Sermon Cloud

As I was studying this passage, looking at the different characters, I couldn't help but think of that classic song from Sesame Street. 3 sets of characters in this story, but 1 group is not like the others.
The somewhat minor character group is the religious leaders. V4 - Matthew refers to them as the "leading priests and teachers of religious law." These were the people who knew "what's up." They were the biblical experts. When Herod called that meeting to hear from them as to where the Messiah would be born, they probably didn't have to go looking through the scrolls. They had it memorized. These were the guys that everyone looked to for spiritual guidance.
A more significant character here is King Herod. Or "Herod the Great" as he insisted on being called. In 37 BC, Roman officials appointed Herod to be the "king of the Jews." Herod made some rather shady moves to both earn and keep this title. He banished his first wife, strangled his second wife. His brother-in-law suspiciously drowned in a shallow pool. He executed two of his sons for crimes they hadn't even committed. He had political enemies burned alive. You didn't mess with Herod or even look at him wrong for that matter.
But even with all of his crimes against humanity, Herod was still a Jew. And he had the backing of the Jewish religious leaders. Although even though they condemned his violence, Herod generally had the backing of the Jewish religious leaders. At least he was one of their own and he provided a political stability.
And the main characters are the Wise Men. Or the Magi as they're also called. They're the famed"we three kings of Orient are..." They were probably either Persian or Babylonian, Matthew doesn't really say, but he clearly points out they were not Jewish. And they certainly didn't spend anytime reading the Bible, either. Rather than reading the Bible, they studied the stars. Which is actually what the greek word Magi means, astrologer. They were royal astrologers. Meaning they got paid by the government to look at the stars. Sounds a lot like our government.
If you haven't figured it out yet, the Magi are the ones that aren't like the others. Instead of reading the bible, they read the stars, which is prohibited by the bible. They aren't Jewish, in both their faith and their ethnicity. The Wise Men are the outsiders of this story. And yet, it's pretty easy to tell that Matthew has propped them up as the heroes of the story. So there must be something else that separates the Wise Men from the other characters.
A couple of summers ago, my wife and I had the privilege of touring France. I'd say we vacationed in France, but Erin would say it was more of a sight-seeing trip, due to how I tried to cram in as much as we could every single day. It was an incredible trip, Paris and Southern France really are as great as people say they are. I loved the culture, loved the history. But there was one thing I didn't enjoy too much was that I had no clue what everyone was saying. It was all this French mumbo-jumbo .... Every once in awhile I would catch the two French words I knew, "croissant" and "merci." In English, "Croissant" and "thank-you."
My wife on the other hand can speak pretty good French. She knows enough to at least carry on a basic conversation. Usually when Erin was carrying on a conversation with someone, I'd just stare down at the floor because I couldn't engage in what was happening. It was a really weird feeling to be walking around these cities, hearing all this talking going on around me, but not actually being able to listen to any of it. I could hear it, but I had no clue.
Erin's ability to speak French saved the day for us several times, especially as we were trying to travel from city to city, know which bus or train to get on. One afternoon we were standing at the train and bus station in Nimes, trying to figure out which bus to take out to see this Roman Aquaduct and then take us back into the town where we were staying. And this was no easy task. The lady at the ticket window had an accent that made it really difficult to understand her. And for some reason, she was having trouble understanding Erin's perfect French accent. But after a saying the same things over and over, we figured out we needed cash, we couldn't get the ticket with our credit card. She gave us directions to the nearest bank, at least a quarter mile away, and that the last bus left in about 20 minutes. So we took off running for the bank. Got there and the ATM wouldn't take our card. So we had to ask the people at the bank counter whether we could exchange American dollars there. And we had to communicate through that whole process.
After we finally got the money, we ran back to the station and tried to have the lady at the ticket window explain which bus to get on. There was this whole line of busses. We thought we had it figured out, so we run up to the bus, Erin talks to the driver, but it's not the right bus. And he's trying to tell us the right bus to get on, but Erin can't understand him. So we run back to the window, think we've got it figured out this time, go to another bus and it's the wrong one. We go back one more time. Erin is straining to decipher what this lady is saying, but we're still not sure. So we try another bus, and the driver assures us, "yes, this is the bus to the Pont De Gard aquaduct." We buy our tickets, grab a seat just as the bus is taking off.
It was one of many times in France that I was glad my wife had paid attention in class. The reason my wife was able to decipher what to me sounded like a bunch of nonsense words, was because she'd taken French all through high school. She had trained herself to listen to the French language.
That training to not just hear, but to actually listen is another thing that sets the Wise Men apart from the other characters in the story. The Wise Men are completely pagan. They don't know that astrology is forbidden. They've never read the Jewish bible. But despite all of that, as they're studying the stars, they hear from God! Through this new star, God tells them a king has been born.
We don't know much about these Wise Men. Matthew doesn't tell us why they're listening to God so intently, but that's what is happening. Yes, they're ‘pagans.' Yes, they're ‘outsiders.' But for some reason, they're spiritually sensitive enough that when God sends this star into the sky, they get the message.
And Matthew uses them as a foil for the other characters. When Herod hears that that this king has been born, what does he do? He certainly doesn't rejoice. He doesn't praise God that the Savior of the world has been born. He isn't thankful for this miracle. No, he's worried about his own political career. He's one of the first people in Matthew to get news of one of the greatest miracles in human history but he misses it, because he's only listening to his own quest for power. Herod so misses God's voice, that he has all the babies in Bethlehem slaughtered.
The religious leaders heard the news, too. But they obviously weren't listening. Their response here just blows me away. Herod calls this meeting asks them about the Messiah and they quote, "the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem." And that's the last we hear of these guys. Bethlehem was just outside of Jerusalem, but they don't even go check it out. Now we don't know why they don't act on their knowledge. Apathy could've been one reason. They had the head knowledge of the Messiah's birth, but lacked the vibrant relationship with God that would've prompted them to seek out God's Anointed One. Or their inaction may have been political. They may have been sold out to Herod. Any threat to Herod's reign is a threat to us. Which is why, as we head into the election, God's people must never let themselves be bought by any political ideal or party. Our loyalty isn't to any party. Our loyalty isn't even to our country. Our ultimate loyalty is to the Kingdom of God. That advice comes free of charge. But whatever the reason, these religious leaders can quote the prophecies, but there's nothing going on inside their hearts. They aren't able to listen to God's voice.
But the Wise Men are listening and the Wise Men are responding. They leave their palace in the East and caravan to Jerusalem. They leave Herod's palace to see this baby born to peasant parents. And in verse 12, they're able to listen to God's warning to not go back to Herod, to protect Jesus' life. Had they not been able to get that message from God, the Christmas celebration might've been cut pretty short.
But even with their spiritual sensitivity, they aren't able to hear God just on their own, or just with the star. They get moving on their own, but they need scripture to guide them to just the right place. They ask Herod, "where is this newborn king?" And it's the biblical scholars who tell them about Bethlehem. Now the religious leaders missed it themselves, but it was their knowledge of scripture that guided the Wise Men to just the right place.
Catch this - it's possible for us to read scripture or hear scripture, without actually listening to God. God won't override our will. We choose whether or not we're receptive. So we can hear scripture without listening to God. But it's impossible for us to completely tune into God's voice, without the guidance of scripture.
Their hearts were in tune with God. They were listening to his voice, and they heard it through the star. But it was scripture that finished delivering the message.
Scripture is like the tuning instrument Chris and Nate used on their guitars this morning. If we listen to scripture, we'll know whether or not we're in tune with God. If we're trained to listen, we'll know whether or not we're on the right bus.
With that in mind, I want to share with you our training plan to listen to God in 2008.