Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
It would be marvelous, wouldn’t it, if God would give you direction for tomorrow, next week, next month, and the next several years? It would be great if it came in some amazing way, like sending an angel, giving you a prophetic dream, or maybe sending a star that would guide you to the exact spot you need to find and at the exact time in which you need to find it.
Matthew 2 is a miraculous story of God’s giving His Son to us and of those who sought Him. In one case, they sought Him to worship Him and in another case, they sought Him to destroy Him. The wise men saw the young child and worshipped Him, but King Herod sought the young child to destroy Him. So you have a story of the Christ child that God sent and how God indicated His guidance for different people.
In Matthew 2 you find a star guiding the wise men, angels giving a message, and dreams. But, more than once you find the statements like “this happened in fulfillment of that which was spoken” or “for it is written by the prophets.” One thing you learn from all these people and how they accepted or rejected the Lord Jesus is that God gives grace to those who follow the light they have.
Take Herod and the wise men. The Bible says in Matthew 2:2 that the wise men came “from the east to Jerusalem.” Now where you come from is not nearly as important as where you choose to go. So, they went to Jerusalem. Herod and the religious leaders were already there, but they had no curiosity or interest in finding this Christ child.
So, you have Herod close to where Christ would be born who had no interest in finding Him except to destroy Him. You have these religious leaders who should have known but didn’t seem to care. And on the other hand, you have the wise men who came from the east to Jerusalem.
Then, notice the star, the angel, the dream, and the Word of God that is given. The reason we know about the star, the angelic announcements, and the dreams is because of the Word of God. The very first words in this book are “the book.” It says, “The book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” So, all that we know about this is because of what God has given us in His eternal Word.
The Bible tells us that we have a “more sure word of prophecy.” There is coming a day when all faith will become sight. The ancient prophets prophesied that Jesus would come, and He did. Likewise, they prophesied that He will come again, and surely He will. But, we won’t know Him when we see Him if we don’t accept the word we’ve been given.
Jesus is the Light of the world. Today, this same Jesus, the same Lord, the same God the Son, wants to give us guidance just as God the Father gave guidance to these wise men. And He would have given guidance to Herod and the religious leaders had they listened. Today, you may not receive a dream, angelic visitation, or a star guiding the way, but you have light. You have God’s Word, and God will give grace to those who follow the light they have right now.