Journey to Bethlehem: An Advent Challenge

Day 22: Read Matthew 2:9-12

Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus

Matthew 2:9-12 reveals to us the wise men's departure from the king and their visit with Jesus. After the wise men had listened to the king, they left. The star they had been following from the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. When the wise men saw the star they were filled with joy. The wise men came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary. They bowed down and worshipped him. The wise men opened the gifts they had brought. They gave Jesus treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When it was time for them to leave, God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to King Herod, and so the men returned to their own country by a different way. 

This passage leads me to believe that the star the wise men were following disappeared for awhile, which is why they stopped in Jerusalem to ask King Herod about the child. It was when they had departed King Herod that the star appeared before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. The scripture doesn't say that the star disappeared, but if it didn't then the wise men wouldn't have had a reason to stop to ask King Herod where the child would be born. The wise men knew the importance of the star and they were filled with joy when they saw it. When the wise men came to the house where the child was, they knew immediately who the child was and demonstrated their understanding by bowing down to worship Him. After they worshiped Him they showered Him in the gifts they had brought from their country.

The gifts the wise men brought symbolized three different parts of Jesus' life. They gave gold because  He was royal as the King of the Jews. Frankincense was given because Jesus was God among them and frankincense was reserved for making special incense for God, a recipe given to Moses by God. Finally myrrh represented the death Jesus would experience on behalf of mankind. Myrrh was something the Jewish people used during the burial process. It is believed that Joseph used these gifts to help his family during the next part of their journey. 

God warned the wise men not to go to King Herod and so they returned to their country by a different way. Scripture goes on to record King Herod's response to the wise men not returning, a part often left out of the Christmas story. King Herod was angry when the wise men didn't return with the child's location. He wanted the child destroyed, but he didn't know where the child was. King Herod knew the approximate age of the child and ordered that all boys two years of age and under were to be killed. God is not going to allow His son to be destroyed and warns Joseph to flee with his family to Egypt. The baby boys are massacred, but Jesus escapes to safety. This is the darkness to Christmas. For all of the joy we experience in the birth of the Savior, there are people out there who are threatened by our joy and who seek to destroy it. Darkness, but without darkness there is not a need for light.

Journey to Bethlehem: An Advent Challenge

Day 21: Read Matthew 2:7-8

Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus

Matthew 2:7-8 reveals King Herod's response to the wise men, who came to ask him where Jesus was to be born. After Herod learned where the baby was to be born, he had a secret meeting with the wise men. He learned from these men the exact time that they first saw the star. King Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, "Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so I can worship him too."

King Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men because he desired to know information about the star they had seen, in order that he might devise a plan. Remember King Herod was troubled by the news of the birth of the Savior and had sought information from the priests and the teachers of the law. He could not meet with the wise men in front of these men because they knew that King Herod did not want to worship the baby since they had seen him troubled. After King Herod knew an approximate age for the child, he provided the wise men with the information they needed, that is the birth place of the Savior. King Herod had learned this information from the priests and the teachers of the law. It is not clear why King Herod didn't seek the child himself, but he did give explicit instructions to the wise men to tell him the child's location, under the false pretense that he too wanted to worship the child.

This passage is an example of how God can use someone's evil intent for good. King Herod had evil intentions, but through him the wise men were able to obtain the information they needed to find the Savior. Without King Herod providing this information, it is not clear if the wise men would have been able to find the Savior. They were following a star, yet they had to stop and ask, which makes me believe that the wise men needed further directions. God may have also required the wise men to ask so that King Herod would know the news and be able to act according to God's plan. Either way, the events that unfolded between the wise men and King Herod are often overlooked at Christmas, but are important in understanding the Christmas story. There is a darkness to Christmas and this darkness is needed to intensify the light in the birth of the Savior. Without darkness there is no need for light. 

Journey to Bethlehem: An Advent Challenge

Day 19: Read Matthew 2:1-2

Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus

Matthew 2:1-2 begins to unfold the story of the wise men, who followed a star to find Jesus. Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time King Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, "Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." 

These men from the east were educated men, who were well studied in astrology or the ways of the stars. They recognized a change in the stars and particularly the addition of a new star, which they were able to interpret as the star of the King of the Jews. These men also were informed of the prophecies concerning the king because they knew they were seeking a baby. The wise men followed the star to Jerusalem and consulted King Herod. King Herod would likely have knowledge of the birth of a baby destined to be king. The men had come from the east to worship Jesus because they knew who He was even though He was still only a baby.

This passage informs us that the physical environment had changed at Jesus' birth and that these changes were able to lead wise men to Him. I think the mention that these men were wise leads us to conclude that ordinary people hadn't recognized the changes or didn't know what the changes meant. The scripture tells us that we are to be in-tuned to God's word in such a way that we are able to recognize His activity going on around us, which these wise men were. The wise men consulted the powerful because they were so desperate to find the star they were seeking. This indicates the level of passion we should also have in seeking God. The wise men were both in-tuned to God and passionate to find His activity in their world.