“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:2

The King of all the universe was born to Mary and Joseph in the lowliest of circumstances. Everyone knows that much about the Christmas story. What’s often lost, though, is the reality of the magi who came to worship Him. This is important because the omission of the reality of the Magi has significant theological impact. And, yes, our theology, what we believe about God, will determine how we live for Him – or not!

Jesus Christ was not and is not a more religious version of Santa Claus as some have vacuously made Him out to be in these days of false doctrine. Jesus isn’t a 1st century, Palestinian gift giver who loves everyone unconditionally. No. He came to pay the sin penalty for His people and lead them out of the bondage and true slavery of evil. Jesus Christ isn’t a fairy tale we tell adults as Santa is to kids. He’s the sovereign King of the world – all the world and even the Magi knew it.

Who were the Magi? First, there weren’t just three of them. That confusion started probably because of the three gifts but there were indubitably more than that. They weren’t kings from the east, from Mesopotamia, but were veritable king-makers. They were the intellectual/spiritual authority of the east. It’s hard to draw a direct parallel to today’s political world but the Bible helps us understand their role, a cross between priests and court advisors, in the book of Daniel. Indeed, Daniel was elevated by King Nebuchadnezzar as chief or lord over all the other wise men (Magi) of Babylon (Daniel 2:48) after he rightly interpreted the King’s dream via divine revelation. This is very likely why the Magi of Matthew 2 were alert to the birth of the King of the Jews who was to be ruler of all the earth. Daniel, in spending the better part of his life in Babylon, like Joseph in Egypt, having so much influence, taught the Old Testament Scriptures to the wise men. This shows us that in even one of the worst moments in Israel’s history, the Babylonian captivity, the Lord not only preserved and prospered Daniel, but He taught the coming of Christ to the nations of the world.

At the time of Rome and Herod, Jerusalem was often the battleground of the two great powers, meeting in the middle, between the east and west. And the Magi, alert to Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy (Daniel 9:20-27) and, especially, of the prophecy of the great King to come, saw an incredible sign in the heavens (“His star in the east”) and knew what it meant. Many modern theories abound about the star. But this couldn’t have been a conjunction of the planets or some such thing as that since the star moved and (verse 9) literally settled over the place where Jesus was. This was a supernatural event like the Shekinah cloud…and the Magi had been trained to look for it. Not only that, they knew what it meant when they saw it. What did it mean? They knew…it meant that the King was born and they came to worship Him.

From this we can learn quite a bit. First, it shows us that even these Zoroastrian wise men knew that Jesus Christ was King of the world. God had accomplished this when He sent the Jews into the Babylonian captivity. We are wise to marvel when we notice how God has orchestrated the times of our lives for some purpose or another. Each of us can see how God’s hand moved us this way or that, how His purpose was accomplished in ways we never saw coming at all. Oh, how unsearchable are His judgments and inscrutable his ways! Well, how are we to react when we see the Magi come to the Christ child? Clearly we are to marvel at the enormity and grandeur of the whole thing. Salvation has come to the world, to the Jews first and also the Greek. The great King is born and it’s not an isolated, local event for the heavens declare the glory of God.

Second, Jesus Christ is indeed the King. It’s to the shame of the modern church that we see Jesus as Savior only. There is in American Christianity this abhorrent tendency to downplay the Kingship of the Son of David. Ligon Duncan calls Matthew 1 the “new Genesis” – it’s the chronicle of the new King. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1).” As Americans we’re used to non-stop election cycles, political campaigns, pandering, bickering, polling and disputes. But Jesus Christ didn’t come to run for office. No one will steal the election from Him in the dead of night. He is the King! There is no other and He will come again to rule the earth in righteousness. All the inhabitants of every nation and tribe will be judged as to their response to Him. The Kingdom of Heaven, which Christ declares in Matthew 4:17, isn’t a democracy. Repent (turn from sin and self-assurance) and believe (have trust in Jesus Christ and Him only).

Third, the time of salvation is now. Christ is born to us in a manger. The great Son of God comes in humility, poverty, and need. He is a King like no other. Other kings conquer through force; Christ came to die for the ungodly. The Kingdom of Heaven advances here on earth, until He comes again, through the love of God that’s poured into our hearts. It comes sweetly and yet in power. The kingdoms of this world come through brute force or manipulated elections, backroom deals, and shady alliances. The kingdoms of this world rise upon the rubble of war and revolution. Blood and destruction are in their wake. But the Kingdom of God is there on the cross where there’s no collateral damage, no bombed out cities, no wailing mothers, no crying orphans. Oh, thanks be to God for Jesus Christ our Lord and His humble birth.

So, this we know: the God that managed the centuries, that oversaw all the kingdoms of the earth, great and small, made sure that Christ was born at just the right time. He came to die for sinners and He offers the free gift of salvation for all who believe. The God who did this is indeed great and we should spend this Christmas in awe of Him, rejoicing in our salvation and worshipping Him with tears of inexpressible joy. Do you see this? The King of all the world loves you! He isn’t distant. He came to live the perfect life for you…and to die the death of judgment for you. How do we not adore Him in light of this? How do we not let go of all our worries? Can the God of history, who throws the great kingdoms of Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome into the trash bin of the past not be trusted with your daily life? Yes, Christ the King will come again in His full splendor and all who have loved Him, and rejoiced at His righteous Word, will be exalted, no matter how low they appear to the world today. And Herod…where is he? Where is Caesar? Where are the powers that have resisted the King?

In light of all this we say, “Happy birthday to Jesus Christ, the King of the world, who is our Savior and our Lord. He will come again in power and the nations will tumble, they will fall, exposed in dishonor and shame. But all who have loved Him and followed Him, not being ashamed of His mighty and perfect Word, will not encounter judgment and shame. They will hear, “come all of you who have believed…enter into the Kingdom prepared for you.” And it will be Christmas morning forever.