The first matter presented to us in the entire New Testament is that of Mary conceiving of the Holy Spirit and with the coordination of Joseph bringing forth Christ. The second matter, or we may say the second case, is that of finding Christ—the wise men were guided by the heavenly star to find the living Christ. It is with this case that we will be occupied in this little booklet. We must remember that the first mentioning of any matter in the Bible has tremendous significance: it establishes the principle and sets the course. Therefore, we need to consider carefully the account in Matthew 2 of the wise men finding Christ that we too in this present day may be numbered among those who truly find the living Christ.
But before we come to the case in point, let me mention a few pertinent things. Many of us when we were young attended Christian Sunday Schools and in that setting took the Bible as a book of stories. Undoubtedly, there is not such a good story book as the Bible. I can still remember sitting at home and listening to my mother recount the story of Joseph. We all loved to hear the story of Joseph. The Sunday Schools and many Christians make the Bible a story book. There are other Christians, however, especially the great teachers and speakers, who make the Bible a book of teachings. For instance, while the Sunday Schools make the Gospel of Matthew a book of stories, the great teachers make it a book of teachings, dispensations, and doctrine concerning the kingdom. But what about us? How do we take the Bible? Let me tell you how we must take it. The entire Bible is a book of life; on every page of this book there is life. Therefore, we must take it as life and as the life supply.
Let me illustrate. You remember, when the Sadducees attempted to debate with the Lord Jesus concerning resurrection, they took a portion of the Old Testament saying, "Master, Moses said, if a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother" (Matt. 22:24). Then they proceeded to tell how seven brothers had the same wife and eventually all died. Those foolish Sadducees thought they were clever. They asked the Lord Jesus, "Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven?" The Lord Jesus also chose a portion of Scripture and answered, "Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Therefore, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will all be resurrected. You see, just in the title of God, the Lord Jesus pointed out the life—not the story, not the teaching, but the life.
Let me point out to you as another example the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1. In that chapter we have a story of God's creation—but really that is not a story. Indeed, some great teachers have set forth some doctrines from this chapter. But we must forget both the story and the teachings; we must concentrate on the life. In Genesis 1, what we need to see is life. The same applies to Matthew chapter 1. In that chapter regarding the genealogy and conceiving of Christ we do have a story and a certain amount of teaching. But we should not care for the story or the teaching, but the life. Some Christians may take the Gospel of John as a book of life, but we must also take the Gospel of Matthew, and in fact every book in the Bible, as life and as the life supply.