Contrary to our nativity scenes, their visit to Jesus likely occurred when he was a toddler in Nazareth. These seekers of the One True King can teach us a few important lessons this Christmas.
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. (Matthew 2:11 NIV)
Three Lessons We Can Learn From The Magi
- They pursued Jesus. While we don’t know precisely where the magi come from, many scholars think they may be descendants of ancient Babylonian astrologers. With that in mind, their journey to visit Jesus was likely 900 miles or more and would have taken 4-5 months.
- They Acknowledged Jesus as Savior and King. The Magi were the first gentiles to recognize and worship Jesus, acknowledging him as the long-awaited Messiah—their faith and adoration contrast with Herod’s deceitful intentions and the ignorance of the Jewish leaders.
- They Worshiped Jesus. The Magi presented precious gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These individually valuable and symbolically significant offerings were a fitting tribute to the newborn King. Worship means ascribing worth. The magi demonstrated that they were willing to sacrifice their time, personal safety, and objects of great material worth to honor Jesus.
Put it into Practice
In the midst of Christmas presents, baking, family, and more – set aside time to pursue and worship Jesus.
That might look like reading Luke 2 as a family or just sitting down with a cup of tea and spending a few minutes in prayer.
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Go deeper with Jesus & learn more about the context for Christmas.
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CHECK OUT THE PODCAST
This Christmas season, I’ll be sharing more about the context of Christmas and diving into the stories of many of the people who were important to his story. Each episode is a chance for you to grow deeper in your faith as you fix your eyes on Jesus.
