Matthew 2:-1-2
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 in the east and have come to worship him.”
The “wise men” that is what many of us know them as. These men travelled a long distance from the east and they had one purpose, to find the king of the Jews who had been born, worship him and present him with gifts. I find it interesting that it took men from a faraway land to bring to the attention of king Herod the religious leaders and the whole of Jerusalem that there was a king born in their midst. No wonder Herod and the whole of Jerusalem were disturbed by the news.
How easy it is to have a blessing and the solution that you need right under your nose but because you are so self-centered like Herod you miss out on the blessing or the miracle.
What were the names of the Magi? These are important wise men, rich, coming from a far off land with such great news, their names must be mentioned, right? Well, not really. The bible does not mention their names and neither do we know how many they were. We always assume they were three because they presented three gifts but the bible does not mention how many they were. The focus is not them and in my thinking, their attitude was one of worship, to find the new born king and worship him, that was the agenda. Though they were rich and seemingly important people they were humble and genuinely wanted to worship the new born king! That is the same attitude we need to embrace, that we may decrease and He may increase.
These men were genuine in their hunger and their search and God guided them with a star up to the very place where Jesus was. They were not Jews but gentiles reinforcing the truth that Jesus did not just come for the Jews but all mankind. Gentiles are part of the Christmas story. God says that anyone who seeks him, they will find him and the wise men are proof of that.
They came to worship and they did not come empty handed, they brought expensive gifts with them to demonstrate their hearts of worship. After their worship God warned them not to go back to Herod and they returned to their country by a different route. When you seek Jesus and you meet and have an encounter with Him then the course of your life is changed and you don’t go back using the same route.
The “wise men” is what we call them, and their short stint in the Christmas stories is full of lessons for you and I to embrace. I hope you and I will be wise like they were, because as it is said, “Wise Men Still Seek Him”
