Faithful Seekers of the King

December 24, 2017 Background Scripture: Matthew 2:1 – 12 Lesson Passage: Matthew 2:1 – 12 There is no better time to look back at the story of the magi seeking to find and worship the Christ child than Christmas Eve. The story of the magi is not about the birth event itself but rather worshipers from afar seeking the child who had “already” been born “King of the Jews”. They were not coming to acknowledge the birth event but to worship the child who had already been born. In other words, they did not come when Jesus was born but afterwards. Unfortunately, many commercial and dramatized nativity scenes that occur during the Christmas season today show the magi and the shepherds all gathered around the manger where the newborn baby lay. These two groups, the shepherds and the magi, came at very different times for different reasons. The shepherds came to acknowledge the birth of the baby Jesus whereas the magi came seeking the child who had already been born and was no longer in the manger. The shepherds were sent by the angel to the location of the newborn babe and the magi were guided by a star to the location of the child. The scriptures do not reveal to us where the magi got their knowledge of the child or how they came to recognize the star as their guide. But word of their arrival in Jerusalem (the capital city of Judea and the Jews) and their stated mission got around town and even to the insecure King Herod. Herod had been appointed to his political position of king and based on what is revealed about his character, it was probably through both “hook and crook”. The fact that a child could be born right under his nose and given the prerogative of kingship did not set well with him. With subtlety he called the magi to him and learned of the exact time the star had appeared so that he would know the age of the child in question. He then used the information he had obtained from the chief priests and scribes of the Jews concerning the prophecy of the birth and its location and gave it to the magi. King Herod was giving the magi the impression that he was acting in good faith. So he sent them to Bethlehem based on the information he received about the birthplace from the chief priests and the scribes. King Herod also made a request of the magi. Once they located the child, King Herod wanted the magi to inform him as to the child’s location—supposedly so he could go and worship the child as well. His plans were to find the child and kill it to end the threat of him losing his royal appointment to the child. When the magi left King Herod, the star reappeared and led them to the exact house in Bethlehem where the child and his mother were. When the magi came to the house and so the child, they fell down and worshiped him. Then they presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the child. Again, we should note that they did not find a baby in a manger but rather a child in a house. After that visit, God had warned them in a dream to not return to Herod so they returned to their country in the east by another route. After learning that he had been tricked, Herod had all young boys, two years old and under, who were in Bethlehem slain. Based on Herod’s actions, it can be assumed that the child was possibly two years old at the time of the magi’s visit. Meanwhile the Christ child had been located by the magi, worshiped and safely secured by God in Egypt. Robert C. Hudson November 15, 2017