What Made the Wise Men wise? Matthew 2

What Made the Wise Men wise?

Prior to the arrival of the Messiah's birth the wise men mentioned in Matthew 2 already had the title of being Wise Men. There is no doubt these men were highly trained, skilled, and intelligent. People respected these men who were held in high esteem for their knowledge and class. But, what was it about these men that made them wise? Was it all the things they had been taught in their lifetime? Was it some type of mystical aura about them that made them wise? Was it their ability to maybe predict the future? Was it their skill in math and science, which very few ever seem to master? All of these undoubtably added to their wise stature, but wasn't the things that made them wise. What made them wise was their keen awareness of what was around them, which led them to act. In other words, their wisdom flowed from the fact they were able to hear and see truth and act in accordance to what they had seen and heard. They saw a star. It wasn't just any star to them. In fact, the star that lit up the night was a sign for the king of the Jews, which was prophesied about in Numbers 24:17. Also, as they pursued where this star was, they entered in Jerusalem asking where the prophets predicted this King's birthplace. They were told Bethlehem. They heard the answer and went to Bethlehem. Prior to leaving the place where the baby Jesus resided, they were warned in a dream not to return the same way they came. They heard what to do and acted in accordance to what they were told. This is what made the wise men truly wise.

Later on in Matthew 8:24, Jesus will say, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." The context of Jesus' statement came in the discourse in the Sermon on the Mount. However, the truth in which he espouses coincides to that of the wise men. They had read about the truth of the star of Jacob. They had believed they had seen the star. They had left to pursue the place where the king would be. They continued to follow the prophecy of this king, which led them to Bethlehem. Being warned in a divine dream not to return the same way, they departed and used an alternate route. They were able to hear truth and act in accordance to that truth. This is what makes wise men truly wise. Are you wise? Am I wise?

Today we live in a world where people think they are wise, smart, intelligent, knowledgeable. You could say they are modern day wise men and women who are experts in their fields, best in their class, salesmen of the year, compute and engineering geniuses, or multi-millionaires. Nevertheless, this does not make anyone wise. What makes them wise is the ability to hear and see truth, and respond to that truth in a positive way. This again, is what makes wise men truly wise!

We Have All We Need

2 Peter 1:3-4

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Christ's divine power has granted to us everything that pertains to us living and living godly. This divine power is given through the knowledge of Jesus. In order to embrace life to the fullest and live like we were created and designed to live, we must understand Jesus; who he was and how he lived. Also, in order for us to please God our maker we must constantly increase our knowledge of Christ. And it is Jesus who called us to his own glory. In other words, this knowledge is not a vain knowledge or empty one, but rather it is an intimate, glorious, personal, and good knowledge of Jesus. Accompanied with this glorious and transforming knowledge of Jesus, is promises. Through these promises believers become partakers of the divine nature and able to escape the corruption that is in the world. Basically what Peter points out for the believer is that we have divine power (in Christ) through this divine knowledge (of Christ), therefore we have been given a divine nature (like Christ) that is able to be untainted from the sinful nature of the world and its immoral passions. Believers can live for, unto, and like Christ given the fact they have his power, knowledge, and nature living inside of them. This is why Peter goes on to say and encourage the believers to continue to add to their faith.