December 20-21, 2003   CHRISTMAS IN A REAL WORLD!        Matthew 2:1-12

CHOOSING A STAR OR A SAVIOR!

Christmas Quiz – Bible or Tradition!

B T God told Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem for the birth of the baby.

B T Mary rode a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. 

B T The Innkeeper told Joseph and Mary that there was no room in the inn.

B T The angels sang to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest….”

B T The shepherds were told to follow the star to the baby Jesus.

B T The baby was born just after Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem.

B T The baby Jesus was born in a stable.          

B T The baby Jesus didn’t cry.  

B T The wisemen presented their gifts to Jesus in lying in the manger.  

B T The three wisemen were kings.                  

1. HEROD CHOSE TO REJECT THE SAVIOR!

A. HE WAS DISTURBED!

*** Matthew 2:3 “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” [NIV]

B. HE PRETENDED DEVOTION!

*** Matt 2:8 “He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." [NIV]

C. HE HATCHED A DEATH PLOT!

*** Matthew 2:16 “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” [NIV]

IF JESUS IS KING, HE CAN’T BE!

*** John 1:10-12 “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God….” [NIV]

*** Luke 19:14 “We don't want this man to be our king.” [NIV]

2. THOSE WHO KNEW IGNORED THE SAVIOR!

*** Matthew 2:4-6 “When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: " '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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" [NIV]

A. THEY KNEW WHERE THE SAVIOR WOULD BE BORN!

B. THEY KNEW WHEN THE SAVIOR WOULD BE BORN!

*** Daniel 9:25 “Now listen! It will be 49 years plus 434 years from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One comes!” [LB]

C. THEY KNEW HOW THE SAVIOR WOULD BE BORN!

*** Isaiah 7:14 “The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and she will name him Immanuel.” [New Century Version]

D. THEY KNEW WHO THE SAVIOR WAS THAT WAS BORN!

*** Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this!” [New Living Translation]

E. THEY KNEW WHY THE SAVIOR WAS BORN!

*** Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." [NIV]

*** Isaiah 53:5-6 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” [NIV]

THEY SIMPLY CHOSE NOT TO RESPOND!

3. THE WISE MEN CHOSE TO SURRENDER TO THE SAVIOR!

THEY CHOSE TO SURRENDER:

1. BY RESEARCHING!

*** Matthew 2:9 “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” [NIV]

2. BY REJOICING!

*** Matthew 2:10 “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” [NIV]

3. BY RESPONDING!

*** Matthew 2:11 “…then they opened their treasures….” [NIV]

*** 1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah challenged the people: "How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him… Make up your minds!" [Message]

4. BY RELEASING!

*** Matthew 2:11 “…they…presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” [NIV]

5. BY REVERENCING!

*** Matthew 2:11 “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.” [NIV]

THIS CHRISTMAS WILL YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THE STAR

OR THE SAVIOR?