By Rohan John

And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11

A few years ago, I finally got the chance to cross off one of the items on my bucket list when I visited the Louvre and got in line to see the Mona Lisa. When I finally made it into the room where arguably the most famous painting in the world is hanging, I was immediately struck by how small it actually was! Between that, the hundred or so people standing between me, the canvas, the glass case and the cordon enclosing it, the experience was a little… underwhelming, to say the least.

I can’t help contrasting my reaction with that of the Magi as they finally beheld the end of their quest, sitting in Mary’s arms. 

Based on the passage in Matthew 2, we can safely estimate the length of their journey and their search for the promised Messiah to have taken months, if not a couple of years. It’s easy to picture these wise men literally having to traverse “field and fountain, moor and mountain”, braving the perils and the deprivations of a long journey in those times. One can imagine their confusion at arriving at Jerusalem to find that none of the Jewish chief priests and scholars were excited about the birth of the promised Shepherd of Israel – and then envision their trepidation at facing a ruthless king and his machinations. And yet – as they finally find their way to a humble carpenter’s home in a tiny community far removed from royal palaces and the corridors of power, we read about them “rejoicing exceedingly with great joy” on seeing the star, falling to their knees in worship of a little child, and offering Him gifts that acknowledged His kingship, His mortality, and His divinity.

It makes one wonder why the God of all Creation chose to reveal himself to these scholars in such a unique way? Why were a group of foreigners chosen to acknowledge the birth of the “King of the Jews” when this news was hidden from all the priests and scholars in Jerusalem? Why, given all they had to endure to get to this point, didn’t they just give up? Why didn’t they look at the incongruity of the promised Messiah being just a baby in a novel and just walk away in disappointment?

I believe that to answer this is to get a glimpse of the sheer vastness of God’s plan for you and me – a plan that He speaks of through the prophet Jeremiah nearly 600 years before the birth of Jesus: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14, ESV)

It was no accident that God chose to reveal the birth of His Son, the Future and Hope for ALL mankind, to a group of Gentiles from the East. Nor was it coincidence that He who ordered the movements of the galaxies, chose to reveal Himself to a group of astronomers in a way that they would understand. It wasn’t simple chance that led a group of wander-weary seekers to find the Savior of the World in the most unlikely of places, but it was a fulfillment of God’s promise that He would be found by those who sought after Him with all their hearts. And it wasn’t common courtesy that drove these men to offer Him worship and gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh – it was indisputable evidence that “every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…” (Phillipians 2:10,11, ESV).

This Christmas season, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Hope, I pray that you are encouraged by God’s promise to meet you and be found by you when you seek Him with all your heart. I pray that this season brings with it sweet reminders of His faithfulness and His desire to meet you wherever you are, to restore you, to redeem you and reconcile you to Himself.

Father God, thank you for your promise to hear, to answer, and then to bring us near to you when we seek you. I pray that as we look forward to celebrating the birth of your Son Jesus, you help us prepare our hearts to receive Him for all that He is – King, God, Savior – Redeemer, Reconciler and Restorer.
Amen.