Celebrating the Fourth Wise Man

He delivered the city by his wisdom

“There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it. Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man” Ecclesiastes 9:14-15 N.I.V).

In Matthew 2:1-12 we read about the Magi who visited the Messiah. After they found him they responded with joy, worship and gifts. "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and 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...On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh". These gifts remind us of Christ and his Glory.

These wise men bearing precious gifts have become a Christmas tradition. They are thought to have been wealth, educated and of high position.

However the Savior mentioned in Ecclesiastes is not usually mentioned at Christmas time because the wise man was poor. In  Ecclesiastes 9:14-18 we read, "There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.  The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good".

People tend to romanticize the high position of Christ. They forget that even though he was from a royal position in heaven he came to the earth to save as a poor man of low position and was often despised for it. in 2 Corinthians 8:9, it is written " For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich".

Christ came down to us even though we are part of such a small planet in the middle of the universe. In his wisdom he came down to save us from the wiles of the devil who has built large siege works against us. Let us not despise this wisdom which was clothed in humility and his immense love for each one of us.

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"In consequence of our limited ideas of the sufferings of Christ, we place a low estimate upon the great work of the atonement. The glorious plan of man's salvation was brought about through the infinite love of God the Father. In this divine plan is seen the most marvelous manifestation of the love of God to the fallen race". Ellen G. White