The Wise Men

The Wise Men, or Magi, play an important role in the life of Jesus.  God used the wise men to save the life of the one who would save the world (see Matthew 2:1-12).  These men came to Jesus to worship.  Their example tells us what happens when wise men worship. 
First of all when wise men worship, they worship.  These men had come to the place where Jesus was in order to worship.  It is important to note that these men were gentiles who traveled a distance to pay homage to the king of the Jews.  Even in His infancy, we see that Jesus would not only be the king of the Jews, but would also be the Lord of all creation and would bring together both Jews and gentiles.  Christ is worthy of our worship.  When we come together on Sunday, it should be a continuation of our worship to God during the week.  When we understand that life is about worship, it makes worship on Sunday easy.  Worship isn’t about us, it is about God.   These men who came from the East were men of standing and stature.  They were academically skilled and intellectually astute.  And yet, they bowed down and prostrated themselves in worship to the baby Jesus. 

Secondly, when wise men worship, they don’t worry about who is not worshipping.  When the wise men asked about the whereabouts of the one born king of the Jews, Herod assembled the chief priests and scribes and asked them where the Christ was to be born.  The chief priests and scribes were Biblically astute enough to direct the wise men to Jesus although they would not go to worship Him themselves.  But the wise men were so excited and joyous about going to worship the king that they did not worry about the chief priests and scribes not worshipping.  Don’t let what other people aren’t doing keep you from doing what you know you should do. 

​Finally, when wise men worship, they understand who they are worshipping.  The Bible tells us that they brought gifts.  And the gifts that they brought indicate that they understood who they were worshipping.  The Magi asked King Herod to point them to the real king.  The gifts were not for Herod.  They did not bow down to Herod.  They bowed down to the one who was worthy of their worship and gave Him gifts.  We worship Christ understanding that He is the Great I am.  He is not just the Son of God, but He is God the Son.  We worship understanding His purpose of healing the brokenhearted, setting the captives free and saving man from his sins.  We worship Him because He is worthy!