The Magi were following the star, and the star did not fail them, ”the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” It was not a fixed object in the sky – it moved. It was not shining during the day, but as all stars do, it shined in the dark. It went ahead of them, allowing them to travel in the cool of the night and leading them to the very house they sought, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”
That this is a period of time after Christ’s birth is clear – Mary and her child are now in a house instead of a stable. That it wasn’t long after Christ’s birth is also clear – Joseph and Mary had started their journey in Nazareth (see Luke 2:4), but they are still in Bethlehem. Whose house they are at we are not told. But we are told that the Magi found it by God’s miraculous grace to them. We are also party to what they did when they saw Mary and Jesus. They bowed down, and worshipped Him. They had come to God’s elect – the real king of God’s people. Recognizing that, they humble themselves by bowing down, and they lift up their souls in worship of Him.
This is the first time in Scripture we read of anyone worshipping Jesus. One would’ve thought that Jesus’ first worshippers would be from His own people group – the Jews. But they are not– they are men from the east. The fact that the worshippers are Gentile is highly significant. Jesus is – as the late Don Richardson once pointed out – a Messiah for all people, not only the Jewish nation. Exactly how many nations the Magi represented is unknown, for we are never told specifically that they are all from the same ethnic region, nor are we even told how many of them there were. Everyone only assumes it was three because of the three different types of gifts mentioned. It matters not. He was promised long before the Hebrew nation was even founded (see God’s promise of a conquerer over Satan in Gen 3:16), and He was spoken about as a light for all nations hundreds of years before His physical entry on the world stage in Isaiah’s prophesy: “Darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Now here He is – and a light actually guided the Magi to His birthplace!
One thing is sure. Jesus is worthy of worship from all people. Before He dies on a cross, before He completes His ministry, even before He speaks a single word. He is God’s own Son, born into our world to welcome all – from every people group – to become God’s children!
Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
King David (Psalm 2:10-11)
APPLICATION: Worship
Today, spend time with the Lord in worship of Him. Seek to practice humility.