Wise Men Follow Jesus By Following the Dawning of Revelation

David W Palmer

(Matthew 2:1–3 NKJV) Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, {2} saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” {3} When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

When we receive Jesus’s new birth, it’s like he is born all over again in us; he then begins to grow to maturity in and through our lives as we grow spiritually. When the “wise” men in this story received a revelation from God that Jesus had come to birth, they set out on a journey following him—or at least following his star. This is a great place for us to begin too … if, that is, we understand what Peter said in his letter:

(2 Peter 1:19 NLT) “Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.”

Peter had a life changing experience with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration; he saw Jesus (the Word) change to radiant glory before his eyes, and he saw Moses and Elijah—representing the written law and prophets. In that context, he heard God’s voice.

Peter wrote the above passage based on what he learned that day. He said that “because of that experience,” he realized the importance of “what” the prophets “wrote,” and how to access the benefit of God’s written word. Peter then shows us how to do it:

“You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.”

Peter urges us to keep our eyes on the written word—meditating it, studying it, learning it, receiving it, believing it, confessing it, and obeying it—until the day dawns, or until revelation comes. He says it comes like the light of sunrise bursting into our hearts. Peter calls it a star. Receiving the revelation is paramount, but we must also follow it. We follow that star of revelation when we walk in the spirit and are led by the spirit. For us, this is following Jesus.

The wise men set out following their star until they reached Jerusalem—the intimidating capital of religion—then natural logic took over; so they went to the [natural] king to ask him how to find Jesus, he in turn asked the religion scholars for help:

(Matthew 2:4–5 NKJV) And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. {5} So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet.”

Herod sent them in the right direction, Bethlehem, but with an entirely wrong motive:

(Matthew 2:8–10 NKJV) And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” {9} When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. {10} When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

After leaving the earthly king and religion, revelation again led them on their journey of following Jesus:

(Matthew 2:11 NKJV) And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Following the revelation led them right to a worshipful encounter with the Lord Jesus—the high point of their whole journey following the star. They lavished their adoration, homage, and love on Jesus; and they surrendered their gifts to his control. Theirs was magnificent worship. We all need to do this, and God longs for it. However, we all must move on from there, following his Spirit into fulfilling what he assigns or commissions us to be and do. But I must emphasise, we should only do so as the Holy Spirit directs:

(Matthew 2:12 NKJV) Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

We note, that the “wise” men didn’t allow routine, logic, or natural wisdom to take over—even after they had completed the high point of that particular assignment. They didn’t simply retrace their footsteps back to their “normal” life; they journeyed on by divine revelation.

Remember: walking in the spirit is receiving and following one revelation after another; it is taking one step of faith after another, following the leading of the Holy Spirit through his revelations. It is never going back to worldly wisdom after or between each step of faith; it is immediately and continually seeking the next stride of revelation. This is why God’s word so adamantly instructs us to meditate in the word day and night (See: Josh. 1:8, Psalm 1:2, Mark 4:24). This way, we will never be without his light, wisdom, and instruction.

Today, I encourage you to follow Peter’s advice: “pay close attention” to the written word until the star of revelation sent to guide your life dawns in your heart. Remember, advice from the world’s “king” and “religion scholars” may be accurate in some aspects, but unless they are born again and following the Holy Spirit, their motives may be wrong; their deep objective may be to kill off Jesus and his revelation before he comes to ruling maturity; they want us to follow them.

Stay in the word, look for the dawning of the “Morning Star” in your heart, and then follow that star all the way into worship. That’s where you can bring all your gifts and what you have to offer under his control. Even then, don’t assume that it finishes there; stay on the trail of divine revelation, and you will be following Jesus into fulfilling your assignment in him and finally … all the way home.