Why Worship?

The records of Jesus' birth are filled with one response to Jesus.

People worshiped.

Mary worshiped in response to the news she would be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah (Luke 1:46-55)

The shepherd worshiped after they have been told the news by the angels and gone to see Jesus (Luke 2:16-20)

The wise-men traveled far to worship Jesus after His birth (Matthew 1:9-12)

Why was the response worship?

And it seems to be a response we follow today. In our services. In the words we sing. Often our Christmas songs speak of coming to worship the newborn Messiah.

So, what is it about these encounters and ours today that cause us to respond in worship?

In the case of the response of worship in these instances in Scripture, each of the participants had a reason to worship in response. Mary had a visit from an angel with a message from God and knew the significance of the baby she was carrying. The shepherds had a visit from angels who announced to them the significance of this birth. The wise-men studied the starts and in their studies knew the significance of the birth represented by the star.

All of them worshiped out of understanding of the significance of this birth - of the Messiah coming. It wasn't any ordinary event. And they knew it was significant.

I think the same is true for us today. We worship in response to significance of Jesus as Messiah and of our encounters with Him. Worship is a response to significance of this.

We worship because it's a response to the significance of Jesus' birth. We worship because it's a response to the significance of our own encounters with Jesus.