The Gospel Is for the Seeking
Matthew 2:1–12 and the Restless Heart
Our lives are often filled with a low rumble of restlessness. We know we should be content, yet something inside us keeps reaching for more. Grandparents running from event to event, students juggling school and activities, and parents balancing work and home all feel it. Maybe it is the never-ending to do list. Maybe it is the hope that if we can just finish this week, then the peace we crave will finally arrive. Maybe it is the next purchase, the next upgrade, or the next relationship that promises satisfaction. I have known people who spent their entire lives burning through money, relationships, hobbies, and toys in the hope that something would finally settle the ache inside. It never does. The ache remains.
In our Christmas series, The Gospel Is Rated E for Everyone, we have looked at how the gospel meets us in every circumstance. We have seen that the gospel is for the lowly, for the thankful, and for the forgotten. This week we remember that the gospel is also for the seeking. Matthew 2 introduces us to men who, on the surface, had every answer. They were educated, respected, powerful, and wealthy. They had what many people spend their lives chasing, yet they were still searching for something more. Matthew does not highlight their success. He highlights their longing. They arrive in Jerusalem asking, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” They had wealth, knowledge, and influence, but they were still looking. They traveled nearly nine hundred miles from Babylon to Jerusalem with one purpose. They had come to worship Him.
Jerusalem seemed like the logical place to find a newborn king, but when they arrived they found no celebrations and no answers, only politics and silence. They had the right longing but had begun in the wrong place. Many of us know that feeling. We search for meaning and satisfaction, but we aim our search at success, approval, relationships, experiences, comfort, and control. We climb ladder after ladder only to realize the top is not what we hoped. A house can be full while a heart remains empty. A career can flourish while peace stays distant. Even a beautifully planned Christmas can leave us lonely. The problem is not that we long for too much. The problem is that we settle for far too little. We were created for Someone eternal, yet we try to quiet that longing with temporary things.
When the wise men reached Jerusalem, Herod and the entire city became troubled. If there was a true King of the Jews, Herod’s throne and the religious leaders’ influence were in danger. Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes and asked where the Messiah would be born. They quoted Scripture immediately. They knew the prophecy. They knew the location. Bethlehem was only six miles away, yet not one of them went to see the child. They knew the truth but never moved toward it.
Some of us live in that same position. We know the right verses. We know where Jesus is. We know the truth in our minds, yet we never let our lives move toward Him. The wise men, on the other hand, did not know all the Scriptures, but they had genuine desire. They did not have full understanding, but they were willing to take the next step. They had a star, a prophecy, and very few details, but they moved forward. After they left Herod, Matthew tells us that the star went before them. God guides those who take the next step, even if the step feels small. Those who are genuinely seeking will not always have perfect theology, but God knows how to redirect an honest heart. The wise men looked in the wrong city and God redirected them. They asked the wrong king and God still guided them. They walked forward with limited knowledge and God led them the rest of the way.
Eventually the star took them to a simple house, not a palace. Their search ended not in a throne room but in front of a child in the arms of His mother. When they saw Him, they fell down and worshiped. Their joy overflowed because their journey had finally brought them to the One their hearts were made for. They brought gifts that quietly revealed the gospel long before Jesus spoke His first recorded words. Gold declared Him King. Frankincense declared Him God. Myrrh pointed toward His sacrifice. They did not worship the star, the journey, or their own knowledge. They worshiped Jesus. When our searching finally brings us to Him, the restless heart finds its rest. True worship begins when we recognize that Jesus is enough. Not Jesus plus success or control or comfort. Just Jesus.
I once sat across from a man who had everything he ever wanted. He had the good job, the new truck, the beautiful house, the star athlete child, and a yard filled with Christmas lights. He looked at me and said, “I should be happy, but I’m not. I worked twenty five years to get here and it still does not feel like enough.” He was not falling apart and he was not in crisis, but the ache under the surface would not go away. The wise men would understand him. They had wealth, reputation, and knowledge, yet they crossed a desert to kneel in front of a child because they knew He was what they had been searching for.
If that same restlessness follows you, hear this with gentleness. Your search is not the problem. Your heart’s hunger is not the problem. It may simply be that your ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. The invitation of Matthew 2 is not to try harder or be more spiritual. The invitation is to bring your searching heart to Jesus. He is not threatened by your questions. He is not surprised by your confusion. He is not put off by your past. He is the One your soul was built for.
In our Christmas series, The Gospel Is Rated E for Everyone, we have looked at how the gospel meets us in every circumstance. We have seen that the gospel is for the lowly, for the thankful, and for the forgotten. This week we remember that the gospel is also for the seeking. Matthew 2 introduces us to men who, on the surface, had every answer. They were educated, respected, powerful, and wealthy. They had what many people spend their lives chasing, yet they were still searching for something more. Matthew does not highlight their success. He highlights their longing. They arrive in Jerusalem asking, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” They had wealth, knowledge, and influence, but they were still looking. They traveled nearly nine hundred miles from Babylon to Jerusalem with one purpose. They had come to worship Him.
Jerusalem seemed like the logical place to find a newborn king, but when they arrived they found no celebrations and no answers, only politics and silence. They had the right longing but had begun in the wrong place. Many of us know that feeling. We search for meaning and satisfaction, but we aim our search at success, approval, relationships, experiences, comfort, and control. We climb ladder after ladder only to realize the top is not what we hoped. A house can be full while a heart remains empty. A career can flourish while peace stays distant. Even a beautifully planned Christmas can leave us lonely. The problem is not that we long for too much. The problem is that we settle for far too little. We were created for Someone eternal, yet we try to quiet that longing with temporary things.
When the wise men reached Jerusalem, Herod and the entire city became troubled. If there was a true King of the Jews, Herod’s throne and the religious leaders’ influence were in danger. Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes and asked where the Messiah would be born. They quoted Scripture immediately. They knew the prophecy. They knew the location. Bethlehem was only six miles away, yet not one of them went to see the child. They knew the truth but never moved toward it.
Some of us live in that same position. We know the right verses. We know where Jesus is. We know the truth in our minds, yet we never let our lives move toward Him. The wise men, on the other hand, did not know all the Scriptures, but they had genuine desire. They did not have full understanding, but they were willing to take the next step. They had a star, a prophecy, and very few details, but they moved forward. After they left Herod, Matthew tells us that the star went before them. God guides those who take the next step, even if the step feels small. Those who are genuinely seeking will not always have perfect theology, but God knows how to redirect an honest heart. The wise men looked in the wrong city and God redirected them. They asked the wrong king and God still guided them. They walked forward with limited knowledge and God led them the rest of the way.
Eventually the star took them to a simple house, not a palace. Their search ended not in a throne room but in front of a child in the arms of His mother. When they saw Him, they fell down and worshiped. Their joy overflowed because their journey had finally brought them to the One their hearts were made for. They brought gifts that quietly revealed the gospel long before Jesus spoke His first recorded words. Gold declared Him King. Frankincense declared Him God. Myrrh pointed toward His sacrifice. They did not worship the star, the journey, or their own knowledge. They worshiped Jesus. When our searching finally brings us to Him, the restless heart finds its rest. True worship begins when we recognize that Jesus is enough. Not Jesus plus success or control or comfort. Just Jesus.
I once sat across from a man who had everything he ever wanted. He had the good job, the new truck, the beautiful house, the star athlete child, and a yard filled with Christmas lights. He looked at me and said, “I should be happy, but I’m not. I worked twenty five years to get here and it still does not feel like enough.” He was not falling apart and he was not in crisis, but the ache under the surface would not go away. The wise men would understand him. They had wealth, reputation, and knowledge, yet they crossed a desert to kneel in front of a child because they knew He was what they had been searching for.
If that same restlessness follows you, hear this with gentleness. Your search is not the problem. Your heart’s hunger is not the problem. It may simply be that your ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. The invitation of Matthew 2 is not to try harder or be more spiritual. The invitation is to bring your searching heart to Jesus. He is not threatened by your questions. He is not surprised by your confusion. He is not put off by your past. He is the One your soul was built for.
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