Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, "Where is He who
has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east,
and have come to worship Him." And when Herod the king heard it,
he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.
And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people,
he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born.
And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea,
for so it has been written by the prophet 'And you,
Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,
for out of you shall come forth a Ruler, Who will shepherd my people Israel.'
Then Herod secretly called the magi, and ascertained from them the
time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said,
"Go and make careful search for the Child; and when you have found Him,
report to me, that I too may come and worship Him." And having heard the
king, they went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east,
went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was.
And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
And they came into the house and saw the child with Mary His mother;
and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures
they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their own country by another way.
(Matthew 1: 1-12).
The most impacting part of these magi to me, is that they kept this up for so long. And upon finding Jesus - they "fell down and worshiped Him." They knew there was something special about this little boy. I can only imagine traveling for so long, following a star that moved (that alone is odd enough.. Stars don't move. At least not well enough to point to a specific house). And suddenly, they come to a little house in Bethlehem. After they knock on the door, Mary, who is still quite young, comes to see who is there. She was probably more than a little bewildered at the sight before her. These men standing before her saw her Son, and fell down and worshiped Him. They knew. I would love to know exactly how they knew. Maybe it was something in His eyes. Maybe the Lord spoke to their hearts. But either way, they knew that this Child they found after so much time spent searching, was King. And somehow, I'm fairly sure they knew He was worth the search..
I'm curious to whether or not the magi kept track of Him in the next 30ish years, and saw what happened to Him.. Or rather, saw what He did for them... Which really is what Christmas is all about. If there were no Cross, why celebrate Christmas? It would mean nothing. But thankfully, it means something, and more than just something. It means that through Him, we have life in Him. The best gift ever! Thinking of what He did for us, I have been challenged this year to think of specific things that I can give back to Him.. He has already given us so much more than we deserve.
(I heard this song for the first time tonight at our Candlelight service... It is good! Listening to it sent chills down my spine. In a good way.)
We saw a star and followed it from the east
We've come so far to get here
We held one hope that we might find a King
But how could we know that He would be
God with us
Immanuel, come to us
The King of Israel abides with us
In this little boy, who could know we'd find
The eternal One born into time
This baby child is God with us
We brought Him gold and frankincense and myrrh
When riches untold He left behind
We brought our best to celebrate a King
Who'd left his throne so He could be
God with us
Immanuel, come to us
The King of Israel abides with us
In this little boy, who could know we'd find
Mortal and mystery somehow intertwined
This baby child is God with us
In all our wisdom, we came to seek a king
But how do you prepare to meet the Lord
In all my wildest hopes, I never even dreamed
Who the star was truly pointing toward
What the star was truly shining for
Star of wonder, star of might
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy perfect light
God with us
Immanuel, come to us
The King of Israel abides with us
In this little boy, who could know we'd find
The Creator born Redeemer of mankind
And the hand of God is reaching out for mine
This baby child is God with us
Mary's baby child is God with us
(God With Us, Todd Agnew)
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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