F O O T H O L D
READING
3 WISE MEN WORSHIP
PRAY Prepare my spirit for
worship, Lord, as I read the Bible today.
READ Matthew 2:1-12.
THINK Contrast the reactions
of Herod and the Wise Men.
FOCUS 'Jesus was born' (1).
what a triumphant declaration! Through the
centuries God had waited for
this moment when his plan of
redemption would finally
move into full power. These wise men came
searching for the 'King of
the Jews' (2). The star led them, by its
appearance, to Judea.
Naturally, the first place that they looked
was the palace of the king.
But Jesus was not there!
Herod was a cruel, corrupt
king who, it seems, would stop at
nothing to retain his power.
So he used his privilege and power in
an attempt to find the young
king. He knew that if he did not find
him he would have all
eligible candidates killed. Few more cynical
words than those in verse 8
have ever been uttered by a human
being.
The wise men looked again to
the star, and God continued to lead
them to the place where the
child was. By this time Mary, Joseph
and Jesus were in a house (11),
having moved from the temporary
shelter of the stable.
Once again try to imagine
the scene as these wealthy men fell down
and worshipped the child in
humble home.
And so they gave their gifts:
gold - the sign of his kingship,
frankincense - used in
incense by priests for hundreds of years,
myrrh - bitter substance
used in burials. Jesus had come to be
King, Priest and Sacrifice.
PRAY Take time for praise.
As a theme for worship, complete the
sentence: 'Because Christ
was born ...'
