I love how the second chapter of Matthew’s gospel shares some extra details about the Christmas story the gospel of Luke never touches: Magi.

Some great insights into the Magi that make me smile . . .

1. We really don’t know how many wise men were in the entourage, only that there were three gifts. But allow me to share a precious friend’s insight…there were really 4 gifts.

Go ahead, I’ll let you run to your Bible and check out Chapter 2, verse 11.

Yep, the first gift was WORSHIP. THEN, they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh.

Do I offer the gift of worship first?  Is worship a priority? Worship is anything I think, say, or do that tells Jesus, “I LOVE YOU!”

2. Mary and Joseph were Jewish. Shepherds? Jewish. Magi? Not Jewish.

This event was choreographed by a great God who invited those outside the Jewish faith to participate. This is where WE, the Gentiles, come in.

Am I living up to my starring role?  Or am I satisfied with being an “understudy” in the story He has for me?

3.  The Magi did not arrive at the stable as all of the Nativity scenes suggest.

Verse 11 continues, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary.”

This realization was a huge turning point for me many years ago.  While visiting what would become our home church during our time in New England, the pastor taught that the Wise Men didn’t come to the stable.  I just knew he had it wrong and went home on a mission to prove it.  Upon every reading of all three bibles we had in the house at the time, I discovered that I’d been relying on someone else or a plastic scene to tell me the truth of the scriptures.  I confessed it as sin and said, “No More!”  My journey through the scriptures and the life it gives began that very day.  Jesus was no longer on the flannelboard for this Jesus gal.

4.  Verse 12 shares that upon being in the presence of the Savior, “they returned to their country by another route.”

After I am in the presence of the Lord especially in the season of Advent, am I prepared to go home a different way?  I sure hope so.

Several friends have shared how this affects their Advent celebrations with family.  One exclaims, “Three gifts were good enough for Jesus, then three gifts are good enough for each one of my kids.” 

And then a young mother shared how her family models what the Magi brought Jesus in three gifts:

Frankincense (used by priests in their offerings to God, pointing toward Jesus’ role as our high priest) – the gift should be good for your mind…books, museum tickets, lessons, learning opportunities, learning kits, etc.

Myrrh (a spice for a person who is going to die) – the gift should be something to aid healing or a practical gift…clothes, shoes, conference, a box of medicines for that college student who has let himself get run down due to final exams, a Bible or something that encourages the recipient’s spiritual journey.

Gold (a gift for a King – or maybe a princess or son of The King) – something extra, fun, shiny, sparkly…toy, game, jewelry.

In Daniel Darling’s book The Characters of Christmas: The Unlikely People Caught up in the Story of Jesus, he suggests this was probably a caravan of quite a few people. “It’s likely there were more than three wise men given how much of a stir they caused when they arrived in Jerusalem.” 

This I know: though I’ve heard and studied the account of Jesus’ birth over my entire life time, there is still more to learn, still more questions to ask, and still more delight to enjoy.

Oh come let us adore Him!

“And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” Matthew 2:12