The coming of the promised Messiah was a tremendous event! God had come in human form. The One who would redeem His people from all their sins and triumph over the evil one had arrived. The birth of the King of kings had been announced accordingly. The angelic hosts had been sent to the startled shepherds outside Bethlehem with the glad tidings. Israel was informed. However, also those outside the covenant nation had to know!

The Heavens are Telling…⤒🔗

To announce Christ's arrival to the outside world, God used a star. This announcement was directed to wise men in the East who apparently were astrologers, for they kept a very close eye on the night skies. According to their astrological wisdom, the appearance of this particular star indicated to them that a great king had been born and that He was the King of the Jews, a divine King whom they should go and worship. The question arises how this King could have been included in the astrological data and thinking of these wise men. The Bible is silent on this point. However, if these wise men came from Babylon (as is quite possible) then their knowledge of the Messianic King and their interest in Him may have stemmed from the time of Daniel, who had been influential in the circles of the Babylonian wise men and who had spoken of the Messiah (cf. Daniel 5:11ff.; 7:13ff.). They could also have been familiar with the prophecy of the Mesopotamian diviner Balaam, who had prophesied of the Messiah in terms of a star coming forth from Jacob (Numbers 24:17). Precisely how they received their knowledge of the Messiah is not known. But, it is clear that in all their astrological figuring, God was at work and He called these wise men from Babylon. He called them by means of the language they could understand, the language of the stars. Also in this very special way, the heavens were telling the glory of God (Psalm 19:1) and the stars served as signs (Genesis 1:14). Those outside Israel had to know of the Messianic King and worship Him.

A Troubled Zion←⤒🔗

The wise men journeyed to Jerusalem. That was the capital. Would one not expect this to be the birthplace of the newborn Monarch? It is soon clear, however, that they would need more than God's speaking to them through the star. They would also need the revelation found in the written Word of God, for no one in the city knew of this royal birth! A Herod, worried about his throne, quickly organized a meeting of all the chief priests and scribes and asked where the Christ was to be born. The answer came promptly; one would almost say, automatically.

And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.Thus they quoted Micah 5:2

They knew the Scriptures! But did they really?

It is remarkable that they did not rejoice with the wise men. They did not even bother to go down to Bethlehem with them. Why? Why were they so troubled? Their King had come!? Apart from the infamous cruelty of Herod to all would-be pretenders to his throne, why does the mention of the Christ bring trouble and fear to the covenant nation? Apparently they no longer really looked forward to His coming. They felt no real interest in His promises and no true longing for His appearing. The Word and its Messianic hope had lost their grip on them. They were more or less complacent in their self-importance as people of God and they had lost sight of the stirring agenda of God's mighty works. They had accommodated themselves to the situation as it was. But now, if the Christ had really come, everything would change. They were not ready for that. It did not fit their view of things. They therefore did not believe the glad tidings of the wise men. They did not understand the times nor the sign that God had set in the heavens.

The result was that those Eastern sages who believed the Word went to Bethlehem alone. Those who prided themselves in knowing the Word so well stayed behind.

Guided by the Word←⤒🔗

They found Him! They had received the clear direction of the Word. Now they could fully understand the sign of the star which they had seen in their homeland. On their way to Bethlehem, the star reappeared and actually guided them to the very house where the child was.

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

They saw the King, their King! In faith they worshipped this infant, believing that He was the Promised One, the King of kings! What an opportunity God's people passed up. Indeed, “He came to His own and His own people received Him not” (John 1:11). The Word of promise had become a dead book for them.

When the wise men went back to their own country, they returned as those who had heeded God's speaking to them in the star and in the written Word. They had journeyed home as the first fruits of the innumerable multitude from the nations who would bow before the Christ and worship Him. The account found in Matthew 2 reminds one of the words of our Saviour that “many will come from east and west and sit at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11).

The shocking reality that God's own people knew the contents of the Word so well and yet did not recognize God's work for the redemption of His people is a sober reminder of how a people of God, wise in its own eyes, can be blind to God's continuing program of salvation. So much had the church accommodated herself to the situation in the world and so much were they in tune with the secular balances of power that not joy but being disturbed was their reaction on hearing of the Messiah's coming. After all, the coming of Christ now, when they really did not count on Him, could “rock the boat.”

The church of Jesus Christ today should take note. Only when she feeds on the living Word and is daily guided by it, is she in touch with His ongoing work of redemption and restoration. Only then will she be ready for the signs of His coming. Only then will she greet Him with joy and not with a disturbed surprise. (“Hast Thou come now already?”) We live in an exciting time. The King has come and He is coming again! God's work of salvation hastens to the climax of the renewal of all things.

The King is Coming←⤒🔗

As with the first coming of the Son of God, so with the second coming, signs in the heavens will accompany His appearing (Matthew 24:29-31; Revelations 6:12-14). However, only those who have a living knowledge of the Word of God and live in communion with Him by the Spirit will understand and be ready. He comes! He who triumphed over sin and Satan comes to apply His work of redemption in the renewal of this creation, which is His Father's world. He comes! And then not just certain individuals, some shepherds and wise men, will be officially informed by God of His arrival, but then all, from east and west, north and south, will see Him and all knees will bow! (Philippians 2:9-11). For He who comes is King of kings and Lord of lords. What a joyous reality in which to live and work for Him!