I was reading from Matthew chapter 1 today and a phrase jumped out from off the page: “when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” I kind of tripped on that phrase. Exceeding….. great….joy. I asked myself, when have I ever felt that? I’ve felt joy before. I’ve felt deep and humbling joy, but I have never in my life “rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” Never.
These men, these men from the East (some say they were from Babylon — the center of ancient learning) saw a star and this sight filled them with exceeding great joy. The thing is, the Bible is not a book that uses hyperbole. It does not exaggerate. So when the Bible says that those men saw a star and they “rejoiced with exceeding great joy” — their joy had to be exceeding and it had to be great. Their joy exceeded all other joy. And the joy was greater than all other joy.
Just this morning, I was reading yesterday’s newspaper (which is already history, by the way). And in the lifestyle section, even in the opinion pages, people are baring their souls — confessing their bouts with depression and other depressive mental illnesses. If you are honest about things, there really isn’t very much to feel exceeding great joy about. So what gives?
First of all, these men were scholars. These were not idle men. They had considerable learning and yet, their considerable store of knowledge told them that there was something they had not yet found. Thus, their pursuit of knowledge and learning was fueled by a desire to find someone. Most people who have a college degree often strut around, wearing their degrees emblazoned on their chest. These men have pursued knowledge and yet, they reached the conclusion that there is still something vital that is missing — they have not found Christ.
These men were living under the threat of the burgeoning Roman Empire. Rome was great but it was oppressive of conquered peoples, especially men of learning. They were taken as slaves and made to be governors and tutors for the children of rich Roman citizens. The time they lived in was not conducive to their pursuit: they were looking for a Messiah, the promised Deliverer. This was a dangerous preoccupation in those days where Roman Emperors were thought of as gods. Looking for a Deliverer sent from God was a treasonous activity.
These men left the comfort and safety of their workaday lives. They left everything familiar and known to follow — a star! That doesn’t make sense, does it? They have been studying and studying. They have been led by their readings to a book of prophecy that foretold of the coming of Messiah whose birth would be signaled by a star. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that there are billions of stars out there — which star was it? And they have seen this star! And now, they are leaving the comfort of their observation towers and they are going to travel in pursuit of the Savior whose Star they have seen. Now, if I were the wife of one of these men, I would have probably gone out the very next day and filed for annulment of our marriage on grounds of serious mental illness and psychological incapacity. No one leaves his home to follow a star. It doesn’t make sense.
The thing was, these men weren’t following a conviction, they weren’t pursuing a dream, they weren’t running after a hunch. They were eagerly anticipating the fulfillment of the prophecy of God’s Word. Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God. They had not banked their hopes on charts, on historical data or scientific evidence. They were seeking for God’s Perfect Will — Jesus Christ. This was not a wild goose chase, this was a journey of faith. They knew that God had promised to send His Son. They knew that His Son is the Messiah. They believed the Word of God that promised it and they went off to witness the fulfillment of that promise.
They didn’t know which way to go exactly. They didn’t know where the journey will lead them. They just knew that they had to find the Savior whose Star they have seen. In other words, they weren’t on a quest, or an obstacle course game. They were seeking God and their seeking was premised on the Word of God which never lies. It was something sure because the entire Scripture is a sure word of prophecy on which we can rely.
Their quest meant traversing desert. It meant exposure to the elements (the harsh sun and the bitter cold nights). It meant physical danger from robbers and wild animals. It meant coming across the skepticism of Herod and the blase disinterest of his court. It meant being faced with ignorance and disdain of their purpose. Just the same, they plodded on.
That is why, when they saw the star (presumably, the star was not seen for quite some time after they first saw it when they started out until that time when they were really close) — they rejoiced. They rejoiced exceedingly. They rejoiced greatly. They rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
Where I stand, there is no earthly experience that can compare with this kind of joy. Meeting Christ the Savior for the first time approximates that joy but that joy comes with a longing to see Him face to face so it is not that “exceeding great joy”. The exceeding great joy comes when we see him, finally, face to face, after we have known and loved Him from the pages of Scripture. The hope in these men’s hearts is the same hope we have. The same painstaking and determined search they began is the same looking for the blessed hope we have.
Often, when I speak of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, just like these wise men, people meet me with skepticism, with ignorance and with disdain. Their looks tell me what they think of me — they think I’m a fool or touched in the head. That’s OK. I am looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Even among “Christians” and “believers” I often see the same disdain and skepticism. That’s OK, too.
These wise men’s journey of faith was rewarded not just by them finally reaching their destination — Bethlehem. It was not rewarded by them seeing the child Jesus. It was rewarded by them finally coming to a place where they worshiped God. That is the chief end of man, to worship and to know God. That is what gives exceeding great joy. To find God and to worship Him gives exceeding great joy.
I have met many professing “Christians” and they profess to being saved and knowing Christ, but they are lackadaisical and often indifferent to the prospect of seeing Him and worshiping Him. They say they read the Scripture and they can even quote verses, but something is missing — there is no hunger or thirst for Christ that can only be satisfied with a living relationship with Him through the Word of God. They know OF Christ, but they don’t really know Christ.
I say this because when one truly knows Christ, one usually bends the knee to Christ. His exceeding greatness, power and holiness will lead one to bend the knee. Knowing Christ leads one to leave all to follow Christ. Knowing Christ leads one to live in submission to His will. Knowing Christ leads one to the death of the “self” in order to live unto Christ.
The question is, are you looking for Him? You can only find God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus Christ is the express image of God.. Jesus Christ is God. These men were called “wise” because they left all to find Jesus Christ. May we all be wise as well.