Faith & Insight: The wise still seek him

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read about the “Magi from the East” that come seeking the Christ-child.

Who are these “Magi?” They would have been men that were very well educated in both science of the time and religion. They were seriously interested in astrology, so their attention was captured by the star that led them to the “one who has been born king of the Jews,” as they called Jesus.

While the Bible does not tell us anymore about where these wise men came from other than “the East” it is believed they came from Mesopotamia. That is, they most likely came from the area around ancient Babylon. Of course, we know a few people that settled in that area: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel. And Daniel wrote plenty about the coming of the Lord while he was living there.

These Magi would have studied many of the Hebrew scriptures as part of there education. As a result, these wise men would have known of the prophecy of Numbers 24:17, which says, “A star will come out of Jacob, a scepter will rise out of Israel…”

The Magi saw this star and felt compelled to see the new born King. Have you ever felt compelled to seek Christ? We may never experience Christ as the new born king as these Magi did, but he wants us to pursue him with all our passion.

In one of Jesus’ parables he said: “The king will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

Perhaps doing something for the “least of these” this Christmas is just what Christ is calling us to do. It doesn’t have to be the Christmas season to seek Christ through helping someone less fortunate, but it certainly seems like a wise time to do it.

Capt. Mark Cyr is pastor of The Salvation Army, 911 E. Second St. Carson City. For information go to carsoncity.salvationarmy.org.