Nine Lessons #8: Matthew 2:1-11

Photo Credit: JosepMonter | Pixabay

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 when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.  “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2:1-12

There are often jokes about what would have happened if it were three wise women instead of three wise men: they would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped with the delivery, cooked a casserole and brought sensible gifts!  However, I think it is reasonable to suppose that there probably were wise women - the community's midwives who came to assist women in labour, extended family who had also travelled to Bethlehem (Joseph's reason for going there meant he must have had relatives either living or travelling there).  However, Matthew's account does not comment on the things that would have been taken for granted as happening, but the unexpected things that point to this not being an ordinary baby, but the long-awaited Messiah.

Before we even get onto the eclectic and unusual set of gifts, the Magi themselves as the other recorded visitors to the new baby tell us much.  The contrast with the shepherds (from far away, as opposed to the nearby; and with worldly wealth, education and status in contrast to those with none of these) serves to further emphasise that Jesus is the king of everyone.  They are not referred to as 'Kings' in the Bible, but if they were, the point would stand particularly - Jesus is the King even of kings, and of all nations.

But it is the gifts that the Magi bring that are truly out of the ordinary and they leave us in now doubt as to Jesus' identity and mission on earth.  Gold for a King - the King of the Universe, who will reign not only over all life but also over death itself.  Frankincense for a Priest - our great High Priest, the only mediator between us and God, making a way to him by offering a perfect sacrifice once and for all for our sins.  Finally, Myrrh for death - Jesus came to die in our place.  His chief purpose on Earth was not to teach or show us how to live, although he did those things, but to become sin and death for us so that we have life.

I once watched a preacher un-decorate a Christmas tree and then cut off most of its branches so that what was left was a cross.  The heart of Christmas is not a little baby, but the Cross, in which God, frankincense and myrrh all play their part.  We may see a baby now, but in him is all the hope of Easter.