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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
After they had 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.
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. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to
Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Matthew 2:9-12
This ends
today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
It had been a journey for the astrologers
from the east, the Magi.
We’re not sure where they were from exactly
but the word “Magi” is associated with the region of Persia, modern day Iran.
If that is the case, the distance would have been nearly 6,500 miles to
Jerusalem. That’s a long way, even if someone rode a camel or a horse.
The trip to Bethlehem was mild by those
standards, a mere six miles to the south of the divine Judean capital city. The
Magi had set out for the small town after receiving guidance from the Jewish “chief
priests and teachers of the law” through the Roman ruler of the day, King
Herod. You’ll recall that Herod commanded the Magi to go to Bethlehem and find
Jesus, then report back to him the whereabouts so he could go and worship the
newborn king. Of course, we know this was just a ruse because Herod’s real
intent was to kill the baby, the Messiah referred to by the Magi as the “king
of the Jews”. Herod would have no king cause issues for the Roman Empire and so
all the best to eliminate the potential threat now.
And so the Magi traveled
south, still following the star until said star “stopped over the place” where Jesus
was. Of note, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were no longer in that stable but in a
house. We don’t know anything about the home or its owners but it’s obvious
that someone had provided the young family with shelter.
Upon finding Jesus, the
Messiah King, with “His mother Mary”, the Magi were overcome with thanks and
praise, bowing down and worshiping the babe. It’s important that we remember
the order of things here. The Magi paid tribute with their heart, mind, and
soul before providing Jesus the physical gifts. Acts of the heart proceeded
acts of the hand. When the gifts were provided, they weren’t cheap offerings
but only the best: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
We all get what gold is.
It’s just a valued today as it was in the New Testament days.
Frankincense and myrrh
were both resins, nothing more than hardened sap from the Boswellia and
Commiphora trees respectively. They were extremely valuable and only typically
given as gifts to royalty. Frankincense could be used as incense or perfume
while myrrh would be liquefied and used as an anointing oil.
The number of gifts,
three, is what has led to the belief that there were three men who came to
Jesus (the three wise men) but the truth is that there could have been more.
Perhaps the number isn’t as important as the fact that the Magi went to great
lengths to find Jesus and then paid Him the proper honors once they did.
Through them, we see how we are to respond to Jesus when we find Him.
First, we should bow
down and worship Him with our heart, mind, and soul. There is no way we can do
the work of Jesus unless we are fully submitted and committed to Him,
acknowledging His divine, appointed place of authority over us (Matthew 28:18).
Second, we should offer
Him our best. Paul gives us a glimpse of one way to do that in His letter to
the Roman Christians:
“…offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to
God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1
Once we commit our
heart, mind, and soul, then we should offer up ourselves to Jesus, following
His will. After all, He did tell all His followers that He is the way and the
truth and the life (John 14:6). Indeed as a Christian, there is no other way
than to live as Jesus did and in order to do that, we need to become living
sacrifices, placing aside our desires to meet the desires of our Savior.
As we approach the new
year, how will you donate yourself to the work of Christ?
We should also give
Jesus our best physical gifts as a tribute to Him. We can do this in all sorts
of ways whether donating to Christian causes that help those who are less
fortunate, those Jesus referred to as the least of these. We can also make sure
we give and do so generously to our church and the work it does to advance the
Gospel of Jesus in the local community and abroad.
As 2019 nears, are you
giving your first fruits to the One who blesses you with them, enabling His
work through your place of worship?
As we ponder these
questions, we can use the Magi as a great example of what devotion to Jesus
looks like. For when they found Jesus the Messiah King, there complete focus
was upon Him, both with their worship and their giving.
In 2019, let’s all
strive to do likewise.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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