Lessons From the Wise Men

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-Il

  Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. ² They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
³ When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, as were all the people in Jerusalem. ⁴ Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ would be born. ⁵ They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures:

⁶ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not just an insignificant village in Judah. A ruler will come from you who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.’” Micah 5:2

⁷ Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. ⁸ He sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, “Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so I can worship him too.” ⁹ After the wise men heard the king, they left. The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. ¹¹ They came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

 

Key Verse: Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts... (Matthew 2:Ila).

Meditation: The Wise Men brought gifts to worship a king. Gold, the most rare and expensive metal, indicated their faith in the royal  and kingship of Jesus. The frankincense used by priests in the temple suggests their faith in the prayers and intercession of Jesus. The myrrh spices used to embalm the dead, pointed to the forthcoming sacrificial death of Jesus.

How can we explain this knowledge and timely presentation of prophetic gifts by non-Jewish persons? Charles Spurgeon, commenting on Psalm 19, observes that God has two books, two Bibles! One of God’s created world that is His natural revelation, He made man to be an erect being so he could always be observing the natural world. God’s natural Bible speaks to us of His power, greatness and glory and can be clearly read in every place and in every language of the world.

*Even if governments closed all churches, took away all Bibles and silenced people, yet God’s voice would not be silenced. God’s choir of the sky, the sun and the stars and moon would continue to ‘bubble forth speech about God.’ No person is ever without some spiritual light and no one is ever without some accountability to God. Someone has said, God’s natural revelation may get us as far as Jerusalem, but we need a personal revelation, like the Wise Men, to get us to Bethlehem.” **The Bible is our final guide to Jesus.

Thought for the Day: If God could get three men from a pagan country to travel 1,500 miles to find Jesus, let us continue to pray and believe for those would only have to walk across the street.

* This has happened many times throughout history. Even today the church has been closed in places where it was vibrant including Turkey, Syria, Arabia, Egypt, China, Russia, Iraq and Iran. But God continues to "show-up" in underground churches today. He speaks in smuggled Bibles, in visions, in dreams.

** Sometimes the "Bible" is found in a dream, or in a new friend.