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The Gift of Gold
Matthew 2:1-11
Skip Heitzig

Matthew 2 (NKJV™)
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Gift, The

Today, we begin considering the Advent season—the coming of God’s Son into the world through physical birth. We will examine the three gifts given by the magi: gold, frankincense, and myrrh, looking at one gift each week. It’s the sincere hope of our staff that Christ will occupy center stage in your life during this season and that the three roles Jesus plays, as signified by these gifts, would become a reality in your life now and always.

In our consumer culture, Christmas has become all about getting and giving the latest gadgets and goods. Because of that, we've pushed aside the one gift that fulfills our deepest needs: Jesus Christ. In this special series, Pastor Skip Heitzig takes a fresh look at the gifts the wise men brought the child Jesus--gold, frankincense, and myrrh--and the ultimate gift that Jesus offers through salvation.

"And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification" (Romans 5:16).


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Outline

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  1. Question about a Coming King (vv. 1-2)

  2. Reaction of the Current King (vv. 3-8)

  3. Adoration for the Competent King (vv. 9-11)

Study Guide

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As Pastor Skip explained, a recent gift of incense reminded him that smell is a very powerful trigger for human beings, producing a rush of vivid memories of past experiences. Smell activates olfactory nerves in the limbic system in our brains that stimulate feelings and motivation. Incense would be an odd gift for a toddler, right? And yet, the wise men from the East brought just that to the child Jesus. This weekend, we considered the prophetic significance of their gift of frankincense and how it should trigger our motivation for living for Jesus, our Great High Priest.


First, let’s consider the men who gave the gift—the wise men. The word for wise men is magoi, or magi. It’s the root word of magic and magician, but also of magistrate. Historians tell us that they were a priestly caste of the Medes from a region called Parthia, part of the vast Medo-Persian Empire. They were remarkably similar to the Levitical priesthood: they inherited their priesthood, were monotheistic, and used fire as their principal element of worship. They also sacrificed animals on an altar and would afterward eat the sacrifice, like the Levitical priests. Additionally, these magi had enormous political clout, sitting by and advising reigning kings. In fact, no Persian could become king without meeting several qualifications: mastering the spiritual disciplines of the magi, receiving the approval of the magi, and being crowned by the magi. In effect, the magi were kingmakers. Furthermore, they oversaw and administered the law of the Medes and the Persians. They rose to power under Nebuchadnezzar, and their influence spanned centuries and several empires. Around the sixth century BC, King Darius decreed that the national religion would be Zoroastrianism, and the magi converted, becoming worshipers of Ahura Mazda. However, it is believed that most of them only converted as a political move to retain their power and paychecks. It’s amazing that these wise men who worshiped a different god considered the facts and followed their conclusion to Jesus. How does this encourage you? How did you arrive at Jesus’ door?


Next, let’s consider the meaning of the gift itself. Frankincense is a pure, refined form of incense. It comes from the resin of a tree native to the Arabian Peninsula. Workers would make an incision in the trunk of this tree and let the amber-colored sap ooze out. Once it hardened, they would remove the resin and crush it to powder. It would then be burned, releasing a woody scent with hints of lemon. It was a rare and costly substance. The Egyptians sought it for their funeral rites and paid good money for it. In Scripture, it is always referred to as a priestly substance—either mixed with oil and used for anointing priests or blended into grain offerings made by priests. Leviticus 2 records the practice of the grain offering, which God loved the smell of. Paul likely had this offering in mind when he thanked the Philippians in Philippians 4:18. The wise men, these Parthian priests from afar, gifted Jesus with the substance of Jewish priests. This is significant because one of the primary roles Jesus would play was that of the Great High Priest. According to 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, what two things are fragrant to God now, and what aromas can they produce?


Lastly, let’s look at the ministry of the One who received the gift. One of Jesus’ key roles is that He is our Great High Priest, interceding between us and the Father. The writer of Hebrews mentioned Jesus as High Priest eleven times and, quoting Psalm 110, claimed that Jesus’ priesthood is greater than all the other priesthoods that have existed (Aaronic, Melchizedek, et al.). His duties as the One who made the sacrifice and the One who was the sacrifice have been completed (see Hebrews 7:27); He has sat down at the right hand of the Father (see Hebrews 8:1). Only generals and magi could sit at the right hand of a monarch, and Jesus was both of those and more in relationship to the Father. The priests of the Old Testament never sat down because sacrifices were perpetually and continually being made. Jesus’ sacrifice for sin on the cross fulfilled the need for any and all sacrifices forever. Job cried out for a mediator between him and God, and Jesus came as our Mediator and our Advocate, interceding on our behalf (see Hebrews 7:25). Another word for priest is pontifex, which means bridge builder. Since you are also a priest (see Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9), how are you building bridges for God? Who are you praying for?


Adapted from Pastor Skip’s teaching

The BIG Idea
Is Jesus the King of your family, your marriage, your work life, and your thought life?

Detailed Notes

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  1. Introduction
    1. Lots of people get information about Christmas solely from Christmas cards and carols
    2. Of all the people in the Christmas story, the group that has the most confusion surrounding it is the wise men
      1. The text says nothing about their number
      2. However many there were, it was enough to make Herod troubled—an army or entourage
      3. The text does not say they were kings from the Orient
      4. They were spiritual advisors, kingmakers, probably from ancient Persia
      5. They did not come on Christmas night; Jesus was a child when they came
    3. We begin with their gift of gold, the metal of kings
  2. Question about a Coming King (vv. 1-2)
    1. Many legends, myths, and traditions have developed around the wise men
    2. Wise men is the Greek word magoi, where we get magi
    3. Greek historian Herodotus said they came from ancient Media, or Persia
      1. They were a priestly caste of Medes, from Parthia and Mesopotamia
      2. They became advisors to kings and different monarchies
      3. Skilled in philosophy and science, interpreters of dreams
      4. Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic religion that worshiped Ahura Mazda
    4. Wise men appear in the Old Testament in the book of Daniel
      1. Among the highest ranking officers in Nebuchadnezzar's court in Babylon
      2. Daniel saved their lives and was placed as the chief of the magi (see Daniel 2)
      3. Why would people from Persia come to Jerusalem asking the question in verse 2?
        1. Daniel had primed the pump of their ancestors
        2. Daniel 2; 9; 12
      4. Many Jews stayed in Babylon and had the Scriptures
        1. The magi had access to all the prophetic Scriptures
        2. Numbers 24:17; Isaiah 9:2
    5. Even foreign pagan worshipers understood that somebody significant had been born, the King of the Jews
  3. Reaction of the Current King (vv. 3-8)
    1. Herod was troubled—Greek tarassó, greatly perturbed, highly agitated
    2. Why was all Jerusalem troubled? Because Herod was troubled!
    3. Herod was troubled by the word king, a word of competition; Herod was called the king of the Jews
    4. Herod was not Jewish; he was an Idumean
      1. He took over Judea after his father, Antipater, died
      2. Herod killed any possible rivals
      3. He was cruel and paranoid
      4. He later attempted to kill Jesus Himself (see Matthew 2:16)
  4. Adoration for the Competent King (vv. 9-11)
    1. The wise men went into a house and saw Jesus as a child
    2. Before they gave their gifts, they gave their hearts
      1. They worshiped Him, then they gave their presents to Him
      2. Before we give any of our time, our talents, and our treasure, we have to give ourselves, our heart
    3. Gold is mentioned 385 times in Scripture, more than any other metal
      1. Was considered the most precious of all metals, the emblem of wealth and royalty
      2. More than any other metal, it was associated with kings
    4. The theme of the gospel of Matthew is that Jesus Christ is the King
      1. It's not surprising that he included the story of eastern Gentile kingmakers coming and presenting to Jesus the gift fit for a king—gold
      2. Church historian Tertullian believed that the gifts of the wise men fulfilled Isaiah 60:5
    5. What the gift of gold practically meant to a very poor couple
      1. We don't know what they did with the gold
      2. Maybe they used it to finance their trip to and from Egypt (see Matthew 2:13-15)
    6. We worship the Lord because He is King
    7. In the New Testament
      1. The kingdom of heaven is mentioned seventy times and the kingdom of God thirty-two times
      2. 100 times the idea of a kingdom and a King associated with Jesus is mentioned
      3. We should be worshiping Him not just as our Savior, but our King, our Sovereign
    8. John 12:12-13
    9. Matthew 27:37; John 19:19
    10. Revelation 19:16
  5. Closing
    1. Do you worship Him as your King? Are you His subject, His servant? Is He on the throne, or are you on the throne?
    2. Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2
    3. Jesus paid for you; He bought you; He owns you
    4. Are you like Herod, the religious leaders, or the magi?
      1. Herod followed the star of self, though he claimed to be a worshiper
      2. The religious leaders followed the star of religion; they knew all the right answers but had all the wrong actions
      3. The magi were looking for a King, and when they found that King, they worshiped Him
    5. Verse 12
      1. Whenever Jesus becomes your King, you will go out differently than how you came in
      2. 2 Corinthians 5:17
    6. Is He really King? Does He have the authority in your marriage, work life, thought life?
    7. Revelation 4:10
      1. Why wait?
      2. Let's cast any kind of rulership or ownership we're holding on to down before His throne

Figures referenced: Herodotus, Herod the Great, Antipater, Tertullian

Greek words: magoi, tarassó

Cross references: Numbers 24:17; Isaiah 9:2; 60:5; Daniel 2; 9; 12; Matthew 2:1-16; 6:10; 27:37; Luke 11:2; John 12:12-13; 19:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 4:10; 19:16


Transcript

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Introduction: Hello and welcome to this message from Skip Heitzig pastor of Calvary Albuquerque. We pray that God uses these teachings to transform lives, and we're blessed to hear that many people have experienced his grace. If this message deepens your love for the Lord, tell us. Email us at mystory@calvaryabq.org. And if you'd like to support this ministry financially, you can give online securely at calvaryabq.org/giving. The Christmas season is in full swing, and sometimes our focus can be on all the presents instead of Jesus Christ. As we begin a new series called The Gift, we take a fresh look at what the wise men brought Jesus. In the message "The Gift of Gold," Skip examines their first gift and how it signifies one of Jesus' messianic roles. Let's turn to Matthew, chapter 2, as he begins.

Skip Heitzig: Would you turn this morning, please, in your Bibles to Matthew, chapter 2; Matthew, chapter 2. Every Christmastime retailers bank on sales so much because sales for Christmas presents give retailers about 20 percent of their total revenue for the year. And this year it is estimated that Americans are going to spend 781 billion dollars on presents. It's a lot of gifts, 781 billion dollars. In a survey when people were asked, "Who's your favorite people to buy Christmas gifts for?" You can guess who topped the list. Children, especially their own children. What amazed me is that dead last on the list of favorite people to buy Christmas presents for were dads, [laughter] only 2 percent. Seventy percent said children; 2 percent said dads. I went into depression when I found that out. [laughter]

Well, we are entering the Christmas season, the Advent season, as it has been historically called by the church. And what we want to do, beginning this week, is look at the gifts that were presented to Christ after his birth by the wise men called the magi in our text. Now, I got to say that I always find it awkward at Christmastime, because I feel like I'm sort of battling the theology of Christmas cards and Christmas carols. I've discovered that lots of people get information about Christmas solely on the pictures that people paint on Christmas cards or lyrics that come from Christmas carols. They're the biggest culprits. They're wonderful songs. I love Christmas carols, but you can't take the theology from Christmas carols necessarily.

Here's an example. I love the song, but listen: "Silent night, holy night, all is calm"---stop right there. Since when is the birth of a baby ever a silent night? Am I right? It's not silent. Add to that the confusion in the streets of Bethlehem as people are signing up for a census that has been taken forcing masses of population to travel around the country. Add to that the anthems of the angels and the sky breaking forth in voluminous praise. It seems to me that of all of the people in the Christmas story, the group that has the most confusion surrounding them are the ones that we're about to read about---the wise men. And I say "confusion" because there was that great song, another Christmas carol, written in 1857: "We three kings of Orient are bearing gifts we traverse afar."

It's a beautiful song; however, the text says nothing about their number. It doesn't say there were three kings; it just says they brought three gifts. How many ever there were, it was enough to make Herod troubled, and I don't think three dudes on camels would have done it. An army would have, yes, an entourage, yes, but just three guys probably wouldn't. So the text doesn't say there were three, nor does it say there were three kings from the Orient as we understand the Orient. They were from somewhere east of Israel, probably ancient Persia. They were not kings. They were spiritual advisors, we will discover. They were kingmakers, in fact. And they did not come on Christmas night. They weren't part of the manger scene as the Christmas cards will tell you.

But by the time they show up, Jesus is not a baby any longer; he's a child, as you will see. So, what we learn from the cards and the carols isn't always right. What would be more accurate to sing, "We huge entourage of Parthia and astronomers from Iran traverse afar, bearing gifts . . . ." But that would never pass the songwriting committee, so we have to dispense with that. We're going to look at the gifts that they give, this week, the following weekend, and the following weekend. And today we begin with the gold that is brought in chapter 2, verse 11. Gold, the metal of kings. And there was one thing the group knew about this baby who had been born---this was a King who was born.

And we're going to examine these gifts and go deeper than the Christmas carols and beyond the cover of the Christmas card and find out their meaning, their emblematic meaning. I don't know if you saw this a few years ago on America's Funniest Home Videos. Do you ever watch that? It showed a video of Christmas day a kid coming down the stairs and seeing this huge gift by the Christmas tree. He got so excited, ran over to it, started ripping the paper off. And paper's flying everywhere, and he looks at it, and he starts dancing around, dancing around the living room and goes, "Wow, I can't believe it! Wow! It's what I always wanted." And then he paused---this was in the video, no joke---and he went over to it and said, "What is it?" [laughter]

And I feel that with these gifts---the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh---it's like, "Wow! I love singing that Christmas carol! What is it? What do they mean exactly?" Well, we begin in verse 1 actually. We want to do that today. And we begin with a question, a question about a coming King that they come and bring to Herod. Verse 1, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem," we're not told really anything more than that, "saying, 'Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him.' "As we begin the chapter, seemingly from out of nowhere this group from the East shows up in Jerusalem. They manage to get an audience with King Herod.

And whatever the conversation entails, whatever they saw---or whatever Herod saw in this group, it was enough to trouble him, the text will tell us, agitate him, perturb him, shake him to the core, and all of Jerusalem with him. It just says "wise men from the East." We're really not told much more than that. However, you should know that over the centuries many legends, myths, and traditions have developed around who these were, and everybody kind of goes to "the three wise men." It was believed by some, years ago, that these must be representatives of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the surviving families after the flood. In the Middle Ages by that time they had developed names. The name Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior were given to them, saying that one was from Arabia, one was from Ethiopia, one was from Tarsus, respectively.

Marco Polo even wrote that in his travels he encountered one Persian village and the villagers claim that it was the point of origin, the beginning part of the journey of the wise men to find the Christ child. By the twelfth century there was a German bishop named Reinald of Cologne, Germany, who claimed to have found the skulls of the wise men. Interesting that he found them in Germany, isn't it? And he said when he dug them up that he knew it was them. He knew it was their skulls, because their eyes were still in their sockets, and they were fixed toward Jerusalem. I kid you not. I mean, this is like goofy stuff made up through history. And it reminds me of the Sunday school story of the teacher who was giving the Christmas account to the children and wanted to make sure that they understood.

And so he asked the question: "What do we call the three wise men?" And one of the kids didn't quite get the name right, he said, "We call them the three maggots." [laughter] And he just sort of overlooked that, and he said the follow-up question is: "And what did the magi bring the Christ child?" And another one piped up and said, "I know---gold, Frankensteins, and smurfs." [laughter] Well, those ancient traditions aren't much different than what the kids thought it was as well. It simply tells us that, "Behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem." The word "wise men" is the Greek word magoi/magos where we get the term magi. History tells us---and I can't give it all to you today because of time. I'll kind of give you a little more information each week.

But history tells us that they came from ancient Media, ancient Persia. According to the Greek historian Herodotus---and that's where we get most of our information about them---they were a priestly caste of the Medes; that is, they were from Parthia and Mesopotamia. They had one time tried to overthrow Persia; they were unsuccessful. And they became a priestly tribe, advisors to kings and different royal monarchies. They were skilled in philosophy and science. They became known as men of wisdom and they were interpreters of dreams. Originally, they had a worship system of Zoroastrianism---some of you know what that is---called after Zoroaster the founder of that religion. It was a monotheistic religion where they believed in worshiping the god Ahura Mazda.

This is way before the car was developed. [laughter] It was the chief deity they thought, the storm god, the fire god. More about him in weeks to come. But the magi, the wise men appear in the Old Testament, and one of the prominent places is in the book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar had them hired in his court to become his own spiritual advisors. They were among the highest ranking officers in Babylon. And you'll recall that one young man saved their bacon, and that was a young man by the name of Daniel who interpreted a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar that the magi, the wise men of Babylon could not interpret. And because Daniel did that, he not only saved their lives, but Daniel was placed as the chief of the magi. He was the master over them all.

Now, why is that important? It's important because without it, you don't understand the question in verse 2. The question is this: "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?" Why on earth would people from Persia come to Jerusalem asking that question? The answer can only be: Daniel had primed the pump of their ancestors. Daniel had spoken about, in prophetic fashion, that there would be a Messiah born who would be the King over Israel and eventually ruler of the world: Daniel, chapter 9; Daniel, chapter 12; even Daniel, chapter 2, the dream that Nebuchadnezzar saw. He gave those prophecies. And then Jews stayed in Babylon, multitudes of them.

And with them they had the Scriptures, so that the magi over time had access to all of the prophetic Scriptures in the Old Testament, like Numbers 24 that reads, "A star will come from Jacob and a [Ruler] from Israel," or Isaiah, chapter 9, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; and those who dwell in the shadow of death, on them a great light has shined." So they followed a star, and don't have time to talk about all of the different conjectures of what this star was. Every year there's some new National Geographic specialty and astronomers say it's this or that. Here's the point: even foreign, pagan worshipers understood that somebody significant had "been born the King of the Jews. So they come with a question, the question about the coming King: "Where is he?"

That's followed by the reaction, the reaction of the current king as seen in verse 3. "When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled." Tarassó is the word. Tarassó means greatly perturbed, highly agitated, deeply troubled. "He was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. And so they said, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Israel." 'Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared."

And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship him also.' And when they heard the king, they departed; and behold, a star which they had seen in the East went with them, until it came over and stood over where the young Child was." Herod was troubled. And why was he troubled? Oh, by the way, why was all Jerusalem troubled? Because Herod was troubled. You'll find out that Herod was the kind of guy that when he's unhappy, everybody else is unhappy. Remember that old saying, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"? If Herod's not happy, nobody in town is gonna be happy.

And the reason he was troubled is by one word and the question they posited to him: "Where is he who has been born"---what?---"King." That's a word of competition to Herod, because it says Herod was the king. In fact, did you know that Herod was called by the title "the king of the Jews"? So when he hears that there is possibly a Jewish-born king, his ire is raised. Let me tell you a little bit about Herod. Herod was not Jewish. He was Idumean. He was an Edomite. He came from modern-day Jordan east of the land of Israel. And the way he arose to power was not because of him, but because of his father. His father was named Antipater. Antipater once helped Rome, and because he had helped Rome, Julius Caesar gave Antipater rule over all of Judea.

When he died, his son now called Herod the Great took over, and Herod the Great was given the title "king of the Jews." It was a title that he held onto very, very tightly, killing any possible rivals. History describes Herod the Great as cruel and paranoid. Here's an example: he killed one of his several wives. He killed two of his eldest sons, so that they couldn't occupy the throne. It was so bad that the saying went around: "It's safer to be Herod's pig than it is to be Herod's son." Herod was so vicious that when he was on his deathbed, eventually---and he knew that everybody would be excited about this. In fact, he knew that when he died, nobody would shed a tear. So, on his deathbed he commanded that all of the chief people in Jerusalem be imprisoned.

And the day that he died, he commanded them all to be killed, because he said, "Nobody will cry when I'm dead, but I want to make sure there's mourning on the day of my death, so kill them all." This is the one who in the story will attempt to kill Jesus himself, slaughtering all the babies of Bethlehem to get to the rival. That's the reaction of this king. But the story really centers around the last part, and I quickly want to move there because of time. After the question about a coming King, and the reaction of the current king, comes really the heart of this text; and that is, the adoration of the competent King, Jesus Christ. Verse 9, "When they heard the king, and departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was."

"And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child"---now please notice that. They didn't go into a manger. They didn't go into a cave. They didn't go into a barn. It wasn't a baby. Now they're in a "house." This is sometime after Christmas, after the birth of Christ, and he's now a child. He's a "young Child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they opened up their treasures, they presented gifts to him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh." Would you please notice that before they gave their gifts, they gave their heart. They worshiped him. They worshiped him, then they presented presents to him, and I think this is an important example to us.

We often talk about Christians' responsibility to give their time, their talent, and their treasure, and, well, we should. Before we give any of that, we have to give ourselves, we give our very heart, so that all those things are simply an outflow of our worshiping heart to the Lord. They worshiped him and then they presented their gifts. And the first in the list is the gift of gold. Gold is mentioned in the Scripture 385 times, more than any other metal. It is considered the most precious of all metals. Of course, this is before modern metallurgy. Now we know that rhodium and then platinum are more precious than the third on the list; and that is, gold. But back then, it was just considered the emblem of wealth. If you had gold, you were royalty, and it symbolized, more than any other metal, it was associated with kings and royalty.

In fact, it was an ancient custom that if you ever approach a king, you must bring a gift, and it's always best to bring at least part of the gift to be the gift of gold. So here we have Matthew, and Matthew alone, telling us a story of these wise men. Doesn't surprise us, because the theme of the gospel of Matthew is that Jesus Christ is the King of the Jews. You know Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all have their own---their own style, right, their own idea presenting Christ a certain way? Matthew wants to present Jesus as the King, so we're not surprised that he would include the story of Eastern Gentile kingmakers coming and presenting to Jesus the gift fit for a king, the gift of gold.

The church historian Tertullian in the second century believed that by giving Jesus the gift of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, it was the fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 60 verse 5, which reads, "The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you." I want you to think for a moment what this gift of gold practically meant to a very poor couple. They had known poverty up to this. They were peasants. They could barely make the journey financially from Nazareth down to Bethlehem. Suddenly, they come into big money. Somebody gives them a pot of gold. What happened to it? We don't know, but I can only guess that it's the gold that they used to finance their trip that they had to take down to Egypt to hide from the wrath of King Herod and then come back to Nazareth sometime later.

This gold would come in handy. But this is what I'd like to focus on as we approach the Lord's Table. This shows us that we worship the Lord because he is King. Jesus Christ is King and I want you to consider that as we take these elements. In the Bible there is a term over and over again in the New Testament, "the kingdom of heaven," and another term, "the kingdom of God." The "kingdom of heaven" appears seventy times; the "kingdom of God" appears thirty-two times, a hundred times the idea of a "kingdom" and a "King" associated with Jesus is mentioned. So, we should be worshiping him as not just our Savior, but as our King, our Sovereign. Later on Jesus will come into Jerusalem on a donkey, and when he does, the people, the crowds will say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!"

On the cross, Pilate will have ordered the statement: "THIS IS JESUS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS." When Christ comes back in Revelation 19, on his robe he will bear the sign: "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." So here's my question: Do you worship him as your King? Are you his subject? Are you his servant? Does he call the shots in your life? Is he on the throne or are you on the throne? Is he the King? Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come," and that can be answered right now as he occupies the throne of your life, the throne of your heart. I read a story about a young naval recruit. He had just gotten in the Navy and he asked for a pass, a weekend pass to go to a friend's wedding that he was going to be in it. And his commanding officer surprisingly gave him the time off.

He got a pass, but the commanding officer said, "Make sure that you are back on base by 7:00 p.m. on Sunday." And the young recruit had the courage to say this back to his commanding officer: "You don't understand--I'm in the wedding!" To which the commanding officer quickly replied, "No. You don't understand---you're in the Navy. We now own your time." Jesus paid for you. He bought you. He owns you. He is your Lord. He is your King. Do you worship him as your King? Savior, yes; friend, yes; but certainly Lord of Lords, King of Kings. So ask yourself this: Are you like Herod? Are you like the religious leaders? Or are you like the magi? Herod followed the star itself. He didn't want God or anybody else to interfere with his plans, his glory.

What's interesting about Herod is he claimed to be a worshiper, didn't he? Verse 8, "Tell me where he is, so that I may worship him." He pretended to be a worshiper, but he wasn't. A lot of people pretend to be worshipers, but they're really worshiping them. Then there's the religious leaders. Herod was following the star of self; they were following the star of religion. They knew all the right answers; they had all the wrong actions. They could tell you verse and they knew the Bible, but they wouldn't get off their duff to go see if indeed Jesus had been born in Bethlehem. But then you have the magi. Oh how I love them. You've seen the bumper stickers, "Wise men still seek him"? They weren't looking for anything but a King, and when they found that King, they worshiped him.

There's one final verse before we have the communion board come. Look at verse 12. It says, "Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way." It simply means that they took a different route in going back home. But I thought about this verse, and I thought, you know, there is a truth behind that. Whenever Jesus becomes your King, you will go out differently than you came in. You'll leave a different way. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, all things become new." And only you can answer this next question: Is he really King, authority? Does he have the authority in your marriage? Does he have the authority in your work life? Does he have the authority in your thought life? Is he King?

In Revelation 4 the twenty-four elders, I believe emblematic of the church, will cast their crowns down before his throne. I look at that and I say, why wait? Let's do it now. Let's cast any kind of rulership, ownership that we're holding onto in our lives and say, "You, not us, you are the King and we worship you." Let's pray, and as we do I ask the communion board to please come. Lord, what a perfect way and a perfect day to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Even as we love to do it a few times during the year for our main weekend services, only you could have orchestrated this day, the day that we consider Jesus being our Savior, we consider that he is also our Sovereign. We understand that he came to die for sinners and to rule over them as their new Father, their new Master, their new Lord, their new King.

Lord, as we take these elements, I pray that the meaning of the gold would be more awesome to us than ever before, that though Jesus came from heaven and was assigned the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, yet he humbled himself to the extent of being in poverty, growing up in those conditions as a human being, and facing cruel death in order to pay for us, which shows us the truth that if he's not our Savior, he's not our Sovereign; and if he's not our Sovereign, he's not our Savior. They go hand and hand---Lord and Christ. In an attitude of worship and song the elements will be passed out to you. We're asking that you hold onto them until we all have them together, and then we can take them.

If you don't know the Lord, if it's not personal with you, if it's not real with you, then just have the courtesy of passing the elements on to somebody next to you and don't take them. Because to take them means that it's real for you, and if it's not, then don't take them. A better option, however, is in this time for you to give your life to Christ, to ask him to forgive you of your sin, to let him become your Savior, and then freely take these elements with us. As we hold these elements, we discover something: that we don't have to hold onto guilt because we have broken the laws, we have failed in our promises. So many times we have done those things. But we don't have to live in that guilt. There was One who came to take it away, to take it on himself on his body and by his blood.

These elements speak of that and there's no reason why any of us should leave with a burden of failure and burden of sin. By holding these elements, it's personal. We're saying, "I know that God loves me and did this for me." And so we take the bread commemorating his body. And the cup which we hold, emblematic of the blood of Jesus Christ, whom John says "cleanses us from all sin." Father, we're thankful that by your death for us, we have life. Let's take together. Would you stand, please, as we close in song? So great to share the Lord's Table with you and begin this season aright.

Closing: Jesus Christ is the King of Kings, but does he occupy that role in your life? Let us know how you will apply the truths in this message, so that Jesus takes center stage this season. Email mystory@calvaryabq.org. And just a reminder: you can give financial to this work at calvaryabq.org/giving. Thank you for joining us for this teaching from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Albuquerque.

Additional Messages in this Series

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12/14/2014
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The Gift of Frankincense
Matthew 2:11
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
Who gives a young child some incense for a present? A toy truck, maybe. Ninja Turtles, possibly. But incense? Isn’t it amazing that for all these years we have heard this story of the magi bringing gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus, and yet most of us don’t know why they did it? Could there be a more noteworthy reason than that it just smelled nice?
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12/21/2014
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The Gift of Myrrh
Matthew 2:11
Skip Heitzig
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For the last three weeks, we’ve had an opportunity to examine the three gifts the magi presented to the young child Jesus after His birth. Perhaps the most unusual of these three substances is this last gift—myrrh. More than just a precious present, myrrh was an item that was used extensively upon death. Let’s see how this gift was a prophecy of Christ’s work as well as a portrayal of Christian worship.
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12/24/2014
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The Gift of Jesus Christ
Romans 5:16
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
The gold, frankincense, and myrrh presented by the magi were gifts from men to Jesus, but Jesus—the greatest gift ever given—is God's gift to man. In this Christmas Eve message, we learn what it means to receive the gift of Jesus Christ as we review the meaning behind the wise men's presents and see how the apostle Paul compared Adam and Jesus.
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There are 3 additional messages in this series.
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