This morning I continue to study the word “worship” and am led to Matthew 2 and the story of the wise men’s visit to Jesus after His birth. As I study the passage I am reminded of the danger that was there at the time surrounding His birth. He was born as King and that was of a threat to the king of the time, Herod. The wise men were innocently searching for Jesus at the beginning of the story so that they would be able to worship Him in person.
“1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” — Matthew 2:1-2 (ESV)
These wise men were out searching for the “king of the Jews”, for no other reason than to worship Him. I have to ask myself, why is it that I am searching for God daily. I wonder if I am just looking for Him to rescue me and protect me, or am I searching for Him in the quest to simply drop to my knees and worship Him. These men came from afar, searching for Jesus simply to worship and bring Him gifts.
This is the lovely thing about our approach to God. We are not expected to bring Him anything. We are not expected to provide for Him. We are only expected to love Him and worship Him. We are to be there and accept His provision and do His work to bring the gospel to as many as we can and ensure that everyone has had the opportunity to worship Him. These men were in desire of worshiping Jesus and nothing more. And they were more than willing to search high and low for Him and then, at the time, were willing to inform others as to where He could/would be found so that they could worship as well.
“8And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.’ 9After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11And 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.” — Mathew 2:8-11 (ESV)
These men were asked by Herod to find Jesus and report back as to His whereabouts to allow the opportunity for Herod to come and worship Him as well. They were more than willing to do so thanks to the additional support and help that was provided by Herod for them to find Jesus. So they went, found Him, rejoiced and worshiped Him for the King He was and left their gifts for Him with no expectation of anything in return.
How often do we come to God and seek nothing in return? These men did just that as they came to worship Him. I have to remember fully that Jesus wants nothing than my love, devotion, and worship. He does not need anything from me other than those and with those He will provide all that I need in this world.
Now the men were keen in their worship. They devoted themselves to the King they came to see and in doing so they were made aware of the plot to kill Jesus through their dreams. Since they were so devoted to the King they came to worship they heeded the dreams and did not return to Herod and disclose the location of Jesus to him. They simply went on their way in the interest of guarding Him against the evil that meant Him harm.
“12And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.” — Matthew 2:12 (ESV)
This seem so counter to the greatness of our God. These men guarded and protected Jesus when we know from the Old Testament and our own lives the greatness and power of God. I believe that we do have the obligation to protect against destruction where we can. We have to power to stop it, but what we can do is protect against it where we can. It is our duty to turn away evil in the name of Jesus and these men did just that. They could not stop the evil that was Herod, but they took the opportunity not to contribute to that evil by simply walking away and going the other direction.
Our duty is to search Him our, worship Him with glory, and protect against the evil that will come to destroy. We are powerless to stop the evil but we can work not to contribute to that evil.
What does your view of searching, worshiping, and guarding look like? Are you out there doing just that? What if we simply sought out God, worshiped Him, and then did our due diligence to guard against the evil of the world in His presence to allow for more to come to Him?
Trevor's Thoughts 