Mensa Otabil - Wise Men In Search
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Merry Christmas to all of you! We are beginning our Christmas week reflections today, and we will continue our study of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, verses 1 and 2.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, «Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.»
God announced the birth of his Son to non-Jews. Of course, he announced it to Jews, the shepherds in the field, but here are people from the east who were not of Jewish origin, showing that Jesus did not only come for the Jews, but he came for the entirety of the human race. These wise men from the east represent all of us who are not natural-born Jews.
I want you to consider the statement of these wise men. There are three statements I want you to ponder. First is the question, «Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?» They recognized Jesus as a king. Of course, they were aware that there was a current king of the Jews, King Herod, and they had gone to the palace of Herod to make this inquiry. When they asked for the king of the Jews, they were thinking in more spiritual terms of a spiritual kingdom or a spiritual king who has been born, not a natural one like Herod, who was in the palace.
They also said, «We have seen his star in the east.» Jesus spoke to these wise men in the language they could understand. Part of their practice was to read the stars, and God had to speak to them in a way they could recognize. So what was this star from the east? Was it a natural star, a planet, or just an astrological sign? I believe that the star they saw was actually an angelic manifestation.
The reason I believe that is because of the preponderance of angelic visitations regarding the birth of Jesus Christ. Angels announced to the shepherds, angels spoke to Mary, and angels spoke to Joseph. There are angels everywhere, and although the Scripture does not directly say it, I believe that there was an angel that appeared as a star. The reason I think that is because the angel, or the star, kept moving and getting to a location. No real natural star does that, and no planetary formation behaves in that manner. So I believe it was an angelic visitation that God provided to these wise men.The way they understood reality was to read everything in terms of the stars, so that’s how they interpreted it, but it was indeed an angelic visitation. They said, «We’ve seen his star.»
The third thing they said is, «We have come to worship him.» These men had been traveling from where they were, stating, «We have come to worship him.» The purpose of this journey they undertook, which was about a two-year journey, was simply to worship. Why would they worship a king who is not the king of their nation? They were from a different nation. Why would they come and worship a Jewish king? Because they recognized that this king is not just one to be honored, not just one to be respected, but one to be worshiped. He is a spiritual king. Through this, the wise men revealed to us the nature of Christ, who he is, what his kingdom is all about, and what his life encompasses.
Through these wise men, we learn that we must pursue God. We must seek the Lord, making an effort to be where God wants us to be. When we get to where God wants us to be, all that we offer to him is our worship. We pursue God to worship him, and that’s the lesson from the wise men.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you are the light of my life. Help me to pursue your will with all of my heart. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»
Well, that’s how we begin the week. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you!