The Wise Men Worship Jesus

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-23, Philippians 2:9-11

Though it’s been over a decade, I still remember kneeling with my face to the ground, begging God for a legal way for me and my husband to build a life somewhere else as we faced the political unrest and economic crisis in our country of origin. When my body’s position matched that of my heart, it was an act of absolute surrender and worship.

There is something about kneeling that involves the whole person; we feel it in our joints and in our shoulders as our physical frame carries the weight that causes our knees to fold. That’s how I imagine the magi’s response. The wording in today’s passage sounds almost instinctive. There’s a physical reaction that expressed what was happening within their hearts: “Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11).

That day on my knees with my face to the ground, with my great need as my only offering, I looked for hope. Entering God’s presence, all I could do was surrender. The answer to our prayer took time, but God met us in the waiting. The wise men entered that house looking for the Savior of the world and true King, and beholding Him, utter devotion is all they could express with bent knees and with their gifts brought from afar. Something profound happens when we seek Jesus, long for Him, and find our longing finally ends as we enter His presence.

We see the story of Advent riddled with wonder, danger, promise, and worldly powers with evil in mind. Jesus was born right in the midst of it all! His birth declares, “Lord, Your kingdom come.” Advent is when heaven and earth meet, and in that thin space we find Immanuel with us.

I’m personally deeply moved by today’s passages. Paul wrote to the Philippians that God exalted Jesus, “so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow–in heaven and on earth and under the earth–and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” We see this statement affirmed in these wise men, foreigners from afar, who followed the signs they saw to find the Messiah. When they did, they fell to their knees in adoration. 

The Bible says that “fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Unlike dread or panic, this fear is awe and reverence. The kind that drew the wise men to their knees, making themselves small before a child who was God incarnate. The immensity of that moment was also a thin space. And when they entered His presence, worship was the only response. Oh, to enter this Advent season small and close to the ground, on our knees, where we can find Immanuel with us.

Written by Paola Barrera