Christmas Is the Greatest Event in Human History (Let Us Worship the Infant Jesus) – Matthew 2:1–12
Christmas Is the Greatest Event in Human
History (Let Us Worship the Infant Jesus)
Matthew 2:1–12
An unspeakably difficult and heavy year is coming to an end. Every year, one week before welcoming the New Year, we first observe Christmas. We, as believers, must realize that there is God’s great providence in this. When we welcome the New Year through the birth of Jesus Christ, all creation rejoices, people rejoice, and moreover, God also rejoices as glory is given to Him. In the name of the Lord, I pray that there may be a living history of God’s blessing upon all of Pyungkang as we welcome such a New Year.
Jesus Christ being born into this world is the greatest event in human history. When Adam and Eve, the first ancestors of mankind, disobeyed God’s word just once, an unforgivable, eternal death came upon all humanity. There was no one who could resolve it. When the living God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, into this world to have His flesh cut into, how great must His pain have been. Long ago, King Solomon said that in order to put the name of God there and for the presence of God to dwell there, he built a magnificent temple over six and a half years. Filled with overwhelming gratitude, King Solomon said:
1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!”
Drive Out the Inn Guests
The baby Jesus, the Son of God, was born in a manger in Bethlehem through His fleshly mother Mary. At that time, King Herod ordered everyone to return to their hometowns to be registered, in order to collect more taxes. Large crowds gathered in Bethlehem. Even the humble inns were completely full. Only those who are unburdened can go from house to house. This poor and humble couple, old Joseph and heavily pregnant Mary, had no room to be given to them. If they had been dressed in fine clothes, the innkeeper might have given up even his own room. All the guests staying in the inn saw Joseph and Mary. Jesus was born on this cold earth, in an an animal stable. The One who is the Lord of human life and God Himself, was laid in a feeding trough for animals, in a manger that held only leftovers from what the animals had eaten. How can we sing “Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come” without knowing this? Only the hungry know the sorrow of hunger. Only the homeless become blind in broad daylight when the owner tells them to leave; everything goes dark before their eyes. God came to this earth in this way; without knowing this, how can people exchange gifts? The guests of the inn must all be driven out. Two thousand years ago, we were not there, so we could not drive them out. But now, when we look spiritually, how many worldly sins and worldly guests have entered our hearts? We must drive out guests of jealousy, envy, immorality, stealing, fraud, hatred of others, pride that resents the success of others. Only then will the baby Jesus be born in the room of your heart that has faith. When you receive God with a heart without doubt, with the resolve of faith and blessing, He gives blessings without sorrow to your descendants forever. Read First Samuel 2:30.
1 Samuel 2:30 Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.
The Day of the World’s Sorrow
When Jesus was born, it was in the days of King Herod. King Herod was a tyrant. As soon as he came to the throne, he destroyed the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish court, and through schemes and lies executed all three hundred members of the council. Anyone who did not obey his word, he killed along with their families. The Magi from the east came to Jerusalem. They could have
followed the star alone, but they asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” The people, scribes, and priests were in an uproar, so King Herod came to know of it. Since he was the
king of the Jews, and another King had been born, he summoned the Magi and told them to go and search carefully for the Child, and when they returned to tell him, so that he too might go and worship the Child who had been born King of the Jews. The Magi believed King Herod completely, but as they returned after worshiping, an urgent command from God came to them that they must not return to Herod but go back by another way. King Herod, who feared the birth of Jesus, realized he had been deceived and killed all the male children two years old and under in the region of Bethlehem. On one side of the birth of Jesus, the land was shaken with bloodshed and with the sound of wailing, and the hearts of all the fathers and mothers were crushed. Even today, because Jesus Christ becomes a burden to defiled consciences, there are many dictators and people who hate and persecute the birth of Jesus Christ. Why do they hate those who believe in Jesus so much? They are all descendants of King Herod.
The Day of the World’s Turmoil
When we look at today’s passage (Matt 2:3), just hearing the news that the Messiah Jesus had been born in Bethlehem caused all of Jerusalem to be troubled. When Christmas comes, shopping districts, department stores, bakeries, and streets are noisy with the sound of “Jingle Bells” and bustle. Hearts become filled with excitement and people wander about for no reason, looking here and there. The world is stirred up and in turmoil, treating it as a day to enjoy something. But for us believers, Christmas must not become a day of meaningless commotion.
The Day of the World’s Indifference
Look at the pastors, priests, scribes, and Pharisees of that time. Even though the people said that Jesus had been born, they were indifferent. Indifferent! “It has nothing to do with me.” When King Herod asked, they opened the Old Testament Scriptures (Mic 5:2–3) and read the prophecy: “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” Yet they themselves could not believe. They knew of the birth of Jesus, but they could not believe. Even today, if we observe Christmas but do not receive Jesus into our hearts by faith, and if we believe in Jesus for decades only as One learned through words and knowledge, it is a serious problem. We know the day the Savior was born, yet we focus only on our own affairs and businesses. Like the Magi, we Christians today must recover the heart that yearned for Jesus and sought Him out. God is living, and He searches every fiber of our being, from the very marrow of our souls to the very core of our hearts.
Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”
Micah 5:3 Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel.
The Magi Were the Model Worship- ers of the First Christmas
The Magi are the model worshipers of the first Christmas. The road the Magi walked to worship the baby Jesus, from Persia to Bethlehem, was not an easy road. They had to cross deserts and sandy mountains. Because they followed the star, they had to walk at night. It was a weary journey in which they passed through several moments of near death. When we come today to seek and worship the Jesus who was born at dawn, we do not have such devoted steps like the Magi. It was not a journey of one or two days, but a journey of several months on foot. Because they poured out such devotion, God showed the star only to the Magi. A particularly bright star stopped and shone over the stable where Jesus was. When they went in, there was an elderly man and a young woman holding a child, and the baby Jesus was placed in a manger—an astonishing sight. The Magi bowed down in that smelly place, bowed three times, opened their treasure boxes, and offered gifts not to the parents, but to the baby Jesus. How could they not receive blessings after that?
Isaiah the prophet laments in this way: though you come before Me to worship and offer sacrifices, God says that you only trample my courts back and forth (Isa 1:12). You only tread the threshold of Moriah back and forth. Without devotion and without giving your heart, just out of formalism, concern for one’s own dignity. God calls such people detestable and
says, “Your sacrifices are detestable.” God does not look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Sam 16:7). Where is our heart now? Are we truly kneeling and bowing down in worship like the Magi before the manger of Jesus? That is true Christmas. We modern people are afflicted with a widespread sickness of the mind—complacency and pragmatism. In such a convenient world, we try to believe in Jesus conveniently as well. The Lord Himself said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction… For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life” (Matt 7:13–14). Those who despise others, who are arrogant, who think they stand though they should not, who speak carelessly without knowing—such people cannot receive the baby Jesus into their hearts. The attitude of heart with which the Magi went to Bethlehem, entered the house, saw the Child with Mary, and fell down and worshiped—this was the body moving in obedience to the command of the heart.
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the nar-row gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
The Greatest Precious Gift We Can Offer to Jesus Is Faith
After the Magi bowed down in worship, they opened their treasure boxes. Gold was a gift for kings, frankincense for priests, and myrrh, used as ointment for the dead, symbolized the Savior who abolished death. The gifts the Magi offered were a true confession of faith to Jesus Christ. I pray in the name of the Lord that we too may open the treasure chests of our hearts and offer the gold of faith, the frankincense of faith, and the myrrh of faith. God does not rejoice simply because much money is offered, nor does He dislike someone because only a small amount is given. He looks at our heart and our devotion. Do not be discouraged. The greatest precious gift we can offer when we come before Jesus is faith. The Scripture clearly records that whatever is not from faith is sin (Rom 14:23).
True Christmas Is a Heart That Seeks and Worships Only Jesus
One day in October 1620, the English Puritans set sail in a small ship with the heart to worship God, seeking religious freedom. More than one hundred people departed, and along the way one-third of them died. They landed on the American continent in the cold of winter, and the next day was Christmas. Did they have anything? Did they have a chapel? It is said that they fell down and prayed, weeping. Reading about this historical event, where each household placed a few loaves of bread before them, weeping before God and worshipping the baby Jesus, brings tears to my eyes. They had only this: the beautiful heart of the Magi, to seek and worship only the baby Jesus.
The religion we believe in is not a substitute for gambling, pleasure, or entertainment. It is not the fulfillment of human desires. True Christmas occurs when we welcome Jesus, the Creator, the Lord of Life, the All-in-All, the Author of Heaven, and the Master of Faith, into our hearts. “Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come!” Saying it ten thousand times is not enough; He must come into my heart. I must believe. I must receive Him. Today, may the Pyungkang members never become mere spectators. Having come before the baby Jesus as spiritual Magi, I earnestly pray repeatedly in the name of the Lord that you take actions of faith like the Magi.
When We Welcome True Christmas, There Is No Anxiety
Today, because of economic hardship, small and medium-sized businesses collapse and good companies are going bankrupt. When parents have lose their jobs, children, who were happily and carelessly attending middle school, high school, and college, become discouraged. But should parents only sigh and worry? For those who believe, there must be no anxiety. As we pray before God, the only comforter of mankind is God (2 Cor 1:3). We must be comforted by God’s Word, renew our resolve in our hearts, and gain courage through faith. We must cling to God in tears, praying about how to break through this crisis, starting with our own families. Through the wisdom God gives, I ask in the name of the Lord that you would have faith filled with courage.
2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to com- fort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are com- forted by God.
Please repeat after me: “Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come!” If you do not receive Him into your own heart, it will become someone else’s song. If each of you receives Him into your heart, there is a way to live. Believe this and take courage. From now on, if you keep saying you cannot live, you truly will not live. There was a famine in the time of Abraham’s son Isaac, but Isaac reaped a hundredfold that year. A hundredfold! On the same land as others, when he prayed before God and lived centered on Him, he reaped a hundredfold in that year—if it was one measure, he harvested a hundred measures (Gen 26:12).
Genesis 26:12 Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him,
Do not be discouraged. No matter how great an economic crisis may come, believe when the Bible says that those who believe are meant to prosper. I am not saying this just because I am a pastor. Nothing is impossible for a believer. Do not be discouraged. “Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come!” To whom? To every heart. If He is received into my heart, what anxiety is there? There is none. Amen.
We Are Worthy of a True Christmas When We Repent
Though we have celebrated Christmas every year until now, this Christmas we must earnestly repent in our hearts for what we have not realized, for our shortcomings, stinginess, and failure to be faithful before God. This Christmas we must become the spiritual Magi, and with that heart, meet the Lord and worship Him, and offer gifts to Him, never repeating our sins again. Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16), and the apostle Paul confessed, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim 1:15). Without faith that worships like the Magi, there is no qualification to welcome Christmas.
1 Timothy 1:15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
Opening the treasure boxes means opening the door of our hearts. God says, “All that you have is Mine.” He says, “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine” (Hag 2:8). Even our flesh belongs to God. Nothing is ours; everything is God’s. Everything comes from God, operates through God, and ultimately returns to the owner. And there is judgment for good and evil. He judges according to what we believe, what we’ve done, and what we have sown. This Christmas, we must quickly receive the baby Jesus to escape all judgment and receive forgiveness of all sins. I pray in the name of the Lord that, on Christmas Day, everyone will be forgiven, joyfully receive the baby Jesus by faith, and bring Him with us wherever we go, whether at work, at home, or abroad.
Let us pray.
Are we not people who, because of sin and transgression, deserve eternal death? To destroy Satan and to save us—who were bound all our lives as slaves to death and lived in fear of dying—You gave up Your glorious throne in heaven and granted us this holy Christmas today. Please bless us so that we may sincerely worship this Christmas like the Magi. Let not a single person be left behind, but may we all come before You and worship You, the King of kings, the Creator, the Lord of life, and the Lord of salvation. Help us to receive You by faith, hold You close, and return to our homes with You.
From now on, our lives are filled with hope. There is no reason for anxiety. This is because You are with us, because You solve everything. Whether we live or die, we can only live by holding firmly onto You. Lord, please bless us with faith that receives You, a faith that does not change. Please remember our sons and daughters You have given us as gifts. Hold their hearts firmly, and let them submit only to the living Word of God, so that they may grow into people of outstanding faith who will shine in the world and bring great honor through their testimony. In every household, drive out all darkness. From this day on, let there be only a life that welcomes You, centers on You, and lives for You. In everything we see and hear, grant us good news, joyful news,
and a hopeful faith that fills our hearts with gladness. As we pray and ask all these things, we offer this prayer with thanksgiving in the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
December 25, 1997 (Thu) Christmas Day Sermon by Rev. Abraham Park
- 25년 12월호