Three Kings - Matthew 2:1-12

To see the full message, scroll to the bottom and click through.  

When the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of scripture, He inspired them to write in a way that we were going to be unable to actually understand. Things that we can connect our brains to in our everyday lives.  

So I might say, for example, “God is an artist.” That metaphor helps me to understand something about who He is as I consider the artists I know. When I look at Creation, I see diversity and amazing power and beauty in our world. God is an artist, painting the sunset, designing flowers, putting together the human body.   

We use a lot of metaphors in our study of scripture to help us to understand things about God, because He is greater than we can understand. So we have to take little bits of who He is, and when we put all of those bits together, we can get a better understanding of who God is. That God is our father. That God is a mother eagle spreading Her wings over Her chicks. That God is a fortress surrounding us and protecting us.  

One of those metaphors is that God is “King.” 

There are things that are true of human Kings that are not true of God. Every metaphor has its limits and we need to be aware of that. When the Bible writers use the word “King” to help us understand something about who God is, we have to ask ourselves, what kind of King are they talking about?  

______

Very often in the western world, we imagine someone like King Charles who is a good King for our times. He is someone whose values we share, whose life and conduct we can, for the most part, respect. He's someone we invite to our special occasions. Who speaks well, in a way that inspires us to be better people. Who symbolizes our shared identity, our unity, and the continuity of good things in the world. All of which is good, and valuable, and important. But a modern western monarch has no actual power.  

If the King we are most familiar with—who we think of when we consider that God is our King—is most like a modern western monarch, we will be making some mistakes.  

• We may picture a King who wears a shiny crown so it can reflect back to us the best of what we believe about ourselves.  
• We may imagine a King who sits on a throne that is far away, impressive, and inaccessible, while the person who occupies it is basically like us, with a bit more education and better manners.  
• We may imagine a King who holds a sceptre that is less like a sword or a pen, and more like a magic wand, scattering ‘goodwill to all men’ across the earth like fairy dust at Christmas time.  

Yahweh is not that kind of King.  

______ 

Or it may be your experience of people talking about God that leads you to think of Him as an ancient near eastern tyrant, like King Herod. 

Someone who is territorial and arrogant. Someone who forces His will on everyone around Him, whether we understand it or not. Someone who surrounds Himself with puppets.  

You may imagine a King who is defined by who He hates and what He's going to do to them to make his point, or to just stay in power.  

• A King whose crown boasts that He does not owe us anything. Certainly not explanations. We are to do what we are told.  
• A King whose throne renders Him immune to empathy because He is so far above us that He can't hear our cries. And even if He could, He wouldn't care.  
• A King whose sceptre is wielded like a whip to keep people afraid and in line.  

Yahweh God is not that kind of King.  

______

To get a better handle on the metaphor, we need to look to King David who was a poet and a songwriter, as well as a good King. 

Psalm 72 is what is known as a ‘royal psalm.’ There are a number of psalms written to Kings, and about Kings, and for the occasion of the King's coronation. Psalm 72 was written by King Solomon, David's son and King after him.  

Throughout Psalm 72, we see scattered the language of what it is that God wants a King to be, and what it is that God wants a human King to want to be. This is the prayer of a King for a King.  

Give your love of justice to the King, O God. Give righteousness to the King's son. Help him to defend the poor. Help him to rescue the children of the needy. Help him to crush the oppressors. Help him to feel pity for the weak and the needy. Help him to rescue them because their lives are precious to him. Psalm 72, selected verses

Psalm 72 is a portrait of a godly King. It's also a kingly portrait of our God.  

The poem speaks of a King who is consecrated to a unique position in the nation. It speaks of a God who (in other words) is holy.  

It speaks of a King who loves truth and does justice. It speaks of a God who (in other words) is righteous.  

It speaks of a King who rescues the poor, who crushes oppressors. It speaks of a God who (in other words) is just.  

It speaks of a King who is aware of, and cares for, the weak and the needy. It speaks of a God who (in other words) is generous and loving.  

It speaks of a King who cherishes the lives of his people. It speaks of a God who (in other words) is present in the lives of people who need protection.  

______

A Psalm 72 King is the only kind of King--the only kind of God--who could imagine Christmas. who could make it happen.  

A God who is so wise that He understands the needs of His creation, and of His people. Who knows what is the right and necessary thing to do. Who—with His own hands—was willing to lift the crown off His own head and set it aside for a time without losing any of His compassion, without losing any of His empathy, without losing any of His wisdom.  

A God who is so holy, who is so unique, who is so set apart that only He could stand up from His throne and walk towards us, run towards His people, run into humanity, to become one of us without losing Himself and His commitment to who He is.  

A God who is so powerful that He could lay down His sceptre, set aside His power to become simply human, to meet us where we live. To choose to be under the power of someone like Herod: the King Herod, who in His infancy tried to kill Jesus, and later in His life, the son of that Herod, who actually did kill Jesus.  

Though he was (King) God, He did not cling to his (status) divinity... Instead, he gave up his privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as (an ordinary citizen) a human being.  ...He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s shame-filled death on a cross. Philippians 2:6-8 

Philippians 2:6 starts a powerful and beautiful hymn to the King who set aside every Kingly thing, so He could be a King among His people: set apart, wise, compassionate, powerful, and making happen what needs to happen: our forgiveness, setting us free, sharing His riches, giving us life, and bringing us home.