They saw his star, and it led them to Israel.

These scholars, “wise men from the East,” were on a mission to worship a special king, a Messianic king, whose birth was marked by a star in the heavens.  Yet when they arrived in the capital city of Jerusalem, how astonished they must have been to learn that no one knew of the birth of this special king.   He hadn’t been born in the palace.  His birth had not been celebrated with the ringing of bells or great proclamations of joy throughout Israel.

Instead of a palace in Jerusalem, these wise men finally found the king they had been searching for in the lowly, obscure village of Bethlehem.   His star led them not to a royal residence but to a simple home.*  How astonished Mary and Joseph must have been when they answered the door and standing before them were these regal men, strange in dress, imposing in manner and decorum.  And to amazement of Mary and Joseph, with great humility these men bowed down and worshiped their child, Jesus, presenting him with precious gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense.

These wise men weren’t bothered by the simple surroundings.  They weren’t interested in worshiping one who appeared royal.  They wanted to worship the One who was divinely royal.  They pushed aside their preconceived notions as to who and what this king would be like and worshiped the king who was revealed to them by that guiding star.

From the moment that His star appeared in the sky, nothing was going to keep these men from paying homage to the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords – not the distance, not the cost, nor personal sacrifice.   They would not be deterred.   They were singular in their desire to worship Jesus and offer unto him gifts of great value.  Truly they were “wise” men.

Jesus came to be many things to us:   Our Savior, our Redeemer, our Prophet, our Priest, but He also came to be our King.   This is the season to remind ourselves once again that we need to be “wise” like those men from the East of long ago.  We, too, need to be singular in our desire to embrace Him as our King and to worship Him with all  reverence and humility, offering  unto Him our most precious gifts – our lives, our love and our devotion.

Merry Christmas!

* Matt. 2:11