Some of us know only too well that we lack wisdom — that we don’t always know what to do, be that in our own lives or in the lives of those we love.
And so we seek wisdom.
One way to do this is to follow the example of those who have often been described as wise, such as the Magi who travelled from the East to see Jesus. In particular we would do well to emulate how they revered Jesus and went out of their way to worship Him as the King they believed Him to be. [Matthew 2:11]
Their gift of gold would have been entirely appropriate for one they considered to have royal credentials. But the frankincense and myrrh they also brought to Jesus similarly point us to who Jesus subsequently proved to be.
Because of its use in temple worship, the frankincense anticipates how, as our great high priest, Jesus would one day offer a sacrifice, the like of which had never been seen before. [Hebrews 4:14] And the myrrh, used as it subsequently was as an embalming fluid at His burial [John 19:39], points us forward to Jesus’ sacrificial death that atoned for the sins of all God’s children.
To us, therefore, the gifts the Magi brought indicate that Christ was not only our Prophet, Priest, and King but also the only mediator between God and man [1 Timothy 2:5] the one who, through his crucifixion, would reconcile us to our loving Heavenly Father. [Romans 5:10]
But such allusions to later events would not have been known to the Magi. What really made them wise was not their unwittingly prophetic gifts, but the fact that they were humble. Because in coming to Jesus they came face to face with one much wiser than they – the one who was, and is, the personification of wisdom itself.
The Bible frequently speaks of wisdom as being a person – one who was there at the creation of the World. [Proverbs 8:22-31] As Jesus was Himself. [John 1:1] And given how His life shows us what wisdom looks like, it is no surprise that Paul describes Jesus as the wisdom of God. [1 Corinthians 1:24]
So if we are to be serious about becoming wise, we must first recognise God’s awesome holiness and come to Him in reverent fear. [Psalm 111:10] And, having done so, we need to accept the apparent foolishness of the cross [1 Corinthians 1:18] and, like the Magi, bow before the one who suffered and died there in our place.
Because in so doing we will be coming to the one who knows all things, [Colossians 2:3], the one who can make us wise unto salvation [2 Timothy 3:15], and the one who really is with us and is able to help both us, and all those we love. [Isaiah 41:10]
For He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? [Romans 8:32]
Including, if we ask for it, wisdom. [James 1:5]
To read Day 17 from 2023, click here
To read Day 17 from 2023, click here
Some musings 