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‘Where is He that is born King of the Jews?’
Mat_2:2
I. The royalties of Jesus.—There are other kinds of kings besides kings of nations. Every man who is first in a thing becomes a model, a leader, a king. In this light see (a) the royalty of Christ’s manhood—He is the first of men; (b) of His sonship—He is the noblest of sons; (c) of His championship—He is the grandest of heroes; (d) of His submission—He is the most patient of all sufferers; (e) of His exaltation—He occupies the sublimest throne, and has committed to Him the grandest trusts.
II. By whom shall He be crowned?—Shall it be by the Jews only, to whom He bore merely race-relations? or shall it be by those to whom He bears the higher spiritual relationship? He should now be crowned by (a) truth-seekers, seeing that He is the Truth, and the King of the Truth; (b) sufferers, seeing that He is the highest model of bearing suffering, and by right of His profound and varied experiences is acknowledged to be Lord of the suffering ones; (c) self-sacrificers, seeing that He is the perfect example of self-sacrifice, enduring the cross, and despising its shame; (d) sinners, seeing that He is the one only and all-sufficient Saviour, with royal power to pardon and redeem; (e) Saints, seeing that He is ‘King of Saints the Holy.’ Surely we belong to one or other of these classes, and may therefore be urged once again to crown Him as our ‘King of kings and Lord of Lords.’
III. What shall the crown be?—Many while He lived on earth would gladly have crowned Him with the mere earth-crown of the conqueror, yet at last they crowned Him with the crown of thorns. Our crown need be no circlet of gold, spangled with jewels; it should be a wondrous intertwining of (a) steadfast allegiance, (b) adoring admiration, (c) holy thankfulness, (d) hearty trust, (e) consecrated service, (f) unfailing love. These together may make our crown the very crown with which we may, each one of us, adorn Him ‘on whose head are many crowns.’
Illustrations
(1) ‘The Lord is our King. He is on His throne. We adore Him; we obey Him; we belong to His kingdom, and we are bound to extend it. But for the manifestation of His royalty we wait. He is coming. He comes to reign. His regal office is the theme of prediction. Jeremiah specially sketches the sphere of His authority and the nature of His administration. The Psalter grows in depicting the range of His dominion; the nations which shall own Him; the principles of His sovereignty, and the spiritual splendour of His rule. It is to this kingdom He taught His Church to look in supplication when He made it the theme of abiding prayer—“Thy kingdom come.” ’
(2) ‘Christ wields a world-wide sceptre. Dan_7:13-14; Zec_14:9. The government is upon His shoulder. Isa_9:6. God’s promise to David receives its perfect accomplishment in Christ. “He shall build an house for My name, and I will stablish the throne of His kingdom for ever.” Compare 2Sa_7:13, with Luk_1:32-33. Christ is “the King eternal, immortal, invisible. The blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” 1Ti_1:17; 1Ti_6:15. “Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.” ’
‘We have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.’
Mat_2:2
I. True wisdom.—They were wise men, and the way in which they showed their wisdom was in going, at great trouble and expense, and perhaps peril, in order to give the homage of their hearts to Christ. They had the wisest wisdom, the spirit of the Holy Ghost, to guide them by means of the star to where Christ, the new-born King, was to be found.
II. Little knowledge.—The wise men had very little to help them, but they made the best use of what they had. When the extraordinary star appeared, which was always connected with the coming of a new king, they felt confident that the time had come, and they set forth upon that difficult and dangerous journey in order to go and worship Christ. They had no Gospel, and in this respect they put us to shame. Here we are, with our complete Bible, and Church services and meetings, and yet some of us have not even yet given our hearts to Christ.
III. Much faith.—These wise men triumphed over the difficulties which stood in their way. They had so little to guide them from the world’s point of view. They went in speculation, as it were; they might have been disappointed, and have had all their trouble in vain; but they were not to be deterred by any consideration of that kind. When they got to Jerusalem there came a very great difficulty and a disappointment. They were told there was no new king there, they were told that Herod was king; and, added to this very great disappointment, their guiding star had disappeared. They might have considered that they had made a mistake, and have turned back. But no, they were thoroughly in earnest. Even when the Wise Men saw the star again that did not finish their disappointment. The star went on to Bethlehem, and took them to an inn. But there was no Christ in the inn. And at length the star stood over a very humble building, a mere shed, a stable. Then surely they might have given up the search altogether, but faith enabled them to triumph over every difficulty.
IV. Whole-hearted adoration.—At once these men fell down before him, and they laid at His feet not only their hearts, but also the most expensive things they had brought with them. The best things they gave were their hearts. If you will only take Christ as your Saviour, and pray earnestly for the guiding of the Holy Ghost, then your path will indeed be prosperous and happy, and you will be able to triumph over every difficulty until at last in Heaven itself you are able to lay yourselves down at His feet and worship Him as King of kings and Lord of lords.
The Rev. H. L. James.