The Margin Of The Magis

Read Matt 2:1-8

“Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews?”

Matthew 2:2

The familiar story of the magi, a name given to a philosopher class in Persia, is told in order to further define who Jesus is. Alerted by the appearance of an unusual star, the magi traveled to Judea to honour One born to be King. Their arrival caused consternation, and Herod demanded to know where such a person might be born. The answer was found in Micah 5:2: the promised Ruler was to be born in Bethlehem.

Herod’s claim that if the Child were identified he would

“go and worship Him” was a revealing lie! It was a lie, because the aging Herod, destined to live only a few more months, intended to kill the Infant. The determined king, who had ordered the execution of his own sons when he thought they threatened his throne, could not bear the thought of anyone but him ruling his domain. The phrase “go and worship” was revealing, because the word “worship” helps us realize that scholarly Jews in the first century understood the Old Testament to teach that the Messiah would be God as well as man (cf. Micah 5:4).

It’s never enough to know who Jesus is. Those who acknowledge His supernatural birth, but fail to commit themselves to Him as Saviour, are very like Herod. They too are unwilling to acknowledge Jesus’ right to the throne – this time the throne of their lives. If Jesus is King and we are His devoted followers, then we gladly open the doors of our lives to Him. We surrender all of our lives to His rule and reign.

Read Matt 2:9-12.

“They were overjoyed”

Matthew 2:10

The magi serve as a positive model of response to Jesus, even as Herod serves as a negative model. These foreign visitors came joyfully to the house where the little family lived. There they worshiped the Baby, and “opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts.”

The gifts recorded are the traditional gifts given to royalty – gold, incense, and myrrh. More significant, however, is the pattern we see here. They worshiped Jesus. They then opened their treasures. And then presented Him with gifts.

Too often we human beings worship our treasures. Money, or the things money can buy, become the focus of our lives. When we worship wealth we have no room for Jesus, or for others. We hug our treasures close to us, unwilling to part with them for any cause. This leads to a life that is denied of financial margin.

Worshiping Jesus frees us from materialism. Our “treasures” lose their grip on our hearts. We willingly give to the Lord and that brings Him to rule and reign over our financial world .