Believe Part 2 with Pastor Athol Barnes | 12.8.2024

Grace Point Baptist Church's Podcast

What is God inviting you to believe?

Last week we talked about what it means to believe in Jesus for salvation. To illustrate my point, I professed that I believed the chair could hold me, but if I didn’t act on that belief by stepping on the chair, no one would believe that I actually believed that (see Romans 10:9). Believing always requires a response, an action or a step of faith that follows belief.

In Matthew 2, we read about a group of wise men who simply believed—and acted in response to that belief.

Who Were the Wise Men?

To understand why the wise men’s active belief is significant, we first need to understand who they were.Our cultural and traditional Christmas scenes get two things wrong about the wise men, which are also called magi:

1. The wise men did not arrive along with the shepherds. When they visited Jesus in Bethlehem, he was not a newborn, and Mary and Joseph were not living in a stable. Their visit likely occurred six to eighteen months after the birth of Jesus.
2. The number of wise men. Though tradition says three, we do not actually know how many magi there were. From the three gifts listed in Matthew 2:11, many people have assumed there were three kings from the Orient, but this is not certain. What we do know is that when their caravan arrived in Jerusalem, there were enough of them to trouble the whole city.

In addition to these common misconceptions, it’s also important to understand that these wise men were not Jewish. They were Gentiles, outside the covenant people of God. By bringing these wise men to the feet of Jesus, God was revealing right from his birth that Jesus was the Savior of the whole world (see John 4:42).

Romans 15:12 says, “…The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”

What Did the Wise Men Do?

The magi responded in faith—to the sight of a star in the sky. They traveled for months, crossing thousands of miles of desert and mountain and harsh conditions, to see the “king of the Jews”, though they themselves weren’t Jews (see Matthew 2:2).

Just consider the journey that the magi took. It was a huge undertaking to travel great distances 2000 years ago. There was no air travel or trains, no Holiday Inn Express, no Quick trip to buy a snack on the run. They had to plan and carry all their provisions. Journeys were dangerous, not to mention expensive. These men had to spend a huge sum of money to travel to a small insignificant town in Israel.

What did the Wise Men Bring?

The wise men didn’t come empty handed. They brought gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These seem like strange gifts for a one-year old. Why not a car seat or changing table or some other culturally appropriate baby gift?

The gifts, though strange to us, were actually symbolically significant and probably provided the money for Mary and Joseph to take Jesus to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. The gifts are also prophetic. The wise men knew what many people celebrating Christmas today don’t know—the purpose and the mission of the life of Jesus.

• Gold: the precious metal represents that Jesus is the King
• Frankincense: the strong smelling fragrance indicates that as Jesus lived, the fragrance of his life impacted many with miracles and teaching (see 2 Corinthians 2:15).
• Myrrh: the embalming substance used at burials was a prophetic declaration that Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many. He came with the purpose of being a sacrifice for our sins.

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