Read: Matthew 2:1-12
We have made it through another Christmas. Arguably, this was a little more unusual than previous years, but we got through it all the same. That is, we are past the first day of Christmas, but there are still 12 full days of celebration. Our resilience to listen to Christmas music into the New Year is a testament that everyone can get a little Christmas weary. Even my nieces and nephews are ready to put Christmas behind them.
Christmas takes a lot out of us. There is so much to prepare: food to prepare, gifts to buy and wrap, decorations to hang, etc. It can be exhausting. I think the hardest part is definitely the gift buying. How do I top what I did last year? Will everyone appreciate their gifts? Did I forget anybody? Did everyone get an equal share? How do I ask my mother for a gift receipt to return this sweater? Where did the idea of giving gifts at Christmas come from anyway?
Well, as we are thinking about the gifts of Christmas, we continue on into the second chapter of Matthew and see the story of the wisemen, or magi, who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to worship Jesus.
THE MYTH OF THE MAGI
The legend of the wiseman has far exceeded the information that we have about them in Scripture. For instance, how many magi were there? Three? We don’t know. We say three because they brought three different types of gifts. When did they arrive? Many nativity scenes have them there at the manger with the shepherds, but that’s actually unlikely. It could have taken them two years, but we only know that because Herod asked them when they first saw the star. It’s very possible that they saw the star before Jesus was born and made it there while Jesus was still an infant, but Herod was simply hedging his bets. And, what was the star anyway? Was it supernatural? Was it planets aligning like we saw on December 21 with Saturn and Jupiter? You can see how the mystery would draw people in, but we have to be careful that we don’t add more to the story than what the Bible actually tells us. Worse yet, we don’t want to miss the main point by getting lost in the details.
The story of the wisemen actually teaches us how to navigate Christmas. It tells us how to interpret the Word of God, how much of our time and energy we ought to invest in the season, what gift giving really looks like, and what the meaning of Christmas is all about.
THE MYSTERY OF THE MAGI
Who were these wisemen? We don’t know a lot about them, except that they came from the east. That could have been Babylon, but since Matthew has just told us about the Babylonian captivity, you would think that he would make that correlation if it were true. We do know that they were astrologers because they were charting the stars. How did they know the significance of the star that rose over Jerusalem? Again, we don’t know. Maybe God influenced their pagan religion. Maybe a Jewish traveler had told them about the promised Messiah. Maybe God spoke to them in a dream. Regardless, they saw the star and believed it signified that a Jewish king was born and they came to worship Him.
Of course, they went to the most obvious place you would find a king, the palace in the capital city of Jerusalem. When they asked king Herod where the newborn king was, they struck a nerve. They obviously didn’t know the power dynamics at play, but Herod was not the legitimate King. He was appointed by Rome to rule as a proxy. His relationship as the king was a delicate balance of not upsetting the balance of peace between the people and the Roman government. So, when he heard the magi talking about a newborn king, he was understandably concerned. This wouldn’t have been a private meeting. Herod was entertaining foreign embassaries. It would have been a huge party. So when they announced why they were visiting Israel, it troubled the whole city, not just Herod.
Notice what Herod does. He calls the scribes and chief priests to tell him where the Messiah was to be born. He clearly wasn’t a good student of the Word, but he knew enough that there was a promised redeemer and who to ask for help. The scribes knew exactly where to go, the book of Micah. There we are told that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and that He would be the Shepherd of Israel.
They knew what the Bible said, but they were unmoved by it. The wisemen had traveled a long distance, but the Scribes wouldn’t go five miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. They knew the Word of God, but they were indifferent to the fulfillment of God’s prophecies.
THE MESSAGE OF THE MAGI
Herod then calls the wisemen covertly, without the scribes and the people of Jerusalem knowing, and pretends to be interested in worshipping this newborn king as well. He sends the wisemen to find the Messiah and report back to him, but secretly Herod desires to kill the baby and preserve His own power and legacy.
It was only after this point that the wisemen see the star again, and it is resting over the place where Jesus was with Mary and Joseph. On seeing the star again, they are overjoyed. As soon as they saw Jesus they bowed down and worshipped Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. As soon as we get to these gifts, we want to stop and break out what they mean, and what they symbolize. They stand out in significance. Maybe they represent the three offices of Jesus as the prophet, priest, and king. Maybe they symbolize His ministry as God with us, worthy of our worship, and the sacrificial lamb for our sins. We don’t know. But I can tell you, that these wisemen clearly don’t know what are appropriate gifts for kids.
I know how to give gifts that kids will like. Every year I have the dignified pleasure of giving the most anticipated gift to my nieces and nephews. It is the Uncle Bubba gift. Several years ago I gave them each a one pound candy cane. That’s like gold to a kid. Then, one year, I gave them all a megaphone. My dad was really excited about that. Then, just this Christmas, I gave them a 24 pack of silly string and proceeded to have a silly string battle in the living room. If you need more ideas for kids at Christmas, just let me know. Inspiration just hits me and it gets better every year. Next year, I might actually get them all their own puppy.
These wisemen don’t know how to pick gifts for kids. But they do know what gifts are worthy for a king. They are offering gifts of immense worth to Jesus. It didn’t matter that He was a foreign king or that He was sleeping in a manger instead of a palace. As soon as they saw Jesus, they fell on their faces and worshipped Him.
This is the point of the wisemen’s story: God will move heaven and earth to bring those who are seeking Him to meet Jesus. The wisemen were looking for significance in the stars and God used the heavens, declaring the glory of the LORD, to point them to Jesus. They traveled from far away to seek out a foreign newborn king, and, yet, the scribes couldn’t walk five miles after studying the Scriptures. They brought gifts of immense wealth to lay at Jesus’ feet, not because they wanted to pay tribute or earn favor, but because they recognized His infinite worth. They never hesitated to worship Jesus. That is what truly happens when one encounters the Son of God. Everyone who was seeking the Messiah found Him, and responded immediately in worship. John the Baptist worshipped Jesus when he was still in Elisabeth’s womb. Simon and Anna, who had been waiting in the temple for the Messiah, worshipped Jesus as soon as they saw Him. It’s not because He had a halo over His head, it is simply because the Spirit of God works to bring those who are seeking Him to know the Savior.
God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Seek, and you will find Him. But what are you doing? Are you inspired like the wisemen who left their homes, traveling a long distance to worship Jesus? Are you indifferent like the scribes who read the Bible but couldn’t be bothered to go five miles down the road? Are you infuriated like Herod who wanted Jesus dead? There is only one right response, and it can be easily sussed out by where your treasures are located. Where do you invest your time, money, and resources? Are you heavily invested in the Kingdom of God, or are you focused on the treasures of this world? Do you long to know Christ, or have riches?
Jesus told those who wanted to follow Him that they had to deny themselves, to sell all of their treasures, and take up their cross. Those who knew Jesus and truly wanted to follow Him never hesitated to leave everything behind. But those who cared for the things of this world, missed the greater gift that Jesus came to offer.
The wisemen sought Jesus. They found Him and gave them their greatest riches. Will you be a wise man and seek the LORD?
