Becoming Like a Wise Man

Matthew 2:1-12
2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 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. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 

We don’t know much about the Wise Men of the traditional Christmas story.  Matthew’s depiction leaves lots to the imagination.  We don’t know the number of these wise men but tradition suggests three.  Some scholars hold that there were three because three gifts were given so therefore it must have been three kingly wise men that presented those gifts.  Some scholars suggest that there were many of them each had a great entourage that accompanied them from the east. Nevertheless, we do know that these men, however many there were, had knowledge from their studies that made them search for the promised king of the Jews.  Matthew shows these men being from the East.  It is not certain but this could have meant Arabia, Persia, or Mesopotamia.  Daniel 2:48 tells us that “the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him.  He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.”  Could it be that these wise men mentioned in the Christmas story were descendants of those that had been influenced by Daniel’s teachings?  It would make sense for God in His created order to do something that would set the precedent for something else later on down the road.  God has a way of orchestrating things that seem to be a domino effect, one thing leading to another.  This is very evident in Matthew 2:1-12.  You have these scholars that somehow knew enough theology to search for the promise of the messiah.  They knew about prophecies that we now know as part of the Old Testament like Numbers 24:17 that states “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near.  A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”  Or Micah 5:2 that states “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 old, from ancient times.”  These scholars had long studied the stars and the way they affected human lives.  They were first influenced by these sacred writings now seeing these signs and prophecies coming to fruition.  It is interesting to note that the coming of the Messiah was announced to Jewish shepherds through angels and to these gentile philosophers by a star. God speaks to us through our own language and reveals Himself to us in ways that we can understand.  This reminds the readers that God’s gift of Christ is for all nations and all mankind!  The wise men were intrigued by this star enough to follow it.  They operated with certainty.  They knew it was the sign of a king being born.  Their wonder propelled their action.  The wise men had a sense of wonder.
Had they been fans of old hymns and gospel music, they may have heard the song that George Beverly Shea used belt out:
The Wonder of It All.
There's the wonder of sunset at evening,
The wonder as sunrise I see;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is the wonder that God loves me.

Refrain
O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.
O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.

Verse 2
There's the wonder of springtime and harvest,
The sky, the stars, the sun;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is a wonder that's only begun.
The wise men were fascinated by their wonder.  But notice that their wonder led them to worship.
Verses 10 and 11 state “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.”
The worship of the wise men is significant, but how they worshiped him is extraordinary.  They bowed down.  When was the last time you heard about someone that was scholarly and well-studied that bowed down?  Just the other day I was in a conversation with a young lady that talked about her college psychology professor.  He would not allow any discussions except on what he had written.  This student made the observation that this professor needed to have his ego stroked.  While it is understood that there are many great scholars that have great faith, it seems that they are in the minority.  It is very interesting how these scholars approached the Christ Child.   They found where the star had stopped and they were overjoyed.  When was the last time that you entered into a place of worship overjoyed?  Once they came into the house, we are told they bowed and worshiped.  They opened their treasures and gave Him their gifts.  Matthew is very clear about the gifts that were presented.  There is much significance in these gifts from which we can learn much.  These kingly scholars presented Him with a little more than pampers, baby wipes and a rattle.  They presented Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Through their studies that led them to be looking for that star, they knew that this child was more than just a cute baby.  So they presented Him gifts that indicated they understood this child to be so much more.  The gifts came from their personal treasures and seemingly were planned with great consideration.  How many times just this week did we take gifts to another house or presented gifts to those we love.  Hopefully, there was some thought put into your gift giving.    The wise men presented 3 gifts to this holy child.  The first gift that Matthew shares with us is the gift of gold.  A golden gift in that day and culture meant you thought of your recipient as a king.  These wise men had confirmed through their studies that this child was not going to be a king, but this child was a king.  They presented him with gold.  Secondly, they presented him with frankincense.  Frankincense was used as part of the sacrificial giving in the temple.  It was presented by the priests as an offering for the atonement of sins for the people.  In doing so, the priests were mediators that helped the unrighteous people be made right with a very righteous God.  This purification ritual had to be done on many occasions.  The third gift was myrrh.   Myrrh was used as an embalming fluid.  It was
placed on the body of one that died so that body could be made ready for burial.  Do you see the significance of these gifts?  These very wise men recognized Jesus as the King of all Kings.  They saw Him as the priestly mediator between a sinful world and a Holy God.  They knew one day He would die as the Savior.  I am not sure if they knew for sure that His death would be for the atonement for all people, but they knew enough to present Him with gifts of great significance.
Matthew describes the wonder and the worship in specific detail. He also gives us some insight into the fact the after they worshiped Him, they were different.  They were able to recognize that a change had happened in their lives.  Verse 12 of this passage states, “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”  An interesting note here, that the word “warn” is used later on in this chapter in verses 13, 19, and 22.  It is also used in Matthew 27:19 when Christ was being tried by Pilate.  “While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife went him this message: ‘Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of Him.’”  In Hebrews 11:7, we are reminded that “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.  By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”  The wise men wondered about what they had seen and heard, they worshiped the king, priest and savior, and they received a sense of wow that caused them to live different lives.  When was the last time you were “wowed?”  When I study scripture and see how it continually interprets itself and how it comes to fruition in my life, I simply say wow.

What gifts are you bringing to the Christ child right now?  Perhaps, like me, you don’t have gold or frankincense or myrrh to bring.  However, in our heart of hearts, we can acknowledge this Christ Child as King.  We can understand Him to be the priestly mediator between a sinful people and a Holy God.  We can recognize Him as Savior and Lord, having died so that once and for all our sins, our unrighteous condition, could be atoned for and that you and I can have life and have it abundantly.  If we come this day recognizing and giving these gifts, we can live a life that guided by the very presence of God, and we can be WOWED.