Matthew 2:11 is our focus passage for this week. It reads, “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (NJKV) As I read this verse, something came out from this text that I had never seen before. It was there all the time yet I had never seen this beautiful concept from the birth narrative of our Christ. That is what sometimes is so amazing about God’s Word – the freshness that speaks to us today. It is so very easy to read from the Bible, even do in depth study, and never get to the end of what God says. Scripture is alive. Hebrews 4:12 says it is alive, powerful and sharp, digging into our innermost being and discovering our thoughts and desires. So what is it that God’s Word has made me see with a new set of eyes this week? When these magi (this is to what the “they” refers) made their journey to Bethlehem seeking the new king, they made their way to the house where Jesus, Mary and Joseph were staying. This verse tells us of four actions involved – they came, they saw, they fell down and worshipped and they gave. These same actions are what draw us near to God today, even involving our salvation. Some actions may take split moments; others may take longer. These magi were seekers is a given as they were searching for a king. For some, this part of the action takes many years; for others this is a very short journey. Years ago I was privileged to sit down with a new believer. We compared our stories about knowing Christ. He was much older than I and as he told me of his journey, he spoke about seeking fellowship with God through many different sources and many differing religions. He told me that when he really encountered the Jesus of the Bible, he knew immediately knew his journey was over. He had come into the presence of Almighty God. That is the same action the magi did – they came into the presence of the new-born King of Kings. The second action performed by the magi was “they saw.” I can only imagine what it was like as these very learned men who had traveled so far to see something they had not expected to see. I am sure they expected to see a baby surrounded by the luxuries of royalty. Yet they saw a baby laying in most humble commonality. They saw no luxury; they saw no trappings of royalty. What they saw instead was what they had not expected. They saw a new kind of king. They saw God in the flesh. They saw Immanuel, God with us. They never before had encountered any god who turned himself into the fleshly form of mankind. They saw Jesus as the King and their lives were changed. And yes, I do believe their lives were changed forevermore. They had found that for which they had searched. So, they came and they saw. Then they “fell down and worshipped.” In the Greek language, these two words both carry the sense of falling down. I completely agree that the Holy Spirit was active in the process of bringing us Scripture. Here, the author uses these two words to convey a deep meaning to us. The first word pipto, means to fall. This is a physical act. But the other word, proskyneo, means to be prostrate before another. When we come before the King, when we see the King, then we fall flat on our faces because we realize we are not worthy to stand in the presence of the King. Do not misunderstand me; I am not saying we have to fall on our face when we accept Christ as our Savior. I am saying that we realize we are not worthy to stand before God on our own merits. It is only because of what Christ has done that we are able to stand before God Almighty. And then the magi presented Him their gifts; they gave. I love the verse by Christina Rossetti entitled “In the bleak midwinter.” You probably know this section of the poem by a different name. These are the last lines. What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart. So what do we do? We give Him our hearts.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 20:38:09 +0000
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