DECEMBER 21ST
Seeking Christmas
Matthew 2:1-11 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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, frankincense and myrrh.
Once again, this is not a mistake. You are reading the same passage of scripture as yesterday, with an extra verse purposely added to the end. There is something else within this passage that is worth our time to revisit and take a deeper look at.
"We three Kings of Orient Are, bearing gifts we traverse afar." You're probably familiar with these lyrics from the popular Christmas song called "We Three Kings". You might have also noticed several liberties the song takes with the story of the wisemen. First, the Bible never tells us there are three wise men, just that there were three gifts brought. It could very well have been 2 or 10 wise men. Also, these men weren't kings but scholars and stargazers known as Magi. They weren't from the Orient but from Babylon, which is modern-day Iraq. They also didn't arrive at Christmas but about two years after Jesus was born. But despite the inaccuracies, it's still a catchy tune. So why did Matthew tell us their story? The answer is that the wise men tell us some important things about how God speaks to us, leads us, reveals Himself to us, and what it means to truly be wise. The first lesson we learn from the wise men is that if we want to find Jesus, we should start by looking at the word of God. This lesson is especially interesting because these men weren't believers in the Hebrew God when they started. The Magi were respected in their country because of their extensive knowledge of astronomy and their study of how the movements of the stars and planets related to events on Earth. Essentially, they were pagan prophets! Babylon wasn't a Jewish nation, so these men in no way grew up following God's laws or even being taught about God. Even so, when a star rose in the heavens that they couldn't explain, these wisest of men turned to the Hebrew Scriptures for answers and chose to believe what they read there. "A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17).
These wise men were looking for connections between this new unexplained star and the Kingdoms of Earth, so finding this verse connecting a star with a scepter, which is a symbol of royalty, rising out of Israel would have been like hitting the jackpot. They now understood that this promise of a Jewish Messiah, a new king, was connected to a star in some way. Though they had not been raised to revere the Hebrew Scripture of the Hebrew god, these wise men saw that God's word had been right about the Star, so they chose to believe it was also right about a new king, so they set off to find Him. When they got to Jerusalem and learned that the Scriptures named Bethlehem as the king's birthplace, these scholars again chose to believe the word of God and act on that belief. As soon as the wise men decided to believe the word of God, God unmistakably showed Himself, causing the star to go before them until it stopped directly over the place where Jesus was. We don't even know if perhaps God caused this sign in the heavens just for them. The wise men learned firsthand that believing God's word and acting on that belief guides us straight to Jesus and to a place of worship. This is why the story of these magi is relevant to us. Every single day, whether we are believers or unbelievers, God wants to lead us to Jesus. When we believe God's word and follow his leading, we will find Him and we will stay close by His side. Just as God gave us His best gift at Christmas, so we, upon finding Him, are to offer Him our best worship and treasure, just like the wise men did.
"We three Kings of Orient Are, bearing gifts we traverse afar." You're probably familiar with these lyrics from the popular Christmas song called "We Three Kings". You might have also noticed several liberties the song takes with the story of the wisemen. First, the Bible never tells us there are three wise men, just that there were three gifts brought. It could very well have been 2 or 10 wise men. Also, these men weren't kings but scholars and stargazers known as Magi. They weren't from the Orient but from Babylon, which is modern-day Iraq. They also didn't arrive at Christmas but about two years after Jesus was born. But despite the inaccuracies, it's still a catchy tune. So why did Matthew tell us their story? The answer is that the wise men tell us some important things about how God speaks to us, leads us, reveals Himself to us, and what it means to truly be wise. The first lesson we learn from the wise men is that if we want to find Jesus, we should start by looking at the word of God. This lesson is especially interesting because these men weren't believers in the Hebrew God when they started. The Magi were respected in their country because of their extensive knowledge of astronomy and their study of how the movements of the stars and planets related to events on Earth. Essentially, they were pagan prophets! Babylon wasn't a Jewish nation, so these men in no way grew up following God's laws or even being taught about God. Even so, when a star rose in the heavens that they couldn't explain, these wisest of men turned to the Hebrew Scriptures for answers and chose to believe what they read there. "A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17).
These wise men were looking for connections between this new unexplained star and the Kingdoms of Earth, so finding this verse connecting a star with a scepter, which is a symbol of royalty, rising out of Israel would have been like hitting the jackpot. They now understood that this promise of a Jewish Messiah, a new king, was connected to a star in some way. Though they had not been raised to revere the Hebrew Scripture of the Hebrew god, these wise men saw that God's word had been right about the Star, so they chose to believe it was also right about a new king, so they set off to find Him. When they got to Jerusalem and learned that the Scriptures named Bethlehem as the king's birthplace, these scholars again chose to believe the word of God and act on that belief. As soon as the wise men decided to believe the word of God, God unmistakably showed Himself, causing the star to go before them until it stopped directly over the place where Jesus was. We don't even know if perhaps God caused this sign in the heavens just for them. The wise men learned firsthand that believing God's word and acting on that belief guides us straight to Jesus and to a place of worship. This is why the story of these magi is relevant to us. Every single day, whether we are believers or unbelievers, God wants to lead us to Jesus. When we believe God's word and follow his leading, we will find Him and we will stay close by His side. Just as God gave us His best gift at Christmas, so we, upon finding Him, are to offer Him our best worship and treasure, just like the wise men did.