Finding Jesus in Bad Times
BY JAMES MONTGOMERY BOICE
For most of us Christmas is a nostalgic time. We remember our childhood Christmasesthe trees, presents, feasts and other family traditionsand we usually look back on those distant years as good times.Matthew 2:1-11 The first Christmas, some 2000 years ago, was not a good time, however. The age that witnessed the birth of Jesus Christ was a bad one. It was against the dark backdrop of those days that the wonder of the coming of Jesus and His discovery by the Magi should be seen.
Life was particularly bad in Judah during the later years of the reign of Herod the Great. The king was disliked by his subjects. He was only a half Jew to begin with, and he relied heavily on Rome, which was
perceived as a hostile, pagan power. As a result, Herod grew increasingly paranoid and cruel in his later years.No, they were not good times when Jesus was born to Mary in far-off Judea. They were days of poverty, deprivation, danger, disease and oppression. They were very bad times. But it was in precisely these times that the wise men came to Judea and, after a careful and diligent search, found Jesus.
Hostile King
It was not only the outward circumstances that made these bad times, however. Even more significant was the attitude of the people involved. The first bad attitude was Herod's.Herod was hostile. True, he did not show his hostility at first. When the Magi arrived from the east asking, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?", Herod did not show his displeasure by throwing the visitors in prison for speaking of a rival king. He instead inquired of the priests and teachers of the law the place where the Messiah was to be born.
Later he asked the Magi the exact time the star had appeared to them. He told them, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him" (v. 8).
Why was Herod so interested in these details? The sequel to the story makes this plain. For when the wise men did not return to Jerusalem but rather went back to their own country another way, Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all male children two years of age and under. He must have learned that the star had appeared to the Magi within the preceding two years.
Why was Herod so hostile? He was an old man at this point. He died a very short time after. What did he have to fear from a two-year-old child or infant? Herod feared everything, of course. He feared that the child would become the rallying point for a popular uprising among the people, rebelling against his tyrannous rule. Herod also feared dying. Many fear dying, particularly if their lives have been filled with evil acts and cruelty. Herod must have feared some kind of divine judgment on him for his many sins.
Indifferent Priests
The wise men had another obstacle in their attempt to find Jesus. It was the indifferent attitude of the priests and teachers of the law. These men were the religious professionals of their day. But like so many of their stripes, religion had become a mere business for them. It was how they earned their living. The things of God meant little to these very worldly men.In my opinion, their case is sadder even than Herod's because, unlike Herod, they possessed and even knew the Scriptures. When Herod asked them where the Christ was to be born, andthis is what is so strikingthey knew the answer. As far as the story is concerned, we do not get the impression that they had to research the answer. The answer was on the tip of their tongues. "That's easy," they must have said. "The answer is in Micah. The place the Messiah is to be born is Bethlehem" (Micah 5,6).
Yet I am sure you have noticed that although these prominent religious figures had the Scriptures and knew the right answer to Herod's question, they were not interested enough to send a representative down the very short road to Bethlehem to investigate the alleged birth of the Messiah for themselves.
Looking for Jesus Today
The Magi, of course, did eventually find Jesus. But before we look at that, I want to suggest that the obstacles they met in their bad times are not much different from those of our equally bad times today. If you have been seeking Jesus, therefore, I am sure you have come across the bad attitudes Herod and the priests represented, perhaps even more widely.I know you have encountered hostility, because the world has always been hostile to God and His Anointed. Apart from the supernatural work of God in a person's life, no one really wants God to take over the
rule of his or her life any more than Herod wanted Jesus to take over his throne. Herod resisted Jesus' rule for one reason only. He wanted to rule himself.In the same way, the world today also wants to rule itself. We each want to do things "my way."
So, you won't find help in your search for Jesus from the world. In fact, the opposite is the case. The world will set up every possible barrier to your finding himpersonal ambitions, ridicule, pleasure, the fast track to economic and professional success, and fame, not to mention a vast variety of religious options, if you must be religious.
"Don't be religious," your friends will say. "That's not cool. But if you must be religious, why not try transcendental meditation or yoga or even crystals? Anything but Jesus! Because if you get into this Jesus business, you will find that you are going to have to change your way of living. You won't be fun anymore."
The world is accurate in that at least. It knows that being a Christian will make a difference in how you live.
Maybe you have come far enough in your search to have realized that the world is not friendly to those who are searching for Jesus. So, you may have turned to the religious professionals. Is it possible that you have even been hindered here?
It is not always the case. We know that even in Herod's day, there were also godly priests. Luke tells us that Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was a priest and a godly man. There was also Anna. There were significant numbers of genuinely godly people. Yet, sad to say, the majority of the priests and teachers were simply uninterested in the Savior.
The world is accurate in that at least. It knows that being a Christian will make a difference in how you live. I know people whose ministers or priests are in this category. They have found them to be interested in many thingssocial work, politics, bigger church buildingsbut not in helping them find Jesus.
Led by God
Christmas is not a sad story, however. It is a joyful story, and the joy in the story is that the Magi in the end did find what they were seeking. They found Jesus, and, as the story says, "They bowed down and worshiped him" (v. 11).Why was their search successful? Answer: They were led to him by God. From the very beginning of their journey, when the star first appeared to them, God was in charge and was leading them to Jesus.
You are probably aware of some of the theories that have been created to explain the star. Every 805 years the planets Jupiter and Saturn come very close together, and a year after that Mars also joins this infrequent configuration. This happened in the years 7 and 6 B.C. Unfortunately for this theory, no stars or planets ever move over land to mark a particular house, or even city. The best explanation is probably that God sent an otherwise unexplainable celestial sign to guide the Magi.
What the star was isn't really that important; otherwise God would have told us about it. The point is, God sent the star to guide them. In the case of the shepherds, it was angels. Luke relates how aged Simeon was led "by the Spirit" (Luke 2:27) to the temple when Joseph and Mary were bringing Jesus for the required presentation.
People have been led to Christ in many thousands of waysby a word, a book, a gospel tract, a radio or television message, a frightening experience in their lives, a sickness, the death of a friend, a testimony, above all by preaching and by being directed to reading the Bible. What's important is that God is behind these means of grace, and it is because He is and has been working in them that Jesus has been found. Salvation is of the Lord! It is His work. That is why you can be encouraged in your search, if you are seeking Jesus.
The Bible says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matt. 7:7, 8).
That is true whether these are good times or bad.
Sincere search
Have you ever noticed the large number of Bible verses that encourage us to seek God and promise that we will find him if we seek? Here are some examples:Isaiah 55:6: "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
Jeremiah 29:13: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Zephaniah 2:3: "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands."
Amos 5:5: "Seek the Lord and live."
I am well aware that the Bible also teaches that no one naturally seeks God of himself or herself: "There is no one who understands, no one who
seeks God" (Rom. 3:11). If we find ourselves sincerely seeking God, it is because He is already working in our lives. That in itself is an encouragement. But I have two more points of encouragement.First, although you are seeking him, God has already done the hard part by bringing Jesus to you. That is what the incarnation is about. The wise men probably traveled to Judah from far-distant Babylonia or Persia. But before they had even started out, God had traveled the infinitely greater distance from heaven to earth and from the throne of glory to a stable, that Jesus might be found. He has become like us. In one sense, he has become as accessible as our neighbor next door.
Second, the story of the Magi shows that Jesus was found by those who initially were far from him and who by nature had no share in the Messiah. They were Gentiles, not Jews. They had no Bibles. They probably had many utterly pagan ideas. But because God was working in them, these far-off ones came close and eventually found Jesus.
Shouldn't you be encouraged by that? It doesn't matter how far off you may think yourself to bewhether because of some sin you have committed or the coldness of your heart or anything else. God delights in calling distant ones to Jesus.
But God also warns in Isaiah 55:6, "Seek the Lord while he may be found" and "call on him while he is near." You are encouraged to come. But the times at which Jesus may be found will not last forever. One day you and I will die, and then the times for our personal repentance and faith in Christ will be past. One day there will be a final judgment. Then it will be too late for everyone. Besides, even in this life, the times when the heart is tender and Jesus is near are often followed by times when the seed that has been sown seems to be snatched away.
Now is the time
If you are seeking, don't delay. Do so "with all your heart" now, which is what Jeremiah says is necessary. In fact, your search need not go any further. You already know far more than the wise men knew. They knew that the child they worship was Israel's King. But you know that He is the King of the eternal kingdom of heaven.You know that the child grew to be a man, teaching throughout the ancient land of the Jews about God, and
saying that He had been sent by His Father in heaven to die on a cross and to atone for the sins of all who would believe on Him. You know that after He had been crucified and buried, He rose again on the third day proving that He had successfully finished His atonement work so that believers need no longer fear death, but have the assurance of going to be with Him in heaven forever when they die.Seeking Jesus in bad times?
I suppose ours are bad times, at least as bad as the times in which the wise men sought Him. But the wise men found Him. And if that was the case, why should you not find Him also. It is the same Jesus, the same God, the same route, the same gospel. And you are the same too. Your need is the same. And when you have found Him, you need to do the same as the wise men. You need to bow down and worship Him and then present your gifts. You need to present everything you are. And then you need to go home another way, which means living a different life than you have lived before. o
Dr. James Montgomery Boice is the speaker of the Bible Study Hour broadcast, 1716 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, and pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.
Back To Top