Matthew 2:1-12: Bringing Worship to the Baby Jesus

"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 saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2

In Matthew 2:1-12, we see the famous story of the magi and how they brought gifts to Jesus. Although I personally don't have time this morning to do a full devotional on this entire passage, one thing stood out to me this morning that I'd like to discuss, that is, how the magi brought their worship to Jesus. In this Christmas season, let us ask ourselves this question: are we bringing our worship to Jesus?

The matter of fact is that we will all worship something. You were created to worship, and if you aren't worshiping Jesus, you will be worshiping something else. As an outpouring of their worship, the magi gave gifts to Jesus, the famous gold, frankincense, and myrrh. At its core, that is what worship is: the giving of ourselves towards something else. That is what the magi did to Jesus, but it is what we often do to our cell phones, our jobs, and our spouses, We all make sacrifices for something, the question is whether that something is Jesus, for a false idol.

So, this Christmas, as you consider the birth of the Savior, ask yourself: does he have all my worship? The magi surrendered the best of their gifts to Christ, what are you surrendering the best of your gifts to? Have you worshiped Christ by offering to him your talents and treasures, or have you kept them for yourself? The magi give us a beautiful picture of what it truly looks like to live our lives sold out to Christ. I pray that this Christmas season might be a refocusing of our lives to do that as well. Amen!