The visit of the Magi—the three wise men from the East who came to see the baby Jesus—is a well-known story. I don’t think I need to retell or explain it in detail to any of you here. I hope not. It is a beautiful story, one we have learned and remembered at many different times in our lives. Yet interestingly, we do not often hear it preached in churches, perhaps because it appears in only one Gospel—Matthew’s Gospel.
The opening hymn we sang today, “Westward Leading, Still Proceeding,” guides us poetically toward the baby Jesus and gives the impression that the star moved from east to west. But we all know that stars do not actually move; the earth moves. The star was a sign that appeared in the East, something meaningful to astrologers. These wise men were likely astrologers—people trained to calculate the positions of stars, especially new stars that appeared seasonally, and to interpret their meaning. Even today, some astrologers claim that the alignment of stars can predict world events or natural disasters. I don’t know how scientific that is, but many people still follow such interpretations.
These were the kind of people who came to visit Jesus—wise men, astrologers, and likely individuals of influence and standing. Not just anyone could walk into the palace of King Herod and request an audience. That suggests they held respected positions in society. Although the Gospel mentions three wise men, there may have been more traveling with them—helpers or attendants—since the journey was long and difficult, undertaken by camel across great distances. Some scholars believe they came from Persia; others suggest they came as far as India. Wherever they came from, the journey was significant.
The star appeared at the birth of the Savior, the Messiah. Because of artwork and songs, we often imagine the wise men arriving at the manger on the night Jesus was born. That is unlikely. Jesus probably remained in the manger for only a short time—perhaps a day or two—because Bethlehem was crowded, and Mary and Joseph could not have stayed there long with a newborn. The wise men likely began their journey soon after seeing the sign, but the journey itself may have taken a year or more.
They followed the star daily, observing its position. The star itself remained constant; it was their position that changed as they traveled. The sign was in the sky. Interestingly, a modern astronomer—one associated with Rutgers University—published research suggesting that a celestial phenomenon did occur during the reign of King Herod. According to his historical calculations, there was indeed an unusual star visible at that time. So there was a real sign they followed as they journeyed to see Jesus, whom they called the Savior and the King of the Jews.
Today, however, I want to focus less on how they came and more on why they came. We often talk about the camels and the gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Those gifts are unusual. Gold makes sense, but frankincense and myrrh seem odd for a baby. Someone once joked online that if the visitors had been women, they would have brought diapers, baby clothes, cleaned the house, and returned the next weekend to help again. But these were men, and some have joked that they were not very practical gifts.
Yet these gifts carried deep spiritual meaning rooted in Jewish tradition. Gold symbolized royalty. Frankincense was used in worship, symbolizing divinity. Myrrh was used to embalm bodies, pointing toward sacrifice and death. These gifts proclaimed Jesus as King, God, and Sacrifice. They were prophetic symbols of His life and mission.
The more important question for us today is this: Have you been to Jesus?
The wise men were given a sign in the sky. We, too, are given signs every day—in our struggles, our questions, our pain, and our searching. Have we taken those signs and gone to the Savior? Have we brought our burdens to Jesus first?
The song we will sing at the end of this service asks that same question: “Have you been to Jesus?” This is not a question that stays in the past. It presses into the present and urges us forward. The pursuit of truth always leads to the Truth Himself—Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Truth is light. Lies are darkness. The wise men were seekers of truth, and they found it in Christ.
They were outsiders—not raised in the faith of Israel—but they were willing to seek. They refused to settle for secondhand faith. They did not send a delegation. They went themselves. They wanted to see the baby, touch Him, worship Him, and present their gifts personally. There was no Amazon or UPS. Faith was not delivered—it was experienced.
We cannot live on borrowed faith. Our parents’ faith, our grandparents’ faith, or our spouse’s faith cannot save us. Going to church is good, but it does not make us Christians any more than standing in a garage makes us a car. Faith must be personal. It must be experienced.
Many people admire the star. They discuss it. They debate it. But they never follow it. Faith requires movement. It requires stepping into the unknown, trusting that the destination is worth the risk. Abraham did this when God called him to leave everything familiar. Hebrews tells us that by faith, Abraham went—even though he did not know where he was going—because he trusted the One who called him.
The wise men expected to find a king in a palace. Instead, they found a child in a humble home. God’s salvation does not come through power or spectacle, but through humility. Jesus is found not in palaces, but among the poor, the sick, and the forgotten. Yet Matthew tells us that the wise men fell down and worshiped Him.
Faith cannot be explained fully—it must be experienced. You can describe the smell of a flower, but you cannot truly know it until you smell it yourself. That is faith. As John wrote, “That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have touched with our hands…” Faith is experiential.
The wise men gave their best—not leftovers. They worshiped first, then gave. A child once asked why people put money in the offering plate. His father replied, “I gave my life to God first. Everything else already belongs to Him.” First your life, then your gift.
So the question remains: Have you been to Jesus?
Have you gone personally? Have you worshiped Him as your King, your Savior, and your God?
May the Lord bless us with these words, and may we leave this place as living witnesses, sharing His love wherever we go.
Amen.
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