Once upon a writing class, I remember a professor saying there are only two kinds of plots: a character goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town. In recent Christmas seasons, I’ve found myself mentally sorting storylines into buckets of “journey” or “stranger.”
Think about the holiday content you’ve consumed recently—and may even have streaming in the background as you wrap presents or bake cookies today. Although a few stories may be a little more difficult to sort, most fit neatly into one of two categories.
- If you and your daughter twirled into a local production of The Nutcracker ballet, you watched Clara as she was guided through a magical world and then brought safely home. Journey.
- If your roommates turned on the latest Netflix Christmas rom-com, you may have witnessed a snowman coming to life and disrupting the world of a grieving widow. Stranger.
- If you read any version of A Christmas Carol with your kids, you joined Ebeneezer Scrooge as he revisited moments in his life and experienced genuine heart transformation. Journey.
And, of course, there are the hundreds of Hallmark-style Christmas movies streamed each year, many of which feature overwhelmed female protagonists as they travel away from their busy lives back home to their small towns, finding their priorities reset somewhere along snow-covered paths.
Whether or not you enjoy these stories, the motivations driving their characters often hit close to home. After all, each one is chasing connection, nostalgia, purpose, or comfort. Each one is worshipingsomething. Few are worshiping Someone. As your own Christmas story unfolds, what—or Whom—will you be caught seeking?
A Journey Worth Taking
One of my favorite parts of the biblical Christmas story isn’t found in Luke 2, though thousands will read that passage tonight as part of their Christmas Eve traditions. While Luke captures the local shepherds’ visit to the manger, only Matthew introduces us to the Magi, whose journey offers a reminder that the impact of Christ’s arrival went beyond Bethlehem.
Before the Magi appear, Matthew begins with a genealogy, which includes a list of familiar Old Testament characters who went on significant journeys:
- Abraham left his homeland and set out in obedience to the Lord, though he didn’t know where he was going (Gen. 12:1–5; Heb. 11:8–10).
- Jacob fled from his brother and later returned, wrestling with God along the way (Gen. 28–33).
- Ruth followed Naomi to Bethlehem, where she found redemption and a place in the lineage of David (Ruth 1–4).
- David was first a shepherd boy, later a fugitive, and finally a king (1 Sam. 16–2 Sam. 5). “From this man’s descendants,” Acts 13:23 says, “God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.”
This list of descendants lived in faith for what God had promised, though they lived generations before the long-awaited Messiah. The genealogy in Matthew 1 culminates with His entrance. Jesus is not merely a “stranger coming to town” in the literary sense, but the Son of God born in Bethlehem.
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah:
Because out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.” (Matthew 2:6)
In Pursuit of the King
The Magi’s story in Matthew 2 brings both archetypes together. They were outsiders to the Jewish faith—pagan astrologers and sorcerers—who seemed to have knowledge of the Old Testament prophecy given between the time of Abraham and David:
A star will come from Jacob,
and a scepter will arise from Israel. (Numbers 24:17)
They recognized the star as a sign of the King, and they traveled far to find Him.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1–2)
After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:9–11)
The wise men approached Jesus with worship and overwhelming joy; they brought gifts associated with royalty and presented them to the young King. Encountering the Christ-child wasn’t a detour on their journey to something better—He was the treasure they were seeking all along. Their Christmas journey ended in adoration.
What Are You Seeking?
Many others who awaited Jesus’ birth wanted what He could do for them. They awaited a king to overthrow Rome, not a Savior to overcome their sin. As Jesus grew and began His adult ministry, the crowds welcomed Him, hoping He would conquer the oppressive Roman rule and establish an earthly kingdom (John 12:12–13). They wanted His power. They wanted safety, security, and relief from their circumstances. They wanted deliverance. It doesn’t take much for us to approach Him in a similar way, seeking His blessings rather than surrendering to His kingship.
But the wise men show another option. Look back at Matthew 2:10–11 again: “When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him.” Let their example guide you to treasure the true King this Christmas:
1. Look back at the promises God has fulfilled.
Consider the promises He’s fulfilled: from Abraham’s call to the baby born in Bethlehem to the gift of salvation extended to Gentiles in this generation. “What God had promised, he was also able to do” (Rom. 4:21). “None of the good promises the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled” (Josh. 21:45). “Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23).
2. Remember who you are in His story.
The wise men, sorcerers and sinners though they were, were not kept from Christ. You too came to Him in need of redemption. Not only were you invited to meet Jesus, He met you with grace and mercy and invited you into His family. “‘Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Matt. 9:13). “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). “When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4–5).
3. Rejoice in your King.
When the wise men encountered Jesus, they were “overwhelmed with joy.” As you consider who He is, let your heart sing with gratitude that He has come. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). “Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Pet. 1:8). “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).
A Story Worth Celebrating
This Christmas, amid the cocoa and coziness of the season, remember: you’re invited to be part of a celebration that exceeds even the most heartwarming holiday tales. At the center of it all stands Jesus—the fulfillment of the most glorious story ever written and the long-awaited hope of the world.
The prophets proclaimed Him. The wise men sought Him. May you find your joy in worshiping the King this Christmas.
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