00:00Day 3 The Magi
00:07Reflection
00:08One of the most difficult parts for a modern-day Christian to understand about the Bible's account
00:14of Jesus' birth is the fact that there weren't more Jewish people celebrating it, especially
00:20Jewish religious leaders. Why didn't they realize he was the Messiah? Why weren't they
00:26waiting at his stable, having studied the prophecies and put the pieces together? We don't know.
00:32The chief priests and scribes knew where Christ was to be born, at least it seems they found that
00:38information eventually based on what is said in Matthew 2 verse 6. But we see no evidence of them
00:45making a journey with the expectation of meeting him. Do you know who does pursue Christ in Matthew
00:512? Some wise men. The Magi we also call them. These men are mysterious to us in many ways
00:59as we wonder what exactly they did, where exactly they came from. We know relatively little about
01:05them. We don't even know how many of them there were. We know they were not priests, not Jewish
01:12religious leaders of any sort. Rather they were likely people, whose practices included astrology,
01:18dream interpretation, study of sacred writings, the pursuit of wisdom, and magic according to the
01:25notes in the ESV study Bible. Maybe not the people we would have expected to be so earnestly searching
01:32for the infant Messiah. But they were wisdom seekers. The Bible says in Proverbs 2, 3-6,
01:40Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
01:45if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the
01:50fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come
01:56knowledge and understanding. So little is known about the wise men, the Magi, in the Matthew 2
02:03Christmas story that it's difficult for us to know too much about them. Were they seeking God when they
02:09started this journey? What were their motivations? Did they find the star during their studies of the
02:15night sky by what appeared to be chance? And if so, how did they connect it to the Messiah's birth?
02:22We don't know for sure. We don't even know how many of them there were. But we can be relatively
02:28sure that they were wisdom seekers. It appears that years had passed by the time the Magi reached Jesus.
02:35Matthew 2-11 mentions, The house they found Jesus in, and many scholars believe it was up to two years
02:43after his birth. Not only were these relatively unknown men devoted wisdom seekers, but they were
02:49determined. Two years. Two years. What was the last thing you wanted for two years, that you sought out
02:57and hoped for for that long? Again, we don't know for sure what they thought, but it's interesting to
03:03imagine. Did they realize the full impact this little child would have on them? They said from the
03:09beginning, Matthew 2-2, We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him, so worship was
03:17always their intention. Can you imagine being so captivated by this desire that you devoted two
03:23years of your life to it? These men did. And when they saw him, they did worship him, a little child
03:30who was fully man and yet also fully God. They gave him gift, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
03:37And then they left, but they didn't go back to Herod as the king had demanded they do.
03:43Matthew 2-12 says, And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own
03:50country by another way. These wisdom seekers must have had sensitive hearts to not only follow a star for
03:57two years to worship God's Son, but to identify their dream as having meaning, and having the faith to
04:03not question it, but to do as the dream had said. Pray, Father God, as we search our own hearts this
04:10Christmas season, may we learn from the wise men more about what it means to seek after wisdom,
04:16and to seek after you. And may doing so become the desire of our own hearts. Amen.
