December Reading from The Message
Is your holiday season marked by worship? As we celebrate the birth of Christ, it is important that we evaluate the postures of our hearts. In Matthew 2, we see the response of worship that is demonstrated by the wise men. There is much to learn from this response to Jesus’ birth that we can apply this Christmas season.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory- this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”
When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:
It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land,
no longer bringing up the rear.
From you will come the leader
who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”
Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”
Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshipped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.
Scripture Insight
To Worship
The key word in Matthew 2 is the verb meaning “to worship.” It occurs three times. First, it’s on the lips of the wise men addressing Herod (verse 2). Second, it’s spoken by Herod when he tells the wise men to search for the child so he can worship him (verse 8). And finally, it’s used to describe what the wise men did when they found the child (verse 11). The word worship means to prostrate oneself and kiss the hem of the garment of a ruler or master.
Among the Gospel writers, Matthew took a special interest in the importance and meaning of worship as he nurtured the early Christian community, developing it to maturity. He used the word worship thirteen times compared with John’s nine times, Luke’s three, and Mark’s two. (The only other New Testament book with more is the book of Revelation, with twenty-four.)
There was the danger then, as now, that people would take the good news of God being with us in Jesus and make a private religion out of it. But that won’t work. We can’t have God as a private possession. God doesn’t intend that we be loved and forgiven in isolation from one another. The God who forgives each of us also wills that we forgive each other. Worship integrates both our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationships with one another into one reality. The wall between the private and the public is broken down in worship. That’s where individual members come together as a body. And that’s where they are most whole and healthy.
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