Worshipped by Kings (By Chris Barnes)

Yesterday’s blog talked about valuing Jesus as the priceless treasure that He is. When we come to acknowledge how valuable He really is, we can then worship Him with proper reverence.

Psalm 72 contains a description of an exalted King and of the blessings of his reign. His Kingdom will be universal, eternal, securing perfect peace. And through this King, all nations will be blessed and bring Him praise. The psalmist (Solomon) prophetically saw a glimpse of when this King would be born, even as he described the nature of His Kingdom when it is fully consummated: “The eastern kings of Sheba and Seba will bring Him gifts. All kings will bow before Him, and all nations will serve Him” (Psalm 72: 10-11).
Kings from the most uncivilized, the most distant, and the most opulent nations will pay homage to the King of kings. The prophet Isaiah saw a glimpse of this event, too, when he wrote of the Messiah, “All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance” (Isaiah 60:3).

Matthew wrote his gospel with a focus on helping the Jewish readers to see Jesus as the King they had been waiting and longing for. Matthew alone recorded the story of the kings who came to worship the infant Jesus:

Some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him.”…….. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. …….. They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2: 1-2, 9, 11)

Matthew did not give us a lot of detail about the men themselves. He was more interested in telling us that Gentiles came to worship the Jewish Messiah and that they gave Him kingly gifts. He wanted us to see that Jesus is the King the psalmist and Isaiah saw.

The apostle John helps us to see that these kings who came to Bethlehem were but a glimpse of all who will one day bow before Jesus in the new Jerusalem: “The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory” (Revelation 21: 24).

Let us worship Jesus with a reverence that acknowledges He is the King of kings. Let us open up our treasure chests and give him the gifts of our trust, devotion, time, love and obedience.

Prayer – King of kings, you are worthy of my most reverent worship and worthy of my most costly gifts. Therefore I bow low before you in anticipation of the day when every knee will bow and acknowledge you as King.