A father bought his daughters a quad bike for Christmas and was bursting with pride when the eldest rolled the machine over and wanted to get straight back on. Then he turned to his wife, saw tears and heard: I knew this would happen. One event, two different responses. That scene opens a sermon about three responses to the birth of Jesus (Matthew 2): the fury of Herod, the indifference of the scholars, who knew the prophecy and never moved, and the Magi, who travelled hundreds of miles to worship. The most dangerous of the three is not the angry one, but the one that knows everything and does nothing with it. Listen and ask which of them sits closest to what happens in you each December.
The Wise Men and Jesus
The World of Jesus
Jesus’ coming into the world is the most important event in history. As we read His story, we discover that He entered a world of very ordinary people. His ancestors had complicated life stories. His birth turned His family’s life upside down, caught the attention of foreign thinkers, and terrified the local authorities. Although distant, Jesus’ world is not very different from our own.
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