To Read: Matthew 2:11-12
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
The response of the wise men upon their entrance is important. They fell down before this baby – these are educated, wise men – and they look at a baby and feel they need to bow themselves before him. This is the power of the king. The text does not tell us how they worshiped him, but just that they worshiped. It was expressed somehow how they felt about this child. You can imagine that they were praising God in thanks for the Messiah who had come – and this is all in the power of God to transform hearts. The wise men were familiar with the prophecies concerning the Christ-child, and even followed the star as prophesied in Numbers 24. But they are not from a place where these beliefs would have been common – it is revealed to them by God himself, which is truly the way the Lord has revealed himself to all of us.
Look at the way the Lord graciously reaches them through a dream. This is not uncommon throughout the biblical story, as God had used dreams to communicate to Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph in separate incidents in the book of Genesis alone. He shows them the danger of returning to Herod, who would have almost certainly taken their lives. Or Herod could have forced them to show the location of Jesus. God is working his plan, which will include a flight from Bethlehem to Egypt for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus – an escape that has deep theological implications, to be covered in another devotional entry. Jesus would be protected by God the Father, until the time was right for him to go to the cross. But it’s also hugely important that these wise men are spared as well, as they would go back to their home, with full confidence that the Savior is here! The inclusion of the Gentiles is a massive theme throughout the gospels, as up until this point God worked through one nation, Israel, to provide blessing to other nations. Now that true blessing is here – the Savior of all who would believe from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
The Lord has orchestrated his story to show the inclusion of Gentiles right from the beginning of the life of Christ with these wise men. We will go through each of there gifts separately in future entries – as they have great importance as well. But be sure this Christmas to see yourself as part of this inclusion of the Gentiles, the gospel radiating from Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). You are the ends of the earth, as now people from every nation on earth will praise the name of the Lord. Praise be to God!
Song to Sing: The First Noel
This song was written in the early 19th century as an English carol, though it borrows the French word for the Christmas season, “Noel.” It’s a retelling of the birth narrative, largely using the gospel of Matthew for its lyrics.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, help us to remember where we stand in the biblical story, that we are ones, like the Wise Men who received this grace by your revelation – that you opened our eyes to our truth, and we have been given the greatest of all – faith in Christ. Amen.
Echoes of Eden: You will be astounded by the French movie “Joyous Noel” which was released in 2005. It’s the story of the “Christmas truce” in World War I when opposing soldiers heard each other singing Christmas hymns the night before a battle. They could not fight – and instead ate food together and celebrated the birth of the Savior.