(Matthew 2:1-12)…..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.
Continuing with our devotion from yesterday concerning the Wise Men, notice that the wise men tell King Herod in (2:2) that their desire is to find this young King and to worship Him. When they do, they fall down before Him and worship Him (2:11). Isn’t it amazing that these Magi had insight from God to recognize the glory of the One whom they had found? Yet many in our day still seem incapable of seeing who He really is.
In today’s world, the wisest among us are not the scholars, they are not the scientists, they are not the lawyers, or even the world leaders, certainly not the leaders of our nation. No, the wisest people in our world are those people who are willing to forsake everything else and simply fall down at His feet and adore Him. One of the greatest and most sacred duties we can perform to the Lord is simply to give Him our worship and our praise (Psalm 71:6) (Psalm 72:15) (Psalm 146:2) (Psalm 126:1-3). If we will just stop and take thought we will find more than enough reasons to worship Him.
Just think about what He has done, and is doing in your life. I would just remind you today that Jesus Christ is worthy of our praise and our worship. He deserves all the love we can show Him, all the devotion we can give Him, and all the praise we can render to Him. Why? Because wise people know they owe everything they have and are to the Lord Jesus Christ.
When these men came before the Lord Jesus they came with gifts in their hands that were rather significant. They brought Gold which acknowledges Jesus as the King (the only Potentate). They bowed before Him with great adoration and submission. We too should always bow before our Lord and King in the same way. Wise men do just that (Philippians 2:9-11) (Isaiah 45:22-23) (Romans 14:11).
They brought Frankincense which acknowledges Jesus as Priest. If you study the word “frankincense,” you will discover that it was a priestly gift (Exodus 30:34-38). It was used in the worship at the temple, and when sacrifices were offered up to God. That is amazing and I hope you catch that. Frankincense was to be used in the place where God would meet with the Priest. The Book of Hebrews tells us that His priesthood is permanent (Hebrews 7:17), His priesthood is powerful (Hebrews 9:11-14) (Hebrews 9:24-28) (Hebrews 10:11-14), and His priesthood secures us an entrance into the presence of God (Hebrews 4:15-16). What a beautiful fragrance the Priesthood of Jesus Christ is to God.
They brought Myrrh which acknowledges Jesus as the Propitiation for our sins. Myrrh of course is a substance used to embalm dead bodies. It reminds us of why Jesus came into the world, to die for sinners like us (1 Timothy 1:15) (1 John 2:2). He came to “propitiate” or “satisfy” the holy demands of a just and righteous God in regard to sin (1 John 4:10) (Isaiah 53:10-11). What is amazing about that is that His sacrifice was inclusive (Hebrews 2:9), important (Acts 17:3), and indicative of God’s love for the sinner (Romans 5:8).
The priests and the scribes with all their learning and with their familiarity with the Word of God were not wise – they were fools because they failed to follow the light they had been given. Yet the magi were really wise men because they acknowledged the Christ who came into this world to save sinners. How would you describe yourself today? Are you wise? That is an easy question to answer!
- You are wise if you have believed the Gospel
- You are wise if you worship Jesus
- You are wise if you are giving to Jesus the things that belong to Him
- You are wise if you listen to Him and heed His voice through His word