After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod,
suddenly some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east 2asking, 'Where is the
infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him
homage.' 3When King Herod heard this
he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. 4He called
together all the chief priests and the scribes of the
people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5They told him, 'At Bethlehem in Judaea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are by no means
the least among the leaders of Judah, for from you will come
a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.'
7Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him
privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared 8and
sent them on to Bethlehem with the words, 'Go and find out all
about the child, and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go
and do him homage.' 9Having listened to what the king had to say,
they set out. And suddenly the star they had seen rising went forward and
halted over the place where the child was. 10The sight of the star
filled them with delight, 11and going into the house they saw the
child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage.
Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12But
they were given a warning in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to
their own country by a different way.
1. The
relationship between the events described here and those described in Luke 2:8-38 is worth
exploring.
A. Those events
foreshadow the universal nature of Jesus’ ministry:
i. He is worshipped by both gentiles (the wise men) and
Jews (the shepherds, Simeon, and Anna).
ii. He is worshipped by the elite (the wise men) and the
humble (the shepherds, Anna).
iii. Some folks offer Him material wealth (the wise men)
while others can only offer praise and worship (the shepherds, Anna).
B. The reaction
of Herod and others to the wise men’s statements is consistent with Simeon’s
statement in Luke 2:34 that some would be upset by
Jesus. Matthew 2:3 tells us
that Herod and others in Jerusalem were “perturbed,” “upset,” or “disturbed” by
the idea that Messiah was born.
C. We are
dealing with a similar period of time. Matthew 2:1 tells us
that the wise men came “[a]fter Jesus had been born.” The events of Luke 2:8-38 occurred during
the 41 days following Jesus’ birth. See point
1 of What We Can Learn From Jesus' Nativity: Jesus
Circumcision and Presentation; Mary’s Purification (Luke 2:21-24). The events described here could have occurred
during or close to that period of time.
D. Perhaps the
fact that the “whole of Jerusalem” was on edge is partially explained by the
events surrounding the shepherds and Anna. Bethlehem is not that far from
Jerusalem (about 5.5 miles/9Km), so maybe people
in Jerusalem saw/heard the heavenly host described in Luke 2:13-14. Further, Luke 2:17-20 tells us
that the shepherds widely communicated what they were told about/observed, so
maybe word had spread to Jerusalem. Luke 2:38 indicates that Anna likewise
made no secret about her interaction with Messiah. Perhaps those things had already created a
buzz about Messiah by the time that the wise men arrived.
2. The wise men
were indeed wise; their conduct exemplified several wisdom principles:
A. They humbled
themselves before God. See Matthew 2:11
and the scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles—God Loves Humility and Hates
Pride.
B. They exerted
great effort to get to wisdom, in this case travelling far to get to Jesus, the
exemplar and source of wisdom. That resembles the effort metaphorically described in Proverbs 2:1-5, Sirach 14:20-27. See also the other scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles: We Must Make Real
Effort/Sacrifice to Receive All that God Offers, But It Is Well Worth It.
C. They
recognized that right relationship with God is more important than material
wealth. See Matthew 2:11, Proverbs 3:13-15, Proverbs 8:10-11, and the
other scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles--Rely on God Rather than
Material Wealth.
D. They
recognized the importance of obtaining good counsel. See Matthew 2:1-2
and the scriptures collected in Praying for Leaders: That they Recognize the
Importance of Wise Counsel.
E. They were
open to changing their plans upon receiving the angel’s instructions. See Matthew 2:12 and the
scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles—Rebuke & Openness to
Correction.
3. This passage
exemplifies several other principles that run through scripture:
A. Sincere
devotion to God is not inconsistent with sophistication. We see that in, among
others, Joseph (son of Jacob), Solomon, Daniel, Nehemiah, and Paul. All were very sophisticated individuals.
B. Intellectual
knowledge of Jesus is not the same as truly knowing Him. That is exemplified by
the chief priests’ and scribes’ reaction to the wise men’s announcement, as
described in Matthew 2:4-7. They knew “about”
messiah, but they apparently did not really “know” what He was. If they had,
they would have joined the wise men in worshipping him, rather than being “perturbed”
by reports that He had arrived. That looks like the same dynamic Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 13:13-15. That
spiritual blindness was not unique to Jesus’ time, it apparently occurred
earlier, see Isaiah 6:9-10, Jeremiah 5:21, Ezekiel 12:2, and continues
today.
C. God rewards and
provides for those who serve Him. We see that here in the joy the wise men
experienced as they accomplished their mission and how God kept them out of
Herod’s clutches. See Matthew 2:10-12. That dynamic is discussed in Proverbs 3:9-10, Malachi 3:10-12, Matthew 6:25-34, and 2 Corinthians
9:6-11.
Other meditations on Jesus’ nativity are collected at What We Can Learn from Jesus' Nativity: The Annunciation through Simeon & Anna
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