Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)

Desiring To Worship God

The birth of Jesus is the most important story in the history of the world. No man was ever as great as Jesus before His birth than the Son of God. The birth of Jesus had been foretold since the beginning of time and retold through the ages in messianic psalms. No child held such awe and wonder as the little boy the wise men found in Bethlehem. Very little is known of the wise men who came from the East. The Holy Spirit does not reveal their names, how many there were, and whence they came. Matthew records the wise men came from the East, suggesting they had traveled a long way. The word means the men came from the direction of the sun’s rising.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem and lived there for a few years. After the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary secured a house to live in. When the men from the East came, Jesus was around the age of two years. The wise men never saw Jesus in a manger, and the star they followed was never above the manger. That story is a fable and false to its core. When the wise men found Jesus, the family was living in a house, and according to the time used by Herod to kill the male children of Bethlehem, Jesus was near the age of two.

The men from the East had a purpose in coming to Bethlehem. They wanted to worship Jesus. How they knew about Him can only be assumed by divine revelation. The Holy Spirit did not tell them precisely where Jesus was as they came first to Jerusalem seeking Jesus. They were told the child was in Bethlehem, just a few miles from Jerusalem. Following the star, they came to the house where Jesus was and Joseph and Mary. When they came into the house, the wise men fell down before the young toddler and worshipped Him. After leaving gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and being divinely warned, the wise men departed for their own country in a different way than how they came.

What made these men travel such a long distance to worship a young child? Was it hundreds or thousands of miles they traveled? How long did their journey take? What possessed them to leave their homeland and make the long, difficult, and dangerous journey to an obscure town in Judah to bring gifts to a small child? They wanted to worship Jesus. The hearts of the men were entirely devoted to doing whatever it took to see the young Child and give Him honor and praise. When they returned home, they could tell their family and friends they had seen the Messiah. Any criticism given for taking the journey was dismissed for the joy in their hearts for a small amount of worship.

Worship is a privilege where humanity is allowed to stand in the presence of the Divine to praise, honor, and express thanksgiving for all that God has done. For many, worship is a boring exercise of rote songs, passages, and liturgies. It is hard to have them drive two miles in an air-conditioned vehicle to sit in a temperature-controlled room on padded seats. Worship becomes drudgery. If the preacher goes one minute beyond the allotted divine time as allowed in the book of Third Hezekiah, a rebellion ensues. The wise men came from the East to do one thing – worship Jesus.

When the treasurer of Ethiopia decided to worship God, he traveled thousands of miles to leave his home in Ethiopia to make a journey to Jerusalem, knowing he would have to make the trip again to go home. His devotion to worship was clear. No matter what it took, the Ethiopian eunuch would worship God in Jerusalem. Such devotion is needed for true worshipers today. Church services are out of context with the other six days of the week because the other six days of the week are out of context with the meaning of worship. Are you glad when it is time to assemble with the saints at a house of God? How much trouble does it take for you to go and worship the Lord and honor Him? Would you travel a long distance just to worship a young child? Wise men sought Jesus long distance, and those who seek Jesus today are not concerned by what it takes to worship Him. When it is time to worship, they assemble with God’s people.