Tradition holds that there were three wise men
because three different gifts were brought to the Lord Jesus. Yet the scriptures never state how many wise
men came to the Lord. They do indicate
there were at least two because the wise men are always spoken of in plural
form. But we actually don’t know the
exact number of wise men who came to see their Lord Immanuel.
Another tradition
about the wise men has them coming while the Lord was still a newborn in the
stable in Bethlehem. This has probably
come about to make the telling of the Christmas story easier. But the scriptures indicate Jesus was no
longer in the stable and that a year or two had passed since His birth. For example, when the wise men found Jesus,
they found Him in a house. Herod sent
out his soldiers to kill all infants under the age of two, indicating time had
passed. It was also very likely that the
wise men were following the new star that came at the time Jesus was born,
meaning some time would have passed between His birth and the time they found
Him.
But it really
doesn’t matter how many wise men there were or how long it took them to reach
their Lord Jesus. What matters is the
obvious fact these men were men of God.
This is made very evident throughout their story.
The first piece
of evidence these men were men of God is the fact they knew the scriptures
concerning the birth of Jesus and quoted these scriptures to Herod. They also knew what the star meant and knew
they could follow it to the place of the Christ child. This indicates these men spent a considerable
amount of time studying the scriptures.
They trusted the words of the scriptures and looked forward to the time
the Savior would come to earth. They watched
for the signs of His coming and were ready to respond when they saw these
signs.
We live in a time
that has also been prophesied in scriptures.
The Lord has indicated through modern day prophets that His coming is
nigh at hand. The scriptures provide
several prophecies of this time and the time of His Second Coming. We can learn from the example of the wise
men. We can study the scriptures and
learn the prophecies so we are ready when He comes again.
Another excellent
example of their faith comes from the manner in which they sought the Lord
Jesus. These wise men travelled from
afar. Undoubtedly this journey cost them
a lot of money and time. But these men
were not concerned with the time it took.
They were not concerned with the money it would cost. They were coming to see their Lord, and knew
it would be worth any cost. So they spent
the money for the journey, they spent the money for precious gifts, and they
gave a large amount of time so they could see their King Immanuel. They had already come unto the Messiah in
their hearts, and they demonstrated it by coming unto Him in their deeds as
well.
Do we have this
kind of faith in our King Immanuel? Do
we know that no price is too high for finding our precious Lord? Are we willing to sacrifice our time and
earthly goods for the sake of coming unto Christ? As the wise men knew, we must come unto
Christ in our hearts and our deeds. No
price is too high, for the blessings that are gained by coming unto Him far
exceed any cost.
Finally we see
the faith of these great men when they chose not to return to King Herod. King Herod had asked them to bring him word
of the Christ child so he, too, could worship at His feet. But the wise men were warned of God not to
return to Him. They knew they were
defying a man who ruled over the Jews.
But they didn’t care what title he carried, what money he had, or what
power he carried. God had given them
instruction. They would honor and obey
God, not man. What a great example for
us to follow in our lives as well.
The wise men who
came to see Jesus were righteous men.
They had a testimony that the young child was the Son of God, the Chosen
Messiah. They knew that He would bring
them life and liberty. Wouldn’t it be
wonderful if we could all have that testimony in our lives as well? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we would be
willing to come unto Him and receive the blessings He has for us?
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