“Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him…quoting out of Micah…In Bethlehem of Judea it’s been written by the prophet Micah and you Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” So Herod secretly called the Magi, ascertained from them the time the star appeared and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go make careful search for the child and when you have found Him, report to me that I may come and worship Him.” And you know the rest of the story. He didn’t want to worship Him, he wanted to kill Him.
“And when they found the child, the Magi were warned by God in a dream to go back to the Persian Partheon Kingdom another way.” They never went back to tell Herod where he was. Herod was so furious he massacred every male child under two years of age thinking he’d catch the king in the killing of all of the children.
What I want you to notice particularly is that when the Magi arrived, verse 11, they came into the house…again we remind ourselves that time has elapsed and they’re now in a house, not a stable…saw the child with Mary His mother, they fell down and worshiped Him. Now there is the indication that these non-Jewish king makers from the east acknowledged that this is the promised Messiah. They are non-Jewish. They are…they are Gentile and they understand the words of Daniel and the others and they realize that this indeed is the king. And the people of Israel missed what these Gentiles saw. They worshiped Him.
He is king by royal worship. He was worshiped by the established king makers of the world. And opening their treasures, they presented Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. Gold for a king; frankincense which is a pure incense rising speaks of deity, it was offered to God as a sweet fragrance. Myrrh speaks of His humanity, it’s a perfume to make life more bearable and life more pleasant…to push away some of the odors of life. He is a king…the gold. He is God…the frankincense. He is God/Man…the myrrh, the God/Man who is king. They worshiped Him.
Royal worship…Matthew says He is King because the king makers of the world bowed to Him. In a sort of a backhanded way, even Herod confesses Him as King by his desire to murder Him. And so, the royalty of Christ is established not only by His lineage, not only by the fact of His incredible grace seen even in His genealogy, not only by His royal birth but by His royal worship. And lastly, Matthew wants us to know that He is King by royal decree. Not just these things but He was decreed to be the King by God Himself. God who is His royal Father has so decreed.
How so? Back to chapter 1 verse 23, God said back in the Old Testament, “Behold a virgin shall be with child, shall bear a son and they shall call His name Emanuel which translated means God with us.” God said the King would come born of a virgin. It happened, the divine decree.
Chapter 2 verse 6, the prophet said speaking for God, “He would be born in Bethlehem,” that’s exactly where He was born. Chapter 2 verse 15, “Out of Egypt did I call My Son,” said Hosea in chapter 11 verse 1. You remember that in order to escape the wrath of Herod, they were told to go to Egypt where they stayed. And then out of Egypt they came on their way to Nazareth. That was prophesied in Hosea 11:1. So God by decree said a virgin will bear a child. God by decree said that child will be born in Bethlehem. God by decree said that child will come out of Egypt.
And then in verse 18, Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled, “A voice was heard in Rama weeping in great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and she refused to be comforted because they were no more.” Rachel is sort of the mother of all Jewish mothers and they’re weeping and crying at the massacre of all their little babies. And so, the decree of God was given in that passage in Jeremiah 31:15 that when the Messiah came there would be a weeping of Jewish mothers over the loss of their children at the time of His birth.
And finally in verse 23, He resided in a city called Nazareth that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazarene. “The prophets” is plural there, we don’t know the specific prophecy…in fact it may not even be recorded. But the prophets said He would be a Nazarene and that’s exactly where He went to live.
God said when the King comes He will be born of a virgin. When He comes He will be born in Bethlehem. When He comes He will come out of Egypt. When He comes there will be a massacre that causes weeping of women for their killed children. And when He comes He will take up His residence in a place called Nazareth in order to be called a Nazarene. Jesus fulfilled every element of the royal decree of God. He is King in every sense. He is King by birth. He is King by decree. He is King by lineage. He is King by character. He is King by homage and worship.
And the carols say it, don’t they? “Born a King…born a King,” over and over again. “Christ the newborn King.” But what kind of King, in closing? Is He a king over an earthly nation? Is He a king over many nations of the earth? The Bible tells us that He is a divine king. The Bible tells us that He Himself said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” He said, “The Kingdom is within you…or among you, or in your midst.” And we learn it is a spiritual kingdom. He rules the hearts of those who believe in Him. He is sovereign over those who love Him. He is sovereign over those who bend their knee and bow to Him and seek His gracious forgiveness for their sins. He is King over those who accept His death and resurrection for their salvation. And some day He will be King over the earth and the whole universe will submit to Him. He is King now in the spiritual sense, He is to be King in the earthly sense and He is to be King in the eternal sense.
He is not a king like any other king. That’s why Pilate couldn’t understand Him. He couldn’t understand what kind of king it is who lets Himself be killed. He couldn’t understand what kind of king it is whose subjects don’t fight for Him. He couldn’t understand what kind of king it is who possesses no earthly authority, no earthly power, no earthly sphere of domination. He couldn’t understand that kind of king. He is a king and He rules over the hearts of all who love Him and serve Him and give Him their lives. And one day He will rule over this whole world when the kingdoms of this world, says the Revelation, become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever. That spiritual kingdom will become an earthly kingdom and blossom into an eternal kingdom where He will reign forever and ever and ever and we with Him.
Jenny Hussie(?) many years ago in the hymn so familiar to us, wrote these words which give us the proper response. “King of my life I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be.” Let’s pray together.
It is not enough, Father, for us that Christ came, it is not enough that He was born a king if we do not bow the knee to His sovereignty, if we do not enter His Kingdom, if we are not passed out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Your dear Son. It means nothing that Jesus came, God incarnate lived, died, rose again, ascended to heaven, lives forever, reigns forever, it is not enough, it has no meaning unless I personally open my heart to Christ to crown Him King of my life, to confess Him as Lord and sovereign master and ruler of my heart. I pray, O God, for every person here that Christ born a King might be King in their life, that all of us might bow the knee and seek forgiveness and seek mercy from the gracious King, forgiveness of sin and that we might seek to be made subjects in His glorious Kingdom to know the blessedness of all that He bestows upon His subjects. We thank You, Father, for the clear presentation in Your Word of the purpose of the coming of Christ. The world didn’t see Him as a king and everything was so humble and so veiled and so hidden that most people missed it. But those who looked closely saw His majestic birth, His majestic character, His majestic words, His royal power in the miracles He performed. And we would put ourselves among those who crown Him King.
The world crunched a crown of thorns onto His head and mocked the idea that He was king. But He is King, King over all who love Him and soon to be King over all the universe in His glorious Second Coming. We pray that every heart would be open to the royalty of the Son of God. We pray in His name. Amen.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
