The Wise Still Seek Him
“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 when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2
They came to Jerusalem.
They caused a significant disruption in daily Jerusalem life.
They were noble in appearance and bearing.
While their clothing was dusty from travel it gave clear evidence these were important travelers.
Travel worn, they still stood out in a crowd.
Jerusalem noticed.
Matthew uses the word Magi.
But they were not magicians.
They were highly educated…and, they were wise. They were observant and most significant, they knew of the prophecy of a king to be born in Israel. Jewish people had been exiled to the east about 5 centuries earlier. The exiled Jews brought with them the Biblical prophecies of Isaiah. There is little doubt, the Magi read these words:
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor,[a] Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
Isaiah 9:6-7
Dear friend…God has no trouble connecting the dots of history. He makes it.
He has no trouble providing a sign for those He wants informed either.
For you.
Me.
The Magi.
He’s given us the Bible. He gave three Magi a “star.” While there are those who explain the star as a conjunction of planets…the fact that God made a sign specifically for the three Magi is more likely. Don’t become distracted by what the “star” was. Instead look at the truth about God in these two verses.
God wanted the three wise men to know about Jesus and see Him.
God’s plan is for you and me to know about Jesus and believe in Him.
Whether it was the prophet Isaiah or another source-these powerful counselors from distant eastern countries knew Jesus would be born. They made a long difficult and dusty journey to seek Him. The saw His star in the East…where they lived. It led them to Jesus.
Why did they seek Jesus?
Matthew quotes them in this way, “We saw his star in the East and have come to worship him.” These powerful, educated, highly respected men came to worship. In their home countries, others bowed to them.
They came to worship Jesus.
They made a difficult journey to come to Jesus.
They left what they were doing to find Jesus.
It is likely there were those at home who thought they were fools.
They came.
To worship Jesus.
We don’t need a “star.”
We have the book of Matthew. In it we read two truths:
Jesus is the King of the Jews.
He is the Savior of the world.