The Magi Seek

Now let's take time to pray. Gracious Father, thank you for the Word of God. Thank you that we have the privilege of reading it and studying it and sharing it with others. Now open our hearts to the Word. Deliver us from merely having a mental understanding. Give to us a spiritual understanding that goes deep within our hearts. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

As far as the gospel record is concerned, the first people to worship at the feet of Jesus were the so-called wise men, the Magi who came from the East. Now, I don't doubt that the shepherds bowed down and worshipped the Christ child in the manger, but the record does not tell us that they did. But in Matthew 2, we read all about these mysterious Magi who traveled a long distance to bow at the feet of Jesus.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him." When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where the Christ should be born.

And they said unto him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel." Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also."

When they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star which they saw in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was, and when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Now, these wise men or Magi teach us some very practical lessons, at least three of them. First of all, they are an encouragement for those who are seeking Christ. Secondly, they are an example to those of us who know Christ, and finally, they are a warning to those who have never trusted Christ.

Now today, I want to talk about how these Magi are an encouragement for those who are seeking Christ. But before we get into that, we need to separate tradition from truth and myth from reality, because unfortunately, the story about the Magi has been mixed up with a great deal of tradition.

We sing songs about "We Three Kings of Orient Are". To begin with, they were not kings. They were oriental priest-scientists. They probably came from Persia. The word 'Magi' is translated 'magicians', but they were not, the kind of people who did great and mysterious acts. No, they were a combination of priests and scientists, astronomers, astrologers. A great deal of superstition was wrapped up in what they believed.

You read about these people in Daniel 2, they're called magicians. You read about them in Genesis 41 and Exodus 7, where again they are called magicians. But they were not kings. Once again, they were priest-scientists, astronomers who searched the heavens, and they were looking for truth.

Secondly, we don't know how many there were. Now the song says 'We Three Kings'. Well, they were not kings. And the only reason we say three is because of the gifts that were presented in Matthew 2:11, gold and frankincense and myrrh. The assumption is that each of the men brought a gift, but we don't know how many there were. In fact, I'm convinced there were far more than three.

If three men all by themselves came riding into Jerusalem, nobody would be too disturbed. There were probably a number of these scientists, and they had a great train of people with them. After all, they probably traveled from eight months to a year to get there. And they would have their guards, their soldiers, and you can just see this great troop of people from the East coming into Jerusalem. Folks would stop and look and say, "Who are these people? Why are they here?" We don't know how many there were. We don't know their names.

Now tradition tells us that Casper brought frankincense and Melchior brought gold and Balthazar brought myrrh, but we don't know their names and we don't know who presented what gift. And furthermore, when they came to see the Lord Jesus, they did not come to the manger.

Now all of us have these lovely manger scenes that depict the babe lying in the manger surrounded by animals, surrounded by the angels, and then you have the shepherds, and of course you have Mary and Joseph, and then you have the wise men with their camels.

But verse 11 tells us they didn't come to the manger or to a cave, they came to the house. And it's likely that our Lord Jesus could have been as old as two years at this point. You'll recall that when Herod tried to destroy him, he said, "I'm going to start with the two-year-olds and work my way down. I don't want to miss anybody." And so the Lord Jesus Christ was not a babe in the manger, but a child in the house.

And, we want to say something about this star. This star was a miracle. Now, I know that the astronomers during the Christmas season like to say it was a special conjunction of three planets: Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. Well, there are some problems with that. "We have seen his star." Now, verse 2 tells us that. "We have seen his star."

This is a very special star that God the Father sent to arouse their interest and to guide their feet that they might find the Christ. And this star was a miracle. The Greek word for star in verse 2 means one star, not the conjunction of several stars, not a constellation, it's one star. And so all of these learned lectures about the conjunction of planets and so forth are interesting, but they are not helpful. This was a very special star that was sent to point the way to the Christ child.

Now, the interesting thing is this: of all the people involved in the Christmas story, these Magi showed the greatest joy. We read in Luke 2:10, "And the angel said unto them, the shepherds, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy." But you ought to compare Luke 2:10 with Matthew 2:10, "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy." How about that? Exceedingly great joy. These men rejoiced knowing that they were going to find the Christ.

Well, I've said that they are first of all an encouragement for those who are seeking the Christ. I believe that there are many people today who are seeking salvation, they just don't know where it is or how to find it.

Dr. A.W. Tozer used to say that many of the great geniuses in the world, the scientists, the artists, the musicians, those who produce great beauty and those who helped to discover great truth, basically were seeking for God. And I think he's right. I think that even some of the weird art and music and literature that abounds today is an indication of people who are groping for something and don't know where to find it.

Now these men were seeking truth, they were scientists. They would study the heavens, and by the way, it's rather amazing how much the Oriental peoples in ancient days knew about the heavens. They were scientists who studied the heavens seeking for truth. I'm always grateful for those who are seeking for truth. Because all truth is God's truth. All truth is God's truth, and when you are seeking for truth, you discover that all truth intersects.

Some people may start seeking for truth through history. If they're open and honest, they will come to Christ. Some may start seeking for truth in psychology or in biology. Some may be searching the heavens as these men were. I firmly believe that an honest, sincere person who is seeking for truth will eventually come to Jesus Christ because he is the truth.

Now, how could these men have known about a star? Well, for one thing, they may have known the Old Testament prophecy given by Balaam in Numbers 24:17. "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel." This is one of the Old Testament prophecies about the advent of the Messiah. From Daniel 9, and remember that Daniel had lived in Babylon, from Daniel 9, they could calculate from his prophecy about the seventy weeks just about when the Messiah was going to come.

In fact, the ancient historians tell us that there was a general expectation across the world that something great was about to happen. People were on tiptoes, so to speak, expecting the coming of a great deliverer. These men were seeking truth. These men are an encouragement for those who are seeking truth.

These men were seeking truth. Now, what steps did God take to guide them to Jesus Christ who is the truth? Well, he started where they were, he started with a star. You know, God starts where we are. God didn't send a star to the shepherds, he sent an angel. In fact, a chorus of angels to the shepherds.

The Jewish shepherds believed in angels, they would respond to the message of the angels. But when it came to these scientists, God didn't send them an angel. God didn't speak to them in an audible voice. God simply brought a star.

He began where they were. They were scanning the heavens, and he said, "All right, if that's where you're looking, that's where I'm going to put my message." And so he started where they were with his star. But the star led them to the Word. They came to Jerusalem and they said, "We're looking for the king." Herod, of course, was greatly upset. We'll study about that tomorrow, the Lord willing. We can well understand why he would be upset, knowing the kind of a man he was.

Well, the priests simply opened up the scroll of the Old Testament. They turned to Micah 5:2, and they said, "He's going to be born in Bethlehem." So God guided them not only through the circumstances of nature, but he guided them through the Word. I believe that ultimately all truth leads to the Word of God. "Thy word is truth. The entrance of thy word giveth light."

Now, they'd seen the light of the star in the heavens. Now they have the light of the Word of God. And they said, "All right, we're going to go to Bethlehem." And they came to Bethlehem, and lo and behold, there was the Christ. The star guided them to the house where the Lord was staying.

It's interesting to compare this with Psalm 19. Psalm 19. Because in Psalm 19, you have three manifestations of God's truth. How does God get his truth across to people today? Well, verses 1 through 6, we have his truth in creation. Psalm 19:1-6, "The heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork. Their line is gone out through all the earth." He compares the, the sun to a messenger, a bridegroom, a strong man running a race.

Now, God speaks to us through creation, but you don't stop there. Wasn't it Immanuel Kant, the philosopher who said, "Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe: the starry heavens above and the moral law within"? God the Creator speaks through creation.

But then in Psalm 19:7, he changes the picture and says God speaks through his Word. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." And in verses 7 through 11, he talks about God's revelation in scripture.

But then in verses 12 through 14, he says you must have a personal experience. It's not enough to see God's message in the heavens. It's not enough to see God's message in the scriptures. We must receive it into our hearts.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Not just my creator, my Redeemer. "The mouth and the heart, with the heart man believes to righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Now, Psalm 19 describes the experience of these men. First, they saw God's message in the heavens, in the sky. They saw the glory of God in the heavens. This led them to the scriptures, and the scriptures led them to the Savior, and they bowed down and worshipped him, and their lives were transformed.

These men were brilliant men. They studied history, they studied the stars. True, a great deal of superstition was wrapped up in what they believed, but be that as it may, they were intelligent men who were respected for their scientific knowledge and achievement. And yet they worshipped the Lord Jesus.

I wish that science today would worship the Lord Jesus. I wish men would bring their brains, their hearts, and lay them at the feet of Jesus. After all, he's the creator. Everything was created by him and for him, and by him all things hold together. And all of creation was made for his pleasure, not for our pleasure, but for his pleasure. And we need to use what he has given to us for his glory.

They worshipped him. What a desperate need there is today to pause and worship God. I wonder if you've come to the point where the God of creation and the God of revelation has become in your heart the God of salvation.

Now it's not enough to say, "Oh, I believe in a God who created the world. I believe in the God of the heavens." That's not enough. You'll never get saved standing on a mountain, meditating on a beautiful sunset. Oh, you may admire God's handiwork, but that'll never save you.

And it's not enough just to say, "Oh, yes, I believe the Bible is true. Oh, yes, the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. Oh, yes, the Word of God is like honey. Oh, I believe all that." What have you done with the Savior? It's not enough to know the Word of God, you have to know the God of the Word.

And that leads us to that prayer, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Well, you and I can be blessed, blessed of God because we believe the Word of God and we obey the Word of God. "Blessed are those that hear the Word of God and obey it," said the Lord Jesus in Luke 11:28. I trust that your joy is full today because your heart is focusing on the Lord and you are trusting in his Word.

Well, these men made a long trip. I don't doubt that they traveled maybe eight months to a year to get to the place where they saw the Lord Jesus, but they were rewarded because they trusted him, they worshipped him, they honored him. These men are an encouragement for those who are seeking truth.

Now, you may be one of those. You may say, "I don't belong to a church, I don't really read my Bible, but I really am seeking truth." If you are sincere and honest and open with God, you will find the Lord Jesus Christ. Because all truth is God's truth, and all truth intersects, and if you follow the truth and follow the light that God gives you, you will one day come to the feet of Jesus.

And when that happens, I trust you'll bow at his feet and you'll confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.