A Walk With The Wise Men

A Walk With The Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-11)

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:20, “He that walketh with 'wise men' shall be wise.” Take just a few minutes with me and talk a walk with the ‘wise men’ through Matthew Chapter Two and see if you can gain some true wisdom from them. You won’t be sorry if you follow the wise men, because they end up at the doorstep of WISDOM Incarnate – the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the King that will live forever and ever. In these 11 verses, God calls these men WISE. More than likely they were from Babylon. They were highly educated, stargazers, skilled in science, medicine, math, and philosophy. They were very influential, important, and intelligent. We are not sure exactly how many of them there were. But in Proverbs 4:7, the Bible says, “Wisdom is the principal thing.” We would be wise to follow the wise men’s example. True Wisdom can be learned from the wise men.

If they were the Wise women – they would have probably asked for directions as soon as they left the East, then they would have arrived on time, probably helped deliver the baby Jesus, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and made Jesus a cute set of clothes to wear. But these were the wise men, so things were different.

Five lessons about wisdom are found in these verses. 
*** LESSON #1 
** They Sought after Christ: 

First, notice their:

** Diligence (Where is He?) They had seen the star, they had set out to find the king, they asked over and over where they could find the King. They traveled over 800 miles, through difficult deserts and over treacherous mountains, amidst bandits and thieves, through the heat, cold, and rain. They were highly intelligent, greatly important, and incredibly wealthy, they could have just stayed in Babylon and waited for the news to come, but no, they wanted to find Him for themselves, they went out and searched for Christ with all their heart. See Jer 29:13; I Chron 16:11; Psa 119:10; Hosea 10:12 (It is time to seek the Lord)

The wise men were consumed, focused, diligent in their quest, they wanted to find Him, they were wise in God’s sight, because they sought His Son. They sought to know God. See Numbers 24:17; Isa 60:3; II Pet 1:19; Rev 2:28; 22:16. The Star of Jacob led them to the bright and morning star.

The angel of the Lord came to the Shepherds in Luke 1. Jesus came to where they were and led them to Himself. He will reveal Himself and make Himself known to you. Jesus will seek you and manifest himself to you, right where you are if you only LET HIM.

If you’re an Architect – He’s the firm foundation.
Baker – Bread of life
Doctor – great Physician
Carpenter – chief cornerstone
Geologist – Rock of Ages
Teacher – master teacher
Florist – rose of Sharon, lily of the valleys
Sailor – Anchor
Soldier – Shield, fortress

The wise men’s question was “Where is He?” Not, could it be? They had Bible faith, and true faith results in action, obedience, and worship.

Now notice in Verse 3 – Herod was troubled, he was a wicked and vicious man. He was greedy, suspicious, and malicious (the three roots of selfishness).

Herod wanted no competition for his throne therefore he killed his wife, he killed his nephew, he killed each of his sons, his mother-in-law, and his mistress because of his suspicions.

Now, Herod hears that there is born a king of the Jews, but that was his title. He is troubled that his kingdom may crumble, and he calls in the chief priests and scribes, the current day Bible scholars. They had the facts and information, but it never got from their head to their heart. They quoted Micah 5:2 to Herod and the wise men.

Here in 2014, some of the men that are most knowledgeable in the things the Bible, take Christ as just a mere subject, He is just information that they know intellectually, and they don’t realize the whole purpose of the Bible is so you can know a PERSON, so you can know JESUS, so you can have a RELATIONSHIP with someone you love, and who loves you, JESUS wants to save you and change your inward nature.

Bethlehem was only five miles south of Jerusalem, but the chief priests and scribes didn’t take the time to go down to Bethlehem to see if it was true. They didn’t want the CHRIST to show up. They were content with their religion – they loved with their position, influence, and money. The king of the Jews would upset their ‘little kingdom of religion’. These religious Jews hear that the Messiah has come from a group of Gentile wise men. The chief priests and scribes knew all the facts in their head, but they had no desire for the Messiah in their heart.

In this day and time we live in, people have heard the glorious gospel of Christ and the message of His Second Coming over and over, they have the all facts in their head, but they are religiously hard and complacent, the glorious gospel of Christ is ho-hum, no big deal. The message that God left heaven and became a Jewish man and lived and suffered in their place is old news This heavenly message puts them to sleep today. And if you mention that Jesus may return at any time, they think you’re ready for a straight jacket and a padded room.

But notice closely, the wise men’s guide to Christ in Verses 5 and 6 (Micah 5:2) – they found Christ through the scripture, they were hungry for Him, and you will only find Christ in God’s word when you get sincerely hungry for HIM.

Now notice, the wise men set out again for Bethlehem (Matthew 2:9), they rejoiced with EXCEEDING great joy (Matthew 2:10), they were getting close to seeing Jesus, they longed for Him, they loved Him and they had never saw Him. The STAR shows up again and guides them all the way to Bethlehem to the little house where Jesus lived. Now understand, sincere hearts get light from God, and good hearts follow the light they are given, and honest hearts will come face to face with Jesus Christ.

I wonder what the wise men expected to find there in Bethlehem. They had already gone to Jerusalem, they had gone to Herod’s palace, what were they expecting to find in Bethlehem when they arrived to see the King of the Jews. When they arrived, all they found was a small house (Matt 2:11). But Jesus’ capital was just an small village, His army and worshippers were nowhere to be found. But this child was the Prince of Peace, He was the Kings of Kings and the Lord of Lords. They wanted to know Christ with all their heart.

*** LESSON #2, the wise men were wise because:
** They Submitted to Christ 

Look carefully in Verse 11 – “and fell down”

The wise men submitted to Christ willingly, they didn’t follow the crowd, they saw Christ and immediately fell down, they didn’t just bow their heads, or bend the knee, they didn’t just bow down, THEY FELL DOWN on the floor with all their high-dollar garb on. They were in the dust at the feet of the King of Kings, THEY FELL DOWN. No one asked them to fall down, their heart’s adoration immediately caused them to fall. This wasn’t just some ‘religious’ exercise; they fell down on their faces at the feet of the young child. Mary and Joseph must have been dumbfounded at this sight. The wise men didn’t fall down at the feet of Herod, but when got into the presence of Jesus Christ, they fell down in holy fear and reverence.

The Christian life is all about submission: to receive Christ you must forsake all other trusts and trust absolutely and submit to Christ Jesus, that is, His precious blood and perfect righteousness, as the ONLY way to Heaven. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The Christian life begins with submission in salvation.

But the second great decision of the Christian life is submission as well – total surrender. When you say, “God, it's not about me, I SUBMIT. Paul said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” The Christian is all about submission – God changes the course of your life, your ambitions and goals. True revival is casting out the spirit of worldliness, and self-centeredness, and letting Christ and His love triumph in your heart. The wise men, “Jesus, you are our King, we are under you, and we put ourselves in submission to your will and your way. Jesus will exalt us when we submit ourselves to Him.

Next, notice that they just didn’t FALL DOWN, but they also WORSHIPPED HIM.

** LESSON #3 – 
** They Worshipped Christ

Jesus was probably about two years old when the wise men arrived. Notice closely, they did not bow down to Mary, they didn’t worship Mary as a co-redeemer, they didn’t pray to Mary, notice again what the Bible says, “and worshipped HIM.” The Bible says in Acts 4:12, “Neither Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
They fell down on their face and worshipped HIM. Now picture this, the wise men more than likely had their very best robes on to see the King, they had their best shoes on, their crowns, their jewelry, and there in that humble cottage they fall down and worship the Christ child.

These wise men were men of influence, men of prestige, men of incredible means, and they get down on their faces and worship Him. Why did they do that? Because Christ was more important to them than their things, they set aside their prestige, their positions, their accomplishments, and they worshipped CHRIST. That is what worship is all about. When you come to worship Jesus Christ, it is not about the facilities and the surroundings. The wise men could have said, “What is this! We don’t like these surroundings. Who would live in this kind of neighborhood? We don’t like these facilities and we don’t like this environment.” But you see, the WISE men were not focused on the temporal; they were looking on the ETERNAL – the CHRIST child. And when you come to worship Christ, it is not about you and your comforts – IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM! You must lay opinions, prejudices, and agendas down at HIS FEET. They honored Christ for who HE IS - GOD INCARNATE.

** These men were wise because they:  Look on in Verse 11 – “they presented unto HIM gifts.”

*** LESSON #4 – 
** They Sacrificed for Christ

Now notice, before they gave Jesus gifts, they had already given Him THEMSELVES in worship. Your greatest gift to God is your whole life – a living sacrifice. Before God wants to give Him gifts externally, He wants you to give your self to Him. They presented Him their best without reservation. They said, “You are so worthy, you deserve our very best!” They were excited about presenting Christ with gifts. (See Proverbs 3:9) No one begged to do it, this wasn’t proper thing to do, they realized who Jesus was, and they wanted to give Him their BEST. Their treasure was now HIS TREASURE. True worship is when you give what you ‘treasure’ in this life to Jesus Christ. We must give our gifts to the GIVER of all gifts.

Now consider the wise men’s gifts:

* GOLD – this was the gift for kings, it was the most precious and expensive metal.  They were saying with this gift – “You are the King of Kings, you are King in our hearts and lives, we are your servants.”

The second gift was:
* FRANKINCENSE – this was a gift for a priest. It was a perfume from a tree. It was the most expensive of perfumes. It was what the priests used in the tabernacle as they offered up prayers, the sweet odors to the LORD. Frankincense teaches us that Jesus is our great high priest. He makes intercession for us before God the Father daily, and He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Jesus lived here in this flesh and in this world of woe just like us. (See Romans 8:34; Hebrew 3:1; 4:15; 7:25; 9:24; I John 2:1) Jesus who understands us is now our High Priest that represents us continually in the presence of the Father.

Now, notice the third gift:
* MYRRH – This was the gift for the suffering or dying. It was an antiseptic that was used for embalming purposes. It was the most expensive of herbs. Now doesn’t this seem strange as a gift to a baby. It would be like if you had a baby shower for someone, and you brought a casket, a funeral wreath, and some embalming fluid as a gift. They brought myrrh to Jesus – embalming fluid. But Jesus was born to die – the whole purpose that Jesus came into the world was to die for sinners, to seek and save the lost, and rescue them from destruction. You are here to die for us, thank you LORD JESUS.

There is no better sacrifice we can make, than when we sacrifice what is precious to us for Christ.

*** LESSON #5 – 
** They Showed Others Christ

All the people in the New Testament that met Jesus Christ ‘spiritually’ could not contain themselves, they had to make Him known to others. In Luke 2, the Shepherds came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning the child. They had to go tell everyone. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. John wrote in I John 1:3, “That which we have seen and heard DECLARE we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” John wanted others to have the fellowship with God and Jesus Christ that he so freely enjoyed.

In Matthew 2:10 , the wise men rejoiced with exceeding great joy, they had double joy, they were jumping up and down, doing laps, high-fiving, running, shouting, when they saw the STAR. But when they met CHRIST, they could not contain themselves. When they met Christ, it changed their lives, it changed their heart, and it changed their speech, they could not help but tell someone about Him.

This fact is true throughout the gospels: Andrew could not contain himself after He met the Messiah, he went and found Peter brought Him to Jesus. (John 1:40-42) Shortly after Paul’s conversion, Paul preached Christ straightway in the synagogues, that He was the Son of God. (Acts 9:20) Jesus saved the maniac of Gadara from the devils that possessed him, and the Bible says, “He departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.” (Mark 5:20)

The Leper that was healed by Jesus went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter.” (Mark 1:45) The two blind men that were healed in Matthew 9, right after their eyes were opened, they departed, and spread abroad Jesus’ fame in all that country.” (Matthew 9:30) In Mark 1, Right after the man filled with the unclean spirit was healed the people that witnessed this happen immediately spread Jesus’ fame abroad throughout all the region. Shortly after the woman of Samaria met Jesus at the well, she left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? (John 4:28-29) No one that ever met the Savior, could keep their mouth shut about Him.

When people meet God with their hearts, they go “ANOTHER WAY.” (Matthew 2:12) The wise men didn’t obey what Herod said, they obeyed the warning from God, departed and went to spread the message of the Great King of the Jews to their own country.

The church today needs some wise men and wise ladies that will seek, submit, worship, sacrifice, and show others Christ. Will you be His helper other lives to bring? Will you leave the world’s side and seek the ones for whom He died? Those that would be good must keep good company. The company you keep will determine your character. If you walk with the ‘wise men’, and your daily life will practically show it.