What a joyful sentence in the midst of this - or any - Christmas season! When they saw the star...
But wait a second, they had followed it for nights and days, and it led them to Israel to see the newborn King of the Jews. Why now did they rejoice?!
They were human, just as you and I are. Wouldn't you assume that the new king would be born in the capital of the country? Where the temple was? That is a natural assumption, if you hadn't read the prophecies, or hadn't read them closely enough. So, when they got to Jerusalem, they did the normal thing. They went to the palace and asked the present king. And they started a furor that caused many babies to die a terrible death.
Apparently, in their haste and wrong decision to go to Jerusalem and ask of Herod, the star vanished. In some way, they could no longer see it. But when they left Jerusalem without a solid answer to their question, the star suddenly appeared again, and (I believe) they realized their mistake and rejoiced that the star was still there. As it turned out, they were guided to Nazareth, not Bethlehem, and to the "house where Jesus was," and there they fell down and worshiped Him.
We all must seek Him and follow Him by faith. There is no other way. Sometimes the glitz and glimmer of this world, sometimes the noise and busyness, sometimes the schedules and demands, dim our view of faith. We lose our way, as it were, and we begin to come up with our own idea of what we should do. That is when we discover that we have made a mess of things and can't figure out how to get out of it all.
Repent means to turn and go another way. They left Jerusalem (repented?) and went another way when they saw the star. That brought great rejoicing!
May I encourage you, and me, this Christmas season? Keep your eyes on the Star of the season - Jesus. Turn away - in your heart - from all the noise, and schedules, and gift-buying, and gift-opening, and family gatherings, and dinners, and keep your eyes on the Star. That is where the change is. That is what will make Christmas - and your life! - different. It will cause you to "go home another way" (v. 12).
Like the chorus says:
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace."
- Helen H. Lemmel
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