Imagine for a moment that you are one of the wise men. Somehow, the Lord communicates with you. You are to follow the star that would take you to the newborn King.
The Gospel of Matthew says the wise men came from the East. Many historians believe they came from Babylon, which is about 1700 miles away from Bethlehem. The Bible does not say how many wise men traveled on this journey, but it does say they brought three presents. A journey of that distance would have been expensive and required several months. Before they left, they would have determined what gifts to present to the newborn King and then begun their journey.
Can you imagine the joy that filled the wise men as they came to the home where Jesus was staying? When the wise men arrived, Jesus would have been a toddler, not a newborn baby. The wise men had traveled many months and now they had arrived. The Lord had given them success and they gave Jesus gifts that were fit for a King.
7 Then King Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. [1] Matthew 2:7-21.
What would be the greatest gift you could give Jesus? I think the greatest gift we can give Jesus is ourselves. That is, to humble ourselves and receive His gift of salvation. This happens when we confess our sins, ask for forgiveness and ask Jesus to be in control of our lives.
Second, we can give Him the gift of serving. We can be the hands and feet of Jesus. Jesus, Himself, models service in the Gospels. As we turn to the book of Matthew, the Lord talks about people who helped others in need.
Matthew 25:37-40 –“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ [2]
In those words, the Lord makes it clear what gifts we might give Him out of thankfulness for what He has done. Each act of kindness to anyone becomes a kindness to Him because He loves people. Our servant attitude brings joy to Him.
Lastly, I believe giving Jesus the gift of loving others would be a wonderful present. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Cor. 13:1, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”[3]
Paul goes on to write in 1 Cor. 13:4-7 –4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. [4]
The love of Jesus is huge. He enables us to come to faith, to help others, and demonstrate His love to others. Wow! What an amazing God we serve. He is worthy of our gifts.
Listen here to hear the story of the wise men and Jesus: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/god-steps-into-time/humble-hearts-are-drawn-to-jesus
[1, 2, 3, 4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 2:7–11, Mt 25:37-40, 1 For. 13:1, 1 Cor. 13:4-7). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.