As it’s Christmas, we had a sermon all about The Magi. It was fascinating stuff!

Christmas Sermon - Malachi 3:1-3

Intro

What brought the Magi to Judea? A prophesy made by Daniel, writing between 605 and 530 BC, stated that Jerusalem would be rebuilt after the Babylonians destroyed it in the 6th century BC. The prophecy went on to say that 490 years would pass from a command to rebuild Jerusalem until a messianic kingdom would emerge on the earth, in the region of Palestine, which would fill the whole world.

Although vague references to a Jewish Messiah had been made by earlier prophets, Daniel was the first to specifically predict the birth of this Messiah. However, Daniel’s prophecy had some factors that were rather vague.

For instance:

• Daniel did not clearly explain which command to rebuild Jerusalem was meant.
• He also did not say whether his year-lengths were lunar or solar.
• As regards the Messiah, Daniel did not indicate at what point in the life of the Messiah the 490 years began their countdown. Thus, the prophecy does not provide, with pinpoint accuracy, when the Messiah would make His presence known. Significant events in a Jewish male’s life could include his Bar Mitzvah, when he achieved 20 years of age and thus able to go to war, or when he became thirty, the year of spiritual adulthood. The 490 year period could also have begun whenever the Messiah would be proclaimed King, which could happen at any time during his life.

According to Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived in the last part of the first century, there was a conviction among the Jews that this prophecy of Daniel would have its fulfilment within the first century. Josephus further stated that it was shown in the “sacred writings” that about that time, from Judea would come one who would become governor of the habitable earth. The sacred writings were particularly the prophecies of Daniel.

Daniel was a Jewish slave. As a young man he was captured by the Babylonian invaders of Judea and taken to Babylon where he served the Babylonian kings. He became a Master Magi, highly valued by the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar, because of his ability to interpret dreams and predict events based on these dreams.

The origins of the Magi are not entirely clear, but they are believed to have had their beginnings with the teachings of Zoroaster, sometime around 1000 BC. Zoroaster was a religious leader and teacher in the region of Persia where the Magi were thought to have their origins. Zoroaster espoused monotheism, and taught that at sometime in the future, there would arise a king who would raise the dead and transform the world into a kingdom of peace and security. Interestingly enough, the Zoroastrian traditions associated with this prophesied king said that the king would come forth from the descendants of Abraham.

Even the Romans were aware of the prophecies of Daniel. Roman historians in the early second century wrote of the firm belief that had long prevailed through the east that it was destined for the empire of the world at that time to be given to someone who would come forth from Judea. Even the Roman emperor Nero was advised to move his seat of empire from Rome to Jerusalem because it was believed that Jerusalem was destined to become the capital of the world. Nero declined. However, in 2 BC, the Romans decided that Caesar Augustus was the fulfilment of the prophecy so they didn’t feel the need to look elsewhere for interpretations.

In the early church there was no celebration of Jesus’ birth. Each Sunday was a celebration of Christ’s resurrection. That was why the Christians chose Sunday as their day instead of Saturday which is the Jewish Sabbath. The Jewish festivals of Passover and Pentecost continued to be celebrated by the church for a time since they were closely associated with Christ’s death and resurrection. In the third century, some churches in the east began to celebrate January 6 as the Epiphany, the time that Christ revealed himself to the people as the Messiah. The birth of Jesus was also commemorated at this time.

So if we are to celebrate it, what should we seek to get out of it?

1) Popular culture or Truth?

A Magus would be so mysterious to the common people that some of what he did would seem like magic, just as our science would to them.

Like today’s scientists the Magi would want to look at the facts and come to conclusions from the facts. To put it another way, the Magi looked for someone fulfilling the ancient prophecies, not the expectations of popular culture. They looked for the hand that fitted the glove, not a glove made to fit a hand.

See Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The Magi were the scientists of their day. They saw realities and wondered what God might be saying through them. Faith should cause me to look around me with the same mindset. God is at work in our world. As I read the newspapers I should wonder what God is doing and when His return is likely.

2) Therapy or an encounter with God?

See Malachi 1:1-3,

See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

The gospel is the great message of good news about the relationship between man and God. It is not some form of therapy that is centred around the demands of self-absorbed, selfish, materialist individuals.

3) Look in the right place

The Romans looked in the wrong place for the great king. They looked to themselves and not to something new like a child in a manger.

How to look in the right place? See 1 Thessalonians 5:13b-24 for a good summary.

Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 6:41 pm and is filed under Mp3s, Sermons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.