Matthew 2: 1-2
"As we begin our last week of preparation, anticipating the lighting of the fourth Advent Candle, our focus will be on another critical part of the Christmas Story. This week we will be led to the manger by the wise men. Their story can be found in the book of Matthew.
In the days when Jesus was born Herod declared himself King of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel where Jerusalem is located. One day while Jesus was still an infant, a band of men from Persia arrived in Jerusalem. They were called 'magi' (pronounced 'may-ji') which meant that they were from a certain sect of people who were specialists in the areas of astrology, medicine, and natural sciences. They had so deep a wisdom and knowledge of these things that it separated them from other men. And as you can probably guess, the word 'magi' is the root word of our word 'magic.'
These magi were well-studied in the Scriptures, as well, which were full of prophecies foretelling the birth of the Savior, to One who would be declared to be the King of the Jews (Zechariah 9:9). Possibly, word had reach them concerning His birth because the shepherds had repeated to others what the angels from heaven had told them. But either way, in their inquiries to King Herod, they called the child by name, saying 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?' Not only had their studies of the Scriptures caused them to make this trip, but also their thorough study and mapping of every movement and change in the star patterns in the night sky. They had seen the light that would reveal the Light they had read about. On the night that the scriptures and the star lined up with each other, a conviction so deep came upon these men causing them to know in their hearts that the long awaited Savior had surely arrived.
Out of their great excitement and expectancy, the magi hurried to go and find the One who had been born King of the Jews. Their wisdom and knowledge on this subject was profound and given by God Himself, but this wasn't what caused them to be considered wise. At least not by God. They were wise in the eyes of the One who created the stars because they had arrived at the correct conclusion after their study of both the stars and the Scriptures. They saw how the two were in agreement, and therefore, they could rightly and wisely discern that the Messiah of Israel was surely the King of the Jews that the prophets of old had prophesied. They knew that if they sought Him now, they would surely find this newborn King! Their long quest to ascertain when and where He would be born had paid of, for He had been born in their lifetime. Now there were only two things for them to do. They had to find this infant King, and then they would sure bow their knees in worship to the long awaited King.
We live in a day where a Bible is readily available to study. It might not even be a book that we read from, but a computer or cell phone. We have grown up in America where the name of Jesus is completely familiar. But we so often do not have a heart that will bow down to Him and worship Him when we clearly know who He is. Find a quiet spot today and come to Him. Bow before Him and worship Him. He is worthy of our worship and adoration. At this Christmastime, you might use your nativity scene as your focus and prompts of specific prayers, using Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and yes, the wise men to call you into account and to lead you to fervent praise and worship. You might even contemplate these questions: 'Does God consider me wise?' 'Today, how do I actively seek Him?' 'Do I know and follow what the Bible says?'"
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