Good morning and Happy New Year. So what will the New Year hold? I have no idea! I know there will be wonderful blessings, and incredible challenges. There will be times when tears of joy will wash down our cheeks and we’ll want to dance for joy. And times when our sorrow and fear will seem unbearable, but through it all the Lord will be with us and he will guide us through whatever changes may lie ahead for us.  And that’s good news for 2010!

 

We are going to start the New Year by opening our Bibles to the story of the wise men in Matthew 2.  My first major encounter with these guys was when I was 10 years old. I was selected to play the part of one of the wise men in the Sunday School Christmas program.

 

They draped an old bath robe around my skinny shoulders, but a cardboard crown on my head and some kind of painted box in my hands and made me sing a solo on one of the verses of “We three kings”.  They shined this spotlight in my eyes; I couldn’t see anything, except I knew the room was standing room only with strangers I’d never met before! I was terrified!

 

So who were these guys and why did the Holy Spirit inspire Matthew to include this story in his Gospel?  What are we suppose to learn by this odd little story? Let’s look – Mt 2.

 

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where it the one who has been born king of the Jews?”

 

We’ve already talked about how much to Mary’s discomfort, God fulfilled the prophesy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.  The Savior of the world would be of the shoot of Jesse, of the family of David.  He would be a shepherd king, a servant king, an approachable king, a king willing to give his life for his people. What a contrast to kings like Herod who gained his throne through political maneuvering and murdered his whole family to stay in power.

 

Magi came from the east…  Lots of legends have built up over the years about these guys. The legend that there were three came from Matthew’s statement that they brought 3 gifts. Another legend says they represented the 3 races from 3 continents – one from Africa, one from Asia, one from Europe. Another legend says they represented young, middle-aged, old. Another legend records their names as Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. 

 

Marco Polo on his journey to China in 1270 found a town south of Tehran in Iran that had 3 shines it purported to be the tombs of the 3 wise men but the locals couldn’t tell him much about it. There is another tomb in the cathedral in Cologne, Germany that also claims to hold their remains. Another legend claims that they were three kings. All the legends agree that they came to worship or revere a newborn king and they brought expensive gifts.

 

As we’ve discovered before, the Bible is the best interpretation for the Bible so let’s see what we can learn about these guys from the Bible. To learn about these guys we need to go back 600 years to the time of Daniel in Babylon and Persia – modern day Iran.  The Magi were the wise men that advised the king.  They were astronomers and astrologers and interpreters of dreams. They were very powerful. They were made up of a number of religious traditions including the occult, the school of Zarathustra and what would become Zoroastrianism.

 

Here’s where it gets interesting. If you remember, Daniel was appointed to be the head of the Magi in both Babylon and Persia.  So right here in what would appear to be a stew of paganism and occultism, God sends his agent of truth, Daniel.  Daniel has a powerful effect on the belief systems in this group. It appears that they began to keep an eye out for the Jewish Messiah who would be a King over all the kings of the earth.

 

Over the years following Daniel, the Persian Magi became incredibly powerful, in fact they were called “the king makers”  because no one became king in the East without their sanction. In the midst of all this pagan maneuvering, it sounds like there’s a God thing going on here!

 

Enter the star – David wrote in Psalm 19 – “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands..”   God clearly warns his people through out the Scriptures to avoid the mistakes of the astrologers who try to use signs in nature and stars to help them direct their lives. Our source of direction comes from God alone.

 

But God can and does use all kinds of signs in nature when it suits his purpose. He used some kind of celestial message to announce the birth of the King of the Jews to these star watching truth seekers.

 

So… Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where it the one who has been born king of the Jews?”

Imagine yourself as King Herod looking out the window as a well outfitted caravan streams into the palace courtyard.  The baggage may have been on camels, but the Magi themselves probably rode on expensive Arabian horses surrounded by well armed guards.

 

The word spreads quickly!  These are the Persian “king-makers”.  Herod knows he’s a bogus king, put in place by the Romans in a political deal. He smells a conflict brewing between the Eastern provinces and Rome and he’s caught in the middle.

 

A meeting is set up with all the pomp and circumstance you would expect - and then the dreaded question comes.  “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose in the East and we have come to worship him.”  What a slap in the face of Hero! The Magi dismiss him as if he were only what he is, a lap dog of the Roman Empire!  They are looking for Daniel’s Rock, not cut with human hands, in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

 

Dan 2. This rock will destroy the kingdoms of men and set itself up as a new kingdom, God’s kingdom - a kingdom that will never be destroyed. It will crush all other human kingdoms and bring them to an end but it will itself endure forever.  The Magi came looking for this new king who will rule over the entire world and over all kings. The king predicted over 600 years earlier.

 

So Herod, master politician that he is, tells his esteemed guests that he needs to check in with his own wise men.  From them he learns the birth place of the promised Messiah is Bethlehem, 5 miles south of Jerusalem. So he calls the Magi back in – how many? We don’t know. Three works for me.

 

Notice Herod calls the Magi in secretly.  Why?  That’s how Herod works. He’s afraid of coming out in the light. Dark deeds are always done in the dark. Herod knows what he needs to do. He needs to destroy this new born king!  He asks the Magi when they first saw the star.  Then he starts counting on his fat little fingers. Let’s see, it’s 1000 miles from Tehran to Jerusalem. A week to get the caravan ready. Figure at least a month of travel.  That means Mary, Joseph, Jesus, have been in Bethlehem for at least a month.

 

Hey guys, when you find him, come back and let me know so I can come worship him, too!”  My guess is it didn’t take much wisdom on the part of the wise men to see through the old murder’s scheme.

 

How is it that the star led them to the house where Jesus and his parents were staying?  Beats me! I’m sure they couldn’t explain it either. But there’s lots of God stuff in my life I can’t explain.

 

Like how is it that these wealthy aristocrats bowed down and worshipped what must have seemed to be a very ordinary baby, the child of very ordinary parents?  Did Mary and Joseph share the story of the angel visitations and the testimony of the shepherds?  Probably!

 

Imagine Joseph and Mary’s wonder as these exotic nobles laid their gifts before their baby. Gold – symbolizing virtue and taxi fare to Egypt.  Myrrh – symbolizing suffering and baby ointment for the journey through the desert. Frankincense – symbolizing priesthood and death.

 

So why did the Holy Spirit prompt Matthew to include this story? Why was it so precious to Matthew?  I can think of several reasons. First, Matthew’s passion was to communicate to his own Jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah. He is the fulfillment of every OT prophesy. He is Daniel’s rock and for Matthew, the coming of the Magi completed the circle.

 

Second. Matthew was a tax collector. He knew what it meant to be excluded. And just like with the shepherds, God goes out of his way to invite these pagan Gentiles into the story right at the beginning.

 

Jesus isn’t just king of the Jews; he is king of the whole world.  So God brings the most famous kingmakers in the world, the Persian Magi to come and confirm his kingship.

 

Just think of all the different people God invited into this story. Abraham, Moses, Ruth, David, Daniel, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi – all people swept up in God’s great salvation story – which one do you relate to?  Like them, we have been invited to participate in the greatest story ever told, and it’s still unfolding in 2010!

 

Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth!