By Audrey Bauman

Matthew 2: 1 – 12  (NLT)

Visitors from the East

2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men (magi or royal astrologers) from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, (or in the east) and we have come to worship him.”

³ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. ⁴ He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

⁶ ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
     are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
 for a ruler will come from you
     who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’” (Micah 5:2)

⁷ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. ⁸ Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

⁹ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.”

In so many stories of Jesus’ birth we see the wise men at the manger scene in Bethlehem.  The creche set that I purchased when my girls were little has the wise men included among the shepherds and various animals to surround the manger with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.  But, this is actually an event that took place up to 2 years after Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph were living in Bethlehem. Taking a quick peek back at previous devotions, here we have Joseph living in another town away from his family’s carpentry business.  At least, I am assuming since Joseph was a carpenter, that he learned that trade as a young man. In deciding to marry Mary, he experienced a lot of upheaval in his life since he’s no longer in a place where he was raised and had a job.

Intervarsity Press online commentary talks about the wise men.  

“The first story after Jesus' birth opens with Magi who have traveled a long distance to offer homage to a new king born in Judea. They enter Jerusalem with a large enough caravan to attract the city's attention (2:3); they must have assumed that they would find the newborn king in Herod's palace in Jerusalem.

Magi were astrologers from the royal court of the king of Persia. Part of their job description was to make the king of Persia look good, but here they come to promote another king. Kings would often send congratulations to new rulers in other realms, but the king of Persia called himself "king of kings," that is, the highest of kings. We might not expect the Magi to worship Jesus, especially if they found him not in the royal palace .”

The arrival of the wise men certainly caused a stir.  Herod was “deeply disturbed”.  I imagine he would be since a “newborn king of the Jews” would definitely challenge his authority and rule. In fact, the whole city was disturbed – when the king is upset, so is the city. What was going to happen? But the part that really amazes me is what happens next.  The king calls the leading priests and teachers of religious law to consult them about where the Messiah was to be born. Wouldn’t you think that those people would have been so excited?  Weren’t they waiting for the Messiah? Prophets had been quiet for over 400 years, and now this incredible information arrives?

I would have thought the priests and teachers would have accompanied the wise men to Bethlehem to see Jesus for themselves.  But they stayed right in Jerusalem. Matthew begins his book with the account of Jesus’ birth. Who worshipped Jesus?  Pagan astrologers did.  The king of Israel and the priests and teachers of the law did not.  This might be a lesson for us. As we share our faith, we shouldn’t be afraid to talk to people who seem to be against the church or people who seem to be involved in another faith such as Islam. God’s Spirit works among all people on this planet. Those who we may think would be more conducive to listening about our faith because they have a church background somewhere, might not be as willing to listen. In chapter 8 of Matthew, we read about the Roman centurion who wanted Jesus to heal his servant from afar?   We shouldn’t back away from people we assume would be against our gospel message.

When the wise men arrived in Bethlehem, I suspect there was quite a stir there as well. A caravan of camels and rich looking men would be a big deal in a small town. They found the house where Mary and Joseph now lived with their toddler. I wonder what Jesus’ parents were thinking as they watched these men bow down and worship their son. “Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” If you were in Mary’s place, what would you have been thinking? In Luke’s gospel, it mentions that “Mary treasured these things in her heart”. (2: 51)

Jesus’ arrival had so many amazing things about it. Yet as years went by, so many people rejected him. It’s still like that today. Many people consider Christianity irrelevant. But we can take hope in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth.  The most unexpected people worshipped Jesus.  That gives us the encouragement to share our faith with people who we don’t think would listen. God is working!

Our song for today is Wise Men by Allen Krehbiel.