January 9, 2026
Key Verse 2: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
The year 2025 has ended, and the New Year of 2026 has begun. At the end and beginning of the year, we have various things to think about, plan, and accomplish. Despite such things, we should still take time to think about God and plan for the New Year.
Christ is our King. Because he is our King, He can give us guidance for the New Year.
Let us thank Him for this year and receive from Him the best guidance for the New Year.
May God bless you with His guidance for the New Year.
1. The Visit of the Newborn King (1-8)
To welcome the New Year, we follow the example of the Wise Men and visit our King.
“Where is the newborn King? We have come to worship Him,” the Wise Men from the East asked in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, we don't know exactly where the East is. It could have been Mesopotamia.
The Wise Men from the East were astrologers (magicians) who followed the Star of Bethlehem to find the newborn Jesus, bring Him gifts (gold, frankincense, myrrh), and worship Him.
These men came from what is known as the East. It is assumed that they probably originated from Persia. These scholars, known as the Wise Men, were likely astrologers. In this capacity, they observed the rising of a new star in the sky.
Quelle: https://www.lignoma.com/de/magazin/heilige-drei-koenige/
I could travel from Chicago to Düsseldorf by plane in only nine hours. Back then, however, there were neither airplanes nor trains nor cars. Therefore, the Wise Men had to travel by camel, donkey, or on foot. It took them one to two months to reach Jerusalem. For this journey, they had to take bread and drinking water with them or buy it along the way. And they had to find lodging every night.
Why did they undertake this arduous journey?
Their question gives us the answer: “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.”
They were searching for the newborn King of the Jews to worship him.
The birth of Christ is good news for all people, for he is the King of Kings and the Redeemer of all people. That is why the Wise Men also wanted to see the newborn child with their own eyes, rejoice in Him, and worship Him.
These teach us that we, too, should acknowledge Jesus as King of Kings and Savior, rejoice in his coming, and worship him.
But some did not rejoice at all at the birth of the Savior. King Herod was a prime example. Instead of rejoicing, he was horrified.
Why was he horrified? Because he feared that the Messiah would ascend his throne. He valued his kingship more highly than God and clung to it. He also feared divine punishment for his sins, for he had murdered many innocent people, including his wife Mariamne. He had killed many innocents, even his own son.
Not only he but all of Jerusalem was gripped by fear of Herod's potential atrocities.
But Herod was cunning and presented himself as a pious king. He summoned all the chief priests and scribes and asked them where Christ would be born. They answered him, “Bethlehem in Judea; for it is written in the book of the prophet Micah 5:1: ‘And you, Bethlehem in the land of Judea, are by no means least among the clans of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and first asked them exactly when the star had appeared. Then he said to them, “Go and search carefully for the Christ Child. When you have found the child, let me know so that I too may come and worship him.”
Herod cleverly disguised himself as someone who wanted to visit and worship Christ's birthplace. In reality, however, he wanted to kill Christ as he saw Him as a threat to his kingdom. He felt threatened because Christ was referred to as the newborn King of the Jews. Herod himself was not a Jew, but an Idumaean. The Idumaeans, also called Edomites, were descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob.
https://biblehub.com/atlas/idumea.htm
The Idumaeans were also called Edomites. They lived south of the Salt Sea. David (reigned 1004–971 BCE) incorporated the Edomites' territory into his kingdom. The Edomites separated from Judah in 850 BCE and formed an independent kingdom. Later, they became first an Assyrian vassal state, then a Neo-Babylonian province in 552 BCE, and finally a Persian province from 539 to 400 BCE.
Jude Maccabee came from a priestly family descended from Aaron. When the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus I (reigned 134–104 BCE) conquered Idumea, he forced the Idumaeans to be circumcised and to convert to Judaism. Thus, all Idumaeans were obligated to convert to Judaism. The Hasmonean kingdom, however, only lasted about 100 years before the Romans conquered the land in 63 BC.
Herod the Great was an Idumaean, born into a Judaized family. In 47 BC, he became a general in Galilee. In 40 BC, his political acumen led to his appointment by the Roman Senate as king of Judea. He then expanded his territory. For example, Jerusalem fell in 37 BC along with the Maccabean king Antigonus after bloody battles. Herod continued his conquests and advanced almost to the borders of the Davidic kingdom.
However, since God's word in Deuteronomy 17:15 explicitly forbade appointing non-Israelites as king over Israel, the devout Jews refused to recognize Herod as their king.
Herod was, however, a political genius. He tried to satisfy both Jews and Romans. To this end, he excommunicated the Jewish government in 42 BC. Herod married his first wife, Mariamne, a Hasmonean, in 21 BC. To appease the Jews, he also began rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. He rebuilt Samaria and renamed it "City of Augustus" to appease the Romans.
But he was a cruel man. Out of mistrust, he even had some of his own sons killed by his eight wives. Hence the saying, "Herod's pigs are safer than his own sons." When Christ was born in the last years of his reign (4 BC), he had all the infants in the vicinity of Bethlehem killed in an attempt to eliminate Christ. But his attempt to murder Christ was in vain, and he himself died shortly afterward.
In reality, Herod had nothing to fear from Christ. He simply needed to repent of his sins and accept forgiveness through faith in Christ. He should have rejoiced at Christ's birth, for Christ was born for him too. But he refused to repent. Instead, he saw Christ as a threat to his kingdom and wanted to kill him. At first, he tried to conceal his evil intentions. Therefore, he asked the wise men where they could find the Christ Child.
The wise men suspected nothing of his true intentions. So they answered him with "Yes!" and continued their journey to Bethlehem.
2. The Adoration of the King (9-11)
The Magi from the East had heard from King Herod that Christ must have been born in Bethlehem. So they went to Bethlehem. And behold, the star they had seen in the east went before them until it stood over the house where the Christ Child was.
What message does God teach us through the actions of the Magi?
First: Jesus is our joy, just as He was the joy of the Magi (verse 10).
Verse 10 reads: “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.”
The Magi rejoiced immensely when, guided by the star, they found the Christ Child. In their joy, they forgot all their previous worries and troubles.
People have many reasons to rejoice. They rejoice in their children, their spouse, their prosperity, their academic or professional success, and so on. Sports fans cheer their team's victory. Scientists rejoice in their research achievements. The Magi from the East rejoiced because they had found Christ. They had undertaken an arduous journey to find this Christ.
But what is the difference between our joy and the joy of the Magi? Our joy over our family, our wealth, or our successes is limited and lasts at most 100 years. The joy over the Christ Child, however, is infinite, despite all tragedies such as misfortune, sickness, and death, for He gives us eternal life, the Kingdom of God, and true joy. We should accept the Good News and rejoice in this divine joy. The joy of Jesus Christ can give us a holy, blessed life and joy, despite all our illnesses, even our terminal illness. I often receive messages from Stephan and Seungmi that their children are doing well. Such news makes me happy. But Christ is my and our greatest joy, for He is our God and our Savior. He gives us eternal, blessed life and the Kingdom of Heaven. And He is always with us. This is what we should rejoice in.
What or whom do we rejoice in? Who or what can give us the greatest and most lasting joy?
The Three Wise Men from the East show us that Jesus Christ is our greatest and most lasting joy.
Why? – Because He is the Christ.
Second: Jesus is King, whom we should worship with all our hearts (verse 11).
The wise men asked, “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
The wise men had come from afar to worship the newborn Jesus, for he is the true King and Savior. When they found the Christ Child, they fell down and worshiped him. And they brought him precious treasures as gifts.
The entire Bible says that Jesus, or God, is our King.
Until 1000 BC, Israel had no king, even though its neighboring countries had long had kings, because God alone wanted to be their King. But the Israelites longed for a human king like their neighbors. Then God spoke to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in everything they have told you, for they have not rejected you, but me, as their King.” (1 Samuel 8:7)
So Saul became the first king of Israel, and then David. But neither Saul nor David nor their successors could become true kings for them, for they all had to die.
The wise men from the East then said they had come to worship the newborn king.
No earthly human being can be our king. Only God alone is our true king.
Why is God alone our true king?
Because God is the Creator. He personally created us. He knows us, our situations, and our needs perfectly. No human being in the world knows us, our circumstances, and our needs as well as God. And no human king is capable of mastering every situation and guiding it for the best. But God can, for He is God. And He loves us and directs everything for our good. His perfect guidance, of course, does not always mean that we will not experience difficulties. But He directs all events so that they perfectly correspond to His will. His will is also what is best for us who love God (Romans 8:28).
We are to accept Jesus wholeheartedly as our King, trust Him, follow Him, and serve Him. This is the way to a fulfilled life. However, many Christians only partially accept this truth. They may theoretically acknowledge that Jesus Christ is their King, but they do not trust Him. Nor do they want to serve Him willingly. Instead, they expect Christ to serve them and fulfill their worldly desires. This is a great misunderstanding. We are to abandon our false conception of Christ and embrace a true understanding. We are to come to Christ to worship Him and surrender ourselves to Him.
If we primarily try to fulfill our own desires through Jesus Christ, we will be unhappy. But if we worship and serve Jesus Christ, we will experience His abundant blessings and heavenly joy, His true blessings, and His kingdom.
Third: Jesus is worthy of our heartfelt gifts.
After the Magi from the East had worshipped the infant Jesus, they laid their treasures on him and presented him with their gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (12).
Gold was the symbol of kingship at that time. Frankincense represented the priesthood, and myrrh symbolized his suffering and death.
Because they rejoiced so much in the Savior Jesus Christ, they gave him their gifts. However, they expected nothing in return from Jesus. Their motivation to visit Christ was also pure. Afterward, they returned to their country.
Some misunderstand the goal of faith in Jesus Christ. They want to receive earthly blessings from Jesus. Of course, Jesus Christ blesses in many ways. But our motivation for faith should be pure, for He has given us great joy through the forgiveness of sins, worship, fellowship with Christ, and the Kingdom of Heaven.
I am glad that I have found Jesus Christ and can have fellowship with Him. With joy and gratitude, I offer Him my three gifts: my autobiography, my tithes, and my sermons in German, English, and Korean.
Every Christian can consider what gift they can offer Jesus Christ. God will bless them with heavenly joy.
Let us experience great joy in Jesus this new year, worship Him as our King, and offer Him our gifts. He will surely make us happy and give us much joy. In this way, we can be a blessing to our families, friends, and countless others, just as God promised us in Genesis 12:2-3.
May God bless you all in the new year!