FINDING THE KING

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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

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