Born The King, Ne’er a Prince!

Sermon Summary:

The Christmas story takes on breathtaking depth when we understand the historical stage upon which it unfolded. This exploration of Matthew 2 reveals that Jesus wasn’t born into a vacuum, but into a world charged with tension between empires, ancient prophecies, and desperate human longing. For 540 years, the Jewish people had lived without a king, without national identity, clinging only to the prophetic promises that God would send a deliverer. Meanwhile, both east and west—from the Parthian Empire to Rome itself—had developed expectations of a ruler arising from Judea. When the Magi arrived from Parthia, they weren’t three lonely travelers on camels, but representatives of a priestly class who made kings, likely accompanied by military escort, bearing gifts fit for royalty. They understood something profound: they had witnessed ‘his star’—not just any celestial phenomenon, but the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. What strikes us most powerfully is the contrast between these foreign seekers who traveled 900 miles to worship the newborn King, and the religious leaders in Jerusalem who wouldn’t walk nine kilometers to see Him. This challenges us to examine our own response to Jesus. Are we like the Magi, willing to journey far and sacrifice much to worship the King? Or are we content with proximity to spiritual truth without actually pursuing Him? The message is clear: Jesus was born King—not a prince-in-waiting, but the ruler of history itself. From Alpha to Omega, He encompasses all of existence, and our calling is to bow before Him not as a historical figure we admire, but as the living God who reigns today.

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Sermon Points:

JEWISH EXPECTATION: Some of the Jews returned from the Exile to Israel about 540 years before the birth of Jesus, while many Jews remained in the Babylonian/Persian area. Even though many of them had returned to Israel, the Jews had no King, no army, and no national identity. However, they had a hope and an expectation that God would send a new “Son of David” to rule over them and deliver them from their oppressors.

EASTERN GENTILE CONTEXT: Eventually, the Parthians conquered Babylon, re-established Iranian rule in Persia and became the rival empire to Rome. The Parthian priests and astrologers became familiar with the Jewish Messianic prophecies from the writings of Daniel and the prophets – as well as through personal interactions with the Jewish population remaining in the area.

ROMAN GENTILE CONTEXT: By the first century, even the Romans had come to believe that some sort of “special” ruler would arise from the region of Judea.

“There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world.” -Suetonius

KING HEROD: Julius Caesar appointed Herod’s father, Antipater, as the Governor of Judea. Upon his father’s death, Herod became one of the two rulers of Judea/Galilee. The Parthians attacked Israel and Herod fled to Rome in 40 BC. Mark Antony appointed Herod as King of the Jews, and he returned to Israel and defeated the Parthians.

MAGI: Many scholars believe the Magi were from the priestly class in Parthia who had been studying the “signs” of the times and were expecting the birth of a new King in Judea. They arrived with an entourage from Parthia (enemies of Herod), with gifts fit for a King, searching for the new King. Matthew records that Herod was “disturbed” and all of Israel with him!

THE KING! When the Magi found the King, they “rejoiced with and exceedingly great joy!” They worshiped before the King and bestowed Him with precious gifts befitting a king.

Our God is the God of redemptive history – indeed, He is the God of all of history!

Jesus is The King! Even the words in both the Old and New Testaments that can be rendered “prince” actually mean “ruler.” Jesus was truly born a King – actually, He was born . . . The King!

Key Takeaways:

• Jesus was born King, not a prince waiting to be crowned—He already possesses full authority and divinity
• The 400-year period between the Old and New Testaments set the stage for Christ’s arrival through geopolitical tensions between Rome and Parthia
• Jewish expectation of a Messiah was rooted in prophetic promises from Numbers, Daniel, and other prophets
• The Magi were likely Parthian priests and king-makers who traveled 900 miles with military escort, bringing gifts befitting royalty
• Herod’s disturbance at the Magi’s arrival reveals how good news for some is terrible news for others
• God is the God of redemptive history—events don’t just happen randomly but unfold according to divine purpose
• Jesus’s genealogy in Matthew 1 includes Gentiles, women, and sinners, demonstrating that Christ came for everyone
• The Nicene Creed affirms Jesus’s full divinity and equality with the Father, rejecting any reduction of Christ to merely human status
• Jesus identifies Himself as “Alpha and Omega,” the beginning and the end, claiming sovereignty over all history
• The church is called to intentional discipleship, with research showing that spiritual maturity correlates with personal flourishing

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Scripture References:

• Matthew 2:1-12 (primary text)
• Numbers 24:17 (Balaam’s prophecy of the star and scepter)
• Daniel 2 and 9 (prophecies of the anointed ruler and God’s eternal kingdom)
• Matthew 1:1-17 (genealogy of Jesus)
• Revelation 22 (Jesus as Alpha and Omega)

Stories:

• The historical account of Herod’s rise to power: fleeing to Rome in 40 BC, being named king of the Jews by Mark Antony and the Roman Senate, defeating the Parthians with Roman troops, and later negotiating with Caesar Augustus after Mark Antony’s defeat
• The journey of the Magi from Parthia (approximately 900 miles) following the star, likely traveling with military escort and bringing royal gifts
• The contrast between the Magi who traveled 900 miles to worship the King and the religious leaders in Jerusalem who wouldn’t travel 9 kilometers to Bethlehem
• The humorous contemporary story of the Oklahoma couple whose children couldn’t come home for Christmas, so the father pretended he was divorcing his wife to get them to visit—illustrating how good news for some is bad news for others
• The African-American preacher’s description of creation: “God looked at nothing, took nothing, spoke to nothing, and everything that was nothing started straining to become something”
• The pastor’s mention of the Harvard/Baylor/Regent University flourishing survey conducted at the church with 1,287 responses, revealing that spiritual maturity correlates with higher flourishing scores

Sermon Transcript:

Amen. Thank you, Michael and Blair, Harper and Hudson. I’m grateful for our worship ministry at our church. I just.

I just love these folks. And our first worship service in this service today is, it’s not just that their talented, they’re just committed followers of Jesus. And that that really is what makes such a big difference here. And we’re grateful for them. Well, today I’ve entitled the message Born the King. Their a prince, and the text is a very familiar one.

It’s found in Matthew two. So if you have your copy of the New Testament, I’ll invite you to look at the second page of Matthew, and I’ll invite you to stand along with me as we honor the Lord Jesus in the reading of the gospel.

The text reads, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him.

When he called together all the people, chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, in Judea. They replied, for this is what the prophet has written. But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

Then Herod called the Magi secretly, and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, and he said, go and search carefully for the child. And as soon as you find him, report to me, said, I too may go and worship him. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. When coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Thank you. You may be seated.

The celebration of Christmas, but we know that there’s much more to the story.

And, we are reminded of that as we gather around this table. Well, the theme for advent in 2025 is The King. You know that we’ve been on this journey together as a church studying flourishing and flourishing together really is the theme we’ve adopted for these few years.

Do you remember when we took the survey on that Sunday morning, 1287 of you took that survey, and Monday, Kurt, Katie and I actually met with the research team from Harvard, from Baylor, and from Regent University. And they’ve provided us with this report, 78 pages of an analysis of the results of all of our answers and comments, and just an assessment of our own sense of personal flourishing, our understanding of what flourishing looks like as a church and how it spills over into the community.

If you’re a leader in the church, there was an extra section for you, whether you realize it or not, when you answered that question. And so we have a whole section where the leaders of our church have been surveyed. It is a wealth of information. And, we are, in the midst of just trying to understand it all and see what the Lord is saying to us through this research.

I’m grateful for it. One of the things that I would tell you is, is that it just affirmed in me my sense that our calling is to make disciples, and that this plan for intentional discipleship is important and I believe, crucial for the future of our church. In fact, one of the things that we discovered in this survey was, the more mature you are in your discipleship, the higher your scores are in flourishing.

That doesn’t surprise me. It just encourages me. And so we are going to continue that journey of intentional discipleship. In fact, at the conclusion of the service today, you’re going to see a recommendation from our personnel committee. And, it is to help prepare us to implement this strategy and plan for and develop the plan, really, for intentional discipleship.

You’ll notice today, you’ll be asked to affirm two new people to actually be promoted to the position of associate pastor, Katie and Brad, you and I came to be your pastor. We had five associate pastors, and now we’re down to one. Curt and in order for us to lead this more effectively, I feel like I need more senior leadership at our church.

And on top of that, we have a management team that we’re recommending of discipleship ministers. And you’ll see that recommendation. There is also as part of the recommendation, and you’ll notice that we’re changing the nomenclature in this recommendation so that the people who lead ministries on the ministry side of the House are actually called ministers and not directors.

So Connor and, Ashley and Luke, we’re recommending that we change their title because I believe that as the overseer of the church, I need other associate pastor to serve alongside me and, and ministers to lead the ministries and our personnel committee. And that put together a sub team. And we’ve been working since August. And, to formulate this recommendation, I would just say to y’all as church members, I’m grateful, as I said earlier, for our worship ministry, I’m also grateful for all the people in this church who serve on all our committees and all of our councils, and just give so much of their time and their energy to help shepherd this congregation all.

We’re grateful for all these folks. They just work so hard. So proud of them. Thank all of y’all. It’s not just the personnel committee. There’s so many places where y’all are serving. I’m grateful for you so well. That said, 2026, we’re going to launch this intentional discipleship, plan and really start developing it. And it’ll take us a while.

But what if we go ahead and finish 2025? What do y’all think? We still got a little bit left. Right. So let’s do that. So our theme for advent is King. The King and I share with our last Sunday morning that I’m going to use King as an acrostic for the sermons through the rest of this month.

And so today we’ll start mourning the King next Sunday, identity gift the next Sunday, now and not yet. The Sunday after advent is over. Go now and I’m looking forward to sharing all of this with you. Now, with that said, here’s what I’d like to do this morning. If I may. I would like to, if y’all don’t mind.

Yeah, I think most of y’all know that my Ph.D. is in history, so I just think history is helpful. It contextualizes things. So, if y’all don’t mind, here’s what I’d like to do this morning. I would like to offer us just a brief history lesson to contextualize the story of Christmas. Is that okay? Because here’s what happens.

If it’s not okay, it’s okay because I’m I mean, I’m going to do it, but I’m just my mama. Thomas politeness asked permission. You know, even if you intend to go ahead and do it. But if you’re just look at your Bible, Matthew, just turn back one page, okay? Matthew, not in my copy of the scripture. Here’s what I have.

I have a blank page at the end of Malachi, and it just says the New Testament. Okay. Now, because I have done homework like many of you have, here’s what I know. Between Malachi and Matthew, a whole lot happens now. The Jewish Bible, the Jewish scripture doesn’t end with Malachi. It ends with Chronicles, what we would call second Chronicles because of the narrative material there.

But with the end of Chronicles, the end of Malachi, about 400 years have passed before we come to Matthew’s story. Okay. So let me just if I may give you just a really quick, cursory, take on what’s happened. First of all, Matthew is writing this story in the first century, and when he starts telling the story, it’s at the very beginning of the first century.

So what was the milieu in which Matthew lived and breathed and shaped this story from a theological and historical perspective? Let me offer that to you. There was what was what we just refer to as Jewish expectation, because here’s what’s happened. Some of the Jews returned from the exile to Israel, from Babylon, about 540 years before the birth of Jesus, while many Jews remained in the Babylonian Persian area.

So, in other words, the Jews that came home to resettle Jerusalem, rebuild the wall, rebuild the temple. All the Jews didn’t do that. Many Jews stayed behind in Babylon and in Persia for a number of reasons age, some of them had made lives there, but the ones who came home to Israel once they arrived, here’s their reality 540 years before Jesus, the Jews had no king.

They had no army, and they had no national identity. In other words, they now were a part of the backwaters of the Persian Empire. However, they had a hope. They had an expectation that God would send a new Son of David. That’s what they called him, to rule over them and deliver them from their oppressors. Now, as beleaguered as they were conquered by a pagan nation, their precious city, Jerusalem, destroyed, the holy temple destroyed.

Why did they have any hope or expectation that there was anything positive in their future? There was nothing in their circumstances to indicate that. However, their hope was rooted in the testimony of the prophets and how God had spoken to them. So let me just offer you a couple of them for example, if you go all the way back to the book of the law before the exile took place, just after the Exodus in the Book of Numbers, the prophet Balaam spoke this word.

I see him, but not now I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel. Numbers 2417. Did y’all hear that? A star will rise. I will come out of Jacob. And a scepter. In other words, a ruling hand, if you will. If you fast forward to the exile, the prophet of the exile was Daniel.

Daniel actually lived among the exiled people in Babylon and later Persia. Daniel wrote about the expected one. As a matter of fact, in Daniel nine he talks about the Anointed One, the Messiah. He calls him the ruler. In Daniel chapter two, Daniel shared a prophecy with the Babylonian king, and Daniel said this one day God is going to establish his kingdom, and it will never be destroyed, and it will span the entire world.

So the Jews had an expectation that a messiah, an anointed one, was going to come, a son of David. But the Jews did not live in isolation. When you open Matthew one, Israel was actually living between two major world powers geographically and militarily, and economically. To the east was the Parthian Empire. To the west was the Roman Empire.

Israel was located right in the middle of the two, and they were enemies of each other in the east, where the eastern Gentiles lived. Let me share there the context there. Eventually the Babylonians would be conquered by the Persians. There were all kinds of skirmishes and wars in that part of the world. But eventually the Parthians conquered Babylon.

They reestablished the Iranian rule in Persia. The Parthians then became the rival empire to Rome, living within Parthia. There were these priests and astrologers who became familiar with the Jewish messianic prophecies from the writings of Daniel and the other prophets, as well as through personal interactions with the Jewish population who remained in that area. And so when the Jews came home after the exile, many Jews remained in Persia.

Eventually, when the Parthians took over that part of the world, they were connected to the story of Israel in exile. As a matter of fact, if you think about the Parthian Empire when Jesus was born, I think this Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Turkey, that’s the Parthian Empire, mainly to the east of Israel as a matter of fact, the connection to these astrologers, these wise men, dates back to the Book of Daniel in Daniel chapter two, verse 48, the King appointed Daniel the ruler over all the wise men of the east.

And so this cast of priests and astrologers, and wise men are rooted in the story of Babylon in Persia. And so Daniel was someone who was connected to them, not necessarily, genetically, but philosophically and religiously. Now Israel was to the east of that was to the west of the Persian Empire and the Parthian Empire, to the west of Israel was a Roman Empire.

And the Romans hated the Parthians, and the Parthians hated the Romans. They had actually been at war with each other. If you read the history of that, some of you have, you’ll discover the Romans. They received one of the worst defeats in the history of the Roman Empire at the hands of the Parthians. And the Parthians ran them out of the east and sent them back home to the west.

So but however, here’s what’s fascinating in the first century about the Romans and the Roman Gentile context. By the first century, even the Romans had come to believe that there was some sort of special ruler who would arise from the region of Judea. The Jews lived all over the Roman Empire, and we have evidence of the interaction between these Gentile leaders and Jewish, the Jewish population, even perhaps attending synagogue on occasion.

Suetonius writes about it, so does Tacitus. If you’ve read these, Roman historians and philosophers, Suetonius wrote a history of the Roman emperors. And when he tells the story of SBC and he says this, this is what was happening in the first century, he says, there had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief that it was fated, that at that time for men coming from Judea to rule the world.

So Suetonius, a Roman historian, says in the first century, even among the Romans, there was this idea that some ruler was going to come from Judea. Are you all still with me? So you’ve got the Romans or the West, Israel in the middle, Parthians to the east, and Israel was caught up in the middle. Then all of a sudden we come to Matthew one and we open our Bibles.

So much has happened economically, militarily, religiously. And now, in the midst of that milieu, Matthew tells us an incredible story. And look at who he introduces in chapter two. He just mentions the man by name and doesn’t tell us anything about him. King Herod well, who was King Herod? Well, where did he come from? Well, in order to understand this story, to set the stage for Matthew two, we need to know about King Herod.

Here’s who he was. Julius Caesar appointed Herod’s dad, Antipater, to be the governor of Judea. So, in other words, the Rome. The Romans ruled all the way to where Israel is today. And Antipater was made the ruler of Judea. That part of the world. When Antipater died, Herod had been ruling a part of the empire, for his father Herod was the ruler of Galilee.

His brother ruled Jerusalem. When their daddy died, the Parthians decided to just attack Israel and take it over, and Herod got spooked. So history tells us in 40 BC, 40 years before Jesus, Herod took his family, those who were trying to defend him, and they all fled to Rome. And they asked Rome for help. When they arrived in Rome, Mark Antony was in power.

He was one of the three rulers at the time, and Mark Antony met Herod. Listen to the story. Mark Antony hated the Parthians because he was a Roman, and so he met with the Roman Senate. And in 40 BC they named Herod King of the Jews. Now, are you all still with me? So Herod is in Rome. Mark Antony is his best friend now, and he’s now the king of the Jews.

So he tells Mark Antony with an I want to go home and live as a king. So Mark Anthony gave him Roman troops and they made their way back to Israel. They defeated the Parthians, ran them back to Parthia, and Herod set up his kingship in Israel. Then y’all remember what happened in 31 B.C.? So nine years later, Mark Antony and Elizabeth Taylor were defeated by Caesar Augustus.

Y’all remember? And so now Herod is in a quandary because Mark Antony is dead and his rival Octavian has taken over the empire. And Octavian and Mark Antony were not friends. Herod was tied to Mark Antony. So Herod had to go back to Rome, and by this time Octavian had changed his name. He was now Caesar Augustus, which means the Divine One.

Herod’s king of the Jews. Caesar’s the Son of God. Are y’all with me? So Herod negotiates with Caesar, and somehow another switches sides and he quits the Democrat Party and becomes a Republican. Just like that. Caesar Augustus buys it, sends him back to Israel as King of the Jews. He gets back to Israel. And now here he is.

He’s got the Parthians to the east, he’s got the Romans to the west, and he’s in that little fertile crescent, if you will, along the Mediterranean. Fast forward about 30 years. He’s been ruling now since 37 BC. And guess who shows up? The Magi now? Who are the Magi? We know. We know their names. There’s three of them, right?

They ride camels.

Actually, y’all know I’m sorry to mess with you, but here’s what most of us believe the Magi were from the priestly class. From guess where? Parthia. And they had been studying the signs of the times, and they were expecting the birth of a new king in Judea. And they did not show up as three guys on camels because they had precious gifts, because a part of their job in Parthia was to elect kings.

They were king makers. So now they have seen the sign. They arrived with an entourage from Parthia, enemies of Herod. So they show up with military escort, Parthian soldiers because they don’t travel by themselves with gold, frankincense and myrrh. There are too many bandits. There’s too much trouble. In those days. They show up with a pretty healthy entourage of Parthian soldiers who are the enemies of Herod, and they come with gifts fit for a king, but not for King Herod.

And they were looking for the new king. And I love what Matthew says. He says Herod was disturbed. Well, duh. The Parthians have showed back up and they’ve showed up with their priests. And the priests say, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? Notice what Matthew says. I want you to notice. Look at verse two.

It doesn’t say we saw a star. We saw these star. What does it say? We saw his star say they had they were well versed in the prophecies of Israel. And they said, we are now here to meet him and welcome him to his kingdom. Herod was disturbed because sometimes good news for some people is terrible news for others.

Y’all heard about that older couple at Oklahoma, right? They are grown kids were living in Houston, boy and girl, married kids close to Christmas, and they had informed their parents. Neither one of them could come home for Christmas. And so the dad called the son. They said, I said, how are you doing? They said, we’re good. And he said, you know, I’ve already told you we can’t get them home for Christmas.

They said, they’re so cast out while I’m calling, I’m calling to tell you, your mom and I are getting a divorce. Let’s say. What do you mean? He said, yeah, I’m tired of her. And the son said, dad, you can’t divorce you. I’ve been married 50 years. Said, I’m tired of her. He said, well, what? Well, wait, could you wait?

Let us come talk to you about it. They said, call your sister. I don’t want to talk to her about it. Hangs up, so he calls. The sister said, have you talked to dad? No. He said, let’s talk to Mom and Dad. They’re getting a divorce. What? No. So the sister calls a day and said, dad, what are you talking about?

He said, I’m told. I told you, brother. I’m tired of your mom getting a divorce. She said, no, you can’t do that. Just talk to my brother. We’re. I’ll tell you what. We’re loading up, both of us. We’re coming home.

Dad hangs the phone up, looks at his wife, says they’re coming home for Christmas. Honey. So what’s good news for some people is terrible news for others. That’s just how it works. Sometimes this is good news for the whole world. It’s terrible news for Herod because he’s king of the Jews. And now someone has been born king of the Jews.

And these men have traveled some 900 miles in the ancient world to get to Israel. They just assume the King of the Jews will be in Jerusalem. And so when they arrive, they say, where is the baby? Inherit says, I don’t know. And he asks his scribes and teachers of the law says, where is the baby supposed to be born?

And they say, Bethlehem, isn’t that interesting? Herod then tells the Magi where to go. They travel some 900 miles, and the religious leaders who are there in Jerusalem with Herod hear about the birth of the king, and they won’t even travel nine kilometers to go see him. But the wise men did, and they made their way to Bethlehem.

And guess what happened when they got to Bethlehem? Guess who they found? The king. The Magi found the king. And I love what the Scripture says. If you look at verse ten, the NIV kind of mutes it. It says when they saw the star, they were overjoyed. You know what the Greek text says? They rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

That’s what it says. And they worshiped before the king, and they bestowed him with precious gifts befitting a king. Because Jesus was born king, he’s the king of the Jews. In fact, this book, Matthew is about the King. When you read Matthew’s Gospel, 28 pages, the word kingdom appears 56 times. Kingdom of Heaven 32 times. David is mentioned 17 times.

The Son of David is mentioned eight times in Matthew’s Gospel. He is the King of the Jews. As a matter of fact, you go all the way to the end of Matthew’s Gospel in Matthew 27, and they place a placard over the head of Jesus on the cross. You remember what it said. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.

So Matthew introduces him as the king of the Jews. And then he shares the message that even at his death, he was the king of the Jews. And these Magi, they brought these gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And as best we can tell by this time, Jesus has already been taken to the temple in Jerusalem, dedicated as a baby.

They now have returned to Bethlehem, and they are now living in a in a some type of a home time has passed and these Magi arrive. And when they give these gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, all of them incredibly expensive, those gifts are going to sustain the Holy Family on their flight to Egypt and on their return home to Nazareth, because God provided for them.

It’s the story of the exile, the East expectations, entry of the King, entourage of the Gentiles, these excited shepherds and a new page in history turn time was split and once this right here happened, y’all, you can say what you want to. You can try to judge it if you choose. But here’s what I would tell you. Once Jesus Christ showed up on planet earth, nothing will ever be the same.

You have to deal with him, and I would suggest you embrace him for who he is. King. So two things I want us to learn from it. Are y’all are y’all still with me here? Long history lesson, but it helps set the context of the story. Here are the two things I’d point out first. God, our God is the God of redemptive history.

Indeed is the God of all of history. This story as it unfolds, you see, events aren’t just happening. It’s never been true. Events weren’t just happening before Jesus was born. The events were unfolding. That’s what’s happening right now. Things aren’t just happening willy nilly. All around us, events are unfolding. You know why? Because God’s God of history. Why would I be surprised by that?

He’s got a creation face. The God of creation certainly is the God of history. Have you thought much about creation? Have you? I was listening to an African-American preacher the other day. And you know what he said about creation? I love it, he said. God looked at nothing. He took nothing. He spoke to nothing. And all of a sudden, everything that was nothing started straining to become something.

What I would say about that is, if God can do that, then why don’t you take your something and give it to the God of the universe and join him and let him take your something and perhaps turn it into something else. You can trust him. He’s the God of creation. He’s the God of history. Matthew. When he opens this gospel, Matthew when he doesn’t get just right to the birth of Jesus, that’s not what he does.

Look back. If you still got your Bibles, a look back at Matthew one verse one, he introduces Jesus. He’s the Christ is the Messiah. He’s the Son of David. He’s royal. He’s the Son of Abraham. He’s the covenant, if you will. He’s in the covenantal line of Abraham is an interesting Abraham used to be called Abraham. That’s his original name.

And you know what’s interesting about the wise men and the journey that they took, as best we can tell, they went the same way that Abraham went when he came to the Promised Land. A little fascinating twist of history, isn’t it? They came to visit the Promised one.

I drive down Abraham Street every day to work. I think about it all the time. I’m serving the promised one. It’s an ancient path. Turns out Matthew introduces Jesus. It’s a fascinating introduction, if you ever read it or not. Jesus has some interesting ancestors. Do y’all?

Y’all ever looked at your family history? Home from Alabama? Didn’t take long. Look at ours.

You read that account of Matthew one. You got five women. You never put women in the ancient world in a genealogy. Matthew did not just any women. Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? Judah. David. Ruth. You know, Rahab was a Gentile. Tamar was a Gentile. Ruth was a moabite. David was an adulterer. Judah was an adulterer in the lineage of Jesus. You got all kinds of people. You know what Matthew trying to tell you? Jesus came for everybody. Everybody, no matter who they are Jew, Gentile, man, woman, everybody.

This story is connected to history because God’s a God of history. Can I just tell you one more thing? Don’t miss this. Jesus is the King. That’s the testimony Matthew. Even the words in both the Old Testament, in the New Testament, they can be rendered prince, actually mean ruler. Jesus was truly born a king. He was born the king.

We call him the Prince of Peace. But that word prince in Hebrew means ruler. Book of revelation. He’s referred to as the Prince of the Kings of the earth. That word means ruler. I just want to make sure as y’all get ready to celebrate Christmas, that you understand who it is that we’re celebrating. Jesus is King and you accept him in your life as king.

He’s not a king in waiting. That’s why I title this message Jesus Born a King near Prince. You know this last week, Pope Leo was in Nicaea, the celebrate the 17th hundred anniversary of the Nicene Creed. Pope Leo issued this statement about the Creed of Nicaea. He says Nicaea affirms the divinity of Jesus and his equality with the father.

In Jesus, we found the true face of God and his definitive word about humanity and history. But there’s also another challenge which we might call a new Arianism. Arius taught that Jesus was created. He wasn’t fully God present in today’s culture, sometimes even among believers. This occurs when Jesus is admired on a merely human level, perhaps even with religious respect, yet not truly regarded as the living and true God among us.

His divinity, his lordship over history is overshadowed, and he’s reduced to a great historical figure, a wise teacher or prophet who fought for justice, but nothing more. Nicea reminds us that Jesus Christ is not a figure of the past. He’s the Son of God present among us, guiding history towards the future promised by God. I would say Amen, Pope Leo So Jesus says, y’all do know that the right y’all know what Jesus says about himself.

Do you remember? You go all the way to the end of the book. You get to revelation 22. You know what Jesus says? Jesus says, I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning and the end. Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet. Omega is the last one. He says, I am A to Z King.

That’s who he is. This Christmas season, let’s join the Magi. Unless you and I worship him as king because that’s who he is. In fact, he is king from A to Z. Let me just walk you through that. Angels from the realms of glory declare he is Alpha, advocate, author, and finisher of our faith. The Ancient of Days.

In the little town of Bethlehem, we see him as beloved bread of Life, bridegroom bright and morning star. The beginning and the end. The branch of Jesse. This. This is Christ the King. He is Christ. He’s the cornerstone. Deck the halls with boughs of holly. He’s the door. He’s the desire of nations. He is the expected. Jesus. He’s eternal.

He is Emmanuel. We sing, O come, all ye faithful. He is faithful and true. He is the firstborn from the dead. He’s a friend of sinners. He’s the fairest of 10,000 good Christian men. Rejoice because he’s the good Shepherd. He’s the Great Physician. He’s God in the flesh. Hark! The Herald angels sing because he’s our high priest. He is holy.

He’s the head of the church. He is. I am joy to the world. He’s Jesus. He’s just. He’s judge. Are y’all still with me? We three kings of Orient are. He’s the king of glory. He’s the king of kings. The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay. It turns out he’s the Lord of Lords. He’s the light of the world.

He’s the Lamb of God. He’s the life. He’s the living water. He’s the lion of Judah. He’s the lily of the valley. Away in a manger. We meet him as Messiah, master, mediator, man of sorrows, the first Noel. The angel did say Jesus is the Nazarene. He’s the new covenant. He’s the name above every name. O holy night.

He is Omega. He’s the only begotten son. Peace on earth and goodwill to men. He is the prophet. He’s the Passover lamb. He’s the propitiation for our sin. He’s the Prince of Peace. He’s the quieter of our soul. Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord is King. He is Rabbi. Our Redeemer, the rose of Sharon. He is the resurrection and the life.

He’s the root of Jesse, star of wonder and star of night. He is Savior, Shepherd, son of man, Son of God, suffering servant. And the shoot of Jesse. Go tell it on the mountain. He’s teacher. He’s the truth unto us. A child is born. He is the unblemished, spotless Lamb of God. Come on, y’all veiled in flesh. The Godhead see he’s divine.

He’s the victory. While shepherds watch their flocks by night. He’s the way. He’s the word of God. He’s the water of life. He’s the wonderful counselor. Sing in exaltation. He’s the exalted one. He’s the express image of God. Yay, Lord, we greet you. He is Yeshua. He is the yoke fellow. We are marching to Zion because he is Zion’s King.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah. So I just want to make sure, you know, from A to Z, whether you and I ever acknowledge that he is king. He’s no prince. He’s not waiting to be crowned. He is already ruling in glory. So, as the wise men did so long ago, let him bring us joy. Let’s worship him. He is king. Hallelujah!

Amen and amen.

So let’s pray together. Father, we love you. We thank you so much, Lord, for your love for us. We thank you for the story of Christmas. And, Lord, we’re so familiar with it. I get it, it’s, we know the story. And yet at the same time, it’s a it’s a mysterious story. It’s it’s woven beautifully into this tapestry that we know as history.

It’s been played out on a cosmic stage, and there’s still another act or two to go. And I thank you, Lord, that you’ve allowed us to be written into the script. And today, as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Christmas, Lord, may you you truly give us those meaningful moments this season, and may we bow our before the King and acknowledge Jesus.

Let us adore him together. And we pray in Jesus name. Amen.