Messiah for the Magi

Psalm 105:1

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;

Make known among the nations what he has done.

This year for Advent I am reading “Good News of Great Joy,” by John Piper.  In the devotional for December 8^th, he focuses on the visit of the magi. 

“Messiah for the Magi”

“Unlike Luke, Matthew does not tell us about the shepherds coming to visit Jesus in the stable.  His focus is immediately on foreigners coming from the east to worship Jesus.  So Matthew portrays Jesus at the beginning and ending of his Gospel as a universal Messiah for the nations….At the end of Matthew, the last words of Jesus are, ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.’

            This not only opened the door for the Gentiles to rejoice in the Messiah, it added proof that he was the Messiah.  Because one of the repeated prophecies was that the nations and kings would, in fact, come to him as the ruler of the world.

            For, example, Isaiah 60:3, ‘Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.’  So Matthew adds proof to the messiahship of Jesus and shows that he is Messiah—a King, and Promise-Fulfiller—for all the nations…”

Then as I was reading Psalm 96, I thought of the different people groups that the Lord has led us to here in southern Spain.  Please continue to pray for…

The Jahanka people from Senegal and Ginea

The Sereer people from Senegal

The Mandinka people from Senegal, Mali, and Ginea

The Wolof people from Senegal

The Fula people from Senegal

The Bambara people from Mali

The Susu Baga people from Ginea

The Susu people from Ginea

The Soninke people from Mauritania

Psalm 96

Sing to the Lord a new song:

Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, praise his name;

Proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

His marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

He is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are idols.

But the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;

Strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations,

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

Bring an offering and come into his courts.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;

Tremble before him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;

He will judge the peoples with equity.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

They will sing before the Lord, for he comes,

He comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

And the peoples in his truth.

The Nations

Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation’.”

Revelation 7:9-10  After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.  They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Pray for us as we learn more about each people group from Africa that we are working with here in southern Spain and the great opportunities that we have to share with these people.  Pray for our friends from the following people groups.  Some of them have no Bible in their language and have few if any known Christians among them.

People group name, country name, (friend’s name)

Fula from Senegal (Umi, Roogiatu, Cherno)

Serer from Senegal (Ami, Fatu, Ndeye, Mamadou, Fabak, Usman, Sidou)

Mandinka from Senegal (Ami, Mariama, Ansu)

Jahanka from Senegal (Maisatta)

Wolof from Senegal (Nguy, Sojna, Aliw, Adama)

Mandinka from Mali (Nassida)

Bambara from Mali (Adama)

Maninka from Ginea (Awa)

Jahanka from Ginea (Mairiamma, Fatu, Dembo, Fatu, Fode, Mamadou)

Susu Baga from Ginea (Jari, Augustina, Devis)

Susu(Malinke) from Ginea (Sona)

Soninke from Mauritania (Mouna, Diary, Hadiatou, Momadou, Lemi, Issa, Fatou)

Three Kings Day

One thing we love about the holidays in Spain is Three Kings Day. After Christmas, and after New Years’ Day, the holidays continue in Spain. On January 6 people in Spain celebrate Three Kings Day. They remember when the three wise men visited baby Jesus bearing gifts. Matthew 2:1-12; verse 11 says, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”

Gold – gift fit for a king

Incense – used in the temple for worship

Myrrh – used to anoint or prepare for burial

The three wise men gave gifts to reveal Jesus as King, worship him as Lord, and prepare him as Savior.

Regardless of what time of year it is, may we continue to remember and proclaim Jesus – Emmanuel, God with us.