Day 15: Visitors Arrive from Eastern Lands

The King was disturbed when he heard about Jesus’ birth, yet he wanted to go worship? Spoiler alert, Herod did not want to worship Jesus, he wanted to kill Him. See, King Herod was a paranoid ruler who would do anything to protect his power, even if it meant killing his own family members! He had a pride issue! And sadly, for many of us, just like the King, we want to retain power and authority in our lives! We want to be our own Lord, our own king, and our own ruler! Is that the story of Christmas or are we missing everything?

See, Herod lived this prideful and paranoid life because he had an inaccurate picture of Jesus, and sometimes, so do we! In this passage, Jesus is given the title of shepherd. And only when we understand who Jesus truly is (our good shepherd and our salvation) can we respond to Jesus how we truly should. The magi in this passage understood who Jesus was and responded accordingly through worship!

Read Isaiah 60:6 & Matthew 2:1-12

Q: How can we live like King Herod? How are we prideful, and in what areas are we not giving up authority to Jesus?

Q: What impressed you about the response of the magi?

Q: How are you living like the magi this Christmas? How are you responding to Jesus, and what kind of worship are you bringing Him! Expensive meaningful worship and gifts like gold, myrrh, and frankincense – or leftovers?