COME TO WORSHIP
Prayer: Lord help us to take time to seek and worship Christ our King.
Scripture: 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.” Matthew 2:1-12 NIV
As soon as the Magi saw the star, they packed, chose significant gifts, and left to find the King of the Jews. Although they were not family – they were not even Jewish – they were watching and knew from the star that He had arrived. So, they hurried to go see and worship the new King. Many times we will see the three Wise Men, also known as Kings, set in our Manger scenes at Christmas but this is not the correct place for them. We always set ours away from the manger journeying towards it.
We do not know exactly when they reached Christ, although Scripture clearly states that He was in a house at that time. After reading countless pieces of research the average guess is between His second and third month depending on how quickly they left, how far they had to travel to Jerusalem, and how long they were with Herod. They could easily reach Bethlehem (6-9 miles away) in less than a day after leaving Jerusalem.
The summer my first niece was born we traveled to my parent’s house in Florida, thankfully by airplane and not by camel, and then packed with presents, drove to Atlanta to see her.
We were so excited, chatting about who she might look like, what personality she might have, and how she was going to drastically change the lives of my brother and sister-in-law. We discussed how first-time parents do not realize how a child will consume their hearts and yet when the baby comes it is the most awesome feeling and you gladly let them come before anything else.
I wonder what the Magi talked about on their long journey. Did they wonder what this King would look like, what His personality would be and how He would rule the Jews? Did they have any idea how Christ would change our lives and consume us with a love that we had never imagined or known? What do you think they talked about on their way home? We do know that they traveled far seeking to worship the newborn King.
My prayer for you is that you would take time to seek and worship Christ our King.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]