The Joy When Waiting Ends


Matthew 2:1-12
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

One of the iconic symbols of the Christmas story for all of us (even those who only vaguely know the true Christmas story) is the “three wise men.” This is the result of a song, We Three Kings of Orient Are, tradition, and some weak translations of the original text. Let’s take on some of those traditional understandings of these guys.

Three wise men – Go back and look at verse one again. How many wise men does the text list? It doesn’t say. There were three gifts, so we have assumed three wise men.

The wise men – Here we have a poor English word inserted where is should actually say “magicians”. These were probably practitioners of some occult practices and may possibly have been sent by foreign kings. The text is silent about that as well.

The wise men from the east – Here is the truly fantastic part of the story. God announces the birth of His Son to the Gentiles. For the Jewish audience reading this Gospel, that would have been a shocking turn of events.

There has been much made of the three gifts with symbolic things being attached to those gifts. While that makes for interesting sermonizing, the text doesn’t really support that either. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh while expensive gifts, would have been normal gifts to bring to a king. While we don’t know why the journey to find Jesus began, we do know that the “wise men” needed help to get there. First they stop and ask Herod in Jerusalem – the capital. That would be the logical place to find a king. Herod is forced to consult with his chief priests and interestingly, he doesn’t ask where “the king” would be born. No, he asks where the prophecies said the Christ (Messiah) would be born. Herod has more information than he passes on to the magicians. Second, the magicians need the star to lead them to Jesus. They are in need of help from God to know where to go. I hold with the understanding that this was a miraculous star, used by God to announce the birth of the Savior to the Gentiles. We don’t know if these guys were then converted or came to know the Living God because of this event. The text is silent about that, so we must remain silent as well.

I think it is highly likely that these wise men were from the area around ancient Babylon and may have learned of a coming Messiah (King) from the Old Testament prophet, Daniel. That is pure speculation on my part, but it is speculation born of circumstance and Daniel’s history. Thus we have the response of these travelers from the east. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. They had been awaiting the appearance of this star for over 500 years! The centuries of waiting were over, and the King had come – a true reason for joy!

So, the next time you sing “We Three Kings of Orient Are” just remember that while it might be a nice song, it does tend to embellish a story that needs no improvements. In the person of Jesus Christ, God comes to ALL of us. His Gospel is for Jew and Gentile, sinners one and all and we can all experience that joy of the wise men.

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