Present
Submitted by Hunter Grills
December 24, 2024
Mt 2:11 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.
In Matthew‘s account of the birth of Christ, we read of the wise men who came from afar. It is important to note that the wisemen did not come to the stable, but rather they went to the house. When they came to see Jesus, He was a young child not a baby.
It is also important to remember that the Bible does not tell us exactly how many wise men there were that came to worship the Lord Jesus. God‘s Word does tell us that they brought three different gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
In verse 11, we see a sequence of events with the wisemen’s encounter of Jesus.
First, they saw Jesus whom they were looking for. Many today can’t see the hand of God at work because they are simply not looking for Him.
Secondly, we see that the wisemen, when they saw Jesus, fell down. The overwhelming power of being in the presence of our Creator caused the wise men to bow down in a position of humility. What an amazing moment that must have been to literally see the hands of a baby that had parted the Red Sea! The literal voice of the baby Jesus was the one that spoke the world into existence.
Thirdly, the Bible says that they worshiped Him. Before we can truly get to a place of pure worship, we must first sincerely seek the Lord and humble ourselves before Him.
That leads to the fourth point of them presenting their gifts. The apostle Paul uses the word “present” in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
It is reasonable for us to present our bodies, a living sacrifice. The wise man presented their gifts which is connected to their worship which followed humility because they were sincerely seeking the Saviour.
May this season and New Year lead us to look for the Saviour, to humble ourselves before Him, to worship Him in sincerity and in truth, and to present our bodies a living sacrifice to Him.
Consider – Politicians try to kill Him. Religionists try to replace Him. Those who seek, by the grace of God, find Him.
