Post Sunday December 14 2008

Read Matthew 2:1-12
Matthew 2:10 “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.”

Why were they so excited by simply seeing the star? They were on a journey to discover the King. It wasn’t a simple journey, but it was their desire to be in the presence of this King. This star was leading them closer and closer to being in the presence of this King and when they saw it their hearts were once again reminded that they would soon be in His presence. They were on a drive.

The fact is we are all driving toward something. Each day we wake up, there is not another option, unless of course you’re a teenager and it’s time for school…but you wake up and you begin to drive toward something. There is a plan, there are things to do. Whether that be going to school, which means math, English, science, social studies and so on and so on or to go to work, which may mean customer service, customer support, boss support, sales, distribution, teaching, leading, construction, design, marketing, finance and so on and so on. It may mean doctor appointments or dentist appointments. It may be teaching our children, caring for our children and possibly others. Part time, full time, half time, game time, whatever time, there is some sort of agenda, even if it is relaxation, it may be a TV show, Lost, Heroes, CSI, Sponge Bob, it may mean a good book or the Book. Prayer time, errands, grocery shopping, exercise and countless other activities that move us day in and day out, the one common factor is that we are all driving toward a destination.

What destination are you driving toward and how far are you willing to travel to reach that destination? There are three sets of drivers in Matthew 2:1-12. There is Herod, the religious leaders and the Wise Men.

Herod was the Road Hog. He didn’t care necessarily where he was headed as long as he owned the road. He was a descendant of Esau. Esau was the twin son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the Abraham that God formed a covenant with. Esau was the firstborn and Jacob his brother was born holding onto his heel. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup and Jacob tricked his father Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau. Thus creating so much tension that Esau wanted to kill his brother Jacob. I’m not going to tell the whole story, but let me sum it up, Esau was not happy that his power was usurped and this craving for power carried through for generations. The legacy that Esau left was one for power and Herod took the cake when it came to craving power.

Do we have any Herod in us when we are driving? Do we mistreat, misuse and mislead in order to own the road?

The religious leaders were the Break Down Lane drivers. These individuals knew quite a bit, but they never really drove anywhere. They rather expected their knowledge of the road to bring everything to them. Unlike Herod who was threatened by this King, the religious leaders figured they knew so much that the King would come to them. When Herod asked them where the Christ was to be born they immediately were able to respond. Let that sink in, they knew where the Christ was to be born, they studied the scriptures for a living, and they knew them inside and out. In town were Magi inquiring as to where the King of the Jews had been born, Herod had a murderous look in his eye, the city is on edge and they just simply spouted out the knowledge that they had and did nothing. They sat in the breakdown lane. That would be like us studying and reading all there is about having a good marriage, but when the time comes to get married we decide not to. All this knowledge and they act like everything will just come to them. They are the ones who only will finish the game by default; they never actually arrive themselves, because they aren’t moving. They simply sit in the breakdown lane and continue to feed themselves and they grow fat and lazy.

The religious individuals were so caught up in the knowledge of God that they forgot to actually have a relationship with God. If I gave you thousands of facts about my wife, told you how much I loved her and then tell you I didn’t feel like driving 5 miles to go see her even though we haven’t seen each other for 3 weeks what would you say to me? Do you really love her? These religious drivers had been studying and awaiting the Messiah all their lives, but instead of driving 5 miles to Bethlehem in order to see him they stayed in the breakdown lane.

Finally we come to the Magi, the Wise Men and they are the drivers with the GPS. These are men from most likely Persia. Possibly descendents of the wise men from the Babylonian courts and possibly indirectly influenced by Daniel the Old Testament prophet. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on who they possibly could be, for that was left unwritten, but I do want to talk about who they showed themselves to be.

They drove possibly 1000 miles to see this King. They made the long, perilous journey that took them from what we can determine between one to two years and for what? Did they come seeking power like Herod? Did they come seeking knowledge like the religious people? Did they come seeking to be blessed, to be given gifts, to become part of this new king’s parliament? They told us why they came: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” They came to ascribe to Him the honor that is due and to simply be in His presence. Willing to drive all that way simply to be with Him.
They came into a city in which they fully expected people to be buzzing with excitement and they began asking where is He? Where’s who? No one knew, no one cared. When they saw that star of course they rejoiced for they had just been greatly discouraged by Driver 1 & 2. These individuals were willing to give up their lives not to simply see the King, but to worship the King. And when they came into the house and they saw the Child with Mary His mother, they fell down and worshipped Him. They risked their lives traveling through deserts, into hostile places all to fall down before a baby and present Him with gifts and ask for nothing and then they left.

Their desire, their quest, what they were willing to give up their lives for was to simply be in His presence.

The Joy is about being in His presence. Jesus said I will be with you always. The question is do we want to be with Him? At some point this week choose to be with Jesus instead of something else and see what happens.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. Which Driver best fits you? Is there another type that may fit you?
2. What brings you great joy?

Pastor e