The Eyewitness of Christmas: (Part III)

THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE WISE MEN

Matthew 2:1-12

Christmas is all about seeking to worship Christ. Unfortunately, when Christmas comes around, it is so easy for most of us to be preoccupied with seeking the best decorations, best bargains, and the best parties we can attend. Unconsciously, we go through all the motions, neglecting a major opportunity to bring ourselves a little bit closer to our Savior, or to intentionally help someone else to be drawn closer to Him. My fear is: if Christmas does not accomplish drawing us or someone else to Christ, the rest of the year would even be harder because there's no special emphasis about Christ.

Evidently, seeking for Christ is always is rewarding experience. I am reminded of a familiar verse that says, "He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Heb.11:6). In other words, the Lord would like to impress to us that if we seriously exert the efforts to build a closer relationship with Him, we will never be disappointed. He will reveal Himself in a very special way to everyone who would seek after Him.

Such is the eyewitness testimony of the Wise Men or the Magi who were willing to do everything to find Christ when He was born. Though this is a familiar part in the Christmas story, I pray that it can give us some fresh lessons about what it means to seek for Christ. Looking at their experience, there are four things we can highlight:

I     THEIR GOAL

First and foremost, it would help us to know who these wise men were, so that we can appreciate their goal. Matthew did not give us a lot of information about them, but Bible scholars believe that these men came from Medo-Persia who were in the likes of Daniel and his friends in Babylon. They were not kings but advisors to kings, interpreting dreams and providing guidance. They were known as skilled scientists, mathematicians, historians, and astrologers. It has been said that in their empire, one of their duties is choosing a king. They were popularly known as kingmakers.

Now, knowing those credentials put a lot of weight on their goal stated in verse 2 for going to Jerusalem - "We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." The determination of these very important people to find Jesus so they can worship Him is a reflection of Christ's worthiness as an object of worship.

Imagine the sacrifices these men had to take in order to worship Jesus. By the way, it is so easy to assume we all understand the idea of worship. Biblically, the concept is synonymous to adoring and loving him. In other words, they were willing to do everything to show him they love him:

• Prioritizing Him - Dropping whatever important tasks they have so they can go physically where Christ is and worship Him.

   

• Traveling for Him - Traveling through camels and horses for close to a thousand miles would not be that easy, but they still did it. And of course, traveling during those days also posed some dangers.

In contrast, when you consider the text, King Herod and the religious leaders who helped determine where the Messiah would be born failed to worship the Lord because they were not willing to do the same. I hope we will all recognize that seeking to worship Him is always a worthy goal because God delights and seeks our worship:

II    THEIR GUIDE: (vs. 2, 9-10)

Whenever there is someone who truly wants to seek after Christ, God never fails to provide a star, a travel guide into the seeker's life to point them to Christ.

I want you to do something for me. Think back to the time in your life before you trusted Christ, before you made a faith decision. Do you remember what your life was like? Remember how you were searching and seeking? Then, God put an earthbound star in your life and mine. Just for a second, assign a name to that star. It could be a father or mother or another relative. It could be a Sunday School teacher. It could be a friend. It could be a pastor. That was your star. So God still puts stars in our lives. Thank God for that star. Thank God for that person. Write him or her a letter. Give them a call during the holiday season and say thank you for being my star, thank you for pointing me to Christ.

Also, I hope you and I will not miss being a guide to someone else this season. I still believe that Christmas is one of the best times to point people to Christ. Never forget that the Bible refers to people who lead others as stars for God:

III   THEIR GIFTS: (v.11)

Through the guidance of the star, the wise men finally arrived where Jesus was. As they bowed to the Son of God to worship Him, they also opened their expensive treasures and presented gifts to Him. The gifts were:

• Gold - representing of Kingship of the Promised Messiah.
• Incense - Symbol of the deity of Christ
• Myrrh - an oil used prior to burial, represents the fact that Jesus was to die on the cross for all of our sins.

These gifts served as a validation of their worship. It is evident in the Bible that true worship is always associated with a substantial expression of love and devotion. Considering these gifts of the wise men, they lay at the feet of Christ things which are valuable to them, things which really cost them.

We have to be willing to ask ourselves, "What am I willing to offer Christ that will really cost me?" We need to be willing to give something that we consider valuable, like our time and treasures. The wise men without a doubt gave both to Christ. The ultimate worshipper, King David, has also demonstrated the same attitude in 2 Samuel 24:24:

But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.

For all of us who have believed and followed the Lord Jesus, worship is not an option. We need to worship him according to the highest expression of our love and devotion.

IV   THEIR GAIN: (v.12)

Finally, after the wise men worshipped Jesus Christ, they have gained a change of direction. Perhaps, this needs to be emphasized too. You see, true worship always entails a change of direction. If my life and your life are not changed due to worship, then we truly haven't worshipped God. Every time we walk into a worship experience, we should say, "God, I am looking forward to going out of this place a new person and going in a different direction." When you truly meet the Lord, you are always going to leave by another route.

I am reminded with what Dwight. L. Moody, the great evangelist, said, "The Bible was not written for our information but for our transformation." Have you become a much better person because of all the knowledge of the Bible you possessed? We have to seek application because the truth of the matter is: Bible information without application is self deception. James shares this very conviction:

Practically speaking, in this beautiful story, we could either be like King Herod or the wise men. When Herod was told that Christ was born, it did not move him to seek and worship. He saw a competitor. He was the one sitting on the throne, and He would not give it up even to Jesus Christ. Many people want to remain on the throne of their lives. They don't want to have anything to do with Christ because it would mean changing the direction of their lives.

For the wise men, Christ is worthy to be sought. He is worthy to receive the sacrifices of worship. And when we draw ourselves to Him, we will never be disappointed, His guidance and blessings will surely be with us. Who would you rather be today? Would you be willing to seek Him especially this Christmas time?