See and Believe

Matthew 2:9-10—After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

The magi keep searching, and they keep seeing. Often we don’t see great things from God because we stop searching for them. After all, Jesus promises us in Matthew 7:7-8—“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Dear friend, Jesus is not playing cosmic hide-and-seek. He wants to be found!

Notice how the magi respond when they find the place where Jesus resides: they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. (v.10) When’s the last time you rejoiced like that? When’s the last time you rejoiced like that over the things of the Lord?

But the magi still don’t stop. They’re not content to see Jesus from the outside. They want to be near Him. Matthew 2:11 continues, 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.

There is a sense in which these magi worship Jesus more purely than anyone else in Matthew’s gospel. After all, it’s a child being worshiped. Jesus didn’t become God. He was and is eternally God. Jesus wasn’t worthy of worship because of the miracles He would later perform. He was and is worthy of worship simply because of who He is. Does Jesus receive your worship only after He does something good for you? Does He receive your worship simply because of who He is?

It’s interesting as well that the magi give Jesus themselves before they give Him their gifts. Isn’t that a picture of what God wants from us? He wants you, not your stuff. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). The silver is His, the gold is His (Haggai 2:8). He doesn’t need your stuff, He wants you. And when He has you, really you, you on the inside-you, He has all you have too. How could it be any other way?

Here we also see why the magi were so happy. The only thing they wanted from Jesus was Jesus. They were overjoyed to see Him, not to receive something from Him. They just wanted Him. What about us? Do we love Jesus or what He can give us?

Make no mistake, Jesus does give good gifts to His people! But His greatest gift is Himself. Don’t love His gifts more than Him!

Matthew 2:12—And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

After this we never hear from them again. I wonder if they ever struggled to believe what they saw that day. If they’re anything like the other disciples in Matthew’s gospel, they did. If they’re anything like you and me they did. I think Matthew’s silence about “the rest of the story” is deliberate. Because these magi aren’t the heroes of the story.

Who put the star in the sky and enabled them so see it? Who revealed to the magi what the star meant? Who led them to Jerusalem and let them hear where Messiah would be born? Years before, who told the prophet Micah that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem? Who led the star to stop over the house where Jesus’ family was staying? Who warned them in a dream not to return to Herod? The hero of the story is a pursuing God who will stop at nothing to bring sinners on their knees before King Jesus.

If you don’t know Him, ask Him to draw you!

If you know Him, lower your head in humility. Jesus Himself said, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27). You don’t know Jesus because you’re good but because He’s good.

But don’t keep your eyes down for long. Lift your head in joyful worship, because God was happy to reveal Himself to you. He loves you so much He sent His Son to die for you. He loves you so much He pursued you and drew you to Himself. Praise Him!