Truths of Christmas

Matthew 2:1-12 – Truths of Christmas (Pt. 1)

The context of the Christmas story in the gospel of Matthew magnifies for us this truth, a truth that is often overlooked in our busy-ness -- the importance of worship. In only twelve verses, the word "worship" occurs three times. It refers both to the devotion of the wise men who wanted to bow down before the newborn King of the Jews and the scheme of Herod who wanted only to kill Jesus. And we can see by these references that worship can be sincere and genuine, or it can be trivial and false. But understand this. True worship does not originate with plans and programs or orders of service. It starts in a heart that has experienced the saving grace of God. When we are truly saved by believing in the babe born in Bethlehem and crucified on Calvary, resurrected and ascended into heaven, then we will truly desire to worship Him because worship essentially is our response to God's grace. Methods and mannerisms do not make us true worshipers. Observing outward rituals cannot accomplish God's purpose in our lives. But as we worship Him, we truly desire to give ourselves completely to Him. The wise men revealed the truth of worship, a truth that we can learn from.

The first lesson in genuine worship is "seeking the presence of the Holy one." And that, my friends, is not always easy. Look at the effort of the wise men. Their identity is uncertain. Tradition has left us with the ideas that they were kings and that their number was three. The expression "wise men" comes from the Greek word "magoi" and bears some relationship to our English word magician. The phrase "from the east" indicates their origin. They probably were from ancient Persia and were experts in astronomy and astrology. The star that suddenly appeared in the sky had seized their curiosity, but know this. They came not to worship a star but to worship the King of Kings. These men who were considered pagans by the Jewish people believed that this child to be born in Bethlehem would usher in a new age, an age of grace.

The wise men's journey wandered across mountains and deserts on camels and on foot maybe as much as a thousand miles so that they could worship the one born "king of the Jews." And we have difficulty driving 10 miles in our automobiles. Their determination to worship the Messiah makes our efforts at worship seem small by comparison. Sometimes we complain about how long the service lasted, but my friends, worship in not an activity that occurs for only one hour on Sunday. Worship is a daily desire for a relationship with God. It is yearning to love Him and seeking to pleas Him with our attitudes and actions, not just one day of the week but every day of the year.