“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” — Matthew 2:11
I’ve been preaching Christmas messages for over 20 years. Not every year. But most of those years. I’ll admit that some years finding the joy of Christmas has been tough. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it. But I struggled to preach it. Maybe I allowed Christmas to become common place.
Today, as I read Matthew 2:11 I couldn’t get past it. That moment of the magi finding Jesus hit differently.
For a moment, everything was ok. Everything was calm. The magi had found their King. The King. The King for whom they had searched so long.
Had they received special revelation? Were they working off of some writings passed down from faithful Jews like Daniel? We know there are no lost inspired texts and no more general revelation being given to humanity today.
But somehow, these men knew to search for a King. The King. Their King.
They brought Him gifts.
Maybe not as much as others could have given, but they gave what they had and gave what they could.
The Meaning of Their Gifts
Did they know the importance?
- Gold points to the royalty and authority of Jesus.
- Frankincense speaks of His priesthood and His divinity.
- Myrrh reminds us of His humanity and the death He would die.
Or were these simply valuable gifts from their place of origin? Whatever they knew, these treasures were surely appreciated by the young family.
They arrived. They bowed. They gave their gifts.
Joseph and Mary watched and wondered. Who were these men? What did this all mean? They must have remembered the messages of the angels, and the testimonies of Simeon and Anna. But people have an amazing capacity for missing the obvious. So they treasured these moments quietly in their hearts.
For a Moment… All Was Well
For a moment, everything was as it should be.
God was worshipped.
Jesus was loved.
Gifts were brought.
The magi fulfilled their purpose. They found the King and bowed before Him. Everything was calm.
They didn’t yet know Herod’s plan to kill the Child and anyone who stood in his way. They didn’t know what lay ahead. His rejection, His betrayal, His suffering, His death.
Or perhaps they did. Perhaps they saw in the Old Testament what others refused to see: that the Messiah must suffer before He reigns.
They gave their gifts and departed.
Did they live long enough to hear Jesus teach?
To see Him perform miracles?
To learn of His crucifixion or His resurrection?
We’re not told.
The Moment for Which We’re Created
But that moment in Bethlehem was right. It was calm. It was holy. It was what life is meant to be when Jesus is at the center.
They knelt.
They worshipped.
They gave.
They fulfilled the reason they existed.
That moment is what all moments should be.
A moment where everything is clear.
Where worship feels natural.
Where our purpose is obvious.
But life isn’t lived only in moments like that. Those mountaintop experiences are rare.
The magi didn’t stay there. They returned home to routine, to responsibilities, to a world still broken. That quiet scene of worship was soon followed by chaos and a desperate escape to Egypt.
Yet that moment still mattered.
It mattered because they saw the King.
It mattered because they bowed in worship.
It mattered because they gave what they had.
And that is what we are called to do every day, especially when life isn’t calm.
We might never see the full outcome of our obedience.
We might not know how God uses the gifts we give.
We might not witness the end of every story He begins through us.
But we still bow.
We still worship.
We still bring our gifts.
Not just for a moment…
But for a lifetime.
Worship Jesus This Season
This Christmas, seek the King as they did. Come before Him. Offer what you have. Worship Him when life is calm—and hold to Him when it isn’t.
Because this truth remains:
Jesus is King.
And when Jesus is worshipped, everything is as it should be—at least for that moment.
Jesus will one day establish His kingdom on earth and will rule and reign for a thousand years. Then, there will be a new heavens and new earth and there will be an eternity of these moments.
Maybe, like me, some Christmases you struggle to find the joy. So, perhaps it’s not about finding the joy, it’s just about finding a moment to be with Jesus.
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