Many of us believe that Jesus is a good guy, but are we truly willing to worship Him? We have a lot of respect for Jesus, and for God but are we truly worshippers?
Last week, we looked at the first mention of worship in the Old Testament. This week, I would like to discuss the first use of the word worship in the New Testament. The scene is found in Matthew 2, when the wise men came and found Jesus: “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).
This is one of my favorite pictures of worship. The wise men (or magi) demonstrate such a spirit of humility. If they lived in our day and time, they would have been among the well educated and well respected. These were most likely men of influence who also had considerable financial means. And yet they came on a six-month journey across a middle eastern dessert seeking God. Quite possibly of Persian descent, these men had most likely seen and been in presence of kings before. They came seeking the one called the King of the Jews.
And when they found him these grown men did an amazing thing. They got down on their faces before a baby and worshipped Him. The fact that he was just a baby did not hinder them from worship. They didn’t let pride get in their way. Pride will often get in the way of our worship. It hinders us from truly seeking God when reveals Himself to us.
The magi bowed before Jesus and gave him their gifts. I love the line that says, “they opened their treasures…” This seems to imply a real willingness, a giving of oneself to God. It also carries the idea of giving their very best to Jesus. God wants us to open up the treasure of our hearts to Him. As they opened their treasures to Jesus, it revealed what they believed about Jesus. First they gave him gold. This was a gift fit for a king. They were declaring that Jesus was their king. The word worship in this passage means to “kiss toward.” During that time period, it was common for a subject to kiss the hand of the king if given an audience. This was a sign of submission and reverence. As they bowed before Jesus, the magi were recognizing his authority and power.
They also brought him incense. Incense was burned in the temple as a part of worship to God. The smoke from the incense would rise to heaven as a picture of the prayers and praise of the worshipper. The magi’s gift was the recognition that this baby was not only king, but he was God and therefore worthy of worship.
The final treasure that they opened to Him was myrrh. Myrrh was a death spice that was used to embalm dead bodies. This was not exactly a popular gift on the baby shower circuit. It is doubtful the wise men knew the full mission of Jesus. It is not likely they knew he had come to give his life for the sins of the world. Their myrrh was certainly a prophetic gift though. This baby didn’t come to live, but he came to die. He came to give his life on a Roman cross. This child was not only God and King, but He was also a Savior.
And these grown men worshipped. They humbled themselves and acknowledged the worth of Jesus. Have you ever just gotten on your face before God in humility? I encourage you to put your nose in the carpet sometime – humble yourself – and worship. Open the treasure of your heart to Jesus and worship! And that’s the Word.