This is such a special week. But over the years I have found many cultural elements that are a part of our celebrations at Christmas that don’t make sense. The elf on the shelf is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of! (Sorry for the soapbox!) Another thing I have found funny is how we have constructed our nativity sets. What’s the problem with them? Well, there are lots of things. We know the shepherds visited Jesus in the manger so that part is right. But if you add the wise men, it becomes inaccurate because the wise men showed up later - anywhere from when Jesus was 3 months to 2 years old. But another problem of just a simple nativity with Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the shepherds is the timing. We know that the wisemen showed up with gifts around December 25th thus created the first Christmas. So next summer start setting out your simple nativity sets. Ha!

I know my critical mind can complicate things so much. What’s wrong with how or when we celebrate Immanuel coming to the planet as Savior and Lord? Nothing! Don’t let a critical spirit or a fun holiday tradition cause you not to look closer into a real world story like that of the wise men.

In scripture, we get a small glimpse into a really big story.

Matthew 2

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Ever wondered what caused these men to travel so far? Of course there are lots of theories of what exactly the star was that brought them (in my opinion, the theory with the most accuracy can be found here ), but the star isn’t the point. These wise men were searching for the newborn king of the Jews to worship. But they come and inquire of the King of the Jews concerning the mystery. So look closer. They went to Jerusalem to find the new baby king? Did they lose the star?

Here is one of those funny traditions we have. The star wasn’t giving a location but instead was announcing the arrival of the King of Kings! The stars are telling the wise men a story. This isn’t some form of twisted, pagan astrology that is wicked; it is a Holy Creator telling a story in the stars. The Psalmist says this:

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.

Let’s simplify this instead of bringing in our assumptions into our interpretation.

God did something in the sky for these men who were looking. That thing God did caused them to travel very far bearing gifts with the intent to worship. All the while, those who were the closest to the prophesies telling of the One who was coming weren’t looking and didn’t even remember the prophesies. They had to be reminded where Messiah would come from.

As we read this, there are three perspectives to examine. The ones searching for the new King, those not looking for the new King, and our perspective from the outside looking in. All of these perspectives are good to learn from.

As we seek to walk with God, we must be a people always seeking Jesus. When we discover something new about Him, we must pursue after it no matter the cost.

As we seek to walk with God we must know there is a fleshly struggle that we must win. In this struggle we must reject complacency and apathy in order to embrace the promises God has given us.

But this third perspective has similar characteristics of both of the previous two. As we read the scripture it MUST develop a worship in us that is only satisfied by sitting with the King of Kings. These wisemen didn’t follow a star. Their journey was one of worship. These wisemen followed Jesus.

Please understand my heart as I type this. Herod had the scripture and the wisemen didn’t. The wisemen saw something in the sky and choose not to worship the star but sought to worship the new King. As we celebrate this coming week, don’t worship the star or our holiday traditions. Don’t worship scripture even though it is God-breathed! Use both as keys to open the door into that intimate gathering with the King of Kings and Lord of Lord. Follow Jesus.

Merry Christmas!