The Wise Men

The Wise Men

Christmas season has begun because we have finished with Thanksgiving. And we all know that the day after Thanksgiving marks the start of Christmas. What are some of your favorite aspects of the Christmas season?

Matthew 2:1-12
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 when it rose 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 Messiah 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 shepherd 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 search carefully 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 when it rose 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, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Bible does not tell us specifically who these three men were, but an Armenian tradition holds that the three wise men were Balthasar of Arabia, Melchior of Persia, and Gaspar of India. Regardless of where, exactly, they were from, what we do know is that they were from the “east”.

Now, think about how they knew about the birth of Jesus. In verse two, they tell the people of Jerusalem, “We saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship Him.”

Put yourself in their shoes. How did they know about the birth of the new king in Israel?

Well, first, they believed that the Jewish Messiah King would come. How would they have known THAT? They must have read the Scriptures, and in there, seen prophecies of the coming Messiah King. They had SCRIPTURAL KNOWLEDGE.

The Old Testament, which is what they would have had, talks a lot about the coming Messiah King. But it’s not exactly like they would have had the resources we have today to look it up. So what does this tell us? It means that these men spent a lot of time in the Scriptures. Like the man in Psalm 1, they studied it day and night.

Second, they must have had their eyes open. They were EXPECTANT. They had a sense of what to look for. They were paying attention.

Psalm 119:18 – “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

1 Peter 1:13 – “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”

1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 – “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”

These three passages use different terminology to talk about the same thing: “open my eyes”; “minds that are alert”; “let us be awake and sober”. They all mean: PAY ATTENTION.

So what, exactly, should we have our eyes open for? What should we be paying attention to?

And third, they put their belief and knowledge into action. When we do this, it is called TRUST. Belief is what is in your head. Trust is belief put into action. Can you think of a situation in your life where you put your belief into action, where it became trust?

These wise men had belief based in Biblical knowledge. They paid attention and had expectations that God was going to show up. And then they acted on that Biblically-based belief. And when they did, it led them to Jerusalem.

Now, when they got there, they did something else. They inquired specifically about the newborn king and when they went to Bethlehem and found Him, they did something remarkable. They brought Him gifts. Why did they do that?

This was a sign of respect and adoration and worship. They knew they weren’t going to meet some random baby. They were going to worship the Messiah King. They understood Jesus’ significance. Their response was one that we should all have – to come before Him in worship and reverence and to offer Him our very best.


Discussion Questions

1. What does the Christmas season typically look like for you?

2. In what way is Christmas significant for you?

3. How can you enter this Christmas season with expectations that God will show up? What will you be looking for?

4. In what ways can this Christmas season reflect the actions of the wise men – adoration, worship, and giving your very best to God?

Growing in Character

Just about every athlete, coach, and parent understands that success in the athletic arena isn't just about physical performance. Mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health must all be addressed in some way for individuals and teams to thrive. But what about character? Is character growth relevant to the development of an athlete?

As we continue to look at Matthew 6 and 7, we see that Jesus is instructing His hearers in the area of character. Last week, we talked about what He meant when He said we shouldn't judge others. Let's move on to Matthew 7:7-12:

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

So let's work backwards here, starting with v. 12, commonly called “the Golden Rule.” What do you want others to do for you….

• When you are happy?
• When you are sad?
• When you're succeeding?
• When you're struggling?
• In general?

Jesus is telling us that when we interact with “others” (I'm pretty sure He means anyone and everyone!) no matter who they are, what they are going through, or what we are going through, IN EVERYTHING, do to them what you would have them do to you.

The question is, HOW do we do that? Well, let's look back at verses 7-11 (the “so” in v. 12 is a clue that these ideas are connected.) Here, Jesus gives His hearers two things: instructions and perspective.

1. Instruction: what does He say to DO?
2. And WHY does He say that would make sense?

Discussion

1. When you are in need, what is your first response? Who is the first one you go to? What's the first thing you do? What does your answer say about what you're trusting in?
2. How does this passage compare to Matthew 6:25-34, which we looked at a few weeks ago? Look it up if you need to.
3. What are some ways we can treat others well? Look at James 5:16, Luke 6:28, Hebrews 10:24-25, and James 2:15-19

Consider these quotes about character this week:

• Train your mind with the idea that God is there. If once the mind is trained on that line, when you are in difficulties it is easy as breathing to remember, “Why, my Father knows all about it!” It is not an effort, it comes naturally….(Oswald Chambers)
• Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. (Abraham Lincoln)
• Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people. (Dennis Prager)

Lord, help us to know that You are with us and that You can be trusted to meet our needs. Trusting You frees us up to treat others the way we want to be treated rather than staying preoccupied with ourselves. We want to trust You. We want to bless others. Help us to do so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Passing Judgment

Passing Judgment

On Tuesday, we will elect the next President of the United States. One of the things that elections tend to surface among people is that we disagree. A lot. On big issues. On small issues. On general principles. On very specific matters. People can get super passionate about all kinds of things – and sometimes what fires one person up is uninteresting to another, and vice-versa. 

What are some topics that people disagree over?

In a world of 320 million people, each with his or her own set of values, morals, and opinions, we often hear people cite Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge”. This is often meant as a conversation stopper, not a conversation starter. That is, you may be engaged in a discussion and a moral topic comes up, and you say that you think X is wrong. And the other person says, “Do not judge.” They hope that this will make you shut up and disengage from your criticism.

Another way people often approach this is by referring to the idea of “tolerance”.

What does the word tolerance mean? It really means to put up with something you find objectionable. You “tolerate” an annoying little brother. You “tolerate” a certain degree of pain. But today, the word has come to mean something else. “A fair, objective, and permissive attitude towards opinions, beliefs, and practices, and those that hold them, from your own”.

I can accept those two understandings of tolerance. But there is a third way that people use the word. It now means agreement. If you simply disagree with people you are often accused of intolerance. The word is used as a weapon, not as a compliment. It is meant as a conversation STOPPER, not a conversation STARTER.

We, howeer, instead of using these ideas as a conversation STOPPER, we are going to use them as a conversation STARTER.

Matthew 7:1-5
“1 "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”

The word “judge” (krino) there can have many meanings:

· to separate, pick out, select

· to approve, esteem, prefer

· to determine, resolve, decree

· to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong

· to pronounce judgment, censure

· to rule, or govern

· to contend together (of warriors and combat)


Here are some examples of this word being used elsewhere in the New Testament:

· 2 Corinthians 2:1 – “But I determined (krino) this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again.”

· Colossians 2:16 – “Therefore no one is to act as your judge (krino) in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.”

· James 5:9 – “Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged (krino).”

· Luke 6:37 – “Do not judge (krino), and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.”

· Luke 7:42-43 – “(Jesus speaking)‘When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’ And He said to him, ‘You have judged (krino) correctly.’”

So in one sense, we absolutely HAVE to make judgments. We HAVE to decide between right and wrong. We HAVE to decide which option is better or worse. We HAVE to decide which is more ethical. We HAVE to decide which path to take, and which path to not take.

But there are three things here that we need to discuss.

(1) What Biblical judgments ARE, and ARE NOT.

(2) The “rules of engagement” of making judgments.

(3) Three levels of disagreement and why they matter.


First, what Biblical judgments are and are not.

· Biblical judgments ARE:

 - Moral and ethical evaluations.

 - Deciding between wisdom and foolishness.

 - Weighing between better choices and worse choices.

· Biblical judgments ARE NOT:

 - Thinking less of a person for having a different view than you.

 - Valuing a person less for having a different view than you.

When we make a Biblical judgment, we HAVE to choose between right and wrong, wisdom and foolishness, and better and worse. But we must NOT devalue another person for not making the same judgment as we do. We must not love another person less, because God doesn’t. Jesus died for the person who thinks and lives exactly opposite of the way you do. Really, He did. And we are called to love our enemies.

Second, the rules of engagement. Jesus here is really talking about something different than making judgments. He’s telling us that when we make judgments, we need to be careful, because the way we judge others will be used by other people to make judgments against us. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”

When a person who thinks that gossip is perfectly fine actually gossips, people may dislike the gossip but they don’t judge the person more harshly than that. Because at least they’re living consistent with their values. But when a person who says they’re against gossip is engaged in gossip, what’s the reaction? People go NUTS. Why? Because not only is that person engaged in gossip, he’s also acting hypocritically. And THAT is a worse sin in the eyes of most people.

What does the term “holier than thou” mean, and why does it matter?

When we take a strong moral stand against anything, we open ourselves up to the charge of hypocrisy.

So should the potential charge of hypocrisy stop us from making moral judgments?

Jesus has an answer to the question of how we should handle this. It’s this: Instead of worrying about the sins of others, we need to worry about our own sins. We MUST make moral judgments. But let’s be very careful about what we say and how we communicate our moral judgments, because the more vocal we are, the more outspoken we are, the stronger our opinions, the more we open ourselves up to the charge of hypocrisy when we sin ourselves.

Jesus is saying, worry more about your own problems than about the problems of others. Instead of being harsh with someone who has sinned, a gentle response may be more appropriate. Consider Galatians 6:1 – “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”

Third, three levels of disagreement. Ever had a disagreement with a person over something you thought was small but they thought was such a big deal that it nearly ruined a friendship?

· Convictions:

 - Described as: central issues, unwilling to compromise

 - Scriptural example: Galatians 2:11 – “When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood in the wrong.”

· Persuasions:

 - Described as: not as central of an issue, but still important

 - Scriptural example: Romans 14:5 – “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.”

· Opinions:

 - Described as: peripheral issue

 - Scriptural example: 1 Corinthians 7:39-40 – “A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.”

We need to have some convictions, some persuasions, and some opinions.



Discussion

1. How have you experienced being judged? How did it feel?

2. In what ways have you judged others?

3. How can “tolerance” be used as a weapon?

4. How can we make moral judgments without being judgmental?

5. Why is hypocrisy such a grievous sin? How can hypocrisy impact our witness?

6. What are some thing you hold as convictions? How about persuasions? And how about opinions?

7. As you think about this framework, can you think of any views that you consider to be convictions that maybe should be a persuasion or an opinion?