Whose King is He?
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King
Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw
his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:1-3
Today we celebrate Epiphany, the story of the visit of the Magi and
their gifts to the baby Jesus.
A cute story appeared in Today's
Christian Woman magazine. Marcia Garland writes:
The story of baby Jesus is a favorite
with our 4-year-old daughter, who has much of it memorized. Quizzing
her on colors one day, my husband pulled out a silver crayon and asked
her its name. "Gold," she replied. "No, not gold. Guess again." My
daughter paused for a moment, then flashed a big grin as she
triumphantly cried out, "Frankincense!"1
Matthew is the only gospel to record this incident in the life of Jesus.
Of course we place Jesus birth and the visit of the magi in about the
same time frame. It is impossible to know exactly when this occurred,
but evidently Jesus was still an infant.
According to ancient historians, there was an expectation of a Jewish
King who was to be born and rule the world.
The Roman historian, Seutonias writes:
There had spread all over the Orient
and old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men
coming from Judea to rule the world.2
Tacitus writes much the same, and the Jewish historian Josephus that:
about that time one from their own
country should become governor or the habitable world.3
A brief time later the Armenian king, Tiridates visits Nero and among
his retinue are certain magi.
So this event in the life of Jesus does not just spring into effect
with no background or parallels.
Apparently the ancient world in Jesus time was looking for a ruler sent
by God, and into that culture of expectation, God sends a visible
sign--a star or bright light in the night sky, which to astrologers was
a certain sign of something big.
Just a side note. God speaks to each of us in language that we can
understand. Today the discovery of a new star, or more likely of a
bright new comet would never be interpreted this way. But in those
days it was, and so God sent them what they needed. And God will send
you what you need, when you need it.
Our piano tuner, David Vuckson tells how God sent his mother's old
piano across country decades after he left home right to the very music
shop where he worked restoring old pianos. He knew it had been the
piano he played as a boy by the note that had been written on the
bottom of one of the keys and the dent he made in it as a boy. And he
knew the minute he saw it that God was tapping him on the shoulder
because the Spirit had been preparing him for that moment. It would
mean nothing to me, but to David, he felt God's hand once again upon
his shoulder. And God will speak to you in a way you can understand.
So these men from the east, probably either Babylon or Persia end up in
Jerusalem looking for the child born to be king.
Their presence caused quite a stir.
Jerusalem would not be that large a city that their arrival would not
be noticed and word of them spread like wildfire.
On top of that they start making inquiries about where the lad would be.
Word gets quickly to Herod, who Matthew says is alarmed, and all
Jerusalem with him. Literally the word means "stirred up" or
"agitated". These men with inquiring minds hit town like a sharp stick
in a wasps nest and by the time they leave all Jerusalem is buzzing
with the news. Unfortunately this is bad news for boys born in
Bethlehem as Herod dispatches soldiers to kill all the male babies
around that age.
It is easy enough to know why Herod is upset. With the expectation of a
coming messiah, and now the news that a birth has caught the attention
of even foreign observers, Herod's position is just a bit less secure.
He is after all not really a legitimate king at all. His family are
Roman puppets and not of the royal lineage at all.
He even has to ask the priests where this true kind is supposed to be
born and they tell him it is Bethlehem, exactly where Jesus is born.
So, yes Herod has reason to be stirred up and sets out to deal with
this perceived threat, regardless of how many lives it costs.
We also read that all Jerusalem is stirred up along with Herod.
Not everyone would have been upset the way Herod was, though some
undoubtedly were.
Apparently the scholars who Herod consulted were none too thrilled
either.
They had made their peace with the established order and were in no
hurry to see it come to and end.
Messiahs are fine for prophets to write of they might suppose, but they
were doing fine and anything or anyone who threatened to upset their
situation was not too welcomed. And so the established order of
Jerusalem was shaken to learn of Jesus birth.
This was the story of his life, however.
Some wait for God to move in their lives even they may not even know
who it is they are looking for.
To those people who are open to God and look for something better, God
speaks in a language they can understand.
John's gospel says Jesus came to his own but his own did not receive
him, but to any who will receive him as king of their life, he still
gives the power to become children of God.
These three strange visitors from a foreign land come prepared for the
occasion.
They come with gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The gold was possibly used to finance their get-away to Egypt because
the Holy Spirit warned them about Herod.
--Gold honored him as a king
Frankincense is an Arabian fragrance which was used in the temple,
symbolic of God and in anointing the priest.
--Frankincense honored him as a priest and prophet of God.
Myrrh was an expensive ointment what was used in embalming.
--Myrrh honored him as the lamb of God sacrificed for our sins.
They of course had no idea of the significance of their gifts, but came
prepared for something special.
Herod and the power elite of Jerusalem had something special under
their noses and totally missed out.
Whose King was He?
Was he King for those who were upset at his birth?
Or was the King for those who in some ways would not be expected to
honor him as King, but came because they were looking for something
from God?
God knows whose hearts and minds still look for Him.
I pray that we will be as open.
Preached
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian
Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Notes
1. Marcia Garland, Rochester, NY. "Heart to Heart," Today's Christian Woman.
2. Seutonias, Life of
Vespasian, 4:5
3. Josephus, Wars of the
Jews, 6:4,5
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