Column by Sumter Pastor Joey Durham: Don't miss the Savior; trust Him
Our devotion for today is "The Wise Men Who Missed the Savior." In Matthew 2:3-6, we read, "When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel." (KJV) We are all familiar with the Wise Men from the east that came searching for Jesus as they followed the star, but there is a group of "wise men" who did not desire Jesus Christ, and they were the priests and scribes that Herod called and questioned.
These "wise men" knew the location of the birth of the Savior but really didn't believe that He had indeed come. As we consider the life and ministry of the Son of God, it would be these "wise men" who would be thorns in the side of Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry and would eventually be the reason for Christ being crowned with thorns at His crucifixion. Many today are like these "wise men" in that they give Jesus credit for being a good man and acclaim Him as being a great teacher. They talk about His wonderful philosophy of life and speak of Him as a great prophet, but they stop short of Jesus Christ being the Son of God and the only Savior that has been given for the salvation of the soul.
These "wise men" also knew the Scriptures but did not see the Savior in them. Notice that they immediately went to the Word of God to answer Herod's question because they were well acquainted with Micah 5:2: "But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (KJV) In other words, they found the biblical answer, but they did not apply it. Many today are like these "wise men" in that they know a great deal about the Bible and can talk much about the life of Jesus, but they have never repented of their sin and trusted Jesus Christ as their own personal Lord and Savior.
I am reminded of a man who I was told about who entered eternity years ago, a former pastor and preacher who spoke some revealing words to his daughter before his death. He began by asking his daughter to open the windows in his hospital room, that he said he wanted to see light one more time. His daughter asked her dad why he would need to see light since he was going to heaven, and he confessed to her that even though he had preached about Jesus and that He had declared for years that He is the Savior, He never trusted Christ for himself. He confessed that Seminary taught him all he needed to know about Jesus, but he didn't know HIM. Please don't be like these "wise men" who knew all about Jesus, but "missed the Savior!"
Dr. Joey Durham is pastor at Open Bible Baptist Church at 180 Old Manning Road in Sumter. You can contact Pastor Durham at durham.joey@yahoo.com or call the church office at (803) 481-9315.