As mentioned in our introduction post, each week we want to provide a sample of the riches and the fellowship from brother Titus Chu, as well as from the saints who have been enjoying these messages throughout the week in small groups. We hope this digest is able to bring you and those you share it with into the riches that we have enjoyed with one another.
This digest is based on the sixth message given by Brother Titus Chu. If you have not seen it already, you may watch it on the Youtube Channel. You may also want to read the outline and relevant Bible verses for this message.
Being a real seeker
In the fifth vision given at the birth of Jesus, we see a picture of the life of a real seeker. Joseph, Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds were all Jews, but these wise men were Gentiles! The visions of the change of age, from the age of Law to the age of grace, are concluded with the vision God gave to these wise men. We will compare these wise men with the other characters in this story, the scribes and Herod. What kind of people were they, and what example do they set for us today?
The Wise Men – Willing to pay a price to follow their vision
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 have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
– Matthew 2:1-2
Who were these wise men who came to see Jesus? The Greek word is magoi, from which we get the word magi. It could mean “those who study astronomy.” The Chinese translation implies they are “highly educated, fully equipped.” These men were those who were equipped with the riches of human life, with knowledge, with understanding of the existence of man. They were knowledgeable in many things, yet not as a professor, who is knowledgeable but content to teach the same material for thirty years. These wise men were pursuers. They pursued what is real. They were willing to pay a price to gain what is the top. When they saw the star they never saw before, they understood something great happened. They must not have been very young, yet a few of them could say: “Let’s go! Let’s go see!” These few wise men journeyed all the way to Jerusalem, possibly even travelling for as long as two years, so that they could see and worship the One born the King of the Jews.
(above from Daily Bible Verses and Devotional day 2)
Herod and the Scribes – Troubled and apathetic
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet…”
– Matthew 2:3-5
If the wise men represent those who were able to see a vision and pursue after it, Herod and the scribes are a warning about a different kind of response to a vision of the Lord. What does brother Titus say about Herod?
Do you know what happened? The Bible is very interesting. All the Jews were bothered. Weren’t they waiting for the Messiah? I don’t know why they were so bothered! Of course, Herod was bothered the most: “What are you talking about? One is going to be born King of the Jews? That means I will be overthrown! I’m the ruler!”
– Edited transcript, p. 5
To some of us, Herod’s response may not be surprising. Of course he would be bothered at losing his high position. But it’s encouraging that the scribes knew the Scriptures well enough to know where the Christ was to be born, right? Wrong! Brother Titus asks, if they knew, then why were they still sitting in Jerusalem? Why didn’t they go to worship the Lord as the wise men desired to do?
Brothers, what is your feeling?
I am happy, with my poor disposition, that I am in this age. If I was in that age, I would have grabbed the scribes and shaken them real hard. “Wake up, you stupid! You know all of this, but where are you actually?! You know the truth, you know the Bible, you’ve studied it, you’ve spent a lot of time in the truth, you read this book and that book, you have pursued a lot, but eventually, where are you? What really counts? WHERE ARE YOU?” Listen to them! Doesn’t their response make you so sad? “Yeah yeah, I know…in Bethlehem!”
– Edited transcript, p. 6
Word of encouragement:
Saints, are we pursuers of the Lord in this way, like the wise men? Are we willing to pay a price to gain the top of what the Lord has to offer? Or are we content to stay in the knowledge we gained thirty years ago? It is not enough to be one of the wise men in the East, full of knowledge, but we have to be those willing to travel, to journey, to pursue to find the Lord in a fresh way. Oh Lord have mercy on us! Make us willing to go! To seek out where you are!
(above from Daily Bible Verses and Devotional day 2)
Children’s Activity
Follow the link below to go to an interactive online coloring page! As your child colors the scene of the wise men and the star, you can teach them that God desires and honors those who are willing to seek Him at any cost. These wise men were not like Herod, who enjoyed his worldly position, or the scribes, who knew the scriptures but had no reality of God. Rather, they followed the vision they had faithfully until they found Jesus.
Coloring page – wise men and the star
Following the star
As the wise men faithfully followed their vision with seeking hearts, the Lord responded by allowing the star they saw to go before them and lead them onward.
When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
– Matthew 2:9-10
It is surprising— marvelous, even— that eventually the star came down for the wise men. We don’t know how many times the star had appeared to them, maybe every morning for two years, yet it was always high in the sky, far away, remote, leading them to Jerusalem. They knew that only the Jewish religion had God, that all the others were only superstitious religions. Now, when they found that place, they said, “Ok, we are going to Bethlehem.” As they were on their way, the star descended to a place. The Bible says it “went ahead of them” (Matt. 2:9).
Brothers, if the star was so high in the heavenlies, how could it lead them to Bethlehem? How could it lead them to the specific house? It must have come lower and lower in their sight. But what does that mean? It means that you must not despise the vision that you see. If you are faithful to the vision you see, the vision will become more and more intimate. The vision will become close; it will become near to you. The vision can lead you; it can even become the reality of your footsteps. You’re able to go step by step because of that vision. Faithfulness to a vision is not a small thing.
– Edited transcript, p. 6
The vision will become intimate, the vision will be close.
The star came lower and lower as the wise men followed it, to the point they could just walk behind and follow the star. With each step they took, the vision became clearer and clearer. What a touching scene!
– Comment by brother Samuel Huoh
How wonderful is this picture! The wise men firstly were seekers, willing to pay a price to pursue their God-given vision. In being faithful to the vision they saw, the star went from being distant, high in the sky, to being so intimate, able to lead them step by step to the house where the Lord was. The Lord desires for each one of us to have this kind of romantic journey following Him―paying a price to follow a vision of Him and being faithful to the vision we’ve seen as it becomes more and more close and intimate to us. Consider how the first lines in verses one and three of the closing hymn by Charlotte Elliott matches this two-part experience: “Lord, Thou hast made Thyself to me / A living, bright reality” and “Nearer and dearer still to me / Thou living loving Savior be.”
Closing Hymn:
- Lord, Thou hast made Thyself to me
A living, bright reality,
More present to faith’s vision keen
Than any earthly object seen;
More dear, more intimately nigh
Than e’en the closest earthly tie. - And Thou, blest vision of my soul,
Hast made my broken nature whole;
Hast purified my base desires,
And kindled passion’s holiest fires;
My nature Thou hast lifted up,
And filled me with a glorious hope. - Nearer and dearer still to me,
Thou living, loving Savior be;
Brighter the vision of Thy face,
More charming still Thy words of grace;
So, life shall be transformed to love,
Thy grace and mercy more to prove.
