Millions of people have heard of the story of the Magi. They were the mysterious Wise Men who came to find the new-born King. They were from the "East", most likely Persia, a distant country hundreds of miles from Bethlehem, where traditions and customs were much different than those of the Jews. The Magi were of a priestly order, probably astrologers, and certainly well respected advisers.
Most Christians, and even millions of non-Christians, are aware of the Wise Men as part of the Christmas story. And even though the story of the Wise Men is widely known, there are very little known facts about them. There are only 12 verses in the entire Bible that tell their story, Matthew 2:1-12. That's it. Yet, the Magi play a critical role. There are several lessons we can learn from them.
1. The Magi teach us about WORSHIP
"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 2:1-2)
We can see from the above verse, that their worship was INTENTIONAL. That's the reason they travelled all those miles, hundreds of miles! They didn't come to satisfy their curiosity. They didn't just stop by to visit the new King as they were on their way somewhere else. They purposely came all that way with one objective in mind. "We saw his star when it rose and we have come to worship him." Worship for us should be intentional as well - that moment when we deliberately bow before God to praise, thank, honor, and adore Him.
Not only was their worship intentional, it was DIRECTIONAL. In other words, it was all in a one-way direction - to Jesus. It had nothing to do with themselves. They weren't looking for anything in return. They weren't asking for anything and they weren't looking for favors in return. They came solely to give the new King homage, acknowledgment, respect, honor, praise, and glory. In our worship of God, it should also be in a one-way direction. Worship is not a prayer request. It's not asking God for anything. Our worship has nothing with us, but everything to do with God. So, when we worship God, it's all about Him.
Each of the Magi made their worship PERSONAL. They individually bowed down when they entered the presence of the new born King. I like the idea of associating bowing down with worship. It says something.
"On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh." (Matthew 2:11)
Notice that they bowed down and worshiped him, "then they opened their treasures". It implies that their act of worship was separate from their giving of gifts. It preceded it. They worshiped, then they gave their gifts. Not that their giving of gifts wasn't a part of showing honor and respect. It's just that their worship was that specific bowing-down period of time. It was that focused, intentional, purposeful, in-the-zone, reverential moment. And each of the Magi bowed. We should take our worship personal too. We can worship anytime, anyplace, as long as it is a focused moment - sort of being in the zone with God. Even in a congregational setting, although we can be worshiping together, at the same time, still we should be individually worshiping Him.
2. The Magi teach us HUMILITY
I'm sure you've heard the Christmas song, "We Three Kings". I'm not sure how accurate it is since we don't really know for sure how many Magi actually came to worship Jesus. And I'm not sure if the Magi were kings. However, we do know that they were greeted with great respect by King Herod and were probably treated like royalty. Yet, when they came into the presence of Jesus, each one of them bowed down. It didn't matter that the new born King was dressed in swaddling cloths. Their attitude was one of humility.
Their humility was also shown by their actions. They certainly were not arrogant. When they came into Jerusalem, they did not demand from Herod the answers to where Jesus was. They were inquirers. They were seekers.
It's interesting that the first ones to worship Jesus were non-Jews - in a sense a prophecy that Jesus would be the salvation of not just the Jews, but the Gentiles alike. Jesus is the King of all kings, that He is over Jews and non-Jews alike, that He is the Prince of Peace, the Lord of lords, the Wonderful Counselor over all, and that at the foot of Jesus, every knee shall bow. And as for the Magi, bow they did.
And even to this day, it takes humility to submit to Jesus, to surrender to Him, to follow Him as Lord. It takes putting aside our pride. An important quality we can learn from the Magi is humility.
3. The Magi teach us about God's PROVIDENCE
Providence is the intervention of God in our lives. It demonstrates His power, His authority, and His sovereignty. It gives evidence that He is real, that He is interactive with us, and that He is a real-time God. Through His providence, God can line up people, line up situations, and open and shut doors in our lives. One thing is for sure, God's providence involves timing. And sometimes His providence is obvious and sometimes it's not.
God's providence certainly was active in the Christmas story -- He orchestrated the entire event! Angels were used in the Christmas story nine times -- to Zechariah, to Mary, to Joseph, twice with the Shepherds, to the Wise Men, to Joseph three more times. A supernatural guiding light or star was used twice. There were miraculous pregnancies (Elizabeth and Mary). And certainly timing was critical. But there's one piece of providence involving the Wise Men that is amazing. And it reveals the crucial role that they played in the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
You see, God used the very valuable gifts of the Magi - gold, frankincense, and myrrh - to provide a way for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to escape to Egypt, and live there for an extended period of time.
“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up,” he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod." (Matthew 2:13b-15b)
We know Mary and Joseph were poor based on the sacrifice they offered when they brought Jesus to the temple to be consecrated. There's no way they could have traveled from Bethlehem to Egypt and then lived there without the valuable gifts of the Magi. It was by God's providence that they were provided for. And maybe that's the real reason the Magi came!
I believe we are blessed with the ability to 'retrospect'. Retrospect means to look back on our lives - to reflect back on how God has worked. When we look back on God's timing in our lives, and the way He has answered prayers, opened doors, intervened in our favor, lined up people and situations, it encourages us and increases our faith. The more we look back, the more it is obvious His hand has been at work.
In conclusion, as we celebrate each Christmas season, let's not forget the valuable lessons we can learn from the story of the Magi.
