Good morning to you this last Friday of 2022, my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Are we ready to finish the final week of ’22 and step into the transitional weekend which will propel us into a new year of 2023? What unfinished business will you tend to in the next few hours as you close your year? I’ve been pondering this question: How has God prepared you and me for what only God knows is coming our way in the year 2023?
Let’s rejoin a traveling caravan moving slowly from Jerusalem south to Bethlehem about 4bc. We met these Magi yesterday as they surprised King Herod and his court with their unexpected arrival. (Matt. 2:1). Herod received them, even without an appointment, for their attire and attendants indicated these were men to be respected and honored. But Herod was shocked and deeply troubled by their inquiry: “Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star and have come to worship Him!” (Matt. 2:2)
As we saw yesterday, King Herod summoned the scholars and advisors seeking their counsel and they pointed the king to a 500-year-old scroll of the Jewish prophet Micah, which informed them the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Herod had deceitfully thanked the Magi for honoring him with their visit and urged them to continue their search for this newborn King of the Jews in Bethlehem. Assuming they would find the King, Herod requested that these Magi send word back to him when their search was successful, saying he would come and join them in their honoring of the newborn king.
Did the Magi suspect King Herod’s true intentions, we do not know? What we do know is that the Magi followed both the advice of Micah the prophet and the star which continued to guide them, until as Matthew records for us: “… the star which went ahead of them stopped over the place where the child was… On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him.” (Matt. 2:9-11)
Let’s stand in the shadows of this small street and watch. Can you see them dismounting from their camels, adjusting their Magi clothes and approaching the door of this humble little house? Look at the people in the street and nearby homes staring and pointing in disbelief. Over the past several months Bethlehem had seen a massive influx of Jewish travelers coming to register for the census and then leaving as quickly as possible to return to their homes, but none of those travelers appeared quite like this caravan! One of the servants knocked on the door and they waited.
The door opened slowly, just enough for a young girl to look out at this unusual site. Little Jesus crawled over and tugged on Mary’s dress. Mary did what any young mother would do and in a few seconds the child Jesus was in her arms. As they saw Him these travelers bowed their heads in honor. One of them spoke: “We’ve been traveling a long time; we’ve come from a distant land. We’ve followed a very rare phenomenon in the sky which according to our study tells us a newborn king of the Jews is here. We went to Jerusalem, but King Herod and his advisors sent us here, quoting one of the old Jewish prophets who predicted Messiah would be born here in Bethlehem. Who is this child, who are you? Is it possible this child is the long awaited “King of the Jews”?
Now, of course my friends, that greeting is not recorded in Matthew’s account. In fact, we have no record at all of any words spoken by either Mary or these Magi. What we do know is they brought gifts for this child. Not just any gifts, but special gifts for royalty. Matthew records it this way: “They opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Matt. 2:11) Now look at Mary, her eyes are wide in amazement. Who are these men? What do these gifts mean? How could it be God did an amazing miracle in the sky so these men could follow a star from a far distant country and find their way here, to Bethlehem?
Gold, of course, was then as it is now, a valuable gift for royalty. Frankincense was a valuable spice often used in making incense for worship. And myrrh was a spice used especially for embalming the bodies of kings and pharaohs. As each gift was placed before Mary and Jesus, what words were said, what thoughts filled Mary’s heart?
Luke tells us Mary watched unusual events with careful attention and pondered these events in her heart, praying to discern their meaning from the Spirit of God. (Luke 2:19 & 51)
I’ve often wondered WHEN it was that Mary finally understood the significance of this remarkable encounter with the Magi and their gifts. Perhaps it was that historic Passover weekend about 30 years later when Pilate asked Jesus if He was the ‘King of the Jews’ and ordered a sign with that declaration be placed above Jesus’ head as He was nailed to a cross!? Perhaps it was when Mary watched Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea take the decimated body of Jesus down off the cross, wrap it in spices and then place that sacred body in Joseph’s garden tomb?
How much Myrrh was in that mixture of spices? Perhaps it was when Mary heard that the great Temple veil had been torn, top to bottom the moment Jesus died on the cross? Perhaps it was when Mary realized God tore that veil opening the Most Holy Place, the ultimate place of worship and atonement, to any repentant person. Perhaps it was when she and others saw the triumphant, resurrected Jesus ascending into the clouds as He returned to heaven from which He had come to live among us?
May I ask, have you yet come to realize Jesus is the King of kings, eternal, sovereign, Holy God, the Creator of the universe and each of us? Have you ever brought a gift to Jesus?
How long this strange Magi visit lasted, I have no idea. If Joseph, Mary’s husband, ever met these Magi, we don’t know, for he is not mentioned. I presume Joseph was not in the house because he was working in his carpentry shop. What we do know is that God gave these Magi a dream which warned them of Herod’s deceitful plan and led them to leave Bethlehem following a different road back to their distant land. (Matt. 2:12) King Herod waited. He was not a patient man and I assume it was only a matter of a few days and Herod’s patience ran out!
Perhaps word somehow came to the palace that this caravan of Magi had been seen heading east, with evidently no intention of coming north to Jerusalem to report their findings to King Herod as he had requested. Matthew is quite graphic in his description of what happened in Herod’s throne room: “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and he gave order to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and younger, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi…” (Matt. 2:16) King Herod’s paranoia overwhelmed him and the professional demeanor he had displayed with the Magi turned to a deep, dangerous, dreadful darkness of violent despair.
I imagine it was only a matter of hours from the time Herod made this horrific declaration in his palace to the time armed Roman soldiers on horseback were galloping down the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem with their swords flashing! Let’s pause right here. Magi heading home with hearts full that they had seen the child, the newborn king of the Jews. Joseph and Mary overwhelmed by the visit of the Magi and the gifts they had left for this child king. And soldiers roaring out of Jerusalem with a despicable plan to kill children! In some ways it’s a picture of this day all around the world today, isn’t it my friends?
Yes, there are many walking into this last weekend of ’22 with hearts full of anticipation of great things in a new year. There are others caught up in war or gang violence or uncontrollable crime or addictions of all types which will kill people, thousands of people, this weekend. And there are everywhere adults looking into the eyes of their children and grandchildren wondering what this new year will bring.
Aren’t you grateful God is on His Sovereign throne and Jesus is ready to walk through this last weekend of ’22 with you and me? Let’s ponder that and I’ll meet you right back here tomorrow as we watch to see what God did to rescue Joseph, Mary and little Jesus. Here’s a song to help us ponder all this, my friends…
Today’s Scripture is Matthew 2:9-16.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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