ETERNAL
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, fill me with your presence today and have your love flow through me to those I interact with today.
Read MATTHEW 2:1–12
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Magi Visit the Messiah
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] 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 when it rose 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 Messiah 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 shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”
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 search carefully 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 when it rose 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, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:1 Traditionally wise men
- Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2,4
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord’ (John Francis Wade, 1841). Reflect on these lyrics.Notice once again the arrangement of Jesus’ family tree into three groups of 14 names (1:1–17). It was designed by Matthew to focus on Abraham, then David and the Jews’ exile in Babylonia. Finally, Jesus was the climax of the story. As well as being the One to bless all nations and rescue them from the worst that can happen to them—separation from God—Jesus also fulfilled God’s promise to David: ‘Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever’ (2 Samuel 7:16).
Now, however much or little the astrologers knew about who Jesus was, they, unlike King Herod, certainly realized he was a king (vv. 1, 2) and brought gifts, at least one of which was chosen for a king (the gold). Isaiah’s prophecy of nations coming to the Lord’s light (Isaiah 60:3) started to be fulfilled right here.
In Revelation 11:15, we see how all the kingdoms of the earth and the kingdom of heaven belong to Jesus. Reflect on Revelation 5:6–10. The environment of heaven is worship of Jesus the Lamb, who is also the King.
Apply
How amazing it was that one of the hymns Queen Elizabeth II chose for her funeral (‘Love Divine’) included the line ‘Till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love and praise’ (Charles Wesley, 1747).
Closing prayer
King Jesus, with the host of heaven, I worship you. Use all of who I am and all of what I do as an offering of thanksgiving. Make my life one of praise that shows others who you are.
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