Wise men- seeking Jesus

Hi how are you all today? I hope you had a great Christmas with family and friends or if you were alone I hope you remembered that Jesus was born just to be with you.

I had a great Christmas with my family- my husband, my sons, his daughters and grandsons and my sister. It was a precious time. I am now on holidays which is much needed. How was your Christmas?

This blog is not only the last one of the year but the last one where I am telling fictional stories of the people in the Christmas story. Today it is the wise mens turn. So let’s go.

Their story is found in Matthew 2 in the Message Bible and we will call the leader of the wise men- Daniel.

Something about today troubled Daniel and he couldn’t sleep. He felt like he had been tossing and turning for hours. “Time to get up” he thought and go outside. The night sky with its mixture of darkness and light always fascinated him. That is why his occupation was studying the stars. Tonight was his night off but it seemed the night sky was still beckoning him.

He got up, walked outside and looked up. It all seemed so peaceful out here. As he looked, he noticed a star seemed to be lighting up. “That’s strange” he thought. “Generally stars don’t get brighter in seconds”. This one though was and continued to get brighter. “I wonder what that could mean” he thought.

As he went back inside and went to bed, the image of that star stayed with him.

In the morning, Daniel rose, had breakfast and went to find the other men who also studied the stars. He wanted to see if they saw the same thing. Glancing up at the sky, he was astonished to see the bright star was still there- be it in the distance.

Daniel hurried to find the others. Running into the building, he excitedly called out”did anyone else see that bright star in the sky?”

Nobody had so they all walked hurriedly out the door to see what it was. As they stood gazing at it, one of the oldest wise men said something astonishing. “This star signifies that a king has been born. He will be a special king.”

Everyone looked at him astonished and then everyone started talking excitedly at once. “Let’s follow the star to see where it leads”. Although the idea seemed absurd, they all agreed.

They took a couple of days to get their provisions ready, including the camels, but soon it was time to go. Their families bid them farewell knowing it would be many months before they returned.

The wise men, with their provisions and camels started out. They looked to the star and it seemed to be guiding them much like the star of Moses and the Israelites that they had heard as folklore.

At night the star was visible from where they stopped and during the day they followed it.

“It is leading us to Jerusalem” one of the wise men exclaimed.

After a number of months, they arrived in Jerusalem. They created a stir in the city as they walked through. They stopped a number of people and asked “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.” However, they were surprised that nobody knew. Surely they didn’t get it wrong.

After a couple of days, word had reached King Herod and he summoned the men for a meeting.

Herod had already asked the high priests and religious scholars in Jerusalem about it and they told him:

“Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:

It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land,
    no longer bringing up the rear.
From you will come the leader
    who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”

The wise men arrived at the palace and King Herod started to query them. He asked them when the star had appeared and told them the above prophecy. Then he told them sternly, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”

The wise men left the presence of the king and kept going straight through the city. They looked for the star again as the kings words worried them. There it was and it was beckoning them forward.

They started travelling again and very soon the star was hovering over a house. “This must be it” they exclaimed. They were so happy.

They knocked on the door and entered the house where Mary and Jesus were. They were so overwhelmed that they bowed down and worshipped Jesus and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Jesus was by then a child under 2 years old.

The wise men left the house and were overjoyed. That night as they slept, Daniel was warmed in a dream not to go back to Herod. He told them the dream the next day and they returned to their country a different way rejoicing at Who they had seen.

These wise men journeyed a long way to see Jesus and worship Him. Often we travel a long way in our lives to meet Jesus too. That is fine as long as we do meet Him and give our lives to Him. Jesus has done great things for all of us in that He died and rose again so we can be reconciled to God. Wise men and women still seek Jesus. Will you be one of the wise?

Bless you and keep living the life God intended for you.

Karen