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The Sages, the Star, and the Savior [part 4]

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On Sunday morning of December 25th, 1870, Charles Haddon Spurgeon delivered a sermon on Matthew 2:2 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. We are posting this sermon in a four-part series. You can still read part 1, part 2, or part 3. The following is the 4th and final part in this series.

 “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:2

III. And now we shall conclude, by considering THE EXAMPLE of these wise men.

Having spoken of the enquiry of the wise men and their encouragement, we shall now conclude by considering the example of the wise men.

They came to Jesus, and in so doing, they did three things: they saw, they worshipped, they gave. Those are three things which every believer here may do this morning over again, and which every seeker should do for the first time.

First, they saw the young Child. I do not think they merely said, “There he is,” and so ended the matter, but they stood still and looked. Perhaps for some minutes they did not speak. About his very face I do not doubt there was a supernatural beauty. Whether there was a beauty to everyone’s eye I know not, but to theirs there was assuredly a superhuman attraction.The incarnate God! They gazed with all their eyes. They looked, and looked, and looked again. They glanced at his mother, but they fixed their eyes on him. “They saw the young Child.” So, too, this morning let us think of Jesus with fixed and continuous thought.

He is God, he is man, he is the substitute for sinners; he is willing to receive all who trust him. He will save, and save this morning, every one of us who will rely upon him. Think of him. If you are at home this afternoon, spend the time in thinking upon him. Bring him before your mind’s eye, consider and admire him. Is it not a wonder that God should enter into union with man and come to this world as an infant? He who made heaven and earth hangs on a woman’s breast for us!

For our redemption the Word was made flesh. This truth will breed the brightest hope within your soul. If you follow that babe’s wondrous life till it ends at the cross, I trust you may there be able to give such a look at him that, like as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, and they that looked were healed, so you looking may be healed of all your spiritual diseases. Though it is many a year since I first looked to him, I desire to look to Jesus again. The incarnate God! My eyes swim with tears to think that he who might have crushed me into hell for ever, becomes a young child for my sake? See him, all of you, and seeing, worship.

What did the wise men next? They worshipped him. We cannot properly worship a Christ whom we do not know. “To the unknown God” is poor worship. But, oh, when you think of Jesus Christ, whose goings forth were of old from everlasting, the eternally-begotten Son of the Father, and then see him coming here to be a man of the substance of his mother, and know and understand why he came and what he did when he came, then you fall down and worship him.

“Son of God, to thee we bow,
Thou art Lord, and only thou;
Thou the woman’s promised seed;
Thou who didst for sinners bleed.”

We worship Jesus. Our faith sees him go from the manger to the cross, and from the cross right up to the throne, and there where Jehovah dwells, amidst the insufferable glory of the divine presence stands the man, the very man who slept at Bethlehem in the manger; there he reigns as Lord of lords. Our souls worship him again. We should spend much time in worshipping the Christ, and he should ever have the highest place in our reverence.

After worshipping, the wise men presented their gifts. One broke open his casket of gold, and laid it at the feet of the new-born King. Another presented frankincense — one of the precious products of the country from which they came; and others laid myrrh at the Redeemer’s feet; all these they gave to prove the truth of their worship. They gave substantial offerings with no niggard hand. And now, after you have worshipped Christ in your soul, and seen him with the eye of faith, it will not need that I should say to you, give him yourself, give him your heart, give him your substance. Why, you will not be able to help doing it. He who really loves the Savior in his heart, cannot help devoting to him his life, his strength, his all. With some people, when they give Christ anything, or do anything for him, it is dreadfully forced work. They say, “The love of Christ ought to constrain us.” I do not know that there is any such text as that in the Bible, however. I do remember one text that runs thus — “The love of Christ constraineth us.” If it does not constrain us, it is because it is not in us. It is not merely a thing which ought to be, it must be. If any man love Christ, he will very soon be finding out ways and means of proving his love by his sacrifices. If you have gold, give it; if thou have frankincense, give it; if you have myrrh, give it to Jesus; and if you have none of these things, give him your love, all your love, and that will be gold and spices all in one; give him your tongue, speak of him; give him your hands, work for him; give him your whole self. I know you will, for he loved you, and gave himself for you. The Lord bless you, and may this Christmas Sabbath morning be a very memorable day to many out of the crowd assembled here. I am surprised to see so vast a number present, and I can only hope the blessing will be in proportion, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Comments

  1. Amen. Thanks for posting. Struck by the line, “we cannot properly worship a God with whom we barely know.”

  3. Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him.
    Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

    Whether a baby is comely or less than attractive the parents, family and visitors all admire the wonder of new life, the hope and potential they pray to be fulfilled. At the birth of Christ specific roles are noted. There is an angel, angels and an angelic host. There are country shepherds. The Holy Ghost was upon a just and devout man named Simeon. There is a prophetess, Anna. There are wise men.

    Wise men did not journey to see a baby. In that fullness of time, apart from all the lives up to and current with that moment these wise ones were intent on the Word of God. These wise ones were exceptional for their belief. There was no earthly benefit acquired by imparting their precious things.

    Study the Word of God. There is nothing in this world for you. Jesus is the glory of creation.

    1Cr 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.
    Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
    Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace;
    Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
    Jam 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.