December 13, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Friday, December 13.
Our “Twelve Days of Christmas” journey continues, as we focus on the nativity characters who journeyed the farthest to see the Christ Child. Today we consider the kings, the wise men, the magi. Their story is presented in only one place in the Bible - the 2nd Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The 11th verse, perhaps, best sums up who they were and what they did. “When they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him; and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
You probably have at least one nativity scene set up in your house right now, and it undoubtedly features the shepherds on one side and the wise men on the other, gathered around the Holy Family in the stable. This is a lovely tradition, but as we learn from that verse, it is not true to biblical fact. The magi came to a house, not a stable, and they saw a child, not a baby. But, more important than where or when they encountered Jesus, is what they did when they met Him. The verse tells us that they “fell down.” This wasn’t a dignified bow from the neck or the waist, these regal visitors went to their knees and lowered their foreheads to the floor - the dusty, dirty floor. These were men of wealth and power and reputation, and they were wearing garments that Mary could only gaze at with awe. But none of that mattered when they came into the presence of the Son of God.
And we can’t forget their gifts. The gold - fit for a King. The frankincense - fit for a God. And the myrrh - to remind us all that this baby was born to die.
The next verse in Matthew 2 tells us “they returned to their country by a different way”. I’m guessing that that wasn’t the only thing different about these men. I imagine that the magi were changed profoundly, changed completely, changed forever. Just like it was for me and for you... when we met Jesus.
Meet you back here on Monday,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
