After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, scholars from the East arrived in Jerusalem asking around town, “Where’s the recently born king of the Jews? We followed His star and we’re here to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2
Why is it that some can recognize the presence of Christ, while others miss it entirely?
All my life I have been fascinated by these scholars—these “Wise Men” or the Magi. Who were they? How far did they travel? And how did they know? How did they know that this was no ordinary king? How did they know that the star signified more than just a new regime, but rather a king who needed to be worshiped?
There was a star. Surely other people saw it. Yet no one else followed the star so far as we know. Why?
These kings or astrologers or whatever they were arrived at city that was clueless. The greatest events of history were happening in nearby Bethlehem, but nobody seemed to know anything about it. It took someone from the outside to point it out.
I don’t know the answers to most of these questions. I’m not sure God provides answers to them.
But I do know that the One who was born under the star still wants to be found. He wants to be found by every part of us, including the parts that forgot to look. He wants to be found not only by the religious part of us, but also by the scared part, the tempted part, the angry part, the apathetic part, the hopeful part. Let’s take the journey to Bethlehem. Let’s find the One who came to put us back together.
Bible trivia:
Answer from last time: Although the traditional answer is three, the Bible does not say how many Magi or Wise Men came to visit the child Jesus.
New question: How soon after the shepherds visited baby Jesus did the Magi (Wise Men) visit?
