There has been much speculation about who the wise men were
who came to find the baby Jesus. Where did they come from? How did they read
the stars? Were they Zoroastrians? The Bible doesn’t give much detail in
Matthew 2 aside from the fact that they were from the East. Plenty of stories
have been written imagining how this all came about.
What impresses me is the amount of effort they put in to
traveling to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem to find the newborn King and
worship Him. It may have taken them months or perhaps even years to reach their
destination. Whatever they discerned in their study of the stars was important
enough for them to leave everything else behind and seek the King. Although
they referred to Jesus as King of the Jews, it seems that they recognized that
He would have an impact far beyond the nation of Israel. They were moved to
worship Christ long before most people were aware that He existed. Out of an
estimated 170-400 million people on earth at that time, only a few wise men and
shepherds got the message and found the baby.
Although the statistics are better today, I’m sure that most
of us haven’t exerted that much effort to find Jesus and worship Him. At least
in America, a large segment of those who are Christians were raised in
Christian homes and may have never wrestled with the hard questions of faith.
As a result, Christianity has become a faith of convenience and tradition. When
it becomes inconvenient or requires too much effort, people are likely to stop
participating, though they often still consider themselves Christian.
While we aren’t saved by our efforts and we can never do
enough to earn even the smallest portion of God’s grace, there are some ways in
which it is true that “You get out of it what you put into it.” If all you know
of Scripture is what you hear on Sunday morning, you’re missing out on many of the
benefits of knowing God fully, knowing His will, knowing how He works, and
trusting all the promises He has made. If you’ve never had to defend what you
believe, you don’t really know if you have something worth defending, something
that will hold you up when the storms come. If you’ve never had to discipline
yourself to read the Bible or go to church when you don’t feel like it, you’ve
missed out on the joy that comes when God shows up in spite of your low expectations.
I imagine what it was like for the wise men to finally see
Jesus. All their studying had told them that something amazing was happening,
and their travels gave them time to ponder and discuss what this might mean for
the world. But finally they were there and “they rejoiced exceedingly with
great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary His mother,
and they fell down and worshiped Him” (Matthew 2:10-11 ESV). After all they’d
gone through, I doubt this was just a brief greeting, presenting their gifts,
and departing five minutes later. When their hopes were fulfilled, I don’t
think they quickly left to go follow some other star. They probably lingered as
long as propriety allowed.
I would challenge us all to be more diligent in seeking the
King of kings and Lord of lords at Christmas and through the coming year. Don’t
settle for secondhand faith. And when you find Him, don’t be afraid to linger
in worship and wonder of the Savior who first sought you.
“For the Son of Man
came to seek and to save the lost.” –Luke 19:10
