Matthew 2:11-12, “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.”  

Second in our Christmas strategy is distinguishing fact from fiction and focusing on the facts more than the fiction. Where do we arrive at the facts? From Scripture! As believers, we must ensure that the story of Christ’s birth – not only the story about the Baby in the manger but the Man on the cross – does not become lost in the shuffle of wise men, gifts, drummer boys, elves, Santa Claus, flying reindeer, and the rest. Here is one example, how many wise men visited Jesus? We do not know, because the Bible does not say. We certainly do not know that their names were Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar.  

Here is the point, the Biblical facts do not focus on the number of the wise men, and so neither should we (no matter what number you want to use). The Bible does not mention the names of the wise men. Neither should we. What Scripture reveals is what we should emphasize. We know for sure that Magi from the east came to Jerusalem in search of the newly born King of the Jews. We know that this troubled the already paranoid Herod, and that, after counseling with his religious cohort, he sent the wise men off to Bethlehem. We know that when they arrived in Bethlehem Jesus and His family were not in a stable or an inn but in a “house,” and that Matthew refers to Him as a “young child” not a babe in swaddling clothes as Luke does when he recounts the holy night of Jesus’ birth. We do know that the wise men brought costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh because that is what one does when he visits the king. He brings gifts. We know that they worshipped the Christ-child, and that is a fact which we should emulate. We should be as aware as they were and worship the one who was born King of the Jews, the one who was born to “save His people from their sins.”  

Here is another fiction: the innkeeper was a cold-hearted miser who said “NO!” to a needy family. We do not know anything about the innkeeper. We do not even know if there was an innkeeper. It’s not like the owner of the Holiday Inn refused shelter to Joseph and Mary. There have been countless sermons and not a few songs about this heartless, money-grubbing, hell-bound innkeeper, who was probably the father of Barabbas (not really), yet all we know is that “She brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). That is all we know.  

Separate fact from fiction. Focus on and take joy in the facts.