Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
—Matthew 2:1-2

Christmas is a joyous time of year, a time of singing carols and giving gifts and spending time with the most important people in our lives, so it may seem strange to talk about sacrifice as we celebrate, but that’s exactly where the magi or wise men take us. And believe it or not, if we follow their lead, we’ll find it’s a pretty exciting journey.

Sacrifice? Exciting? I know. Doesn’t sound particularly thrilling to sacrifice something. I remember the times when sharing with my brother seemed like the end of the world. Sacrifice is way bigger than letting a sibling play with the legos for a little while, so how is it possible it could be a good thing?

The answer can be found by taking a closer look at the magi who traveled from the east to meet a child who was born in a stable.

The magi made enormous sacrifices to meet Jesus, but if we don’t take a closer look at who they were, we might miss them. First of all, the magi were not kings like the Christmas hymn says. They were magicians. They certainly didn’t come from a religion that worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When they left their homes to seek out the King of the Jews, they were not seeking someone that most people in their culture would recognize as significant.

It is also very unlikely that these magi were present at Jesus’ birth. Many scholars believe they actually arrived one or two years after His birth. And that was only a one-way commute by camel.

So far these magi have sacrificed their comfort and positions by leaving their homes, sacrificed their social life by seeking out a King prophesied about in a different religion, and sacrificed years of their lives just to come see a toddler. That’s not even considering the gifts they gave him, which would have constituted a significant financial sacrifice.

These men poured out everything we humans tend to hold in high esteem—money, time, comfort, the respect of others. They held nothing back. But what’s more amazing than the things they sacrificed, is their attitude about those sacrifices. 

Many of us would likely be a touch salty if we suddenly had to sacrifice the things these men did. Leave my home? No way! Be gone for that long? Give up that much money? Not gonna happen.

But that’s not the reaction we see from these men. Instead, they were eager and excited to find Jesus. The picture painted by the original language in verses one and two is that of the magi going around continuously asking anyone they could find about where the Messiah was. They didn’t just walk up to Herod’s palace and demand the information. They didn’t ask for directions once and then hope for the best. They searched until they found out where Jesus was.

Later in verse 10, when the magi finally find the way to Jesus, their reaction is to “[rejoice] exceedingly with great joy.” They celebrated! They were overjoyed! And why? Because they had found the gift Who was worth the sacrifice.

That’s what the magi remind us of this Christmas—sacrifice may be hard sometimes, but if we turn our focus back to the gift God gave us, there can also be joy in the giving.

I don’t know when the last time was when I was overjoyed to sacrifice part of my paycheck to the church or my time to those who are in need. Like most people, sacrifice is not something I am generally excited to participate in, but we have been given a gift so much more magnificent than anything we could ever give up. God looked down at us, saw our helpless state, and decided to give us Himself. 

My prayer is that just like the magi, we will see the wonder of the gift we’ve been given and be filled with joy so great that our sacrifices become a celebration of God’s goodness. Merry Christmas!