MAIN IDEA
Jesus is the only true King who is worthy of all our worship.

POWER WILL NOT LEAD US TO WORSHIP KING JESUS
Herod had worked hard to  get the title “king” from the Emperor of Rome. Herod’s main job as a vassal of Rome was  to maintain peace and order (pax romana) so that commerce would not be disrupted. So  when the Magi came looking for “One who has been born King of the Jews,” Herod became deeply disturbed, because news of the prophesied Messiah being born could stir up  unrest among the Israelites and threaten the pax romana. And if Herod did not maintain the  pax romana, Rome would have no use for him. And so Herod made plans (unsuccessfully,  of course) to kill Jesus, because Jesus was a threat to his power. In the hands of sinful  humanity, even the tiniest bit of power has a tendency to corrupt our hearts. Power will not  lead us to worship King Jesus. Because if we were to acknowledge that Jesus is King over  our lives, then that would mean that we are not. It is impossible to have two kings co reigning in our hearts. 

KNOWLEDGE WILL NOT LEAD US TO WORSHIP KING JESUS
The priests and  teachers of the law had devoted their lives to studying the Scriptures and even memorizing the entire Old Testament. But as much as the chief priests and teachers of the law “knew” the Bible, they did not understand the Bible. Gentiles from a faraway land saw a sign and  travelled hundreds of miles looking for the King of the Jews. And then the Bible revealed that the promised Messiah was going to be born in Bethlehem—less than five miles from  Jerusalem. But those who were supposed to know the Scriptures so well were not curious  about the star, nor were they excited about the prospect that the promised Messiah had  finally come. Head knowledge about the Bible and knowing King Jesus in our hearts are  completely different things. In fact, head knowledge can become a hindrance to knowing  King Jesus in our hearts (1 Corinthians 8:1). The goal of our Christian life is not to get  puffed up and bloated with a bunch of head knowledge and spiritual constipation, but to  build up the body of Christ in love. Head knowledge will never lead us to worship King  Jesus. But knowledge of the truth comes through love, as we build up the church. 

FAITH WILL LEAD US TO WORSHIP KING JESUS
The Magi show us how faith will  lead us to worship King Jesus. We see their faith at work in two ways: through their  perseverance and through their surrender. They had to persevere through significant  obstacles and challenges to reach Jesus: trying to understand the meaning of a mysterious  star, travelling long distances to follow the star, dealing with an oppressive and ruthless  Herod. They persevered because of faith. They also surrendered because of faith. They had  to surrender to follow the star without knowing where it would lead. They surrendered to  emotions when the star reached the King they were seeking. They surrendered to Jesus in  falling at His feet in worship. They surrendered to Jesus with gifts fit for a king. Jesus is the  only true King who is worthy of all our worship. 

DISCUSSION QUESTION
For Christians: What areas do you need to surrender to King Jesus? And what  would that look like? For everyone else: What obstacles have you had to overcome to attain  an important goal for you?