SERMON TEXT: MATTHEW 2:1-12 AUTHOR: DR. JERRY VINES OUTLINE Introduction I. The Truth Which They Sought A. They Were Motivated By A Star B. They Were Aggravated By A Scoundrel C. They Were Educated By A Scripture II. The Thrill Which They Caught A. Who Is This Young Child? B. Where Did This Young Child Come From? C. What Did This Young Child Come To Do? III. The Treasures Which They Brought A. Gold - A Gift For A King B. Frankincense - A Gift For A Priest C. Myrrh - A Gift For A Prophet SERMON TEXT This morning I'm going to read the first twelve verses of Matthew chapter 2. Matthew the second chapter, verses 1 through 12. I have started a series of messages in the book of Matthew and isn't it wonderful how the Lord has just worked it out that in these passages about the birth of the Lord it just came about right at Christmas time. Now I had to help the Lord a little bit for that to happen but that's how it's worked out. So we're going to spend all of this month in the second chapter of Matthew talking about the birth of the Lord Jesus. All right, let me begin with verse 1: 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the eat to Jerusalem, 2. 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. 3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6. And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 7. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. Now if you believe that I've got some property down in the Everglades I'd like to sell you. Verse 9... 9. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. Evidently a period of time has taken place between chapter 1 and chapter 2. In the second chapter the Lord Jesus is referred to repeatedly as the young child. Chapter 1 gives the account of the birth of our Lord and when our Lord was a baby. You may recall that in Luke's account of the birth of Jesus in the second chapter of his gospel that he refers to the Lord as an infant or as the baby Jesus. But now, in Matthew chapter 2, some time has transpired and He is over and over again referred in this chapter to as the young child. Another thing that lets us know some time has transpired is because in Luke's account of the Lord we find Him in the manger scene. We notice in the 11th verse of this chapter that the Lord Jesus is now in a house. Mary and Joseph have moved temporarily into a house and He is no longer in the manger. We don't know how much time has transpired but now we see Jesus as the young child. In the second chapter we see Jesus as a young child going from Bethlehem down to Egypt and back to Nazareth. The period of time that is given here we really don't know, we do not understand, because Matthew is not interested primarily in giving us time. He is not just giving a chronological account of the birth of Jesus. Matthew has another purpose altogether. That purpose is understood when you look at the key word in all of Matthew's gospel. I pointed it out to you back in chapter 1, verse 22, where it says all this was done that it might be fulfilled. You see that word, "fulfilled?" Well the same word occurs at least three times in the second chapter of Matthew and all of the rest of the way through Matthew's gospel he will point to an Old Testament scripture something that took place in the life of Jesus, and he will say this fulfills the Old Testament scripture. Now when you take all of the prophecies about the coming of Jesus you would wonder how all of it could be fulfilled in the birth of a little baby. And yet Matthew just shows you how easily, when all of the facts are known, the pieces in the puzzle are put together and we get God's account of the sending of the Savior, the Son of God, into the world. Now, of course, we know, but when we study the birth of our Lord Jesus Matthew wants us to understand how the world received Him when He came. So in the second chapter you've really got a contrast going on. You will see how the Lord Jesus was a victim of hatred at home and yet homage from afar. He was rejected by His own people and yet these verses indicate to us that He was received by the world at large. That's the reason Matthew tells us the fascinating account of the coming of the wise men to worship Jesus when He was born. He wants us to understand that Jesus was not merely the Savior for the Jewish people but that Jesus Christ is intended to be the Savior of the world. That's why John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Now we're going to look at the birth of the Lord Jesus today from the viewpoint of the wise men. In Proverbs chapter 13, verse 20, the Bible says he that follows wise men shall be wise. So, you see, if you and I will learn from the wise men today, we will learn to be wise as they were because they came seeking the one who was born the Savior of the world. Well let's talk about the wise men for a little while this morning. I want you to first of all study with me the truth which they sought. As the opening verses of the chapter begin we find that these are wise men who are seeking for a truth. The truth which they sought. Now I want you to notice as they seek for this truth that first of all they are motivated by a star. Look at chapter 2, verse 1: when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Now, of course, we know that Bethlehem is quite familiar in the records of the Old Testament people of Israel. It was Bethlehem, you remember, where Ruth and Boaz had that tremendous love story, so Bethlehem is the home of Ruth and Boaz in the Bible. It was also the birthplace of David, so that David the great king was known as one born from Bethlehem and thereby, having been touched by the fame of David, Bethlehem became as the city of David. Now the name Bethlehem means the house of bread. I think it's very wonderful to know that the one who came into the world who is the bread of life was born in the city which means the house of bread. So when Jesus was born, we're told in verse 1, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. Wise men; magis, some translate it. We don't know a whole lot about these wise men, really. There are a lot of traditions that have grown up around them but the fact of the matter is they glide into the story, they make their worship, and then they silently pass away. We really don't know a whole lot about them. We don't know exactly where they came from except that they came from the east, but that could be from a lot of different places. We don't know the number of them. Tradition says there were three but the Bible nowhere says there were three. We don't know their names. Tradition assigns names to them but the Bible doesn't. So all we really know is that they were magi from the east and that they were come seeking the Lord Jesus Christ. Now evidently they were professional astrologers. They were men who studied the stars. Now that means a whole lot more back then than it does now because, you see, to be professional star watchers in that day meant that you were something else or other things beside that. It means that you were a philosopher, you were probably a doctor, you were a scientist of your time, and you were the kind of man that kings would come to for advice and counsel and direction. Well we don't know all about it except that they studied the movements of the stars in the heavens. They were experts in the stars. So if something took place among the movement of the stars that was out of the ordinary, these would be the first men to know that that kind of thing was taking place. Well when they came the Bible says in verse 2 that they came asking a question: Where is He that is born King of the Jews? Now that's the first question asked in the New Testament. It's quite different from the first question that's asked in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, in Genesis chapter 3, verse 9, the Lord asked the question of Adam and Eve, Where art thou? Now, of course, that's God's question to man today: Where art thou? We know where they were. They were hiding from the Lord because they had sinned. They were now sinners and they were hiding from the presence of the Lord. But the first question in the New Testament is: Where is He? Oh, you see, that's God's answer to the question in the Old Testament. The Old Testament reminds us that we're sinners, where are we?, we're sinners, that's where we are. But now the New Testament asks the question, Where is He?, and the great question of life that everybody has to answer is the question about the Lord Jesus. You cannot be neutral about the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot just have no opinion about Jesus, the Bible says, He that is not with me is against me; He who does not gather with me scatters abroad. What he's saying is you've got to answer the question, Who is Jesus? Where is Jesus that is born King of the Jews? And then they say, We have seen His star in the east. Now do you notice it says, "His star in the east and are come to worship Him." Now the fact of the matter is they were in the east when they saw the star. It was not the eastern star, it was the western star. See? They were in the east when they saw the star but the star was in the west, and they said, We have seen that star in the east, we were in the east, so we have come west now to worship Him. Now there's been all kind of speculation about this star and what it was. Astronomers have long pointed out to us that about two years before this particular time there was an unusual conjunction of planets. In fact there was an unusual star, and between Saturn and Jupiter astronomers noted a new star in the heavens. And there are some people who believe that that was the star that's referred to here. I personally do not believe that. When it says "His star" I believe it means God did a miracle in the heavens. I have always tended to believe that the shekinah glory wrapped itself in a star and announced the birth of the Savior in a miraculous, supernatural manner. Now you've got to keep in mind, folks, that when we're dealing with the God of the Bible we're dealing with the God of miracle and the God of supernatural. God is a supernatural God. Don't you confine God to your narrow, humanistic points of view. Don't you think that this world is just merely a mechanistic kind of thing that does not have a divine creator. God created the heaven and the earth, and God can do anything He wants to do on His earth, He can do anything He wants to do in His heavens. You see, that's what a miracle really is. A miracle is just God doing what He chooses to do with His own creation. See? It's His world, He can do anything He wants to. So, I don't know, maybe God just rolled up a star and said, You're going to be the Lord's star. I don't know, but anyhow these wise men saw that star and it got their attention. Now evidently there was a widespread expectancy over the world at this particular time that something unusual, out of the ordinary was going to occur. We do know that Jewish scholars of the dispersion had gone into the parts of the east and had shared their messianic prophecies with them. Well, in the book of Numbers the 24th chapter and the 17th verse there is a prophecy about the coming of the Lord that says that there shall rise a star, you see, and so there was an expectancy concerning a star. Now the thing that really spoke to my heart is that these wise men were motivated by a star. No, you see, that just simply means that God spoke to these men in a language that they could understand. Folks, I want to tell you, God's always able to talk to you in a language you can understand. They were watchers of the stars so God spoke to them in the stars. God always is able to communicate to men in whatever field they may be. That's why we say that Jesus is all in all: To the architect Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone. To the baker Jesus is the Bread of life. To the carpenter Jesus is the Firm Foundation. To the florist Jesus is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley. To the geologist Jesus is the Rock of Ages. To the physician Jesus is the Great Physician. And to the teacher Jesus is the Great Teacher. Whatever you are today, Jesus knows how to get His message to you. I am convinced with all of my heart that if men are really honest, if men will be truthful with their own hearts as they are confronted with the facts of the Lord Jesus Christ, it will inevitably bring them to the feet of Jesus in worship, just like it did these wise men. They were motivated by a star. But now the second thing I notice in these verses, in the truth they sought, is that they were aggravated by a scoundrel. Now you noticed that, didn't you, in verse 3? When Herod the king had heard these things he was troubled. And the word "troubled" means he was thrown into a state of upheaval, he was agitated, he was all shook up. Now what do you know about Herod the king? Well I'm sure you woke up this morning and before you ate breakfast you said, I wish I knew more about Herod the king. I'm sure that's the first question in your mind when you got up today, wasn't it? Who in the world was Herod the king? Well, Herod the king, there are three words actually when you study the history about Herod that kind of sum him up. He was clever, he was crafty, and he was cruel. He's really and enigma in the Bible. He was a very capable man, he was a builder. In some ways he could be generous, and yet on the other hand Herod was a man who was insanely suspicious and jealous of his job. Now the reason he was so upset with this announcement was when he heard these two words, Where is he that is "born king," that's what really got his attention. Because, you see, Herod was known as the king of the Jews but he wasn't born king of the Jews. In fact, he was a half-breed, he was an Edomite really, and he didn't inherit the kingdom, he was not born the king of the Jews, he bought his kingdom from the Roman government. It's interesting to notice that his kingdom, that his throne, is never acknowledged by heaven. So when he hears that somebody has been born king, I want you to know, his anger and his suspicions arise. I can almost see him. Can you see him now? He's pacing the floors of the palace; he slams his fist down on his desk; there's another claimant to his throne. Oh, he was quite a wicked man. He was so suspicious that people were going to try to take over his kingdom. Listen, he had his wife's sons killed, he killed his own mother, he killed one of his own sons, in fact the emperor Augustus said it would be better to be Herod's pig than to be Herod's son. He killed his own wife, Mariomne. He married Mariomne and he became suspicious that she was going to try to take his kingdom from him, so he had her killed, and when he did it drove him insane. He would go into his harem and he'd look at all of the girls there and he'd scream, You're not Mariomne! You're not Mariomne! One day he was out in the kingdom and he saw a harlot who resembled his wife Mariomne and in a fit of passion he abducted her and she gave him a filthy disease and it drove him insane. He was an absolutely crazy man. So that's who we're dealing with here, we're dealing with a scoundrel, a murderer, a ruthless murderer. So the Bible says that when he heard these things he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Well, well might they be troubled because they knew that when Herod was upset a bloody purge was on the way. In fact, did you know we're getting really toward the end of his life here. He doesn't live many more years passed Matthew 2. Do you know what he did? When he saw that he was going to die very soon he arrested some of the most distinguished citizens in Jerusalem and instructed his soldiers that when he died they were to slaughter the citizens so there would be weeping at his death. Now that's the kind of man we're dealing with here. And you see, it's a man who absolutely hates the Lord Jesus Christ. Now it's the same old struggle right here. It's the same old struggle between the flesh and the spirit. Now just as sure as you get interested in finding Jesus in your life, you can mark it down that the Herod's of this old world will get upset. Now there are probably some of you sitting in this building today and the reason you've come is because in your heart of hearts you know that you need Jesus. You're not satisfied with your life, you don't like the direction of your life, some sins have got hold on your life today and you're looking for some way to get loose from those sins. I want to assure you that the Herod's of this world will go to battle with you and will do everything in their power to keep you from finding Jesus Christ, precious to your soul, as your personal Savior. So here he is, the old scoundrel. They're motivated by a star, they're aggravated by a scoundrel. I want you to notice number three though, they're educated by a scripture. Now what he does is he gets all of the professors and all of the preachers together and asks them a question. Look at verse 4. He gets all the chief priests, that's the ruling class of the day, the high priest came from that group, the scribes, they were the Bible experts, they were the ones who knew the Bible better than anybody else in the kingdom did, and it says he demanded of them. The tense of the verb means that he repeatedly asked them. That means he asked them one by one. He'd bring them in one by one and he asked them all the same question: Where Christ should be born? And you know what? They all gave the same answer. Everyone of them knew the answer. The moment he said, Where is Christ going to be born?, they said, Oh, Micah 5:2. They all had the same answer. So in verses 5 and 6 they quote to him Micah 5:2. That's an Old Testament promise and prediction of where Jesus Christ is going to be born. They all had the same answer. Now, you know, this is the thing that is absolutely astounding to me. Now get this. Here were the people who were the ones who were the experts in the Bible, it was their job to inform the people of what was going on and to keep the people in expectancy of the coming of the Lord Jesus, they knew that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, they knew that there was a prediction that a star would appear announcing His birth, they had all the Bible facts and, you know what?, not even a one of them, so far as we know in these verses, even bothered to go down to Bethlehem and find out if it was true. Now isn't that something? Five miles, that's all it is, five miles, some of you joggers could jog down there, five miles south of Jerusalem was Bethlehem---you would at least have thought that they would have said to the wise men, How about us catching a ride with you and going down to check it out? You see, they're just like a lot of people in Jacksonville at Christmas time in 1988. See? They've got the Scriptures in their head but they don't have it in their heart. Did you know there are some folks who are going to go to hell and miss heaven by 18 inches? They're going to go to hell and they're going to miss heaven by 18 inches because, you see, the Bible says in Romans 10:9, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine (where does it say?) heart, not your head but your heart, thou shalt be saved. You see, there's a lot of folks got the facts of Christmas in their head but they don't have it in their heart. And you see, friend, that's where it counts; you've got to get it in your heart. But now these wise men are motivated by a star, they're aggravated by a scoundrel, they're educated by a scripture, and the scriptures led them to Jesus Christ. You know, there are 330 Old Testament predictions of the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I had a wonderful, wonderful experience with a young Jewish man on a plane to Kansas City this week, a very bright young Jewish man, 29 years of age. In the course of our conversation together I got to witness to him and, I want you to know, I just enjoyed so much showing him things he'd never seen in all of his life in his own Bible. And I just began to show him the Old Testament predictions of the coming of the Messiah into the world and he wrote down all of these scriptures and then I'd show him how Jesus fulfilled it. I was so glad I had preached on the genealogy of Jesus just a week or two ago, and I showed him the genealogy of Jesus, he'd never seen that. And you pray for him. He did not receive the Lord as far as I know, but you pray for him. Maybe the Lord's going to use the scriptures because, you see, God does use the scriptures to get people saved, doesn't He? See? That's why we stand up here and preach our gizzards out every Sunday, it's because people get saved by the preaching of the Word. And then I said to him something I have used before, I told him about those 330 scriptures and then I said, What do you think are the mathematical probabilities of all those scriptures being fulfilled in one person? I said, Well let's just take eight of them. What are the mathematical probabilities of just eight of those 330 scriptures being fulfilled in one person? And I showed him the odds. The odds of that taking place are one in a septillion. Now that's one in ten with 21 zeroes after it. Now I don't know about you but that doesn't mean a thing in the world to me. But now this illustration helps a little bit. Do you know what a septillion is? Here's what it is: if you take dimes and stack them edge to edge over a field that covers 80,000 cubic miles and take one of those dimes and put a mark on it, put an "x" on it, blindfold a man, put him in the middle of that 80,000 cubic miles, take the blindfold off and say to him, Now you just reach into the dimes and pick out the one that's got the mark on it, the odds of him picking out the marked dime are one in ten with 21 zeroes after it. And yet, friends, those odds absolutely came to pass in the coming of Jesus into the world. Any reasonable person, it seems to me, would be convinced by the scriptures that Jesus is everything the Bible says He is. You've got a decision to make this morning. You have been confronted with the truth of the coming of Jesus into the world. The truth which they sought. Now the second thing, what we've got now, we've got three different groups in their relationship to Jesus. We've got the wise men, that represents those who're seeking Jesus. We've got Herod, that represents those who are opposing Jesus. And then, you see, we've got the scribes and the chief priests, that represents those who're ignoring Jesus. Now which crowd do you fit in here at Christmas time? The truth which they sought. Now the second thing I want to share with you just briefly is the thrill which they caught. Now in verses 7 down through 10 it tells us about the thrill which they caught. Now Herod was a shrewd guy so it says here that he inquires of the wise men, what time... See, the first question he wanted to ask them was Where?, now the second question he wants to ask them is, When? See? So he says, you go on down and search diligently for the young child, I want to come and worship Him also. See, instead of roaring the old tyrant's purring. He's going to get a little religion. So he sends the wise men, he says, you go down there and find him. Now I want you to notice something in verses 8 and following, three times, verse 8, the young child, verse 9, the young child, verse 11, the young child, and it is around the young child that these wise men get in on the thrill of Christmas. If you'll answer three questions about this young child correctly you'll get in on the thrill of Christmas. Question number one, Who is this young child? Well, we learned in chapter 1 that this young child is the son of David, He's the Christ of prophecy, and I've already talked about it. In chapter 2 we learn in verse 11 that this young child is the son of Mary, He's the Christ of history. And it means, you see, that Christ came down and He understands us, He's been a part of history. And then, when He was on the cross the centurion said, Truly, this was the Son of God; He is the Christ of eternity, He's God's Son, that's who this Jesus is. What a thrill to really realize who this Jesus, this young child, is. The second question is, Where did this young child come from? Well, I was listening to our tapes this week, one of our Christmas tapes, and I heard Mary Frances Whitaker sing, "He Come From The Glory." Well that's exactly where Jesus came from, He came from the glory world. That's who this Jesus is, He's God come down from the glory world, God come down to this old world to understand us, you see. Now there's a third question you've got to ask about this young child, not only who He is and where He came from, What did this young child come to do? Well, let's listen to Him say with His own words. He said, The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. That's what He came down to do. Jesus came down to save us, that's why Matthew 1:21 is so precious: Thou shalt call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins. That's what you need today, you need a Savior. You need somebody who can come to grips with your sin problem. That's the good news of Christmas: He came to pay for your sins. I read some time ago about an Englishman many years ago who was captured by the Abyssinians, they captured him and held him hostage, and the English government demanded that he be released and they refused to do so. So England just invaded Abyssinia and they spent 25 million dollars freeing one English citizen, 25 million dollars. But I've got news for you. When Jesus came down and paid the price for your sins it cost Him far more than 25 million dollars. It cost Him His life, and He paid the price of your sins with His own blood. So you see, they caught the thrill. It says when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. You need to catch the thrill of Christmas. I love Christmas. Don't you like Christmas? I'm just like a little child. I'm so glad now I've got a grand baby. I'm going to buy a toy for her. I'm so glad I can go back into the toy stores again and not be embarrassed about it. I get thrilled, I get excited, I like Christmas trees, I like Christmas decorations, I like Christmas toys, but you know what's the real thrill of Christmas to me? It's Jesus. And, see, if you don't have Jesus all of these other toys and trinkets of Christmas lose their thrill eventually. In fact, that choo-choo train you're so excited about is going to get mighty tiresome when you try to put it together on Christmas Eve night. And that set of drums you're buying your little boy, you're so thrilled about it now, but you're not going to be thrilled when he's beating, beating, beating, beating, beating, beating, beating. But you see, when you understand that Jesus is the thrill of Christmas it's a thrill that never ceases. Now I've got one more thing to say. I want to talk thirdly about the treasures which they brought because the Bible says when the got there they worshipped Him. Now notice, it didn't say they worshipped them. See? They didn't worship Jesus and Mary, they worshipped HIM, Jesus. See? And then it says they presented unto Him gifts. I suppose that's the beginning of the giving of gifts at Christmas. But, you know, isn't it really an amazing thing how that at Christmas time now, instead of giving gifts to Him, we give gifts to one another? They brought gifts to Him. What are you going to give Jesus this Christmas? I heard about a little boy, he was telling his daddy all that he wanted for Christmas and he had a list that long, all of the things he wanted to get for Christmas. And his daddy said, Well, son, that's a mighty long list, I'd better talk to your teacher at school and see what kind of grades you're making. He said, Oh, don't bother, I'll be happy with a pair of roller skates. But you see, giving is a part of Christmas. Now listen, you can give and not love but you can't love and not give. Think that through. You can't love and not give. So they brought Him three gifts: gold, frankincense, and mermaid. A Sunday School teacher one Christmas asked a little boy in Sunday School class, What did the wise men bring baby Jesus? He said, I know, I know. What? Gold and Frankenstein and mermaids. That sounds like some boys around here I know. And, you know, there's a real message in those three gifts. They brought Him gold. Do you know what that means? That's a gift for a king. That means He'll rule us. See, Jesus is the King. Is He the King of your life today? A lot of people want the Lord to just be some kind of heavenly bellboy and just comes running when they ring. I've got news for you, friends, Jesus is the King. You see, Jesus Christ not only wants to be present, He wants to be President. Jesus Christ not only wants to be resident, He wants to be Regnant. Jesus Christ not only wants to ride, He wants to drive. He not only wants to roost, He wants to rule. Amen. Have you got a King this Christmas? He'll rule us. And then, of course, frankincense, that was a gift fit for a priest, He'll represent us. You see, when the priest came walking in with the incense it meant he had come there to represent the people. We've got a Savior in heaven now who understands, who can represent us. And then, of course, they brought Him myrrh. Myrrh, that means a gift fit for a prophet. He will redeem us. You know, myrrh was an antiseptic that was used for embalming. That's a strange gift for a baby wasn't it? That would be just like you having a baby shower and somebody bringing a funeral wreath. And yet, you know what?, there was the fragrance of death about this Jesus all through His life. He spoke about His death. Because you see, He had come to die, to redeem us. So they brought these gifts. There you have it, gold, that represents His royalty, frankincense, that represents His deity, myrrh, that represents His humanity. There you have it all. There is a tradition that when the wise men were making their selections of the gifts they would bring to the newborn King one of them said, What the world needs is a King so I'll get Him some gold. And the other one said, What the world needs is God so I will get Him some frankincense. And the other one said, What the world needs is a Savior so I'll get Him some myrrh. And when they came to the birth of Jesus they heard Mary sing that beautiful song recorded in Luke chapter 1 and she sang, My soul, my soul doth magnify the Lord, and one of the wise men said, Lord? There's my King. And he gave Him his gold. And she kept on and she said, My spirit shall rejoice in God. God? So he said, I'll give Him my frankincense, He's my God. And she said, My soul doth rejoice in God my Savior, and he said, Savior? He said, I'll give Him myrrh, He's my Savior. And then, when the wise men had worshipped, they were warned of God in a dream not to go back to Herod and verse 12 says they departed into their own country another way. That's what I like about Christmas and the meaning of Christmas. It means that it can change your life and it means that you this morning can go back home another way. You don't have to go home the way you came today. You don't have to go home in your sins, you can go home another way. Can I share this story with you? It's one of my favorite stories of Christmas because it happened to me. At Christmas time one year I was asked by a family to go visit a member of their family, he was separated from his wife, he was having a battle with alcohol. It's a tragedy, isn't it, that at Christmas time we just see what a tremendous problem alcohol is. Well, anyhow, to make a long story short, I found the sleazy motel where he was staying. See, Christmas time now, a time you ought to be with your family, but liquor had taken him away from his wife, taken him away from his children, taken him away from his mother and his father, and instead of being there in the home with the happiness and the joy of Christmas he was over there in an old sleazy, smelly motel. I walked in and I will never forget it. I looked over there on the table in that little motel room and there was an artificial Christmas tree. And the reason I've never forgotten it is because under that Christmas tree was a used can of beer. To make a long story short, I had the opportunity of introducing Truman Snow to the Lord Jesus that day and he was saved. Now two or three days later I was wondering how he was getting along so I went back to the motel into the room to see him and when I did the first thing I looked for was the little Christmas tree. I looked over at the little Christmas tree and instead of under the tree a can of beer, do you know what I found? A Bible. And I said, Praise God for a Savior who can change Christmas from beer cans to Bibles. Do you know this Jesus at Christmas?