Sometime after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men from the East came looking for him.

There are a lot of things we don’t know about the wise men. We don’t know exactly when they showed up (it wasn’t with the shepherds). We don’t know exactly where they were from (maybe Babylon or Persia). And we don’t even know exactly how many of them there were (although they brought three presents).

But what we do know about the wise men is what matters most. They came to worship Jesus. They saw a star, perhaps some kind of comet, in the sky, and they knew that a heavenly King had been born. The wise men weren’t kings themselves. They were magi, astrologers and priests from a pagan land. They may not have known much about the Bible, but somehow they were much closer to the truth from a distant country than King Herod was from right in Jerusalem.

Herod should have been happy to hear about the birth of Jesus. He should have thrown a party for the long-awaited Messiah. But instead of a party, Herod started to plan. And plot. And scheme. Herod was a jealous king, and he wanted to get rid of any rivals to his throne.

So he asked the chief priests and scribes where the Christ was to be born. They said Bethlehem. Then he asked the wise men when the star had appeared, and he sent the magi to Bethlehem to find the child.

And find him they did. And when they did, the Bible says they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy! That means they were really, extremely, super-duper happy. They found Jesus with his mother, Mary, and they fell down and worshiped him. It was just like the prophets had foretold: nations would come to his light, and nations would bow down before him. Then the wise men gave Jesus their three gifts. No dinosaur toys or video games or building blocks to play with, just gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Happy wise men. And smart too. Herod said he wanted to meet the baby so he could worship him, but the magi weren’t so sure. Herod didn’t seem like the kind of guy to worship anyone but himself. The wise men were warned in a dream to skip their meeting with Herod and head back home by another way.

They didn’t need to visit Herod; they had found a better King in Jesus. And what a contrast between these two kings. A petty king in a stately palace, and the King of kings in a lowly stall. A king who lives to kill, and a King who is born to die. The good news is that we don’t have to search for King Jesus. He has already come to us. And when we meet him, if we are wise men and women too, we will bow down and worship.