Making the Guest List

felixthepastor
Jan 2, 2016
2 min read

Sheepherders and pagan astrologists? God displayed a unique sense of humor in creating the guests list to celebrate the arrival of His son. Sheepherders are unlikely guests at the celebration of the arrival of a high-ranking dignitary, but the arrival of the wise men to honor the Christ child was unique all on its own.

The wise men were magi. Their study of the stars led them to Judea to find and worship Jesus, the newborn King. The Bible does not say how many magi worshiped Jesus, although three are often depicted because of their three gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Christmas cards and nativity scenes often depict the wise men as being present for the birth of Christ but that is actually not Biblically or historically accurate. Scholars agree that a better estimation for their arrival would have been about 2 years after Christ was born. I guess it's only fitting that we visit the story of these wise man after Christmas!

The promised Messiah was exclusive to God’s people and primarily recognized solely by the Jews. As astrologists, the magi studied the stars, but most fascinating was their knowledge of the ancient Jewish Messianic prophecies.

It’s one thing to be intrigued with ancient prophetic writings but it’s a whole other thing to take a pilgrimage to honor and worship the promised one. God had stirred the hearts of these men and their actions were proof of their belief.

The irony of the magi’s visit is that these outsiders recognized Jesus as the Messiah and travelled a long way to honor him while the Pharisees, the religious elite who had studied the prophesies for a lifetime, failed to recognize the arrival of their own Messiah in their backyard.

From the shepherds to the magi, God has an uncanny habit of inviting the most unlikely guests to His party. As an insider in God’s grace, don’t lose sight of God’s inclusive nature of bringing others into what He is doing. Making that mistake will leave you like the Pharisees; out of the loop.