Matthew 2:1-12 NKJV
“Worship According to Wise Men”
December 24, 2023
As we learn how the wise men worship the Lord 2000 years ago, they reveal certain characteristics of worship that should also be true in our own worship today. Their Worship Was Intentional. These men came to Jerusalem for the sole purpose of worship. Worship was why they left their homeland. Worship was why they brought their treasure. Worship was why they journeyed. Worship was at the heart of everything we see them do in this passage. “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?... for we have come to worship Him.” We should always come to His house with worship as our goal. We should approach Him in prayer with worship on our hearts. We should open His Word seeking Him in a spirit of worship. Worship should not be something that “just happens” to us; it should be something we set our hearts on. It should be something we seek. We ought not sing just because the congregation is singing! We ought not bow in prayer just because it is time to pray. We ought not open our Bibles just because it is time for the sermon. We should determine in our hearts that every song, every prayer, every sermon, every deed, every day, and every breath will be an act of worship designed to glorify our Heavenly Father. Jesus said, “the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23. I do not know what the Lord has done for you, but I know what He has done for me! I know about the day He saved me. I know about the times He has moved my mountains. I know about His grace, His mercy and His glory. I know these things, and the least I can do is worship Him for them! Hebrews 13:15 says, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” The Bible calls upon us to “shout” unto Him in praise; to “clap” our hands to call attention to Him, Psalms 47:1. The Psalmist says, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Psalm 98:4. When these magi came to worship, they did not worship on the cheap. Their worship cost them something. The wise men gave to Jesus in 3 important ways. They gave of their Time, their Treasure, and their Trust.
I. v. 2 THEY GAVE THEIR TIME We are told that the wise men came “from the east”. We are not told exactly where they came from, but nearly all scholars are in agreement that it was most like that they came from Mesopotamia. If that is true, then these men travelled several hundred miles to get from their homes to worship Jesus. It would have been a tedious journey that would have taken several months to complete. It would have required great expense and much time away from home and family. It would have been a journey fraught with danger and trouble. Yet, they made the trip and paid the price because they deemed Jesus worthy of worship. Worship will still cost you time today! Most of us can be at church in less than 30 minutes. It is not a long journey for us to come this way. If you come to Sunday School or Bible Study or Hour of Power or Noon Prayer or maybe a practice or a ministry assignment, you are here 4 or 5 hours per week? Real worship is an investment in time every day you live. It takes time to pray and seek the Lord’s face. It takes time to deal with sin in your life. It takes time to prepare the heart for worship. You can’t live out in the world all week and walk into church ready to meet Him in worship. There must be some time spent preparing the soul. There must be time spent in repentance of sin; in feeding the soul on the Word of God; and in private worship. When you see people who truly worship in public; you are seeing people who have already spent time worshiping in private. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1.
II. v. 11 THEY GAVE THEIR TREASURE These men came before the Lord and they gave gifts to Him. They gave Him “gold, frankincense and myrrh”. The Gold Presents Jesus As Our Potentate. The Frankincense Presents Jesus As Our Priest. The Myrrh Presents Jesus As Our Propitiation. All three were costly gifts that did not come cheap, yet they gave them to Jesus, Who was just a small child, and they gave them to Him with no strings attached! They walked into that house and they “opened their treasures” and “they presented unto Him gifts”. They carried those gifts hundreds of miles, and they willingly gave them away because they wanted to honor Him in worship. That should speak to us today! We ought to look at our giving as worship. If you can’t give your tithes and offerings to Him with gladness, you would be better off keeping them for yourself. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” If you can’t give to Him with no strings attached, you really haven’t given Him anything. It is a privilege to give to the Lord! The only reason I have anything to give to Him is because He has first given to me! Everything we have is the gift of the Lord! James says, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights...” Let’s determine in our hearts that we will not be cheap in our giving to the Lord. He has always been extravagant in His giving to us. We ought to be just as extravagant in our giving to Him! You’ll never beat God giving! Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." Luke 6:38. Jesus said, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:20.
III. v. 12 THEY GAVE THEIR TRUST While these men gave financially, the greatest treasure they gave to God that day was their trust. These men were no ordinary men. Our text calls these men “wise men.” Some versions translate it, “magi.” The Magi were men skilled in philosophy, medicine, religion, and natural science. We have been taught that there were three of them and they came alone. We probably made this assumption because there were three gifts but the Bible does not say that there were only three men. All the evidence seems to suggest that these men represented a priestly class that held significant power in the area around ancient Babylon. More likely, there was a large group and they were probably accompanied by guards to protect the treasures on the journey. These wise, educated, sophisticated men laid aside all pretense and pride and they gave their adoration and worship to the Lord Jesus Christ. They “fell down” before a little boy and they honored Him as their King! Then God warned the magi in a dream that they were in danger from King Herod, and they were to return to their homeland by a different route. They heeded the message of the Lord and went a different way. God has promised us in His Word that if we would just put our trust in Him, He will lead and guide us until we reach that Heavenly home. Our duty, therefore, is to listen for His voice and then respond in obedience when He reveals His will unto us. There are many who run to and fro looking for the answers to life’s questions. But God has already given us His perfect revelation and our job is to read it and follow it to the letter. Wise men still today listen for a Word from the Lord! When “they departed into their own country another way,” This showed us that those who put their trust in Jesus are always changed, 2 Corinthians 5:17. That is the power of his grace; that is the power of his salvation. If you place your trust in Jesus today, He will save your soul, change your direction and you will be a new creation. “Somebody said that I wouldn't make it. Somebody said that I couldn't take it. Oh, I'm not the same. I'm not the same! Everything, Oh, Everything has changed, because of Christ!” -W. Hawkins
