with Mary and Joseph…and stars aren’t usually that SPECIFIC in their shining!
And then of course the SHEPHERD’S invitation was even more spectacular than that of their eastern counterparts, for remember? As Luke says, …the glory of the Lord shone AROUND themand an angel spoke to them and told them of the Savior Who had been born in nearby Bethlehem.That wondrous announcement was then expanded by the addition of a great company of angels who praised God, saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!So, unlike the wise men, the shepherd’s invitation was both visual AND verbal.
Well, Scripture tells us that both of these groups of men ACCEPTED God’s invitation-they responded to His special summons-and traveled to attend Jesus’ birth. And this morning I would like us to focus our third pre-Christmas sermon study on these men-these particular participants in the first Christmas so we can see what they can teach us about this amazing visit from the Son of God for we too have received an invitation from God to hear and respond to the good news that Jesus’ birth heralded. We don’t have stars or angels to guide us to Jesus but we do have the Bible and II Peter 1:19 describes it as …a LIGHT shining in a dark place.Peter also says that we would be wise to pay attention to this written invitation into God’s presence. We must in fact use it as our guide as we journey through all of life until as verse 19 says, …the day dawns and Jesus-the Morning Star-rises in our hearts.
So, take your copies of this written guide that God has provided and let’s read together the accounts of the roles that the shepherds and wise men played in that first Christmas. Their story is found in Luke 2:8-16,20 and Matthew 2:1-9 . We’ll start with Luke’s account.
Luke 2:8-16
8 – And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 – An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 – But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 – Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.
12 – This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
13 – Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 – Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.
15 – When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.
16 – So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, Who was lying in the manger.
Luke 2:20
20 – The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Matthew 2:1-9
1 – After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, 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 worship Him.
3 – When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 – When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
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.’
7 – Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
8 – He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and make a careful search for the Child. As soon as you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.
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.
10 – When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 – On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him.Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
Okay, what can we learn from these who first heard and accepted God’s invitation to meet His Son? Well I think our first lesson can be found when we realize that these two groups of men were very different. In fact they could not have been much MORE different.
First of all, they were from a different SOCIAL STRATA…The Shepherds were not only dirty and smelled like sheep; due to the constant demands of their flocks they couldn’t observe all the meticulous hand-washing and rules and regulations required by the Jewish religion. And, to make matters worse, their flocks kept them away from the temple for weeks at a time so that they could not be made clean in the eyes of Jewish law. For these and other reasons shepherds were despised and mistrusted by their people. They were thought to be crafty and dishonest, and people ascribed to them an uncanny ability to make off with things that did not belong to them. Their reputation was so bad that they were not even allowed to bear testimony in a court of law. It was assumed that such people would lie. In most people’s minds, shepherds were like gypsies, vagrants, and con men all rolled into one. They were looked down on as being part of the lowest class of the lowest class of their culture.THE WISE MEN, on the other hand were obviously at the other end of the social spectrum. They were men of influence — definitely UPPER, UPPER class. We see this evidenced in the fact that when they came to Jerusalem looking for the One Who had been born King of the Jews, they had no trouble gaining admission to Herod’s palace or even obtaining an instant audience with the king himself. The shepherds would not even have been allowed in the outer courtyard.
And of course the financial status of these two groups of men was no where near the same.The shepherds were among the poorest of the poor while the wise men were among the richest of the rich. The shepherds in fact had no possessions to speak of. They had their work and that WAS better than being beggars. But so far as work was concerned, nothing paid less. A manual laborer-like JOSEPH-did better than those who were entrusted with sheep. So, when the shepherds came to the manger where Jesus lay, they didn’t bring gifts for they had none to offer.On the other hand, the wise men were obviously men of substance. They had money enough to take a long journey from the East, as well as the leisure to do so. And, when they arrived, they presented the newborn King with VERY expensive gifts: gold, incense, and myrrh.
And then…education was another point of wide contrast between these two groups of men.Shepherds were not even educated enough to read the Jewish Scriptures for they had no formal schooling whatsoever. By contrast, the magi were famed for their knowledge, which is why even today most people refer to them as the WISE men. They probably came from what is modern day Iran and were noted for their knowledge of religious documents, healing arts, and astronomy. They were the professors of the day….the scholars of their time. Their teachings became known as the law of the Medes and the Persiansand both Magi and their laws are referred to in the Old Testament books of Esther and Daniel (Esther 1:19, Daniel 6:8 ). These laws of the magi were seen in Persia as the highest unalterable legal code. Our word Magistrate comes from the word magi. So these guys were learned men: scientists, mathematicians, philosophers, doctors as well as the legal authorities of their culture. They had no doubt studied the Hebrew scriptures and read the prophecies regarding the coming Messiah. I’m sure they were familiar with passages like Numbers 24:17 which says, ..a star shall come froth from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel.They may have even known that their coming fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah 60:3 which referred to the Messiah and said, Nations will come to your light and KINGS to the brightness of Your dawn.Because of their great learning, when the Messiah’s star appeared, they were the ones in their land who saw it and understood it’s meaning.
And then one final difference between these magi and shepherds is seen…in the distance they traveled to accept this invitation from God.Luke says the Shepherds were very close…close enough to get there not long after Jesus’ was born. He may have been only a few hours old when they arrived at the manger where He lay. We don’t know how far the wise men had to travel but we can infer that it could have been as far as a two year journey because when Herod inquired of them exactly when the star had appeared he responded to their news by ordering all male children in Bethlehem age 2 or younger to be killed.
In any case, the wise men had been on their journey for many long months. Verse 11 says that by the time they arrived Mary and Joseph had moved out of the stable and were living in a house. They came from the far reaches of the world, whereas the shepherds were as close to the birth as the nearby hills around Bethlehem.
So these men WERE very different in many ways and as I said, it is at this point that we can draw our first lesson from this part of the Christmas story and it ISa WONDERFUL truth.
1. You see the very fact that two VASTLY DIVERGENT groups of men received this invitation from God tells us that Christ came for EVERYONE…
…rich or poor, educated or illiterate, near or far, Jew or gentile. Christmas is not just for one segment of society or the people who live on only one part of this planet. No, it is for us all. You may be unimportant in the eyes of most people or you may be very important; you may be a mere cog in the machine at your place of employment or the CEO. You may be near Christ — raised in a Christian home — or far from Him — reared in a home or culture where the name of Jesus is never even mentioned. None of those things matter for the simple reason that Jesus did not come to be the Savior of only some. He came to be the Savior of ALL mankind.
You know many times people tend to localize or culturalize religion. They say that Bhuddism or Hinduism is for the Asiatic races; that Islam is for the people of Arabia, that Judaism is for the Jews. Some people over the years have even embraced the misconception that Christianity-with it’s Christmas story-is only for white people. But as we at Redland know people are VERY wrong when they think this way because Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea for EVERYONE.
As the angel told the shepherds, their good news that night of nights was …for ALL people.
Christmas is not just for one race or ethnic group but for all red, yellow, black and white because no matter how different we may appear to be on the outside, we are the same on the inside. All of us have the same inner need for a Savior. As Romans 3:23 says, ALL [of us] have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.And I Timothy 1:15 says that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
So the experience of these vastly different men who first received God’s invitation shows us that the news of Christmas is for all people. God sent His Son for everyone!And then a second lesson we can draw from the example that these shepherds and wise men set is that…
2. …our primary response to the Christmas event should be to WORSHIP God.
I say this because this is what both groups did when THEY found Jesus. In Matthew 2:11 it says that the Magi bowed down and worshipedJesus as soon as they saw Him. In fact, they told Herod that the purpose of their long journey was to worship the new King. And when the shepherds returned from THEIR visit to the baby Jesus Luke says they were glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.
So, I think this tells us that the most appropriate way to observe Christmas is not with our culture’s seasonal obsession with things…but with worship. In fact the word Christmasliterally means, The Mass of Christso the word itself refers to an annual time of worshiping God praising Him for sending His Son to be born for us so long ago.
Our society of course has a hard time understanding this.I read this week of a Catholic church in Indianapolis that sits directly across the street from the main gate of the RCA DOME, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The story said that the church has petitioned the National Football League to change the starting time of this year’s Colts Christmas Eve game against the Minnesota Vikings because the 4:15PM game will interfere with the church’s 5:30PM Christmas Eve Mass. You see the church becomes virtually inaccessible during games due to traffic and parking problems. Well, the team has refused to cooperate and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello says the league will not change the time of kickoff. As a result the church will be forced to cancel its traditional Christmas Eve service. This controversy has sparked little if any heat in Indianapolis. I believe the story was buried on a back page of the local paper. This is sad because the truest celebration of Jesus’ coming is worship. Anyone who has met the Christ of Christmas knows like the wise men and the shepherds that our first response is to worship and adore Him.
One of my favorite worship services here at Redland is our Christmas Eve service. It has always been one of the most crowded services of the year. It seems to me that our hour together on that sacred night always glows with the presence of God in a unique way. I look forward to worshiping with you at that time each year. It is the highlight of my Christmas and that is the way it should be because worship and Christmas just naturally go hand in hand.
James Montgomery Boice tells of Reverend Joseph Ton, a Baptist pastor who served in Romania before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Pastor Ton told him that before Communism the Romanians celebrated Christmas with the giving of gifts and feasts and Christmas caroling by all ages as well as with special worship services. But when the Communists took over Christmas was no longer a legal holiday. Everybody had to go to work on that day, just like any other day. For many people the old Christmas customs ceased. But among the truly born-again people of Romania the traditions concerned with worshiping Christ and celebrating His birth did not perish. Evangelical churches would hold services in the morning and evening-before and after work-and not only on Christmas day, but on the 26thof December as well which those Christians called The second day of Christmas.
And caroling continued-in spite of the fact that for many years the police worked hard to stop people from this religious activity. One Christmas the local police actually attacked the Baptist choir and beat some of the singers as they caroled. But the singers were out again the next year and were welcomed by many who were afraid to join them but greeted the worshipers thankfully, often with tears in their eyes. This is because worship is the natural response to anyone who has met the Word Who became flesh and dwelt among us. Christmas is empty unless we set aside time to join with the angels in coming together and adoring Christ the Lord.
So, the experiences of these shepherds and wise men teach us that Jesus came for everyone. Christmas is for the entire WORLD. They also teach us that the best way to celebrate this awesome news is by worshiping God.. but you know the greatest truth that we can see in their participation in the first Christmas is that…
3. …anyone who seeks Jesus, will find Him.
We have read the Scriptural record that says that each group of men RESPONDED to the invitation to the birth of Jesus. They TRIED to find Him. For example, the shepherds, as soon as they had heard the angels’ news they wasted no time but set out at once and FOUND the manger that held the Christ child. And, the Wise Men-well, they had no doubt been anticipating the birth of Jesus for some time so when the star appeared they were not very long in setting out on their journey. After many months, they too found Jesus.
All this reminds us of God’s promise in Deuteronomy 4:29 where He said,If you seek Me with all your heart, you will find Me.If we truly want to know Jesus-if we look for Him-then just like those magi and shepherds, we will find Him. And, do you know why? Because He is looking for us as well. As Luke 19:10 says Jesus came, …to SEEK and to save that which was lost.So, understand its not that God is lost and we are looking to find Him. No, we are lost in our sins. The Bible says that like dim-witted sheep we have all gone astray. And the glorious news of Christmas is that Jesus-the Good Shepherd-has come to bring us back to His side. All we have to do is cry out and He will come. It is in that cry-that seeking-that we find God and we discover Him to be nearer than we ever realized.
Like many denominations, ours has missionaries who serve in secret in Muslim countries sharing the gospel often at the risk of their own lives. One of them shared the following true testimony of a young Muslim man, named Omar in an issue of SBC LIFE.You may remember my telling you about it a couple of years ago. Omar was raised in a strong Muslim family, forced to go to the mosque and obey all it’s rituals but inside he hungered to know God. He often cried out, tears in his eyes,’God, I want to know you. Talk to me.’ One day Omar met a man named Bill on a bus. They eventually became close friends and after several weeks Bill felt it was safe to tell Omar that he was a Christian. At Omar’s request they began to discuss their different faiths and during one of their discussions Bill challenged Omar by saying that he could know God but through Jesus Christ…not Mohammed. Bill urged Omar to read the New Testament and investigate the claims of Christ. Omar wrote,
“Bill told me to open my eyes and my heart. He said, ‘God is not limited, my friend. He made you and will show himself to you. Ask Him.’ I went home with a storm in my heart. I was so accustomed to following a culture, a ritual. But I kept praying. Bill helped me know more from the Koran, from the Bible, from different books. Then he gave me the names of some other Muslims who had accepted Christ. I talked to them and they said, ‘Brother, we were in darkness. Now we are God’s children.’ I couldn’t eat; I couldn’t sleep.
Bill saw the restlessness in my heart and said, ‘Omar, I think you’ve read enough books. This is the time to challenge God. Find a quiet place, close the door and kneel before Him. Ask Him to come to you in the name of Buddha, in the Hindu gods’ names, in Muhammad’s name, and in Jesus’ name. See which name He answers. Late one night I thought, ‘This is the time.’ I washed my face, came to my room and closed the door and windows. I knelt before God and put a chair in front of me, like He would come and sit there. I said, ‘God, all these years I have prayed to You.
You know my heart. I want to know You. I need to challenge You. Talk to me. If You are the God who created me, I ask You to come to me in Buddha’s name.’ I waited. No answer. Then I said, ‘I ask You to come to me in the name of all those Hindu gods. If this is the way You want me to worship You, I will worship those idols.’ I waited five minutes, ten minutes. No answer. Then I started praying in the name of Muhammad. My heart was heavy, because I always had such respect toward Muhammad, the holy beloved prophet of god. I told God, ‘All these years, I have been praying to You through Muhammad. The time has come now to ask You if Muhammad is the anointed one.’ There were tears in my eyes. I waited, ten, twenty, thirty minutes. No answer.
Then, somewhat unwillingly, I said, ‘If You want me to pray in Jesus’ name, if He is Your real anointed One, I ask You to come to talk to me.’ Let me tell you, I didn’t have to wait thirty minutes! Right at that moment, I felt like someone walked into my room. The hair on my body stood up. I felt from my feet to my head that Somebody was touching me. I heard a voice saying, ‘Omar, I am Jesus, your Lord. I love you. Do you want to know anything more?’ I cried, ‘No my Lord. I trust You! You are my Lord from today. All these years I have been worshiping god, and he never answered. Today, You answered. I didn’t sleep that night. Such joy filled my heart that I had never felt before. I told Bill and was baptized and from this day on, God has had such mercy and grace on me. To this day I am serving Jesus in His ministry.”
You know all over the world, people like Omar STILL seek God and when they do they find Him. God promised us this in scripture when He said in Jeremiah 33:3, Call unto Me and I will answer you.And in Romans 10:13, where it says,Whosoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
You know, for all their different characteristics, the magi and the shepherds had one very important thing in common. They were wise enough to follow where God was leading….and we close our service to give you a chance to be just as wise. So I ask you. Where is God leading you today? Perhaps you are a Christian and feel God leading you to join this church or to a deeper walk with Him? Maybe you have a lot of biblical knowledge but unlike those magi you have not been acting on it. You haven’t been applying it to your daily life.
Maybe you have been raised in a Christian home but you have never decided to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord yourself and maybe this morning, for the first time, God has guided you as He did those wise men and shepherds to the point that you have been confronted with the Savior of the world. And today you face a decision as did Omar to repent of your sin and accept Him as Lord of your life or to reject Him and walk another way.
You know you can’t really celebrate Christmas until you decide to accept God’s gift of salvation through His Son. The truest form of worship is when we decide to Give God our lives. I encourage you to make that decision this morning and share it with me or Steve. However God leads, we sing now to give you a chance to publicly follow…won’t you come as we sing?