The Wise Men in the Christmas story had a question.
“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2)
We know these historical figures well. Many of us have the wise men in our Nativity sets, on our desks or even in our front yards.
Who were these guys, really?
How do they really play into the storyline of God’s gift of Jesus to the world?
What did their question really mean? Let’s consider it again: “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”
First of all, we have no idea how many of these wise men there were. We use the phrase “three kings” because of the three gifts that were given: gold, frankincense and myrrh. But we do know that they were foreigners (that is, foreigners to the Jewish world), and they traveled from the Persian world. We also know that through their study of Jewish holy literature (the Old Testament), they knew that a king would be born under a star. And they wanted to follow that star to personally find him. They wanted to see him with their own eyes. They wanted to honor him personally by bringing gifts. They wanted to worship him.
On Sunday morning during our 10 a.m. service, we’ll sing a song of worship called, “Behold Our God.” It is technically not a Christmas song, but I have used it almost every year at Christmas because it brings a visual to mind of these stately, noble, wise men, Persian kings who came to the little insignificant town of Bethlehem to bring incredible gifts to the one they knew to be the real King. Their gifts represented the life that this King would lead. And in this story, these stately, noble, wealthy kings bowed down and worshipped this child. Why? Because they caught a glimpse of God. They were worshipping the King.
Behold our God Seated on His throne Come let us adore Him Behold our King Nothing can compare Come let us adore Him (Chorus, "Behold Our God," Sovereign Grace Music)
This coming Sunday, as we draw very near to Christmas Day, the real question to ask is this:
Did you know that this Jesus who came really is the King of all kings, and the Lord of all lords?
If you do, then your life would be dedicated in a way to constant worship of this King. Before we gather, read the story we will teach in Matthew 2.
See you Sunday morning, 10 a.m., through one of the three doors into LifeWay Church worship. We will recognize and celebrate the last Sunday of Advent.
Matthew 2:2
“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.”