and we're moving here, so good.
If you would, please turn to Matthew chapter two, and I'm just gonna read the first
five verses. Now, that is actually the first
word of Matthew chapter two, verse one. Now, when Jesus was
born in Bethlehem of Judea, In the days of Herod the king, behold,
there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying, where
is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star
in the east and are come to worship him. And when Herod the king
had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with
him. And when he had gathered all
the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded
of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him,
in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written of the prophet.
Read verse six. And thou, Bethlehem in the land
of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out
of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. So the title of this is, of course,
Where Is He That Is Born King? Now, as a way of introduction,
all we know about these men is that they came from the east
to Jerusalem. And they were wise men. That's it. That's all we got. Now you know, Hollywood has made
movies about this. They've done songs about this.
Somehow or the other, they got the idea there was three of them.
Well, it doesn't matter how many there were. This is important. There was more than one. There
was more than one. It wasn't just one nut by himself. No. These were wise men. And
it is plural. So it's two or more. At least
two. And they were wise, they were
wise. Where they actually came from
and who they actually were is not told us in the scripture.
What does that mean? It means that who they were,
how many there were, and where they were actually from is not
important to what we want to be learning here. Because if
it was important, they'd have put it in. If there was a little
more detail that was needed, it'd have been here, but it's
not. So don't worry about that. Worry
about who they were coming to see. This is the whole point
that the world will miss when we three Kings of Orient are,
you know, I mean, and that song annoyed me to no end at one time.
I refused to sing it in a Christmas cantata once. Yeah, because I
was stubborn and I still am. Because it doesn't matter how
many there were. It's not important. God knows
exactly how many there were. He knows who they were. He knew
where they were from, how they got there, and the circuitous
route they took home. We don't need to know that. We
need to know the one they came to see. That's the point. We don't need to know and I have
no time to spend on sheer speculation because this time is the time
we set aside to speak about Christ. Jesus, our Lord, he's the message
because he's the good news of this time and of all time. Times past, times present, and
times future. But it starts off, says now,
when Jesus was born. Men knew it. You understand? Men knew it. And I'll tell you
this, just for free, there's only one way that men knew Jesus
Christ was born. And the two words are divine
revelation. There was an angel that come
talk to some shepherds. The only reason Mary and Joseph
knew is because the angels told them. But there were some shepherds
just sitting out there in the field and the angel came and
told them that, hey, look, this day born in the city of David
is a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And these wise men
knew it. It says, When Jesus was born
in Bethlehem in Judea in the days of Herod, behold came wise
men from the east to Jerusalem. They knew who was born, but they
didn't know who was born. And they came looking for him
that was born King of the Jews. Everything in the Old Testament
scriptures points right up to this day. This day had to happen
for everything else to happen that had been prophesied in the
Old Testament. How did Herod find out where
he was born that was king of the Jews? They searched the scriptures.
Herod didn't do it, but he had other people do it for him. They
searched the scriptures and all the law and the prophets point
to this event right here. This was the event that the whole
Jewish religion was looking for. And yet, it was revealed to a
man and his wife, to some shepherds in a field, and certain wise
men came from the east to Jerusalem. There is one thing we know about
these wise men. They weren't from Jerusalem. I don't know
whether they were Jewish or not. Guess what? That doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter who they are. It matters that they were wise
men and they were looking for him. In Bethlehem, in Bethlehem of
Judea, Robert Hawker, Hawker, what is it? He tells us the town
of Bethlehem, the name, the word Bethlehem, guess what it means?
House of bread. I like that. Guess what? The bread of life was born in
the house of bread. The bread that came down from
heaven was born in the house of bread. And even though the
wise men had to ask, they saw a star, they came and they asked
Herod, where is he? So Herod asked his men. They
searched the scriptures, they said, well, it's in Bethlehem.
It's recorded in Micah, one of the Old Testament books. Those men went to the house of
bread to see the bread that came down from heaven. I like that,
I do. And what do these wise men say?
They said, where is he that is born King of the Jews? These
men, these wise men knew that the King of the Jews existed.
They weren't asking if there be a king of the Jews, where
is he? No, uh-uh. They were at, where's
the one that's born? Where's the one that's born?
They knew he was here on the earth. The only question was,
where was he? Where is he? We know he's here somewhere. And notice very carefully Very
carefully, where is he that is born, King? You understand? We're not talking about a Christophany.
We're not talking about Melchizedek. We're not talking about Isaiah
in chapter six of Isaiah, saw the Lord high and lifted up,
his train filled the temple. It's the same man. But no, this
is not a vision. This is not a dream. This is not a Christophany. Christ
walking on the earth. I think he did with Adam in the
garden. That was Christ. No man seen the father at any
time. But the son has seen him. And to whom the son will reveal
him, they'll see him. And they'll see him in the son
and in the son only. But here it is, this man was
born. He was born king, but don't ever
forget, he was born. He came in the flesh. He became flesh and dwelt among
us. He was born. This is not a picture,
it's not a type. This is not a prophecy, this
is a fulfillment of prophecy. God manifests in the flesh. Born king, he came in the flesh. Took on the form of a servant.
He was the one who was prophesied. Isaiah seven and verse 14. Let
me go ahead and turn back there because there's about three of
these in Isaiah. I'm just gonna read them because I like to.
Let's see. Isaiah chapter seven and verse
14. And I'm gonna go to Isaiah chapter
nine. Isaiah chapter seven and verse
14. Therefore, the Lord himself shall
give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Emmanuel. Butter and honey shall
he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child shall know
to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou
abhors shall be forsaken of both her kings. I'm not going into
that. But there's a virgin coming that's gonna bear a son. A son. And what thou shalt call his
name Emmanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us, with us. A virgin shall conceive and a
virgin shall bear a son and shall call his name. Where is he that
is born king? It's this one right here. That's
prophesied in Isaiah chapter seven. He's also prophesied in
Isaiah chapter nine and verse six and seven. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and
upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth forever, even forever, the zeal
of the Lord of hosts will perform this. What does verse A say? The Lord sent a word unto Jacob
and it hath lighted upon Israel. A child is born. And a son is
given, the son is given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder. And I've talked about this before and I'll do
it again. Yes, the government, Isaiah writes in his future here.
But this is the one that is born king of the Jews. When he was
an infant, the government was on his shoulders. He was king
then. He's king here in Isaiah's time.
He's king when he's born. He's still king now. I know a
lot of people say, oh, he's not running the government. Oh yeah,
you just think he's not. And good for you. You know this
is America, Mac. You can think whatever you want.
But God don't say that. God said the government's on
his shoulders. And guess what? It's on his shoulders. He's king
now. He rules and he reigns. He was born king. Wonderful counselor, the mighty
God, the everlasting father. You ever stop to think about
the juxtaposition here? It says a child is born, a son
is given, what does he call? The everlasting father. What did he say when he was here?
I and my father are one. If you've seen me, you've seen
the father. The world won't have it, the
world don't understand it. They think about sweet little
Jesus meek and mild in this crib. No, no, not in a manger. He's
not in a manger anymore. But no, the one in that manger
was born king. Born king. Without his governing, there
is no peace. But there is peace for every
child of God in the Prince of Peace now. And what did these gentlemen
say, these wise men? Said, where is he that is born
King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in
the east. Wise men see. There's your definition
of a wise man. Now we see our calling, how not
many wise men after the flesh are called. Let's not talk about
wise men after the flesh here. These wise men see. These wise
men see. Those who have been given eyes
to see, do see. And guess what? They saw not
just a star. They saw his star. His star. Now how in the world did they
know that was his star? I don't know, it doesn't tell
us. But they were right. So I'm guessing, this is divine
revelation. That's the only way. That's the
only way. Because there are people, this
was a star in the sky. How many people saw it? Well
anybody that went out after dark probably saw this star. but they
didn't see his star. They didn't what? Know it was
his star. These men took off from somewhere
east of Jerusalem. How far away? I don't know. But
in those days, 20 miles was a long, long way. Especially if you're
riding on the back of a camel or a burrow or whatever they
had. This was not just a spur of the moment, hey, let's go
to Walmart. Or we're going to church this morning. These men
set out with a purpose. And that purpose was because
we have seen his star. This was the star of the one
who was born king. They saw his sign and they recognized
it. The world didn't recognize it.
The world wasn't told. We've seen his star. They hadn't
seen him at the time, but they saw a star. And they knew what
the star meant, that the one was born who was born king of
the Jews. And we saw it in the east, and
guess what? We came from the east. And are come to worship him. Seeing him, Seeing the sign of
him is the only way men will come to him. No man cometh to the father except
by me. And no man can come to me except
it be given him of my father. I'll say it again, because Christ
said it twice. No man will come unless the Father brings him. I mean, they didn't come out
of just curiosity. They didn't come to see or hear
some new thing. They were looking for, what? A person. They were looking for where is
he? Where is he? Where is he that is born King
of the Jews? But we're looking for him. We're not looking for his office.
You know, I read Isaiah 7, 14, and there's a bit of a theological
lesson. Isaiah chapter six comes before
Isaiah chapter seven. And Isaiah six is where he saw
the Lord high and lifted up. and his train filled the temple.
I saw him sitting on a throne. But you understand, Isaiah didn't
say the throne was high and lifted up, he said he was lifted up.
I saw the Lord high and lifted up. These men, these wise men want
to see him. That's why they came. They already
seen the star. They weren't coming to see and
to hear some new thing. Like the Athenians, these men,
and it says it here, are come to worship him, him, him. What a wonderful thing. What
a glorious revelation of faith in a man when he comes to worship
the one who is born king. They hadn't seen him, they saw
a star, and they came. And they came to worship him. Because this is how it worked
out for these wise men. They saw and believed and came
and saw. These wise men from the east
came looking for the king of the Jews, and after they came
to him, verse 11, And when they were come into the house, they
saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and
worshiped him, and worshiped him. And when they had opened
their treasure, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense
and myrrh. I don't know anything about gold,
frankincense and myrrh, because I don't have any of the three.
But I'm saying this is probably some expensive stuff. Now what
use a small child had for these things, I don't know, but that's
not the point. The point is they gave them to
him because he's worthy of everything. I don't have any gold, but such
as I have, I can give. These were wise men. These guys
weren't no pikers, there was a caravan. You didn't travel
alone in those days. You had people around who could
fight. Or if not, you traveled in the
company of others, and you provided for the common defense, like
wagon trains going out west. This is primitive times. This
was a real world. This is not a made up account,
you know? They just magically appeared, three guys striding
on camels. Now, not to say that God couldn't
have protected them the whole way if it was just three guys
by themselves. That's not the point. These were wise men. They weren't dumb. but when they got there, when
they came, and it says to the house, he's not in a manger anymore.
They came to the house and they saw Mary and they saw what? The
young child, they saw the young child with Mary. Guess what? The young child always comes
first. This one who's born came, he comes first. Mary's in the
background now. Okay, Catholic upbringing. They
didn't bow down to Mary. They didn't pray to Mary. They
didn't worship Mary, and they weren't going to. Why? Because
they were wise men. You can say what you want, do
what you will, and say as many Hail Marys as you want. I've
done it, I plead guilty. God forgave me of it. I don't
do it anymore. I come to see him. And these
wise men came to see the young child. They did, and they saw
him. These wise men from the east
came looking for the king of the Jews, and after they came
to him, they saw a small child, a young child, or an infant,
under two years old, that's what Herod thought, because that's
who he asked to get killed later. What happens when you see the
one who was born king? You better fall down. They fell
down. They fell down. This was not,
oh my goodness, goodness, what a cute little baby. Oh, what
a, he is precocious. I always wondered what that word
meant. I had to look it up one day. That means he's smarter
than he appears for his age. Jesus Christ was precocious for
his appearance, but that ain't the point. They saw him who was
born king and they fell down. And not only did they fall down,
they worshipped him. They worshipped him. This is
why they came, and guess what? They did it. They didn't just
put lip service. You know, they told her, we're
come to worship him. And guess what? They found him
and they worshipped him. Kiss the son, lest he be angry. ye Have a bad day You're destroyed
The Sun is the only one who matters the one who is born King is the
only one who matters and the one who is born King is worthy
of worship even as a small child Because this small child they
saw this young child they saw was God manifest in the flesh See, that's what the world doesn't
want. They love the little baby Jesus in the creche. I do too. He ain't there no more,
but I like the idea because that part was necessary also. He had
to get here. And this is the way he came because
he had to be God and man. We're not celebrating Christmas.
Well, I'm not celebrating Christmas anyway. I give my wife presents
because she makes me. No, it's not true, it's not true,
that was a joke, that was a joke. I like giving my wife presents,
I do, I really do. But here's the thing, we're not
celebrating a man becoming God, we're celebrating God becoming
a man. He was born king. God was born
King, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us. At that time, as a small child,
as a young child. How do you explain that? Great
thing, I don't have to. I don't have to, I can preach
it. Henry Mann said years ago, I remember, I ain't in the explainin'
business, I'm in the preachin' business. I don't have to, I believe it.
I do, with every fiber of my being that's not my unbelief.
We're not goin' into that part. But these men, these wise men,
they came to see him. They came to find him, and they
found him, and they fell down, and they worshiped this young
child. Grown men worshiping a young
child. Now he didn't stay a young child,
but still, he was the one that was born King of the Jews. That title, King of the Jews,
born King of the Jews, entails everything in this Old Testament
about a guy called the Messiah. You understand? Everything Isaiah
wrote on in chapter 53 and from 40 on, where it talks about the
Messiah, where he talks about the Redeemer, the Lord of hosts
is his name. That's who these men came to
worship. They didn't just come to worship a baby. Because he
wasn't gonna stay a baby. They came to worship God manifest
in the flesh, the Messiah. The one who God wrote this whole
Old Testament about coming. That's who they came and that
is who they worshiped. They worshiped the one that was
born king, the Messiah, the anointed one, the promised one, who is
going to be savior, which is Christ the Lord. These wise men submitted themselves
before a small child who was born king. Now I'm gonna tell you something,
there is no worship without submission. If you don't fall down before
God, you don't know God. And that's as much as I can say
about that. Because if you know God, you know you need to fall
down. You need to fall down. The scriptures
are full of people who fell down before the wrong people. I'm talking about when Cornelius
bowed to Peter. Peter picked him up. But this one, nobody stopped
these wise men from bowing to this small child. Because this
is the one worthy of worship. He's the one that is born king.
He is God manifest in the flesh as an infant in that creche,
in that manger, and as a small child in that house. They worshiped
him. And I'm gonna tell you something. Look down through the life of
Jesus Christ as revealed in his Gospels. And read in his own book here. This is a book about Christ.
This is a book of Christ. This is his word. And you'll
see how people treated the Lord of glory. These wise men bowed
down before him, that was a rare thing. That was a rare thing. We celebrated, and everybody
gets all the Christmas spirit, and they all have manger scenes
in front of the churches, and they all don't talk about him
being born king, they don't talk about him being king now, they
don't talk about him being Lord. You know why? Because men love
darkness rather than light. Lights come into the world, and
the darkness comprehended it. not. Well, they comprehended
him not. John told us his own received
him not. They didn't bow. You know what?
They didn't even look. I think about when you talk about
John the Baptist the other day, that sticks in my head. He says,
there's one here. He's here, who? The one who was
born king. It was John's cousin, six months
older than John was. John grew up with him or around
him. There's one here, he's here now. And not one of those Pharisees
or scribes that he was talking to said, where is he, where is
he, where is he, where is he? These wise men said it, where
is he that is born king? What's the difference between
the Pharisees and the scribes and the wise men? The wise men were looking
for him. and the Pharisees and the scribes
weren't. They paid lip service to it. Oh yes, we're waiting
for the Messiah, but then he shows up. Who? A carpenter from Nazareth. Some guy that was born in a manger
in Bethlehem. They didn't know that part. They
just said he's a Nazarite. What are they gonna hear when
they find out he went into Egypt for a couple of years or whatever
it was, six months. Out of Egypt I have called my
son, it's Hosea 11.1. He went in, yes, the whole tribe
of Israel was in Egypt at one time. And God, through Moses,
pulled them out. Moses was the deliverer. Guess
what? Their deliverer come out of Egypt. Just like the people. Why? Fulfillment of the scriptures. The Jews did not worship him.
They didn't fall down. They didn't worship. They didn't
even pretend to. They said, oh, for a good work,
we stone thee not. Or for a miracle, we stone thee
not. But thou makest thyself equal with God. No, he didn't. He was equal with God. He was
what? Where is he that is born king?
He was standing right in front of them. And guess what? didn't recognize him. The religious
world didn't look for him. The religious world didn't want
him, and the religious world wouldn't have him. Period. And it ain't no different today. They'll have any Jesus you wanna
name or care to name or describe, but they won't have this one
that is born king. You understand, when Isaiah saw,
he saw the Lord high and lifted up. Who was Isaiah seeing? He
was seeing the Lord. He was seeing the Lord Jesus
Christ. Maybe we ought not to say we
love the sovereignty of God. What we ought to say is we love
the God who is sovereign. I love his doctrine, I do. I
really enjoy his doctrine. There's a beauty to it, a purity
that's not man's. You know? Man couldn't come up
with his stuff if you twisted his arm behind his back and told
him what to write. We'd mess it up. But this is
the God who is sovereign over all. He's king, he was born king,
he died king, he resurrected king, and now he is ascended
and seated on the right hand of the majesty on high. What's
he sitting? Sitting on his throne. He's on the right hand of God,
the Father. He's on a throne. Why? Because he's still king. He's
still king. These wise men sought and found
the king of the Jews, and they only sought and found him because
of divine intervention. It wasn't because of scholarship.
It wasn't because of their determination. It wasn't because of their intestinal
fortitude. I've been watching football.
They have intestinal fortitude, but they have guts. That's what
they mean, yes. No, no. Somebody sent those wise
men there. Somebody sent the knowledge that
that star was the star out of all the other stars in the heaven.
And maybe it was brighter than all the rest. But all that means
is more people saw it. But nobody else recognized, realized
that that was his star showing his birth of he that was born
king. God intervened with these wise
men as he has with everyone that comes to his son. Because no
man comes to worship the true king of kings and lord of lords
without divine intervention. Because there are naturally,
naturally, no man understands. No man seeketh after God. I wish I could make people know
this, but I can't do it. You understand, I got a proverb here for you, Walter.
If you don't know you're the problem, it will do me no good
to tell you the cure. You understand? I am a sinner. And I know exactly
the way Paul felt when I feel like the chiefest of sinners.
Because I know me a lot better than I know you. And I like your
behavior a lot better than my thoughts. That's what it is. But if you don't know you're
the problem, the cure ain't gonna do you no good. Because I am
the problem. Where is he that is born king? Right now, at this moment, he
is on the throne. He is seated at the majesty on
high. And, right now, he is right here. With us. Is that presumptuous? Maybe,
I don't care. It don't matter anyway. It's
what he said. It's what he said. Where two
or three are gathered together in my name, there I am. There
am I, there I am. What? In the midst of them. In the midst of them, that ought
to give me goose pimples. Yeah, most of the time I don't
stop and think about it. But here I gotta preach it, it's
the truth. Where is he that is born king? He's with us, he shall
be in you. His spirit is within you, know
ye not you are the temple of God. Where is he that is born
king? Every single one of his people
when they are gathered together. Do you want to know do you want
to know? This one who was born King Gather
yourselves together with the people of God to worship him
We're not gonna require you have to fall down You don't have to
follow me. Yeah, you bow to him Bow to him
You're going to acknowledge his sovereignty whether you want
to or not, right? or you're not gonna know him.
And you're gonna want to. He can change your want to. My
dad could change my want to when I was a kid, when I was a child.
Trust me, he can make you do what he wants, whether you want
to or not. And then he can make you want
it. It's hard for thee to kick against
the pricks, Paul, or Saul, he hasn't changed his name yet.
That's faith, believing in his word that he is with us here
right now. Do you wanna know him that is
born a king? Study his word. Study his word. Hear his word preached in his
gospel. I am glad for him that is born
king. Heavenly Father, we're thankful
for this. The time, the place, our Father
who art in heaven, you have given all of us, all of this to us.
You've given us this Bible. You've given us his words. You've
given us our Lord that was born King. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And we'll
give you the praise and the honor and the glory because you did
it all. In Christ's name we pray, amen.