Matthew 2:1–6Scripture
All right, everybody turn your Bibles to Matthew. And we have made it to chapter 2. Matthew and we'll read this together, just the first six verses says this. Man, I'm getting old because I have a hard time reading in low light and I'm old.
I have I put my contacts on and then I can't see up close and I take them off and I can't see far away. I'm falling apart, man. It's It's life's tough. Yeah, that would probably actually help. Let me see that. Let me see that. Look at this. Oh, I can see. It's a miracle, actually. That's awesome. Do I look like a lady, though?
Okay. All right. Awesome. That actually really helpful. Now, if I look up, I might throw up. But this is actually great. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold wise men came from the from wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, "Where is he who was born king of the Jews?
For he saw his star when he rose and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled.
He was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. I that struck me. I knew Herod would be troubled because his kingship would be disrupted by this king that was born. But the fact that all Jerusalem with him was troubled, that troubled me.
It's like God's people were troubled that God showed up.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 1:47
It'd be like coming to church. I got to take it off.
Want to look at you. It'd be like coming to church and be troubled that God showed up.
Introduction
It's just weird, man. It's weird. All right. And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. And they told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet, "And you, oh Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.
For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. All right, here we go. This was actually really helpful, huh? Just throw them. Okay. I just don't know what's going on there. Okay. I need to know what magnification those are. Those are actually awesome. Okay. So today I just want to talk about this. Everyone has to answer the question, how will you deal with Jesus?
Everybody's faced with that at some point in their life. And if not one point, multiple points in their life, you will be faced with this question and decision. People inside and outside the church have heard about the Christ, this man named Jesus, and we deal with him a lot of different ways.
Some say he's a good man. He's a prophet. He's a teacher. But the reality is he is a historical figure. And you have to and everyone has to deal and decide with how they're going to deal with this man, this historical figure named Jesus. But he is more than a historical figure. The Bible says this is God made flesh.
And if it's God made flesh and he died for us for all who have sinned and our faith makes us righteous through belief in him, then we have to make a decision regarding this man.
The reality is it changes everything about our life. He is a disruption in every way. I just want to go down through here and I want to talk about three things that I noticed.
Point 1Will you be troubled by Jesus?
The first one is that Herod and the people were troubled by Jesus.
They were troubled. The question today is, will you be troubled by Jesus? And the answer is, I'll just answer it for you. Yes, you will. The question though is what will you do with that troubling? There are two different ways that we can deal with being troubled by Jesus. And I'll tell you this, we think that when Jesus shows up on the scene or when he begins to disrupt our life because he's he's like a professional disruptor, honestly.
Everything's going great, everything's going well, and then Christ shows up, the Lord shows up in your life and begins to just disrupt stuff. See, we think that when God shows up, peace ensues. But oftent times before peace is there, troubling comes.
And it is the troubling that gets us to trust in him. Or it is the troubling that gets us to reject him.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 5:06
And so it works two things in the hearts of men. Either we reject him because of the troubling or we receive him because of the troubling. And so we see this kind of here. So Herod, he hears the words and he was troubled. The Greek word here actually means this to be stirred, to be shaken, inwardly disturbed.
Have you ever been there? Have you ever just been disturbed about something? Not even really know why you're disturbed about something, but just disturbed. I've been there. And he should have been. Herod should have been disturbed because he understood the message. A child had been born. Not just any child, but a king.
Not appointed by men, not propped up by Rome, but born with divine right to rule.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 6:10
And that meant one thing. Herod's throne was in danger. He used to rule his life, his kingdom any way he pleased. Now that was being disrupted because another king had shown up on the scene.
And so when we hear about Christ, we're troubled because we're used to running things the way we like to run things. Kind of. I mean, if you if I mean, maybe it's just me, but I kind of like the way I do things. That's why I do them that way. All right. I like the way I run my house because that's why I do it that way.
I like the way that I talk because that's the way I do it. I like the way that I walk because that's the way I do it. And when God shows up on the scene, he begins to disrupt all of that. He begins to affect the way that we run our house, the way that we are in relationship with our husband or our wife or our friends or our community.
He begins to affect the way that we talk. He wants to be lord of those things, king of those things.
And the reality is, you can't do things your way and his way.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 7:25
He's king. He's the king now. He rules now. He decides now. He makes decisions now. And we default to his lordship. And Herod didn't like that.
And we don't either. We're troubled by it. Just like Herod, the news of Jesus Christ troubles sinners of which all of you are.
We're sinners. We got problems. I mean, maybe you don't got problems. I got problems and I need a savior. It troubles every heart that still clings to its own will. It confronts every person who wants to run their own life.
Because when Jesus enters the scene, he does not come asking for your vote. He comes with a crown.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 8:17
He doesn't beg for influence. He demands obedience. He doesn't offer suggestion. He issues commands. And that troubles people. It troubles people. It troubles Herod. It troubled all of Jerusalem. And it troubles you. And if you're honest, because the king has come and he lays claim to every part of your life. Your thoughts, your plans, your secret sins, your ambitions, your time, your body, your money, your dreams.
He takes everything. And that's why people run from Jesus. That's why we downplay him. That's why we dress up dress him up like a teacher or a symbol or some figure of peace because the real Jesus, the one with fire in his eyes and authority in his voice, that troubles us.
You may not kill infants like Herod. That's what we end up. I know this getting ahead of the story here a little bit, but Herod finds out there's a king and he just to ensure that the king doesn't rise up and take his throne and affect the way that he's ruling his life and his kingdom, he kills everyone between the age of zero and two.
And that's that's some serious like aversion to not being one being told what to do. You know what I mean? Is crazy. And you may not kill infants like Herod, but you silence Jesus in more sophisticated ways.
The reality is you can't kill him. They already did that. And he rose from the grave, the Bible tells us, and is sat down at the right hand of the father. And faith in him changes your life. It changes everything. We keep our distance from radical obedience. That's how we kill him.
You say he's Lord, but you live like you are.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 10:33
That's how you kill him. Every day in word, thought, and deed, we kill him. The image of him, the true image of Christ. Herod's trouble. Listen, and this is the important thing because there's two ways we can deal with being troubled. And there are people in this room today who are troubled. You don't even know why you're troubled.
But I just want to know according to last week when God draws near Emanuel, God with us, he troubles people.
So often time your troubling is a way of God trying to connect with you.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 11:09
And you can deal with it like Herod, but let's look at Herod.
Herod's trouble didn't save him. It condemned him. There is a troubling that doesn't save.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 11:18
There's a troubling that just it just messes with you but doesn't save you. It condemned him. He felt disturbed but he refused to bow. There is a response to your troubling and that response either saves or condemns. And that's why it's concerning when I see people get troubled because it's decision time. And I pray quickly and I pray hard for people who are being troubled by the Lord because I don't want them to be condemned like Herod.
Trouble alone is not repentance. Track with me here.
Conviction without surrender is still rebellion. You can be convicted and troubled and still be rebellious.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 12:16
And if the thought of Jesus ruling over I if the thought of Jesus ruling over your life troubles you, then you must ask yourself, who is really king of your heart?
Because you can't serve two masters. But hear this, being troubled. Here's an encouraging part. Can also be a mercy for you. It could be God's mercy. If God has shaken your soul today, if you feel the weight of Jesus authority pressing in, do not harden your heart.
Let the trouble bring you to the cross. Let it break your pride.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 13:02
Let it lead you to bow before the only king who's not only righteous but is good.
Because the king did not come first with a sword. He came with mercy.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 13:16
He came to be born, to suffer, to bleed, and to rise again. He came to conquer, not by force, but by love. But he will come again. And when he does, every knee will bow. Some in joy and others in terror. Don't resist them. Let the fear you feel become repentance.
Let your pride die. Let your throne collapse and let Christ rule.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 13:46
Because one day either your soul will be troubled before him now in brokenness and faith or you will be troubled forever in judgment and regret.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 13:52
But you will be troubled. How you respond is up to you.
Point 2Will you ignore Jesus?
Number two, will you ignore Jesus? I just couldn't believe it. Matthew 2:4-5 says, "And assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
And they told him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophets." Listen. Assembling the chief priests, these are the religious people and scribes of the people.
Herod inquired of them. What's up? What is going on? They were not pagans. They were not godless men. These were the religious leaders of Israel. The scribes, the priests, the pastors, the ones who spent their lives in Scriptures, they were the very ones who should have rejoiced at the news of Christ's arrival.
And yet they did not move when they heard. They didn't even go see him.
Bethlehem was six miles from Jerusalem.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 15:29
They couldn't even walk six miles to see the Lord.
That's crazy. This is the church. The church could not be bothered. That's crazy. Ask too much. You're asking too much, man. You're asking too much for me to be bothered to go see the king. All this one who's been prophesied about over 300 times in the Old Testament.
I can't be bothered to go walk and see him. I just can't be bothered with that. That's crazy. That's crazy. I understand that those outside the church might not want to be bothered with Jesus, but are you willing to ignore him, too?
Six miles, the savior of the world had come and they could not be bothered to walk a short distance. And so, they answered Herod's question. They quoted the prophet Micah. They knew the truth. They knew the prophecy. And they knew it had officially been fulfilled. And that is what makes their silence so terrifying. Listen, this is not ignorance.
This is indifference.
See, the danger in the church is not ignorance. It's indifference.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 17:20
This is not confusion. It's coldness. They knew the truth, but they did not care. And I tell you today, this is the most dangerous condition of all. It is one thing to rebel against the word of God in darkness and in ignorance.
It is quite another to sit under the word week after week, sermon after sermon, and remain unchanged.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 17:43
That's wildly dangerous.
It is one thing to be lost in a far country. It is another to sit at the table of the father and have no hunger for the feast he served up.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 17:59
These men had Scripture in their minds, but not in their hearts.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 18:14
They could quote prophecy, but they had no desire to see it fulfilled. They were like so many in our churches today. Raised on truth, trained in theology, familiar with the language of religion, but untouched by the glory of Christ, coming week after week, not caring, unchanged, troubled, but who cares?
And I fear for you. Yes, for you. If you can open your Bible and you can read of the birth of Jesus and feel nothing, if you can hear that God became man and shrug your shoulders and go, if you can quote the doctrine and remain unmoved by the person, we have a problem. The scribes were not enemies in the open, but their silence was a form of rejection.
And make no mistake, silence is rejection. Indifference is hostility. Dressed in religious clothing.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 19:26
It looks good. It's bad. And you say, "Well, but I believe I know the answers." And so did they.
So did they. I professed him as Lord. So did they. But they couldn't be bothered with him. It's amazing because people in the church will profess him as Lord, but they don't want to be bothered with him on Monday. They'll profess him as Lord on Sunday, but don't bother my life. You have no authority here. You have no authority in my home.
You have no authority in my marriage. You have no authority in my life.
I'm King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You're my homeboy for an hour on Sunday.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 20:18
And that's all you are. And that's all you will ever be. I know who the Bible says you are. But this is who I say you are. It's a problem.
The great danger is not that we should openly deny Christ.
The great danger is that you would grow used to him, become familiar with him, that your heart would grow hard under the steady drizzle of biblical truth that you no longer are impacted by.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 20:42
That's the problem. And oh, how many in our church are like the scribes, content to know the words of the prophet, but unwilling to walk the road to Bethlehem.
Brothers and sisters, do not ignore Jesus today.
Do not treat him as a fact to be stored in your theology rather than a savior to be sought with your life.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 21:17
If you know where he is, then go to him. If you know who he is, then fall before him.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 21:29
Let your knowledge turn to longing. Let your theology lead you to worship him because it is possible to be religious and lost.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 21:39
It is possible to carry a Bible and yet have no fire in your soul.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 21:52
And there is no deception more blinding, no condition more desperate. You may be able to quote Scriptures today, but if you do not love Christ of the Scriptures, you are not better than the scribes. And I plead with you this morning, come to him while he may be found.
Point 3Will you worship Jesus?
And the last thing, will you worship Jesus? Will you worship him? Oh man. Who will you worship?
I don't even know where I'm at. Where am I at? I'm lost here. Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who's been born king of the Jews? For he saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."
While Herod was troubled, and the scribes were indifferent, the wise men came seeking.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 23:16
It's kind of interesting because you're going to be one of these. The question is, which one are you? These men, it says in the Bible, were from the east. Now, most Bible commentators say probably Persia or Arabia. And most commentators and biblical scholars believe that these were Gentiles. That's what they believe. Possibly astrologers or scholars trained in ancient wisdom.
But there are some who have suggested they may have been Jews in the diaspora. But still a large majority hold that they're Gentiles and probably outsiders not a part of this world.
But irregardless. Regardless, here they are. Here they are. Not with indifference, not with hostility, but they show up in reverence. They saw a sign in the sky and they followed it. Not just to study it, but to worship the one it announced. This is true faith. It is a faith that moves people. See, there is a there's a false faith that does not move.
There is a false faith that does not respond to trouble well. And then there is a faith that moves, that seeks, it bows. And how do they ask for him? They say this, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?" They didn't come asking is he king? They already knew that. They said where is he?
There's no uncertainty. They believe before they saw. They traveled in faith. Why? Because God had opened their eyes.
Worship is never the result of human initiative. It is always the result of divine grace.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 25:39
God revealed the star. God stirred their hearts and they came. There are some people in here possibly today that God is stirring and he is calling and you will come.
This is a divine movement because when God comes after you, he gets what he wants.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 26:06
And it is a good thing if he is stirring and troubling you because he gets what he is after. And it's a good thing to know that God is after you in a good way. In a good way.
So the question then is, have you come not to a church building, not to a sermon, not to tradition, not to community, but to Christ?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 26:30
You see, many say, "I worship Jesus." But it's a Jesus of their own invention. A Jesus who never confronts. A Jesus who is so loveydovey he puts up with everything and doesn't care. A Jesus who is not judgy. Oopsy daisy. He's He's kind of judgy. That I mean he judges the living and the dead in case you didn't know.
My Jesus wouldn't do that. That's the problem. You don't like the real one. You don't want to worship at the feet of the real one. So, you invented one. You killed him. Just like Herod, you killed the real one and you fashioned a new one for you.
We got a sin problem and he's coming to judge it. And the only way you escape it is by being hidden in Christ. What will you do with this Jesus? Woe to you who fashion one that is not him and try to hide yourself in him because judgment's coming.
And if you're not hidden in the real Christ, you got problems. You see, many say, "I worship Jesus." But it's a Jesus of their own invention. A Jesus who never confronts. A Jesus who never commands. A Jesus who simply cheers them on while they live and do whatever they want. Sound familiar in our culture?
That's not worship. That's idolatry. Real worship is not mere emotionalism.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 28:29
It's not raising your hands while your heart remains hard. Is it's not singing the name of Jesus while continuing in the sin that crucified him.
Real worship is surrender. It's falling before the true king and saying, "I'm yours and you're mine."
Pastor Shawn Gray · 28:46
It's a soul so captured by his majesty, so pierced by his mercy that it can no longer live for itself.
These wise men were men of dignity and wealth, but they lowered themselves in the presence of a child.
Why? Because that child was God in the flesh. Let me ask you a question.
Does your soul ever bow? Not just your knee, not just your voice, but your will.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 29:28
Have you ever laid down your life at his feet and said, "Command me, King Jesus." Because if you've not, you don't worship him.
The father is not seeking spectator.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 29:53
He's not seeking emotional experiences. He is seeking worshippers. Those who will worship in spirit and truth. And that worship is not confined to Sunday. It shows up on Monday in how you treat your spouse and how you speak to your children, how you work, how you think, how you flee temptation.
You say, "I came to worship." Then live like it, walk like it, repent like it, love like it. These men left everything to find Jesus. What have you left behind? What have you laid down? What have you offered? It's fascinating to me today because in the church, we want to talk about if you sign up with Jesus, here's all the things you get.
To worship Jesus. Here's all the things you leave. Sign me up when he troubles you.
It's amazing how you find such comfort in leaving things that have only brought death.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 31:07
That's amazing. Some of you are searching for something to bring hope in your life that you look at all kinds of new age stuff to satisfy.
I mean, if you go to even the Christian section today, it's basically new age. It's not the Bible.
But you don't get to fashion Christ in a way that makes you happy. You take him as he is or you don't take him at all.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 31:57
These men left everything and they did so because he's worthy. Do not honor him with your lips while your heart is far from him.
Matthew 2:2, where is he? We have come to worship him. So in this short passage, we see three very different responses to the same king. Herod was troubled. He saw Jesus as a threat and wanted to get rid of him. The scribes were informed but indifferent. They knew the Scriptures but never moved. The wise men were humbled in the troubling and they sought Jesus and they worshiped him.
Which are you? What will your response be? Will you be troubled, resist his rule in your life? Will you ignore him saying the right things while staying unmoved? Or will you worship him bowing before the king and giving him your life?
Listen, you cannot erase him. You cannot evade him. You must decide what you will do with him.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 33:08
And today is as good a day as any.
I had a guy the other day who reached out to me and I'll close with this. I have mentioned it here a couple times, but there was a time I was in between ministry jobs and could not find another ministry job and worked as a steel worker and became friends with some CD characters.
I mean, like they were all in prison and they got jobs at this job. I mean, like it was the my boss just hired them. It was just a very interesting working environment. So you take hazing from being in construction, you multiply it times inmates, you know what I mean? And you get an interesting situation. And I was a pastor.
That's all I had known how to do. Like so I was pretty much incompetent. Knew nothing about the job, but I knew about Christ. Matter of fact, when they when I went in to try to they're trying to gauge like how much they would pay me for this job, they showed me a bunch of tools. Kirk, close your ears.
Just close your ears. They show me tools and say, "You know what this is?" And I'm like, "I don't know. You know what this is?" I don't really know. I know what this is. I don't know. I can't pay you anything. You're worthless. But I know your dad. It's good to have a dad, right? Yeah. Like I have a hookup, you know, like somebody that knows somebody and you get a job because of that.
You absolutely know nothing, but I will pay you $13 an hour. Now, that was actually a pretty good start at this job. This is back in the day. It was probably like forever ago, right? So, $13 an hour is like mega bucks. And then we worked 80 hours a week. I worked 80 hours a week and sometimes more for the first I think it was like four months without a day off, right?
That's how you work 80 hours a week. You don't have a day off. And so you get time and a half. You get double time and a half double time for certain things. And so I was making pretty good money by the time I got my second 40 hours in. Right? So I was making pretty decent money there. But I didn't know anything.
But I knew Christ. Now listen to me. I got problems. Can you testify today that you got pro? You know Jesus, but you got problems. That's why you're still hidden in him. In case you didn't know, if you immediately when you meet Christ now, you don't have no problems and you're perfect. You don't need to be hidden in Christ anymore.
You're hidden in there because you still got some problems and he's working some flesh stuff out in you. And you stay hidden in him because if not, God destroys sin. You got some of that. All right. So, but although I had problems, I was hidden in Christ. Now, know this. Whenever you as a believer show up somewhere, all right?
Even if you got problems, when you show up and Christ has filled your life, he shows up.
That troubles people. Yeah. It troubles people. Let me tell you, I troubled that place not because of me, but because of the Christ. Are you with me now? You'd think I'd got fired for that. And my life was I mean literally it was worse than camping and 93 95 degree temperatures like we're going to do in a couple weeks.
It was worse than that. It troubled me too. Troubled me too. I re I said all that to say a guy reached out to me who I became friends with at this job and was talking to me about his life.
And it was so encouraging because some of the guys that I became friends with there, they met Christ and their troubling led them to mercy.
Now, some it didn't, but many it did. I had someone connect with me and tell me that their life has changed so dramatically.
So dramatically because they decided what they were going to do with Jesus.
Let me ask you a question, and I'm going to close with this. Some of you might be troubled today. What are you going to do with Jesus? That's the answer of the question. Are you going to ignore him? Are you going to allow your troubling to deal with him as he is or are you going to worship him?
That's what you have to answer today. That's what each of us have to answer today. Now, in most churches, they do this altar call. They give you words to say. It's a form of an incantation. And then, you know, if you pray these words that you're saved, you don't need none of that. In your heart, what are you going to do with Jesus?
That's the answer today. Because everyone will be troubled. Will the troubling lead to judgment lead you to judgment? Or will the troubling lead you to Christ and to his mercy? The choice is yours. But one day, maybe not today, your me knee may not bow, but one day every knee will.
I just pray my knee bows and I go to heaven. If he's troubling you, he's calling you. He's troubling you.
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