Matthew 2:1-11; I Corinthians 1:27, 28
The Thanksgiving celebration was over. It had been a hectic time. Susan had invited the whole clan over for Thanksgiving dinner. It was nice to have everyone in their home, but it came with a price. The house had to be gone over from top to bottom. Susan had a list of things that had to be done before the company could arrive: cleaning the carpet, new wall paper in the bathroom, new bedding for the beds of those staying overnight, a new cover for the table by the window, a centerpiece for the dining room table, a cornucopia for the sideboard, cleaning the office, redecorating the children’s rooms, painting the living room walls, and finishing the floral piece she had started for the fireplace mantel. And that was just the beginning!
By the time the guests arrived, Susan was exhausted. And now Christmas…
how can she possibly face another holiday? Jim will help, but this is a hectic time for him at the office as well. There is the office party, a Sunday School class party, the choir presentation three times, the children’s program at church, the Christmas banquet at church, a Christmas program at school, redecorating the house with a Christmas motif, trimming the tree and moving furniture, buying presents for family and relatives and getting presents to UPS, getting ready for the Christmas dinner, packing the car for the trip to grandma’s and grandpa’s house, fighting the crowds and the attitudes…Susan doesn’t know if she can do it again. Is it worth it? But it’s expected. This is Christmas, and this is what makes it meaningful…right?
One of my all-time favorite Christmas carols is “We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar, field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain; gold I bring to crown Him again, King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign.” As you sing it, you can almost feel the swaying of the camels and they get into their long swinging gaits. But have you ever wondered what the wise men expected to find? Who were these Magi who popped out of nowhere and entered the Christmas story? What would prompt them to leave the comfort of their plush surroundings to take one of the most hazardous routes in the world… to worship…what?
Besides the Biblical account, history is rich with stories about who the wise men were. They are even given names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. We know from the Bible that they came from the East, and the East is usually thought of as Persia in Bible history. A large remnant of the Jews still lived there from the time of the Jewish captivity and several of them had made a significant imprint on Persian life and thinking. Daniel, Queen Esther, Ezra and Nehemiah are just several mentioned, but history records that the Persians had adopted a priestly system similar to that of the Jews and they worshiped a supreme deity. In Esther 8:17 it says, “And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews seized them. And in 10:3, it is stated that Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes. But there were others also who had strong influences on Persian culture and beliefs.
The Persians called their priests Magi. They were wise men and astrologers who also oversaw the giving of sacrifices and offerings. But again the question arises:
what moved them to take this unusual trip, and what did they expect to find?
William Barclay, the historian, says that the world at this time was expecting a great leader to be born. Roman culture was anticipating the arrival of the “golden age” with a mighty leader who was part God and part man. The Eastern religions all had in their teachings a Messiah who would rule the world. And for the Jews, this was the pivotal point of their theology. They were waiting with bated breath for the Messiah to come.
It seems that the moving factor in the odyssey of the Magi was the appearance of a star that was significant enough to cause them to leave everything, risk their lives, and follow it to its destination. The route from Persia to Jerusalem was one of the most dangerous, least protected routes in the world at that time. And they were rich and traveling with precious commodities, which made them prime targets for highwaymen. When Nehemiah had traveled this route in earlier years, the king sent the army with him for protection. Ezra makes reference to the enemies and bandits along the way. It was a long journey of months. There were two possible routes which could be taken: one across the Arabian Desert, which was hot, dry and terribly mountainous with almost no protection, or around the Euphrates River Valley which was almost twice the distance but provided water and rest stops but which was lined with highwaymen and marauders. Something of great magnitude caused these men to risk their lives to visit a baby. What do you think they expected to find?
It is not unreasonable to think that the wise men were expecting to find the largest celebration of the century with visiting dignitaries from around the world. And they were undoubtedly a pretty imposing entourage themselves. They were significant enough to be able to get an audience with King Herod. History records that at this point in his life, Herod was a crotchety, old man who had little patience for the Jewish traditions and especially for their belief in a Messiah which was constantly being stirred up by would-be imposters. Yet, he took careful note when the Magi paid him a visit. They certainly did not ride into town on donkeys, and they had a presence about them that made King Herod sit up and take notice and spring into action. He promptly put out a decree that all babies two years old and younger be killed. I think he took them seriously, don’t you?
Why did the wise men go to King Herod? I think from the inception of their vision and through the many miles of traveling, they had imagined that there would be a great celebration taking place that was attended by esteemed people from all over the world and that Jerusalem would be the focal point of the celebration. Jerusalem would be the obvious place for a mighty leader to be born. They had been following a dazzling star and had studied prophecies that said a king would be born of David’s seed. The seed of David with which they were acquainted was Solomon. He was legendary. His wealth and wisdom and power and wives and gold mines and temples and horses and ships were well known world-wide. If this baby was born of his seed and would be the Savior of the world, wouldn’t he have to be greater than David and Solomon?
If we could only read between the lines!! What did the wise men think when they got to Jerusalem and found everyone going about life as usual? What were they thinking when they rode the three or four miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem? Those were undoubtedly the longest miles they had ever traveled. Were they fools instead of wise men? Had they made the greatest blunder of the century and risked their lives for nothing? Why would He be in Bethlehem, a little country farming community, the village of shepherds? And if it were true, what kind of a King must He be? Why wouldn’t King Herod know about Him? Those few miles must have been a life-changing experience, culminating in finding Jesus in a house in Bethlehem in the simplest of surroundings. These Magi, with their caravan, pulled up in front of a house on the wrong side of town.
And then they made a startling discovery that is beyond wisdom or words to explain. It can only be felt or experienced. They entered the house and walked into the presence of God and into peace and fulfillment. It was a holy moment. It was unbelievably still. They found a sleeping Christ Child. They found parents who seemed to know and understand. They walked into God’s blessing, and they were overwhelmed and overcome by it. It was inescapable. It was overpowering. They fell to their knees and worshiped because it was the only appropriate thing to do. No one prompted them; no one led in singing or read Scripture. It was a response that came from deep within their hearts. Yet it was not enough. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh seemed inappropriate, yet something caused them to want to unburden themselves of earthly possessions in order to possess that which is eternal. The thing that was in this room was something that money could not buy. They had found the “Pearl of great price”.
On their knees before this Baby, these wise men discovered God’s truth which stood out in stark contrast to conventional wisdom. God purposely chose what seemed like foolishness to men to confound the wise and to shame them. He chose the lowliest and most despised of the world to shame the strong so that no one could boast (I Corinthians 1:27, 28). King Herod would never find Jesus because he would never look for Him in a house on the wrong side of the tracks in a lowly shepherd’s village.
The wise men hated to leave because they found what their hearts had been searching for. There was no doubt. The truth they discovered was almost as important as the Child they found. They found that God is exalted in simplicity. God is lifted up in unadorned worship. The sacred is that which we submit to Him. Our circumstances are not important, but our submission of those circumstances to God make them holy. The God in us is working all things together for good because we love Him and are called according to His purposes. Both God and Satan vie for control of our circumstances. We decide whether Satan will use them evilly against God or whether God will use them for good to defeat Satan.
In a humble home in Bethlehem lay a Baby—helpless, dependent, and unadorned. There were questions surrounding the legitimacy of His birth…unanswered questions in the minds of some men. But God made Him the Savior of the world. God chooses to use your circumstances to show His strength if you will let Him. How are you worshiping the Christ Child this Christmas? Is He exalted in your life in simplicity and unadorned worship? Is He lifted up for the world to see through the circumstances of your life? Are you giving up the temporal in order to discover the eternal? Are you discovering the holy in place of the profane?
O come, let us adore Him;
We’ll give Him all the glory;
For He alone is worthy;
Christ the Lord.