Why the Longing of the Ancients Still Echoes in Curious Moderns.
Something is stirring in our culture for those with eyes to see it. It’s an answer to prayer. It’s not a loud movement or a headline-grabbing revival, but a quiet turning of hearts. We are seeing people who would never call themselves religious asking deeper questions, reading the Bible, and finding themselves drawn toward Jesus. The story of the Magi reminds us that this kind of searching is not new. Long before they were imagined to be riding camels on Christmas cards and in carols, ancient seekers followed a faint light in the darkness, trusting there was more to life than what they could see. Their journey helps us understand why curious moderns today are finding God in remarkably similar ways.
God Has Always Invited the Most Unlikely People!
If you lined up the characters in the nativity, the Magi – who arrived after the fact anyway so shouldn’t be there – seem to me the ones that feel most out of place, unless my grandchildren add in superheroes and zoo animals.
When these mysterious figures arrived in Jerusalem, they caused quite a stir. They were important enough to walk straight into the palace of King Herod – a paranoid, violent ruler known who demanded to be known as Herod the Great (that’s what you call a clue – watch out for such ‘leaders’).
They asked a dangerous question, quite without guile:
“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”
Herod was a tyrant, but also an architectural genius. His most famous project, the Herodium, was a palace built inside a mountain. The mountain wasn’t originally tall enough for his ambition (or ego), so he had another one dismantled and carried up piece by piece, artificially raising it. Inside this double mountain he built his pleasure palace, which of course later served only as his tomb.
It’s a striking image.
Human power. Human greatness. Human ambition – literally piling up a mountain. The Magi were looking for a King so that’s where they went first.
But it was a false summit – the Magi weren’t ultimately going to find what they were looking for there – because He is not that kind of king.
The Mystery of the Magi and the Spiritually Searching
We don’t actually know how many Magi there were. The Bible doesn’t say “three”. It only mentions three gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh.
We don’t know exactly where they came from either. “From the East” covers a lot of ground.
We don’t know precisely what they did. They may have been:
- astronomers
- astrologers
- scholars of ancient prophecies
Perhaps they’d read what Daniel once wrote. Or remembered Balaam’s prophecy about a star rising out of Jacob. Somehow, they believed a ruler – a Messiah – was coming.
What is clear is this:
They were spiritually searching, but unsatisfied.
They didn’t fit neat religious categories. They were curious. Observant. Sensitive to meaning. Always trying to connect the dots of life beyond the surface.
In that sense, they feel incredibly modern.
For a time in my teens, I was like that. I explored astrology, new age thinking, even astral projection. I wouldn’t say I was even looking for God – I was just trying to work out what it meant to be human in a vast universe. But none of it satisfied. Eventually I gave up on searching and tried to make my own meaning instead – which only led to making a mess of my life!
The Magi represent people who sense there must be a bigger story their own life can fit inside.
And Scripture says something remarkable to people like that:
Notice the IF. This is why the Magi found Jesus. They started a long way off – but they diligently searched and kept moving in the right direction.
Observation Can Take You So Far – Revelation Takes You Home
At Christmas we see that the Magi’s reasoning took them to Jerusalem. To the palace. To power.
But not to Jesus.
Their hearts were genuinely drawn toward God, but human yearnings, learning and reasoning alone wasn’t enough. They needed revelation.
Ironically, the religious scholars in Herod’s palace had the revelation. They knew the Scriptures. Immediately they quoted the prophet Micah and said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, not Jerusalem.
They had knowledge – but no action that would coincide with faith.
Bethlehem was only a few miles away. A couple of hours’ walk, yet they didn’t go anywhere.
The Magi, on the other hand, travelled ‘from afar’ and kept going until they bowed down and worshipped.
It’s a sobering contrast:
- some know the Bible but never move in faith
- others know very little but keep following the light they have
God Is Doing This Again – The Quiet Revival
There is something deeply hopeful in this story.
God delights in drawing the people we least expect.
And if you’ve been paying attention, He seems to be doing it again in our time.
Across the UK and beyond, many are talking about a quiet revival – or at least an ‘awakening.’ It’s not owned by any movement or denomination. It’s not loud or showy, no smoke machines, no spectacle.
Just people.
Ordinary people.
Spiritually curious people.
People who don’t quite fit the religious mould, deciding to read the Bible for themselves, often finding themselves drawn to church – sometimes to our church, Ivy – not just for Christmas, but for Christ.
When I ask how they ended up coming, the stories are remarkably similar:
- “Something strange happened and I can’t explain it.”
- “I had a conversation I can’t stop thinking about.”
- “I had a dream.”
- “I felt a nudge I couldn’t ignore.”
- “I suddenly became aware of God.”
A wondering, started them wandering – in the direction of God.
It’s happening quietly. Gently. Beautifully.
What the Journey of the Magi Teaches Us
1. They Followed the Light They Had
The Magi didn’t start with deep theology. They started with a spark.
They looked up at the universe – its size, its mystery, their own smallness – and saw a star.
Just a glimmer.
A whisper.
A sense that life meant more than it seemed.
Wondering set them wandering.
They were perceptive enough to notice that the universe could not save them.
Many people today are experiencing something similar:
- “I can’t explain it, but I feel drawn to God.”
- “Something big is happening inside me.”
- “I’m not religious, but I want to find out about Jesus.”
If that’s happening in you, it’s real.
Follow the light you have, and get ready for it to lead to more than you expect.
2. They Let Go of What They Knew
To follow Jesus, the Magi didn’t leave home – they had to leave behind:
- their expertise
- their comfort zones
- their explanations of reality
They had to stop being experts and become learners. Perhaps we could call them the first disciples!
This true for all of us. A God we can fully understand isn’t worth worshipping.
Many in this quiet move of God – particularly young men – are experiencing what feels like dissatisfaction, but is I believe a holy disruption.
They’re letting go of cynicism.
Letting go of old assumptions.
Discovering that spiritual hunger isn’t weakness – it’s where real strength begins.
The Magi expected a palace. They found an ordinary house.
They expected robes and crowns. They found a child.
But something in them knew – now they were right where they were meant to be. The search for meaning, truth and purpose was over, and so…
3. They Worshipped Jesus
When they found Him, they bowed.
Their search ended not in philosophical theological discussion, but whole hearted worship.
They opened what they valued most and lay it all before Him. Gold, frankincense, myrrh were not just gifts – but represented the best they had to give, themselves.
And notice what else happened – when they rose, they didn’t go home the same way. Nobody who has a true encounter with the Saviour ever will. Their lives were redirected, because now they were open to revelation from heaven like never before. Scripture says they were warned in a dream – and so returned by another route. All these dreams in the nativity accounts speak of the Spirit at work in those who are open to hear what He’s saying.
Why This Matters for You
This is happening now – People are reading less non fiction, but Bible sales are rising – by 87% this year in the UK! YouVersion, the world’s most downloaded Bible app, has officially surpassed 1 billion installs – far faster than expected as globally people are hungry for truth.
People who would never call themselves “religious” are having genuine encounters with Jesus.
They are seekers. Explorers. Deep feelers and thinkers. Often shaped by pain, transition, or longing.
And God says those who seek Him will find Him.
Maybe that’s you. If so, email info@ivychurch.org and we’ll point you toward a recommended next step.
Maybe you’ve been searching without even knowing what for. Your curiosity is not accidental. Your questions are not a problem. Your searching is sacred.
Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost. He is the ‘bright and morning star’ we follow. Notice – they didn’t go out the same as when they came in.
They went home ‘by another route’ – because the close encounter with Jesus was a meeting they’d never forget – it opened them up to not just study the natural but the supernatural – the Spirit spoke and He changed their route – and their destiny!
The universe does not love or direct you. It’s just another part of creation. You will never figure out the purpose you were made for until you meet your maker – and the best time to do that is NOW!
Despite what you may have heard, the cosmos doesn’t align itself around your life or secretly script your destiny through star signs or cosmic vibrations. The stars don’t decide who you are.
They didn’t follow the star from then on. The story of the Magi is not about astrology.
Astrology is the idea that the position of the stars at birth determines the destiny of a child.
This is the complete opposite.
In Matthew’s account, the position of the child determined the position of the star – when the One who made the stars and the sun and the moon had come to earth.
This wasn’t the universe arranging itself to influence a baby’s fate. This was the Creator placing yet another sign in creation that pointed to Himself. Now they were not trying to figure out life from constellations and calculations – but from God’s revelation.
The universe (and all that is in it) is not worthy of your worship. The purpose of your life is not about you, and a world that revolves around you is far too small.
If you are looking at the world around you (as so many are now), the reality is you will never discover the purpose of a thing by studying the thing itself – you have to go back to the Creator.
You don’t ask the product what it’s for, you consult the manufacturer – because purpose is never found through observation, but by origin. Destiny is not discovered by exploration but revelation.
I pray this Quiet Revival will only be amplified as people today are confused, fearful, searching everywhere for meaning – in the universe, in experiences, in identity, in spirituality – and still coming up empty because the news can’t tell you what’s going to happen, the governments don’t even know what’s happening – because if your life didn’t come from the universe, the universe can’t tell you what you’re for.
Only the One who made you can.
And this is why the Magi’s journey didn’t end with the stars. The star could awaken wonder, but it could not explain purpose. Creation can point you toward God, but it cannot replace Him.
To understand your ‘life, the universe and everything’ you don’t just look up or look within – you look up – to the One who made you – and bow down before Him.