🙏🏻 Heavenly Father, like the Magi from the east who journeyed to Jerusalem in search of The King, we are often told that as far as our Christian life is concerned, we too are on a journey. Let us humble ourselves and read what You have told us about the wise men that went before us in search of You. You have shown us milestones in this journey, let us learn from Your Word, which brings us life. We ask this in the mighty name of our King, Jesus. Amen.
The Magi Visit the Messiah
Matthew 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 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.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘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.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 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. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On 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. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
It is not uncommon to hear during the Christmas season that, ‘Wise Men Still Seek Him.’ The problem is, in this age between Jesus’ ascension and His return, we don’t have to seek Him, we know where He is. In this part of Scripture, we see the wise men of a foreign nation, non-Israelites, responding to the appearance of this great star. Perhaps they knew from their own records the words of the pagan prophet Balaam found in Numbers 24:17. Perhaps the letter from Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, to all the nations and people of every language, found in Daniel 4:1-3 had been preserved from generation to generation. It is not hard to imagine the influence that Daniel had during his time in Babylon, many were privy to his revelations and it is not too far a stretch that those around him would share the stories of all he had endured and all he had said. (After all, the man had survived a night in the lion’s den… pretty sure that if he had a podcast now, all would listen!) The prophecies were always the same – people will fight with each other, families will fight, nations will fight, there will be no peace on Earth until the God of all creation sends a savior – The Savior, The King, The Ruler of all His creation. Even the rebuilding of the 2nd temple during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah would have revived this message to people outside of Israel. When King Darius permitted the rebuilding of this temple, noting the decree issued by former King Cyrus, the surrounding people must have asked themselves, ‘Why’? People talk, people wonder. They look around a broken world and think… ‘Surely this can’t be all there is!’
Scripture tells us that these oddities i.e., events like the traveling wise men, are always within the providential hand of God. (Proverbs 21:1) These events don’t happen in secret and wise men will investigate; a fool will ignore them. (Psalm 14:1) ‘Wisdom’ in Scripture is aligned with the will and the ways of God; ‘Foolishness’ is man’s attempt to define what is good and right apart from God.
Here we see a unique astronomical event in history that causes the wise men to commit themselves to a new king. Reread Matthew 2:2. That is astounding – they are not on an investigative mission, they already know! They are certain that He is the king of the Jews and they have uprooted their lives to worship Him. I don’t know many people that have responded so dramatically. I’m sure it is only because they have not shared their stories with me or I have not been surrounded by such a crowd of witnesses! Instead, I hear people disagree on how many wise men there were… how far they traveled… and how long it took to reach Jerusalem. I will not speculate, I don’t think it matters, let’s just read what these verses tell us.
The wise men expected to find a king in a palace, so they went to Jerusalem and asked to see him. Not surprisingly, we see that this announcement disturbs the current king, King Herod, enough to call together the ‘wise’ men of the Jewish nation. 🤦🏻♀️ One cannot help but wonder why the priests and the teachers of the law were not already worshipping this new king. 😔They have the head-knowledge of Scripture, but not the heart to believe the Word of God. Matthew combines the prophecy of Micah 5:2 and Micah 5:4 to portray Jesus as both The King and The Shepherd.
As disturbed as Herod was by the Magi’s visit, he doesn’t go with them nor does he send anyone to go with them. Instead, he arrogantly meets with them in secret to determine when they first saw the star that inspired their journey and then sends them on their way telling them to return and report directly to him… so he too could go and worship him. (What a lie! Herod’s heart is later revealed in Matthew 2:16. Fellow Christian, no one needs to report to you what they’ve found… you are capable, and invited, to go and worship Him yourself.)
After meeting with Herod and getting the directions they needed, the Magi resume their journey and the star that inspired their journey, reappears to their great joy. When they come to the house and see the child, they bowed down and worshiped him, presenting him with the treasures they brought. (It is a great act of faith to give precious spices and gold to a child!) God intervenes with their return trip and they obey God and do not return to Herod, giving the child Jesus and His parents the opportunity to escape to Egypt.
Notice that the wise men, who after proclaiming allegiance to this new king, return to their country differently. This is not all that different from a Christian who is born-again. A Christian can remember a ‘BC – before Christ’ time in their lives where they walked a certain way. But when they stopped to encounter God, everything changes – when they recognize Jesus as their King, they return to their lives differently.
Christians, too, are on a journey that changes their lives on account of the truth of the Scriptures. The truth is that Jesus is Our King and that must mean something. In our western culture, we are taught to be proud of ourselves and to rule over our own lives. This is a great obstacle to the humility that is required for Christian faith. When we believe the truth, we cannot help but respond. (John 14:6) That truth will compel a person to upend their lives and begin the journey to find their King. (John 8:12) That truth will cause us to be born again as new creations. That truth causes us to bow down and worship. (John 10:10)
Our journeys differ from that of the Magi; while God had to tell them in a dream that they needed to return differently that they had planned, we have the advantage of the full Scriptures. We know Jesus is already reigning in heaven in the spiritual realm. We know that He is the firstborn of the new creation and He calls us to follow Him. We know that He returns to gather us to Him and judge the evil in the world – thus ending it.
We know that along the way, some people will help us and others will lie to us to serve themselves. But God is faithful to protect His believers. Deuteronomy 7:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalms 91:4, Psalms 119:90, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Hebrews 10:23, Revelation 14:12. And so we journey on, with the full assurance of His love, awaiting the day of His return.
🙏🏻 Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Son, Jesus. And for the completed work on the cross for our salvation. As new creations, we are still learning to understand the magnitude of such magnificent love. We thank You for Your Spirit to guide and strengthen us as we fight our sinful desires to stray from the truth of Your love. During the Christmas season, keep us focused on the love you sent from heaven to earth in the lowly form of a human child, Your Son and Our Savior, Jesus. It is in His mighty name that we pray this. Amen.