“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 have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’” Matthew 2:1-2

Wise Men

I know a woman who “tsk-tsks” her way through life, making negative comments about anyone—believers and unbelievers alike—who doesn’t live according to her strict interpretation of morals. She comes across as angry and unapproachable.

There are things we may reasonably expect of believers, but why should we expect the same from unbelievers who do not have the Spirit of God in them?

The Bible gives the record of Christ’s birth and various events surrounding that momentous occasion. One beloved image on display throughout all the retellings and re-enactments is that of the “three” wise men (probably so numbered because three gifts are mentioned) traveling on camels (which they probably didn’t, due to the fact that camels are not great for riding—have you ever ridden one?—for a thousand or so miles) across the desert sands.

What we do know for certain is that the wise men came to worship the newborn King. We would expect believers to worship the King, but the wise men were probably not believers. David Levy, writing for The Friends of Israel, says this about the wise men:

“The wise men (magi) were priests who dressed in all white, offered sacrifices, developed occult powers, and used divining rods for various purposes. They studied and practiced astronomy, astrology, philosophy, religion steeped in superstition, sorcery (Acts 13:6, 8), soothsaying, conjuring, and dream interpretation—a practice mentioned in the book of Daniel during the time of the Babylonion Empire. As astronomers who practiced astrology, they believed the stars and planets influenced human life.”

How extraordinary that right from the beginning, even Gentiles were led to worship Christ! This was God’s purpose all along, of course, for although Jesus was sent physically to save and shepherd the Jewish people, a prophecy was given by Isaiah that Christ was also sent for the Gentiles. “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:5-6).

Jesus was worthy of worship by all people, whether they were looking for a Messiah or not, even before He did a single thing on earth except be born.

“We praise You for sending Your Son to Jews and Gentiles alike. Your purposes are always bigger than we know. It was ‘too small a thing’ to only restore one nation; Your will was to save ‘to the ends of the earth.’ Amen!”