The Magi went to the most-reasonable place to discover the newborn, Jewish King. After all, where else would He be but in Jerusalem? That’s the capital city! That’s where you would find God’s Temple. That was God’s city.
But when they arrive to join the party, all dressed up and on time, no one is celebrating. Excitement has not taken over the city. Those in Jerusalem are going about their daily routines: They are eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage. And so the overwhelmingly ordinary living of everyday life leaves these men perplexed, these men from the east.
They ask, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” To the astonished faces around them, they add: “For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship him.”
Word reaches old King Herod that rich visitors from the Eastern lands had arrived in Jerusalem. They were sitting on his doorstep, asking about the birth of the new King of the Jews, the Messiah. That troubled Herod. And not only him, but all Jerusalem with him. For when Herod was troubled, the rest of Jerusalem quaked in fear.
But that’s how it is. The birth of Jesus, even He who is the Prince of Peace, often brings about trouble. He’s trouble for those who want to be a king over God. He’s trouble for those who want to have the final say over their lives, over what they do, and how they live. For Jesus comes, not merely as a human, but also as the King.
Jesus is the King to whom we owe obedience. Of the Messiah, the Patriarch Jacob prophesied long ago: “To Him, the peoples’ obedience belongs” (Genesis 49:10). For no one may call Him Lord if he does whatever he pleases with his life. On the Last Day, Jesus will ask all such false disciples: “Why did you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but didn’t do what I said?” (Luke 6:46).
So the news of Easterners looking for the King of the Jews troubled Herod. But even as despicable and bloodthirsty that Herod was, he still knew where to turn. He called on the chief priests and scribes. He asked them where the Messiah would be born. Scripture gave the answer: In Bethlehem of Judea. Herod turned to the Church and to the Scriptures. Even from such a despicable king, we can learn where we, even today, still find Jesus: in the Church and the Scriptures.
The prophet Micah had foretold that Bethlehem would be the place of the Messiah’s birth. Bethlehem was an insignificant, little town whose only claim to fame was that it was the birthplace of King David–and that a thousand years before! Yet, Bethlehem was the place.
We should not let it escape us that these Magi needed more than a star to find Jesus. They needed the Word of God. And it’s the same with us. We do not find God for us in the beauty of nature. He’s not in the evening sunsets and mountain peaks. We do not find the Lord Christ in such places. For although these are all His and declare His glory, the place to find the Lord Jesus is in the words that He gave. You find the Word Himself, Jesus, in the Scriptures preached, taught, and read.
But how marvelous is the grace of God! For after giving the Magi the Word that pointed them directly to where the Christ was, He again added the star. This time the star did not fail them. It came to stand right over the place where the Child was.
And how they needed that little extra sign from God! For when they got there, they found a teenage mother with a baby living in poverty. They saw an ordinary baby boy. Silken garments and the finery of kings did not enrobe this child. Instead, they found a little boy dressed in working-class clothes. There, they saw the long-promised King of the Jews.
Did the Magi feel let down or disappointed? After all, the King they had sought for so long, from such distant lands, looked to be as ordinary as any other child. Was this King just the child of a peasant?
But look what they do! They don’t say: “He can’t be the One. He’s no King.” What do they do? They close their eyes to what they see and fasten before their eyes the Word of God. They believe, contrary to all that they see. They believe that what God has said is true, even when their eyes and feelings tell them otherwise.
There, before them was the Babe whose origins were from of old, from the days of eternity. They believe that He is the promised King come to be King, not only of the Jews, but of all people. He is the King of all who rest their final hope and confidence in Him. And so they fall on their knees–even on their faces–before the holy Child to worship the One on His mother’s lap.
They did not stumble at His poverty and lowly appearance. Instead, they brought out their gifts and offered them to Him. They brought Jesus gold. Gold confessed that He was a king. They brought him their treasures of earthly wealth, just as we do, confessing that Jesus is also our King, the One who owns all we have. In the gold, they even confessed that Jesus was God. They were simply returning to Him a portion of what He had given to them. But the gifts do not stop there.
They also bring Jesus frankincense. That was the incense used in worship to the one, true God, the incense that symbolized the prayers of the faithful rising to heaven as a sweet savor in the nostrils of God. That was the incense used in the Temple, which also testified to the true presence of God being there with His forgiveness. And so it is today. The Church still uses incense to symbolize our prayers rising to heaven and to testify to the true presence of Jesus on the Altar, who comes to bring us His forgiveness. But the gifts do not stop there.
They bring to Jesus myrrh. Of all gifts available in creation, why would they bring an aromatic resin used for burial for One so recently born? They were confessing that this Child came to die as the sacrifice for the sins of all. And is it still not true for us? Although we worship a risen-and-resurrected Lord, we in the Church heed the words of the Apostle Paul: “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
And so, here we are today as Christians, wanting to give to Jesus as the Magi did of old. For here is the One whom God the Father has given for us, to be Himself the bearer of our sin, the sacrifice of atonement for us. Why? So we might stand before God without stain, wrinkle, or blemish, a people beloved.
Jesus came to give us His all. And so we wish to give back to Him. But, in the end, what can we give to Him but ourselves? When we do that, we throw open the doors of our lives and say, “O Jesus, live within me and be my Lord.” That’s the prayer of those who renounce the rights over their own lives and surrender fully to Him.
And with Jesus, our Lord, that is the way it is to be. For the Holy Spirit doesn’t call us to half-hearted and weak-willed discipleship. For we are either the Magi or Herod. If we are the Magi, then we fall in worship before the Christ, giving Him our own gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. If we are Herod, we stomp our feet and do whatever it takes to get our own way.
This Epiphany, God gives to you again His gift of forgiveness. God pours out His forgiveness, even for those times when you’ve played the part of Herod, when you’ve killed the voice of the One who called you away from sin to live under His kingly rule and reign.
To you, He says: “Come, my child. Be my own and live under me in my Kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Follow my Word to where I give you my forgiveness. It’s not in Bethlehem, but here. It’s here in the bread and wine. Here is my Body and my Blood, for you, for forgiveness. Here, I give to you what was won at Calvary’s cross, so you may know that I am your King forever.”
And what will you say to the kind invitation of Your King? May your answer be: “Lord, may your Light rise and shine on me, so I may be yours forever.” Then you, too, will be filled with eternal joys beyond knowing. Amen.
