“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, 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.”  (Matthew 2:1-2, NKJV)

 The account of the wise men is one of the first and most endearing parts of the Christmas story. Much of what is told about them is tradition going back to the first few centuries but is not actually recorded in Scripture.  The Bible doesn’t tell us how many wise men there were or their names.  There were probably more than three.  Nor does it tell what country or countries they were from, but regardless it would have been a hard, difficult journey of hundreds of miles.  Verse eleven says that when they reached the house they found the child with Mary His mother, indicating that He was no longer in the manger in Bethlehem. Between this and the distance travelled Jesus may have been between one and two years old when they arrived.  The Greek word for wise men, “magi” broadly  referred to a number of priests or advisors to pagan kings.  They would have been very well educated, having studied science, nature, and world religions including Judaism.  What the Bible does teach is even more fascinating than tradition!

They were Seekers

A.W. Tozer said of the wise men: “A longing soul with scanty theological knowledge is in a better position to meet God than a self-satisfied soul, however deeply instructed in the Scriptures.”  The wise men longed to know God personally, and from their study of the Old Testament they knew a Messiah would come as the King of the Jews, “Immanuel, God with us.”  Verse two said they had “seen His star in the east,” possibly a reference to Numbers 24:17.  Most eastern religions were astronomy based and any aberration in the stars would have been noticed.  God spoke to them in a way that they would understand and led them to Jerusalem where they had to ask for further directions.  The Jews were God’s chosen people, well versed in the law, and any priest, scribe, or prophet would have known to tell them Bethlehem Judea.  The incredible thing is that His own people who had and knew the Scriptures were not watching for His birth, but gentiles were!  In fact the Jews were so comfortable in their Old Testament theology living under the law that the thought of the Messiah’s birth was quite unsettling.  When King Herod learned of the visitors he even devised a murderous scheme to have the child killed lest his reign be challenged.

They came to Worship

 When they found the Lord the wise men fell down and worshipped Him.  They opened and presented the priceless treasures they had brought:

• Gold: representing His deity and glory as the King of Kings
• Frankincense: a priceless oil symbolizing the fragrance of His perfect life
• Myrrh: a bitter herb that foreshadowed His suffering and death

To think that the wise men came to Jesus not for what they could get from Him, but rather what they could give to Him is almost unbelievable!  These men were imminently successful, wealthy, prominent members of their societies. They had most likely self-financed their expedition to find the Christ child not to receive anything but rather to worship Him in the form of priceless, extravagant treasures that they in all likelihood paid for themselves. In the cultural Christianity of today and the accompanying prosperity gospel that can be a very difficult concept to grasp.  Even in Jesus’ day multitudes followed Him not to have a relationship but for what they could get.

Wise Men Still Seek Him

King Solomon was the wisest, and the richest, man to ever live.  He was also a seeker.  In his book Ecclesiastes he describes his lifetime of searching for meaning and purpose. He had all of the money, all of the power, and all of the resources imaginable but could not fill the emptiness until he realized that God had put “eternity in the heart of man” a longing that only He could satisfy (vs, 3:11).  Near the end of his life and near the end of the book he wrote:  “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” (vs. 12:8, 13.)

He understood that it was all about the relationship.

A thousand years before the Wise Men of the Christmas story Solomon understood that only God Himself can fill that void in our hearts.  Nothing the world offers, nothing that money can buy will satisfy that longing.

In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus made this promise:

“Ask, and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and it shall be opened.  For every one that asks receives, and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

 Because of Calvary what was a difficult journey for the Wise Men has been made incredibly easy for us.  We can boldly come before the throne of grace at any time.  And unlike the Wise Men who met the Christ child in Bethlehem, when we come before His throne we see Him in His majesty and glory as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  (John provides a spectacular description of Him in Revelation 1, and of the throne in chapter 4.)

The question becomes how do we appear before Him?  Are we like the Wise Men who came to worship Him and bring Him gifts?  Or do we come asking Him to bless us, asking Him for gifts?  Through prayer we have direct and immediate access to our Lord 24/7/365.  He is at once our Creator, Redeemer, our Lord and our God; He is both our King and our Heavenly Father.  Do we respectfully enter His gates with thanksgiving, and enter His courts with praise as David modeled in Psalm 100:4?  Or do we enter with a different attitude and spirit?   There is no doubt that even as a child our Lord welcomed the Wise Men.  Hopefully as our Heavenly Father the Lord looks forward to our visits as well.