Wise Men Still Seek Him

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  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, frankincense and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. ~ Matthew 2: 9-12

I ponder that saying every time I see it or read it somewhere:  Wise men still seek Him (Jesus).  Seek Him?  But HE isn't lost!  We don't have to look for Christ; He is with us.  Remember that He is our shepherd; HE seeks us!!  So maybe that saying actually means that wise men should seek His ways, should seek His direction, should seek the calling He has for us.  Jesus is right where He should be when we call out to Him in faith and repentance.  When I accepted Christ as my Savior, I didn't have to look for Him.  I just had to open the door and let Him in.

So what about these wise men?  After pondering the shepherds, I did a little pondering about these wise men.  Wise men were magi.  They studied the stars.  They were scholars.  God gave them a miraculous star that announced to them the birth of Christ.  These "smart" men followed the star God set before them and when they found Christ, they worshiped Him.  It seems these men understood that they had been led to the Christ where in Him "are hid all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3), and in Him dwells "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2: 9).  The wise men were seeking the King!  What's more these wise men were Gentiles yet God gave them a star to follow so that they might see the King of Kings.  Is this God's way of showing us that from the very beginning, Jesus came to be "the Savior of the world" (John 4: 42). 

I found it so ironic that the Jewish priests that knew the scriptures and pointed others to the Savior would not go worship Him themselves.  These priests quoted Micah 5: 2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."  The priests quoted this scripture yet did not obey it.  They were FIVE MILES from the Son of God, yet they did not go to see Him.  The Gentiles sought and found Him, but the Jews did not.  AND "Bethlehem" means "house of bread" and this is the place where the "Bread of Life" was born!!!

Then there are the gifts of the magi:  the gold, frankincense and myrrh.  When I was little these gifts were cigar boxes covered in macaroni noodles and spray painted gold.  We made them in Sunday school for the Christmas program we would participate in on a Sunday evening.  However, no one ever said much about these gifts other than they were valuable.  So was there anything about these gifts that made them more than just gifts fit for a king?  Ah, it seems that there was. 

The gold was fairly easy for me.  Gold was a gift presented to kings.  It was the most precious metal when Jesus was born and it symbolized royalty.  The wise men (Gentiles) recognized that Jesus Christ was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  The wise men realized that they were in the presence of a king--THE King! 

Frankincense, which was often burned, symbolized a prayer rising to the heavens.  Frankincense was a gift that symbolized the worship due a king.  These wise men recognized the sinless deity of Jesus that deserved their worship.  "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:  and the government shall be upon HIs shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9: 6  Not only was Jesus born a king, but He was God in human flesh. 

Another gift the wise men brought was myrrh.  Myrrh was a gum-like substance that was used to embalm the dead.  It was also used to dull pain.  Think about the significance of this gift.  Could these wise men somehow understand that this King they worshiped was born to die?  Myrrh was also offered to Jesus ~wine with myrrh~ in Mark 15: 22-23 "And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.  And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh:  but He received it not."  Instead of taking the drink that might numb His pain, the King of King CHOSE to taste death and endure the punishment meant for us because He loves us more than we could ever comprehend.  And, finally, to prepare Jesus' body for burial, Nicodemus brought myrrh (John 19:  38-40) 

So, the wise men brought the gold that symbolized that Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  They brought frankincense which symbolized Christ's sinless deity.  He was THE king worthy of worship!  And finally, they laid myrrh at His feet which symbolized the price that this King was willing to pay as Savior of the world--His sinless life given to save us all.  I don't think that kind of love can be bought from a store, wrapped up in a pretty package or found under anyone's tree.  THAT kind of love was found ON a tree  not under one where our Shepherd and King died for us.  Is there anything we can give Christ this CHRISTmas?  Everything is already His.  What can we give?  I think the wise men have the answer--We can worship Christ our King.  We can fall on our knees and worship Jesus and be a witness for Him.  He wants the WORLD to know that He died for me, for you, for them.  Are you willing to worship Him in all areas of your life?  Are you willing to be a witness for the King?  Herod opposed the King.  The Jews ignored the King.  The wise men sought and worshiped the King.  What will you do?