Following God the “Magi Way”

Expect something.

Matthew 2:

 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Magi were educated. They dedicated their lives to interpreting divine matters for kings and rulers, often times with astrology. They were professionals and experts in their field of work. They had been expectant and ready. They knew exactly what to do when the right moment came along.

Be prepared for road blocks.

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him … ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

The Magi were given a voice to people of influence and were esteemed & respected by their position in society. Even Herod, the king of that time, wanted to hear what these magi had to say. However, Herod’s motives were to harm this baby who was a threat to his own kingdom; Herod did not want God to succeed.

Open your heart and worship.

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. 

The magi recognized immediately who this baby was: Jesus, the long awaited Messiah! They opened their hearts to Him and were compelled to worship the Son of God. They were filled with joy as they gave the praise to the only worthy One.

Give God everything you’ve got.

Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

The magi sacrificed their time and energy to make this long journey by following the star to meet their Savior. With everything that they had, they offered up their gifts fit only for a King. They refused to hold anything back and would have no regrets about their encounter with Jesus.

Leave the old; walk in the new.

¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Magi had been with Jesus and their lives would never be the same. Even in the form of a baby, Jesus had transformed them and the magi began a new life. God had spoken to them and warned them to turn from “evil” and directed them how to walk a new route.