Background Passage: Matthew 2:1-12
The little fold-up Nativity that sat beneath our Christmas tree when I was a child is now displayed on a small table in the entry of our home. I’m not exactly sure how old it is, but it has been around for as long as I can remember.
Interestingly enough, the old family Nativity appears to show four magi, unless the bald one on the end is a out-of-place shepherd. It’s hard to tell.
That Nativity is one of more than two dozen Nativity sets my wife and I have collected over the years. Almost all of them display the typical scene. Joseph and Mary huddled over the baby in a hay-filled manger, surrounded by cattle and sheep. In a few, you’ll find shepherds off to one side and three wise men bearing their famous gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
It is usually these gifts that give the wise men their claim to fame.
In the case of the magi, maybe it isn’t so much about the gifts. Join me in Bethlehem so many years ago.
*****
The commotion outside brought Joseph to his feet. He and Mary exchanged uncertain looks. Pulling the curtain back, Joseph peaked outside as Mary scooped her toddler in her arms. The baby, unaware of their caution, laughed in delight.
Opening the door Joseph quietly told his wife to remain inside. In the fading light of day, Joseph nodded to his neighbors as they stood in their own doorways, awestruck by the sight of the well-dressed men stepping down from their camels.
The oldest of the men bowed his head and stretched out his arms in greeting. As quiet words were shared, the other men pulled several boxes from the satchels attached to the donkeys carrying their baggage.
“Come,” Joseph said, inviting the men inside his home. The men
stepped through the door of the humble stone house, dimly lit by small oil lanterns. A fire burned in its hearth. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the room.
Joseph crossed the room to stand beside his wife who held a small child on her hip. The child’s large brown eyes darted from his mother to the men, more curious than frightened.
In the quiet broken only by the crackling of the fire, the men stared in amazement at the small boy without speaking. Finally, the elder of the men slowly dropped to one knee, bowing before the child and his family. One by one the others followed their leader until all were on bent knee.
As one they began to offer words of praise and worship to the one they had traveled so far to see…the king they read about in the Hebrew scripture. One by one they shared their offering as tribute…among their gifts were gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In the hours that followed, they told their remarkable story. How they had studied the ancient texts and followed a star, searching for the one who would be king of the Jews.
Mary and Joseph listened. Cherished their words. Affirmed for the visitors their own stories of God’s promises.
As the night grew longer, the men rose to leave, bowing again in worship and adoration before the child, certain in the knowledge that they had found the one for whom they had searched. They knew they found the Messiah.
*****
Almost every manger scene you and I have seen includes three wise men. We sing the popular Christmas carol about the three kings who came to see Jesus bearing expensive gifts. Three kings. Three gifts.
When we read this story in scripture or hear it told, we tend to focus on the gifts. The gold. The frankincense. The myrrh. Reading into each gift a symbol of some deeper meaning.
When we focus on the gifts, I think we miss something fundamental in the story. These magi, these wise men, did not travel the weeks across some 600 miles of awfully desolate land, searching for the king of the Jews, just to bring him gifts.
The desire to worship drove these men to find the Christ child.
What these learned men read in their texts, their interpretation of the star they followed, led them to believe that the child for whom they searched was the “king of the Jews.” Not a king, but the king.
“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 1:1-2)
The phrasing of their question was such that it “disturbed” Herod. As the regional king appointed by the Roman Caesar, a new king would upset his apple cart. The long-promised messianic king who was to set his people free would really throw a wrench into his cushy life.
Herod, fearful of losing his power and position, called together his priests and scholars to ask them where scripture said the Messiah would be born. His reference to the Messiah would seem to indicate that the magi told him they were searching for God’s anointed one.
When their review of scripture pointed toward Bethlehem, he passed the word to the magi, instructing them to find this new king and report back to him so he could also “worship” the Messiah. Herod had no such intentions. He’s intent was to eliminate the competition.
After traveling hundreds of miles, the wise men of the East traveled the last five miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Once in the small village, it didn’t take them long to find the one for whom they had been searching so diligently.
The gifts they brought were secondary. They came to this obscure house in this out-of-the-way village to worship the Messiah.
As we think on this part of the Christmas story, perhaps there are a few things the wise men can teach us about our own worship.
The magi’s ardent desire compelled them to find the Messiah and to worship him. They faced a thousand obstacles and a thousand distractions. Little else mattered to them. Not the difficulty of the journey. Not the weeks of searching. Not Herod’s feelings. Not the humble house of a carpenter. Not the sight of a child without a crown.
None of that mattered once they dismounted their camels and walked through that door. Their hearts were ready for worship.
Our lives during the Christmas season are filled with distractions. The desire to find the perfect gift. The necessary shopping on top of the normal work routine. The parties. The travel.
In this most unusual year, we must add the bizarre political environment, the social disruptions and the pandemic to our list of things that divert our attention from that which God accomplished when he sent his son to be born in a manger.
Worship doesn’t happen without intent. We don’t walk into church, turn on a switch to eliminate the distractions and worship. Worship requires us to deliberately seek him. He is not hiding, making it more difficult for us to find him. We must sift through the distractions of our hearts, set them aside until the only thing in front of us is Jesus.
The magi prepared their hearts by reading God’s word. By listening to his spirit. When face to face with the savior of the world they could bow down before him, without distraction, in sincere worship and praise.
As we approach Christmas, let’s set aside the distractions. Let’s prepare our hearts to worship our king.
When Herod told them the Messiah would be found in Bethlehem, imagine their excitement. As a child, I remember the last five miles to my Grandma’s house through the winding streets of Fort Worth. When we passed the zoo, I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation of her hugs.
I’m guessing the magi felt the same on those final miles to Bethlehem. Image the excitement building over the course of the next couple of hours as they urged their camels onward. In a short time they would be in the presence of the one for whom they were searching. Matthew says as they followed the star it seemed to stop above a small house.
“After they heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” Matthew 2:9-10
Their joy didn’t come because they were saddle sore and could finally get off those camels after such a long trip. Their joy came from their growing excitement and anticipation to see the Messiah…for their chance to worship the one they had read and heard about.
I wonder how often we anticipate our chance to worship our Lord. How often do we enter the sanctuary overjoyed at the prospect of offering our praise to our savior? How different would our worship be if we approached the throne of God with the eager anticipation of the magi?
We sometimes overlook what was truly happening in the that little house in Bethlehem as these Gentile men from the East fell down to worship the King of the Jews. These were men who by their own faith and cultural traditions should have no interest in a Jewish messiah. Yet, here they were. Miles from home. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a star. On bent knee before God in human form.
The enemy of worship works hard to plant seeds of doubt and despair in believers through discord, distraction and distress. The events of 2020 and the impact on churches everywhere can easily divert worship away from the king.
The wise men let nothing get in the way of their worship. Given all we’ve been through this year, what an example the magi have set for all of us.
Christmas will always be “the most wonderful time of the year” for me. Maybe you feel the same. However, if we are not careful, Christmas will be just gold, frankincense and myrrh. Presents given and received.
Let us approach this Christmas especially without the distractions that will tug on our hearts, in eager anticipation of our chance to worship, really worship, the one whom God sent to offer his grace and salvation to a world in need of his touch, his love.
Let us follow the example of the magi. Let us approach this season on bent knee, overjoyed at the chance to worship our king. Let us consider the true worth of the one whom we worship.
Chances are you have at least one manger scene in your home. Maybe, like us, you have dozens. Join me today. Take a moment. Look at the manger scene you have displayed. See the wise men. Be reminded of their deep desire to worship the king of kings.
Let’s pledge to make this Christmas about our personal worship of Jesus. It could well be the best thing to happen in 2020.