Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
We don’t know much about the Magi, who are traditionally called the Wise Men. They came from the “east” to Judea, because they had seen an unusual star and interpreted it as a sign of the birth of a new Jewish king. They were looking for “the One who has been born king of the Jews” At first the Magi came to Jerusalem to see if King Herod could direct them to the newborn king. Herod wasn’t much help. Guided by the star, the Magi traveled to Bethlehem, where they found Jesus. As they approached Him, “they bowed down and worshiped Him,” and then offered their famous treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After they were done visiting Jesus, they were “warned in a dream” not to go back to Herod, so they went home “by another route.” As I reflect on this familiar story, I’m impressed by the boldness of the Magi. They were risk-taking people, to be sure. For one thing, they believed that the star pointed to the birth of a king, so they endured considerable inconvenience in order to worship Him. Then, when they came before the child Jesus, they boldly bowed and offered their gifts. Finally, because of what they perceived through a dream, they chose to disobey King Herod, something they surely realized endangered their lives. These Magi were bold men. Hebrews 4:16 invites us to be like the Magi. It’s a little hard to see this in the NIV, which reads, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence.” “Confidence” is not the obvious or best translation of the Greek word parresia. Parresia is usually rendered as “boldness,” as in the NRSV: “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness.” The KJV reads, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.” Because Jesus, the Son of God, is our great High Priest, because He understands what it’s like to be fully human, since He was born into this world, we are invited to come before God, not with fear nor with hesitation, not even with quiet reverence, but with boldness. Because Jesus was one of us, something we celebrate at Christmas, we have astounding freedom to come before God, to tell God everything we need to say, and to know that we will “receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). So, as you reflect on the Magi in the Christmas story, as you are impressed by their boldness, not just admire them. Imitate them. Approach God’s throne boldly. Know that, because of Jesus Christ, God is ready to shower you with mercy and grace in your time of need. Comments are closed.
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