Skip to main content

Wise men (and women) still seek Jesus.

Matthew 2:1-12
The star, which lay ahead of the wise men, led them to Christ’s first coming. The “star”, which lies ahead of us leads us towards Christ’s Second Coming. If we are wise, we will keep the Second Coming of the Lord at the forefront of our attention. As the wise men were ready for Christ’s first coming, so we must be ready for His Second Coming. This is emphasized in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). The wise are ready for the Coming of the Lord. The foolish are not ready for His Coming. “Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (v. 13). What was the “star” which led the wise men to Jesus? Was it not the same “star” which leads us towards His Second Coming ? - the “star” of Holy Scripture, the Word of God (Matthew 2:5). We must be guided by the Scriptures if we are to find our way to Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). The Scriptures will bring us wisdom. They lead us to Jesus. As we come to Christ, we will discover that He is our Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-27a, 30a; 2:1-7, 10, 12-13).
What a great difference there is between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God which is Jesus Christ! In Matthew 2, we see the wisdom of man. Herod thought he was smart (vs. 8, 12). God is not impressed by man’s wisdom - “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever, I will thwart … Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world” (1 Corinthians 1:19-20). The wisdom of God is very different from the wisdom of this world. God’s wisdom fills us with joy (Matthew 2:10). God’s wisdom leads us to worship Christ (Matthew 2:2, 11). The wise men brought costly gifts to Jesus. This runs counter to the wisdom of this world. Worldly wisdom tells us to acquire riches rather than giving them away to Jesus. When we give ourselves to Jesus, the world may say, “What a waste!” The Word of God assures us that giving our time, talents and money to the Lord is never a waste. When, in joyful worship, we give ourselves to Jesus, He saves us from wasting our lives on things that can never satisfy. Looking to Him, we become less attached to the things we cannot keep - material possessions - and we learn to treasure the one thing that remains forever - eternal life.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lord, we worship You in the place of worship...

Psalm 48:1-14 Lord, we worship You in the place of worship – “Within Your Temple, we meditate on Your unfailing love.” Help us to go out from there, and play our part in seeing that Your praise “reaches to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 48:: 9-11). How will other people know of Your love, if we don’t tell them? How will they find their way to Your House, if we don’t invite them? When we share Your Word with others, help us to remember Your promise: “My Word… will not return to Me empty, but will… achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Three - October

1st October: Ezekiel 38:1-23 We read here of God's judgment upon 'Gog from the land of Magog': 'When Gog attacks the land of Israel, My hot anger will be aroused...I will execute judgment upon him...' (1,18,22). The names 'Gog and Magog' are also found in Revelation 20:7-10. There, we read of rebellion against God - 'They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people...' - and God's judgment - 'Fire came down from heaven and consumed them'. In this divine judgment upon 'Gog and Magog', we see the Lord's final triumph over 'Satan': 'The devil who had deceived Gog and Magog was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur' to be 'tormented day and night for ever and ever'. 'Hallelujah! Our Lord God Almighty reigns' (Revelation 19:6). 2nd October: Ezekiel 39:1-29 Gog's defeat points forward to Satan's final defeat (1-6; Revelation 20:10). We look...

The New Birth

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew (from above), he cannot see the Kingdom of God” ( John 3:3 ). (1) The absolute need of the new birth – because of sin ( Romans 3:23 ); (2) The Gospel basis for the new birth is the death of Christ for us ( Titus 3:3-7 ). (3) The indispensable condition for the new birth is personal faith in Christ ( John 1:12-13 ). (4) The spiritual character of the new birth – by the Spirit through the Word ( 1 Peter 1:23-25 ); (5) The spiritual benefits of the new birth:      (a) a child of God ( Galatians 4:4-6 );      (b) a new creation ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 );      (c) partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1;3-4);      (d) sharing in Christ’s victory ( 1 John 5:4-5 );      (e) eternal life ( 1 John 5:11-12 ).