Worship or Fear?

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?  For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Matthew 2:1-6

We see two responses here to the Kingship of Christ, worship and fear.  These Wise Men were not notable kings as we may have grown up thinking.  They would have been diviners, pagans, breakers of the Old Testament law.  This is so shocking that God would call these sinners from afar to be among the first worshippers of Jesus!  That is why they are introduced with a “behold”, a word in scripture that calls us to take special attention that something remarkable is happening.  God used the stars to declare His glory to these men, and to reveal to them that the King of the Jews was being born in Israel.

Notice on the other hand, Herod’s response.  He was “troubled, and all Jerusalem with him”.  It wasn’t only Herod that was troubled!  Herod called a meeting of ALL the chief priests and scribes.  And they all confirmed that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.  These men knew the scriptures so well, that they are completely without excuse to be ignorant of the coming Messiah.  It should have been glaringly obvious that Jesus was the one that had been written about from the beginning of creation. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.  I do not receive glory from my people.” (John 5:39-41)  We have always known Herod as the bad guy in this account, but not one of these men that were assembled for this meeting went to find Jesus in worship and praise.  Instead, they were afraid. 

Are we willing to give up control of our lives to follow King Jesus?  Does the greatness of his power fill you with praise or with fear?  Do you acknowledge what has been said in the scriptures as being true?  Or do you bury your head in the sand and hope to avoid any difficult calling God may have placed on your life. 

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his Mother, and they fell down and worshipped him.” (Matthew 2:10-11)