FINDING THE KING - THE MAGI

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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.

Matthew 2:9-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

A common theme in the scriptures is the matter of journeying to find something.

Mary traveled twice, first to find her relative Elizabeth after receiving news from the angel Gabriel that she too had miraculously become pregnant despite being well past child bearing years. The second trip was to Bethlehem with Joseph while in her ninth month of pregnancy with her baby ready to be born any day. Both Joseph and Mary were going to find the place of registry in response to the order of Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken across the Roman Empire.

After Jesus was born, we found the shepherds in the fields, tending to their flocks by night and receiving the incredible angels heralding the good news of great joy that the long awaited Messiah had come and could be find lying in a manger in Bethlehem. Immediately after receiving the announcement, the shepherds decided to go into town and there they found the newborn King and His parents.

Then, around two years later, a group of Magi saw an unusual star to the west of them, a star that they believed was a sign of the important birth of the King of the Jews, a birth they were aware of through Jewish prophecies. And so they set out and went to the star which was over the holy city of Jerusalem where they learned the child they sought was about five miles south in the town of Bethlehem. With that news in hand, the Magi went onto the town of David with the hope of finding the King they sought. Here’s that account from Matthew’s Gospel:

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.

Matthew 2:9-11

As we look at this passage, I believe the Lord is communicating three things to us as we get ready to approach the new year, 2024.

First, when anyone seeks the Lord in faith, He leads them to Him through His light.

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.

The Magi were obviously highly anticipating the birth of the King of the Jews and God knew their hearts as He does everyone who places their belief and trust in Him.

And so God first made the bright star shine over Jerusalem to lead the Magi to the place where they would learn of the exact location of His Son, the One who had come to not only be the King of all kings but the Savior of the world as well. He then used the star, His glorious light, to guide the Magi straight to where Jesus was. A light blazing in the night sky led the Magi to the One who was the Light of the world.

In 2024, no matter how dark things may seem in your life, seek the Lord and He will lead you to Himself through His holy light that always overcomes the darkness (John 1:5).

The second thing we can learn from the Magi is that when we seek and find Jesus, we need to rejoice, bow down, and worship Him.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him.

Note that the day when the Magi saw Jesus face to face wasn’t any special designated day of worship on the Jewish calendar. It was just another ordinary day but it was a day suitable to worship and adore the King Jesus.

As we get enter into 2024, I pray that we will make time, not just on Sundays, but each and every day, to just pause in the midst of our busyness and carve out time to simply be present with Jesus, pouring out our admiration in worship and praise unto His precious and holy name, the only name by which any person can be saved.

Finally, when the Magi had worshiped the King Jesus, they gave Him their finest treasures.

Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

In Jesus, God has given anyone who believes in Him the greatest gifts ever, the gift of salvation and eternal life. None of us can ever repay our Lord for what He has graciously provided but we can give what we can and that goes for our time, talent, and treasure.

We may not be as affluent as the Magi and be able to bring highly valuable gold, perfumes, or oils to Jesus the King but we all can financially as we can while giving up our time to serve Him and others as He has called us to do, using the talents that He has blessed us with.

As we get set to move into 2024, now would be a great time to assess how well you have given your gifts to Jesus in the past year, and if change needs to happen, commit yourself to do so starting in January. Whether you do ministry work independently, within the church, or better yet, a combination of both, do what you can to honor our King and Savior Jesus while making a kingdom difference here on earth wherever He might lead you through His amazing Light and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.