Moment of Meditation: We Saw His Star (Matthew 2:1-2)

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
"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)

"We Saw His Star"

The story of the Epiphany is one of the most well-known stories surrounding the birth of Jesus. Wise men from the east saw that a great event was occurring so they followed a star much different than the rest to see what had happened.

It led them to Judea and the city of Jerusalem. When there, it disappeared. Why? It wasn't necessary at that time. God had brought the wise men to inform Herod of the birth of Christ. Since they were brought to the Holy City, they figured the great event was the birth of a new king of the Jews. So they went to the most likely place--Herod's palace.

When they asked about the child who had been born, Herod became very troubled. "For this to happen," he must have thought, "it has to be the Christ--the Messiah." So he assembled the great scribes of Jerusalem and found that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem.

That's the great thing about Epiphany. It's an "Aha!" moment for everyone. Here are these FOREIGNERS coming to the king of Judea to tell him about the Messiah's birth. FOREIGNERS came to tell the Jews about the birth of THEIR Savior! What a troubling thought for Herod and the Jewish leaders! What a glorious thought as we see that our God did not send Jesus into the world only for the Jews. Jesus Himself tells us, "For God so loved THE WORLD, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Jesus came into the world to save everyone. The first proclamation of this came as a star being shown to a group of Gentile astrologers. And everyone who believes in Jesus as their only Lord and Savior will be saved. Amen.