Many times you have the vision, but when you consider the matter in your mind, you are distracted and misled by your natural concept. Your human concept distracts you from the right track. Whenever you are distracted like this, you need the Bible. After you have arrived at the wrong place, you need the right book. After the magi had gone to Jerusalem, the wrong place, they were corrected through the Scriptures. From the Scriptures they learned that the right place was Bethlehem, not Jerusalem (vv. 4-6). If they had not been misled by their natural concept, the star certainly would have led them directly to the place where Jesus was in Bethlehem. But they were distracted and went astray. Thus, they needed to be corrected by the knowledge of the Bible. When the magi had been corrected by the Scriptures, had departed from Jerusalem, and had been restored to the right track, the star appeared again (v. 9). Living vision always goes along with the Scriptures.
However, none of the religious people in Jerusalem went with the magi to Bethlehem. This is quite strange. If you had been a priest among those priests, would you not have gone with the wise men to see if Jesus had actually been born in Bethlehem? If I had been there, I certainly would have gone to find out for myself whether or not Christ had actually been born. But none of them went. They had knowledge and they could tell people that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; yet, none of them went for themselves. Although they were for the knowledge of the Bible, they were not for the living Person of the Messiah.
How about today's situation? Many are very scriptural, but they care only for the Scriptures, not for the living Christ. If the Jewish religionists had cared for Christ, they would have gone to Bethlehem, which was not far from Jerusalem even by the ancient method of travel. Although Bethlehem was not far, none of the scribes, elders, or priests bothered to go. This proves that you can have the knowledge of the Bible without having a heart for the living Christ. To have the vision is one thing, to have the knowledge of the Bible is another thing, and to have a heart for the living Christ is still another thing. We all need to pray, "Lord, give me a heart for You. I want to see the vision and I want to know the Bible. But even more, I want to have a heart that seeks You."
After the magi saw the star again, the star led them to the place where Christ was (vv. 9-10). The star led them not only to the city of Bethlehem, but to the exact spot where Jesus was.
Christians often say that to know the Lord it is sufficient to have only the Bible. In a sense, I agree with this. However, in another sense—I say this carefully—I do not agree fully. Although we have the Bible, we still need a living vision. The Bible does say that Christ will be born in Bethlehem, but it does not say where, on what street, or in which house. The living star led the wise men to the city of Bethlehem and also to the exact street and the house where the child was. At that place, the star stopped (v. 9). The magi did not need to knock on any doors; they knew where Jesus was. This proves that we all need a clear, up-to-date vision that leads us directly to the place where Jesus is.
The magi not only found Christ; they also worshipped Him (v. 11). Among the Israelites, no one was allowed to receive worship from others. That was considered an insult to God, a blasphemy against Him. According to them, only God was worthy of people's worship. But the wise men worshipped a child, and that child was God. Isaiah 9:6 says, "Unto us a child is born...and his name shall be called...The mighty God." The child found by the magi was called the mighty God. The wise men worshipped Him and they offered to Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matt. 2:11).
We need to know the meaning of the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh. In the typology of the Bible, gold signifies the divine nature. This indicates that the child Jesus had the divine nature. He was divine. Frankincense signifies the fragrance of resurrection. According to our naturally religious mentality, the resurrection of Jesus came only after His death. However, before He died, Jesus told Mary and Martha that He was the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). Thus, even before He died, He was the resurrection. The life Christ lived on this earth was a life of resurrection. Luke 2:52 tells us that even in His childhood He found favor with God and man. That was not something natural; it was the life of resurrection. The record in Luke 2 reveals that the child was an extraordinary child. He was a unique child because He was a child in resurrection. In His entire human life and living there was the fragrance, the sweetness of resurrection. Death could not hold Him or even touch Him. Not only was He the life—He was resurrection.