Advent: Joy and Peace
Text: Matthew 2:10–11 ESV
I had a conversation last week with a barista at Starbucks, and I had the chance to share the gospel with her. She grew up Mormon, but she has now walked away from the Mormon church.
She described herself as someone who was just searching but believes something's out there. Well, I asked what she thought the purpose of mankind is or why do you think we’re all here? She said that the goal is to be happy.
And you know what I said to her? “I think you’re right.” I think we were created to be happy but true happiness is not found in anything else but God alone.
God has indeed created us to find joy. But everything outside of God himself will be a lesser joy. Joy is found in Jesus. In other words, you will spend your whole life searching for true joy until you come to Christ.
Texts like Matthew 2:10–11 give me such confidence that we were created to be happy in God. When God is getting glory, and we're rejoicing, that's what we were made to do.
This story, the Christmas story, is working overtime to show us that God sent his Son to bring joy and peace. And our response to him should be great joy and peace. If anyone would come to Jesus, they could have, not just joy, but great joy and, not just peace, but everlasting peace.
As we look at this text, I think you will see that as these wise men came and rejoiced over and worshiped this newborn King. But Matthew doesn’t just want us to be able to fill out a guest book of who came to see Jesus. These wisemen are in the text to wake us up to the reality that neutrality to Jesus won’t do. Hostility to Jesus won’t do. Jesus came to bring joy and peace, and the proper response to Jesus is to receive the joy and peace he came to offer.
Wise Men
Here’s how our text begins:
“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” (Matthew 2:10 ESV)
Well, who is the “they” in this passage: “When they saw the star? They rejoice exceeding their great joy.” Who are we talking about here?
Well, we're picking up the story in the middle, so let’s go back to verse one so we can understand what is going on:
“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.” (Matthew 2:1 ESV)
Now, many of us familiar with the Christmas story. And usually, we think of Matthew or Luke’s version of the story. But it is important to note that they each share different aspects of the story.
Luke, by and large, focuses on the immediate time around Jesus's birth. He highlights the details about the manager and the shepherds who come right after the birth from the fields. Well, Matthew, does mention the birth of Jesus here in verse one, but he quickly moves to talking about some of the months following his birth.
So Matthew’s account opens up with these wise men who come on the scene well after Jesus’s first days. Some translations don’t use the term “wise men,” but just use the Greek word and pronounce it in English: “magi.”
Whether you call them the magi or the wise men, these men are a bit misunderstood because of the common retellings of the Christmas story. But we want to look to the Bible to understand what is happening. What I’m not saying is that the Bible got these details wrong, but rather that we got it wrong in some of our songs and retelling of the Christmas story. I hate to be that guy who perhaps crushes all your memories of Christmas as a child, but I think it will help to get some of our facts straight.
Sometimes these wise men are what the traditional story calls the three kings. You probably know the song “We Three Kings.” Well, these wise men are not kings. In fact, the only kings in the Christmas story in the Bible are king Herod and Jesus.
Far from being kings, these wise men are really magicians or sorcerers. They would study all different kinds of religions and are especially known for being astrologers. Really they're just pagan, idolatrous Gentiles. They are certainly not kings.
On top of that, we often talk about the three wise men. The reason that it's always talked about as three wise men is that there's three gifts given: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Three gifts, therefore, three wise men. But we actually don’t know how many there were. There could have been two, twenty-two, one hundred and two. We don’t know.
Sorry. Don’t cancel Christmas. Our retellings at least have the big details of Jesus being born in a manger correct. Don’t go throwing out your nativity scene.
Now the reason I am making a big deal out of clarifying who these wise men are is that I think it helps us see what Matthew is doing by including them in his retelling of Jesus’s birth.
These men are pagan, Gentile astrologers who have traveled hundreds of miles in search of this promised one. I think part of the point is that these men are going to stand in stark contrast to the other people in this story. They are going to be the ones who understand that Jesus brings joy and peace. And they respond with the right amount of joy. Meanwhile God’s people — like the chief priests and the scribes — do nothing.
Now you may be wondering if these wise men are actually a good example to follow. Some would argue in light of who they are that they are just curious astrologers who are following a lead. They then argue that they are not truly worshipping Jesus as the Messiah, but they are just showing him honor by bowing down before him and giving him presents.
I don’t think that is the case.
I think the Bible shows these men to be those we are following God’s direction and bringing about the proper response that God had planned since ages past.
Our story has wise men following a star, and here is what God said in Numbers 24:17:
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.” (Numbers 24:17 ESV)
Furthermore, we have these foreigners bringing gifts to the newborn king. Here is Psalm 72:15 and Isaiah 60:6:
“Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!” (Psalm 72:15 ESV)
“A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.” (Isaiah 60:6 ESV)
It seems to me that God wants us to see these wise men as more than some names in a guest book, but rather, we are to see them as people who are following God’s plan and as proper examples of the response to the coming King.
Great Joy
Now, you are probably familiar with the story. In verse 2, they ask Herod were this one born King of the Jews is. Which is a striking question to ask the current king of the Jews. You can understand why Herod feels threatened. He was appointed King of the Jews, but this baby was born the King of the Jews.
Because he's so nervous about being overthrown, he seeks to find out all the information he can so he can neutralize the threat. So what does he do? He grabs the chief priest and scribe to ask them, “Where the baby would be born.” And they say Bethlehem.
Then Herod sends out the wise man, and he says, “Hey, tell me when you find him because I want to come and worship him.” Of course, we know that's not true.
But now we have this scene where the wise men leaving to go to Bethlehem, which is about five miles away. Meanwhile the chief priests and the scribes, the people who've been studying their Bible and waiting and preparing for the Messiah, they sit back and do nothing.
Furthermore, the very King of the Jews, Herod, isn’t neutral about this baby, he is hostile. He is going to kill all the boys under 2-years-old in Bethlehem just to show how serious he is about stopping this threat to his kingdom.
Now, we finally get to verse 10, and we can feel the thrust that we're supposed to feel when we read this line. These wise men stand in direct contrast to everyone else mentioned in the story. Let me read verse 10 again:
“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” (Matthew 2:10 ESV)
Herod is probably fuming trying to figure out what to do about this newborn king. The chief priest and scribes are reclining at table doing nothing and feeling nothing about the Messiah. Instead, Matthew gives us this cameo of the wise men who are far from neutral about Jesus’s birth. They are overjoyed.
I mean, don't miss it. The Bible clearly wants us to grasp this. Listen to this. They “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” I mean, how much more repetitive can you get: “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
It reminds me of that kid’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The whole point of the title to make sure we know that this is not just a bad day. This is the worst day possible.
This is the exact opposite in our text. They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. It's no ordinary joy. It exceedingly great joy.
Here’s how I picture it. It’s like my son’s joy over Christmas trees, but 200 fold. Every time, we see a Christmas tree, he points it out: “Dad, a Christmas tree.” He just goes wild. Well, it’s like that but so much greater. This isn’t just joy we see here, but great joy.
Have you ever heard of that game “Bigger and Better.” You start with a penny or something insignificant. You then go door to door asking for something bigger and better from the person who answers the door. Eventually, you end up with something epic, like a car or something. Well, there are joys surrounding us, but the Bible is promising a bigger and better joy if you come to Christ.
Joy is all over in the Bible. A pastor pointed this out to me this week. He noted that joy shows up more than two hundred times in the Bible. But the phrase “great joy” only shows up nine times. It is reserved for these key moments in the Bible.
It’s reserved for moments like when God's people go back in the land and they're building the walls again. Or when they restore the Passover, or here in our passage, or at the resurrection, or when we're seeing God face to face. That’s great joy.
This “great joy” is not just in Matthew's account of this Christmas story. Luke draws our attention to great joy as well. In Luke, we even have a clear explanation for the reason to have great joy. In Matthew, it is linked to the wise men seeing the star, but the reason for the joy is not as explicit as it is in Luke. Here’s what it says in Luke 2:10–11:
“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11 ESV)
That's not just joy. This is good news of great joy. The reason is that this baby was no ordinary baby, this was the Savior of the world. Luke says this baby is Christ (the Messiah), the Lord. That is cause for great joy.
This is why I could sit across this barista from Starbucks and say, “You will never find joy unless you come to Jesus.” This rejoicing exceedingly with great joy, it doesn't even happen that often in the Bible, but when it because people encountered the living God.
We can say we someone asks you why you Christian, you could say because I'm a joy seeker. And I can't find this joy anywhere else.
Where Are You?
Now, I would like to ask you a question I heard from another pastor this week. When you hear about Herod, who was hostile to Jesus; the chief priests and scribes, who were indifferent to Jesus; or the wise men, who were overjoyed with Jesus — when you hear of those three camps, where are you? I mean, really, where are you with Christ? Do you rejoice over him?
If you are in the first two, please hear my plea that you could have true joy if you would repent and come to Jesus.
Some of you might say I think I’m in the last camp — overjoyed with Jesus — but you would say, “My joy has been cooling down.” In fact, that maybe many of you. Let me encourage you that advent is such a good time to start to seek God again in hopes that the joy will increase again.
Last week, Ryan reminded us that our preparation and waiting is best guided not by what particularly needs to happen, but rather, by what (or who) you are preparing and waiting for. Sure, tools are helpful, but we just want to use them to see God. We want to look past the tools and see the God they are pointing to.
Worship: The Overflow of Joy
Okay, now, in verse 11, we see these wise men’s joy find its proper expression: worship. Both in general worship of Jesus and then worship through the sacrificial giving of gifts. So look at verse 11.
“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11 ESV)
They've now come in the house, and they see Mary and there's probably others there. But they don't give attention to them. They go straight to the baby and then begin to worship.
Then notice that the gifts are just another response of worship. Think about this for a moment. Why would you give gifts to a king? Kings can get anything they want. They don’t need gifts.
But we give gifts to those people because we want to show them how much we value them. We want to honor them. As a pastor put it: “They are saying, you are may treasure, not these gifts.”
Everyone around us, all over, are trying to sell us joy. Right now, they want you to believe, that you can go out and buy joy. I mean, Nike, Amazon, Macy's, you name it. I mean just drive down look at billboards, watch advertisements over and over trying to convince you if you would just buy _____ you will be happy for the holidays.
And God's story is very simply, “No, you can't buy Joy.” Joy has been bought for you. I sent it to you in my Son, and he bought it for you at the cross.
Let me try to make this really concrete for the holidays. If we are honest, many of us can slip into this joy trap. Our problem is not that we actually enjoy the gifts that we receive on Christmas, it’s that we settle for them as an ultimate joy. We settle for joy, when rejoicing with exceedingly great joy is offered us.
For some of us, the temptation is to love the material object under the tree. For others of us, it is simply to love being around family. For others, you may be tempted toward glutnely. And I say that with all seriousness. The idol of food may try to steal your attention. Please don’t tune out and think, oh this is just another attack against materialism.
Here is the thing, I want you to enjoy any gifts you get this Christmas or in life in general. You were made for joy, and finding joy in the fountain pen you receive for Christmas is not bad. It’s bad when you fall in love with it and lose love for God. Here is 1 John 2:15–17:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15–17 ESV)
This is a real danger. We can love the things of this world. But they are such lesser joys compared to the rejoicing with exceedingly great joy we can have when we come to Jesus. And for you C.S. Lewis fans out there, you probably knew this quote was coming. He captures this so well:
If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (“The Weight of Glory,” 26)
Take this as a plea to not be easily pleased this Christmas. Don’t stop until you find ultimate joy, the joy that comes when you find God’s Son born this day.
Peace
Maybe your question right now is, what about peace? We haven't really talked about peace much. But you said in your intro that Jesus brings joy and peace.
It's a fair question.
In fact, even if we think about this story, the Christmas story, there’s actually not a lot of peace. I mean, it opens up with Joseph and Mary, who's pretty pregnant, having to travel back home. Then finally when she gets there, she can't even get into an inn or a house, and instead she has the baby in a manger with all the animals.
Then Herod is deceived by these wise men and decides he's gonna kill all the babies two years older and younger and Bethlehem. tears just fill the city. My son, would be dead if we were there.
There is not a lot of peace. In fact it’s the opposite. But I have talked a lot about peace throughout this sermon, I’ve just been using a different word: Savior.
Part of what we can see this morning is that indeed this world needed a Savior. This was a broken world that was longing for peace. Herod was never supposed to be the King forever. This tyrant who goes and kills all the babies two-years-old and younger. And it stands in stark contrast to this baby—The Prince of Peace.
This idea of peace meets the joy we see in this story at the cross. Christmas day was the dawning of joy and, at the cross, this joy meets peace, and we get true joy and everlasting peace.
At the cross, this baby born that day, takes all of our sin, for anyone who would come to him and worship him, declare him Lord. At the cross, he cancels, forgives, our sins so that we now have peace with God.
The cross declares that for those who are in Christ, you will never perish. You will always be at peace with God, though that is not what we deserved. And this story announces the joy that should come because of the peace that this baby will bring.
This is why Luke, as we read early, says,
“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11 ESV)
Or here's how John 16:33 talks about peace that Jesus brings into a broken world, Jesus says,
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 ESV)
So as we get ready to go to communion, we do so because God sent his son. He sent his Son that all who would believe in him would have joy and peace, and he secured that at the cross by his blood.