The First Worshippers of Jesus
Firsts are always significant in the Bible. I've been thinking about a few different 'first' appearances lately, the first musician documented in Gen 4 (which I'll talk about in another posting) and the first worshippers of Jesus.
Let me tell you about that...
I remember one Christmas getting something from my local shop and glancing at the nativity scene on the counter. As I picked up my change and left, a really strong thought compelled me to rush back home and check out how that scenario was actually documented in the bible.
You know what I discovered? The first people who voluntarily and sacrificially worshipped Jesus for who he was (it seems that they 'got it' before everyone else) were a crowd of 'New Age', Eastern Mystic Stargazers! Think about it - they didn't have any covenant relationship with God, they broke His previously stated rules (for example, astrology was forbidden in Old Testament Law) yet God guided them with dreams and cosmic signposts to the exact spot where Jesus was.
And when they arrived "...they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." Matt 2:11
To me this whole scene just screams grace! It also makes me realise that perhaps folks who would be considered spiritually 'suspect' by most of us in mainstream western Christianity are actually closer to the heart of God than we think.
It also makes me think that as a musician and worship leader that there may be something to be explored here. If they were compellingly drawn to the presence of Jesus back then, then why not now?
If God reveals his presence when we worship (Ps 22:3) surely this is a reason to explore creative ways of taking our music/worship into alternative spirituality/'new age' contexts?
I must confess that the idea excites me - let me know what you think.
(Interestingly, there is no biblical reference at all to there being just 3 wise men, infact some historians say that there could have been as many as 200 of them in the posse! There certainly were enough of them to cause a stir in Jerusalem when they arrived, for it caught the unwelcome attention of Herod.)
Let me tell you about that...
I remember one Christmas getting something from my local shop and glancing at the nativity scene on the counter. As I picked up my change and left, a really strong thought compelled me to rush back home and check out how that scenario was actually documented in the bible.
You know what I discovered? The first people who voluntarily and sacrificially worshipped Jesus for who he was (it seems that they 'got it' before everyone else) were a crowd of 'New Age', Eastern Mystic Stargazers! Think about it - they didn't have any covenant relationship with God, they broke His previously stated rules (for example, astrology was forbidden in Old Testament Law) yet God guided them with dreams and cosmic signposts to the exact spot where Jesus was.
And when they arrived "...they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." Matt 2:11
To me this whole scene just screams grace! It also makes me realise that perhaps folks who would be considered spiritually 'suspect' by most of us in mainstream western Christianity are actually closer to the heart of God than we think.
It also makes me think that as a musician and worship leader that there may be something to be explored here. If they were compellingly drawn to the presence of Jesus back then, then why not now?
If God reveals his presence when we worship (Ps 22:3) surely this is a reason to explore creative ways of taking our music/worship into alternative spirituality/'new age' contexts?
I must confess that the idea excites me - let me know what you think.
(Interestingly, there is no biblical reference at all to there being just 3 wise men, infact some historians say that there could have been as many as 200 of them in the posse! There certainly were enough of them to cause a stir in Jerusalem when they arrived, for it caught the unwelcome attention of Herod.)
posted by Andy Rogers at 9:34 pm
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