Three Ways People Respond to Jesus | Paul Drader

In this message, Pastor Paul Drader walks through Matthew 2 and shows three very different ways people respond to Jesus.

Through the reactions of King Herod, the religious leaders, and the Wise Men, we see how fear, comfort, and control can keep us from moving toward Jesus, while intentional seeking leads to worship, obedience, and real life change. Each response reveals what we value and ultimately determines the direction of our lives.

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Transcript

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- Hey, this is Phil Kal, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.- It's great to see you here today, especially today because we're in that season between Christmas and New Year's and no one has any clue what day of the week it even is. So shout out to you guys for knowing that it was Sunday and brave in the cold and being here today. It's great to see you here in church. Have got a question for you. Have you ever been caught off guard by someone's reaction to what you thought was really big news? You come into the office one morning and you're really excited about something or you've got this big announcement you can't wait to share with someone, and then when you drop what this incredible news, what you thought was really incredible news, they almost seemed uninterested. I've experienced this a few times over the last couple of years 'cause as I'm sure you're aware, the orders have reached the Stanley Cup final the last two years in a row, and I'd be so fired up the next day after a big win because I was invested in the team and their progress and I assumed that everyone else was too. What I learned was that is not the case. And I remember just saying someone soul full of excitement, something like, wow, what a game last night wasn't that amazing? And their response was, what game? ? And in my mind I'm like, what do you mean what game we won in like triple overtime? What is wrong with you? And because I'm a kind person, I didn't say it like that. I simply said, oh, the Oilers won their hockey game last night, . But because of my devotion to the team and my emotional investment, I couldn't believe that other people didn't place the same value on an Oilers win as I did. In fact, some people didn't even know that the Oilers were in the finals, their focus wasn't on other things. And whether or not the team lost had no effect on them whatsoever, and especially whether or not they got a good night's sleep or not. And that's just a foreign thing to me. But it's interesting though, how the same news can land differently for different people depending on what they value. And that's exactly what we're gonna see today as we look at a portion of scripture found in Matthew chapter two, we'll see that when the news of Jesus comes, everyone responds. But not everyone responds the same. We're gonna look at three people or groups of people in this portion of scripture and we'll examine who they are and how each of them respond to the news of Jesus. But why does our response to Jesus matter? Well, failing to respond to Jesus appropriately means missing out on the life, the purpose and the transformation that he offers. And when we clinging to control or we settle into comfort, we risk missing out on the life giving relationship that matters most. So let's dive into the text. This is Matthew chapter two verses one to 12. And this is what it says. Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod. About that time, some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem asking, where is this newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and we have come to worship him. King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. And he called the meeting of the leading priests and teachers of the religious law and asked, where is the Messiah supposed to be born in Bethlehem and Judea? They said, for this is what the prophet wrote, and you owe Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not least among the ruling cities of Judah. For a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel. Then Herod called for a private meeting with the Wiseman and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too. After this interview, the wise men went their way and the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they were filled with joy. They entered the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chest and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And when it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route. For God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. Okay, so let's look at the first character in this chunk of scripture here. King Herod, who was he? Well, he was the ruler of uh, king. He was the king of Judah and he ruled under Roman authority. He wasn't the rightful heir to David's throne. He was the political appointee of Rome. And they chose him because he was smart, he was shrewd and he was fiercely loyal to Caesar. And Rome didn't care about his faith, they cared about his ability to keep the peace and collect taxes. Now he was known as a brilliant builder. He rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem and he constructed massive fortress like Masada and left architectural wonders across the region. But behind this impressive resume was a man that was driven by fear. History tells us that he was paranoid, he was insecure, and he was obsessed with control. Get this, he even killed members of his own family, including his wife and sons because he thought they might take his throne. And Herod's life revolved around one goal, stay in power. And that's why when these wise men arrive asking Where is this newborn king of the Jews? Matthew tells us in verse three that king Herod was deeply disturbed. And that word disturbed in Greek means to be shaken, agitated, or deeply troubled. Herod was rattled. The idea of a new king threatened everything that he had built his life around. So what does he do? Well, he calls together the religious leaders to find out where this Messiah was supposed to be born. And they quote a prophecy from Micah five, two and they tell him, Bethlehem. So armed with that knowledge, Herod secretly meets with these wives and and sends them to search for the child. He says, come back and tell me where the child is so I can worship him too. Now this sounds like a noble response. However, we know that he's not sincere because just a few verses later in verses 16 to 18, Herod sends out soldiers to kill every boy who's two years old and younger in and around Bethlehem talk about insecurity, talk about irrational fear. He was so committed to protecting his own kingdom that he was willing to destroy anything and anyone who threatened it. Now, what's interesting to note about Herod here with all this happening, he never moves. He never goes to Bethlehem himself. He never investigates for himself. He just takes everyone else's word for it. And then as king, he commands others to act on his behalf. He orders the wise men to find Jesus and then report back. And then he sends out soldiers to do his dirty work. Herod's pride, his insecurity and his desire for control, it kept him stuck. Now here's the ironic thing. Those are the very things that an encounter with Jesus can heal. This Jesus replaces pride with humility and he removes insecurity by giving us identity as children of God. And he invites us to surrender our control and trust that his way is better than ours. Herod's unwillingness to leave his throne cause him to miss out on the true king. And maybe you feel stuck, you've been trying to manage things on your own and it's just not working and it feels like another year has gone by and you feel like you're still in the same spot. Will this be the year that you truly and fully surrender to Jesus? Herod represents what I would call the comfortable controller, the person who sees Jesus as a threat instead of a savior. He heard the message about Jesus, but assumed it meant danger and not deliverance. And he gathered knowledge about Jesus, but used it for self-protection, not transformation. And if we see Jesus as a rival, someone who might disrupt our plans or demand too much, we'll do what here. We'll protect, we'll manage and we'll control. And perhaps you can relate to that certain areas of our lives are difficult to surrender. I get that things like our time or maybe our finances and we might think that we're better at managing our lives. And even though we hear about Jesus, we just prefer to maintain where we are. Maybe we'll even observe from a distance. We'll maybe talk to others about Jesus but never actually seek him for ourselves. But when we see Jesus correctly and understand the value that he can bring to our lives a savior and Lord will move toward him and let go of control and surrender everything. So let me ask you this. How do you view Jesus? Are you clinging to control rather than surrendering to God's will have you become defensive when Jesus disrupts your comfort? See, you can't worship Jesus while you're sitting on your own throne. True worship requires movement laying down our crown and recognizing him as the king of our lives. Life with Jesus is a choice of surrender. To surrender not to control, clingy to control is also exhausting. Just look at the lengths that King Herod went to maintain what he had built. There is freedom and rest that is only found through submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ. So the next group wanna look at in the story is the religious leaders. So who are these guys? Well, they were the spiritually elite of Israel. The ones in charge of temple worship, the guardians of religious law and the teachers of scripture. They were the religious establishment. No one knew the scriptures better than they did. And if you had a theological question, these were the guys to talk to. So Herod calls a meeting with them and read this in verse four, he called the meeting of the leading priest and teachers of religious law and asked, where is this Messiah supposed to be born? Now seemingly without hesitation, they have the answer. They quote Micah, five two, A prophecy from hundreds of years ago, and you owe Bethlehem from you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel. Now this moment is fascinating'cause there's this political commotion going on. We got a king in panic. There's four dignitaries showing up saying that this Messiah has been born and the religious leaders don't even seem to blink. They know exactly what the pa, the passages of the magi are talking about. They've been waiting for this prophecy for generations. And yet when it appears to be happening right in front of their eyes, what do they do? Nothing. No movement, no curiosity, no expectation, no worship. And Bethlehem was just a short walk away for them. And afternoon is a journey which is a sharp contrast to the journey that the the wise men take and still nothing which raises the question, why didn't they go? How could the people who knew the most about the Messiah be least moved by his arrival? Maybe it was pride, maybe it was losing influence with Herod or maybe they were just too comfortable in the religious system that they had set up. Whatever the reason is, it's tragic. They had all the answers but no response and they had all the knowledge, but there was no pursuit. They could quote the scripture perfectly. But when the one who gives meaning to all the shows up, it doesn't move their heart to worship. These religious leaders represent the passive believer, the person who knows the truth but stays unmoved by it. See, religion is knowing about the person of Jesus, but relationship is knowing Jesus personally. Information about Jesus is not the same thing as intimacy with him. And the fatal flaw of the religious leaders is that they knew the prophecies, but they didn't pursue the promise. And they pointed other people to Bethlehem, but they never went themselves. They talked about the Messiah, but they never walked to meet him. And that's a sobering mirror for us as Christians. We need to guard against this because it's easy to talk about the Bible or talk about God and even help point other people to Jesus, but we must never lose our own personal pursuit of him. So has familiarity with the story of Jesus caused you to stop pursuing him? Do you know where to find him in scripture and in prayer and in worship? But have you stopped taking those steps yourself? See, Bethlehem was close for them and Jesus is close for you. So don't miss him. Your Bethlehem moment might be opening up your Bible again or connecting with God in prayer or recommitting to seek Jesus above everything else. Or maybe it's saying yes to an act of obedience that you've been delaying. Don't let familiarity breed complacency. Don't settle for information without transformation and don't be the one who knows, but never goes. So what step towards Jesus do you need to take today? And may we be people who pursue a genuine relationship with Jesus over just religious knowledge about him, and would we be people who hear and respond to the truth that leads us straight to Jesus? So this brings us to the final group in this story, the wise man or the royal astrologers or magi, they're often called While the religious leaders stayed still the magi, they moved and they remind us that wisdom is not just about knowing, it's about seeking. So who are these guys? Well, Matthew doesn't tell us very much here about these men or even how many of them there were. What we do know is they are magi from the East, likely Persia or Babylon. And they were educated men who studied the stars and advised kings they weren't Jewish. They hadn't grown up anticipating a Messiah. But when they saw a unique star appear in the heavens, they recognize it as something significant and it moved them to act. And here's something that I think is really fascinating. If these magi came from Babylon or Persia, they came from a place where the prophet Daniel once served hundreds of years earlier. See, Daniel was appointed chief over the Magi. If read that in Daniel chapter two in verse 48. So he likely taught their ancestors, he lived among them and he influenced their understanding of of the God of Israel. So it's plausible that the magi in Matthew chapter two were carrying forward seeds of truth that Daniel had planted centuries before. They may have inherited writings or stories about the Hebrew God, about a promised king, about a coming deliverer. And they may have been watching the skies because Daniel had told their forefathers that one day God himself would intervene in history. So their journey also to Bethlehem would've been long. It would've been costly and it would've been dangerous. This would've taken months they, they've been have to travel across the desert and through mountains. But they obviously believed that whoever this child was, he was worth the effort he was. He was worth the expense and the risk. They decided that he was worthy of their worship in their world. The Magi were respected figures, they were royal advisors and they had status and they had wealth. And that explains why Herod would welcome into a private meeting. And there also was likely more than three of them. As tradition often shows there may have been as many as 12, we're not totally sure, but they also would've traveled with many other people as well on this journey. And a caravan of this size arriving in Jerusalem would've caused quite a stir. And in his security, Herod saw this as a means to an end. And this is what we read in verse seven and eight. Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so I can go and worship him too. Now at this point, the Magi probably intended to return as instructed, but we're just gonna put a pin in that for a moment. Let's continue to read. In verses nine to 11. After this interview, the wise men went their way and the star they had seen in the East guided them to Bethlehem. It went and stopped over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they were filled with joy. They entered the house and saw the child with their his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure chest and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Here's a subtle but important detail. They didn't arrive at the stable. They didn't show up the same night as the shepherds. Jesus has called a child, not an infant. Mary and Joseph were in a house, not a stable. Jesus would've been months, maybe even over a year old when they arrived from their journey. And I'm sorry if that disrupts the nativity scene that you have on your mantle, but that's what we can see here in scripture. And when they meet Jesus, this is what these men do. They opened their treasure chest and they gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and Mer, and they bow down and they worshiped him. That's the posture of a wise seeker. And then they gave not leftovers, not convenience offerings, not something random. Off the babies are US registry. These were gifts of extravagant value and each with deep meaning, gold representing his kingship. Jesus is the king above all kings. Frankincense. Well, that's a resin from Arabia. And that would've been used in temple worship. It represents divinity, a symbol of the presence of God. And meh, this would've been used in burial preparation and it signifies his humanity and his suffering pointing to the cross. Even in his cradle. Each of these gifts were costly and they were fit for a king. So for these men to worship Jesus, it cost them time. It cost them resources, and it cost them energy. And that is a powerful reminder for us. That true worship always costs us something. It costs us our comfort and be our control. Time resources. These men, they acted on faith and they met Jesus on the other side of their obedience. And when we meet Jesus, something changes. Verse 12, when it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route. For God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. See, they went home another way. And that's what happens when you encounter Jesus. You can't meet him and leave the same way you came. And that is my prayer every Sunday as we prepare for church, that we would have an encounter with Jesus and we would leave changed as a result. See, the original plan was to go back to Herod, but after meeting the true king, their direction, their loyalty, their purpose, it changed completely. And when we truly meet Jesus, he reorders our path. He reshapes our priorities and he redirects our lives as well. The Magi represent wise seekers, people who pursue Jesus personally and give him their best. A reflection of who we are called to be, people who pursue Jesus no matter the cost. People who bow down before him with joy and not fear, and people whose lives take a new direction because of an encounter with the king. So the question is this, are you observing from a distance or are you moving toward Jesus? Are you holding onto your treasures or are you opening your hands in worship? And are you paying attention to the signs? Because why? Seekers don't just see the star, they follow it. They take action. Now, this call to seek God is not isolated to just this section of scripture here. This theme is found throughout the Bible in Deuteronomy 4 29 to read. If you seek the Lord your God with if you seek the Lord your God, you'll find him if you seek him with all of your heart and with all of your soul. In Psalm 34, David testifies that he sought the Lord and he answered me. And he reminds us that those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. In Psalm 1 19, 2 says that we are blessed because when we keep his statutes and we are blessed when we keep his statutes and seek him with all of our heart, Jeremiah speaking on behalf of God says, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with what all of your heart. And then Jesus himself urges us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and to ask That'll be given to you. Seek and you'll find knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks, receives, everyone who seeks finds and to the one who knocks the door will be opened. Jesus is not hiding, but he is waiting to be found. He's waiting for us to pursue him with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and with all of our strength. I'm gonna give you some practical ways that we can do that in just a minute. But first, I wanna tell you who this Jesus is and why he's worthy to be sought after Jesus is the alpha and the Omega. He's the beginning and he is the end. He is a manual God with us. Jesus is the way, he's the truth and he's the life. He is also our healer. And he is the Savior of the world. He is also the Son of God. Jesus is love. He is the spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He conquered sin, death, and the grave. And on the cross he carried our guilt and our shame. But he didn't stay dead. He rose and he offers us peace and hope and joy and eternal life with him in heaven. That my friends is who Jesus is and why we should seek him, find him, and continually pursue him. He longs. Yeah, that's who Jesus is. And that guy, that person longs to be in a relationship with us. What a privilege and his desire is that no one should perish, but that all would find him and accept the forgiveness in life that he offers. So will you seek him? Will you determine to know him greater in the year ahead? Will you surrender your will to his? Will you pursue a life of obedience to honor him with your life? So there's always more discover about Jesus, and each revelation is of who he is is found when we seek him and seek him daily. So as 2025 comes to a close, the new year is just around the corner. I wanna give you some practical ways that you can seek him in the year ahead. Now, seeking Jesus isn't complicated, but it is intentional. So firstly, how we do this sim, read the Bible. If you don't have one, ask our team for one or download the Bible app. And if you're not sure where to read, I get it's a big book. Where do you start? Start with the book of John and just discover God's love for you. Secondly, pray prayer is simply talking to God and allowing him to speak to you and be real with God. The Bible says to cast your cares on him. Meaning tell him how you're feeling, what scares you, what excites you. And ask for his strength and his wisdom and his guidance in the year ahead. Maybe for you seeking God in the new year requires some accountability. I wanna encourage you to join a small group, seek God together with others and learn and grow in community. Or maybe for you seeking God is just, I need to learn more about who he is. So we've got some classes and courses starting up in the new year. One of them is the alpha course starting up in January where you can learn and ask questions about faith and life. We also have the new believers course coming up where you can learn about what it means to follow Jesus. And there's many more options as well that you can check out on our website. Perhaps seeking God in the new year for you is taking a step of obedience maybe to be baptized. We would love to help you take that step if that's you. Or maybe it's joining a serve team here at the church and worshiping God with your time and with your talent. The church is here to help you find Jesus. And each of those things I just mentioned will lead you closer to him. But you have to take action like the wise men. You gotta move and maybe even ask for directions along the way if you need to. But that's what we're here to do is help point you to Jesus. See, the news of Jesus is way more exciting than an Oilers win. So how will you respond to it in the year ahead? Will you resist it like Herod did? Will you ignore it like the religious leaders or will you seek him like the wise men? How you respond to Jesus in the new Year reveals what you value. And only one response leads to freedom and transformation. So choose wisely, my friends, choose to seek Jesus. I'm gonna invite you to stand if you're able. Please, I'll have to pray with you. God, we thank you for sending Jesus as we just celebrated in this Christmas season. Emanuel God with us, sending your Son to come to earth, to save us, to transform our lives. God, we're so grateful for that. That the way the truth and the life came for us to save us. And God, would you forgive us for being people like Herod who just have resisted the news of you and try to control our own life and try to control our own way. And we, we just, we've resisted the message of who you are. Would you forgive us for that? And God also, would you also forgive us for just being passive in our faith and not being active seekers of you? We just can become complacent and satisfy where things are. But God would you in this new year, just birth something in us. This is passion to seek you with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and all of our strength. And God, as we seek you, we thank you that we will find you and we can learn and discover more new things about you every single day. And so would your word just come alive in us as we read it this year and as our word, our prayer life? Just go to another level as we seek you more intentionally this year ahead. And God, would we take steps of obedience just to honor you with our lives? We wanna be wise seekers. So would you lead and guide us in the year ahead? We pray in Jesus' name. You know, maybe you're here today and you don't know who Jesus is and you haven't invited him to come and be part of your life. I wanna give you an opportunity now just to pray this prayer along with me inviting Jesus to come be the center of your life and just say, God, I want your will for my life, not my own. And if that's you, would you pray this along with me? Now, God, today I recognize my need for you. I've been doing things my own way. And I see now that there's a better way. And that's why putting my trust and my faith and my hope in you, and so I choose to do that today, God, would you come and be the center of my life? Thank you for sending Jesus to the cross for my sin. And I choose today to receive your forgiveness, your love, and your grace. And I wanna do my best moving forward to follow you all the days of my life. Would you guide and direct my path? I pray in Jesus' name, amen. You know, if you prayed that along with me for the very first time, I'm so proud of you for that because that is the best decision you could ever make. And if you're looking for some next steps or resources, I wanna encourage you to tap your phone on the disc in front of you there and click on the follow Jesus button. Or if you're watching us online, you can go to hope city.ca/life. Also, if you're here today and you would like someone to pray with you, our prayer team's gonna be up here at the front. They would love to chat with you and pray with you. So please come and see them if you would like some prayer today. Otherwise, thanks for being in church today. Hope you have a great Sunday and an amazing week ahead. Happy New Year everybody. God bless.