Christmas Advent Devotional Day 29: Light of the World

 

Matthew 2:1-12

2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵ So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

⁷ Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

⁹ When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

 

The birth of the Savior of the world was announced to a variety of people in myriad ways. Some saw angels.  Some were given a sign. Some had dreams. 

Some were teenagers.  Some were men, some were women.  Then there were shepherds and now, “wise men.”  Astrologers from the East.  The remarkable star that had appeared in the night sky, heralding the birth of the “Light of the World” had captured the attention of these men. They had done their homework enough to realize that this star signified a reason for worship.  They were intrigued.  They were convinced- at least convinced enough to go on a long trek. Scholars speculate their travel was from 600 to 1000 miles.  This was no whim!

These “Magi/Three Kings/Wise Men” add a lot to the Christmas story, unfortunately a lot of it is unfounded.  We have no record of the number of men.  People have guessed 3 because of the 3 gifts.  We are not told that they are kings, they may have worked for kings.  But what we do know is that God had captured their attention in a way that would speak to them and had beckoned them to come.

They traveled until the star rested over a house where the child was.  Jesus was no longer a baby in a manger.  Based on the timeframes of Herod’s genocide, He was probably around 2 years old. When they arrived, the scene was so captivating, so holy, that they fell down before this toddler and worshiped Him.  They presented him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. These items very possibly helped support the young family as they ran from Herod’s later edict of murder.

After the visit, the Lord warned these men in a dream to go home a different route, circumventing Herod. This likely spared their lives and protected the Christ child as well.

These men were not Jews.  They were Gentiles- like us. They were familiar with Messianic prophecies enough that Herod questioned them.  God took care to include even Gentiles in the announcement of the birth of the Savior and King of the World.  There is no reason to believe that these men were followers of Yahweh before this trip.  Magic and astronomy seem to have been their areas of expertise.  Yet, God reached out to draw them near. 

The men brought three gifts that scholars believe hold meaning: gold- a gift for royalty; frankincense- oil used in worship, representing divinity; and myrrh, used for anointing and embalming, likely representing the Holy Spirit and His coming sacrificial death.

Today, the call still goes out…whosoever will believe, can be saved.  The appropriate response when encountering Christ is the same as well- worship and adoration.

Will you come to Him today?  Lay it all at His feet in worship.  Find true light and love in the face of the Savior.